Like No One Ever Was

The day of the big tournament finally came, and with it an onset of sudden nerves. Little thoughts, that I wouldn’t do well, that they’d call me a fool, that I’d get Dun hurt, etc. lingered in my mind. Nothing that could stay for long though, or fight against my excitement for this day.

I know, realistically I’m not likely to win the whole thing, but I really hope I do well. Both for the good feeling of doing well, and also for showing off to prove myself to Tulip. Learning about Aura was hardly the most important thing in this world when Pokemon could manipulate it so much better than people, but it still seemed really cool.

Plus, making a good impression on a future gym leader and teacher wouldn’t be bad I thought as I finished up my breakfast. I just had a bowl of cereal today, something light before we headed out to Mesagoza.

Leah was standing behind me as usual, but this time dressed in casual clothes rather than her maid outfit. Her white sundress had a floral design to it with a matching sunhat, the outfit brought together by a dark blue jacket she wore overtop the dress. I liked it, but it was weird, like seeing your teacher at the grocery store and remembering they had a life outside of the professional setting you usually saw them in.

My sister had a dark skirt and a pink blouse, a combination she had tried to sell me on previously which I had refused vehemently. I had a white T-shirt with red stripes and pale blue cargo pants. Unassuming, but you didn’t need a cape or something extravagant like that to be a champion. I’ve still got a long way to go on that road, but this is a big step down that path.

Dunsparce was finishing up his meal on the ground beside me (a mix of pate and Kalosian toast that he loved) when my parents entered the dining room, one after another. They were both dressed in golden business suits, rather than their more casual, still gold, and ridiculously expensive ‘regular person apparel’.

That clue meant I wasn’t surprised when they started tripping over each other with excuses.

“So sorry dear, an emergency at work-”

“Sudden recall of a new phone model-”

“Wild Pokemon were missed on the site, now the workers are in danger-”

“Somehow we only have five workers at the factory right now? I need to-”

“Hopefully it won’t take too long-”

“I’ll try to be back for your later matches-”

“It’s fine,” I said with a smile and if there was any bitterness in it, I wiped it away in the blink of an eye. They aren’t my par- not my first parents. Shouldn’t hold them to the standards of my first ones. My mom and dad were always there for me, but I hardly had the life of luxury I have here, where I can get anything I want just by asking for it. That’s just the trade-off in life (lives?), right?

Leah stepped up “I’ll keep a close eye on the Young Miss and Young Master while you’re out, and record any of the matches you miss to watch later.” Billy and O’Nare thanked her profusely, then each of them gave me and my sister a hug and a kiss on the head, before running out the door.

Things were awkward as we finished getting ready after that. Not because I was upset, but I think because Leah and Cyan were worried that I was, and didn’t know what to say about it. Eventually, as we went outside to the Flying Taxi Leah had arranged to pick us up, my sister asked me “Are you excited for your first tournament?”

No duh, I am. Excited, nervous, happy, so much more. I didn’t say that though, wanting to keep the snark to a minimum (and fearing my nerves might make me sound worse than I was). She was proudly carrying her Popplio Egg which had arrived during my training time in an incubator with straps to let her carry the egg like a (very secure) backpack. The incubator was filled with water, to help better simulate the aquatic environment a Popplio would be born in. Still feels weird that she was just able to order that, but I guess that’s how things are in this world. Plus, the rancher said the Primarina mother was very specific in wanting her egg to go to someone ‘absolutely loaded’, and my family does fit that bill.

“Yeah! I’m not sure how tough it’ll be, but we’ve trained hard and will give it our all!” I had reviewed the past five years of this tournament since it was a big enough event to be televised and well-discussed. Unfortunately, it being open only to the newest trainers meant it was very hard to measure. A few years back, the tournament was swept by some Alolan girl who didn’t have any Badges but had completed the full set of island trials. Z-Moves are crazy strong, I’m amazed that the barriers held against most of them (though I think they reinforced them midway through that tourney). I’d like to go to Alola someday, and try my hand at the trials. Plus Alola has some great Pokemon.

If I would go, it’d be sometime in the far future - that tournament had been the last straw and led to Paldea equating the island trial to gym badges earned, much like many other regions had as trade and travel with the island nation grew more common. Some Alolans complained about that, feeling that the Island trials weren’t the same as Gym battles, so treating trainers who passed them as having the same experience disadvantaged them on foreign soil. This was true, admittedly; the island trials were about forging a connection with the land around you, and any battle experience was incidental… However, it was also true that most trial goers gained a good deal of battle experience and a Z-Ring and Z-Crystals, so they had plenty of advantages beyond some newbies with a first-stage starter.

