In the southeast corner of the Hoenn region, there is a series of islands that were created by ancient volcanic activity. These islands are spread far and wide across the vast Hoenn Ocean and the majority are covered in lush tropical vegetation. Many of the islands lay unexplored and the vast majority lack any sort of human population. A few of the islands, however, have recently become major tourist spots. The reason? A young Pokémon battle enthusiast by the name of Scott.
Scott has recently purchased the territorial rights to several of the larger islands and transformed them into havens of Pokémon battling. Some of his more well-known attractions include the Battle Frontier, complete with the indomitable Frontier Brains, and the Battle Maison, a wildly popular new facility inspired by Scott's trip overseas.
A new type of battle arena, however, has just finished construction on one of the smaller islands that Scott owns; the Arche Arena. Built in the crater of a meteor strike and using scorched stone from the crater walls for construction, the Arche Arena is a massive coliseum style battle arena that can comfortably seat a whopping 50,000 spectators. The arena took years to complete, and had to be put on hold several times in order for Scott to raise sufficient funds for its completion. As a result, a small town has grown up around the arena. The town, properly named Arche Town, is home to many of the workers that built the Arche Arena and is quickly becoming a major tourist attraction.
In order to break in the new arena, Scott has manufactured a major televised Pokémon battle tournament. The tournament has so far been a huge success and is building to a climax that is sure to put Arche town on the map as a major battle destination.
"Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, welcome to the first annual Arche Town Pokémon tournament!" A tall man wearing a black suit and tie stood in the middle of the enormous Arche Arena. With microphone in hand, the man adjusted his dark sunglasses as the crowd roared in response. The energy in the air was palpable, and the man was quick to capitalize on the excitement of the crowd. He struck a pose. "It's been an intense few days of preliminary rounds, but finally we have reached the last leg of our tournament. So let me ask you, are you ready to see some BATTLES?!" The crowd erupted once more in a flurry of cheers and applause. The man ran a hand through his orange, pompadour styled hair and smiled. He was on camera, after all. "Fantastic, without further ado let's meet our eight finalists." A low cheer continued to flow through the crowd as the man whipped a handful of notecards out of his pocket. "First up, all the way from Driftveil City in the beautiful Unova region, we have Jean Roberts!"
As the crowd raised their cheer a young man began to walk out of one of the four huge stone archways that were placed in equal intervals around the bottom level of the circular stadium. The man was wearing a black vest overtop a white T-shirt and a black pair of cargo shorts and sneakers that matched his short, dark hair. Jean crossed the distance to the battle field, waving to the crowd with a small smile on his face. The battle field was a fifty by fifty yard platform elevated to the height of the crowd. At the moment the field matched the burnt brown color of the arena walls and had a large white Pokeball outline painted in the middle. When Jean reached the stairs of the battle field the announcer glanced at his cards.
"A twenty seven year old veteran, Jean made it through the single Pokémon battle preliminary rounds using a lightning fast Porygon-Z! A rare Pokémon to be sure, and equally as powerful. I'm sure we're all eager to see what he has in store for the three on three portion of the tournament!" The crowd roared as Jean walked up and took a place next to the announcer.
"Next up, a twenty year old competitor from the glimmering Kalos region, Cyril LeBlanc!" The announcer breathed a silent sigh of relief as the crowd cheered Cyril onto the field, foreign names could be difficult to pronounce. The face of a young, brown haired man flashed up on both of the enormous screens that were placed above the crowd at the northern and southern ends of the stadium. Cyril stepped into the light of the stadium and began to make his way up to the field. He was wearing a thin grey jacket with white and dark yellow stripes overtop a navy V-neck that had an anchor symbol on the right breast. His outfit was completed with a pair of blue jeans, black shoes, and brown belt. There was audible increase in pitch from the crowd as Cyril stepped out. Cyril maintained a plain expression as he scaled the stairs, ignoring the squealing girls and the crowd in general.
"Yes our stylish young man from Anistar City breezed through the preliminaries, stealing victories and hearts alike! This gentile gentleman crushed his opponents with the raw power of a full grown Tyranitar! I know I'm not the only one whose teeth rattled when that monster was loose on the field!" Cyril took his place next to Jean, whom he was several inches taller than, and allowed himself a slight grin at the mention of his Tyranitar.
"Our third contestant is native to Hoenn and is no stranger to islands, this beach beauty hails from Dewford town! Please welcome, Isabelle Stevens!" Isabelle glided out of the archway as she was displayed on the screens. Accustomed to being in front of crowds, Isabelle flashed a practiced, cheerful contest smile as she waved. Her straight, chestnut hair fell to the middle of her back. She was wearing a pale blue sun dress that reached to her knees along with a pair of white sandals. She scaled the stairs with an eased smoothness.
