Pokemon Fan Fiction ❯ Sharing ❯ Isaac Newton's Third Law of Motion ( Chapter 2 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Sharing

As was said at the end of the initial chapter, Nozomi is a girl on a mission. Her mission is to make Hikari a number one coordinator and shake up the entire world of pokemon coordinating by formulating a marquee rivalry to get them both high acclaim and accolades. Her plan starts about three months after chapter one.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Pokemon, a creation of one Satoshi Tajiri, and is produced domestically (in the United States) by Pokemon USA/TAJ/The Pokemon Company, and internationally by Shogakukan and OLM. I personally own nothing and make nothing by writing this.

(Chapter 2- Isaac Newton's Third Law of Motion)

For Anyone Who is Interested,

It is said that once a coordinator begins open competition in one of the many regions in the pokemon world, the so-called experts and statisticians claim that it takes on average 24-36 months to project their ultimate career path. This time span is allegedly supposed to determine whether coordinators have "it" or not. For those truly special cases, it is said that the coordinator must be able to win 10-12 ribbons within the aforementioned time period for anyone to take you seriously as a top competitor. I however have always found this and many other forms of armchair quarterback logic to be flawed, as they never once consider the person and always consider the common trends.

I don't blame them for doing this, however. After all, with well over 300 years of documented and recorded data of pokemon contests, Grand Festivals and league championships at their fingertips, they have the means to follow trends of the truly great coordinators, and put them right alongside the new crop of coordinators today. Blame our short attention spans, the highlight era of documenting athletic pokemon competition and our desire to know in our precious little hearts and minds that this generation provided the best of everything and the worst of nothing. Well, if the next big thing comes around, we'll certainly be there to witness it.

This is where, again the human factor surprises and surprises often. The fact is that there is no such thing as an accurate prediction on any events that have taken place in our history. Some will say that 9/11 taught this generation that although you may have opportunities greater than any of the generations past and you lived in the freest of nations, it is not wise to fall into any sort of false sense of security and let your guard down when you believe you know (or don't know) what lurks beyond the bend. Franklin D. Roosevelt captioned the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 as "A Date which will live in infamy," and it became one, primarily because of the lack of United States involvement in World War II at that time and the surprise of the Japanese bombing the Hawaiian naval base.

Forgive me for going too deep with this subject matter. You, whoever may read this might get the sense that I am attempting in vain to place myself on the same pedestal as FDR and the many common men and women who became heroes on that one fateful day. I may be proud of my accomplishments at this point, but to place myself in the same breath as those great men and women would be arrogance personified. The point that I am trying to make with these historical references is to simply reinforce my belief that the most unpredictable animals in the entire world are the Homo sapiens. You can always count on the lions of the African pride lands to chase and eat gazelle. Whenever cobwebs are brushed away from the corners of a room, the spider that spun the web will make another one without fail. Some people claim that these actions are only natural and are learned much like someone who studies a vocation; piece by piece by their parents, who learned from their parents and so on. Anyone who doesn't learn simply will not survive.

Despite this unpredictability of the species human being, there are some behaviors which like the continuous web spinning of the black widow or the craving of fresh gazelle by the king of the jungle, can be counted on. For instance, if I were to punch somebody in the face, I would be a foolish idiot to think that I would not receive a punch back. This is Isaac Newton's third law of motion in is purest sense. I'm glad that there are some things we knowledge-thirsty youth can count on, and this leads me to the goal I set for myself some three months back. Hikari, the rookie coordinator from Twinleaf town is going to be my rival, and a damn good one, because I will throw the first punch (figurative, of course) in our rivalry. Throughout the coming months, I will dictate the pace and using my words and rhetoric, will force Hikari to always want to do me one better. The fact is you are the only person who will ultimately inspire yourself to become better than what you are and improve in whatever endeavor you choose. However you choose to find this inspiration is patently irrelevant, but you must keep in mind that the world will never stroke your mane and tell you you're the best. You're the only one who can prove your might.

