Pokemon - The Apex of Time

Chapter 2 - Initiation

All of these old friends had shown up at our doorstep and I didn't really know what to feel. Some of them I hadn't seen for almost two whole years. Yet, as we were swarmed with greetings and flying arms, I felt a sense of relief. For the first time in a long time, it felt like I was going to be involved in something fun.

“Long time no see!”

“Haha, you too.”

“Wow, look at you!”

The voices rang out amongst each other, as the quieter characters of Ethan and Skyra stood back and simply waved.

“Nelly!” Holly hugged her.

“Oof... Holly! You're ok!” Nelly smiled.

“Hey.” Jake gestured.

“Hi buddy.” I grinned. It all brought back memories.

After the initial hype died down, I looked around and sighed. “I'm so glad I get to see you all again...” I nodded. “But... You all know why you're here, right?”

“Of course we do!” Gray said confidently.

“We aren't stupid!” Holly winked.

“Well, most of us aren't.” Jamie smirked.

“Hey!” Jake scoffed.

“We're here for football, right?” Skyra said folding his arms. “I'll be honest, I haven't played it in a long time.”

“Me neither.” Etienne shrugged.

“Well, this is something.” Sam smiled.

“All of you, listen up!” Darragh called. We all dropped in volume and focused on the man addressing us. “Thank you. I know not many of you have experience in the sport – you may not even like it. However, I thought it was about time that you all got together, and there's no better time than now. For those of you who don't know me, I'm Darragh Ora-Yuki, Nelly's father. Sorry I didn't have time to tell you that beforehand, but you all know why you're here – the Pokemon League's new tournament. I'll be your training coach and manager for the next two months and beyond. Believe me – each and every one of you has potential to do well. I wouldn't have called you here if I didn't believe in you all. What's more, I understand that a few of you have played football at some level of youth league before?”

“I have, sir.” Harry stepped forward.

“Me too.” Max nodded.

“Same here.” Jamie said. “...Sir.”

“Please, just call me Darragh.” Nelly's father smiled. “I also presume you're all defenders?”

The three of them stared at him in awe.

“How did I know? Well, you simply strike me as that type of player.”

“I get the feeling that Darragh's going to be a great coach.” I said to Nelly.

“Yeah.” She nodded. “He taught me a lot when I was little.”

“Right... I forgot you played football too.” I smiled.

“Dad?” Nelly asked.

“Yes, Snowflake?”

“It's wonderful that everyone's here, but... Where are they going to stay?”

“Ah, don't worry about that. I've rented out that house over there for more than enough time.” He pointed to a two-storey house opposite his own. “Obviously I'm trusting you all to be sensible with no adult. Well, Sam, you are technically an adult, so I'm leaving it to you to make sure everything goes smoothly, all right?”