So this originally was going to be part of chapter four, but it got to be pretty long, so I decided to put it here and expand on it a bit.
"Liara, I'm home!"
"I'm in the kitchen!" his aunt called. "Make sure to let everyone outside!"
"I know!" Damien set his bag onto the end table and got out all his Pokemon. Then he went out the back door and let them all out. "Alright, we've still got some time before dinner, so get out all your energy now." Immediately Luxio ran into the yard to the edge of the forest, Poochyena and Mareep following close behind. Ivysaur went over to a sunlit spot and laid down there. Vulpix "Luxio!" Damien called. Said Pokemon looked at him. "You better not tear up my blankets again. That was not fun to deal with. And then running around like crazy. I know Vulpix liked it, but you need to understand that blankets cost money. And I don't think Liara enjoyed having to go out and buy a new blanket for me."
"Nonsense." Liara said through the window she'd opened. "It wasn't an issue at all."
"Well I'd still appreciate it if he didn't." Damien grumbled. "I liked that blanket. Ivysaur got it for me."
"And I got you a new one." Liara said. "Also, what kept you after school?"
"There was an… interesting proposition that happened." Damien answered. "You know Marcus?"
"The senior boy who won the Unova League last year?" Liara asked. "What about him?"
"He came up to me today, with an offer of training me and my friends to make us stronger." Damien said. "Apparently there's some new program at the school to get people to become Pokemon Professors. Seniors only it seems. Sebastian knew about it, but wasn't interested in participating. Then we battled. Sebastian actually tied, and the rest of us lost. Also there's apparently a school chart that ranks everyone in terms of strength? I learned that today. He hasn't battled Mike, Anne, Pamira, Felix, or Jack yet. Said he'd finish that tomorrow. Also Anne's on vacation to Alola? And Mike went home sick today."
"Sounds like you've had an interesting day." Liara said, turning to whatever she was cooking on the stove. Liara was Damien's aunt. She'd taken him in when he was ten, as his own parents had kicked him out of the house to go on his adventure that all ten-year-olds went on. Since he didn't want to go on one, they agreed to send Damien to live with his aunt. It was a long flight from Mauville City in Hoenn to Anville Town in Unova, but he was glad to make it.
Liara was a kind individual who never felt like being in the spotlight. She was content being in the background and supporting others, being a place of rest. She'd been like that as long as Damien could remember. She had no Pokemon of her own, but was more than happy to help take care of Damien's when he couldn't, which she did very well.
"Also Karek said I need a new focus, that battling wasn't working for me." Damien said. "Suggested contests, or other things. I'm not that interested."
"So then what do you plan on doing?" Liara asked.
"I guess I'll just… finish school." Damien answered.
"I know you don't like your classes." Liara said. "You're a boy who likes adventure."
"I'm also a boy who likes having some structure to his life." Damien muttered.
"You can adventure and still have structure." Liara said.
"I'm not doing the gym challenge." Damien said.
"I didn't say you had to." Liara said. "There are many reasons to travel. Some wish to see the world, others want to discover lost secrets, and others travel as a way to bond with other people. Why you travel is up to you."
"Karek seemed to want to push contests onto me." Damien said. "I don't want to be a coordinator. They don't have any strength and focus too much on looking good. Not enough on being good."
"There are plenty of powerful coordinators." Liara said. "I hear the Gym Leader Wallace has been looking into doing contests. Besides, you wouldn't have to be one full time. You can use the techniques learned there in your battling, which I'm sure you prefer. Harold was a strong coordinator."
Damien went quiet. Harold had been Liara's husband. He passed away when Damien was only six, so it was a difficult subject for her. He had few memories of Harold, but from what he did remember, he liked the man. For her to so openly talk about him, she likely supported him doing contests but didn't want to force it onto him. "Hey Liara, can you watch them for a few moments? Make sure Aron doesn't eat the car again and such? I'm gonna go do homework."
"Of course." Liara said. "I'll call you when it's time for dinner." Damien picked up his bag and went upstairs to his room. It was relatively small, but it held enough space for his bed, dresser, chair, and desk. He noticed that he did in fact have a new blanket, a plain red one, folded onto his bed. He looked through the window that overlooked the backyard, seeing that his Pokemon were all still playing, Bagon having climbed a tree and was now jumping from branch to branch. He set his bag down onto his desk and opened it. Then he just stared at it.
"Maybe it is time I focus on something different." Damien told himself. "But what to focus on?" Damien wandered around his room for a bit, thinking. He then opened his closet, then started to close it until he noticed something in the back. He knew that Liara had put stuff in there so that Damien would have space, but he'd never bothered to check what it was she'd put in there. But now, Damien wanted to know. So he squeezed himself into there, and grabbed the object he saw. Pulling it out, it appeared to be some sort of glass case, about the size of both his hands set on top of each other. Inside was what looked to be a contest ribbon. He could tell by the general shape and the fact that a white ribbon was affixed to the object. But he didn't know what it was.
"What is this?" He muttered. It couldn't be a Grand Festival trophy. Those were, well, trophies. Not ribbons. And no ribbon he'd seen had ever been made out of this crystalline material. And none of them had ever sorted white. Or been encased in glass. Maybe Liara knew. So Damien went downstairs. "Hey, Liara, I found this in the closet. What is it?"
