I fully take in the moment of my first tournament win. Drako made it look easy to defeat three pokemon in a row, but I could see the damage on his body. Nonetheless, his eyes were burning with intensity, ready to fight another three.

  After basking in the adulation of the crowd for a moment, we are ushered to the podium by some tournament staff.

  Third place was occupied by Courtney Wilkins, second by Chase Suarez and first by myself.

  What followed was a bunch of pomp and ceremony that I didn’t really enjoy. Especially the media interviews in which I gave concise and short answers to make sure they couldn’t misinterpret my words. I really need to learn how to deal with my public image, for now I can only be aloof and mysterious.

  Finally, we got to the good stuff! Loot!...I mean rewards. Yes, rewards. Anyways, the winners were given their monetary winnings electronically and the top three were invited to an office to meet with the tournament organizer to discuss getting our starter pokemon.

  “Congratulations, you three have earned the privilege to adopt a starter from the main breeding facility. You have up to a year in which to use this privilege, though you may use it as early as tomorrow. The details are in these pamphlets.” Stated the tournament organizer as if reciting lines, as he handed us each a pamphlet.

  “Any questions?” He queried, with silence as the response.

  We were promptly dismissed and I began to make my way back to my lodging while fantasizing about the new addition to my team.

  “Orick!” A familiar shout interrupts my daydreaming.

  I smile as I am wrapped up in the loving arms of my mother. Over her shoulder I can see Gramps, giving me a toothy smile.

  “We were only able to make it to the finals and we wanted to surprise you.” Mom says to me, “You were wonderful, I’m so proud of you.”

  At this declaration, my eyes started to tear up a bit. In my past life, the approval of my parents was something I craved in my younger years. Hearing Mom’s praise seems to have dredged up some suppressed feelings.

  I blink away the tears, “Thanks, Mom. It means a lot to me.”

  Gramps slaps me hard on the back. “Alright, we have reservations to attend. Only the best for our little champion!” He says, punctuating his sentence with a laugh.

  The next day I headed to the breeding lab bright and early. I wasn’t surprised to see the runners-up arriving at the entrance before they opened. I gave them a nod before leaning against the building.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

  Soon enough, the lab was opened and we were escorted to a reception area. Here we were met by three individuals who would help us in choosing our pokemon.

  The assistant assigned to me quickly introduced himself, “Hello, Orick and congratulations. My name is David and I will be assisting you today. Do you have an idea of which pokemon or type you would like to see?”

  “I would like to see the water types available.” I answer.

  He nods and prompts me to follow him. The other finalists chose grass and fire, so we split up to the different environments.

  “Is there a particular species you want to see?” David inquires as we walk closer to water environments.

  “Froakie, mudkip and totodile are the main contenders.” I respond.

  He nods and leads me into a room that resembles a lounge, with the far wall being glass and overlooking a courtyard.

  “If you’ll just wait here for a moment, I will arrange to bring in each group separately as we feed them. Please make yourself at home.” David says before hurrying out.

  I deflated as I sagged into the comfortable couch.

  I had just finished assessing the mudkip that were brought in and was a little disappointed. Similar to the froakie and totodile, there weren’t any standout pokemon. Maybe I’m being too critical, but I think it's justified if you look at the team I have currently. They’re all monsters.

  Not to say there was anything wrong with the pokemon I saw, I just didn’t feel like they would fit on my team. There was one froakie that was extremely agile, but I witnessed it bullying the other froakie and decided not to incorporate them into the team.

  “David, are there any other pokemon of the previous species that I haven’t seen?” I inquire. “Possibly something like an outlier?”

  At my question, David scrunches his face and replies. “Well, there are some others that weren’t shown but unfortunately they are not available for adoption.”

  “Is there anything I can do to change that? Is it a monetary concern?” I ask.

  “I apologize, but it isn’t really a question of money.” David says.

  I sigh internally as I decide to use a piece of information that I was hoping could be exchanged for more. “What if I were to tell you that I know of a breeding group of the squirtle line that I found in the wild?”

  David perks up, “How many pokemon were there in this group?”

  “Around 100, I couldn’t get a good count.” I reply.

  David’s eyes light up, “I’m going to have to consult my boss.”

  David left for a few moments and returned with an elderly man with white hair.

  “You better not be lying about the new breeding group.” The man said, with a disgruntled look. Behind him, David was looking at me apologetically.

  “I assure you that I am not lying. I have video evidence and the coordinates.” I state evenly, not really bothered by the questioning.

  “Well, let’s see it.” The old man said.

  I looked at David and said, “I thought this was supposed to be a deal, yet you haven’t even shown me any pokemon that suit my preferences. What if you don’t have a suitable pokemon? Although I am legally obligated to report this information, I can choose any breeding laboratory to cooperate with.”

  The elderly man looked a little offended, but quickly schooled his features into a neutral mask. “FIne, show him all the pokemon at the first evolution stage that he wants. He can have any of them for the information.” He said to David and then abruptly left.

  “And who was that?” I ask.

  “Sorry about that, Mr. Clerry is the head of the breeding program and tends to be focused on breeding the best pokemon. He doesn’t care much for etiquette.” David explained. “Let me take you to where we keep the pokemon reserved for staying at the lab to breed.”

  I followed David deeper into the lab, through several security checkpoints and that’s where I met Mongo.