The paintbrush flowed beautifully across the top of the Pokéball as it gently slid on the solid surface. Louis dabbed the brush in a splotch of white paint, before continuing. Tracey watched on, waiting for any requests of help.
"So...why are you painting these, again?" he questioned.
The young adult from Johto put his work on hold and turned to Tracey.
"Just yesterday, I saw a trainer send out the wrong Pokémon during a training exercise," he revealed. "Last night, while we were talking, this idea came to mind, so...here we are."
The young adult began painting again.
"So you're doing this so you don't get the Pokéballs mixed up?' questioned Tracey.
"In a way, yes," answered Louis.
Eventually, Louis made the final brushstrokes to the current Pokéball. He smiled in accomplishment.
"Four down, one to go."
Outside the dorms, Taki, Roy and the other Pokémon waited outside, wondering why Louis hadn't emerged.
"What's taking him so long?" said Marowak.
"Your guess is as good as mine," replied Incineroar.
"Let's hope he's not leaving again," snarked Staraptor.
"Staraptor!" scolded Braixen.
Roy turned his head in every direction, thinking there was one other person missing from the party.
"...hey, where's that Tracey guy?" he asked.
"If I know him, he's probably sketching something right now," answered Taki.
Minutes passed as the party continued waiting. Then, the sound of a door opening emitted from the dorm entrance. The group focused on the wooden-framed portal and saw Louis and Tracey peering through it.
"Hey guys!" called Louis. "Could you come into my room for a minute?"
The gang followed the two individuals to Louis' room. He closed the door behind him and sat near the desk, where a red tarp covered items that were hidden from the rest of the group.
"What did you wanna show us?" asked Feraligatr.
The young adult cleared his throat.
"Well..." he began.
"If you remember yesterday, there was a trainer that sent out a Magikarp instead of a Charizard. I did a bit of thinking after that incident. I thought-"
Louis' words were tuned out by every individual in the room as he continued dragging out the surprise.
"Get on with it!" groaned Incineroar.
The young adult froze and cleared his throat again, apologising.
"Long story short-"
"Too late," the party said in unison.
"-I took precautions to make sure that wouldn't happen to my team, so…"
Louis reached over to the red tarp, pinched a small portion and lifted it into the air, unveiling what was underneath it. Under the sheet were five Pokéballs, each painted to resemble every separate member of Team Venus.
"Behold!" exclaimed Louis, dramatically.
The jaws of Louis' Pokémon dropped, Roy and Taki gazed at the capsules in stunned silence.
"Whoa..." gasped Roy.
The members of Team Venus stepped up to the painted Pokéballs and picked them up from the desk, inspecting them.
"This...is...amazing!" gasped Braixen.
"No kidding," said Incineroar, smirking. "It's like looking in a mirror."
Lucario turned his head to his trainer.
"Did you paint every single one of these?"
"Mostly," answered Louis. "Tracey helped me in making sure I got the looks right."
Staraptor gazed at each of the painted Pokéballs and counted them, where she quickly realised something.
"Hey, aren't you missing one?" she asked.
"Huh?" the young adult responded.
"What about Azul's Pokéball?"
Fully understanding, Louis swallowed the lump in his throat.
"Well, I only had five Pokéballs in possession. Plus, Azul was pretty distant when we reunited with him in the old gym."
Lucario sighed, knowing full-well the story between Louis and Azul, as well as other vital information.
"He has been distant...for quite some time," he said.
Multiple eyes gazed toward the aura Pokémon.
"Uh...Taki, what's going on?" asked Roy.
"Something about Azul," answered Taki.
"Oh."
"I'm sorry?" questioned Louis, responding to Lucario's statement.
"I heard from his sister that Azul has been back at the academy for at least three weeks," answered Lucario.
The party fell silent.
"...what?!" growled Louis, gently.
"Hold on, you're saying that Azul came back a while ago and didn't bother to see us back then?!" exclaimed Staraptor.
"Ugh, what a jerk!" grumbled Marowak.
Unbeknownst to the party, Louis clenched his fist.
'That...little...' he thought.
Meanwhile, outside the dorms, on the training field, Zack tapped his feet as the cool breeze brushed across his body.
He checked his watch, wondering where Suzuki was. Then, Zack heard dirt being stepped on by a set of feet. He turned around and locked eyes with the approaching Suzuki.
"Hey," greeted Zack.
"You're early," replied Suzuki.
"Well, you know me."
With the morning sun rising higher into the sky, Suzuki straightened his uniform as he prepared to begin his next training lesson.
"I take it you're aware of the battle royale, yes?" he asked.
"Uh-huh," answered Zack. "But...I don't know how it works."
Suzuki chuckled.
"It's quite simple, really," he began.
"A battle royale consists of four Pokémon competing against each other at the same time."
Zack nodded.
