"Hey Kiddo! How are you doing?" Comes a call from Ryan on the other side of the phone

He smiles broadly as usual, he looks like he out in the wilderness currently, the backdrop is a smattering of tree and rock faces

"I'm doing great, I wanted to show you this" I say picking up my small little trophy from my Whirl Cup win

"You won! Thats amazing, I've been waiting for Charles to tell me how you got on!"

"Yeah, it only little but its a start"

"It's not little at all! This is a huge milestone Dustin, that must have bumped your rank up a huge amount too!"

"About that, I haven't looked yet, I'm a little nervous too" I say feeling a swell of nerves overtake me

"Nervous? In what way?" He question pausing momentarily on his hike

"Like, uh well its hard to describe"

"Okay, is it a hot feeling or a cold feeling?"

"Uh hot I guess, my body kind of rushes when I think about it"

"About what, that your rank not be that high?"

"No, uh the opposite"

"Okay, so is it your scared to take on people higher on the ladder"

"I suppose" I say my voice trailing off

"Oh I know that tone" He says with a laugh

"What do you mean?"

"You sound a lot like me when I was going through Johto"

"Yeah but you won the Johto league"

"Yeah I did, but didn't stop me being hella nervous before I did"

"I see" I say rubbing my forehead

"Kiddo you're overthinking it, you just focus on yourself, you and your team are doing great, you've nothing to be nervous about"

"But…"

"But what?" He asks

"What if I let you down, or Grandma or anyone. Everyone worked so hard for me to get even here, it just a lot of pressure"

"Pressures like the wind, if you let it control you it will push you off course"

"Huh?"

He chuckles

"Sorry for the analogies, it was how I was taught to deal with stuff. The pressure you're feeling though comes from inside you not the outside. You think about how badly everyone will feel if you don't win every match and tournament but really Dustin, we all just want you to grow into a great trainer. So that pressure, treat it like the wind let it push you forward. You'll figure the right way to go, even if you do feel like your going in circles at times"

I smile and nod

"Thanks Ryan"

"I'm glad you called actually, are you on the way back to Olivine now?"

"Uh yeah we are due to dock in about thirty minutes"

"Excellent! I'm going to send you a frontier pass, I want you to head there, I have someone who wants to meet you"

"Oh right okay"

The boat boards at the Olivine harbour, myself and Grandma departs from the boat alongside Charles who is arranging for transport back to Kanto for Grandma. I hand her my whirl cup trophy and ask her to take it back to the house as it wouldn't be easy travelling around with it. She hugs me hard and congratulates me again on my journey, she asks me to keep in touch and give her a call once I get to Blackthorn City. I agree and wave them off as they leave before heading off to the west towards the old Battle Frontier, originally they had built a complex the same as the Sinnoh Battle Frontier, then the frontier brain would spend 6 months in Sinnoh and 6 motnhs in Johto. It was then decided that each branch would get there own team of brains. However the Johto version was then reworked by the battle tower tycoon who had studied under Palmer after it had been left vacant for 6 months

"Uh hi I've been asked to come here, my names Dustin" I say to the receptionist

"Oh yes we've been waiting for you, we got the call from Ryan. We will call the manager to come meet you"

"Oh right okay"

I sit around in the foyer, I see trainers moving in and out of the complex, there a row of prize counter where people are swapping out the hard earned BP for items to use in battle. Eventually there is a loud drum of excitement.

"Look its the battle master!"

"Is he coming to challenge someone"

I look up to see a tall man, he has dark brown hair and hazel eyes. He wears a long black trench coat with a black shirt underneath

"Would you be Dustin?" come a gruff voice

"Uh yes" I stammer

He laughs hard in a similar way to Ryan

"Nice too meet you finally kid, Ryan told me a lot about you" He says patting my shoulder, his hand are hard and powerful, I feel myself almost teetering over

"Oh sorry about that bud, I should probably introduce myself, the names Tom"

"Oh no way!" I shout

Tom was the last of the four trainers to head off on the same day as Ryan, Callum and Joe. He was the trainer to set off with a Squirtle from Professor Oaks lab. He had made it to the semi finals before losing leaving only Ryan and Callum in the competition. Since then he had journeyed to the Sinnoh region and taken on their league challenge, he was successful winning the whole league. He was successful in his Elite Four challenge too before losing out in the hall of fame match against Cynthia. However he had been the closest person to entering the hall of fame taking Cynthia all the way to her trusted Garchomp, in the end he didn't have enough to push through but he earned a lot of recognition worldwide. It was at this time he was regarded as the strongest out of the four friends however he would eventually be taken over by Callum and then Ryan.

