Aviva The Half-Breed Pokemon

Chapter 17 -- The First Match

"Wake up, Slug! The butler has been waiting for us for ten minutes." Ice Man kept slapping Aviva's cheeks, wearing his trademark smirk. "I hear they serve scrumptious breakfast."

"I hate breakfast," Aviva groaned but leaped up from her bed instantly with Alolan Vulpix.

Standing on a basin, Ashley Archer was helping Totodile brush its teeth.

Aviva pushed them aside and began freshening up. After the necessary preparation, she made sure that the violet Pokeball was securely hidden inside her cloak and her necklace was safely fastened around her neck. According to Mr. Mime, the violet Pokeball was given by her mother and it would save her during the ultimate moment should she call for its name. Aviva didn't know what Pokemon resided in it, nor had she heralded it before. She wished she wouldn't need to. She thought of taking along a syringe or two of tranquilizers but she quickly brushed the thought away as she believed they might be confiscated once she entered the battle arena.

Hmm, what else do I need to bring along?

She pondered over what life-saving paraphernalia did she miss when Ice Man pulled her cloak's collar and dragged her to join the rest of her comrades. Raikou scoffed at their tardiness. Pikachu stood next to it, staring at it with misty eyes. Ralts was smoothening the hems of Gardevoir's dress. Once they opened the door, a dark-skinned man in his early thirties welcomed them with a broad grin. He wore cowboy attire and he took off his hat as he bowed.

"Good morning, my lovely contestants!" His voice was cheerful as if he had just won a lottery and couldn't wait to treat them a good meal. "While I can wait for you, the food cannot. Come."

Without waiting, he led them through the corridors that were filled with a tapestry of onyx stones.

Mounted on the walls were red candles on skull-shaped mugs. Aviva admired the surroundings silently. She was too exhausted that she didn't notice the building's extravagance yesterday. Ashley, however, shivered at the spooky ambiance. Gloom stayed as close to Charmander as possible, thinking that the flame on its tail could ward off any evil spirits. Once they walked down the staircase, they took the left turn and arrived at the entrance of the Dining Hall.

With an energetic gesture, the butler brought them to a broad billboard. It was a violet hologram board floating in mid-air. The contestants who were swarming around it gasped in astonishment as they saw Aviva and her comrades. Their eyes were all transfixed at the Legendary Raikou.

The Pokemon smirked in arrogance and ignored them.

When the commotion dwindled, the butler explained, "This hologram is where you can see the biodata of the forty-eight contestants and their Pokemon. You can have your breakfast at the Dining Hall once you finished checking the details. Well, good luck to all of you and I shall take my leave now." He bowed again before vanishing into the darkness.

Aviva and her comrades studied the board.

"Look at this oldie, he can't look any younger than eighty." Aviva pointed to one of the pictures. Driven by curiosity, she floated upward and tapped at the picture.

The smiling face shimmered and disappeared. Violet words replaced the space. Aviva admitted that she had dyslexia and every time she read, her eyelids would drop. She could only catch some words like Retired Army and Winning Rate of 90 percent when her vision blurred. The words did some gymnastic routines before thinning into triangular dots. She sniggered when suddenly a canine's face appeared in front of her. She was too shocked that she fell on the ground.

"It's Arcanine! I don't want him as my rival." Aviva rubbed her backside once she stood up.

"I can defeat Arcanine in a minute's time with Raikou," Ice Man scoffed. "Come, let's go inside!"