For The Crown (1/3)

It was a cold and dark evening. The busy street of downtown Celadon city is bustling with a lot of cars and trucks as many drove to the highways while some visited the stadium. Tonight is an important night. In the stadium, crowds cheered as their voices clustered into a unison of utter joy and excitement. Everyone was waiting for this day to come, many remembering their childhood while some created their own. Humans and their Pokemon watched with hype as the night has finally arrived, the night where trainers battle it out on who will become Kanto's new Pokemon Champion.

"We're bringing you LIVE from the Celadon City Sports Stadium. I'm your host, Jinku Ishimura…" The man with a dashing brown suit, white polo and a golden watch said.

"And I'm Jessica Holzenburg. And tonight, we're bringing you live coverage of tonight's event." The blonde woman continued. She wears a blue suit with a blackdress and a black bracelet.

"Good evening Jinku. Ah, you still remember Pokemon training?" Jessica immediately asked Jiku after greeting themselves to the camera.

"Hell yeah! I remember training my Ratata when I was little. Ahh good times." Jinku said as he remembered his childhood.

"Yup, before college, paying taxes and student loan debts. Good times. Well, tell me Jinku, who is our tonight's contestant for the Indigo League challenge- were trainers all across Kanto to fight out till they fight the current champion and become the next Pokemon Champion." Jessica said with utter excitement.

"For tonight, since there's only two Pokemon trainers that registered for the league and one lost from the 8th gym; we'll only have one Pokemon trainer fighting against the 7 Kanto specialists." Jinku explained.

"Oh… who might be the trainer who will be with us tonight?" Jessica asked him with curiosity.

"His name is Yoake Katsuragi, the son of the famous inventor Takeshi Katsuragi. He's a 12 year old from Pallet City. His ace is Gardevoir, such a fan favorite Pokemon." Jinku stated Yoake's short introductory in his script.

"Gardevoir, a very magnificent Pokemon. I heard that Gardevoirs are famous across social media, isn't that true?"

"Hahaha. It's family night Jessica, we don't want our curious boys and girls to do such stuff…."

"You're right. So, tell me more about mister Yoake Katsuragi, this is his first night with the big leagues."

"He's the current champion of the Virtual League so it seems that he has a background on Pokemon battles. He's also trained under the legendary trainer, Leaf."

"Lucky kid. You can tell he's gonna make history tonight."

"You bet Jessica."

Meanwhile, Yoake was watching the live coverage on the TV in his room as he drank a soda through a metal straw. He's wearing the trainer uniform that he was given prior months ago, the black and blue combo. He was also wearing his scarf - he also combed his hair into a side-part hairstyle as a means to present himself in a formal manner compared to his old messy hair. He also wears white long socks while having a black and blue sneakers to match with his top's uniform.

While watching the TV, he was nervous as he has never felt this amount of hype and anxiety as people are gonna watch him battle: win or lose. Even if he fought with Sabrina and Janine in front of a live audience a month ago, he can still feel the cold rush of having a panic attack. He heard the door open and a familiar voice entered the room.

"So I heard news that I will be sitting alongside the Prime Minister and the Champion while watching you fight," said the female voice. It was Leaf. She was wearing a black bouffant dress with a low bun hairstyle. As soon as she walked in, she immediately noticed that Yoake was dead blank as he continuously looked at the TV screen - a simple sign that he was nervous.

"Hey, you alright?" a worried Leaf asked the trainer.

"Yeah… don't worry about me." said Yoake as he assured his guardian. Instead of seeing Leaf just allowing his facade, she stayed as she knew that he was lying.

"Yoake…" Leaf muttered his name as she was demanding him to tell the truth in a softer and reasonable manner. The trainer sighed and he decided to spill out his current emotion.

"It's just… I know what you meant a month ago that I can do it but… I just feel like I'm not yet ready." Yoake sighed as he was giving doubt to himself. He lost his courage after the night of losing his parents, nearly giving up his Pokemon training career as he couldn't handle the stress he was dealing with - he was lucky that he had a caring guardian with him. The trauma of what he did that night still haunts him, he was regretting all of it.

