Open Slateport Tournament (open)

[Trucro]

Jacob took a deep breath as he reached towards his belt. Standing the middle of the stadium, he was deafened by the talking of the crowd. They weren’t cheering, that was for certain, just talking. It was far too early in the tournament to be cheering. Jacob put them out of his mind for a moment; now he had to concentrate. He hadn’t been training too much over the past few years; the days of his pokemon journeys had passed some time ago. But now, it was time for him to prove that he could compete in a real tournament.


“Each trainer is down to their last pokemon!” The announcer’s voice boomed throughout the stadium. “Which will they choose?!?!” Jacob never really liked the announcers’ voices; he always thought their dialogue sounded forced, and fake. No one was so excited about Jacob’s battle.


He grabbed a pokeball and released it at the same time as his opponent. In the center of the stadium, two flashes revealed the contenders. On Jacob’s side, his Mamoswine, Tusk appeared, roaring and raising his front two feet. Across from him was a Swampert. The water pokemon didn’t make and noise, simply taking an offensive stance, preparing to attack. A bell rang out, and the battle began.


“Swampert,” Jacob’s opponent began. “Use mud shot!” The pokemon swung its head forward, releasing a block of mud flying towards Jacob’s Mamoswine. The attack hit, and Tusk flinched as the mud smacked into his forehead. “Now, use water gun!” Jacob wasn’t going to let his opponent get away with that.


“Tusk use Ancient Power!” The pokemon focused and a ball of white energy appeared in front of him. The Mammoth pokemon released it, and the two attacks collided cancelling each other out. “Now use Blizzard!” Tusk opened his mouth releasing a heavy gust of ice and cold air that slammed into his opponent. The Swampert covered its face with its arms in an attempt to protect itself. Its arms froze solid, forming a single block that weighed the pokemon down. “Now, use take down!” Tusk dashed forward, shaking the stadium as it picked up speed before crashing into the Swampert. The Swampert was flung backwards into the wall of the stadium, and dropped to the ground, unconscious.


The crowd applauded, moderately as the announcers declared Jacob’s victory. Jacob merely walked over to his pokemon, and patted him on the head before returning Tusk to his pokeball. Jacob left the stadium almost immediately after his victory. There were here stadiums just outside of Slateport City in the Hoenn Region, all here for the same tournament. At any given time, there were three battles going on, and Jacob wanted to see what he was up against.

 

[Ingusto]

Flint was getting pounded. He was struggling early in this tournament, his opponent being Cyrin. Cyrin was a local trainer who had spent her whole life training to sweep through competition. Flint was just another walk in the park. But all that would change soon. His Flaafy fainted as Cyrin's Mawhile used Iron Tail. Flint was thrown back by the impact, rocks flying everywhere.
"It is now time for you to fall Cyrin!" Flint yelled as he called out his last Pokemon.
"Go Dugtrio, it's showtime!" A Dugtrio came out and made no noise, a look of anger in their eyes.
"Trio, use Dig!" The Dugtrio burrowed under ground and hid as Cyrin's Mawhile pounded at the ground over and over with Iron Tail.
"You can come up now Trio!" The Dugtrio raced out of the ground and obliterated the foe's Mawhile.
"Ahhh, I can't lose to you!" Cyrin was starting to lose it. She sent of her last pokemon, a Blastoise.
"There is no hope now, I have the type advantage." Cyrin snickered
"That may be true, but I am smarter." Flint crouched and jumped into the air.
"Trio, use Magnitude!" Flint ran back towards the edge of the arena, and for good reason.
Dugtrio sent out a huge magnitude 10 earthquake, taking out Cyrin's Balstoise in one hit.
The speaker came on,
"What an upset, it appears the underdog Flint has won the battle!"
No one said a word as Fint walked of with Dugtrio, eyes happy to no end. Cyrin sulked of muttering gibberish to herself.

 

[Lord Of Pain]

Nick was in a bad situation, he was on his last pokemon and his opponent had two left, "go Thor!" He said as he sent out an electrivier,"Thor use ice punch, then follow up with thunder!", electrivier 's hand glowed light blue as he punched the opponent's amoongus, which got frozen in a huge ice block, so Thor didn't have any problem hitting it with thunder.
"And looks like amoongus is down!" Said the announcer, "go metagross!" Said Nick's opponent, "metagross use metal claw" he said, "Thor use brick break!" Said Nick, Thor's fist glowed white as he avoided metagross's attack only to hit it with his own.
"And looks like Nick has won the battle!" Said the announcer as Nick returned his Pokemon to his pokeball, unlike most trainers he doesn't keeps his pokeballs on a belt, but in a pokeball case shaped like a war hammer. Nick got some of his blond hair out of the way to see the audience cheering for him. he decided to go watch the other contestants in their battles.

 

[Trucro]

Jacob held his breath as he looked on. A Dugtrio taking down a Blastoise in a single hit! No matter the trainer, and the weakness of the pokemon which was evident to Jacob, to take down a Blastoise with one move was impressive. Jacob took note of the trainer… Flint was his name. He would need a plan to take down that Dugtrio, just in case they went up against him. Dugtrios were nasty pokemon to fight. They were quick to go underground where they’d be untouchable to Jacob’s pokemon, and with a move like Magnitude, the pokemon could attack without risking itself.


Jacob was deep in thought when someone tapped him on the shoulder. He turned to see Martha, smiling and waving at him. Confused, it took Jacob a moment to smile back before coming in for a hug.


“Martha! What are you doing here?” Jacob asked rhetorically, before realizing it was a perfectly good question. “You’re not here to battle are you?”


“Oh no,” she responded. “But I heard you were, and I thought I would come and cheer you on!” The old woman looked frail on the outside, but her skills as a pokemon trainer were beyond Jacob’s hopes for himself. A world renown trainer, she was respected as possibly the greatest Fairy-Type trainer alive. Jacob’s family connections had gotten him her as his tutor, but he never reached her level. It was good, Jacob thought, that she wasn’t in the tournament; she’d probably have it in the bag.


