Pokébook

Samuelle Park - Hotel Room, 12MN

Sam tossed around, throwing an arm around Blaze. Honestly, she wasn't sure how his tail wasn't burning the hotel down, but it didn't matter at the moment. She missed Kite as a Bagon. Shelgons were far too heavy for the bed - plus, they were cold, hard things. Nothing like Blaze.

Blaze was fast asleep, snoring softly, even. Sam paused, wondered what pokemon dreamed of.

Tomorrow would be a tournament, and she'd have to fight them all to win that Dragonair. Yet Sam couldn't quite shake the feeling that she didn't really want the Dragonair.

What did Samuelle Park want? It certainly wasn't that pokemon.

Her stomach tied itself into a knot. Oh yes. She knew exactly what she wanted. She wanted to beat all of her friends and prove to them that she was as good, if not better, than all of them. She hadn't felt this hungry for victory since...since ever. She only wished she knew why she wanted to win so badly.

One thing, however, was clear. Samuelle Park wasn't going to lose this one. Not now, not ever. No matter what it took.

Samuelle Park - Hotel Lobby, 5AM

Sam shivered and patted Blaze's head. All the hotel's employees frowned at her. They didn't like her carting around all her pokemon outside their pokeballs. Sam didn't particularly mind, though. She was going to win this one whether or not her friends wanted her to.

Sam clutched her backpack tighter and nodded at her Pokemon. Time to start the warm up. When she got to the tournament, she was going to be so ready the others wouldn't stand a chance.

The first ten minutes of the jog went great. Then it turned sour. Kent ran past her, ears attached to headphones, banging his head. His face was set in a scowl, and Sam didn't quite know whether to call him and greet him, or to just let the guy run away.

In the end Sam decided on the second. She shook her head and ran towards Kent, grabbing his shoulder as she caught up to him. He glanced at her numbly. There was something dull about his eyes, something frightening. He mumbled something incomprehensible before taking off his earphones.

"Kent? Are you all right?" It came out automatically.

"No," he said hoarsely.

Something was definitely wrong. Sam frowned as the two of them slowed down, reducing the jog to a simple walk. "Want to tell me what happened?"

Kent| Cianwood beach| 5:30:00am


Kent never could of expected this curve ball to come his way. To think, when he was at his most vulnerable, and when he needed to say so much it would be Sam, the Sam who hated him, who he would confide it all in. Kent took a big gulp of air before he started, sucking all the tears from the flood gates.

“Well…where to start?” Kent took another gulp. “Remember how I sent Gible to train at the Pokedome? How he wanted to stay there?” Same nodded. “Well, despite the way I acted about it, it really hurt deep down. I mean, Gible isn’t just a normal Pokemon for me, he is special. I’ve had him since I was four. He Didn’t really fit in with the others, so my dad gave me him to raise on my own. And I did it.” Sam smiled, weakly. “So I did it. And I think I did it pretty well. For the past ten years we were inseparable, he couldn’t go twenty minutes without popping out of his Pokeball to see me when we started the journey. And I could never bare to to keep him in there, either.

:I always knew that he was strong. I knew I was lucky to have him. I figured we would ride out way to the league, together. But when he couldn’t leave the Pokedome. When he finally learned that he could stay away from me, he did. I let him go. I knew it was best. I knew he wanted it and that I should let him do it. But it hurt. It really did. And I could only last so long before I cracked and broke down.” Sam nodded . “So that’s why I left the group. I needed time to think, and I needed time to figure out what the hell I had done, and if I was right to do it. And then…then I made the mistake of calling the Pokedome.: Kent took another full of air, but it couldn’t keep the tears away.

“Gible isn’t Gible. Gible is a Gabite now. He evolved. He Didn’t need me to be strong,. I just can’t stand the fact that he did it with out me there. And now..now he has forgotten about me. When I said it was me he just yawned as if he didn’t care…and it killed me. Gible was like my kid, he went away to college and didn’t need me anymore. And…and it’s hard.”

“I can’t imagine the feeling, but I can imagine it’s pretty hard,” Sam gave a comforting look. “I know what it is like for your Pokemon to change on you, though.”

Kent gave a weak smile. “Kit, eh?” Sam nodded. “Those thing tend to change a lot during that stage. It isn’t that they are actually different. It’s just they are so focused it’s hard to do much of anything for awhile. If you want I got a lot of stuff noted down on them. Some secrets to make them smile and stuff.” Sam let a curious look pop up. “I got it back in my room at the Pokemon center. But I can get it to you later. I see you’re in the tournament.”

“How did you kno-” Kent pointed to the handing ID on her neck. “You Know Kent, you aren’t half bad.”

