Building an Empire - Chapter 5 - The First Brick

Building an Empire - Chapter 5 - The First Brick

The Indigo plateau… was definitely done dirty by the games.

To be fair, the first few games just treated the victory road as a real spectacle, as compared to the League. I mean, sure, the tall building that served as the headquarters for the league was still there, its glass exterior shining in the summer sun. 

What the games didn’t cover was the entire town-sized carnival that surrounded it .

Most of them were temporary structures. Popup shops, tents, even food trucks, but there were also brick-and-mortar restaurants. Cafes, selling overpriced cappuccino, and even a museum with an exorbitant ticket price, covering the history of the league.

It wasn’t glamorous. It wasn’t for the rich. No, this was a people’s carnival. The League was for the people, a celebration of the strongest contenders of the Indigo region. It made sense, after all. The League was a combination of entertainment and coronation. The people got to meet their champions, to pick sides, to learn who will become their next Elite four.

People celebrating their leaders. It wasn’t something I’d even seen in my first life. 

I’d chosen to camp. The hotels near the League coliseum featured prices that actually hurt my eyes. So, back to the camp it was.

Plus, it was easier to train my team in the woods. Less complaints, and much less chance of anyone being injured. I hadn’t even thought of that being a problem until I realized that, in essence, my team consisted of six forces of nature. Each capable of wrecking entire towns if sufficiently aggravated. A far cry from pixels on a screen.

Another benefit of staying far from the festivities was that I hadn’t run into any familiar faces yet, especially from the media side. I’d finished my registration early, opting to get out before the media caught any trace of me. 

I was not a smooth talker like Alessandro was. I wasn’t media-trained. Yet, I needed them for what was to come. I couldn’t risk becoming a heel, and I knew the kind of questions my comeback would bring forward. 

Ripping into someone who was once popular was something the media was a master of, after all.

I’d run pretty far from my initial campsite. One hour of cardio every morning, it was part of the training regimen I’d set for myself, cross-checked by Damascus. It was therapeutic. For an hour, I was able to put aside all thoughts of training, of battle, of my plans for the future. For one hour, I could just close myself to the world and run.

Not today, apparently.

I came across the crater a mile and a half away from my campsite. I wasn’t on alert at first. Bastille had a habit of roaming, and he also had a habit of challenging wild pokemon. It was a holdover from his days as a Larvitar, on Mt. Silver. It wasn’t a behavior I wanted to change either. Not only did he gain varied battle experiences against a diverse group of enemies, it kept the camp safe.

This crater? It wasn’t made by him. It couldn’t have been made by any of my pokemon, for that matter. 

I kept moving, keeping track of my surroundings. I knew that I was in no immediate threat. Melusine was flying overhead, just to make sure I wasn’t attacked by wild pokemon. If any pokemon could make its way through her? Then there wasn’t much that could keep me safe either way.

Another three hundred meters, and I heard voices. Not noises, but human voices. Familiar ones at that.

“Xatu! Psychic!” Will’s melodic voice rang out. The earth shook under my feet as I walked over to the treeline, only to see his Xatu flying circles around a Cloyster.

“Cloyster, Icicle spear, shotgun pattern!” Shouted the redhead on the other side of the makeshift field. Her voice was familiar, even though she looked younger than I expected.

Either way, Lorelei was definitely a looker.

She hadn’t quite grown into her ‘sexy secretary’ fit from the games, choosing instead to wear a mauve turtleneck sweater and a skirt. It was consistent with her fashion sense, in Alessandro’s memories. Still, to me, it was new, and it wasn’t the only revelation.

Xatu’s movements were new. It had been less than a month since I’d last fought Will. Yet, the way he was instructing his Xatu, more specifically what he wasn’t telling it to do, was reminiscent of something.

As Xatu evaded each and every icicle with a grace that belied its form, it felt… familiar. So did the violet glow that came from Xatu's eyes. Calm mind. 

Xatu was setting up while dodging, without WIll having issued a command to do so. Yet, one look at Will was enough to tell me that this was all planned. Premeditated between pokemon and trainer. It was my style, through and through. 

And Lorelei saw it coming. Xatu shot out another Psychic, not aimed at the Cloyster, but at the ground under it. Under normal circumstances, a pokemon as slow as Cloyster would have no chance at dodging. Yet this Cloyster did, and it was easy to see why.

There were cracks on its shell. Shell Smash, a move that exchanged defenses for power and mobility. 

