Chapter 17: The Tournament Begins
"Badges please" demanded a large man with a gruff voice. I handed him my badges case. He checked each of them to make sure they were the right ones. "Alright, you're clear. Please make your way to arena."
I did as he said. Michael had gotten in right before me. I walked through a long tunnel and wound up back in that arena. I made my way to the far end where the stage platform was when I first started here all those weeks ago. Seemed like it was ages. The place hasn't changed in the slightest. The grandiose stadium that could fit 100,000 people was still seemed as if it were new. I took my place right next to Michael. The sun was beginning to set, lighting up the entire stadium with an amazing orange glow. I really hope I could have a battle here at this time of day, that would be incredible.
"Well, I guess this is everyone that made it here. Wow, a lot less than we ever thought" a familiar voice. My eyes looked up on the stage and there was Tom, the familiar and typical MC of these tournaments. He looked exactly the same as he did the first week, black tie, black suit, black sunglasses, black hair... yeah... very typical.
"Well then, welcome to our top trainers in the world then!" Tom said with a grin. "We were expecting many, many more, but that's okay. A good, efficient tournament can be held with all sixteen of you!'
I looked around and saw that sixteen was right. There were so few people left now. Not only was the amount of people surprising, but there the people I saw were, too. No, I shouldn't say that. The people I saw weren't surprising at all. No, they were horrifying, if anything.
The first few faces I saw weren't bad at all. There was of course me and Michael, so that's two of the sixteen. There were three female faces and two male faces there that I had never seen before, putting that at six of the sixteen. The last nine though...
Directly to the left of me, I saw my older siblings. Greg in his usual laid back manor, was sitting on the ground, picking at some of the straw from his hat. Hanna seemed to be paying as much attention as she could to what Tom was saying. I didn't mind those two, I knew they were good enough to make it this far. Of course, I also knew Skylar was good enough to make it this far, too. Actually seeing him there started to drain the color from my face a bit. All this anger just welled up inside of me, but I couldn't release it. Not yet, anyways. At least, with all four of us in the finals, I knew Mom and Dad, and even Kayla, would be able to make it out here to watch us and cheer us on. Skylar wasn't even the worst of it though. No, the worst of it stood on the opposite of the stage from me.
There they were. All five of them.
Master Black, dressed in his all black attire with his pure black mask. The only thing not black on him was the white hourglass symbol on his mask. His all black attire made it seem like he could just melt into the shadows like he did when I first encountered him. He was able to use trickery to capture Darkrai.
Next to him was Lady Sapphire. Her elbow length black gloves and knee length black boots against her dark blue dress and long blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail. I find it interesting that her mask is the only one that doesn't cover her whole face, it just covered her eyes, like that of a mask at a masquerade. Her mask was half blue and half black with the cataclysm symbol on it. She always seemed to be carrying that damn umbrella, too. She didn't seem like much, but she was the one that was able to get all three of the Legendary Birds, I knew I didn't want to mess with her.
Lord Diamond stood next to Lady Sapphire. His half pale blue, half black mask with the hourglass symbol of team Cataclysm in the center was one I would never forget. He's the one that knocked me and Marcus out at the beginning of our Nova League journey. He is also responsible for Marcus's death. His pale blue gloves, boots and tie were against his black suit. If I could take on any of them. It would be him. I want revenge for what he did to Marcus.
Count Silver probably stood out the most of them. His silver suit was incredibly flashy. His mask was half silver and half black with the Cataclysm symbol in the center of it. His black bow-tie and dress shirt looked really nice against his silver suit, gloves, and boots, but I wasn't about to let him get to me by appearing flashy. This was the guy who took Celebi, he was tough.
At the tail end was Red. He looked so shoddy compared to the others, who were so very well dressed. His red t-shirt and blue jeans just seemed so standard of any trainer. But that mask. Oh that horrible mask. The white mask with the flame pattern that started in the bottom left corner and extended across the whole mask. The long, flaming faux hair that reached down his back. I remember his voice well. So charming, yet, so very evil. He was the one responsible for taking Kai and Lyss, as well as Genesect. I'm almost certain he is the most powerful of the five.