“Neither are you. And thanks. I really needed to get all that off my chest,” Kent picked himself up. “Anyway. Come on, we got a tournament! And I expect to see you in the finals!”


~~~~~~~~~~

Kent| Tournament Stage| 9:00am

“Hey-O Jacky Boy!” Kent Sprinted over to the other three in the group. “How is that Pupitar of your’s coming?” Jack frowned. Kent just thumped on the back. Kent was some how so cheery today. He had no idea why, he just felt like today was his day, and he was going to milk it for all it was worth. Tyler seemed neutral to his presence, as if his mind was else where though he was till a bit disappointed about Kent’s return.

Kent was about to give Max a pat on the back when he realized it was far from Max. It was a girl, and a strange one. Kent gave a weary look. “Max?”

She chuckled. “No, this is Jerri,” Tyler said, back in their world. “She is an old friend, she decided to tag along with us after we met back up.” Kent nodded. “I see.” After a bit more mingling and catching up, where Kent kept his Gible breakdown a secret, the tournament was marked to start and everyone but Sam ran to the bleachers to watch. She was the first match, and it was shaping up to be a good one already.

The tournament would be a 3 versus three bracket system with two sides, Kent was the only one on his team on the B block. The three Pokemon you choose first carried through the rest, no substitutions, except for emergencies, and after each battle a Nurse Joy would treat the Pokemon. And the prize was a magnificent dragon. Kent didn’t care too much about it, for himself he would prefer a Flygon to be won, or even an Alteran. Dragonair were okay in his eyes.

Kent readied to watch the match, when in the corer of his eyes he made out a familiar figure. Cody was here.

Samuelle Park - Cianwood Tournament Dome, 9:12 AM

Great. Great great great. Sam was late, and it was all thanks to Kent. Although she had to say she didn't quite think of him as a stupid jerk anymore. Still, he was quite the irresponsible moron.

How could he delay her? She was late now. Oh dear God, how could she get disqualified this early in the tournament? And disqualification by absence, no less! Abel would laugh his butt off, and Sam would die of shame. Still, Sam entered the arena with the slightest measure of confidence, ready to challenge whoever her opponent was.

She ran up to the receptionist, breathless, hair disheveled and shirt askew. The woman raised an eyebrow at Sam, who scowled and grudgingly straightened her clothes and ran a few fingers through her rebellious hair before clearing her throat.

"I'm Samuelle Park. I kind of don't know who's -"

The woman's eyes bugged out. "So you're the one we were looking for!" The woman stood up, and Sam was so surprised she actually allowed the other woman to drag her towards wherever. "Hurry! You're about to be disqualified!"

Sam, dazed, was shoved into the arena as a cheer erupted on one side of the dome. She squinted at the bright lights, then realized that lots of people had shown up to this battle. What? Why?

She stiffened and glanced around the dome. It was packed to the brim, and the frigid temperature of the dome didn't help fight away the perspiration dripping off the audience's chins. People sat with their arms stuck to those of their neighbors.

Wow.

Sam swallowed as the boy opposite her flipped his shaggy brown hair. The other trainer seemed confident in her skills, and even more confident with his looks. Sam felt Rhyhorn nudge her, and she gave the Pokemon a small nod and a reassuring smile. The other trainer might be more confident, but Sam definitely had skill on her side.

Or at least, she hoped so. Sam steeled herself, fighting the panic surging through her veins. What if Sam was wrong? What if she couldn't make it? Her fears were only confirmed as the announcer's voice blared out the introductions.

"AAAAAND Samuelle Park arrives! Sorry for the delay, ladies and gentlemen! Let's get on with this battle. On the right side we have Cianwood's former champion and the tournament favorite, Thomas Parker!"

The whole dome burst into deafening applause as Sam paled. Favorite? Champion? What in the world were those idiots thinking when they paired trainers for matches? Sam was nowhere near this guy’s level.

Sam balked, her feet already taking her away. In fact, she turned away from Thomas before she could stop herself from doing so. Was this match set up for her humiliation? Her Pokegear rang, and Sam answered it, if only to distract herself from the applause the other guy reveled in.

"Sam?"

Abel. Sam didn't know whether to cry or to pretend everything was fine. She promised him she'd be a better trainer, she promised. How could she fail so soon after doing so?

"Don't worry, you'll be fine," he said, even though she hadn't breathed since answering the call. "You'll be fine. I'm on your side."

And Sam caught sight of a man in the thick crowd wearing a familiar baseball cap pulled low over his face. One Sam remembered giving her brother as a birthday present after he got his first Pokemon. And she fancied he even waved at her.

Sam choked back her fear and took one deep breath. Calm, Sam, calm. She turned around and met Thomas’s smug smile.

"The challenger is a newcomer, Samuelle Park!"

The welcome wasn't half as cheery, but Sam supposed that could be chalked up to Thomas's coming from Cianwood. The boy opposite Sam smirked.

"Ready?"

"This match will consist of one battle, and switching out will not be..." droned the announcer's voice.

Sam readied herself and glanced at Rhyhorn. Yes, she was ready. She barely graced the other guy's snark with a curt nod. This trainer, whoever he was, would be forced to relinquish his former glory to Sam.

Rhyhorn stepped forward, roaring as he did so. Sam steeled herself for the upcoming battle. Then the other trainer released a Magcargo onto the field, causing Sam to blanch.

What in the world?

Sam registered Rhyhorn for this battle, but doubt stirred in her mind. Rhyhorn, however, didn’t balk at the challenge and only stomped its rear leg, roaring again. At least one of them was confident.

Sam wished her Pokemon didn’t take the initiative to attack, though. Rhyhorn plowed towards Magcargo at an alarming rate, even before Sam could tell him to back off or stand his ground.

“Magcargo, use fire spin!”

Sam squeaked and covered her eyes with her hands, but peered through her fingers anyway. Rhyhorn was, surprisingly, unaffected by the attack. It then occurred to Sam that Rhyhorn had a type advantage, as he was rock, as opposed to the fire of the Magcargo.

Her opponent must have realized it a while ago, only to respond by trying to intimidate Sam. Sam's grin grew wicked.

"Rhyhorn, earthquake!"

"Magcargo, avoid -"

Too late. Even Sam didn't anticipate how strong the earthquake would be. The ground beneath her shook, and she heard several cracks. Automatically she curled into a fetal position, even as shrieks rang out through the dome. Collapsing, general panic, screaming, thundering footsteps filled her ears.

God, if she ever survived this, she was never going to use Earthquake again.

EDIT: I'm almost done. oo" I just need to figure out how to prolong this. I have the beginning and the end there.

Minor retcon.

Jack Preston
Cianwood Pokemon Centre
9:05 am

He'd made the decision.

Jack fingered Kingston's Premier Ball idly as he waited in line for the PC. Whatever egghead was in front of him seemed to have decided that peak hour was the best time to reorganise his Pokemon storage boxes. Online Pokemon storage... Jack wouldn't hear of it. Transferring them digitally from one place to another was one thing, but... What if your Pokemon got downloaded by Team Rocket - or worse, deleted? Nope, real-world Pokemon homes and ranches were the way to go.

His mind snapped back to the task at hand as the guy finally logged off. Right... let's do this. He swiped his Trainer Card and waited as the machine signed him in.

Welcome back, Jack, the text on the screen read. He reached out and pushed Send Mail.

Dear Parents,
As you no doubt have realised, I am on the road, raising Pokemon as a trainer. While I know that you disapprove of this lifestyle, I have already found greater friends and experiences than I ever did back at Saffron, or even in Pyrite Town.
Unfortunately, Kingston - you would know him better as Larvitar, though he has evolved since then - and I have not proven to be a match made in heaven. It is with regret that I am sending him back home, where I know he will be much happier. You were always his favourite, Mom.
I hope everything is well back home.
Jack

He placed the Premier Ball onto the transfer pad. Safe travels, Kingston. After a moment's hesitation, he hit Send.
"Sorry, Whitney," he muttered as the big blue SENT text bounced around on the screen. "Couldn't do it."

He was in such a deep funk leaving the Pokemon Centre that he almost didn't hear the announcer over the PA. "AAAAAND Samuelle Park arrives! Sorry for the delay, ladies and gentlemen!"
Sam's match was up next? Jack swore under his breath and ran towards the stadium.

Kent| 9:20am|Cianwood Tournament Dome

"Will Kent Walker please report to Block B for his battle. Kent Walker to Block B." Kent's eyes peeled away from the battle scene. What the hell? Kent was supposed to be the last match, so he thought. Kent jumped into the air and was about t sprint away when Jack crashed into him. "Oh hey Jacky Boy!" Kent patted him on the back. "I gotta go get to my battle, so," Kent pulled two Pokeballs from his belt. "Poli and Glide are gonna take my place for Sam's cheer squad. Watch em' for me, kay?" Jack gave a blank stare and Kent just gave a wink and sprinted off.

Kent dashed out of the dome and realized there was a another door. A side dome. No wonder this was one day. Seemed odd to Kent how they could have that many battles so quickly. Kent dove through the small space and ran to the battle field. There was a loud snapping sound and a red flash blinded Kent, in his dazed state he stumbled to the floor and rolled away. A foot roughly kicked him to a stop and someone fell to the ground. "Ouch, oh crap I got ketchup on my shirt. Don’t panic Andrew, Don’t panic you got a spare. It will be fine!"

Kent laughed. "Andrew? Wow, that was fast. Wasn’t planning to see you until at least Olivine," Kent pulled his panicked friend up. "Of course it was you. Kent, get some manners! And some water...wait I mean get on the field, you got a battle!"

"Wait, I need to get RU, he got out of his Pokeball!"

"Don’t worry, I'll find him. You fight! Now!" Andrew shoved Kent back towards the field and Kent took off running.

"And it seems our new comer has arrived. Two late in what, ten minutes? Unheard of!" The annoying chuckle of the announcer echoed through the dome as Kent dusted himself off. He didn't care if he was late: he was gonna win.

"In the first B-block match up we have Kent Walker of Blackthorn City. Son of the famous Dragon Breeder Joesph Walker! And Josh, also from Blackthorn! He made a name for himself in the last Silver Conference, achieving the top sixteen! We should be looking at an intriguing match today folks!"

A screen light up above them. Three boxes were under Kent's and Johs's pictures, and a spinner between those. The spinner began to flash green and red, to decide who would start in first. Kent scrapped him memory in these few seconds. Josh, he knew Josh...he specialized in something...what was it...ground! Oh crap, ground.

Kent glanced at Veon's Pokeballs. Crap. Crap. Crap. He had to leave Poli with Jack. Kent gulped, he was up first. Well, might as well start off strong. "Mamo, you know what to do!" Josh smiled and threw down his own Pokeball. “Camerupt, time to shake things up!”

“Start this thing up with Mist!” Kent called out. Mamo called out a nasty cry and a blast of dew blasted from his mouth. The entire field was covered in the thick fog. “Now, use Ancient power, and freeze it with ice beam!” With a mighty thump five shadows burst through the top of the mist, followed by a ghostly beam, the frost covered orbs broke apart upon being frozen and fell to the ground. Kent ordered Mamo to use Endure as the rocky/hail storm began.

“Camerupt, use flamethrower and blast them back to Mamoswine!” There was sizzling crackle in the hidden battle scene as Camerupt attempted to ignite a flame. The mist around it just put it out before it could appear, thickening the field with a heavy steam. Camerupt cried in pain as the hail pounded away at it.” Mamo, suck the mist away!” Kent called. He was smiling, thinking he had just taken the lead.

