Slowemperor was a tier 3 king-rank Pokemon. There were no trainers that had tier 3 king-rank Pokemon in the city. A very few of them may have a king rank Pokemon but Axel was not sure. This was a big city but it still was not a gym city, so it was not popular. So, some of them may have tried to send their Pokemon inside the lake but since the water pressure started to increase, none of them bothered to investigate.
Axel was going to keep it a secret. He was not ready to explore it. He could feel it. Slowemperor was not a water-type Pokemon. It was only able to go so down due to its pre-evolution being a water type, it being an ice type and also psychic typing helped a lot.
Axel felt that somehow there was a treasure related to water-type Pokemon and since none of his water-type Pokemons were as strong as Slowemperor, he decided to wait till Gyarados ranked up to a good level.
All of them had come back except for Beedrill. He did give it enough time. It wasn't until the sun was starting to come down that Beedrill came and it looked happy. Something good must have happened.
"So, what happened?"
"They let me into their tribe since I am a powerful Pokemon. I think I am making progress with them. But I need to stay with them for some day. So, I may not be able to come to the tournament."
Axel was not happy about that. Sure, he didn't need Beedrill to win this tournament. He wonder if he would even face a king-rank Pokemon. The final battle would be 3 Vs 3 battle and Axel had plenty of king-rank Pokemons in his arsenal. But Beedrill was different. It was shiny and it was very big. Axel wanted to show it off to get praise and gather the crowd.
But letting Beedrill spend some time with its own species was more important than that.
"Are you sure that you are going to be okay? I mean you are strong but there may be plenty of strong Pokemons in this park. It is just a medium-sized forest."
"Don't worry, I talked to them and there is only 1 king-rank Pokemon in this entire park and it would not even show up. It doesn't like to be disturbed and it also doesn't like to fight without any reason. It is also a tier 1 king-rank Pokemon, so I believe that I can handle it."
"Which Pokemon is it?"
"It is a Muk."
"Muk could be tricky to deal with."
"Axel, you are just being paranoid. You know that I can handle it. Besides, I am not going to interfere with Muk. I only want to bond with the group."
"Ok, you can stay here but I will come here every day at 7 a.m. every morning and I want you to come right here to meet me and also bring the group with you."
"Yes, I will do that."
Axel was now thinking about how to tell the staff to let his Pokemons be inside this park. The park was a government property but they would not risk letting a trainer's Pokemons inside the forest for many days.
So, he just decided to wing it and let Beedrill hide in the forest. The forest was very big and there were not so many cameras around. Since this was a government property, the security was also not so tight and Axel believed that Beedrill could perfectly hide here for some days.
However, Beedrill was different. First, it was shiny and had different colors and secondly, it was very big. So,
"Don't come here. I will come to your place. I will find you out.", said Axel.
Axel may look like someone who was breaking the rules of the place cause he was but he didn't care. If his Pokemon wanted something then he was making sure that they get it.
###
Next day,
Axel went to the park again and then went deep inside the forest. He did meet his Pokemon and the gang. This was a big tribe of Beedrill. There were Weedle, Kakuna, and many Beedrills. Axel didn't even count them. After making sure that Beedrill was okay, he went to his hotel room.
The tournament was separated through age. 13-17 were grouped together then 17-22 and then 22 above. 3 groups were grouped separately for preliminaries. One of the interesting things about preliminaries was that it was a 1 Vs 1 Pokemon battle. Towards the end of the preliminary round, it would be a 2 Vs 2 Pokemon battle but that was it.
Axel's main reason for coming here was due to the preliminary rounds. Since he was only 16 years old, he was grouped into 13-17 group. The trainers that were in that age group were usually not that strong.
Every trainer starts their journey at 13 years old. By the age of 17 years, most of them would only have rare rank Pokemons or elemental rank Pokemons if they were lucky. So, Axel could use those battles for his young Pokemons. His Young Pokemons had battled in tide battles but they still lacked a lot of experience. They had shown real effort during their training sessions, so he was going to test them.
Axel had another reason for coming here. He was in search of a capable person who could join his mercenary team. Yes, he had a lot of members in his mercenary team already but adding good and capable trainers would not hurt. After thinking about all his objectives, Axel fell asleep.
###
The tournament would start at 8 a.m. and his battle was at 9 a.m. Right now, Axel was taking a shower and getting ready for battle. Lucario had begged to be a part of this tournament but Axel knew that it was not so strong. Just like Feraligatr, it was an uncommon rank Pokemon but it was far weaker than Feraligatr. Feraligatr had 3 evolution stages, meaning it took more time to build its power but Lucario had not trained for so long.
