Jared saw something he hadn't noticed when he had come in because he had been too focused on signing up.

At another entrance to the building, on the other side, there was a separate lineup, and a crowd of people seemed to be buying tickets.

Just then, a cold voice boomed through the loudspeakers above, "The cutoff time has elapsed"

(that was close, if I accidentally lined up there thinking I was registering, I would have lost my chances to compete... and that gastly probably wouldn't ever let me live it down, for rushing him over with me.)

As if on Q, the red ribboned security guards planted themselves directly in front of the lines, and began deterring late comers from attempting to line up.

A minute later, and after a bit of static, a magnetic older woman's voice can be heard shouting through the loudspeaker amping up the crowd, "HELLO FUTURE OFFICIAL TRAINERS!"

"And welcome to the quarterly Tapu Village Research Lab Pokemon Tournament! I see many bright hopefuls out there among you! and I'm excited to see you become the next official pokemon trainer! In just half an hour the matches will begin!! When your number is called, please come up, and you'll be escorted to your opponent!"

"As a reminder, the rounds are one on one single-elimination, you are not allowed to use any other pokemon besides the one you registered, and if you do not show up within fifteen minutes of being called you will forfeit, so be there or be square, thank you!"

The excitement was now palpable, people of all ages could be seen clenching their fists, or cheering in excitement, while many others were shaking nervously. If an outside observer glanced around, it would seem more like a human exhibit on human emotions, rather than a crowd of competitors.

While they all had different circumstances and backgrounds, today they all shared the same goal, yes, they all wanted to become recognized as an official pokemon trainer. They each felt they had a shot, but in the end, there can only be three winners!

The prizes below the coveted three would act as nothing more than a poor consolation prize in the eyes of the expectant crowd!

The magnetic voice was then replaced by a more muted male caster that begins droning on about the restrictions and rules, as well as a quick rundown of the arena layout.

Shaking a bit with excitement, from the earlier voice riling him up along with the crowd, Jared tries his best to focus on the new announcer. He feared he would somehow missing some crucial information.

Those that listened would learn that the arenas were nearly identical. Each arena is exactly one hundred yards squared *football-field-sized*, and completely closed off. The lighting would be even. This was to make it fairer for the pokemon sensitive to bright light, or those weakened by the sun. This was something a certain trainer and his Gastly felt very thankful for.

There would be plenty of obstacles and waist-deep pools of water evenly distributed, and plentiful rocks and sand to accommodate all pokemon types, but Jared mused that the layout of the arena would likely favor water pokemon, already knowing the inhabitant's preferences for water types.

.

A pretty young lady with neatly braided hair and cheerful blue eye's can be heard holding a mic, which distracted Jared's train of thought,

"Hello, and welcome, I'm your host Leilani, and I'm coming to you live at the Tapu Village Research Lab, the excitement is growing here, and I can promise you this will be one of the greatest tournaments yet!"

The camera pans to her left but keeps Leilani in the frame, "On my left here are three super talented young trainers. Many will agree that they stand a good chance at snagging a top placing with their extraordinary water pokemon!"

"The viewers at home may know these three aspiring trainers from their exhibition matches held here weekly, and broadcasted to you at home, but let me introduce them to you anyway!"

Jared knitted his brows, (Weekly? it's a pity I never heard about this until now!)

A crowd of people and trainers had since started to gather around from a distance. They listened with interest as the woman's voice continues echoing loudly,

"The first trainer on our left is someone you all know, born right here in Tapu Village City is none other than our very own Akoni! and with his adorable and super rare vaporeon. He remains undefeated since his debut! With his vaporeon's agility and technical strikes, along with the ability to dodge strikes by turning into water vapor, he and his vaporeon rapidly rose to fame since his graduation three months ago! and is now the number one seed!"

As a trainer who had never fought, Jared thought it prudent to memorize the faces of the top competitors, even if it wouldn't give him an advantage.

The youngster named Akoni can be seen when the camera briefly focuses on him, he looks weak, as if he never had a hard day in his life, he was richly dressed in a gaudy black suit, and had neatly combed short black hair.

