Hello, everyone! I'm not a big fan of beginning a chapter with an author's note, but there are just a few things I have to point out before you begin reading. First of all, this story will be changing its viewpoint character in every chapter. The first chapter will be seen through the eyes of Aiden, our main character, but chapter two will take place in the eyes of a second character. That way, hopefully, you'll get in the minds of our six main competitors. Second, Pokémon obviously doesn't belong to me. It belongs to its respective owner. And third, enjoy the story!
Chapter 1: High Tides of a New Beginning
Aiden Flamel
The cruise horn blasted as Aiden and Umber raced toward the ship. The sound resounded in Aiden's ear, announcing that soon it will depart. He could see the dock a few yards away and he sprinted with all his might. Umber ran close behind.
"Almost there," Aiden said. The sea wind tugged on his clothes and sprinkled his face with salty water drops. He julted forward. In the hood of his hoodie a small red pokemon sat, clutching on to his golden hair. Aiden could hear his magby whimper behind him, but they were late and he had to beat Umber. "You're falling behind."
He looked back and found Umber close on his tail with a wide grin on his face and earphones screwed into his head. Trailing behind him was another small pokemon, a gray and black puppy. Umber's poochyena fought to keep up. The three ran side-by-side, each putting a foot before the other until falling back again.
They passed sailors and their pokemon on the Cruise Dock. The ship blocked the sun above them, like the buildings of Castelia City behind them, and Aiden glanced at it for the first time. Painted on its side was a dragonair flying around a large pokeball with dratinis swimming around it. Beneath the symbol, the line to enter the cruise had already ended and the Admission Lady was climbing the ramp to the ship when Umber called out to her.
"Wait!"
She looked back in time to see three flashes of light fly around her. She yelled in surprise.
"Sorry," Aiden said, panting. He nudged Umber. "Beat you. Just in time."
"No. You didn't," wheezed Umber. "I won. By a second."
Both bended over with their hands on their knees. Drops of sweat fell around them. Poochyena strut around them, growling happily, believing she had won. Magby held Aiden's hair like reins, glowing like a knight on his steed.
"I would appreciate it," said the lady, a pretty woman with blond hair tied into a bun over her head. "If you would race on another pier. Thank you and good day." She turned and continued her way up the ramp.
"Wait. Wait!" Aiden took two tickets from his pocket and raised them before her. "We're here for the Type Trainer Tournament. We're competing!"
The lady kept walking. "Follow me," she said bitterly. Together they entered the ship while the ramp rose and closed behind them. "If you were regular guests we would not have accepted your disregard of timing, just so you know." She led them hastily up a set of stairs where the final guests in the line were checking in. Aiden and Umber had to sprint to keep up with her. "Luckily for you two, competitors get a priority."
They reached a large door that led into the main floor, or "headquarters" as Aiden heard the lady call it. The room was circular, with a floor large enough to sit every guest in the ship and a roof thirteen stories high. Aiden looked up and saw guest room doors on each floor above him, with bridges connecting floors and the occasional lights from restaurants and stores. A flock of swablus had been released in the room; they sang and swooped around as the three made their way toward a reception desk beneath a pair of stairs in the center of the room.
"Sarah, I've got the last competitors for the tournament here," the lady said to the receptionist behind the desk, a young woman with long brown hair and red glasses adorning her face. "See to them. I'm needed on the main deck for the ceremony." She turned to Aiden and Umber. "Have a nice stay and good luck."
She turned and left. Aiden, Umber, Sarah, Magby and Poochyena stared as she entered an elevator, until the doors closed on her stern face. Aiden took Magby out of his hood and took him in his arms.
"Regine is not easy," Sarah said, typing on one of the computers. "But we couldn't function without her. Welcome to the Dragonair of the Seas. Names, please?
"Aiden Flamel."
"Umbriel Nox," Umber leaned over the counter. He still had his earplugs plugged in, like always, Aiden thought. "But call me Umber."
A swablu flew down and began to peck Umber on the head. He flailed his arms over his head and Poochyena barked and growled. Sarah giggled as the swablu settled on her shoulder. She stroked the bird as she handed them their room keys and name tags with their names written on them.
"Smooth," Aiden whispered to Umber, mockingly.
"Your room is 11-05, on the twelfth floor," she told Aiden as he taped his tag to his chest. "And yours is 10-14. Good luck finding it," she said to Umber, a bit harsh. Aiden knew Umber wanted to say something back, but he stopped when he saw the swablu raise its beak, so he just put his name tag on in silence with a grin glued onto his face. "Your things are already in your rooms. Now, please proceed to the main deck on the seventh floor for the tournament's Opening Ceremony. Good day and I hope you enjoy your stay in the Dragonair of the Seas."
Aiden and Umber left with final thanks and laughs. They took the elevator that Regine had entered and it took them up to the main deck.
