"Here vacationing?" A voice asked Alexis, who turned around to see an older man standing a few paces away from him, his naturally tanned skin showing the years of working under the sun, his fisherman's clothes evidencing his profession.
"Ah, good morning!" Alexis answered quickly before composing himself, his Pokémon looking at the man curiously. "No, nothing like that. I just started my journey as a Trainer a few days ago, and I'm staying here until tomorrow before continuing towards Neuquén City."
"Aaah, so a new Trainer, is it?" The old man responded, the question in his tone evidently rhetoric. "You may want to stay a just a bit longer, then."
"Why is that, sir?" Alexis asked, his interest picked.
"Well, the Lácar Cup is taking place tomorrow," was the answer provided by the old fisherman. "It is a small tournament hosted by the League for new Trainers in the Ibis Stadium."
"Oh, um... a tournament," Alexis repeated, his face showing a mix of excitement and insecurity. "What are... the requisites to join?"
"To not own a single badge," the old fisherman informed Alexis, his voice taking a soft, almost grandfatherly, tone. In his face was a small smile, his eyes exuding warmth as he looked at Eevee and Sewaddle. "Don't worry kid, I can tell you'll do good."
The old man then excused himself and got on a small boat that had been swaying slowly, tied to the only small port in the entire beach of Lake Lácar, left apparently overnight since it had been there since before Alexis arrived. As the old man navigated his boat away from the town, Alexis was left to his own thoughts.
He was a new Trainer. An inexperienced one. He did not, for even one second, think he would be able to win the Lácar Cup if he took part in it. But there was also that small possibility. What if, just what if, he did win it. In the end, when his own mind was unreliable, he resorted to the one thing that would never fail him, the one thing he could always put his trust in. Pokémon.
"Eevee, Sewaddle, do you want to take part in the tournament?" Alexis asked his two young Pokémon, barely trained, Eevee's own experience being just one battle. "It is going to be hard, you will have to battle with your all, and you could get hurt."
Eevee and Sewaddle looked at each other before looking at Alexis, their eyes shining with determination. They wanted to prove themselves. They wanted to grow stronger. But most important, they wanted to make their Trainer proud.
"Eevee!" "Sewaddle!" They cried in affirmation, disregarding his warning and choosing to battle in the tournament. Seeing their response, Alexis could not stop himself from smiling.
"Well, that settles it, then." He said, his decision made, his resolve firm. "We'll be in the Ibis Stadium tomorrow."
*
Alexis chose to spend the rest of the morning by the beach, truly relaxing, before heading out of town after lunch, when the sun shone brightly in the sky. Outside, in the forest, he had his Pokémon train, drilling commands and strategies.
"Use Quick Attack and zigzag between the trees, Eevee!" Alexis commanded, his first Pokémon immediately jumping into action. As the bushes and undergrowth rustled under the effect of Eevee's short dashes, a string of white, sticky silk flew through the air behind it. "Sewaddle, try to catch Eevee with your String Shot!"
If one were to walk by, they would hear a young trainer shouting command after command, answered by the exclamations of his Pokémon obediently complying. The rustling of the leaves due to their constant movement, the heat of the sunlight shining through the canopy, and the soft, cool breeze coming from Lake Lácar all created the perfect climate to train in.
"Eevee, you can't let him catch you," Alexis told Eevee as the String Shot finally caught it in the leg. "Sewaddle, you need to be able to chase after Eevee while using String Shot!"
"Come on guys! Step it up a notch!" He exclaimed once again.
If there was one thing nobody would be able to ever say about Alexis Becker, it was that he did not train hard. While he gave commands to his Pokémon, he himself was exercising, doing pull-ups in the branches of trees, push-ups, and running with his Pokémon.
By the time the sun started hiding and the evening began rolling in, the trio was drenched in sweat, dirty, and simply exhausted.
"That was... a good... workout," Alexis muttered in between short breaths, laying sprawled on the floor, Eevee and Sewaddle laying against him. Once he was able to gather himself and catch his breath, he stood up and smiled brightly. "Ok, time to go back, take a shower, and rest until tomorrow!"
*
After taking a good hot bath and having a heavy dinner, Alexis and his Pokémon found themselves back at the room in the Pokémon Center, preparing to sleep early. Once again, the comfort of the proper bedding comforted them, lulling them into a deep, relaxed sleep.
The following morning, earlier than usual, Alexis woke up and went to brush his teeth and freshen up. After waking up Eevee and Sewaddle, they left he Pokémon Center and bought some crepes to eat on the go, walking straight towards the Ibis Stadium, which was north of Lake Lácar, about a twenty-minute walk from the town.
As Alexis approached the Stadium, he could see the structure, styled after a Greek ágora with many seats around it at different heights, the white marble reflecting the sunlight in blinding purity. Around him where a lot of people, some lining up to enter the Stadium, and fewer people around his age forming a short queue by a woman dressed in a suit. The murmurs of the crowd became impossible to ignore the closer he got, until he finally reached the queue he assumed was meant for the Trainers intending to take part in the Lácar Cup.
While he was amazed at how many people the small town had gathered, he was quick to realise that most of them were probably tourists. Not wasting his thoughts on the crowd any longer, Alexis focused on himself and the tournament.
"There is a lot of competition, it seems," he muttered under his breath as he looked around, many new Trainers in the queue. If Alexis's brain served him right, there were around fifteen other Trainers, without counting himself.
"Move dumbass," a voice could be heard talking to someone in the queue. Turning around, Alexis saw a boy around his age looking down on the girl standing behind him, trying to cut in line.
"Drop that," Alexis said, not standing for the stupid attitude the guy had.
"Huh? And who are you to tell me what to do?" The guy asked, frowning and trying to look intimidating. Only then did Alexis really pay him any attention, looking him up and down. the guy was wearing ripped black jeans, a plain black t-shirt, and black sneakers. His brown hair was short, styled into a messy quiff.
Raising an eyebrow and looking him in the eye, Alexis spoke once again. "And who are you to tell us what to do, huh?"
If there was one thing Alexis wasn't afraid of, was fighting a person. And the rude guy was just now realising it.
"I recommend you wait in line like everyone else, quietly and respectfully," Alexis said before turning around and ignoring the guy, who had clearly realised he was out of his depth when he noticed Alexis's physique.
"I'll destroy you in the Lácar Cup," the guy said, opting to drop it and just wait in line.
"Yeah, yeah, sure... maybe if you reach the finals," Alexis answered, not really sure why the guy was rubbing him off the wrong way to the point of being antagonistic towards him. Alas, what was done was done, and he did not regret his actions.
'I'll just have to shut him down in the tournament,' Alexis thought as his turn to register came. 'Maybe that will calm him down.'