Tournament of Champions!
By: WhatsASoul
A lot of people have seen or read "The Wizard of Oz". They all know it begins, with our main character Dorothy and her house being flung into a tornado and sent to the world of Oz... Well, this is a very similar situation.
Let me explain a bit as to who I am. My name is John quart, I'm a biology nut who enjoys my workplace more than I should. I work in a middle school lab teaching students how to dissect and observe specimens. This doesn't leave good impressions on the kids who come to my class, much less the teachers who can't stomach my small talk during lunch. I do talk about rather gruesome stuff when I'm thinking about what me and the kids will be dissecting next period. It gets kinda lonely doing what I do. I mean, who wants to hook up with some nut job that works for less than a garbage man? I guess that's why I work even at home, to get some feeling during some lonely nights... Um, oh! I have a pet cat named Pookie! He's a tomcat, I feed him most of my used up frogs and such once I'm done with them. I had to teach him to not jump on the table, god knows how many specimens I lost when I forgot to put them away.
Anyway, the reason I brought up "The Wizard of Oz" was because I was looking out my window and saw nothingness. It was a bizarre feeling, looking and seeing no end and no beginning, just non existence. While I was on the verge of acceptance at the loss of my sanity, Pookie seemed indifferent on the matter. It calmed me down, giving me a moment to think. I was in my house, in the kitchen, looking into the great beyond. Everything worked, the lights, the fridge, even the air conditioning. So why was I here? To answer that question, I needed my coffee and cereal. Breakfast is my brain power, and I needed as much rice krispies as I could put in my bowl for this problem.
As the smell of my brewed black coffee entered my sinuses and the satisfying sounds of snap, crackle, and pop surround my bowl. I walk over to my TV in the living room and go to Netflix finding that it works too. Pookie claws at my pants leg to feed him, so I go to the fridge and retrieve some bagged cockroaches and put it in his bowl. As he munches, I get to my own munching as I set bill Nye on. After a few spoonfuls of popping goodness, my screen goes to static out of nowhere. Two seconds of freight later the screen changes to a guy with big white gloves for hands wearing a red vest with a red hat, with a big cartoony smile to complete the whole picture. "I hope I didn't scare all of you," his attempt at reassurance failing me. "I just wanted to get you all up to speed. Hello, you can call me Red."
He stared at me through the shadow under his hat. "To explain what's happened to everyone, think of it as an all paid express trip to another dimension!" Confetti springs up behind him as he holds his hands up. "To those who have a job and a family to take care of, don't worry! As this dimension goes a literal million times faster than your old home. So you could live years here and a few scant seconds would pass on earth." This information does not answer my question of why, but it does feel nice to have some vacation for once. Schools have little to no budget at all so school trips are non existent. "Now, let's get to the heart of the matter! I have brought all of you here to be Pokémon Champions!" He yells to me in full Confidence like he was talking about the Olympics. I know what Pokémon is, as a kid in the 90's I wouldn't be caught dead without my game boy playing Pokémon red. I became the champion of kanto and hoenn but fell out of interest as I got to college, those college courses were no joke. I forgot almost everything about Pokémon until now. And now I'm going to be a champion? Is this for real? Has rice krispies finally done me in? I should have know that all that crackling goodness would kill me someday, I just thought it would have taken longer. "This tournament is for those that have taken the championship of whatever Pokémon game they have played, whether that be the respected game itself or the card game. It matters not how you became a champion, you just are! Which is why you are here to become the best, like no one ever was." If Red could save the cheese for lunch, that would be great. "There are currently 1000 players in this tournament, and after the first round, there will be 500 left. This number will be halved until one of you remain to claim the prize and be known as the Pokémon champion!" While I'm trying to wrap my head around this conundrum, Pookie just finished his breakfast and is demanding I pet him. A few scratches behind the ears satisfy my little lord of fluff as I continue my thinking.
Red continues as well "The rules for the first round are simple, first: only Pokémon are allowed to fight, you can only watch and give commands. Second, you can only have three total pokemon in the first round, you are free to have three of a kind if you wish. And third, all of the Pokémon in your team must be from the first generation. How you train them is your choice, just have three when the time comes." Oh, I guess that's good. I know a few Pokémon from the first game. Just one question, where do I get them? "To start catching Pokémon, all you need to do is open your front door and take the backpack off of your doorstep, there will be 5 normal pokeballs, 3 antidotes, 3 bottles of water, and a pokedex. You have exactly 168 hours until the first round starts, good luck champions and I'll see all of you right before your first match. See ya then!" The screen goes to static again and a second after Bill Nye shows up.
...Of all the things to happen, this is something I could have never seen coming. I have a few options, one, I could just say I give up and hope for the best, two, try and see if I could enjoy my week in my House and catch up on some games I haven't played yet, or three, just do what I was brought here for… Yeah, let's do three. I honestly want to see what pokemon in real life look like, and having a pokemon as a friend? People would kill for this type of chance, so why skip the chance? But first, I need to eat my cereal before it gets too soggy. After saving my food and drinking my coffee, I pet Pookie goodbye and open the door to start my journey to become the champion.
Or I would if the scene in front of me wasn't going on. There, A few meters in front of my door was a dead zigzagoon with its entrails being eaten by a creature with green Chitin for skin and giant scythes for hands. It's bloody body stops as it hears something and slowly turns toward me, the dark eyes price me as they stare. The first foot out the door and I meet a scyther... Eep.
Hello again everyone, you may be wondering why I haven't uploaded anything for almost a year. My answer is this, I am a lazy shit. Sorry, but I am. This should be a story I may, or may not finish. But I hope to entertain you as best I can.
Can't wait for your reviews,
WhatsASoul.