Jacob turned to look at the stadium as the next group began to prepare for their battle. But he wasn’t interested. “Martha, would you like to find something to eat?”


“That sounds great,” she replied, stretching out her arm. Jacob took it, and together they left the stadium. The hotels were within the city of Slateport, only a block away from the stadiums themselves. The hotels came in many forms, but Jacob was lucky enough to be in a cabin-style room with its own yard on the edge of the property.


“So,” Martha began once they had finished eating. “Do you know what you’re going to do in your next battle? I missed your first one, but I heard you did well!”


“Well I won,” Jacob replied, “if that’s what you mean. But it took me everything I had.”


“I see,” she replied. “And Nero, how’s he?” She inquired about Jacob’s Blaziken. He grabbed Nero’s pokeball from his belt and released him. In a flash, the Blaziken appeared, standing beside the cabin. The pokemon happily walked over to Martha, an old friend. She rubbed him on the head and Blaziken smiled. “He’s looking good; stronger than h did when we last met.”


“He should be,” Jacob replied. “We have been training for some time since I was your student, afterall.”


“That is true,” she responded. “I had hoped you would have. Perhaps sometime, when you aren’t so focused on the tournament, we could have a rematch?”


“Of course,” Jacob smiled. “Sometime.”

 

[Curtkid]

"Brace yourself Flare!", Curt yelled to the Ninetails right as his opponents Sylveons Shadow Ball struck her and knocking her back. Curt thought Flare would be a sure win against whatever his opponent threw out, giving her amazing Special Attack power, unfortunately, his opponent decided to go with the Fairy-Type Sylveon, a Pokemon with high Special Defense, their battle finally boiled down to Flare dancing around her opponent and trying to whittle them down, but their opponent finally got a hit in. Thankfully, Flare was able to tough out that attack, but another hit or two like that, and they were done. Both Curt and his opponent (Micheal, yeah, that was his name) were down to thier last Pokemon and neither of them were going to give this match up without a fight.

"Alright Sylveon, let's hit her one more time and finish this match!", Micheal yelled to his partner. The Sylveon eagerly responded to his trainer by readying another Shadow Ball. Curt kept his focus on his opponent as the Intertwining Pokemon launched his attack, the great dark purple glob heading straight for Flare.

"We're not done yet, Flare, dispel it!", Curt yelled. On command, the Fox emitted a quick pulse of dark energy, disintegrating the ghost type attack before it reached her, but they weren't finished yet.

"Now quickly, Confuse Ray!" Flare locked her gaze with the Sylveons and a bright flash emitted from her eye's, almost immediately the Sylveon began lumbering around like it was in a daze, confusion had hit its mark. Micheal tried ordering his partner to use Shadow Ball again, but the poor Pokemon ended up missing by a long shot in its confused state.

"Alright Flare, Flamethrower, full power!", Curt yelled. Flare immediately obliged by launching a massive stream of hot fire from her mouth, completely torching the Fairy Pokemon and finally bring it down. Curt let out a sigh of relief as he heard the Charmander at his side, Embertail, let out a cheer for the Fire Fox's victory. Like always, the Lizard Pokemon, who never was a fan of Pokeballs, was right at his side.

"Great work Flare", Curt said as they walked over to the Fox Pokemon , "you need any medicine or anything?"

"No, I should be fine, but that battle was still quite a work out, and I would like to walk it off, if you don't mind", the Ninetails said through her telepathy. Though Flare had been traveling with them for a while know, Curt still wasn't completely used to a Pokemon that was capable of telepathy, he knew that really old Ninetails were capable of learning such an ability, but actually experiencing it was another thing entirely. Curt gave a quick glance at Micheal, who was making sure his Sylveon was O.K before he returned his attention towards Flare.

"If you feel well enough to walk, then I don't think I can stop you", Curt said giving his partner a warm smile, "come on, let's go thank our opponent for a good match, and then we can get something to eat", Curt finished as he began walking over to his opponent, the two Fire-type Pokemon following behind him.

 

[Lord Of Pain]

After getting bored from taking notes of the other trainers, nick decided to go to a hotel to stay in, he had his electivier and his sableye following him, "good job thor! you did great, sorry that you were K.Oed fast loki..." He said to his pokemons as he noticed a guy with a blaziken, "isn't that the kid with the mamoswine called tusk? Maybe I should go say hello to him, what do you think?" He asked his pokemons, there only reply was a nod.
"Hi there, my name is nick, what's yours?"

 

[Ingusto]

Flint decided to leave the stadium and talk a walk alone for a while. He had payed close attention to the other trainers but had gotten bored. A short trail popped up at the edge of the road. He walked through it only to find a horde of Pokemon up in the trees. Arboks and Ekans stared him down and he ran out the trail. He reached the end of the trail where a small hotel stood where Nick and Jacob were also staying. He walked up to them and asked "Hi I"m Flint, what's your name?"

 

[Trucro]

Jacob and Martha were sitting, talking to each other on Jacob’s porch, when a young man walked up to them. Close behind the newcomer was an Electivire, towering over him, and a Sabeleye at his heels. Jacob didn’t recognize the man, but his attention was taken with the man’s introduction.


“Hi Nick, I’m Jacob, and this is Martha,” he said, pointing to his friend sitting beside him.


“How are you, Nick?” She asked in a very grandmother-y fashion, tilting her head with what Jacob recognized as false interest. Jacob knew he would hear complaints of the boy’s interruption later; that’s just the way older women were, he figured.


It looked as though Nick was about to say something when another young man interrupted. This one he recognized as Flint, even before the boy said his name. He was the one with the powerful Dugtrio, the one that Jacob still had yet to come up with a way to defeat. He looked over at his Blaziken, Nero, whose eyes were darting back and forth between the two young men.


