Chapter 35: The 192nd Champion
I half walked, half stumbled down the stairs, making my way to the kitchen counter as Lucy raised an eyebrow, watching my tired motions critically.
"Did you get any sleep at all last night?" She frowned, cracking an egg in the frying pan for herself.
"Plenty." I replied, pulling a bowl out and pouring cereal into it so that I could eat quickly.
"Are you doing okay? I know you've got to go today, but I don't want you to just head there and flounder about. It's okay to take a break you know." Lucy frowned, poking my shoulder.
Setting down my spoon, I looked up at her, making an effort to look less dead as I spoke.
"I've talked to Steven, I've talked to Lance. I've been thinking about it for the past week, but I've also talked to my team about this. I know it's going to be a while before it's well and truly behind us, but I can move on from here." I stuck the spoon back in the bowl, one eye on the lounge as our mother walked in, picking up a few things Lily had discarded from around the room. "I've been aiming for this for so long. I am not throwing away my shot."
Lucy met my eyes for a moment, searching for something in my expression, in my demeanor, to tell her that I would be alright rushing off to the Indigo Plateau barely a week after the events in Goldenrod City. I supposed she found whatever it was she was looking for, because some of the tension seemed to disappear from her shoulders as she nodded.
"At least eat something proper before you go. Let me make breakfast, because that thing in front of you," she gestured at the dry bowl of cereal with the spoon sticking out of the side, "is pathetic."
"Thanks." I turned towards my mother as she walked over to the two of us, sitting down and looking me over.
"Ethan honey, how are you feeling? Are you ready?"
"As ready as I'll ever be mom. I just need to eat and then I'll head out." I smiled, cleaning out the bowl and taking it to the sink as Lucy quickly put together an egg, some toast, and a glass of orange juice, setting it all down in front of me.
"Mom, what do you want for breakfast?" She asked, opening up a cabinet to search for something or the other.
"Oh another egg would be lovely Lucy. I didn't realize you were going to cook breakfast today."
"Well this idiot thought that cereal was enough on the day he's going to the Silver Conference, so I had to be responsible, now didn't I?"
"You were really planning on flying all the way to Indigo City on a bowl of cereal?" My mother looked at me in disbelief, her eyes going to the bowl I had put in the sink.
"Wow, thanks for outing me sis." I stuck my tongue out sarcastically before turning back to my mother abashedly. "Well, it's not like I'm going through with it."
"Ethan! You're going to be competing! You need to eat a proper breakfast! For the next month! I don't want to hear that you've been skipping breakfast or taking it lightly until the Silver Conference is over!" She scolded me, shaking a finger in my direction.
"Even if I get knocked out on day one? Can I skip breakfast then?"
"No!" she frowned, shaking her head and sighing. "Promise me you'll eat properly! If you aren't running at a hundred percent that's a disservice to your Pokemon who've come so far with you! You always make sure they've eaten properly!"
"Yes mom. I promise." I grinned as Lily came running down the stairs, the noise sounding like a mini stampede as she shot over to the table, climbing onto a stool as I dug into my plate, internally admitting that an omelet with mushrooms and cheese was probably a much better breakfast than cereal.
"Alright then, what are your plans." She settled down, accepting her own breakfast from Lucy as the older of my two sisters turned her attention to the youngest child.
"Well, I fly to Indigo City today, and I'll move into whatever residence I'm in for the next month. The opening ceremony is scheduled for this Friday, so I suppose I'll spend two days getting settled in and exploring the area. The general battle schedule was published, but it's kind of pointless for me until we find out the actual brackets and I know when I'm fighting." I shrugged.
"Well alright. Take care when you get there, and call us! We'll come on Friday to see the opening ceremony and then we'll stay there from then until the end."
"Lucy what's the address again?" I turned back to my sister, catching her attention.
"Thirty-one Embassy Row." She replied, not even bothering to look up.
"Alright, well, I'll just wash these and get going. Got to make it to the Indigo Plateau." I grinned, quickly taking my dishes over to the sink and cleaning up. Hurrying upstairs, I grabbed my bags and checked that I wasn't missing anything, walking back down calmly once I had everything together.
"I'm heading out. I'll see you guys in Indigo City. Bye mom, see you Lucy. Bye Lily! Be good at school and finish the week so that you can come over without homework!" I hugged my each of them in turn, walking to the door and stepping out.
Standing outside the door, I took a moment to pull the slightly crumpled letter I had received out of my pocket, giving it a cursory read through again.
Hey Ethan,
Are you telling me your school didn't teach you how to write a letter to someone else? I spent two years writing more useless letters than I could count! It's an utter disgrace how the education system has failed you. Just kidding. They did teach us to write though. Sort of. At least your letter made me laugh. You might need to make some of your apostrophes a little clearer when you write though.
I suppose I've met a few other trainers, but I imagine it depends on what kind of path you choose, and when you start. Everyone does it differently, I guess. You are right. I was headed west. Sailing, huh? Where are you headed? I have no clue how or when this will get to you, but I'll catch you at the Silver Conference.
Anita.
The cool breeze blowing outside was blowing north east, a pleasantly refreshing breath of fresh air. Everything pointed towards the Indigo Plateau. Reaching for my pokeballs, I tossed Knight's as high as I could, snatching it out of the air when it sank back down, the massive dragon taking to the skies right out of the pokeball.
A loud roar served to wake up the better part of New Bark Town as Knight descended down, coming to land in the middle of the road in front of the house. Ordinarily I would head to the edge of town before taking off, but today was special. Today was the day I took New Bark Town's name to the Silver Conference.
"Hey pal! Are you excited?" I grinned and as Knight stretched his hand out for a high five, a gesture he had learned some time ago. Slapping his palm, I looked around. I caught a glimpse of one of the neighbors, Mrs. O'Neil, watching out her window with wide eyes. Down the street, a young boy walking with his mother had stopped, mouth open and fingers pointing at the Dragonite on the sidewalk.
Giving them a friendly wave, I climbed onto Knight's back, and he took off without wasting any time, rising rapidly into the skies above New Bark, another loud roar traveling through the skies as I looked down on the town once more.
"Let's go! To Indigo City!" Smiling like a madman I began to guide Knight out over the lakes and past the Tohjo falls, watching the terrain I had traveled by foot fly by as we rocketed through the skies. The entire journey passed quickly until we reached the gatehouse to Victory Road.
