Author Note: I would imagine this will be a controvisial chapter, I also wanted to add in regards to the Flashbacks, it won't just be on RYan, I am going to mix in other chapters with backgrounds on other Characters too. Flashbacks will be spliced in with Chapters but will be marked apporiatley. Hope everyone is enjoying things and I hope you continue to read.
"Wow incredible, are you sure he said these seats Dustin?"
I look around the full stadium, it full to the brim with lots of spectators, there thousands all packed into the rafter. The stadium is situated on the outskirts of Vermillion City and had been built only recently. It had generally been used for world championship battles with the most recent Master 8 Tournament having taken place in Kanto.
"Uh yeah says here, row 12 seats 16 to 19" I say holding the ticket up to Grandma
"Oh well okay then, they are very close, Sophia will you be okay here?"
We both turn to look at Mom, her pale complexion is a stark contrast to the crowd of fan, she rests herself on a small stick she uses for support and has a pale blue surgical mask on
I had spent the last three weeks back home with Mom and Grandma training with my Pokemon but also spending some time with them all. Mom had gotten a lot stronger in the last few weeks, when I had gotten home she was up and about without her stock and not bed ridden. She had even managed to come and watch me train with my Pokemon a few times out in the back garden, she had taken a real shine to Jolteon who had almost become a lap dog. It was nice to spend time with them and for them to interact with my Pokemon even if Dodrio and Farfetch'd didn't get along
"Of course, its wonderful isn't it, Phillip would have loved this" She says shuffling across taking up the middle seat
I smile and take up the seat to the left of her while grandma takes the aisle seat. I settle in the exhibition tournament today is a series of 6 different battles with it culminating with the big battle of Cynthia versus Ryan
"Hello there everyone"
We all turn to look to see the familiar face of Daisy, she is followed by Louise and her sister
"Louise!" I shout jumping up
They all baulk a little as I clamber over to her
"You were amazing in the festival final, the way you used Venomoth and Butterfree was incredible"
She blushes going very shy for her normal personality
"Well thanks, I can't tell you how nervous I was" She responds with a laugh
"Yeah pipsqueak actually did well for once" Her sister says ruffling her hair
"Hey don't call me that!" She bites back
I laugh before turning around
"Uh Ms Daisy, Louise, Bridget, this is my Grandma and Mom"
They wave to the group of girls
"Oh lovely to meet you again" Daisy says was a wide smile
"Hello" the two girls says with long bows
"So formal" Grandma mutters
"Congratulation on your victory Louise, Dustin told us a lot about you, we watch you final battle and it was wonderful" Mom adds
"Thank you but my Pokemon did all the work" Shes says
"Oh where are our manners please come on through" Grandma says standing up and helping Mom rise
Daisy heads on through first while Daisy and Bridget follow on, I bring up the rear and plop down into my seat again with Louise next me
"Oh yeah, congratulations on winning the eighth badge Dustin, I'll make sure to come and watch your matches at the championship if that's okay?" Louise says
"Of course that would be great!"
She smile and nods as the announcer comes over the tannoy
WELCOME ALL TO OUR 6 ROUNDS OF EXHIBITION MATCHES! TODAY WE HAVE A WIDE VARIETY OF DIFFERENT TRAINER FACING OFF AGAINST EACH OTHER! OUR FIRST MATCH IS THE KING OF DRIFTVEIL CITY VERSUS THE MINER OF OREBURGH! PLEASE WELCOME CLAY AND ROARK!
"Okay Dustin, you will need to keep me filled in on who everyone is okay?" Mom says leaning into me
"Of course Mom!" I say back as I try to talk over the crowd noise
The battles are fast and frantic. Clay manages to narrowly defeat Roark in their match with Roark Rampardos almost taking down all of Clays Pokemon in a comeback victory before being stopped by Excadrill. The next was Viola versus Surge with the majority of the crowd backing the home town leader. However he was defeated by Viola quite quickly with Viola debuting her Mega Pinsir which managed to defeat both Surge Raichu and Electivire even at a disadvantage. The third battle was Karen versus Bea which was perhaps the most one sided battle with Bea not even losing a Pokemon. The fourth was more of a contest battle than anything with Wallace battling against Fantina, this was only a one v one battle with Fantina using her Mismagius and Wallace his Milotic. The majestic and vibrant way both opponents danced around the field was joy to watch, Louise was particularly in awe of the match, mouth agape for most of it, in the end Wallace just edged it but both were applauded for minutes after the match. The last match before the big one was Brassius versus Burgh, Brassius was representing the Paldea region, the most recently accepted region into the PBL and World Championships. He showed the strength of the new region quickly defeating Burgh with his Sudowoodo defeating two of Burghs Pokemon. As the match ends the lights around the stadium dim as spotlights begin to dart around the stadium
"Oh wow here we go then" Louise says with excitement
"Excited Dustin?" Mom says leaning into me
"Yeah, I've never watch Ryan live on TV or in the flesh so it will be interesting"
And now ladies and gentleman we come to the final event and one that you have all been waiting for! First to enter the field, the current Sinnoh champion and current ranked third trainer in the world, the battling archaeologist, please welcome Cynthia!
The crowd goes raucous as the formidable Cynthia enter the stage, she waves happily up to the crowd in her trademark attire
"Oh I heard of her, she is so beautiful" Mom gasps
"Very kind too, she donates much of her match earning to charity's" Grandma adds
"She really strong, I watched some of her battles and she almost toys with people" Louise says slightly glumly
"It okay, Ryan is number one for a reason!" I say defiantly
"This is a test though"
I look to Daisy who sat at the end of the row one leg crossed over the over face in her hand
"What do you mean?"
"Ryan's only ever battle Cynthia once before and it was a draw, a lot of people use it as a way to demean him" She retorts with a smile
"How do you demean a world champion?" Bridget adds with a scowl
"The media has there ways"
As Cynthia enters her box the announcer begins again
now please welcome out second battler, the current ranked number one trainer in the world, three time world champion and reigning champion of the Alola region, the one dubbed grand kahuna Ryan!
Ryan calmly strides out onto the field, he wears what is dubbed his champion outfit. Its a long brown trench coat with a black t shirt underneath, the coat has the Alola trial stamp embroidered on the back of it, a small necklace dangles down which I recognise, he wears this at all time. He has light white jean like trousers on which are tuck into dark brown boots. He happily strides out and take his position in the box opposite
"Cynthia allow me this opportunity to welcome you to the Kanto region! I thank you for allowing us to face off today" Ryan shouts showing her a small bow
She smiles
"The pleasure is mine champion, my hopes are that after today we may finally meet in battle in the World Championships"
"Well maybe after our battle you may not be thinking the same" Ryan retorts clenching his fist
The referee descends riding on the back of a Magneton
"The match today will be a three on three battle with unlimited substitutions and no time limit. If both trainers are ready please send out your first Pokemon!" She announces before flying up and away
"Fill with dread, come forth Spiritomb" Cynthia shouts
"Golisopod I need you!" Ryan announces
The two hulking Pokemon touch down on the field, Cynthia Spiritomb lands in the middle of the field whipping itself around, chuckling away to itself while Ryans Golisopod stand silently staring down its opponent
"An Alolan Pokemon, part of your champion team I presume?" Cynthia questions
"It was, when I first got him as a Wimpod he was scared of his own shadow I thought it was poetic for it to battle such a formidable opponent as yourself"
"A Golisopod, I have only seen pictures of that" I say pulling up my phone dex app
"I thought he would use Espeon or Dragonite for sure" Louise says
"Ryans full of surprise I see" Mom says with a chuckle
"Spiritomb, Sucker Punch!"
Spiritomb lurches forward glowing bright purple, Golisopod stays still as the ghost speeds towards it
"First Impression!"
