Romance on the Battle Frontier

Chapter 1: Fight or Fright?

(Y/N) was an elite Pokémon Trainer from the Hoenn region. She had battled many tough opponents, and had even overcome Wallace, the Champion. With nothing left to do in her journey, she decided to revisit a few places with her Pokémon. Along the way, she crossed paths with Scott, a mysterious man who was looking for strong Pokémon Trainers. Scott had informed (Y/N) about the Battle Frontier, seven facilities built for strong Pokémon Trainers to compete in should they feel the need for a little extra challenge.

That's how she got to where she was now. She had already defeated Factory Head Noland and Pike Queen Lucy, but she was nervous when she climbed her way through the Battle Dome to face the Dome Ace, Tucker.

"I-I can't do this!!" she shouted to herself, startling her trusty Swampert, the same starter Pokémon she received from Professor Birch, "I can't... I can't face an opponent who's the crowd favorite... Not to mention a superstar entertainer..."

She remembered seeing pictures of Tucker before in Hoenn and even saw him compete in a few Pokémon contests. While he was a great trainer, there was something about him that made her heart sing. Granted, Tucker and her had never actually crossed paths with each other, except at an interview when he picked out a random fan in the audience to give some advice on Pokémon battling. That random lucky fan happened to be (Y/N).

Swampert gave its trainer a comforting pat on the back, trying to tell her it was going to remain by her side no matter what happened. (Y/N) smiled and petted Swampert gently.

"Thanks, pal..." she whispered, hugging her beloved partner, "I knew I could count on you."

"(Y/N)..?" one of the Battle Dome's staff came into the participants quarters, "You're up next. Our Dome Ace awaits you."

"W-What?! T-That soon?!" she shouted, "C-Can't he give me some time to prepare..?"

The staff member shook her head, "I'm afraid Tucker doesn't like the show to starter late..."

Oh just great, she thought. She hadn't picked out what two Pokémon out of the three she brought into the tournament she was going to use. She could try to outmanuver Tucker using her Latias and Breloom, or she could try to go full power using Swampert, while having Latias as a backup.

"I'll just have to go with my gut... Let's go, Swampert!"

"Swamp!!" her partner shouted excitedly as they left the room and headed out to the battlefield.

It didn't take long for bright lights to blind her vision, and for roaring fans to destroy her ears with their screams of joy. They obviously were here to see Tucker beat her into the ground.

"Hailing all the way from Littleroot town. She's the Champion of Hoenn, and has won two Frontier Symbols here in our own Battle Frontier, it's (Y/N)!!" shouted the announcer.

There were a few claps from the audience, but nothing really major, which didn't surprise (Y/N) one bit. She didn't mind at all if the crowd wasn't here to see her shine in spotlight. One thing that had always plagued (Y/N) in her life was her immense stage fright, which she experienced on her journey before when she tried competing in Pokémon Contests herself.

Suddenly, the lights dimmed as the announcer spoke, "A Pokémon battle is a thing of rare beauty, and such fine art needs a creator. So please give a warm welcome to Tucker, your Dome Ace!"

The crowd went nuts as the purple fairy man skipped out onto the field. He gave a warm welcome to all his fans before setting his place on the stage across from (Y/N). The poor (H/C) haired girl stood there with her legs shaky and her heart racing. She didn't want to look like she had stage fright in front of a crowd this size, but in the presence of a man who was a world class entertainer, she struggled to keep her cool.