“Yes, Flint, I saw your battle before. I’m Jacob, and this is Martha.” This time, Martha said nothing, but merely nodded her head towards the both of them. He could tell she was annoyed. “Look, boys, I was just about to do some training. Perhaps we could do this later; after all, I wouldn’t want you to see what I can do before we battle, eh?” With this Jacob stood, hoping that the two trainers would get the message.

 

[Curtkid]

"Rawrew!"

"I think you're right Embertail, I do believe this is our hotel", Curt said to his fire-tailed partner. After he and the rest of his Pokemon ate a lot of them wanted to immediately go check out the Slateport Bazaar, Curt included, until Flare mentioned that a person unaccustomed to the size and wonder of The Bazaar could end up losing count of their money in all that spectacle. The Bazaar on a regular day was bad enough, but in the middle of a big Pokemon tournament like this one, the vendors would be bringing out their finest and most expensive goods, and a person who promised themselves that they would only browse The Bazaar would soon wined up finding themselves broke before the night was over.

So they decided to head to the hotel first, get a room to leave their belongings (and a good chunk of their money) in, and THEN head to the Bazaar. Of course, when they got their it turns the people who were staying in the room Curt booked hadn't finished vacating yet, so Curt, Embertail, and Flare were waiting in the hotel's lobby bored out of thier wits, the former two sitting on one of the couches while Flare curled up at the end of it, and was reading a book.

"So Flare, earlier you talked about the Bazaar like you've been to it before, have you", Curt asked the Ninetails. Embertail, who was occupying himself by swinging his feet, perked up and turned his attention towards Flare. The Fox Pokemons past was a subject of mystery to his team, a subject each one of them wanted to know more about.

"(Hmmm? Oh, yes, I went to The Slateport Bazaar about two-hundre-, along time ago with my first trainer)", Flare told the two, "I remember that poor man spending so much money he ended up not having enough to afford a ship ride home, he-he had to send a Wingull to his manor asking them to send money". Flare finished with a soft chuckle. Curt sometimes forgot how old Flare was, she rarely talked about her past with her first trainer, Curt did even think she mentioned his name. He was honestly surprised he got this much out of her.

"Rewro, Rawor rahro", Embertail growled.

"(Well, yes you're right, I supposed you'd have to be, well off, to own a manor, but I.....say, i-isn't that Jacob?)", Flare said pointing towards the lobby's dining area. Flare was beginning to show signs of wanting to change the subject, but the tone of her voice (if telepathic voices could have tones) implied literal surprise. Curt and Embertail looked to where se was pointing, and sure enough, there he was.

"Huh, well whatdya know, I think that is Jacob", Curt said, his voice a mix of surprise and excitement. He hadn't seen Jacob since their subterranean adventure in The Glittering Caverns. He and his Tangrowth, Atlas if Curt remembered correctly, saved their hide from two very territorial Steelix. Embertail was enthusiastically waving at the man, but he didn't appear to notice. If Curt knew Embertail, he was going to run over to Jacob and say "hi" once he realized waving at him wasn't going to get his attention.

"You can say "hi" to him later Embertail, he seems a little preoccupied right now", Curt said to The Lizard Pokemon, causing him to look slightly crestfallen, "do think he's here for the tournament, I didn't see him fight?", Curt asked the two fire-types.

"(Well, we did get there right before our match, so we probably just missed his battle)", Flare said. Jacob seemed to be talking with two other trainers, before standing up and heading outside with an older women,"(though I have to wonder, who is that women he's with, she seems...familiar)". Curt, oddly enough, felt like he recognized her from somewhere to, but he couldn't put his finger on it.

"(Well, we can worry about it later, what I want to know it what's taking them so long t- EMBERTAIL) RAAROOW!",Flare cried out the last part in both telepathy and a bark, causing a few people to turn their heads. Embertail had immediately began trailing after Jacob.

"H-how'd he do that, he was on the couch just a second ago", Curt said in partial disbelieve. Curt knew his friend was could move fast, even stealthy when he wanted to be, but this was a new level of sneakiness from him. Letting out a sigh, Curt brought himself up and slung his bag over his shoulder.

"(I swear, sometimes I truly find it hard to believe he's as old as you are, he act's like he was hatched yesterday, honestly, he makes you look mature by comparison)", Flare said as she used telekinesis to return her book to Curt's backpack.

"Yeah, uh, well...let's go get him before he get's Jacob pissed at us", Curt groaned as he began to head out the door, Flare following closely behind. Embertail could be impetuous at times, but even HE should have sense enough not to interrupt anything Jacob and the elder women were planning on doing, at least, they hoped so.

 

[Frontier Master]

Sky over slateport city 10:25 Am

"Ok, master jake we are now on final approach to slateport airport we should be clear to disembark within the next half hour" said a male voice over the PA system of the 2nd Anistar family jet
"Thank you Bernard, tell ground control to have my car ready when we land" replied the 17 year old as he pulled on his leather jacket and checked his hair in the mirror of the jets bathroom
"Yes sir, right away"
"It's gonna be a fun tournament this year" thought jake once he had finished tweaking his hair

---one hour later---

"Welcome back Mr Anistar we have you booked in room 36A the champion suite and your first match is at 1:30 this afternoon" chirped the young pretty receptionist behind the desk in the registration building
"Thanks Kelsi but please just call my Jake, Mr Anistar is my fathers name" jake replied slipping the room key and schedule into his jacket pocket.