Flying over the cavernous passage, we approached the other side quickly, and here there was much more activity around the exit of the tunnel. People were filtering out of the exit of Victory Road and milling about the streets. People flitted in and out of the Pokemon center by the entrance, giving Indigo City a sense of liveliness which it had lacked when I arrived to register for the conference.
In the distance I could see the spires of the Indigo League castle, disappearing into the low flying clouds. Red brick rose high into the sky, accented by sandstone supports, buttresses and borders, all the way around. A massive bronze frame surrounded the doors, creating an imposing image as I stared longingly at the castle from afar.
Shaking my head, I turned my attention back to Indigo City. The five stadiums were easily visible as we approached the edge of town, standing proud in all their glory. In just a few days, each of them would be filled with spectators cheering for the battles all day.
Angling east, Knight and I made our way just out of the edge of town, setting down around the corner from the exit of the Victory Road Tunnel. We hit the ground with a dull thud, Knight on both feet and leaning forward as I hopped off his back, letting him straighten out and stand up.
"Thanks Knight. I'll talk to you and the others soon! I'm just going to go find out where the heck I'm supposed to be living for the next time." With a quick back scratch between his scales, I recalled the great orange dragon, walking around the cavern exterior and stepping onto the road.
I looked around with wonder as people milled about the cobbled street, going in and out of shops and cafés. the main street was lined with them, now bustling with activity as they got business from the hundreds of trainers who were arriving for the conference. Making my way to the door of the Pokemon center, I stepped inside, getting in the line to check in at the counter.
More trainers than I had seen in one place in my life were roaming around, going in and out of the Pokemon center and standing in the multiple lines to check in for the Silver Conference. A couple of stragglers were waiting off to one side, on the waitlist for any registered trainers to not show up so they could get a last-minute spot in the tournament.
Shuffling forward with the line, I eventually made my way to the front where a harried nurse with pink hair was working at the counter, handing out papers from a stack of leaflets and scanning IDs.
"ID please." She held her hand out, not even bothering to ask if I was here for the Silver Conference.
Taking the card out of my wallet, I handed it over, watching as she scanned it, typing away furiously for a few minutes before handing it back to me. Organizing a few of the items around the countertop, she handed me three leaflets from three different stacks, along with a physical key and a bracelet, placing the bundle in my hands.
"All right. You're checked in. That is your ID bracelet while you're here, and it'll serve as your access pass to any stadium as a spectator. You will be asked to present both this bracelet for a scan and your ID when entering a stadium as a competitor. You'll be in unit fourteen A, room 1. This is your room key. The address for that is twenty-eight Flint Street." She pulled one of the leaflets out of the bundle she had given me, unfolding it to reveal a map of Indigo City. "That would be right here."
I looked at the map, spotting the circle she had drawn a few streets down from where the Pokemon center was.
"The other two brochures are an explanation of the event schedule and the brackets, and a more generic welcome packet." She tapped each of them once with her pen, handing them back to me. "Just as a reminder, there is a mandatory briefing for all trainers participating in the Silver Conference later today in the Indigo Stadium. More information on that is in your leaflet. Welcome to the Silver Conference Mr. Photon."
"Thank you." Taking the bundle of items, I quickly got out of the way so that she could deal with the next trainer, heading out onto the street to make my way to my assigned room.
Walking down the cobbled street, I followed the simplest path I could make out on the map, turning at plazas decorated with fountains until I found myself on a plain looking street with a sign pointing down it reading 'Flint Street'. The road itself was made of worn out, cobbled stone, with bushes lining the sides of it. The majority of the houses seemed to be made of sandstone with brown tiled roofs to avoid collecting snow on them.
A few minutes down the road, I stopped in front of the house marked with a bronze twenty-eight on the wall. Sandstone walls rose up two stories, with the bushes right up against them. A large wooden double door stood in front of me, almost like a gate, with a little balcony directly above it, open to the back and the front. A small strip of ceiling covered the balcony, protecting it from rain.
To either side there seemed to be housing blocks. Two large windows provided a view into the house on either side, a few feet away from the doors. The overhang from the brown tiled roof cast a shadow in front of the doorstep, providing relief from the bright sunlight.
Stepping up to the door, I took a closer look at it. vertical beams of wood led up to the arched top, with flat metal bands riveted across the width of it in two different places and heavy door handles in the middle. Pulling it, I quickly realized it was locked. Fumbling about for a moment, I put my ID bracelet against the door for a moment and it clicked open, unlocking so that I could pull it and step through.
It seemed as though I had simply stepped through a stronghold gate. The path in front of me led into a courtyard, with a fire pit visible in the center and the other side of the building beyond it. Balconies seemed to ring the inside of the second floor, with doors to rooms visible in them.
To either side of me were similarly heavy wooden doors. Looking to my left, I spotted the sign marked 14-A. I twisted the handle and heard a satisfying click, and the door popped out of the frame just a little bit. Grabbing the cold handle, I pulled it open and stepped inside, taking a look around.
I entered into a hallway a few feet long. Dead ahead were carpeted stairs leading up to the second floor. I walked around the corner and took a look around, trying to get my bearings. I was standing with the window to the street behind me, right by the stairs. To my left was the kitchenette, and to my right a small dining table. A few couches and a TV sat in place by the far wall, near an open door which led into a bathroom. A PC unit was even present in the corner of the room.
Taking the stairs, I went up to the next level, finding just a few doors. Opening one, I peeked in to find another bathroom, before catching sight of the numbers by the other doors. Going to the end, I found the door labeled '1' and pulled it open. A cozy room with a carpeted floor, a desk and a single bed waited for me, with a Pokemon bed in the corner and a floor lamp switched off.
The bed cover was a vibrant aqua blue, going nicely with the cream walls and the warm light that the floor lamp produced when I prodded the switch with my foot. Sitting on the dark wooden desk was a basket tied with a ribbon. Putting my things down, I picked it up to open it, looking at the contents. Inside lay a cookie wrapped in plastic with the Pokemon league logo frosted onto it, an Indigo flask with the same logo, a 'Silver Conference 2016' shirt, and a few more goodies. Putting the items aside I stepped to the window, opening it and stepping out onto the one-person balcony. The small sandstone balcony looked over the courtyard. A few lawn chairs were scattered around the verandah, and a small firepit sat empty in the center.
