Zach, Alexa and I turned to each other, having formed the kind of fast friendship that resulted from being thrown into a new region with no one you knew around.
"Oh! I'm right next to you," Alexa said cheerfully, showing me her 220 after seeing my 219.
"They did it sequentially," Zach said, showing off his own 218. We walked together to the elevators, waiting impatiently.
"I'm kind of hungry." My stomach growled in support of my statement, and Alexa and Zach agreed.
"How about we get settled into our rooms and then we can grab dinner? We can just spend ten minutes freshening up," Alexa suggested, and I nodded eagerly.
I didn't really have anything to unpack, since everything was in my backpack, so I just washed my face, before releasing Mischief.
"Hey," I said tiredly, rubbing his head. "I'm not sure I can release you in the city, since there's a lot of people right now, and I don't want you to get lost."
Mischief drooped, so I opened my backpack, mixing a pack of his pokemon food with the razz berries. He cheerfully munched on it.
"I promise I'll release you the second I get back, and once we hit the road, you should be out a lot more. Do you wanna stay in here while I'm out or do you want to stay in your ball?" I asked once he finished gulping down his food. He leaned into the ball, and I returned him, before heading out the door.
I saw Zach already leaning against the wall.
"Is there anywhere you want to eat?" Zach asked, with a cute purple pokemon next to him. I recognized it as a toxel. Guess he was an aspiring electric type specialist.
"I saw a battle cafe, but it looked really full," I said. "Do you want to explore the city?"
"Honestly, it's so crowded, and I'm hungry. I wouldn't mind the hotel restaurant," Zach replied, and I nodded.
"Your toxel is so cute." I motioned to the pokemon. "Is it a boy or a girl?"
"A girl," Zach responded proudly, and the toxel preened. "Her name's Cell. Short for Accelerate," he added after a reluctant pause, face turning slightly pink, but Accelerate puffed up even further at the mention of her name. It was clear whose idea the name had been.
"I love that. I can't imagine going by species name. I know a lot of people do it, but it's not my thing."
"Right? It'd get confusing fast."
At that moment, Alexa came out, wearing an entirely new outfit. Following her was a yamper. "Sorry for the wait! Have you guys decided where we're going?"
"We didn't really want to deal with the crowd so we were thinking of just eating at the hotel restaurant," I said, and Alexa nodded understandingly.
"That's cool, I think the restaurant is on the first floor," Alexa replied, and we got into the elevator.
"Are you also getting into electric types?" Zach asked curiously, and I perked up. Alexa shook her head with a small laugh.
"Oh, no! Yellow was just too cute, so I couldn't resist."
She picked her yamper up and it licked her face. It really was cute. Cell protested at no longer being the center of attention, making disgruntled snorts, and Zach soothed it with pats.
"Who's this?"
"She's Cell," Zach replied, and Alexa bends down to rub her head.
"Do you want a yamper, too?" I asked Zach, and he nodded.
"Yeah, they're pretty common in Galar, so it shouldn't be too hard."
We reached our floor and walked out, only to be met with the dismal sight of a fully packed restaurant. We turned to each other with dismayed looks.
"Do you want to get room service?" Alexa asked, and I smiled at her brilliance. I hadn't even thought of that.
"You're a genius." Zach was clearly as relieved as I was.
We walked right back into the elevator and made our way into Zach's room. Like me, he hadn't really unpacked, throwing his jacket onto a chair.
We crowded over the menu, before we all decided to try their signature curry. While waiting for the food, we discussed our plans.
"I mean, there can't be that much variance, right? Since we need to tackle the gyms in order," I pointed out. You had to complete the gym challenges in a set order in Galar, so we were probably going to see each other pretty often throughout this circuit year.
The only people we wouldn't see much of were the veterans, who had access to their full team already, and could just fly from place to place, completely bypassing the grind of travelling. Out of the 150 trainers in this year's challenge, around a third were trainers who already had their full teams, and a fifth had some form of prior training experience, mostly likely through going through the minor gym circuit. Only half were completely new, leaving us at a major disadvantage.
"Do you want to head to Turffield together? Since we all happen to be going the same way," Zach said the last bit somewhat sarcastically, and we all laughingly agreed. It would be nice to have company.
"Yeah, I get that it's better for views but it's so weird that you have to follow this set path. Anyways, the ceremony shouldn't last too long, right? Maybe we can get lunch, check out and then start heading to the mines," Alexa volunteered.
"Honestly, maybe we should skip lunch. I don't know how long the chairman's meeting is going to run, and we're already going to start behind everyone else," I said, not willing to fall behind this early in the competition.
"Yeah, that sounds good. We could always just eat on the road," Zach said. "What do you guys think of this whole coming-to-Galar thing?"
"I was super surprised," I admitted, feeling a bit insecure. "My parents only told me after I got my results."
"My parents told me a week before I did the test, so it's not that different," Zach said. I guess it really was kept secret.