Music was blasting in the air. Kirlias, bellossoms and roselias were dancing gracefully around tables scattered on the deck. The tables were filled with guests, and their pokemon, who were all gazing at a battlefield and at a giant screen raised over it. Two pokemon clashed on the screen and the guests roared with applause and shouts. Aiden's jaw fell when he saw the trainers of the pokemon.
On separate sides of the field, shouting commands and looking dazzling, were Cynthia and Iris, the champions of the Sinnoh and Unova regions, respectively. Cynthia's Garchomp was striking Iris's Haxorus with a Dragon Rush at that moment. The impact sounded like two iron bars clashing together. Haxorus turned and sent Garchomp away with a strong Dragon Tail. Aiden saw the blond champion, who wore a long black dress that looked darker beneath her bright hair, bite her lip and shout more commands. Iris, wearing a loose violet dress that fell to the floor, shouted back; the two dragons clashed as the crowd roared, swablus flew with wingulls, and pokemon danced to the music. The scene, Aiden thought, was breathtaking.
They quickly found two seats and joined the cheering. The battle ended a few minutes later in a tie. Garchomp and Haxorus had tackled each other with two solid Giga Impacts and, after a cloud of dust lifted, both were found sprawled on the ground, defeated. The crowd screamed louder than ever until a man entered the field, a gardevoir at his side, asking for silence to begin the Opening Ceremony. He was short, had slick hair painted purple and wore a snazzy suit.
When the crowd settled, and Aiden and Umber had taken their seats again, Aiden looked at the others seated with him. He glanced at them quickly, then paused on one. His jaw nearly dropped when he saw her. She was gorgeous. She looked his age, sixteen, with light-brown skin, same colored hair that flew in the wind, and a nose covered with beautiful freckles. Her large green eyes glittered as the sun shone on her. Her name tag read Ambrosia Landlyn. A cubone sat on her lap, playing with the bone in its hand.
"Wow," Aiden whispered. He felt butterflies dancing in his stomach, and his cheeks tingled. He couldn't stop staring at her, she took his breath away. Magby began to rustle in his lap, and suddenly Aiden felt his hand burn. He whelped and jumped off his seat, sending Magby flying on the table and causing a group of dancing bellossoms to stumble. Magby had snapped Aiden out of his trance by using Fire Spin on him. The whole table, and a few others around him, locked their eyes on Aiden.
"Smooth," Umber said, noticing the scene. He took Poochyena, who was circling a dancing and scared kirlia, and put him on his lap. Aiden sat down, lowered his head, and wished for a distraction. He nearly jumped again when the speaker began to talk.
"Hello, hello, hello, hello!" He shouted. The gardevoir beside him waved and bowed. "Welcome to the Opening Ceremony of the Type Trainer Tournament!" The crowd cheered. "I'm Uruvio Tornio and I'm the official tournament announcer and one of the many judges who shall accompany all of you on your journey to win the tournament and become Gym Leaders!
"But, before we begin, I have to tell you the most important rules of the tournament. The first one you've all already taken care of: you can only enter the tournament with a single, non-evolved, single-typed pokemon, with the obvious exception of Flying-types. But that was done when you all checked-in. Second, no fighting, physical or pokemon related, is allowed to take place between contestants. In the case of pokemon battles, they must be regulated by tournament officials or be held in the cruise's spectacular gym.
"Third rule, no pokemon is to be caught on deck, no exceptions. The cruise pokemon are owned by the staff of the ship and are off limits. The tournament will take us to special islands where you will be permitted to catch pokemon of your chosen type. Last, and certainly not least, is the obedience of the tournament's curfew. Every trainer competing is expected to be in their rooms by ten. Anyone caught breaking any of these rules will be disqualified immediately."
Silence fell over the audience for a moment. Aiden glanced over the table, and was thrilled to see that the girl wasn't staring back. Maybe she hadn't noticed, he hoped. Magby made his way back into his lap.
"Now," Uruvio continued. "To begin the event, we will ask two contestants from the audience to come to the field and show us what we can expect in this tournament. If you all will look at the screen. Let's see who shall battle first."
The camera had been set on Uruvio, but now it began to move and search through the crowd. A spotlight followed the camera. People gave nervous looks as they saw their faces pass on the screen. Eventually the camera came to a spot where two trainers were seated alone, a couple who had been leaning on each other. The camera zoomed in on the guy, a boy with snow-white hair who stood immediately. For a second, Aiden thought he saw the boy's eyes flash red on the screen, but when he looked again, they were a clear blue.
The camera followed him as he made his way to the battlefield. When he reached Uruvio, the camera returned to its search. Aiden watched as faces came and went on screen, until the camera stopped and he saw his staring back at him.
Author's Note:
First chapter: done! Looks like we'll be seeing a battle soon. Hope you all liked the first chapter, and if you did, review, please. Remember, likes/dislikes, suggestions, tips, etc. will be greatly appreciated. It's my first story so help me make it better. Thank you all for reading. See you all soon, and I promise more chapters will come!