As we stepped into the Flying Taxi, the driver asked “Where to today, ladies?”

“Please take us to Professor Turo’s house, then to Mesagoza.” Leah said. The trip took a while since Turo (and more importantly, Arven) didn’t live nearby in the Lighthouse where the Player met them in the games. At least not yet. I wonder if I’ve rippled that away?

I hoped I hadn’t, but it wouldn’t be a big deal if they didn’t move closer; I could easily fly over whenever and had gotten Arven a Rotom phone for his birthday last month. Still not super thrilled about the idea of gifting people living, thinking creatures, but at least with my father’s position, I was able to give Arven a tour of the company and let him meet all the Rotom’s. He found the one that clicked with him most and really wanted to be his phone, so I think that’s all good.

The flight passed by fairly quickly, with Leah and Cyan asking me about my strategies for the day ahead. I told them a couple of the tricks we’d practiced and the like, but couldn’t say much more about my ‘strategies’ than that. “Tournaments are a lot trickier than Gym battles. You don’t know what Pokemon all the other competitors are coming in with and there isn’t much of anything to study. So I’ll have to adapt somewhat based on what my opponents can bring out.” There was a flip side to this of course - Gym Leaders had very strong teams, all their Pokemon kept to the highest standards, and each of them a master of their Typing, and thus able to counter much of the common (and at higher levels, even the uncommon) tricks used against them.

My biggest concern is a Ghost Type with Levitate, like Ghastly, Misdreavous, or even a Rotom (though Rotom is a lot less of a concern because it’ll lose the Ghost Typing when it possesses an appliance). Earthquake and Normal Type Moves won’t work on them and the only other Move we’ve mastered, Poison Tail, will be not very effective. Dunsparce can use Bite, as I learned from some of my matches with Arven after he copied Maschiff, but we didn’t focus on practicing that during our big training stint. Might have been a mistake, but you can’t do everything. The fundamentals we’ve improved are probably more important anyway. Hopefully his current abilities will be enough to give him solid coverage for this level of tournament.

A finger poked my cheek, disrupting my thoughts. “Oww,” I complained, more from surprise than any real pain.

“Don’t fall asleep before the tournament,” Cyan chided in response, causing me to bristle.

“I wasn’t falling asleep, I was thinking-”

“Children.” Despite how lightly she said the word, her tone of voice was firm. “No fighting.” A ‘she started it’ welled up on the tip of my tongue, but I shoved it down.

That’d just be immature. Besides, it doesn’t matter. Focus on the battles ahead. “Yes ma’am,” I said my sister begrudgingly followed suit.

When we touched down in front of Arven’s house, I was mildly surprised to not see him waiting for us. He’s usually so eager to come out and play. The house in question was a fairly ordinary brick house on the outskirts of Medali. If I didn’t know it was the Professor’s house, I never would have guessed from how normal it looked, but I was well aware of how past the red tile roof and white and beige bricks were all manner of half-finished devices and paperwork stacked to the ceiling from all the work Turo brought home with him.

Going up to the red wooden door, I knocked. I wasn’t tall enough to see through the glass cut into the top of the door but could hear the sounds of conversation before Turo of all people opened the door.

“What are you doing here, Young Miss Glitterati?” He asked cooly, looking down at me, Arven standing behind him, slowly putting the pieces together.

“I have the big tournament today,” I said, more to Arven than to him. The boy’s eyes darted back and forth between me and his father.

Arven spoke up. “Oh right, I forgot about that.” He probably got too excited over his dad being back in the house with him. I shouldn’t intrude on their time together.

“It’s fine. You’re busy right now, we’ll hang out later.” I tried to say before being interrupted by Cyan, who had apparently followed me.

“What? No, it’s not fine! C’mon, this is your big day sis, you’ve been training hard for ages for this!!” I almost face-palmed at that. Damn, I really appreciate the show of support sis, but this is not the time for it. Arven making close bonds with his dad could be important for the sake of the world. And even if not, at the very least this is some of the precious time he’ll get with his dad before he gets way too engrossed in Area Zero. I couldn’t say that out loud, however, and before I could think of something reasonable to deflect away, Turo asked me a question.

“You’re participating in a tournament today? Will you be using the Tera Orb I sent to you?”

