Chapter four (HK PKMN)

It was finally time for the Indigo Plateau Conference's opening ceremony to begin and Harry and all of his Pokemon were eager to begin battling.

"And the opening ceremonies of the Pokemon League competition are officially underway. This is where the top Pokemon Trainers and their Pokemon come to prove their skill, their strength, and their spirit. These hopeful competitors will battle one another as they strive always for excellence and victory. A victory they will need to enter the ranks of the Pokemon Masters! And here they come!"

"The competitors are proudly entering the stadium, each having proved their worthiness by winning a minimum of eight Gym Badges!"

Harry entered the stadium with the sole intention to finally leave it the winner of this competition... and one day the champion of the Kanto region.

"Here is President Goodshow to greet our competitors!"

"Welcome one and all! This stadium is a very special place, a place where those who truly love Pokemon have come to compete! Here the glow from the flame of Moltres burns brightly to light our hearts and spirits. Battle valiantly and keep that flame alive, in your heart and in your spirit!"

Once the old man was done talking they began the competition.

Harry was first pit against a guy named Mandi, who Harry genuinely mistook for a girl and greatly amused everyone in attendance. The guys Exeggutor was dominated by Charizard, who went on to easily defeat his Golbat and Seadra. Still, Harry remained humble and reminded himself that Mandi wasn't even a remotely talented trainer.

Harry next defeated Pete Pebbleman and had his Pikachu easily sweep his team.

Jeanette Fisher had her team swept next by Charizard and given how weak her Pokemon were Harry was wondering how she even qualified.

Sadly, Gary lost and Harry wouldn't get a chance to battle him in the competition. Harry had made it to the Top 16 though and was closer to possibly winning the Indigo Plateau Conference. Harry decided to relax in between his battles and watch the other battles.... It seemed that Melissa, Ritchie, Ash, and Assunta would all advance and hopefully Harry would get to battle them all.

After his mother arrived and took over the kitchen in a restaurant and cooked for them, Harry enjoyed a nice meal with his mother, brother, Misty, Brock, and Professor Oak.

"So, Ash, did you get a bunch of training in?" Harry asked, Ash's battles had sort of impressed him so far.

"Yeah, but you'll get to see just how much when we battle," Ash replied confidently.

"I don't know... any battle against me is usually short.... People just keep losing to me." Harry returned with a smirk.

"I seem to recall winning our battle, Hadrian, but you did extremely well," a man said from behind them.

Harry turned to see who it was, sort of recognizing the voice. It was Lance, Dragon Master, Champion of Johto, and the one person to defeat him.

"Lance," Harry said politely. "Didn't know that you came to watch League competitions."

"I don't," Lance said. "May I join you all?"

The Ketchum's and their friends all readily welcomed him.

"As you most likely know, Team Rocket was recently purged by an unknown assassin...." They all nodded, and Lance continued. "Will and Karen of the Johto Elite Four were affiliated with Team Rocket and after being defeated and imprisoned, I have been seeking replacements. Naturally, I thought of an eleven year old prodigy who reduced me to two Pokemon and easily defeated Koga, another candidate for the Johto Elite Four." Everyone knew where he was going with this, but Oak, Brock, Misty, and Ash were all impressed with Harry's accomplishments. Delia already knew.

"Sorry, but I'm not interested," Harry replied, to his brothers shock. "It's an honor and I'm flattered, but I aim higher than that. I intend to become the Champion of Kanto and then the strongest trainer in the world."

"I figured that you would say that, Hadrian," Lance said in understanding. "Stick to your dreams. At the rate that you're going... I think that you will achieve them. I will be sticking around to scope out some talent. I have bureaucrats on my back about replacing Will and Karen. I don't suppose that you would agree to be a stand-in if asked?"

"If my schedule permits, sure. I'd prefer to be the first one they fight though; to battle them at their very best."

"I'll contact you with the details then," Lance said, rising from his seat.

Harry slipped Lance his Xtransceiver number before he left.

Harry was shocked when his brother, Ash, lost a battle due to his disobedient Charizard.

