(XXXVII) Preliminaries (2/3)

Due to the increase in successive Power-Up Punches, Hanzō was able to quickly sweep the rest of the trainer's team Bidoof and Purrloin thanks to the increased damage output and superior mobility.

Isaac wasn't expecting much from any of the preliminary fights. If the games translated in any meaningful way most of these trainers would most likely have rather lackluster rosters and Hanzō would most likely be able to handle most teams on his own.

Even after sweeping his opponent, next to no one paid his match any attention and the second round only had one spectator. He wanted to be annoyed regarding the low turnout but it worked in his favor as most of his potential upcoming opponents wouldn't be watching him and studying his strategies.

Hanzō once again was able to sweep his opponent again and he returned to the PokéCenter down the gigantic road running alongside the coast and harbor in the sprawling Olivine City.

He handed Hanzō over to Nurse Joy to be healed after his battles, booked one of the training rooms before he contacted Hugh via one of the PCs, and chatted with him as the Pokéfood for his team was transferred.

"So, I take it went well with The Dragon Tamer Clan?" Isaac asked as he leaned back in his chair.

"They have agreed to become a supplier of Dragon-type foods but only in small quantities. Thankfully, it's more than enough to handle your order so I can stockpile the rest for potential orders. I can't thank you enough for everything you've done for my family!" Hugh replied with a large grin.

'Don't thank me just yet...' Isaac thought to himself as he smiled at Hugh, "No need to thank me! I'm just helping make sure my investment is going to start paying dividends!"

Both men started laughing as Hugh was called by Mallory from the other room and hung up. Isaac stood up and stretched as he walked down the hallway and entered the Training Room.

Isaac sent out Morgana and waved at her as she looked around curiously. She quickly disappeared into her beads as they fell to the ground.

"Oh! Don't be scared Morgana! I'm not going to hurt you! I want to be your friend!" Isaac said consolingly, reaching into his bag and pulling out one of the new biscuits that were circular with deep purple and bright pink colors and offering it to her, but no response came from the hiding Misdreavus.

"Hmmm..." Isaac muttered to himself and knelt close to her beads, 'I wonder what's the matter with her...' He thought as he reached down and touched the bead carefully. He placed the biscuit next to the beads and stood up, brushing his hands together and walking over to the wall and sitting against it.

He pulled out Atlas' pokéball and brought him out as the Gible bounced happily before coming up to Isaac who smiled and picked him up and pulled him into his lap. He reached into his bag and brought out another biscuit this one was covered in a bright regal purple with shades of muted deep blues.

He handed it to Gible who immediately gobbled it down and began bouncing around in excitement causing Isaac to laugh. He spent the rest of the night in the training room before exiting a few hours before sunrise.

"Oh! Mr. Firenze! We have been looking for you! Your Pokémon is fully healed! Here you go!" Nurse Joy said seeing him and as he approached she searched under her desk before retrieving a pokéball and handing it to Isaac with a bow.

"I'm sorry! I was in the Training Room all night practicing! Thank you! Do you think you can heal up the rest of my team? I'm going to take a nap in one of the chairs for a few hours and I'll pick them up when I wake up" Isaac asked taking his Trainer Belt off and handing it to her before taking Hanzō back.

"Of course! It would be our pleasure! Enjoy your short rest!" She said taking the Trainer Belt and handing it to a Blissey who took it into the back while Isaac went to one of the empty waiting chairs and sat down.

Despite the seat being highly uncomfortable, Isaac's exhaustion was stronger than his discomfort and he quickly fell asleep.

A few hours later he was awoken by his Pokétch and he grabbed his belt and an extra strong coffee from the café before he returned to the Colosseum.

As he was making his way around the back he was stopped by the officials and redirected to a different stage than yesterday. He hadn't made his way into the Colosseum yet, but he was moved to the first field out back.

'I guess some people noticed after all...' Isaac thought to himself as he was part of the first group to battle that morning. Once again Hanzō swept another trainer's team but it was a lot closer than he had hoped.

Isaac was sitting in one of the many waiting rooms for the trainers to get away from the crowd and rest without many interruptions alone keeping his eyes on the trainers who were socializing amongst themselves. A few disciples from the Dragon Tamer Clan had approached him but he kept it brief before they went on their way. He didn't want to draw any additional attention to himself by being warm and friendly with one of the most prominent clans in the Pokémon Association.

"Firenze! Isaac Firenze! You're called to stage 3! I repeat Isaac Firenze to stage 3!" An official shouted into the room before leaving.

"Huh..?" Isaac said with a concerned expression on his face and a furrowed brow, 'I didn't expect to make it in until after the Prelims...' He thought as he stood up and exited the room, making his way through the large corridors until he walked out into the middle of the massive arena.

Isaac shielded his eyes from the sun as he looked around with a massive grin on his face. Goosebumps ran up his entire body as he felt the electricity in the air; the crowd was losing their minds as Petrik and his partner Litleo were the first to win four battles and earn their placement.

Isaac stood frozen looking around at the crowd. Even though they weren't cheering for him, he had discovered something within himself at that moment. Petrik had left the first stage and was on his way to conducting yet another interview when he intentionally bumped his shoulder with Isaac.

"You had better not lose before we meet!" He snarled at Isaac, glaring at him. Isaac was stupefied as he turned and watched the young boy walk away as if nothing happened.

"WOULD YOU LOOK AT THAT!!!" Cotton screamed through the loudspeakers.

"I know, Cotton! It looks like Petrik is not happy about seeing the newcomer Isaac who has apparently been mimicking his performance!" Pepper added with an audible gasp.

"Exactly right! Both trainers have not used more than ONE POKÉMON through their preliminaries so no other trainers have been able to even get a glimpse at the rest of their teams!" Cotton announced as Isaac began tuning them out and resumed his way to the third stage.

"What..?" Isaac muttered to himself as he heard this, "The fuck is going on around here?!?" He grumbled and stepped up.

"Let's see if Isaac has what it takes to match Petrik one last time and sweep this with just his Froakie!" Pepper said as both trainers took their positions and the official raised both flags.

"And for the first time in the central stage as well! What an exciting moment for the young man!" Cotton added while the flags dropped and both trainers sent out their first Pokémon.

"Let's hope the spotlight doesn't ruin his momentum, you may not know this but a lot of trainers are negatively impacted when they're in these kinds of tournaments!" Pepper added as they began to announce the battle that had been in progress.

"Quick Attack, Hanzō!" Isaac shouted as Froakie's skin turned white as it gathered energy and quickly dashed through the field.

"Use your own Quick Attack, Starly!" His opponent shouted and the small bird began spinning in the air as similar energy gathered before it dashed forward.

Both Hanzō and Starly darted around the field as the white blurs pounced around within the borders of the field chasing and avoiding one another as they tried to land the attack.

Starly flew into the air before diving down toward the ground as Hanzō darted around before appearing below the diving bird and jumped into the air as the two collided and a loud cloud of smoke burst from their collision.

———

Daily Chapter 2 of 2!

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