When the mist had cleared the damage of the hail storm had been revealed. The entire field had been pummeled with craters the size of Pupitar. Mamo was panting heavily, a large chunk of craters surrounded it, Endure had let it hold on, but barley. Camerupt seemed fine, however. Kent was awestruck…how the. No. No time to worry about that. “Mamo, return. Take a rest, I’ll need you later.” Mamo disappeared, replaced by an eager Lax. “Lax, use Zen Headbutt!” The little blob charged forward with amazing speed and rammed into Camerupt. The beast stood its ground and launched Lax into the sky. Kent swore. “Body Slam!” Kent commanded. “Camerupt! Use Flamethrower!”

Kent closed his eyes, ready to see Lax blown back into the air and knocked out. Kent had to get this dude, eh? There was a booming thump, followed by a wild groan. Kent opened his eyes and stood in shock. Lax was standing next to Camerupt, jiggling wildly from his drop. How had he survived that? “And it looks as if Munchlax has used its ability: Thick Fat. This allows him to take minimal damage from fire and ice type attacks! Amazing choice by Kent!”

Camerupt struggled to stand back up and Kent acted fast. “Lax, use Gunk Shot on the ground!”

“An interesting move by Kent. What in the world would be the point of…oh I see. Munchlax has used Gunk shot and launched itself into the air. But what now?”

The blob, still flying into the air looked to Kent for instructions. “Lax, do a straight fall down, with Zen head butt. And charge yourself with thunder punch!” The Blob began to spin, head glowing a blue-pink from Zen head butt, followed by lightning hands jets. Camerupt was helpless and Lax’s super speed head butt knocked it out of consciousness. Lax staggered away from the scene, unevenly stepped on himself. That attack had given more recoil than it seemed, and Lax was barley in it still. “Lax, use rest!” The blob nodded and fell asleep in a heap. His body glowed softly for a moment before a bit of the damage faded. The announcer pointed out the obvious flaw in the strategy here, Lax couldn’t fight when asleep.

Josh’s next Pokemon just made Kent laugh. Out of any Pokemon he could of chosen: Flygon. Kent knew them inside and out, this would be easy.

“Flygon, use Sonic Boom!”

“Lax, sleep talk!” Kent watched as Josh almost fell on his ass. Lax, still asleep popped up off his own ass and charged across the field. Unlucky for Kent, however, the randomness of sleep talk had brought him Thunder Punch. Flygon charged in with another Sonic Boom, but Lax jumped over onto Flygon. His cackling arm bounced off of Flygon pointlessly. “Sleep talk, once more!” Kent cried and Lax got Thunder Punch, again. Flygon did a spin in the air and Lax fell to the ground, splattered against the dirt before snapping back. His eyes popped open and gave a yawn. Woot.

“Lax, use Zen Head Butt!” Lax charged towards Flygon once more, head glowing bright. It easily flew into the air and let Lax fall to the ground. “Use Dragon Claw!” Josh commanded. “Lax, use Zen Head Butt!” Josh scoffed at this and ordered Flygon to raise height. “Now, Lax, latch onto Flygon’s tail and use it like a swing!”

Josh called out for a Sonic Boom to knock Lax away. Using the tail’s movement for Sonic Boom, Lax jumped onto Flygon’s back and grounded Flygon. Kent smiled and was about to call out Gunk Shot to finish Flygon off when Lax rolled towards him. “It seems the Sonic Boom landed it’s hit on Munchlax. But just too late!” Kent swore and returned Lax.

“Veon, just a little more to go!” Josh burst put laughing. Yes, it was odd to use an electric type, but Kent knew what he was doing with dragon types. “Veon, use discharge, then Pin Missile and swift on it!”

The blast of discharge flew right at Flygon, Josh still laughing, not bothering to call out a move. The stars and needles raced through the blast of lightning. Josh began to realize what was happening, but way too late. The swift and pin missile, now super charged with lightning sped towards Flygon. The first round sent it spinning off guard, then the next hit it off guard with some damage. Flygon was about to get up and charge in when discharge caught up, now an electric net, wrapping around Flygon and trapping it. Kent finished Flygon off with a barrage of swift and Josh returned it.

“Well it seems Kent is quite then rookie trainer. Though now surprise from the famous breeder’s son,” Kent brought back a panting Veon. Mao returned to the battle field and Josh brought out a frightening Tyranitar. Mamoswine didn’t tak3e long to finish it off. Ice beam, Avalanche, and bam it was down. Kent found it to be an Anti-Climantic end to the battle: A Power House Pokemon taken down so easily, when the whole fight had been so close. Boring.

Kent stopped down from the stage, determined to find Andrew and Ru. But before he could get there he was taken to the in building Pokemon Center to have his Pokemon healed. “Look, I got to get my Pokem--”

“Hey, Kent, right?” Kent turned around to see a kid. Automatically he felt it was a familiar face, a bit older than him. Kent nodded while he thought. “You ever been in a contest.” Kent laughed.

“Nope. I’m a battler, dude,” Kent smiled. “Beside, that is for sissies.”

“Sissies, eh?” The kid pulled out a case, revealing three, bright colored ribbons. Kent awkwardly avoided his eyes. “Look, Kent. I saw those moves you had out there. The Ancient Power Hail, Zen Head butt with thunder rockets, the discharge net. Those are coordinator combos. You got some talent for it. Trust me.”

He turned around, leaving a pamphlet for Kent. Kent tucked it away before grabbing his Pokeballs and dashing to find Andrew and Ru.

Tyler Cohen | Santa Olivia Arena | 9:30AM

"Jesus fucking Christ," Jack coughed out, shielding the top of his head with a battle tent brochure. Jerri had freaked out and was climbing under the seats to avoid being struck down by the earthquake. Still spaced out, I stayed back in my seat, watching the ground of the battlefield split apart into stalagmites. Magcargo was struggling to keep away from the explosive power, but the cracking rocks were overtaking him swiftly.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please remain c-c-zzzz....calm!" The announcer squeaked through the intercom as the lights flashed. Dust flew into the air as a roaring grumble of a wounded Magcargo filled the stadium. Minutes passed, and then the dust cleared.

"Ma-Magcargo is unable to battle! Point to Samuelle Park!"

The trainer opposite of Sam held out a Pokeball, utterly shocked by the swift outcome of the battle. He recalled the sleeping Pokemon and nodded. "Alright, then." His voice echoed through the stadium through a microphone to which he was wired. Jack and Jerri climbed from their hiding places and peered out onto the battlefield.

"Holy crap," Jerri deadpanned, watching the field intensely. The crowd hushed in unison just as the fire trainer released his next Pokemon: a black Charmeleon.

I'm sure it was all at once--it had to be, but all three of us in the stands dropped our jaws in a sudden "Wow."

The tension thickened in the stadium as the trainer began. "Charmeleon, use Metal Claw!"

The black lizard hopped into action and rammed his shining claws into Rhyhorn's back before it could move. I guessed that it was a sacrifice for being such an almighty powerhouse of a Pokemon. Rhyhorn recoiled back and rammed a sharp horn into Charmeleon's stomach, sending him flying back.

"Rhyhorn, horn attack again!"

The gray beast charged ahead, his spikes pointed outward as he lunged at Charmeleon. Charmeleon was quicker, though, and charged up a Metal Claw just in time to ram it under Rhyhorn's belly for a critical hit. And to the ground, the beast fell.

The entire stadium gasped for breath, imagining the pain of the Rhyhorn. I turned to Jack and Jerri and looked at their eyes, both filled with stunned worry.

"Rhyhorn is unable to battle! Point to Thomas!" The announcer seemed a bit more confident about this announcement. The crowd cheered and Sam tried her best to shrug it off. So she signaled for a group of workers to haul Rhyhorn off the field before she looked at her two remaining Pokemon. And, with a nod, she released Shellgon onto the stage.

"Ladies and gentlemen, you're witnessing history! For the first time in tournament history, a member of the Salamence family has graced our stadium!"

Kite glared at the Charmeleon, who was still hobbling around weakly. I guessed Rhyhorn had given it a better licking than I thought.

"Dragonbreath!" Sam shouted out and Kite charged forward, releasing a brilliant plume of purple flames around the Charmeleon. The fiery lizard writhed back in pain, but stopped hobbling as it let out a deafening cry, followed by a blast of Dragon Rage.

"Can... Can Charmeleons use dragon rage?" I looked at Jack and Jerri, who both shrugged.

"It can when it's close to evolving..." I turned around, taken aback by Kent's sudden appearance. "So that Charmeleon using Dragon Rage means that this fight is about to get much more interesting."

We all looked back down to the field where Shellgon was bracing for the impact, enduring the terrifying hit. And, just as the flames ceased on both sides, the Charmeleon began to glow.

"Oh Christ," I murmured.

"Oh Jesus," Jack whispered.

"Oh yes!" Kent shouted.

The Charmeleon let out a cry before enveloping itself in light, growing under the cloak of energy. As it grew, its cry began to deepen and, in under a minute, he stood tall and strong, a brilliant black Charizard.

And, throughout the stadium, a roaring applause soared above every other noise. Up from the ground Charizard rose, flapping its mighty wings and stirring up a sandstorm. "Charizard, use fire blast!" Thomas sneered and the crowd roared, but Sam had a trick up her sleeve.

"Shelgon, Zen Headbutt!"

The white-shelled dragon spun together in a flash of many colors before charging forward off the ground. The protective coating around it blasted through the fire attack and straight into Charizard's belly, knocking him off-kilter. The already-injured Charizard flapped backwards before hobbling to the ground to catch its balance.

"So a newborn Charizard isn't really cut out for perfect flight," I mused, eating a bite of the popcorn Kent held. Distracted, I turned and looked at him curiously. "How'd your battle go?"

He held out his trainer card with a red V marked for Victory on one of the accomplishment rows. I nodded and ate more popcorn before checking the stage again.

"Kite, give him a Dragon Pulse!" Kite rebounded and opened his mouth, blasting out a plume of dark fire that consumed the Charizard and took it to the ground, unconscious.

"Point to Samuelle Park! This may be our last battle, ladies and gentlemen!"

Thomas recalled Charizard and nodded to Sam, recognizing her brilliance.

"It'll be a Rapidash," Jerri murmured, and the other three of us turned to give her a curious glance. She looked back at us and shrugged. "I just have a feeling."

Kent scoffed and shook his head. "No way a champ like Thomas would have a thing like Rapidash on his team."

"Rapidash, go!"

"............"

Jerri grinned and stole Kent's popcorn, crossing her legs indian-style in her seat as she watched the final match.

"This is it, ladies and gentlemen! Can Rapidash pull a victory out of the hat for Thomas? Let's watch and find out!"

Sam, at this point, was completely composed and assured. She had this. She knew she had this.

"Kite, let's start it off with a crunch!" Kite ran forward at top-speed and latched onto Rapidash's spine, sinking his teeth deep into the nerves before it could escape. With a wild cry of anguish, it bucked back and forth, cringing as it kicked Kite off of its back and to the ground, out cold.

Sam bit down on her lip, but nodded. It was all in due time, after all.

"Point to Thomas!"

She recalled Kite and looked at her last Pokeball. Blaze.

I was unsure why, but before she released her last Pokemon, she stared ahead into the stands right behind Thomas. I tried to follow her eyes, but saw nothing but a single red ballcap in the middle of a sea of white faces. And Sam nodded before tossing the ball onto the field for the last time. "Go, blaze!"

