Heather and I met Jack for breakfast later that morning. It was a new day, and time for a new battle. Rapidly approaching was the final round of competition in which warriors use three Pokemon—past this level, six are allowed. We sat around a Formica table, scraping away at plates of steaming food. I looked past Heather out the large window—a thick blanket of clouds had coalesced over the morning sun, blotting out all but a hazy gray light.

Our conversation was scattered. At one point we discussed tactics for the upcoming competition, and then my companions began asking about the names of my Pokemon. Heather smiled at me sweetly. “So, what did you name your Golem?”
“Kabrakan,” I answered. They stared at me blankly.
“Yeah…” they replied. I laughed softly.
“Kabrakan is the Mayan god of earthquakes. He could level entire mountains with his wrath.”
“I like,” Jack mused. Heather shook her head in disbelief at my knowledge of archaic mythology.
“So, wise guy, what exactly does Matariel mean?” I cast my eyes down at my half-eaten eggs.
“Gengar…Matariel is the angel of rain in the Sephirothic System.”
“The angel of rain? Ah, I get it.” Heather replied. “Gengar’s dark, and it uses Thunder. Too cool.” I smiled softly at her, but was troubled. My friends knew that wasn’t the whole explanation. I moved on with the conversation. Jack didn’t know anything about my next opponent, which wasn’t a good sign. Information is usually easy to come by…either this guy was a late entry to the tournament, or he had enough connections to keep a veil of silence around him.

Pale raindrops streaked down from the dark sky into the arena. The stadium was unsurprisingly packed…in these late rounds of the tournament, seats are difficult to obtain. The immense audience murmured quietly, impatiently awaiting the start of the battle. A pair of announcers chattered about the past rounds of competition, mentioning the incredible surprise of the Articuno in my possession. I tuned them out and stood on the arena floor behind my combat podium. A layer of white mist rose slowly from the ground, engulfing the base of the metallic battle platform in front of me. I looked to my left—Jack nodded subtly. To my right, Heather smiled, wishing me good luck. I turned my face toward the sky and spread my arms wide, feeling the soft raindrops splash gently on me. Gathering my strength and determination, I strode forward and ascended the platform. My opponent was not yet present, and the announcers were only then introducing me. The crowd burst into applause after my name was called. I looked up and was startled to see my smiling face on the Jumbotron screen. A small image of Articuno was set in the corner of the monitor, telling the world that I was the one. Hell yeah, I thought. I faced the endless sea of onlookers and saluted them. The crowd roared in appreciation, but I turned back to the combat console.

I punched a couple glowing buttons and the Heads-Up Display activated. Lines of black text rapidly filled in the screen, displaying a few facts about my opponent. The moment I began reading, the announcers broke in with his introduction. Let’s rock.

Page Two
Page Two

Back _____Next