He was handsome, but not thoughtful, he smirked arrogantly when he was called out, and he didn't seem to think much of the competition.

(Ergh! something tells me this is a setup, I bet his rich parents had this pokemon trained and prepared for him the day he turned ten... gastly is still untested... so I have no idea how he will fare even against normal competitors let alone him, so I hope to god we never meet in the ring. Wait... what's this about vaporeon's being able to turn into vapor? Is this similar to when gastly disperses?)

.

After another introduction the camera pans back to show a new face, his name was Ken, seventeen, he can be seen smiling calmly with cool confidence, his poofy brown hair, and relaxed demeanor made others feel happy to just be in his presence, his pokemon was a wartortle, freshly evolved.

He had apparently competed many times, and always placed top fifteen, and now with his evolved wartortle, he was a fan favorite to reach the top three.

"Last but not least is Kekoa! with his powerful tentacruel, he has been having great results recently, so he's someone you should watch out for!'

(That's interesting... I never would have thought a tentacruel would be a top competitor... wouldn't it struggle to perform in the waist-deep water?)

The final trainer appeared to be twelve years based on his youthful demeanor, but when you looked into his sharp green eyes, you could see an undisguised hunger in them for victory, Kekoa nodded when he was mentioned, and went back to sizing up his competition.

Jared scans the last trainer, and memorizes his face with a frown, "Why are the top seeds so young? wouldn't long-time trainers with years and years of experience have a much better shot?"

A voice can then be heard from behind, "Hehe, I hope you don't think me rude, but I couldn't help but overhear what you said."

Jared casually turns to see a long brown-haired man, with a slight beard but no mustache, his kind eyes, and the smile lines on his face along with his strong muscles reminded him of Kukui. Jared greets him politely in turn, "No not at all, if you'd be willing to tell me I'd be very grateful actually, my name is Jared, and you are?"

"Hale", Hale reaches out and gives a firm handshake, "Sorry again for striking up a conversation out of the blue, maybe I'm just a bit nervous, I've been competing for years, but I never placed well."

Then Hale sighs, "As for your question, I think I have an answer to it, it probably comes down to talent and dedication."

"How so?"

"Well... I can only speak from experience, so don't take my words as true, but as I'm sure you know..."

Hale leaned in, as if he were telling a secret, "It's hard to train your pokemon when you're working all day... and the diets of the pokemon are very important, most normal folks like me can only afford to feed our pokemon cheaply, and after a few years of losing competitions, it's easy to get discouraged and slack."

Jared nods in thought.

"I don't think I've seen you around, have you competed before Jared?"

"I er, uh, I never competed"

Hale seems a bit surprised, " Never competed? At your age? Not even in the towns?"

Jared feels his cheeks redden, " Er-r, I always wanted to, b-but... it's kind of a long story..."

Gastlys voice then booms in Jared's mind, "Stop being pathetic in my presence human, you're stumbling over your words like an idiot!"

Jared smiles at Gastlys comment, "Say, Hale, when's your match?"

Seeing the strange change in Jared, Hale replies questioningly, "In about two or so hours, why?"

"Well, I was thinking of going over to watch a few matches, you want to come with me?"

Hale smiles widely and laughs, "Yeah man, let's do it"

.

After traveling through one of the many elevators to the second floor, Jared and Hale find themselves greeted to an enclosed area.

The place they were in now was a long horizontal strip.

Behind them were clean windows stretching far off, and in front of them was a door around twenty meters away. Above the door was an ornate plaque with the words, *Arena two.*

The other arenas would also presumably be found if you simply traveled further down the strip, but they decided arena two was a good a place as any, and they made their way through it.

People could be seen streaming out of the elevators on either side, while the more athletic of them took the stairs up, but they all had a goal, and that was the arena.

The inside looked much like a hockey rink, there were bleachers to sit all around, and ultra-thick reinforced glass to prevent shrapnel from impacting the audience, but the see-through glass still allowed the viewers to see what's happening.

Jared's eyes opened wide when he saw four Mr. Mimes standing idly around the stadium, they were in a box formation. Jared couldn't help but ask his new friend "Any idea what they are doing?"

