Pokémon: Simultaneous time travel, this Ash is too versatile!

Chapter 229 Shinji and Ash: Two people who set their sights on each other, the first draw!

Today is the opening ceremony of the Quartz Conference. Yesterday was the torch relay, and today we will bring the torch to the ignition platform to ignite a huge flame.

The Olympic flame is passed down from one person to another, but the last two people to receive it made Ash feel something was off. Although he couldn't see their faces clearly, he had a strong sense of familiarity with them.

For him to feel a sense of familiarity even without seeing the face, it must be someone he knows well, but among the people he knows, there shouldn't be anyone who went to carry the Olympic torch.

Ash thought for a long time, but still couldn't remember who those two familiar figures were. However, he finally remembered that he still had the power of Aura!
Even if you can't see their faces clearly, the wave pattern won't change. As long as you scan with the power of the wave guide, you can find out who is on the ignition platform.

An invisible blue ripple swept across, and Ash's expression instantly changed: "Everyone! Stop those two guys! They're from Team Rocket!!"

Ash's shout instantly startled everyone. They didn't recognize Ash at first, but upon hearing Team Rocket's name, everyone instinctively tensed up.

Even though Team Rocket is now past its prime, they are still the biggest villainous organization in Kanto. To the League, Team Rocket is nothing now, but to the trainers who have only been traveling in the area for two years, Team Rocket is still a behemoth.

But they quickly remembered that this was their territory!
They're at the Indigo League today, during the opening ceremony, surrounded by world champions and even other champions who've come to watch. Under these circumstances, how dare the Rockets set their sights on the Olympic flame? They're asking for trouble!

As Ash finished speaking, the two who received the sacred flame stopped pretending and revealed their true colors!
One with blue hair, one with red hair, a man, and a woman—who else could they be but two members of Team Rocket's trio?

Ash couldn't even remember the last time he saw Team Rocket. It seemed to be before his battle with Giovanni. It had been almost two months since they last came to see him.

Ash thought Team Rocket had disbanded, which indirectly led to the disbandment of the Team Rocket trio. But he didn't expect them to do something so big, causing trouble at the Indigo League opening ceremony!

Good heavens, how dare they! It's one thing for Giovanni to come, but why do you three little Karami dare to cause trouble at the Indigo League? Do you really think the Elite Four and the champions watching around are just decorations?

Besides the Kanto Elite Four watching the battle today, there's also Cynthia from the Sinnoh region, Steven from the Hoenn region, and Leon from the Galar region!
All three champions are coming today, but they haven't arrived yet due to the long distance. They'll be here soon, though. How dare the Rockets' trio cause trouble here under these circumstances?! They wouldn't have enough lives to survive!
Xiao Zhi expressed his complete incomprehension.

"Little brat, your eyes are as sharp as ever. How could you see through our disguise like this?!" Kojiro looked puzzled. They were not only completely covered up, but also wearing masks and hats, with only their eyes showing.

Furthermore, they didn't even make eye contact with Ash, avoiding facing his face directly. This was because Ash recognized them time and again each time they appeared in front of him, so this time they wouldn't even let him see their eyes.

Even Ash recognized them, so does he have some special ability to recognize them without fail?!

"It's just that your disguises are terrible. It's been so long since we last met, and you still dare to come to Indigo League and cause trouble? Are you tired of living? Besides, your boss is already dead, so why are you still so loyal to Team Rocket?"

Ash would never say that he has a special ability to see through their disguises; he simply says that their disguises are no good.

But what Ash finds most hard to understand is that Giovanni has already disappeared, and Team Rocket has almost disbanded, so why are these three guys still causing trouble? Shouldn't Team Rocket have reformed after disbanding?
As Ash finished speaking, a giant robot shot down from the sky and landed behind James and Jessie. The robot opened, revealing the controller inside—Meowth.

Meow Meow's face was full of anger: "Don't talk nonsense! Boss Sakaki is not dead! He's just recuperating temporarily, meow! In the near future, he will definitely lead us to rise again, meow!"

"Exactly! You can't possibly guess what our boss is thinking. His decision to disband Team Rocket is definitely part of some secret plan!"

"Before that, we need to present this sacred flame to our boss so that he will look at us with new eyes and join his plans!"

Musashi and Kojiro chatted back and forth, their words filled with admiration for Giovanni. They believed that there must be some hidden reason behind Giovanni's disbanding of Team Rocket, rather than a decision made out of despair!
The current dissolution is merely a prelude to future world domination!

"Stop wasting time talking to the brat, Musashi, Kojiro, hurry up and get on the train, let's take the sacred flame with us!"

Kojiro nodded, then threw the torch in his hand directly onto the sacred fire platform, igniting the enormous platform. Immediately afterwards, the two jumped into the armored pupa machine with hands and feet that Meow Meow had created.

The machine shut down, and 'Metallic Chrysalis' stretched out its hands, preparing to move the Olympic torch onto its own body.

At this moment, Damaranchi's face darkened in the special audience seats. Putting aside where these three guys came from and why they had the courage to break into the Indigo Arena, just letting three Team Rocket members in was already a security failure!
"Who exactly is in charge of security?! How were Team Rocket members able to infiltrate the Olympic flame? Is the security system made of paper?!" Damaranchi's angry roar echoed throughout the arena.

He, who is usually a nice guy, was really angry this time. You know, the Quartz Conference is broadcast live nationwide!
As the annual grand event of the Kanto League, it naturally attracts worldwide attention, representing not only the fresh blood of Kanto but also the future of the trainer profession.

As a result, the Kanto Alliance has now made a fool of itself in front of the entire world! And the embarrassment continues; not only was the Sacred Flame stolen, but those three guys even tried to take away the enhanced version of the Sacred Flame in full view of everyone!
If they were to actually leave the Indigo Arena, the entire Kanto League would probably become a laughing stock among all the leagues today!

