OK readers, here's Chapter 4 of The Silph Tournament.
Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon; Nintendo and Satoshi Tajiri do.
Alessandra Cesarini looked at the sign over the large complex on the east side of the island and frowned. The "Zoo of Legendary Pokemon" was one of the attractions listed on the brochure she and her friend had received, but she couldn't make sense of the name. Was it supposed to be actual legendaries, or simply robotic recreations like the ones outside Porta Vista? Beside her, Markus Pearl looked around impatiently. He just wanted to take a look at what was inside, get out, and head for the stadium to watch the first preliminary round.
"What d'you suppose is in there, Markus?" Alex asked the blond-haired boy, who shrugged. "From the sound of it, they've got replicas of legendary Pokemon in there."
"Who cares!" Markus shouted, running towards the entrance. "I just wanna get going, Alex! C'mon, let's head inside!" With no further comment, Alex simply followed her childhood friend. She had become used to his impulsiveness over the years, and thought no less of him for it. By the time she had entered the vast complex, Markus was already at one of the enclosures, which had a large "HIGHLY DANGEROUS: APPROACH WITH CAUTION" sign on it. "Check this one out, Alex! It says there's an Entei in there!"
"You're not serious!" Alex said incredulously, running over to the enclosure herself. Sure enough, behind the Plexiglas viewing window, there stood the Fire-type legendary mastiff, staring at them with burning red eyes. As Markus edged closer for a better look, it sent a stream of fire towards them, which was blocked by the viewport, which glowed slightly yellow as it took the hit.
"T-that was weird," Markus said, inching back from the glass. "I think something in there used Light Screen to block the fire, but why would Entei attack visitors like that?"
"Because it shouldn't be here," said a voice behind them. Both Twinleaf natives jumped as a burly man with black hair and stormy grey eyes approached them, looking at the enclosure with disdain. "None of the Pokemon in here should be. They don't deserve to be locked away, with only gawking visitors for company. That one," he said, pointing to Entei's enclosure, "killed one of its handlers the night we brought it in. Took us a week to repair the damaged magnetic clamps on the side of the enclosure."
"Wait, that Pokemon killed someone?" Alex asked, her eyes widening in horror. She couldn't believe that any Pokemon, even a powerful legendary like Entei, could ever take a human life.
"Believe it, kid," the man said, shaking his head. "Keep looking around if you want to, there's more cloned legendaries all over the place."
"Actually, we were just leaving, weren't we, Alex?" Markus told him, grabbing Alex's arm and pulling her towards the exit. Alex just nodded and followed Markus out of the complex. Once they got outside, she shouted angrily.
"How dare they abuse those Pokemon like that!" she almost screamed, shaking her fist at the huge complex. "That man was right, those poor creatures shouldn't be locked up like that! Who does that to a Pokemon?"
"People who want to make quick money, Alex," Markus said, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. "They wanted to attract a lot of visitors to this place, and it looks like it worked. Most people would kill to see a legendary Pokemon, and now they've got the opportunity."
"Well, if we can, we should put a stop to it!" Alex said with finality, and the two friends headed for the stadium, where the first preliminary battle was to take place.
"Welcome, one and all, to the Silph Tournament!" A man's voice boomed over the speakers, and the crowd cheered loudly. "I'm your MC, Evan Christopher, and I can tell you that this tournament is going to be the best we've seen in a long time!" More cheers followed this, and then silence fell as the viewscreen lit up, preparing for the first match. "Now, we have eight groups of four trainers each, for a field of thirty-two competitors. The group stage will be conducted using a round-robin format, with each trainer fighting three battles. After the group stage, sixteen trainers will advance to the single-elimination knockout round, and the last trainer remaining in that round will be crowned Silph Tournament Champion!
"Now, for our first match in Group A. Please welcome our first competitor, from Dewford Town in Hoenn, Alissa Sorelle!"