The tiny Charmander popped onto the field happily, dancing around when it saw Sam. She gave it a smile and nodded to it. Blaze, determined to winturned around and glared at the staggering Rapidash. Thomas gave a quick order that I didn't catch and Rapidash charged forward with flames in its mouth. But Sam, for some reason, didn't call out an order.

It was like she had it all under control; like she had so much faith.

And when Rapidash released the flames around Blaze and engulfed him, but Sam just nodded. "Blaze! Flamethrower!"

"Chaaaar...." The tiny lizard released a sudden plume of flames out around Rapidash, engulfing both of them in a storm of flames. Neither relinquished any power, but something shifted suddenly, and Rapidash ran back as the flames around it turned crimson red.

"Charmeleon!" We all jerked our heads back to Charmander...who...

"Wow! Ladies and gentlemen, for the first time in tournament history, two evolutions have taken place in the same battle! Charmander just evolved into a Charmeleon! The battle just got more heated!"

Charmeleon dashed forward without a command and held out its claws, slashing down Rapidash's throat and sending it to the ground, out cold.

"Point, set, and match to Samuelle Park!"

The crowd got incredibly quiet and just watched in awe as sparkling confetti fell around Sam and Blaze. But then, after it started as a slow-clap and a gasp, a roaring applause filled the coliseum.

And, for the first time in her life, Sam received her own glory.

Kent| Cianwood Tournament Dome|10:15am

“Tell Sam good job from me,” Kent said. “I have to go hunt down Ru. A friend held it for me during my battle.” Tyler nodded and Kent took off.

The way there he couldn’t help but be impressed. Sam has really grown, sure the battle was close, but the shere fact her Pokemon were un-par with a league victor was impressive. He couldn’t give her grief about not being a good trainer anymore. Kent knew Andrew was in B-Block, so he went there right away.


“On one side we have the lovely Sierra Stone! The Icy Beauty of Cianwood! A crowd favorite for the tournament! And on the other we had Andrew Johnson, another rookie, hailing from Violet city! But as the last battle proved, anything can happen! The first move goes to Andrew!”

“Togi! Battle stance!”

“Jynx, your turn!”

“Togi, solar beam!”

Togetic flew up into the air and her wings began to glow. Jynx stood helpless on the ground, preparing for the worse. Togetic began to free fall to the ground, glowing with energy. It landed in front of Jynx, who stood in shock by the display. “Now, blast them!” The glowing aura around her burst into a beam and Jynx was thrown into the air. “Now, follow it up with Ariel Ace!” The fairy disappeared in a dash, a mere flash of white.

“Sing!” Sierra commanded. Jynx let a blast of notes at the incoming bullet. The blur slowed down instantly, falling toward the ground. Jynx dove down after it, mouth opened wide, ready to suck the dreams from it as nourishment. Jynx clamped onto Togetic, life draining from the fairy like a stream of water, into Jynx. Glwoing with power Jynx waited for her next command. “Finish it off with Wake up Slap!.” “Jiiiiin! Jiiiinex!” Jynx readied her massive hands and began to pound away at Togetic, the fairy helplessly laid there, half awake, half numb fro pain. “Togetic is unable to battle! First point to Sierra of Cianwood!”

Andrew brought back Togetic without a word. “Snover, battle stance!” “Snooooor! Sno-Sno!”

Andrew wasted no time charging into battle. “Skull Bash!” Snover drilled his head into her gut, pushing her into the air. “Now, you Energy Hammer!” A black ball began to form in front of Snover, expanding to the size of a grapefruit before blasting into the air. Snover jumped up after it, his arm turning green and growing twice in size. Jynx had began to fall by now, after a nasty hit to the ceiling.

“Jynx, end it now with Perish song!” Jynx rolled away from the energy ball and began to sing, again. This time the notes were not colorful, nor soothing. They weredakr, ominous tones, grief hung in the air. A thick blast of sound sent Snover flying back to the ground.

“It seems Sierra has a lot of confidence! Perrish song not only K.Os your oppents Pokemon, but your own a after time! But with two Pokemon left, and Andrew left with one spare she has a right to that confiedence! What will Andrew do?”

“Simple….no fucking clue…” Andrew grabbed his final Pokeball, ready for Snover to fall.

“Andrew, don’t give up! Snover can still take care of Jynx! Don’t let the timer command you!”

Andrew glanced down to see Kent yelled up to him. “It seems Andrew is getting some Side Line advice from an unknown ally. Will this turn the tide? It seems so!”

“Snover, Use Skull Bash to get close to Jynx!” Snover sprinted forward like a bullet. Jynx was still counting the seconds till she conked out. Snover rammed into Jynx, this time grabbing on instead of throwing her into the air. “Now use Giga Drain!” Snover’s arms turned a bright green and vines entangled Jynx. Jynx rived in pain and Snover sucked the energy away from her. “Now, finish h her with Energy Bal-”

“Snover and Jynx have fallen prey to Perish song! One point to each side!” Andrew sighed and returned Snover. “Great job buddy.”

“Cloyster, let’s finish this quick!”

“Shock, battle stance!”

“Andrew has taken a smart path, using type advantage for his final stand off! But as we know type isn’t everything in battling!”

“Shock, use Charge Beam !And chase it with a super fang!”

“Cloyster Iron Defense!”

Shock jumped into the air and sent an arch of electricity at Cloyster, who sat inside of it’s shell with a nearly unbreakable shield. Riding the beam like a wave Shock slid towards Cloyster. Unable to pierce the shell Shock retreated.

“Cloyster, Spike Cannon!” Andrew shut his eyes. Cloyster began to spin, sending out pikes in every direction of the field. A storm of war. Shock took them all head on, unable to dodge a single one. “Cloyster wins, giving Sierra the win!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Ruuuuuu?" The baby-ghost sat on Kent's shoulder, looking over at Andrew. He was looking at the ground, kicking at the ground.

“Hey, chin up Andrew! It was one lo-” Andrew pushed Kent away.

“No, it was how I lost it!” Andrew was furious. “I couldn’t get a single win! The only reason I got a point was because of Perish Song! Her attack! don’t try and make me feel better that was pathetic, you know it.”

“It really was,” Kent and Andrew turned to see a sadly familiar face. “How you got a badge from here dumbfounds me. Either you have dumb luck, or Chuck is easier than I thought he was. Probably both.”

“Hey Cody,” Kent said, holding back rage. “don’t you have to go crash a HAAB?” ***Humans Against Abusive Battling**

“Funny.” Cody turned his attention back to Andrew. “That Snover of your’s has potential. But it is ruined on a pathetic trainer like you. Takemy advice, give it up. Even the sad sack next to your could train it better.”

“Why I outta!” Kent jumped at Cody. “You little piece of shit!” kent pushed Cody against the wall, one hand holding him, the other one ready to punch.

“Go ahead, not like you have the guts to do it. Or skills to do it right.”

Kent’s eyes filled with rage. His nostrils flared. His veins pumped ten fold. “Kent, what the hell are you doing?” Kent was jerked backwards suddenly. “If you’re caught fighting you’re disqualified.” Tyler and Jack were hovering over Kent, keeping him from puncing on Cody.

“So? If it means getting that little s-”

“Which would you rather do? Get him, or prove to him that he is wrong?” Tyler said. “He’s up against you next, I saw the roaster.” Kent looked away for a moment.

“…Fine..” Kent pushed himself up and dusted himself off. Cody was gone when he brought his gaze up.

“Who was that anyway?” Jack asked.

“Some jackass who needs to be taken down a notch?” Kent said. He was breathing heavily, trying to bring his pulse down.

“I didn't know you had a twin,” Tyler joked. Kent ignored this and let his pulse drop.

“Whatever, “ Kent was back to normal. “don’t you two have a match to get to?”

I know it's cheating, but since we have a soundtrack, listen to this song during the battle.

Tyler Cohen | Tourney Ring A | 10:45AM

"Ladies and gentlemen!" The roars and shouts echoed in my ears with each footstep.

"Please take your seats!" The pounding of a bass drum in the audience evaded my attention as I stepped to the gateway.

"For our round-one premier battle!" Out in the stands, an electric guitar flared with soaring notes.

"In the defendant's box, we have our returning third-place champion, Alby Damd from Lavender Town!" There was a roaring and a bass kick in the stands. Slowly, the crowd returned to their normal deafening level.

"And in the opponent's box, we have a newcomer from Olivine City, Tyler Cohen!" The crowd responded wildly, probably due to the news reports. That's right. I was on TV and they all recognized me. I had a right to a big head.

But really, who was I fooling? My face was probably green with nervousness. My hands shook and I tried my best to focus on anything but the people. They were cheering for Alby, after all. So I gathered my thoughts when a bouncer pushed me out of the gateway and onto the battle walkway up to the opponent's box. Once the gate closed, the crowd roared again as a click echoed through the stands.

Off went the lights.

My heart and soul sank beneath twenty-thousand leagues of sunless ocean and I clasped my nervous hand over my wrist to keep my composure. An evil laugh roiled through the blinded room and chills berated my spine. But I sucked in a breath and closed my eyes (which really did nothing to my problem) and imagined myself in a more comforting place. A place without technical difficulties and a place with lights.

And another click roared through the battlefield. But the lights, they didn't come back on.

Alby laughed and snapped his fingers. At least, I think it was Alby. And just like that, neon lights on the battlefield awoke from a deep slumber with a low-C hum. The lights didn't do much, but they illuminated the battle field. And that's when I realized that the field was in Alby's favor.

Third-place champion. Of course.

With a wicked grin, the white-haired opponent of mine released his first Pokemon onto the field out of a Dusk ball. And without a sound, a ghastly-white Absol took the field with stunning grace. I closed my eyes and swallowed my anxiety and clutched Seadra's Pokeball for release, but stopped. Opening my eyes, I peered out and into the red eyes of the pokemon ahead of me. Something in his eyes...

So Seadra went back to my belt and I moved one pokeball forward, picking out Haunter. With a bright flash, he came out onto the field and a few snickers ran through the crowd.

"What a gutsy move by challenger Tyler! Or maybe a foolish move, considering that Dark-types are very powerful against Ghost-types!"

I really didn't understand what I was doing at that point, but I was seemingly hypnotized by the lure in the Absol's eyes. The beast made no move; nor did Haunter. The strip-lights on the stage flashed from red to an eerie green and Alby threw out a finger. "Absol! Give him a Scary Face!"

The Absol stood down in a low crouch, seemingly meditating for less than a second before the lights on the stage began to shift colors again to a haunting violet. The Absol drew in a breath and the lights around the stage began to dim as his eyes began to shine the same color. Haunter drifted a few inches from side to side, but did nothing. Alby seemed disturbed by the ineffectiveness, but did nothing about it. Absol released its hold on the lights and gave a quick glance back to Alby as I just grinned.

"Haunter, give Absol a good haunting!" The ghost vanished from sight, drawing power from the darkness in the air before two sinister rays shot from invisible eyes, locking dead-on to Absol's face. The creature slumped to the ground, asleep, as Haunter lowered himself over him. Haunter opened his mouth and began to sing in an unknown key, sending chills down my spine. Even though I knew what he was doing, it was frightening.

Nightmare. Stage two.

The Absol began to shake in its sleep as it wrestled against something unseen. Haunter chuckled to himself before looking back at me and held up three ghostly fingers. I nodded.

Haunter took a deep gasp of air before prying open Absol's mouth and pouring in nearly a liter of toxic-spit into the sleeping Pokemon's throat. After that, Haunter just flew up into the invisible part of the arena and waited. Alby looked nervous--really nervous. Absol kicked and winced and fought against himself on the floor as the poison and the unseen phantom continued to wear on his body.