"Oh, back already Damien?" She chuckled. Then she turned around. "And what is it that… oh. That." A look of sadness appeared on her face.
"If you don't want to talk about it that's okay!" Damien said.
"No, it's fine." Liara said. "That's Harold's Diamond Ribbon."
"Diamond Ribbon?" Damien asked. "What's that?"
"Remember that I said Harold was a coordinator?" Liara asked. It wasn't really a question, more of a callback, but Damien nodded. "A Diamond Ribbon is the highest award a coordinator can get. There's only one handed out every five years. Throughout the entire world, not just the region. And he won one. He was, oh dear, forty-two I believe when he won that. He was so proud of himself. You couldn't have been older than two. You see, in order to get the Diamond Ribbon, you have to win what's known as the Diamond Festival. In order to enter, you have to have five Gold Festival wins. And to compete in one Gold Festival, you have to have five gold ribbons, meaning that you have to have at least twenty-five gold ribbons in order to compete in the Diamond Festival. And in order to gain access to Gold Contests, you have to win the Silver Festival, and have gotten five silver ribbons. You have to become a Top Coordinator before you can perform in Silver Contests, so that requires five regular ribbons and a Grand Festival win."
"That's a long road." Damien said. "Harold must've been very good."
"He was." Liara agreed. "Because simply qualifying for the Diamond Festival isn't a guarantee that you'll be in it. Dozens of coordinators from around the world come to compete, and all of them are exceptionally skilled. You also have to take a rigorous two weeks of tests and competitions, and if you fail even one, you're disqualified. That leaves, on average, less than ten coordinators to actually compete in the main event. The best of the best. But getting in is the easy part. Once you're in, you have to win. And if you're disqualified, or don't win, then you have to get another five Gold Festival wins, which requires yet another twenty-five gold ribbons. But you don't have to go down to the silver tier. Once you reach a new tier, you don't go down. But if you do win the Diamond Ribbon, you're required to have five gold ribbons in order to compete again. It's more of a maintenance cost than anything. Harold was trying to be the first person to get two Diamond Ribbons, but he fell ill and passed before he could do it. He tried so hard."
Damien looked at the Diamond Ribbon in his hands. It held years and years of effort, of success and failure, the essence of a man who tried so hard to achieve what had never been done. A man who's life was cut short before he could get the chance. A fire started to burn within Damine's heart."Liara? When's the next contest? And where? Beginner level."
"This weekend, in Nimbasa City" She said. "Why?"
"I want to take on Uncle Harold's dream." Damien said. "I want to prove that a person can get two Diamond Ribbons. But like you said, I have to become a Top Coordinator first. So I have to sign up."
"Well, you'd need your coordinator's license first." Liara said. "But you can get that tomorrow at the Pokemon Center. It's very easy to get. What's important is that you have a performance ready. The contest is on Saturday, which is two days away. That's not a lot of time for practice."
"I'm aware." Damien said. "But there's no better time to start than now. Not to mention I am taking coordinator classes"
"That's true." Liara said. "And I'm certain your Pokemon would like to know about this."
"I'll tell them," Damien said before walking outside. "Hey!" He called. At first, only Ivysaur listened, but with a single whip crack, they all gathered around.
"Saur?" Ivysaur asked.
"Would you care for doing contests?" Damien asked. His Pokemion looked at him, confused. "I know it's a sudden change, but Karek said I need a new focus, and Liara shared the story of Uncle Harold after I found his Diamond Ribbon." Damien took a breath. "We're going to do what he couldn't, and win two Diamond Ribbons. Can I count on you to help me?" He was met by a resounding cheer from his Pokemon. Damien smiled. "Then let's get to work. We've got a lot to do"
And that's that. To elaborate on Liara's explanation, there's a long way to win a Diamond Ribbon. You have to get five contest ribbons and compete in the Grand Festival to become a Top Coordinator, just like in the anime. Then you basically repeat that for the Silver Tier. The Gold Tier is essentially the same, but you have to do it five times to qualify for the Diamond Festival. Then you have to pass all the tests and competitions to be in the main event. The exact details will come in at a later point, when Damien actually gets there. And this isn't the only storyline going on, either. I've got others prepared. So Damien's contests will be put on hold after this first one. What I actually plan is for this story to end by their school year. They've just finished spring break, so it's the middle of March for them. Does this mean the story will continue on after that? Yes, but after that it'll shift to focus more on Damien's contests, but the other stories will be tied up as well. It's likely that this will take some time, so I hope you're prepared to stick with me. Anyway, time for the next team showcase.
Character: Karek
Team: Blaziken, Alakazam, Shedinja
Blaziken:
Level: 40
Ability: Blaze
Nature: Brave (Up Atk, Down Def)
Moves: Blaze Kick, Flamethrower, Thunder Punch, Brick Break
Alakazam:
Level: 38
Ability: Synchronize
Nature: Modest (Up SpAtk, Down Atk)
Moves: Psychic, Energy Ball, Recover, Focus Blast
Ninjask:
Level: 37
Ability: Speed Boost
Nature: Jolly (Up Speed, Down SpAtk)
Moves: Metal Claw, Bug Bite, Fury Cutter, Fury Swipes
