Chapter 98: The First Round's Rules
The corridor outside Dariana's room was too quiet.
Briv stood there with Samuel beside him, both of them breathing like they'd run a marathon. Their faces were pale. Their hands were shaking.
Patricia opened the door.
"What's going on?"
Briv pushed past her.
"We need to talk. All of us."
---
Dariana was sitting on the bed.
Nicola was in the corner, arms crossed, watching.
They both looked up when Briv and Samuel entered.
"What happened?" Dariana asked.
Briv closed the door.
He leaned against it.
His chest heaved.
---
"Briv?" Patricia's voice was sharp now. "You're scaring me."
He looked at her.
He looked at all of them.
"Axel's gone."
---
Silence.
The kind of silence that pressed against the walls.
"Gone where?" Nicola asked.
"Gone. Disappeared. Vanished."
---
Dariana stood.
"What are you talking about?"
Samuel spoke.
"We saw it. We saw the whole thing."
---
They told them.
Every detail. Every horrifying second.
The Eclipse Squad members. The laser. The purple light. Rotom screaming. Axel flickering like a bad signal. Piece by piece.
---
When they finished, no one moved.
Patricia's hand was over her mouth.
Dariana's face was ashen.
Nicola's expression hadn't changed—but her knuckles were white where she gripped her own arms.
---
"That's not possible," Dariana whispered.
"We saw it," Briv said.
"People don't just—disappear."
"We saw it."
---
Nicola stepped forward.
"You're telling me that the Eclipse Squad has technology that can erase a person? A Pokémon? Just like that?"
"I'm telling you what I saw."
"And you didn't stop them?"
---
Briv's jaw tightened.
"There were two of them. They had a weapon I've never seen before. Axel attacked them and they fired that thing at him and he—"
He stopped.
He closed his eyes.
"He just stopped. Like someone hit pause. And then he was gone."
---
Nicola stared at him.
Her voice was cold.
"And you ran."
---
Samuel stepped between them.
"Don't."
"Don't what? They ran while Axel was—"
"There was nothing we could do."
"You don't know that."
---
"I know we would have ended up the same way."
---
Nicola's mouth opened.
Then closed.
She turned away.
---
Patricia moved to Briv.
She touched his face.
"You're shaking."
"I know."
---
Dariana sat back down on the bed.
Her voice was barely audible.
"What do we do?"
---
No one answered.
Because no one knew.
---
"We have to tell someone," Patricia said.
"Who?" Briv asked.
"Officer Jenny. The League officials. Anyone."
"And say what?" Samuel asked. "That we saw two people with a weapon that doesn't exist erase a trainer and his Pokémon? We don't have proof. We don't have bodies. We don't have anything."
---
"We have our eyes."
"And they'll say we're lying. Or crazy. Or both."
---
Dariana looked up.
"What about Nurse Joy? She might—"
"She's a Pokémon doctor," Nicola said. "Not a detective."
---
Silence again.
Heavy. Suffocating.
---
Briv pushed off the door.
"We need to find him."
"How?" Patricia asked.
"I don't know."
"Where do we even start?"
"I don't know."
---
He looked at all of them.
"But I'm not going to pretend this didn't happen. I'm not going to smile and wave and compete like everything's normal."
---
"Then what?" Nicola asked.
"I don't know yet. But we figure it out. Together."
---
The word hung in the air.
Together.
---
A knock on the door.
Everyone froze.
---
Briv looked at the others.
No one moved.
Another knock.
---
"Hello? League business!"
---
Samuel moved first.
He opened the door.
---
A young woman stood in the corridor—bright-eyed, efficient, wearing a League uniform with a clipboard in her hands. Her badge gleamed under the fluorescent lights.
"Good evening! I'm here to inform you that the draw for Round One will begin shortly. All qualified trainers are required to report to the main hall in twenty minutes."
---
Briv stared at her.
"The draw?"
"Yes! The sixty-four qualified trainers will be divided into teams of four. The teams will be drawn randomly."
---
"Teams?"
---
She smiled.
"Didn't you read the League packet? Round One is team-based. You'll be grouped with three other trainers and compete together."
---
Briv's mind reeled.
Teams.
Random.
---
"Right," he said. "The packet."
---
She nodded.
"Twenty minutes. Main hall. Don't be late!"
She walked away.
---
Samuel closed the door.
---
The room was silent.
Then Nicola spoke.
"Teams."
