I've been lucky enough to be a part of a Pokemon TTRPG for about two years now. I've been wanting to sit down and write out at least part of it as a fic for awhile now, and finally had the motivation to do so! I hope you enjoy seeing at least a little bit of a big source of enjoyment for me.


"We are now arriving at Stenton Airport. Please allow the plane to come to a complete stop and the seatbelt light indicators to dim before attempting to leave. We hope you enjoy your stay in Kaidreach!"

The plane attendant's light voice could barely be heard over the excited chatter of the rest of the passengers. I was just as ready as they were, though getting off this Arceus-damned machine was at the forefront of my mind rather than what I assume was a feeling of joy for arriving in a new region.

I felt a slow rocking at my belt. My nerves started to die down slightly as I grinned down at Igor's Pokeball.

"Thanks bud." I whispered to my partner. "Don't worry, I'm good. I'll let you stretch your legs as soon as we get out of the airport."

I felt a slight feeling of gratitude as the ball stopped moving, Igor likely placated by my better mood and the promise of time out in the sun.

Now that I wasn't focused on the plane itself, I could let the positive feeling from the passengers wash over me. I may have been to other regions from home previously, but the mood you get when surrounded by an excited group always feels nice.

The chatter only grew louder as the lights above our seats finally pinged off, showing we had come to a complete stop.

"Alright, time to see what Kaidreach has to offer." I told myself, waiting for my seat neighbor to finish grabbing his bags before sliding into the aisle.

Mr. Riven had advised I pack light since a good amount of supplies were going to be given to circuit trainers. Man, that had been a fun conversation. Learning Terrance had suddenly dropped out of the program and that my 'research pass' to Kaidreach had suddenly been upgraded to his 'circuit trainer pass' without prior notification had been terrifying at the time, but now I find myself looking forward to it a bit.

I slang my bag over my shoulders once I made sure that I wasn't going to whack anybody and followed the crowd towards the exit.

The rest of the process wasn't exactly notable. A quick check of supplies, final display of my passport, and dodging of the crowd later, I found myself finally outside the airport. The bright Kaidreachean sun bore down, not quite as warm as the one back home in Hoenn but comfortable nonetheless.

After a quick check around, taking note of the variety of Pokemon and trainers around me, I finally grabbed the Pokeball at my belt.

"Alright Igor, let's get a feel for this new place" I said as I lightly tossed the ball in front of me. A bright flash of light later, a small acorn-shaped Pokemon was staring up at me.

My Seedot looked around for a bit, toddling around me on his rather small legs for a bit of time before stopping in front of me and looking up.

I grinned at him. "Out for such a little time and already want a higher view?" Igor hummed in response, a nice rich tone sounding from the Seedot.

"Alright, sure thing." I picked him up, holding him in one arm as he continued to hum contentedly. I grabbed my phone with my other hand, checking to find the location of the nearest Pokemon Center.

Seeing it wasn't too far, I shifted Igor around so that I was holding him in both arms, my phone sitting on top of his cap with the map app open. The walk to the center gave me plenty of time to go through my mental checklist.

'First step,' I thought, 'is to go ahead and finalize my circuit entry. I should be getting some form of identification from that. Then I think the starting ceremony takes place at 2. It's 11 right now, so I should have time to grab a bite to eat.'

Decision made, it was pretty easy to navigate the streets. I saw a good number of trainers on my way, though not too many had their partners out. I saw a young girl with some weird cotton candy-like Pokemon in her arms, a teenage boy with a Growlithe trotting along beside him, but nothing more interesting than that.

Or at least that would have been the case if some small thing hadn't wizzed by my head, making my safari had I had hanging from my neck flutter in the breeze it left behind.

"What the fuck!" I yelled, shifting out of the way of what almost looked like a tan and green cannonball. Igor's hum became more distressed as I felt him slip, my phone sliding off his head like a puck on ice. I somehow managed to reposition Igor without dropping him and catch my phone without letting it hit the ground, but my positive mood was shattered.

