Round 1 - Matches 1, 37, and 38
Carol sat on a comfortably cushioned couch between Kyle and Adrien, the latter of which was sitting at the end. Carol and Kyle were leaning forward in their seats, peering through the glass wall in front of them, down to the battle area in the center of the massive indoor arena. Adrien propped his elbow on the armrest and rested the side of his head on his fist. Jordan and Hannah sat on the other side of Kyle, mostly talking to each other but also eyeing the empty battleground.
The participants in the tournament had all been given a box room each near the top of the stadium to watch the fights, with an entire glass wall, TV screens that displayed different angles of the battlefield, and plenty of comfy furniture. They had all agreed to use a singular box so they could all talk; they were using Carol's at the moment. Kyle's mother and sister, being the understanding people that they were, had led all the parents back to Kyle's box, giving the kids some room to enjoy themselves without the pressure of being supervised.
"Welcome, everyone, to the first Grand Pokemon Tournament!" A female announcer shouted. Her voice came from speakers within the box, but Carol could also hear echoes coming from outside.
The crowd in the stadium cheered. The turnout was massive; Carol was certain that not a single seat in the arena wasn't occupied. People of all genders and ages were attending. As a rule, Pokemon other than the ones in battle were not allowed to be released, so there were no Pokemon to be seen in the stands. Just to be safe, Carol and all of her friends were also following this rule. Scarf would still be able to see the fight through Carol's eyes, at least. The Dragonite was amped to see the battle.
"Prepare yourselves for our first match of round one of the tournament!" The announcer exclaimed. "Entering the arena from the red section, please welcome Stacy Naiman and her Ursaring, Teddy!"
The barren dirt battlefield covered the entirety of the lowest level of the stadium. It was a big as a soccer field, with a giant poke ball painted in white in the middle. At the opposite ends of the field were two openings, one red, one green. From the red side, a girl in her late teenage years walked through an opening. She smiled and waved to the crowd, who cheered her on as she stepped up to the field.
"Now, for her opponent!" The announcer said. "The youngest participant we have here in this competition, coming from the green section, is Noah Fischer and his Aggron, Shine!"
"Look!" Carol said, pointing as she spotted her little brother. "There he is!"
Out from the green entrance came Noah. His size made him hard to make out, but he walked confidently to his end of the battle area. He raised a hand on each side to the crowd, who cheered him on as well.
"Challengers, please move to the center of the battlefield!" The announcer called.
Noah and Stacy both obliged, moving towards each other to meet halfway, where the official referee stood. The referee spoke a few inaudible words, followed by Stacy and Noah shaking hands. Noah was considerably shorter, but Carol knew better than anyone else that he shouldn't be underestimated because of his stature.
"Where's Thomas?" Hannah asked. "Did anyone invite him to hang out in our box?"
Jordan grumbled. "I don't think I wanna see him right now."
Kyle grinned. "Looks like someone's still upset about his loss."
"Shut up!" Jordan snapped. "I swear I'll beat him. We're in the same bracket. As long as we both win all our matches, we'll get to fight each other again. Then I'll have my revenge."
"We'll see later if he wants to join us in the future," Kyle told Carol. "I can go ask him after this match."
Carol nodded.
The brackets had been decided when they'd arrived at the stadium that day. It was a classic one-on-one elimination. Carol, Kyle, Adrien, and Jordan had all been placed on opposite sections of the tournament. So, in theory, if all of them won every match they faced, they would all end up in the semi-finals together. But it wasn't so simple as that. The way the brackets were made, not only would Jordan have to fight Thomas, but Kyle would have to fight Hannah. Not to mention, Carol would have to fight Noah. Even then, there were sure to be plenty of unpredictably tough opponents for each of them to face.
There were a whopping 64 matches in round one. A maximum of sixteen would be fought each day. Carol and Noah would have their matches today, while the rest of their friends would have to wait a few days.
"It's starting!" Hannah exclaimed.
The two opponents had returned to their respective sides of the field and were now releasing their Pokemon. Out of Stacy's poke ball came an Ursaring. It was a fearsome Pokemon indeed, taking on the appearance of a brown bear.
Shine sprung from Noah's Pokemon and let out a metallic roar. The Aggron breathed heavily, waiting for its command to attack. It wasn't nearly as malicious or aggressive as it was making itself out to be, really. Shine just really enjoyed a good battle, just like its trainer.
"So we're doing the bet, right?" Jordan asked. "First person to resort to a half-bond has to pay everyone else ten bucks?"
Adrien shrugged. "Sure."
As if you would possibly lose that bet, Adrien, Carol thought. "I don't know," she said. "I don't want to lose the tournament just because I was too afraid to go all-in."