Leaving my things in my room and locking the door behind me, I stepped back out and hurried into the lounge to find two people sitting on the couches, looking at the stairs. The first was someone completely new to me. He was of a lean build, with lightly tanned skin, brown hair with blond mixed in, and pale green eyes. He sat on the couch with his arms spread and his feet up on the table, wearing khaki shorts and a light blue t-shirt with dark sleeves. The person sitting on the other couch I did recognize.
"Klaus!" I smiled and walked up to him, stretching my hand out. The scrawny boy gave me a high five, looking at me excitedly.
"Ethan! What a coincidence." He turned to the other guy, looking at him with the same stupid grin. "Looks like you owe me five hundred P."
Shaking his head, the boy in the blue t-shirt reached into one of his pockets, eventually pulling out a note and handing it over to Klaus before standing up.
"Pierre Lysanne. Looks like we're all here for a while together. It's nice to meet you." He extended his hand in greeting, a very slight accent audible in his speech.
"I'm Ethan, Ethan Photon. It's good to meet you too." I grasped his hand firmly, giving it a good shake before turning to Klaus. "What was that bet?"
"Oh, when we got here, and when two of the other people in this unit showed up, I bet Pierre that I would have already met everyone in here at some point. You're the last to show up, so it looks like I was right."
"Wow, you already knew everyone in this whole housing unit." My eyebrows shot up as the two of them chuckled, looking at me with amusement.
"Yeah, there's eight of us, so it wasn't that bad." Klaus explained, gesturing out the window. "There's the three girls in an identical block on the other side of the courtyard, and there are two more rooms at that end."
His last gesture pointed towards the back of the complex, opposite the entrance to the large house. It looked as though the entire complex was slightly separated into smaller blocks of threes and twos, but remained joined by the common courtyard and the balconies looking out onto each other.
"I'm actually in that room." Pierre gestured out the window to the back-left room briefly. "The other guy in 14-A, Jack, had to run to take care of some errand. We were just hanging out here to get out of the sun."
"I see." I sat down on the couch with the two of them, looking around as Klaus flipped the TV on.
"When was the last time I saw you? Was it all the way back when we registered for the Silver Conference?" He chimed in, trying to remember.
"Yeah, around two and a half, maybe three months ago." I thought back to the day I had come out of victory road, recalling the brief battle I had with Klaus that day.
"Wow, that was some time ago." Klaus grinned, looking at the TV. "Let's go see if the girls are back yet. They went out a while ago."
Nodding, I followed the two of them out the door and to the one directly opposite. 14-B. Klaus knocked on it a few times, waiting as scuffling noises came from within. A moment r two passed before I heard the sound of the door unlocking and swinging open, yet another familiar face standing behind it.
"Michelina?" I looked at the girl I had run into outside the gatehouse to Victory Road. She was standing behind the door, holding it open in a red sundress with her sunglasses propped up on her head.
"Ethan! Looks like we've got quite the gang together. Come on in." she left the door open and went into the lounge, a mirror image of our own, where two more girls were sitting around, flipping channels and chatting with each other.
I had a small moment of déjà vu as I realized that once again, of the two people sitting on the couches I knew one and didn't know the other. The stranger was an extremely fit girl wearing running shorts and a tank top with honey blond hair tied into a thick braid. She looked to be clearly the shortest of everyone in the room, but that didn't diminish her presence in the least. Her brown eyes flicked from the TV to the cluster off boys who had just walked in, standing around awkwardly.
"I'm just going to go get Cal." Klaus excused himself, stepping back out into the courtyard and walking over to the back part of the house where I could see him shouting up to the second-floor window.
"Hi, I'm Ethan. I guess I'm the last person to show up." I waved politely, looking over at the girls again.
"I'm Lexa." The stranger introduced herself, looking over at the other girl. "And this is-"
"No need Lexa. I already know Ethan."
"It's good to see you too Anita." I responded to her wry grin. "I just got back to Johto, so I didn't have much of a chance to reply to that letter. I figured I'd just find you here, and look how that worked out."
"Gee, it's almost like it was meant to be." She quipped, shifting on the couch as Klaus walked back into the room with yet another familiar face.
"Ethan!"
"Calahan." I looked over at him with surprise. Why I was shocked that I knew everyone here, I didn't know.
"I told you to call me Cal." He grinned, clapping me on the back and sauntering over to a couch.
Then again, I hadn't met a ton of people as I had mentioned to Anita, so the odds that everyone I knew would be in the same house were pretty slim. I hadn't run into the trainer from earlier in Victory Road yet, so that was at least one person who was somewhere else.
"How are we doing on time, I know we have that briefing later today with the organizers of the league." Pierre asked as the rest of us squeezed onto the couches, sitting around and chatting.
"I believe that's at five, and I think it's three right now, so we're in good shape."
"Alright, where's everyone from. I want to get a sense of this." Cal posed the question to the room loudly, looking around at everyone.
"I just moved back to Ecruteak from Olivine City." Anita's reply came first as she didn't even bother to look up from her nails, examining them carefully.
"Violet City." Pierre tossed his own answer in, looking around at the room.
"Mahogany Town." Michelina supplied.
"No kidding? Me too!" Klaus grinned like an idiot as Michelina sighed, putting a hand on her forehead.
"Klaus, for fuck's sake, we went to the same school for ten years." Klaus grinned sheepishly, scratching the back of his head as Michelina shook her head, a few of the others snickering.
"I'm from New Bark Town."
"And I'm from Goldenrod City." Lexa looked back at Cal. "What about you?"
"Cianwood. Chuck Town. Looks like we've covered most parts of Johto between the lot of us."
"Where's the last guy from?" Anita interjected again, looking at Klaus, who scrunched up his eyebrows in response.
"I'm not quite sure. I think he's foreign from his accent, but I haven't checked his trainer profile yet. We could just look it up."
"Or we could do this the normal way and find out when he tells us?" Lexa raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms.
"Oh come on. This is the Silver Conference. Looking up people is completely normal." Michelina deadpanned again. "Maybe the one time when it's socially acceptable to be scrolling through trainer profiles."
"If you say so." Lexa jabbed Michelina in the side lightly, making the other girl jump to the side and into Cal, creating a comical tangle on the couch. This was going to be a fun time. From the other couch Anita had found a movie playing on the TV and set the remote down, settling in to watch.
An hour and a half passed with idle chatter and watching the movie that was running before I stood up, looking at the clock on the wall. It was half past four, and we had to be at the Indigo Stadium at five.