The alliance still has reserves of the Olympic flame, but this isn't about the flame itself, it's about saving face!
Lance, standing next to D'Amaranchi, also looked extremely grim. He had been hunting down Team Rocket throughout Kanto, but today, he was watching the Indigo League live, and Team Rocket dared to come to his headquarters and cause trouble.
Wasn't his previous cleanup of the Rockets a complete joke?!

Are these three guys some kind of high-ranking executive on the Rockets? What makes them think they can come here?!

Ash was about to release his Pokémon to stop them, but someone else acted faster than him.

"Earth Turtle, Harden Plants." A calm and indifferent voice rang out, and countless rooted green plants rose up from beneath the giant Metapod, binding the Metapod robot firmly in the blink of an eye.

"I...I can't move, meow!!" Meowth frantically shook the lever, but the robot's power couldn't break the hardened plant at all. The owner of the voice stepped out from the crowd. He had black hair that almost reached his shoulders, and his expression was extremely indifferent, without any emotion showing. His hands were in his pockets, and he seemed to completely disregard Team Rocket's huge robot.

"Tortoise, destroy it." The cold voice rang out again, and the hardened plants wrapped around Team Rocket's robot tightened abruptly, causing the giant Metapod machine to shatter with a deafening roar!
"Damn it! Another brat has appeared and is getting in the way!"

"This operation has failed again..."

"This feeling is awful, meow!!"

Team Rocket's trio once again transformed into stars in the sky, disappearing without a trace. As the Metapod exploded, the Olympic flame tumbled and fell through the air, scattering flames that even flew into the audience seats.

"Blastoise, Water Pulse".

Clear, surging water shot out from the arena, spreading in the air and blocking all the falling sparks. The sacred cauldron was caught by the Earth Tortoise using hardened plants and then gently placed back in its original position.

At this moment, the indifferent boy turned his gaze to the person who had just ordered Blastoise to help him; that person was naturally Ash.

The moment their eyes met, a strange feeling rose in their hearts. Although they were meeting for the first time, they could sense that the other person was a completely different type of person from themselves.

After a moment of eye contact, the aloof boy took out a Poké Ball and put away Torterra, then silently returned to his team. Ash also recalled Blastoise.

This unexpected incident ended in a very hasty manner, but the final result was still good. The Olympic flame was saved, and not many people were injured. It was just that the Kanto Alliance lost face quite badly.

In such a grand competition, the fact that the Rockets managed to sneak in is an absolute dereliction of duty. It's fortunate that the Rockets weren't allowed to leave openly, otherwise Guan Du would have been completely nailed to the pillar of shame.

After the brief incident, the opening ceremony continued, and without the Rockets' interference, it ended in just ten minutes.

After the ceremony, the draw will begin. There are four preliminary rounds of the Indigo League, and the venues for these four battles will be drawn. After winning all four matches, the players will proceed to the main venue of the Indigo League, the Indigo Arena, to fight.

That will be the battle for the top 32.

The sheer number of participants was evident from the preliminary rounds. Each participant had only one chance, with no room for error; failure meant elimination from the Quartz Conference.

That's why it's said that the Quartz Conference is actually a competition that depends a lot on luck. Other conferences have some leeway in the qualifying rounds, but it's not until the round of 32 that a player has to say goodbye to the competition after losing just once.

However, in the Quartz tournament, losing just once in the qualifiers means elimination. You need to achieve four consecutive wins to successfully enter the top 32; otherwise, you're out.

In total, there are more than 500 participants this time. The preliminary rounds alone will take four days to complete. And this is just an estimate, because even the preliminary rounds are three-on-three. If some matches are close, then four days will not be enough to finish the preliminary rounds.

Ash and his friends arrived at the venue and the player draw location. The arrival of the former caused a huge commotion, and everyone's attention was focused on Ash's draw location.

Ash's opponent is very important to them because no one wants to meet Ash in the first match. Otherwise, what's the difference between that and being eliminated immediately? If you get eliminated in the first match, it's like being among the top 500 in the Indigo League, which is incredibly embarrassing!

At the lottery venue, the aloof boy had just finished drawing his own lots. His opponent was a man named Dolan, and the aloof boy's name was displayed on the lottery display board—Shinji.

Ash and the aloof boy met eyes once again, and Ash also saw the name on the LED display board.

'Shinji...it was him.'

Ash wasn't unfamiliar with this name. Gary had mentioned it long before the Indigo League, saying that there was a very strong contestant named Shinji, who had been traveling for at least a year and a half and had gotten a good name on his first attempt at the league.

He only came to the Quartz Conference this time for a spot on Dragon Island; otherwise, a player of his caliber wouldn't participate in such a remote and inaccessible beginner's competition as the Quartz Conference.

After exchanging a glance with Shinji, Ash turned around and began his draw ceremony. He knew he couldn't possibly face Shinji in the first match, since Shinji already had an opponent.

As the LED display panel flashed, Ash's opponent was quickly assigned.

"Ash, you've drawn the Water terrain. Your opponent is Touhou. The game starts at 2 PM. Here, this is your Pokédex." The receptionist handed Ash's Pokédex back with her signature smile.

Registration can be done using either an ID card or a Pokédex. For Ash, using the Pokédex is more convenient, since he hasn't bothered to get his own ID. The Pokédex can be used as an ID card, so why bother?

Those watching breathed a sigh of relief when they realized they hadn't been the ones to draw the winning number.

However, among all those whose expressions relaxed, there was one person whose face was extremely grim—that person was Duo Wu.

(End of this chapter)