Hey guys, here we go with chapter 2. So, the computer I wrote the original chapter 2 on deleted the file so this is my second attempt at writing this chapter. I meant to post this on Friday but work got a little weird and a totally spaced. But without further ado, here is Chapter 2. Enjoy.

XXXXXXXXXXXX Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon.

The mass of trainers were funneled through the tunnels beneath the marble seats to the stairs that led up to them with signs with arrows and the word "STAIRS" printed on them. There wasn't much conversation going on at this point outside of curious speculation that only registered as muffled chatter to anyone it was not addressed to. Once out of the dark passageways below, the view was incredible. The coliseum itself spanned so far in diameter that the seats on the opposite side of where the trainers had been set were hardly visible. The ground below seemed so far down. But the most captivating sight was the arena itself.

Dusty, windswept, without any discernable characteristics to make it anything special outside of the sheer length and width of it made this arena without a doubt the most massive any trainer had ever seen before. The challenge, then, became evident to the on-looking trainers.

"This arena is huge." Alain began with Ethan and Brendan.

"That means our concentration and control over our Pokémon and their moves will have to be on point at all times," Hilda continued the same thought with Serena and Bianca.

"And our strategies will have to adjust to mitigate the amount of time we give our opponents to set up theirs," Misty finished, talking with Zinnia and Dawn.

"So how do you think they're gonna have us do this, Alain?" Brendan asked.

"I'm not sure. I'm sure they've got something laid out," Alain said, crossing his arms.

"Hey guys, don't sweat it. There's no way we're gonna lose," Ethan said, leaning back in his seat and cupping his hands behind his head under the brim of his rear-facing hat.

"Well well, someone sure seems confident," a voice called from their right.

Brendan, Alain and Ethan turned to see three young women standing beside them. One of them had long, blueish black hair, pink shorts that cut off mid-thigh and a purple shirt with puffed sleeves that conformed to her torso to bring out her figure. The one nearest her was a red head with medium-length hair that was tied in a ponytail on the side of her head as opposed to the back. She donned a sportier outfit: a sleeveless, figure-fitting, yellow athletic shirt that tucked into a pair of short, cutoff jeans. And beside her was a woman dressed rather strangely. Her raven black hair was short, reaching only as low as her chin. She wore a tight black t-shirt that tucked into a pair of gray cutoff cargo pants. Around her neck a dusty, tattered coat was tied, creating something of a cape with enough excess beneath her head to make a hood.

"He's always like that," Alain replied.

All Ethan and Brendan could do was stare in awe. It didn't even occur to them that Alain had said anything. Ethan's eyes were scaling up and down the three young women before them. He hadn't seen such fine female specimen in a very long time. It didn't take him long to write off the one with the cape-like cloak. He wasn't into girls with short hair. But the other two were prime candidates. 'Perfect figures, seemingly perfect boobs, pretty faces. If I'm dreaming, please don't wake me up!' Ethan thought.

Brendan was completely taken with the girl wearing a cape-like cloak. She was gorgeous. Flawless tan skin that he knew girls from back home would kill to have; incandescent red eyes that pulled him toward her in a way he didn't want to fight; a smile that emitted such radiance as he had never known before; and a body that both excited his passions while at the same time earning his respectful admiration. His jaw hung slightly as he smiled. It triggered a giggle from the woman he couldn't help but stare at.

"My name is Zinnia," she said, bowing gracefully. "These are my friends, Misty," she said, gesturing to her red-headed friend with her left hand, "and Dawn."

"Nice to meet you," Misty said, offering a smile.

"Ditto," Dawn echoed.

"Pleasure," Alain replied with a short smile. "My name is Alain."

"I'm Ethan!" he exclaimed enthusiastically. Too enthusiastically. Ethan coughed as if clearing his throat and leaned back in his seat. "Yeah, I'm Ethan," he said cooly.

Zinnia giggled. "Well what about you?" she gestured to Brendan. "What's your name?"

"Ah, uuuh, my name…duh…de…bu…Brendan!" He cleared his throat for a minute. "My name is Brendan."

Zinnia giggled. "You're cute," she said with a smile.