"Hey, we should probably freshen up and head over to the stadium for the briefing. They wanted to start at five I think." I suggested, stretching and twisting as I tried to crack my spine.
"Right, we can all walk over together." Pierre slowly rose, making for the door. "Outside in five?" A flurry of affirmations followed as I hurried back to our part of the house, over to 14-A, where I quickly washed up, gathering my things and heading over to the door. Once I was outside, I stood and waited as the others quickly filed out as well, walking into the warmth of the sun as it began to creep lower and lower, towards the horizon.
Ambling down the road, the lot of us followed the cobbled road to the end of Flint Street, taking a turn at a plaza with a square shaped fountain in the middle of it spewing water. As we went closer and closer to the center of town, we encountered more people, all trainers flooding to the stadiums in the city.
"Where is everyone going? Aren't we all supposed to be in the Indigo Stadium?" I frowned as I noticed a number of groups heading out in different directions, away from the center of the city.
"I think that some groups are going to each stadium so that they can address us in smaller groups." Pierre suggested, walking alongside me.
For the most part we kept together while we walked, mingling as we made our way to the stadium. Lexa was almost bouncing around energetically, while Anita was walking comfortably and Michelina looked as though she was already tired of Lexa's incessant bouncing. Cal walked comfortably and gracefully compared to Klaus's twitchy gait. To my left, Pierre seemed relatively put together as he walked along, but I could see the pattern he was drumming into the side of his leg with his fingers in excitement.
Down the main road I could see the Indigo Stadium rising into the sky. Pale indigo walls rose to the sky, angled inwards, with modern glass doors and windows along the outside. A purple overhang curled over the inside of the stadium, providing spectators shade from rain and other weather as well as shade from the sun in the heat of Indigo's summer. The main entrances were mostly empty right now, but I could see a line forming at the eastern side competitors' entrance. Walking up, we joined the line of trainers heading towards the briefing.
Slowly we shuffled to the front of the line, scanning both our IDs and bracelets before we were directed inside and to a room down the hall, where about sixty or seventy chairs had been set up. One by one, we slipped into the row until I was sandwiched between Pierre and Anita, the latter constantly adjusting her blouse and accidentally nudging me with her elbow or the back of her hand as we waited for everything to get started.
The room itself was quite plain, with fluorescent lighting panels in the ceiling. A large screen was running up at one end of the room where a dais was set up. I cast another glance around and shifted in the collapsible plastic chair, taking in the scene around me. Much like us, most other trainers were in casual wear. Everybody had come here to move in and settle in today. I had no doubt that just as much as some people would show up to their battles just as they were today, others would up their game to try and win the crowd's favor. Men and women of varying ages occupied the room, from roughly our age up to the early sixties from what I could discern, though it was skewed towards the younger end.
A small gavel sound caught my attention and I turned back to the dais and the screen, the four people standing there catching my attention. As the room quietened down, the first stepped up to the lectern and began speaking.
"Good evening, and welcome to the one hundred and ninety second annual Silver Conference! 192nd! It has been a long time since we first began, but every year is just as exciting as those that came before." The man standing at the lectern was short, barely over five feet, but his grey beard and hair were impressively long.
"My name is Charles Goodshow, and I am the president of the Pokemon League Torch Committee. I preside over all decisions made regarding the Pokemon League Conferences in Indigo, as well occasionally in foreign regions, and I am delighted to be speaking to you today. We're in quite an informal environment here, so while I do want you to be patient and listen through what we have to say, I will welcome questions." Mr. Goodshow's eyebrow's shot up and I followed his gaze immediately to my left, where Pierre had already raised his hand.
"Yes young man? What's on your mind?"
"Sir, I don't mean any offense by it, I'm actually quite impressed, but how long did it take you to grow that beard?" Pierre grinned, putting his hand down as laughter spread throughout the room and a broad smile graced Goodshow's face.
"Twelve years my boy. Twelve years." Goodshow winked, looking back at the crowd. "Now, as I was saying, this briefing his being held in the various stadiums around Indigo City so that we can better prepare you for the Silver Conference and welcome you to our establishment."
"Year on year we have hundreds of trainers come here to vie for the glory of being the Silver Conference Champion. We have two hundred and fifty-six of you scattered across the five stadiums right now, all of whom have challenged eight gyms across Johto in order to get your badges and prove your mettle. Now you're here with the best of the best, and we're going to showcase that." Goodshow's eyes twinkled. "Let's just go over the administrative details now. I am joined by one of our local nurses, who will give you a briefing on medical facilities and practices across the city, one of our many helpful tournament officials who will be handling scheduling and administrative matters, and one of our referees who will run you through the minute details associated with best practices for battle and staying on the right side of the rules here. After that, I will run over the bracket structure and the rounds of the tournament before I round up the talk. Nurse Joy, if you would please." Goodshow stepped off the Lectern and a pink haired nurse out of uniform stepped up, going to the mic on the lectern.
"Alright, thank you Mr. Goodshow. My name is Elaine Joy, and I'm one the head medical official of Indigo City. The first thing I want you to note is to please look at the maps handed out to you during check in and make note of where the Pokemon centers are. Most locations which are fit for training are open to you, be it forest edges, plazas inside the trainer village or training grounds anywhere else in the city. You should be aware of where the nearest Pokemon centers and medical facilities are." She rattled off her speech like a pro, counting off one finger.
"There are immediate care facilities inside each stadium, but given how many trainers, Pokemon and battles we're dealing with over the next month, we keep a very large medical presence in town."
"Thank you Nurse Joy!" A voice called out from the middle of the crowd. Immediately clapping started, and I joined in, feeling it was only fit for the people without who this really wouldn't have been possible.
"Thank you, thank you." She waved politely, before resuming her speech. "There is a PC unit inside every house for access to your Pokemon. During a battle, there will be a nurse stationed at each end of the field near the trainer's box so that in the event of serious injury or conditions such as high concentration poisoning, Pokemon can be treated immediately or stabilized before transport to full medical facilities. That's all I have for you for now. Just be careful and don't do anything stupid. There are human medical facilities around, but we've got enough on our plates as is. Just because it's summer, don't think it won't get cold at night. We're up on a plateau near the mountains, it gets windy and chilly at night."
Without that stern lecture, she stepped away making room for the next person to step up. A woman with a forgettable face, clipboard, earpiece, and no-nonsense attitude took to the lectern, going at it right away into the mic.