"Fez no wait! Slow down!" Some guy who looked to be about my age yelled as he followed what was probably a Flying Pokemon down the road. He and his 'Fez' quickly disappeared from sight, probably causing problems to other pedestrians based on the amount of yelling I could hear from in front of me.

I let my irritation simmer a bit as I looked down at Igor.

"Sorry bud, you ok?" A light hum in agreement told me my partner was fine.

I sighed. "At least I caught this thing. Hopefully we won't be seeing whatever that was again."

Thankfully, the rest of the trip to the Pokemon center was much less eventful. I recalled Igor back into his ball as I entered, quickly finding a sign that hung above the left side of the room that read 'Circuit Registration.'

Walking straight up to the counter, the woman behind it quickly made eye contact with me.

"Hi, what can I help you with?" She asked with a practiced grin.

I smiled back. "I need to make sure my registration went through just fine. It should be under Cross Bellmere?"

She nodded at me before turning and typing away at the computer next to her. "Of course, Mr. Bellmere. Oh, I see it right here. 21, citizen of the Hoenn region, registered both for research and for the circuit challenge?" After confirming my nod, she continued with "Excellent! If I can just have you walk around to the side of the counter, we can take your picture and get your Trainer Card set."

I looked down at my clothing as I walked around. I hadn't expected to be taking a picture today, so it was just my usual black cargo pants and a light gray T-Shirt. I briefly debated about taking off either my hat or my sandstorm goggles that I typically had around my neck, but decided that keeping it natural was the best way to get my picture taken.

After the usual "Smile!", a bright flash, and a handful of minutes waiting, I was handed a glossy card with my picture, information, and a black strip on the bottom.

"Starting Circuit Trainers are Clearance Level Black." She explained. "As you compete, your Clearance Level will change. The blue RE above it shows that you have a researcher license. Most labs will need to register you in their own systems the first time you visit, this just streamlines the process. Lastly, displaying this ID will allow you free lodging and meals at any Pokemon Center in Kaidreach. Anything else should be explained at today's ceremony. Besides that, you should be ready to go, Mr. Bellmere!"

I nodded my thanks, walking away from the counter.

Seeing that it was still only just now 12:30ish, I decided grabbing some food would be the way to go. After a quick text back home to let Mom know I was all set and a second to Dr. Obort to let him know I would be stopping by his lab sometime in the near future, I walked over towards the cafeteria are of the Pokemon Center.

As one might expect of a place for free food for trainers, the area was packed. Grabbing food wasn't too difficult, the lines moving as quickly as one would expect, but the tables themselves were mostly full. I could only spy two with chairs open and knew for a fact that I would be avoiding one of them like the plague.

The trainer who had been chasing that Flying Pokemon earlier was sitting there, the rest of the cafeteria seeming to give him a wide berth, not that he had appeared to notice. Several servings of the center's spaghetti were in front of him, and he certainly wasn't wasting any time chowing down. To my disgust, he offered a forkload of the noodles to his owl like pokemon, likely the Fez he had been yelling at earlier. It happily took the offered food, only for the trainer to immediately take a bite of the food himself. With the same fork.

I shuddered. I could never understand eating after another living thing like that. Think of the bacteria! But thankfully, I was easily able to maneuver to the other open table without issue.

The woman already sitting there seemed to be using the area to read, and Sandile contentedly snoring in her lap. She looked up at me as I approached, and I offered her a lopsided smile.

"Hope you don't mind company, most of the other tables are full." I explained as I took a seat.

"I don't." Her response was clipped and polite, short and to the point.I waited to see if she had anything else to say, but her attention was right back to her book.

'Huh. The quiet type I guess' I thought to myself. 'Oh well, I'm here for food, not for conversation.'

I had always heard from Brenden that Pokemon Center food was pretty bad, I found myself happy with what had been served as I quickly scarfed it down. Setting my tray to the side, I reopened messages.

Mom had sent a Gardevoir heart emoji in response to my text, while Dr. Obort had opted for a simple 'Received. Safe travels' instead. I had hoped my research contact would have had more to say, but it looked like I'd have to wait on that. Hopefully Culiform was doing ok in his care. I was looking forward to having her back.