In an instance Golisopod dart backwards avoiding the hit before slamming it glowing green hand into the chin of Spiritomb who is sent flying backwards, it reels and tries to shake off the attack
"Razor Shell"
Golisopod crouches almost imitating drawing a sword before summoning a long light blue blade and bursting towards Spiritomb who is still reeling from the first hit, it slams its attack into it full force before darting backwards
"Good work Golisopod!" Ryan shouts as the bug type throws its arms up in acknowledgement
"So fast" I say under my breath
"Spiritomb, Shadow Ball!"
It reels and fires off a flurry of ghost balls
"Block it!"
Golisopod uses it arms to duck in front of its face to absorb the hits
"Dark Pulse!"
Spiritomb follows up with a stream of dark energy that also hits the mark but is blocked by Golisopod
In a flash Golisopod is returned to its ball
"What happened?" Grandma squawks
"It an ability, Emergency Exit, when Golisopod take enough damaged it retreats to its ball" I say leaning past Mom
"So clever" Mom coos happily
"Meowscarada, help me out!"
Ryan throws out his next Pokemon and one I have never seen before emerges
"Whats that?" Louise questions
"Meowscarada, it the final evolution of the grass starter from Paldea" Daisy answers
"Oh wow, Ryan been there too?" I questions
She nods
"He went out there to evaluate whether they were worth being added to the battle leagues, he took on the gym challenge with only Paldean Pokemon"
"Sorry to throw a surprise on you Cynthia but I've been training this one for some time now and I couldn't resist testing her out against you!" Ryan shouts across the field
"Of course not, I always appreciate taking on new strong and exciting Pokemon"
"But we won't go down easy! Spiritomb Icy Wind!"
A huge breeze of cold air descends upon the field
"Dodge!"
Meowscarada deftly jumps and cartwheels away from the attack springing itself into the air
"Play Rough!"
Meowscarada glows a bright pink before landing in front of Spiritomb striking it squarely in the rock that houses itself, it flinches hard at the super effective hit as Meowscarada flips back to in front of Ryan. Spiritomb flinches but pulls itself together slightly rocking side to side
"Meowscarada, Flower Trick!"
Meowscarada pulls grass from its waist
"Spiritomb Sucker Punch"
The ghost lurches forward once more striking Meowscarada in the midriff, instead of flinching Meowscarada stands firm and wraps its arms around it holding it in position. It chuckles as a huge flower descends from above, it spins out at the last second allowing the attack to hit Spiritomb square causing a huge dust cloud to kick up, Meowscarada smiles across at Cynthia as the dust settles and Spiritomb falls to the ground unable to go on, she bows slightly to Cynthia as the referee announces it victory
"Wow incredible!" Louise jumps up clapping
"Wow, that was so fast" I mumble to myself
"Even for a bond so young I can see she is very powerful" Cynthia announces as she returns Spiritomb
"Thank you, she's a bit of a show off" Ryan retorts as he returns Meowscarada
"Well lets she how you deal with this!" She shouts throwing out her next ball
"Ko MO!"
Cynthia Kommo-o touches down with a roar flexing to the crowd
"Golisopod, you're up again!"
The huge bug type touches down again standing perfectly still once more
"Kommo-o Clanging Scales"
Kommo-o stands tall and begins to slam it scales against each other causing a huge burst of sound that flies towards Golisopod, it stands there absorbing the attack while Ryan smirks behind
"Go Razor Shell!"
Golisopod again speed in at freakish pace and slams Kommo-o across the chest with its water sword
"Thunderpunch"
Kommo-o attempts to retaliate but Golisopod ducks under it
"Poison Jab!"
Golisopod slams a glowing purple arm directly into Kommo-o throat causing it to stumble backwards
"Finish it up! Razor Shell!"
Golisopod moves both hands this time to its side and summons a huge sword of water, it moves so fast with it strike that its almost impossible to see, it ends with it sword of water dispersing as impact causes a blast on Kommo-o sending it flying backwards to the ground unable to continue
"No way, so strong" I mumble to myself as Louise jumps up and down and Mom claps along
"Kommo-o return" Cynthia shouts as she returns her defeated Pokemon
"You too Golisopod"
"Are we going for a clean swipe" Cynthia retorts
He smile and laughs
"If there anyone who understands that I'm probably going to need all three to beat this last one its me"
She laughs
"Garchomp, come forth!"
