Now that Professor X is settled in, it’s time to get back to training. This time with a new goal, an upcoming tournament. The Debut Tournament is open for entry to all trainers who are about to attempt the Indigo League for the first time, though it has an age cap of 18. It takes place in the three days preceding the opening of the Indigo League and is where a lot of new trainers make their “debut” as indicated by the name of the tournament. All in the hopes of getting a sponsor. Personally, I’m not in particular need of a sponsor but I wouldn’t turn down a reasonable offer.

In the three weeks we have to prepare I plan to only teach the team two TMs each for the first two weeks, giving them a week to familiarize themselves with their moveset and fighting style. For Drako, aerial ace and shadow claw. For Hellen, toxic and venoshock. For Prof, shadow ball and future sight.

Since the whole team will be learning and practicing new moves, we won’t be going to the Battle Arena before the tournament. This also serves to give any opposing trainers less information about my team.

I shared my plan with the team, getting excited cries from Drako and Hellen. Along with a deep nod from Professor X.

And so the training montage began.

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I sat atop Drako’s back as we flew into Indigo Plateau, the location of the tournament.

Yeah, as it turns out they use the giant stadium venue for tournaments other than the Indigo League Conference during the year.

We landed and I returned Drako as I checked in to a nearby pokemon centre. Or tried to. And was pointed to another centre that wasn’t fully booked.

Once settled in I let out my team. Hellen bounded up to me and started nuzzling my knees, Drako just yawned and found his bed, while Professor X got into a meditative pose cradling his spoon.

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That’s right, Professor X has created his utensil of doom! His evolution wasn’t in the heat of battle, but happened during one of his meditation sessions. I was training with Hellen, when he burst into light.

The instant the light disappeared, Prof teleported in front of me and expressed his urgent need for silver. Luckily, I was prepared and quickly took out a brick of silver from my bag. Prof used his psychic powers to form his spoon and they’ve been inseparable since.

I pat Hellen on her head and settle in for sleep. Tomorrow, the tournament will begin.

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After a light warmup in the morning, I made my way to the tournament desk to check in. It was a quick process as I had already registered online. I was assigned the number 137 and told to wait in the main stadium. There were hundreds of trainers already in the stadium and as I walked in I could see that the stands were only around a quarter filled. Most people waited until the final day for the top 32 trainers to compete.

I didn’t see anyone I recognized in the throng. Not that I knew many people… maybe I should socialize more. Anyways, I found a nice unoccupied wall to lean against and wait for the opening announcements.

Around 20 minutes later, an announcer came onto the stage and gave a speech about how any of us trainers could be one of Indigo’s new rising talents. And though many of us would not make it to the third day, that perseverance was one of the top traits of Elite Trainers.

He went on to tell us the prizes for the top three contestants which included an option to choose a starter pokemon of any region along with monetary prizes.

He ended his speech saying that the first matches would begin in half an hour and that our pairings have been released online.

As everyone rushed to get out of the main stadium, I decided to wait until it cleared out. I brought out my phone to check my matchup. I was matched with a trainer named Aoko Tanma scheduled in three hours. After searching his name, I found some videos of his battles. His team included a machoke and houndour from what I could see. He might have a third pokemon now though, since the videos were a little old.

I put away my phone and exited the stadium. I decided to join the spectators and saw as the staff transformed the arena into six smaller stages using different ground and rock type pokemon. There were also other stadiums that were being used during this preliminary phase of the tournament. My match would be in one of the smaller stadiums in a couple of hours.

The maximum number of pokemon on a team for the tournament is three, and even the preliminaries allow the use of all three pokemon. Though there is a 30 minute time limit at which point the judge will decide the outcome of the match based on the remaining pokemon and their conditions.

There are no switches allowed. So once you switch, that pokemon is retired from the battle. This is only for the preliminaries and in the top 32 you are allowed two switches.

I settled into my seat, with a bag of popcorn I got from a vendor.

My first tournament! This is going to be fun!