//------------------------------//
// Canterlot Junior Cup 
// Story: My Little Pokémon 
// by Amarvax 
//------------------------------//

Equestria. Canterlot. Canterlot Stadium. Day.

The Canterlot Junior Cup.

The newest competition in Canterlot had been formed once more by BigTime Ben but this time Celestia had a huge involvement in it. This was a competition exclusively for children. It already existed in the Unova Region at Lacunosa Town and now it has passed on to this world, right here in the magical land of Equestria.

Fireworks went off to celebrate the beginning of this new competition. Trainers had shown up to this competition in the form of colts and fillies. A tournament just for them without having to worry about the overwhelming power of those older than them. Exceptionally excited for this the most were the Cutie Mark Crusaders and of course the other young ones.

They had already entered the indoors of the stadium, where the rest of their fellow young trainers were waiting patiently for the completion to begin. The temporary Pokemon Center was also present there as always, available for anypony to heal their Pokemon.

Some familiar faces were there. 18 competitors and most of them were recognizable as some came from Ponyville. Diamond Tiara had been spotted among them along with 5 other Ponyville residents. Hailing from Cloudsdale was Rumble and straight from this city were Sunrise Sprint and Sapphire Flash. 

Surprise competitors from other parts of Equestria had been spotted. And two of them threw Sweetie Belle off guard. Velvetwind from Trottingham and Gelidity from Themcolt.

"Hello, Sweetie Belle!" It has been a while since they've seen each other so this was a surprise reunion. Her unicorn friend rushed over to the Trottingham pegasus once they met again.

"You both are here too? I thought you'd only stick to contests." 

"You're here too, aren't you?" Velvetwind pointed out how Sweetie Belle was also taking part in it. Pokemon Coordinators still had the skills of battling after all due to how contests work. And it was a natural thing as a Pokemon Trainer after all.

"I came here because Nidoqueen wanted to try this out," Gelidity revealed that her reason for being here was to grant the wish of one of her Pokemon. Her Nidoqueen. "That is all."

"Not as much as I thought there would be." Meanwhile, Scootaloo was expecting a higher count of trainers here. But the maximum was 22 Pokemon Trainers. It was certainly smaller than the first Pokemon Tournament and the Canterlot Tag Battle Competition.

"That's because they said it would only be 22 of us." Diamond Tiara replied. "And I gotta feel sorry for the ponies who couldn't enter in time. Sucks to be them."

"Good thing Twilight told us in advance." Apple Bloom nudged the pegasus.

"Oh, wow. I thought it was a joke but it's real." Just then, Sapphire Flash Spoke, looking right at Scootaloo and Velvetwind for one reason. Their similarities "You two do look alike."

"You noticed?" Scootaloo and Velvetwind both commented at the same time. The only differences between them were their mane styles, eye colours, their Cutie Marks and their voices. That was all. Everything else was eerily similar.

"So now that we're all here, guess who's winning this?" Diamond Tiara grinned, already prepared to immediately declare who would be victorious. "Me." As to be expected, she chose herself. Diamond Tiara may have undergone some changes, but some things never change.

"Nuh-uh. I'm winning this." Scootaloo protested. "I trained hard for 3 days just for this moment. My Pokemon are up to speed too."

"I always train hard every night." Sweetie Belle added. "But Diamond Tiara. You don't have other Pokemon, do you? You still have Purrloin with you."

"That's not true. I've got some more waiting." Diamond Tiara smirked as it was revealed that she didn't just have Purrloin by her side. There were more waiting.

"Oh. Well...this could also be my chance to finally beat Gelidity in something. Hopefully." The unicorn then shifted her eyes towards her contest rival who has bested her in just Pokemon Contests. Especially the battle stage. But perhaps this competition might swing the pendulum at last.

"But before we get to start, apparently, we're gonna get ourselves an exhibition match," Velvetwind said. "And guess who's gonna be in it?"

"Uh...one of the teachers?" Apple Bloom questioned.

"Even better. Ash!"



