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Private/Closed Fairwind Key Master Tournament

It was a dark night, the moon was hidden behind the clouds and the only light that Rein and Flynn had to travel by was that being emitted from Lunara, Rein’s Umbreon companion, as her yellow rings pulsated dimly in the darkness of Route 42. Rein stretched and yawned as they traveled back toward Ecruteak City. “Shouldn’t we just make camp for the night?” Flynn asked, his red hair was standing on end, but Rein couldn’t see that particular detail in the darkness.

“I really don’t feel like sleeping on the ground, come on, we’ll be home before you know it.” Rein replied, quickening his pace a bit.

“But I can’t even see where we’re going? How can you be so calm in the pitch black? Don’t you have a flashlight or something at least?” Flynn whined. In response, Lunara growled indignantly. “Sorry, Lulu, I think you’re doing great, but Rein knows how much I hate traveling in the dark!” He said pointedly in Rein’s direction.

“Well next time I just won’t bring you for training, you big chicken,” Rein laughed, ruffling Flynn’s hair, causing his blue headband to shift and fall over his face.

“Watch it!” Flynn cleared his throat, ducking away from Rein’s hand and pulling his headband back up, pushing his hair to stand up in messy spikes again. “Mount Mortar is barely worth training at anyway,” the young man huffed, “when are we going to finally go to Kalos and challenge the league? We’ve been stuck in Johto for too long, you getting too old for adventure or something?”

It was true that Rein was in his twenties now, having just celebrated his twenty-second birthday this year. He had spent his winnings from the Pokémon leagues he had competed in to buy a house for himself, Flynn, and Lexi in Ecruteak. “We’ll go soon,” he finally sighed, “I told Morty I would help out around the gym for a bit, but I’ll see how much longer he needs me, we could probably go in the new year.”

“We could go now, you know Morty doesn’t need your help, right? The guy is a gym leader. He already told you not to let helping at the gym interfere with anything you’ve got planned.”

The truth was, Morty had been a big help to Rein when things were at their worst; when he first came to Johto, he was searching for his sister, Alice, and still running from Team Rocket. More specifically, a Team Rocket higher up from Saffron City in Kanto names Richard. Even though things with Team Rocket were long past, and Richard had been dealt with years ago, the scars from that ordeal were only just beginning to heal for Rein. He felt safe when he was in Ecruteak, when he was training with Morty, but he knew Flynn was right; sooner or later he would have to move on.

Letter came for you today.” Rein jumped as the words formed in his mind. “Didn’t want to bug you while you were training.

“Lexi, I hate when you do that.” Rein said aloud, Flynn chuckled a bit, knowing exactly what had happened. Lexi was a psychic, and when partnered with her Abra she had far reaching telepathy, along with plenty of other tricks. One of her favorite pastimes was surprising Flynn and Rein with conversations in their head without prior warning. “What kind of letter?”

Dunno, but it’s got a league stamp on it. No sender name or address though.” Came the reply. “I’ll just show you.”

There was a loud whooshing sound as suddenly Lexi was standing in front of them on the route. “Hocus use flash.” Suddenly the Abra in her backpack began to emit a bright purple light of psychic origin in the area around him. Lexi reaches out her hand and gave Rein the envelope she had teleported from home to give him.

“Show off, you could have just waited until we got home.” Rein smirked, taking the letter from Lexi and ripping open the envelope. Two items were inside, a red card embossed with the words you’re invited and a letter. Rein began to read.

Dear Mr. Vanguarde, I hope this letter finds you in good health. I am hosting a tournament on the island of Fairwind Key; what is unique to this tournament is that the contestants will be comprised of former Pokémon League champions and those who placed within a certain threshold. As you placed third in the Johto League and were named Champion of the Kanto League, plus a glowing recommendation from Ecruteak City’s gym leader, Morty, I am happy to extend to you an invitation to the Fairwind Key Master Tournament! I look forward to seeing how far you can go against other champions. The tournament will begin on the first of the month, until then, I wish you good health and good luck.

Simon Whitaker

“Well?” Flynn said after a few moments, once he could tell Rein had finished reading the letter.

“It’s an invitation to a tournament.” Rein said raising an eyebrow, “against former champions of the different Pokémon Leagues.”

“So you’re going to go, right?” Lexi asked, smirking.

“You mean you aren’t just going to read my mind?” Rein smiled as he turned to Lunara, “well, partner, what do you think?” Lunara purred happily in response, rubbing up against his leg. “I guess, since Morty vouched for me and everything, I should go.”

“You deserve it, Rein,” Flynn said, “you won the Kanto League, Morty vouching for you was just extra.”

“He’s right, not to mention I know you already decided to go, as soon as you read the letter you got excited about the tournament.” Lexi punched him on the arm, “you need to be more honest with your feelings.”

“Yeah, yeah,” he waved the statement away, “Flynn, Lexi, when I get back we will go to Kalos and challenge the league.” He smiled at Flynn, then narrowed his eyes at him, “you better train with Morty while I’m gone, I don’t want you to not qualify for the League because you got lazy.”

Flynn gasped and dramatically gestured toward himself, “lazy!? Me!? I resent that statement.”

“It’s true though, even you think you’re lazy.” Lexi stuck her tongue out at Flynn, then turned to Rein, “you want us to teleport you to Olivine to catch a boat?”

“Nah, take Flynn home, I’ll just have Napalm fly me. I’ve already got my bag,” he said gesturing to his backpack, already packed with extra clothes just in case he needed them, “plus, it’ll give me some time to plan some strategy.” Rein reached down to his belt and grabbed a Pokéball, he tossed it high into the air where it cracked open and the red light formed the shape of a Charizard, Napalm roared and lowered himself, waiting for Rein to climb aboard.

“Take care of yourself, we’ll see you after you win that tournament!” Flynn gave Rein a high five.

Lexi came up and gave Rein a hug, “good luck, be safe. I know you’ll do great.” She walked over and put her hand on Flynn’s shoulder, “see you soon.”

After they said their goodbyes Lexi and Flynn teleported home. Rein smiled and climbed aboard Napalm and took off for Olivine City.

—————————————————-

After a couple of days and a fairly uneventful voyage, the words Rein had been waiting for finally sounded over the PA system, “ladies and gentlemen, we will be pulling into port at Fairwind Key in approximately thirty minutes, please have all your belongings together and be ready to disembark.”

Rein quickly chose an outfit, a black, short-sleeved button down shirt with green vine designs and dark blue skinny jeans tucked into a pair of black leather boots. He quickly ran a brush through his shaggy black hair, grabbed some pomade and styled it into messy-bed-head look, making a mental note to touch up the green highlights when he got home, they were beginning to fade. He grabbed his C-gear and strapped it to his wrist, the newest generation was sleek and aesthetically pleasing, functioning as a phone, instant-messaging device and web browser all-in-one. Grabbing his backpack and double checking that he hadn’t forgotten anything in the room, he headed out to the deck to catch a view of the island and wait to disembark.

Even from afar, Fairwind Key was impressive, from here Rein could see the center of the island was a large city, with buildings rivaling even those in Castelia City in Unova, from what Rein had seen online at least. The center of the city had a large spire-like building with a blinking red light at the top that would undoubtedly be clearly visible from anywhere on the island. The landmass was more than just a single city, however, and he could see smaller towns spread out on the island. He bent over and scooped Lunara up into his arms, letting her get a look at the island as well.

The ship sailed into the port, the shape of the island allowed for the ship to pull right up to a dock in the large city on the island. The port was decorated for the arrival of the masters and there was a huge banner hanging over the main road leading into the city that said: Welcome Masters!

The ship docked and the passengers began filing off, at the bottom of the ramp there were tables being staffed by tournament workers, checking in the people there to compete. Rein approached the table with Lunara by his side, he reached into his pocket and produced the red invitation, having watched the person ahead of him do the same.

“Name.” The woman at the table said with a smile, a small laptop opened in front of her. She had large, friendly eyes and poofy blonde hair, she was bundled up in a jacket against the brisk morning air.

“Rein Vanguarde,” Rein answered with a smirk, placing his invitation down in front of her as he did.

“Ok, mister Vanguarde, let me get you your competitor badge here,” she said as she clacked away on the keyboard. After a few keystrokes she grabbed an ID card and inserted it into a slot on the laptop, a few more keystrokes and the card was ejected, Rein’s picture from his trainer ID and name printed neatly on the card above a fancy, embossed COMPETITOR descriptor. The woman set it down along with a guidebook of the city. “All competitors are staying at the Gilded Lilligant, Fairwind Key’s exclusive five star hotel, courtesy of Mister Whitaker. Please show your ID badge to the front desk at the hotel and collect your room key, there will be a presentation in the hotel’s main ballroom at eight o’ clock tonight. Until then, please enjoy the hospitality that Fairwind City has to offer!”

Rein collected his new ID badge and gave the woman a wave, “thank you, ma’am. C’mon, Lunara, let’s go get settled in.”

