Pokémon: Last Quake

Four days went by without a hitch. The bulk of Tyson's training was directed at Trapinch, who was tasked with weightlifting alongside Gligar, as well as practicing Bulldoze and Rock Slide. As for Gligar, most of her time was spent improving the strength of her wings and tail, as Tyson wasn't worried about her claws. Normally, once Gligar evolved into Gliscor, her wingspan would increase significantly along with her size, and Tyson had planned to teach Gligar more flying-type moves to complement that, which was why she had been told to use Wing Attack during her training. She would need to become more proficient in the use of flying-type energy.

The night before the tournament, the group sat around the campfire and enjoyed their dinner, as Tyson had also customized a batch of Pokeblock for his Pokémon's dinner. Each Pokémon's Pokeblock was created with the intention of increasing their familiarity with a pre-determined type of energy. For Trapinch, his Pokeblock was geared towards Dragon and Ground Types in preparation for his evolution; for Gligar, it was geared towards Ground and Flying Types; and for Pupitar, it was geared towards Rock and Dark Types. Noticing the silence, Alice grew bored and decided to make conversation.

"So, Tyson, do you think you're ready for the tournament now?" She asked with a curious smile.

She had been observing Tyson's training methods for the past four days and had noticed that most of it was basic strength training and movement, which is pretty standard among trainers.

Not looking up from his meal, Tyson casually replied, "As prepared as we can be, I guess".

The response was curt, with no sign of overconfidence. During those four days, Tyson would take Gligar for a morning run through the city. During their morning run, they often passed the local battlefield and saw many battles in progress. But after that first encounter, Tyson never saw Aaron again.

'Does he have a hidden training place?' Tyson mused as he continued to eat.

Cutting off Tyson's thoughts, Leo chimed in, "Well, no matter what, just do the best you can. You've prepared as well as you can, and I can say that, given the current strength of your Pokémon, there should be few in the Tournament who can threaten you".

Hearing Leo's assessment, Tyson nodded. He had seen some of the competitors train on the local battlefield, and they were far from his current level. However, Tyson refused to be overconfident, and Leo's words suggested that while many of the competitors couldn't threaten his chances of victory, there were still some who could. With these words in mind, Tyson and his Pokémon retired for the night, excited about the battles to come.

- Emeragrove Stadium The Next Day

The roar of the crowd could be heard from outside the stadium as the group approached the entrance. Hearing the crowd from outside, Tyson was a little nervous as this would be the first time he fought in front of a large crowd. Although he had fought on the local battlefield here in Emeragrove and back in Celestic Town, the crowds were much smaller on both occasions.

Standing at the entrance, Tyson mused as groups of people passed by, 'So this is what the place is like when it's full, huh? Well, no turning back now'

Noticing Tyson's hesitation, Leo put his hand on Tyson's shoulder and reassured him, "Don't worry, you've prepared for this".

Chiming in, Alice walked in front of him and comforted him with a smile: "Yes, you're going to kill it".

With these comforting words, Tyson nodded and approached the front desk with his companions at his side. After providing his details as a participant, the group was quickly led along a side entrance, where a viewing area was set for the friends and family of the participants. Leaving Mudkip with Alice, Tyson followed the clerk as she guided him to the waiting area assigned to participants.

The waiting area was a large room, lined with several chairs painted a pristine white. In the center of the room, several televisions hung from the ceiling, showing the scene on the stadium's main stage. Looking around the room, Tyson took in the other attendees, who ranged from young children and teenagers to a few adults. Some of them were accompanied by their Pokémon, which ranged from the common Bidoof to rare Pokémon such as Eevee. However, these trainers were not the focus of Tyson's search, and after a quick scan, he found Aaron at the back of the room, playing with a Pokémon. The Pokémon resembled an oversized, pale purple scorpion. Its claws and tail were swapped, giving it two stingers and a claw tail.

'Skorupi, that must be Aaron's future Drapion. I'm not sure how strong he is at the moment, but he'll be a tough opponent. But it's best I introduce myself to him while he's still young. It's always good to have connections, and having one with a future member of the Elite Four is one of the best you can have,' Tyson mused as he walked up to the green-haired boy.