Leaf shook her head, walked towards Yoake and gave him a bear hug like no other. A hug that he will cherish the most. A hug that will remind him that everything would be alright because she will always be with him no matter how dangerous and terrifying the path may be.

"Hush now. I'm always right beside you okay. If you feel like you're not yet ready, we can just leave and continue on with your school." Leaf whispered to the trainer. She knows how much Pokemon training took a toll on his mental well being and thinking that leaving this place is better for them - but she is willing to listen to Yoake's decision.

She knows that she cannot be the father nor the mother that he should have, she knows that he needs a family. She's not fitting for this position but with the time they've been together, Yoake was already satisfied with her company. She may not be as wise as his father, but she can give him wisdom. She may not imitate the delicious cooking of his mother but she can feed him his favorite meal on a daily basis. She is his parents.

"Leaf." Yoake said her name.

"Hm?"

"You're the best babysitter in the world."

Leaf smiled even if Yoake has been repeating this phrase for a very long time. She kissed his forehead and let go of the hug.

"I know. Good luck, kid." said Leaf. She then left the room with a smile of confidence on their faces.

When Leaf left, Yoake looked at the TV once more. He recognizes the Blonde woman but he shrugged it off and continued listening.

"What will be tonight's mechanics, Jinku?" asked Jessica.

"So, It will be a single-elimination round between competing Specialists alongside the trainer. The winner of the single-elimination round would then battle the Champion, and if they won, they'll become the next Kanto Pokemon Champion. For the battle format, it'll be a double battle. Trainers are only allowed to use 4 Pokemon - 1 can Mega Evolve and the other would be used for Dynamaxing. The use of any items are forbidden except for held items." Jinku stated.

"It will be an intense and interesting battle huh?"

"You bet! These trainers have been training for months but only one can compete for the ultimate title."

As Yoake watches the two hosts bantering on Live television, he is interrupted by one of the staff. Entering his room's door and alerting him that the event is about to start.

"Good evening Mister Katsuragi, are you ready?" The staff asked him.

"Yeah. Let's do it." Yoake said with confidence.

Yoake said as he stood up from his couch, closed the TV and headed to the back of the room. Upon entering the tiles of the back area, he saw Claudine - focusing and concentrating as she let go of the pain of the past. Cans and tissues are revolving around her body as if she was the sun while those are small planets.

"When there's frustration and anger, you'll focus on only one thing. When there's patience and passion, you'll harness everything." Claudine chanted as she continued to meditate. Harnessing her powers in a subtle manner. With months of preparation, Claudinde is slowly getting better, even without the use of Battle Bond.

"Claudine…" Yoake muttered her name. She lost her concentration upon hearing her name, falling down on the floor alongside the objects revolving around her.

"Owww…" Claudine groaned after falling to the ground. Shen then looked up and saw her trainer.

"Come on, it's time." Yoake told her. She immediately stood up and followed him as she had been training for this very night.

With the shared confidence, both inspire one another to be better - stronger - fearless and patient. They were escorted by the staff out of their room and headed to the place where all of the specialists are. Upon entering the place. They noticed that the specialists' clothes are in a blue and black scheme, it's as if they were wearing a uniform. From Brock to a Black Vest with blue shirts; Misty with her blue rash guard and blue swim parka; Ellix with his Black warm-up suit with blue sleeves; Erika with her Blue Kimono with a Black Parasol; Sabrina with her black lace dress with her blue handcuffs; Janine with her black Ninja outfit with a blue mask and Maxie with his outfit in a black and blue color scheme.

Meanwhile, Leaf is being guided by one of the guards. She is heading to the VIP room where she will meet the Prime Minister, his cabinet, The Pokemon Champions all across the word, the CEOs of tonight's sponsors, and different high classing people - It was clear that the room is filled with very important guests. She was invited to the room because of her having the status of 'Legendary Pokemon Trainer' for being a veteran of the Pokemon League and possibly even stronger than Karen, the current champion.

"Here ma'am." The guard said as he opened the door to Leaf. She entered the room and noticed old men, upper-class women and Pokemon champions alongside their Pokemon, watching the event through a window.