Hale raised his eyebrows, then looks over to where his new friend had pointed, "aha them, they are there to reinforce the glass with a barrier to prevent accidents, although most matches won't require it, there have been accidents in the past so it's now mandatory."

The arena itself was not quite as described, Jared chuckled when he notices the amount of water was more than advertised, the arena had artificial rivers that connected to one another, each covering at least half of the field in a grid, with everything else in between.

Food and drink vendors were busily going up and down the isles, while around a hundred people were sitting around waiting for the show to start, with more spectators likely to come.

While the people waited, Jared could feel their raw visceral excitement at the hope of a bloody spectacle, at least he thought that's the feeling he felt.

Jared then imagined that this must be what it was like in a Roman Coliseum.

.

Looking down into the arena itself, Jared sees two people that looked something like referees, they were on opposite ends of the arena waiting for something.

Jared begins looking around from his seat, and was surprised to see that there were no camera crews in the stands, perhaps they got tipped off that the match taking place wouldn't be worth their time, he thought.

Sitting in the stands, chatting idly with Hale, the first match was soon announced by one of the referees down below.

Halia with psyduck

VS

Iulio with seel

Iulio was a weather-beaten man in his forties, while Halia was a freckled girl looking to be around fourteen.

The two threw their pokeballs, and then the referees on either side shouted, "Begin"

The two trainers and their pokemon were nearly eighty yards apart from their opponent, so after the announcement yell, they began cautiously moving towards each other, with their pokemon leading from the front.

Jared was disappointed when there was no commentary, but a mic strapped to each trainer at least let him hear their voices, at least from where he sat.

In between the lull, while the trainers were moving towards each other, Jared turns to his new friend and asks, "Who do you think will win?"

Hale scratches his chin with a grin, "Mmm, I think the seel will struggle, the psyduck can use psychic moves, and the seels water type moves will have less effect due to psyduck's water typing... Hm yes, the seels only hope is to get in close with a bite or a headbutt, but they aren't known to be agile on land... then again neither is the psyduck, I suppose only time will tell."

In response, Jared scratched his chin thoughtfully.

.

Finally, in range, the two trainers give quick commands,

"Psyduck, use confusion, don't get close!"

"Seel, rush in for a headbutt!"

Psyduck eyes glowed purple as the seel trundles, the creature moved faster than you'd imagine!

An almost invisible sheen of purple flashes towards the seel, and impacts it on its left flipper!

Seel roars in visible pain, as the blow knocks it off balance and lands him painfully into a nearby protruding boulder.

Fortunately, Seel was now out of Psyduck's line of sight and wasn't at risk of Psyducks bombardment during his moment of weakness.

Iulio becomes flustered, "Er, Seel, pick yourself up, just keep closing the distance, don't let up"

Seel gets himself up from behind the cover, then spies the smirking Psyduck had moved further away. He then once again begin's barreling towards him, but he was visibly slower than before.

Hale shakes his head, "Charging in isn't going to work, he should have pressured the psyduck with water gun to unbalance it, while he moved in close. Conserving stamina was a poor move, and with his injured flipper, he won't be able to close the distance at this rate."

Jared nods along, not averting his eyes from the battle.

"Psyduck! Keep him away, spam your confusions, don't let up!" Halia cried.

"Don't let him hit you, Seel, evade into the river!"

Seel jumps into the river, a steak of purple flies past, and lands a lucky hit on his back flipper!

Seel falls painfully into the river with a splash, blood starts to flow from its wounds, and the confusion was beginning to make its head feel muddled, but he finally slinks down into the water, to avoid any more damage.

"Seel, stay in the water, try to recover!"

The crowd halfheartedly jeers, they weren't quite impressed by the poor showing so far.

"Hey Hale, what happens when a trainer runs and hides with his pokemon, or two trainers stay back and don't fight?"

Hale blinks, "Fights can only last for a maximum of fifteen minutes, if both trainers stay back, they will both be eliminated, or in the event that one trainer's pokemon stays in the open, while the other hides, the pursuing trainer will win, while if both pokemon become unable to battle, then... I think it will come down to a referee's decision."

