With the moon glimmering brightly in the sky amongst a canopy of stars, Ash found himself able to see none of them, instead stepping into an elevator in one of the many apartment hotels on the Ayers Island west coastline. After the hustle and bustle of his first day's events, he'd caught up with Brock over some sightseeing and a quick dinner; however, the hotel at which the latter stayed was for spectators only, and his own was purely for competitors, so the two had parted ways for the evening, in order to get some shuteye and be well-rested for the opening ceremony the next day.
The jazzy jingles of elevator music came to life as the doors slid smoothly shut, and every floor they ascended was accompanied with the traditional 'bing-bong' greeting. Closing his eyes, Ash leant back against the elevator's handrail while Pikachu picked at a tiny crumb of food stuck between his teeth.
"Floor thirty-one…" chimed the electronic voice as they reached another level. "Thirty-two… thirty-three… thirty-four… thirty-five… thirty-six…"
"That's us," murmured Ash, as the doors slid open to reveal a lengthy hallway lined with decorative torch-brackets, and he felt the soft purple carpet even underneath his shoes as he stepped out of the elevator. Pikachu seemed to enjoy it, too, smiling wearily as it dropped onto all fours and walked, almost dreamlike, down the hallway, with his Trainer following close behind.
About two-thirds of the way down, Ash found the door to his allotted room. Pulling the card key from his back pocket, he lined it up against the electronic lock, but paused when he heard voices coming from the other side of the door. Weariness forgotten and wariness kicking in, Ash swiped his card, cringing as the lock gave a loud beep while unlocking, and slowly opened the door into the hotel room.
The room was just as grand as the hallway which he'd just come from; entering into the lounge room, he could see a large-screen television, a resplendent coffee table, and various other expensive-looking fittings and fixtures. His attention, though, was fixed on two leather couches set facing the television; or, rather, the two male figures that were seated upon them.
"Ah, here comes our lucky number three," said one, hopping off the couch and walking around to get a better look at Ash, who decided to do the same.
The stranger was a boy around the same age as him, but a couple of inches taller, and with sharp green eyes. His hair was a dark shade of brown, but it lightened considerably towards the fringe, which was bleached blonde; his hair looked at complete odds with his clothes, an unzipped red-and-purple skiing jacket and dark green pants.
"So, what's your name, stranger?" he asked, apparently having got a good enough look at Ash.
"Ash Ketchum, from Pallet Town," he answered flatly. "Yours?"
The boy chuckled. "Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town, eh? Well, okay then," he said nonchalantly, extending a hand. "I'm Leoric Reiger, from Fallarbor Town. That's not too far away from your homeland, am I right?"
"Fallarbor Town? That's the Hoenn region," said Ash, surprised, and he quickly shook Leoric's hand. "I have some good friends who come from Hoenn!" he added, a little more brightly this time, and Leoric responded with a toothy smile.
"I'd hope so. We're not exactly unfriendly people," he joked.
Leoric's companion cleared his throat loudly from the couch, apparently unhappy that he'd not been introduced yet.
"Well, get up here and introduce yourself, instead of being lazy," Leoric sighed.
Reluctantly, the man pushed himself off the lounge and came around to face Ash and Leoric. Unlike them, he was well into middle-age, with a greying hairline that showed signs of receding, accentuating a flat forehead and a sharp face bearing small wrinkles. His dark eyes were sunken, matching the black suit he wore, but his collar was hung loosely around his neck, a laidback touch at odds with the rest of his stern appearance.
"Gin," he said. For a moment, Ash thought he was talking about something different, until he, like Leoric earlier, put out a hand to shake. "Gin Sizemore."
"Nice to meet you, Gin," Ash remarked, answering the handshake. "So, uh—" he began awkwardly, not sure how to proceed, "what are you guys…?"
Gin and Leoric looked between themselves; Leoric got there first. "Oh, didn't anyone tell you?" he asked, and Ash simply looked at him blankly. "Right, I guess not. We're your roommates for the tournament!" he informed him, in a tone that suggested the word 'congratulations!' and a shower of confetti wasn't far off.
"Roommates?" Ash echoed.
"Haven't you ever had roommates before or something?" asked Gin brusquely, and Ash raised an eyebrow at the question. "Each participant in the Championships gets put up with two other Trainers for the duration of the tournament. Don't worry yourself, though; the lodgings are organised so that nobody in the same room will face off against each other until the crowd thins out considerably," he explained. Ash began nodding slowly in understanding, so Gin simply rolled his eyes and stalked off into the kitchen, mumbling under his breath.
"What Gin is trying to say—I think," said Leoric, unsure, "is that there's no need to worry about making friends with your new acquaintances—" he pointed at himself, flashing another smile, "—on account of some… unpleasantness off-field in case roommates get drawn against each other. Or something like that. Maybe," he added with a grunt and an upward shift of gaze, trying – and failing – to settle Ash's confused state of mind.
"Okay…" Ash muttered, remembering to close the door behind him as he walked further into the lounge room.
A sharp vacuuming noise sounded from the kitchen, and Gin popped his head out, three bottles of drink clenched between his hands. "Hey, boys," he called out, and his new roommates turned around.
"Yeah?" said Leoric, and Gin strode lazily into the lounge room to join them, holding his hands out. "Oh, thanks." He smiled, taking two of the bottles, and passing one over to Ash, who eyed it curiously, having never seen the brand name splashed across its label before.
"Let's just think about where we are for a second," Gin put forward, unscrewing the bottle cap and raising it in front of the boys. "We're a couple of Trainers, from who-really-cares where in the world, about to participate in the World Pokémon Championships – for the first time, no less," he added, with a tentative look to Leoric.
He nodded in return. "First time, yeah."
