The sun slowly started to shine through Serena's hotel window, as her eyes opened to first the rays of sunlight. She let out a soft groan and rolled over to face the darkest part of her room. She had gotten in late last night with her friends. After an eventful night out in Saffron City, the eyes of the mysterious Aaron are still dancing in her head.

She felt herself slowly begin to drift back to sleep before she noticed a faint sound out in the hallway. It was beautiful, yet terrifying at the same time. The sound originated from what seemed to be a flute.

She slowly begins to rise, as she comes to a sitting position, before noticing that one of the beds, next to her, was empty.

She sighed and chuckled, as she thought about Bonnie running around doing who knows what. Probably out doing some early morning training with Max again.

As for the music, she was curious about where was it coming from. She rose from her bed and slowly made her way into the hallway while trying to be as quiet as possible so that she doesn't wake either May or Dawn. She opens the door and the music started to get louder. She looked across the hall to the door on the opposite side.

With her curiosity peaked, she made her way to the door and was about to knock until the music stopped. She let out a little gasp as she heard footsteps begin to walk towards the door. She ran back into her room and closed the door. She began to breathe slowly again before she heard the opposite door begin to open. She couldn't take it; she had to know who it was playing that beautiful music.

She slowly opened the door and peeked her head out. Serena then saw Aaron walking down the hallway with his back turned to her and two Pokémon accompanying him. This guy just keeps getting stranger and stranger. I have to talk to him again.

"Um Serena, what are you doing?"

While Serena was deep in thought, she hadn't noticed Bonnie walking down the opposite end of the hallway to their door. She squeaked and turned to her friend.

"Oh who me?" Serena asked while giving a nervous laugh. "I was going to head out and grab something to eat. That's all."

"Oh ok. Cool. Max and I were going to wake you girls up pretty soon anyway, to see if you wanted breakfast as well." she stated with a smile. "Although I suggest changing, as media members are already downstairs wanting to interview the trainers competing in the tournament."

Serena nodded before entering the room again. She took a shower and changed. She walked out of the bathroom dressed to see Bonnie doing everything in her power to get the two coordinators out of bed, but they weren't moving a muscle.

Serena laughed and looked at Bonnie, "Come on, Bonnie. You're wasting your time. Let them sleep in and get some rest."

They exited out of the room and walked down the hall, to meet up with Max and Clemont.

--- 

Lucario woke to a very familiar sound. It was Ash playing a song on an ocarina, which he had gotten during their time on Shamouti Island. Ash only plays it whenever he was nervous or his Pokémon couldn't sleep. Lucario looked at Ash up and down and then notices Pikachu asleep on his lap.

"Master, was Pikachu unable to sleep?" he asked with a confused look.

"No, Lucario. The song was for me, this time," Ash spoke in a soft tone. "Just something to get my day started right. You know, before things get chaotic out there during the tournament."

He continues playing the song. It wasn't as sad as it had been in the past, whenever Ash played it for himself. The song had a certain mood change to it. This particular melody didn't carry pain or anxiety, but rather power and bravado. Lucario smiled as the song came to end.

"That was gorgeous, master. I have never heard you play the song like that ever in my life," he praised Ash.

"Thank you, Lucario. Now then, how about we wake up Pikachu and head out to get some food in us?" the thought of food makes Ash's stomach growl.

They woke up the slumbering Pokémon and left the room heading towards the food court, which was at the top of the hotel with a view of all of Silph Village and the surrounding area.

--- 

The rest of the day had gone off without anything else exciting going on. Serena had eaten her breakfast in one of the cafes, on the outskirts of town, and has done a good job at avoiding the media. She returned to find May and Dawn talking with three more of her friends, Misty, Brock, and Trevor, in the hotel lobby.

Misty was one of the strongest gym leaders in the Kanto Region. She manages to obtain the highest win rate of all gym leaders, thanks to her Gyarados. Brock was a Pokémon Doctor straight out of med school. He had gotten a job at the tournament and was thankful for the opportunity to once again see his old friends.

As for Trevor, he was a very talented and powerful trainer. He stood 5'10" with short brown hair and his eyes were hazel. He wore a red plaid shirt, blue skinny jeans, black ankle socks, and black sneakers. He was twenty-two years old. Trevor was competing in the tournament too. Like Ash, Trevor was also from Pallet Town. His mother raised him throughout his childhood. His father died when Trevor was only three years old. The cause of death remains a mystery, to this day.

When he was 10 years old, Trevor started his Pokémon journey. His first Pokémon was a Charmander, which is now a Charizard. Trevor's Charizard is his ace Pokémon. Although his Charizard is strong, Trevor's most powerful Pokémon is his Mewtwo, who he nicknamed Gregor. Trevor caught Gregor during his travels in the Kanto Region. His friends don't know how he caught him because they never asked him before. With Gregor by his side, Trevor was able to win the Indigo Plateau Conference, which Ash also competed around that time. After winning, Trevor was given an opportunity to challenge the Kanto Elite Four; however, he decided to not challenge them right away because he wanted to visit other regions, in order to obtain new experiences. Since the offer did not have an expiration date, he can challenge Kanto's Elite trainers and champion at any time.

