The Best is Yet to Come

Time was moving all too fast for Red. He used the little time he had left to train for Indigo League approaching in the flowing weeks. The season was coming to a close and applicants for the tournament were piling up quick, making it this year the largest battling event for the Indigo league to host in its entire existence. The incentive of not having to face the champion played a key role among various factors contributing to the large attendance.

The Indigo Plateau loomed ahead of Red and his Pidgeot. A raised land form with flat top and a surface area equal to Saffron City. From his height he saw the main stadium built directly in the center of the entire plateau. Six smaller separate stadiums were dotted around the main one, encircling it.

Beyond the arena, raised even higher was the Indigo League Champion building. Looming over the area was the prestige building that resembled more of an extravagant mansion not suitable for battling the Elite Four.

Emily tightened her grip around Red's waist as he led Pidgeot down to a blue dome building close to the entrance of the plateau. Blue's Fearow followed close in pursuit with Leaf holding her hat from falling off. Both bird Pokemon steadily landed and dropped off their trainer.

Red arrived at the indigo Plateau on the third day of sign-ups along with his rival Blue, Emily (who he now considered as a rival) and Leaf who wasn't there to participate but to get tickets to spectate.

Kiosks were set up like a labyrinth all around the plaza peddling their wares ranging from energy boosting beverages to fashionable items calming to boost performance.

"What was that about the next time you guys met was on the battlefield," Emily teasingly said to Blue who didn't speak a word when they arrived.

"He was so caught up in the moment of sounding cool that probably forgot that he might see Red before their actual battle," Leaf spoke up to the embarrassed Blue. "You can be quite rash Blue."

"Let's hurry up and sign up for the tournament," Blue hastened to brush off his shortsightedness.

Red agreed seeing the amount of trainers entering the building. They walked along the red brick pattern path that lead to the building with a large welcoming sign posted close to its front doors.

The Marcin Building was what the sign red welcoming them in. Red noted that this building was named after a champion who had this building built as to register trainers faster. They entered through the sliding glass doors.

The main building was for sign-ups along with a ticket booth. They came on the third day of sign ups believing it would be less packed but they weren't the only ones who believed in that. The building was filled with various trainers from all around the globe. Large plasma televisions screens were mounted above each counter, displaying the number the attendee was currently servicing.

At the entrance they were immediately met by workers who query them on their reason for visiting them. A staff member had Red take out his trainer ID to scan it with a scanner and instantly printed out a small ticket card from their handheld device for the trainer. Red read, "52F" out loud as his friends received their own line tickets each varying in number and letter.

Couches and tables were scattered about the stadium sized waiting lounge. They didn't have much trouble finding an empty table placed directly in the middle of the room.

"Now serving trainer 79A at counter number 2," rang the intercom throughout the large room as the group sat down.

"I think I'll wait for the line to shorten a bit," Leaf said, seeing that both booths for the tickets were full with people.

"Which reminds me," Red said, taking out his wallet. "Buy my mother a ticket to get her in on all the days the tournament is going on."

Leaf took the money promising to do so. "How about housing? Is she going to stay at a hotel in this place or does she have to go back to her home after every day?"

"It won't be much of an issue," Emily answered for him. "I've made reservations for housing which are the hotels in the far east for his mother."

"You didn't tell me about this," Red said slightly annoyed.

"I talked with your mother beforehand and she gladly agreed. Oh, and I also got her the pass for the entire tournament," she lastly mentioned.

"Why didn't you stop me during my transaction with Leaf?" Red asked, taking back the amount from Leaf.

"Oh, I was busy in my thoughts to realize you were doing so," she curtly answered looking up to the television screens.

Red sighed as he pocketed the money. "We are going to be here for a while so let's talk while we have the chance before the tournament. Where have you been Emily? You didn't say where you went after my discharge at the hospital," Red asked leaning back into his chair.

Emily had a good view of the counters and was scanning the screens for the queue in hopes of figuring out what place the line was currently at. "I've been training for the most part," Emily mumbled disheartened seeing she was quite a long way from being called.

"As have I," Blue spoke up.

"Come one guys be more specific," Red complained about their short answers. "I spent my last few weeks up in caves of Mt. Silver. Just me and my Pokemon braving the harsh environment of the mountain."

"Hah, lone Pokemon are nothing compared to the Pokemon of talented trainers," Blue boasted feeling that Red had it easy. "You can't get better by simply beating up non-trained Pokemon."

"But my Pokemon did learn some new moves," Red added, slightly discouraged. "Mt. Silver has some of the toughest Pokemon in this region."

"Like I said, they are nothing compared to trained Pokemon," Blue arrogantly repeated.