"My name is Silvia Jones, and I'm one of the coordinators for the Conference. All competitors have registered for the conference and checked in at this stage, and you will be given the brackets later. Battle times listed are starting times, and you are expected to arrive to one of the waiting rooms and check in at least twenty minutes before your battle is due to begin. You will be asked to present both your ID and your bracelet as you did when entering the stadium. Your phone numbers have been registered and you will receive reminders and alerts regarding your battles." She explained quickly, marking a number of things off her clipboard.
"Excuse me!" someone from the other side of the room raised their hand, drawing the woman's attention. She turned sharply, looking at him as he spoke. "How do the waiting rooms and the trainer rooms and all those things work?"
"A good question. There are two waiting rooms, which are essentially lounges with refreshments, one on each side of the tunnel. This is not one of them. This press room which will be used for some press conferences. The waiting room connect directly to the tunnel, and to the two competitor rooms on each side of the stadium. So you have the waiting room, where you check in, from there you go directly into the tunnel or into the competitor rooms. Due to the rapid nature of the preliminary rounds, as Mr. Goodshow will explain, we will not be using the competitor rooms for those, but go directly to and from the waiting room."
I raised my hand, waiting for her to turn again. Once I had her attention, she nodded, waiting for me to ask my question.
"Who all is allowed into the waiting rooms or the competitor rooms?"
"Competitors, family members with identification, and league officials." She replied, turning away and back to the crowd.
"Moving on then, press access will vary. You are under no obligation to interact with journalists or press officers not associated with the Indigo League at any given time. You may be approached for a brief statement by an Indigo League Press officer with identification and in uniform to be reviewed and published in print. From the round of thirty-two onwards there may be TV reporters or journalists waiting in the tunnel to the trainer and debrief rooms after battles, but a maximum of one or two, only for quick questions. From the quarter finals onwards, there may be organized press conferences, and you will be notified ahead of time of your obligations."
"Given most of you will have entered through victory road or by air to reach the Pokemon center near the east edge of the city and check in, you may not have realized it, but access to the trainer village is restricted to competitors for the sake of privacy and for legal reasons. There are gateways when re entering where watchmen will be stationed. We understand that family and friends may be coming to visit, but we ask that you understand why access to the trainer village is restricted." Her expression softened for a moment as she looked around the room. "Some of you may find it helpful to have a sanctuary where you can get away from all the noise and the distractions when training or planning for your battles. Please report to the competitors' entrances of the Indigo Stadium at six twenty in the evening on Friday in order to prepare for the opening ceremony. Thank you."
As the little bit of chatter that had started up at the announcement that the trainer village was restricted died down, the remaining person stepped up to the platform. With brown hair slicked back and a thick moustache, the man looked every bit the referee his black and white uniform made him out to be.
"Welcome to the Silver Conference, my name is Michael Whiting, and I am one of the referees on duty during this tournament. I'll keep this short. Standard single battle tournament rules apply. Items may not be used during battles. At the beginning of a battle, both trainers will be required to release their Pokemon together at the sound of a whistle. Flags will be used to indicate the outcome of any given matchup. Trainers are only allowed to switch Pokemon when the opposing corner has recalled a Pokemon and has yet to release their Pokemon, in which case both trainers will still be required to release at the same time. Each trainer room will have a PC unit, and trainers are required to register their chosen Pokemon for battle in the trainer room before entering the tunnel and the stadium. You may bring more than six Pokemon with you into the box, and but any pokeballs not in use during battle must be set on the table with other belongings brought with you such as bags or water bottles. You are permitted to have Pokemon out with you in your box. Please do not release a Pokemon into the stadium before recalling a fallen Pokemon. It's a technicality we hate penalizing trainers for. Thank you."
The man stepped down from the lectern, and Goodshow led a brief round of polite applause before he stepped back up to the mic, gesturing towards the screen with a pointer as it came to life with an empty bracket. Murmurs immediately filled the room and Goodshow smiled as he looked out at us.
"As I said earlier, there are two hundred and fifty-six trainers currently participating the Silver Conference. Let me tell you, scheduling and planning for that is a true challenge for a champion. We should just have aspiring champions try and do the planning for a conference and judge them off of that." He smiled again, looking out at the room. "We will begin with a preliminary round in blocks of eight trainers. There are thirty-two blocks, A through H, one through four, as you can see listed here in this table. In the preliminary rounds, you will battle each other trainer in your block once, in a one on one battle. Four of these groups will have their preliminaries per day. One group per outer stadium, with the Indigo Stadium not in use for the preliminaries. The top four of each block will advance to the Round of 128 at the end. Scoring will be two points per win, one point per draw."
"The rounds will be straight elimination from then onwards, three on three until the round of sixteen. From the round of sixteen onwards, we will be engaging in full battles, six on six. There will be four battles per day per stadium, or one entire round per day. So, the round of thirty-two will be spread over two days, but the round of sixteen and onwards will take one day each." Goodshow looked around, making sure everyone was following before he continued.
"The schedule is as follows. Today is May 6th. Friday May 8th 2016 marks the opening ceremony of the Silver Conference, May 9th to the 16th will host the preliminaries. May 18th to May 21st will hold the round of 128, May 22nd and 23rd will hold the round of 64. May 25th and 26th will hold the round of 32, May 27th round of 16."
"The quarterfinals will take place on the 28th of May, the semifinals on the 29th of May. The battle for third place will be on the 30th of May, and the finals and closing ceremony will be held on the 31st of May, 2016 to crown this year's Silver League Champion."
"Now, to the part you've all been waiting for. The preliminary blocks. These are done completely randomly, so you may find yourself already sitting in your block, or knowing nobody from it." Goodshow's eyes twinkled, and he pressed a button, names filling the grid on the massive screen. "This will be available on the trainer portal on the Silver Conference Website, where you can login with your name and registration number."
My eyes immediately jumped to scanning over the groups of eight to look for my name. It took a few seconds before I finally found mine, in the middle of a block of eight labeled C1.
Kelly Brent
Oliver Daniels
Narcissa Leggièri
Ethan Photon
Herb Sheppard
Samuel Spalding
Lilliana Stark
Corey Weaver
"Doesn't look like any of us are in the same block." Pierre murmured, catching my attention as I scanned over the tournament bracket. Klaus was in A1, Michelina was in C2, Anita was in D2, Lexa was in D3, Calahan was in H1, and Pierre was in H3. Amongst the other things to catch my attention was a name I had not expected, sitting in the middle of block B4.
