"I think I will give Malley, my Ditto, the third spot on my half of the team then. That way we can either double up our advantages, or match our opponent with an equal force. Plus, transforming is bound to be a lot of fun just on its own." Seymour was really looking forward to the tournament now. Even if they lost in the first round, it would be a blast.

"Should we work on a bit of team building training before bed? I know Malley hasn't gotten a chance to hang out with everyone yet."

The man on the phone notes down your information, including your number of badges and home town. He was quite surprised by your answer, but quite happy about it too. With the paperwork settled, you go to bed, still thinking about your strategy for the next day.


You wake up the next morning to grab breakfast, and leave the hotel soon after. "I need to check on my ship. I'll make sure to head to the stadium to see you compete, though!" Joe says before heading back to the docks.

That leaves you a bit of time before the competition starts, should you wish to do a bit of shopping.

After a good night's sleep, Jake was eager to battle it out in the tournament. While he was not too interested in shopping in general, he did look for some TMs to potentially give him an edge in the coming fights.

He would also stop by a pokemon center to ensure all his pokemon were in tip-top shape before the battles began.

The only thing Seymour was interested in shopping for before the match were some extra healing supplies at a good price. But he wasn't overly concerned about it. If he found a good deal, great. If not, he would make due with what he had.

Seymour, like Jakey, also made sure to stop at the pokemon center one last time before their first match. When they two met back up, he said to his friend, "I hope you're ready! Let's show these people what a couple of out-of-towners candy do!"

Seymour does find some affordable potions and medicine, enough to bring his Healing items to Below Average.

Jake doesn't find many useful TMs. In the end, he can afford either Incinerate or Rock Smash, but doing so will drop his Pokédollar by one level.

With your shopping done, you head to the arena, a quite impressive building compared to the places you've fought before, being a true professional arena. People are already filling in, passing under a large screen announcing the tournament. The image changes to that of an alluring black woman with alabaster hair, a small Dedenne sitting on her shoulder.

Once you're inside, you soon find the passage for competitor, where you're allowed to pass once they confirmed your identity. You join the other competitor, where one of the manager explains the rules.

"Good day, everyone. I'm Cynthia, I'll be the one calling you when your match is up. A quick run down of the rules: matches are team battles between pairs of trainer, three pokémons per trainers. You can switch what pokémons you use between matches. If you need to, you can use the PC here to access your stored pokémons. All pokémons will be healed between matches. Only item held by pokémons can be used, no potions or X attack here.

The tournament is single elimination, with Bye rounds given at random to contenders with the fewest badges. Finally, you will be divided into three tiers, same as the gym classifications, based on badge numbers. Contenders are seeded at random, and only revealed at their first match."

With that, she shows the three competition boards. There's no name on them, but it does show you the size of each group. And the largest by far is the second tier, who have two elimination rounds before the quarter finals. With just one badge, you find yourself in the first tier, meaning you'll have three matches to get through at most.

The elimination round for the second tier starts the tournament, since there's so many of them. Most of the competitor are relaxing in one corner or another. Most contender are keeping their pokémons hidden, hoping to avoid giving away their strategy to their opponents.

Most.

The muted discussions around you are soon overshadowed by the threatening growls of a Mightyena looking ready to pounce a Ninjask.

Seeing the Mightyena and Ninjask ready to face off, Seymour smiled. Not because of the conflict he was witnessing, but because they were both pokemon types from his home region. He leaned over to Jakey. "Say, do you think there are other trainers in the tournament who are from other regions? Or are we the only two?" After a moment's consideration, he figured he might as well find out. "Actually, I'll go ask those two pokemons' trainers if they are from the region. Assuming they can avoid a pre-match scuffle..."

Seymour approached the site of the Mightyena-Ninjask conflict and waited for a good opening to speak with one of their trainers to ask if they were from Hoenn. He figured since they had their pokemon out of their pokeballs they wouldn't be as secretive as most.

Jake wasn't sure if they were the only ones, he knew there were other trainers brought into the region, but the event didn't seem to be as well advertised as say, the final league. In short, Jake just gave Seymour a shrug. He followed Seymour to the point of the conflict, but was noticeably behind Seymour rather than beside him. He was less sure about jumping into a scuffle than an election conflict.

Like most of the other trainers, Jake didn't reveal his pokemon, except for Roach. He hadn't been planning on using Roach, so he kept it out to potentially make other trainers think that he was going to use it. It was not a sophisticated con, but it could be a bit of an edge. More than trying to deceive other trainers, he kept his ears open to try to overhear anyone talking strategy. He hadn't been a part of a formal team battle before, so any hints he could pick up would be good info.

"Hey! Quit buzzing Basker!" A short girl with dark brown hair holds back her Mightyena.

Further off, a black-haired boy who's reaching under the room's benches shouts over his shoulder "it's his fault! Your dog opened Zippy's ball... can't reach..."

Most of the other trainers look at the dispute with a chuckle. One of the watcher close to you say "she's not gonna get far... I heard the Singing Sisters are participating..."

To which someone answers "no kidding? I'm glad I'm not in the third rank, then!"