It wasn’t difficult to find the Gilded Lilligant, it was on the east side of the city, according to the map in Rein’s new guidebook. While he walked there, There were no cars on the island that Rein could see, and the inhabitants he saw seemed to mainly walk or ride Pokémon to get around, he passed multiple restaurants that smelled amazing, causing his stomach to rumble. He also passed designer clothing stores, tourist shops, spas, and many other things that one would normally find in a resort city. One thing that Rein noticed immediately, however, was something that wasn’t a common sight in cities like this, there were Pokémon battle arenas all over the city: painted in the streets, carved into the ground in parks, and fenced into otherwise empty lots beside buildings. Also, according to the guidebook, there was a League Certified stadium in the center of the city, where the spire climbed into the sky.

“Whoa,” he breathed as he approached the Gilded Lilligant, “they weren’t kidding when they said this place was five stars,” he said to Lunara as they walked up to the entrance, the both admired the fifteen foot tall, golden Lilligant statue in the center of a black marble fountain with a geyser of water spraying out of its flower, designed in such a way that it would refract light and make a rainbow above the Lilligant’s head at any time of the day. The building itself seemed to be made out of some sort of polished black stone with vibrant white grout lines.

Rein and Lunara exchanged glances and proceeded inside, they weren’t the first contestants to arrive, the lobby was abuzz with activity as trainers checked in, human and Pokémon bellhops ran luggage carts to and fro, and groups of people littered the extravagant couches and armchairs dotted around the entry. The path from the door to the front desk was lined with black marble columns and a large crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling. Rein whistled as he took a look around at all the different trainers, certain he saw more than a couple gym leaders from every region in the various crowds.

Adjusting his backpack on his shoulder, suddenly feeling that he was both underpacked and underdressed, he walked up and joined the queue for check-in. He glanced at his C-gear and noted that it was only noon, plenty of time before the assembly in the hotel’s ballroom. “After we get our room key and check out the digs, let’s go grab some food.” Rein smiled at his companion, “I may go to one of those clothing stores later and buy a suit…” he mused, “I didn’t think to go home and pack anything fancy.”
 

Mr.RMA

Magearna before it was cool
In a dimly-lit corner of a quiet Unovan Police Station nestled away in the port city of Driftveil, a near-despondent police officer was sorting through a small pile of files on his desk, lazily checking off boxes and signing his name on the designated lines as instructed. Incident reports, interviews, accidents and the like, everything that day needed to get written up to the letter. He wasn’t supposed to be clocking in too much overtime, but, if he didn’t, the pile would just be that much bigger tomorrow, so, he was going to be burning the candle at both ends tonight.

It was tough, going back to the normal swing of things after so much excitement had come and gone. Such was the life of a cop though, it wasn’t all action and suspense, pursuits and standoffs… No, much of it was just patrolling and paperwork, which, Officer Wayland Sharpe supposed was technically a good thing… In fact, no… it was definitely a good thing to not be fearing for one’s own life or that of others for the majority of their time on the job… but that didn’t alleviate the boredom he’d felt ever since his undercover mission came to an end. He’d simply gotten used to the tense nature of deception and espionage, and now he was back to just being himself, patrolling streets that had seen a drastic decline in criminal activity, only truly finding any consistent spark when he was running his Pokemon team through their training regimens after his shift was over.

It felt morbidly selfish of him to think this way… He’d pursued this job because of the gross injustice he’d been a victim of all those years ago, in some attempt to take the initiative and stop such a thing from ever happening to anyone else. He should’ve been happy that things were mostly uneventful, it meant he was doing his part in fulfilling that lofty goal of his… yet that feeling remained, and he wished it could stop bothering him so much.

“Should’ve tried for the night shift… ‘least I could’ve gotten a few battles in with the trainers out past curfew…” he muttered before hearing the faint footsteps of a coworker approaching and watching a single envelope fall on top of his remaining workload.

“Sharpe, this just came in for you, fella at the front desk said it was urgent,” the fellow officer said before swiftly returning to his own business.

“Urgent letter…” Wayland thought aloud as he observed the envelope, lacking any markings on it of any sort, not even the name of the person it was supposedly addressed to, a completely blank package. Opening it, he found another envelope waiting inside, similarly unmarked, but… attached to it was a note in a strange sort of scrambled code… or at least, it was strange to most people who might have seen the garbled mess, but Wayland was a bit more familiar with it.

“Oh boy…” he grumbled as he turned on his C-Gear and activated a very specific scanning application, running it along the scrambled code, which soon showed up in a more decipherable message on his screen.

Call this number immediately…

As the number showed up, he didn’t delay in dialing it. The receiver immediately picked up, and where there usually was the face of the person taking the call, there was instead a simple picture of a minimalistic golden Pokeball… a commonly used logo of the International Police.

“Evening, Officer. We were expecting your call, we appreciate you following your instructions,” the person on the other end spoke, clearly speaking through a voice changer to maintain anonymity.

“I know better than to keep you guys waiting… Question is, what’s this all about? You fellas really need outside help again so soon?”

“Contrary to what some may think, Officer, this is a very big world we live in, and we only have so many operatives. Fact of the matter is, you’ve done one job for us, and you did it well. We have every right to request your services for any further missions that could put your talents to use.” Boy, for people who apparently needed his help, they sure weren’t the sort to be humble about it.

“With all due respect, I didn’t sign any contract saying anything like that, I work for the Unovan Police, okay? Don’t try to hold anything over my head,” Wayland attempted to argue, but he could already tell they were going to throw back some kind of BS retort that he couldn’t counter…

“The Unovan Police have to answer to us in the case of an incident involving international repercussions. This is one of those cases, Officer, so as inconvenient as you may find it, as of this moment you are once more under our jurisdiction.”

Yep… there it was… Well… this was his punishment for feeling bored, karma was acting quickly these days.

“…Just tell me what you need me to do then…”

“That’s the spirit. Listen closely; A major invitational tournament is about to take place on the island of Fairwind Key. We have arranged an invitation for you to participate. Did you receive the second envelope?”

“Yeah… it’s right here… but… wait, you’ve gotta be kidding me… You want me to partake in a tournament? That’s the big mission? Forgive me if I don’t quite understand the direness of such a task.”

“Let me assure you this isn’t just some run-of-the-mill tournament, our sources have it that the benefactor and host of this tournament has managed to rope in a venerable who’s who of some of the greatest trainers the world over, the vast majority of which have either won a league championship, or at the very least went far in the standings. These are the best of the best, all convening into one location for the same reason…”

Wayland quietly leaned back in his chair and said nothing for a few moments before taking a deep breath in thought. “…And I take it you suspect some kind of foul play from this host.”

“Potentially… but that is only one of a number of risks that could transpire. Assuming this man is completely innocent and merely wishes to have a grand spectacle of battles for the sake of profiting off the attention it’ll bring to his location, there are plentiful criminals that would waste no time converging on an island with inevitably some of the most valuable trained Pokemon on the planet… and considering just how massive the invite list seems to be, any one of them could even have one of their own as a participant.”

It seemed somewhat preposterous that a collective of elite trainers couldn’t mop the floor with the average syndicate’s attack force, even with a mole among the contestants, but then again that was assuming they played on an even field… and that was naturally the last thing any criminal team would agree to. Perhaps then there was some merit to such a concern…

“So you managed to get me signed up for this shindig… despite the fact that I’ve never participated in a single tournament before, let alone finished in a top ranking. What if I get blown out of this thing early? I’m sure you’ve got other saps to work your missions for you, and I’ll bet some of ‘em actually do this training thing full-time. What’re you doing getting a no-name involved?” He asked, legitimately curious.

“You have 10 badges, both you and your Pokemon have detained a laundry-list of hostiles, many of which were almost certainly using lethal force, and you brought down that gang in Fuchsia city almost single-handedly… In our eyes that’s a little more reliable than making a deep run in a League championship. We trust you’ll keep yourself in the running, and besides… a supposed ‘no-name’ won’t likely be getting much attention at the start of things, which you should work to your advantage.”

Perhaps they meant all that, but Wayland couldn’t help but presume that was all just the roundabout way of saying ‘no one will recognize you.’ It was all making that much more sense now as to why they made him keep quiet about his involvement in the Fuchsia sting.

“Am I at least gonna get some kind of compensation for this job?”

“You’re going to an island paradise to participate in a massive invitational to compete with some of the best and brightest trainers on the planet free of charge… all with your usual pay. All we’re asking is for you to keep an eye out. We’d say that’s more than appropriate compensation in itself, Officer.” Okay, they made a decent point when they put it that way…

“…Alright then… guess that shuts me up…” he muttered.

“Excellent. You’ll find all the details in the invitation. You’d best prepare your things this evening, the departure date is coming up rather quickly. We’ll be in touch.”

“Yeah, yeah…” Wayland said as he already went back to hastily finish his paperwork for the evening.

“As you know, the number you received will be null and void as soon as this call is terminated.”

“Yeah, I know the routine.”

“Have a pleasant trip, Officer.”

---

The announcement that the ship was soon going to dock at Fairwind was music to Wayland’s ears. All this time at sea, and he was just about to run out of the precious motion-sickness pills that kept him from spending the whole trip vomiting off the deck. He was never one for cruises… Large ships especially never sat well with him, but he didn’t really have a choice in the matter.

