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Red watched Elesa with pity as he recalled his Pokémon. The battle had been short, but intense; for Elesa that is. He sighed inwardly. Maybe he shouldn't have used that Pokémon. The crowd seemed to be afraid of him now.
Elesa fell to her knees and her eyes took in the rubble that was her battle field. She hadn't stood a chance against Red. This had been the first time she had battled, not to win, but to simply survive. She wondered how Red could be that strong. His strength was on par with Alder's, or maybe even more.
The referee managed to stammer, "R..Red.. the challenger wins." after she had regained her composure.
Red ignored the whispers from the crowd and he approached Elesa.
"You're strong," said Red as he helped her up, "But not strong enough."
His words seemed to snap at her heels. She just wanted to curl up in a ball and wish the world away. But she couldn't. Her pride couldn't let her and she straightened and glared at him. She was still a gym leader. "You shined like a thousand suns and you're exceptionally strong in battle. Something I must admit," she said, although begrudgingly. She had tasted the bitterness of terrible defeat. During her entire career as a gym leader and her entire time as a Pokémon trainer, she had never felt the same kind of helplessness she had felt during her battle with Red. She took out her Bolt Badge and tossed it to him. "You earned it."
Red caught the badge and put it in his badge case. Unknowingly, he had shown Elesa his eight Unova badges.
"Who are you?" she whispered. Based on her knowledge, Red had been in Unova less than a month and already he had challenged eight gyms and won. At most, he should only have six. This solidified her suspicion. Red was no newbie trainer.
The crowd was still quiet. Red put his badge case back into his pocket. He turned his attention to Elesa and fixed a calculating gaze on the Nimbasa City gym leader. He wondered if he should say something to her. As he saw her blazing eyes, Red knew that she would find out on her own. He turned away and began walking towards the exit.
"What? Wait, Red!" yelled Elesa angrily. She took a step towards him. "Answer my question! Who are you?"
Red turned his head to look back at her. "Red, Pokémon Trainer." He continued walking.
Elesa was upset. She wasn't used to being treated like a nobody. Red was getting on her nerves. She had never met anyone like him before. He was cold, uncaring, distant, and his attitude was distasteful. She gritted her teeth in frustration while glaring at his back. She had never felt her blood boil before.
"Pokémon World Tournament," he called over his shoulder, "If you want a rematch."
The crowd could see his smirk.
Before Elesa could react, Red was already gone. There was about a month until the Pokémon World Tournament took place. A fire burned in her as she decided to clear her schedule. She would use that month to do intense training with her Pokémon and when the time came for her to face Red again, she would win. She wasn't scared. Her pride and reputation were at stake...
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The Pokémon world tournament was projected to be the biggest tournament that the regions had ever held. It wasn't because of the sheer size of the tournament but because of the participants that entered the tournament. Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh and Unova gym leaders and champions all gathered for the tournament. Never in the history of Pokémon, had all the gym leaders and champions conglomerated for one event before. Many trainers from all over the Pokémon world came to Unova to compete. For them, if they made it far enough, it would be their only chance to battle against other regional champions. The tournament was to be held just south of Driftveil City which made gym leader Clay ecstatic at how much attention his little town was getting.
However, because of the enormous amount of trainers who wished to compete, they had to collect at least eighty percent of their region's badges as well as go through a qualifying round. The designers of the tournament expected the number of trainers to be cut in half. But if not, then trainers would keep competing until only forty were left. Those lucky few would be battling the gym leaders and champions.
After much anticipation, the day registration began finally arrived.
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Red stared at the stadium where the PWT was being held. It was big; bigger than any stadium he had ever seen. He looked around and he saw trainers, gym leaders and even a champion walking around. He recognized some of them but they hadn't recognized him. He didn't feel like meeting them. People were just so not his thing. He had arrived two days ago but still hadn't registered. Registering early meant he would be in the system and someone could search him up and find him. Although some people already knew he would be here (like Elesa), by not registering, he maintained the illusion that he was not here. People who wanted to see him would wait instead of search.
Today was the last day to register in the tournament though. He would have to come out from the shadows if he still wanted to enter. The people who knew he was coming gathered around the registration desk, knowing he would have to show his face in order to enter. He was patient though. He planned to wait until registration was almost over before heading over there. He predicted that by then, most of the waiters would've already left.