"Hello, is the seat next to you taken?" said Tyson, attracting the attention of the boy and the scorpion, the latter clicking its mandibles in a show of intimidation and dominance.

Seeing Skorupi's show of aggression, Aaron reprimanded him, "Now, now, none of that. We talked about this, no pinching or stinging strangers

"Hearing this, Tyson took a mental gulp at the thought of being stung by a poisonous scorpion. Humans in this world had much stronger bodies than his old world, but he could still be killed by a sharp blade, poison, and several other methods.

Looking up at Tyson, Aaron spoke quickly, "Don't worry, Skorupi just gets tense around strangers. The seats are free, so please sit down".

With a little hesitation, Tyson took the seat. He looked over at Aaron and Skorupi, who were also beginning to pay attention to their neighbor. Gathering his courage despite Skorupi's stare, which he could have sworn was a death stare, "My name is Tyson, what's yours?"

"Aaron, I bet this is your first tournament," Aaron smiled.

"A...how did you guess? Is it written on my face?" Tyson asked in surprise. He hadn't thought it would be so obvious that he was new.

Chuckling, Aaron replied, "No, it's just that you seem tense. Usually, new participants tend to fidget like that girl playing with her Bidoof over by that pillar."

'Did I seem anxious?' Tyson reflected on his actions since entering the room as his eyes wandered over to the aforementioned girl and her Bidoof. On reflection, his action of looking around and quickly approaching the back of the room could be seen as him being anxious. 'I think I was a bit hasty in approaching him, especially having just entered the room, so it's easy for him to misinterpret it as me being anxious'.

"Well you're not wrong, this is my first tournament, how about you?" Tyson admitted

"This is my third, though it's also the second tournament I've entered in this town" Aaron replied casually

'His third...seems like he's been a trainer for quite a while' Tyson mused.

The two continued their conversation, which was soon cut short by one of the monitors panning over to the center stage, where a man now stood. He wore attire befitting a host, a traditional dark suit with a bow tie and gray pants. Atop his head sat a top hat, though his most distinct feature was a gray bushy mustache which sat on his face.

"Greetings, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the 38th Emeragrove Rookie Tournament. Your host and judge for today is myself, Harvey Granhouse. With me today is the leader of the Sinnoh Ecological Team and head of the Graceidy family, Adam Graceidy, who will also be our guest and co-host along with Emeragrove's own caretaker Nurse Joy".

At his words, the camera panned to the window of a private box. Inside were two people, one of whom Tyson did not recognize. He had dark green hair and a gentle smile that gave him a welcoming air. Sitting beside him was Nurse Joy, who raised her hand to wave to the audience.

"I didn't expect the head of the Graceidy family to show up in person. He's usually involved in projects to protect nature and restore destroyed forests." Aaron spoke, catching Tyson's attention. He was unfamiliar with the Graceidy family, and it seemed from Aaron's tone that they were of great importance to preserving Sinnoh's environment.

'In my spare time, I need to learn more about Sinnoh society. I know too little about aristocrats like the Draknov's, not to mention if I plan on competing more in the future, I'll eventually make a name for myself. So it would be good to know who I'm dealing with,' Tyson thought as he made plans to research Sinnoh Society later.

"Firstly, we will have a preliminary round. Due to the large number of participants, this is necessary. The preliminary round will consist of three one-on-one matches, with the winners advancing to the final sixteen to compete for the tournament's grand prizes. For our third-place winner, they will receive 50,000 Pokedollars. For second place, they will receive 50,000 Pokedollars and two TM's of their choice. Finally, 50,000 Pokedollars, two TM's and a Pokémon egg donated by the Graceidy family will be awarded to our finalist and grand winner".

The reminder of the rewards lifted the spirits of the contestants. Many began to visualize their victory. Sitting next to Tyson, Aaron was also clutching his Skorupi. His face was painted with a look of determination. Tyson himself was excited as he stared at the monitor, but he quickly calmed down and shook his head.