And suddenly, Absol grew very, very still.

The shock of the announcer's voice was pain-staking in the unlit arena.

"Point to Cohen!"

Alby withdrew Absol and shook his head, his empty eyes staring straight into mine. He didn't reach for a Pokeball; he reached for his lapel mic. "Tyler, let's give these people a real battle, shall we?"

And the pressure under all that ocean got much heavier.

The audience roared with applause for Alby and I shuffled in my own little box, just wanting the battle to be over. A real battle? So my method of winning wasn't good enough... I bit down on my lip and waited.

"Well, Tyler?"

Hesitantly, I reached down to my side and turned on the lapel mic, feigning a grin. "Fine, Alby. If you want to burn that much more in your loss, then so be it."

Alby nodded. "Well, speaking of burning, Tyler..." From his side he produced another Dusk ball and released it onto the field in a wave of heat. From the ball erupted a larger-than-normal Houndoom, snarling and breathing out smoke. I tensed and settled everything in my head down to normal places. Over the speakers, I could hear my breathing.

Haunter, he floated down from the ceiling and tried another Hypnosis attack, but missed as Houndoom dodged and spewed out a torrent of searing flames into Haunter's face.

And in one hit, Haunter fainted.

The audience gasped in unison and the tension grew in the room. Twenty-thousand leagues under the ocean, an eel swam by. Tense, anxious, and in the stadium, I nearly fainted as I recalled Haunter.

Alby gave a hardy laugh and grinned across the field. His image distorted through the intense heat Houndoom spewed into the air. A bead of sweat formed on my cheek.

So back to Seadra.

The light from the ball produced a Pokemon that was blue. The switch I pressed in my tiny box released the floor tiles that were gray around my side of the battlefield which was dark, giving way to a deep pool of water which was multicolored. And the Pokemon that was blue took one look at the Houndoom before letting out a battlecry, ready for whatever I could dish out to him. So it was my turn and, without hesitation, I called out order number one: "Waterfall!" Seadra leaped into action and dove beneath the colorful water, vanishing from sight.

Alby hesitated, unsure of how to react. "Houndoom...brace yourself."

I grinned and decided to do some taunting. "Hey Alby, isn't that TM94?"

The white-haired boy, who I decided then looked just like his Absol, shook his head. "You're going down, Cohen!"

And before he could finish saying 'hen', plumes of water surged upwards around Houndoom, bursting through the floor tiles. The beast was taken up in a push of water and seemed to be drowning just before catching sight of Seadra beneath the waves. So, without an order, Houndoom released a stream of black energy through the waterfall and into the snout of Seadra, sending it bobbling up to the surface, unconscious.

Dark Pulse, I thought, and watched as Houndoom came crashing down, unconscious as well.

The announcer waited this time before the on-stage referee gave him a yellow flag. "Both Houndoom AND Seadra are unconscious simultaneously! Points to both Alby and Tyler!"

Both Pokemon vanished from the field and the system dismantled the remaining (unbroken) floor tiles, leaving just water on the battlefield. So both Alby and I released our final Pokemon at the same time and another huge gasp filled the crowd.

Two Crawdaunts.

"Jesus Christ," I murmured, but heard myself in the speakers again. Alby grinned and laughed happily, even going as far as to clap his hands in excitement.

"This'll be good, Tylerboy."

I let out a deep breath and let my heart and soul come up a few thousand leagues before focusing in on the battlefield.

"Crawdaunt... Let's get this started off with a Crabhammer."

"Crawdaunt, use Whirlpool!" Alby's order echoed through the room as the water began to shift in several places on the battlefield. But the attack was interrupted as my Crawdaunt sent the other flying up above the water with his Crabhammer. And, if Crawdaunt had remembered...

Through the waves came a bolt of black lightning as a faint attack landed head-on to the enemy Crawdaunt's face. The shelled beast fell beneath the waves and sank down to the bottom, beneath the viewing surface.

Screens all around the arena came to life to show the underwater battle between the lobsters. The box I stood in jostled before lowering down to the sub-ground level of the battlefield where both Alby and I could look in and control the battle.

"Gumbo, let's keep hammering..." The hollowness of the reverb in the small box was eerily haunting and made me shiver.

Alby on the other side gave a whispered command to Crawdaunt which sounded like Crabhammer as well.

And so the two Crawdaunts began beating eachother mercilessly with their clenched claws, not taking a break to breath in water or anything. The fight raged on for minutes, but seemed to always come out in a draw. And at the same time, both Alby and I changed our orders.

"Gumbo, Vicegrip!"

"Crawdaunt, Guillotine!"

There was a hiccup in the water and in my chest as all the anxiety of the fight compiled into one moment. Guillotine... Could end it all for Crawdaunt. I closed my eyes and held them shut.

I couldn't watch.

I couldn't see how it all ended.

I couldn't let myself watch Crawdaunt hurt so badly.

But the announcer, his voice came over the intercom and shouted to everyone in the arena. "I can't believe it! Tyler's Crawdaunt caught the Guillotine attack by the arm just before it landed, but landed his own critical vice-grip!"

So I opened my eyes and looked out at the sight of two Crawdaunts locked together. Only one, one was unconscious and being held up by the other.

And that other, he was mine.

After a moment of nothingness, the truth set in.

"Tyler Cohen has taken the victory from within an inch of disaster! Ladies and gentlemen, Tyler Cohen wins!"

*Note I'm a day slow for the beginning of this. *

Max- Olivine City|4:30pm

Max took very few breaks on is way to Olvine city. He believed he would find the others here. This was the closest town with a gym. When he got to the gym it was closed and he was told that the gym leader was at Glitter Light house, tending to a pokemon. Max wanted to find his friends but his need to become stronger to fight those team rocket members won out.

He made his way to the light house. He found Jasmine to be pretty in a simplistic way. Nothing like his made up sister. Jasmine had a natural radiance that shined like the lighthouse she watched after. Max shook these thoughts from his head. He had no time to consider her looks and he felt bad about comparing her to his sister.

She was kneeling next to a big yellow pokemon. Max recognized it to be an Amparos. Max had considered getting one himself. It would be a nice electric type to add to his team.

“If you have come for a battle I’m afraid I cannot right now. Amphy is sick and I must attend to him,” Jasmine said.

Max sighed with irritation. He debated attacking her right there and then, forcing her to fight him but the thought died as she spoke again.

“But you can help. Across the sea going west you will find a city by the name of Cinawood. There you will find a medicine that will help Amphy. I would go myself but I really can’t leave his side. So if you can get me this medicine I promise I will battle you.”

“Okay I will do that,” Max said. He left not feeling dejected like before when he was denied the fog badge but determined to find that medicine and come back and earn his second badge. He felt silly for being so lazy all this time. If he had pushed himself like Sam or Kent maybe he could have stopped those team rocket goons.

Max boarded the Santa Olivia and stood and watched as the water passed by as they left port. He watched the water with determined focus. He pictured the flames that had engulfed his home and mentally distinguished them with his mind. He wondered what those people were doing to his sister right now. He could imagine the guy enjoying playing with her using fire. The idea made him sick and he decided to shift his attention to his pokeballs.

“I hope you guys are ready for this,” he whispered. "When we meet those guys again they will pay."

Cianwood| 8:12pm

It was a few hours before the boat reached dock. Max pushed pass the silly people that walked at a leisurely pace. He got off and almost immediately he noticed something was happening. A tournament dome big and bulbous in stature, with hundreds of people flocked around.

Max decided to check that dome out later. His main goal was the gym leader, then he could check out the dome and then he could find the medicine. His mind faltered with all the things he had to do. His old laziness started to creep back up, but he slapped it down like the hand of god. He would no longer be lazy he would be strong…for his sister.

Max made his way to the gym while people blathered on about the tournament which annoyed Max for some reason. Idle talk never used to annoy him, he usually had infinite patience but it was fading quickly. He nearly pushed a girl out of is way that blocked the entrance of the gym as she gossiped about a hot young trainer she wanted to see in the tournament. He avoided the urge to slap her out of the way and simply brushed past the girl and her lollygagging group of lemming friends.

Chuck was a large man, a mix between being obese and muscular. Max approached the gym leader as he hefted a rather large weight over his head. Chuck and smiled and dropped his weight.

“I thought I wouldn’t get any challengers today with the tournament about to begin. Now I have someone to crush. He dropped the weight and picked up a nearby boulder and hurled it across the room. “My pokemon can crush rock and bones your puny pokemon will not be hard.”

Max rolled his eyes bored with the man. He guessed such a statement was supposed to sound scary and intimidate him but it only annoyed him. “Can you just shut up and fight me?”

Chuck raised a eyebrow in surprise “This shall be a four on four battle, and my first choice is…Poliwrath.” He hurled a pokemon forward and a mean looking blue pokemon with fists jumped out.

“MilkDud go,” Max yelled hurling his pokeball.

This first fight was quick wit Poliwrath taking MilkDud out with a series of Hyrdo pumps. Max regained ground when Lady took his Poliwrath which paved the way to victory. Lady could avoid physical attacks, the bread and butter of a fighting type trainer but Max wanted to test himself so he sent out Weeble to fight Hitmonlee.

Max had decided to call his Quagsire Weeble because it reminded him of a weeble wobble. “Weeble go.”

This battle was tougher, which Max liked in the end it was a draw and both Pokemon ended knocking each other out.

The next battle was between his Machoke and Max’s Kabuto. Te battle again was tough but Kabuto used harden to strengthen its resistance and then hit Machoke with a well aimed Aqua jet followed by a series of scratches.

The last fight Max ended quickly with Lady. When Chuck’s final pokemon finally dropped Max felt slightly accomplished.

Chuck said something about his wife, but Max didn’t pay any attention and didn’t care.

“So kid are you going to watch the tournament?”

Max looked up from his new badge wearily. He had no real interest in watching a bunch of silly trainers battling for no purpose but fame and glory. Max would challenge the best and get stronger not silly children playing pokemon who had no clue how cruel the world could be. But he guessed the others would be there as well. He debated leaving them here; they were distractions to his goals. He stood their thinking as Chuck lamented about training harder so he’d never be beaten again. I tried not to point out that he had probably been beaten hundreds of times by the same children that played outside.

“Yes I think I will watch,” Max said to himself not bothering to say it loud enough for Chuck to hear. He’d watch the fights alright and rejoin his team and with them he’d crush Team Rocket. A few extra hands could help in his goals. The tournament was tomorrow and he was going to be there to watch.

Hotel| 9: 45am

Max woke up the next morning, cleaned up and dressed by ten.

