Another chapter that I hope you all enjoy! My schedule for this story has been off course with some irl stuff going on, but I should be back on a proper schedule for this soon. More reviews though would help fuel writing for this!

Today, I hope to make it to Pokémon Center by the end of the day. Training will take a backseat for today. I've been meeting more trainers again and again anyway. I've already had 2 battles with Croagunk battling. He's gaining lots of experience with battling. His earthquake has been getting better and better in power. Of course, I don't rely on Croagunk's ability to use Earthquake. His movements are fluid enough for his Poison Jabs to get off without getting hit in turn.

"Hey you! I challenge you to a battle!" A trainer with red highlights covering their primarily black jacket and pants announced.

"Sure, one on one?"

"Fine by me. Ready?"

"Yep, smash them, Snorlax!"

"A Snorlax, huh? I guess Croagunk can sit this one out." Picking out a Pokeball, I threw it. "Stand by for battle, Monferno!"

His Snorlax dwarfs Monferno by a lot. It's quite the funny picture. It won't matter though because Monferno has enough fire power to push beyond the giant that is Snorlax.

My opponent announced "I'll take the first move. Snorlax, Body Slam!" Running faster than a Pokémon that height would usually run, Snorlax came upon Monferno fast.

"Monferno, Dig!" Evading the Body Slam, Monferno burrowed into the ground. Snorlax instead slammed the ground. Taking no damage from that, Snorlax stood up, confused where Monferno went.

Monferno came out from behind Snorlax. Immediately, the other trainer tried to warn Snorlax. "Behind you Snorlax!"

"Monferno, use Will-O-Wisp!" I'm going to need that burn ability because of how much a tank Snorlaxes are. I have a feeling that dodging with dig won't work the entire time. This guy's cool hasn't dropped so he probably has a plan.

"Snorlax, use Belly Drum!" So, he's sacrificing health for attack power? What's his angle? Snorlax damages itself but maxes out his attack with belly drum. Monferno should be wary of any attacks. "Now use Rest!" If he's healing with rest, he's leaving his Pokémon wide open, unless- "Use Sleep Talk!"

He's going to keep using sleep talk until his Snorlax awakens, fully healed with max attack. This isn't good. Snorlax prepared an attack that seemed to circle Snorlax and then go outward. That move… it must be Shockwave!

"Monferno, use Dig to avoid that attack!" Monferno, with his amazing speed, evaded the shockwave by burrowing underground. We can't just be sitting ducks! Snorlax is still burned, but that's only a hindrance, nothing else. Appearing from a hole behind the sleeping Snorlax, I gave my command. "Monferno, trap him in Fire Spin!"

A tornado of fire encircled Snorlax, but Snorlax didn't seem that uncomfortable. No! That could only mean his Snorlax has that ability.

"You've noticed, huh. Yes, Snorlax has thick fat, cutting down the effectiveness of all fire-type attacks! You're going to have to fight hard to put a dent into my Snorlax. Now Snorlax, use Focus Punch!" A burst of energy swelled around Snorlax's fist.

"Monferno, use Mach Punch on Snorlax's belly!" Mach punch is a move that Monferno naturally learned just through training. It may not be that strong on its own, but with the strength of Monferno, it can be utilized well. Stepping into the fiery inferno of Fire Spin, Monferno made his way toward Snorlax. Snorlax attempted to punch Monferno, but his fist couldn't reach him! I was betting on that to happen. Monferno took the opportunity to consecutively punch with Mach Punch! Looking at the Snorlax's expression, he was feeling every blow from mach punch. Snorlax may be towering over Monferno, but that won't help his reach!

"Snorlax, use Body Slam!" Taking the opportunity of being up close and personal with Monferno, Snorlax started falling over on Monferno, expecting to crush him under its weight.

"Monferno, throw him."

The opposing trainer was dumbfounded by that statement. "Are you kidding me? Snorlax on average weight a ton and you expect your Monferno to have the strength to pick up Snorlax and throw him? That's ridiculous!"

"M-mon-," could be heard from under Snorlax.

"No way," the trainer said.

"Fer-"

"He couldn't have!"

"NO!" He had. Struggling to do so, but nevertheless Monferno had Snorlax picked up. A massive strain was put on him, but he's handling it well. The fire lit under Monferno signaled to me that this strategy would work by flaring up.

"Now throw him, Monferno!" With one last cry, Monferno tossed Snorlax across the field. "Use Flamethrower!" a massive stream of fire hit Snorlax while it was in the air. Snorlax landed with a thud and looking at him, there was no doubt that he was unable to battle.

The battle was called in my favor. Returning Snorlax, my opponent walked up to me. "Congratulations. That was a fantastic battle! I never thought that a measly Monferno would be able to do something that insane haha!" He seemed like a chill guy.

"It's all due to the training and the work ethic of Monferno," I say smiling at the exhausted Monferno next to me. "Something tells me that if he had tried to hold Snorlax for any longer than he did, things would've gone the other way."

"Well, in any case, I enjoyed that. I hope for a rematch at the league," he yelled running off. How does he know I'm entering the league? Well, I guess I'll meet the guy some other time. I wonder how strong that Snorlax will be then… Never got the guy's name through that entire exchange.

