It's getting down to crunch time as the end of the semester is only a week away (where did the time go?). As you may have noticed, this chapter took a little longer to come out than compared to my usual schedule. As I have mentioned before, academics is more important than everything else at this point. This chapter contains a cameo of one my favorite characters in the entire series, including spin-offs, so enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon but I do own my OCs

Chapter 36- Round Robin Round One

Ho-Oh's flame illuminated the platform above all of the hopeful trainers once Mr. Goodshow was done with the festivities. The entire stadium murmured in anticipation of the upcoming battle that was to take place where we were standing. All of us were escorted to a luxury box to watch the ceremonial introductory tournament battle where the previous year's champion would battle the Elite Four champion. Depending on what happened before this battle, there was a chance that Lance would be dethroned. Regardless of the stakes it was still going to be one hell of a battle. Once we were all lined up against the window, the two trainers made their way to the boxes. The public address announcer took the spotlight.

"Ladies aaaaaaaand gentleman. As per tradition, last year's champion will face off against the champion of the Elite Four. Please give a warm welcome to Allison! Allison won by a dominating score of 4-0 last year with some aggressive plays." A roar came from the crowd as the 5'7" green eyed brunette appeared on the large video board waving. "Aaaaaand nowwwwwwwww… forrrr yourrrrrr Eeee-leeet Fourrrrrrr chaaaaaaampionnnnnn! For the past eight years he's held the title of best trainer in Johto. I give you Lance, the dragon master!"

A deafening roar from 50,000 spectators didn't even make Lance flinch; the man looked like he was all business. "The rules are a full six on six battle and substitutions may be made by both sides. It's over when all six of one trainer's Pokémon are unable to battle. When the flags go up, send out your Pokémon!" The match was nothing short of amazing from the get-go. Each trainer planned two steps ahead and it seemed rare that an attack would do massive damage; it took a solid 45 minutes for it to be one on one.

Lance was no longer calm. "Dragonite, use Thunder!"

Allison wasn't backing down either. "Scizor, go in for a Metal Claw!" The red bug/steel type used its superior speed from an earlier Agility attack to slip behind the large dragon type.

"Your aggressive style has gotten you this far but I'm afraid you took the bait. Hyper Beam!" Allison had failed to realize that Dragonite never started charging up for Thunder and could easily turn around to deliver the finishing blow to the frail Scizor.

The referee threw up the flag. "Scizor is unable to battle! This match goes to Lance of the Elite Four."

Unbelievable. The difference in skill down there was so marginal yet it made a world of difference in the end. No way on Arceus' green earth I could compete with that right now. Still, the spectators gave Allison a standing ovation knowing that a 1-0 loss is nothing to be ashamed of. A tear or two fell from her eyes as she graciously shook her competitor's hand and walked away with her head held high. Meanwhile in our box, almost everyone was clamoring for a battle with those two. The Indigo Plateau is where the strongest trainers meet and tonight didn't disappoint.

I was one of the few trainers who stayed after everyone else had left to take it all in. To make just one decision with basically the whole world watching would be a challenge in and of itself. I was sure I was the last person in the stadium until I heard a quiet female voice behind me.

"Looks like you made it." It was Ashley looking down solemnly. "My desk was covered with incident reports in addition to your file after the gala incident. Why would you do that?"

I gave her a stern look. "Some things are worth fighting for." Both of us stood in silence. "Look, did you stay behind just so you could lecture me?"

"No. I came here to tell you that you're on thin ice. Keep it clean for the round robin portion and you should be fine. Also, I received a call from Olivine the other day. Jasmine was wondering how you were doing; she seemed a little worried that you haven't called in a while."

That threw me for a loop. I did share a bed with her that night but I didn't know she thought of it as something more. "I didn't mean to worry her. Tell me something… did she ever call you? At all? For any reason?" Ashley's head shook in confusion. "Okay then, I need that favor from you."

