Weathering The Storm... (A Pokemon OC Story)

Chapter 53: A Rushed Rumble...

After a smooth journey from Lavaridge, through Route 112, then 111, the squad of trainers finally arrived at the entrance to Mauville City. One of the biggest cities in all of Hoenn, and by far the most technologically advanced. It had become famous for its use of new technologies that benefited both Pokemon and people alike. And, it seemed to be absolutely packed with people. Mostly young trainers with their Pokemon, lining up outside a stand. Ellie looked to one of the pillars and snagged a poster stuck on, reading it aloud,

"The Mini League Tournament. A tournament for intermediate trainers who want to test their skills. The winner will receive a guaranteed place in the Ever Grande Conference and 100,000 Pokedollars to spend on whatever they want."

"That sounds amazing!", Lucas exclaimed as he looked over Ellie's shoulder, spotting the poster's logo as the Pokemon League. Then, he spotted that same logo on the stand that all of the trainers were queuing up for, "Well, let's reserve our spot then!"

Lucas sped to the end of the line, with the others taking their places behind him and waiting as the line slowly went down. It took a while, as the number of trainers in the line was abundant compared to any other crowd of trainers they'd seen before. They all looked serious about the tournament as well. They, no doubt, wanted to win the prize and secure their place in the biggest tournament in Hoenn. But, each competitor eventually came and went, with Ellie, Lucas and Harry saying to the lady at the end,

"Can we reserve our spot?"

"Present your gym badges, please.", the lady said, and Ellie presented her case of three. Lucas unstuck the three pins from his bag, while Harry took four that he had in the front compartment of his bag, much to the surprise of Ellie and Lucas. The lady looked at all of their gym badges, but only jotted one name down,

"Alright, Harry's reserved."

"What about us?", Lucas asked, and the lady pointed to the fine print of the poster,

*Four Gym Badges are required for entry. Anyone with any more or any less Gym Badges will not be allowed entry into the tournament.*

"Oh.", Lucas said as he stuck the pins back on, while Ellie appeared a bit worried about not being able to get a place. But, Harry said to them,

"Hey, you have plenty of time to get that gym badge."

"Well, not exactly.", the lady at the desk said, "The applications for the tournament stop tomorrow at midday. Then, the tournament starts the next day. So, if I were you, I'd try and get that gym badge as soon as possible."

So, now Ellie was more than a little worried about the possibility that she couldn't get a place. She looked at Lucas and said,

"Alright, I think we should get a move on."

"Do you not think your Pokemon might need a little rest? I mean, it was only a day ago since you battled Flannery."

"Yeah, but if I wait, and I fail, then I'm definitely not going to get a place in the tournament."

"If you want, Ellie. Just, try not to push your Pokemon too hard.", Seijo chimed in, and Harry agreed to it. It didn't really matter what happened, he'd already been entered into the tournament. So, they just had to find the Mauville City gym. However, they found it to not be at the stadium where the tournament was supposed to take place. While the stadium was used for higher-level battles with Bolt, most of her time was spent down in the underground of the city where she'd battle lower-ranked trainers. So, that's where they went. Deeper underground.

The squad went through a cramped tunnel in one of the corners of the underground of Mauville, finding themselves in a metallic tunnel with strings of wires flung around the room. Most of them adorned the walls, but a few sprouted out onto the floor. Lucas almost tripped over a few of the wires as he walked along, taking annoyance with the exposed wires. Then, a spiralling staircase lead down into a darker hall, occasionally illuminated by the odd sparking of the end of a wire, or an almost dead lightbulb that flickered on rarely. The tunnels turned into more as each corner was passed until a light at the end of the tunnel finally appeared. Ellie rushed down and found the gym leader in the room, fighting amongst the wires against another trainer. It was an interesting battle for sure, a Magneton vs a Growlithe.