---5 minutes later in room 36A---

"Guys come on out, we're back to our home away from home" Jake said as he released five of his six Pokemon
"In time 'cal you will have your grand appearance" tapping the last of his pokeballs on his belt

"Now lets see who we're up against" said the trainer turning on the TV and switching to the live coverage of the tournament the first battles just starting to kick off

---three hours later---

"Jake Anistar please report to stadium 3 for your qualifying battle" said a robotic voice in jakes hotel room
"Ok guys time to shine" said jake as he grabbed his pokeballs and headed to the ground floor
"Good luck jake, your up against some kid from hoenn his names mike" said kelsi as jake left the building
"Thanks Kelsi, but I don't need luck"

---30 minutes later---

"Welcome back ladies and gentle men to the match of the day, our young challenger local boy mike is now down to his final pokemon, while jake the favorite has only just lost his first pokemon charizard to the aftermath of mikes driflim, we now return to the action it seems both trainers are ready
"Go Frostbyte!" said mike as he released his Aerous
"Do me proud Scar!" Yelled jake as he threw the lucario's pokeball upward
Both Pokemon landed on opposite ends of the stadium
"Frostbyte use shear cold!" Yelled max wanting to defeat lucario quickly
"Scar mega evolve then use protect!" Replied jake as his Pokemon was engulfed in light before it suddenly reappear taller, stronger, faster, and not a moment too soon as shear cold moved closer then at the last second it was stopped by an invisible barrier before disappearing completely
"Nice try but its not that easy to defeat me, scar use aura storm!" Jake yelled as lucario sent sphere after sphere after sphere of energy toward the ice rock type which could do nothing to protect itself CRASH the ice rock Pokemon lay dazed on the ground.
"Come on Frostbyte you can do it get up!" Yelled mike desperately trying to get through to his Pokemon and slowly but surely the Pokemon rose once more
'Should I take it out now jake?' Asked the lucario telepathically
'Not yet but have a flash cannon charged and ready' responded the trainer
CRUNCH the ice rock type finally landed back on its feet
"Great work Frostbyte now use hail then follow it with blizzard!" Yelled mike amazed his Pokemon was back on its feet
"Now scar use flash cannon before it can finish using hail!" Yelled jake seeing his opportunity and seizing it
BOOM CRASH the ice rock type lay fainted on the ground pushed 5 meters back by the force of the attack
"Frostbyte return you did great" said mike disappointed with how easily he had been beaten

"Good match mike you did well, tell you what here's my number call me if you ever need tips or advice or to challenge me to a rematch" said jake as he returned his lucario and offered mike his hand
"Will do thx jake and good luck with the rest of the championship" replied the young boy

 

[Ingusto]

Flint walked over to Jake after the battle.
"Nice battle kid, that was very impressive." Flint smiled at Jake. "I'm Flint Hawthorn and this is my Dugtrio." He sent out his Dugtrio and it took a defensive stance next to next. "Ha relax boy, he means us no harm. He's just another trainer. Anyway you must be Jake Anistar right? Did you see my battle, it was insane!?"

 

[Frontier Master]

"Yeah I'm jake Anistar" offering flint his hand "yeah I saw your battle your strategy was different very different you seen normally I'm not a big fan of one hit KO moves i like the pull and push of an intense battle, I mean I'm all for winning etc but I also like to win with honour and to make my opponent feel like they did well in the battle instead of being knocked out by a lucky shot" jake said trying to be honest, he was used to newer trainer doing it all the time just using powerful moves instead of good strategy

 

[Ingusto]

"Yes I understand that, but magnitude is a very unpredictable move. He used it at max power that time." Flint did now feel bad for what he did. "In all honesty I didn't want it to be like that. He's never used that move at that strength before. I shouldn't have beat him, but I did. I'll go easier from now on, sound good?"

 

[Lord Of Pain]

Nick was called for his next battle so he headed to the stadium, he was waiting for his opponent to arrive and was shocked to see it was an old friend of his.
"Nat icinger, as I live and breath!" Said nick, "we meet again Nick aiser!" Said Nat, "well then let's begin, go Loki!" Said Nick, sending sableye, "go fenrir!" Yelled Nat sending out a zangoos.

-------3 minutes later---------

Nat was down to 3 pokemons and Nick only had 2 left, "you remember when you gave me those 3 eggs that you somehow got from breeding incompatible pokemons with your sableye?" Asked Nat, breathing heavily, "yes, and i see you have been training them" answered Nick while sending the next Pokemon, "go Freya!" He said sending a blazekin, unlike most blazekins it's feathers where a bit darker and the Pokemon showed some feminine traits, showing it's a female.
Fenrir the zangoose was shocked and expected to be defeated by a fighting type move, but was caught off guard with an attract, "fenrir use slash!" But unluckily for Nat the zangoose was smited by the beauty of Freya and could not move, "Freya use bulk up then follow with flame charge!" Fenrir finaly snapped out of it but it was too late, Freya got 3 bulk ups as well as speed boosts and one hit K.Oed the zangoose, getting 2 more speed boosts in the process, "come back fenrir, go jotorhym!" Said Nat sending a seviper, "jotorhym use double team!" But Freya was to fast for him, with another attract and flame charge the seviper was out, "you have improved! Go hel !" He said sending a shiny gardivoir, "thanks, come back Freya! Go Thor!" He said sending electivier, which had difficulty hitting the Pokemon but eventually won the battle.
"Looks like Nick has won the battle!" Said the announcer as both Nick and Nat left the stadium, "I still can't believe that Freya easily beaten both fenrir and jotorhym! 2 pokemons 10 levels higher than hers!" Said Nat, "have been training a lot so it was no surprise to me" said Nick as they passed Flint and jake.

 

[Ingusto]

"Nice battle Nick! But tell me, what was your strategy? You seem to be able to beat strong trainers with weaker pokemon. How'd you do it?" Flint pulled out his Dugtrio again. "This is Dug, he pretty much destroyed the last trainer I fought. But that proved to be a bad thing because it drastically shortened the battle. I wonder who we fight now?"

 

[Lord Of Pain]

Nick looked at flint said "well it is mostly team effort and strategy but even though Freya did well in the last battle, my main three are Thor, Loki and a third Pokemon that I keep for support" saying the last part in a mysterious tone, "but still, that blazekin did some work there!" Said Nat, "at the end it's just my quick thinking skills and nothing more, but you, to make a dugtrio that powerfull you mast have trained a lot!" Said nick

 

[Ingusto]

"Honestly, I've never used that move before. He learned it but never at that strength. I'm still learning so my strategy changes from battle to battle. This may prove to be my downfall later in the tournament. I wonder when the next round battles will be announced? Maybe we will fight each other. Now wouldn't that be fun?" Flint chuckles.