"An exhibition match?" Speaking of Ash, he was currently having a conversation with Princess Celestia and BigTime Ben right near Canterlot Castle. Indeed, he would represent this exhibition match.

"That's right. Much like how the Unova Junior Cup has exhibition matches between a Champion and an Elite 4 Member, I figured we'd pass that tradition here. And Princess Celestia is in full agreement of that." BigTime Ben explained.

"We'd like to excite them all first before the matches can begin. And fittingly, you're a Champion yourself, Ash." Celestia added. "It also helps that you're popular here, so bonus points. Plus, the winner of this tournament will have a chance to battle you at the end of this."

"Sweet!" Ash was always up for a Pokemon Battle, no matter the format of it. "I'm up for it! So, who am I battling for a bit?"

"Pikachu?"

"Well, I thought about it and our newest teacher at the Pokemon School decided to step forward and take that offer," Ben replied.

"The school has a new teacher?"

"Mmm. He's certainly strong enough to pose a challenge after looking him up. Why don't you show yourself." BIgTime Ben then moved his hand to the castle, focusing it on the corner. Out of the corner without even the guards seeing him was a familiar face.

Someone that Ash had not seen for years until now. When he emerged from the corner, he revealed himself to be the same individual who had helped Twilight, Applejack and Apple Bloom obtain their Z-Crystals and had once battled Ash in the Lily of the Valley Conference.

Tobias.

"Long time no see. Ash." Tobias spoke, greeting Ash as this reunion was far longer than Sweetie Belle and Velvetwind's reunion.

"Tobias," Ash spoke his name as the two trainers stared intensively at each other.

"Pikachu..."

"Wait...you know each other!?" BigTime Ben was especially surprised that these two have knowledge of each other. At this point, it seemed like Ash knew almost everybody in some way.

"Yeah. We battled against each other at the Sinnoh League. Been a while, Tobias. Never thought I'd see you again."

"Neither did I. Until I heard about your fame in this world. So, Ash. How have you been all these years? Becoming the first Alola Champion and all of this already gives me a good idea."

"I've been great!" Ash replied with high energy. "Doing better than ever now! I'm shooting beyond just being Alola Champion. I'm gonna take the title of the World's Strongest Trainer and reach my ultimate goal of becoming a Pokemon Master."

"Pika-Pikachu!"

"What about you, Tobias? And is it true you're a teacher at the Pokemon School now?"

"That's good. As for me, I planned on joining the Sinnoh Elite 4 once. Unfortunately, that didn't come to fruition. Bertha is a force of nature."

"Oh, really?"

"Really. So then, years later, I tried the World Coronation Series. I did well and almost got into the Masters 8. But as fate would have it, another Elite 4 Member got in my way. This time it was Flint. I saw a bit of a continuous streak there."

"You're in the World Coronation Series too? You can still get into the Masters 8, right?" Ash asked. "I'd be psyched to face you there!"

"Sadly no. You see, once you're close to the Masters 8, you gotta battle the 8th ranked of the tier to try and get in. And if you fail, well, that's it, unfortunately. You can't get back in there."

"Harsh." Ash, Ben and Celestia said in unison.

"It is. But, hey, what can you do? So just think of me as a roaming trainer. I still have my purpose though. And it looks like all that roaming also led me to this school once I caught wind of it. I offered to be in here and I got in. I'll be their newest teacher once summer is over. And will you be there?"

"Sorry. But I'm not at the Pokemon School." Ash chuckle.

"Makes sense. You're too strong for that now. But, I wonder how strong you are now compared to me? Looks like now is a perfect time to find out."

"Yeah. Let's make this exhibition match a good one for the years, Tobias."

"Pikachu!"

"Oh! Now you both have me excited." Celestia got all giddy learning more about Tobias and how he and Ash had a small history together. The two trainers walked over to the stadium, ready to begin this exhibition match.



For the Junior Cup, thousands had gathered for this. It wasn't as much as the previous two contests and it certainly won't be greater than the eventual Equestria League in the future, but it was a large crowd nevertheless. 

The 18 Trainers had lined up at the side of the stadium, just near the arena. Announcing this battle as always was the pegasus who announced the previous two competitions. He seemed to be the go-to.

