Episode 39: The World Tournament Junior Cup!
Lacunosa Town was one of the more fascinating towns that Niko has seen during his time in Unova. Upon their arrival there, Charlotte whipped out her book to find any interesting history on it. And, to her surprise, she found some.
"The Lacunosa Legend: A long time ago, it is said that a large meteor came from the sky containing a terrifying monster. It was said that at night the monster would appear in the town along with the cold winds and take away humans and Pokémon to eat them. Eventually, the residents of the town surrounded Lacunosa Town in a wall to keep the monster out and a rule was then set on the town that forbade anyone from leaving at night and encouraged people to stay in their homes. Even though Lacunosa residents claim to no longer believe this old story, they still stay inside of their houses at night and the walls remain standing to this day." She said at a booth in the Pokémon Center.
"Geez…do you think it's real?" Warren asked, with a mixture of horror and excitement written on his face.
"Maybe. Anything's possible in this world." Niko said. "I've definitely seen things that would make this seem pretty true."
"Like what?" Warren asked, suddenly interested. Niko smirked, and then told him about the Distortion World that he ventured into with Lauren. "Oh…oh my. That kind of place exists?"
"Yeah, it does. In fact, it's almost been a year since I've gone there."
"Only months before I met you, you went into some other dimension!? Geez, Niko! You should've told me these things earlier!"
"You know perfectly well why I didn't." Niko protested in a teasing tone. "Anyways, that's a cool legend. I wonder if we might see anything odd while we're here. Actually…speaking of which, how long are we planning on staying here?"
Just as Charlotte was about to answer, a flyer was dropped at their table by a man in a Pokémon League official's outfit. The trio all stared at the flyer before Warren eagerly picked it up.
"Pokémon World Tournament Annual Junior Cup—what the?"
"Oh, I've heard of that!" Charlotte said. "Yeah, the World Tournament is an event that happens every ten years or so. But there is a small tournament held every year in Lacunosa Town. Only sixteen trainers get to enter it."
"What do you get if you win?" Niko asked.
"I think the winner gets to battle Champion Alder. But…since he isn't the champion anymore, I don't know who you get to battle." Charlotte said with a shrug. "But, according to this flyer, it's actually tomorrow. And registration ends today."
"Well, we got lucky. Let's enter it!" Niko said excitedly.
"You mean…us too?" Charlotte asked.
"Yeah! Why not? It doesn't really mean much, right? It'll just be a fun tournament for all of us to take part in. I'm game if you all are."
"But…I only have two Pokémon. And Warren only has three. And you have seven." Charlotte said, looking a little dejected.
"Well, I think you should at least give it a shot, alright?" Niko said sympathetically. "Who knows? Maybe you'll do well!"
"It's also only one-on-one battles, according to the back of the flyer." Warren said, flipping the paper over. "Yeah, only single battles. So if there are only sixteen contestants, that's four battles, right? We could both enter and be just fine." Warren said, turning specifically to Charlotte.
"…fine. I'll do it." She said, placing her hands on the table. "We should go and register as soon as possible, then."
It didn't take long to find the tournament site—it was a massive stadium in the middle of Lacunosa Town. After entering the stadium, Niko led his friends over to a registration desk a mere fifty feet away from the sliding double doors. Within minutes, the three of them were registered. Charlotte felt a little nervous about it, but Niko noticed this and placed his hand on her shoulder.
"It's alright." He said plainly. Charlotte nodded, and proceeded with the quick registration.
Once they finished, the trio took some seats in the lounge. As they did so, Niko noticed Charles and his biker gang walking in. Niko nodded towards him, and Charles returned the nod with a smirk of his own.
"Guess Charles is competing, too." Niko said, sitting down. "Didn't take him to be a serious trainer."
"He's not the only one…" Warren said, pointing across the lobby to a familiar black-haired, black-dressed figure. "Look, Niko."
"Oh, hell." Niko said after turning his head, whipping it back to see Warren and Charlotte. "Of course he's here. He always is." He thought for a moment before continuing. "In fact, that's how I met Hunter. We were competing in a Tag Tournament in Hearthome City, in Sinnoh. Seems like we're coming full circle here."
"Think you could beat him this time?" Warren asked.
