As Officer Jenny's car zoomed off, Tyson and I were escorted into the pokemon centre.

Had we just lost two of the top ten?

Everyone was speechless. Anastasia and Lazaro remained outside and had what looked like an argument. The rest of the winners were already here. I saw the strange girl we had helped earlier sitting on one of the couches holding her Lopunny's hand. She saw me looking at her and quickly looked away. Kansas approached us.

"Are you two alright?" He looked right into my eyes when he spoke to me.

"Yeah, it wasn't a hard fall," I answered.

He pat me on the back. "Yeah, thanks to you. That was some quick thinking with your Gardevoir."

I blushed. Tyson butt in. "What happened though?"

The door swung open and Anastasia walked in, clearing her throat.

"We don't know," Kansas whispered, "we think the others must have found something out."

"As I am sure most of you have figured out by now," Anastasia began.

Lazaro walked in after her, his head hanging low.

"Two of you have been disqualified. Officially." She looked up, her cerulean blue eyes burning with crystal intensity. "The top ten has now been further trimmed into a final top eight."

We all looked around at each other. Silence. My former opponent was gone. And I never even got his name. That Archie guy, gone too. I never even knew him.

"You may all have a seat. Now that we have settled this little - discrepancy, we can begin explaining the rules of the next stage in our competition."

Nurse Joy stood behind the counter silently and watched us all take seats in the centre's lounge. Tyson and I sat side by side, and Kansas came and sat on my other side. I felt someone bump into my shoulder as I turned to sit down. Bea walked right past me and sat on Kansas's other side. I stared at her the entire time, heat rising in my cheeks. She didn't look at me once. She tucked a strand of her long black hair behind her ear and sat up, crossing her legs and leaning her head on Kansas's shoulder.

"First of all," Anastasia began again, "in regards to the individual interviews we were supposed to have tomorrow with the news reporters; they will be cancelled."

There were a few sighs of disappointment.

"We made this decision on the basis of a mutual agreement. We don't need opinionated, snoopy little rats getting into our business. Hence why we had to get rid of the other two of you."

She paused to look at us.

"I will conduct the interview with the media reporters and announce to them who the winners are and what the competition's next stage will be. Now, Lazaro!"

Anastasia stepped back. Finally. Her voice was too clear. Too harsh. Too authoritative.

Lazaro looked up at us. I bit my lip.

"I believe rumors have been going around about our little discovery, have they?"

Lazaro's voice seemed softer - more gently informative. Anastasia held her hand out in front of her and examined her nails, seemingly completely uninterested in listening to Lazaro tell us about the competition.

"Well, as you'll have it, we have discovered a new island."

People started murmuring.

"It's located down in the South, and it's absolutely massive."

"Is it - "

Lazaro put his hand up for silence.

"No new pokemon have been discovered there and the Pokemon League has declared officially that it is too small to be a considered a new region, though in our eyes that's still up for debate."

So it was true.

He cleared his throat. "Our issue, however, is that it may not exactly be inhabitable. We don't know if we can set up cities or communities on the island just yet."

"What's wrong with it?"

It was the boy from earlier with the Skarmory. Anastasia glared at him. Lazaro simply answered the question.

"The pokemon there. They're crazy. They seem to have found a way to surpass level one hundred and become stronger than any other pokemon we have ever come across before. Most of them look like they were even born at level one hundred." He paused and sighed, remembering the baby Vulpix Anastasia had been battling when they were there. "We've set up a massive lab on the island's east coast, and Professor Oak and some of his associates from the other regions are there researching the pokemon to try and find a cause."

We listened intently.

"This, however, is not your concern. The entire lab area is off limits to all of you. We are sending you all there to be the first ones to explore the entire island."

More murmurs broke out.

"But with a twist."

Everyone quieted.

"This is still a competition and there is still more to be revealed."

Anastasia took over again.