He made sure all his stuff was in order, dressed in the usual casual wear he took on when he wasn’t on the clock, which made for decent undercover clothing as well. His black and grey flannel shirt was just large enough on him to cover the police belt he wore underneath it, strapped to a pair of black shorts and keeping most of the appliances safely away from prying eyes… minus the nightstick, but, hey, almost every high-ranking trainer had some kind gimmick these days, and it usually blended with the attire anyway.

He didn’t really bother to get a good look at the place until they were already at the port and everyone was making their way off the boat, but he couldn’t deny… the place looked pretty nice. Now, he’d done a lot of patrols in Castelia, so the massive buildings didn’t exactly capture him, but the gargantuan spire certainly did the trick… Furthermore, there did appear to be a rather festive welcoming party for all those disembarking, which was a pleasant thing to encounter, no doubt. In a way it felt like he’d jumped dimensions and landed in the reality where he actually succeeded in his training ambitions from the start…

Wayland took out his invitation as he approached the least crowded table, and upon his turn coming up, he was asked for his name, and he gingerly gave the one that had been written down.

“Wayland Pirozzi, Ma’am.” Not the most secretive of identities… Pirozzi was his mother’s maiden name for that matter… but apparently Interpol saw this as a much lower risk compared to infiltrating a crime racket.

“Okay then, Mr. Pirozzi, let me just get your badge set up…” she said, and in a matter of moments he had his Competitor’s Identification handed to him. He was then directed to the hotel everyone would be lodging in… and talk about the lap of luxury… This was the kind of place that would cost him a year’s salary, at least, and he was going to be staying here free of charge… Okay, the point of this being the reward in itself was becoming all the clearer.

The line for check-in was already looking to be excruciatingly long, so Wayland wasted no time situating himself in said line before it could get any worse. It was all starting to dawn on him just how big a deal this whole tournament really was. No doubt he’d passed by at least a half-dozen big names just making it to the lobby, and he was soon going to be competing with the lot of them. He was starting to feel just a bit woozy, and he couldn’t blame seasickness for this one.
 
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Dwayna DragonFire

2014 Little Cup Champion
The letter came as little surprise to Ame Wyxm, a woman that had placed in the quarterfinals or higher in a good number of tournaments. Usually the ones that she went to seemed a lot more official than whatever the letter was proposing, even despite the league seal. It was another pretentious, uppity rich person that wanted their own personal spectacle so that they could make enormous profit. Adjusting her monocle and sipping some tea at her home, she was surprised that she didn't just crumple it up and throw it in the garbage.

It's been a while, said a familiar voice pressing against her conscience, a voice that was not her own. Ame looked up from the letter with her one good eye to the dark form that sat on the other side of the table. Charles the Charizard, her most stalwart and loyal companion, was always eager to pick up a challenge; and used their connection to fluidly speak to his trainer often. Besides, this 'Simon Whitaker' will more than likely be covering all the expenses.

"We're not exactly lacking in the money department," Ame replied, looking thoughtful. "However..." A familiar feeling swept over her, one she knew better than to think twice about. Chills went down her spine as she held onto the piece of parchment, and her apathy for the event quickly morphed to concern. Of course, when it came to pretentious rich people, that wasn't really a new thing... It was the heaviness of the feeling, like she was breathing in a thick fog.

Something isn't quite right, is it? The Fire type asked, to which the human woman looked only mildly surprised. Having psychic powers as she did, they would not only read her close friends thoughts, but sometimes project her own thoughts outwards to her close friends. Ame nodded her confirmation to Charles, sharing a look that he knew quite well. His mistress knew that other humans didn't necessarily have her unique insight, so that meant that said other humans would buy into whatever scheme was going on in Fairwind Key.

So they would go to the tournament, not because they wanted to, but because they had to get to the bottom of it.

---

Of course, the crux of the issue of wanting to help people was that... there were people. Familiar faces and strange ones alike swam in Ame's vision, surrounded by noise both on and off the boat. She was singularly focused on going through whatever security measure she would need to just so she could decompress by herself. Ame waited in line as patiently as possible, taking deep breaths and pushing her long brown hair into place over her prosthetic eye. She was out of her element, often preferring her life of near solitude.

Ame listened intently to the instruction of the official at the table very closely. The Competitor ID went into her usual wallet, and she memorized that they would be staying at the Gilded Lilligant. She also filed away the information that there was going to be a presentation in the main ballroom at eight o’ clock... that implied that there was more than one ballroom, and she certainly didn't doubt it with the fancy vibes the place was giving off.

Of course, with so many people to check in, there was going to be another long line. Ame's hand hovered over one of her Pokéballs, but before she even touched it, another ball on her belt opened by itself; coalescing a shadow into a more solid form that hovered beside her. The Royal Sword Pokémon, Aegislash, more than likely gave off a few chills - it wasn't very often that Ghost types made themselves well known in public, let alone with so many people around.

Need a more literal shield than the one you're trying to put up between yourself and the people? Aegleaca teased directly into Ame's mind, earning a playful glare from the human. Did I make a mistake in choosing a human that would run tail and hide at any sign of danger? Or can you try to live a little... Yes, yes, I know. Bit ironic coming from me.

Ame huffed a soft laugh at that and nodded, but didn't recall the Steel-Ghost type... she wasn't entirely wrong. The introvert could use a friend to help interact with others... it just happened to be one of her more unique friends.
 
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Mr.RMA

Magearna before it was cool
The whole present scenario was already pressing at Wayland’s nerves, he really didn’t need anything to agitate him further before getting the chance to perhaps relax for even a miniscule period of time… Too bad such a thing came about anyway, in the form of a big damn floating sword and shield drifting far closer to his person than his comfort levels would allow… and they were already pretty stingy when it came to sharp blades in the first place. Briefly startled at the sight, he nearly toppled backward into the person in line just ahead of him, a Pokeball dislodging and tapping the ground in just the inconvenient way to send out an unsuspecting little turtle with lilac skin, a moss-green shell, and a big bushy seafoam green tail. Hastily, Wayland scooped the shiny Wartortle up in his arms before he could decide to wander off in curiosity, all the while still keeping a very suspicious eye on the nearby Aegislash.

He had half a mind to curse out the thoughtlessness of the trainer who would let such a potentially hazardous Pokemon out in a densely populated setting, but he barely managed to bite his tongue before he could get around to it, merely substituting that reaction with a clearly bothered grunting noise. It wasn’t worth causing any further scene, and from his own… particular experiences with ghost types in the past, he knew of their unpredictability at times, even those who were greatly devoted to their respective trainers.

Speaking of trainers, the one this Aegislash supposedly belonged to, judging by how they appeared to be interacting, gave off a very… aloof sort of impression. Even as she laughed there just seemed to be a kind of hollowness… Now he wasn’t any degree of psychic, but, enough years of investigations and interrogations were under his belt to get a decent read on individuals, or at least, what they expressed to the outside world. Whether his presumptions were accurate this time around, that was very much up in the air.

As he thought about these matters, he was suddenly swatted back to reality by his reptile companion’s tail, the Wartortle clearly taking some enjoyment out of messing about with his trainer whenever he could get away with it.

“Hey, hey, VIC, behave yourself a little for once, okay?” Wayland said, though his tone was soft-hearted enough to infer he wasn’t really so bothered by his newest party member’s slight rambunctiousness. Such behavior was a nice mood-lightener, and perhaps the water-type knew that most of all considering the story of his own life.

The minor antics of his Pokemon calming his nerves a bit, Wayland turned his attention back to the woman with the Aegislash. One side of him still wanted to advise her that it was probably dangerous keeping such a Pokemon out and about in a crowded area, but another side didn’t want to be so rude as to butt in and say such a thing like that… It would feel woefully bossy, not to mention a little discriminatory. So, he tried a different angle.

“Not too often that you see an Aegislash out and about, certainly not where I come from,” he said, all the same making sure he maintained a comfortable distance from the ‘royal sword’ Pokemon. “I take it that means you must have some experience training in Kalos?” It seemed he was going by the logic that acquainting himself with the person with the scary ghost was the best way to avoid trouble with said person.
 

Dwayna DragonFire

2014 Little Cup Champion
Over the noise of the crowd around them, there was the sound of a displeased grunt right next to Ame. She looked to the man in question that had made the noise, watching as he interacted with a strangely colored Wartortle; lots of people in the tournaments had these more rare variants, so she wasn't surprised by that. Ame gave him a once over with her good eye, her eyes lingering briefly on his nightstick, a strange contrast to the rest of his otherwise plain outfit. She wasn't exactly one to talk about strange fashion, though, what with almost constantly wearing a black trench coat regardless of weather.

I'm starting to get the feeling that others don't welcome my presence as much as you do, came the voice of Aegleaca, the tone one of light humor. It didn't take a psychic to see how disturbed he was, with how blatantly he eyed the Royal Sword Pokémon with what seemed like a mix of suspicion and fear. Ame felt a surge of protectiveness pass through her briefly; she knew that Ghost types made some people uncomfortable, but the man in front of her seemed to take it to another level entirely.

