The Top Eight!

The battle between Roy and Luke continued with them sending out their last pokemon. Lickitung had, of course, been weak from its previous bouts. Luke had been playing risky since the start of the battle, and it came back to bite him in the butt.

Luke kept having Lickitong dodge, being a nuisance and difficult. Roy had known Luke would play difficult to beat, but he was only delaying the inevitable. Houndour surrounded Lickitong with sludge before it was ignited.

Sludge was indeed flammable, but this was usually when it was dry. Surrounded by flames, Lickitong could no longer run and was directly defeated with a Flamethrower.

Luke was so mad that he was trembling from his loss. Unfortunately, he couldn't find an excuse as he had the advantage over Roy for various reasons.

Roy's parents nearly jumped out of their seats when they saw Roy win his match. They had already been sitting there for three hours and had to go to the restroom. His parent didn't want to miss a second of their kid's battles, so they held it.

Luke simply stated that they'll have their rematch in the future, but with their own trained pokemon. Roy nodded, he had no issue battling this guy in the future with his own trained-up team.

Luke soon exited the battlefield, but he qualified to fight for ninth or tenth place.

This was Roy's toughest encounter. Troy had a few close calls and so did Diana but they barely manage to come out on top, with some being purely fortunate.

Some groups had already finished their battles with someone already making it into the top Eight. Roy had his final match next, he, of course, had to pick a different team.

The next guy was also quite tough, but Roy manage to defeat him in the end after a long and drawn-out battle. The guy wasn't nearly as tough as Luke, but he wasn't a pushover either.

With this victory, Roy had entered the top Eight!

Afterward, the staff told him that he would have his next match in three days against the other top battlers. Roy's parents were so happy that they both started dancing, their son Troy even made it to the top Eight.

Unfortunately, Diana had lost her last battle, so she didn't make it into the top Eight. However, she could compete for ninth place and tenth place.

Diana looked disheartened, this was especially so when she learned that her brothers made it in the top eight and she didn't. Roy was even surprised that Troy made it into the top eight, but he noticed something strange and new about his siblings.

Not their personalities, but there was a faint golden aura around both Diana and Troy. Roy was astonished, but he had no idea what it meant. After announcing the top eight the tournament was over, Roy and the others within the top eight were congratulated.

This was, after all, being aired on television for the world to see. Afterward, Roy and his family went home.

"Don't be so down, there's still a chance for you to make it into the top ten. You'll need to win the next match." Roy patted Diana on the back and said.

"I hope so, I really want a Pokedex, that is a rare item that they don't just give out." Roy and Troy were automatically qualified to receive one, but she might not if she lost too many matches next time around.

"Keep a cool head, your match is the day after tomorrow. That will be the time for you to bring your A-game, it won't be easy because your pokemon are randomized." Royce, their father was stunned when he first heard about the rules and how they would battle.

"Right, they said we would be battling with Ultra Class level pokemon for the remainder of the competition. They decided not to allow us to use Master Class pokemon later because of their difficulty."

Diana also wanted to investigate the possible pokemon she would be battling with next time.

"You don't have to really worry about that, they had a list of Ultra Class pokemon. You'll be able to see what pokemon you might end up with later."

Troy had already seen the list, so he wasn't worried. He had watched many tournaments on television every day, this included strategies in combat.

"Really, I didn't see it. Do you remember the list of pokemon that will appear?" Diana knew it really wouldn't matter if she saw it or not, it wouldn't affect the outcome of the battle to come.

Troy, of course, remembered every last one and wrote them down on a piece of paper for her. "We'll receive our first pokemon from the Pokemon Alliance. I wonder what the options are, other than the three Royal Starters?"

"Probably other baby-type pokemon, no, they will be baby-type pokemon. They wouldn't give us any fully evolved ones, and there should be options from Kanto and Johto."

Roy was actually interested in other pokemon and not the three Royal Starters. However, he did like Totodile a lot, but he wanted a different starter.

"You guys should relax a bit, it's been a long day and many kids were crying with disappointment. I'm so glad that you three came out on top in the end. Yes, even you Diana, you still have a chance so it isn't over yet."

