Before her last training session for the Indigo League Tournament, Summer ran into Red and went to his office on Indigo Plateau. There, Lightning and her older brother, Red's Pikachu, settled their conflict about the younger one becoming a Raichu. After two weeks of preparation, Summer returns to Indigo Plateau for the tournament and runs into some old friends. A new change is coming that may derail the Trainers' dreams to become Champion. What is it and how will Summer handle it?
Chapter 48- First Steps in the Indigo League
I bolted over to the Indigo League Pokémon Center with Lightning following close behind.
"Of all the days to wake up late!" I angrily shouted.
"Well, we're tired from training for the last fourteen days!" Lightning argued as she slowly caught up to me. "That's why you forgot to set the alarm!"
I didn't bother to talk back as we entered Indigo Plateau, this time into town. We ran along Trainer Avenue and found a long line of Trainers that extended out the door of the largest Pokémon Center I'd seen. Lightning and I immediately stood in line and waited for almost an hour. When we entered inside, the line split off into three lines. A little unsure of where to go, I looked at a visual description of the registration booths, and went into the junior division line. As we got closer to the registration booth, I saw two male Trainers in front that were slightly older than me.
One had short, curly brown hair covered by his blue cap. He wore a yellow T-shirt with blue trim on his collar and sleeves and light blue shorts. As he eagerly jumped up and down, the Pokéballs on his belt jingled with his landings. The other boy was slightly taller, with medium length black hair that had three perfectly divided streaks of green. His white jacket and long black pants gave him a sense of mystery and intrigue.
"Come on, Mac," the cooler one cautioned. His voice was starting to deepen, making him about twelve years old. "Don't lose all your Pokémon just by jumping unnecessarily."
"Oh, come on, Enoch!" his friend exasperatedly complained. His voice paled in comparison to his companion. "You know you're excited too! And what better way to show it off?"
A crowd gathered around us to see who was participating this year.
"So many strong Trainers this year, even in the junior division!"
"I can see Enoch! He's so cool, especially with his Alakazam!"
"No way! I prefer Mac over there. He's so upbeat, and his Gengar loves to play pranks on people!"
As I continued to hear the excited whispers, I slowly became more nervous that when I registered, I almost dropped my badge case.
Thankfully, the female volunteer understood and said, "Don't worry, Summer. Everyone has a good time in the tournament, no matter the results."
"Thanks." I showed her the box and my Trainer I.D. card.
She was slightly surprised at the Earth Badge in my collection. "How extraordinary. And it's been verified by the Champion…"
She then returned my items. "Thank you, Summer. You're all set for the junior division of the Indigo League tournament. Are you planning to stay at one of the hotels? It's free for participants and one guest."
"Sure!" Wow, they really go all out for room and board.
"Great. Do you have any guests?"
I looked at my Pokégear. "She should be here soon…"
Suddenly, a flash of red hair brushed past my face as someone tackled me with a big hug. "Hi Summer!"
I returned the hug. "Great timing, Ariel!"
The volunteer laughed and said, "All right. Here's your room keys for the Injigo Hotel on Tajiri Avenue; and here are brochures of the hotel, restaurants, shops, and the Indigo Plateau. Oh, and don't forget to read the itinerary for the tournament. It has all the information and meetings that are required for all participants. Thank you, and good luck!"
I grabbed all of the pamphlets and stored them in my backpack as Ariel took the two keys. I thanked the volunteer, and we walked on the brick sidewalk to the hotel.
"Thanks for coming to support me, Ariel."
She giggled. "Thanks for letting me stay with you! I can't wait to see you battle again! But why are you in the junior division? I thought there's only one tournament."
"I did some research on it last week. Because of the high number of skilled Trainers with different experience levels, the Pokémon League Association wanted to make it fair by splitting the tournament into three divisions. The junior division, the one I'm in, is for new Trainers. The senior division is for Trainers that have two to four years of experience, and the master division is for Trainers with over five years of experience. If a Trainer decided to compete in a region with new Pokémon, they have to be either in the senior or master division, based on their experience."
"I see! So experience is the dividing factor."
"Yeah. The PLA was also getting complaints from younger Trainers who couldn't beat the more experienced ones. That was one of the reasons why they made the change."
Lightning tapped my shoulder and we looked to our right. It was a 20-story hotel with shiny white walls and 10 windows per floor. We entered through the double glass doors, took the brass elevator to the 5th floor, and found our room, which was close to the elevator.
Ariel handed me a key, and I opened the solid wooden door. Inside was a clean-smelling room with blue carpet, a medium-sized television, two twin beds with purple sheets, and a tall table with two chairs. The bathroom was polished and spacious enough to hold two sinks and a shower.
