We each took turns at the PC, depositing all of our Pokemon and signing over our consent. Nurse Joy checked us all in to our rooms at the Pokemon Centre for the night. I saw the girl we had helped earlier still at the PC, holding on to her Lopunny. She was hugging it tightly and saying goodbye.

"Excuse me." Nurse Joy called out, "we're missing a person. Someone still hasn't checked in. I only have seven people checked into the rooms."

I looked outside and saw a girl sitting down with her pokemon. She was probably the one who hadn't gotten her room yet. She was maybe having a hard time saying goodbye to her pokemon, I assumed.

"I'll run outside and get her!" I volunteered.

"Thank you, Jamie." Nurse Joy smiled at me.

I ran out. The girl was kneeling down, her butt on her heels, in the grass with her back to me. I stopped. She had dark, Indian skin, almost like caramel, and her hair was as black as the night sky and it flowed down her entire back.

"H-hey," I stuttered.

She turned around, her hair swaying gently with her movement.

"Hello," she replied.

"Marowack," her pokemon joined in.

"Th-they're asking for you inside. You have to check into a room."

She smiled. "Alright I'll be right there. Thank you!"

"Marowack!"

"I'm Jamie by the way."

She laughed. "I'm Hansani. And this is Marowack."

"Marowack."

I smiled. "Good luck during the rest of the competition then! I guess I'll see you around!" I turned around and walked back toward the centre.

"Hey, wait!"

I looked back. Hansani's face looked suddenly worried. And slightly scared.

"Don't-Don't you think it's a bit fishy that they want access to all of our pokemon? I mean, I-" She looked away nervously for a second. "Just think about it!"

I thought. It was fishy. But this was the famous Anastasia and Lazaro. "Maybe you're just overthinking it," I told her. "They're public figures. They're champions. I think I trust them."

She looked at me. "Anastasia just seems so-"

"Evil?" I offered.

"Yeah!"

I didn't like Anastasia much. But that was her personality. She was just authoritative I guessed.

"And what about those two who got kicked out?"

I bit my lip. I couldn't wrap my head around that either. "Maybe they were cheating?"

Hansani sighed. "I don't know."

"I think it'll be fine," I said.

She nodded. I turned around again and headed back to the centre. All of these thoughts plagued my mind. I didn't know what to think anymore. I stepped into the centre in time to hear someone yelling, the sudden distraction tearing me from my thoughts.

"You should have been more aware of your surroundings!"

I stopped in my tracks. I saw the guy with the Skarmory who had knocked over the strange girl. He was shouting at her. I should learn their names soon, I thought.

"Leave me alone!" she yelled back.

Tyson ran up and grabbed her arm.

"All I'm saying is that you should have been watching. You cannot be oblivious to things going on around you, that's why you got hit!"

"Shut up!" Tyson shouted. "You're being an asshole. Maybe you should watch where your pokemon lift off next time!"

He walked away with the girl.

Some people are just jerks like that, I thought. I hope he loses.

I went to my room without talking to anybody else and went to sleep.

Morning came before I knew it. Tiny shafts of golden light shone through the small gaps of my blinds.

Today is the day, I thought to myself.

"EVERYBODY UP!"

Anastasia's voice blasted through the hallways.

"The news reporters are here!"

I got up and dressed and met up with everyone else in the Pokemon Centre's lobby.

"Outside is packed," Tyson told me.

I looked through the glass walls at the massive drones of people crowded outside the centre.

"Now, nobody say anything," Anastasia instructed us, "Lazaro and I will do the talking. You just bow when you hear your name."

We all nodded. Anastasia led us out, with Lazaro at her side. There was a small stage set up at the edge of the field, with microphones and reporters crowded around at its centre. We climbed up and Anastasia took the mic. The crowd began to quiet down.

"I understand everyone is eager to find out what is going on. As most of you know, we have discovered an island further south, and a lot of exploration is required."

She handed Lazaro the mic.

"Over two hundred trainers competed in our tournament, and eight have come out victorious."

The reporters started shouting questions.

"I thought there were supposed to be ten!"

"I heard someone got injured and dropped out!"

"Did the last match ever get finished after the explosion?"

"Why were the two trainers disqualified?"

I saw Anastasia rubbing her temples. I assumed this was why she hated the media. She stepped back and let Lazaro handle it.