'Silver Maho. Could that really be him?' I frowned for a moment, resolving to look it up in the system when I got back to the house. Refocusing on Pierre and the others, I piped up in response to his comment.
"Hopefully that means we'll run into each other late in the conference rather than early."
"That would make this really fun." Anita replied. "It would be likelier that one of us wins then."
"Yeah."
"Alright, everybody. So those are the initial groups, and the further tournament tree will be decided pending the results of the group stage." Goodshow announced, raising both hands to the sides. "Now then, I wanted to address one last thing before we end this briefing. Your residential setups. While the Silver Conference will be packed with fierce competition we hope, and with rivalries that will be spoken of for years to come, this is an environment where you can meet like-minded individuals and trainers from all walks of life and every corner of Johto. We want this to be an opportunity for you take make lasting friendships and connections. There is a reason that your housing is not entirely made up of individual units isolated from one another. Explore, connect, talk, have fun. You're here for a month, in an amazing place with wonderful food, entertainment to no end, and two hundred and fifty-five other trainers all reaching for the top with you. Together you are better." Goodshow cast a warm look around the room. "Thank you for listening, we're happy to have you here and look forward to the next four weeks with you."
A smattering of applause rang out across the room for the old man as he stepped aside and everyone slowly stood, shuffling out of the room. We emerged into the evening air, the sun having gone considerably further down the horizon during the hour and a half we had been inside the stadium.
"Well, in the interest of forging closer relationships and making friends, how about we all go get dinner somewhere." Pierre raised the suggestion the group as a number of people nodded and we began walking in the direction of the main street of the trainer village where we would undoubtedly find a restaurant.
"When we're done, we can head back and polish off a bottle or two of the scotch I brought with me."
"Pierre!" Michelina looked at him aghast as he grinned wide, laughing and holding his chest while we walked.
"Relax, it was just a joke. We are all adults though, it's not like it's illegal. But anyway, let's just go get dinner."
"Maybe we can set up the fire pit and make some warm drinks if its really does get chilly at night." Cal suggested as we walked into a restaurant halfway down the main street, Klaus getting us a table.
"Now that sounds like a fantastic idea." Lexa clapped Cal on the back, but his broad stature and weight meant it failed to even make him stumble. I let the two of them by, walking behind them so that we could find our way to the table and sit down.
Once we had placed some orders for food, the conversation resumed in full, between the entire group. The benefit of having seven people was that it wasn't too large for everyone to interact with each other reasonably.
"So, Ethan, where were you sailing?" Anita turned towards me, propping her head up with one pale hand.
"I went out to Hoenn for a friend's wedding." I replied.
"You sailed all the way to Hoenn? Why didn't you just fly?" She looked at me quizzically, raising an eyebrow.
"Well, I was serving as a crew member on a ship, and the timing lined up for me to just sail to Hoenn and back. I picked up some valuable skills working there for a few months, and it gave me some time to train with some interesting people and an unsteady battleground." I shrugged, looking over my shoulder for a second as they brought our food over, setting a mix of burgers, fish and salad in front of everyone.
"Interesting."
"What have the rest of you been up to for the last couple of months." I asked, looking around the table as I picked up my burger. "We've successfully established that I spent them on a boat."
"Well, I was training in Chuck's gym. He's a madman I tell you, but it's great for your body." Cal raised his sandwich as though he were toasting with it. "Hours and hours standing underneath an artificial waterfall. Where he got the idea, I don't know."
"You know he trained Blue Oak right?"
"He must be pretty stubborn to put up with the kind of junk Chuck comes up with." Calahan shrugged, gesturing towards Anita. "What about you, what have you been up to?"
"Moving. Lots of trips back and forth between Olivine and Ecruteak, sorting things out, helping my parents paint the new house, training. Just the usual stuff."
"I mean I spent the last couple of weeks working on my tan and battling a bit." Michelina admitted, looking around. "I left Mahogany as fast as I could and went straight to Cianwood to hang out there."
"Looks like it worked out well for you." I had to admit, she definitely looked different in a subtle but noticeable way compared to when I had run into her outside the gatehouse.
"I spent a few weeks training and doing some track testing for a car." Pierre volunteered, leaning back in his seat.
"Do elaborate." Lexi jumped in questioningly, leaning forward and looking at Pierre.
"Well, I've always been a bit of racetrack driving kind of guy, so I managed to get a test with an outfit out in Unova. They wanted me to test a car out here with some local folks and send all the data to them before they said anything about offering me a testing role of any kind, or having me come out to Unova to see how I do there."
"That's really cool. I know some people who do aerodynamics work and its interesting to hear about some of the crazy stuff that goes on with these things." My mind jumped back to Blake for a second as I mentioned that.
"It's crazy to drive. Nothing like an ordinary car except to control." Pierre nodded along, looking over to the others. "What about you Klaus?"
"I was just hanging around Mahogany Town, swimming and training." Klaus cut into his food as he spoke, making small pieces out of it. "It's been pretty quiet out there since the whole crackdown on the Team Rocket cell that was hiding out there."
I maintained my composure, not letting anything show on my face as Klaus's statement caught a little bit more attention than some of the others.
"It has been crazy. I've been training at home in Goldenrod for a while, and I've never seen anything like what happened at the Radio Tower last week." Lexi shook her head. "Team Rocket was blasting a broadcast saying they're back, and then just a few hours later they've arrested the people running the operation and the League issues a statement saying that it was an ill-informed resurgent cell that was destroyed. The Radio Tower was on fire! There was literally smoke pouring out of the observation deck."
"That's insane! I saw it on the news and I felt so helpless until the League came in and crushed them." Klaus jerked his head up from his plate. "Then I just felt insignificant, and now we're here."
I grimaced at the memory of Goldenrod City, thinking back to the chaos that had ensued there. It was an ugly memory, hopefully the ugliest I would ever be unfortunate enough to make.
"It was definitely something." I murmured, looking up as everyone turned towards me. "I was flying over the city when they were hauling people into the trucks to take away from the tower. It was a sight, with the smoke pouring out the Radio Tower and all that."
"Yeah, I hope we don't see another resurgence of Team Rocket." Anita sighed.
"Somehow, I'm optimistic." I smiled a little, "Come on, let's talk about something more fun. How do you guys think day one of the preliminaries will go?"
"This is going to be fun!" Pierre grinned, folding his arms.
