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]

Marik does his best to maneuver through the crowd and follow after King, stopping before he crashes into him and Kaiba when they suddenly stop. He's about to open his mouth to say the meekest of greetings he's ever uttered but upon seeing the Pharaoh up close, he clamps his teeth together and his entire face turns red.

Gods, take him now. WE'RE WEARING THE SAME FREAKING THING.

As if meeting the Pharaoh wasn't stressful enough, now they're dressed in almost the exact trainer outfit! Marik, hiding behind the tall slime dragon and Kaiba, quickly unzips his jacket and opts for tossing it over his free shoulder. There. Sleeveless white shirt, jeans, jewelry, and riding boots. That's different enough.

The blonde steps out from behind his coverage and clears his throat, some of the red leaving his face. Maybe it'll look like he was flushed from running. (It doesn't. He still looks like a deer in headlights.)

"... Hey."

[paythepenalty]

King's entrance with Kaiba and Marik startles Atem. The Goodra is definitely large, larger than he imagined to be honest, and Atem is still getting used to the concept of creatures who are very large. Obelisk appears unbothered.

It's only been some-odd days without seeing a familiar face in person but Atem's hefty relief to have two friends with him lets him release the tension he didn't realize he was carrying. He's taken surprise by Kaiba's gift, accepts it with a curious peek (Obelisk leans over to get a good look, too), and then turns a smirk back up at Kaiba with an accompanying nod. If only he had something to return the favor, but alas, he's at a loss in this world.

Atem looks between Kaiba and Marik; he notices Marik's demeanor--and, with an amused note, excellent taste in fashion--but can't for the life of him think of why. He relaxes into a smile. "Kaiba. Marik. It's good to see you both. How are you?"

Obelisk, now no longer so interested in Atem's bag of items, fixes his stare on the humans and Pokémon ahead, lingering on King's large presence.

[blue_ice]

Kaiba lifts a brow, but otherwise represses his surprise. He knew that Marik had reservations about meeting Atem, but is he sweating so much he had to change....?

He takes in Atem's attire. Ah, they were. Wearing the same thing. That's it. He steps in to lead at first, and King positions himself as a fourth person in the circle. The Goodra looks at Atem and Obelisk with a big goofy smile, and...dances, rocking back and forth and gently waving his arms. It's just what he does, and to Kaiba's relief at least he's not glomping anyone this time.

"We're taking in the tournament. It's incredible how complex battle strategy is---some of it's similar to Duel Monsters, but there are far more stat ranges to consider, and attacks that combine in dozens of ways to produce different results. I'm learning what I can so we can take on the champions later, and Marik's preparing to blow people away."

That last bit is said with a note of pride. He's so proud of the team. But there are other things to consider. He looks at the Espurr. "So I see your team's growing. Who's this?"

[thetombkeeper]

Oba shimmies through all of them to return to his favorite spot on King's shell. Plus it's a better vantage point to see what's going on. They're meeting so many new people! Hello person with the spikey hair!

... It's still strange to hear the Pharaoh be legitimately happy to see him. That will take some getting used to. He was pretty certain no one from their world would actually be concerned for his well being outside of maybe his siblings.

Of course, he could just be making small talk...

Thankfully he's distracted when Kaiba begins speaking and Marik nods along in agreement with Kaiba's summary, stopping once he himself has been mentioned. He smirks sheepishly and gives Kaiba a quick glance before returning his gaze to Atem and... that unnerving cat at his feet.

Chenzira has propped himself forward on Marik's shoulder and is trying to get a better look at the Sigilpyh. He saw a couple during his time at the Ruins when he was mingling with his "family" but never got to interact with them properly.

[paythepenalty]

King dancing is really just delightful. Atem is so accustomed to seeing Kaiba paired with more serious monsters, so this is definitely a fun change from the norm.

He gestures to the little cat creature on his shoulder whose wide, very open eyes are now transfixed upwards onto Kaiba. "This is Obelisk. I caught him not too long ago," he says. After a pause, Obelisk mews; the sound is small, because he's small. It's unclear if Obelisk is going to always be soft-spoken or if he's still getting used to being around humans.