“Uh, I wasn’t planning on it. The Junior Tournament rules state that I can’t use battle items-” I began before he interrupted me.

“Tera Orbs have recently been ruled as ‘Enhancements’, and would not fall under the limits for battle items.” That would make sense. For most ‘Enhancements’ at least part if not all of the items are held by the trainer, and they involve dramatic shifts to battles when activated. Z-Moves, Mega Evolution, Dynamax, and now Terastalization all fit under that description. Battle items are held by the Pokemon and give much more minor passive boosts, though those are still significant in a close fight. “I would be most interested in seeing you use it in a tournament setting,” he continued, and I could practically hear Arven’s heart breaking behind him. Despite it being worded almost like a request, the man was already walking past me and Cyan, towards the Flying Taxi.

“Uh, sure, I can do that. C’mon on Arven, it’ll be a big multi family outing.” The boy did seem to perk up a bit at that, eagerly following after his dad.

We got aboard and tried to pay for Turo and Arven to join us in our taxi, but Turo insisted on paying himself. Hmm, he begged pretty hard for our parent’s money before, but that was before he made it big. I can see him not wanting to be more in our debt, or anyone’s debt. He feels like a proud man. That was extrapolation on my part though; he was pretty difficult to get a read on. Nonetheless, I tried to pry a bit with some casual conversation during the flight.

“I didn’t know they had made an official announcement about the classification of the Tera Orbs yet. I’ve been busy training the past month, working really hard to get Dunsparce ready for this tournament.”

He raised an eyebrow “The announcement was made a few minutes before you arrived.” It was that recent?! “I thought you might be an associate or reporter come to ask me questions about it.” It was subtle, but there was a slight hint of frustration in his tone.

“Not a fan of the press?” I pressed.

“I have no problem with the news; reporting groundbreaking facts to the wider public is a noble endeavor. My issue comes from when they sully their ‘reporting’ with a fixation on asking about ‘feelings’, printing ephemeral fluff pieces instead of hard facts.”

Awkward… It seemed that most of the other passengers felt the same way, no one talking for a moment until Leah spoke up. “Well, hopefully they’ll be able to report on Young Miss Nemona’s excellent battling skills today.” I blushed at the praise.

“I’m really not that great yet.” Real professionals do a lot more than me. Hidden commands, or variations on their spoken commands, planning out full team strategies to face other teams, how to deal with switches mid-battle, etc. All leagues above where I’m at. Despite that, I wasn’t truly disappointed with myself, just having a realistic measure of how much further I’d have to go.

“‘Yet’. You speak as if you will become great with time?” Turo asked, and even Arven jumped in at that.

“She will! She’s really good at battling, probably the best! Besides you, I mean.” Ah, he still has that fatherly worship. Still has the belief that Turo can do no wrong. I really don’t want to break that innocence, but I’m pretty sure I’ll have to someday. Otherwise, he might blame himself for all of Turo’s screw-ups.

“You misunderstand; I’m not doubting her capabilities, but a scientist needs to come into any experiment with an open mind. Even as they present their hypothesis forward, they must be aware that the experiment may turn out differently than expected. So it is for the best that one reduces any biases they may have.” The other kids just looked at him confused and even Leah gave him a second glance (and a pitying one at Arven, which the young boy missed, focused on his father).

Unknowingly, he was hitting on an issue I was quite worried about. Everyone might talk me up now, but that’s just because I’ve got an adult’s mind in a kid’s body. The real Nemona, for all that people made fun of how obsessed she was with battling, truly was incredible. A very strong champion, and at quite a young age given she didn’t have the advantages I do. I worry sometimes that even with that, I won’t match up to her, won’t be able to make it as far as she did, will screw up the ‘plot’ of the games. But…

“I guess the only way we’ll find out is by seeing.” I muttered, gripping my Pokeball tightly. Despite my words, I had faith. Even if I can’t match up yet, I believe in my Pokemon. They’ll do great.

The rest of the ride was fairly quiet, with Arven trying to get his father’s attention, telling him stuff that he and Maschiff had done while he was out. He didn’t seem too engaged but was nodding along. I was deep in thought, thinking about my strategies and how I’d approach things.

You would think that with just one Pokemon the strategies wouldn’t get too complex, and while I’m sure they paled in comparison to full 6 v. 6 team battles, there was a lot to consider. Potions healed up tons and I was well stocked, but some hits would take time and dedicated resources like Pokemon Centers to fix up. On the other hand, I had to keep in mind Dun’s energy. He was going to be fighting in a lot of battles in a row, and not having the endurance to go on would be as bad or worse than being roughed up from a previous fight.