As for Harry's battle, Melissa's Golem was easily beaten by Harry's Blastoise and her other Pokemon were all defeated... securing his position in the Top 8.

"Don't worry Ash," Harry began. "I'll help you teach your Charizard obedience after I avenge your defeat. He just needs some humility and to learn to respect you and his opponents." Ash nodded gratefully, but felt that Harry was underestimating Ritchie.

"You aren't worried about losing?" Ash asked.

"No. I'm only using Charizard in the upcoming battle... a team sweep to conserve my Pokemon's strength for the next few battles."

Harry turned his words into action a short time later....

"Go Sparky!"

"Go Charizard!" Harry said, not wanting Ritchie to return his Pikachu due to a major type disadvantage.
Ritchie started it off with a Thunderbolt that did nothing due to the heat channeled within Charizard's body. Charizard used a dispersed Heat Wave that struck Sparky and then followed it up with an Overheat that left Sparky unable to battle.

"Go Happy! Use Sleep Powder!"

"Destroy it with Flare Blitz!" Harry ordered, and watched his Charizard fly across the battle field, destroying the Sleep Powder, striking the Butterfree and causing Happy to faint. Harry found that quite sad actually. The Butterfree must have been very weak.

Ritchie's next two Pokemon were easily dealt with and Ritchie sent out a Taillow and had it use Double Team and then begin barraging it with Gusts that merely annoyed Charizard. Harry had Charizard strike them all with Flamethower, destroying the fakes, and then hit the real one with a Fire Blast.

Ritchie bowed his head in defeat and signaled his forfeiting of the match, which Harry thought was a good idea to spare his Pokemon from further pain.

Harry's next opponent was Assunta, who had her team defeated with relative ease.

Being one of two trainers left, it was down to Hadrian Ketchum from Pallet Town and Bill from Hoenn.

"This will be a full six-on-six battle with substitutions allowed and will have no time limit. The winner will leave here the winner of the Indigo League, win one million Pokedollars and other prizes, and gain the right to challenge the Elite Four and the reigning Champion at any time they desire."

"Go Espeon!" Bill said.

"Go Gengar!" Harry said, opting to play it safe at first.

"Use Shadow Ball!" Bill ordered, going immediately for the kill.

"Redirect it with Psychic!" Harry ordered and then had it followed up by another Shadow Ball, but from Gengar.

"Espeon is unable to battle! Bill send out your next Pokemon!"

Bill returned his defeated Espeon, shocked at such a quick defeat and the tactics used. To be fair, most Psychic Pokemon can't redirect attacks, and seeing a Ghost-type do it was unheard of. Bill decided to have his Alakazam wear down Harry's Gengar, he would be saving his best for dealing with his other Pokemon.

"Go Alakazam! Use Psychic!"

"Shadow Punch!" Harry ordered and Alakazam was heavily damaged and quickly put on the defensive. "Shadow Ball!"

"Teleport!" Bill said, panicking.

Alakazam barely managed it in time, but was hit by Hypnosis; putting it to sleep, then Toxic, Nightmare, Hex, and then finished off by Shadow Ball.

Bill's Medicham was quickly defeated next, by Night Shade. With Bill having had three Pokemon defeated, they were forced to take a short break.

Harry was amused when Bill's coach lectured him before getting dismissed by Bill and then led away by security.
It was finally time for the battle restart, and Harry was hoping his Gengar's could continue sweeping....

"Go Gallade!"

"Go Gengar!"

"Gallade, use Psycho Cut!" Bill ordered.

"Catch it with Psychic!" Harry said calmly, and Gengar caught Gallade, suspending it in midair. "Hypnosis!"

"Use Dream Eater!" Harry said, and Gengar obeyed, damaging Gallade. Harry continued the assault, with a Dream Eater/Nightmare/Hex/Toxic combo.

"Gallade is unable to battle! Bill, send out your next Pokemon!"

Bill returned his defeated Gallade and sent out his Gardevoir, smirking.

"Gardevoir! Mega Evolve!" Bill said, to the confusion of nearly everyone. Everyone watched as power emitted from Bill's Key Stone and Gardevoir and light enveloped Gardevoir as it evolved into its Mega-Evolved form. When it had finished evolving, Bill was extremely confident. "I'll be winning this conference and this battle!"