Atem considers what Kaiba said about battling, the tournament, champions...it sounds familiar enough to Duel Monsters and Battle City that he gets the gist of it. There's plenty of things to memorize, that's for sure, and then to be able to implement all that knowledge on the fly sounds challenging; of course, that's where the fun is.

"The battling system is more complicated than I originally expected. Luckily people in this world are willing to help." Atem then jostles the bag Kaiba gave him. "You included."

He turns his attention back to Marik and his Yamask, smirking at him. "I'm interested to see what you have in store, Marik."

[blue_ice]

Obelisk...? Kaiba lifts a brow at that name. It's Atem's ally and protector now, but he'd bonded with him. Ah. Well. He supposed 'Blue Eyes' wouldn't make a good name for most Pokémon, and he wouldn't want to dishonor her. But this Obelisk is...a kitten?

Must be a sense of humor thing.

Kaiba huffs a little at the suggestion that he's helpful---sounds way too close to kindness for his tastes. He is not a kind person! Absolutely not. Better to refocus on Marik.

"Marik's more of a historian than I am. He's uncovered some interesting tidbits about this world's past, and about the origins of some Pokémon"

[thetombkeeper]

He named a pokémon after a God Card.

Marik has no idea what to say in response to that so he just bites his tongue. The cat itself is cute but... those eyes are unnerving.

Except now the conversation has turned towards him. He glances nervously between the two.

"I'm not... I mean, it's nothing special? Just researching different pokémon backstories and trying to piece things together. I've just been jotting down basic info right now."

Chenzira's attention shifts to Atem as he looks the other teen over now that he's able to see him in person rather than just through the pokégear. The poor thing always looks uncertain but he seems moreso right now.

Marik shifts a bit before speaking again. Time to change subjects. "... Have you been adjusting to everything alright? Travel hasn't been too difficult?"

[paythepenalty]

Maybe someday Atem will tell them Obelisk's name came from a pull of chance; Obelisk the Tormenter was the first card in his deck, and that was the method he tried for naming Pokémon. While Obelisk the kitten is actually funny, he'll stick to card names from memory from now on.

Atem nods as Marik talks about his research. "That sounds interesting, I'd like to hear about your discoveries sometime."

Ah yes. Traveling. With a small frown, Atem shifts his weight from foot to foot. "Traveling in these conditions hasn't been easy, but I've been managing. Sleeping has been interesting."

Both because of the whole "sleeping on the ground" thing, but also he hasn't experienced sleep in a body the way he is now. Usually he just exists in the Millennium Puzzle, always awake even when resting. He's been sleeping well and through the night, at least, and Obelisk sort of cuddles up to him.

[blue_ice]

"I've been complaining that the new trainers should be offered tents for months. Even ancient Hisui had tents. It's ridiculous." Kaiba huffs, shaking his head at the many inconveniences they face.

"I'll get a tent for you before we leave the city, but I didn't think you'd want to lug it around the convention center. We have enough things here." There he goes again, just...buying stuff. Is this his life now, randomly supporting everyone from Domino who comes through?

Well. He'll have to draw the line somewhere, but this isn't too bad. He'll be glad to have Atem nearby. "I'd recommend looking for a fire type as it gets colder, though. My Zephyra's been a big help."

[thetombkeeper]

Marik smiles a bit and nods in return. "Yeah. Sure. Once I've got it a bit more organized."

He can't help but chuckle at Kaiba's complaint. "Yeah, you lucked out when you first arrived, Kaiba. That was almost like living in the life of luxury for this place." He's joking, of course. Still, their living situation really wasn't too bad in Hisui minus the lack of technology.

Marik returns his attention to Atem. "We should get you a winter coat too. That will help some."

At least he can bond with the Pharaoh about having no tolerance for the cold. ... A thought occurs to him though, as he didn't ask when they first spoke over the network. His eyes slowly fall to the Puzzle.

"I'm assuming the Puzzle hasn't worked since you got here... So that means Little Yugi-" (he needs to stop calling him that) "-isn't sharing your body, right? It's just you?"