I do not own Pokémon. But I do own Vincent, and all the other characters that doesn't appear in the game, or TV show. If you want to use Vincent or any of the other characters, you have got to have my permission. So there.

A Grey life

Chapter 11: The Calm Before The Storm

You should know these things before reading my story

" " people speaking

( ) a person's thoughts

¤-¤-¤-¤-¤-¤-¤-¤-¤-¤-¤-¤-¤-¤-¤-¤-¤-¤-¤-¤-¤-¤-¤-¤-¤-¤-¤-¤-¤-¤-¤-¤-¤-¤-¤-¤-¤-¤- ¤-¤-¤-¤-¤-¤-¤ After Jak had left, Vincent waited two turns and fought his first match with Scyther. It did a good job and took out a Nidorino single handed but lost to a Charmeleon in the second round that Vincent's Kingler took care of. The matches were not very challenging up till the final match. Vincent had to fight a trainer named David Jensen. He had won a few championships before and had a reputation that he was a tough nut to crack. And that he was. His Pokémon were very well trained and it was an even fight. At first, it was David's Wartortle against Kingler. Kingler just barely lost the fight and Vincent sent in Slate, his strongest. Wartortle never had a chance and in the final round, Slate had to defeat a Hitmonchan. Hitmonchan was faster than Slate and kept on punching like it was in a fury. Slate was pummelled into the ground a couple of times but Slate caught Hitmonchans fist and did a devastating Seismic Toss followed with a Focus Energy and Cross Chop to win the match.

When the final fight was over, Vincent had to follow the referee into a house, a little further down the beach. The three other winners were there as well, two guys and one girl. At a desk in front of them, sat three men and three women. They told them that they weren't going to fight each other. No, they were going to be interviewed. Or as one of them put it: "Tom Keys, Vincent Grey, Mike Thorn and Wendy Sullivan. You are going to get the opportunity of your lifetime."

That's right. Wendy Sullivan. She was the one that Jak had to wait for. Now, let's pick up the trail outside the house, where Wendy is poking Vincent for some unknown reason. ¤-¤-¤-¤-¤-¤-¤-¤-¤-¤-¤-¤-¤-¤-¤-¤-¤-¤-¤-¤-¤-¤-¤-¤-¤-¤-¤-¤-¤-¤-¤-¤-¤-¤-¤-¤-¤-¤- ¤-¤-¤-¤-¤-¤-¤

"Wendy? *poke* What *poke* are you doing?!"

She straightened up and looked him in the eyes with a large smile, revealing her white teeth. "I just wanted to see if you were real! You've changed so much, Vincent!" She threw her arms around his neck and hugged him as tight as she could. Vincent, the poor bastard, had no idea what to do and didn't even dare to hug her back. He could only blush.

"Yeah... sure. You've also changed a lot, Wendy. I didn't recognize you" She let go of him and happily exclaimed:

"Really? And here I was, thinking that you knew who it was but didn't want to say hello to little me..." the best way to describe Wendy's expression was a pout blended with a sweet smile. And puppy eyes of course.

Her face was way too close his for him to feel comfortable. "No, really! I didn't recognize you."

"Then what is different about me?" She finally let go of his neck and did a twirl in front of him as he sat down.

She had grown. And not just in length. Her bosom was noticeably bigger and her hips were broader. She wore short beige shorts that only reached a couple of inches down her thigh. If they were any shorter, they would officially be considered hotpants. On her upper body, she had a yellow bikini top with red flowers. She had also cut her hair shorter and dyed blonde stripes in her brown hair. All in all, she had gotten hot.

(But I can't tell her that! She'll... slap me!)

"You're... taller. And you've cut your hair."

"So you noticed. Don't you think I look better now, than before?" She made puppy eyes towards him again.

(Damn girls! They always make things so hard...) *A/N* no pun intended on that one! Honest!

He didn't say anything, just looked another way, like there was something very, very interesting over there in the sand.

"Oh, come on Vincent! I was just joking! Besides, I almost didn't recognize you either. You've gotten bigger since last time I saw you." She said matter of factly.

"What are you talking about? I haven't grown an inch. I'm just as small as I was back then." It was true. He had stopped growing entirely at 5'6.

"That's true. You aren't any taller. But you have still gotten bigger." He looked up at her from where he sat. "You are even more muscular and your hair is different too! I don't remember you being blonde?"

"The sun dyed it."

"Hey, what are those?" she pointed towards the bands around his wrists.

