Jason yawned as he tossed his suitcase into his truck. He rubbed his eyes and looked out to the horizon, where the light of the rising sun was just barely starting to show itself.
"Alright! Aspen! Noah! Ellie! Let's go! We got a two hour drive to the venue and we still gotta officially sign up, so no more wasting time!" Jason shouted to his Pokemon.
Aspen was the first to join Jason's side, shortly joined by Noah and Ellie. After discovering that the two Vulpixes were brother and sister, Jason gave Noah and Ellie a blue and pink silk scarf to identify their genders and help him tell them apart.
"There you are guys. Get in the car and let's go. Candies and Star Dusts are in your seats. Let's go." Jason said, closing the trunk and opening the doors for his Pokemon.
As the Pokemon jumped into their seats, Ellie and Noah in the back, Aspen up in the passenger seat, Jason closed and locked up his house. He shut all the doors before getting in the driver's seat and hitting the road.
"Eat up, guys. Breakfast is there. Have the Candies and Star Dust afterwards." Jason instructed as he buckled himself in.
"Ee-vuh!"
"Pix-ee!"
"Pix-eee!"
As Jason set out onto the highway, sipping his water bottle, he glanced at Aspen.
"I was doing some research last night and found out that the Candies combined with the Star Dust aren't just food. They Level Up Pokemon." Jason exclaimed.
"Ee-vuh? Eee?" Aspen asked.
"Level Up. It makes you stronger. Your attacks more powerful. You can sustain more damage and battle and keep on going." Jason quickly summarized.
"Ee-vuhhh." Aspen nodded slowly.
"Pix-ee!" Noah exclaimed, eating his breakfast quickly. Ellie savored her food as she contemplated this.
"How much have you been talking with Noah and Ellie?" Jason asked Aspen.
"Ee." Aspen answered in a tone that Jason liked.
"Do you all get along okay?" Jason asked.
All three of them answered in the positive. Jason nodded.
"Good. You all are going to be a team. You'll have each other's backs. But we're all more than just a team, we're family. We're friends now.
"I have no intentions of giving any of you up, which means we're all in this together. Okay?"
All three answered in the positive again, much more enthusiastic this time. Jason smiled.
"Good."
***
Pan yawned, sitting across from Carlos as they ate their breakfast. Carlos chuckled a bit.
"What?" Pan asked with a humorous raise of her eyebrow. Carlos smiled.
"What're you all tired for?" He asked. Pan rolled her eyes.
"I got off late from work last night, like I already told you. I do not enjoy driving at night, especially at midnight." She said, sipping her drink.
"Lightweight." Carlos mocked. Pan scoffed.
"Shut up." She said with a chuckle. Carlos chuckled a bit as well, glancing out the window of the lobby.
"Hey, isn't Jason's car?" Carlos asked. The two of them looked out. There was Jason, bobbing his head to music as he pulled around and into the parking lot.
"Let's go say hi." Pan giggled. The two of them got up and walked towards Jason's car.
Jason got out of the car, removing his jacket and fixing his sunglasses. He looked up from at Carlos and Pan and smiled.
"Hey you two. Good to see you made it before me." He chuckled. Aspen, Noah, and Ellie jumped out of the driver's door one at a time.
"Woah! You've been doing some roaming, haven't ya? How'd you get two Vulpixes?" Carlos asked as Pan petted them both.
"They're brother and sister. They were a package deal. Aspen and I found them while walking the trail." Jason explained.
"They're so cute! I love these scarves!" Pan giggled, picking up Ellie.
"Yeah haha I picked them out to help me tell them apart. The blue one is Noah and the pink one there is Ellie." Jason introduced.
"Pix-ee!" Both Noah and Ellie exclaimed. Aspen hopped onto Jason's shoulder. Jason smiled and petted him.
"That's awesome dude. Unfortunately, they don't let Pokemon roam free in the hotel." Carlos said.
"That's fine," Jason said, returning all three Pokemon to their Pokeballs. "What now?" Jason asked.
"I'll get you to your room, and then we gotta go sign up for the tournament." Carlos said, leading him inside.
"So, three Pokemon now? That's like, what, a record?" Carlos joked a bit as they entered the elevator.
"Whatever, Carlos. They're good Pokemon...right?"
"Heheh yes, they are. If you train them well. All three of your Pokemon are similar in size and mobility, so you can just pass on what you taught Aspen to the others." Carlos explained. Jason nodded.
"Sounds simple enough. I'm still using Aspen for the tournament though." Jason said. The doors open, and Carlos led Jason through the hall.
"Of course, but it's good that you have more, just in case."
"Just in case?" Jason asked.
"Well, yeah. If Aspen is unable to continue for whatever reason, the rulebooks allow you to make one substitution and one substitution only.
"Of course, that's only when the Pokemon you entered with is unable to continue but wasn't officially defeated. Like, if it sustains an injury of some kind." Carlos explained.
"I'd rather not plan for that." Jason said, dismissing the idea of Aspen getting hurt.
"I'm just saying. It's something to keep in mind," Carlos said. He stopped and opened up a room with a keycard. "This is where we'll be staying. Feel free to take the couch." Carlos chuckled.
Jason entered the room and looked around. The room had two beds as well as a couch bed, which Jason had apparently already been designated to.
"So we're splitting the cost three ways?" Jason asked. Carlos nodded.
