Author's Note: Hey everyone, this was just a quick note , I have heard your requests regarding problems like showing more in the fic rather than just telling , the problem for readers is we are not used to reading in the first POV , most fanfics or novel are written it in the third POV which is why the battle part chapters for this fic are better than the first POV ones , I understand that but I cant immediately switch to only writing third POV as well , so I will try to write this arc mostly in third POV which is possible as a lot of battles are there and the arc hasnt even reached its best parts yet(spoiler) , and after this arc I am thinking of moving it to a new Volume , where I will experiment to write longer chapters to include interactions and try to make it more dialagoue heavy and less monologue from Grey's side or if I am doing First POV I would include more people's POVs as well , I cannot completely abandon the First POV as i had used it from the start thinking it would be unique as it hasnt been used much , so I would try to keep volume2 lighter on this first POV and use only few chapters. Also a request if you got any feedbacks etc you can write in the comment section I check on it everyday and try to give responses to the ones that wont spoil the story too much the reason being too many negative reviews might make the fic unattractive to a lot of people . Again I aint a proffesional writer this is just a hobby for me so while I have got an idea of why it might seem monotonous at times , stick with it for a while until I try some stuff for volume 2 . Ok also I am going to try something knew here rather than showing other things from Grey's POV I am trying to keep light moments also from Third POV so just comment if it feels better or worse.
Third POV
Grey rushed inside the arena while his opponent, Bruce Torbeck, entered from the other end. The battlefield was currently being repaired from the previous match, with a group of Machoke fixing broken sections while a few Mr. Mime cleaned the area with oversized brooms.
After everything was sorted out, the referee explained the rules to both sides, stating that this would be a 2 vs 2 match before going over the standard regulations.
Then he signaled for both trainers to release their Pokémon.
"1… 2… 3!"
Grey released his Exeggcute, while Bruce released a Vulpix.
Despite being inside a ship, the Vulpix's Drought ability intensified the sunlight across the battlefield to a noticeable degree.
In Bruce's mind, this matchup was perfect. His Fire-type was facing a Grass-type under harsh sunlight with boosted firepower. This was practically a dream scenario.
But internally, Grey was also pleased.
He immediately told Exeggcute to rush in.
The eggs levitated and dashed toward Vulpix at high speed. On Bruce's command, Vulpix launched a powerful Flamethrower whose output was amplified heavily by the sunlight.
Exeggcute instantly split apart in different directions, the flames passing harmlessly through the gap between the eggs.
Grey immediately ordered three heads to use Confusion and the other three to use Toxic.
Exeggcute, its speed amplified under the sun through Chlorophyll, practically zoomed in front of Vulpix. Before Bruce could even react with another command, half the eggs used Confusion to slam Vulpix into the ground while the other half sprayed Toxic over it.
The eggs quickly rejoined together again while Vulpix became badly poisoned.
Bruce realised immediately that he was now on a timer.
He ordered Vulpix to use Fire Spin to trap Exeggcute, but with its refined psychic control and enhanced speed under the sunlight, Exeggcute levitated around the attack and avoided most of it. Meanwhile, the poison acted again on Vulpix.
The rest of the battle continued mostly like that.
Vulpix continuously tried to hit Exeggcute, but the eggs were simply faster under the sunlight. Sometimes Exeggcute directly countered weaker Ember attacks that Bruce used as spread fire to try and limit its movement, while other times it simply dodged the stronger Flamethrowers entirely.
Only once did Vulpix manage to land a proper Flamethrower.
Exeggcute failed to fully counter an Ember attack, which gave Vulpix the opening to close in and fire a point-blank Flamethrower directly at it.
Bruce thought that was surely the deciding hit. Most Grass-types would faint from an attack like that.
But Exeggcute survived, though it was heavily injured. Its psychic training, especially its ability to instinctively activate Confusion at close range to lessen incoming attacks, helped it survive.
On Grey's command, Exeggcute used Synthesis, recovering from the damage and healing itself under the sunlight.
Bruce could only shout, "Come on, Vulpix!"
But eventually, Vulpix collapsed from the poison damage.
Bruce recalled his Pokémon and sent out his second one, an Ekans.
Grey thought that was both smart and dumb at the same time. Poison-types resisted Toxic and were good against Grass-types, but Exeggcute was also a Psychic-type, which meant it could completely ruin the snake's day.
The sunlight finally faded after lasting for a while, but Grey casually said, "Aw, it ended. Let's set it back up."
He ordered Exeggcute to use Sunny Day again.
Ekans, on Bruce's command, fired Acid toward Exeggcute, but the eggs blocked it using a Reflect-like Confusion barrier.
Then, for the first time in a while, Exeggcute went fully on the offensive.
The eggs zoomed next to Ekans, and on Grey's command, Exeggcute proceeded to completely ragdoll the snake around the battlefield using Confusion until it eventually fainted.
At the referee's announcement, Grey officially qualified for the round of 8.
He left the arena while still feeling impressed by the Vulpix. In a way, it had actually set up the perfect environment for Exeggcute. If Bruce had trained the Vulpix to be faster, there was a genuine chance it could have outspeed Exeggcute even with Chlorophyll active, burned it early, and caused major problems.
But Grey had realised within the first two minutes that the Vulpix, despite its potential, simply wasn't trained enough.
Sometimes having potential alone never helped someone reach great heights. Only when potential was mixed with hard work could someone truly become great.