As she stepped into the room, Karen immediately walked up to her. She was wearing her champion-styled uniform, mainly the Umbreon-themed as this was a reminder of her old Pokemon.

"Leaf, come. Follow me." said Karen as if she was in a hurry or she was about to say something very important.

"I uh, what's the matter?" Leaf immediately caught up to Karen's pace and asked her about it.

"Listen, I have good news. It's about Red and Blue." Karen stated.

"You guys managed to find them?" Leaf was stunned after hearing Karen's news. She was happy and excited to meet her friends once more.

"Yup. We found their location. They're in-"

"Karen! Leaf! Our two most Powerful trainers! Kanto's biggest pride." The Prime Minister interrupted them as he greeted them with utter joy. The two immediately stopped their conversation as they looked at the PM with smiles on their faces .

"Hey! Hudson. That's very flattering of you." Karen chuckled.

"This would be our first meeting with Miss Leaf. My name is Hudson Ryoku. You can just call me Hudson." The PM introduced himself.

"You can call me Leaf." Leaf introduced herself as well.

"Just Leaf? What's your last name?" He asked her with curiosity.

"Well, I don't know who my parents are and I just go by the name of Leaf throughout my entire life." Leaf explained. She doesn't want to tell her life before, namely Green - since that was the broken version of herself; the thing that she has forgotten and learned about.

"I see." The Prime Minister muttered.

"Well, how about we go get some drinks and watch the show, shall we?" Karen made an invitation to the two by offering them some drinks.

When they heard the drums outside begin to bang, they immediately understood that the event was about to start.

"Good Evening Kantonese People and Pokemon!" The announcer stated. The crowd went wild after hearing the announcer's voice.

"Tonight is the night where your favorite trainers and their Pokemon clash to become the very best like…"

"No one ever was!" The crowd continued the announcer's statement as they knew the line that they're referring to.

"Haha. Everyone here's childhood is Pokeon huh? Well then, tonight is where we relive and create childhood. Action, Adventure, Hardships and friendship! All of that in one single event." The announcer stated. The crowd bewildered once more, some were raising flags of their cities, some were Pokflags and some were tarps filled with pride, joy and support to the trainers that will compete.

"Let's call out the trainers that will be competing in tonight's event!"

"From a city of rocks, he may look like cold stone but he has a heart of sand to his and other Pokemons, I present to you, Brock from Pewter City!" The announcer stated as Brock walked out from the entrance and was immediately on the spotlight. His supporters called out his name with utter pride as they continued to chant.

"Next. From the city filled with fantasy. She's the princess of many dreams. I present to you, Misty! The Tomboy Mermaid of Cerulean City." As soon as her name was called out. The specialist walks out and immediately waves her hands to the people. Giving flying kisses to her supporters and simp as she follows Brock's direction.

This continued on, people cheering their favorite specialists; the specialist appeared and headed to the center, where all of the specialists are at. The announcer then finally calls out Yoake, he is a trainer with little to no introduction, a trainer that should be prideful of his career, a trainer that should be masters among masters but he doesn't see himself as that - For him, he was just your average Pokemon trainer.

His heart was pounding as he was getting nervous; Claudine immediately notices it and touches his shoulder. He looked at her and saw a soft and sweet smile from the Gardevoir.

"For being the current title holder of the Virtual Pokemon to being a storm that raptured the competition, I bring you! Yoake Katsuragi!" The announcer said.

As soon as he was called out, he walked out from the shadows and appeared in the grassy field of the stadium, heading to where the specialists are at. The crowd cheered his name with utter joy, he has never felt this amount of hype and support since when he became a virtual champion, he only heard screams of artificial voices - but now, actually it was people.

Clusters of Rotom cameras went towards him, taking pictures. He smiled and waved his hands to the crowd as he continued to walk. Both him and Claudine stood on par with the other specialists as soon as they reached their place in the line-up.

And the event finally began. From the opening with the national anthem to the Prime Minister and Karen's speech up to the beginning of the first battle, the event that Yoake has been waiting for, is here.

The line-up battles were easy to understand, it was a consecutive gym battle: Brock vs Misty, Ellix vs Erika, Janine vs Sabrina, and Maxie vs Yoake.