"These? They are weight bands. All my Pokémon have them around their legs and arms. That way, I can train them to become stronger and faster all the time." He couldn't help to feel proud of his invention.

"Ooh! Lemme try one!" He ripped off the Velcro bindings on his left wrist and gave her the black band. But instead of taking it, she just extended her arm and motioned for him to put it on. He took her hand in his and strapped on the weight. He looked her in the eyes and let go of the band.

Her arm dropped to her side immediately and she was, to say the least, surprised.

"Ugh! Vincent how much does this weigh? I can't even lift my arm up to scratch my nose!" She struggled to get her arm in the air but could only move it and inch or so.

"It's only about 25 pounds..." He got a hold of her arm and took the band off her, putting it back on his own arm.

"Only?! You're mad Vincent." She smiled at him as he fastened the Velcro again.

Silence

"Sooo, what do you think the deal is with these interviews anyway?"

(How the hell should I know? They could be searching for stolen Pokémon, someone to sponsor, anything! He was a little suspicious about this entire racket just to determine a winner.)

"I don't know. They haven't told me anymore than they told you." He began poking around in the sand between his legs.

"...Wendy? Where's Sara?"

(aww... I had forgotten how cute he really is.) She smiled at both his question and his awkward behaviour.

"Why do you wanna know?"

"I... haven't seen her in a while. And I just want to know how she is."

Wendy just looked at him slyly "What?! I can't ask that? Fine, don't tell me then. I don't care." He turned his side to her and looked out to sea. She did the same.

"We split up six months ago. We just had to get experience on your own. It was for the best. I have her phone number if you want it."

"No thanks. I don't need her number." (Because I don't have a phone...)

"How did you get to travel with a guy like... Jak?" Vincent motioned for the rocks were Jak sat, seemingly doing nothing except waiting for Wendy getting ready to leave.

"Two weeks ago, I met Jak at a tournament. He cooked me lunch and we talked a lot over the two days that the tournament lasted. Then he asked if I wanted to go with him. And he really is a nice guy, so I couldn't say no."

The door on the house opened and the winner of the first field, Tom Keys, came out followed by one of the men. He looked around and fixed on Vincent.

"Vincent Grey? Your turn."

Inside the house, he was told to sit down in a wooden chair in front of a large, white table where the six people sat. It felt strange sitting there, being stared at by complete strangers.

The sweaty man in the middle spoke: "Vincent, we are just going to ask you a few questions and we want you to answer truthfully."

"Sure, but why are you doing this?"

"We'll tell you when we are done, okay?" The man smiled creepily, like a car salesman would, put on a pair of glasses and grabbed a pen.

"Age?"

"Seventeen."

"Date of birth?"

"The eighteenth of July 1986"

"Any brothers or sisters?"

"No. Me and my mom live alone."

"Do you smoke, drink or do drugs?"

"No, no and no. I've never even tried to smoke, drink or do drugs. They're bad for you."

"Describe yourself with three words."

"Bored, Blonde, Short." (Are they done anytime today?!)

"Do you have a girlfriend?"

"...No. I'm single."

"For how long have you trained Pokémon?"

"Two years now."

"Are you planning on participating in the Pokémon League?"

"Don't think so. There are so much people there. But maybe. I've heard that the trainers can actually be a challenge."

"What are you going to do after this interview?"

"Find out why you interviewed me."

"Besides that."

"Well, first of all, I'm going to walk down the beach and find a good place to camp tonight. Then, I'm going to train with my Pokémon for an hour or so until it's time to eat. Oh, and I promised Kingler a swim in the sea." He had to remember that.

"Why do you think you should win this final stage of the tournament?"

"Because if this was a normal tournament, I think I would've won already. The other winners all look formidable but no one is unbeatable. I know at least one weakness about all three of them. And I believe my Pokémon are stronger than theirs."

"What makes a good Pokémon trainer?"

"There are many things. But the most important is the relationship with your Pokémon. No doubt about it. You have to make them respect you and you have to be their friend and partner. Not their master. Plus you have to know how to train them and train with them. If you do, they'll give you more respect. But as I said, there are lots of things."

"Why do you train Pokémon?"

(Because I have to. If I don't, I'll never find out if the leader at Twin Falls knows how I can get home.)

"Because I want to see how strong I can make both myself and the Pokémon I train. And it's way better than standing in a hamburger restaurant taking orders all day."

"Thank you Vincent, that would be all. Now, before you leave, we need to take your picture. For security reasons." He pulled out a camera and took a shot of Vincent's face before he could object.

"Could you please stand up?" Vincent did so and the man took a full body picture.