Leaf grew tired of the boasting. "Just tell them where Grandpa sent you on an exclusive ticket," Leaf urged her cousin.

"Fine then," Blue sneered. "I got access to the pre-opening of the new Battle Frontier over in the Johto region."

"You got early access?" Emily asked with uncertainty in her voice.

"You doubt that I could get in?" Blue asked defensively.

"I mean only capable trainers are able to take on the challenge but you did say your grandpa got you in with his influence…" Emily nodded seeing the way Blue managed to get in.

"Battle Frontier? What's that?" Red asked ignoring Blue's glare.

"The Battle Frontier is a popular attraction for trainer looking for challenge that started in Hoenn," Emily decided to explain; mildly annoyed that Red didn't know. "It consists of up to seven buildings that are managed by top tier trainers. The trainer must complete a certain amount of trainers in their respective building before having the chance to challenge the leader. They hand out badges to the winners."

"So, just a park more gym leaders," Red bluntly summarized.

"These aren't just regular gym battles," Blue lambasted. "Strategy is crucial in every building. They place limits and special rules to accommodate their play style."

"And you beat all of them?" Emily asked mockingly.

"I…I didn't," Blue stammered. "I just needed one more Frontier Brain to complete the park but that stupid Roulette Machine is not about strategy but luck!"

"You did manage to beat some of them which is formidable," Emily curtly said.

"I'm better prepared for this tournament than you," Blue weakly retorted. "How did you train in your time?"

"I simply had people fight me in Saffron City," Emily unwittingly replied.

The table fell quiet unbeknownst to Emily, checking every so often to see where she was in the waiting list. Nobody was sure to believe her or if it was a witty remark for Blue.

"What?" Emily noticed the skeptical faces. "I rented a Pokemon battle park in the city and held an event where anybody that can beat me will win 13,000 pokedollars!"

The group kept silent, stunned by Emily's outrageous idea.

"Did anyone beat you?" Red reluctantly asked.

"Very few did manage to beat me but I defeated them in a rematch," Emily replied pleased with her performance. "Well, except for one guy who beat me in my rematch and took double the reward."

"That's a surprise-"

"Fifty-two F to counter number nine," announced the female voice through the intercom.

Red doubled checked his paper slips before getting up from his seat. "That was surprisingly quick," he remarked.

"The registrations don't take that long," Blue replied. "We will get called on soon."

Red nodded and headed towards the counter. At the computer was a young brunet lady, typing away on her desk. She greeted him with a bright smile.

"Hello sir," she chirped to which Red responded accordingly and caught sight of her nameplate on her dark blue dress coat. "Can you please hand me your ticket along with your Pokemon trainer license and badges."

"Yeah, here they are." Red had the items that Mary asked for in him. Placing them on the desk one at a time.

"Excellent," she exclaimed, reaching for the license first. She scanned the bar code on the back. On her computer screen Red's details immediately pulled up. She opened up the badge case and turned over each Badge to scan the backs of each item. Counterfeiting them is extremely difficult along with the information stored by League to make sure people don't cheat the system.

"These badges are the one we handed out this season so they are genuine," she commented, typing away on the blank boxes provided for Red's registration. Finishing the registration template, she pressed enter.

Mary returned Red's items; the eight badges, the trainer's license, and his ticket. Red also received a pocket size book with the Indigo League logo emblazoned on its bright red color. Mary swiped the paper slip, crumbled it up in her hand, and tossed it into the trash can next to her.

"Please make sure to read the entire manual so you don't commit an error during the tournament and risk being disqualified," she urged Red. "Any questions about the rules will be answered at the help desk across the room." She pointed to two large counters with a couple trainers asking for clarification.

"I'll make sure to do so," Red replied, picking the book.

"Great, that will be all," she answered in her jovial attitude. "Wish you good luck in the tournament."

"Thanks, I'll try my best," he replied, opening up the book. He immediately went to the banned techniques. He arrived at his table and saw that no one was there but he sat them anyways.

"No more than one Pokemon can be put to sleep. Evasion Clause bans moves that increases evasion stat. Item use is prohibited except for held items not including the ones listed below."

Red read the extensive rules for the tournament. He didn't notice his friends return to the table until Emily slammed her hand on the table.

"Man this going to take forever to finish," Red dreaded reading the rules before a week.

"This is really a pain," Blue complained.

"Then let's get going so you can get started," Emily berated.

"If we are going already then let's go out for dinner, then," Red suggested. "It'll be my treat!"


Red walked along the pathway bordered by booths on either side. Leaf causally strolled along with him, politely refusing a worker at a berry stand asking her to buy some to enhance her Pokemon's stats.