"You're fine," Kyle assured. "Dragonites are one of the strongest Pokemon out there. You won't need a half-bond for a while. I'm definitely in, too. I can't wait to make ten bucks."
Hannah sighed. "I'm totally going to lose, but fine."
Everyone laughed before turning their attention back to the battle, which had just started.
Teddy the Urasing stomped a heavy foot on the ground. Carol felt the entire room shake as it used Earthquake. A wave of rock and dirt pulsed outward towards Shine, who crossed its arms defensively in front of its body. The wave crashed over it, and for a moment, the Aggron was obscured in dust. Stacy pumped a fist, but then realized she was celebrating way too early. Shine emerged from the dirt cloud. It hadn't moved an inch.
"Shine's defense is insane," Kyle commented. "Ground attacks are four times as effective on it, and it's still fixed in place."
"Noah specially trained it to have better defense, more than anything else," Carol said.
Shine prepared its counterattack. It rushed forward, though at an incredibly slow pace. Teddy had plenty of time to unleash another attack, and that it did. Urasing stomped its foot again, harder this time. Another quake reverberated throughout the stadium, and another wave overtook Shine.
Carol cringed. There had to be a limit to how much of this Shine could take, even if it had suburb defense. She knew it was safe to say one more Earthquake could end the match, shutting Noah down only just after he'd started.
But Shine emerged once again and closed in on Teddy. The Aggron's entire body was glowing a beautiful, silver color. The Urasing was too slow to dodge, and it was still recovering from using Earthquake.
Shine slammed into it with what seemed like the force of a bullet train. Teddy beamed through the air, out of the field and straight into the wall behind its shocked trainer, cracking the concrete surface. Teddy slumped from the demolished wall and onto the ground. It didn't get up. The referee announced the end of the match.
"Noah and Shine are the victors!" The announcer said. "A one-hit win! What strength! I'm sure we'll see more great things from them in the future."
Jordan blinked. "What just happened?"
"Metal Burst, I think," Kyle said. Carol nodded in agreement.
"That one works like Revenge, right?" Adrien asked.
Carol nodded. "Shine must've absorbed the power from the first two attacks. Then it transferred it into one, combining its own power with the power of two full Earthquakes. No wonder it only took one hit."
"Now, I know that was short," the announcer said, "But we'll be right back with our second match in just a short while! Until then, there are plenty of refreshments around the stadium."
"Well, I'm gonna go ask Thomas if he wants to come over here," Kyle said, standing.
"I'll go, too," Adrien said, following him to the exit. "I have to go to the bathroom."
Carol watched them leave, then turned back to watch Noah proudly rubbing Shine's steel head. She smiled. She was incredibly proud of her brother, more than he could know. She hoped their fight would be one to remember.
Kyle and Adrien walked around the stadium towards Thomas's box after exiting their own. The nearest bathroom was on the way, so they would part for a bit while Kyle found Thomas, then regroup on the way back.
This was a good opportunity. Since Thomas had told him about what his Lucario had seen inside Adrien, Kyle had wanted a chance to ask Adrien about some things. But how was he supposed to address the topic?
What can I ask without sounding strange? Kyle wondered. 'Hey, what's up with the darkness in your soul?' That sounds like a parent trying to connect with their emo child. He sighed. Whatever. I'll wing it, I guess.
"Hey, Adr-"
"Are you guys in the tournament?"
Kyle and Adrien both turned around to find another guy walking over to them. He looked about twenty, with a simple blue t-shirt and shorts that reached below his knees. His hair was long and disheveled, swept out of his eyes to the right. He held a boxed hot dog in his hand.
"Yeah, we are," Kyle said.
"Oh, nice!" The stranger said. "I wasn't sure, but since you're up here, I thought I might ask. I'm Oliver. I'm in the tournament, too."
Adrien nodded. "I saw you at the banquet. You had a Smeargle."
"Yeah, that's right," Oliver said. His voice wavered a bit. Kyle didn't blame him for being surprised. Adrien's memory was a thing to behold.
Smeargles weren't that strong of a Pokemon, with no evolutions and rather low stats. Not to mention, from what Kyle heard about that species, he imagined it would be difficult for a trainer to find good moves for their Smeargle to learn. But Oliver had made it into the tournament, so he had to be strong.
"I'm Kyle," he said. Adrien introduced himself likewise.
"What kind of Pokemon do you guys have?" Oliver asked.
"I have a Raichu," Adrien said.
Oliver raised his eyebrows. "Oh, was that Raichu yours? The weirdly colored one?"
"Yeah. It's a shiny."
"Oh, okay." Oliver turned to Kyle. "What about you?"