"Yep. I know your load needs to be as light as possible, so I figured if we all shared one room it'd be easier. Since we all have different beds, it shouldn't be a problem." Carlos explained.
"Sure. So, let's go sign up." Jason said with a nod.
***
Jason, Pan, and Carlos all walked to the venue for their next tournament: an outdoor stadium called Lightning Bolt Field. Jason whistled.
"Woowww. That's a big stadium." Jason said. Carlos and Pan chuckled, nodding in agreement.
"You're in the big leagues now, kid! Haha you better shape up!" Carlos teased him with a laugh. Jason chuckled.
"Sure, sure." Jason smiled.
"We're gonna do great. You'll see." Pan said with an optimistic smile, letting her Ponyta out of her Pokeball. Carlos did the same with his Charizard.
Jason shrugged, allowing all of his Pokemon to come out. Together, the three of them all went to sign up while Aspen introduced Noah and Ellie to the others.
"Hey! Carlos! Pan! The dynamic duo!" A voice shouted. The three of them turned to see two men coming their way.
"Joe! Samson! How're you guys?" Pan asked with a smile.
"Happy to see you two. Ya'll finally found a third member crazy enough to team up with you two, huh? I'm Joe." Joe said, shaking his hand.
Joe was a lightly tanned gentleman with slicked back hair and brown. His friends Samson was a black man with poofy hair on top. Jason shook hands with both of them.
"I'm Jason. Nice meeting you both." Jason said with a smile.
"Jason's actually an old friend of ours. He just recently jumped onto the Pokemon bandwagon, which is why he's with us now." Carlos explained.
"Awesome. How many tournaments have you been in, Jason?" Samson asked.
"Just one." Jason answered.
"Ha! And these two brought you along? Must've been some tournament." Joe chuckled.
"Yeah, he's rough around the edges, but I'll whip him into shape." Carlos joked with a grin. Jason rolled his eyes.
"Shut up, Carlos. You can't even get your Mankey to sit down for five seconds." Pan teased. They all chuckled.
"We'll see ya'll in the tournament." Samson said. The two of them waved and walked off. The three of them got in line to sign up.
"Joe and Samson fought against us in our first tournament. We've been frenemies with them ever since. They're good fighters." Carlos explained.
"Ah, I see. Think we got a shot against them?" Jason asked. Carlos scoffed.
"Pssh, of course!"
"It won't be an easy win, but it'll definitely be a win." Pan said with a smile. They made it to the front of the line and all signed in their names and Pokemon.
"Done and done." Carlos clapped his hands.
"Let's pick up the others now. I don't like leaving them alone in crowded places." Pan said. Jason quickly followed her, and Carlos was quick to fall in step with them.
"Aspen? Where you at bud?" Jason called out. Very quickly, Carlos spotted his Charizard flying around. He pointed at it and led them to where it was.
They found their Pokemon in front of the steps, all running around freely and playing together. Jason hopped down and stopped them.
"Woah, hey guys. You're getting in people's way. How about we find an open area to play in?" Jason suggested.
The three of them walked out to the side of the stadium, where there was plenty of open terrain. They spent the next two hours running and playing with their Pokemon and meeting other trainers and their Pokemon.
Jason also had the pleasure of meeting a female trainer named Lana, a slightly taller girl with long blonde hair and brown eyes.
The two of them met when Aspen ran into Lana's Eevee. The two struck up conversation, ran around a bit, and exchanged numbers. Jason thought she was cool.
Of course, he got some teasing from Carlos about it. Pan didn't say much about it though.
As the afternoon hours drained away, Jason got a phone call. He expected it to be from his Mom, but it was actually from his Dad. Jason swallowed as he answered.
"Hello?"
"Jason. Son. How are you?"
"I'm fine, Dad. How are you?"
"Tired, heheh. You know how it is with the time difference." Jason's Dad said with a sniff.
"Yeah. How are things in Russia?" Jason asked.
"Fine, son. Your Mom was telling me that you're a Pokemon trainer now."
"Mhmm. Yeah."
"That's good. That's good. I hope it works out, son. You know, I have a Flameon over here in Russia. It helps on cold nights." He said with a laugh. Jason smiled a bit.
"It's good to hear from you, Dad. I know you're busy."
"Yeah, but I'm never too busy to talk to you once in awhile, Jason. Don't forget that you still got a father, boy." His Dad joked, making him laugh.
"I haven't. Listen, I have to go. I'm actually outside the stadium I'll be competing in next week, so I'll call you back another time, okay?" Jason said.
"Haha alright son. Love you."
"Love you too, Dad."
"Bye."
"Bye."
Jason hung up the phone and pocketed it, swallowing the saliva in his mouth. He exhaled a bit as Pan joined him.
"Hey, Jason. Everything okay?" She asked, wondering why he had walked off to the side by himself.
"Yeah yeah, I just...got a call from my Dad." Jason answered. Pan blinked in surprise.
"O-oh. That's...unexpected are you alright?" She asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I guess Mom was telling him about how I'm a Pokemon trainer now."
"I see. How is he?"
"He's good; still stationed in Russia. He's got a Flameon now." Jason said.
"Oh how funny. That's one of the Eevee's evolutions." Pan said.
"Yeah heheh. It is funny." Jason said with a chuckle.
"You sure you're okay?" Pan asked. Jason nodded again.
"Of course. It just caught me by surprise is all." Jason reassured her. Even so, Pan still gave Jason a hug, which he returned.