"It hasn't been proven yet that those berries actually increase a Pokemon's stat by eating it raw," Leaf said once the vendor left to attend another potential customer. "Studies of it working are considered invalid due to many of them suffering from the placebo effect. Concrete studies of it failing were done other the correct experiment procedures."

"You really have done your studies on the subject matter," Red replied.

Red glanced back at the stand, accepting what Leaf said was true. There were few other people strolling along the path, having a gander at the various wares. Emily and Blue were not with them as both had stuff to attend to. For Blue it most likely meant to train. Emily slightly more detailed with her motives as she left to collect her "trump card" for the tournament at Saffron.

It was just him and Leaf, who stayed behind to waste some time before she had to leave, walking around the plaza. She mostly asked him questions retaining to his knowledge of various Pokemon types and Pokemon attacks. He knew most of the type matchups but his understanding of moves was significantly lacking. Leaf, of course, decided to lecture Red at the area that he failed at and promised to give him the books on various attacks he needed to study in the upcoming days. When asked why she was attentive on helping, she replied with helping a friend as she did with Blue.

"You are really have been taking this apprenticeship seriously lately," Red remarked, now following Leaf as he lost interest in the goods being sold.

Leaf led Red to edge of the plateau. Railing stretched across the edge prevented people from falling off to certain death and numerous signs warned people of falling. The sight was breathtaking as they were on the west side and mountain range lay ahead of them. Mt. Silver could be easily distinguished due to its gigantic size dwarfing the rest.

"I have eyes now set on a goal," she said, admiring the view. "I'm going to focus on a new study under my apprenticeship under my grandfather."

"Is that so," Red answered intrigued. "And what is it about?"

Leaf pursed her lips. "Can't say what it is, yet," she taunted. "But I can say that I will have to travel a lot to begin studying. I won't be at the lab in Pallet for much time and the time it will take to make some progress could take years."

"Why is that? Is this the last time we will see each other in long time?" Red asked, curious as to why she was revealing all of this now.

Leaf slightly cocked her head to the side. "I'm sorry. I should have told you all of this a week before your big day," she apologized.

"There is nothing for you to apologize," Red encouragingly said. "You have a clear goal set and that's exciting to hear. I really hope you succeed."

"Is that so," she turned back to Red with a bright smile. "We won't be seeing each other much but I hope we can still stay as friends."

"Of course we will stay as friends," Red replied.

Leaf checked the time on her phone. "I'm glad to hear that. Though I've given up on chasing," she sadly murmured.

"What?"

"You and Emily," she spoke up with courage. "You two are a special pair even though you can't see it yet."

"Are you implying that we are more than friends?" Red asked appalled.

"Never mind," she shook her head. "It's getting late and I need to get back to Pallet town." She left the railing to walk off towards the exit.

"Emily," Red murmured to himself. He thought about it seriously before brushing it off his mind. He needed to be mentally prepared for this monumental event.

"Hey, I'll take you back home!" Red chased after Leaf.


A week passed by and the tournament was set into motion. It was late in the morning when Red arrived with Emily, and Blue at the Indigo Plateau. They first made a stop at the Marcin building to receive their appointed schedules for the day and then followed the crowd of trainers filling the stadium building for the opening ceremony.

Over four hundred trainers gathered in the main stadium, all standing in the dirt field facing towards a raised stage at the end of the battlefield. Standing on the stadium was none other than the Elite Four. Behind them was an enormous golden torch unlit.

Red could barely see the Elite Four as he stood close to the back but six large LED screens, each 200 by 170 feet, posted around the stadium gave the viewers a clear view of Lance's amble towards the microphone placed their beforehand.

"Welcome to the annual Indigo League!" Lance bellowed with such enthusiasm that it unnerved Red. This was the first time an Elite Four member opened up the ceremony for the league so such zeal was justifiable. The crowd showed their eagerness with their yells of excitement.

Lance widely smiled, observing the rows of people, waiting for the crowd to simmer down. "This year we have gotten an overwhelming amount of challengers, more so than the golden days, so we had to change some of the rules as to keep things on schedule."

The spectators kept quiet after Lance abrupt pause. The Pokemon Trainers held their breath, curious about the crucial alterations.

"All of you must have gotten your assigned ticket for the first part which is the tournament pools," Lance began to carefully explained, looking down at the sea of trainers. "If you haven't received your voucher, then visit the Marcin Building to get yours. Time is of essence so we are employing the automatic forfeit of a match if the trainer is not at their respective location within fifteen minutes instead of the usual thirty minutes given."

Murmurs erupted among the trainers. Red heard talks of it being too little time to make it while others boasted if it being too generous. Red was of two minds as it will speed things along but the short breaks will have to be cut in between.

"I take it that this doesn't bother you," Red spoke in a low voice to the unfazed Emily.