"Are you kidding?" Michelina stuck her tongue out. "One on one battles? That's so stressful. One misstep and you're done! What if you're in a difficult group?"
"That's part of the thrill of it." Anita supplied, looking over at Pierre as he nodded approvingly.
"I mean arguably the whole conference is stressful. But still, everyone prefers a different kind of battling style." Klaus shrugged.
"They're pretty fond of double battling over in Hoenn from what I recall."
"The Unovans have some crazy formats. They've got triple battles out there."
"Really? How does that even work?" Lexa looked over at Pierre with curiosity, folding her own arms and mimicking his stance.
"Same as a double battle but with three Pokemon."
Michelina planted her head in her hands, groaning again as the boy from Violet City adjusted his watch, looking at the time briefly.
"If you think that's bad, wait till you get a load of this." He leaned forward, putting both hands on the table. "They've got something called rotation battles. Basically, it's a triple battle, but every time you call a move, you only call on one Pokemon and bring it to the front of the fray."
"So it's like you're swapping Pokemon with every move you make, in the middle of the battle?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.
"You don't have to swap, but you can. It's basically a kind of crazy tag team battle. I have no clue what they were hopped up on when they came up with that idea. It's fun, but its so involved."
"How do you know so much about Unovan stuff?" Cal frowned, before raising a fork at him with a comical expression.
"I was born there. I used to live there before I moved to Violet City ten years ago." Pierre answered, explaining the slight accent he still spoke with.
"Cool. What's it like out there?" Lexa piped up again, looking over at him.
"It's different." He shrugged, grinning like an idiot as we called for the cheque and payed out tab so that we could head back for the evening.
The wind had picked up and the temperature had dropped from the sunny warmth of the day, pushing us to hurry back to fourteen and get into the house or at least into the courtyard and away from the wind. Finding our way to the door, we hurried inside, stopping in the wind sheltered courtyard for a moment.
"Hey guys, I think there are kettles and packets of cocoa in the kitchens if you want to make some and come back out to the courtyard. We can get the fire pit going and sit for a while." Anita pointed at the kitchen in the girls' side of the house through a window.
"Sounds good. Let's meet out here when we've got it all together." I nodded, hurrying back into 14-A to quickly go wash up and head to the kitchen. Unlocking the door, I stepped inside, Klaus right behind me, and hurried up to my room and one of the bathrooms.
Once I was back downstairs, I put the kettle on the stove, boiling some water for the packaged hot chocolate. Milk would have been better, but who was I to be picky right now. Loud footsteps caught my attention and I turned around, expecting it to be Klaus.
"Oh, hi." Standing at the bottom of the stairs, leather jacket half on half off, was a broad shoulders guy wearing a deep red shirt and a pair of black trousers. "I'm Ethan."
"I'm Jack, Jack Haight." He waved politely as I registered the accent, adjusting his brown hair. His dark brown eyes shifted towards his jacket for another moment as he fiddled with his jacket, wearing it properly. "I'm in room two."
"Nice to meet you. I'm in room one." I cast a glance out the window where a few of the others had started to gather as someone got the fire going. "The rest of us from here are hanging around in the courtyard and having drinks if you want to join us."
"Thank you, but I've got to get going. Maybe next time." He declined politely, opening the door and stepping out. "See you around Ethan."
"See you around." I frowned as the door closer, uncertain what to make of the last occupant of the house. Shaking my head, I quickly poured the boiling water into a mug and mixed a packet of cocoa into it, rinsing the spoon and heading back outside.
|\/|~^-_-_-^-_-_-^~|\/|
They definitely hadn't been wrong. It was still quite windy and the weather had almost necessitated a jacket once the sun had gone down on the Indigo Plateau. That didn't stop the tens of thousands of people cramming into the stadium though. Some had been sensible and brought warm outer layers with them, others were huddling together for heat.
All seven of us (everyone except Jack) had come from fourteen together, walking down to the stadium and making for the competitors' entrance on the east side of the stadium. The other boy had been out quite often, only really returning to the house at night to sleep and leaving in the morning often. He'd been around when we'd had breakfast in the morning, and he'd been perfectly polite, but he hadn't socialized with us beyond that.
I was in the middle of the pack, and I could see the countless people in line to enter the stadium. At this point we were still relatively anonymous, we were still nobodies, but nonetheless people in line still pointed and whispered, drawing attention to not just us, but everyone amongst the steady stream of people trainers making for the entrance.
Casting a glance at the line, I couldn't see any of the people I was looking for, so I turned my attention back to the gate check where I had to present my ID and bracelet, following the others in. Hurrying through the stadium, we made our way to the eastern tunnel through a lounge and one of several competitors' rooms. The lights had been dimmed, but the ceiling and the walls reflected the faint glow slightly, bringing giving it an odd space age like feel as we quietened down at the behest of the woman hurriedly walking up and down the hall with a clipboard, checking off names and giving us instructions.
I almost fell backwards as Anita jumped into my side with a start, the speakers in the ceiling coming to life with a static buzz. I looked over at her as she mouthed an apology with a small smile, turning her eyes up to the speakers as a voice started to pour out of them.
"Ladies and Gentlemen! Locals and visitors! Trainers, civilians, veterans, aspiring champions! Welcome to the Indigo Stadium!"
The sound of cheering echoed down the tunnel as the crowd's excitement began to build, listening to the announcer welcoming everyone in.
"Tonight marks the beginning of 192nd annual Silver League Conference! We've seen some spectacular battles here, year on year, and every season we come back for more knowing that only the best in Indigo make it here to show their skills, thanks to the hard work of our dedicated gym leaders! Not all of them could be here today, but please give them a round of applause!"
"Each year, we welcome two hundred and fifty-six of the best trainers from around Indigo and from around the world, to compete in our Silver Conference. This year, 2016, is no different! Please welcome your competitors!"
The line slowly began to move as we shuffled out, the seven of us following the other hundred and twenty or so competitors in our tunnel, making our way to the exit of the tunnel and onto the field.
Lights decorated the stadium, twinkling on all sides of the rectangular field. The stadium lights hanging from the rain covers had been dimmed slightly, not running full blast so as to give the whole stadium a slightly more controlled and dramatic lighting scheme. The roaring all around was deafening. I could hear a ringing sound in my ears along with the pounding heartbeat against my chest as I looked up, eyes roving the stands.
