Our story begins with a young trainer named Jared Forrest. Jared was a young, aspiring Pokémon trainer who one day hoped to become a United League Gym Leader, or possibly one of the group of 5 elite trainers known only as the Charisma Team. Jared began his training when Pokémon training and battles were becoming increasingly popular, but Jared did not just get into training for the fun or for the adventure. He was trying to prove that he was capable of raising and training an extremely powerful Pokémon team from only one primary element. Him and 4 of his closest friends and/or relatives were also conducting single-element training, and they had vowed that they would one day become the Charisma Team, the most skilled and battle- hardened group of Pokémon masters the world has ever known.

Jared began his training six years ago with only a single Pokémon – his loyal and courageous Growlithe, whom he affectionately named Blazer. Jared had always loved Blazer. As a matter of fact, he trained Blazer so well, that Blazer would not only be his faithful warrior in battles, but also a pet to keep him company while he was alone in the wilderness for days on end. Blazer, also, was no longer a Growlithe, but an Arcanine. Jared's Arcanine would always be his most prized Pokémon and his trusty companion. Since then, Jared has shared a powerful bond with not just Growlithes and Arcanines, but all Fire Pokémon.

Fire-Type was also Jared's primary element. However, Jared and his friends did of course realize that it would be near impossible to construct an invincible team entirely of one element. Thus, they all also train other Pokémon of different elements, but each one having some link to the primary type. By use of advanced technology and open Pokémon breeding, it would now be possible to give Pokémon techniques and abilities that they normally could not learn naturally. An entirely new field of Pokémon research also evolved from these new ways to refine and perfect Pokémon teams.

Jared, as well as being an excellent trainer and Pokémon duelist, was also an experienced strategist. He would examine every outcome and possibility during battle and determine the best outcome and how to achieve it. It is because of his prowess in the field of Pokémon battling that has made him such a powerful trainer. On this very day, Jared and his comrades – Nick, Dylan, Kevin, and Jason – had entered the International Pokémon Masters Championship. The actual event would take place on July 24th, but entrance forms had to be submitted by the 18th. Any number of trainers who had successfully collected all 24 Gym Badges were allowed to enter, but only 64 of them would be able to enter the tournament. It was estimated that over 600 entries had been received already, and more were yet to come. 64 of those aspiring trainers would be chosen to compete for a spot in the Charisma Team, as the lead Master was stepping down, and a replacement was needed.

It was now the 22nd. The competitors in the tournament would be announced on the Internet soon. Jared and his friends were anxiously awaiting the web page to display the competitors' names.

"Do you think we will all get in?" Jason asked as he stared at the monitor.

"The odds aren't that great." Jared replied, "Like about 1 in 150"

"Well, all we can do is hope and wait." Nick said.

"Hey guys! It's loading!" Dylan yelled excitedly. The web page now displayed the names of the 64 competitors, each person's name along with their placing in the tournament bracket.

"Yes! I'm in!" Nick said, almost ecstatic.

"Where?" Kevin said, trying to find Nick's name on the bracket.

"Right there." Jared said as he pointed to trainer #27 on the bracket, "Nicholas Kibble."

"Anybody else make it in?" Jason asked as he skimmed the list looking for familiar names.

"Yeah, I see one." Jared said, pointing to trainer #53, "Right here."

"Well, who is it?" Dylan asked as he tried to look at the monitor.

"Me." Jared answered in a calm, relaxed voice. He didn't seem too excited.

"That's great, dude!" Nick exclaimed, still unable to control himself, "We may end up fighting each other! This is going to be sweet!"

"Well, we better send in an RSVP so they can confirm our entries." Jared said as he opened up his e-mail.

"Good idea." Nick replied, "I'll be right back." Nick left back for his house to RSVP his entry.

In the end though, Jared and Nick were the only ones out of the five who made it in. Everyone else was still pretty bummed, but those who didn't get chosen received a consolation prize: free Pokéballs for a month and free admission into the Championship Stadium to watch the matches. Jared and Nick ultimately decided to get some last-minute training in before the tournament on Saturday.

Jared had set up a training area outside in the back yard near the woods, and he spent the rest of the day warming up every member of his primary team and his auxiliaries. The tournament rules stated that a trainer would only bring three Pokémon into an individual battle. Players would play 3v3 matches for the first 4 rounds. The Finals and Semi-finals would be 6v6 matches. Trainers were also allowed a fixed number of spare Pokémon in the event that any member of their team were unable to fight, but auxiliaries could only be swapped out between matches, and any one trainer could have no more than 18 total Pokémon, including their primary fighting team, which meant that there was only room for 12 spare Pokémon. Jared, however, had 25 Pokémon that he had trained since capture. He would have to decide which 7 to leave behind.

The tournament also had level restrictions. Only Pokémon of levels 45-50 were allowed to compete. This was probably the reason why most of the entrants were not able to get in. Jared's primary fighting team consisted of his Arcanine, Charizard, Houndoom, Hitmonchan, Rhydon and Scizor. His Scizor was special in that it was a slightly different color and shimmered brightly in the sun, almost as if it were made of some sort of jewel or precious metal. Jared caught it as a Scyther in the wild while venturing through the wilderness of Azalea Town, which is also where Jared was born and raised. Jared noticed upon its capture that this "shining" Scyther had stats through the roof compared to a normal Scyther. He considered his Scizor one of his prizefighters as well as a valuable asset.