Here's how we made it into the PBTC; we are awesome. Out of more than one thousand people, the three of us got in somehow. The flier said you had to write a paragraph about why you should be able to go to the PBTC. Grace and I don't know how Ludwig got in, because he can barely sit in one place for a minute to do anything. His mother even said he sleepwalks around the house the whole night. Whatever, though.
The three of us swore on each other's graves to never tell anyone who the rotten trainer was (It was Luddy), and that it didn't matter anyways. We chained our bicycles to the bike rack in front of the Pokémon Center, where the PBTC was being held.
Grace, Luddy and I walked in to see that all of the other trainers were there, even though we were a half-hour early. A strange old man burst through the crowd of ten year olds to greet us. "Ah! Good morning to the three of you!" He said as he courteously shook our hand. "My name is Professor Samuel Oak. I will be your host for today's convention." He smiled. My eyes widened. "You're the Professor Oak? The one who gave Mr. Ketchum his first Pokémon?" I had to ask. "The one and only," He answered. "Please excuse me, but I should start up the convention." The professor took a small bow and headed behind the nurse's desk.
"Greetings to you all." He announced. The room went quiet. "As you know, I am Professor Oak. I am proud to present to you, the Pokémon Beginner Trainer's Convention!" There was a round of applause. "Now, each of you gets one Pokémon to begin your adventure with, but the question is which one do you choose?" said Professor Oak. I had totally forgotten to pick one ahead of time.
"Here's how it works: I will give you three slips of paper. Your job is to write your name on them. The Pokémon will be given off by a randomized drawing, and these name slips are what you enter in the drawing. Also, keep in mind that you can enter in a drawing multiple time. If you win more than one Pokémon, I will let you choose which one you want. Got that?" No one had any questions. "Good," He sighed with relief. "You have five minutes to put your name on the cards and enter them in the drawings. I will know if you cheated by putting someone else's name on the cards. Your time starts… now!"
Grace, Luddy and I had a plan figured out before you came. I would get a fire type, Ludwig would get a grass type, and Grace would get a water type. That way, one of us is another's weakness. No one would get Pikachu.
I wrote down my full name on all three cards, then headed to the section with the fire types. My options were Chimchar, Torchic, Cyndaquil, Charmander, and Tepig. Who to pick? I had no idea. I decided to use my smarts instead of my instincts. I don't necessarily like pigs or monkeys, so that leaves me with Torchic, Cyndaquil, and Charmander. I could put one slip in each drawing, but that lowers my chances of getting one of them. Next, I looked at the amount of name slip already in each jar. It has been two minutes, and Cyndaquil's jar was fuller than Charmander's and Torchic's combined. Those two are now my options. Being wise, I put two slips in Torchic's jar and one in Charmander's. that way, if I didn't get one, I could try and get the other.
I met Grace and Luddy next to the center drawing table with Pikachu's name on it. The jar was already three-quarter's full of paper. "I guess a lot of people want to follow in Ash's footsteps," grace whispered. Ludwig and I agreed. Wouldn't it be cool to own the Pokémon that the Pokémon Master has for a best friend and a partner.
Pikachu's jar filled slowly to the top, until they put all of its containments into a large bowl.
"Time's up!" Professor Oak exclaimed. The jars (and bowl) were moved up to the nurse's counter. Everyone gathered around. "Now," Professor Oak started. "Nurse Joy here will draw from the jars one by one. She will start with grass types, move to water types, then fire types, and last but definitely not least, Pikachu. Once all of the names are drawn, there will by any re-drawings in case someone wins multiple Pokémon.
Nurse Joy, who had been watching peacefully with her Chansey in the corner, now stepped up and reached her hand into the jar labeled Chicorita. She took out a slip, unfolded it, and read the name. "La'Quisha Wright," Nurse Joy said in her soft, quiet voice. A girl to my left slowly raised her hand. Nurse Joy beckoned her over and positioned La'Quisha so she was in front of Chicorita's jar, facing the rest of us.
This process occurred for the rest of the convention. Luddy apparently put all three of his name slips in Snivy's jar, and succeeded in getting one. Grace had spread her chances out. One slip in Squirtle's jar, another in Totodile's, and the last one in Mudkip's. She was one of the only two name slips in Totodile's jar, and won it as well as Mudkip. She decided to go with Totodile.
Finally, it came down to the fire type Pokémon and Pikachu. Chimchar's jar was drawn out of first. Next was Torchic's. I crossed my fingers. The name was called… but it wasn't mine. I lost Torchic to a guy named Gilbert O'Lee. The third drawing was for Tepig. The fourth was for Charmander. This time, I crossed my fingers and toes, closed my eyes and prayed to Kyurem I got this Pokémon.
Nurse Joy took out a name slip. She unfolded it and read the name. But the name was not Maxwell Edward Bishop.
It was Gilbert O'Lee.
Angry at myself for no reason, my eyes started to tear up as I plopped on the floor. I couldn't think straight. All I know was that I had to go through re-drawings with the Pokémon other people didn't want.
"I want to stick with Torchic," said a deep voice. It belonged to Gilbert.
I had completely forgotten Gilbert was chosen for two Pokémon. If he picked Torchic, though, that meant…
I picked myself off the floor. I still have a chance at Charmander! My face lit up like a Christmas tree as I wiped away the tears that started to fall down my face. I can still get a Pokémon I want!
Cyndaquil's owner was chosen, and soon after the room fell dead silent. It was time for the final drawing; for Pikachu. Nurse Joy slowly stirred the paper in the bowl with her hand. Even though Ludwig, Grace and I didn't enter ourselves in the drawing, we were still eager to find out who the winner was.
Nurse Joy picked up an intricately folded name slip and opened it up. She looked at the name. After five seconds she became puzzled, and five seconds after that she became pale white. She hesitated, then trembled out the name. "…O…"
No one knew what she meant at first. A little boy stepped in front of Pikachu's drawing bowl. He had on a hat that covered his face and eyes. His hair was a creamy white color, which came down and touched the bottom of his shirt. The boy was shorter than me, but he had a mature and mystical look to him.
Professor oak was even confused. I had no idea what to think of it. Others were muttering about why he was called by the name "O", or why his name would be so odd. I thought about the alphabet for a minute. A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O – wait. If "O" is the boy's name, and the letter before O is…
The whole concept caught on like a disease. All of the puzzled faces slowly turned as white as Nurse Joy's, including mine. We all stared at the boy as he lowered his head a little more.
The boy named "O" is N's son.