In front of them, holding a flag with the upside hourglass symbol of Team Cataclysm, stood a woman I had never seen before. She had long brown hair that reached down her back and her outfit was completely white, except for her mask. She wore a white skirt that went to right above her knees. She had long, elbow length white gloves and knee high white boots. She wore a white tank top under a long white jacket that reached to her waist. Her mask, however, was so incredible. It appeared as if it had been tie-dyed. It had reds and blues and purples and greens and yellows and oranges all over it in some sort of indescribable pattern. Never once had I seen a mask like it. It was incredible, yet, it seemed to fill me with the same fear that Red's mask did. She must be their leader.
"Now, by the end of this week we will have the tournament brackets. On Monday we will be commence the first round of the final tournament. You all have your own rooms that we have provided. You all are dismissed. Come back to see the brackets later." And with that Tom dismissed us to our rooms.
I woke up early Monday morning. Today was the day. I had seen the tournament brackets. I was to fight second today. First battle for today was Master Black versus a young man named Zach. Second was me versus a young lady named Kat. Third was Hanna against Catalyst, that must be the leader's name. Finally was Red against someone named Linda. Tomorrow was bound to be interesting as well. It started off with Michael against Lady Sapphire. Second was Lord Diamond against someone named Cory. Third was Skylar against Count Silver, not quite sure who I wanted to win that battle... Finally, to end round one, was Greg versus someone named Phoebe.
I had to wait backstage because I needed to be ready for my match as soon as this one ended. The very first match. I looked at the screen and started to pay close attention. I was really tuning out Tom. Frankly, his voice annoyed me. As soon as I heard him say "Let the first match of the Nova League Tournament commence!" I strictly paid attention to the match in front of me.
Master Black walked up at one end, still cloaked in his all black attire. He sent out his first Pokemon. It was a Beheeyem. It was one of the weirdest Pokemon I had ever seen, what with its large head, small, floating body, long black, symmetrical lines on both sides of its head, and the three dots, one yellow, one green, one red, on each hand. The opponent, Zach, looked like he'd be a tough guy to face. He was a very big guy and wore a red and black jacket over a black shirt. His black fedora with many Pokemon themed buttons around the fiery rim covered short, neat brown hair. His black denim jeans fit rather loosely and his red sneakers were a little worn. If anything, I would think he would be tough to beat. He sent out his first Pokemon, a Cofagrigus, another weird Pokemon.
The Coffin Pokemon and the Alien Pokemon stared each other down for a bit. There really was no audio, so I could only guess what was going on by what I was seeing. Cofagrigus created a powerful looking Shadow Ball. Beheeyem used its Psychic attack to take the Shadow Ball and send it right back at the Cofagrigus. Cofagrigus was hurt, but only just so. I knew that it was a Pokemon with incredible defenses, so maybe it was a good idea to start off with one.
Cofagrigus conjured up a powerful gust of dark colored wind, Ominous Wind, I assumed. Beheeyem did its best to dodge it, but since it has such a wide range, it really couldn't. Beheeyem sent a beam of psychic energy right at Cofagrigus, hitting it dead on. Cofagrigus then appeared as if it closed its "Sarcophagus" part, shielding its face and arms from the attack. Then, Cofagrigus opened up and shot an eerie blue-white fire that hit Beheeyem. Beheeyem received a nasty burn from it that started sapping on its power. To add insult to injury, Cofagrigus's eyes began to glow red and Beheeyem became surrounded by a dark purple veil. Hex. The move that hurts more when affected with a status condition. Beheeyem didn't stand a chance.
When it seemed like Beheeyem would be down and out, it began to glow white. It then got right back, healed of any damage it had received. Then, it attacked with another beam of psyching energy. This time, though, Cofagrigus was too slow, and couldn't shield itself in time. It got hit with the full attack. Then, Beheeyem used Psychic to lift Cofagrigus into the air, and slam it down on the ground a few times. Once. Twice. Three times. Four, just for good measure. Cofagrigus was out. Zach recalled it and sent out his next Pokemon, a Honchkrow.
The small, black bird Pokemon mirrored its master in the similar headwear, it was almost as if Zach had based his appearance on this Pokemon. Anyways, Beheeyem tried using its Psychic attacks against the Honchkrow, but to no avail. With one swift Faint Attack, Honchkrow ended the battle rather swiftly. Master Balck recalled his strange alien Pokemon, and sent out a long, bluish eel that appeared to float and had razor sharp teeth. An Eelektross.