You notice the various trainers are wearing their badges, showing off their successes. The girl seems to have four of them (a walkie-talkie, a truck wheel, a jet, and an anchor). Most other trainers have two or three, most of them having the radio and wheel, while a few have a trapezoid with five... bugs, maybe? And some wear the Nightvision badge you have acquired yourselves.

OOC: Who do you want to approach?

Seymour was intrigued by the mention of the Singing Sisters and would have liked to find out more about who they were, but he instead rushed over to help the person trying to reach under the bleachers. "Here, maybe I can help," Seymour said, retrieving a piece of his gear from his pack to try and extend his reach a bit. He did his best to help swat the lost pokeball out from under the seats.

"I'm Seymour, by the way," he said with his face pressed against the floor. "Is that your Ninjask flying around? Zippy? I've always thought they were pretty cool. Shedinja too."

"Yeah, it is... come back!" He recalls his pokémon, letting the Mightyena calm down. "I would have love to see a Shedinja, but my dad didn't know about them when he caught Zippy. So when he evolved, the shell got left behind. Oh, and I'm Tray. Nice to meet you!"

Now that he's standing, you see he has three badges: the Night-vision, the trapeze, and the Anchor.

"That's too bad about the Shedinja, but not too surprising. They are kind of a mystery, even in Hoenn." He gestured toward Tray's badge collection. "Oh wow. Three badges? That's pretty cool! I only have one so far. I'll probably try for my second after this tournament though in Roarac. Looks like we probably won't end up facing each other, since you have an anchor badge. Is that trapezoid badge from Roarac?" He was assuming the bug-like things on it were a representation of the hoard theme.

"Oh, yeah. The Swarm badge. It's a pretty tough one, for a first level gym. They give you a small outpost to defend, and they send waves of bugs after you. And you got to command three pokémons at the same time too!"

"Tray, Edward, April, and Janet, you're next!"

"Oh, looks like it's my turn already. I'll see you when I win!" With that, he heads out of the locker room.

While you wait, you hear a bit more about the Singing Sisters. It seems they're the favorite of the tournament, though they're more interested in show business than training. Seeing how open the gossip on them is, you're assuming they're not present.

Tray and his partner come back after a while, but before you can chat, you hear "Jeffrey, Paris, Seymour, and Falkner, you're up!" Cynthia guides you to your entrance, and you get a look at your opponents. One is a tall kid with brown hair, while the other is bald with ruddy skin.

You wait for the match before yours, before walking on the field. "And here they are, ladies and gentlement. Two of the visiting trainer joining us to show their talents!" That gets a mixed reaction from the crowd, but seems to surprise your opponents. At the judge's signal, they throw their first pokémons into the fray: a Lotad and a Chimchar.

OOC: Time to send out your pair, and choose your strategy!

Jake waved enthusiastically to the crowd as he was called out. He was a celebrity now, even though there was a mixed reaction, it was still a reaction.

He decided to start with his starter, Skipper,
"Hey, Skipper water down that Chimchar with your water gun! Keep going until you put out its fighting fire!"

He then looked to see what Seymour was planning... hopefully something to counter that Lotad. Lotad had an advantage against Skipper... but Growler and Duder would also be at a disadvantage.

Seymour was starting to feel nervous as the two of them walked out to face their opponents. And the fact that they were pointed out as outsiders didn't help either. But when he saw their opponent let out a Lotad, the crowd seemed to melt away and Seymour couldn't help but smirk. He knew all about Lotads. Their every strength and weakness. He threw a pokeball high into the air. "Farrah! I choose you!"

He was glad to see Jakey had taken the initiative to go after the Chimchar so that he could focus on the water and grass type more exclusively. "Farrah! Peck the Lotad's leaf! Flip it upside down if you can." It wasn't easy to tip over a Lotad on land with its broad leaf. At least not without lifting it clear off the ground. But if Farrah happened to succeed, it would be even more difficult for the pokemon to right itself. Which would give their team a huge advantage.

---

My team is Farfetch'd, Shroomish, and Ditto. Farrah is dive-bombing the Lotad with a peck attack and tipping it over if the opportunity arrises.

Farrah's dive-bomb is a sight to behold, as she nails the Lotad's leaf, sending it spinning out of the ring. The Chimchar looked about to pose and threaten Skipper, but the sudden fall of his team mate causes it to pause... until he's sent reeling by a Water Gun.

The referee looks at the Lotad, before declaring that "Lotad is unable to battle!"

It's trainer grits his teeth, and replaces Lotad with a Piplup.

OOC: Well... I didn't think we'd get a OHKO on the first round. Or that Skipper would manage to outspeed Chimchar. You're off to a great start!

"Great moves Farrah!" Seymour said to his pokemon. It looked like even the Farfetch'd was surprised by the outcome. As the new for appeared and Farrah circled around, he called up to her, "Now let's show them who's the better bird. Cut that Piplup down to size!"

---

Farrah will use Cut for the time being.

Jake took a second to flash Seymour a thumbs up,
"Woah, Farrah is awesome, too bad Fetcher isn't in this round, they'd be unbeatable together!"