 

[Lord Of Pain]

"It sure will" said Nick as he also wondered when the next matches be held, suddenly he noticed a small figure next to him, it was Loki, "so you want to go back to your pokeball?" Asked Nick, which was answered by a nod, "OK then, here you go" said Nick as he retrieved his Pokemon and placed the ball into his war hammer pokeball case, "so...what do you usually do between battles?".

 

[Trucro]

Jacob and Martha walked back through the building, out to an open field behind the cabins. There was a decent width between Jacob’s cabin, and the line of trees that separated the cabins from the rest of the city. This, Jacob thought, would be a good place for some practice. Jacob turned to Nero, his Blaziken, who was walking beside him. Nero was his most powerful pokemon, and his oldest friend. If there was anyone who would be able to defeat Martha, it was him.

Nonetheless and for the same reason, he could not risk Nero getting hurt. Besides, Nero was the pokemon least in need of training. He reached to his belt and pulled out two pokeballs.

“Alright guys, let’s get things started!” He said as he released the pokeballs into the air. They opened, one right after another, revealing Jacob’s Politoed, Plank, and his Reuniclus, Joker. “You two ready?” He asked.

“Poli!” Plank responded in excitement. Joker was less enthused, releasing a low “Reeeee.” Joker was never overly enthused about battling, but that didn’t mean he was bad at it. Jacob had gotten used to his style, and they were working well together now.

“Wow,” Martha replied. “It looks like your pokemon have grown some since I last saw them. Look how big Plank has gotten!” She said, smiling, and Plank began to blush. “But let’s see have much stronger they’ve gotten,” she said, releasing two of her own pokeballs. In two flashes, her Granbull, Snuffles, and her Togekiss, Ari, appeared in front of her. “Shall we begin?” she asked, rhetorically.

Jacob didn’t wait. “Plank, use water gun! Joker, use Psyshock!” Both pokemon released their projectiles towards their opponents.

“Ari(Togekiss), Snuffles(Granbull), dodge!” Ari took off into the sky as Snuffles leapt to the side, avoiding the attacks. “Now, counter with Sky Attack and Thunder Fang!” The Togekiss glowed white and rushed forwards with a Sky Attack, as Snuffles prepared a Thunder Fang.

“Joker, stop Ari with Reflect! Plank, dodge and use bubblebeam!” Jacob’s Reuniclus was surrounded in a protective sphere as he lifted himself into the air, on equal footing with Ari. The pokemon clashed, bouncing off of one another again and again, Meanwhile, Martha’s Granbull jumped forward, trying to catch Jacob’s Politoed in her fangs, but Plank dodged each move, releasing a beam of bubbles towards the pokemon who adeptly stepped out of the way. “Now, Plank, use double slap!” His Politoed’s hands glowed white as the pokemon rushed towards the Granbull.

“Snuffles, use outrage!” Martha shouted back. As his opponent’s Granbull glowed red, he knew he was in trouble. Outrage was an incredibly powerful attack, and Jacob was certain Plank wouldn’t be able to handle it. He was right. Snuffles rushed towards Plank, easily dodging the pokemon’s double-slap attack and smashing into the Politoed, knocking Plank to the ground. “Now, Ari, let’s finish this! Use Aura Sphere!” The Togekiss released a sphere of energy that crashed into Jacob’s Reuniclus’s defense, destroying it and sending Joker falling to the ground in a smoking heap. He landed beside Plank on the ground. Both pokemon were struggling to stand. “That’s probably enough,” Martha said as Snuffles’ outrage ended, and Ari returned to the ground.

Jacob nodded before walking over to his pokemon, who had managed to rise to their feet. Plank and Joker could have continued, but it was clear that they wouldn’t be able to win; neither of them had landed a single hit. He turned to look at Plank.

“You’ve really improved,” he said to his Politoed, who smiled back at him. He pulled out a pokeball and recalled him. He then turned to his Reuniclus. “Joker, I haven’t seen you fight like that in a while!” he exclaimed, quickly recalling the psychic type to his own pokeball. Nero(Blaziken) stepped up from behind to Jacob’s side, as he looked up at Martha who was recalling her own pokemon.

Something caught his attention from the corner of his eye. It was a Charmander, but it looked particularly familiar; where had he seen it before? But then he saw the Ninetails and its trainer close behind and he knew; it was Curt. Jacob smiled and walked over to the group, beginning to speak.

“Hey Curt! Good to see you here!” He began, and glancing down at Embertail who appeared particularly excited. “This is my friend Martha,” he said, motioning towards the older woman by his side. “She’s been helping me train for the tournament. I didn’t know you’d be coming by!”

 

[Softty]

Kenneth groaned, his hand over his eyes as he took a moment to recover from the scene of the battle.

"Good job, Granbull! I'm so proud of you, you're such a cutie." The opponent cooed, her hair swaying with her words as her pokemon turned back at her with a triumphant smile. The crowd cheered in low moderate waves. It wasn't the most thrilling battle to see a pokemon charmed and easily taken out.

Oh jeez, Scyther, despite how serious you look, you're too much of a softie. I can't believe you were charmed by that. Kenneth thought as he gave the Granbull a good look.
"Return!" He called, warping his Scyther in red light. His hand hovered over two pokeballs before deciding on one. This was the problem with having all male teams.

BOTH TRAINERS ARE DOWN TO THEIR LAST POKEMON.

As the speakers announced their current battle, he threw a pokeball into the air before catching it. A wisp of silver flooded the arena as the crowds dimmed into hushed voices of awe. Ninetails, with a coat of silver, stared the opponents down with a clear gaze.

"G-Granbull! Use Char-"
"Confuse Ray."