"Welcome to the Battle Complex young man" He says with a wide smile

"Uh thank you but I don't really know what this is?"

"Ryan didn't fill you in on my little pet project how dare he! Well follow me and I'll show you"

He waves me to follow him, I gulp and follow behind. He gets lots of stares as he works his way up to the large building in the centre of the grounds. He pushes open the door ans ushers me inside, he wanders up to the counter and is greeted by the receptionist who smile at him, he hands him a card which he scans opening up the battle court behind the desk, he beckons me to follow which I dutifully do

"So young man this is what I call the Battle Complex"

The field is wide and surrounded on each side with a wall similar to that from the Galar stadiums which block attacks

"Oh wow this is cool"

"So have you heard of the battle frontier?"

"Uh yeah there one in Hoenn, Kanto and Sinnoh isn't there?"

"Correct, now have you heard of the Battle Maison?"

"Uh no"

"Not to worry its similar to the battle towers in the frontiers, what about the Battle Tree in Alola or the Battle Tower in Galar?"

I shake my head

"Okay, well each region generally has a battle facility where trainers can test out there abilities against other without having to gain 8 badges or travel the continents. There place where trainer who have a 9 to 5 job can come on weekends and battle to there hearts content"

"However Johto didn't have anything, they did have a Battle Frontier a few years ago but it was discontinued leaving this huge plot of land with no one using it. I studied under Palmer the Tower Tycoon in Sinnoh, he head p the battle frontiers alongside Brandon from the Hoenn/Kanto branch. I ask him whether he would be willing to let me convert this place into my idea for a different kind of battle facility"

"What is the idea behind this place?"

"So, rather than having a million and one different facilities why not put them under one roof? You can do random battles, rental teams, battle arena battle the lot. We also invite lots of famous trainers from our the globe to battle out against each other and member of the public. If you win a symbol in each of the categories you get to take on me, the battle master"

"Oh I gotcha, that's cool"

His eyes light up

"I'm glad you think so, so I wanna invite you Dustin to take me on in a random battle"

I baulk slightly

"A random battle?"

"Yep! We will keep in basic for today just a one v one, you'll be assigned a random Pokemon from our active roster today and I'll be assigned one too"

"What do you mean active bank?"

"So basically, there lots of trainers out there that have Pokemon sat around in ranches or Poke Pelagos training against each other but aren't battle fit, so by having your Pokemon registered to the active bank they can be used in these facilities"

"Oh yeah I remember Daisy and Ryan mentioning that, okay well lets do it"

He smiles and nods before wandering to the other side of the battle court, as we end up on our side a small tube emerges from the floor, a Pokeball is flung up and I catch it as Tom does the same

We both throw out our newly aquired Pokemon and they burst onto the field. In fron of me is the huge hulking figure of Steelix while in front of Tom is the equally huge Gyarados.

"Battle of the two titan its looks like" Tom shouts with a chuckles

"Battle begin!" Comes a robotic voice

"Gyarados, show them the power of the sea! Let's start with Dragon Dance!"

"Steelix, stand your ground! Use Iron Tail to strike hard and fast!

Gyarados begins to dance with fierce determination, using Dragon Dance to enhance its speed and strength. Steelix charges forward, its tail glowing with steel energy, and strikes Gyarados with Iron Tail, dealing significant damage.

"Gyarados, don't let up! Hit Steelix with a powerful Waterfall!

"Steelix, brace yourself and retaliate with Stone Edge!"

Gyarados summons a massive wave, crashing down on Steelix with Waterfall, dealing considerable damage. Steelix responds swiftly, hurling sharp rocks with Stone Edge, hitting Gyarados with remarkable accuracy.

"Gyarados, use Dragon Pulse!"

"Steelix, let's counter with Earthquake and shake the ground beneath Gyarados!"

Gyarados gathers energy, unleashing a powerful Dragon Pulse that strikes Steelix with overwhelming force. Steelix retaliates with Earthquake, causing the ground to tremble violently, but Gyarados manages to stay steady and endure the impact.

