As the sun shone brightly in the sky and the wind lightly swept the river, a crowd started to gather around the central arena located on the Nugget Bridge. The large construction was special, surrounded by wooden stands clearly positioned for the occasion on the sides, to allow people to watch the matches like in a gym arena. From what Raziel had heard, they had been created years back by an engineer to make sure as many people as possible could see the fights.
Not that he cared, since he was currently trying to calm his nerves. This was his first fight in front of such an audience. Sure he knew it was part of the course for most trainers, and he had already experienced a taste on Mount Moon and during the Academy exam, but still, going from that to a hundred or so of complete strangers was quite the jump.
He calmed himself by sitting down and taking deep breaths. He was on the side of the arena, with the other participants of his category. A series of chairs had been placed there, and almost everyone was sitting down. A few would sometimes jump up in excitement, like he had done just a minute before.
There were currently fifteen people, including him, sitting there. Since there had been twenty participants of their level, they had organized a few matches to reduce the number down to sixteen and have a normal tournament. Him and the others had not been selected for those, so they had gotten to observe their possible challengers.
Instead of looking at the arena, was an Ekans was fighting with a Poliwag, he looked at his friends. Draconix was focusing on the fight, or at least he was trying: his right leg was shaking up and down at a fast pace and he was sweating. Giuls was taking deep breaths, but she looked pale. The only one legitimately at ease was Leaf, who didn't seem to care at all: she was cheering at the fight, doing her best to rise Giuls and Draconix morale, as the two were sitting on her sides.
Finally, the Ekans won, the Poliwag falling defeated to the ground. The announcer declared the young Trainer winner and pointed the chair to him, while the loser moved away. And then the tournament proper begun. The man walked to a covered board, that was being updated with the current names, and Raziel checked his own chair. He had ended up sitting in number eleven, so he was going to be called for that. It was easy to remember the others were one, two and three.
The announcer smiled. "We will now begin the tournament proper for the beginner group! As is tradition, being sent beyond the boundaries of the field, either on land or while floating, will count as an immediate defeat. Our referees will make sure the rule is respected, so don't even think of having an advantage, Flying-type users!" He said "Who will triumph of those sixteen trainers? The winner will receive a monetary prize of 5.000 PokéDollars, and of course the fame from winning the competition."
With a smile, he uncovered the tournament brackets. Raziel looked at the various faces. His first match, the third of the first turn, was against someone he didn't know. When he looked at the remainder of the matches, he audibly gasped.
Giuls H.G. Touki versus Leaf Gurin, as the third match of the first turn… The two girls looked at each other.
"So soon?" Giuls asked, surprised. She had hoped to go at least one round without facing any of her friends. However, Leaf seemed just happy.
"Good luck Giuls." she said, and Giuls noticed the shift in her behavior. Usually, Leaf was a ball of smiles and sunshine. She could make an entire room laugh with a single joke, and when she smiled anyone would smile. However, before a serious match she was different. What Giuls jokingly called her 'serious mode' was actually impressive to see for anyone that knew her. Her expression was focused, and she was clearly thinking on her best strategy. Of course, with this being their first match, she didn't have nearly enough information, but Giuls was more than sure that she was going to come at her with the best choice. She wouldn't be surprised if she actually guessed what was going to be her first choice. Back at the Academy, she had won on her very last Pokémon against Leaf, mostly thanks to type advantage.
To think now she had to face her in a one on one, made her worry. 'Losing again…' Giuls looked at her right, just two seats from her. Allen Ayn. The trainer that had defeated her back in Pewter was sitting there, a satisfied smile on his face, sharing a conversation with the Trainer next to him, wearing a tuxedo similar to the one she had when they me the first time. Giuls could swear he was glaring at her at times. 'Am I just imagining it?' She wondered. Maybe she was, but she felt intimidated. Allen had handed her and Bulbasaur a defeat and then called her out on all her insecurities. Maybe…
"Giuls, Giuls." Draconix voice made her snap out of her thoughts, as she turned to him. He pointed at Raziel's Gastly, standing victorious over a defeated Oddish.
'I was so distracted I completely missed the first match?' She realized in shock. In response, she slapped her cheeks, puzzling Draconix. 'No time to think of any of that. I am going to win this.'
She stood up and moved to the arena, trying her best to hide the fact she was nervous. The cheers from the crowd now seemed distant. All that existed for Giuls were the arena and Leaf. The two female trainers looked at each other, and with a single movement, at the referee's signal, threw a Poké Ball.
Ivysaur entered the field, staring at her opponent. The shiny Pokémon of the same species was doing the same, studying each other.
Ivysaur knew she was at a disadvantage here, feeling her new, heavier body. She had evolved the day prior, while training near the river, and she had to admit getting used to weighing so much more was hardly easy. They had already tested she could still pull herself around with Vine Whip if needed, but in this fight that was not going to happen.
"Ivysaur, go for the melee!" Shouted Giuls, and Ivysaur nodded charging forward with Tackle. Her opponent did the same, and their head butted against each other, both Pokémon starting to push each other.
"So, how is it going?" She asked with a grin, the shiny Pokémon smiling back.
"Good. How about you, princess?" The other replied, and Ivysaur winced, feeling the shiny pushing her back. Both of them came from the same breeder, the one that sent the starters to Pallet. To Ivysaur, the shiny Pokémon was a nuisance, the one Pokémon that would take the spotlight away from her back then.
"Cheeky for someone that has never beaten me. Did you forget you never beat me before?"
"No, I haven't. And have you noticed I have evolved?"
"Well I did too." Ivysaur planted her feet and pushed more. She could feel her challenger doing the same. At this point, the match had devolved into a sumo match of sorts, both Pokémon trying to push the other out of the arena. It had seemed like an unconscious choice, but they had realized at the same time it was the best option.