Honchkrow used a powerful Dark Pulse attack that hit Eelektross. However, Eelektross wasn't about to lose that easily. Eelektross sent out a large bolt of electricity that hit Honchkrow. Bad news for Honchkrow, being at the type disadvantage here. Honchkrow slowly got back up and disappeared, only to reappear behind Eelektross and attack, another Faint Attack. However, Eelektross was prepared for this. As Honchkrow got in closer and closer, Eelektross sent out a large mass of electricity that completely enveloped Honchkrow. It was one of the most powerful Discharge attacks I had ever seen. Honchkrow went down instantly. Zach recalled it. For his third Pokemon, Zach opted for all out offensive. He sent out a mighty Tyranitar.
Tyranitar produced a ring of gray stones around it and and launched them at Eelektross. Eelektross dodged it and shot a powerful beam of electricity. Tyranitar charged at Eelektross and bit down on it hard. It then picked up Eelektross with its mouth and threw it across the arena.
Tyranitar charged at Eelektross covered in a white and purple veil. Giga Impact, one of the most powerful moves any Pokemon can learn. Eelektross got back up slowly. Tyranitar kept getting closer and closer. Right before it hit, Eelektross jumped up high into the air, causing Tyranitar to miss. Then, Eelektross cloaked itself in electricity and rammed right into the exhausted Tyranitar. A powerful Wild Charge attack.
It was close now, both Pokemon very tired. However, this was only the halfway point for the match, as the rules stated that we could use any six Pokemon we had. Yeah, that's right, even the backups we registered at the very beginning. I decided that I would give them a go, at least some of them, in this round. Might as well, it'd be fun.
Anyways, back to the match. Tyranitar went for another Stone Edge, but Eelektross dodged it and attacked with another Wild Charge. Despite how mighty Tyranitar's generally are, Zach's fell in battle against a weakened Eelektross. Either Zach's Tyranitar was not as mighty as other Tyranitars, or Master Black was just that good of a trainer. And I was really hoping it wasn't the latter.
Zach sent out his next Pokemon. There, in front of him, was long, blue snake Pokemon with yellow diamonds all along its body and intimidating red eyes. It was a Seviper.
Seviper lunged at Eelektross and bit down on it with its long, poisonous fangs. Eelektross did its best to get Seviper off of it, but to no avail. The snake had too tight a grip on the eel. By the time Seviper did let go, it had injected quite a good amount of poison into Eelektross. Eelektross still fought, however, swiping at Seviper with a powerful Crush Claw. Seviper retaliated with Poison Tail. It slashed Eelektross across the chest with its tail that glowed with poison. Eelektross, however, still got back up, though heavily injured.
It was at this point that I had a flashback to my Unova Conference challenge. The finals, in fact. I was up against Jared, and he used an Eelektross. I battled his Eelektross with my Garbodor. I know, I know, Garbodor is a strange Pokemon not often used, but I became rather found of mine. Anyways, during my that match, it was Jared's Eelektross against my Garbodor. I had Garbodor using Gunk Shot and Toxic, anything I could to poison that thing. I knew I had poisoned it, but still, his Eelektross seemed to be fighting right through it, just like Jared's did. Its also notable that Jared, like Master Black, also used a Beheeyem, but I'm sure that's just a coincidence.
The match raged on. Eelektross was clearly slowing down because of the poisoning, but wasn't letting that stop it. It kept using powerful Crush Claws and suicidal Wild Charges. Seviper was attacking with Poison Fangs and Poison Tail attacks right after each other, increasing the poison damage Eelektross was taking. With one last Crush Claw, Eelektross took Seviper out. It really was a powerful Pokemon. However, all that poison got to it. Eelektross went down, as well. Both trainers recalled their Pokemon. Zach was down four, Black down just two. The odds were stacked against Zach, which was bad because Master Black couldn't be allowed to win. That would make Team Cataclysm that much closer to their goal... whatever that was. No, Zach had to win. He just had to...
This next part of the match gave me very little hope for Zach, though. Zach sent out his Carnivine. Canivine is, in all respect, a very good Pokemon. I've faced many trainers who have used one. Heck, I lost to one in my Sinnoh League Challenge, putting me out of the tournament. But, Master Black sent out a Pokemon that is in a league all its own. While not a legendary, or even classified as a "Pseudo-legendary" Pokemon, just seeing that Master Black had a Volcarona was enough to strike fear in me. I could only imagine what Zach was feeling.