Over the last three months, I've found myself in situations where you could easily mark me as a hypocrite. I have not won a contest ribbon since the win three months ago. It was not because of any kind of slump I'm having, as I've spent the last three months competing in gym battles with the gym leaders of Sinnoh. I haven't taken my own sage advice I lent to Satoshi to not participate in both pokemon contests and in gym battles at the same time, and the same thing that most likely attracted the trainer to contests has attracted me to battling, and that is a great love for all things pokemon. Speaking of that, the last three months have also been spent building up my team for upcoming contests and pick up battles with local trainers to keep my battling strategies fresh. Along with Glameow and Misdreavus, I now have Monferno, who evolved from my beginner pokemon Chimchar four days ago and a Starly, which I rescued and helped rehabilitate back to health. My team will have to be focused and strong if our plan to make a great rivalry between my team and Hikari's team a success. My only issue would be just how this rivalry would begin.

Three weeks ago, I got my answer, as I was given correspondence saying that due to my success in winning two ribbons and for showing well rounded skills by also winning two Sinnoh league badges, I would be among 512 rookie coordinators invited to the First Years Challenge in the Sevii Islands. The challenge would be held in mid-October and would not affect anyone from competing in their local Grand Festivals. There are also no incentives for winning this Challenge as it is simply an exhibition of the many new faces in coordinating, and a time to meet and greet with competition you would not normally see.

I quickly signed up; hoping that among the many first year coordinators would be my future oblivious rival, Hikari. Usually the standard requirement for entry into this invitation-only event is that you either wins at least one contest ribbon or show great consistency in all of your contests (i.e. make it past the appeal rounds and win timed battles often). As a follower of all things in coordinating, it is hard to keep up with it all, but looking through contest results on the internet shows that Hikari has not yet won a ribbon, but has made it to one final and three semifinals. Perhaps most important is that she was not eliminated due to a poor appeal showing. I'm almost positive she will be a lock to go to the Sevii Islands. If you ask me, our genesis is indeed on the horizon.

The First Years Challenge is a week-long convention where many of the top dignitaries in the world of Pokemon congregate and officially welcome rookie coordinators to sanctioned competition in pokemon contests. Professors from around the world deliver keynote speeches to coordinators and generally will wish all of us good luck in our careers. Aside from friendly matches throughout the week, vendors and salesmen from the numerous companies have found this atmosphere to be the perfect arena to sell their new pokemon products. In recent years, it has become less of a matriculation for coordinators and more of a destination for the die hard contest fans of the world to see the coordinators of the future all in one place. All media of any sort was initially strictly forbidden at the challenge along with the receiving of any awards by coordinators. The Grand Festival Contest Administration's (GFCA) legal reasoning behind this measure is to "prevent coordinators from losing focus of their true reasons for coming to the event; having fun and learning more and more to better serve in the long run for their careers."

The pressure and monetary gain from media attention that an event of this magnitude could draw forced the administration in recent years to renege; but only to an extent. Battles and appeals are still not recorded on audio or video, but interviews with the new coordinators are shown around the world on television, internet and heard on the many local radio stations, as well.

In the media you will find the basis of my master plan.

The GFCA fully encourages rivalry amongst its participants, but they also stress uniformity, humility and restraint on the part of the coordinators. In other words, the administration is more inclined to present to its consumers an image that everyone in contests are really good friends and sportspeople and are also respectful of their competition at large. Ask any Joe Blow on the street, and they will tell you that while the idea looks good on paper, it is bound to get stale and die a quick death to any casual audience you desire to attract. Friendly rivalries are boring with a capital 'B'. You'll never get anybody excited if people already know the result of the aftermath. I don't blame the GFCA and its promoters for year after year going with what works, but there comes a time where people will tire of the same act, and they will eventually want to see something else. Without anyone else's knowledge, I take on the unsanctioned challenge of breathing the next breaths of fresh air into the coordinating scene for the fans.

Each coordinator has to secure interview time (if they want it) approximately ten days prior to the start of opening ceremonies on October 15. My plan was initially to simply book an interview, but after much self-deliberation, I knew I had to schedule an interview after Hikari scheduled hers. This of course is dependent upon if Hikari wants to conduct an interview at the rookie challenge. My plan is to orate with the purpose of getting Hikari's attention and do it by using a very scathing interview, which for the most part will concern Hikari, and hopefully fire her up for her upcoming contests and give her extra drive to train harder and smarter in the future. The reason why my interview has to be after Hikari's is because I have a feeling that among the questionnaire will be inquiries about other coordinators she has met. If this happens and she says the things I want-- no, need her to say, all will be well.