As we put our stuff down, Lightning enjoyed some time lying on the soft bed closest to a large window that gave a great view of the town. I took out the pamphlets and spread them across the table. After I organized them by category, Ariel and I looked through each one.
Ariel squealed, "There's so much to do here! They have a mini-mall and diverse restaurants. And they also have nightly entertainment at the courtyard! This isn't a town, it feels more like a city!"
"It does, doesn't it?" I finished reading the tournament itinerary and said, "I need to be at the stadium for the opening speech around 11am and it should be over around 12. Want to grab lunch afterwards?"
"Sure! I'll pick the place and plan the rest of the day here."
I smiled. "Great! I'll go out and look around beforehand. See you later!"
Lightning ran after me as I opened the door and waved goodbye. We left the hotel and walked around Tajiri Avenue. Clothing and collecting stores lined two blocks and a sushi restaurant was towards the west end.
As I walked north on Champion Street towards the stadium, I heard a boy call my name.
I turned around and saw Samir and Cappy running. I was about to wave when I noticed Weldon following behind them.
"Hi Summer!" the intern enthusiastically greeted. Cappy and Lightning exchanged tailshakes.
"Good to see you, Samir. Are you staying with Weldon?"
"Actually, I'm staying with a friend I met a few weeks ago. Weldon said he's staying with-"
"Summer," Weldon said as he caught up to us. I felt his voice was more serious compared to our last meeting.
"Hi Weldon, where are you guys staying?"
"At the hotel on Tajiri Avenue. I think that's where all the junior division participants are staying."
"Want to have lunch with me and my friend after the speech?"
Weldon sighed. "Can't. I'm going to train right after."
"I can join you, Summer," Samir offered.
"Great, I'll call you when I meet up with my friend." I looked at my Pokégear and saw it was almost time. "I should get going. Want to come with me, Weldon?"
He shrugged. "Why not?"
We waved goodbye to Samir and continued on Champion Street. The walk was pretty much silent, either because we didn't have anything to say or it was because this would be where our major battle would take place. We entered the center battlefield of the famed Indigo League Stadium and saw the arena was filled with about 300 Trainers eagerly talking to each other. The viewing areas were much larger than the one in Saffron City, with hundreds of rows that looked like they reached the clouds. Weldon wandered off while I tried to see if I could recognize anyone. A few familiar people approached me.
"Hey, it's Señorita Summer," Carlos greeted in his usual Spanish accent.
"You made it!" Rai enthusiastically yelled, a much different personality compared to the last time I saw him.
"I was wondering when you were going to show up!" Candy said in a slightly less arrogant tone.
"Nice to see you guys too," I happily replied. "You've met each other already?"
Carlos nodded. "Si! The three of us met at a fiesta for promising Kanto Trainers a few months ago."
Candy was distracted by the Ace Trainer's dreamy voice that she didn't provide any input.
"Anyways…" Carlos changed the subject while being slightly creeped out by this female admirer. "I heard the director is giving an important anuncio. Some kind of change to this and future tournaments."
Rai pondered, "I wonder what that is…"
Before we could theorize about it, someone tapping a microphone filled the speakers. Everyone turned to an elevated stage at the north end of the field and immediately became quiet. A short man with a red and blue striped cap with a matching shirt and khaki shorts cleared his throat.
"Welcome to all division participants to the Indigo League!" He greeted with a gravelly but friendly voice. "I hope your accommodations and venues are to your liking.
As you may have heard, the Pokémon League Association has decided to enact a new rule starting with this year's tournament. Due to the high number of eligible Trainers, we decided to have all participants battle a member of the Elite Four in order to determine the divisions' Top 64 preliminaries."
A mixture of excitement, shock, and anger swept through the crowd.
"Now, I know what you're thinking. 'That's not fair. We have to battle a member of the region's strongest Trainers, and we'd lose for sure!'"
The angry members chuckled, easing the crowd's hostility.
"These battles will be one on one singles format, and the battle will end either after 5 minutes or until one Pokémon is unable to battle. Think of this battle as an entry exam. Winning does not matter, but rather your skill as a Trainer. Each member will grade you and choose who will continue to the preliminaries and the actual thrill of the tournament. As an advantage, each of you can choose which Elite Four member to battle and the time.
However, each member can only take 25 Trainers per division, so choose wisely and choose early. Signups will go on at the Pokémon Center until midnight, then the Elite Four entry matches at their special battlefields will begin tomorrow morning. If you lose, you're welcome to stay and partake in the fun until the tournament's over. Now, I wish you good luck at this year's Indigo League Tournament!"
Everybody immediately began to file towards the exits, trying to get a good spot and Elite Four member. The four of us just waited until the lines cleared then made our way to the Pokémon Center.