The sky was so blue and there wasn't a cloud in sight. He wondered if this was a good omen. What would await him at the PWT? He had decided to join the tournament, not for the title of Pokémon Master, but for an entertaining battle. He wanted to feel alive again. There was also another reason he had entered the tournament. It was more of a hope than a reason though. Red had denied it during his travels in Unova but now that the tournament was approaching, he had come to acknowledge it. People might wonder why he hoped for something like that but he didn't care. He would put his everything into the tournament and maybe he would be rewarded. The Pokémon World Tournament might determine his fate.
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Lance, the master of dragon type Pokémon and champion of Indigo Plateau, sighed in disappointment as he looked at the registration counter. He had waited right in front of the counter since this morning, hoping to catch a certain trainer. He had not been alone. Originally, the entire group of Kanto gym leaders had been with him, except Giovanni (who had refused to enter the PWT), and Clair, his cousin and a Johto gym leader. They all wanted to see Red, but for different reasons. However, as the sky darkened, some gym leaders gave up and either returned to their hotel or gone elsewhere. Right now, it was just him, Sabrina and Clair left. Erika, Janine, Lt. Surge, and Blaine had given up. They were followed by Misty and Brock who had left with Ash, Iris and Cilan in order to do some catching up.
Lance saw Sabrina leaning against the wall with her eyes closed. He then looked at Clair and saw his cousin not far from Sabrina. Her face was without emotion and she was looking at the sky. He sighed tiredly. Their situation was just too tense for his liking. Lance didn't know what they were thinking, but he was certain it would have something to do with Red. The sky was beginning to grow grayer and grayer as storm clouds gathered. He hoped Red would show up soon.
As he waited, his mind began to wander. It had been a long time since he had climbed Mt. Silver and challenged Red to that Pokémon battle. When Professor Oak had told him Red had finally left that idiotic mountain, he had been relieved. It soon turned to disappointment when Oak had told him Red was going to Unova. Lance had secretly hoped for a rematch. But when the professor had mentioned that Red would be competing in the Pokémon World Tournament Lance was excited. Maybe he would get that rematch after all.
Lance's first battle with Red had been mind-blowing. Red had challenged and defeated the Elite Four which earned him the right to challenge Lance for his position as Champion. The world waited for the challenge but it never came. Soon after, Lance learned that Red had gone to Mt. Silver to train. Instead of waiting for Red to challenge him like he should've, Lance high-tailed it to Mt. Silver where he challenged Red to a Pokémon battle. The battle that ensued had been the most intense and entertaining battle had had ever had. To think that a trainer at eleven could defeat him in such a manner was stunning. Still, he had been happy that someone had finally defeated him. Lance had offered Red his position as Champion of Kanto. Having Red as Champion meant that Lance could focus more on being a good Champion in Johto and also his job as a G-man. It was a shock for him when Red declined the position. Lance understood why though. He didn't want to force it on the young boy and ceased to mention it.
Lance began to regret his decision after he was told Red had stayed on Mt. Silver and never left the mountain. He had self-doubts and continuously told himself that he should've tried to convince Red to become Champion. It would be unfortunate if the Pokémon world lost a trainer like Red. But it was already too late for that. He could only hope that Red would get off the mountain and rejoin the world. After a year of waiting, he had decided to do something. He planted the idea in Professor Oak's mind that there were too many trainers getting hurt from challenging Red. Although the statement was true, Lance still felt bad about manipulating the old professor. By limiting the number of trainers, Red would certainly get bored and seek more challenges once trainers stopped coming to the mountain. Lance was proud to say that his tactics had worked, even if no one knew it was his idea in the first place.
"Lance, it's been a long time." A female voice alerted him, making him turn towards it and see the Sinnoh champion, Cynthia.
"Cynthia," Lance greeted her, "It has been a long time."
"So what are you doing here?" Cynthia asked, pointing to the counter, "I thought you would've already registered yourself by now."
Lance chuckled, "Nothing, just killing time."
"Really…?" Cynthia asked incredulously, not buying it. She had heard that all of the Kanto gym leaders had been waiting here with their champion since morning. Her curiosity got the better of her, and she decided to investigate. "You and the entire group of Kanto gym leaders?"
Lance cursed silently. Of course, Cynthia would not come here and meet him without reason. However, the topic of Red was a sensitive one. They never talked about him amongst others. They knew Red didn't like being needlessly bothered, and since he was such a talented trainer, they didn't wish to make him any more solitary. Then, there was Ash, who was the spitting image of Red which brought along some complications. Neither Lance nor the other gym leaders wanted Ash to live under the shadow of Red, so they guarded their information closely. Lance mentally reminded himself to thank Misty and Brock for their quiet persistence in keeping the information away from Ash.
