Battle Convention!

[indigo_league]

Early Saturday morning, the doors of one of the largest --if not the largest-- convention centres in Viridian City open to welcome everybody to this years Battle Convention.

Spread out across several floors, and the battling fields outside, the Battle Convention is the place to be for anyone with an interest in pokemon battling. Whether you are a hardcore battler trying to hone your craft even further, or a newcomer to the battling scene hoping to learn, the Battle Convention has things of interest to everybody. It's promising to be a busy event, with trainers attending from all over Johto and Kanto. Famous battlers and gym leaders alike can be spotted in the crowds, hosting workshops or even entering in the tournaments.





The Tournament Ground

Outside of the convention centre, stands have been erected around at least a dozen Pokemon battle fields. This is where the various Tournaments will be held. Throughout the weekend, three tournaments will be held here. There is the Otherworlder Battle Tournament, a separate tournament for native Elite Four Champions, and a third Li'l Champs tournament for trainers under the age of ten.

Viewing the various battles is absolutely free, and could be a good source of insight into battle strategies employed by some of the best battlers in the region. Or, if you are attending the Li'l Champs tournament -- a most adorable insight into the dedication and friendship between young children and their first Pokemon.

Due to the number of battles, at any given time, various battles will be ongoing. The Li'l Champs tournament will be held on Sunday, while both the Otherworlder battle tournament and the Elite Four Champions battle tournament will have most of their preliminary matches held on Saturday, with the finale few matches on Sunday.

So, if you are done shopping (or maybe just ran out of money) and there aren't any workshops catching your eye, why not come down to the Tournament Grounds and catch a few battles?

First Floor

The first floor of the Convention Centre has been reserved entirely for various workshops and battle demonstrations. In essence, whatever topic related to battling you might be interested in -- whether it is using certain moves or items, battle strategies, or even demonstrations on why you should be adding X type to your roster -- you'll probably find someone here willing to talk about it. Even breeders might find something of interest here, as there are a few people giving workshops on how to breed pokemon for battle-minded customers.

Schedules are available so you won't miss anything you are interested in. Some of these workshops might only be given once, while others are repeated a few times throughout the convention, so make sure to check your schedule!

And among the crowd giving demonstration and workshops, you might even find a few familiar faces -- yes, members of the Aurora League have also been given the chance to speak about any battle topics near to their heart. Why not check out what they have to say?

Second Floor

The second floor of the Convention Centre has been reserved for the important business of commerce. Have some money to burn? Want that sweet serotonin boost of buying a thing? Maybe you deserve a little treat after winning (or losing) your battle. If so, head on up here.

Spread across various rooms, the Battle Convention dealers have everything that could be of interest to a trainer. There is, frankly, far too much to list here individually, so please accept this rough list of what your characters can find here.

Held Items -- it is possible to buy held items here, however the vast majority of them are pretty rare, so sellers will only sell you one of each. Buying several different held items is fine, but you won't find anyone willing to sell you five Amulet coins. The only exception is for held items that also double as evolutionary items. Those can be freely bought in any quantity. TMs -- It is also possible (though might require some searching across various dealers) to buy any kind of single-use TM here. The same rules apply as with Held Items -- TMs that are currently available in stores can be bought at any quantity; TMs outside of that are limited to one per person. Eggs -- There is also a small group of professional breeders present where you can order eggs with egg moves. The eggs themselves will be delivered to you in the days after the tournament. There is no limit on the amount of egg moves you can request for your egg, but there is a hefty price tag involved! These are professional breeders, so expect a base price of 6000p per egg, with 1000p per requested egg move. Training Equipment -- it's also possible to buy all manner of training equipment for your pokemon. From weights to training bags to agility aids -- if you can think of something that could help you train your pokemon in a more efficient manner, you can find it here. And the bigger items can be delivered to where you are staying, so you won't have to carry around a giant Wailord Training Bag. Odds and Ends -- In addition to all this very focused battle stuff, you'll also be able to find general pokemon items, such a wide variety of Pokeballs, Evolutionary Items, Vitamins and Potions and such. All of these will be sold for the same price as in stores.