"Damn it, I was trying to shake things so it would miss its target" I mumble

"Good thoughts though I like it, using what you have to work with, not many young trainers would think to do that

"Well thank you

"You need more than just goo thinking though, Gyarados, finish it off with another Waterfall attack!"

"Steelix, we're not done yet! Counter with Iron Tail once more!"

Gyarados charges forward, crashing into Steelix with another devastating Waterfall, wearing down its stamina. Despite its fatigue, Steelix retaliates with another Iron Tail, refusing to yield to Gyarados's onslaught, in the end however it is too much and the hulking steel snake falls to its back defeated unable to go on

"Gyarados, you've done well!" Tom shouts returning the water type

"I'm sorry Steelix, I couldn't get the win with you, you're really strong" I say patting it

It groan appreciatively before I return it and back down the tube

"I think I got lucky there, I'm fairly certain that was Clair Gyarados while you had Byrons Steelix, I had the type advantage. You talented though I can see why Ryan has such a close eye on you"

"Uh well thank you sir, it was a pleasure to battle against you"

"Ew no sir thanks, makes me feel old just Tom please"

I laugh

"Whats funny?"

"You Ryan and Joe are all very alike you know"

He laughs

"Oh eah we spent too much time together as kids, Callum the serious one but even he has his moments. Its a shame actually you just missed Callum he was here two days ago"

"No way! Oh I would have liked to got a chance to battle against him"

"You'll get your chance kiddo I'm sure, plus Ryan and Callum have an exhibition match coming up soon, I'm sure you will be on the invite list"

"You think?"

"Of course! You're his little protege, plus Callum thinks highly off you too. Joe does as a matter of fact"

"Well it good to here people think I'm good"

He ruffles my hair

"Well when your big and famous make sure you pop down here to the Battle Complex, see if you can beat me next time"

"I will for sure"

I say my goodbyes to Tom, he was really friendly he even made sure I got a luxury room at the Olivine Pokecentre and he had booked me in for tomorrow to battle against Jasmine so I could get my next badge. He waved me off, it was nice too now have met all four of them. Tom and Joe were defiantly a lot more like Ryan than Callum. I think about them all goofing around as kid for some reason, I can imagine Ryan, Tom and Joe getting into lots of silly situation with Callum coming along to bail them out. I get to the centre quickly and eat some food in the canteen, while there I look up Tom trainer profile.

Trainer Profile: Tom, the Battle Master

Name: Tom

Occupation: Battle Master

Location: Olivine City, Johto

Appearance:** Tom is a formidable figure, standing tall with a commanding presence. He has a sturdy build and sharp features that exude confidence. His dark hair is neatly trimmed, and his eyes gleam with determination. Tom typically wears a sleek black battle outfit adorned with the emblem of the Battle Complex, signifying his position as the Battle Master.

Personality: Tom is a seasoned and experienced trainer who possesses a wealth of knowledge about Pokemon battles. He is known for his calm and composed demeanour, even in the heat of intense battles. Tom values strategy and precision, often analysing his opponent's moves with a keen eye. Despite his competitive nature, he is always gracious in victory and humble in defeat. He takes great pride in mentoring aspiring trainers and helping them hone their skills.

Background: Tom's journey as a Pokemon trainer began in Pallet Town where he received his first partner Pokemon, a Squirtle, from Professor Oak. Together, they embarked on a journey to master the art of Pokemon battles. Through hard work and dedication, Squirtle evolved into a powerful Blastoise, solidifying their bond as trainer and Pokemon. Tom honed his battling skills by challenging trainers from all over Johto and beyond, eventually earning the title of Battle Master at the prestigious Battle Complex in Olivine City.

Goals: As the Battle Master of Olivine City's Battle Complex, Tom's primary goal is to uphold the honour and tradition of competitive Pokemon battles. He aims to inspire and challenge trainers to reach their full potential by providing them with opportunities to test their skills in the arena. Tom hopes to continue honing his own skills and mastering new battle strategies while serving as a mentor and role model for aspiring trainers in Johto and beyond.

"Wow, they all have their set goals. Joe wants to be a field professor, Callum the champion of Kanto, Tom want to set up the Complex to be the best it can be and Ryan is well Ryan"

I look out of the sea which moves softly up the beach and retreats back as quick

"I wonder what I will be like when I reach my goal"