Before I could dwell on my missing team member, a message from Brendan popped up. Glancing through it, it was obvious Brendan had already been informed I had landed, his text a mountain of text giving me advice for starting my journey. Based on how it quickly changed from more reasonable advice like 'make sure you pack plenty of water while on the road!' to 'only catch things that can mega evolve!', I had to assume May had stolen his phone half way through the message and wanted to add her own thoughts. I chuckled, sending a quick response of my own, thanking my cousin and his 'definitely just a coworker' for their help.

As the clock in the top corner of my phone ticked to 1, I decided to go ahead and make my way to the town center, the location where today's ceremony would take place. The woman I was sharing a table with didn't look up as I left. Her Sandile did, the adorable croc yawning as I walked by, its brilliant teeth glinting in the light.

I waved to it as I left, it sleepily blinking at me as I left the cafeteria behind. I did stop long enough to see if the trainer and his owl were still there, but they appeared to have left before I had.

Walking back out into the sun's warmth, I once again released Igor, my Seedot happily humming as I picked him I knew exactly where to go from here without using my phone. The town center was not far at all from this Pokemon center.

A short trek later (free of any ball shaped Pokemon almost knocking me over), I walked out to see a beautiful pavilion set up. About a couple hundred chairs had been set up around the town's center stage, a microphone and podium waiting for the person who will be addressing us in less than an hour.

Several trainers had already arrived and taken their seats, Pokemon milling about in the rows. Igor seemed anxious to see so many strangers out and about, his happy humming colored with nervousness.

I grinned at him as I took a seat at the end of one of the rows. "Don't be nervous, bud. I don't think any battles are on today's plate. And even if there are, these guys are all trained. They won't jump us. Not like the woods back home."

That seemed to be enough for him, the Seedot calming back down. My partner no longer looking like he might jump at the slightest disturbance, I quickly took a selfie of the two of us and the sea of chairs behind us. I uploaded it to my Chatter with a small tag of 'About to start the opening ceremony!' attached. My account didn't have a ton of followers, mainly family and a handful of people interested in my research from back home, but it had been awhile since my last post and figured I might as well catalog at least the start of my journey.

More trainers trickled in as the hands of time ticked closer to two. I saw most of the trainers I had seen previously find their seats. The young girl and her cotton candy partner, the woman and her Sandile, and the boy with a Growlithe to name a few. A trainer eventually took the one seat open to my left, his glasses slightly shifting down his nose. An Applin was perched on his shoulder.

As he sat down he nodded to me politely, opening what appeared to be an encyclopedia on berries and their effects. His Applin trilled lightly at Igor, whose hums slightly shifted in pitch in recognition of his fellow Grass type. It appears my pattern of seating partners choosing to focus on their literary pursuits would continue as his attention was quickly completely absorbed.

Since conversation seemed unlikely, I went back to my Chatter. Raihan had had a battle recently, and I was excited to see if he had used his usual sandstorm team or if he had decided to swap it up a bit. His battles were always fun bits to add to my research.

In what felt like a blink of an eye, the time remaining before 2 flew by, my phone's notes now several paragraphs larger. The conversation that was filling the area slowed to a quiet murmur as all the assembled trainers focused their attention on the man who had stopped behind the podium.

The bear of a man lightly tapped the microphone, a brief burst of static rumbling from the features as the sun glinted off his glasses. As he cleared his throat, it was obvious it was time for the ceremony to start.

"Welcome, trainers, to the start of this year's Kaidreachean circuit! I am pleased to welcome each and every one of you. To those of you local to our fair region, we are excited to see our next generation flourish! To those of you who come from abroad, we are pleased you chose to embark on this journey!"

The man flared his arms, his stage presence immense. All other speaking had stopped, everyone's attention on him.

"My name is Graham, chairman of the Advising Committee. In case you are unaware, the Advising Committee is the branch of the Kaidreachean League that oversees the safety of both citizens and trainers! We Advisors can be found in every city and in most routes, working tirelessly to allow the Circuit to function."

