"It's almost that time of year again, Liepard." The man muttered in a reminiscent tone, losing his train of thought as his fingers lost themselves in the soft fur of the cat's pelt. Liepard, lean and limber as she was, stretched momentarily, yielding to his touch. A moment or two passed, and she became nervous at the constant stimulation. She gently swatted his hand away when it seemed that he had no awareness of how long it had been there.
"Forgive me, my dear. You know how I get when I think of the past." A wistful smile appeared on his face, and the liepard seemed to understand. She mewled softly, then started walking towards the south wall of the room, away from her owner. Large windows beckoned to her, and she yawned before curling up on the floor, in the middle of a sunbeam that was pouring through the pane.
He laughed, and reached for his walking cane situated to his right. Placing both hands at the top of the cane, he used it as leverage to stand. When he was at full height, he could see the wide horizon beyond the windowed wall, and the sunlight became more inviting than blinding—although some part of him did want to look away.
"I can't wait to see this year's contestants," he told his liepard, despite knowing she was half-asleep at this point. He felt the need to say it aloud, nevertheless. "Fresh faces and whatnot. You'd think I'd be downtrodden at the obvious evidence of the passage of time, because trainers get younger and younger each year. But I would face that harsh reality any day, if it meant seeing their passion and determination on the field again."
The man reached his hand out, and placed it against the smooth glass. It felt lukewarm from the afternoon sun, but it was as comforting as it might have been to hold another person's hand. He sighed.
"And I should hope to change someone's life with my own contributions. If I were not so selfish, I'd simply give out the prize money without the tournament in the way. But, Liepard, you know this, don't you? The look that trainers have when they desperately want something—the drive to become stronger than anyone else. I want to see that, so in order to get to my money, they have to show me their desire. I think that's a fair trade, Liepard, don't you?"
He rambled on to his favorite pokemon, but she was as lazy as ever. Still, she flicked her tail at the ends of his shoes in an amused manner, and beneath her whiskers he could see the ends of her mouth stretch into a happy grin.
Yes, she thought to herself, I think that's perfectly fair.
Later that week, the tournament was officially announced. Altair DeRosso, billionaire and once-champion of the Unova Region—or was it Kanto?—did this every few years or so. On a privately owned archipelago, he hosted a doubles trainer tournament, accepting hundreds of applicants every time. Then the tournament would start, and within the first two weeks after grueling battles, the weaker trainers would be separated from the ones who had a chance at actually winning. Then that bracket got smaller, and eventually those that made it into the top sixteen were taken to the largest island of the bunch—one named Connection Island for simplicity's sake alone—and duked it out in the last week of the tournament.
In the end, only one pair of trainers would win, and the two individuals would split the grand prize of ten million poke, a generous sum given by Altair DeRosso himself. Not to mention that the sponsors and partnerships in cooperation with the tournament would also offer their own deals. Royal Unova, among other cruises, gave a free two-week vacation to the winners. Goldenrod Radio Tower would invite the winners to do an interview and spread their fame to the Johto region. All of these would be prizes to the victors, and more. Even without the partnerships in place, the winners would still get hounded by news reporters and talk show hosts, who wanted to know more than what they could glean from the TV screen.
There was fame and fortune to be had from this tournament, if not some luxurious and stupid combination of both. It seemed too generous from a man like Altair, and surely there would skeptics each year that wondered if he was up to something behind the scenes. They wondered if he was secretly a dark and villainous man, capable of taking them all out with a single swing of his hand. Of course, once they actually saw the man—walking cane, arthritis, and all—those ideas were quickly shot down. But no one could deny that the tournament was too good to be true, not even the contestants.
So, the contestants flooded the scene like no other. And once the initial days passed, only the best sixteen (or the luckiest sixteen, who could tell?) were left. Who will win DeRosso's Doubles Tournament? Who will take the riches home? These lonely questions and more hang in the air, and the trainers waiting for the answers would become lonelier, as time passed…
Please note that the tournament takes place during the springtime. Connection Island and the other tournament locations have mild spring weather, if not slightly on the warmer side.
TRAINER INFORMATION
Name: (Full name, please. Nicknames may also be listed here.)
Age: (Applicants must be ten years of age or older.)
Birthdate:
Gender:
Origin: (Hometown and/or Region.)
Appearance: (In addition to body description and facial features, please include: height, weight, and the outfit(s) your character may be seen wearing during the tournament.)
Personality: (Please be detailed and include positive and negative traits about your character! Descriptions of body language and speech patterns are appreciated, but not necessary.)
History: (Please be detailed! You may or may not want to include why your character is entering the tournament in the first place.)
Quote: (Optional! Just for fun!)
POKEMON INFORMATION
Because this is a doubles tournament, each contestant must have exactly three pokemon (no more, no less) that are capable of fighting. It is preferred, but not necessary, that contestants have a water and/or flying type pokemon to accommodate possible emergencies/evacuations.
Restrictions to entries include: legendary pokemon, mythical pokemon, baby pokemon (or any pokemon hatched within the last 12 months), and ultra beasts. Only one shiny pokemon is to be allowed per contestant.
A team cannot have the same species of pokemon appear more than once. (i.e. you cannot have a team of three sylveons, or a team of two sylveons and a staraptor. A team that consists of a sylveon, staraptor, and kangaskhan is valid.)
ENTRY NO. 1
Species:
Nickname: (Optional)
Gender:
Ability: (Hidden abilities are allowed!)
Moves: (Max. 4. At least one move must inflict damage to the opponent.)
Personality: (Detailed or brief descriptions are acceptable.)
History: (In reference to the trainer—full history of the pokemon itself is optional.)
ENTRY NO. 2
Species:
Nickname: (Optional)
Gender:
Ability: (Hidden abilities are allowed!)
Moves: (Max. 4. At least one move must inflict damage to the opponent.)
Personality: (Detailed or brief descriptions are acceptable.)
History: (In reference to the trainer—full history of the pokemon itself is optional.)
ENTRY NO. 3
Species:
Nickname: (Optional)
Gender:
Ability: (Hidden abilities are allowed!)
Moves: (Max. 4. At least one move must inflict damage to the opponent.)
Personality: (Detailed or brief descriptions are acceptable.)
History: (In reference to the trainer—full history of the pokemon itself is optional.)
Note: While I encourage people to send as many characters as they want to, please do not spam!
