On the opening day of the tournament, hundreds of thousands of people, from all over, converge on the floating arena. The trainers enter by one entrance while the spectators enter by another. Family can be heard wishing their siblings, children, even parents well as they enter. Kyla, Chad, Blare, Grace, and David enter together.
Chad smiles. "Well, here we are again. You ready Kyla?"
Kyla smiles back and holds out her fist. "May the best trainer win, dude!"
Chad fist bumps her and heads on to the arena.
Kyla turns to the others. "Guess I will see you when this is done."
Blare hugs her. "Good luck!"
David also gets in on the hug, while Grace stands by with her arms crossed. They break the hug and Kyla heads to the Arena.
It is exactly Eleven-fifty when they reach either side of the field. It is a full stone platform with medium ponds on either side. A voice comes across the sound system, it appears to be Professor Ivory.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the first Pokemon League Tournament of the Oblivia Region!" Ivory says ecstatically into the mic.
The spectators cheer loudly. A few trainers sit casually in a designated area of the bleachers.
"Our first match will be a one on one battle, each trainer will have a six Pokemon team. And NOW, our trainers. On the east side, a local trainer, known well by all, Kyla!"
The crowd cheers loudly and a few of the trainers lean forward with interest.
"And to the west side, a newcomer, holding his own, Chad!"
Another voice comes across the sound system, it appears to be Jordan. "As President of The Pokemon League, I declare this tournament underway! Trainers, show us an honorable battle!"
The crowd roars, some stomping their feet in a thunderous chorus.
Chad and Kyla meet in the middle of the field and shake hands, then turn and return to their proper sides.
"Trainers BEGIN!" Ivory shouts.
Kyla throws her first Pokeball and out pops Snorlax. Snorlax roars and stands ready.
Chad throws his Pokeball and out pops Steelix. Steelix stands tall, smiling evilly at Snorlax.
"Steelix, Double-Edge!" Chad orders.
"Snorlax, Giga Impact!" Kyla orders.
Steelix charges into Snorlax, but Snorlax charges straight into him, knocking him back slightly.
"Snorlax, follow up with Focus Blast!" Kyla shouts.
Snorlax grabs hold of Steelix's head and uses a focused energy punch to his face, then follows up again with Superpower, as an uppercut to his chin. Steelix rears back and falls to the field, in pain. Snorlax uses rollout to gain distance between him and Steelix.
"Your Snorlax has to be the most energetic I have ever seen." Chad laughs.
Kyla smiles. "When he is motivated, there is no stopping him."
Snorlax raises his fist to the air. "SNOR!!! LAX!!!"
The crowd goes crazy with cheers and stomping at the sight of Snorlax claiming victory early. A few of the trainers whisper among themselves, as David, Blare, and Grace sit nearby.
"Snorlax has the crowd's full attention. Kyla choose the right Pokemon to start with." Grace notes.
"She may have the upper hand now, but if Chad decides, he could turn this around, easily." David notes.
Steelix slowly raises again and glares at Snorlax, then turns to Chad.
Chad nods, raising his arm to the sky. "Steelix, Mega Evolve, GO!"
The marble on Chad's armband glows and Steelix evolves into Mega form. Steelix grins evilly again, confident in his ability to win. Snorlax snarls in response.
"I will show you no mercy, Kyla. I am winning this battle!" Chad shouts. "Mega Steelix, Hyper Beam!"
"You should never underestimate a determined Snorlax! Snorlax, take it to the next level!" Kyla shouts, giving Snorlax a series of hand signs.
Snorlax nods and readies for the attack. Steelix charges his Hyper Beam and fires, but just as it gets halfway Snorlax uses Rollout to advance, nearly missing being hit. The Hyper Beam hits the ground, kicking up dust, clouding Kyla's view. Kyla grins confidently.
From the stands, David, Blare, and Grace see everything that transpires. They look on in ah as Snorlax charges towards Steelix, who does not have time to react after firing that Hyper Beam. Snorlax's rollout kicks off a bolder and hits Steelix in the "throat". Steelix falls backward hard, kicking up more dust. Snorlax continues to spin, breaking all the rocks on the field into a giant Sandstorm. Snorlax then continues by following the wall of the field, making the sand spin around Steelix.