---
Briv turned to face them.
"This changes things."
---
"How?" Dariana asked.
"We don't know who we'll be grouped with. We don't know who we can trust."
---
"You think someone in the League is involved?"
---
He didn't answer.
---
Patricia stepped forward.
"Briv. Look at me."
He looked.
"We can't do anything about Axel right now. We can't. The ceremony is starting. The draw is starting. We have to play the game."
---
"The game?"
"Yes. The game. We show up. We smile. We compete. And while we're doing that, we figure out what happened."
---
He stared at her.
His chest heaved.
---
"Okay."
---
She touched his arm.
"Okay."
---
They moved.
Through the corridors. Past trainers who laughed and strategized and had no idea that a man had vanished an hour ago. Past officials who checked clipboards and adjusted microphones and prepared for the biggest event of the year.
None of them knew.
---
The main hall was vast.
A cavern of glass and steel, lit by chandeliers that hovered like captured stars. Screens lined the walls, displaying the League emblem, rotating slowly. The floor was polished marble—black and white, checkered, reflecting everything.
---
The sixty-four trainers gathered.
Some stood in groups. Others alone. The air hummed with conversation, with anxiety, with the electric buzz of competition.
---
Briv found his friends.
Patricia. Nicola. Dariana. Samuel.
They stood together.
Watching.
---
"Look," Dariana whispered.
She gestured.
---
Revan Stormcloud stood near the stage.
He was dressed in black—always black—his silver-gray eyes scanning the room with lazy amusement. His smile was sharp. Mocking.
---
Beside him stood two other figures.
Roger—spiky hair, leather jacket, the sneer of someone who thought he was dangerous.
Callum—purple hair, tattoos, piercings, the sneer of someone who thought he was invincible.
---
"Eclipse Squad," Briv muttered.
"All three of them," Samuel said.
---
Nicola's eyes narrowed.
"The bald one who attacked us in the forest isn't here."
"Malcolm," Dariana said.
"Right. He's not here."
---
"Maybe he's—"
---
A voice cut through the hall.
---
"Ladies and gentlemen!"
---
The screens flickered.
A figure appeared—on every screen, on every display, larger than life.
---
The League host.
---
He was tall, immaculate, wearing a suit of deep crimson with gold trim. His hair was silver, combed back, his smile wide and practiced. He held a microphone in one hand like it was an extension of his body.
---
"Welcome, trainers! Welcome to the Aethelburg Pokemon League!"
---
The hall erupted.
Cheers. Applause. Whistles.
---
Briv didn't move.
---
"Tonight marks the beginning of something extraordinary. Sixty-four of the finest trainers in Elyssia have gathered here. Sixty-four dreams. Sixty-four journeys. Sixty-four stories waiting to be written!"
---
More cheers.
---
"But this year is different! This year, you will not compete alone. This year, you will compete as teams!"
---
The screens shifted.
A graphic appeared—four silhouettes standing together, their forms merging into a single pillar of light.
---
"Round One will be a team competition. Four trainers. One team. Randomly selected."
---
Murmurs rippled through the crowd.
---
"The draw will begin momentarily! But first—let me explain the rules!"
---
Briv's hands clenched.
---
"Each team will compete in a series of challenges. Battles. Puzzles. Tests of strategy and strength. Points will be awarded based on performance. The teams with the highest scores will advance. The teams with the lowest will be eliminated."
---
He paused.
His smile widened.
---
"Simple enough, yes? But here's the twist—"
---
He leaned forward.
---
"You will not choose your teammates. Fate will choose them for you."
---
The crowd stirred.
---
"This ensures fairness! This ensures balance! This ensures that every trainer—no matter their background, their experience, their reputation—has an equal chance to prove themselves!"
---
He straightened.
---
"The draw will begin in ten minutes. Until then—prepare. Strategize. And may the best team win!"
---
The screens went dark.
The crowd erupted again.
---
Briv turned to his friends.
"Teams."
"Yes," Patricia said.
"Random."
"Yes."
---
Dariana's voice was quiet.
"If we get split up—"
---
"Then we deal with it," Nicola said.
---
"That's not—"
"I know."
---
They looked at each other.
---
"We've been through worse," Samuel said.
"Have we?" Dariana asked.
---
No one answered.
---
Briv stared at the stage.
The host was gone. The screens were dark. The draw was coming.
---
He thought about Axel.
About the Eclipse Squad.
About disappearing.