"Indeed. But not for long enough to adapt to your new physique." And saying so, the shiny Ivysaur pushed forward, planting her feet and slowly moving the balance in her favor. The red-flowered Ivysaur started to lose ground. "Our body gets stronger, but you are still clumsy with the new weight. I on the other hand know how to use my new balance at its best. Let me finally show you that you aren't perfect."
Ivysaur glanced to her back, noticing the border getting closer. Then she glanced at Giuls, and seeing her nodding after a moment she smiled. Her shiny counterpart looked at her puzzled, then Ivysaur emitted four vines. Two planted themselves into the ground, while two more grabbed the other. "I know you are probably more coordinated and skilled in using your evolved body. I know I am not the perfect specimen I thought I was. But allow me to explain you why I am still superior." She opened a leaf to show a large seed enshrined underneath. "I know how to make myself stronger."
The seed shone and the grip of the vines grew. Planting her feet in the ground, Ivysaur moved the vines and sent the other flying. The other tried to throw her own vines, but Ivysaur knew she had won. With a strong slam, the shiny landed outside of the arena.
Giuls sighed in relief, as the referee announced her victory, and walked to the middle of the ring, following Leaf. They both recalled their Pokémon, and on the referee request took the other's hand in a handshake. "Daaamn, I can't believe I lost at the first round." The long-haired girl commented, with a slight pout Giuls noticed immediately.
"It goes like that. To be fair, I made up this plan knowing you'd use your own Ivysaur."
"That doesn't make me feel better, I did the same." Leaf replied, her look turning to battle seriousness "At this stage, usually Ivysaur use mainly health statuses like Poisoning or Sleep, so I figured I could avoid that by using her. And to add to that, I knew yours evolved only yesterday. Aaah, I can't believe you banked on that!" She continued, Giuls listening to her explanation trying to hide her surprise. The reason she had thought she would choose Ivysaur was just that they had the same starter and she knew firsthand that they were strong, and banking on her new item to overpower her at the right time. There was a reason she had tried to keep the Miracle Seed a secret. It was a gamble designed after Ivysaur had evolved at an unexpected time.
Giuls nodded, but she couldn't really be happy of her victory. In a way, it didn't feel deserved. She had largely won thanks to an item and the rules. "Well, we will fight again. Next time without a ring-out. I am sure that one will go differently."
"Did you just say you will lose next time?" Leaf asked. Giuls covered her mouth, but the girl took her hand "Giuls, we already talked about this. You need to stop underplaying your strength. You are a good trainer, you can't keep thinking 'I can't do this'!"
Giuls nodded, smiling "Thank you, Leaf. I promise I will." But she couldn't stop thinking at how the fight would have gone in a real match.
The Rocket Member observed his targets carefully. The Gastly was a good Pokémon, and resilience seemed to be his deal. That, and the phasing trick. He watched the Sandshrew's Poison Sting phase right through his opponent gaseous body, to be immediately countered with a fast Night Shade. The move was executed quickly, a mere moment of delay between eye contact and impact. Quite better than he had expected. Clearly, that was the Gastly's main move. He observed Raziel call for a second one, and the Gastly getting hurt but pulling it off, the Sandshrew falling to the ground. 'Repetitive.' He thought. A competent trainer could have easily figured out the pattern and used it.
Lieutenant Frant's first mission had been as a recruiter for Team Rocket. He had a certain eye for trainers, with a few of his recruits having themselves become Vice-Lieutenants, quite the result. It had become a habit to watch for such things when he observed tournaments. For the same reason, his observation of Draconix' Fearow told him a lot about him. The Flying-type and the trainer seemed to share a style of combat devoted to all out attack. More than once, his Pokémon over-extended itself, leaving himself open to an attack he could have easily dodged if it wasn't for that. Sure, the Mankey was at a disadvantage, and that led to his defeat in the fight, but if he was a judge, he'd have called him the winner. 'Not as good as I hoped. We'll see if the Charmeleon is more of a challenge.' He thought.
With Draconix fight, the first turn was over. Of course, he had won his own fight, easily. Taking part might have seemed unnecessary to other Lieutenants he knew, but he believed first contact deserved to be done through combat. According to the fake ID he had used to register himself, he was a two medals trainer, so he could slide in some stronger Pokémon and test the two enemies properly. First-hand combat was a good way to see how good they were, even beyond observing their fights passively.
The mask hitched a bit he noted, but he had to admire Petrel's skill. While Proton was good at making fake IDs, it was Petrel's skill with costume making that was almost supernatural of the two. His masks were almost almost undistinguishable from real skin at sight.
And as he thought so, the second turn started. The girl that had defeated Leaf Gurin, the girl that had stopped the attack at Mount Moon with the other two, was now fighting against another trainer, Clefairy against Geodude. Normally he'd have ignored her, but he already knew she was a friend of his targets. And in that case, he could always learn more on her for safety.
What he saw though was disappointing. The girl lacked skill as a fighter, that was easy to tell. Not nearly enough orders, often leaving it to her Pokémon's instinct. Not a bad idea at times, but this was far too often. The silver lining was that most of her orders seemed to be very effective. The Clefairy was also well trained, even if still a bit too green. There was potential there too, but it was overshadowed by a lack of communication with her team. 'All three are green in their own way. I suppose I shouldn't be too harsh, but then I am surprised Domino got beaten. Although, of course, it wasn't entirely a matter of combat.'
Then Raziel entered the field, and Frant perked up to prepare to observe the next fight. And when he saw the Pokémon his tuxedo-wearing opponent chose, he smiled. 'Well then, what do we have here…' This new fight was going to prove very interesting to observe.