"Does it involve shuffling you around so get the easiest matchups? I did say you could ask for a favor but I don't have that kind of authority."

"Hahaha! I'm not that conceded. I just want you to give clearance for my Umbreon to compete without penalty."

She looked skeptical. "May I ask what you mean by that? From the sound of it, it seems like you're trying to cheat in front of my face."

I sighed heavily. "It's late so I'll give you the short version. Umbreon knows six moves which would seem like an advantage to opponents but that's only if I get lucky. Pryce told me that other Pokémon could sense what's wrong with him but I have yet to see another Pokémon show signs of nervousness. Maybe it's because they're hardwired for battle or just don't care. So… can I get the okay from you?"

A light bulb went off in her head. "Oh right! Pryce told me about that case. Don't worry about a thing. When you go to register your team, there will be an inspector to make sure all Pokémon registered are medically able to battle. Umbreon is probably okay on the outside which means that he will get the all clear. Tomorrow afternoon I'll have a pass for you and I can input a code into our servers that grants Umbreon permission to battle. Is that it? I could help you with something else since you nearly kicked Cory out of the gym circuit."

"Hold up a sec. You're telling me that he's still allowed to compete after what he did!?" She nodded in response. "Let me guess… he's here isn't he?" Another nod. "You're fucking kidding me," I said in a frustrated tone. "I'm too tired to deal with that right now. Thanks for your help with Umbreon. I'll probably be seeing you around."

We waved goodbye as the night continued to drag on. On the way back I had one thought: there has to be something bigger going on here, right? How on earth do you let a trainer stick around after blatantly giving money to opponents so that they would throw battles? Either this is pure stupidity by the league or money is making more sense than logic. And now I have to deal with Umbreon's condition plus the fact that Growlithe was owned by Cory in the past. I just stared at Growlithe's ball on the way back to the hotel knowing that he may have to fight a lot more than a Pokémon battle.

A line of people was waiting for me in the lobby once I made it back. Flyers with the word "registration" guided me to the back of the line while those in front were taken care of quickly. The line's progression was varied, but I was in the front of the line in about 15 minutes.

"Welcome to the Pokémon registration table," a smiling woman said. "So how many are you going to register?" What was she talking about?

"Six I guess," I said while shrugging my shoulders. A laptop was tilted to me and I was able to punch in all of the necessary information.

The woman looked puzzled when I was done. "You seem to only have registered six Pokémon. Surely you have more that you would like to register. It is a fairly common mistake to register everyone in your party only." Oh shit…

"Those are the only six Pokémon I own ma'am," I whispered in embarrassment.

"Oooooh!" An awkward silence led to me being tapped on the shoulder by the person behind me; the clerk took notice. "Well good luck young man!" I walked away to the elevator guessing that I was the only trainer here without interchangeable parts. Once I got in, I hit the button that had my floor on it and then proceeded into my room.

Everything was as I had left it before I went to the opening ceremonies with papers all over the place. One paper labeled "FAQs" drew my attention so I took a look at that. It was a useless piece of paper by this point because a lot of these were explained by Mr. Goodshow except for two almost forgettable FAQs.

Q: How do I know what bracket I'm in? A: the brackets will be constructed and released at 11:59pm the day before the tournament starts.

Q: Why did I have to register my Pokémon? A: Each contestant must list all Pokémon they plan to use in the tournament (maximum of 12) and submit it to our database. This allows trainers to prepare more thoroughly against one another. Final results can be found at our official website.

Q: How does the round robin format work? A: It works by… By this point I was too tired to keep reading and I saw the clock read 12:42 so I might as well look at my information now.