"Uh. Hello?" He spoke into the microphone as it let out higher decibels than expected for a brief moment before settling down. 

"That's more like it. "Like the last two contests, I'll be describing all the action that happens here. But I doubt you'll hear me with all of your eyes focused on the battles. Let me just say what the rewards for this competition are. Not only is a nice and shiny cup waiting for the winner, but the victor of this tournament will also get a chance to battle none other than Ash Ketchum at the end. We don't have a Regional Champion yet, so he'll have to do!"

"We get to battle Ash!" Apple Bloom gasped after hearing that along with the other colts and fillies.

"Oh, I have to win now!" Scootaloo exclaimed.

"But first! An exhibition match before we start things off. It'll be Ash against a trainer by the name of Tobias."

"Did he say Tobias?!" Twilight sat up as she and Applejack and as an extension, Apple Bloom were shocked to hear that name due to their previous run-in with him. Speaking of Ash and Tobias, along they came as Tobias emerged first, showing himself to the crowd. 

"He's a roaming trainer who is soon to be a teacher over at the Pokemon School and comes from the Sinnoh Region! Tobias is his name!"

"Greetings, Equestria," Tobias said while revealing only one arm. The other one was hidden as cheers resounded over the stadium for this new trainer.

"And hailing from Pallet Town in the Kanto Region is none other than the Alola Champion and a great hero of our nation, Ash Ketchum! And Pikachu!"

"Hey, everyone!" Ash ran out to the arena once his name was called out. There were even louder cheers within the stadium just for him. The screams of Ash's fans, which was practically everyone dominated even the winds themselves as they could be heard from every direction. Some of these screams were of fans so dedicated that they already had some Ash fan apparel with them in the blink of an eye, going crazy for him.

"Pikachu!"

"You're name precedes you, Ash. This only excites me more to see just how strong you've gotten."

"You know it, Tobias. I've been wanting to see how strong you've gotten since our last battle. You're already tough, so I already know what to expect!"

"Pika!"

"The match will be a 5-minute 1-on-1 battle." A unicorn referee spoke, giving the brief rules of this exhibition match. "Please, send out your Pokemon."

"Pikachu!" Pikachu grinned, expecting Ash to send him out against someone like Tobias.

"Sorry, Pikachu, but I wanna battle alongside the others for now. But you'll get your chance once we face the winner." Ash revealed as he took out a Poke Ball.

"Pi..." Pikachu lowered his head as he was so ready to go first, but alas, he would have to wait until the winner was crowned.

"Dragonite! I choose you!" Ash picked Dragonite, sending the Dragon Pokemon into the fray.

"Dragonite!"

"Dragonite, hm? Then in that case...my pick is Latios!" Tobias sent out his Pokemon and it was a surprising one. Another Legendary Pokemon at his disposal. Ash already knew that he had this Pokemon as the Eon Pokemon Latios had appeared. This was a Pokemon that no one else had seen until now.

"Who's that Pokemon?! Latios?!" Twilight and many others took out their Pokedexes to observe and scan this new Pokemon that had graced their eyes.

"Latios. The Eon Pokemon. Latios has the ability to make others see an image of what it has seen or imagined in its head. This Pokémon is intelligent and understands human speech. Latios will only open its heart to a Trainer with a compassionate spirit. This Pokémon can fly faster than a jet plane by folding its forelegs to minimize air resistance."

"Check out those wings!" Spike gawked with glistening eyes. "That's one of the coolest dragons I've seen! But then again, they're all cool in their own way! And I get to see a Dragon fight too!"

"Axew!"

"He just has that with him?! And I thought I had a rare Pokemon..." Pinkie Pie wiped some sweat off her forehead, referring to Mew.

"Lucky!" Goh bit his thumb, feeling some sort of jealousy toward Tobias.

"Oh. You think Latios is a surprise?" Applejack replied as she, Twilight and Apple Bloom knew of another Legendary Pokemon Tobias had in store. Entei. But Ash and Pikachu already knew of a third rare Pokemon in his team. Although, in a twist of ironic fate, Ash only knew about two of them. 

