"Hey Alex! The tournament's on! You wanna see?" Josh yells from across the hall.

"Yeah. I'll be right out." I reply, pulling myself away from the desk. It has been nearly a week since I arrived here. Much of my time was spent doing research and bringing Thunder up to speed on human behavior. In my studies I learned a lot.

This world, Terranor, is a lot like earth. Even geographically. The names of places are all different but the world maps share a striking resemblance to those on earth. With the exception of a few differences like the UK being upside down or New York City getting scaled up in size. It turns out that I'm currently in the Hoenn region which equates to the southern end of Japan. National borders appear to be roughly similar as well. But that's about where the similarities end.

Pokemon have been on this world nearly as long as humans it would appear. They led history down a different path when compared to ours. Dare I say less violent, even. Sure there were still wars but not as many as on earth. Generally Terranor seems significantly more peaceful than my home.

However, one thing stood out to me. The International Pokemon Tournament. By far the most popular sport on the planet. Teams of six pokemon pitted against each other in bouts of combat under the guidance of their "trainers." While it seems a little barbaric to force pokemon to beat each other senseless for the amusement of others I have the feeling there's a part of this I'm missing. From pictures I've seen and clips I've watched the pokemon in these fights treat it the same as their trainers, like a sport. Most legitimately enjoy the fight while others are fiercely competitive. And considering how battles are a common sport on Pokemar it might be that this sort of thing is beneficial to all involved. Though I'd like to see a full fight or two to really understand it.

The sounds of a roaring crowd on the TV fills the living room as I enter. The couch is full to near capacity with both Jackson and Josh as well as Shadow and two other pokemon I've since met during my stay, Tsunami the Mudkip and Salty the Wingull. Thunder, Growlithe and I squeeze into the remaining spots.

On the screen is a stadium about the scale of an American football stadium, the seats filled with boisterous, loud fans. Meanwhile the announcers talk about the upcoming fight.

"-has a lot to prove if he intends to make it into the big leagues. And going up against Stormblade? Whew. It won't be easy for him.

"Indeed. But we've seen bigger upsets before in this very place. So don't count him out yet. Olivel and his team may very well be up to the challenge."

"Looks like we won't be waiting for much longer as I can see the two of them making their way onto the field."

The camera cuts to one of the combatants. the text boxes below reading out information on the combatant.

KEEGAN STORMBLADE, GALAR REGION
-CHARIZARD
-RILLABOOM
-LAPRAS
-TOXTICITRY
-AEGISLASH
-FLYGON

The crowd roars out as he strolls confidently forward and steps Into the center ring of the arena The camera cuts yet again to reveal his opponent.

OLIVEL VICTOR, UNOVA REGION
-BISHARP
-GOLISOPOD
-ARIADOS
-DITTO
-ESPEON
-BEWEAR

"Woah! A Ditto?!" Tsunami exclaims. "You don't see those guys around very often."

"Same goes for Pokemar," Thunder replies. "I never actually met one in person." The two trainers meat face to face, exchanging words that are lost to the thunderous roar of the crowd, punctuating their exchange with a handshake before heading to opposite sides of the ring. The excitement is palpable, even through the screen of a TV. A referee starts counting down to the start of the bout. Both trainers stand ready, pokeballs in hand. I mentally tune out the commentators, only really interested in the fight itself.

And then it begins. They throw the balls out towards the center of the field. A shiny Charizard and a Bisharp emerge from the spheres, both taking an offensive stance as the pokeballs boomerang back towards their senders. The Bisharp strikes first, leaping into action and scoring a couple of strikes on the black Charizard before he retaliates with flamethrower. Olivel yells to Bisharp something that is, once again mostly drowned out in the noise. A command, if I had to guess.

Bisharp darts around the arena, staying evasive while Charizard continues to press the attack. Impressively Bisharp manages to land several opportune strikes, but is just as often struck in kind during the attempts. After a while of this back and forth Olivel holds out a pokeball, recalling Bisharp and pulling him back into the ball before slinging another one out. His Espeon is deployed, of whom let's out what I assume is a playful jest to her opponent. Keegan also switches out, Sending in his Aegislash.

"So how does the whole switching out thing work?" Thunder asks.

"A trainer can switch out any of the six pokemon in their team whenever they feel it necessary." Tsunami explains. "However only one pokemon from either side can be active at one time and a deployed pokemon must be on the field for a while before switching out again. At least that's what it seems like. I'd have to ask Jackson."

As they talk the two new pokemon clash. Aegislash takes the offensive, moving about as if wielded by some invisible swordsman. It's an onslaught that decisively brings Espeon down in spite of her best efforts. The first knockout of the match.