"It can get quite intense, and it's apparently quite popular in Alola, except they do it with each trainer using three Pokémon during the battle. However, here at the academy, trainers are allowed to use only one."
"Just one?" said Zack. "Why?"
"Because Coach believes that there may be some trainers that would deliberately go after one team," the staff member explained. "And that would be incredibly unfair, don't you think?"
Zack, agreeing with Suzuki's question, nodded.
"The main objective of Battle Royales is to be the last Pokémon standing," Suzuki continued. "Whichever Pokémon is still able to battle at the end is the winner."
"Whoa..." said Zack. "That does sound intense."
"So I've heard," replied Suzuki.
"So, are you ready for some more training?" he asked.
"You bet!" cheered Zack. "This'll help me learn about the Pokémon that joined my team last night."
Suzuki raised an eyebrow.
"You have another one?"
"Yep," answered Zack. "It joined my team last night."
The young trainer pulled a Pokéball out of his back pocket and threw it into the air. As it opened up, with a beam of light flying down to the ground, the Pokémon inside the capsule was revealed to be a Greninja, with a pendant around its neck.
"A Greninja?!" exclaimed Suzuki. "How on earth did you get a Greninja to join your team?"
"I didn't need to do anything special," explained Zack. "All I did was just ask if it wanted to join."
"Gre-nin," it said.
Suzuki placed his index finger and thumb on his chin.
"Hmm..." he pondered. "I suppose we could help you get used to it."
Zack nodded.
Time flew by as their training exercise went on. Suzuki helped Zack learn the basic moves of a Greninja, such as Water Shuriken, Shadow Sneak, Smokescreen and Substitute.
By the end of the lesson, both Zack and the Greninja were exhausted.
"Your Greninja is quite good..." complimented Suzuki.
"No kidding," blurted Zack. "I didn't think it'd be that fast and powerful."
A wind, bitter and chilly, swept the grass around their feet.
"Ok, we'll leave it there for today," said Suzuki.
Zack nodded.
He returned the Greninja to its Pokéball, thanked Suzuki, and walked off the training field. As he watched, Suzuki pondered silently.
'Something about that Greninja seems...familiar,' he thought.
'But what?'
On the other side of the campus, Louis, Taki, Tracey, Roy, and their Pokémon stepped out of the dorms and into the sunlight. Louis' Pokémon continued admiring their painted Pokéballs.
"I still can't get over how good these look," complimented Braixen.
"You're telling me," replied Incineroar.
In the distance, Roy spotted a familiar-looking shape approaching them.
"Hey, there's Suzuki," he said.
The party turned to the direction Roy was staring at. There, they met Suzuki's eyes.
"Hey guys," he greeted.
"Finished your training exercise for today?" asked Taki.
"Yep, all finished with Zack."
"Oh yeah, how is he?" inquired Louis.
"He's interested in competing in the battle royale," answered Suzuki.
The young adult raised an eyebrow.
"The what?"
"The Battle Royale," replied Roy. "It's an event that was introduced to the academy last year."
"I actually competed in it that year," said Taki.
"Did you really?" Louis responded. "How did you go?"
"We...almost won," answered Cinderace.
"Yeah, we were so close to victory, but our opponent was just one step ahead of us," added Feraligatr.
Leaves scraped across the concrete pavement as the wind carried them in the draft.
"Well, that's better than nothing," grinned Louis.
"Y'know, you could compete in it as well," suggested Roy.
"Yeah, right..." said Louis, rolling his eyes.
"I'm pretty rusty," he added.
"Oh come on Louis," replied Suzuki. "You managed to win the academy tournament, while only being at the academy for about a month."
"I know that."
Louis pondered for a moment. He turned to his Pokémon, wondering how they would feel about the event. But, there was one thing he needed to be sure of.
"When is it?" he asked.
"In three days," answered Suzuki.
"What?! I can't do that!"
Suzuki locked eyes with the young adult.
"Why not?"
"Because that doesn't give us enough time to prepare," answered Louis.
"Some people have managed to get things accomplished in a limited amount of time," said Roy. "I'm sure you'll be fine."
A Battle Royale.
The words rattled around his brain, the complexity of the suggestion to join, coupled with Zack's entry, sparked a fire deep in Louis' chest. He could enter, but only if he knew his team were ready. Eventually, he peered to his Pokémon.
"Is this something you want to do?" he asked.
The members of Team Venus turned to one another, before returning their attention to the trainer.
"I'm keen," said Braixen.
"Wouldn't hurt to try," added Lucario.
A grin began to spread across Louis' face.
"Well then...Let's do it."
Sweet! Louis is going to be competing again. But, more importantly, why the heck is Azul with Zack's team now?
Oh well. Thanks for reading. Is there something you enjoyed? Can you guess what happens next? Or...what do you hope to see in future chapters? If so, go ahead and leave a review explaining any of these reasons. (Please don't leave hurtful reviews)
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Thanks again. See you next time