"I was told around then, too," Alexa replied, "but it was kind of weird, since I'd made all these plans with my friends and then suddenly, it's all gone."
"Yeah, I was shocked when picking out my starter," I said, smiling a bit at the thought, and Alexa asked to see my starter. I released Mischief, who floated over to curiously prod at Yellow and Cell.
"This is Mischief. He's pretty nosy," I said teasingly, and they both complimented him.
"Did you guys recognize any of the others who came?" Zach asked, "I didn't."
"No, although Astoria looked really familiar," I said, shaking my head. "Bet she's from Johto."
"She is! Her grandma's that socialite, Madame Muchmoney. Her sister stars on that tv show about the family of breeders. But I don't know anyone besides her and Daisy," Alexa said, and I blinked in surprise. Madame Muchmoney was always in the papers back home, known for her constant and extravagant parties.
"No wonder! Her grandma's always in the paper," I replied, and I could see that Zach had never heard of her in his life.
"I'm kind of disappointed I couldn't try the battle cafe. It'd be nice to get some battling in before the ceremony." Zach had a frown on his face, shaking his head.
"Do you want to battle?" I asked. Mischief wasn't the only one who was nosy. I wanted to get a clear idea of everyone's strength, and this was a great opportunity.
Zach was clearly on the same track, lips widening into a smirk. "You're on! Want to change the stakes? Loser cooks dinner?"
I laughed, feeling even more motivated. I would do anything to avoid cooking.
"Alexa, want to join?" I offered, glancing at the brunette. Alexa shook her head easily. "I'll battle you guys on the road tomorrow."
I shrugged, and motioned for Mischief to go to the center of the room, Zach doing the same with Cell. I wasn't too worried about this battle. I didn't know too much about toxels, but I did know that their move pool was also pretty limited.
Cell also didn't have the benefit of Mischief's outrageous speed or stronger attack, although Cell was definitely much sturdier and would need to be hit several times to be taken down. Mischief's frailer build meant he had to avoid taking a hit at any cost.
I was confident Mischief was dexterous enough to avoid hits, though, since I doubt Cell had gotten much practice in with flying pokemon. Most electric type trainers preferred to train their electric types against ground types, since they could usually rely on their overwhelming speed and range to deal with flying types easily.
"Three, two, one! Begin!" Alexa refereed enthusiastically.
"Dragon Attack!" I yelled out at the same time as Zach's "Growl! Then hit it with nuzzle!"
Mischief proved faster, and easily whipped Cell with his attack, but since Zach only had one pokemon, Cell wasn't recalled. Cell was, however, heavily damaged from the attack. It was probably only still standing thanks to the growl lowering the effectiveness of Mischief's attack.
I could see residual sparks around its cheek, although it hadn't been fast enough to nuzzle Mischief, startled out of the attack from the force of Mischief's body.
"Acid!" Zach was trying to save this, but I wasn't going to let it happen easily.
"Evade the spray, then use Astonish!"
Mischief was fast, managing to avoid almost all of the acid, and only his tail was hit. He let out a screech, which made Cell flinch. One more Dragon Attack would finish it off.
"Dragon Attack!" They were prepared this time, with Cell using nuzzle at the same time. Mischief was paralysed, but it didn't matter, since Cell fell to the ground, too injured to continue.
We both recalled our pokemon, and Zach frowned, before visibly shaking off his frustration to give me a friendly smile.
"Guess I'm doing the cooking tomorrow."
"Appreciate it. Good match, I had a lot of fun. Are you heading to the pokemon center?"
"Nah, I think with some time in the pokeball and a potion tonight, Cell will be fine."
I nodded in understanding, although I doubted Mischief would need a potion, just a paralyze heal.
We finished our dinners and parted ways, exhausted from the commotion of today. I gave my parents a quick call, delighting them with the news that I had travel companions. It was practically suicide to start off alone on a journey in Johto, with its wild terrain, where training was heavily encouraged so that people had a means of protecting themselves. I was fairly certain starting my journey in Galar would have been fine, considering how well managed the routes were, as long as I avoided the Wild Areas.
I tried to write down training strategies to work on tomorrow, but I was probably too tired for any of it to be productive. After fifteen minutes of aimless scribbling, I conceded defeat, heading to my bed. I fell asleep the instant my head hit the pillow.
XXX
The next morning, I blearily got up at six, too tired to fully feel the nerves that I knew would set in. I started getting ready, putting on my uniform, and taming my hair, before feeding Mischief and eating some cereal.
After we're both done, I recalled him, before slinging my backpack over my shoulder. I cast one last mournful look at the luxurious room, knowing it would be a long time before I would stay somewhere this nice again. I saw Zach waiting in the hallway, also decked out in full uniform.
"This is starting to feel familiar," I teased, making Zach laughed.
"Let's give Alexa five more minutes, and then we'll start knocking on her door," Zach replied. Neither of us talked much, too sleepy from the early hour.
Alexa walked out right as we were about to start knocking.