The formidable figure of Garchomp descends to the field with a slam, it roars in Ryans direction in an attempt of intimidation
"Nice too see you again Garchomp, looking strong as ever" He says as he sends out his Pokemon
Meowscarada emerges on the field with a grin, it bows to Garchomp as it did its trainer before to entice it forwards
"Garchomp, Dragon Claw!"
Garchomp roars claws glowing green as it bursts in, Meowscarada stands stationary as it bears the hit
"Why didn't he dodge?" Louise calls
"He didn't need too" Daisy retorts
Meowscarada stands firm unfazed by the attack as Garchomp stands stunned
"Protean! Meowscarada changed its type to fairy in the first battle, Play Rough"
Meowscarada eyes glint as it buries a glowing pink fist into the face of Garchomp sending it stumbling backwards
"Okay well Garchomp Iron Head!"
Garchomp gets it bearing before slamming itself head first into Meowscarada who is sent flying backward into a roll, she manages to spring back up to her feet
"Well taken Meowscarada! Keep up the pressure Night Slash!"
Meowscarada claws glow a dark blue as she darts around, Garchomp stays still waiting for the strike
"Earthquake!"
Garchomp slams its fins into the ground tearing up the field but Meowscarada jumps and darts away taking minimal damage. She gets close enough and pounces slamming Garchomp in the back with her claws
"Fire Fang!"
Garchomp composes itself and mouth burns bright biting down on the midriff of Meowscarada who calls out in pain
"Play Rough"
Meowscarada slams its fist glowing pink it the neck and stomach causing Garchomp to stumble back more
"Flower Trick!"
Meowscarada laughs and clicks it fingers as a huge plumage of flowers dives down from the sky and strike Garchomp kicking up a whole dust cloud. Meowscarada chuckles before bowing to the crowd
"Iron head!"
Out of the dust cloud Garchomp dart out and slams Meowscarada in the back who immediately falls to the ground unable to continue. Cynthia smile across at Ryan as Garchomp roars in defiance
"Meowscarada return! Thank you for your efforts" Ryan says with a smile
"Never to be under estimated, Meowscarada got a little carried away"
"I'm sure she is used to that being the finishing move" Cynthia retorts
"Well heres my last one, Snorlax come out!"
Snorlax emerges and slams down on the field with a huge thud, it yawns loudly before staring out at Garchomp
"We have to be quick, Dragon Claw!"
Garchomp glows and darts in slamming its arm into Snorlax who absorbs the hit
"Ice Punch!"
Snorlax sweeps down arm glowing blue and blast Garchomp backward, it skids across the floor. It shakes its head as it pulls itself back up. Cynthia grits her teeth as Ryan smiles on
"Garchomp, Fire Fang"
Ryan smiles as Garchomp bursts forward, Snorlax stands still as it make connection, the attack crackles and singes but largely Snorlax is unharmed
"Grab it Snorlax!"
Snorlax wraps its arms around Garchomp and pulls it into a hold not allowing it to get away
"Dragon Claw, get yourself free!"
Garchomp claws glow as it tries to break itself free but is unsuccessful
"Body Slam!"
Snorlax crouches still holding Garchomp firm before leaping into the air, it slams itself down with its full weight with Garchomp underneath him, he lies motionless for a few seconds before rolling away. In a last attempt at defiance Garchomp attempts to pull itself to its feet but falls flat unable to go on
"Garchomp is unable to battle, Snorlax is the victor, the match goes to Ryan"
The crowd goes into rapture at the win for Ryan as his face is displayed on the multitude of big screens all around
"That was incredible" I say under my breath as those around me all stand and clap the two battlers
Ryan walks out to Snorlax and congratulates it before crouching down next to Garchomp and Cynthia. He shakes her hand and pats Garchomp on a job well done
"Dustin?"