Me fretting over these minutiae was mostly just nerves, I could admit. Dunsparce was a naturally tanky species, and our recent training had given him plenty of endurance. We can do this.

Lost in thought as I was, I barely noticed as we landed down, really taking in Mesagoza for the first time.

The massive proportions of the mega city were even more pronounced within its borders. People and Pokemon milled all over the city. The streets were built with solid bricks, wide enough that some even rode their Cyclizars within the city itself, though there were strict speed regulations to avoid accidents.

Buildings rose up high all around, offering housing, shopping, and all manner of entertainment. Given the topography of the city, how it all sloped upwards till the peak where Uva Academy sat, the height of the buildings on the lower levels didn’t interfere with the view. And what a view it is. You can argue that the Pokeball at the top of the Academy is garish or not, but it sure is eye-catching. It’s rare to see a building, an institution that can survive that long in this world.

I tore my gaze away from that structure to the street I was stepping onto. Mosaic tiles made up many segments of the street in beautiful patterns. There were two towers at the gates beside us that in times past I imagined served as watch towers for danger, but now were used for ornamentation. Clotheslines hung all above the streets and between the buildings, decorated with colorful triangles that waved in the wind, and street merchants sold balloons and candy in stalls nearby. Is this for the tournament or something that’s just set up year-round here? I could see several fountains nearby as well, above the steps where we landed, and above them was the central plaza. The main battle court.

“Sorry I couldn’t get you closer,” the taxi man said and I blinked my eyes, bewildered. We’re already fairly close to the main battle field and people on the street are being forced to go around us. Is this just because we’re rich and have a Pokemon Professor with us?

“It’s fine, thank you,” came my distracted reply, still a little overwhelmed by the size of it all but regaining my bearings and stepping forward to the arena. Pushing through the crowd took a bit of work, especially as Leah understandably wanted us all to stick together (a particularly difficult challenge because Cyan kept on getting distracted by the stores and attractions nearby).

The press of people grew greater at the central plaza, many people gathered to spectate the tournament. The staff had set up stands for people to sit in, but many were watching from the ground, or for a few, in the air, on the backs of flying Pokemon. One of them was even flying on a Charizard! That’s quite a rare sight in Paldea.

Leah stepped back with the others to watch as I joined the line to the registration pavilion. There were a few adults in the line, but mostly the other competitors seemed to be teenagers. I was easily the youngest person there, and could already feel a few eyes looking at me questioningly.

“Miss, do you need some help being shown around?” One of the staff came up to me in line and asked. She was wearing a white shirt with red highlights, evocative of a Premier Ball, like the rest of the staff. Given her shockingly pink hair, I suspected that she was also a Nurse Joy who worked at one of the Pokemon Centers nearby.

“No, I’m just waiting to get my registration affirmed.” I had already registered online weeks ago, but this was another check they had to make sure that everyone who signed up would actually be here.

“Oh.” She said, seeming surprised before just nodding and leaving me be. The boy in front of me however heard me and was decidedly more critical.

“You’re competing? Go back home and play with your dollies, this is a serious tournament.” He scoffed, turning around to face me. He looked to be about 15 years old, proudly wearing the Uva Academy uniform with three Pokeballs on his belt. He had dark eyes and a sharp angular nose, his expression one of disdain as he looked down at me. His hair was black, short, and spikey.

“I know it’s serious, that’s why I trained hard. I might be young, but-”

“You’re just a little brat who is going to fail hard and get your Pokemon hurt.” That caused me to clench a fist in anger. It’s one thing to think I’m not ready, but to say I’d be hurting my Pokemon… That was a major insult in this world. “Don’t come crying to me when your Lechonk or whatever gets hurt,” he said, turning his back to me.

“Who are you to say that about me?” I asked, wondering where this jackass got off on saying things like that. He didn’t respond to me, but instead to the man at the front desk taking in our registrations.

“Freddrick Van Grough,” he enunciated, and the pieces clicked into place for me. The Van Grough family was a fairly wealthy one, with heavy market control over high-grade fertilizers and Berry Tree seeds. I think I saw his parents at the party my mother and father held. It would explain why he had such an over-inflated opinion of himself.

After the boy received his name tag and left with a smirk, I stepped up to get my registration sorted out. “Your name, miss?”