However in addition to all of these items, the Silph Co. Booth is drawing a lot of attention. There is an announcement that they will be unveiling something truly special on Sunday, so all of Saturday is awash in rumours and guesses. There is talk that whatever they will be unveiling will be one of the prices in the tournament, though who knows if that is true. When Sunday finally comes, there is a huge crowd around the booth, watching as Silph Co. unveils

EXP-Share, the newest held item to make your training a little easier.

The EXP-Share, which will go on sale in the department stores after this weekend, is a new type of held item. Once given to a Pokemon, this Pokemon will receive EXP during battles, even while not battling itself. Have a Pokemon that is difficult to train like Magikarp? Did you just hatch a new Pokemon, but you are in an area where the wild Pokemon are too high in level for them to train against? Why not give them an EXP-Share and have them comfortably gain EXP without risking them in battle.

Battle Convention attendants can get an early start on buying an EXP-Share, though they are limited to one per customer. The price is 40,000p.

Third Floor

This is where you can go if you need a little break from all the hustle and bustle downstairs. Various food vendors and sit-down places have been set up here, allowing characters to grab a meal or something to drink, rest a little, or even go strategise for upcoming tournament battles.

As always with these type of events UBIRDS will be available to fly characters to Viridian City and back to where they were staying afterwards.

Comments

[crystalmaster]

[Radley has to snark at that.]

Well, at least it's not as bad as telling someone their food will be hot or not to eat the bar of soap.

[behindblueskin]

[That just causes the sample guy to blush and babble something before showing Keldor other samples.

Keldor just sighs. The poor man is just trying to make money; no doubt to earn enough for an EXP Share of his own, since it seems to be something everyone wants.]

If I buy this spray will you cease trying to get me to buy your other goods?

[A vigorous nod.]

Then I will buy it.

[If only to get him out of Keldor's hair.]

[crystalmaster]

Hey, keeping fleas and ticks away is a pretty good thing for furry animals. I might as well try some too.

[behindblueskin]

[True, but the only "furry animal" he has that doesn't spend most of its time in a ball is Panthor, so the spray is mostly for him.]

Remember! "One spray keeps them away! For a whole month!"

[Sigh.]

Yes. Thank you.

[He pays the man, takes his bottle, then takes off his backpack to find a place for it.]

[crystalmaster]

[Radley has many, so if it works it should be useful.]

Right. Thanks.

[He gets a couple.]

[behindblueskin]

[Oh did Keldor buy what the sample person is selling? Uh-oh. Now it seems like he can't get two feet without someone pushing something in his face.]

Lost your pokeball? Buy ours! Comes with beeping feature to help you locate it!

Get our friendship halver! Speeds up friendship evolution so you can get your Togetic in half the time!

Burt's Beedrills feather conditioner! For all your bird pokemon!

[Great Serpos this is aggravating!]

[crystalmaster]

[The Pokemon are looking a little dizzy at all of this. Cosmo climbs up Radley's back and hugs him around his neck. Radley looks to the sellers.]

Hey, at least give us room to breathe!

[Lily tears ahead, trying to clear a path.]

[behindblueskin]

[And Keldor is right behind whoever's behind Lily. It's not just Silph Co. who thinks he's made of money, as it seems like everyone's determined to get him to buy every last thing they're hawking—useful or not.]

Thank you. No. I am sorry but I am not interested. Excuse me.

[He's leaving a trail of unhappy vendors in his wake, even if he did accept the beeping pokeball just to see if it could actually be found if lost.]

[crystalmaster]

[Radley brings up the rear with Cosmo. Lily leads them around several corners.]

Maybe we're safe now....

[behindblueskin]

Possibly.

[This part doesn't seem to be full of vendors selling all kinds of "As Seen On TV" crap. More like people who might be offering things that are actually useful.

Not too far from here, someone's selling fertilisers for optimal berry growth, and another has a guide on things like Combeekeeping.