A smile appeared on my face unbidden, a crazy smile that - had anyone been watching - would have looked disturbing. This was a competitive battle. Singles, yes, but competitive nonetheless. It wasn’t perfect by any means, but I understood why.

Will was trying to evolve his skills as a battler. Pre-planning to make sure his intentions didn’t need to be spoken aloud. Using setup moves, like every pokemon  player ended up doing once they decided that overleveling took the joy out of the game.

Yet, Lorelei was doing the same. I could understand Will doing it. He’d fought me. He’d seen those strategies in action. It would make sense that someone like him, who’d made it into the Elite Four in canon, could easily learn and emulate my strategies.

But I hadn’t fought Lorelei. Sure, she would also be part of the Elite Four in the future, but Alessandro had fought her before, even lost to her before. He was aware of how she fought, and hence, so was I. 

“Xatu, finish it!” He yelled. Again, no move was called out. No instruction was given yet the way Xatu dived through the icicles was not unplanned. The way it moved, dodging each icicle, repelling those that came too close with a quick psychic, it was nothing short of inspired.

“Cloyster, evade!” Lorelei yelled, and to its credit, the Cloyster did try to move aside. Yet it was all for naught, as the Xatu hit it with a point blank psychic. At this range, no amount of speed could help the Cloyster evade the attack. The Psychic threw it back. Yet, it didn’t finish it off. 

At the last moment, it had used withdraw, shoring up its defenses. It was getting me hyped, seeing another setup move used in such an active way. In a way even I wouldn’t have thought of using it.

“Good! Cloyster! He fell for it!” Lorelei yelled. Even though her Cloyster was on the back foot, the smile on her face was triumphant. It took me a second to realize why, as I saw the icicles hanging in the sky turn around, locking the Xatu in.

“Cloyster! Icicle crash!” She yelled, and the icicles fell. It should have ended the fight. Even if Xatu wasn’t weak to the attack, it looked exhausted. There was not much left in its tank.

So why were its eyes still gleaming with the fire of defiance?

The answer came to me when something collided with the Cloyster. It wasn’t a psychic, it wasn’t any attack from Xatu, or at least, nothing he could have used before the icicle crash struck. Yet, as the Cloyster fainted, as its icicles dissolved and faded, I finally realized what had transpired.

While moving in, Xatu had set up a fucking future sight.

It was brilliant! Sure, the move was trash in competitive, where every pokemon carried protect, when switching out was the norm. But in this circumstance? To use it as a second chance if the first attack wasn’t enough? It was masterful.

“So, are you finally going to step out? Or was the show not to your liking?” Another familiar voice rang out, and I knew that I’d been caught.

“Quite the opposite, actually.” I spoke, walking into the clearing. Will and Lorelei looked at me with surprise. They had been so lost in their battles that they’d lost sight of everything else.

Karen hadn’t. 

I hadn’t noticed her at first either, with how captivated I was by the battle, but she’d definitely noticed me. Taking a look at her, I actually felt bad for not noticing her. Long legs, grey, wavy hair hanging loose, and sharp features that could cut air. She was a beauty, and considering the years-long crush Alessandro had on her, there was a possibility that I was being biased.

Fuck the bias, she was a straight up model. A model that looked extremely cocky.

“Didn’t think I’d find you guys here.” I spoke with a smile, “Though, color me impressed, that battle was the most impressive thing I’ve seen in months.”

“Of course you’d say that, all we’re really doing is emulating you.” Will spoke up, checking up on Xatu.

“You’re giving yourself way too little credit.” I spoke. “Xatu’s gotten stronger, and I didn’t exactly give you training and diet outlines.”

“That is true.” Lorelei spoke up. Trying to hide her blush by covering her face with a woolen scarf. “So instead, we decided to emulate your journey.”

“What she’s trying to say is that we went to Mt. Silver and stayed there for a month.” Karen commented, playing with her hair. “It was no biggie.”

“I almost died of hypothermia.” WIll commented with a whimper.

“That aside, the pokemon weren’t that strong either. My boys ran wild through the place!” Karen boasted.

“We were in the pokemon center every evening for the first week.” Lorelei interjected.

“Overall, it was a piece of cake. Didn’t gain too much from it.” She finished, her smirk faltering slightly at the comments.

“My Dewgong can now crush metal with a slap of his tail.” Lorelei commented.

“My Xatu can rip the ground with a half-powered psychic.” Will added his two cents.