A sinister flash of light flooded the Granbull's eyes, causing the pokemon to sway in confusion.
"Snap out of it Granbull! Use Headbutt!"
Hearing the distant command of his trainer, Granbull rushed forward before smashing his head into the ground.
"Ninetails, use Fire Spin and rush along it with Flame Charge!"

A ring of fire materialized, circling the two pokemon as Ninetails began to seethe with burning flames. All together, the ring moved inwards, closing its vortex in on Granbull as Ninetails charged forward. A critical hit as Ninetails made full flaming impact with Granbull's body, before leaping away to avoid the rushing vortex that followed right after.
"Granbull, no!" The opponent cried, rushing forward before being stopped by one of the referees. As the flames vanished, Granbull was revealed to have fainted. Quickly she called back her pokemon, and hugged the pokeball close to her chest.

KENNETH HARVEY IS THE WINNER OF THIS MATCH.

"Return." He called, and latched the pokeball on his belt along with the others.

 

[Ingusto]

Flint walked over to Kenneth. "That was a great battle! I love your strategy! I see you have a Ninetales, mind if I introduce my Dugtrio to it? I'm sure they wouldn't hurt each other. Sound alright?" Flint was the kind of person that congratulated every trainer that won after their battles. He liked encouraging them to give more of a fighting spirit when ever they fought. He very rarely wanted to introduce his pokemon though. But he thought he'd give it a shot. He waited patiently for Kenneth's answer. "Oh I almost forgot! I'm Flint Hawthorn, a trainer from a far away island. You are?"

 

[Softty]

Receiving his pokeballs from the healing machine, Kenneth turned into Flint who was walking over to him.
"Thanks.." He said, his brows raised with slight surprise. Silently retrieving his pokeball from his belt, he released Ninetails. Closing its eyes, the silver fox did a polite nod towards the unfamiliar trainer.
With a subtle smile, Kenneth extended his hand and shook Flint's with a firm grip.
"Nice to meet you Flint, I'm Kenneth. I'm from Celadon City in Kanto." He said, staring at him with peculiar jade eyes. "Actually, I saw yours and Dugtrio's battle, and I gotta say I'm impressed." His eyes softened, and so did his smile as it extended into a grin.

 

[Ingusto]

"Thanks man, I appreciate it. That honestly was I no way shape or form planned to happen. I had no idea Dug here had that much power in him." At that time his Dugtrio ran out from behind him and hugged Kenneth for a some reason in a awkward way.

 

[Softty]

Kenneth crouched down to meet eyes with Dugtrio. "Yeah, buddy, you're a strong one." He said, and smiled at the awkward hug. Ninetails walked over to the ground type pokemon, and stared down at it with a red gaze. The fox was very calm in nature, and held an air of dignity. However, with respect, he lowered his snout to the ground and greeted the fellow pokemon.
With a soft smile, Kenneth stood and gave Flint a good look.
"But man, gotta appreciate that full on sprint you did."

 

[Ingusto]

"Thanks! Want to go get some lunch? We can talk strategy if you'd like?" Flint walked over to the Ninetales and started to pet him. Flint wasn't sure if the Ninetales liked it or not. But he did notice the sense of respect from him. Flint bowed and stepped back from Kenneth. "I like that Ninetales you have. He shows a lot of respect towards you and others. That is a great quality. You also show a strong bond. How long have you been together?"

 

[Softty]

Kenneth beamed, "Yeah, I'm starving."
As Flint walked over, Ninetails sat up and obediently tilted his head to let Flint pet him.
"Oh- thanks." Kenneth muttered, feeling a little embarrassed. Exchanging glances with his Ninetails, he sighed. "Although sometimes I feel as if I'm the one being led around. Especially when I first caught him." Looking back to Flint, he gestured for them to start walking towards the food courts. "I think its been about 4 months? Hasn't been too long. How about you and your Dugtrio?" He asked, looking down at Dug with a smile.

 

[Ingusto]

"He was my dad's. I come from a miner family and I'm all that's left. My mom and dad died in a mine collapse and Dug was all I had then. He has been with me for sixteen years. But he has been in this family for 25 years. HE is pretty old but was never trained properly which is why I"m training him now. Sorry to be a downer. Where to for lunch?"

 

[Softty]

Kenneth ruffled his dark hair and nodded. "I'm sorry to hear.." He said and pointed towards a Mexican food stand then to a Italian restaurant, wondering which Flint would prefer. "Well," He said, "for an old timer, Dug's pretty strong. I think it's amazing to grow up with a pokemon like that." Looking down at his pokeball belt, he fiddled with one of them. "I've been with my Scyther since I could remember."

 

[Ingusto]

"Interesting, I say we try both restaurants to have a 'Mexi-Talian' feast. Sound alright with you? It isn't that bad after while, you get used to it which honestly bothers me a lot. I don't want to be used to having no parents. But enough about that, let's dine!"

 

[Softty]

Keeping silent, Kenneth slightly nodded. He couldn't relate to the death of parents, but understood what it meant to have none.
Kenneth looked down at both his plates of pasta and quesadillas.
"I gotta say, this Mexi-Talian fusion was a pretty great idea."
Taking a few bites, he glanced over at Flint. "You wanted to talk about strategies, right?"

 

[Frontier Master]

Jake having defeated mike and introducing himself to flint was now starving he hadn't eaten since a very light breakfast on the jet
"What ya say guys wanna grab some lunch?" Said the trainer to his pokeballs as he slowly headed in the direction of the food court
"Um hi could I please get a large caramel thick shake" asked jake finally deciding on what to order
"Sure anything else?" Asked the woman behind the counter
"No thats it thanks"
"Ok your order will ready soon"

---5 minutes later---

"Order number 36, large caramel thick shake"
"Yep that's me" said jake collecting his order
"Wait is that flint?" Jake said to himself
Jake walked over to the two trainers
"Hey guys, is it ok if I sit and eat with you?" Jake asked

 

[Curtkid]

"Glad to see you too Jacob, yeah, I had to head to Mauville anyway's to help my little brother out, so I figured I might as well participate", Curt began, returning the fellow trainers warm smile, "I'm just glad that Embertail here had good enough sense not to- wait do you say Martha, like THEE Fairy-Type master, Martha"? Curt's entire party immediately turned their attention to the elder women. Now it dawned on them why she seemed so familiar to them.

