Luffy, Nami, Zoro, and Usopp sat on the couch in Usopp's living room, scrunched up against their Pokemon.
"Ohhh, turn it to channel 23!" Luffy shrieked, pointing at the TV. "The big tournament's today!" He gave Zoro his biggest puppy-dog eyes, complete with pouty-lips.
"Alright, alright," Zoro huffed, picking up the remote and flipping through the channels. "Why's this tournament so important to you anyway? It's just like all the others."
"I heard that the champion of the Grand Line region entered anonymously. No one's ever seen him in public so far, so their all hoping to catch a glimpse of him." Nami answered for Luffy. Luffy was about to explode in excitement, for the final match had just started.
"Shhhh," Luffy hissed at them. His Aipom, just as into this as he was, smacked everyone against the heads. Nami's Meowth chased it out of the living room, biting and scratching as it did so.
"And it's the last match of this year's Grand Line Tournament!" blared the announcer. "Rob Lucci vs. Hunter!"
"Hunter?" asked Usopp. "I know Lucci, he's a great battler. But I've never heard of Hunter." Nami and Zoro nodded their heads in agreement. They were actually interested now. A no-name trainer had managed to rise up through the ranks and come up against Lucci? He had to be pretty good.
"Go, Pidgeot!" yelled Lucci, tossing a pokeball onto the field. A huge, beautiful bird Pokemon emerged, flapping its wings.
"Go Rampardos!" yelled the other trainer. Out of his pokeball came a massive dinosaur-like creature. It pawed the ground in anticipation of the match.
"Sugee!" yelled Luffy with stars in his eyes.
"All right folks, this is a one-on-one champion match. No switching Pokemon, this is the only one they'll get to use," the announcer explained. "Once their Pokemon is defeated, this tournament will be over." He turned toward the field and raised a flag. "Let's get this match started!"
Lucci wasted no time in starting.
"Pidgeot, use Arial Ace!" Lucci commanded. Pidgeot soared into the sky, then dove down towards Rampardos at lightning speed.
"Dodge, then use Head Smash!" Hunter countered. Rampardos ducked at just the right time and then turned toward Pidgeot, who was trying to stop itself. It lowered its head and ran at Pidgeot, with a speed rivaling Arial Ace. The attack made contact, sending Pidgeot spiraling toward the stands. People in the stands ran screaming when they noticed the large bird heading for them. Pidgeot crashed into the second row of seats, dazed, but not out.
"Come on Pidgeot, get up!" Lucci shouted toward the Pokemon. Pidgeot rose up, spreading its wings wide. It gave a loud cry and flew toward the field, scattering seats with gusts from its wings. "Use Fly to scout out his weak spots, then attack with Brave Bird!" Pidgeot obeyed, flying up high to scout out his opponent.
"Oh come on," Hunter taunted, rolling his eyes, "that makes for a boring match. Why don't we spice this up a little bit?" He turned toward Rampardos, who seemed eager to cause some damage. "Use Rock Blast and knock that bird out of the sky!" Rampardos nodded and ripped up a chunk of earth from the ground. He launched it with stunning accuracy at Pidgeot, who was totally unprepared for a ranged attack. The projectile hit and Pidgeot fell to the ground with a large thud.
"End it." Hunter stated simply. Rampardos obeyed, a fiery aura seemed to envelop it. Rampardos charged at the fallen Pidgeot.
"Get up, Pidgeot!" Lucci yelled, but it was no use. He watched helplessly as his beloved Pokemon was stricken with a powerful combo move, Giga Blast. The giant bird crashed to the ground, swirls in its eyes.
The crowd was silent. Lucci had seemed the sure winner of the tournament.
"Hunter wins…" the announcer stammered. Even he, the supposed impartial judge, had silently been rooting for Lucci. This win stunned him, as well as everyone in the stands.
Back at Usopp's house, Luffy, Zoro, Nami, and Usopp sat in shocked silence. Luffy's Aipom, which was on top on his head, sat with his mouth gaping. Usopp was the first to speak.
"That was… surprising." He seemed to struggle for the last word.
"No duh, Captain Obvious." Zoro rolled his eyes.
"That's Captain Usopp to you, knave!"
Zoro ignored him. His ridicule had quickly turned to anger. "I lost fifty bucks on that match! How could Lucci lose?"
"I don't know. Now pay up." Nami answered, her hand outstretched in Zoro's direction. Zoro mumbled something obscene and forked over the money. Nami smiled victoriously, counting the money to make sure Zoro wasn't cheating her.
"Hey, this is only twenty! You owe me thirty-five more!"
"Like hell, devil woman!"
"What did you just call me?"
Luffy just continued to watch the screen, oblivious to the developing din behind him. He studied the trainer carefully, from his raven black hair to his dark-wash jeans. It dawned on him that Hunter had two different colored eyes, one a light blue and one a light green. Luffy was sure he knew this trainer from somewhere.
He just wasn't sure where.