“Not too often that you see an Aegislash out and about, certainly not where I come from,” he said, with a Unovan accent. “I take it that means you must have some experience training in Kalos?” Ame was mildly surprised that he hadn't said something else, so the question gave her a little bit of pause. It seemed that despite his discomfort, he was trying his best to be polite... Nonetheless, Ame motioned Aegleaca to move closer to her, which the Pokémon obeyed. Still, the Aegislash kept her unblinking eye on the man, as if to say that she wasn't intimidated in the slightest by his own glaring.

"I've been all over the place, really," Ame replied amiably, tilting her head slightly in thought. "Placed in a few tournaments internationally, but I suppose that doesn't make me a household name or anything. Ame Wyxm... I don't think I've seen you around. Are you a newer competitor?" She didn't always keep up on all the tournament news, and it was admittedly hard to remember every single person she'd ever fought against. Nonetheless, she extended a hand to shake, as was the customary gesture of polite introductions.
 
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The line was moving along at a crawl, which was to be expected with the number of competitors who were checking into the hotel all around the same time. At this point, more than a few people had joined the queue behind him and he was in the middle of a growing crowd. He loved seeing all the different types of trainers and Pokémon showing up for the tournament, it got his blood pumping and soon a grin spread across his face as he slowly made his way forward toward the check in desk. He looked down at Lunara by his side and turned to face her, just in time to see a Pokémon burst out of its Pokéball and to avoid the man behind him in line as he nearly toppled into him from the sight.

The man in question made a displeased grunt but Rein was too interested in the Pokémon that burst forth to pay much attention, he recognized it as an Aegislash, thanks to Morty’s fascination with ghost types, but he didn’t know much about it aside from what it looked like, he instinctively pulled the Pokédex from his pocket. It looked very similar to the model originally created by Professor Oak from the Kanto region aside from a black circle near the top with a red capital ‘R’ in the center, Rein affectionately referred to this as his Rocketdex, as it was the last remnant of his time with Team Rocket he was forced into as a child. He aimed it at the Ghost-type and read the information that populated on the screen. “Morty would be all about this.” He chuckled to Lunara.

He noticed who he assumed was the trainer of the Aegislash was now speaking with the man who had almost bumped into him, and that the man was now holding an oddly colored Wartortle in his arms. For the first time Rein actually started to read the atmosphere of the whole ordeal and realized that maybe not everyone was as used to Ghost-types as he was, let alone in such a crowded area as this. At least, that was the vibe that the man with the Wartortle was giving off. He could practically hear Lexi’s voice in his head, “go make an attempt at being a normal human and interact with people.” If not for the distinct lack of the hairs on the back of his neck raising, he would have believed she was communicating with him via telekinesis again.

Sighing as he put away the Rocketdex, he looked down at Lunara and knowing his imagined version of Lexi was right, he stepped up to the two strangers and smiled. “Wow, an Aegislash! I’ve spent a lot of time around Ghost-types, but I have to admit I’ve never seen one in person before. They are really impressive, and from what I understand they recognize strong humans, so I guess that explains how you got your invite to the tournament.” He chuckled, a little nervously, “I’m Rein, and this,” he gestured to the Umbreon by his side, “is Lunara.” He noticed, a little too late, that he was interrupting their conversation. “Oh. Uh, sorry, didn’t mean to butt in.”
 

Mr.RMA

Magearna before it was cool
“Oh, yeah, I’m pretty new to the circuit in general. Wanted to start a lot earlier but, y’know, life can get in the way of that. Just happy I made up a little lost ground,” Wayland explained, and, perhaps something of a rarity whilst undercover, he was technically completely truthful with how he worded his response, even if he was having to leave out a lot of details to do so.

Before he could properly introduce himself in return though, the man he’d nearly toppled into earlier apparently caught wind of what was happening and jumped into the conversation. A rather energetic fellow from first impressions... and that accent of his... there was a pang of familiarity to it... Some parts reminded him a bit of the way the folks in Kanto often spoke... and in fact he was picking that up from the other trainer as well, the one who had introduced herself as 'Ame Wyxm'. 'Better make a mental note of these names now and write them all up later for potential reference,' he thought to himself.

In any case, this new individual seemed to take the whole ghost type thing in plentiful stride, though he did say he spent a lot of time around them… The gentleman introduced himself as simply Rein, along with his Umbreon, Lunara, before he seemed to realize that he had indeed stepped right into their chat rather brazenly. Wayland casually waved off the ensuing apology, or at least as best as he could with VIC still in his grasp.

“Eh, don’t worry about it, high energy and excitement going on... not to mention that cruise was a pretty long haul for some of us... but really, it's only natural you’d want to say hello to fellow competitors and their Pokemon and all that,” he said. “Now, seeing as we’re all introducing ourselves, I suppose I should do the same. Name’s Wayland Pirozzi, this here’s my team’s latest addition, VIC.” At his being addressed, VIC waved at the others before smacking Wayland in the face with his tail one more time for good measure.

“I said behave, you rascal…” Wayland quipped as he gave the turtle’s forehead a light noogie in return, VIC only seeming to take further amusement in this. “Anyways, as I was saying earlier, I’m pretty new to this level of competition myself… haven’t really had a lot of free time to watch any major tournament matches either unfortunately. I’m afraid that puts me out of the loop if you guys are well known, I don’t mean to insult or offend or anything if that’s the case.”
 

Dwayna DragonFire

2014 Little Cup Champion
Another, excitable fellow had suddenly burst into the conversation, gushing about her Aegislash and Ghost types in general. That was perhaps why the earlier gentleman had neglected to return her handshake; the new person's energy was admittedly very distracting. “I’m Rein, and this is Lunara.” Rein had gestured to an Umbreon by his side, which Ame smiled at softly. She knew that particular 'Eevee-lution' as it was called was obtained via high levels of friendship between PokéMon and trainer. The smile was brief - she reminded herself that though there were those types of PokéMon that evolved via such bonds, there were also trainers willing to pay top dollar to have one of their own. She didn't know the situation with Rein, so she would reserve judgement for later.

The gentleman that had showed such disdain for her Aegislash introduced himself as Wayland Pirozzi, his colorful Wartotle called VIC. She continued to be puzzled by his way of things, but he confirmed her suspicions; he was new to the league. She knew better than to take that at completely face value, her memories of a certain woman in her past clouding her trust in others. It was only natural to keep things close to one's chest upon their first meeting... she dropped her hand, instead sliding it into one of her coat pockets.

"Ame Wyxm," she introduced again, bowing her head respectfully instead. "You flatter me, Rein. I chose Aegleaca just as much as she chose me, in the end. Though I may be reasonably adept at competition, I still have a lot to work on." The soft, metallic clinking of the Aegislash's laughter broke into her mind. Well, color me touched... I didn't expect you to suddenly come out as being humble, let alone pay me such a lovely compliment. Ame smiled, but directed it more to the gentlemen in front of her to play off the fact that she was psychic. It seemed they were also degrees of humble, with their subsequent apologies.

"No offense taken," Ame replied, to both of them. "Competitions like these are opportunities to meet new people and experience the diversity of personalities in others. If you have any questions about how this sort of thing works, Wayland, I'd be happy to answer." Attempting to be friendly in return despite his misgivings with Aegleaca was the least she could do.
 
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“Likewise, Wayland, if you have any questions I am also available.” Rein said with a smile, “no offense taken either, I’m not exactly a household name or anything, so I don’t expect anyone to recognize me.” With that being said, he looked at Ame, smiling and trying to work out where he recognized her name from. Obviously she was a competitor, but he didn’t follow the tournaments as closely as Flynn did, no doubt his young friend would recognize the majority of the faces in the crowd. Still, he couldn’t help but feel a twinge of recognition toward Ame, especially with her unique surname. He opted to avoid the topic until he figured out the details. “I haven’t been part of the circuit for long, I had been dealing with some other things and only became serious about competing in the last few years, but I’ve had some success in Kanto and Johto. Looking to challenge the Kalos League next. My friends have been bugging me to take the trip.” He chuckled.

The line began lumbering along again, they were nearing the front desk now. “After checking in, I planned on heading out into the town for a bit and maybe buying some new clothes for the announcement tonight, if either of you would care to join me.” He shrugged, extending the invitation to his two new acquaintances. There was something he trusted about the pair, and over the years he had learned that he was a great judge of character - for the most part. Having people he could talk to and stick with made him feel less like a Magikarp out of water. “But I understand if you’d rather relax in your rooms, I’m waiting to see how fancy the rooms in this place are myself.”

They were only a few guests back from the counter now, so they would be checking in any minute. “I’m curious how the tournament is going to work, I noticed walking here that there were smaller designated battling fields around the city, I wonder if those are for the tournament or places for non-competitors to have some free battles between spectating.” He shrugged, “I guess we’ll find out tonight. I’m actually getting pretty excited to compete at such a high level again.”
 

Dwayna DragonFire

2014 Little Cup Champion
Rein said he had some success in Kanto, which made Ame think a bit harder. Did she recognize this man at all? It was hard to say, but the name definitely felt familiar in a way. She had been the Kanto regional champion once, and placed in the top twenties at least in other regions. Still, she had been to too many places to really pin down the vague memory as of yet.

Whether she really knew him or not, Rein seemed to be an extraverted sort, as he invited two people he just met not moments prior to go out on the town with him. The oppressive atmosphere of too many people around pressed harder on Ame as she mulled it over. She had said that she wanted to be more social, but even she had her limits when it came to socialization.