"I have an Eevee," Kyle said.
Oliver raised an eyebrow. "Just an Eevee? Not an evolution?"
Adrien's nostrils flared in amusement.
"It's a special Eevee," Kyle said with a smirk.
Oliver shrugged. "Well, if you made it here…"
"What match are you in for round one?" Kyle asked.
Oliver's eyes flicked upward as he tried to remember. "I think it's match 38. What about you guys?"
Adrien glanced at Kyle. They both knew that Kyle's match was number 37, which meant that if Kyle and Oliver both won their matches, they would face each other in round two.
"Oh, wow," Oliver said when Kyle told him his match number. He grinned. "I guess we might be fighting." His voice became a bit heavier. "I'll win, of course, but maybe you'll put up a good effort."
This sudden cockiness caught Kyle off guard, but Oliver seemed as laid-back and cheerful as before.
They said their goodbyes and parted ways. Adrien split away after a short bit of more walking, and only then did Kyle realize he had forgotten to ask him something. Oh, well, there would always be other times. Truthfully, he was a bit grateful he could avoid that uncomfortable discussion for now.
Two Days Later
The foe's Hippowdon was weakened. It wouldn't take much more for Eve to win this fight. However, Eve was admittedly a bit on the tired side, as well. It had taken a lot more hits than Kyle had expected it to, and it had remained only an Eevee for the entirety of the battle. Actually, Eve wasn't even wearing its harness, so it couldn't switch even if they wanted to.
Why did I take that bet? Kyle thought to himself as Eve barely dodged another one of the Ground-type hippo Pokemon's Take Downs. The Hippowdon skidded to a stop, but as it did so, Eve was given an opening.
At Kyle's wish, Eve's tail flashed metallic, and it leapt into the air, spinning around and delivering a powerful slash against Hippowdon's hide. The hippo cried out in pain and retreated a few steps before stomping the ground, using Earthquake right as Eve was about to land.
Double kick!
Just as Eve's tail returned to normal, the tiny paws of its hind legs glowed, and it smacked the ground rather than landing. It propelled itself up into the air, out of danger from the Earthquake. The crowd cheered as Eve fell upon Hippowdon, unleashing a flurry of kicks.
It switched moves and dealt one final blow with Iron Tail. The Hippowdon fell to the side, defeated.
"Kyle and Eve are the winners of match 37!" The announcer called. Kyle shyly waved to the applauding crowd as he returned Eve to his poke ball. He smiled as a bead of sweat ran down the side of his face.
That was closer than I liked, he thought as he disappeared into the green entryway. He made his way to the stairs, where he climbed up to the top level of the stadium, where the boxes were. He thanked a few people for their congratulations as they passed him along his way. He found Carol's box and opened the door.
Everyone in the room turned. In addition to their normal gathering, Thomas had also been watching the matches with them since Kyle had gone to ask. Adrien and Thomas sat in their own separate chairs, while the rest of them all sat on the couch.
Carol, Hannah, and Noah were all gazing at Kyle with wide eyes. Adrien had a sly smile on his face. Jordan averted his eyes and frowned. Thomas, who definetly had no idea what was going on, looked at everyone with a confused expression.
Kyle grinned and held out a hand to Jordan.
"Give it up," Kyle said.
Jordan groaned and fished around in his pocket, pulling out a twenty dollar bill. He slapped it into Kyle's open palm. Kyle took it with a smirk and slid it into his own pocket, giving a satisfied stare to Jordan the whole time.
"I didn't think you'd actually do it," Jordan grumbled. "And end up winning, too."
"Me neither," Carol admitted.
"You must be insane," Hannah said.
"Did none of you have any faith in me?" Kyle asked in disbelief. "Come on. I bet Noah believed in me."
"I did!" Noah said proudly.
Jordan rolled his eyes. "Noah, you said at the beginning of the match that the only reason Kyle is so good is because of Eve's ability."
Carol laughed, while Noah pouted, "Well, I thought he was going to lose at first, but by the end I knew he could win."
Kyle glanced at Adrien. "What about you?" He asked.
Adrien shrugged. "I didn't think you'd take the bet, but I knew you'd still be able to win, regardless."
"Yeah, well, you're also insane, Adrien," Jordan said.
Kyle chuckled and took his place next to Carol on the couch. Jordan had met a bet with him that morning. If Kyle fought his first match without using Eve's harness or Judgment, Jordan would pay him. It was meant as a joke, but Kyle decided he could probably pull it off. Sure, it had been a lot tougher than he'd expected, but he still managed to claim victory, and that was what really mattered.
"Does anyone want to tell me what's going on?" Thomas asked. "What exactly was the bet about? What's the harness supposed to be? And what does 'Judgment' mean?"
