Amidst a wide expanse of navy blue, a sleek ferry powered through the still waters, keeping a gentle bounce as it sped over the waves. The ferry, packed nearly full to bursting, was alive with the buzz of conversation and play; one simply had to cast their eye around to spot a throng of excitable girls spouting gossip, or a young child laughing innocently as they were entertained by their parents' antics.
Atop the deck, looking out at the vast ocean, was a lone teenage boy, his dark eyes shaded from the brightly beaming sun by a well-worn cap with a red brim, the symbol of a Poké Ball pointing ever forwards. The boy took a deep breath as the salty sea breeze rushed past him, and a relaxed sigh just beyond his ear told him that he wasn't the only one enjoying the moment. Shifting his eyes over, a smile crept onto his youthful face as the familiar form of a yellow rodent, his faithful and trusted companion, came into view, a smile adorning its own expression as its ears swayed in the wind.
"It's a nice day, isn't it, Pikachu?" he asked, raising a hand to scratch the Pokémon behind the ears, and Pikachu gave a responsive little mew.
Out on the horizon, a small mass of land suddenly came into view; in fact, it wasn't so much the land itself, but rather the many enormous buildings that sprang up from it, dotting the edge of the skyline like white and grey matchsticks.
"Hey, look!" the boy exclaimed, almost jumping up and down on the spot as he saw them. "That must be the place!" he said to Pikachu, pointing to the newly-visible land, which was actually just a large island, like many of the other habitats in the Orange Archipelago's southwest. "Just think, Pikachu… in a few minutes, we'll hit land, and I'll be one step closer to becoming the World Champion!"
"Pika~!" chimed Pikachu, curling its tiny paw into a fist and shaking it at the rapidly approaching island.
"Attention, please!" came a loud, female voice, emanating from the many megaphones positioned around the ferry. "This is your travel attendant speaking. We're just a few minutes away from docking, so please ensure that all companions, Pokémon, belongings and other miscellany are accounted for; we wouldn't want anybody to lose something precious during the mad dash to the harbour! Speaking of which, please try to exit the ferry in an orderly fashion through one of several exits. There's room enough for all!"
"Looks like we don't have anything to worry about," chuckled the boy, adjusting his cap. The knapsack on his back held most of the belongings he would need on any given day, and the ones that weren't safely inside it had already been shipped to his accommodation on the island, courtesy of his mother. Just to be sure, however, he ran a gloved hand over the five Poké Balls clipped to his waist, feeling the warm metal brushing over his bare fingers.
'We're gonna make it to the top…' he thought confidently, sunlight bouncing off the rolling waves and glittering in his eyes. 'I can just feel it!'
Barely five minutes later, the ferry began to slow in its progress through the water, and the change was registered by all upon it, answered with a frenzy of ecstatic cheers, and the many thumps of feet against wood as its passengers clamoured towards the exits, even before the assistants had managed to find space to lower the gangplanks themselves. Fortunately, the boy with the Pikachu had slipped his way towards the front of the crowd, leaning over the railing to get a good view as the ferry made its way towards the dock, a stripe of white concrete that jutted out against the blue backdrop.
"Can I have everyone's attention, please?" shouted the same woman from before, except this time, she was standing on a large box in-between two gangplanks, speaking through a megaphone of her own. "We'll be dropping anchor in a few moments, so please line up in rows of three! You'll all get your chance to depart in time, okay?"
Her instructions were soon lost under the swelling cheers and roars from the manic passengers, and eventually she just gave up, signalling for the deckhands to lower the gangplanks. With six loud thuds, the planks dropped against the pier, and in a frenzy the passengers stormed onto dry land, the boy and his Pikachu leading the way zealously just to make sure they weren't swallowed alive by the tide of human and Pokémon.
Once he was sure they were safely out of harm's way, the boy allowed himself a moment to gather his breath and take in his surroundings. The pier he stood on converged with the innumerable other piers just in front of a pair of high, wrought-iron gates; the gates, open at the moment, gave way to an enormous promenade that was jam-packed with people and Pokémon, just like the ferry had been. His excitement bubbling high, and no momentary fatigue able to stop him, he sprinted towards the gate and ran through it with arms outstretched, as though he'd just finished a marathon.
Barely able to comprehend the spectacle before him, the boy looked around for a way to get to higher ground, and found one in a staircase leading to a high wall that separated the harbour from the rest of the island. Scrambling up the stairs – and having to prop himself up with his hands three times after losing his footing – he reached the top and looked out over the innards of the island, his breath instantly being taken away.
At the heart of the island – at least from what he could see – stood a stadium of colossal proportions, rising out from the ground and threatening to touch at the skies above it. Surrounding the stadium was an even larger lake, encircling it like a medieval moat which protected its ancient fortress, a fitting comparison when the stadium was connected to the mainland by six impressive and narrow bridges, arranged in a star formation.
Looking west, the boy saw the tangle of matchsticks he had spotted from the ferry. Now, however, they towered like a metropolis, vying against each other for lavish design and vertical supremacy, and all filled, he knew, with thousands upon thousands of people and Pokémon who had gathered together for the same reasons as he. More stadiums littered the landscape to the east; while not as dominating as the behemoth at the island's core, they still looked large enough to accommodate well more than any stadium the boy had entered before. To the north, as though cradling the skyscraper apartments and stadiums in each arm, was a large mountain range, its dark outline sharp against the clear sky and stretching from one side of the island to the other.
"Wow…" he gasped, his breath back at last, as he soaked up the scene before him. "Look at this place, Pikachu… it's amazing…!"
"Cha…" replied Pikachu, nodding slowly as it clung to its Trainer's shoulder.
"Just think, Pikachu," the boy said, his expression resolute now, "by the time we leave Ayers Island, everybody is gonna know the name Ash Ketchum!"
Welcome to the remake of the World Pokémon Championships! It's good to be working on my main story once again; I wasn't the happiest with how I laid the foundation for the previous version (now titled "Onto the World Stage" for convenience's sake) with these opening chapters, so I decided I'm going to do things right.
Hopefully, a good first impression. Bit of an ironic title, but I've been told I'm turning into a proper bastard when it comes to bait-and-switch titles lately. Be sure to voice your opinion in a review; heck, be sure to voice any thoughts on the story's present, or future, in a review. Y'know, questions, queries, quirks and quomments!
Oh, and just an FYI; the bold typeface in these author's notes indicate keywords, not something your mind's voice is supposed to emphasise.
Many thanks to those who are reading this as loyal readers of the old WPC. Keeping with the franchise, I suppose you could say. Maybe not a "franchise", per se, but I'm watching the World Series as I'm typing this, so I feel like saying franchise. Deal with it, haha.
Thanks are also required for those who are reading this as a completely new story, too, and to those who have already reviewed, are reviewing, or will review in the future.
The biggest thanks of all, though, have to go to Shanrock (and whatever avatar he's got this month, haha). He's been a real doll in helping this one get back on its feet. He's making his own tournament story, too - Crown. As a solid, he's asked me to be the first one to reveal Crown's final release date, so here it is: November 11th - that's a Friday, and also Remembrance Day in our home country. Lock that day into your diaries, boys and girls!
Props to Six String Bard and his story, as well - Guardian's Legacy: Corruption. Not a tourney, but good nonetheless.
Now, back to the matter at hand, yes?
Chapter 2, "Rose Archive", will be released tomorrow, to continue Gedo Week. Or, I suppose I should call it WPC Week. WeekPC? WPC-a-thon? 7-for-7? One of them. Expect a familiar face, though!
So, until next time... Be sure to review and, as always,
Trick or treat!
(It's great to be back, everybody!)