“Nemona Glitterati,” I said as I passed over my ID. I didn’t want to raise any special attention to myself but had to say my name, so I waited to see any reaction from him. He just raised an eyebrow at that but didn’t say a word, checking it with the system.

Behind me, a girl spoke up “Don’t worry about what Freddrick said, he’s a jerk.” Turning around, I saw a young girl, 12-14 wearing a purple sundress.

I’m really not ‘worried’ about the blowhard. Which might be me judging him too early, but hey, he did the same to me. What I said though was: “Ah, thanks. I’m Nemona.”

“Tracy,” she said, holding out a hand to shake. “Yeah, don’t worry about what he said. It doesn’t matter how well you do, and the staff won’t let anyone get injured.” I couldn’t help but frown as I took my hand back. She’s nicer about it, but she’s underestimating me too. And she only spoke up against Freddrick after he left.

I was spared from having to interact with her further by the registration man clearing his throat. “Yes, I see you here. Go to battle court #4 for your first match.”

“Not here?”

“No, this arena is reserved for the top 8 contestants.” I nodded. That makes sense, even with the entry fee of 5000 Pokedollars (expensive for a lot of beginner trainers), they still have a lot of slots filled up, even with a hard cap of 512 contestants. Looking around I could see a lot of the people waiting around that looked like trainers themselves. Probably people on the waitlist hoping to get in if slots opened up from trainers that couldn’t make it.

Tracy cleared her throat and I realized I was holding up the line. Stepping out I rushed out to Leah and the others. “It looks like my first battles aren’t going to be here but at arena #4.”

“Where’s that?” Arven asked, and I opened my mouth… before closing it again. “Wha- I can’t believe it! You don’t know where to go?” He laughed at my plight.

“Shut up,” I muttered before sighing. “I’m sorry, I forgot in my excitement. I’ll have to go back and ask someone.”

“No need, bzzt.” Rotom floated up, a map of the city already loaded on the screen and then they stretched out to tablet size to give me a better view. It always feels so weird that they can just do that, but I suppose it’s not really that much weirder than, say, them being able to conjure up a swarm of lethal leaves when possessing a lawn mower.

“Thanks,” I said as I looked at the map and saw the park where the fourth arena was. Wow, they have a lot of parks, arenas, and poke centers within the city. Guess they need them though, for events like this, and everyday convenience in a city this big. “Alright, we need to go that way,” I told the group, pointing in the direction we needed to go. “It’s pretty far, so we need to move fast to get there in time.” Before I could take the first step, Turo spoke up.

“I don’t believe we need to leave. They’re setting up viewing screens here so we can observe your battle with ease.” Leah frowned, clearly not happy with this idea, but seemingly unwilling to speak up against him. Is it because he’s a Pokemon Professor? I knew they were a big deal, but I never realized that they would have this much sway. But then again, Paldea is a bastion of knowledge; a Pokemon Professor is akin to how many regions would treat a Champion. I’ve just never seen him that way, because in my eyes, he’s a Professor second, and a potential enemy first.

Turo frowned down at me, and I was shocked at getting the man to show real emotion, however minutely. Whatever expression I had must have been something else to get that. What he was going to say was lost to the wind, however. Looking up, I saw the Charizard I had seen before landing down beside us. On his back was a young man with shockingly white hair and a cocksure grin. He had a heavy brown jacket with yellow lining and blue goggles over his eyes, useful gear for someone who flew around a lot.

“My partner couldn’t help overhear you. I could help take you there,” he offered. I was immediately put on edge. A kind offer, but I’m still a child, and any offer like that gets my ‘stranger danger’ senses tingling.

“Professor Friede, I hadn’t expected to see you here. Congratulations on becoming a Pokemon Professor, by the way,” Turo comments, causing me to blink in surprise. Another Pokemon Professor?! And who is this ‘Friede’ guy? I’ve never heard of him before.

Friede took off his goggles to get a better look at us, frowning slightly when he saw Turo. “Hardly that great an accomplishment compared to you. Your Terra Orbs are anything anyone can talk about in the Academy.” Pieces click together in my mind. Well, that might explain why he’s down here, watching a beginner tournament.

Leah is the one who breaks the tense silence, using his sudden entrance to grab my hand and ask: “Could you fly me there to the arena as well, Mister Professor?”

He turned away from his standoff with the other Professor to look questioningly at his Charizard, who gave a small roar in response. “Looks like he says yes.” He gave her a wink too, which caused the maid to blush heavily. Leah noooo. You can do better than this guy- ok he’s a Pokemon Professor, young, and objectively good looking I suppose, so maybe he is as good as it gets, but don’t flirt in front of me!