"Anyone who bears this badge" he stated, tapping an insignia on his breast that I could just barely make out to be roughly triangular, "has a place as an Advisor. Please feel free to bring anything you think may be out of place to their attention. We rely on each year's traveling trainers to notify us of any issues that may have escaped our notice, as it is not uncommon for you to find yourselves in areas we may have overlooked. But fear not! It is a rare day where trainers such as yourselves encounter any truly problematic issues before we do."

A slight burst of conversation arose at that, but I wasn't too surprised. I had heard over many a family dinner from Uncle Roger just how common it was for traveling trainers to notify him of issues in Hoenn routes, even after he retired from his regional professor position. Brendan only supported that statement when his dad brought it up.

Gram clapped his hands twice, regaining the focus of all.

"But I am sure you trainers are more concerned with the ruleset of this year's circuit! Kaidreach is known as the world's most innovative region in terms of battle styles, afterall! After last year's rather basic double battle format, I am pleased to announce the Advising Committee has decided upon a rather exciting format for this year: The Mass Multibattle!"

The light conversation following the last topic had nothing on the sheer wall of noise this statement generated. Even my so far silent seatmate looked over at me.

"Any idea what that means?" He asked, his Applin lightly bobbing as its trainer's head moved.

I shrugged. "No idea, but something tells me he is about to tell us."

Sure enough, Gram appeared to be trying to regain the attention of us trainers. He appeared to sigh, before unclipping a ball from his vest. In a bright flash of light, a Beartic materializing behind him. The great beast roared, silencing the unruly crowd.

"Thank you, Beartic." Graham smiled toward his Pokemon, before focusing back toward us. "Now, as I'm sure you must be curious, what is this Mass Multibattle format I speak of? Well, to put it simply, we are adapting a more complex version of Unova's famous Triple Battle Format! You trainers have been randomly placed into teams of three to participate in the circuit. Your groups of three will challenge each Gym simultaneously. The three of you must overcome the Gym Leader's challenge as a team!"

I hummed as the man spoke, lightly drumming my fingers on Igor's cap. Teams of three, huh? Certainly an interesting way to have us challenge the circuit.

"Of course, we will not be expecting all teams to be perfect." The Advisor continued. "Should an individual wish to drop from the circuit or other issues arise, it will be rather simple to reassign teams. All you will need to do is notify an Advisor and we will help get your team back up to three members."

Graham once again clapped his hands, his Beartic doing the same. "Now, I am sure you have questions. But first, let us go ahead and assign you to your teams! If you would wait to hear as I call your name, make your way to the rear of the stage. You will find advisors waiting to give you your starting equipment and answer any questions you may have. The last thing I will tell you is this: Good luck, and may you all travel safely!"

The crowd applauded as Graham shuffled around some papers, the Advisor waiting for the applause to end before starting the naming of groups. My neighbor left rather quickly, standing as a "Bernie Arnolds" was called for group 17, nodding as he passed me. Luckily, I didn't need to wait too long before I finally heard my name.

"Group 31! Damon Matthews! Noel Niihashi! Cross Bellmere! Please make your way behind the stage."

I grinned at Igor as I stood up, the Seedot excitedly vibrating in my arms. "Alright bud, let's go meet our teammates! I'm pretty excited."

I swiftly made my way to the back of the stage, a pep in my step. With this format, I might actually make it a bit further than I had originally thought! I had never really been big on battling, most of my experience actually coming from Igor distracting wild Pokemon long enough for me to recall him from a distance as a child. Culiform had never really seemed particularly interested when I received her for my research, so even in college the thought had never crossed my mind. Hopefully my teammates are a bit more battle minded!

As I reached the back of the stage, I couldn't help but be curious as to who my teammates might be. I had seen so many Pokemon, both familiar and not, so almost anything would be welcome.

As I finally found the Advisor holding up a sign that read '31st Team', I was pleasantly surprised to see a familiar face. The woman I had sat with at the Pokemon center. She nodded in recognition as I approached.

However, before I had the chance to introduce myself, a familiar voice made me second guess how lucky I was.

"Fez! You see 31 yet? Lead the way!"

I could only roll my eyes as, sure enough, the trainer with the round tan and green owl made his way over to us.

It looked like this was going to be a long journey.