"Steelix, can you get up?!" Chad asks, concerned.
Steelix roars and uprights himself.
"Nature Power!" Chad orders.
"What does that do?" Blare asks.
David laughs. "It is a brilliant idea. It changes the attack according to the major terrain. With the sand blocking his view, Chad is depending upon Mega Steelix's judgment. This could manifest itself one of two ways, an Earthquake or a Rock Slide."
Steelix uses Nature Power, it changes to an Earthquake, breaking the field and stopping Snorlax's Rollout attack. Snorlax stands, but falls again, as the Earthquake has made the field uneven and unsolid. Snorlax grunts.
Kyla hears this, as the sand still blocks her view. "Snorlax, Ice Beam." She says softly.
Snorlax proceeds to coat the field with his Ice Beam, making it solid and even again, but Steelix uses Giga Impact, running headlong into him before he can finish. Snorlax falls back, in front of Kyla, unconscious.
Kyla kneels down and rubs Snorlax's head. "You did good, rest now."
Snorlax smiles as he is recalled.
"Way to go Steelix!" Chad cheers.
Steelix roars.
The crowd is a mix of cheers and boos. The trainers lean back in soft laughter and applauds.
Before anyone else can react, Kyla throws another Pokeball, and out pops a Rapidash, rearing back on her hind legs.
"Wouldn't Chaz have been a better choice?" Blare asks.
"Perhaps, but Steelix is already weakened, it would take a small push to take him out." David replies.
"Rapidash! Quick Attack, Flare Blaze COMBO!" Kyla orders.
Rapidash runs around Steelix, creating a fire tornado that ingulfs him, causing him to faint.
Chad recalls Steelix. He looks at the Pokeball and smiles. "You did great, take a well-deserved rest." Chad looks out at Rapidash, as the Sandstorm dissipates.
Chad pulls out another Pokeball and throws it to the field, and out pops a Croconaw. She takes one look at Rapidash and begins to shot Water Gun, one after the other, at her as Rapidash attempts to evade.
"Rapidash, return!" Kyla shouts as she recalls Rapidash.
Kyla thinks for a moment and the throws another Pokeball, and out pops Gyarados, just as a Water Gun attack hits him in the face. Gyarados glares at Croconaw who rears back in nervous surprise. Gyarados looks at Kyla with a questioning expression.
Kyla smiles. "Thunder."
Sparks fly from Gyarados' whiskers and cracks as the attack connects with Croconaw. She screams in pain and falls back, unconscious. Chad recalls her and then throws his next Pokeball, out pops a Manectric.
"Wild Charge!" Chad orders.
Manectric takes a starting stance and then takes off, with a crack of thunder. He runs up Gyarados and makes full contact at his head. Gyarados shakes him off and knocks him away with Dragon Tail. As Manectric lands hard, Gyarados hits him with a Hyper Beam. As a cloud of dust clears, Manectric stands in Mega form, seemingly untouched, with an unimpressed expression on his face.
"He took a Hyper Beam and is standing?!" Grace exclaims.
"I don't think that was the case..." Blare replies. "I thought I saw a quick movement in and out of the dust, just as the Hyper Beam 'connected'."
"Gyarados, are you ready?!" Kyla outstretches her arm.
Gyarados roars loudly, shaking the building as he glows.
"Mega form, Go!" Kyla shouts.
The dust swirls around Gyarados as he emerges in his Mega form. Gyarados dives into Manectric, burying him into the ground. Manectric yelps in pain, but Gyarados follows up with a Bulldoze attack, dragging him against the ice and stone of the field. Manectric slides to a stop, unconscious. Chad recalls him and stares up at Gyarados as he stares back at him enraged.
Chad thinks to himself. "I can't continue to push myself! I only have one other Pokemon that could.. barely compete with Mega Gyarados, but I could I follow up if Chaz was called out?.... I guess I have no choice.." Chad throws up his hands in defeat. "I concede the match!!!" Chad shouts.
Kyla looks surprised as the crowd erupts into thunderous cheers. The trainers that had taken interest earlier applaud the outcome, then leave.
David shakes his head. "He could have given her more of a run, but he was afraid of pushing himself beyond his limits."