"I'm sorry, Rein," she said, looking quite genuine in her apology. "The boat trip took quite a lot out of me, so I would like to have a bit of a nap before the opening ceremonies. Perhaps another time." Considering how such events usually worked, people that were close together in line would likely be neighbors or even roommates in the hotel, as the easiest way to assign rooms was to go in numerical order. Ame would likely be seeing quite a bit of Rein and Wayland, if they managed to not be seperated by floor.

Talk turned back to the tournament soon after, which made Ame refocus. Different battling arenas was nothing new to her, having been through several tournaments. They would likely be assigned randomly to see how each trainer dealt with specific terrain, and also so the audience didn't get bored of seeing the same stadium everytime. Still, rich people were hard to predict... Mister Whitaker could have put all of his money into one big stadium to show off for the whole tournament, and the other arenas could be training grounds.

"If nothing else, I'll see you later tonight for the announcement," said Ame to the two men, noting with relief that they were close to being checked in. "I too look forward to finding out what plans Simon Whitaker has for us."
 

Mr.RMA

Magearna before it was cool
Yes, this man was most definitely an extrovert from first impressions... inviting two strangers he just met to accompany him to shop for, apparently, more appropriate apparel for this opening announcement. Was it really an event that required something more formal? Seemed to Wayland like a potential waste of money for a singular ceremony... but then, everyone had their own sense of fashion he supposed. Perhaps this Rein fellow just wanted to look good for all the elite trainers and their ultra-rich magnate of a benefactor, this Simon Whitaker... Wayland really didn't feel a similar need to dress for the occasion... but an excuse to investigate the immediate vicinity of the area was certainly welcome, he could use this as his chance to get some early prying done. Perhaps he could learn more about Mr. Rein as well, figure out just what kind of stuff these top-percentile trainers talked about and how they behaved. Even if there was nothing of him to be suspicious of, there was still plenty he could learn, plenty he could use.

Though, speaking of suspicions...

"Heh... here I was, worried I might've actually been the only one that was affected by that behemoth of a cruise liner," he said to Ame upon her rejection of Rein's offer. His quip was meant to sound humorous, but immediately his mind was set a-whirl at Ame's intentions. Yes, it could've just been as simple as her needing to get some privacy before things got hectic again, but... there was that pause... She didn't immediately shoot the offer down, no... she was thinking about it. That was something that often brought Wayland's suspicion-levels up... but then, he was already a tad thrown off by Ame already from that first impression, so, perhaps his feelings on the matter were already skewed. Either way, he was making a mental note to keep an eye on her. She did say she'd be willing to answer his questions... that bucked any notion that she was completely secretive... It all just made her really difficult to get any stable read on...

'You're overthinking this... dial it back...' he thought to himself as he lightly rubbed at his forehead to steady his thoughts, turning his attention back over to Rein.

"Well, I'd be happy to accompany you, sure. Could use a chance to really take everything in, besides I feel like if I end up taking a rest now I'll be out the rest of the day, doubt I'd want to miss whatever this meeting's gonna be about," he said, placing VIC back on the floor, as by now the Wartortle was starting to feel quite heavy. He made sure to give the water type a light pat on the head to remind him not to wander off, though it certainly didn't stop him from continuing to look about with great intrigue. As Wayland made sure VIC was continually in his sights whilst they approached the front desk, he took the time to mull over the topic of the numerous smaller battle venues scattered about.

"You know, my guess is this whole island is set up to be some kind of trainer's paradise, a sort of sporting resort for Pokemon battling. This whole tournament is probably Mr. Whitaker's way of drawing attention to the place so he can get a steady flow of visitors year-round. Helluva publicity stunt if that's the case. Whether that means we're gonna be using these mini-arenas for the preliminaries though? Your guess is as good as mine there."
 
“Well, great,” Rein smiled at Wayland, turning to Ame he added, “understandable, I’m sure we’ll run into each other again before too long. If you’d like to meet back up before that big congregation in the ballroom, feel free to give me a call or text.” He gave Ame his C-gear number, adding, “I’m sure it would be preferable to attend with acquaintances, regardless of how brief our acquaintance was, to perfect strangers.” He smiled again, turning back to Wayland, “I’d like to check in and drop my stuff off in the room, so what do you say we meet back down here in about fifteen minutes or so? And in case we do get separated, you’ve got my C-gear contact now, too.”

Rein turned, now next in line for the check in process, he produced his competitor badge, remembering the woman at the dock had told him he would need it to collect his room key. Setting it down on the counter, he smiled and said, “Rein Vanguarde, checking in.”

The woman behind the counter looked a bit frazzled, but still in good spirits, after helping so many trainers in a row, and she gave him a small smile in return. “Yes, sir, here is your room key. Room seven-oh-four on the seventh floor.” She handed Rein a gold key-ring with an old-fashioned physical key and a keychain with his room number attached. It was definitely a surprise, as most hotels had moved onto digital keycards, but the golden key gave off an antiquated, posh feel for guests. Rein thanked the woman, turned to Wayland and Ame and gave a wave as he headed toward the elevator.

A short ride up the lift later, and he was standing in front of his room, the door was some sort of light wood, gold trimmings painted onto a design of a Lilligant’s flower engraved into the door. Rein admired the aesthetic as he turned to Lunara with a nod, inserting his key and turning it with a satisfying ‘click’ as the tumblers moved smoothly into position. He opened the door and stood in the doorway, letting out a soft whistle, impressed by what he saw.

The entryway was covered with a fine, soft rug in light reds and yellows, there was a glass table off to his right with an antique sofa, with a matching armchair, set in front of a fireplace and around the table. Opposite the lounge area was another, matching sectional around another glass coffee table, the wall was almost entirely covered from end-to-end with a flat screen TV, a Pokeball bouncing around the screen, changing each time it hit the edge from a standard Pokeball, to a Premier ball, Great ball, Ultra ball and then back to a Pokeball to restart the process. Rein was hypnotized temporarily as he waited, hoping the ball would hit the corner of the screen, before he tore his eyes away and continued scanning the room. In the back corner was a short stairway, leading up to a semi-raised portion of the room with a four-poster king sized bed, covered in entirely too many pillows and a down comforter. Setting his bag down on the table, he went to freshen himself up in the bathroom, which was equally as impressive - all white marble, a jacuzzi style bathtub, walk-in rain shower and double sinks. He splashed some water on his face, adjusted his outfit, and longingly looked at the shower, resigning himself to coming back to the room early enough to make full use of it and changing into whatever new outfit he picked out with plenty of time to make the announcement at eight o’clock.

Lunara had already curled up on the bed, testing out its apparent softness for herself, when Rein came out of the restroom. “Well, partner, let’s go have a look around town. If we stay here any longer I feel like we might never leave.” Chuckling to himself as Lunara jumped down off the bed, the pair made their way back down to the lobby, taking a seat beside the big double doors, waiting for Wayland to join them before heading out into the streets of Fairwind Key.
 

Mr.RMA

Magearna before it was cool
"Indeed, we have our contact info in order," Wayland had replied, raising his own C-Gear up into view at that to further get the point across before looking over to Ame. "Now just the matter of our exchanging info and then we'll all be set," he said, relaying his C-Gear contact information over to her as well. "Alright, now, that plan seems as good as any, I'll see you back down here in fifteen minutes then."

After Rein checked in and Wayland quickly made another mental note to remember the fellow's surname, 'Vanguarde', he walked up to the counter next, giving his registered name and receiving his key. Room 705. So it seemed they would indeed be situated nearby where rooming was considered... Perhaps it really was just based on check-in order. Certainly would be convenient, no doubt. Glancing at the antique-looking key he was given, admittedly quite perplexed they would still be using such a design for a hotel, he thanked the clerk before stepping aside, looking back over to Ame.

"I'll admit, you might've made the better decision, getting some rest in. I can only imagine things are going to get plenty busy for everyone in the coming days..." he said. "Anyway... best see what these rooming arrangements are all about... by the way..." He finally reached out to shake her hand, realizing he'd neglected to do so. "I apologize for the rude first impressions... Like I said before, the sea likes to mess with my head and all." At that he gave her an apologetic sort of nod before making his way towards the elevator, guiding VIC along as the turtle Pokemon waddled beside him, looking pleased as Punch with all the glitz and glamour surrounding them. Needless to say his trainer was definitely still trying to figure out how he felt about it all though...

"I hope this lock isn't too easy to pick..." Wayland muttered as he went to unlock his door. What a strange little addition, using a key of this design... It was enough to have him look past the lavish entryway, but he wasn't quite so successful ignoring the room's interior. It was as if someone was trying to create the very visual definition of extravagance, with the fancy furniture, the fireplace, the massive bedroom, the luxurious bathroom... and there were, presumably, dozens of these rooms? All of the same quality? Guess he should've known... If Whitaker could afford an entire island of this grand design, an all-luxury hotel must be but a pittance by comparison.

