Tournament Round One

[bravenewmods]

The first day of the tournament dawns bright and sunny, a stark contrast to the mood of the citizens of Union as they exit the gates of the city. Many of them stare at Team Evolution with open suspicion - what exactly were they trying to demonstrate here? Regardless, it appears that the people of Union would hold their own session first. As the 12 trainers take their positions, the crowd is waved back by one of the Guardsmen, holding a pole out to his side as a makeshift barrier.

"Please, for your own safety, stay behind this area, everyone. The tournament will begin shortly."

From the opposite side, the members of Team Evolution politely troop in, pausing at a short distance. As before, Rory stands at the front of the group, accompanied by Crystal and Sakina, each of whom were, if not familiar to the people of Union by now, at least recognizable.

The Guardsman, who apparently has been chosen to act as the judge, speaks once more once the hubbub has died down.

"The Council wishes to thank all who have agreed to take part in this demonstration and all who have come to lend support. To Team Evolution, it is our desire that you come to understand what it means to our city to be a Pokémon trainer, and what it is from which we draw our strength. Though our philosophies may differ, we are nonetheless united in our humanity. We take heart in having made contact with our fellows after so many long years, and we pray that the gods may look upon this meeting with favor."

A pause.

"Now... without further ado, let the battles begin!"

((The first round of the tournament will end in 48 hours, ICly. Please let us know who the winner will be by 2/26 here and we'll post the second round match-ups as soon as we can. The second round of the tournament will begin ICly 2/27.))

Comments

General Spectators

[bravenewmods]

[ladyofluminosity]

[Lux is toward the front end of the crowd, a young Eevee in her arms, eagerly awaiting the start of the tournament. Her hair actually down for once, she looks somewhat fired up, Annabel the Eevee likewise excited.]

[improvings]

[Laurent was practically dragged here. He'd much rather be studying, but Lux had decided this was the day to get the nerdlet out of his shell. So he's standing next to Lux by the pen, his Wooper peeking from under the brim of his hat from where he's standing on Laurent's shoulder. Shidora looks excited at least, he'll party with you Lux.]

Is it true? [He tries to ask over the crowd, leaning in.] They use some kind of storage system for their Pokemon...?

[ladyofluminosity]

[Pumped for the fighting to start, she doesn't register what Laurant says at first, so it takes a moment for her to respond.]

...huh? Sorry, what did you say?

[improvings]

[Ah.... this isn't his scene at all.]

I-I said, someone mentioned they store their Pokemon in a strange way!

[ladyofluminosity]

In Poke Balls.

[She saw the announcement from Fai.]

[a_gentle_boy]

[A boy standing nearby looks a bit worried - his eyes are focused on one contestant in particular. His own Eevee sits on his shoulders and cranes its neck to watch.]

...

Just twelve people... I guess everyone else was too suspicious to want to try.

What do you think they want from this?

[ladyofluminosity]

[Eevee buddies! Annabel lets out a friendly squeak at Lucas' Eevee. Hello friend!

Lux, noticing the younger blond next to her, frowns.]

I don't know, it's hard to say...

[a_gentle_boy]

[Avey glances up at Annabel and blinks as if noticing her for the first time. ...He flushes a bit red for a moment before chirping cheerfully back.]

I know we've all already talked about how weird this feels, but...

[Lucas sighs a bit.]

I don't think they're going to be very interested in learning about the way we live our lives...

[ladyofluminosity]

[Yay Eevee friends! Annabel's going to squirm before Lux lets her sit on her shoulder. She'll continue cheeping at you, Avey. Yay!

Lux shakes her head.]

I don't think this is about learning about the way we live at all...

[a_gentle_boy]

The old Pokemon prisons that they use... But I'm sure anyone could see that having a real relationship with your Pokemon would get more done than using something like that...

[Lucas is too engrossed to notice that Avey is fluffing out his coat a little bit in response to Annabel's attentions.]

[ladyofluminosity]

[Pokemon prisons. She hadn't heard them called that before, but it was appropriate. The blond nods.]

I agree. I don't want to judge them on that because of different upbringing, but at the same time...

[Oh my fluffy Eevee, Annabel is impressed!]

[a_gentle_boy]

Maybe... someone just leapt to conclusions. Maybe it's different.

[Lucas looks a little doubtful. Avey looks a little proud and then casually begins grooming himself because that is the cool thing amongst Eevees.]

[ladyofluminosity]

[Oh, was that cool? That seemed kind of girly, wow, why would you care so much about your appearance man, vain much? Annabel huffs and looks away.]

Maybe, I don't know...

[naturaldissension]

Half of them are no more than children...

[He murmurs, his ever-pervasive smile bearing a slight hint of amusement.]

Is this what Union seeks to show us...?

[bnw_sheepy_npcs]

Children have the potential to become something great, when given the right opportunities.

[naturaldissension]

And of course, it is children who adapt and evolve the most quickly. But I do not think that is what is meant...

Perhaps we should hold back. There is no purpose in bullying children.

[bnw_sheepy_npcs]

Maybe. But how will they learn anything if we don't push them?

[naturaldissension]

Your drive is admirable as always, Dr. Verdine. Then let us see how they respond...

[He glances up towards the battles again.]

I confess it does not seem much different than our methods, this Warp Band technology. But it may be worth studying further.

[bnw_sheepy_npcs]

I can theorize that the way energy is transferred is the same, but I won't know unless we're able to study it further. It's my hope that we'll get that opportunity. "Bonding" seems to work quite a bit differently than our own methods, however.

[naturaldissension]

As it must by necessity. We have no means of communication, after all. This trait inherent to these 'Enlightened' would certainly be invaluable as well.

[bnw_sheepy_npcs]

[She nods.]

Perhaps one day we too can evolve in such a way to be able to use similar "gifts".

[naturaldissension]

...Ah. Do I sense some experimentation coming on?

[Rory almost looks uneasy as he laughs.]

[blade_psychic]

Kuwabara is stuck somewhere in the middle of the crowd, muttering to himself about not participating or even being able to get a good view, but his Purrloin, Koto, is happily perched on his shoulder, eyes sparkling and licking her lips in anticipation of the oncoming violence.

"...don't even see what the point is, I could fight just as well as any of the pokemon, just because mine aren't- hey, I think I know those two."

[faithful_kitsune]

[Ran sits in the back, watching the goings on. She's never really seen people fight each other with Pokemon. How will they do...?]