There are even people offering advice on what sorts of ventures the business-minded among the crowd could get started in in order to make money.]

[crystalmaster]

Hmm.

[Radley advances, intrigued by these products and topics. He knows business, but it never hurts to hear what other business people have to say.]

[behindblueskin]

[While you do that, Keldor's going to head over to where people are selling things made from berries and other items that pokemon can use in battle.]

What are these?

Capsules and tablets made from berries to make them less perishable and thus less likely to rot in your bag. We've also got jams and jellies. All of them can be either single berry or berry combinations, in case you need to treat multiple effects at once.

[Hey, that sounds like a good idea. It's certainly got Keldor intrigued.]

[crystalmaster]

[Radley soon makes his way over to the berry booth too.]

This looks great! I'm surprised it wasn't thought of before.

["Vee ..." Evie looks skeptical. It doesn't look nearly as fun as eating berries.]

[behindblueskin]

[The vendor just grins at the compliment for her ingenuity.]

I'm just starting out, actually, but so far, results seem to be positive.

[Oh, the tests have come back and the results indicate they work? That sounds like something worth buying.]

What do you recommend?

Are you a new trainer?

I have recently started.

Then here. [She ducks under the table for a moment to get some things.] These ones aren't as fancy as the others, and thus not as expensive, since I'm not using some of the pricier berries, but they work just as good.

[Now you've really got his attention, miss.]

[crystalmaster]

[Radley is looking everything over and thinks he might try some too. They'd be worth having on hand.]

Are there any blends especially for Breeders?

[behindblueskin]

[Keldor goes through his wallet to make sure he can afford this while the vendor offers her next pitch.]

As a matter of fact, sir, we've recently started working on a line of just those sorts of products, and we're looking for breeders willing to help us out with the research. Right now it's on blends that help pokemon become more friendly with each other, but there's others planned in the future.

[The woman puts on her best saleslady smile.]

Would you be interested in helping out? You'll be suitably compensated.

[crystalmaster]

Hmm. Well, mine are pretty friendly with each other as it is, but if I end up with some problem Pokemon or if there's another blend that might work better for us I might be interested in giving it a try. Do you have a business card?

[behindblueskin]

Oh absolutely.

[She hands it over.]

I'm glad you're interested. Give me a call; we can talk more about what breeders are looking for.

[Keldor hands over his money, having managed to get two of just about everything. These should really help.]

[crystalmaster]

Great. I'll definitely call.

[He looks at the card and puts it in his jacket pocket. Maybe if they have a blend for helping prospective parents make the healthiest eggs possible....]

[behindblueskin]

[Give her a ring; make sure to tell her this so she knows what to start work on.]

Thanks! Hope we'll talk real soon!

[Hmmm... Where to next..?]

[crystalmaster]

Oh, we will.

[Radley smiles.]

You know, I did think of something. How about a prospective parents blend to help them create healthy eggs?

[His Pokemon like this idea. They also like the thought of exploring more! A couple of them venture to other nearby booths.]

[behindblueskin]

That's a good idea, Mr....

[She writes the suggestion down.]

"Healthy egg blend". Yeah. We could work on that.

[Follow Radley's pokemon? Sure. That sounds like an idea. They might find something else like the berry blend seller if he follows.]

[crystalmaster]

Radley.

[He smiles more.]

Just Radley.

[Isla finds Pokemon toys, and goes on two legs for a better look!]

[behindblueskin]

Radley. Great. I'll make sure to pass on your suggestion to the team so we can start researching.

[Ah, yes. Toys. Naturally. Keldor decides it should be okay to allow Nami and Fukiran out, since they're the ones most likely to play with something, and it'd be a good idea to let them pick something they actually like.]

Look. [he instructs Fukiran particularly] Do not touch.

[The Growlithe whines. But he wants to!]

[crystalmaster]

Great. I'll be in touch.

[Radley and the others go on to the toys too. His Pokemon start pointing to things they would like.]

Hey, one each, okay? We need to get things for everyone back at home too.