The redhead shrugged. "The first few rounds of pools are generally in the same stadium so we won't be sprinting across the plateau to make it in time. I'm intrigued to see if this encourages more offensive strategies as to get matches over quickly." She became silent as the announcer spoke up anew.

"The rest of the rules remain untouched. The top two trainers with the most wins in each pool will move to the next round. The battles will be held in the usual double Pokemon style with the trainer only allowed to use two teammates for the match. You only get one shot at each trainer in your pool so choose your two wisely. Losing one match is not the death of your chances of continuing so try and come back with knowledge of your failure. Read for further regulations on double battles in the Indigo league manual provided at the sign ups. "

The screens jumped between various clips of Pokemon battles showcasing the double battles. Red recognized some of the battles from the year before. The screen was in the middle of a Beedrill and a Gligar duking it out when it switched right back over to Lance who wasn't done talking.

"Another change I will like to bring to your attention is the next rounds where the single Pokemon used in four vs. four battle begin. The four vs. four format is being kept but it will done in doubles. The one manual switch will be allowed during the match that doesn't include the moves listed in the handbook. These rounds will most likely begin on the second day, depending on how long the pools last." Lance readily informed.

There was less controversy over the next major change. Red, however, felt stronger about this change due to him barely ever training in double battles. He more focused on singles but seeing to get into the later stage of the tournament meant dealing in unfamiliar battles, not just for him but also his Pokemon, was making him feel anxious. He had no clear strategy to get through. He kept his dilemma to himself.

"You're going to be fine," Emily encouraged, keeping her gaze on the stage.

"The third day will be the grand event that will take here in the main stadium. Here many Pokemon Trainers have fought to their limit to become winner of such occasion. Qualifying third place will get you the cash award of $90,000 Pokedollars. Coming up second means you get the $150,000. For first place you get the grand prize of $300,000 Pokedollars! Along with the chance to challenge us, the Elite Four to try and earn title as the new Pokemon Champion of Kanto!"

The camera panned over to the three other Elite Four members patiently standing behind Lance. The camera stopped over Lorelei calm, collected self. She smugly smiled to the camera and waved her hand slightly at the audience. The cameraman moved on to Bruno who furrowed his eyebrows as if to intimidate the trainers with his stoic stare. The sweet looking old lady, Agatha, smiled warmly at the camera.

"You have the chance to make history," Lance proclaimed, lifting his arms to the sky and at his behest the screens switched over to a slideshow.

The face of the past champions flashed across the screens with photographs dating back to era of black and white photography. They were shown with their Pokemon teams posing after their victories. Each new champion showed lasted no less than twenty seconds. The last profile was the late champion Aaron Stark. It was his picture taken on tenth anniversary of his reign as champion (the longest anyone has held the title) along with the team that kept him there. Besides the ashen hair, Aaron didn't look at all weathered by time. A strong, chiseled jaw kept his masculine figure even in his late stage of life. His black pupils stared back at the enormous crowd.

"This year we will commemorate the unfortunate loss of the Champion Aaron Stark," Lance pronounced, raising his fist with the other over his heart. "We will take a moment of silence."

The stadium grew quiet quickly. Coughs and sneezes could be heard throughout the area but they all had their heads lowered or eyes close drowning out the distractions. Red lowered his head and closed his eyes. He hoped to be the one to defeat Aaron Stark but there was nothing he could now. He stopped the people who ended Aaron's life but wasn't going to bring him back.

Red wiped a tear before lifting his head back as the silence came to a close. The anthem began to play through the speakers signifying the closing event. Lance kept silent as he reached behind his cape.

Lance threw a Pokeball straight into the sky, releasing his dragon Pokemon Dragonite. The yellow dragon roared with such intensity the crowd could feel its strength. Flying above the main stage, slowing down so the cameras could easily follow his fluid movement, Dragonite swooped down towards the golden league torch. He spat a fireball, lighting the torch on fire. The flames erupted skywards, waking from a yearlong slumber.

"Let the tournament commence! Best of luck to all the contestants!" Lance ended his ceremonial speech, receiving a tumultuous roar from the audience and challengers. He turned around, his cape flapping in the wind, returned his Dragonite, and followed the rest of the Elite Four off the stage.

The intercoms posted around the stadium blared instructions to the trainers on the guidelines on finding their correct location for their respective pools. Announcing that all trainers not at their respective location in the next ten minutes made some trainers dash out the stadium. Others like Red and Emily bade each other good luck before calmly exiting the arena.


A/N: When I started this series, I thought it would have been interesting to have some kind of fun battle royale-esque challenge in Victory Road to qualify for the Indigo Tournament. It was a novel idea but I couldn't drag this out longer since the story itself has been going on for so long.