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

[thetombkeeper]

Yeah. It is.

[If he hadn't of spent money on anything else, he could have gotten it but it would have eaten all of his savings. Sigh.]

I hope they're able to mass produce them soon so they go down in price...

[Marik turns to face Radley and smiles.]

It's good to see you again. How have you been?

[crystalmaster]

No kidding. I wonder who they were expecting could purchase it.

[He smiles too.]

It's good to see you too. Things have been alright. Very busy. I suddenly have a very large kitty family, one of whom is having a hard time controlling her powers. I also have more Eevees and a diva Alolan Vulpix.

[The five Eevees he's brought all warble. Cosmo the Ralts shyly hugs Radley's leg.]

How are you and Mr. Kaiba?

[thetombkeeper]

Capitalism at its finest.

[Said with a chuckle.]

I would not be surprised if some of the long lasting otherworlders could.

[His smile widens as he looks to all the Eevees and the Ralts.]

Heheh. Sounds like you've got quite the handful. I've managed to get Badru decently leveled by now. I'm hoping he evolves soon along with Kaiba's.

[Chen slowly makes his way down from Marik's shoulder to say hello to the Eevees and Cosmo. Oba zips around the group.]

We're both doing pretty well. He just defeated Whitney before we got here! I'm going to be taking on Falkner once the convention is over. I think I've finally gotten a decent grasp on how battling works.

[crystalmaster]

Most likely. But they wouldn't even need it as much.

[Radley smiles too.]

That's great! Good luck with the battle.

[The Eevees all happily greet! Cosmo shyly waves.]

[thetombkeeper]

Yeah, you're probably right.

[The hot air balloon that is his ego puffs up, much like his chest.]

Thanks! I'm nervous and excited about it.

[He's got strange standards. Dueling with Egyptian Gods in a championship is nothing to him but challenging a gym is a bit nerve-wracking.

Chenzira holds out a hand to Cosmo, imitating what Marik does when meeting new people. Except with far less confidence.]

Oh! How's the wild Eevee taking to the family?

[crystalmaster]

I can imagine.

[It would make sense to Radley, since Duel Monsters he'd be more familiar with.

Cosmo smiles and slowly shakes his hand.]

Ruby? She's settling right in. The others accept her and are glad she's not trying to take me away from them.

[thetombkeeper]

[Chenzira continues to shake Cosmo's hand for probably longer than he's supposed to but he hasn't gotten the hang of mimicking Marik just yet.]

I'm glad she's been accepted so quickly. You said that the first time that's ever happened?

[That's right...! Marik clicks one of the pokéballs on his belts and out pops Badru, the Eevee he got from Radley shortly after he arrived. He rushes over to Radley and yips.]

[crystalmaster]

[Cosmo starts to blush a little awkwardly, but is too shy to say anything.]

Well, it's the first time one leaped through the window. Elliott started following me down Route 30 and Isla saw the first three playing and wanted to join in.

[He smiles as Badru appears.]

Hey there!

[He bends down to see him. The parents rush over too.]

[thetombkeeper]

[Poor Cosmo. Chen eventually stops and turns to watch their trainers.]

It's sweet seeing how drawn the Eevees are to you, whether they're domesticated or not.

[Badru immediately nuzzles himself against Radley's legs, tail flicking happily. Upon seeing Isla and Kiryu come over, he hops around excitedly before joining them properly. It's mom and dad! Look how big he's gotten!]

I wonder how close he is to evolving... Is there a way to tell or does it just sort of happen?

[crystalmaster]

Apparently not just Eevees, since Elliott is an Espurr. But yeah, it's pretty amazing and an honor.

[He laughs happily at Badru's actions. Isla and Kiryu rub him all over and warble excitedly.]

I think with Eevees, they always need an item to evolve here.

[thetombkeeper]

You've got a natural talent with animals in general then.

[Badru happily settles between them while their trainers talk. It's good to be with family again.]

What about with Umbreon and Espeon?

[crystalmaster]

Thanks.

[Isla and Kiryu are both delighted. Evie and Evan come over too, wanting to see their grandchild.]

I've been trying to research that. I was thinking they also used items here. I'd be glad if that's true, so that they won't evolve on me without warning.

[He chuckles.]

It's kinda a dilemma. I like the evolved forms, but I hate losing Eevees to get them.

[thetombkeeper]

[Marik watches the Eevees interact for a bit.]

You could equip them with Everstones. That's what I got Chen and Oba. They're a bit pricy but it keeps them from evolving.

[crystalmaster]

[Radley nods.]

Evie has one, and I've been trying to get one for everyone who either doesn't want to or isn't sure. It is expensive, but it's worth it so they'll be happy.

[thetombkeeper]

... How many Eevees do you have?

[crystalmaster]

I have ...

[Radley counts them all up.]

Twelve!

[The ones with him warble with pride.]

[thetombkeeper]

Okay. Yeah. I can see why that would be expensive to get them all Everstones...

[Not everyone abuses Pay Day like him. 8000p is still a high price though.

Badru joins in with the warbling.]

Are you able to have all twelve out at your Café?

[crystalmaster]

[Radley chuckles at the cute sounds.]

Yeah, that's the nice thing about owning property! The Pokemon can be on it and not have to be boxed.

[thetombkeeper]

That's a relief to hear! I hate keeping mine boxed. I know they don't have a problem with it but it just feels... wrong, you know? It's what's kept me from catching a lot.

[crystalmaster]

[Radley nods knowingly.]

I feel bad enough that they can't all come with me when I go out. I know I couldn't deal with keeping some of them boxed.

[thetombkeeper]

I wonder why there's a limit... I get that they can only have a certain number for battles but if you're not doing that, you should be able to have as much as you want.

[crystalmaster]

I wonder too. It doesn't seem fair to the Pokemon or the owner. Maybe they think it would be too overwhelming for people they meet?

[thetombkeeper]

[Marik takes a moment to consider the reasons some more.]

... You know what, it's probably so people don't have an absurd amount of animals walking around with them. If you had 20 on you and all were out of the pokéballs, it could get really crowded and hectic. At least, that's one reason I can think of off of the top of my head.

[crystalmaster]

Yeah, we'd be quite a sight going down the street.

[Radley smirks.]

It would be nice if the limit was more than six, but there'd still be a lot of mine who'd have to stay back.