"I KNEW I recognized you from somewhere, me and my friends used to watched your battles all the time on T.V when we were little kids", Curt said, not even trying to hide his enthusiasm and he wasn't the only one. Embertail was bouncing in place, a wider-then-normal grin plastered on his face, meet a childhood star of his had sent excitement coursing through his veins. Even Flare seemed to be intrigued at meeting the elite Fairy-Type trainer.

"I-it's a real honor to meet you, truly", Curt said as he scratched the be back of his head, his typical nervous tick. He noticed Embertail extend his claw to shake Martha's hand, and intended to follow his bro's example, until a vibration through his belt took his focus.

"W-what, oh no, Whips, not now", Curt said furrowing his brow and he plucked a shaking Pokeball from his belt, "j-just please behave, you can come out, just don't- GAHHH!"

Curt was cut off as his Pokeball snapped open, revealing a massive, bulky, eight-foot Dragonite, the most powerful Pokemon in Curt's arsenal. Though not as long as Embertail, Whips had been with Curt through most of his childhood, and just like the other two, had also watched Martha and her team battle. Ever since he was a little Dratini, he had wanted to battle the Fairy-Trainer and her team, and right now he had his gaze locked with Martha's. He didn't seem to be trying to initiate a challenge with his gaze, more like it was that he was sizing her up, trying to see if after all these years she still lived up to the hype of being the Fairy-Type titan of his youth.

"S-sorry about that, it's just, uh, Jacob, you remember Whips, right, heheh?", Curt said as he, Embertail ,and Flare immediately tried to get between the dragon and Martha, "he also saw you battle when he was a little Dratini and has wanted to meet you ever since. H-He's always had a bit of an competitive spirit towards Fairy-Types, you see, dragon pride and all that", Curt said giving an awkward smile. To Martha's great credit, she didn't even flinch when Whips popped out of his ball, even as the massive dragon locked his gaze with her's, she didn't move a inch, she didn't even reach for one of her Pokemon.

Dragonites might look cute and cuddly in pictures, but you quickly realize there are few things scarier once you have one glaring down out you, and Whips was defiantly not a particular cheery Dragonite. Yet if Martha was afraid, she did not show it, she just stood there, staring into Whips like she was looking into the dragons very soul. The situation didn't seem like it was going to turn violent, but Curt and his team still felt like they should defuse the situation, just encase.

"However, he knows we're in a tournament right now, and we can't afford use our energy on an intense battle right this minute, riiiight?", Curt said, sounding more like he was bargaining then trying to be forceful with the huge Pokemon. Thankfully, it appeared the message reached Whips, the dragon allowed himself one last look at Martha, let out an frustrated grunt, and moved out of the trainers path.

"Phew", Curt and Embertail said in unison, both equally relieved, "Again, I'm really sorry about that, Whips is my strongest Pokemon, so he feels like that gives him extra leeway to do whatever he wants", Curt finished as the Dragonite let out a snort. Still, Curt noted that whatever Whips got from staring at Martha, it impressed him, or at least, didn't leave him disappointed.

"S-so Jacob, Miss Martha, we we're just about to head to the Slateport Bazaar and look around a bit, after we checked into our rooms", Curt said trying to return to conversation towards less tense levels, "seeing as we have a bit before the next round of the tournament start, would either of you like to join us, we would really appreciate the company?"

 

[Ingusto]

"I see that everyone is eating with us now. I say that after this tournament we go on an adventure of some kind and explore different regions around here. I'm sure we'd learn a lot from it all. Sound good with you guys?"

 

[Frontier Master]

"Sounds good for me" replied jake

 

[Trucro]

Jacob smiled as Whips was released from his pokeball. The pokemon sure had changed since his days as a Dragonair. Jacob had always loved dragon types, and he was sorry he hadn’t collected one during his years traveling through Kalos. The Dragonite’s stature was impressive, and he towered threateningly over Martha. Nero(Blaziken) had taken a hostile stop closer, but Jacob shot out his arm, blocking his pokemon from engaging. Martha just stood there, smiling at the pokemon until he yielded.

Jacob had actually forgotten how famous Martha used to be; she hadn’t battled on television in years. Still, it was interesting to see that Curt had followed her as a child, and it tickled Jacob to watch his nervous talking around her. Jacob looked over at Martha, who sent him a soft nod.

“Of course! We’d love to check out the Bazaar.” Jacob wasn’t lying; he had wanted to look through the Bazaar since he arrived two days ago. He simply hadn’t had the time. Jacob, Curt, Martha, Nero, Embertail, and Whips all headed down the path into the city, which wasn’t very far. In the meantime, Martha spoke up.

“So, Curt was it? How did you become a trainer? I hope it wasn’t my influence that led you down this path,” she joked, nudging Jacob with her shoulder. Jacob rolled his eyes. He hadn’t even heard of her until he began to train with her a few years back, and then it was only because of his grandmother’s connections. He recognized her as a powerful trainer, one of the eminent fairy-type trainers in the world, and they were close, but her jokes were simply not funny. “Your Charmander…. Embertail looks quite healthy; he’s energetic, and his eyes are bright. You’ve either done a great job with him, or else you’ve gotten very lucky.” She half joked again. Jacob wanted to throw up.

“Martha,” Jacob interjected. “You know I never told you how we met! It was on my last visit in Kalos, roughly…. What was it a few months ago? Anyway-”

“You were in Kalos,” Martha interrupted. “And you didn’t come to see ME?” she said, feigning anger.