"Maybe. Maybe not. I don't know any more with Hunter. I used to think that I could, but now I just don't even bother. He isn't worth my time anymore." Niko said, leaning back in his chair. "So Charles, Hunter, you two…who else could possibly enter this tournament?"
The next day Niko, Warren, and Charlotte showed back up at the stadium for the opening day of the World Tournament Junior Cup. Alongside their thirteen other opponents, they noticed Hunter, Charles and, of all people, Elliot. Niko and Elliot locked eyes and nodded to one another as the sixteen of them stood side-by-side. Soon enough, they heard a voice echo from a box above them.
"Welcome, one and all, to the Annual Pokémon World Tournament Junior Cup!" A familiar voice echoed out. "I am Alder, the former Champion of the Unova League, and I will be co-hosting this tournament with my longtime friend, Freddy O'Martian." Niko saw Alder point to a shorter man with slicked-back black hair and thick eyebrows sitting above a pair of dark blue eyes. "As you may or may not know, this is a tournament where sixteen registrants will compete in one-on-one Pokémon battles in a tournament-style fashion. There will be four matches overall, and the last one standing will get a chance to battle me, also in a one-on-one battle!"
Alder then handed the microphone over to Freddy O'Martian, who quickly began speaking. "Thank you once again, Alder, for co-hosting this tournament with me. It's always a pleasure and an honor to work alongside you. Contestants—welcome. My name is Freddy O'Martian, and I will be the announcer for the battles you are all about to undertake!
"I will explain how this tournament will work: there will be four battles, like Alder said, and the winner will challenge Alder. The first two battles will occur today, and the final two—plus the battle with the former champion—will be held tomorrow. Now, without further ado, let us reveal the first matchups of the tournament!"
A monitor above the stands—and above Niko and the other contestants—showed sixteen profiles, some of which Niko recognized. The profiles then shifted around into eight pairs, and then revealed themselves once more. Niko didn't recognize his opponent, and he didn't recognize the pairings for Hunter, Elliot, or Charles. However…Warren and Charlotte were facing off against one another. He turned to his two friends. Warren looked excited, but Charlotte certainly wasn't.
"Well, guess one of us is out in the first round…" She said dejectedly.
"True, but just give it your all, Charlotte!" Niko said cheerfully. "Who knows? You might beat Warren!"
"That's true." Warren said. "It'll be a fun match, that's for sure!"
"I hope so." Charlotte said, just as Elliot joined them. "Oh, hey Elliot."
"Hey guys. I take it you're entering as well?"
"Well, obviously." Niko said teasingly. "Good to see you. Best of luck."
"Same to you." Elliot said before walking off. Niko then heard Freddy O'Martian's voice, this time asking all of the contestants to leave the field, except for Hunter and his opponent—Sadie.
"Great, we get to watch Hunter battle…" Niko mumbled to himself while he, Warren, and Charlotte took their spots in the stands. Being contestants, they got pretty nice seats—front row.
Minutes later, Hunter and Sadie appeared on the field, as did an official referee who stood in the middle. After explaining the traditional rules of the match, Hunter and Sadie send out their individual Pokémon—Hunter, his Drapion; Sadie, a Pignite.
"Oh! Never seen one of those before." Charlotte said, pulling out her pokédex, with Niko and Warren leaning in to see Drapion's dex entry. Niko, meanwhile, pulled out his own to view Pignite:
"Pignite, the Fire Pig Pokémon. Fire and fighting type. The more it eats, the more fuel it has to make the fire in its stomach stronger. This fills it with even more power."
"Drapion, cross poison!" Hunter commanded, just as Sadie commanded for Pignite to use flame charge. Fire erupted from all around Pignite as he charged towards Drapion before being halted in his tracks by the cross poison. "Now, poison fang!"
The Ogre Scorpion Pokémon scuttled quickly across the field, snapping its jaws together as they began to glow bright purple. Drapion then snapped downwards, grabbing onto Pignite with its teeth and flinging it into the air.
"Cross poison, again." Hunter said plainly. Drapion conjured a light purple "x" mark with its claws and shot it upwards at Pignite, exploding on contact. Pignite then collapsed onto the ground in defeat. "Good work, Drapion." He said, returning his Pokémon before the referee even declared victory.