"Let me promise you, if we reach the finals of preliminary, I will use you first.", said Axel which made Lucario's day.
During the finals of the preliminary match, it would be a 2 Vs 2 battle and he could use Lucario first. Unlike the regions, there were no restrictions on using any of his Pokemons, so he could directly use Pokemons like Charizard and Shedinja and win the battle but he would only use them when necessary.
###
"Ladies, Gentlemen, and Pokemons. Today we are happy to announce the 235th anniversary of the Rising Star Tournament. Just like every year, I am sure that this tournament will be filled with existing battles and we will be able to see some talented youngsters.
All of you must know the rules of this tournament but those who were never here before, let me give you a brief description of it..."
Then the announcer started to tell the rules. There were not many but he managed to take 15 minutes while telling all the rules. Axel was already in the building. Unlike in the league battles, there was only 1 stadium for the battle. Multiple stadiums were not needed cause there were only around 50 participants in the whole tournament.
"Now, before we start the battle let me introduce you to our special guest for the tournament. Please rise, she is her revered majesty, Elenora the lawgiver, Queen of the Kanto region, custodian of heaven, and defender of faith."
When the announcer said 'please rise', everyone started to rise from their seat in the stadium. Axel was also looking at the TV and it was a very surreal scene. Slowly a woman started to walk towards one of the sitting places in the stadium. The place was covered in glass and it was very hi-tech. There was only one such place in the whole stadium.
The woman might not have been above 30 years old. She had a fair face and blond hair. Her dress was designed to exude real elegance and command attention.
The gown was a breathtaking display of opulence, crafted from the finest fabrics sourced from across the kingdom. Its silhouette was majestic, featuring a fitted bodice that cinches at the waist, accentuating the queen's graceful figure. The neckline was adorned with intricate embroidery, shimmering with pearls and gemstones that catch the light with every movement.
Flowing from the waist, the skirt cascades in luxurious layers of silk and satin, pooling around the queen's feet in a mesmerizing display of richness. Each layer was delicately embellished with patterns inspired by the kingdom's heritage, depicting scenes of grandeur and splendor.
The sleeves were long and billowy, crafted from sheer chiffon and adorned with lace cuffs, adding a touch of ethereal beauty to the ensemble. The queen's royal insignia was subtly embroidered on the sleeves, symbolizing her authority and power.
Accessorized with a crown encrusted with precious jewels and a scepter symbolizing her reign, the queen's attire was a testament to her status as the epitome of grace and sovereignty. With every step, she radiated confidence and dignity, embodying the essence of royalty in every aspect of her attire.
###
Axel was in the waiting room. He just could not understand why the queen was dressed so out of the blue. Of course, the dress was nothing he had ever seen. The dress alone might cost millions of Poke dollars but why was she wearing such a dress which was not only difficult to move but also difficult to sit?
"Is this your first time looking at the queen?", asked someone. She was also a trainer that was going to participate in the competition.
"Yes, why is she wearing such a weird dress?"
"Weird? Dude, don't say such things out loud. This city is closely monitored by the king's guards. If they hear such things, then your heads would roll.
Now, coming to your question, the queen is required to dress like this. Unlike the King, the Queen is judged on how she dresses, carries herself, and how she behaves around others."
"Really? That is just not normal."
"The royal family has never been normal. Just try to accept it. By the way, I am Mia."
"Hi, I am Axel Blaze."
"I know. You are kind of famous and yes, everyone wants to get their hands on you. So be careful."
"Why do they want to fight with me? Do they want to lose so bad?", asked Axel which made Mia laugh.
"Damn dude, do you really think that we are so weak? They want to fight with you so that they can win against you and be famous and get inside king's guard."
"What is a king's guard? I mean, I know what it is but I don't know much about them."
Mia then began to tell what a king's guard could do and what were their rights, duties, and powers. Axel was surprised that a king's guard could be so powerful. No wonder, all of them wanted to fight with him.
As Axel was talking with Mia, the queen started to give her speech and Axel listened to her words. She was talking confidently as if she had given this speech hundreds of times. Everything about her looked perfect.
After the brief speech, the battle was going to begin. Mia excused herself and then went somewhere else and Axel was confused about which Pokemon to use.
After around an hour, Axel's name was called and the crowd went wild after hearing his name. The announcer didn't just call out his name but also mentioned that he was the successor of Oak.
The battle was finally going to start.