---
He thought about teams.
About strangers.
About trust.
---
He didn't know who he could trust.
He didn't know who he would be paired with.
He didn't know anything except that the League was starting, and the only way out was through.
---
A hand touched his.
Patricia.
---
"Whatever happens," she said. "We face it together."
---
He looked at her.
At the others.
---
Together.
---
The draw was announced to begin soon.
And Briv Ambertone stood in the middle of a world that had just become infinitely more dangerous, preparing to play a game whose rules he no longer understood.
=====
The screens above the stage flickered back to life.
Numbers appeared—sixty-four names, scrolling in columns, each trainer's face appearing beside their name.
Briv watched his own face materialize.
Then Patricia's.
Then Nicola's. Dariana's. Samuel's.
They were all there. All qualified. All waiting.
---
The host returned to the stage.
He walked with the easy confidence of a man who had done this a hundred times. His crimson suit caught the light. His silver hair gleamed.
"Trainers! The moment has arrived!"
---
The crowd hushed.
Briv felt his pulse quicken.
---
"Sixty-four names. Sixteen teams. Four trainers each. The draw is random—completely, absolutely random."
He gestured toward a massive glass sphere at the center of the stage.
Inside, hundreds of small capsules tumbled and spun, each containing a trainer's name.
---
"Each capsule contains one name. We will draw four at a time. Those four will form a team. Simple. Fair. Unpredictable."
---
Briv's hands were cold.
He glanced at Patricia.
She was watching the sphere.
Her jaw was tight.
---
The host reached into the sphere.
He pulled out a capsule.
Held it up.
The crowd leaned forward.
---
"Team One!"
He cracked the capsule open.
A slip of paper emerged.
He read it aloud.
"Duncan!"
---
The name echoed through the hall.
A figure stepped forward from the crowd—lean, pale-skinned, green mohawk catching the light. His sharp blue eyes scanned the room with casual defiance. He wore black, chains and skull prints, punk to the bone.
Duncan.
---
He smirked.
"About time."
---
The host reached in again.
"Second member of Team One..."
Another capsule.
Another crack.
"Roger!"
---
Briv's blood went cold.
---
Roger stepped forward.
Spiky hair. Leather jacket. That sneer.
His eyes found Briv across the crowd.
He winked.
---
"Third member of Team One..."
The host pulled another capsule.
"Roxanne!"
---
A woman emerged from the crowd.
She was composed, elegant, her hair pulled back in a neat bun. Her outfit was formal—a scholar's attire, crisp and deliberate. Her eyes were sharp, analytical.
She nodded once.
No smile.
---
"Fourth and final member of Team One..."
The host held the capsule high.
"Julie!"
---
A young woman stepped forward.
Athletic build. Tan skin. Long black hair tied in a ponytail. Her expression was calm but focused.
She joined the others.
---
"Team One is complete! Duncan, Roger, Roxanne, and Julie!"
---
The crowd applauded.
Briv didn't.
He was staring at Roger.
Roger was staring back.
---
The host reached into the sphere again.
"Now—Team Two!"
---
The capsules tumbled.
He pulled four more.
---
"First member of Team Two... Malva!"
---
A woman emerged.
Striking. Long wavy pink hair. Fiery red-tinted glasses. Black sleeveless top. Red diamond-patterned pants. She moved like she owned the room.
Former newscaster. Fire-type specialist. Elite.
---
"Second member of Team Two... Crimson!"
---
A gothic woman stepped forward.
Dark red dress. Fishnet tights. Black boots. Her eyes were calm. Unreadable. She didn't smile.
She didn't need to.
---
"Third member of Team Two... John!"
---
Briv's breath caught.
John Alburth.
Kay's father.
---
The man walked toward the stage—tall, composed, his presence commanding quiet respect. His gaze swept the crowd with scientific precision. He was a researcher, not a fighter. But he was here.
That meant something.
---
"Fourth and final member of Team Two... Kim!"
---
A young woman bounded forward.
Athletic. Fair skin. Striking green eyes. Auburn hair flowing free. Cargo pants. Crop top. Gloves. She carried herself with the easy confidence of someone who'd faced danger before.
---
"Team Two is complete! Malva, Crimson, John, and Kim!"
---
More applause.
---
The host spread his arms.
"Listen closely, trainers! The fixtures for Round One are as follows!"
---
The screens shifted.
A bracket appeared—Team One on the left, Team Two on the right.