Karen’s smirk finally cracked. “Okay fine. It was hell. I don’t know what I hate more, the demonic pokemon up there or the fucking weather. But damn did my darlings get strong.” 

I nodded to her. “Steel whets steel. Your pokemon were already powerful, so when was the last time they were really pushed to their limits?” 

Karen shook her head. “My team’s been league ready since I beat Erika. Nothing’s been a challenge since.” Her expression mellowed, and she found herself unable to meet my gaze.

“I’d begun to think of myself as invincible. Mt. Silver taught me otherwise.” Lorelei stepped up. “I think Karen and Will were in the same boat.”

“Speak for yourself. I got my reality check twice, back to back.” Will piped up. “All from the same family at that.”

“I’m not accepting any blame for you deciding to challenge uncle Giovanni or me.” I raised my hands and shrugged. “I’m glad that you guys are alright though. That mountain is not easy to conquer.”

“And here’s the problem.” Karen spoke, a pained expression on her face. “Even knowing that, you braved it alone. I know things weren’t the best for you after those losses to Koga, but you could have reached out. Could have called.”

“I didn’t want to bother you guys. You all had to go through the gym challenge too.” I chuckled. “Plus, what would I have said? ‘Hey, guys! I’ve got a cool idea! Let’s go and suffer on Mr. Silver for a few weeks!”

“You could have died!” Lorelei practically screeched. “It took the three of us to barely survive up there. You went there alone! A warning would have been appreciated!”

“Why? What would that change?” I asked, the smile disappearing from my face. “You all would have tried to stop me, and I wouldn’t have stopped. The end result would have been the same.”

Karen responded by punching me on the shoulder. It wasn’t a strong punch, and her heart wasn’t really in it, but the look of disappointment on her face gave me pause.

“Then we would have gone with you!” She yelled. “We’re friends, Alex! It’s our duty to be there when one of us makes a stupid fucking decision.”

“I couldn’t drag you guys up there to join in my stupidity.” I spoke the words, but it felt like it was Alessandro who had uttered them. It was his memories that I was drawing from, and he genuinely did not want them to know about his suicidal plan. 

Fucker didn’t even consider just how much pain his death would have caused to them.

“We all started this journey together. If finishing it together meant we needed to take a stupid detour, then that’s the way we’d go.” Karen spoke, before giving me a hug. Lorelei and Will jumped in, the latter with a hesitant look on his face.

I froze for a singular moment, my mental process was crashing against Alessandro’s memories. Alessandro would hate this. He’d hate the fact that his friends felt this way because of his actions. He’d hate the fact that their care registered as pity to him. He’d hate that the first hug he ever got from his crush involved tears.

I had no such holdups. These people had gone out of their way to follow my journey. They’d trained, they’d grown, just so they could stand beside me, finish this journey as equals.

In my eyes, they deserved to follow me on the next journey I undertook.

“Just so we are clear, this doesn’t mean I’m going to go easy on any of you in the tournament.” I joked, letting myself ease into the awkward group hug.

“You dare pull a punch and I’ll end you.” Karen replied, though she was unable to hide the teary smile on her face. 

It was a nice reminder that the best rivals were also friends.

LB

“So, let me get this straight.” Lorelei spoke with a straight face. “You want to supplant the entire governance system.”

I gave her a quick nod, noting the stunned look on Will and Lorelei’s faces. 

“Are you fucking mad?” Karen continued, her mouth agape. 

“Listen Karen, we literally live in a country where governance is decided on the merit of whoever’s magical monster can punch harder.” I spoke, looking over at Melusine, who was posturing at the side. “Yes, Melusine, you punch the hardest.”

“It works! I mean, the method of choice is a bit arbitrary, true, but it’s how everyone does it!” She replied, exasperated.

“I already told you why it’s stupid.” I replied. I’d brought them back to my camp and given them the same explanation I’d given Giovanni. “I mean, have you ever gone over the qualifications of the people who make up the governing council?”

“They can’t be that bad, right?” Lorelei asked. 

“Agatha literally has a group of ten spiritualists running our entire foreign affairs branch.” I spoke with the most deadpan voice I could muster.

“Okay… that does not sound ideal.” Will spoke. “A group of ten psychics, on the other hand…”

“Would be just as bad.” Karen shot out. “So how are we still afloat as a nation?”

I chuckle. “Samuel Oak, as always.” I spoke, and got a round of understanding expressions from them. It was interesting how just dropping Oak’s name was enough to assuage even the deepest of worries. 

A model champion, if there ever was one.

“To elaborate, as a man of science, his elected council members were mostly of the scientific persuasion.” I elaborated, “You would not believe how much of a stabilizing presence a few data analysts can be, especially when backed by the political might of a champion.”

“Pryce helped too. The man brought a few economists on board because of his sponsorships.” I still found it funny how the oldest members of the League, both retirees, helped stabilise the country to this level. 

“Both of them are now gone, but thankfully those who didn’t follow them into retirement integrated themselves into the camps of other Elite Four members. You have these opportunists to thank for the relative stability of this region.” I finished.

“So, let me get this right. You want us to supplant the Elite Four and the champion?” Will spoke up.

“Originally, I had planned to replace the champion, then slowly oust the Elite Four from power.” I replied, gesturing towards them with my hand. “Of course, that was before I realized the kind of cultlike fanaticism they inspire amongst the populace.”

That was the second revelation that came with my discovery of the carnival surrounding the League HQ. The Elite Four weren’t just politicians, they were star athletes to boot. Each had their supporters and detractors. It was like being at a Lakers vs Celtics game, with allegiances proudly stated and defended, all the way from the street to the coliseum. 

I’d seen enough people wearing Lance fan merch to understand just how ingrained this behavior was, and I’d barely been in the populated areas of the carnival for a few hours.

“But now, with all of you here, I think it can be done.” I spoke. “All I need is for you lot to put up a show.”

“Okay, but this is still a tournament.” Karen commented, glaring at me. “At some point, we are going to go up against one another.”

“And I’ll eventually win.” I replied with a smirk, a smirk that made her glare intensify. Truly, I didn’t expect the cool and collected Karen to be such a hothead as a teen. 

“Jokes aside, you’re absolutely right.” I spoke, casting my gaze over the three of them, “And our battles will be the highlights of the show.

“You are emulating my style of fighting, one built around stratagem and long-term planning.” I spoke, looking at Will, who seemed to shrink at my gaze. “What little I saw of your fight against Lorelei showed a usage of pre-planning, set-up, and nonverbal command. Add the usage of held items, and you’ll be able to showcase this new style of pokemon battling to the world at the biggest stage possible.”

“Once the tournament is over, no matter who wins, things will get hectic. Pick a member of the Elite Four and study them. Go over their teams, their quirks, their past fights.” I recommended it, although it was closer to an order. “There’s years and years of battles available on tape. We have that benefit. They do not. Do not take it for granted.”

“And what will you do while we prepare?” Lorelei asked, genuinely intrigued.

“Me?” I replied, a smirk growing on my face. “I’m going to create a fucking situation.”

The way their faces paled at my proclamation was like chicken soup for my prankster soul. Yet, it felt nice that they trusted me enough to not doubt my intention.

Once this tournament ended, things would change for us all. As I watched them bicker with each other after my proclamation, I couldn’t help but smile.

After all, right now, we were just a group of teens, camping outdoors on a warm summer night. Bickering, playing, dreaming of overthrowing the status quo.

Just like teens should.

LB

The importance of ceremony was not lost on the denizens of Indigo.

I stood in line, sixth from the start, fourth from the end. We’d been sorted by a metric that I couldn’t fathom, lined up in parallel columns. It provided a sense of uniformity as we all stood in front of the coliseum doors. It was militaristic, it was ceremonial.

It was completely undone by the fact that each and every person liked up was dressed in wildly conflicting colors. Yet, in a way, that itself was harmonious. 

The doors of the Coliseum opened slowly. Massive hunks of metal as they were, they glided on wheels that creaked under their weight. I was tall enough to tower over my peers, and from my position I could see all three of my friends.

Will was nervous. Shrinking into himself. Dressed in his performance suit and his face covered by his trademark domino mask, he was a shadow of the confident, boisterous Elite Four member from the games. 

Lorelei was in a daze. Her thousand-yard stare was making the person behind her nervous. I could understand. I was the same way before my first match on the main stage at a major. Of course, this was a lot bigger than any Major. This was much bigger than Worlds. 

Karen was unfazed, at least on the surface. She wore a look of grim determination, like a soldier preparing for deployment. Yet, I could see her shake, ever so slightly. I would wager a hundred dollars that her hands would be balled into fists so tight that any more pressure would be enough to draw blood.

It wasn’t just them. No one had the will or capacity for conversation. Everyone was an enemy, a blocker on their path to fame and glory. The only beings they could consider friends in this room all resided in the balls that rested in their bags, or around their belts, or… was that a fucking ammunition belt?