With his guidance, we climb on to the Charizard first, him hoping on after us. I marveled at the feel of his scales beneath my hands. They were tough, but not overly rough with heat radiating off of them. It was incredible, and the kind of thing you just couldn’t get from the games or shows.

Charizard turned his head to glance over at me and I realized I was being a bit obvious. “Ah, sorry mister Charizard, I was just admiring your scales. They seem really strong.”

He let out a happy roar in response, breathing out a small Flamethrower in the air as we flew. No one was nearby us, but several flying Pokemon made sure to give us an extra large berth at that. Looking down on the city from this close, I could really appreciate how big and beautiful it was.

“You like Charizard, do you?” Friede asked, and I blushed a bit, though likely not for the reasons he was thinking. I know it’s kinda ‘basic’, but yeah, Charizard is my favorite of the Gen 1 Starters. Venasaur never really got me, and Blastoise is cool and all, but Charizard is just awesome.

“Yeah, they’re pretty cool. I wouldn’t mind getting one on my team eventually.” Both Leah and Rotom by now knew that didn’t mean ‘go out and buy me a fully grown Charizard’, just ‘I might catch a Charmander if I see it and it’s compatible with me and my team.’ Charizard himself gave another roar of approval.

“Oh? Who do you have on your team now?”

“Just Dun. I only have the Junior License right now. One day though… I’m gonna be a Champion. Be the greatest, like no one ever was.”

“Impressive. It’s good to have a goal like that. Have you thought of what you’ll do after, though?” Friede asked.

“Probably be drowning in work from the responsibilities of being Champion,” I joked, which got a chuckle from Friede and an exasperated sigh from Leah. “I don’t know what comes after. I’m eager to see it though, the greatest battles that could take place. And hey, if it gets boring I might try to become a Professor, too.”

“Ha! Maybe I should have thought of that,” Friede said. “Perhaps if Professor work gets stale I’ll try my hand at becoming a Champion too.”

“Char! Zar zard!” His partner chimed in.

“What do you think? Think we could be Champions?” He asked me. I didn’t just blurt out a response, instead closing my eyes and trying to focus on the feeling Charizard emanated. It was hardly like a scouter telling you about someone’s power level, and Pokemon could hide it or it could be missed if you weren’t observant/familiar with the species, but there were some tells about how strong a Pokemon was.

Like the Leafeon atop the cliffs near my house, there was a sense of power that came from Charizard. More than just heat, or the strength of his wings flapping (though both were counted to that measure too), he was strong. Maybe not Champion level yet, but he hadn’t slacked in his training either. The potential was there, with absolute dedication. There was something more to the power he had as well, some quality to it that just seemed to slip my grasp. I didn’t mention it since it didn’t seem bad, just different.

“Yes, he could definitely be part of a Champion team.”

“What, you don’t think we could take on the Elite Four by ourselves?” I openly scoffed at that.

“Of course not! You need a whole team of incredible fighters to be a Champion. They have to be well-rounded, able to support and balance each other out.” Both the adults behind me were quiet at my sudden impassioned outburst, but before anyone could say anything else, we had arrived at the arena.

It was in the center of a park, much greenery in this section of the city. Parts of the park were shaded from the tall buildings and streets that wound upwards beside it, giving it a minor sense of seclusion. There were benches nearby, but most of the other contestants and the audience had to stand to watch the battles.

Jumping off Charizard (and eliciting a shocked cry from Leah), I ran over to the nearest official. “Hello, I’m Nemona, I have a match here. I hope I’m not too late.”

“No, a couple of people are running late, so we’re postponing the matches for half an hour. This event never runs on time anyways,” he complained and I stumbled. So all that rushing around was for nothing?

Marching back to Friede and Leah I said “So apparently the event isn’t starting yet. Sorry for rushing over.”

“No worries. I think I’ll stick around to watch; gotta see what future Miss Champion can do.” The Professor said, and I nodded my head resolutely. This is the time to show everyone what I can do. I don’t think that Dendra and Tulip are here, so they’re probably waiting at the Central Plaza. To really impress them, I have to get to the top eight, at least.

My first challenge to that came as match pairings were called and I saw a familiar name as my opening opponent. Tracy, a little out of breath from running over here confirmed it as she looked from her phone and around the crowd, locking eyes with me. Here we go.