Zach looked really nervous now. The fight was not in his favor, and his opponent just sent out an incredibly powerful Pokemon. He ordered an attack, and his Carnivine delivered. Its dangling vines started to glow purple as it unleashed its Power Whip attack on Volcarona. It followed up with that attack by opening its large mouth and clamping down on Volcarona's head. Volcarona was unfazed. Carnivine then let go. It was holding its head like it was in pain. The television didn't have any sound, but I could hear it from where I was. It was a nasty Bug Buzz attack. Carnivine couldn't take it anymore. Just one attack was all it took. Damn.
Zach recalled his Carnivine and sent out his last Pokemon, Infernape. All his hopes rode on his fire monkey. I'm certain Zach had trained his Infernape very well. In fact, I'd love to test it against my Blazkien, but that's beside the point.
Infernape got in close to Volcarona and started rapidly punching and kicking it. Close Combat, although a powerful move, didn't seem like a great choice for this battle. Volcarona then attacked with a powerful Heat Wave. Both sides seemed undamaged by the others' attacks. They fought on some more. Infernape cloaked itself in blue flames and charged at Volcarona. Its Flare Blitz attack was very powerful, causing noticeable damage in Volcarona. Volcarona then attacked with another ear piercing Bug Buzz. I'm assuming, in this case, that using the attack wasn't to cause damage, but, instead, lower Infernape's Special Defense. I knew the side-effects of that move, it was pretty clever, especially since both sides had a type disadvantage.
Infernape jumped high into the air and then landed a kick right on Volcarona. Acrobatics, a good move to use. Volcarona seemed to be taking quite some damage now. But, it also knew how to use a Flying-type move. Volcarona's wings began to glow light blue as it began to flap them. It created large, powerful gusts of wind that shot right at Infernape. This was Hurricane.
Infernape got up. He was incredibly hurt from the battle, but still willing to fight for his trainer. It began to charge right at Volcarona. The flames on its head grew larger as it began spewing flames from its mouth. These flames were incredibly intense, even on the monitor, I could see the heat waves they generated. Infernape shot these intense flames in all directions, surrounding Volcarona. This was Blast Burn, one of the most powerful Fire attacks. The flames closed in around Volcarona. It seemed like this would go to Infernape.
Boy was I ever wrong.
From out of the flames generated by Infernape's Blast Burn came more flames. They shot right through the powerful attack, right into Infernape. These flames hit Infernape dead on, throwing it backwards and knocking it out. As the flames receded, Volcarona appeared from within. It was the Fiery Dance, a move known only to an incredibly powerful Volcarona. I had only seen it one other time... In fact, it was Jared that used it against me. This team of Master Black's seemed all to familiar to me...
Zach recalled his Infernape. He lost, no doubt about it. He was only able to knock out Master Black's Beheeyem and Eelektross, while all six of his Pokemon fell in battle, and rather quickly at that. I know Zach's not a bad trainer, he has to be good to have made it this far. Master Black was just better. This wasn't good. Team Cataclysm now had one of their leaders in the next round. Moreover, if I win this next match, that means I have to face Master Black in the second round. If the way that he smoked Zach was any indicator, then I knew that I had someone in this tournament to fear. Not only that, but, on my side of the brackets was also Red and their leader, Catalyst. I couldn't help but feel the overwhelming sensation of the fact that I could be facing any one of these three foes.
I stood up and walked through the tunnel. My match was next. As I walked through, Master Black passed by me.
"I hope you enjoyed the first taste of what's to come, boy" he said
"You disgust me" I replied as I tried to keep on walking
"You know, Andrew, that's not any way to treat someone who has beaten you before"
A cold chill crept down my spine when he said that. I turned slowly to see the pitch black mask looking right back at me. I knew his team and his strategy was all too familiar.
"Jared..." I said, almost in a whisper
"I hope you make it to the next round, I will revel in beating you again" he hissed. Then, he turned and walked to the entrance where I came from.
I turned around and walked through the tunnel to the next challenge. This was it. I needed to win this one and face Jared in the next round. I couldn't let Team Cataclysm win. I stepped out of the tunnel, and that's when the tournament really began for me.
A/N: Another chapter done, and yet another step closer to the end and the big reveal! I hope you guys enjoy this chapter, I know there's not much dialog here, but, hey, trying something a little bit new here. Anyways, reviews are, as always, appreciated. We're getting closer to the end now, but don't fret! There is a planned sequel and prequel, so these character you all have come to enjoy and despise will be sticking around for awhile longer! More details on that later, though. For now, just keep wondering about Jared and the rest of Team Cataclysm :)