When Max got to the Dome it was already starting to fill up. Max sat down in the crowded stands people eating and talking about what they expected to see. A vendor came by and offered Kyle a hot dog but he declined it.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" A announcement boomed through the dome.

"This is going to be so cool," a girl squealed beside him.

He looked at the girl hoping her squeals would subside once the battle began.

Max focused back on the arena.

"In the defendant's box, we have our returning third-place champion, Alby Damd from Lavender Town!" There was a


The girl squealed again and Max considered sicking Lady on her.

"And in the opponent's box, we have a newcomer from Olivine City, Tyler Cohen!"

Max watched Tyler, he being the first of his team that he had seen. He looked slightly sick but he hid it for the most part as the crowd erupted. The girl beside him squealed louder to a level Max didn't think humanly possible. She yanked a sign out of nowhere
Max looked on with shock at the sign.

In bug glittery letters read I heart you Tyler.

Max wondered how the girl ad prepared such a sign. How had she known about Tyler before this. Max didn't spend to much pondering this and looked back to the arena. This was going to be a long day.

(Storm badge earned)

Jack Preston
Tournament
9:05 am

The Crawdaunt underneath dropped the other onto the ground. Jack cheered with the others as Tyler's victory was proclaimed over the loudspeakers.
"Nice one, dude," he exclaimed, gently punching Tyler's shoulder as he climbed the steps to where the group remained seated in the stands. He proceeded to pull out a bag of chips and was just reaching one to his lips when -

"Would Jack Preston and Ralph Wiggum please report to Tournament Block B. Jack Preston and Ralph Wiggum, Tournament Block B."
He didn't even notice the chip and the bag from which it came sail to the floor. All this time he'd been so preoccupied with his friends' matches - and Kingston - he'd completely blown off training his own Pokemon. A party which only just consisted of enough contestants to take part in the tournament. He glanced at his friends, who all gave him thumbs up, and began running towards the tent.
"I don't think I've even seen him battle," Tyler remarked. "Is he any good?"

"My Delcatty's breath smells like cat food," Jack's would-be opponent giggled as they sat in front of the desk where the official looked over their records.
"Ah, Mr Preston," he said after a while, "you don't seem to have filled in a hometown on your application form." He pushed the papers. Jack stared at the empty field.
What was his hometown? He could hardly say he still lived in Saffron... He thought for a second, then scribbled something onto the pad. The official took it back and squinted at it.
"You've come a long way to get here, eh?" He turned to Ralph. "And, uh, Mr Wiggum... instead of your name, you've drawn a picture of a cactus with a hat..."
"This could take a while," he whispered to Jack as Ralph scribbled furiously on the paper. "Your match with Ralph will take place in the main arena at eight PM, ok?" Jack nodded with relief - a chance to catch up with his training! He thanked the man and ran outside.

"Right..." Jack muttered, "we've got the rest of this afternoon, and it's just the four of us..."
Citrus, Fists and Niles stood in a line, watching Jack ponder and pace. The baby Totodile shifted its weight from one foot to the other but didn't make a sound - Jack was giving off a very obvious seriousface vibe.
"What did his profile say? He likes... uh, mittens... and Rock Pokemon... Rock Pokemon!" Jack whispered excitedly to himself. "That gives Fists and Niles an advantage."
He looked around. "And of course, North Cianwood Beach provides hundreds of rocks with which to practise! Right, I want Fists concentrating on his Arm Thrust... and some other punches, mix it up a bit. Niles, for the next hour or so you're going to be dodging Citrus' Discharge strikes. Go!"
The team spent a while on this exercise. Later, Jack had Niles practise using the rocks as cover while Citrus, in Mow Form, sent leaves flying, and Jack himself sparred with Fists, punching it gently to boost its endurance. Finally...
"All right, team. That'll do for training." Jack checked his watch. One hour to the match. "Let's take a break and get some food."

As they began making their way back to the arena, Fists poked Jack in the side. It took Jack a few seconds to notice the rock it was holding in its other hand.
"What's this?" he asked, taking the rock. It wasn't a smooth rock like the ones on most beaches, or crumbly like the ones they'd been training on a minute ago. It had some sort of image, or imprint on it... was it a plant of some kind?
"Where'd you get this?" Fists pointed back at the rocks. "Oh, I see, it was inside one of the rocks you broke open." The Pokemon nodded.
"I think it must be a fossil." Jack muttered with a grin. "Good find, Fists! I hear some places can extract the DNA from these and recreate an ancient Pokemon from it. I'll see if Kent knows anything about it when we see him."
He put it in a special corner of his bag and the team headed back to the mess hall for a well-earned dinner.

Kent Walker| 7:40pm| Cianwood Grill: Pokemon Welcome

“And Tyler Cohen wins! Amazing folks! Now, with that match we will be taking a short intermission, the goings on will return at eight PM sharp. So be ready!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Sro jrat mar jew mis krup new?”

Sam winced. “Please swallow before you talk, Kent.”

Kent took a deep breath and repeated himself. “I said, So, what are you guys up to? Did you get the badge fro Olivine?”

They shook their heads. “We rushed over here,” Jerri said. Kent was still getting used to the sudden addition to their team. She glanced at Tyler for a moment and continued. “And we heard on the boat that the Light House’s Ampharos is sick, again! I wonder why they don’t stockpile medicine there?”

The group chuckled a bit and then Kent glanced around. “So, where is Max?”

“We thought he was with you,” Tyler said. A small ounce of panic rushed over the group. “I hope he’s okay,” Jack whispered. They all nodded.

“Well, there is a contest in a few days, maybe his sister will be in that,” Kent said, hopefully.

“How do you know that?” Sam asked. “Planning on entering?”

‘Actually, yes.”

There was a moment of silence.

“Seriously?” Tyler said and burst out laughing. “Sorry, but that is priceless!”

Kent shrugged. “Some dude told me about it. Said my combos were perfect.” Kent picked Ru up from the floor, where all the Pokemon were gathered, munching on their own lunch. “Plus, Ru here could use some training.”

“I’m doing it too,” Sam suddenly blkurrted out. “If you can, so can I.”

“Well then, I’ll see you there,” Kent chuckled. “But first, I want to see one of you guys in the finals!” They all cheered. “To the finals!”

"But, of course means Jack needs to win!" Kent cheered. "You think you can do it?"

Jack looked away form a moment. "I guess...I can do it." Jack went from uneven to rather confident. The way all trainers should be.

"That's the spirit!" Sam cheered. "Now, let's finish up and head to the stadium, we don't want to miss you win."



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Wow…that dude made it to Cianwood?” Tyler had a look of pure shock.

“Who?” Sam and Kent said at once.

“Ralph. I saw him when I went to Violet City. He almost ate his badge,,” Tyler earned a big laugh from Kent. “He apparently can train really well…but…”

“But he couldn’t tell an apple from a parrot?” Kent suggested.

“You mean Apple and Orange,” Sam corrected.

“Now, that makes no sense. Fruit, simple to compare,” Kent smiled as his fail of a joke.

“Well, let’s see if Jack can do it,” Tyler said and grabbed Kent’s Popcorn, again. Kent mumbled “Moocher.” under his breath.

Jerri | 7:50pm | Cianwood ~ Tournament Block B:

Eevee sat on my lap while we watched Jack's battle begin. It was beginning early, but that didn't really matter. His battle was starting. I grinned when Tyler stole Kent's popcorn.

"He can do it," I said. The others stared at me and Kent laughed.

"You psychic now or something?" Kent asked, stealing his popcorn back. He returned his attention to the battle that was beginning.

"Err...no," I muttered just as an announcement echoed through the stadium.

"Jerriana Blackthorne and Steven Winters to Tournament Block A, please. Jerriana Blackthorne and Steven Winters to A please."

I sighed and gave Eevee's pokeball to Tyler. "Watch her for me?" I asked and stood up, Eevee in my arms. I put her down on my seat and stepped back. "Stay here, Eevee. I gotta go."

Tyler and the others watched me go. Kent was too busy watching Jack. I shook my head and checked my Pokeballs. Three; Haunter, Growlithe and Vulpix, now a Ninetails. I grinned and looked up.

"See ya after the battle," I called as I ran off, heading for A.

Tournament Block A ~ 8:00pm:

"And here's our champion from Fuchsia City, Steven Winters." The crowd roared loudly. I winced. Wonderful, they loved him. "And here's our newcomer from Ecruteak City, Jerriana Blackthorne." Surprisingly, there was cheering from the crowd. I looked around to see myself on the big screen and about half the crowd cheering. Well...okay.

Steven was standing opposite me when I returned my attention to the arena. He grinned and turned his mic on.

"You ready?" he asked and his voice echoed around the arena. The crowd fell silent. I just grinned and nodded, fingering my pokeballs. Who was he going to send out first?

"Go, Kadabra!"

I chuckled and threw out Haunter; my mic was already on. Steven frowned and then ordered his Kadabra to use Psychic. The attack hit Haunter. Kadabra's attack finished; Haunter was drifting closer to the ground but otherwise seemed okay. I pursed my lips, thinking. Then...

"Haunter, Hypnosis!" I yelled.

Haunter floated close to Kadabra. I watched as Haunter moved from side to side and then Kadabra just fell over, asleep. I met Steven's gaze over his sleeping pokemon. Haunter drifted away silently. My opponent didn't look happy.

"Haunter," I said and Steven's gaze narrowed. I didn't take my eyes off his. "Nightmare."

Haunter moved closer to the sleeping Kadabra and drifted around it. The sleeping pokemon started thrashing about, as if he were having a bad dream. I waited, and waited. Haunter drifted back to me. Steven broke our staring competition off first to check on his pokemon.

Steven swore and then fell silent. He waited a moment and suddenly Kadabra just stopped moving.

"Kadabra is unable to battle."

Steven sighed and returned his pokemon to it's pokeball. He threw out an Espeon. I sighed and look at Haunter. He was not going to like me. I flicked my mic off and waved him closer. Haunter drifted closer to me.

"Curse," I told Haunter in a low voice. He stared at me as if to say; 'Are you sure?' I nodded and Haunter drifted away. I clicked my mic back on. "Haunter, you know what to do."

Haunter used Curse. Espeon hesitated, and then Steven ordered his pokemon to use Cut. Haunter fainted before Espeon even reached it, and Espeon flinched, backing off to be closer to Steven.

"Haunter is unable to battle."

I winced and returned Haunter to his pokeball. I fingered my last two pokeballs. Gowlithe or Ninetails? I grabbed a pokeball and sent out Growlithe. Steven and I watched each other, waiting for the next move.

Kent Walker| 8:20pm| Cianwood Tournament Dome


“He should start of with Citrus,” Tyler stated as they tried to get Ralph onto the field.

“Why the heck would he do that? Rock type trainer!” Kent almost laughed. “Sure it has a good move in three its forms, but those are pretty hard to make hit. Plus leaf storm is a real drain.”

“I know, I know,” Tyler took a big gulp of soda and continued. “But if he starts off with it he can sort of scope out the Pokemon. And if it can take out even one, the other two will have an easier time.”

“I guess… and stop stealing my god damn popcorn!”

“Here at--Guys, what is that over there?” all three of them turned their heads to a corner behind the bleachers. It was just barley visible, but the light from the screen below light it up like the fourth of July. “…Is that Team Rocket.”

“I can’t tell,” Sam squinted her eyes, staring intently at it. “Too far away.”

“Casper, help us out,” Tyler let the ghostly shadow out. It drifty away from their seats and disappeared. A few seconds later it reappeared, nodded. “Haun! Haaa-Ha!”

“Thanks Casper, I’ll get you later when we need you, return for now.” Again it disappeared.