---
"Fixtures!"
DUNCAN VS MALVA
ROGER VS CRIMSON
ROXANNE VS JOHN
JULIE VS KIM
---
"The matches will be played one after another! Each match is one-on-one! Single battle! Standard League rules!"
---
The crowd buzzed.
---
"The team with the most wins advances! The team with the fewest wins is eliminated! If the score is tied—a tie-breaker will be played! And the losing team? Entirely eliminated from the tournament!"
---
Briv's stomach dropped.
Entirely eliminated.
Every member.
---
He looked at Roger.
Roger was grinning.
---
"The matches begin—NOW!"
---
The arena transformed.
Walls slid back. Platforms rose. The main hall became a battlefield—four separate battle zones emerging from the floor, each one gleaming with fresh paint and energy barriers.
---
Team One and Team Two took their positions.
---
Duncan walked to the first platform.
Malva walked to face him.
---
The crowd gathered around.
Briv pushed forward, finding a spot near the barrier.
Patricia was beside him.
Nicola and Dariana flanked them.
Samuel stood behind.
---
"This is going to be brutal," Nicola murmured.
"Shut up," Briv said.
---
The announcer's voice boomed.
"FIRST MATCH! DUNCAN VS MALVA! TRAINERS—READY YOUR POKÉMON!"
---
Duncan tossed his pokéball.
A flash of light.
A large, muscular Pokémon materialized—gray fur, red eyes, powerful arms. Machoke.
---
Malva adjusted her glasses.
She threw her own ball.
A sleek, elegant Pokémon emerged—cream-colored fur, multiple tails, a graceful stance. Ninetales.
---
"BEGIN!"
---
Malva moved first.
"Ninetales—Fire Blast!"
---
The fox opened its mouth.
Flames erupted—a massive, spiraling inferno that roared across the arena.
---
Duncan reacted.
"Machoke—bulk up and take it!"
---
Machoke flexed.
Its muscles swelled.
It crossed its arms.
The fire hit.
---
It didn't fall.
It staggered.
---
Burn marks covered its arms.
Its breath came heavy.
But it stood.
---
"Now! Revenge!"
---
Machoke surged forward.
Its fist glowed with dark energy—all the pain it had absorbed channeled into one devastating strike.
---
Ninetales tried to dodge.
Too slow.
---
The punch connected.
---
Ninetales flew back.
Hit the barrier.
Slid down.
---
Didn't get up.
---
"MATCH ONE—DUNCAN WINS!"
---
The crowd erupted.
Team One—one win.
Team Two—zero.
---
Duncan smirked.
Malva's expression didn't change.
She recalled her Pokémon.
---
"Don't get comfortable," she said.
Duncan shrugged.
"Too late."
---
Second match.
---
Roger vs Crimson.
---
Roger stepped onto the platform.
His sneer was wide.
He tossed his ball.
A large, rocky Pokémon emerged—brown, sturdy, with a thick shell. Golem.
---
Crimson moved silently.
Her pokéball opened.
A dark, ghostly shape materialized—purple, gaseous, with a grinning mouth. Gengar.
---
"BEGIN!"
---
Roger struck first.
"Golem—Earthquake!"
---
The ground shook.
Ripples spread across the platform.
Gengar floated above them.
It laughed.
---
Crimson spoke.
"Shadow Ball."
---
Gengar's hands glowed.
A sphere of dark energy formed.
It launched.
---
It hit Golem square in the chest.
---
Golem staggered.
Its shell cracked.
---
Roger snarled.
"Rock Blast!"
---
Golem's mouth opened.
Rocks fired like bullets—sharp, fast, relentless.
---
Gengar phased through them.
It laughed again.
---
"Shadow Ball."
---
Another sphere.
Another hit.
---
Golem crumbled.
---
"MATCH TWO—CRIMSON WINS!"
---
Team One—one win. Team Two—one win.
Tied.
---
Roger's face twisted.
He recalled his Pokémon with a curse.
Crimson turned away.
She didn't gloat.
She didn't need to.
---
Third match.
---
Roxanne vs John.
---
Roxanne stepped forward.
She carried herself like a professor—calm, measured, precise. Her pokéball opened to reveal a large, armored Pokémon—gray, bipedal, with a thick shell and powerful arms. Rampardos.
---
John stepped forward.
He was quiet.
His pokéball opened.
A massive, plant-covered Pokémon emerged—green, bulky, with vines and flowers bursting from its body. Venusaur.