Harry laughed at Bill's over-confidence and then had Gengar use Mean Look and Destiny Bond, while Bill was rejoicing in his supposed victory.

"Use Imprison!" Bill ordered angrily, but only succeeded in annoying Harry with his strategy.

Harry sighed in annoyance and then had Gengar begin a brutal onslaught of Ghost-type moves. Or Harry intended too anyway. It fainted after four Shadow Balls and a Night Shade, and was left in very bad shape. Bill angrily returned his defeated Gardevoir and sent out his Metagross. Naturally, he also Mega-Evolved it.

Bill knew that he was going to lose, but at this point he just wanted to defeat even one of Harry's Pokemon.

Bill ordered Mega Metagross to use Meteor Mash and Harry ordered a Destiny Bond, and then a Shadow Ball that only briefly slowed Mega Metagross down before it hit Gengar. Gengar used Explosion, ending the battle to Harry's favor. Harry knew that Gengar was too close to fainting to defeat Mega Metagross and win, but Explosion allowed him to secure the victory all by himself.

"Metagross is unable to battle! The winner is Hadrian Ketchum from Pallet Town!"

"Hadrian Ketchum from Pallet Town has won the Indigo Plateau Conference! Harry, as most call him, is the second youngest to have done so, but he is the first to have only one of his Pokemon to faint during the Indigo Conference his victory. That, people, is an accomplishment for the ages! An as of yet unmatched accomplishment that many will seek to surpass!" The announcer said.

"Here comes the Champion, and President of the Torch Committee, Charles Goodshow to present our newest Champion with his trophy!"

"Well done, Hadrian!" President Goodshow said jovially. "You have certainly earned this and more. You and your Pokemon are all truly exceptional! Only one fainted! Impressive! For your achievement, you are awarded the title Champion of the Indigo League, one million Pokedollars, and the right to challenge the Elite Four and Champion at any time you desire. Also, here is your Pokemon League Badge to signify your participation in the Indigo Plateau Conference."

Harry left the Indigo Plateau truly pleased with himself and his Pokemon. He had actually won his first League Conference! He didn't ever expect to do that... he merely trained and prepared with that in mind, but he was still happy.

**Ketchum Island... a week later.**

Ash had finally decided to show up for training and Harry wasted no time in starting. Ash let his Charizard out of its ball.

"Okay, order it to use Flamethrower on that target," Harry said.

Ash nodded and gave the order, but Charizard refused.

"That's okay, you probably couldn't hit it anyway... let alone damage it. This is an elite training ground, after all." Harry said, angering Ash's Charizard.

It tried proving him wrong, but only proved him right. It grazed the target, but failed to damage it. Harry ended up guiding Ash through the training of Charizard and Charizard was able to hit the target dead center an hour later.

"Good!" Harry said. "Your Charizard will gain greater raw power with experience and levels. I suppose that we should train your Charizard's ability to fly."

"But it can already fly?" Ash asked in confusion, which Charizard agreed with arrogantly.

"Can it fly with you on its back without being hindered?" Harry asked in return. "This training will strengthen your Charizard even further, and strengthen its ability to use Seismic Toss with his improved flying ability." Having said that, Harry called out his own larger and more powerful Charizard and climbed onto its back before it took flight.

"Join us!"

Charizard barely managed it, but he accepted the training.

Charizard and Ash's bond grew and Charizard began listening to Ash, but it took Charizard being defeated by Harry's own Charizard for him to fully trust and listen to him.

The only complication was that Professor Oak had asked Ash to go retrieve some unidentified Poke Ball.

"To leave before your training is complete requires you complete a test of my choosing," Harry informed his brother firmly.

"But, Harry! We've made such great progress and Charizard can keep perfecting his flight away from here!" Ash argued.

"You agreed to this, little brother, and I hold you to your word. The test that I've chosen for you is to defeat and capture a wild Gyarados and train it to curb its anger and destructive tendencies. This will help you grow further as a Trainer too. Bring your Pikachu and Bulbasaur, your Charizard too if you want." Harry said, and Ash followed Harry out of Ketchum Castle.