The rest will be left to imagination; my overactive, powerful, colorful, beautiful and furious workhorse of an imagination.

Hoping to never ever grow up,

Nozomi

To Whomever Wants Back in the Loop,

The first day of the Challenge was today and all 512 of the top rookie coordinators from around the numerous regions gathered for the opening ceremonies to officially welcome all of us as coordinators to the world of pokemon. The day began with the traditional lighting of the flame of Moltres and speeches upon speeches from prominent figureheads in the GFCA. Perhaps the most exciting time of the day was when all of the coordinators got onto stage and one by one introduced ourselves to our own little fraternity. Exciting not simply because of the new faces I got to see and the faces I've seen in contests past, but because the most important part of my master plan had arrived. I could not have been happier as Hikari from Twinleaf Town announced herself to the crowd. If I had no restraint whatsoever, I would have hugged her for her accomplishment. Keep in mind, however that the first word of my sentence was 'if'. Unfortunately, I was not able to even get a word with her, as we were on opposite ends of the auditorium that held us. I was one of the ones who announced their name late while Hikari announced hers early. We were announced according to our achievements in pokemon coordinating at the time. It seemed that at this moment, whatever god or gods were in control of this challenge were working against us. I'll just have to work that much harder.

After the pageantry, all coordinators retired to their hotel rooms to prepare for tomorrow's appeals for professors and area Nurse Joys. My roommate for the week is Cindy from Ecruteak City in the Jotho region. Cindy won her first ribbon in Goldenrod City by defeating Shuu of LaRousse City of the Hoenn region in a close match. We get along fine and whatnot, but when she asked if we could share coordinating strategies, I got flustered and quickly changed the subject. No matter, though. If she could beat Shuu to win her first ribbon, I can already tell she will succeed in this profession. She doesn't need my help and, though no offense is meant, I didn't want hers. If you are confident in your own abilities as a coordinator, helpful advice along the way is good, but at this point, me and Cindy are competitors and essentially at the same level, as we both have two ribbons.

Besides, I have more pressing issues to take care of this week, though I may live to regret my words in the event that Cindy ever defeats me in a pokemon contest or in a Grand Festival.

I have got to learn to open up and share more.

Enjoying day one of the rookie challenge,

Nozomi

For Those Who Care to Know,

This morning, two days after the arrivals of all the rookie coordinators, I was finally able to talk to my future rival, Hikari. She was very excited, like me, to be in the Sevii Islands Challenge. She is continuing to doubt her abilities and in my mind, I want to tell her not to worry about it and that she will be fine. But she has to hate me by the time I am done with business here in the Sevii islands. Hikari also told me that she was going to have her interview with the press tomorrow afternoon. Perfect timing because my interview will be the day after, and I need material to fire Hikari up. The clincher to this conversation, which lasted all of two minutes, was that she would mention the contest semifinal we had together and talk about my coordinating skills among other things. One thing she promised me that she would do is to listen to my interview, provided of course that I listen to hers.

Don't worry, Hikari. Nozomi will be all eyes and ears.

Focused and Fiery as usual,

Nozomi

To Whoever May Show an Interest,

It is now day number five in the First Years Challenge, and so far everything has gone according to plan over the last six weeks. For the battling and appeals portion of the exhibition, I took up a rigorous training schedule to sharpen not only my pokemon's bodies, but their minds as well. Don't tell me none of it counts for anything. The fact is that I have to mightily prepare to battle most of these coordinators in future events as I move further along in my own journey. Coordinators like Cindy are exactly the type that I expected to meet in the Sevii Islands, and they were found in every beach or battlefield practicing their appeals or working out with their pokemon in preparation for auditions before the expert judges at the Sevii Islands.

Fortunately for us, Hikari more than came through for me in her day four interview making me look like a million bucks to the press. She put me over strongly as one of the top new coordinators in the entire world and said she had a great amount of respect for me as both a coordinator and a person, even though she has only met me twice. She could not have followed my plan more to a 'T' if we had went over every step prior to the First Years Challenge, and for the record, we did not.

Now it's my turn. In about two hours, I will fire the first shot in the next great pokemon rivalry. I will let the world know through internet, radio and television how I "really feel" about Hikari. I obviously won't immediately begin my interview by bashing the girl. People can't assume that I have a personal vendetta against her from the get go. The object is to build fake hatred throughout the interview and spin whatever questions the hosts make for me and against Hikari.

