My Name is Marcus: Sweet Scent

IV. The New Frontier

"A Battle Frontier, really?", Marnie asked.

Marcus nodded. "Yeah, but don't let that get around. Leon and I are still working out the logistics."

Evening had set itself into full-swing, and the city was brimming with the energy of the night. The music of The Maximizers could be heard echoing from the town square, even amid the bustling crowds and swarms of voices permeating across every nook and cranny of the city. Glowing neon signs and bright video display billboards pierced the evening veil that shrouded the sky, showering the streets of Wyndon in colorful lights as they matched the vibrancy of the people below.

It was a lot more than the two trainers were expecting - almost too much, even. Marcus had never been a fan of large crowds, even if none of the attention was directed towards him. Similarly, while Marnie was more accustomed to such environments given her attendance of many of her older brother's concerts, crowds like this - ones that seemed to lack any one rhyme, reason, or rhythm - tended to unsettle her. They weren't about to let any of that get in the way of their own nighttime merriment, however - they came to the city tonight to have a good time, and that was exactly what they were going to do. It just meant they'd take more enjoyment in one another's company in order to drown out the chaos surrounding them as they continued their adventure through the city in search of entertainment.

"How does that work?", Marnie inquired as she walked alongside the young champion. "I've heard about stuff like that from some of the other regions, but I don't know much about 'em."

"Battle Frontiers are... think of them kinda like the Gym Challenge", Marcus explained. "But where the Gym Battles tend to be themed around specific Pokemon types, Frontier Battles are themed around certain battling tactics and strategies. Rather than focusing on who or what you're battling, Frontier Facilities demand their challengers to reevaluate how they battle."

Marnie nodded. "I get it", she replied. "Sounds pretty excitin'!"

"Yeah", Marcus agreed. "It won't be associated with the Pokemon League or anything, but it'll certainly act as a great challenge to any trainers looking to really step up their game."

"I imagine you gotta be pretty tough if you wanna be one of the trainers runnin' that show", Marnie remarked. "Whaddaya call 'em again? Frontier... Brains?"

Marcus nodded. "Yup, right on both accounts", he replied. "That's actually what the meeting at the Battle Tower was all about tonight - trying to figure out the line-up. We know that Leon is going to act as the lead Frontier Brain from the Battle Tower, and we know that we want at least seven Frontier Brains, but that's really all we have concrete as of now."

"Oooh, I see", she said, giving a light scratch to Morpeko's ear as she sat upon her shoulder. "So you guys were discussin' who could make the cut as a Frontier Brain then?"

Marcus chuckled. "Eh... kind of?", he shrugged, a puzzled smile on his face. "See, we actually selected a bunch of people from a random pool of potential candidates - Gym Challengers, Battle Tower trainees, students from the Master Dojo, that sorta thing - and we invited them to apply for the position. Turns out, a lot of people were interested. Today was the day that they were scheduled to be screened so that we could get a feel for their potential, and, well... there ended up being so many of them, Leon ended up having to call me and ask me to lend him a hand."

"Wait, so you and your Pokemon spent all afternoon battling?", Marnie asked.

"Non-stop", Marcus replied as he gestured a thumb over his shoulder towards Cinderace. "I'm lucky that this knucklehead is my partner in crime, he practically lives to battle with how much energy he's got."