Chapter 2: Awards Ceremony
I stared at the referee in point blank shock. There was no way Blastoise had actually fainted, because that meant I had… won. And that was impossible. Me, 13 year old Crystal Mapliskee, win the Kanto Pokemon League? No way. But it was true.
I must be pretty good.
Apparently the crowd thought so to, from there screams, cheers, and overall happy ruckus. My mind buzzed as I watched Gary return his Blastoise, look up towards the sky thoughtfully, and come over to shake my hand.
"Not bad, Chris," he said, running a hand through his spiked up auburn hair. "Not bad at all…" His voice trailed off and he looked away with the same musing expression. I had no time to talk to him, however, for I was whisked away by Mr. Goodshow, the President of the Pokemon League, and taken to a building reserved for the staff.
My Pokemon were immediately taken from me, healed, and prepared for public presentation. Meanwhile, a clothing team forced me into a dress, fixed my hair, and coated my face in a layer makeup against my will. After doing all this, there were 10 minutes left until the awards ceremony, so I was allowed to go outside and see my Pokemon for the first time since the battle.
I went outside and took in the sight of my team. Houndoom seemed to be as shocked as me, unlike his best friend Salamence who looked rather proud of what we had all achieved. Charizard swung his tail back and forth, looking uncomfortable with what the caretakers had done to get his skin to be smooth. Jolteon rolled his eyes at Charizard and continued to try to get his fur to stick up again. Vaporeon batted her eyelashes, seeming like the only one pleased with her makeover. Dewgong raised an eyebrow at his friend before going back to trying to lower his body temperature by firing Water Guns at his fur.
I hugged them all, trying to follow my clothing teams orders to not get my dress dirty. I quickly got fed up with trying to be so neat and gave them each bear hugs. "I'm so proud of you guys. You're all the best!"
"They must be — you won after all," I looked up to see another girl standing above me. She wore a mostly brown and tan outfit with green boots to match her green tied up hair. Her voice didn't sound jealous, but almost curious, like she wanted to learn why they had won. Holding out a hand she introduced herself. "Emily; third place."
"Crystal," I said, shaking her hand.
"Congratulations on your victory; I watched your battles, and you really deserve it."
"Thanks. You were… um, really good too," I hadn't exactly watched any of her battles other then part of one I had seen in passing.
Luckily, Emily just laughed. "No need to lie. Anyway, we should probably get back to main building before they start freaking about over where we went."
"Yeah, you're right. C'mon guys, let's go," I beckoned my Pokemon with my hand and they leapt to their feet and followed us back to building.
When we arrived I was immediately lectured for disappearing for so long. "I just went to see my Pokemon - you guys let me," I protested to the staff members there.
"That doesn't matter. Both of you go meet Mr. Goodshow in the next room now," the staff attendant said, ushering us to the door.
Gary was already waiting with Mr. Goodshow when we walked in. "You guys could have hurried up. He was having a panic attack, thinking two of the finalists had escaped," Gary hissed.
"There you both are! Hurry now, time is precious!" Mr. Goodshow exclaimed. He showed the three of us to the curtain we were supposed to walk out of in exactly one minute. "Be prompt and exact. I'll be waiting for you outside with your trophies."
Trophies! I had nearly forgotten the Top Three would each receive one. I nearly missed Gary's voice as I tried to picture mine in my head. "Crystal? Hey, Crystal, come on, it's time for us to go out."
Clearing my head a quick shake, I followed Emily and Gary out the door and into the stadium. The famous Kanto podium had been placed in the middle of the stadium. A table had stood off to the side with three trophies and many ribbons. Standing next to the table were Mr. Goodshow, a brown-haired man I didn't recognize, and my parents and older brother.
"Mom! Dad! Seth!" Forgetting all my dignity and the fact I was probably on TV all over Kanto, I raced over to my family. "Hi guys! Look, I won!"
Seth buried his face in his hands as my dad looked away. My mom was slightly less blunt, just turning beat red and ushering me to go talk to Mr. Goodshow. The gesture was enough to remind me where I was, and I quickly walked over to where Gary, Emily, and our Pokemon stood, all of them trying their best not to burst out laughing.