Kyle opened his mouth. "I guess you'll have to wait and-"
"Kyle's Eevee can switch between evolutions!" Noah blurted. "And it has this super stong move!"
Silence. Then, Jordan burst out laughing, and Kyle sighed.
"What?" Thomas asked.
"Well, I was hoping to keep this secret from as many people as I could for as long as I could," Kyle said, "but I guess there's not much point to keep it from you, now."
He explained to Thomas how Eve could switch between its evolutions by using the stones in its harness, and how it had mysteriously learned the move Judgment soon after Kyle had caught it. He left out everything about Arceus and Team Dominion, however.
"Woah," Thomas said when he was finished. "Leo definitely sensed something strong from your Eevee, but I didn't know it'd be something like this." He shook his head. "Devolving, then evolving into something else? That's crazy."
"It's stupid is what it is," Jordan huffed. His voice lowered to a mumble. "I was gonna buy food with that money."
Jordan had won his first match too, as had Carol and Thomas. All three of them had utterly crushed their opponents. They, along with Noah, were all already gaining a large following online, Thomas especially. As expected, the shiny Lucario trainer had utilized his music in round one, fighting to the beat of a still unknown tune. Although, Adrien was sure to overtake him in popularity after his own debut.
The next match was starting. The seven of them turned their attention back to the battlefield. This was the second thing Kyle had been anticipating for today: Oliver's match. The announcer called the Smeargle trainer's name, and he emerged from the depths of the red entryway. His opponent, coming from the green, was then announced. The two met each other in the middle of the field and shook hands.
"Who do you guys think is going to win, just by looking at them?" Hannah asked.
"Red," Thomas said immediately.
Hannah raised her eyebrows. "That was fast."
"He can see their auras," Adrien said. "It's not much of a surprise that he can tell who's going to win that easily."
"Adrien and I met Oliver, the guy on red, a couple of days ago," Kyle explained. "He uses a Smeargle."
"A Smeargle?" Noah asked. "Those are pretty bad, right?"
Carol shrugged. "He made it to the tournament, and Thomas sees something in him, so we'll see soon enough."
The two trainers released their Pokemon. Indeed, Oliver owned a Smeargle. A simple, ordinary, doglike normal-type. It cheerily swished a paintrbrush around in the air. And its opponent…
A raging Gyarados emerged from its poke ball. Its eyes immedietly locked on Smeargle and it let out a vicious roar. It trainer, it seemed, was barely able to hold it back until the official start of the match.
Jordan turned to Thomas and raised an eyebrow. "Are you absolutely sure that Smeargle's gonna win?"
Thomas furrowed his brow. "I mean, I was."
Kyle's eyes returned to Oliver and his Pokemon. To his surprise, despite Gyarados's threatening presence, neither trainer nor Pokemon were at all frightened. In fact, Kyle thought he could barely make out a smile on Oliver's face using one of the television screens.
The match was soon underway. Gyarados charged forward, maw gaping wide as if were going to bite Smeargle in half. It was wasting not time at all, going straight for the kill.
With a calm that could only have belonged to a corpse, Smeargle raised its paintbrush and waved it through the air as Gyarados speedily approached. Moments before contact was made, a blast of blue-white powder was released, washing of Gyarados, stopping the water-flying hybrid dead in its tracks.
"It knows Blizzard," Carol commented. "I wonder how they managed to Sketch that."
"And Gyarados is frozen, too," Thomas said. "That's pretty lucky."
Gyarados dropped onto its side, leaving Smeargle completely untouched. Smeargle didn't follow up with another attack. Instead, it simply turned away and walked back to Oliver.
"Wait," Kyle said. "Is that it?"
The referee approached the fallen Gyrados. After a few moments, they announced the end of the match. Jordan, Kyle, and Noah all shot upward out of their seats.
"What?!" The three of them shouted in unison.
"Oliver and Monet are our winners for match 38!" The announcer said. "Another one-hit KO! The second one we've seen! How do these trainers do it?"
Noah's KO was easy to explain. Metal Burst used the opponent's attack power against itself. Not to mention, Aggron was a strong Pokemon, and Shine's strength was being fueled in part by the Battle Bond between it and Noah. In Oliver's case, only one of these things might be true. Blizzard was a strong attack, sure, but coming from a Smeargle? It should've been impossible.
The crowd was applauding, but the mood had shifted inside the box. Even Adrien looked a little concerned at this new development, and for good reason. A new challenger had stepped into play. One who was strong enough to defeat stronger opponents with one attack. It wouldn't even be a stretch to say that he could come out of the whole tournament on top.
And Kyle was battling him next.