Brendan felt his cheeks begin to burn red, so he turned as quickly as he could to hide it. How embarrassing! He was acting like a girl had never flirted with him before. But then, no girl had ever flirted with him before. Not like this at least. He started to wonder if she might actually be in to him. Mentally he crossed his fingers hoping she'd ask to sit with him.

"So you boys wouldn't mind if we sat here with you, would you?" she asked.

"NO! Not at all!" Brendan blurted out without thinking. Alain and Ethan looked at their new friend with surprise. He had struck them as impulsive, what with asking them if he could join up with them without knowing them and all, but this was beyond impulsive. Alain chuckled. This was bold.

Zinnia smiled again and took a seat next to Brendan. "Then I'll sit here. Is that okay with you?" she asked playfully.

"Yeah," Brendan smiled, releasing a nervous chuckle, "of course it is," he blushed.

"You know, you don't have to be nervous around me, Brendan. I don't bite. Hard."

Misty worked her way between Brendan and Alain. Fortunately, these guys didn't occupy seats directly next to one another, so she sandwiched herself between Brendan and Alain. As she did, she brushed against Alain's arm. "Sorry!" she said. But she wasn't. When she brushed against him, she felt firmness in his arm. He was strong. While they were introducing themselves, she had taken notice of him. He was very handsome, and his attitude so relaxed. A warmness began brewing in her chest for the young man seated right next to her. But she chased out any thoughts of where that feeling might take her. 'Remember why we're here,' she thought to herself.

Dawn hadn't taken much notice of Ethan. To her, there wasn't much that stood out about him. He wasn't muscular, obviously, and he came off as a player to her. She didn't like the idea of sitting with him, but there weren't any other seats available near her friends. 'Ugh, if Zinnia hadn't insisted on sitting next to the 'cute guy in the white knit cap' I wouldn't be stuck sitting next to…' Her thought train ended when she caught sight of someone off in the distance. A young man in a cobalt-blue jacket with black stripes, long gray pants and distinctively purple hair.

A rush of feelings coursed through her, ranging from anger to sadness to frustration and fear. She quickly and almost boisterously made her way over to where Ethan sat and plopped down to his left. Without asking or saying anything, Dawn wrapped her arm around Ethan's. He sat up with a jolt. When he looked into her face, he noticed she didn't seem happy. At all. What was happening?

Without looking at him, Dawn asked, "Does this bother you?"

Ethan could hear the frustration in her voice. She was mad, for sure. But was she mad at him? Was it something he said? But if she was mad, why did she wrap her arm around his? 'Wait, she asked me a question. Alright, Ethan, respond appropriately.'

"No, I just…"

"Good, then stop staring at me like that and go with it!" she demanded.

Ethan had never felt intimidated by a woman before. But this was scary. This tension seemed to born out of nowhere. At least until he noticed something off in the distance. It was a young man with purple hair staring at them. He seemed displeased. Not angry, just upset. From the way she was acting, and the look he got from that guy - for a minute or two - he was sure they had a connection. 'Probably exes that had a nasty breakup,' Ethan thought. But hey, at least he got to have this beautiful woman on his arm for a minute.

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"So, Serena, do you have a boy waiting for you back home?" Bianca asked.

Hilda rolled her eyes. Bianca seemed so single minded. But she knew her lifelong friend had always been this way. But maybe things wouldn't be the same with her new friend Serena. She just seemed, too sweet, too naïve to have been roped into the world of dating. It was a breath of fresh air.

"Well, no. Not really at least. I mean, all these boys at my school want to date me, but I don't even know why."

"Oh that is so precious!"

"What do you mean?" Serena asked, confused by Bianca's response.

"They like you because you are beautiful, little sis. And you just have this way of turning cute and adorable sexy. I like it."

"God, Bianca, are you trying to teach her how to make an object out of herself?!" Hilda crossed her arms and turned her head away from Bianca.

"Come on, Hil, where did that come from? There's nothing wrong with a woman taking pride in the way she looks and the way she can get men to look at her. It's a form of empowerment."

"It's stupid and pointless! If a guy is gonna be with me, it better be because he likes more than just what he sees." Hilda stomped her foot against the marble floor beneath her seat.