"So, who're you going to choose?" Rai curiously asked.
Candy twirled her hair. "I don't know… I'd like to battle Lorelei, but Lance is just so hot!"
The boys were a little weirded out while I gave a soft laugh.
"I wouldn't mind battling Lance myself," Carlos said with a grin. "He is quite a fuerte Trainer… How about you, Summer?"
Without hesitation, I said, "Bruno."
"Bruno?" Rai asked, slightly confused.
"Why him?" Candy added.
"He helped me and Blaze through a tough time. I want to show him how strong we gotten since I last met him."
Everyone was shocked, especially Carlos. "Que afortunado! You got to train with an Elite Four member?!"
"That's it," Candy playfully cracked her knuckles. "You're my biggest competition, Summer."
We all laughed and made our way to the Pokémon Center for the signups.
A few hours later…
"No way!" Ariel gasped after I told her and Samir about the new rule.
We were eating lunch at Pika Pizza, a make-your-own pizza restaurant. I nodded as I ate my pesto chicken thin crust pizza.
Samir took another bite of his Pinap Berry and ham pizza then asked, "So you chose Bruno? What's he like?"
Images of the arduous training session flashed through my eyes. I nervously grinned and explained, "He's a nice person, but he is really hardcore."
"Makes sense for a Fighting type user," Ariel noted, getting another slice of clam bake pizza.
Suddenly, whispers spread throughout the building as Weldon entered and walked by us.
"It's Weldon Leland! He looks so cool in person!"
"I heard he chose Lance for the Elite Four entry match."
"Really? Lance's the strongest member, and he's even planning to accept the role as Johto Champion."
"Wow...Weldon must be really strong…"
Samir noticed my worried face. "Don't worry, Summer. Besides, It doesn't matter if you win or lose, remember?"
I smiled. "You're right. I was planning to train after dinner. My match is on Wednesday."
"Can I train with you, Summer?" Ariel eagerly asked. "I've been fishing so much that I haven't had time to train my Pokémon."
"Of course! Why don't we explore the shops before then?"
Samir looked at Weldon sitting at a window seat at the eastern end. "You two go ahead. I want to talk to Weldon."
We nodded, and he left his seat to join his friend. Ariel and I left afterwards and spent the rest of the day getting familiar with Indigo Plateau.
After dinner…
Ariel helped Blaze and I train on one of the hotel's five battlefields.
"Sebastian, use Bubblebeam!" Ariel shouted. The Krabby blew a forceful stream of bubbles at Blaze.
We smiled and easily dodged the attack together.
"Wow…" Ariel gasped, astonished. "You two have gotten so much stronger since Vermillion City!"
"Thanks. We really learned a lot from Bruno, and that was how Blaze was able to evolve."
Ariel checked her Pokégear. "It's almost 9. Want to call it a day?"
"You can go ahead, Ariel. We might train some more."
She nodded, returned Sebastian, and went inside the brightly lit building.
I then heard someone approach us from behind. "You're Summer Scorcher, correct?"
Lightning, Blaze and I looked in the voice's direction and saw Enoch with his Alakazam.
"Yeah, that's me. And you're Enoch, right?"
He lightly chuckled. "I guess you've heard about me?"
I bluntly replied, "Only since this morning."
His smile became bigger. "I see. I didn't know who you were either until I overheard the volunteer talk about your Earth Badge. Looks like you'll be stiff competition: runner-up for an S.S. Anne tournament, winner of the junior division Princess Festival… I hope you'll pass so we can battle."
"Thanks, you too." I should really read up on everyone…
After he went back into the hotel, I looked at Blaze. "All right, let's continue."
Blaze nodded firmly as we practiced our synchronicity. Although the match was in three days, it felt like it was in a few hours. I was confident of Blaze's ability, but in myself, that's for the match to decide.
Pokémon: Blaze (Blaziken, male): Brave Nature, moves: Fire Punch, Double Kick, Flamethrower, Blaze Kick
Errol (Noctowl, male): Rash Nature, moves: Psychic, Confusion, Hypnosis, Peck
Swirls (Poliwhirl, female): Relaxed Nature, moves: Water Pulse, Hypnosis, Water Gun, Ice Punch
Lightning (Pikachu, female): Adamant Nature, moves: Thunderbolt, Quick Attack, Iron Tail, Thunder Punch
Flower (Ivysaur, female): Gentle Nature, moves: Sludge Bomb, Leech Seed, Razor Leaf, Sleep Powder
Rocky (Onix, male): Lonely Nature, moves: Rock Throw, Crunch, Dragonbreath, Iron Tail
Questions for the Chapter:
What do you think of the rules and format for the regional tournaments?
How will Summer do against Bruno?
Who's your favorite rival?
