The Long Road to Number One

Foreword

Pokemon Battling is now a professional sport in the Pokémon World. Gym Leaders still exist but instead act as schools for young aspiring trainers to learn their craft and earning badges is no longer a requirement to enter the professional leagues

I've borrowed elements from Tennis for example the Silver Conference or Lily of the Valley conference are the equivalent of Wimbledon or the US open and serve as the major championships in the course of a season whilst each city and town may host there own smaller tournaments. Here the "Pokemon World Tour Finals" acts as an end of season Tournament

I've have borrowed the ranking and points system from the ATP World and Challenger tours. For those who don't know they are the Major and Minor Leagues of Tennis. I'm not the biggest a fan of tennis but its ranking system is quite good and I think would lend itself quite well to Pokemon

For example every tournament rewards ranking points to the competing trainers. For example a tournament champion will earn more than a tournament runner up in the Major League.

The points awarded can vary though depending on the tournament type. For instance a World Tour 2000 event will award 2000 ranking points to the winner whilst a World Tour 1000 Event will only award 1000 ranking points to the winner

Whilst a Tournament on the Minor League "Contender Tour" will award far less points overall due to it being the minor league of the sport. For example a Contender Tour 200 Event will only award 200 Ranking Points to the winner

Ill explain aspects of trainers defending ranking points obtained from the previous season when it arises

In summary

Pokémon World Tour = Major League

Pokemon Contender Tour = Minor League

Hope you enjoy :D Criticism is welcomed :D


Seth Dia, 20

Years Pro: 2

Overall Ranking Points: 229

Season Ranking Points 229

Current Ranking: 163rd

On a small blue sofa Seth sits with a sense of unease. The lights in his small but compact apartment are off with the television providing the only source of light with its muted glow. On screen a packed coliseum filled to the rafters with passionate and not to mention loud fans. They cheer collectively in frenzied acts of support and devotion. However down on the battleground there is no such frenzied motion between the two competing trainers, set fifty meters apart on the extreme left and right of the battleground. The television cuts to a split screen shot as the camera goes in for a close up on both trainers as the commentator dubs over images

"To anyone who has just tuned in. Welcome to the Grand Final of the Pokémon World Tour Finals broadcast live from Ever Grande City. You have missed an absolute scorcher of a battle so far with punishing attacks, and stupendous displays of agility being displayed by both sides. Its all come down to this. Each trainer is down to their last Pokémon it is now winner takes all"

On the far left hand side of the rectangular playing field is Taore Kutunara the current world number one. His opponent on the far right is David Smith current world number two. Both trainers pace up and down in their respective sections of the playing zone as they wait for the referee to drop the white flag to re-commence play once again. Each trainer appears to be enclosed within a world all to themselves, as they both vigorously move there neck and arms in a state of nervous agitation. Doing there utmost best in ignoring the baying crowd that surrounds them on all fronts. Then suddenly the referee drops the white flag and the battle resumes once again. Taore and David who are both down to their last Pokémon each launch a Poke Ball in to the arena with a measured act of fortitude. The light of an opening poke ball at first conceals what is released on the left hand side of the arena. Until two large aqua coloured wings break apart vanishing the light. Salamance is revealed to the audience and it lets out a might roar that rattles the timbers of the stadium. Directly opposite it is the seemingly unfazed Charizard of David Smith it to lets out a roar in reply to Salamance. The roars of these Pokémon stun the audience in to silence as they both now ascend in to the air as the battle takes to the skies, the calm before the storm

For what seems like an eternity the arena is trapped within a perpetual of state of silent flux as both Salamance and Charizard hovering in the air attempting to stare each other down. David takes the initiative and voices the first command

"Charizard use air cutter to chase down the distance and then use flamethrower on the bastard when approaching near!"

Taore, caught off guard by the sudden attack reacts quickly to counter the first move
"Salamance fly higher to dodge it and counter with dragon rage"

David realising that with Salamance ascending the flamethrower is going to miss and that will leave Charizard exposed to the Dragon Rage attack. He quickly improvises a command
"Charizard! Rotate yourself and guide the flamethrower towards the dragon rage and overpower it!"

Charizard successfully rolls on to his back in mid air launching the flamethrower skyward and in to the path of the Dragon Rage attack. The two attacks collide in to each other and explode on impact creating a dark grey choking smog that swallows the arena whole. The stadium remains silent as the crowd waits for the smoke to clear. The tension among the audience and the two trainers is palpable, as the smoke fades away it slowly reveals Salamance and Charizard, both standing to attention on the ground staring intently at each other once more. Both are panting heavily and appear visibly bruised by the shockwaves caused by their previous attacks, but both of them are still standing, to the silent delight of their trainers and the now raucous delight of the audience who scream back in to life once more.