I had seen the massive numbers of people on TV before, I had seen them watching the Silver Conference. I had been there at the Ever Grande Conference. I had watched the masses pouring into the doors to fill these seats. But nothing came close to what it really felt like to look at it from the stadium ground. The seats rose up to the sky, easily a hundred and fifty feet up as tens of thousands of people filled the seats in every corner. A sea of faces looked down up on us, cheering, smiling, screaming. Some were painted, some wore merchandise from the Pokemon league. Children and devoted fans alike were waving flags and banners, watching us expectantly from above as they took in the sight of two hundred and fifty-six trainers arrayed across the packed earth of the battlefield, staring up at them.
My eyes drifted over to one of the nicer boxes, where I caught sight of my Lucy lounging in a comfortable chair with a glass in one hand. She smiled knowingly, nodding as my face lit up. Sitting on either side of her were my mother, her hair done up and her hands together as she looked at me, and Lily, who was screaming wildly as she peered down at the stadium, ecstatic to watch.
Calming myself, I let a smile spread across my lips and I waved, catching their attention and reassuring my mother that I was okay, despite the fact that I had called them only a few hours ago. It looked like they had made it in on time after all. Feeling the ringing in my ears die down, I turned slightly, looking at the box at the very center of the field on the north side. The League Box. Four figures caught my eyes, drawing my attention as I felt a hitch in my breath.
A familiar psychic with purple hair hanging over the side of his masquerade mask sat to the left. His brilliant magenta suit was further accented by the black waistcoat with gold buttons and his white ascot, matching his choice of cane today, black with gold accents. Will.
Furthest to the right was an older man with a shock of black hair and thick eyebrows, his stern expression fitting of the traditional purple warrior's robes and red scarf he wore, arm guards extending out from under his sleeves. The former gym leader of Fuchsia City: Koga.
Sitting next to him was a hulking man with dark hair, almost black hair, tied up in a ponytail behind his head. Ordinarily, in his battles, he only wore loose white trousers, ripped around the edges from roughing it, but for the opening ceremony he had deigned to wear an understated indigo robe of the top of his muscular body, tied closed with a black belt at the waist. The longest serving member of the current Elite Four: Bruno.
In between Bruno and Will was the last member of the Indigo Elite Four, a young woman with pale blue hair falling down her back, even paler eyes, and porcelain skin to go along with her devilish smirk. Her yellow crop top was slightly strained, the straps resting over her shoulders as she lounger about in her seat, avoiding any conversation with will. White trousers ended halfway down her calves, accentuating the heels she wore and the belt of golden pendants around her waist. The youngest ever member of the Indigo Elite Four: Karen.
Trying to hold back the awe I felt, I looked around the box, seeing a plethora of famous faces from around Indigo and the entire world. My eyes finally stopped as they came to rest on one familiar, hard edges face with silver hair decorating it. Steven sat in his chair with perfect posture, wearing one of his typical black suits with purple highlights and a pale lilac waistcoat to go with the red ascot he seemed to favor. To his left, the picture of grace and serenity, sat his wife, watching the goings on with a relaxed smile and sharp eyes. Further to her left, the face I had been looking for.
I locked eyes with Blake, taking in the sight of her heart shaped face and blond hair as she smiled and waved, prompting me to respond in kind. Her blue outfit with white jacket was fashionable, and I could see a few other people in the box looking over at it with interest. I mouthed a few words, knowing I was probably too far for her to make them out, before another speaker caught my attention.
The stadium itself typically didn't have a podium to the north side, but right now was an exception. Ordinarily, only the referee's raised box decorated the side of it. Currently though there stood a platform on wheels, bearing a support structure for a massive bronze dish with statuettes of a wide winged bird on four sides.
I felt my heart stop for a moment as I recognized a rough likeness of Moltres, the bird of flame watching the stadium from its decorative places on the side of the ten-foot-wide bronze dish. Without thinking about it, I raised a hand to my face, lightly touching the spot under my eye where I had been burned by the molten stone. Shaking it off, I turned to see a man striding to the middle of the stadium. Flowing black cape with a red interior, indigo battle suit with gold highlights, a pale face with a shock of red hair swept up and backwards, there was only one person with such a commanding presence which could silence the entire arena.
"Ladies and Gentlemen. On behalf of the Indigo League, I welcome you to the Indigo Plateau." Lance gestured out with both arms, looking to the crowd. "Every year we welcome you into our home, and hope only to help celebrate the best trainers of Johto, and all those who join us from near or far."
"There are two hundred and fifty-six trainers here. Some of them started their journeys in the stands where you sit today." Lance gestured towards the two lines of trainers, and then out at the grandstands. "There are aspiring champions here today, on the battleground, and watching from the arena. There are trainers who began their journeys in the biggest cities of the world, and there are those who emerged from the smallest towns in the far corners of Johto."
"We are privileged to come here year on year with the goal of crowning a champion, of crowning one trainer as the 'best' in Johto." Lance stopped for a moment, looking around the stadium as the crowd cheered loudly, before turning to us here. "Yes, we hope to see a champion emerge from this stadium, but we must not lose sight of what brings us here."
"We are not here to cheer only for a victor, to crowd the city and get autographs and pictures and watch a spectacle. We are here today, and for the next month, to celebrate the hard work of these trainers, of the effort they have put in to be here now. We are here to recognize the hardships and trials they have faced to become who they are, and the bonds they have forged with their Pokemon in the process. We are here to recognize these trainers for what they have strived for and what they have achieved, to be humbled in appreciation of the journey of a Pokemon trainer."
Lance bowed his head as the lights dimmed further, stepping up to the massive torch filled with tinder. Moving with the rest of the trainers, we formed two lines, making a corridor up to the torch. From each tunnel emerged a runner, bearing a flaming torch as they ran to the center, where there waited one last trainer, a young woman with auburn hair holding an unlit bronze torch. Last year's conference champion
Each of the two runners approached her, lighting the torch in her hand together and retreating back to the tunnels as she began to walk, her head held high. The noise in the stadium died out entirely as she approached the dais, climbing up the steps that had been brought for her and reaching into the bronze dish with her torch. With the slightest of touches, fire spread from the torch to the wood filling the dish, smoke rising into the sky. Stepping down, she went to the opposite side of the dish as Lance, still holding her torch as the fire spread across the dish, burning white hot as the Flame of Moltres came to life.
"Standing on the battleground right now, is the 192nd champion of the Silver Conference." Lance spread his arms, looking up to the crowds. "Welcome, to the Silver Conference!"