"Due to unfortunate circumstances, one of our finalists and his pokemon were injured on their own accord and rushed to the emergency room. The disruption did interrupt the tournament's final battle and the decision was made to promote the last two competitors into the top ten in order to replace the injured former finalist. As of last night, however, two more of the top ten were officially disqualified for reasons that will not be made public, transforming our group of finalists from being the top ten, to the top eight."

Uproars began.

"Why can't you tell us?"

"How will this affect the rest of the competition?"

"Where are the two trainers?"

"ENOUGH!" Anastasia shouted into the mic.

The crowd went silent. Lazaro continued.

"The competition will not be affected by this. We will simply have less losers, as no matter what, we need five winners. Information on those who were disqualified will not be disclosed."

The reporters remained silent. I myself couldn't stop wondering about that either. Why were they disqualified? Why were they fighting in the first place? Kansas said the two guys may have found something out. But what? Were Anastasia and Lazaro hiding something?

"The next part of the competition will take place on the island," Lazaro continued. "It will be difficult and dangerous, hence the reason for our tournament. We wanted only the best, and here they are!"

As he spoke, several men came onto the stage and gave out boxes to each of us. Some of the reporters started clapping. Others shoved their microphones and shouted loads of questions at us.

"Jamie!" Lazaro announced my name to the crowd.

My heart stopped. They called my name first? I froze. I felt an elbow nudge me in my stomach.

"Bow!" Kansas whispered to me.

I bowed, my legs trembling a bit. They applauded. I had never been applauded before. A man handed me a box. On the top it read "Green Team."

"Kansas!"

Kansas bowed and was given his box. His applause was slightly louder. I bet it was because people actually got to see him win his battle.

"Bea!"

I looked over at her. She was wearing a very short skirt and had ribbons in her hair. She looked beautiful. She placed one leg behind the other, lifted up the corners of her skirt and curtsied.

"Lydia!"

I looked to see who Lydia was. No one moved.

I screwed my eyebrows and scanned the eight of us. After a couple of seconds, Lazaro pointed to the strange girl. Her face again seemed kind of expressionless, and she didn't really react when her name was called. When she saw Lazaro was pointing at her, she shook her head like she was startled and bowed quickly. Her cheeks burned red. What was up with that?

"Sol!"

The asshole bowed. So his name was Sol. I'd remember that for when we were out on the island. He was a jerk to Lydia.

"Tyson!"

His applause was loudest. Apparently he was loved. Good thing he was my friend.

"Hansani!"

The Indian girl with the long hair. When she bowed, all of it fell to the side as she moved her head. Her skin shone golden in the sun. It matched the brown, earthy-coloured feathers she had put in her hair.

"And Vlad!"

The boy grinned and bowed. I had never really interacted with him at all. I wondered if he was good. His skin was pale and his hair was bleach blonde. Almost like Anastasia's.

The men finished walking across the stage and handing everyone their boxes.

"These eight pokemon trainers will be taken to the island in a matter of hours. They will each be escorted in their own helicopter and will be dropped off at different points on the island, miles away from each other. Their pokeballs are being scattered as we speak across the entire island. The way the competition goes is that the first five trainers to get all six of their pokeballs back win. Details of the prize will be revealed to the public at a later date."

I figured they didn't want to explain about the Battle Centres just yet.

"Each trainer was given a pocket radar to help them locate nearby pokeballs, and a healing machine to restore their pokemon's health. Their pokeballs have been colour coded according to their team colour so they can tell their pokeballs apart from each other's and not pick up another trainer's pokeball. Pokeballs that do not belong to them will not be show up on their radar."

The media reporters went wild with excitement.

"As soon as we get word that pokeballs have been released and scattered, we will be on our way."

I had never felt more nervous in my entire life.

-X-X-X-X-X-

Meanwhile…

"Copter One, ready. Out"

Static.

"Copter Two, ready. Out"

Static.

"Copter Three, ready. Over and out."

Static.

"Initiate release!"

Forty eight coloured pokeballs fell through the sky as the three helicopters released them. A harsh gust of wind blew and dispersed them as they scattered further and further apart from each other. They approached the massive island, free falling, each landing in different places: trees, rocks, dirt, vines, caves, overgrowths.

"Spearow!"

One of the green balls landed directly on a pokemon's head. Enraged, a massive white, glowing beam formed at its beak.

"Spea- ROW!"

The hyper beam blasted the green pokeball up into the air, cracking the case and slamming it into the cliffs above. The ball landed on the ground above the cliffs with a crash and blinding flash of light, rolling over to reveal its front burst completely wide open. The glow faded and the pokemon that had been inside looked around, confused.

"Cleh?"

-stbime