Halia orders her psyduck to stay where he is, and to keep his eye's on the river.

A sort of lul came over the field for nearly ten minutes, then suddenly Iulio shouts, "Seel, out of the water, shoot psyduck with water guns, try to get close, but don't get hit!"

Bleeding, Seel explodes out of the water with a murderous glint in his eyes, and he begins peppering high-pressure water guns at Psyduck.

Psyduck keeps his distance, and he tries his best to bean the evading seel with another confusion.

A confusion whizzes past, a near miss!

Seel catches Psyduck in the lower body with high-pressure water, knocking psyduck directly off his feet!

"Psyduck get up, don't let him close in!"

Psyduck has no cover, and from this range, the Seel wouldn't miss his water guns.

Psyduck struggles himself up, then another water gun sends it sprawling back to the ground.

"That's it seel! Now! close in with a headbutt combo, let's finish this!"

Seel was rapidly closing in, he was now only six meters away, and gaining.

Seeing Psyduck unable to get up, or increase the distance, Halia screams, "Psyduck, stand your ground! just hit him from where you are, he's weak!"

Psyduck turns his body and faces the approaching Seel fearfully.

The sharp point above Seels head was now rapidly approaching, and after a blink of hesitation, Psyduck fires a point blank confusion straight into the seels neck.

Seel roars, spitting blood from its mouth, but holds on and tenaciously closes the last few feet.

The psyduck has no more time to fire off a confusion and he panics.

Halia panics too, and gives out contradictory orders, the Psyduck turns to flee, but slips.

With inevitable momentum, Seel rams home right through the psyducks chest, and blood begins pouring!

With the psyduck embedded in his horn, Seel flings his victim up high, and like a ragdoll, the bleeding Psyduck falls down HARD with a crack.

Psyduck doesn't move.

The crowd erupts into cheers, as the referee declares Seel the winner.

Blood dripping from his neck and flippers, Seel collapses on the ground with a glorious grin.

He had won!

Jared's eyes widen in utter shock, " Hale! Psyduck got three hits on the seel, and yet he was defeated in only one!?"

Hale laughs, still feeling the thrill of the match, "the seel is big, he can take more punishment, and it was really only one good hit. If the psyducks aim was more true, and he struck the Seels head, perhaps we'd have a different winner, that seel was really tenacious wasn't he? that was truly exhilarating wasn't it?"

Jared frowns, "Yeah... but that psyduck wasn't moving, you think he's okay?"

With a light wave, Hale just chuckles, " Pokeman have an incredible lifeforce, even if you cracked that psyducks head open, it still won't be enough to finish them off. "

Hale then continues in a more serious tone, "unless your goal is to kill, death is rare, and quite unlikely"

They stayed to watch a few more matches, but none were quite as exciting at the first.

.

Jared went back, but Hale stayed to watch one more.

Finding a spot to stand in the wide-open first-floor lobby, Jared picks up his phone then spoke, "Say, Gastly, what did you think of the matches, do you feel confident?"

Gastly gives a mental snort, " I didn't watch, those weaklings are not worth my time"

With exasperation, Jared chides, "You can't be serious, you only know lick and hypnosis and you already have a superiority complex?"

"Hmph, stupid ugly human you'll see."

Forty minutes later, Jared hears his number called, and with heart palpitations, he head's up to the counter, and he gets led by one of the red ribboned security guards to arena four.

Being led through a few staff-only doors, Jared finds himself standing under an overhang.

Through it, he felt an illusion play out before him, through that wide door was a new world, a world only his own, and one only he can tread.

Through that wide door no longer laid an arena, no, through his eyes, it was now a gate to war!

A proving ground, a place where dreams can be made or broken, a place to inflict your own will on others or have it shattered before you. At this stage, you are given an opportunity, an opportunity to build your first stepping stone towards your ideals, on the back of another, and if you dare misstep your world will crumble never to be reformed!

Feeling the ringing of fate in his ears, a ring only he can hear, Jared steps into the lights, as a crowd cheers.