The rewards weren't my goal, this is for the experience. If I get into the top three, then that can be considered a blessing. However...that doesn't mean I can't aim for number one spot," Tyson mused with a smile.

"Now turn your attention to the main screen." Harvey said as the camera panned once more to a large screen on the southernmost wall. The screen lit up with the names of the competitors and the brackets for the tournament. The brackets were divided into four blocks, with each block leading to a semi-final place.

"The tournament will be a round robin format, with each person fighting once per round. No items will be allowed during combat, any hint that an item is being used will result in immediate disqualification. Without further ado, let the first round of the tournament begin!" Harvey concluded.

In the waiting room, looking at the list of names, Tyson noticed that he was in block C and was scheduled to fight second. As for Aaron, he was assigned to block A and was scheduled to fight last. Glancing at Aaron, Tyson noticed that he had gone back to playing with Skorupi, ignoring the murmurs of the other participants as each prepared for the battles to come.

As the first round was announced, the door to the waiting room opened to reveal the receptionist from earlier. Looking at him now, Tyson took note of his appearance. He was a young man with black hair pulled back in a ponytail, wearing thick glasses. He gestured for the participants in the first round to follow him out. The participants, a young girl who looked about ten years old and a teenage boy, followed him out.

Soon the sound of the cheering crowd echoed their arrival on the battlefield and, watching the television, Tyson began to go over his strategy for the tournament. First, I will only use Trapinch and Gligar... Pupitar will be my trump card in case things go wrong. It's a simple plan, but with only three Pokemon, my choices are limited,' Tyson mused.

Turning his attention back to the TV screen, Tyson took note of the fight, but there was not much for him to see. The battle between the two contestants was brief, with the young girl and her Zigzagoon quickly losing to the teenage boy and his Machoke.

'With the type advantage, that was an expected outcome' Tyson thought as the door to the waiting room opened once more revealing the clerk.

"Tyson Ryuusaki and Gregory Nasumo will follow me to the area," he said, causing Tyson to rise from his seat.

"Hey, good luck"

Hearing these words, Tyson turned to Aaron, who wished him luck for his upcoming fight. Smiling, he nodded before following the clerk to the arena. Approaching the entrance to the arena, the clerk told Tyson to wait for his name to be called before walking back the way they came. Now alone, Tyson waited for the announcer to call his name, and fortunately he didn't have to wait long.

"Now for our next competitors, in the south corner, from Celestic Town, we have Tyson Ryuusaki!" Harvey announced.

"Alright, let's do this," Tyson said aloud as he walked through the entrance to the arena.

Pokémon Team:
Team Rank: 3
Pupitar
Gender: Male

Type: Rock/Ground
Abilities: Shed Skin
Held Item: None
Moves: Rock Throw, Bite, Payback, Leer, Scary Face, Dragon Dance [Inherited], Ancient Power [Inherited], Stomping Tantrum, Sandstorm, Iron Defense, Outrage, Rock Slide
Custom Moves: Sand Shield
Moves Learnt:
Gligar
Gender: Female
Type: Ground/Flying
Abilities: Hyper Cutter, Sand Veil, Immunity [Undeveloped]
Held Items: None
Moves: Thief, Knock Off, Poison Tail, Quick Attack, Wing Attack [Inherited], Toxic, Spikes, Toxic, Rock Slide, Stealth Rock Spikes, Venoshock
Custom Moves:
Moves Learnt:
Trapinch
Gender: Male
Type: Ground
Abilities: Hyper Cutter, Sand Trap [Undeveloped] Sheer Force
Held Items: None
Moves: Astonish, Mud Slap, Sand Attack, Bite, Crunch, Bulldoze, Dig, Sand Tomb, Bug Bite [Inherited], Rock Slide
Moves Learnt:
Custom Moves: Sand Trap
Mudkip[Shiny]
Gender: Female
Type: Water
Abilities: Torrent [Undeveloped] Damp [Undeveloped]
Held Items: None
Moves: Tackle, Water Gun, Growl, Mirror Coat [Inherited], Counter [Inherited], Bite [Inherited]
Moves Learnt:
Custom Moves: