Chapter Text
“Please, please, pick up.” Una whispered in a panic to herself, hunched over the Pokémon Center’s communication computer so she was the only one to see the screen. She tapped her foot nervously while she felt Sliver pace between her legs. She knew contacting home would be a stretch on such a device and a high risk to whoever received the call. However, she needed someone in her life to speak reason at this time.
She heard a click from the headset and the screen pulled up a ‘no camera’ notification. A rough woman’s voice snapped on the other side, “Drop this number, or I swear I will take this phone and—“
“Fajra!” Una gasped, and the wave of relief that crashed over her caused her to burst into tears. “F-Fajra, I need help, really bad…”
There was a pause of stunned silence before Fajra spoke again, this time her voice full of worry, “Kiddo? What are you doing at a Pokémon Center? Where’s Em?”
“Fajra, I… I screwed up, big time…”
“Okay, calm down, tell me carefully. Don’t tell me more than you need to.”
Una knew she meant to reference the tracking on the computers. She told her as much as she could, although she left out the intimate details of what she learned from Futile. She explained her search for Futile, then how he turned on her and attacked. How she somehow managed to travel across the region overnight, and finally, the discovery at the gates. When she finished, Fajra remained quiet before remarking seriously, “You haven’t been in contact with this thing since the tunnels, right?”
“No.”
“Okay, well if you see it again, keep away. This is clearly something that shouldn’t be messed with under any circumstances. I’m going to contact Em so he knows you’re okay, and he can fill me in on the missing pieces. I’ll come as soon as I can.”
“But what do I do about the Gym Tournament?” Una pressed, her voice barely louder than a whisper.
Fajra paused again before answering in the softest voice she heard her use, “Kiddo, you’re going to have to trust me and stick this out. You need to stay and play the song and dance this thing wants.”
“But—“
“Una, sugar, I need you to listen to me,” Fajra pushed sternly. “Lemme tell you a little something: I was a participant before. I was only a lil’ older than you. No one withdraws from the competition, you hear me? You are in it to win or you leave in disgrace and under a lot of questions. There’s a lot of preparation and investment that goes into the tournament, so this is not a small thing you can just leave whenever the going gets tough. When you sign up, you are signing a lot of documents including confidentiality agreements. Besides, that thing that signed you up clearly knows more about us than we know about ourselves. It’s better to appease it until we find another way out. This thing is clearly dangerous and has a bone to pick. You understand?”
“So you’re just going to leave me—“
“Of course not, don’ even think that way. You’re not alone, sugar, we’re in this mess with you. But I need you to play solo until I get there. The first gym fights begin…”
There was a pause before Fajra continued, “Well look at that, it opens this week. So listen to me carefully, former participant to beginner: you need to start training and preparing now. You're a good fighter, but keep in mind that all the Gym Leaders used to be participants too. They are all trainers who managed to go toe to toe with the Champion at the end of each of their respective tournaments. Heck, I think some of them were gym leaders back during my time too. You’ll need to think fast on your feet and outside the box. I know you can do that.”
Una nodded to herself before daring to ask, “If you’ve done the tournament before, what happened? Did you get far?”
A sticky silence followed, making it clear Fajra did not want to divulge anymore. “I gotta go now, but I promise everything will be okay. I’ll come find you as soon as I’m able. I’m going to call Em now and tell him you’re okay.”
“Can you tell him I’m sorry?” Una blurted out. “I… I don’t know if I’ll see or talk to him again for a while, and I need him to know...”
“I understand. I’ll tell him. Try to keep your calls scarce, but if it's an emergency, I can take the heat. You got this, kiddo.”
The call disconnected with a click, leaving Una in silence. She faltered as she hung up the headset only to then place her face into her hands. Sliver meowed from next to her, but her head filled with the buzzing of adrenaline. She hoped Fajra would provide more answers or a way out of the nightmare. She understood the limitations they had to face when speaking over a Pokémon Center’s communications line as the risk of tapped lines was significantly high. But now she was on her own in a big city with no Emmet or Fajra to help her.
“Why the long face, friend?”
Una yelped and looked around to see who had spoken, but realized no one was in her direct vicinity. When she turned, she realized the screen had become bright blue and the cartoonish face of a Minccino pressed against the screen. She immediately pulled her hat tighter over her head and squeaked, “It’s you!”
“It is I, your friendly Pokémon Assistant and Moderator!” P.A.M chimed, giggling as it did a little flip that caused its electric blue tuft of fur to bounce. “Why so glum? Is it nerves? Everyone has been there, Fortuna, it is nothing to be embarrassed about.”