"This Gyarados has been trying to attack the Pokemon here. It was abandoned by another trainer and it holds a grudge against all Pokemon trained by humans... but it has been defeated by the guardians of this island. It just keeps coming back. I was going to defeat and catch it later today, but this is an opportunity for you... and there might be a few rescued Pokemon here that might wish to leave with you." Harry said and Ash nodded, suspecting that it was the ones he befriended.

They arrived where the Gyarados was nesting minutes later.

"Good luck, Ash," Harry said, before having a seat on a boulder.

After challenging the Gyarados, Ash started the battle with Bulbasaur who used its newly learned Energy Ball. Bulbasaur dodged the Flamethrower and responded with a Solar Beam that severely damaged the Gyarados, but it was soon defeated by an Ice Beam from Gyarados that it followed up with Flamethrower.

Ash sent out Pikachu, who used Thunder on the Gyarados and nearby water... defeating Gyarados. Ash quickly caught it.

"Well done, little bro," Harry said with a smile. "Lets get back to the castle. I'm sure that a few Pokemon will want to leave with you." Ash nodded and followed.

"Was that really necessary?" Ash asked a minute later.

"Yes. You and your Pokemon have made great progress in this short amount of time and catching that Gyarados was a worthy test for you.... Plus it needs a caring trainer to help it overcome the trauma of being abandoned." That Gyarados was well-trained and utilized type advantages when it could and Ash defeating it was a great accomplishment.
Upon arriving at the castle, Harry sent out a message to the two Pokemon that he knew liked Ash and wanted him as their trainer. While waiting for them, Ash's Bulbasaur, Pikachu, and new Gyarados were all healed in Harry's automated Pokemon Center.

"What are we waiting for?" Ash asked.

"I invited a few Pokemon that I know want to join you," Harry replied. That statement heralded their arrival, and an Espeon that used to belong to Annie of Team Rocket and an Arbok that used to belong to Ariana of Team Rocket, both entered the Entrance Hall. "So you two want to go with Ash?" They nodded and Harry stored them in their Poke Balls. "Do you want them now or do you want me to send them to Professor Oak?"

"Send them to Professor Oak. I'll try alternating them later..." Ash replied. "Training so many Pokemon is going to be hard!"

"Try having 40 Pokemon to train, hundreds to take care of, multiple businesses and interests, and having to prepare the food, plot travel, and a keep a training schedule." Harry replied in amusement. "You'll adapt. Us Ketchum's are a persistent bunch. Just try training whenever you can without overworking your Pokemon."

Harry sent Ash's Espeon and Arbok to Professor Oak, and after saying their goodbyes, Harry teleported his brother to Oak too.

Alone at last, Harry began adapting more of the technology to the magic-rich environment and getting his home up to standard. He now had robots that cleaned his home, electricity, communications, leisure items; TV's, hot tubs, a sauna, and had a great security system that he was slowly installing.

Between that, managing his many responsibilities, and training his Pokemon Harry was very busy, but he was surprised when Ash participated in the Orange League; which was a joke, but Harry accepted that it was Ash's journey and his choice to make.

Harry leveled up his Shelgon, Metang, Gabite, Aron, Swablu, Gardevoir, Absol, Marshtomp, Combusken, Snorunt, Duskull, Milotic, and Trapinch all to level 50... and during that training his Shelgon evolved into a Salamence, Metang evolved into Metagross, Gabite evolved into Garchomp, Aron evolved into a Lairon and then Agron, Swablu evolved into a Altaria, Marshtomp evolved into a Swampert, Cumbusken evolved into a Blaziken, Snorunt evolved into Glalie, Duskull evolved into Dusclops, and Trapinch evolved into Vibrava and then a Flygon.

His greatest accomplishment during that time? He caught a Celebi near the Cycling Road and taught her some new moves. After seeing that he was actually a good person, well, good intentioned, Celebi opted to stay with him.

Deciding to start early, Harry left for New Bark Town to register for the Johto League and gain himself yet another advantage by having more time.