victory_road | Battle Convention!

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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"So. Are you here because you are in the tournament and in need of a final addition to your strategy, or are you here to see if there is anything the lecturers can teach you regarding future battles?"

If Geddoe's here to battle Keldor can always lend him his support. Or exchange notes if not.

"Seeing what people have to say."

He has no interest in going out in front of a huge crowd and battling for the chance at some probably relatively minor prize. On the other hand, information is always useful.

"You?"

It never hurts to ask. Everyone's here for a reason, and most aren't here to compete, but still.

"I am here for the same reason."

And for the shopping, the tournament-watching and an opportunity to catch something he might not be able to get back in Johto, and he's pretty much done with the retail aspect.

"Looks like you've already found a lot of information."

He nods at that rather impressive notebook. He doesn't really care that much about it, mind, but he can recognize the effort when he sees it.

"It may seem like a lot, but there is no such thing as too much information."

Not this kind of information, anyways.

"All knowledge is valuable."

Geddoe definitely doesn't disagree. He's used information gathering to great effect in various ways in his mercenary career.

"It can be, as long as you know how to put it to good use."

"Much of what I have here pertains to battle. And as a soldier who has seen combat, 'putting it to good use' will not be difficult."

"Hmm..."

There's actually quite a few things Geddoe could say to that, but, being Geddoe, he doesn't.

"Are you planning to enter if there's another of these again, then?"

"I should like to enter."

By the time a tournament like this rolls around, he'll have a lot more experience at these things to feel confident enough to try his hand at it.

Geddoe nods at that answer, not really surprised.

"The battling itself aside, knowing how to keep your opponent off-balance seems to be an important strategy, too."

The two somewhat are interconnected, but even so.

"Whilst being prepared for your opponent to do the same."

Basically one great big chess match. Well. Sorta.

"It is a good thing that I am prepared to spend the required amount of time needed to study and truly master the art of battle."

"Exactly."

Chess is probably putting it too lightly. More like that combined with poker, and played as a team sport. Something like that.

"Study will only get you so far though without practice. If you want to win you should find skilled opponents to train against."

A surprisingly complex pastime, this pokemon battling, for sure.

"Well, I am preparing to go up against Falkner."

Of course he knows that Geddoe means someone other than a gym leader. Gym leader's just where Keldor will begin to really start putting theory into practise before moving on to other, more skilled trainers.

"So I should expect to be hearing that you've gotten your first badge soon?"

Falkner's easy. Really, so far all of them are, as far as Geddoe's concerned. That's just what happens with single type-themed gyms.

"Yes. You should be. Very soon."

You could probably even congratulate him now that he has. *cough*

Yeah, that's why he's starting with them. The first steps to learning battle strategy is in remembering type strengths and weaknesses.

After that, it's on to things like which pokemon go best together.

~~That would require Geddoe to use the network more than strictly necessary in the first place...~~

"Good luck, then."

He doesn't think Keldor will need it, but it's about the sentiment.

Battle Convention!

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