"So, 3 of us are chosen for the meeting. Do you know what the meeting is all about?", asked Lance.
"We don't know much about it. The higher-ups didn't tell us much but since so many famous people are here, there must be something important. I suggest that you note down all the things of the meeting and tell us after you come back.", suggested Hymer.
"Yes, we will definitely do that."
The Kanto young ones were having their own meeting at the hotel room of Axel. Since Axel became the champion, he was given one of the biggest and then most luxurious rooms in the hotel. The time was evening and Axel had yet to receive his reward.
"So Axel, what is the going to be the reward? Do you have any guesses?", asked Mia as she wanted that reward too.
"I don't know."
"But I can tell for certain that it would be a Pokemon with other things.", said Lance.
"How can you be so sure?"
"I have been to these types of events for some time now. So, I can tell that they would gift you a Pokemon with the highest potential. They may also offer you something if you don't want that Pokemon. But I suggest that you take that Pokemon."
"Why?"
"Because the Pokemon that they would be gifting you would be totally overpowered. Devon Corporation has a reputation to maintain. Do you think that they would give you a simple reward? You won against trainers like Cynthia. So expect a lot more."
"They might also ask what you would like. So, I suggest that you become prepared for it.", said Lyra.
"Hmm.. I will keep that in mind."
###
The evening dinner was also lavish but Axel was not concentrating on that. The nurse had said that Wartortle was okay and it would be back in just a day of rest. So, he had nothing to worry about it but he was thinking about the reward that he would get.
Finally, as most of them had eaten their fair share, Joseph went to the stage.
"Hello everyone. I hope that every one of you are enjoying the show tonight. The battle between the young trainers was very interesting. Now, finally, it is time for the reward. Only 1 of you will be rewarded and that would be Axel.
Some of you might think why are there no rewards for second and third-place trainers? That is a great question. You see, all of us elders and high-level members think that the young generation has grown very soft. You have all the resources that you need and you have become lazy.
Rewarding only the winner proves that you need to train hard to reach this stage. Let this be a lesson to you all. There will be no participation trophy in life and in the future. So, make sure that you realize it.
Now, I would like to request Axel Blaze to come up to the stage."
The crowd began to clap for the winner as Axel slowly started to walk to the stage. His face was calm and his demeanor showed that he had been doing this for a long time.
"So, before I present the rewards to the young man right in front of me, let me first say a few words.
All of you trainers, young trainers, should learn from Axel over here. All of you are from prominent families. There is no lack of resources for you but it is Axel that is standing right here not you guys.
Axel comes from a middle-class family and till now what he has earned is from his own merit. Like this competition."
The crowd was silent after hearing about it. None of them had any answer for this.
"Now, on to the reward. I have made you wait for a long time. You actually have 2 options for it. First is money and resources like evolution stones, vitamins, potions, and antidotes. The total amount of which would result in 2 billion Poke dollars."
The crowd gasped hearing the amount. That was simply too much for a simple competition like this.
"Second is a Pokemon egg. I have an egg of Aron with me with the highest potential. You can also choose one from all the eggs of Aron that I have. Now, before you make your decision, I must say that I am not finished. The reward also includes all the resources, training manuals, and money needed to develop this Aron to a king-ranked Pokemon. It doesn't even end there.
I know that you have plenty of Pokemons right now and you might not want Aron for the Johto region. So, I want to add something. Even if you use this Pokemon in Johto, you can also use this Pokemon in the Hoenn region. Conditions would not apply to this Pokemon."
###
"This is just too much.", complained Lance. The crowd had a similar reaction. First of all, they were giving him a powerful Pokemon egg. Then all the resources and training manuals till it reached king rank and now Axel could use this Pokemon in Hoenn region even if he used it in other regions?
It must be known that each region had different rules on which Pokemon could be used in their region. There is a list of conditions and restrictions. But now Axel could use it without fulfilling those conditions.
"Ahh, Sir, are you sure about that last part?", asked Axel as he was also clearly confused.
"Yes, don't worry about it. What? You think that we from the Hoenn regions are weak?"
Axel didn't say anything after that. This was a huge thing and he would definitely take advantage of it.