Back in the apartment Seth rises up out of his seat and walks a few steps towards a mahogany coloured chest of drawers positioned in the corner of the room. He carefully opens the top compartment so as not to disturb the Umbreon sleeping beside it on a plump purple cushion. He roots around the inside of the drawer for a few seconds until his hand picks up a small red and white carton of Mach Nine branded cigarettes. He walks towards a set of clear glass sliding doors adjacent to the sofa and steps on to the balcony. Casually he leans on to the railing before rifling through his pocket for a lighter. One swift motion of the thumb sparks the flint and his cigarette is now lit. He takes several tokes of the tan and white coloured stick of inevitable regret in quick succession before slowing his pace as takes in the views of Goldenrod City amidst the haze of pale grey smoke. It is a clear and chilly February night in the Johto capital. Despite it being past 10pm the city was still bustling with life, as is evident with the sound of chatter and moving traffic from the main road as they together. Occasionally you can hear the piercing thud of bludgeoned air from the nearby magnet train as it carries passengers across Johto, through Mount Silver all the way to Saffron City in Central Kanto at a blistering speed. From the perspective of Seth's cramped twelfth floor apartment the proof of Goldenrod's reputation as the city that never sleeps can be seen in the night sky as an incandescent glow hovers over the city like a neon halo.

Suddenly Seth's contemplation is abruptly ruined by the shriek of an electric guitar coming from his pocket. It's his Smartphone, he quickly grabs it out of his pocket, as an all to familiar name appears on screen. Tristan Scottgrove. Both a friend and Training partner the two of them met five years ago back when they were both competitors on the Under 17 Development Tour. Seth has a good idea about why he is calling him.

"Whats up Tristan" Seth asked casually

"Dude! Are you watching the match on TV!" Seth could understand his excitement but felt he didn't need to be so loud as he grimaced in recoil at the volume of his friend's voice. He had to hold the phone away from his ears by a couple of inches to save himself from going deaf. Tristan carried on speaking although the volume dropped, his excitement didn't seem to"
"Unbelievable those guys are fucking immense, Seriously and we could be facing them in battle next season!" The excitement was now starting to grate. It wasn't that Seth didn't understand why, as the battle did appear to be a visceral sight. But he was more puzzled about why a man the same age as him, who is also meant to be a fellow professional trainer was starting to sound like a hormonal fangirl

"You're not meant to sound that bloody pleased about it. You're meant to be a professional for fuck sake not a fan!". Seth cursed the harshness of his words but felt there was a degree of truth too them

"Heh, yeah I know I know. But still I mean c'mon man it's hard not to get a bit awestruck!" Tristan sheepishly trying to defend his enthusiasm

"Getting awestruck against opponents isn't going to help you win matches mate" Seth said with a tone of authority in his voice after breathing in another toke from his ciggerate before preceding to take another toke of the cigarette. But Tristan just merely smirked upon hearing that.

"Oh really? Tristan smirked as his voice suddenly picked up a very knowing tone which continued on
"Please remind me again. Who won a contender tour event out of the two of us in Solaceon Town last season?"

"You did..." Seth quietly murmured in reply. But Tristan wasn't satisfied yet as he continued on

"Also can you remind me who finished runner up in that tournament last season?".
"
And please tell me who is ranked eleven positions highrt on the world rankings?"
Seth's lack of reply pretty much answered those questions. A Few more seconds had passed, Seth opened his mouth preparing to speak until
"Don't you dare even bring up the fact that you have been in more finals than me! Finals mean fuck all if you don't win them pal. So for the sake of your ego, you might want to stop lecturing me and chill the fuck out!" interrupted a now seemingly agitated Tristan. Although the thought of pointing out the irony in having the words "chill the fuck out" shouted at you was tempting. He was frankly too busy imagining how he will strangle the guy when he next sees him. There was an awkward silence between the two as the tone of conversation suddenly shifted

"Ahhh" Tristan sighed loudly attempting to diffuse the tension
"
Listen Seth. You up for a practice battle tomorrow at around three pm?" "
"We only have six weeks until the season begins again and Domic is starting to give me some B.S about how we haven't battled together for a while and how we are not taking the training seriously"

"Yeah…. He is a bit of a hardass. But still, he is a decent coach" Seth said in an attempt to sound fair

"You're mixing up the words decent and affordable again" Tristan replied with a smartass tone

"Perhaps so. Anyway yeah 3pm sounds good to me, Ill see you at the National Park Training Grounds."