"Yes," Lance admitted, as it was no use for him to deny it. However, he knew Cynthia would not stop until she got an actual answer. A simple 'yes' wouldn't satisfy the Sinnoh League Champion. Fortunately, he had a perfect excuse, "We just gathered together, to you know, resemble the whole unified thing we're trying to do."
Cynthia nodded in understanding. She knew how important it was for the gym leaders in a region to be, or at least appear, unified. However, she could not help feeling that this was not the entire truth. She decided to take a shot. "I see, I thought you all were waiting for someone."
Lance's blood froze at that. She had hit home.
Lance's body language confirmed it for Cynthia, making her sure that her assumption was correct. However, who were they all waiting for? Who was important enough to make all of the Kanto gym leaders and their champion wait with such determination? She decided to take another shot.
"But I guess I was wrong," Cynthia continued, "I just can't think anyone important enough to keep you all waiting."
Lance gulped, and looked towards Sabrina and Clair from the corner of his eyes. Sabrina was still leaning against the wall, but her eyes were open and glaring in Cynthia's direction. Clair joined in on the glare-fest with such menace that if looks could kill, Cynthia had just died a slow and painful death. He knew Cynthia was only trying to get a raise from him so she could find the truth. However, the way Cynthia said it, it made Red sound like some lowly trainer, which all could affirm that he wasn't. He knew Sabrina and Clair were taking this as a direct insult to Red even if that wasn't what Cynthia was intending. A nonofficial Kanto gym leader rule was to never insult Red in front of Sabrina or Clair. Lance still remembered what happened to Giovanni after the man had said Red was 'too weak to come down from his mountain.' The memory would never be a pleasant one for Giovanni.
Still, Lance did not understand why the two acted so protectively towards Red. He did know that both girls respected Red and put him in high regards, but he never found out the details as to what happened between them. Red was also the reason Sabrina and Clair clashed so often. Lance could only blame himself for introducing Clair to Red. But he couldn't have known that his cousin would've taken a liking to the mysterious mountain man. That was probably the reason Sabrina acted like she hated Lance. In a rage, she had accidentally used her psychic powers to communicate that she thought Clair was a threat to how much Red actually liked her. Whatever the reason, Lance was still confused.
Fortunately, Cynthia did not realize Clair and Sabrina's combined glaring. All of her attention was focused on Lance's possible unconscious reactions. But Lance knew he had to think of something to say, and fast, before Sabrina and Clair reached for their poke balls and made things too complicated to cover up.
"Yes, you were a little bit mistaken. But do you know where Marie is? I've been hoping to ask her out on another date." Lance winked at Cynthia slyly and the corners of Cynthia's mouth, along with Sabrina and Clair's, turned upwards into a friendly smirk.
She sighed, "Lance, you know she's never going to accept your invitation. But I guess if you want your head bitten off again… she's heading towards the grass stadium for a quick preview of what's to come. Although asking her out again might not be the best decision if you wish to stay alive until the competition." Cynthia chuckled softly and ran her hand through her long blonde hair. Her poor friend Marie would be in for an unwelcome meeting with Lance all because of her original inquiry. Marie was going verbally assault her when they met up. Cynthia had the strong desire to face-palm but decided it was unchampion-like behavior. Instead, she just sighed again.
"I'll take my chances, now let's go," Lance replied, a little too quickly. Cynthia narrowed her eyes as Lance took her arm. He knew she didn't like to be touched, and he was definitely hiding somethin.
"Come on, show me the way Cynthia." Lance pulled on her arm urgently, trying to avoid the battles of hurt pride if she had stayed.
Cynthia went along with it, even though she suspected something wasn't right. One thing she was certain about though, she would get an explanation from Lance. She liked to unravel mysteries. One of the reasons she continued to study Pokémon legends. She speculated, 'Maybe a date with Marie would get him to talk.' She smiled as she was dragged unwillingly by Lance towards the grass stadium.
A/N
Hope you guys like the story so far? I've been having fun editing it! There's some humor that's going to be starting up. Please review and tell me who you want in relationships. I've still been thinking Cynthia x Steven and then Red x Marie. Lance doesn't ever get a date with Marie (just a spoiler ;) So... tell me what you think!