"Fantastic," said Gin, a broad smile creeping onto his face. "So, I propose a toast—"
"I'll get the butter," Leoric snickered.
"A toast," Gin continued, ignoring the comment. "May the three of us have the best of luck, from the first bell to the last, and that when we do finally meet each other in the final stages… we'll put on one hell of a battle."
"Hear, hear!" cheered Ash, clinking his bottleneck against Gin's, and then Leoric's. "So, what's this drink anyways?" he asked, popping the lid and taking a sniff; at once, he could smell the sweetness of pineapple and orange, and he licked his lips.
"Huh? Just a tropical drink I picked up from this shop near the harbour," Gin answered. Ash's eyes flicked up to look at him – something he spotted, for he quickly added, "don't worry, it's safe for you kids."
His curiosity satisfied, Ash raised the bottle to his mouth and took a sip. The pineapple and orange he'd smelt a few seconds before flooded over his taste buds, and he quickly found himself taking another sip, and then another, before he was gulping it down by the mouthful. "Wow, this is really good!" he exclaimed, once he'd drained the whole bottle.
"Well, help yourself, there're a few more in the fridge," Gin informed him, jerking a thumb over his shoulder at the kitchen.
Eyes lighting up, Ash hurried off to the kitchen to fetch himself another bottle, reminding himself on the way to let Pikachu have a taste for himself. As Pikachu came to mind, he stopped in his stead and flipped around, wondering why he'd been so quiet up until now. Searching the room, he found the pint-sized Electric-type snoozing peacefully against the base of one of the leather couches, his chest rising and falling with each breath and his eyes hidden by the new hachimaki.
'I guess all that running around tired him out,' Ash thought. 'It's probably for the best, too… we need to get a good night's sleep before the tournament tomorrow! But—' his eyes crept back to the fridge '—one more drink won't hurt,' he told himself, grinning mischievously as he opened the fridge and pulled out his second bottle.
"So, what was it you were saying about a party tonight?" Leoric asked, leaning against the kitchen counter and rotating his shoulders under his jacket.
"Wha—? I never said that…!" said Ash loudly, now halfway through his third bottle of juice.
Leoric looked at Ash suspiciously, shaking his head before turning back to Gin, who had kicked up his heels on the couch. "So, yeah. A party?"
"Oh, right," replied Gin, slowly nodding his head. "See, a few wealthy folks with business interests on Ayers are old acquaintances of mine – you know, good fellows I met here and there over the years – and one of them is hosting a big bash down on the promenade to celebrate the Championships. A night of entertainment to prelude the coming weeks, as it were. It's mostly come-and-go-as-you-please-type stuff, but I've got the opportunity to get into the party proper, so I figure, why not kick off our friendship by inviting you along to the festivities?" he offered.
"Alright!" Leoric cheered, thumping a fist against the wall in excitement. "So what are we waiting for? Let's go par-tayyy!" he roared, grinning from ear to ear. "What do you say, Ash?"
"Sounds… sounds pretty good!" Ash laughed, throwing his arms up as if to say 'what the hell'. "Just let me, uh, let me put my Pokémon away for the night," he added, unclipping the Poké Balls from his belt and tossing them into a china bowl lying next to the sink. "Okay, I'm all good! Let's go par-tayyy!"
"Right…" said Gin, suppressing a motion halfway between a chuckle and a grimace. "What's the time?" he asked Leoric.
Leoric shook his arm, his sleeve sliding up and revealing an elaborate golden watch. "It's… pretty much a quarter to nine," he answered. Looking up, he saw Gin's eyes focused firmly on his wrist, and he quickly hid both it and the watch from view. "What are you looking at, huh?"
"That's a pretty expensive-looking piece of arm-jewellery," Gin noted, placing a hand on his hip. "What's a kid like you done to get your hands on something like that?"
"I'm not really sure that's any of your business…" Leoric rebuked, narrowing his eyes dangerously.
Gin was smart enough to take the hint, and threw up his hands defensively, not wanting to push the issue any further. "Well, in any case, I want to be out of here by nine o'clock," he said, casting his eyes towards the bathroom situated at the end of the hotel room's narrow hallway, "so… I'm gonna go sharpen up, and then we'll head off, okay?"
And that's chapter three! I did say an old author favourite would be returning to the big screen, and I certainly deliver on my promises. Sometimes. If it's deliverable. So don't believe me if I promise you something radioactive, because shipping costs are just outrageous.
Speaking of shipping, I'm sure one or two of you are curious about the lack of females in the story thus far - because Nurse Joy isn't a woman at all, she's a robot, what are you talking about? Anyways, some leading ladies will be appearing in the story, but a little later on. No need to worry, haha.
Should you have any other concerns, comments, collywobbles, or condiments, a review is the way to go! An apple a day keeps the doctor away, but a review per chapter keeps you from being eaten by my pet velociraptor. His name is Billy, and he likes to play Xbox.
Thanks to everyone who reviewed a previous chapter, particularly if it was the most recent one, and also to those who will do so with this one.
To answer a question I was asked before, but decided to leave until now: for "Pratik Roy", no, the new main characters from the Black & White anime series will not be featuring in this story; for "Jigglypuff's Pillow", no, this is not a story about a super-secret former-Trainer spy-ninja, but anyone who makes that story would be so awesome.
However, if I choose not to answer a specific question, I'd like to ask that you, the readers, show some faith and refrain from bringing my attention back to it.
Chapter 4, "Party Trap", will be released tomorrow, to mark the halfway point of WPC Week. Woo, halfway, yeah! Some interesting action coming up, to be sure. What could happen? Read to find out!
So, until next time... Be sure to review and, as always,
Wish me luck for my exam tomorrow!