Computers were in the main lobby for trainers to access so I dragged my ass out of the room to figure out my matchups. All 64 groups of four were labeled as numbers but it was much easier to type your name into the computer to find your bracket and/or opponents. About 30 or so trainers' names started with M but eventually it was filtered down to me. I was placed in group 47 along with Wesley from Azalea Town, Marissa from Goldenrod City, and Victoria from Cianwood City. The main thing about their teams was that their signature Pokémon was the same type as their gym leaders; diversity still prevailed in all of their teams. Wesley pushed it to 12 total Pokémon registered while the other two kept it modest with eight or nine total Pokémon at their disposal. Meanwhile I'm stuck with only six. Out of respect for myself and to keep my sanity, I chose not to look up anyone else participating; it really wouldn't make sense to hope for a future matchup unless I got out of my group. A very familiar voice came from across the lobby after I logged out.

"Yes! Looks like my team will have a good time in my group." It was Carly. "Rapidash should be able to run circles around… oh hey Mitch!" She waved me over to her computer screen. "So I'm seeing that you only have a total of Six Pokémon. Is there something wrong?"

"Not really. I just don't think I could do a good job of raising more than six Pokémon so close to the tournament. I mean my parent's Pokémon would listen to me but it makes zero sense to use Pokémon that aren't mine."

She gave me a confused look. "You do know that everyone will be able to prepare for your team with almost no effort, right?" I didn't respond because I couldn't think of anything to say. "So what are you going to do? I'd hate to see you have an early exit."

Again, I was too tired to deal with this. "Put it this way… I've been using the same team to win all eight badges. If everyone from group 47 has access to my team plus some time to prepare, then I should go 0-3 tomorrow."

Her shoulders shrugged. "Fair enough. I'm in group 31 so we won't be seeing each other too often. Good luck!"

For the last time of the night I went to my room. The bed looked so inviting after I took a shower and changed into some more comfortable cloths. The website said my match was set for 10:30 in the morning on field seven; a little closer to the center than my preliminary battles. Wesley had all of his Pokémon native to the Johto Region so I had to expect a dark or steel type in there. My six Luxury Balls lay on my dresser as I turned off the light. "Sleep well everyone. Regardless of what happens, I love all of you."

A feeling of uneasiness came over me when I heard that every other trainer had reserve Pokémon. Mitch has complete trust in us but I still worry that he won't be able to deal with the other side's strategies as the tournament moves on. My psychic powers are still pretty lackluster at this stage. What matters is that we survive and advance. Pomp and circumstance be damned, it's time to get out there and battle!

From inside my ball I could guess that the weather was warm yet cloudy; perfect battling weather if you ask me. The perfect weather was countered with a not so perfect opponent. Wesley was his name and he looked very intimidating with those amber colored eyes in a sea of people. I heard him talking with Mitch about how he originally was from another region so maybe there would be some new Pokémon to see. Our opponent mentioned he had his own Espeon and Umbreon but he said that their days of battling were over after some kind of mission. They shook hands and walked to their own sides of the field as the crowd started to murmur. My ball got much darker as Mitch's hand grabbed it.

"Alright gentleman this will be a three on three battle with substitutions. The battle is over when all three Pokémon are unable to battle. Ready? Go!" I was sent out to face Wesley's Hitmontop. From the get-go I knew something was very wrong with it.

"Triple Kick!"

"Don't back down Espeon! Use Psybeam!" The fighting type was spinning pretty fast as I went to fire my Psybeam. It took some damage but seemed enraged even more than normal.

"Come on Hitmontop you're already losing it! Focuse Energy then Rapid Spin!" Everyone could hear the deep breath it took in before coming right to me.

"Stop it with Confusion!" It was easier said than done since it picked up its speed but I still managed to stop it entirely. "Send it for a ride." Hitmontop was slammed into the ground multiple times before fainting.

"Hitmontop is unable to battle so Espeon is the winner!" The crowd was surprised the battle lasted for such a short time. Even in defeat, that thing still is out for blood snarling in its unconscious state.

Mitch was looking cautiously optimistic as we scored the first knockout. Wesley's next Pokémon was the grass type Sunflora. Another Pokémon that had some overly aggressive traits except this one was much tamer than the previous one.