"Pignite is unable to battle, Drapion is the winner! And the victory goes to Hunter from Castelia City!" The referee declared.
"What…the…" Warren said, eyes wide open. "You fought that thing before?"
"Yeah, and lost to it…multiple times. It isn't even his strongest." Niko said, a hint of anger in his voice.
"I regret entering this tournament." Charlotte said, just as Sadie ran off in tears. Moments later, a new pair of trainers walked onto the field. They had a Liepard and a Jolteon. Ultimately, the Liepard won out against the Jolteon, despite taking a ton of pin missile attacks from the latter.
Following that battle was a match between two people from Nimbasa City. One had a Maractus, and the other owned a Galvantula. The Galvantula quickly won by trapping Maractus in its electric web and using bug buzz repeatedly. At the sight of the battle, Niko shuttered a little—he disliked arachnid-esque Pokémon like Galvantula.
Next up was Niko. He left his seat for the battlefield to meet with his first opponent on the battlefield. It was a young man, likely around the same age as he was, but more polished-looking. He had glasses, a smooth, hairless face, and slicked back hair. In terms of clothing, he wore a white dress shirt with a plaid vest over it, and gray slacks. As soon as the referee explained the rules of the match, Niko and his opponent—Carl—sent out their Pokémon.
"Klang, I choose you!" Carl shouted, summoning an unfamiliar Pokémon to Niko. It was an odd-looking Pokémon: it resembled three interlocking gears, with six teeth on the smaller two gears and eight teeth on the larger one.
"Klang, the Gear Pokémon. Steel type. A minigear and a big gear comprise its body. If the minigear it launches at a foe doesn't return, it will die."
"Interesting. Litwick, I choose you!" Niko shouted, summoning his trust Candle Pokémon. "Use will-o-wisp!"
"Klang, screech!" Carl commanded, adjusting his glasses. The blue wisps of fire hit Klang directly in the middle of the large gear, leaving a nasty burn mark on it while it grinded its gears together to create an awful-sounding noise, which made Litwick cry out in pain. "Now, discharge!" Klang obeyed, once more grinding its gears together to generate enough electricity to release across the field, hitting Litwick and nearly paralyzing her.
"Litwick, we got this! Use hex!" Niko commanded. Litwick nodded, conjuring a purple and black sphere and launching it at Klang. "Now, follow up with flame burst!" The Candle Pokémon obeyed, opening her mouth and spitting out a fire ball that hit Klang immediately following the hex. The Gear Pokémon grinded slowly now, the burn clearly doing what it was supposed to—slow the Pokémon and lessen its attack power.
"Use discharge again!" Carl said, seeing an opportunity to strike again. Klang obeyed, generating more electricity. However, Litwick was once again quicker. She spit out another flame burst that hit Klang, knocking it to the ground, and slowing its gears to a stop.
"Klang is unable to battle, Litwick is the winner! The victory goes to Niko from Pallet Town!" The referee declared. Niko smiled towards Litwick, who looked positively proud of herself, and returned her to her pokéball before joining his friends in the stands, in place of Elliot and his opponent, who were next.
"I haven't seen Elliot battle in a long time." Charlotte commented as the two took to the field—Elliot and his male opponent, Joshua.
Once more, the referee announced the rules, and Elliot used Zweilous to challenge Joshua's Gothorita—a small, black, feminine-looking Pokémon with white bows on its torso and in its "hair."
"Gothorita, the Manipulate Pokémon. Psychic Type. According to many old tales, it creates friends for itself by controlling sleeping children on starry nights."
"Zweilous, dragon pulse!" Elliot commanded. The Hostile Pokémon unleashed a powerful purple beam of draconic energy at Gothorita, who deflected with protect. "Fine. Use dragon rush then!"
Zweilous dashed forward, scuttling across the battlefield with its own two feet as Gothorita attempted to use faint attack. Zweilous hit first, dragging Gothorita across the remainder of the battlefield before knocking it off (the battlefield was on a raised platform). Elliot then commanded it to use dragon pulse, and the Manipulate Pokémon was quickly defeated.
"He's as good as Hunter!" Warren commented in surprise. "You've fought him too?"