"We have huge ideas for the future of this island. Despite internal protests about it not meeting the qualifications to be a region on its own, it definitely meets the challenges of being one. We plan to set up a sort of post-champion gym circuit there, but rather than calling them gyms, they will be referred to as Battle Centres, and they will not be type specific. Rather than the classic eight, also, there will only be five, and their owners, the Battle Centre leaders, will be this competition's top five winners."

My heart started racing. A gym circuit for trainers to challenge after the Elite Four? This was a lot of responsibility. I bit my lower lip and continued listening as Lazaro started to talk again.

"The rules of the next stage in the competition are simple. The first five people to find all of their pokemon win."

Find our pokemon?

"What?" someone called out.

"That's right," Anastasia continued. "The way it works is that we require complete access to each of your PC inboxes and all of your pokemon. We'll make our selection of who we feel your best teams of six are made of, and scatter the pokeballs across the entire island. The balls will be colour coded and you will not find out which of your pokemon we have selected until you find each of the pokeballs, one at a time. Once you have found one of your pokeballs, you may use the pokemon you have to help you retrieve the others, and survive. Everyone will be assigned a colour, and given a radar specially designed to detect your pokeballs. You will also get a mini unlimited pokemon healer."

Tyson raised his hand.

"How are you going to colour our pokeballs?"

"We have special cases that fit right around the pokeball, like a phone case goes onto the back of a cell phone. If you happen to find a pokeball that isn't your colour you leave it. It's not yours. The radar we are giving you will not tell you where to go it will simply pick up the presence of one of your pokeballs if it is nearby and show you its general direction."

Lazaro pulled out what looked like a big wrist watch from his back pocket.

"These, now, are mini pokemon healers. They work exactly like the machines at pokemon centres. They will heal any pokemon's injury or status problem any number of times. And they are solar powered so they should never run out of charge."

This was all so much to take in.

"It also comes with a built in speaker," he continued, "so that Anastasia and I will be able to communicate with you guys." He turned the watch over and opened a small compartment on its side. "This, now, is the 'give up' button."

Everyone went silent.

"If you no longer wish to participate in the competition, you simply press the button and we come for you."

"What about the rest of our pokemon though?"

"We will find them for you."

My mind drifted to my pokemon. Which of them would be chosen for me? What if they picked a pokemon I didn't work well with? I've been out of the play field for so long…

I mentally hit myself. No. I loved all of my pokemon and they all loved me.

"We are also supplying you with food pills. There are about fifty of them stacked in the back of your healers in a sealed compartment. They're scientifically designed and completely nutritious. One a day should suffice."

I held my stomach.

"You will all be assigned colours and given your gear tomorrow."

My mind was racing.

"As for your pokemon, we need to decide on that tonight."

I would be temporarily giving up all my pokemon to these people.

"How long will the competition last?"

Kansas was looking up at Anastasia fiercely, his hand subconsciously grabbing onto the pokeballs latched to his bet.

"It will last until you find all six of your pokemon."

He grunted at her.

"It could be weeks," Lazaro answered him properly. "Though hopefully it won't have to drag on for so long."

Everyone started getting rowdy. Anastasia clapped her hands for silence.

"All of you have a lot to do tonight. Your parents should watch the news tomorrow so they will know where you'll be. As for your pokemon, you need to return all of them to your PCs tonight and sign over your consent. This can be done online at the PC."

Everyone simply stared back at each other. Except the girl with the Lopunny. Her eyes were fixed on Anastasia. Her eyebrows were knitted together with a look of intense focus. Her attention didn't move for a second. How weird.

"Are you guys at least going to give us one pokemon to start off with?"

Anastasia shook her head.

"You begin on your own. Use it as an incentive to find your first pokeball quickly."

"What if we get attacked?"

Lazaro answered more calmly.

"A gym leader must not rely only on the strength of his pokemon, but on the strength within himself."

"Plus," Anastasia remarked, "you probably are going to get attacked."

-stbime