(-)

I had been making an attempt at keeping a fast pace to the Pokémon Center and my efforts were rewarded with the Pokémon Center being in front of me. It was late. Undoubtedly so. With a tired sway in my step, I registered for my room with the tired Nurse Joy and went up to my room only to collapse on the bed. It's time for some good sleep…

My alarm went off. I feel like I'm getting less and less sleep every morning. Whatever, I should get up. Going through the routine of changing clothes and going down for the Pokémon Center's breakfast, I ponder my plans for the day. Being in Celestic Town, the home of our region's champion, there is probably some cool history surrounding the place. I have a vague idea of what might be there, but it might be worth it to check it out later. Today, I plan to specialize in only one of my team, Ninjask to be precise. It'll be Ninjask's first battle, but I know that Ninjask will do great.

Finishing up with breakfast, I picked up my things in my bag and headed out for a clearing, near Celestic, but away from all the other trainers that have gathered. Now that I think about it, there was a surprisingly large number of trainers attending the Pokémon Center's breakfast. I can see that the tournament won't be lacking in competitors. Keeping away from the Pokémon Center I hope will give me some privacy with training.

Releasing everyone, I set out the Pokefood for them. While everyone was engrossed in eating, I told them my plans. "Today, I'll be focusing on Ninjask. Apologies if you all thought I'd have something for each and every one of you. I simply think that more battling will display your level of proficiency. There's only so much training we can do before we need for you to show the fruits of your training. You can continue training by mock battling each other, but I won't be involved with that."

"Tor!" Torterra decided to take charge and lead the others away to organize some kind of system for that. I'm glad I have such a reliable partner. With everyone being left alone, but Ninjask, I decided to speak up about the training that will be done.

"Ninjask, your first battle will be the opening for the tournament. I know we've trained hard for this, so I'm not worried about you winning, but I wanted one more chance to practice the different strategies and forms we have planned for you. Work hard for me."

With a slightly monotonous voice, I hear, "Nin…jask," as a response.

"Good, then let's get started." And so, we did. We practiced all of Ninjask's existing moves, putting the emphasis on X-Scissor, Giga Drain, Sword Dance. Throughout training and practicing the moves, Ninjask displays that he is high-level despite never having battled with me. Either he's obtained proficiency through training or he's battled through other means. It doesn't matter to me. When the sun had set, I had been assured of Ninjask's competence.

Recalling everyone after having given them dinner, I head back into my room at the Pokémon Center to have my own dinner, cereal. Funnily enough, I was eating "Chimchar's Chompers" which has a taste that'll "ignite the burning embers of yout- I mean, the burning embers of utter satisfaction". With some Moomoo milk that I've had packed, I was able to combine the two to become my dinner. Crunch. Hmm, not bad.

My mind naturally looks to tomorrow. I know tomorrow's battle will be a great test of strength for my Pokémon. I just hope what I've been doing hasn't been all for naught.

Today, I woke up feeling well-rested and ready for battle. I gathered my belongings together quite fast and headed down for breakfast. I wasn't really processing my surroundings. I was too excited from the prospect of battling today. I was sort of in a daze.

"Hey you! Dude, you gotta get out of this daze. YO!"

"Wa-" It was a girl clad in a bandana with a ponytail popping out of it. What did she want?

"I'm sorry for bothering you, but it looked like you were getting anxious about the tournament. I wanted to knock you out of it!"

"Uh, I wasn't reall-"

"Oh, there's no reason to be shy about it! It happens to everyone! Don't worry, you'll do great." This girl seems to have gotten the wrong impression of me and won't let me correct her. How troublesome.

Her attire made me interested in her. Since she mentioned the tournament, that makes me think she's participating as a trainer. Her outfit suggests that she adventures a lot with a stylish jacket that was paired with a Pokeball Fanny pack. It probably has her most essential gear. Her pants seemed to be athletic wear, capable of having pockets that hold several supplies. Perfect for travel. She seemed to be a well-traveled trainer. Might as well ask her then… "Are you anxious about the tournament?"

"Me? Hmmm, now that I think about it, I'm incredibly nervous! The only thing keeping me from freaking out is the belief I have in my Pokémon!" Her expressions went from thinking to freaked out to assured within seconds. A natural air head then. "Oh, where are my manners? My name is Isla. It's nice to meet you!" She said that with a smile too bright for my liking.

"The name's Paul. I hope to battle you soon." With those words I got up from my seat and decided to head to the location of the tournament. It was in the center of the city. There were stadiums all around the town. A crowd had formed around the center stadium. I had already signed in for the tournament at the center this morning, so I had my ticket to participate. It gave a number and a letter. 4-B, huh. I think this official will tell me what this means.

"Hello trainers," he started. "I hope you all have been enjoying the history of Celestic Town while you've been here! This tournament will begin shortly. To begin it, I need your attention to be on the ticket you received for being in this tournament. It should have either an A on it or a B and a number from 1-16." A's will be participating on one side of the town while B's will participate on the other. The number allows the officials to identify you and call you up for your battle. We have 32 contestants this year, I hope everyone has a fantastic time!" And with those words, we were off. I, a B, was on the right side of the town. There was a stadium where I can only assume each fight would be conducted in. Looking around, I didn't see Isla anywhere. She must've been an A then…

Pushing those thoughts aside, I listened to the announcer who started to call out trainers' names.

"For the first battle, would Wilfred Kemp and Paul Shinji confirm their participation and battle? I repeat, would Wilfred Kemp and Paul Shinji come to the field.

Walking over, I confirmed my participation with the ref and faced my opponent.

Hope you liked it! Please review for it fuels my writing!