Pokémon: Midnight Blue

The Plateau

The journey to Indigo Plateau was a long and tedious one, but when I finally got there, it was one of the greatest feelings in the world. In that one step onto the Plateau, I felt so much closer to my goal. Trainers were everywhere setting up for their battles against other competitors for the title of Pokémon Indigo League Champion.

I walked up to the check-in desk and waited for assistance. A clerk arrived to help me before long.

"I'd like to sign up for the Indigo League, please," I spoke in a calmer, more humble voice than I was used to.

"Sure thing," the clerk smiled at me, "What's the name?"

"Brian Phoenix."

"Okay, I'll need you to fill out this application and bring it back with your eight badges, okay?"

"Alright," I walked off with the application and filled it out diligently. I hesitated when it asked how I wanted to be addressed in the league. Finally, I decided to go with Dark Phoenix. I would sound more menacing that way. In any case, I figured that just because I kept the name did not necessarily mean that I was the same asshole I was back on Cinnabar Island.

"What do you mean I'm not eligible?" I heard a familiar voice yelling, "I beat the eight Gym Leaders, that means I'm eligible to fight in the tournament!"

I looked up to see Blayd Graves at the service counter, beaming red with fury. "I demand to be included in this competition!"

"I'm sorry, sir," the lady at the counter tried to calm him down, "but the rules state you must have at least three Pokémon to compete. You'll have to catch one more Pokémon if you want to participate."

"My Pokémon are strong enough to take down any team you can put in front of me!"

I chuckled at this remark, "You sure about that, Pee Wee?"

Blayd instantly clutched his hands into tight fists as he spun around to glare at me. His eyes flared almost as red as his face, and his teeth were gritted so tightly, I thought they were going to merge together.

"You! You got a lot of nerve to butt in like that!" Blayd bellowed, "And I told you never to call me that again!"

Blayd charged at me, clearly looking to cause some serious damage. I sent out Dragonite to whip up a wind strong enough to send Blayd flying away.

I snickered at Blayd's lack of anger management. My laugh stopped very abruptly when I looked across the room and saw Robin and Kylie at a check-in desk.

From the distance, I could hear Kylie, "I can't believe we're finally here! All our hard work is finally gonna pay off. Robin, I just want you to know that no matter what happens, I'm really proud of you."

I heard Robin growl in response, "Yeah, me too."

"Robin, are you okay? You haven't been acting like yourself lately."

"I'm fine, alright? I'm just really nervous about this tournament. I really want to win. Plus, I'm damn sure that Brian's here, and if things are still the way we left them in Cinnabar, I hope that the only time I see him is on the battlefield."

My heart sunk when I heard that. I thought back on what Kira had shown me. It was true. Robin was becoming bitter about our rivalry. I had to do something about this. I was not about to lose my best friend.