I realised that at some level, I was anxious too. I was over-observing, drinking in every detail I could. For all my experience with pokemon battles and with tournaments, this was still the biggest stage I had ever performed at. There were too many variables for me to be comfortable. I knew this was no longer a game, but till now, it had never really sunk in.

Now, as the congregation began to move forward, maintaining tight lines, it was finally hitting me.

This was no game. The strategies were no longer two-dimensional. It was no longer a matter of just team building, or comparing risk to reward. There were no handy damage calculators, neither were there any teamsheets to warn me about what strategies my opponent would employ.

There was only me, my team, and the months of grueling preparation we had gone through. And for me? That was enough.

The light, blinding when I first stepped into it, finally turned bearable. The shoutcaster was doing his job, hyping up the crowd. Spotlights lit up contestants of note. Karen, Lorelei, Will, each got their time in the spotlight.

I did not, and I was glad for it. Had the light shone on me, it would find my attention reserved for only one group of people.

The Elite Four, and standing between them, the champion. A combination of faces both new and old. 

The first to catch my eye was Agatha. Even now, years before the first game, she was old. Her wrinkled face held nothing but contempt for those below, and as the member that got the most challenges from past Indigo league winners, that contempt was understandable.

Next to her was a man who towered over her. His musculature was so well defined that even Damascus would approve of his physique. His eyes were scanning over the crowd of contestants with a promise of challenge, and once they met mine, I could swear I saw that challenge morph into excitement.

He’d singled me out, not because he knew I was the strongest trainer of the lot, but because I was buff. If he’d had the chance, he’d skip the entire tournament and challenge me right now, and not to a pokemon fight.

Such was the simplicity of Bruno. His brain was apparently made of the same element that he favored. Yet, such simplicity was still admirable compared to the remainders on the team.

Anxiety. Anxiety that belied the fact that this man was an Elite Four member. I’d never faced him in any of the games, nor had I ever heard any mention of him in the anime. Yet, it made sense that he existed. 

Weaver, father of Bugsy, the Azalea town gym leader. He had the trademark purple hair, he had the same safari suit as his son, complete with those disgusting shorts. His outfit, combined with the way his eyes were anxiously scanning the crowd for any would-be threats was enough to explain why someone as pathetic as Koga was able to make it to the Elite Four.

It did not explain how someone like him had even made it up there to begin with. Not that he’d been up there long. One year was all he got, and he understood better than anyone else that for someone of his capabilities, that was already a miracle.

The fourth member was familiar. Alessadro’s memories had confirmed that yes, of all the people who could have filled in the final spot, it was Blaine, the man best known for making his gym/lab combo in a fucking volcano.

I also understood that he was an interim member. Pryce retired mid-year, and no one else was experienced enough or capable enough to fill his spot on short notice. So, Blaine’s successor would be decided at the end of this tournament.

Unless he wished to continue, which was unlikely, given the visible boredom on his face. The man was a scientist at heart, and seemed to want nothing to do with the festivities.

In between them, there was Lance. The man who beat the man, the youngest champion in the history of Indigo. He was younger than in the games. Hell, I would be surprised if he was more than a year or two older than me and my peers.

Yet, he still had that gravitas, the presence required from a champion. His charismatic looks and regal bearing were enough to explain why he had such a rabid fanbase, his pokemon battling skills helped as well.

And so did that cape, which looked cooler in person than it had any right to.

He didn’t so much as glance at me once. He had no reason to. His eyes did pass over every contestant that the spotlight singled out, and there was an expression of genuine anticipation on his face.

He, more than anyone else, was looking forward to this. After all, this was the same man who, despite being the fucking champion, had decided his time was best served running around the region chasing Team Rocket.

He wanted a fight, he wanted a challenge, and while I couldn’t claim to understand what he saw when looking at my peers, whatever it was, it excited him. It excited him as much as the prospect of blindsiding this tournament excited me.

And when this was all said and done, he’d find much more of a reason for excitement. All he needed to do was wait and watch the grand show I was planning to put up for him.

It would be a great consolation for losing his crown, after all.

LB

Okay, here’s all the preamble to the tournament done. The next chapter will focus on two different POVs, but they will move the story forward. No interludes, just the story seen through the eyes of different people.

Next chapter should be up in 24 hours. Chapter 4 will be posted on FFnet around the same time.

As always, join the discord for more shenanigans.

Link is https://discord.com/invite/AP8nG65RmA