Wayland had to take a seat on the couch just to decompress for a moment and get all his thoughts in order, whilst VIC naturally began to scramble about like a child in a playground at all the fanciful sights of their new accommodation. After a couple minutes passed, Wayland walked over to his fairly large suitcase which had been brought up by the bellhops, apparently as soon as he was checked in. Super service, but that only made sense in a place like this.

The case was locked quite thoroughly in more than a few ways: numeric combination, fingerprint scan, plus another scanner for his C-Gear. All this before a slot beside the locks suddenly opened up to reveal a small microphone, from which he murmured his voice-coded password. After a second or two of silence, a light 'ding' sound emanated at the confirmation of his identity and the latches of the suitcase were unlocked. Stowed away beside the usual traveling arrangements of spare clothes and toiletries was a duffel bag which he quickly checked over, revealing the body armor and riot helmet within. By all accounts he hoped he wouldn't need to actually use it during these proceedings, but, there was always the chance... and frankly, he felt he couldn't be too careful, especially when they still knew so little. After making sure it was all in order, he quickly zipped the duffel bag back up, grabbing the more conventional arrangements out of the suitcase and stowing everything in its proper place before taking out a small envelope stored in a corner compartment of the case, closing everything back up and securely locking it once more.

Wayland walked over to a corner of the room, looking around to try and affirm nothing was currently monitoring him before opening the letter and scanning the scrambled code contained within before dialing the number. He needed to let his present supervisors know he'd arrived after all...

"This is Sharpe... I've registered and checked into my room. They're having a mass assembly in the hotel's ballroom in a few hours, hopefully should get more of the details of this tournament there."

"Very good, Officer... I take it your equipment for any... drastic scenario is in order?" Came the reply from the anonymous agent from the other side.

"I can confirm it all arrived in one piece, yes," he answered. "Additionally... I've acquainted myself with a couple of the other contestants, one of them offered to have me accompany them around the island vicinity while we wait for the assembly. Should give me an ample opportunity to investigate Fairwind a little more before things get underway."

"Excellent... Though you don't need me to remind you to be cautious about who you involve in this case... We don't know where the threat, if any, might come from. Aside from that we obviously don't want to go about endangering civilians."

"Understood... All the same these aren't quite the helpless civilians of the usual variety," Wayland replied.

"No doubt... but nevertheless, risk management, Officer. We're sending the next applicable code through your C-Gear. Only contact us if and when you have sufficient evidence of foul play, or an emergency otherwise occurs. We will otherwise leave you to your own devices." After the agent gave the usual 'number will be null and void' line, Wayland confirmed his understanding, and the call was ended.

Wayland stowed his suitcase away in the corner of the room, taking out a Pokeball and letting out the blue quadrupedal water-type it contained. The Samurott took a moment to observe its surroundings with great interest, though unlike the less mature Wartortle, he seemed to merely take in the room with collected awe.

"Nice place, huh?" Wayland said to his oldest Pokemon companion with a chuckle as he gave him a light pat on his beige shell-armored head. "I'm gonna be going out for a bit, Fuzz. I want you to keep watch over the room while I'm gone, okay? I'll bring VIC along with me so you don't have to worry yourself over babysitting duties this time." Fuzz smirked at that in amusement but nonetheless nodded and let out a light bark in affirmation.

"Knew I could rely on you, as always. Don't know how long I'll be out, but shouldn't be too long. Should give you plenty of time to adjust to this place... Might have some of the others come out and stretch their legs later too when I get back, but for now the place is all yours."

Fuzz raised one of his paws in a salute, which Wayland returned with a grin before checking his C-Gear and realizing fifteen minutes had most definitely come and gone by then.

"Ah... Nearly lost track of time entirely... Better get back down there, don't need that guy waiting around forever on my account," he muttered, giving Fuzz one more pat on the head before heading towards the door. "VIC! Come on, kid, we're heading out!" he shouted towards the bathroom where the Wartortle had naturally been drawn to the fancy bathtub in particular, dripping water all over the rug as he scrambled after his trainer. Locking the door behind him, Wayland and VIC headed back down to the lobby. Sure enough, Rein was already there waiting beside the doors.

"Hey, hope I didn't keep you waiting. Got caught up for a bit back there... Pretty ritzy place, ain't it?"
 
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StellarWind Elsydeon

Armblades Ascendant
Staff member
Administrator
In one of the many rooms of the Gilded Lilligant, a young man was carefully tuning an old guitar.

Well, it wasn't that old - but Glenn Hendrix had the thing since he was practically a child, and they've been through a lot together. It was the same guitar - an electric guitar with a minor internal amplification system, its body a deep electric blue fading to black at the edges, with an intricate lightning pattern running along its side - that he took it with him on his first great journey across his home region of Sinnoh. The same guitar that, following an impromptu jam session of an encounter at the Sandgem Pokémon laboratory, came to also serve as a makeshift Pokéball and home for the equally-musical Rotom that became his very first partner - Siegfried - and the second member of what eventually became the band he formed with a small group of friends he met during his assorted crazy adventures in Sinnoh and beyond. As the years rolled by, that very same band - the Wayfarers, as they called themselves - rose from anonymity to international stardom, and their assorted tours and gigs took them to all sorts of interesting places that even Glenn never expected to find himself in. Like this big fancy resort, for instance, where they were booked to do a gig as an opening event for a big fancy tournament featuring some big fancy name trainers organized by a big fancy rich dude who apparently owned the entire island and was trying to attract more tourists to the property. They've been here for a few days now, way ahead of the surge of incoming invitees - to get a feel for the acoustics of the venue, set up their equipment and instruments, do some rehearsals before the main event. Been a while since they've performed in a ballroom, but what a ballroom it was - it was massive, the acoustics were impeccable and the stage had enough space for the band and then some. This Simon Whitaker individual certainly spared no expenses. Made him wonder just where did all that fortune come from and at whose expense to be honest, but... a gig was a gig, and the Wayfarers made a point to give every show their best.

In one of the many rooms of the Gilded Lilligant, a young man was carefully tuning an old guitar.

During his earlier journeys and in the earliest days of the Wayfarers - back when they were still playing questionable pubs and maybe an opening act or three - he used to share it with Siegfried. The Rotom often interjected with little musical cues from within the instrument itself in response to things it heard, the environments it travelled through or, honestly, anything that tickled its rather quirky sense of humour when its trainer wasn't playing the guitar himself - or sometimes even when he was, resulting in impromptu duets and musical duels. Over time, the two developed a strange sort of combination where Glenn would command Siegfried in battle through playing the guitar - a combination they became somewhat known for in the battling circuits they participated in from time to time. These days Glenn played the acoustic guitar far more often than the electric - and Siegfried had its own custom-made electric guitar which it haunted during the Wayfarers' gigs and gave it far more freedom to work with than a guitar that was never meant to contain a Rotom. It's been quite a while since this guitar has been played last - but this was all about to change.

He plucked an E chord and wrinkled his nose at a slight discordant note that broke it. Not quite yet, no. *Always* that quirk with the D string. The D is for Damnit, Not Again.

He honestly did not expect the personal letter of invitation that the Wayfarer's long-suffering manager, bless her heart, handed him after she let the others know what she signed them up for. After all, this tournament was geared at "Former Pokémon League champions and those who placed within a certain threshold", and to the best of his recollection he never properly challenged any major regional Pokémon League. But apparently, his triumph over the five trainers of the Southern Cross - the four Gym Leaders of the Orange Islands and their Supreme Leader, whom he had faced during his rather life-changing expedition to his father's homeland of the Orange Archipelago - counted as a title of championship for the purposes of the tournament, and who was he to argue? Not every day you get a chance to face off against trainers who have squared off with regional champions, after all - and his team were as excited about the opportunity as he, if he was to be perfectly honestly with himself, was. Either way, once the show was over, he was to take his place amidst the other competitors in this tournament - and if he were to stand a chance, he needed to pull out all the stops - and to bring back the rhythm. Couldn't risk the expensive custom show guitars for this. Both he and Siegfried - and this was a decision they have made together - needed something robust, travel-worthy, tried and tested. They needed this one.

He played another E, followed by a sequence of additional chords. There we go. All set to conquer the heights.

He briefly checked the time - It was about noon, give or take. The gig itself was supposed to follow a presentation that was meant to take place about eight hours from now - quite a bit of time to kill. He pondered playing something to pass the time, but he decided against it - Best not wear himself out before the main event after all. Maybe some fresh air would do him good, though he definitely felt like taking advantage of the amenities of this fancy hotel room - and this one was fancy even for the standards of the places they've been staying in these days - before he had to head down to the ballroom with the rest. He briefly wondered what the rest of the band were up to - Ian was probably still asleep, for one. Ian Larson awake before noon would be a miracle of Arcean proportions. Eva was probably out on the beach, catching waves with Plavalaguna - you could take the girl out of Alola, but you could never take Alola out of the girl. Gordon was probably out sampling the local restaurants. Billie... was probably either experimenting with one of her soundboards or playing one of her games - her love for keyboards transcended genres and types of keyboards, really.

As for him, he figured he'd call home, see how the folks were doing, go take a nice walk, then take a bit of a soak in the hot tub before he had to prepare himself for the show.