"Right! I'll look up the pokemon on this list and find out what they excel at the most." Diana's position in the competition wasn't certain, she had to put in more effort.

Diana went to her room, she wasn't exactly in high spirits. Everyone knew she needed time alone, this was a critical junction for her.

Diane, their mother sighed and said. "I'll check on her later, she's a bit down but I think she can handle the competition. We should motivate her throughout this time before the matches proceed."

"Oh, yeah, the on-hands training you guys and the school has given us really help me a lot." Roy had only watched the shows and played the games, but these were also contributors to his success.

Roy even dare say he got lucky in his semi-final match due to Machoke determination and nature. He took note of this in his heart, and that was to get himself a Machop when he started his Kanto journey, or if he found a really good one on the way.

"That's true, I'm so glad that we've made it this far. I would surely hope with all the dedication and research I've put in, I could make it."

Troy could be considered a battle-watching fanatic, and rarely missed any competitions that aired on television.

"That's good. After the competition, we'll celebrate no matter what placement you guys are put in." Royce hadn't heard about the rewards they would receive, he only knew that they would be given a pokemon.

Afterward, they all talked for a bit more before they went about their business. Roy went to his room and prepared to take a shower. Before showering, Roy did his daily workout of twenty push-ups and twenty sit-ups.

"Hmm, I should work on my legs too. I don't want to be fit and muscular up top, but walking on toothpicks at the bottom."

Roy decided on a new routine of working on his legs as well, as this wasn't something he wasn't used to doing. Afterward, he grabbed a towel and rag before hopping into the shower.

Roy was remembering the congratulating ceremony for the top Eight. Many of the top Eight kids smiled at each other, but Roy could easily spot the competitive light flaring from their bodies and eyes.

"I'm not a fan of tournaments, I heard I could make money by becoming a bounty hunter. This seems to be right up my alley."

Roy also knew that many people might not take him seriously as a fifteen-year-old bounty hunter. Of course, Roy was fourteen now, but when his journey started, he wanted to make that his side hustle.

The Pokemon Alliance backed the bounty hunter guilds, so Roy could register when he got his license. Roy got out of the shower, went to his room, and dried off before putting on some lotion.

With a fresh set of clothes, he was finished.

Roy was tired from all of those consistent battles and wanted to get shut-eye. He laid on his bed and quickly dozed off soon after.

Time passed and the next day rolled around.

Around Twelve Pm, Roy saw his brother and sister preparing to watch the other placement from the competition. Diana's best friend was fighting this time and she qualified to participate in this placement tourney.

Roy's mom was in the kitchen making lunch, but Roy had missed Breakfast. By this point, his break had long gone cold. It wasn't like he would have gotten up anyway if they came to wake him.

"Roy, try to wake up for breakfast, you never wake up early and sleep for long periods of time. Lunch is almost ready, I'm making everyone some submarine sandwiches."

"Oh, yeah, yeah, I'll be sure to remember that," Roy said lazily before sitting next to the window and opening it.

Diane smiled and shook her head, she knew he wouldn't change in this regard.

Chirp Chrip~

Roy could hear the sound of Pidgey's chirping in trees. This was the norm in Cherrygrove, it was a place that smelled like flowers during the spring and summer. Pidgey chirping during the day and Hoot-Hoot being noisy during the night.

Right then his sister and brother came into the kitchen after smelling the cooked meat.

"Oh, boy, something smells good!" Troy grinned and turned to the cooking meat on the skillet. He was in high spirits due to his placement into the top Eight.

"It's almost done, I had to pack your dad one before he went to work today." Diane said and continued, "How confident are you guys in entering the top Five?"

Roy and Troy were rendered silent, this was hard to call, even for them. They both had some really close calls during yesterday's tournament.

"I can't say for certain, maybe forty to fifty percent." Roy ratio and speculated.

"I don't know." Troy scratched his head in uncertainty.

"How about you Diana, what are the odds of you getting into the top Ten?" Diane squinted at her daughter and said.

Diana was silent for a moment, she seemed a bit down since yesterday. "I would have to say twenty to thirty percent."

'My god!' Roy was stunned, was she that dispirited and lacked that much confidence in herself?!