I faced Mr. Goodshow proudly, ignoring the staggered giggles coming from the crowd. The President tapped his foot, waiting for silence once more. When his wish was granted, he began to speak through a microphone.
"Today we honor each and every participant in this year's Pokemon League for their hard work and dedication to training. The three people standing next to me have demonstrated extraordinary skill even beyond all other members of the tournament. They truly deserve to be in the Top Three. We will now proceed to the awards ceremony."
In a single file line, each trainer walked out of the main building, shook Mr. Goodshow's hand, and were given a ribbon by the brown-haired man. Meanwhile, Emily, Gary, and I stood awkwardly next to the table, trying our best smile at everyone. This quickly got tiresome and we were reduced to whispering a conversation out of the side of our mouth.
"Now, the moment you have all been waiting for!" The sudden use of the microphone literally made me jump, and I grabbed on to Gary to prevent myself from falling down. "Our Top Three! In third place, Emily Styles from Rustboro City!"
The crowd cheered loudly as Emily shook Mr. Goodshow's hand and was given the trophy. She then walked over to where the podium had been placed and climbed onto the step marked with a small three.
"Next, our runner-up, Gary Oak from Pallet Town!"
Screams and shouts erupted from everyone watching, and a chant even broke out after a while. He took the same steps as Emily, though this time climbed onto the step with a two on it.
"And finally, the winner of the Pokemon League, Crystal Mapliskee from Cinnabar Island!"
If the reaction to Gary was loud, then the reaction to me was absolutely thunderous. The stadium exploded with clapping and stomping and whistles when my name was announced.
Mr. Goodshow smiled and shook my hand. "Guess we got a well-liked Champion this year, eh?" All I could do was nod stupidly and accept my golden trophy, too stunned by the reaction to reply with anything tangible.
My Pokemon followed me to the base of the podium where they took their place in the middle of Gary and Emily's teams. I clambered onto the top step of the pedestal and held my trophy high in the air, grinning from ear to ear. Gary and Emily were both more modest, only holding it at chest level and smiling politely.
As we stood on the podium another announcement was made by Mr. Goodshow. "Because Crystal has won this years Pokemon League, she is allowed to challenge the Elite Four! Sadly, because the Elite Four is currently gone for private business at the moment, she will have to wait until they get back to challenge them."
After standing on the podium for at least a half hour, we were allowed to go prepare ourselves for the banquet dinner that night. The actual banquet was all right, though I would have much rather spent my time battling than trying to sit straight and be polite to everyone and everything.
Once I spent some time with my parents I headed back to the hotel room for the last time. I lay in bed for a while, not able to fall asleep, before going outside on the balcony for some fresh air.
I breathed in the sweet, clean air and just stood there, thinking about my journey. What was I supposed to do now anyway? I would definitely head back home for a bit, but then what? There was no way my parents would let me go to another region to take on that Pokemon League until I was older. And there wasn't exactly anything to do in Kanto, either.
"Crystal! Hey, Crystal!" I looked down to see Emily standing next to another tall stature who I assumed to be Gary. "Come on down!"
Pulling a jacket over my pajamas, I headed downstairs to find the two trainers waiting for me in the lobby. "What's up?" I asked.
"We couldn't sleep either. Too much to think about — especially regarding where to go from here," Emily explained.
"Talk about it. I mean what do the Top Three of Pokemon League do after winning?" I wondered out loud.
"We could always travel together," Gary mused.
"What?!" Had I heard him correctly? All of us travel… together? I didn't exactly know why, but thought of traveling with Gary and Emily shocked me. Not that it was a bad suggestion, of course.
"That's actually a pretty good idea," Emily piped up. "We could learn from each others battle styles and techniques to become even stronger. What do you think, Crystal?"
"Now that I think about it, it would be kind of fun."
"Then it's decided," Gary declared. "We'll all travel together."
Little did I know that this agreement would cause more despair, destruction, thrill and adventure then I could have ever imagined.