"Um, actually, I kinda agree with both of you," Serena chimed in ever so quietly.

"What?" they both said simultaneously.

"Sure, it's great for a boy to like the way I look, but it wouldn't be complete if all he cared about was the way I looked. But at the same time, if he only liked me for what's inside, who's to say he won't try to find something that looks better?"

Bianca and Hilda were shocked. Here they were, both dynamically different and set in their opinion about what is more important for a guy to take notice of, but Serena wanted both. She looked up into the sky, sunlight beaming off her face and glowing along her wavy hair. "I want to be everything for the one I find. I want to be his fantasy and his love. I know that might sound silly, and maybe it won't work that way, but I think it's worth a try."

She gave a bright and innocent smile to both Hilda and Bianca. Hilda's wall came down and she returned her gaze to Bianca, who was already smiling back at her. "I don't want to see my big sisters fighting," Serena said again. The three of them shared a group hug. It was warm, and in that moment, Hilda, Serena and Bianca felt their connection become even stronger. They really felt like sisters.

The tender moment was interrupted by a whistle that came from the row just behind them. "What comes next ladies?!" a male voice out amorously.

Hilda's eyes opened sharp. She shot out of her seat and pulled back her arm. Before the young man could react, Hilda fired a fast, deadly punch into his face, knocking him out of his seat. He forced his hands over his face, crying out, "You crazy bitch! You broke my nose!"

Hilda had nothing to say to him. She simply stood proudly, triumphant. She turned to see the her two sisters cheering for her, and offered them a small wink, a promissory note that the same treatment would be waiting for anyone who talked to them like that.

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The Champions from each region emerged seemingly from nowhere and had convened on the arena floor. There they were: Cynthia, Wallace, Steven, Alder, Lance, Iris and Diantha, with another man well known as the Battle Tycoon - Palmer. Some of the best Pokémon trainers ever known. All eyes were glued to them, waiting to see what would happen next.

Lance, the well-known Dragon Master who served as the Champion for the Johto Region stepped forward. With a loud, booming voice like the roaring of a dragon, Lance spoke:

"Welcome Pokémon trainers, to the Capella Coliseum! Take a moment to congratulate yourself for making it here, the threshold of a brand new Pokémon League. This truly is a tremendous honor for you all. With that being said, not all trainers present here are equal. It is up to each of you to demonstrate your skills, prowess, and strength as trainers in order to make it into the league. As you all know, in each league, there can only be a maximum of 8 Gym Leaders and an additional 4 members to serve as the Elite Four. Throughout your time here, you will be tested to prove that you are worthy of standing above the others. For when this is all said and done, one of you will be crowned the Champion of Capella."

Lance paused for a moment to allow the information to set in. It didn't come as much of a shock to any of the trainers that is was going to be a selection process, but how would they possibly choose out of over 300 people who was going to be what?

"The challenge will begin with a written exam that will test your knowledge. A League official worth their salt must be able to prove their knowledge. This test will cover everything from type advantages to more complex strategic information. You will find an exam underneath your seats." Lance paused as he watched the trainers shuffling around and discovering the tests. As soon as the movement stopped, each Champion opened up two poke balls and released a pair of Ninjask that each moved in a direction chosen by their trainer.

"These Ninjask will be watching your every move. They have been trained to slash any exam out of the hands of a cheater. Should this happen, you are automatically dismissed from the selection process. You may stay in Capella for the remainder of the time, but you will not be allowed to participate in the official trials." Lance paused. "There is no room for cheaters in this League, so I suggest if you can't resist the urge, or don't want to run the risk of someone cheating off you, you move away from the other trainers" He paused again to allow them time to adjust themselves.

"This test is 100 questions long. You have until the sun sets to complete it. When you finish, raise the exam over your head. We will collect it from you and send you to the designated waiting area. You may begin when ready."

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Well that does it for Chapter 2. Hope it wasn't too boring, and I hope you all like what you're seeing with the character development. If you haven't noticed, there are going to be a lot of dynamic contrasts throughout, especially as we start rolling into the battles.

Also, side note, still taking suggestions for Pokemon teams or just any pokemon (non-legendary) you'd like to see in the story. Thanks for reading!