"Isabelle favored an evasive Pelliper during her preliminary rounds. Her oceanic bird exhausted his opponents by dodging everything that was thrown at him. If memory serves, Isabelle's Pelliper only received damage twice during all his matches! Quite a feat for such a large bird!" Isabelle stood next to Cyril and was surprised to find she was nearly as tall as him. He seemed bigger from the stands. Cyril caught Isabelle looking at him and she quickly faced forward, a slight burn in her cheeks.
"Halfway there folks, our fourth contestant chose to keep his hometown classified, but that distinct English accent harkens his homeland. A round of applause for the twenty one year old James Wilson Jr.!" James strode out into the arena smiling widely and waving with both hands to the crowd. He wore a pair of blue jeans with regular tennis shoes and had on his lucky blue Suicune shirt. A thick jacket, which he had probably shed due to the heat, was tied around his waist. James quickly stepped up the stairs.
"James Jr. flashed through the preliminaries with the help of his "big sister", an eloquent Gardevoir. James' Gardevoir teleported around her opponents attacks and rendered them helpless with a potent hypnosis attack! Believe me folks, the battlefield is no place for a nap!" James approached the group of finalists and stood next to Isabelle. The two were about the same height.
"Moving right along we have our fifth finalist, a young seventeen year old boy by the name of David who chose to withhold his last name. Another resident of the Unova region, David has his roots in Nimbasa city!" The crowd kept up its steady cheer as David walked into view. The boy was wearing a navy school uniform with a yellow tie, blue jeans, and sneakers. David walked steadily out to the field. He was rather nervous being in front of such a huge crowd, but he put up a calm, collected front and began to scale the stairs.
"Our schoolboy David here calculated his way into the finals using an icy Froslass. David's Froslass seduced most of her opponents with an alluring Attract. This icy beauty then left her foes with frozen hearts as she downed them with her icy moves!" Jean, the first entry, was glad to finally see another finalist around his height, and nodded to David as he took his place next to James Jr. David smiled awkwardly back and faced the crowd.
"Contestant number six is our third finalist from Unova, residing in the glamorous Castelia City! Let's hear it for the self-proclaimed "Queen of the World", twenty two year old Mary Anne Mathews!" There were several distinct groups of boos mixed in amongst the general cheer. A short, curvy, heavy set woman strutted out into the stadium, her nose promptly pointed upwards. Mary Anne blatantly ignored the crowd as she sauntered to the field. She had short, curly, and unruly blonde tresses that fell to her shoulders. She wore a pair of skin tight black jeans and a pink tank top with worn brown trainers.
"Mary Anne made no friends on her way to the finals, taking down opponents with a Roserade whose thorny attacks are matched only by her equally thorny personality. Though some claim Mary Anne had an easy lineup of opponents in the preliminaries, there is no denying her place in the finals!" Mary Anne sniffed contemptuously as she walked past the other finalists and took he place at the end of the line. There was no love lost between her and the others.
"Almost there folks! Our seventh contestant is yet another Hoenn resident from the rocky town of Rustboro. Another veteran in his twenties, make him feel welcome folks, Marlowe Eldred. A respectable amount of applause greeted Marlowe as he stepped into the arena. Marlowe had short brown hair and a bit of stubble on his face. He was a man of average height and lean stature. He was dressed in a dull, dark green shirt and a dark pair of jeans. He smirked as he threw his hands in his pockets and glanced at his image on the screen as he walked.
"With a battle style as rough and tough as he looks, Marlowe tore through the preliminaries with the fangs of his trusted Mightyena. Marlowe's Mightyena displayed a unique ability to use the move Thunder Fang, which took many of his opponents by surprise." Marlowe walked up and stood next to Mary Anne, who looked at him as though he were nothing more than a piece of trash. Marlowe returned Mary Anne's look of disgust with a calm smile. She huffed and turned her nose at him.
"Last but certainly not least our final, and youngest, finalist! Hailing from Goldenrod City in the Johto region, please welcome Neil Bito!" The crowd cheered loudly as Neil's name was called, the young boy had become pretty popular due to his age and eccentric looks. The archway remained empty. The cheer turned to a dull roar. Nobody appeared out of the darkness. The crowd began to drone.