"Considering what happened last time, I really don't blame him." Blare says, with a sad expression. "Wait! What about Kyla!!!" Blare exclaims, looking out on the field.
Gyarados quickly thaws the field between her and Chad as she walks across, her eyes fixed on him, angerly.
Chad looks nervously as she approaches. "Kyla?! Don't be angry, I really tried my best!"
"Should we stop her?" Blare asks David.
David looks away, uneasily. "Be my guest, if you really want to."
Kyla reaches Chad and glares at him, her face resembles that of Gyarados, behind her. Chad tries to back away, but Kyla grabs his shoulder then grabs her hand in her's.
"You had better hurry, I will accept your challenge whenever you are ready for a rematch." She growls at him, with clenched teeth.
He reluctantly shakes her hand. "With an offer like that, I might be awhile on taking you up on it." He laughs nervously.
David peeks back. "She did not floor him!?"
Blare sinks into her seat in relief. "Apparently not, he is not dead yet!" Blare sighs. "If this is how she will react with him, how is she going to treat us?!"
David looks at Blare with a serious look. "She will kill me if I don't give her my best shot at winning."
Blare's eyes begin to tear up. "Oh David, better you than me."
David jumps out of his seat quickly and pinches Blares cheeks and pulls hard. "What was that?! 'Better you than me'? I hope your next match is against her, just to spite you!!"
"OW OW OW!!!!!" Blare yells. "David, STOP!!"
Grace gets up and walks away. "Not so impressive to me..." She mumbles.
Gyarados takes notice of the disagreement and laughs heartily at the display. Kyla looks up also with a gentle smile. David and Blare stop, with scared expressions on their faces, then take their seats again, quickly.
"That is much better." Kyla sighs then looks back at Chad. "Look, I get it. But next time, please don't make me feel so cheap."
Chad nods nervously. "Sure."
Kyla turns and walks away, recalling Gyarados. She exits the field and plops down in the lobby. Joy joins her on the couch.
"Want to talk about it?" Joy asks.
Kyla slowly nods her head. "How could he do that to me?"
"He was out of options. Would you put your Pokemon through hell just to prove a point?" Joy asks.
Kyla sighs. "I guess not. He did the right thing..."
"You got a bad matchup. You were on a different level than him. The league should match you up with someone more challenging next time." Joy continues.
Kyla leans back. "I get it. Probably best I didn't show off my tunk cards, then."
Joy looks curiously at Kyla. "How many Pokemon do you have now?"
Kyla glances at Joy. "You can keep a secret, right?"
Joy nods.
Kyla leans in and whispers gently into Joy's ear. "Sixteen, and {inaudiable words}."
Joy rears back in a gasp. "How is that possible?!"
Kyla smiles. "I did some traveling over the weekend."
Joy grabs hold of Kyla. "Take me with you next time? Please, PLEASE, PLEASE!?"
Kyla shakes her off. "I will consider it. For now, just keep my secret."
"Of course!" Joy bows repeatedly.
Kyla rubs her head. "Jeez, Joy, can't you just teleport wherever you want?"
Joy raises her head with a surprised look. "Oh yeah!!!"
"Did she really forget she could travel on her own?" Kyla thinks to herself.
The board dings and Kyla's information is updated. The board reads, "Kyla vs Grace Brown, Thursday, Three pm."
Kyla looks at it a moment and then realizes whose name she is reading. "Oh, crap."
"That's right, Kyla." Grace's voice comes from a nearby doorway. Grace walks into the lobby, slowly. "You want a match with my big brother, you have to get through me first!"
Kyla stands and puts her hand on her hip. "Fine by me." Kyla smiles.
Grace turns. "Don't cry when I whip the floor with you." Grace walks away.
David and Blare run into the lobby.
"We just saw who your next match will be against!" Blare exclaims.
Kyla slaps her on the shoulder. "Focus on your match for now. I believe it will be in an hour?"
Blare panics and runs out of the lobby. "Crap! I forgot!!!"
Kyla laughs at her as she leaves.
David walks up beside her. "Please do not underestimate my little sister, she is quite brilliant."
Kyla looks up at David with a smile. "I would expect nothing less from your kin."
The sounds of the one o'clock battle shake the stadium as they walk in the direction Blare ran off to.