“Yes, well, I apologize, but I was there for a class assignment, so I really didn’t have any time for my own,” he said, lying in part about his free time. “Anyway, we were trapped in a cave together, and it took us some time to escape,” he said, looking over a Curt. They had almost arrived at the Bazaar, and Nero was still looking warily at Whips. Jacob wasn’t surprised; his Blaziken had always enjoyed tough opponents, and Whips was unlikely to disappoint. But it didn’t make sense to have a battle then, not when they could easily be facing each other in their battles tomorrow.

They arrived at the Bazaar in no time, with the many carts and booths set up throughout the area. People and pokemon were everywhere, and Jacob motioned to Nero to stay close. It would be easy to lose someone in the crowd.

 

[Lord Of Pain]

Nick had his training program planed for between battles, and since Nat was here it all got better, "hey Nat do you mind if 3 of my Pokemon train with you?" He asked, Nat's reply was "yeah sure!", with that he handed him 3 pokeballs and left with Freya and Loki.
Although he was not hungry Freya needed extra care because she was female (males can be independent), as for Loki, he was a trickster and can not be trusted alone so Nick decided to head to the food court, he noticed Jake and Flint from earlier, "how about you guys go get your food and I'll catch up" he said as he opened his last pokeball, but before anyone could of seen what Pokemon it was it instantly transformed into an exact copy of Nick.
Nick went to the others and asked "mind if I join you guys?"

 

[Curtkid]

The famous Slateport Bazaar, even from here, anyone could see it filled with people and Pokemon alike, each and everyone of them enjoying the spectacle of it all. All around, vendors were advertising there goods from the colorful tents, no two things seemed to be exactly alike. Curt had to remember to check by his side for Embertail frequently, it was unlikely that he was going to lose track of an eight-foot tall dragon or a telepathic kitsune, even in this crowd, but a two-and-a-half foot lizard would be a different story.

Still, this wasn't the first time they made their way through thick crowds, they knew how to keep an eye on each other. Curt looked over at Whips, and made a note to thank the dragon for his restraint in response to Nero's challenging glares. Not long ago he would have demanded to battle The Blaziken on the spot, but after that whole fiasco at the Power-plant, he mellowed out quite a bit, now he was keeping himself to just returning Nero's glares. Making sure Embertail was still by his side, Curt turned to answer Martha's question.

"How'd I become a trainer, well, you can blame these guy's", Curt said with a small chuckle, pointing to Embertail and Whips,"I always enjoyed playing and battling with my Pokemon, but never really thought I'd enjoy traveling, however, after I finished school I was at a lost as to what to do with myself, so these guy's suggested that a Pokemon journey might, at the very least, help me find myself, best decision I was ever talking into". Martha's word now had him reminiscing on the days when he and his friends would challenge passerby's to battles in Cherrygrove.

"And yes, I got VERY lucky with Embertail, the guy's been cheery and energetic since we ran into each other when I was four years old", Curt finished as he and Embertail flashed each other a smile, "still I'm flattered that a trainer of your caliber would give us complement like that". As they moved along Curt heard Jacob telling Martha about their subterranean adventure, he thought about jumping into the conversation, but decided to leave the story telling to Jacob, it seemed like it should be his to tell. Though, he did decided to tell them about how Cassie got a Mega Stone for her Garchomp, Fang and the battle they had after everyone left.

"-And then Embertail, without even waiting for me to give an order, ignited a Flare Blitz and charged straight a Ryu, I tell you Jacob it wa-"

"YOUNG MAN! How would you like some of my special protein mixture for your Dragonite, sure to enhance its already incredible strength!", cried a near-bye vendor, completely startling Curt out of his story.

They had finally made it to the real beginning of the Bazaar, and almost immediately they caused some heads to turn. People and their Pokemon traveling together through the Bazaar was far from uncommon, but a trainer walking around with Pokemon like Blaziken and Dragonite were a bit of a different story. Both Pokemon were rather rare and powerful, seeing them just meandering around probably wasn't an everyday sight for more people, and rare Pokemon often meant skilled trainers, and skilled trainers were often well-off trainers. Sure enough, it didn't take long to grab the attention of multiple vendors, who wasted no time in advertising their wares to them.

"SIR! Over here! A fine and very rare piece of Charcoal for your Blaziken, an excellent buy for a fine Fire Pokemon such as he!", cried a completely different vendor, trying to talk Jacob into buying his wares. Martha was probably lucky no one recognized her, or else all these vendors would be on her like an Ursaring on Vespiquen honey.

"Sheesh Flare, I see what you mean, these people are relentless", Curt muttered to the fire fox following behind him.

"(Told you, the Slateport Bazaar has made many a rich man broke within a single evening, it is nice to see somethings don't change with time)", she said, a nostalgic smile on her face.

"Well it doesn't look like we're going to have to work hard to get anybody's attention here, eh, Jacob", Curt asked his fellow trainer, "you see anywhere worth checking out, 'cause if not, hehe, Embertail is making lovey eye's at that fudge stand over there".

 

[Pokechokey75]

(Can I join I promise I will follow all rules)

 

[Ingusto]

Flint caught up with the group. He stopped and panted heavily. "Wait, wait for me." Flint 'dragged' himself over to the group. "How are you guys doing? I see you are exploring this wondrous bazaar. It's such a big place I lost my Dugtrio can you help me find him?"

 

[Softty]

Kenneth, having finished his Mexi-Talian food, stood and nodded towards the other trainers.
Stepping outside, he walked towards the corner of the building concealed by bushes and shrubs. A wide patch of grass swayed in the wind like rolling green waves, lapping against the earth. He reached for his belt.

Gallade stood in the center of the small field, his arm raising just in time to block the scythe coming down at him. Pressing down, Scyther flew back, retreating then coming down on Gallade once more. The two pokemon continued to spar, their clashing blades creating a chorus of vibrating metal.
Kenneth stood further back, watching his two pokemon exchange blows.