“Oh, ah—“ Una began, forgetting that she now had a new name. “I— you know my name…”
“I know everyone’s name!” P.A.M corrected with a grin. “A new user, I am sure. I am equipped with every new Gym Tournament participant's registration information and will add more as I get to know each one. It is my job to prepare participants for the main event! I give notifications of news, battle, traffic, untimely disqualifications and/or deaths, and more updates! Although, I see you have not registered for our newsletter via EX-Transciever.”
“I, uh, don’t have one—“
P.A.M attempted another virtual backflip within the blue screen void and remarked, “Well why didn’t you say so? I am sure we can find a sponsor who can donate for such a device. Every trainer should have one. Anyway~”
He folded his chubby arms as if leaning over an invisible table to stare down Una. “Tell me Trainer Fortuna, is there anything I can help you with today? Further explanations, next steps, requesting a battle time at New Straiton Gym? So much to do with so little time!”
Although her distrust still lingered, Una couldn’t help but notice how relaxed P.A.M appeared to be. As far as she could tell, this tiny little sprite was not aware who she was, or at least was only engaging her based off whatever Futile fed the system. With that, she dared to question, “Well, I guess I’m a little confused on how the tournament works. Like I know how everyone travels around and fights gyms, but what does it lead up to? What do you win?”
“Oh, an excellent question!” P.A.M began, and with a snap of his small fingers came a visual of the New Unova region. “This year we have hundreds of trainers, young and old, who take up the New Unova Gym Tournament. For the most part, trainers must focus on beating the Gym Leaders and collecting the eight New Unova gym badges. There is a specified route and amount of time that trainers must complete or risk being disqualified. Trainers who collect all the required gym badges within the required time will finish the journey in Lacunosa City. The remaining trainers face off against each other in a final tournament. The winner will then attempt to compete against the Elite Four and Champion Harlan in one attempt. No one has successfully completed the final lap of the challenge yet, so most trainers simply aim to be the best trainer among that year’s participants. The Gym Tournament finalist earns 500,000 credits.”
“What if someone were to beat the Champion?”
“If someone were to break the streak, the Champion would pass their title to the finalist.”
“So would that mean the Champion would stop being Champion if he ever did lose?”
But P.A.M pulled up the visuals on the screen as if it were a projector screen and remarked over her question, “Oh no, silly, it’s just a title. A position of power like Champion cannot be decided by one battle. Especially when most participants are just children, like you! Anyways, enough hypotheticals. Anything else I can help with?”
The P.A.M smiled in an eerie grin. Not wanting him to get suspicious, Una cleared her throat and pressed, “Uh, what about the New Straiton Gym? I don’t know anything about it. How do I prepare?”
“Ah great question! New Straiton City Gym has changed quite a bit since our last Tournament.”
A map of New Straiton City appeared on screen as P.A.M gestured to a repeatedly glowing spot toward the center of the screen. “New Straiton Gym is currently set within the Super PokéMart at the center of the city. The local gym leader is the newest addition to the League’s lineup and is our current Normal Type specialist. Once you make an appointment for your challenge, you will arrive on location and have an hour to complete the leader’s gym mission. This is a task that each gym leader assigns their challengers to complete before they can be faced in battle. For this gym, participants are required to bring no more or less than two Pokémon, so be sure to pick your Pokémon wisely.”
“And… what happens if someone loses the battle?”
“Then she’s out of the game!” P.A.M answered brightly, thumbing his paw as if signaling someone out. “Process of elimination at its finest, so best prepare well! Any other questions?”
Una was still trying to wrap her head around the dump of information, but the weight of this tournament seemed to lift slightly. However she quickly recovered and remarked to P.A.M, “Uh, no, I’m good now… thanks.”
P.A.M bowed and squeaked, “Always happy to be of assistance, Fortuna! I best be off, but just remember: when in doubt, best to shout!”
The little Minccino blipped off the screen, leaving the swirling P.A.M and Pokémon Center emblem behind. Assured that he was gone, Una immediately scrambled away from the communications computer while scooping up Sliver at her feet. She was not entirely convinced that P.A.M did not know she was out of her element. His quick notice of her distress made her fear that perhaps he had been listening to her and Fajra’s conversation with more awareness. However, she knew Fajra was more than capable of dodging P.A.M and would take every precaution possible. It left her to worry about the most pressing concern. Fortunately, a plan was already brewing in the forefront of her mind.
When Sliver let out a mrrrow of protest at the sudden movement, Una patted his head and insisted while rushing through the crowded Pokémon Center, “No napping right now, we’re going to catch another Pokémon!”
Unfortunately, this was easier said than done. Despite the gloomy clouds hiding the sun, the few fractured rays that came down signified it was getting quite late in the afternoon. A fire of determination was now burning within Una now that she had a better idea of what laid ahead. Whether he knew it or not, P.A.M may have provided her the loophole needed to claw out of the mess she found herself in. She simply had to take one track at a time.