"Yeah, and that isn't even his strongest." Niko said with a sigh. "His Scizor is something else."
"Niko…my god." Warren said as the referee was declaring the victory for Elliot. "Let's hope Elliot and Hunter get to battle one another before you have to.
"I don't think that's possible, actually. They're on different parts of the bracket." Charlotte explained, looking up at the tournament bracket. Niko then let out a heavier sigh. "But you'll do fine! Hopefully Hunter goes up against someone stronger!"
"Doubtful." Niko said, now watching Charles' match against his opponent. The biker used his Bouffalant against a Floatzel, and quickly finished it off with a few head charges.
The next match was Warren and Charlotte. When they found this out, they both got up and left Niko alone in the stands.
"And now our next match—both from Castelia City. Please give a round of applause for Charlotte and Warren!" Freddy O'Martian announced as soon as both of Niko's friends approached the stage. The referee explained the rules of the match, and then Charlotte and Warren pulled out pokéballs, ready to battle.
"Deerling, I choose you!" Charlotte shouted, summoning the Season Pokémon.
"Leavanny, I choose you!" Warren said, sending out the Nurturing Pokémon. "Use slash!"
"Deerling, faint attack!" Charlotte called out. Deerling briefly disappeared just as Leavanny was approaching it. As soon as Leavanny got close, Deerling reappeared, slamming into his opponent and knocking both of them to the ground. "Now, double kick!"
"Bug bite!" Warren commanded. Leavanny lurched her head up and bit down on Deerling's front hoof before he could use an attack. "Now, fling it away!"
Leavanny, using all of her strength, lifted Deerling with her mouth and tossed him to the side before getting back onto her feet and using string shot to tie down the Season Pokémon.
"Leavanny, use slash!" Warren shouted. However, this time Leavanny's leaf-blade-hands started to glow green instead of their usual white color. "Oh…huh?"
Leavanny slammed down the blade on Deerling, slicing through the string shot and hitting Deerling's exterior with what now looked like leaf blade. Smirking, Warren then looked up at Charlotte, who was not too happy with the way this battle was going.
"Finish Deerling off with bug bite!" Warren shouted.
"No! Deerling, use faint attack!" Charlotte commanded. The Season Pokémon quickly got onto his feet and disappeared just as Leavanny dove down to use bug bite before reappearing and crashing into the Nurturing Pokémon.
"Leavanny, leaf blade!" Warren shouted. The Nurturing Pokémon then slashed at Deerling, launching him across the battlefield and into the ground. "Now, string shot and bug bite!"
"Double kick!" Charlotte said, but it was useless—Leavanny pinned her Pokémon down and dashed forward to use bug bite and finish Deerling off. Seeing her Pokémon lose, Charlotte stomped the ground a little in anger.
"Deerling is unable to battle, Leavanny is the winner! And the victory goes to Warren from Castelia City!" The referee declared.
"Return." They both said at the same time before walking into the stands to join Niko to watch the final match of the first round. It was a match between a Dewott—apparently the evolved form of one of the Unova starters, Oshawott—and a Heatmor, which was a fire type anteater Pokémon. The Dewott, having the clear advantage, won the match within the first few attacks. The entire time, neither Niko, Warren, or Charlotte spoke.
"And that's it for the first round! Now, we will reveal the pairings for the second round, and begin after a short break for lunch!" Freddy O'Martian announced before turning off his mic.
Niko looked up and noticed and he didn't recognize either his or Hunter's opponent. He also didn't recognize Warren's. But Charles and Elliot were the third match, which would be interesting, to say the least.
At lunch, Niko and his friend still sat in silence. Niko tried to make conversation with Charlotte, but it was clear that she was upset by the battle, and didn't feel like talking. Neither did Warren, who looked guilty more than anything. And it upset him to see his friends like this. But he had to stay focused, because if he and Hunter both won their next battles, they would inevitably be facing off against one another.
Author's note: I do want to remind readers that,regarding descriptions of things in the Pokemon universe, I use their entries and descriptions of Pokemon biology and other relevant material on Bulbapedia. The Lacunosa Legend was copy and pasted from that site, and I give full credit to whoever wrote it, both on Bulbapedia and in the actual game. Have to give credit where credit is due.