Alissa's sharp eyes scanned the crowd nervously. She'd never been part of something this big, being from the small, out of the way island of Dewford. But she was determined to show that the town could turn out a great trainer, and prepared to show everyone just what she meant.
Her opponent was a trainer from Fuchsia City, not far from the island. His own eyes were hard and black as coal, and they bore into Alissa's with unprompted contempt. She turned away, refusing to look at him, and the official spoke to the pair of them.
"Alright, trainers, the preliminary battles will be three-on-three with free substitutions and no time limit. The first trainer to lose all three of their Pokemon loses the match. Now, we will have a coin flip to determine who makes the first move. Call the toss, please." Alissa chose tails, and her opponent heads. The official signaled for the flip, and the virtual coin on the viewscreen landed Pokeball side up: tails. "The result is tails, so Alissa makes the first move!"
"Fine by me!" Alissa said, more to herself than anyone else. She pulled a Pokeball off her belt and straightened the orange bandanna around her neck. "Okay, let's start this off! Centre stage, Storm!" A blue wolf-like Pokemon emerged, her yellow patches of fur sparking as she roared in an obvious challenge. Her opponent sneered and tossed his own ball.
"Houndoom, let's go!" A black dog with an arrowhead-like tail appeared in response, snarling with untempered rage at its opponent. Storm didn't respond, but just stared back, ready to battle.
"Let the match begin!" the official called, and the fight was on.
"Storm, use Thunder!" Storm generated a huge lightning bolt and fired it at Houndoom, who deftly sidestepped the attack. In response, Houndoom's trainer ordered a Flamethrower, which hit Storm head on and pushed it back. Storm simply shook off the blow and waited for her trainer to issue another command. "Quick, hit it with Thunderbolt!" Another electric blast, another dodge by Houndoom.
"This is pathetic. Houndoom, Crunch now!" The black dog raced at Storm, its jaws opening wide. Storm braced herself, and Alissa calmly ordered Protect. A greenish dome surrounded Storm, and Houndoom bounced right off, leaving itself vulnerable.
"Now's our chance, Storm! Thunder!" This time, Houndoom was hit solidly, and fell to the ground, its whole body sparking. Its trainer snarled in frustration, ordering the Pokemon to get up, but it struggled mightily as it tried to do so; it had been paralyzed by the attack. "Quick, finish up and use Thunder one more time!" Storm hit Houndoom with another electric blast, and this time Houndoom didn't get back up.
"Houndoom is unable to battle! Manectric is the winner!"
"Great work, Storm!" Alissa called to her Pokemon, who sparked in composed triumph. Houndoom's trainer recalled it with a furious expression, and snapped at it for being too slow. Alissa's eyes narrowed at this; no-one should criticize their Pokemon after a loss. She regained herself, though, since it wasn't the time or place to get mad at her opponent.
"You're finished! Hippowdon, let's go!" The gigantic beige hippo emerged, bellowing loudly as it faced Storm. To add to the intimidating appearance, sand began swirling around the area as Hippowdon's Sand Stream ability kicked in. Alissa, knowing that a Ground-type Pokemon meant trouble for Storm, recalled her with a consoling smile.
"You did a great job, Storm. Get some rest while the others take over." She took out another Pokeball and tossed it. "Centre stage, Esmeralda!" A green-winged Tropius emerged, squeaking in happy anticipation of the battle. "Alright then, start with Sunny Day!" Esmeralda launched a fiery orange sphere into the sky, which intensified the sunlight and cancelled out the sandstorm. "Now, hit Hippowdon with SolarBeam!" With the intense sunlight, Esmeralda could fire the blue-white beam of energy without having to charge up. The beam slammed into Hippowdon, which shrank back from the impact. "Yeah, that worked great! Now use Steel Wing while it's stunned!" Esmeralda's wings glowed as she charged at Hippowdon. This was what her opponent had waited for.