So at the end of the day, knowledge of Tobias' entire team was still a mystery to everyone. But that might change with his position as a teacher at the Pokemon School.

"Now! Begin!"

"Alright, Dragonite! Use Dragon Claw, let's go!"

"Dra!" Going first, a light-green aura formed around one of Dragonite's hands and transformed into a claw-like shape. The Dragon Pokemon then spread her wings out, soaring towards her fellow Dragon-Type.

"Latios, retaliate with Dragon Claw as well!" Latios would do the same. It would be Dragon Claw against Dragon Claw as Latios had to angle itself upright a bit to make sure Dragon Claw was efficient. The two Dragons clashed, slashing their claws against each other.

it was a back and forth exchange with green sparks flying everywhere. Dragonite and Latios also kept flying everywhere from their hits colliding and at high speeds as everyone marvelled at this amazing sight. Eventually, the clash had a victor. It was Dragonite as she ducked an incoming slash from Latios. Once she ducked under it, she took the chance to slash Latios in the face, finally landing a clean hit.

"Dra!" After that crushing blow, Latios was pushed back with a super-effective hit with Dragonite being the first to land a successful hit in.

"Yes! Now head in for another one!"

"Latios, use Luster Purge!"

Latios opened his mouth as white sparkles formed and gathered in front of him, forming together into a pink ball of energy. He then fired a massive pink beam from the ball that tore through the atmosphere.

"Hurricane!"

"Gonite!" Dragonite flapped her wings and released multiple crescent-shaped blades of energy that then formed into powerful gust of wind as they met with the pink beam. But, Luster Purge managed to break through the gust of wind, hitting Dragonite. "D-Dra!"

"Now, head in and use Giga Impact!"

Latios's body had then been surrounded by an orange sphere of energy. Then the colour faded before turning purple, with orange streaks of energy that spiralled around the orb. Latios then zoomed, ready to smash into Dragonite at full force.

"Draco Meteor!"

"Dra!" Dragonite raised her arms, manipulating the weather above. Dark clouds started forming with purple lightning flashing. However she ended up being hit by Latios' attack, pushing her back. "D-Dragonite!"

"That leaves you wide open!" Ash saw a chance, however. Latios needed to recharge after using Giga Impact and now was his chance to capitalize on that. "Go!"

"Go!" Dragonite then brought her arms down which resulted in gigantic draconic meteors falling from above. Latios could do nothing about this, especially with those vast numbers.

"Brace yourself, Latios!" Tobias roared as Latios closed his eyes. The meteors then crashed into him, dealing super-effective damage while also bringing out a powerful explosion in the process. Tobias' clothes blew in the wind while Ash held onto his hat. "Now, Aerial Ace!"

Once the explosion ended, it was revealed that Latios was fine as he flew out of the smoke at high speeds, still having more in him to go. Just what Ash expected and wanted.

"Alright! Spin with Dragon Dance!"

"Drago!" Dragonite then started spinning her body, build going up attack and speed. 

And in the process, she formed a gust of wind around her body. Once Latios moved at confounding speeds, he managed to take Dragonite, but thanks to her concentrated state within Dragon Dance, Dragonite was able to protect herself via the gust of wind. Latios kept zooming around, trying to flinch or even push back Dragonite. But that wind shield was certainly stopping that from happening.

"Such defence!" Tobias gasped after seeing how Dragonite could protect herself with Dragon Dance of all things. He then smiled thinking to himself. "You've grown into a stupendous trainer, Ash. Truly. And with even higher gusto than you had. Indeed...you certainly have the spirit and power to go up against Leon...and perhaps take the title as Monarch."

"Great, great!" Fluttershy applauded, clapping her hooves together as this battle was so exciting that she couldn't help but get hyped. Everyone else was naturally hyped.

"Go, Ash, go!" Pinkie Pie thrust her hooves into the air. "Beat that plane-looking Pokemon!"

"Latios! Move away and let's use Luster Purge!"