"Yeah thats fine Seth. Ill see you there. Bye" Tristan ending the conversation quite abruptly

"Bye" Seth replied just before Tristan ended the call. Seth examined the phone for a few more seconds longer just to make sure he isn't on the line before he put it back his pocket just to make sure he didn't hear what he planned to say next

"Fucking Prick!" He said to himself as he threw his now exhausted cigarette off the balcony vaguely aiming for the open bin twelve floors bellow. Still pissed off at Tristan's harsh words he re-entered his apartment and with his right arm he grabs the handle of the balcony door and slams it closed with a mighty pull. This didn't go unnoticed by his now rudely awakened Umbreon as it rose slowly out of its small cushion with a disgruntled moan with a tired yet annoyed glare in its eyes

"Sorry Umbreon". As Seth crouched down to his height and spent a few stroking its black and gold fur as apology. It purred in reply before it slumped back down in to its bed

He then strolled in to the even smaller kitchen and switched on the kettle preparing to make a hot brew, a small vibration struck Seth's thigh it was his phone again he brought his phone back out. He had received a text expecting it to be spam message from some company he had automatically had his thumb hover over the delete command until he noticed that this was infact a text from his coach Donic. The text read

"Tristan just texted me about your guys plans. Its about TIME! Ill see you at three."
"BTW He says he sorry about what he said earlier"
"PS: I don't know nor really care about what he said. Just keep it away from training tomorrow"

Seth sits back on to the sofa to watch the rest of the battle but much to his surprise it has already finished, in fact they are now presenting the trophies. The camera zooms in on the short and decrepit figure of Davidoff Materitz the CEO and Chairman of the Pokémon Tour Association. Dressed in his black suit and matching trousers obviously trying to extenuate the importance of this occasion. Hidden behind all the grey hair, liver spots and wrinkles that seem to collapse in on each other, a broad smile appears on his face as he pushes a small trolley like device. Sat atop of it is a large glass case. However it is what is inside of it that carries much prestige. Carefully positioned inside is an opulent and lavishly decorated golden trophy. Beautifully sculpted curves meet to form a vase like structure. An array of rubies, sapphires and emeralds are encrusted on the handles whilst the base is adorned with large fragments of diamonds and pearls. It wasn't really a trophy as such more a mosaic of complete decadence

A glamorous long blonde hair woman walks behind Mr Materitz waving to the crowd and TV cameras, wearing a sequined black dress that glimmers under the lights of the arena. She too is also pushing a trolley however nothing more than a solitary shot glass of champagne can be seen on it. She positions her trolley next to the obscenely decorated trophy directly in front of Taroe Kutanara who carries a small but proud smile across his face. The glamorous woman and Mr Materitz don a pair of white latex gloves as they now both slowly lift the case off the trophy and present the shot glass to Taroe. With a calm smile of pride he slowly pours the liquid as the TV camera zooms in to the rim trophy displaying the sparkling liquid for the audience in the stadium and those at home to see as it bubbles for a brief second before settling in to place. Wishing to savour the moment he slowly brings the rim of the jewelled trophy up to his mouth and consumes the drink, upon completion he raises the trophy in to the air to the ecstasy and adulation of the roaring audience as the announcer speaks over the images once more

"And there is your Pokémon World Tour Champion folks. Taroe Kutanara. Take a bow sir you have earned it"

This is the prize that every trainer wishes to obtain. This is the prize that many trainers devote years of there life just to give themselves a chance to win it. To touch and drink from the trophy is seen as a sacred right only for the champion to experience. This is why that gloves have to be worn by the prize givers so they do not risk tainting the tradition and sacred right of the champion. Another woman now walks towards the celebration this one wearing a white sequin dress presents two pointlessly large cardboard cheques of P$2.5 million and P$1.2 million for Taore and David respectively.

Ever since Seth was a young boy he knew he wanted to be a professional Pokémon trainer. But as he grew older and more capable as a trainer, it wasn't enough just to be a professional. He wanted to be the greatest professional the sport has ever known, to create a legacy and make sure his name lives on in the annals of the sports history. To see someone living his dream. It angers him and he resents Taroe Kutunara at this point in time for living his dream. But on the plus side he couldn't help but snigger to himself at how pissed off David Smith looks right now as the TV cameras cut to him. That dour face says it all really. He is not even trying to be happy for his opponent, the only thing he can do now is reflect where it went wrong as he clutched a small silver plate in his right hand with a vice like grip desperately wanting nothing to do with this moment and Ever Grande City.

"Sucks to be runner up doesn't it" Said Seth with a twisted smirk and a reliance on schadenfreude

He then switches off the Television and prepares to go take an early night


*Edit* *I have made a further revision to this chapter by tightening up the description and trying to keep typos to a minimum*

Ill use this space at the bottom of each chapter to perhaps put in some points I ought to explain in more detail

For example .Ill be using P$ as shorthand for PokeDollars or Pokémon Dollars or whatever the official currency is

Also I have highlighted dialogue in Bold and Italic for this chapter If you think it does or doesn't work please let me know

Thanks for Reading I hope you enjoy

:)