~~~~~~~~~~~

“Where the hell did they go?” Kent and Tyler looked around franticly for the terroists.

“They must of seen use coming and ran away,” Tyler said.

“Over here!” Sam gestured to a loose plank. Tyler grabbed onto the other side and the two pulled it away, making a small opening for them to creep into.

“What do you three think you are do….Tyler?”

“Sierra?” Tyler was taken a back.

The trio was met with a young girl, the same age as them. She was pale, with sweet grey eyes, an almost calming gaze from the color alone. Her hair looked as if the light has molded around her, a pretense grey-blond, falling on to her shoulder. She looks liked an ice sculpture, dazzled in sparkling light.

“Well hello Miss,” Kent walked over to Sierra, about to grab her hand. “The name is Kent. Ke-”

She pushed passed him, and over to Tyler. “Did you three see those goons too?” He nodded.

“We were going to sneak over there under the bleachers,” Sam said. “you’re not going to stop us, are you?

She looked away, and then to Tyler briefly. “Are you?” He repeated. She shook her head. “Good,” Tyler said with a smile and ducked away, Sam followed and Kent waited for Sierra.

“Ladies first,” Kent said, though growing impatient. She hesitated a moment, disgusted by the filthy, cob-web infested underground. She finally shook away the feeling and pressed onward. Kent followed with ease and closed the hole back up.

“So…how are we going to see down here?” Kent asked.

“Easy,” Tyler said. His expression unknown.”Casper, use flash!” A bright blast of red filled the room, followed by an intense bean of white light. Haunter radiated like a Light bulb

“Niiiiiiice,” Kent replied. “But, um can you tone it down a bit, starting to hurt.” Haunter’s light turned feint, enough to see around.

“So..Sierra, right? Sierra, you were the girl who beat my friend Andrew, right?”