"Be careful Mitch. Something's not right with his Pokémon so I wouldn't change into Growlithe just yet. Please let me scout out the competition before you make a decision." He gave me a nod despite feeling a little nervous about what I just fed him.

Our referee threw the flags up; Growth was the move chosen to start the round. Ingrain shortly followed so that it would get continuous recovery even after I hit it. Very interesting strategy by not being able to substitute out.

"Quick Attack!" I let loose a string of Quick Attacks to keep it off balance but it showed no signs of being injured; damn thing has those roots deep into the ground to get back health.

"Solarbeam!" Sunflora charged up its attack but it was going to take longer than normal.

"After it launches it, switch me out. It'll take too long to attack again." Despite the long charge time I still took the full force of the attack due to Growth giving it some extra juice.

Mitch immediately held out the ball. "Espeon return! Go Growlithe!" The fire type took the field oozing confidence as it was matched up against the grass type. "Charge in with Flame Wheel!" He did so delivering a critical hit. Sunflora lost its mind and began charging him with no regard for either of their lives after uprooting itself from the ground. Growlithe was caught off guard with how physical this thing was because normal Sunflora use special attacks; Mitch panicked. "Flamethrower!"

"Dammit Sunflora use Solarbeam!" Flames didn't stop it from rushing in and hitting Growlithe one more time before both of them fainted; the plea for Solarbeam fell on deaf ears.

Both flags went up. "It's a double knockout. Please choose the next Pokémon." A collective moan came from the crowd. Well I wasn't feeling any better after that Solarbeam so Mitch would have to choose someone else for the potential winning round.

Wesley stared down at his last hope to avoid taking the first loss in group 47. "Tyranitar I choose you!" Fuck… that means Mitch only has one option if he wants to win this fight.

"Gyarados!" It came down to the most intimidating Pokémon I've seen versus the one who told me that I belong here. This Pokémon was different in the sense that it was not overly aggressive at all. Since both of them are heavy hitters, this fight should be over in a heartbeat. Give 'em hell Gyarados!

Wesley looked like he's lost the will to fight. "Thunder," he ordered in a defeated tone. Tyranitar ignored his master's tone while landing a near fatal blow to a surprised Gyarados. Mitch couldn't have seen it coming either; this thing is just a monster.

"Hydro Pump! End the Match!" Mitch said in a very intense tone. As soon as the water move hit the rock type, it was all over. The flag went up and that was all she wrote. "Hold up a second!" Mitch ran over to his opponent to offer a handshake. "Are your Pokémon okay? Did I do something wrong during our fight to make them upset? I haven't seen battling that aggressive on the road."

He smiled. "I want to congratulate you on winning the first battle of group 47. As for my Pokémon, there is something I've been working on for years now that needed to be tested on this stage. Please accept my apology for how they acted." A finger pointed toward my ball. "Your Espeon is a strong one for sure. Unfortunately I couldn't bring mine today since they're resting up but I'd like to meet up again so our Eeveelutions can meet. You better treat her like a princess if you want her to succeed." The playful attitude left everyone feeling a bit better after an intense battle. I caught a quick peek at the standings from my ball after the battle had ended.

Mitch 1-0 3pts

Victoria 1-0 3pts

Marissa 0-1 0pts

Wesley 0-1 0pts

Yes, Wes is by far one of my favorite characters because he's a man of few words and a ton of mystery. Pokémon Colosseum is up there for my favorite Pokémon game of all time. Regarding his team, I looked up what Shadow Pokémon were available and rolled with it; I tried to use new Pokémon that have not appeared in the story. The moves used were based on how low the shadow gauge is so if you want to look that up to get an idea where his Pokémon were at, then you could do that.

Random side note: sorry there's not a lot of battling this chapter. I wanted to establish the rules of the Silver Conference and show what impact it has on the trainers. Now it's somehow 6:00 am and I really need to go to bed so have a nice day :)

-W4f