---
"BEGIN!"
---
Roxanne moved.
"Rampardos—Head Smash!"
---
Rampardos lowered its head.
It charged.
The ground cracked beneath its feet.
---
John raised a hand.
"Venusaur—Solar Beam."
---
Venusaur's flower glowed.
It gathered light.
It took too long.
---
Rampardos connected.
The impact was devastating.
Venusaur slid back—feet digging trenches in the platform.
---
But it didn't fall.
---
"Now."
---
Venusaur released.
The beam hit Rampardos point-blank.
---
Rampardos flew backward.
It crashed through the barrier.
It didn't get up.
---
"MATCH THREE—JOHN WINS!"
---
Team One—one win. Team Two—two wins.
Team Two led.
---
Roxanne's expression didn't change.
She recalled her Pokémon.
She walked off the platform without a word.
---
Fourth match.
---
Julie vs Kim.
---
Both women emerged.
Both athletic.
Both determined.
---
Julie tossed her ball.
A sleek, blue-gray Pokémon with a shell and powerful jaws—Blastoise.
---
Kim threw hers.
A large, furry Pokémon with sharp claws and a fierce expression—Ursaring.
---
"BEGIN!"
---
Kim struck first.
"Ursaring—Close Combat!"
---
Ursaring roared.
It charged.
Its fists blurred.
---
Julie reacted.
"Blastoise—withdraw!"
---
Blastoise retreated into its shell.
Ursaring's fists hit metal.
It kept swinging.
It didn't stop.
---
"Now! Hydro Pump!"
---
Blastoise burst from its shell.
Water erupted from its cannons—a pressurized torrent that slammed into Ursaring's chest.
---
Ursaring slid back.
It roared.
---
"Again!"
---
Another blast.
---
Ursaring staggered.
It fell.
---
"MATCH FOUR—JULIE WINS!"
---
The crowd erupted.
---
Team One—two wins. Team Two—two wins.
Tied.
---
The host returned to the stage.
"The score is tied! Two wins each! A tie-breaker will determine which team advances—and which team is eliminated!"
---
Briv's heart pounded.
---
Duncan stepped forward.
Malva stepped forward.
---
"Tie-breaker! Duncan vs Malva! One Pokémon each! Winner takes all!"
---
Duncan smirked.
"Thought you were done?"
Malva adjusted her glasses.
"I'm never done."
---
The platforms reset.
The crowd hushed.
---
Duncan threw his ball.
A large, gray Pokémon with rocky armor—Rhyperior.
---
Malva threw hers.
A massive, fiery creature—orange and yellow, with flame-covered fur and a lion's mane. Arcanine.
---
"BEGIN!"
---
Malva struck first.
"Arcanine—Extreme Speed!"
---
Arcanine vanished.
It reappeared behind Rhyperior.
Its fangs sank into its neck.
---
Rhyperior roared.
It swung.
Too slow.
---
"Fire Fang!"
---
Flames erupted.
Rhyperior screamed.
---
"Now! Close Combat!"
---
Arcanine released.
It struck—fast, brutal, devastating.
---
Rhyperior collapsed.
It didn't move.
---
"MATCH OVER—MALVA WINS! TEAM TWO ADVANCES! TEAM ONE IS ELIMINATED!"
---
Duncan stood frozen.
His Pokémon was done.
His team was done.
---
Roger shouted something—a curse, a threat, a protest.
It didn't matter.
---
Crimson turned away.
John nodded once.
Kim pumped her fist.
Malva smiled.
---
Team Two walked off the platform as winners.
Team One stood in the wreckage of their defeat.
---
Duncan's hands were shaking.
He recalled his Pokémon.
He didn't look at anyone.
---
The crowd cheered.
The screens shifted.
The bracket updated.
---
Team Two moved on.
Team One was gone.
---
Briv watched it all.
He thought about Axel.
He thought about disappearing.
He thought about teams and trust and the cold, brutal math of elimination.
---
He thought about the League.
About winning.
About losing.
---
And he realized, with a clarity that cut like glass, that everything was changing.
---
He looked at Patricia.
She looked back.
---
"We stay together," she said.
"Until the end."
---
The next draw was announced.
The next teams were forming.
---
But Briv wasn't watching.
He was thinking.
Planning.
---
Because somewhere in this tournament—somewhere in these games—there was a truth he needed to find.
And he wasn't going to stop until he found it.