Glenn Hendrix set the guitar gently in its case - still the same backpack-case he's been carrying the thing around in since he set out at the age of 16. It's been patched up, repaired and reinforced more times than he cared to remember - years on the road have left their mark, for sure - but it never failed to protect its precious cargo from the elements and from other damage, no matter where he was on the road - and during this tournament, at least, it will serve him and his team again - on the field of battle and off of it. Just like old times.

In one of the many rooms of the Gilded Lilligant, a young man closed the case on an old guitar, a smile sneaking onto his face.
It may not have been played as much as it used to be. Its deep electric blue may have slightly lightened in hue over the years despite all the treatments. Some minor cracks may have formed in its outer shell's material in places. And yes, its thrice-blasted D-string tended to fall out of tune every once in a while. But its inner workings were in perfect order, and its sound was still the same sound. If anything, it only got better with time.

He took care of it.

Now it was its turn to return the favour.
 
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Dwayna DragonFire

2014 Little Cup Champion
When Ame saw Rein's C-Gear, she rifled through her pockets to pull out her own and put it on her wrist. The many different regions had different means of communication, and the C-Gear was definitely one of the newer ones she had to pick up in her journeys. Ame registered Rein into her contacts and nodded with a smile at his offer to call and meet up before the big meeting in the ballroom, planning to do at least that so she didn't remain entirely anti-social.

Wayland offered her the same courtesy of exchanging C-Gear information, which Ame was surprised at, as she figured that he probably wasn't too keen on hanging out with her anyways. The surprise was further enhanced when he finally offered his hand to shake, which Ame accepted with a look to Aegleaca. The Aegislash relaxed her glare slightly now that he had made some form of peaceful gesture with her trainer, but nonetheless provided sassy commentary as always to Ame. If it was such a great idea to rest, you'd think he'd put it into practice himself.

"It's nice to meet you both, and I'll definitely see you later," Ame said, though she still mildly smirked at the sassy remark to let the Aegislash know she heard it. Wayland was at least trying to make amends for his previous behavior, which she appreciated. As it turned out, her suspicions about the rooms being doled out in order proved correct; the key to room 706 being given to her after checking in. Ame felt a little more at ease knowing she would have some friendly new acquaintances as neighbors, but not too much as she was always wary of trusting too easy after what happened in her past. She headed upstairs to the room, briefly admiring the aesthetic of the key before opening the door.

Nice place, Aegleaca thought, as they settled in with the trainer's bags being brought up. A good place to hide away from others for a while. The pointed remark was not missed on Ame, the trainer having intentionally distanced herself from being invited to the outing with Rein and Wayland. She'd briefly overheard that they wanted to meet back up fifteen minutes from when they checked in, but they wouldn't be expecting her at that point. Ame shook her head slightly, looking to the Aegislash with determination.

"I promise to call later to group up for the meeting at eight," said the trainer. The Royal Sword seemed satisfied with that, knowing Ame was a woman of her word. I will be sure to remind you if you forget, came the idle threat nonetheless, and the PokeMon returned herself to the PokeBall on her trainer's belt. Ame sighed and took those moments of quiet to become better acquainted with her room, noting the bold color scheme, extravagant bed and bath, and expensive entertainment system. The lack of subtlety was more proof of Simon Whitaker's liking of showing off his enormous amount of wealth, which made her briefly curl her lip in disgust at his blatant arrogance.

Ame checked her watch, noting that not only the fifteen minutes had passed, but it would be several hours until the opening ceremonies. I'll explore Fairwind Key later, she thought to herself, but whilst Rein and Wayland are out, perhaps I could use that time to become better acquainted with the hotel. That way they could exchange information about where things were when they met up next, a good excuse for the conversation she promised to have. With that in mind, she left her room and began to explore the hotel on her own; no real intent on taking a nap as despite her introversion, she still had an adventurous side.
 
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Rein happily hummed along to a tune playing in his mind, thinking about the tournament and watching the crowds ebb and flow like the tide. Outside the windows of the hotel it was even more chaos as trainers and spectators mixed, traversing the streets of Fairwind Key. The excitement was palpable as Rein continued humming, unintentionally overhearing snippets of conversation as groups and individuals passed, every one of them was abuzz with speculations on performance or strategy. His own excitement grew, adrenaline pumping through his veins as he thought about his team, itching for competition.

"Hey, hope I didn't keep you waiting. Got caught up for a bit back there... Pretty ritzy place, ain't it?" Wayland said as he approached Rein in the lobby, interrupting Rein’s thoughts and cutting off his humming mid-verse.

He smiled as he stood to greet Wayland, “Oh no, not at all. I just got down here myself a minute or two ago. I had to tear myself away from the room, though, I knew that if I stayed to admire it any longer I would have gotten stuck up there taking a nap in that enormous bed,” he laughed as he started heading toward the street and into the main thoroughfare of Fairwind Key.

“I know I passed by a boutique on the way to the hotel, I was planning on doing a bit of shopping and taking in the area, for future dinners and such,” he smiled again. There were already people taking advantage of the outdoor Pokemon battle fields, mostly young trainers, they didn’t appear to be competitors in the tournament, but most likely there with parents or guardians for the spectacle. He saw a couple of youngsters battling with a Rattata and a flying type that Rein didn’t recognize, probably from a region he had yet to visit. For a second he watched them battling and was reminded of his own childhood, a nostalgic smirk at the corner of his mouth.

“So,” he began, turning his attention back to Wayland, “how long have you been a trainer? I know earlier you said you’re pretty new to this competition level, but you must have a knack for it, getting an invite here.” He smiled again, showing there was no sarcasm masked behind his words, “I’m excited to see what you can do once the tournament starts.”
 

Mr.RMA

Magearna before it was cool
Wayland nodded along to Rein describing his plans, and they did align pretty well with what he was hoping to do, at least, in regards to taking in the area... not so much for the purposes of shopping and dining though... at least not primarily.

The sight of the young trainers battling one another in the small arenas scattered about managed to put a light smile on his face as well, though there was definitely a hint of somberness just beneath the happy expression. It took him back to thoughts of his own childhood, for all the good and bad that time brought with it.

Being distracted by his own thoughts, he didn't respond at first to Rein's question. After a moment though, his brain seemed to process that he was being asked something, and he brought himself back to the conversation that he had inadvertently made rather one-sided with his silence.

"Oh, ah... Depends on how you look at it, really... Technically I got my starter way back when I was eleven... Going on fifteen years there. Didn't do so well at first though... ended up putting a stop to it after the losses stacked up just a bit too high," he explained. All truthful so far, but from here he was going to have to omit certain things... Thankfully he'd spent much of that hellish cruise working out his story for occasions such as this.

"Training didn't seem like it was going to be for me, so, I went back to school, as one does. Still, I never did forget how much I wanted to be a trainer... that ambition never really left me in a way. Once I'd graduated I decided to give it one more shot. I figured I'd grown up enough, maybe I'd finally have the right mentality for it. Needless to say the second chance paid off, considerably. Wouldn't call it so much a knack... just fortunately had the right amount of resilience and stubbornness." Rein expressing his excitement over seeing how he'd perform in the tournament ended up getting a chuckle out of Wayland despite himself.

"Well, I'll try not to disappoint. My team's got the capability, I don't doubt that, we'll see if I've got the tactics to match." At that he figured now would be as good a time as any to turn the question around.

"So, how 'bout you? You mentioned some success in Kanto and Johto. I take it you come from that area? They say the Leagues there are legendary these days for the kinds of trainers they produce." His own experience in Kanto had taught him as much, but, it was always enlightening to hear from someone more directly familiar with the place.
 
Rein smiled thoughtfully as he listened to Wayland’s description of the events leading up to his becoming a trainer, “sounds like you’ve got the heart for it, definitely,” Rein commented, partially to himself, after Wayland talked about the resilience he had shown to step back into the trainer lifestyle. “I admire your drive, it isn’t always easy to take a step back and refocus on our goals.” For a second Rein drifted to another place entirely, his eyes looking beyond a duo of trainers having a friendly match, thinking of his own desire to become a legitimate trainer and how difficult it was to battle Pokemon for fun after so many years of his life being endangered. How he had to focus on what it was he wanted and how to step back and readjust to a “normal” life. It took a second for him to come back to reality and realize that Wayland had asked the same question of him.

“Well,” he started, embarrassed he had allowed his thoughts to wander. “I lived in Kanto for a while, I was born there and got my,” he hesitated for a half-second, “starter, Lunara here, when I was ten.” Lunara purred in response, looking up at Wayland and giving a slight bow of her head in greeting, “I ended up spending a lot of time in Johto after that, where I met my friend Flynn, and we started challenging the leagues not long after that.”

So far he had been truthful, but he felt guilty omitting so much of his history, it felt the same as lying even if his intention wasn’t to be malicious. Then again, he knew that telling people he had once been a Team Rocket grunt, even if it was against his will, would raise a few red flags. And all his misadventures were equally off putting, his friends and acquaintances he had made were all put in danger and, admittedly, he had lost a few friends to villainous schemes. Even Lexi, he initially thought that she had been killed, but luckily she was able to survive the encounter. Now that Richard was gone, he felt a lot more confident in his future. He had hope again. And he had finally been reunited with his sister. Smiling again he continued, “I made it to third in the Johto league, and when we went back home to Kanto, I actually won. It was a huge moment for me, and one I wasn’t sure I would ever experience when I was younger.”