"I will choose the second option.", said Axel.
"That is great. I will let you choose the egg tomorrow.", said Joseph and told Axel to step down from the stage.
"Let me remind all of you that the meeting will be held tomorrow at 9 a.m. sharp. The location of the meeting would be sent to those who are going to participate in the said meeting.
I will not take more of your time. Please enjoy the food and the ambiance.", said Joseph, and the party continued.
There was a range of food and drinks that Axel had not ever seen. He didn't know how these foods were cooked and from where they came. But he was interested in these new dishes.
He was running a restaurant business. So, he had to take an interest in such things.
"You know what? You are very lucky. I don't have any other words to describe you.", said Lance as he sighed. He had seen Axel when Axel was just a normal trainer with no powerful Pokemons and no connection and now Axel was more powerful than him, had more connections.
Frankly, if Lance didn't have his family, he felt that he was just a normal trainer compared to Axel.
Axel also felt that he got lucky in this deal. Raising a Pokemon to a king rank would cost a lot from millions to billions. Aggron would also be a powerful lineup in this team and the best part was that he could use it in the Hoenn region even if he used it in the Johto region.
He could also see the potential of a Pokemon from his system. So, he was not worried about getting a bad Pokemon.
As they were talking about the future and tomorrow's meeting, Axel suddenly asked Lance, "Lance, can I meet with Cynthia and Steven?"
Just this statement sent silence to the whole group and everyone was now staring at Axel as if asking him if he was joking.
"Do you mean right now?"
"Of course, right now."
"Dude, this is a free world. So of course, you can do anything you like but I suggest that you don't.
I can say for sure that they would not have good intentions for you and they would think badly of you. So, do you really want to talk to them?"
"Yeah, I suggest that you don't. If you have any questions, you can ask us.", added Lorelai.
Everyone suggested that he should not take this step so he didn't. He didn't know the politics of this side of the world, so he decided to take the advice of his friends.
###
Tomorrow morning,
Coming to this event was a good decision as Axel felt that he was not alone anymore. All these people and events were definitely distracting him and that was good. Yet, he knew that he would have to face all of his insecurities someday.
Axel did his usual. He took a shower, got breakfast, and spent some time with his Pokemons. Specially with his older Pokemons like Charizard and Nidoking.
They were actually very worried about Axel's mental health. The young ones felt that Axel was okay but since they had not spent much time with him and since they were still young, they didn't feel any difference.
Now Axel had 3 tier 3 king-rank Pokemons. Alakazam and Beedrill including Nidoking were also very close to reaching that stage. For some reason, Axel was already feeling that he was getting behind and by this time he must have a pseudo-champion rank Pokemon.
He had also heard that Cynthia's Garchomp had reached that stage but it was just a rumor and frankly, he didn't believe it.
Axel met with Lance and Krishna and they got ready to go to the meeting.
###
Axel, Lance, and Krishna were one of the first ones that came to the meeting. Joseph was already there with some people that he didn't recognize.
Finally, people started to come in. Cynthia, Steven, Wallace, and other trainers. Then the elders of the regions came. From the Kanto side, there were Flint and Agatha.
Axel was surprised to see Agatha as he had not seen her at the event. He had only seen Flint.
From the Sinnoh region side, there was Volo and Carolina, the grandfather and grandmother of Cynthia.
And from the Hoenn region, there were Drake and Norman.
All of them were at least gym leaders or elite 4 members of their respective regions. This was a powerful lineup. Axel didn't know why so many powerful people were out there.
All of them took their seat, Joseph was the first one to speak.
"Hello everyone. Now, all of you must know all of you but for those that don't let me introduce all of you. First, we have....."
Joseph went one by one to introduce every one of them. This was a good host.
"For the young trainers, you might be thinking why you were invited to such a highly classified meeting. I have already given you the reason for it on the stage but of course, there is something more than that.
As of right now, we might possibly face a lot of problems and since the problem might be so serious, all of us want the young trainer to also get to know the gist of it.", said Joseph.
The young ones became serious. Something very different was going to happen today.
"Now, let's start the meeting. Let's start with the league."