"Can I go now?" He got a nod in return and stepped out the door.

As soon as Vincent had left, the man that had interviewed Vincent popped out a disc from the digital camera he just used and gave it along with the notes from Vincent's replies to a man with a laptop in the room next door. He started typing away and uploaded Vincent's picture into the computer.

After five minutes, he had uploaded Vincent's replies, his picture and the information from his Pokédex on the Internet.

The other winners had a page just like Vincent's. In the bottom of each page was a large button that said: "Think this person should win? Click here and you'll see him or her next week!"

And they did click. After an hour, 5000 people had voted for the person they thought should win and the voting was finished. The people had chosen a winner. And the six inside the house agreed.

The referee that had led Vincent to the house in the first place came out and called for them all to come in again.

With the irritation clearly showing in his voice, Vincent said to Wendy "Maybe now we'll get some answers instead of just waiting!"

The door closed behind them again. The sweaty man with the creepy smile leaned on the chair they sat in at the time of their interviews. And the other five still sat at the same place like before. Still as quiet but with a composed look to their faces. Vincent didn't notice before but all of them looked like the stereotype office-worker. They had white shirts with ties and black khakis followed by black, shiny shoes. The man by the chair drew in a deep breath and started talking.

"As all of you have noticed by now, this is not an ordinary tournament. You four fought excellently and have proven your strength as trainers."

(What?! I don't wanna hear a speech. I want an explanation!)

"We all know that or else we wouldn't be standing here. You can instead tell us what's going on!" Vincent's voice unintentionally rose at the end of the sentence.

"That was what I was trying to tell you. Now listen to me instead of interrupting." Vincent fumed at the mockery this man put him through. What did he take him for? A child?

(I'm probably twice as strong as you, office-boi!) Although the man looked close to be thirty years old.

The man gestured towards his co-workers. "We aren't judges, if that's what you thought. Heck, we don't even know anything about Pokémon or Pokémon battles." His face changed expression from composed to something that looked like he wanted pity for his ignorance.

"I am the Vice President of RTV Networks and these people are my employees. We are here to find the star for a new television show where we follow a Pokémon trainer for six months and record that trainers every day life, every battle everywhere he or she goes." He paused and looked at the four youngsters in front of him. The girl, Wendy, gasped and held her hands to her mouth while the boys just smiled or stood like a statue unable of emotion.

"Take a look at this." The man grabbed a laptop, opened it and showed the display to Vincent and the others. Inside, there was an Internet page with the headline "Choose the new reality show star!" Below the headline stood their names and a thumbnail of their face beside their respective name. He clicked on the first name that read Mike Thorn and up came another page with a full body picture of Mike on the right side and his info on the left.

"We've taken your answers, images and Pokédex profiles, uploaded them on the Internet and let the viewers decide. Of course, we've had a saying as well. That's the reason we interviewed you, took your picture and made you wait for an hour. I hope you understand."

"So... the winner is decided?" Tom asked

"Yes. The voting is finished and we all agree to what the viewers think." The remaining five in the background nodded approvingly.

"The star of the new reality show is." he raised his arm over his head and let it drop as he pointed with his index finger

"you."

¤-¤-¤-¤-¤-¤-¤-¤-¤-¤-¤-¤-¤-¤-¤-¤-¤-¤-¤-¤-¤-¤-¤-¤-¤-¤-¤-¤-¤-¤-¤-¤-¤-¤-¤-¤-¤-¤- ¤-¤-¤-¤-¤-¤-¤

A/N: This chapter was a boring one, I know. And I will try to get the chapters out faster so you'll actually remember what happened and that this story actually exists -__-'

Leo Cole, Ravens Destiny, The Crystal Wyvern, Pikajenn, The Duke of Briarcliffe, Aya Eliya, Edgar, Lavenderangel, Matt Morwell, Shinra-26, adam, VillageIdiot13, Rikko and Black Griffin.

Thank you all for reviewing my fic. You people are the only reason I keep going and for that, I love you all. Again, Thank you.

Pikajenn: Thank you again for reading this through and pointing out errors that my sleepy eyes didn't see.

Leo Cole: Thanks for pointing out that error. Although I haven't fixed it yet. -__-

Ravens destiny: I kept going. So now you can't hurt me! Hah!

Everyone that might read this: I need your help. I have yet to come up with a name for the TV-show and I thought that you might have a suggestion or two. I would gladly accept any names but if I use them or not is a completely different thing. Of course, you will get all the credit for the name. If you come up with it that is. :) / Yorun