"Hyper Beam!" Hippowdon opened its mouth and fired a yellow-orange beam at Esmeralda, who couldn't pull out of her dive and took the hit head-on. As Alissa shouted her Pokemon's name in despair, Esmeralda collapsed to the ground, beaten in one hit.
"Tropius is unable to battle! Hippowdon takes the win!"
"Esmeralda, return!" Alissa called as she returned her faithful Pokemon. "You put up a good fight, Esmeralda. Get some rest." Taking out a third Pokeball, she tossed it onto the field. "Centre stage Altitude!" A blue-bodied Pokemon with white, cloud-like wings emerged: an Altaria. Alissa's opponent didn't recall Hippowdon, and Alissa took the initiative once again. "Quick, use Sing!" Altitude began humming a soothing melody, which almost instantly put Hippowdon to sleep.
"Wake up, Hippowdon! This is the last thing we need!" Hippowdon's trainer shouted, angrily balling his fists as he berated his Pokemon. Alissa calmly ordered Ice Beam, which struck Hippowdon and caused a small patch of ice to form on Hippowdon's back. "Wake up! This is no time to take a nap!" the other trainer shouted, now practically jumping up and down with rage.
"Finish up with Sky Attack, Altitude!" The Altaria's body glowed white, and he flew back in preparation for the final blow.
"For Arceus' sake, wake up! You can hit it while it charges up!" But the trainer's harsh comments did nothing to end Hippowdon's nap, and Altitude crashed into it, sending it onto its back and out of the match.
"Hippowdon is unable to battle! Altaria is the winner!" The dark-eyed trainer recalled Hippowdon, promising to deal with it later. Alissa frowned again; this trainer really didn't get it.
"Now, let's actually make an effort! Tyranitar, let's go!" A huge, greenish Pokemon emerged, and another sandstorm kicked in as its ability was activated. Alissa decided to stick with Altitude, since his moves were probably her best bet against a combination Rock- and Dark-type.
"Now, let's start this thing off! Dragon Pulse!" Altitude formed a bluish sphere of energy and launched it at Tyranitar.
"Focus Blast!" Tyranitar formed a sphere of its own and threw it at the Dragon Pulse. Both moves collided and exploded, creating a cloud of smoke that almost blew the sandstorm away. "Now, Ice Beam!" This time, Tyranitar was the one to fire the icy beam of energy, and Altitude dodged quickly before it got hit by the super-effective attack.
"Alright, Altitude, let's show that Tyranitar we mean business! Use your Ice Beam!" Altaria fired the bluish beam, and Tyranitar took the hit, becoming frozen on the spot. The other trainer couldn't believe it, and Alissa called for Heat Wave. The air became incredibly hot, and the ice melted, but Tyranitar couldn't stand up to the moves and collapsed, beaten.
"Tyranitar is unable to continue! Altaria wins, and so victory goes to Alissa Sorrelle of Dewford Town!" Alissa smiled in composed triumph, and recalled Altitude for some rest. She walked over to her opponent, who had recalled Tyranitar and started to walk out of the stadium.
"Hey! Wait a minute!" she called to him, and he stopped, his eyes hard and furious. "That was a great battle out there. What's your name?"
"The name's Hunter Scott, and you'd do well to stay out of my way," Hunter ran a hand through his rust-brown hair and walked out of the stadium, leaving a very confused and upset Alissa behind.
Alright, so the first match of the group stage is history! And I guess I answered the question of what was in the crates earlier in the chapter as well. If your OC didn't appear in this chapter, don't worry; I'm just trying to introduce all the characters before I toss them all together. That being said, please read, review and tell me what you think! If I got your character wrong, PM me and I'll do my best to fix them!
Also, this is your last chance to submit a character if you want to. Once I post Chapter 5, OCs will be locked in.
OC CREDITS (I'll just put the new characters here)
Alex Cesarini, Markus Pearl: Legendary Fairy
Alissa Sorrelle: winterkitten
Hunter Scott: SJShark23