He smiled at Wayland again, “we’re almost to the boutique, maybe after I do some quick shopping we can grab a bite, if you’re as hungry as I am,” he laughed as he picked up the pace toward the shop. He wished he could openly talk about his past, but he barely even did that with Flynn and Lexi, he didn’t like feeling like he was putting people off. Plus, he was here for fun. For a tournament of some of the highest caliber trainers in the world. It felt good not having to worry about anything bad happening, for once. Nothing but blue skies, sapphire seas, and some good old fashioned battling. After all, no one would be dumb enough to try anything unsavory surrounded by such talented trainers, there was no way.
 

Mr.RMA

Magearna before it was cool
Wayland looked rather contemplative as he listened to Rein's story, apart from the brief moment where he returned the little bowing gesture toward Lunara. There was something about the structure of the man's anecdote that reminded him of his own... Namely the fact that everything sounded quite believable, but it felt like there were things intentionally left out. Maybe that was just him projecting his own circumstances onto someone else, but, there was the chance Mr. Vanguarde had major portions of his own life he preferred to keep nicely squared away. Then again... who didn't have those moments they preferred to keep private? Still, he couldn't ignore the way he seemed to go silent and pensive between his responses.

"Ah, so, you made it to the top of the Indigo Plateau, huh? Damn impressive..." he commented after Rein mentioned his past tournament history. Third in Johto was almost equally impressive, especially if that was his first shot at it. Back when he was a kid watching the competitions on television, he could recall how it seemed daunting for people to even get past the preliminaries... Those old trainers back then were utterly ruthless, and he suspected the present generation was just as masterly. He would've inquired more about his experiences with the Leagues, as it was definitely a subject of interest to him as well, but he was afraid that would lead to Rein asking him about his own tournament experience... which of course was non-existent. In fact, he was worried even commenting about it would initiate such a question, but thankfully, the other man decided to change the subject.

"Well, I suppose my stomach's finally stopped churning after all that time at sea... I have to admit some grub sounds pretty good right about now," he responded in agreement, and VIC certainly voiced his own support for the idea as he let out a few eager barks. "I know you're in support of that idea... You're always hungry, you little scamp," he teasingly said to the wartortle before the two of them quickened their pace to keep up with Rein and Lunara. He figured it might be worth turning off the investigator-side of his mind for at least a moment... He'd have plenty of time to put together all of his observations, right now it wouldn't do him any harm to maybe try and relax for a little while. This was an island resort, he could stand to enjoy being here for a few instances.
 

Dwayna DragonFire

2014 Little Cup Champion
Simon Whitaker's fancy resort certainly turned out to be no joke after Ame's preliminary investigation. There were several upscale restaurants and bars downstairs for the hungry patrons of the hotel, human and Pokémon alike. Apart from the main ballroom, there were a few smaller ones, as well as what looked to be some meeting rooms. What intrigued Ame the most were the rooms that looked like miniature mock-up gyms, where people were already battling against each other. Ame wasn't the type to just jump into a practice battle after a long boat ride, but she observed for a little bit before she went on her way. We certainly have our work cut out for us, if those trainers are any indication.

On the upper floors apart from the bedrooms were fitness rooms and some luxury spa rooms, likely one for every floor. In the elevator Ame saw there were about thirty floors, including a button for what she assumed was the penthouse suite; a single key hole just beside the button for further evidence. Going up to the rooftop, Ame was a little bit stunned by the beautiful garden that was placed there, different seasonal flowers on display. A shiver ran down her spine as one of the displays she gazed upon had a vibrantly blue Hydrangea bush. Morgan's favorite, she remembered, pursing her lips slightly and quickly removing herself from their vicinity.

The elevator was stuffed with people on the way back down, and there was still far too much of a crowd in the main lobby. Beginnings of a potential migraine began to twinge against her upper eye, making her near regret not taking the nap she had told Rein and Wayland she would take. Ame looked toward the elevator again and remembered how cramped it had been on all those trips she had taken on her investigations, knowing she would likely find no solace there for some time. She instead looked to the doors out, seeing that they were still swimming with people coming in. This is going to be a long trip...

Luckily, there was another door that some people appeared to be going out of. Ame noted that there was a small brochure wall in the middle of the two sets of doors, easily missed on the way in if one wasn't inclined to look away from the front desk. She sighed deeply as she saw the bottom row of brochures, filled with pictures of the Gilded Lilligant itself. Ame immediately picked one up and looked at it thoroughly. The brochure more or less told her all about what she had discovered about the hotel, as well as detailed some of the surrounding area. So my investigation was more or less a waste of time...

Still, thinking back on it, it wasn't an entire waste. There was one thing between knowing what was inside the hotel, and actually knowing where everything is. Not to mention, brochures could tend to be nice lies about the environs, so it was good to actually see what Simon Whitaker considered to be 'quality'. Ame took a few copies of the brochure with her just in case - her new acquaintances might have missed getting them, or she could lose one somewhere. Turning to leave, she accidentally bumped into someone - being literally blind in one eye definitely did a number on her depth perception, and her psychic powers only worked for close friends.

“Excuse me, my apologies,” Ame said, adjusting her monocle to get a better look at the person in question. The hair that she had normally put in front of her face fell aside slightly, revealing her prosthetic eye and a bit of the gruesome scar that laid there.
 
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StellarWind Elsydeon

Armblades Ascendant
Staff member
Administrator
"Alright, I'd best actually take off now if I want to get that walk in before all Distortion breaks loose and Siegfried decides to have a Distortion Guitar-off with The Griseous itself."
"
You know they'll love the challenge."
"Yeah, but that would kinda steal the focus from the rest of the gig, our manager will never let us hear the end of it. So yeah. Love you, dad. Say hi to mom from me."
"You too, and will do, whenever they let her out of the reverse fish-tank this time. I swear, if it's not a migration of confused Lumineon, it's some kind of literal sea ghosts from times immemorial. The ocean is a fickle mistress, I tell you. But yeah, have a good show tonight, and good luck with the whole tournament thing!"
"Thanks! I'll let you know how things go once things actually happen. Laters!"

The video call disconnected and the image of his father was promptly replaced by his usual phone background - a scenery shot from one of the more remote islands in the Orange Archipelago at night, a beautiful starscape dotting the skies above. He took the shot himself during his sojourn through the islands on what started as a journey to learn more of his heritage and became an almost-spiritual adventure to find something he never knew he lost - and this particular location, at that particular night, left a deep impression that he still enjoyed thinking back on, even after all this time. Never failed to be an inspiration.

It wasn't a very long conversation - Long enough to catch up on current events and the latest antics from home, but still short enough to give him plenty of time to get that walk in. Honestly, he could definitely use one - Glenn Hendrix was never the sort to stay put for too long without some kind of restlessness setting in, and a breath of fresh air and some change of scenery could help him pick up some inspiration for a new song or too. Not for tonight's show, of course - the set list was already entirely established - but maybe for some battle music when the tournament began in earnest. Something to set the mood before he could get a feel for the rhythm of whatever battle Siegfried and he would get into. The Rotom probably wouldn't join him themself - they needed to charge up well and proper before the show - but the burst of light that issued forth from one of the other five Pokéballs on his belt revealed that he was not the only one who was feeling a bit restless after all.

The sphere's red energies coalesced into the form of a Mawile wearing a short-sleeved leather jacket, who proceeded to regard the trainer with an expectant red-eyed gaze. He knew that look well - Metalica was the second Pokémon ever to join his team and perhaps his closest companion alongside Siegfried. She oft walked beside him wherever he may have roamed, and seemed to have an almost unnatural knack for identifying when he felt the breezes were about to call his name. It's like she knew.

"I have no idea how you always do that, Tali." he grinned slightly, lightly petting the Deceiver Pokémon's head "But yes, I'm absolutely going for a walk and as ever, your company is appreciated."

The Mawile emitted some kind of a little happy noise and proceeded to hug Glenn's leg for a moment as he stood up and stretched - and moments later they were off - or, at the very least, as off as they could be - there were people everywhere in the corridors, and in the elevators, and in the lobby - and weaving through them took a bit of effort, even for him. Likely, these were the contestants who were due to arrive today and currently making their way to their rooms, or away from their rooms, or to one of the Hotel's many attractions, or The Original only knows where, really. Who knew there were so many former champions and high-scorers and who knew they'd all be here - how did this Whitaker fellow plan to get them all into the ballroom, anyway?

There was a bright side to this though - a crowd this size was easier to get lost in and allowed him and his companion to go largely unnoticed. Almost too unnoticed, honestly, as Glenn realized when a passing stranger bumped into him and proceeded to immediately apologize.

"No worries, with so many people out and about I'd be surprised if someone didn't bump into me at some point." he nodded with a small smile - making several small mental notes regarding the stranger's appearance as he quickly glanced down to see if Metalica was still there and not swept away by the tides of humanity. Mercifully, she was - and equally fortunately, no one bumped into her. It really wouldn't do to have to answer for someone having been instinctively thwacked by a biometallic appendage with big pointy teeth, after all.
 
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