"Sorry, guys," she said, dressed in her own uniform, although we all had a rather tired air. We headed to the lobby, where we quickly checked out and asked to store our bags with the receptionist, running into Will, Blake and Eric. We greeted them, and all of us walked together to the stadium.
We got there with ten minutes to spare and worked on finding a spare official. Alexa managed to flag down a man with a clipboard, and she gestured over to our group. He waved us over, and we filed into a hallway, which lead to a long corridor.
We're told to enter a room to the right, which I realised was a big locker room, full of other uniformed trainers milling around. We found an empty corner, and I immediately slumped against a wall. I had never been a morning person.
After a bit, I suddenly heard an amplified voice, startling me upright.
"Hello, trainers," a man said, holding a megaphone, "The ceremony will begin shortly. The way it works is that there is going to be a short video broadcast, followed by a speech from Chairman Rose. Then, the gym leaders will all come out before all of you will go out onto the field. I will tell you once it's your cue, where you will line up in the tunnels, but until then, you can watch the opening ceremony from the monitors. Once you're out there, please feel free to interact with the audience. Smile, wave, anything appropriate. Thank you."
We all voiced our understanding, before turning our attention to the big screens all over the locker room. They were currently showing advertisements. After a few more commercials, everything went black, and the Galar league symbol took center stage. This was it.
I didn't pay much attention to Chairman Rose's speech, but my eyes were glued when the gym leaders were announced. All of them seemed larger than life on the field, completely comfortable with the spotlight. I'm going to have to battle all of them. I couldn't believe it. Suddenly, I heard "Now!" and everyone was filing out of the locker room. I followed them into the corridor, which now opened out onto a field.
The roar of the crowd shook me to my bones, and I felt extremely small. I wasn't sure what expression I was making, but I forgot to smile or wave, too focused on just walking to the center, where we were all standing in a big group. Finally, the chairman and gym leaders lit a fire, and we all stood there for a while before we were allowed to leave.
"That was crazy," Alexa said, grinning wildly, and I tried to smile in response, still feeling shocked.
"I'm not sure how I'm going to do in a live battle on stage," I admitted shakily, and Zach frowned at me in concern.
"You could just drown the crowd out?" he offered, sounding uncertain, "as long as you win your battles, it doesn't really matter if you interact with the crowd or not."
"Yeah, thanks, Zach," I said, smiling appreciatively. We tried to locate Sam in the lobby, with difficulty. I was the one to finally spot him and we squeezed our way through. Once we got there, we saw that everyone else was already there. A reverse to yesterday. A severe looking woman stood next to Sam.
"Hey, guys! Great job out there," Sam said, as if we'd done anything besides walk on a field, before turning gesturing to the imposing woman. "So, this is Oleana, the chairman's secretary. She'll be taking you to meet with Chairman Rose. You're in good hands. Good luck on your journey and have fun! I'll be rooting for all of you!"
We said our final goodbyes, before turning our attention to Oleana. I remembered her, and had to try to hide my dislike. This was going to be hard.
"Hello," she said in a detached manner, jarringly different from Sam. "Please follow me."
We exchanged looks at her abrupt manner but did as directed. She led us through a complicated maze of hallways before we ended up in front of an elevator. We took a silent trip up, where she then opened a door for us. Inside was a large office, the chairman sat behind an official looking desk.
He stood up in greeting, his entire mannerism nothing short of professional. It would have been intimidating if I didn't know how idiotic he was. As things stood, I was just confused why a guy in charge of running the nation didn't have better things to do.
"Trainers," he said, as we all stood in front of him like we were about to get lectured by the principal. "I want to extend to you all a very warm welcome to Galar. The first year of a trainer's journey is incredibly important, so on behalf of the Galar league, I'd like to say thank you for choosing our region for such a formative year. I am excited for all the possibilities from our increased flow of communication, travel, and trade with the Indigo league, and hope that you all will be able to take back home with you cherished memories and friendships."
Here he paused, but I didn't know if I was supposed to say anything, or even what to say. Before anyone could chime in, he suddenly started speaking again.
"I will be following your journeys and cannot wait to see what you will achieve. Of course, there will be hard moments, but what's important is what you take away from them. Good luck to all of you, and I hope to see you at the Champion's Cup."
I fidgeted, not sure how to break the award silence. Daisy, bravely, spoke up.
"Thank you, Chairman," she said, and we all followed suit in a chorus. He nodded at us in dismissal, and we took it as our cue to leave, filing out eagerly.
Once out, our group looked at each other. We wished each other good luck, before breaking off. Zach, Alexa and I went back to the hotel to grab our bags and change out of our uniforms, before heading to route 3.
AN: Our adventure is finally underway. Honestly, I think Galar has probably the most excessive opening sequence. Other regions, its a battle with your rival, maybe viewing a match on tv or something, and off you go. I added in the battle with Zach to hopefully spice things up and to kind of give you an idea of where our protagonist is in terms of strength.