"Uh…Neil?" Called the announcer. A hushed silence fell over the crowd. Some of the spectators nearest the archway could have sworn they heard snoring emanating from the darkness. Suddenly there was the sound of a Pokeball bursting open, an angry cry, and then a whip-like sound. There was a cry of pain and a short boy with a unique appearance ran out from the entryway. Neil was sporting short, light pink hair, a pair of red shoes with pink striped tube socks, a pair of tan cargo shorts, and a white shirt that was nearly the same shade of color as his skin. He trotted out to the field, smiling broadly and laughing as he went, trying to hide his embarrassment. A frustrated looking Bayleef followed closely behind him. The crowd laughed along with Neil and began to cheer again.
"Neil whipped into the finals with all the grace of a contest star. Utilizing his trusted Bayleef in a unique battle style, Neil has proven himself to be a formidable opponent, even at such a young age! He nearly lost his opportunity to make it to the finals due to falling asleep on the battlefield, but luckily his Bayleef managed to pull through for him!" Neil drew his Bayleef back into her Pokeball and walked to the end of the line. He rubbed his smarting cheek ruefully.
"There you have it folks, our eight fantastic finalists!" The announcer threw his hands wide and scattered his note cards in a showy fashion. "Now, unlike the preliminaries, the first round of the final tournament will allow more than one Pokémon. Each trainer will be allotted three Pokémon. Using items of any nature is strictly forbidden with the exception, of course, of the Pokémon's hold item. Switching will be permitted. But enough rules! Let's see the bracket!" The announcer indicated towards the giant screens as the crowd cheered.
Head shots of all eight competitors appeared in eight separate panels on both the screens. In a flashy animation the panels flipped over, hiding the contestants faces. They then began to spin and flip around one another. The screens were randomly generating a bracket. The contestants watched eagerly as the panels began to slow down and eventually lined up in pairs. Time for the moment of truth. A musical drum roll sounded throughout the stadium.
"Our first round will be…" The announcer waited for the first pair of panels to flip. With a flash of sparks the panels turned over. "Marlowe Eldred vs Neil Bito! The gruff and tough battler will face off against the child prodigy in the first round!" Marlowe glanced to his right and eyed the pink haired boy. Nito was staring at the screen with a glazed look in his eye, was he daydreaming? The kid looked like somebody Marlowe would've stolen lunch money from when he was younger. But the he had to be here for a reason, Marlowe better not underestimate him.
"Round number two goes to…." The second pair of panels turned over. "James Wilson Jr. and Isabelle Stevens. Our English Pokefanatic will take on the Hoenn native beach beauty in round two!" James and Isabelle were standing next to each. At the sight of their pairing, the two exchanged a look. James casually extended his hand to Isabelle.
"Let's make it a good one." He said cheerfully. Isabelle appreciated the man's gesture. She tucked her hair behind her ear and shook James' hand.
"Yes, of course." She said with a smile. The announcer spoke as the drum roll picked up again.
"The third round will feature…." The panels flipped at the climax of the drum roll. "Mary Anne Mathews and Cyril Leblanc! This Queen Bee will battle the foreign heartthrob in round three!" Mary Anne looked down over her nose at Cyril, which was rather difficult considering how much taller he was than her. Of all the rabble on the stage, he was the least rabble-esque. Cyril returned her judgmental glare with a cool wink. Mary Anne huffed and turned back to the screen.
"A foregone conclusion at this point, the final round will is…." The last pair of panels flipped. "Jean Roberts vs David! The lightning fast battler will take on the calculating schoolboy in our final round!" Jean leaned out, looked at David, and grinned. It was always fun to battle somebody about the same height as him. David gulped and adjusted his tie, there was something off putting about Jean.
"Well that's it folks! Introductions are done and the bracket has been set." As the announcer commanded attention once again the panels on the screen lined up to form a bracket, grouping the designated pairs at the bottom. "Our first two rounds will take place momentarily. The third and fourth rounds will be held tomorrow evening! The winners of the initial rounds will advance to the semifinals, the losers will be given a consolation battle later on. Our first match of Marlowe Eldred vs Neil Bito will start in one hour! So go out, get refreshed, and come back ready for some amazing battling!" The crowd gave one last uproarious cheer before beginning to disperse. The announcer then lowered his mike and turned to the finalists.
"You all are free to stay and watch the matches in the stands, I'm going to get out of this heat for a bit. Marlowe and Neil need to be on this field ready to battle by the time the hour is up. Any questions?" The contestants remained silent. "Good, see you all in an hour."
The screens continued to display the bracket as the contestants filed out of the stadium. Eight bright, hopeful faces shimmered on the screens. Who will be the one to emerge victorious and take home the coveted Arche Town Stone?