With that thought in mind, Grey headed back toward the stands to watch the remaining matches.
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After Grey reached the stands, he sat down and decided to continue watching the matches. Ryu was nowhere to be seen. It seemed the dragon trainer had already left without even bothering to watch the remaining battles.
Grey still wanted to observe the matches carefully to get a better idea of his possible rivals and anyone who could cause him trouble in the rounds ahead. Of course, all of this scouting would become meaningless if he lost to Ryu tomorrow, but even then, studying battles could help him prepare counter strategies.
The third match was between two trainers, one from Cerulean City named Cindy and another from Goldenrod City named Stefan.
The battle itself was very straightforward.
Cindy was clearly a Water-type specialist and used a Poliwag and a Dewgong, while Stefan used an Ursaring and a Furret.
The match remained fairly close until the final matchup became Dewgong versus Ursaring, both trainers down to their last Pokémon.
While observing, Grey felt this battle was slightly unfair toward Cindy. The battlefield was a solid arena with no water terrain at all, and some Water-types naturally fought much better in water arenas. Maybe she could have requested a specialized field from the admins. With how large the SS Anne was, a pool-type battlefield should have been possible.
Dewgong's bulk had helped it defeat Furret after Poliwag had already gone down earlier, but against Ursaring, things became far more difficult.
The massive bear kept hammering it with Hammer Arm and Slash repeatedly. Dewgong tried sustaining itself with Aqua Ring, but Ursaring's attacks were simply too ruthless and relentless.
Eventually, the Dewgong collapsed.
From the stands, one ex-Cerulean Gym Leader suddenly cheered loudly.
"Yeah, let's go! That should teach her a lesson!"
Brock, who was sitting beside Misty, blinked in confusion. Just a few seconds earlier, Misty had practically been glaring daggers at Cindy while Brock had been distracted by her appearance.
Brock carefully asked, "Uh… do you know her? And why do you seem to hate a beautiful goddess like her?"
Misty immediately exploded.
"That bitch is no goddess! She's an ungrateful piece of shit who only uses people for her own benefit! I'd suggest you stop thinking about her because nothing good will come out of it!"
Brock was completely caught off guard by Misty's outburst and immediately stopped simping for Cindy altogether.
There was clearly some history between them, but Brock wisely decided not to ask further since Misty already looked one step away from starting another battle herself.
Down on the arena floor, Stefan calmly walked away after securing his victory.
Meanwhile, Cindy looked devastated. She genuinely believed she could win the entire tournament and get the Froakie prize. Somewhere along the way, she had convinced herself she could actually reach the finals.
Grey mentally noted there was a decent chance he could face Stefan in the semifinals later on. Ash might also struggle against this guy if he managed to win his next round.
On the other side of the stands, Brock was having the exact same thoughts.
Stefan was strong. Not only were his Pokémon evolved, but they were also trained very well.
Ash might genuinely be in trouble against him.
Still, before worrying about future rounds, Ash first had to win the current match.
"Come on, Ash," Brock muttered quietly. "Let's win this one step at a time."
Eventually, it was time for match four.
Both trainers stepped onto the battlefield.
"On the right side, Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town!"
"On the left side, John John from Scissor Street!"
Both trainers got ready and released their Pokémon.
The battle quickly became intense and fast-paced.
Grey noticed almost immediately that Ash's fighting style naturally forced opponents to battle at the tempo Ash excelled in: quick, aggressive matches with nonstop pressure.
Ash seemed to thrive in offense and rapid attacks using faster Pokémon.
Maybe that was why, in the anime, Ash had struggled so much after Turtwig evolved into Grotle and later Torterra. Slower defensive fighting styles simply didn't come naturally to him.
Not that Grey himself was much different.
If not for Shellder, who literally could not move properly and needed to use Water Gun just to reposition itself, Grey would probably also heavily favor fast-paced battles. Having a Pokémon that needed to fight defensively had forced him to slowly evolve as a trainer and learn other ways to win.
This version of Ash had not learned that lesson yet.
On the battlefield, Ash used Charmander while his opponent used Beedrill and Tentacool.
Ash defeated the Beedrill very easily with Charmander.
The Tentacool, however, caused major problems.
Not only did it have the type advantage, but it also managed to poison Charmander during the fight.
Still, the fire lizard refused to give up.
In the middle of the battle, Charmander suddenly learned Metal Claw and immediately began using it aggressively against Tentacool.
Ash also showed surprising creativity.
He combined Smokescreen with Charmander's speed, repeatedly hiding its movements before rushing in and slamming Tentacool with Metal Claw attacks from different angles.
Eventually, Tentacool finally collapsed.
Grey, Brock, and Misty all watched as the referee raised his flag.
"Tentacool is unable to battle! The winner is Ash Ketchum!"
Ash immediately started cheering loudly alongside Charmander, both of them celebrating happily.
But after another wave of poison damage hit, Charmander's excitement instantly faded.
Ash panicked a bit after noticing that and quickly realised he needed to get Charmander to Nurse Joy immediately.
He hurriedly recalled Charmander into its Poké Ball and rushed toward the Pokémon Center inside the ship.
Author's Note: Ending the chapter here, I could finish the top 16 in 1 chapter but I feel I should show the remaining matches better in the next chapter plus I have some interactions to show as well. Getting into this arc I never realised how big it is going to be , but until now whatever I have written wasnt even part of the og plan in my head ,guess I am going to be stuck with this arc for a while.