Latios ended up Aerial Ace before flying back. He had then summoned a pink ball for Luster Purge once more, unleashing it at full force. Latios and Tobias had now seen just how far Ash had come so there was no need to hold back.

"Let's go! Dragon Claw!" Ash roared, making his hands into the sign of a claw. 

"Dragonite!" Dragonite finished Aerial Ace before then switching into Dragon Claw, forming those green energy clas as she was now faster than before, leaving behind a shockwave once she took off. Latios' Luster Purge meanwhile had been unleashed as Dragonite was approaching it.

The Dragon Pokemon slashed the beam head-on and thanks to Dragon Dance increasing Dragon Dance's power, Dragonite was able to deflect the beam, knocking it away as it hit the ground.

"Dragon Claw as well!" Tobias gasped, quickly going for the next command.

The Eon Pokemon approached with Dragon Claw as well, ready for another back and forth close as Dragonite's speed now matched that of Latios' thanks to Dragon Claw. The two Dragons clashed once more with ferocity.

Latios used his speed to his advantage this time, flying out of the way of an incoming slash just to move in and get his own slash off, only for Dragonite to catch him, proving that she matched his speed now. And thanks to Dragon Dance, her Dragon Claw managed to push back Latios' DragonClaw as the Dragon Pokemon was ready for a heavy slash. Latios' eyes widened, prepared to zoom back to avoid a heavy hit.

"Time!" But time was up as the referee called this match. Those 5 minutes went by as both Pokemon stopped their movements immediately. Dragonite made the energy of Dragon Claw fade away while Latios slowly flew back. "The exhibition match is a draw!"

Once the match was over, everyone cheered as it was an exhibition match worth watching. Tobias then returned his Latios before then approaching Ash. "Thank you for the battle, Ash. It was worth it all."

"Same here, Tobias. It was great battling you again after so long." Ash held his hand out as they both shook hands. "Let's battle again sometime, okay?"

"My pleasure." You'll e seeing me around at the Pokemon School more often after all. And even that incoming Pokemon Festival as well. I'll be off until summer ends."

"Love to hear it." Ash grinned as he had so much to look forward to now. "See ya soon."

"A big thanks to Ash and Tobias for giving us that exhibition!" The announcer said. "Now, it's time to see 18 TrMatchesatchus. Please look at the screen."

The matchups were coming up now as the screen turned on. Multiple Trainer portraits came into view, moving rapidly being lined up. Once they lined up, they started spinning in a circle, shuffling the trainers with a random selection.

"The first battle is Gelidity vs Sapphire Flash!" The first one had been laid out. It would be between Gelidity and Sapphire Flash as they both looked at each other from afar with Gelidity waving at her. 

"The second is Velvetwind vs Rhapsody. The third is Polly vs Quick Solve. The third is Diamond Tiara vs Rocky Road. The fourth is Sunrise Sprint vs Blue Moon. The fifth is Scootaloo vs Sweet Sorbet. The sixth is Little Mark vs Petals. The seventh is Apple Bloom vs Lu Petunia, the eighth battle is Rumble vs Quirk and the ninth would be Sweetie Belle vs Delight and the tenth battle Lucky vs Prancer was the final one.

All of them had been listed off right after being matched up. All they had to do was head back inside the building and prepare themselves. Especially Gelidity and Sapphire Flash who were up first. Everyone else went back inside as Ash took a seat next to Celestia up on the balcony, watching this battle from above.

As for Tobias, he would still stick by and watch this battle. He would be their teacher soon after all. Tobias also appeared on the balcony as he wasn't exactly fully gone yet.

"Oh. You're sticking around, Tobias?" Ash asked once he showed up.

"Pika?"

"I figured I'd watch how the new generations of trainers from another world perform. That way, I know what to expect once I teach them." Tobias added. "And of course, when one of them battles you."

"Look alive. You won't be disappointed." Celestia smiled, knowing that great things could come from this junior cup. 

"Yeah. Can't wait." Ash smiled, looking forward to who he would be facing in all of this. It was soon to be well underway. The curtain has already risen with the matchups being chosen as the journey continues.


Chapter 811 End.