She nodded. “He was rather…easy.” Kent nodded.

“Doesn’t make me feel to great, though,” Kent said. “He beat me pretty bad the other day. And sinse we’re in the same block…well by order…ya know?”

She didn’t know.

~~~~~~~~~~~

“Haunter, turn your light off!” Tyler hissed his command as they began to hear noise. The group had come to a little cellar door, an old lock lay on the ground, replaced by a new, sleek black one with a bright red R on it. “I bet this leads under the field.”

“Okay, so on the other side of this Team Rocket is there,” Kent said. “Veon, get ready to fight!” The others followed suit, releasing a battler of their own.

“Sneasel , I need you!”

“Blaze, time to fight!”

Casper hung in the air, still glowing. “Sneasel, slash!” The bleacher’s wall was sliced into a neat square, and the plank fell away.

“What was that?” There was a commotion below as the plank tumbled down the strairs, echoing. “Get ready….” The group tensed, ready to call out at any moment.

A green ball burst out of the hole, barley missing Blaze. “Energy ball,” Sierra whispered.

“Veon Pin Missile!” The spiked shot down into the hole, crieds echoed out and bounced off the walls. Kent charged down into the depths. “Come on!”

“Blaze, flame thrower! And Iron tail!” Blaze charged forward, blasting away a wave of rocket goons. “Stop those punks!” one of them cried before getting an Iron tail to the face.

“Sneasel, Icy wind! “Veon, disc--BOMB!”

“What…holy crap!” The group stopped dead in their tracks. In front of them was a vine of dynamite-bombs. Scientists huddled over monitors, setting timers and calculations.

“Ah, so we meet again,” a man strode over. Even with his outlandishly bright, fiery head of curls, held loosely by a cap it was not his obvious feature. His face was covered in deep gashes and scars, parts pacthed with bloody bandgaes. He strode over to Tyler and Kent and pressed them against the wall. “You two did this to me!”

“What the hell you freak?” Kent shouted with out thinking. Tyler turned his head and just stared at Kent for a moment.

“Freak.Freak..yes I suppose I am a freak. But because of you two punks,” he moved his grip up, holding Kent by the neck. “You see, back in Violet city there was this little Tag Battle tournament. As you know us Rocket members were using it to take spare Pokemon. Of course a group of Punks entered it. And found us out. Followed us when we escaped.” Kent and Tyler gulped, Kent struggling from the lack of air.

“Then you let the pack of Gligar and Gliscor on me, they were brutal. They made the first few scars, they were easily stitched back, and hidden, I held a grudge, but still,” he gave a devilish smile and looked to Tyler. “And then you. You and your girlfriend. We met on the roof, when you fell we had to run, during the chase, well pavement is a bitch. Reopened all the nasty scars, tore apart my pretty mug…so now, well you can see.” He grinned again. “It will be fun to watch you three burn.” He dropped Tyler and Kent to the ground. Kent struggled to catch his breath, rubbing his aching neck.

“It will be a shame, however, to kill such a pretty lass like you. Sierra,” he stroked her hair. “I saw you in the first match. You had such potential. Pity you surround your self with failure.”

He took a breath and raised a hand. “Tie them up, and take their Pokemon with us.”

"Now, according to this you have about ten minutes before the place blows. Once the match ends up there, and the screen declares it over...well it will be over."

Tyler Cohen | Yet Another Rocket Sub-Lair | 8:35PM

"Now, according to this you have about ten minutes before the place blows. Once the match ends up there, and the screen declares it over...well it will be over." Scarface gave us all a big grin and leaned down, gripping me and Kent by the hair. He gave a breathy laugh and shook our heads back. I held my eyes shut until he let go and he backed away.

"You're mad," Kent yelled, but Scarface shook his head like an old school teacher with a delinquent kid.

"Oh, no sir. I'm happy!" He grinned and nodded. "Now I have motivation! Now I have purpose!" He chuckled and knelt down to where Kent and I were held and looked us both over for a long second. "You two gave me my place in life...and it just took the most misery I've ever been in!" He laughed again, this time louder. "So thank you both! I could just... I could just kiss ya!" Another laugh roared from his lungs before Kent spat a wad of phlegm big enough to be from a Lugia into his face.

Scarface scowled and wiped his disfigured face on the sleeve of his shirt. "Take the beasts." Scarface walked off into the back of the base while a swarm of goons surrounded us, grabbing at our belts for our Pokeballs. Not one of us said a word, but it was too much to let happen again. So when the goon on my belt spread his legs just enough...

"Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit!!!!" He crumpled over in the fetal position, his hands clutching his crotch where my kick had gone perfectly. I grabbed one of my falling Pokeballs and released Crawdaunt out into the open.

"Craw!"

The others took their chance and did the same, sending all but Sam's captor to the ground.

"Guys! My guard is a girl!"

I whipped my head around just as Sierra jumped on the woman's back, wrapping her legs around her waist and her arms around her neck, putting her in a flawless sleeper-hold. Out cold, the woman fell to the ground with a grinning Sierra standing over her. The three of us just stared as our Pokemon began the battle and Sierra just shrugged. "Daddy didn't want me going off without self-defense lessons."

"Oh," we all deadpanned, and looked back to the fight. Veon, Crawdaunt, Casper, Blaze, and Sneasel had the guards cornered. Their final Pokemon fell just before a roar came from up above.

"And down goes Mr. Wiggum's second Pokemon! One battle remaining!"

Sam stared at the ceiling. "You're not helping, Jack!"

And down fell the last guard. Kent ran to one of the scientists at the computers and jerked the chair out from underneath his butt. The man fell to the ground and turned into a pink blob of jelly.

"Ditto?!"

And all together, the rest of the scientists decayed into Ditto with a digitized POP around the room.

Kent watched the Ditto bounce around the room while Sierra and I started checking out the bombs. "How do we defuse them?" she asked, and I just shrugged.

"Last time, we had Rotom do it..."

"That's it!" Kent snapped his fingers and pointed at Veon. "Thunder on Ditto!" The little yellow fox let out a huge jolt of electricity and Ditto froze, paralyzed. Kent threw a Pokeball and the Ditto was his. Frightened, the rest of the Ditto hopped down into the cave.

"What a crucial blow to Mr. Wiggum's Rhydon! This could be the end, folks!"

"Hurry!" Sierra commanded and Kent threw his new Ditto out onto the floor.

"Turn into a Rotom, Ditto!" The Ditto grumbled in its Ditto language and morphed into the bolty ghost, staring at the bombs. "Can you defuse them?" Dittotom nodded and began shocking the devices with a series of tiny blue thunder waves until their LCD screens turned black. "Simple as that!"

"Now for Scarface," I murmured, and we all ran into the black hall.

Jerri Blackthorne | Cianwood ~ Tournament Block B | 8:35pm:

Steven fingered his pokeballs, deciding what to order to give his pokemon while I watched, eyes darting back to Growlithe every now and then. And then he made his move.

"Espeon, Quick Attack!"

Espeon darted forwards, straight for Growlithe. I grinned; this was going to be fun.

"Growlithe, doadge that attack and use Take Down!"

Growlithe dodged at the last second and then attacked Espeon. The pokemon rolled around for a second, and then Growlithe got up and trotted back to my side. Espeon stayed down, though it was moving slightly.

"Espeon is affect by curse; Espeon is unable to battle."

I smiled and waited for Steven. He returned Espeon to its pokeball and immediately sent out a Gardevoir. I stared at him. Okay, this could be problematic.

"Gardevoir," he said, hesitating. I held my breath. "Hypnosis."

I watched as Gardevoir did her thing; Growlithe feel asleep. I looked away for a moment, let out a deep breath and then returned my attention to the battle. Steven grinned.

"Dream Eater."

Gardevoir did her thing and attacked my sleeping pokemon. I watched as Growlithe shuddered and then fell still. He had fainted.

"Growlithe is unable to battle."

"Shit," I muttered and glanced up, noticing that at some point I'd blocked out the sounds of the cheering crowd. I sighed and returned Growlithe to his pokeball. I sent out Ninetails. "Ninetails, Ember."

An ember flickered towards Gardevoir, making the pokemon wince and hesitate; she looked back at Steven, who frowned. I waited; I wanted to see what he'd do now. And just as he opened his mouth to give Gardevoir an order, sounded rushed back to me. I jumped, looking around only to realise that the crowd was shouting my name. Well, what do you know. They like me.

Suddenly a hush fell over the crowd and both Steven and I were knocked off our feet as someone rushed onto the arena, right between our pokemon; they were quickly followed by an explosive attack. What the hell?

"Eevee, eevvvveee!"

I looked around to find my Eevee beside me, growling at the new comer. What the... I blinked, noticing the stranger. Black uniform, large red R on his shirt. Oh hell, Team Rocket.

"You!" I shouted, jumping to my feet. "Ninetails, use Ember on him!" I pointed at the Team Rocket guy, whose face was covered in bandages and scars. Ninetails turned towards the goon.

"Jerri, wait!" someone shouted. I whipped my head around to see the others running towards me.