In terms of changing his strategy, Jake wasn't, instead he cheered on Skipper,
"You nailed him, now do it again! Blast him with all you've got, Skipper!"

The battle was going better than expected, Jake knew from his personal experience that people on the ropes tended to make a mistake, all him and Seymour had to do was keep up the pressure and the enemies resistance would collapse.

Seeing Farrah is the greater threat, Chimchar tries to attack her with a Flame Wheel, only to be struck again by Skipper. Piplup tries to help, only to stumble as Farrah swoops in and strike with a surgical Cut.

Seeing both their pokémon get overwhelmed, their focus breaks apart, as Chimchar shifts his focus to Skipper, trying to take him out with a flurry of claw strikes, dancing about to avoid the Mudkip's counter attack.

Meanwhile, Piplup tries to defend itself from the stick-wielding bird, only to be struck again an again, with a precision that any samurai would envy, until the little penguin falls. "Piplup is unable to battle!"

Two down, and the trainer throws his final pokémon on the field...

Curious at the unfamiliar pokémon, you pull out your pokédex.

Kaleidofly, the Stained-Glass pokémon. Type: Bug/Glass
It's beautiful wings are actually razor-sharp crystals, and can focus light into dangerous beams.

"Glass type!?" Seymour exclaimed with both astonishment and confusion. He had never heard of such a type before. But even a glace at the beautiful bug let him know that the pokedex was accurate in its description. He had no idea if Farrah was at an advantage or disadvantage against a glass-type pokemon, but he did know she had an advantage over bugs.

"Farrah! Shatter that Kaleidofly's wings with a powerful peck! Watch out for its sharp edges and be on the lookout for light beams." At least he shouldn't have to worry about Farrah's keen eyesight being hindered by blinding glares. It would have been nice to help out Mudkip with the Chimchar, but if they could take out this Kaleidofly then it would be two vs. one for the rest of the battle.

---

Farrah is using Peck on the bug to test out the attack's effectiveness.

For a moment, Jake was captivated by the beautiful bug pokemon, but Seymour's exclamation brought him back to earth,
"What in the world? I never heard of those!"

With the new, unknown threat on the field, Jake switched strategies from dousing the chimchar with endless water and pivoted towards the Kaleidofly,
"Good job blasting the Chimchar, Skipper, now lets smudge up that glass with a mud slap! Be sure to keep your distance from its blades though!"

If Farrah does well against the glass/bug, Jake will switch back to spraying the chimchar with water. Otherwise, he would keep trying to debuff it with mud slaps.

The glow from Kaleidofly's pokéball seemed to still bounce within it's wings... until it unleashes it on Farrah! The blast seems super-effective, but she struggles on, and lands her own super-effective blow, shattering the moth's crystalline armor.

As the shimmering bug falls to the ground, the referee calls out "Kaleidofly is unable to battle!" as April fall to her knees, out of pokémons.

Chimchar tries a desperate Ember to try and weaken Farrah, only for Mudkip to finally knock it out with another Water Gun.

With only June remaining in the fight, she throws in her second pokémon.


Sinisette, the Potion-Brewing pokémon. Type: Ghost/Psychic
Sinisette are apprentices of arcane knowledge. They eagrely pursue new spells, potions, and lore.

"Another one I haven't seen before," Seymour commented to Jakey. Then, to Farrah, he said, "You're doing great Farrah. Try to get behind that Sinisette and get in some well-placed Fury Cuts!"

Having Farrah use a bug type move was a bit of a gamble. But the attack would get stronger and stronger the more hits she got in. And right now, Farrah was on a roll! He just hoped she could keep up the momentum. And with Skipper keeping the Sinisette's attention divided, it seemed the chances were pretty good.

---

Farrah is using Fury Cutter.

Jake glanced again to Seymour,
"Yeah, they have a lot of awesome pokemon! I hope I can catch more pokemon like theirs"

In terms of tactics, Jake knew enough about ghost pokemon to know normal attacks wouldn't do anything, but he was less sure about what worked well against them. He considered switching pokemon, but he didn't know which would work better, that, and he did have a tactical enough mind to know showing off all his pokemon would put him at a disadvantage in future rounds. You should always keep your shiv well concealed.

As the situation was now a 2 v 1, Skipper had some more flexibility in what to do. It seemed like Seymour wanted to blast down the remaining pokemon with little delay, but Jake had a different plan in mind,
"Alright Skipper, use Foresight, then use bide! Prepare to fire your laser!"

Skipper, of course, did not have a laser. Nevertheless, Jake wanted to see how powerful Skipper could become when it had adequate time to prepare. That, and if the opponent overheard him talking about lasers, it might make them frightened!

Foresight first, then bide if 2 rounds go by. If three rounds go by, an epic water gun!

The small humanoid fires off a series of spells, focusing it's attacks on Farrah. It also tried to Confuse Skipper, but he shakes it off quickly.

Farrah does her best to avoid the repeated Psybeams, getting a few attacks here and there, with Skipper's support. In the end, after a long duel, Farrah manages to knock out the Sinisette, though not before she suffered a wound of her own.

As the referee calls out Sinisette, your opponent throws in her last pokémon: a Goldeen.