Olivel ops to deploy his Ditto next, who quickly copies Aegislash's appearance and takes a defensive stance. The two swords stand at the ready, glaring daggers at each other, daring the other to make a move. The tension is finally broken when Keegan's Aegislash charges. What ensues appears much like a duel between two invisible swordsmen, ending with Keegan's sword pokemon being "disarmed" and sent spinning off into the distance. Keegan quickly recalls him and sends out Flygon. Ditto, already weakened by the previous fight, is swiftly defeated.

"So when one side runs out of pokemon they lose?" Thunder chimes in again.

"Yes and no. In these it is expected that when a trainer sees the fight is lost, they yield to protect their pokemon from further harm. There's no official rule that says one must do that, but unless the match is down to the wire, going until the bitter end tends to reflect poorly on a trainer." Tsunami says.

"How can you tell?"

"We may not be able to understand humanspeak, but their emotions tend to be pretty easy to read." The fight continues with Olivel sending out Ariados. If Tsunami is correct, he'll need to concede defeat very soon, or else have a trick up his sleeve.

"And none of you have an issue with the humans having you guys do this and telling you how to fight?"

"It's not as simple as that." Growlithe adds. "I may not have been in an actual battle before, but I've seen plenty of trainers and seen how they fight. There's a powerful bond of trust there. Trust that their companion will make the right calls."

"Exactly." Tsunami chimes in. "That's the hallmark of a great trainer. When everything works together like a well oiled machine. They become a force to be reckoned with. Something truly special. Plus it's just fun, plain and simple." What he describes reminds me a lot of my relationship with Thunder before the planetary paralysis incident. A well oiled machine. An intense trust with one I consider a dear friend. Maybe that's the key. Being a trainer could help rekindle what we once had. No reason not to try at the very least.

The fight on TV has started to wind down. Ariados managed to land a bite that injected its venom. While Ariados was able to knock Flygon out, he did get taken out before the venom took her down. Olivel is down by one pokemon, one of them already weakened. It's not looking good for him. Keegan sends out Toxitricity and Olivil brings out Bewear. The two start slugging it out. Olivel encourages Bewear to play it cautiously, strike and back off. Play defensively until an opening appears, likely to avoid Toxtricity's own poisonous attacks which would be devastating to their weakened team. And in spite of outmatched odds, Bewear strikes the knock out blow following a series of feints. The crowd cheers, rooting for the underdog in the fight.

Keegan follows up by deploying Lapras, who wastes no time in downing the weakened Bewear. This fight is just about over. But Olivel seems to go for a hail mary and sends out Golisopod. Once again, they opt for a defensive strategy, but this time it's not quite as successful. Both pokemon are getting battered, but it looks like Golisopod may have a slight advantage, using the Leach Life move to keep in the fight. And after a fight of attrition, Lapras finally succumbs.

The crowd roars in excitement once more. Olivel and his team have held their own despite the odds. Of course, two weakened pokemon against Keegan's two mostly unharmed pokemon is no contest. And so, just like Tsumani said, Olivel concedes, bowing to his opponent and recalling Golisopod.

"Aw..." Josh says. "I was rooting for him."

"He came in the underdog against a trainer with far more experience." Jackson explains. "Him holding on for as long as he did speaks volumes for his team's skills."

"But he's waking away a loser. That's no fun."

"It's less about the victory in this case, I think." I add. "Everyone expected a fairly clean sweep. But Olivel and his team showed that he's not to be underestimated. You don't always have to win to be successful."

"Don't have to- what? You're not making any sense. Being successful and winning are the same thing."

"That's not- whatever. Never mind." I turn back to the screen, which has started showing highlights from the fight.

"That's going to be me out there one of these days. Me and my team will show them all who's boss." I crack a subtle smile at his statement. Sounds just like a kid who want's to be a football player when they grow up. Probably a lofty goal, but far be it from me to tell him the odds. Perhaps he'll surpass them, much like Olivel did.

"I should let you know, I'll be out tomorrow. Now that I'm up and about I have some things I need to attend to." I say. Jackson gives me a knowing nod with a glint of concern in his eyes. I don't blame him for being worried. But we need to go back to that facility. Whatever answers there may be to the Mew situation will likely be there. Not to mention the portal to Pokemar. The sooner we close that, the better. I get up from my seat and gesture for Thunder to follow. "I have to finish planning things out before tomorrow, if you'll excuse me. Thanks for the show."

"Anytime." Jackson says as I head back into the guest room. I pull back up to the desk where a rough map of what Growlithe, Thunder and I remember about the base's layout and local geography. Messy and filled with assumptions, sure. But any planning is better than no planning. Let's hope this will be a short in-and-out operation.

Oh, who am I kidding. It's never that easy...