For 5 years, he traveled and competed in the Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, Unova, and Kalos Leagues, before Ash had gone to those regions, and won all of them.

Trevor was good friends with Ash. Trevor first met Ash, after his Johto journey. Their first battle was a one-on-one battle. It was Ash's Pikachu vs. Trevor's Charizard. Trevor won that battle. After the battle, Trevor recommended Ash to visit Hoenn. After Ash's Unova adventures, Trevor meets up with Ash again in Pallet Town, at Professor Oak's lab. When Trevor heard that Ash was going to Kalos, he decided to travel with Ash. Trevor wanted to know what it's like to be traveling with a group of friends, as he hadn't done it before in all his travels. Trevor's role in the group was helping Ash train for Gym Battles and the Lumiose Conference, which paid off as Ash won.

When Ash died, Trevor stopped traveling in other regions and decided to become a Pokémon Ranger. For 5 years, he hasn't competed in another tournament, as if Ash's death affected Trevor's passion for battling. His friends didn't know Trevor's reason why he suddenly decided to compete in this tournament; but they weren't worried, as it was great to see him compete in a tournament once again.

They talked and walked around before going to a press conference, for Max, Bonnie, and Trevor. The conferences, for Bonnie and Max, were rather short, as the media didn't have any questions for them, especially since their battles wouldn't take place for two more days. As for Trevor, the size of the line was medium because it has been a long time since Trevor last competed in a tournament, so the media wanted to ask him what he has been doing in the last five years. Unfortunately for the media, Trevor didn't want to answer any questions, regarding his personal life, especially since he likes to keep that stuff private to himself.

The biggest lines were in front of Tyson and Iris, as they were preparing to face the two wild-card entries, who had won their way into the tournament, a month ago, at Mt. Silver and Mt. Coronet. Serena noticed that Aaron didn't show up for his press conference, and neither did the other wild card winner. She sighed, but at least she would be able to see him battling later.

--- 

They finally arrived at the opening ceremonies. They watched all the contestants entering the stadium, except for the four that would be battling tonight. It was part of the prize that the two wild-card winners received for their victories. The ceremony went by quickly. Bonnie, Max, and Trevor were up in the stands with the group.

"Isn't this exciting?" May squealed in excitement. "Iris will be battling shortly, and after that, Tyson will be up!"

"Yeah, I am interested in seeing their battle strategies," Max said with a look of enthusiasm on his face. "After all, they're some of the favorites to win the tournament. Tyson, in particular."

"Yeah, a dragon master will be tough to beat in this tournament," a deep voice, which came from behind them, said.

The group whipped around and noticed a man with short, curly brown hair and a tropical shirt that covered a large midsection. Sunglasses covered his eyes, but a wide smile covered his face.

"Hey there Scott. How have you been?" Brock asked the talent scout.

"I've been good. The Battle Frontiers have been keeping me busy lately. And how are the three tournament participants fairing?" He asked turning to Bonnie, Max, and Trevor. "I hope the accommodations are to your liking."

"They're awesome, Scott!" Max said enthusiastically.

"They're much better than the ones I had during the League Conferences that I competed in," Trevor said with a satisfied look on his face. "Boy, Silph had really pulled out all the stops for this one. I've heard that they even invited all the Champions, from various regions, to watch. Is that true, Scott?"

"That's correct, Trevor. In fact, I am sitting with them up in a box," Scott said pointing to a large suite, located up from where the group was sitting. "I saw you guys down here, so I decided to pop by and say hi. Say, would you all like to come by and watch the first two matches with us? There is plenty of room."

They all agreed. They eagerly got up and headed towards the box.

As they walked up, Scott asked Trevor, "So after 5 years of not competing in tournaments, what made you decide to finally compete again?"

Trevor answered, "Well Scott, at first, I didn't want to compete because of personal reasons, but one day, a child came up to me and told me that it would be nice to see me battling in a competition once again. So I decided to compete for one last time, before I finally retire from battling, for good."

Scott was interested to know the identity of this child that conceived a retired trainer to compete in one more tournament.

"So who was this child?" asked Scott.

"I don't know. She never told me her name." Trevor calmly answered.

"Oh, that's alright. It's great to see you competing again. It's been five years since your friend, Ash, passed away." Scott said as Trevor gave a soft sigh.

"Yea. I only regret not having a full battle against him before his death." Trevor said to Scott, who nodded back as he continues walking up to the box, leaving Trevor behind. As he remembers his one and only battle against Ash, Trevor wonders, "Why, Ash? Why did you have to leave us so soon?"