I come back to earth to look to Mom who smiles brightly at me
"Are you okay?" she says to me
"Uh yeah, just that was incredible"
She laughs
"Your dad would have loved that match, it all he would have talked about for a week"
"I'll get there one day!" I say standing up with a fierce determination
The camera pan around as the announcer asks for the applause for both competitors before he passes over to Ryan
"I want to thank you all for coming today, I also have a special announcement!"
The crowd murmurs in excitement about what he is about to announce.
"As part of of the PBL it is their goal to keep expanding the experiences of all trainer across the globe. SO first I want to welcome our newest region of competitors from the Paldea region to the world championship competition"
The crowd claps and hollers as graphics for Paldea are broadcast upon the big screen
"When I spent my time in Paldea taking on their gym challenge there was something that struck me however, the treasure hunt that the major academy in Mesagoza. It is a challenge that brings out the inner strength of a child to pursue their dreams and to make them a reality. I'm sure all of the competitors today will concur that our dream is to battle on stages like this. So to make stages like this more accessible I want to announce an expansion to the Pokemon World Championship today"
The crowd murmurs once more in slightly confusion but mainly anticipation
"An expansion?" I mumble
"As of today the next qualifications for he Pokemon World championship will be opened! However the champion will now be split into three categories. I'm sure you all enjoy battles like the ones we've seen today however, there are so many talented young battlers I have met on my travels who don't get seen. I want all of you to experience the battles! So the champion will now be divided into the Junior Division, Senior Division and then the Master Division. This is will allow for more trainers to have a shot at winning major titles. The junior division will be made up of any trainer under the age of 23, their points will be earned via their gym challenges, conference league placements and battle scores from their trainer apps. Those rankings in the top 128 at the end of the qualification period will be invited to partake in the inaugural Junior World Championship! The same applies to the senior Division, but will be soley for those over the age of 23 allowing for those who maybe given up slightly on their dreams to relive them once more. The master division will be held for those ranking in the top 2000 currently ranked in the PBL trainer rankings. Winning or performing well in either the Junior or Senior division will also see invites being handed out to them. The three world championships will be held concurrently in the month of July every two years rather than the yearly competition we have currently hold. It championship will be held in a separate region to spread the battling for all to see!"
The crowd clap and holler in excitement
"So I would assume you would like to know where the competitions finals will take place?"
The crowd shouts back in agreement
"Well I can announce the first ever Junior Division Finals will take place here in this very stadium in July of next year, the Senior division will be held in the Hoenn Region and for the first time ever, the Masters World Championship will be held in my home region of Alola!"
The crowd goes into raptures at the announcement as graphics of the three regions are plastered across the big screens
"I glad you are all excited, I cannot wait for you all to see the battles. It is my wish that this will help bring a whole new crop of talented battlers to everyone eyes!
"Wow so I could qualify" I mumble to myself as my phone begins to chirp
I pull it out and there is a notifications to my trainer app, I click it and it brings me to a new page, it called the PBL Junior Championships. It show all the competitors currently in it whereas before I could only see those on the Junior Kanto Championship, it has pages and pages of trainers, I check the filter to sort by rank and can see the lowest rank n the ladder is 15,604. I gulp at the thought of so many trainers and dread to think were I will place on it
"Is that to show your rank?" Louise says looking over
"Uh its the ladder I haven't checked my rank yet" I murmur back
"Lets see sweetheart" Mom says peering over to with Grandma in the background
I take a deep breath and tap the part of the screen which will show my rank
In big numbers it read across the screen
12,456
"Oh wow" Louise says eye going wide
"Its to be expected Dusty, you only been going 6 months" Grandma says putting her hand on my shoulder
I turn to Mom who face is lit up brightly
"So there are a lot of people under the age of 23 in the world, millions in fact and you are the 12,456 best at battling? I think that something to be proud of" She says leaning in to kiss my head
"And with your Pokemon, I'm sure you will be up to 128 in no time" She adds with a big smile
I smile back to her and feel my heart and chest well up with pride
"I'll make it all the way to the top, the junior division and then the master division" I say defiantly standing up
"And hopefully Ryan will still be at the top waiting for you" Daisy adds