Our rivalry begins today, but right now, everything is unwritten. It's time to exercise my fingers and work.

Courtesy of the Orating Virtuoso,

Nozomi

Professor Oak's Pokemon Talk is on the road for the special occasion that is the Sevii Island's First Years Challenge. Several other jockeys and professors have also hit the road for these marathon interview sessions. DJ Mary, Professor Oak, who have a popular daily radio show in the Johto region, have worked overtime and then some talking to nearly 175 of the 225 coordinators who scheduled an interview, and getting their thoughts on their careers so far. They haven't met me yet, but I'm being briefed by the media coordinator and director as we speak. I hear in the midst of the chaos around me as I go to makeup that his name is Randall. Randall says that the hosts Oak and the DJ will first introduce me, and will question me for anywhere from 10-15 minutes. He cautions me to keep all answers to the host's questions at about one minute or less, and to be courteous to the hosts of the program. To these commands, I say no problem and no problem. My only issue would have been if they told me that I had to be courteous to my fellow coordinators. Supposedly, the expectation and assumption of the media and the GFCA at large is that I'll have nothing but good things to say. That's their assumption, and you know what happens to people who assume. I can only hope that DJ Mary and the Professor are ready for me, because this one I'm about to do will make them feel like they've done 500 interviews when I finish.

Randall directs me to the studio, which is actually a stylized round table desk with room for five, bright lights surrounding every corner of the stage and the DJ and the professor say their hello's to me off the air. Because this exhibition takes place on the islands, we are outdoors, the hosts are in typical island garb and both individuals are wearing sunglasses. I'm damn nervous about the endeavor I'm undertaking, but seeing the Professor and DJ Mary with sunglasses over their eyes calms me down a few degrees. After we greet each other, I put on my own pair of sunglasses. The producer informs me and the hosts that we will start in just two minutes. Two minutes of silence between me and the `Pokemon Talk' hosts pass and the 'ON AIR' light is on. It's now or never, but I don't say N-E-V-E-R to anything. When they talk, I'll listen, and DJ Mary is being given the go-ahead from the producer.

I'm ready.

"And we welcome you back, one and all, to our ongoing coverage of the Sevii Island's First Years Challenge. It is the afternoon of day number five here professor, and as usual, the crop of rookies are showing great heart and determination this October, professor." "Oh, without a doubt, DJ Mary," Professor Oak replies. "It never gets old to see the fire in the eyes of these young coordinators. You know, viewers and listeners don't often get the chance to see the DJ and myself at these many locations where big time events like these occur, but over the past five days or so, we've been around these trainers everyday and we get to hear so many different stories of coordinators inspired by past coordinators, or parents that were in the business at their age. It seems that many of these coordinators and their families have come full circle and this new generation is naturally more prepared and ready than the coordinators of four, three, even two decades ago. It'll be exciting to see what will happen in the years to come for this 2006 class."

DJ Mary adds onto the professor's point, "No doubt about it, Professor. Now let's continue onward with meeting yet another member of this new class of Pokemon coordinators. Nozomi here comes to us from the Sinnoh region and in her seven month career; she has done quite well for herself. She is not only ranked in the Top 25 of rookie coordinators in both appeals and overall contest results, it has shown in her winning two ribbons in just the first seven months of her career." Professor Oak interjects, "Along with her exploits as a coordinator, she has also won two Sinnoh gym league badges to go along with her contest ribbons. Nozomi, we welcome you to Pokemon Talk on the Road!"

It begins for me. "Professor Oak; DJ Mary, I thank you both for having me here at the First Years Challenge and let me say it is nothing short of an honor to be with you two today."

"We thank you for coming here to be with us this afternoon," said the DJ. "Let's begin. You, Nozomi have been a part of a rare but new breed of coordinators that have also competed in gym battles in your brief tenure. Now, when you were younger and watching battles and contests as a young girl, what did you want to do more; train or coordinate?"

I tell myself, baby steps, baby steps and more baby steps. After all, this portion of the interview is the meat and potatoes, and dessert will be well worth the wait. "Believe it or not, I've always wanted to do both. That is, I've always wanted to be both a coordinator and a trainer at different points in my life. Since I was a young girl, my mother, Hitomi was the one who got me hooked when she showed me a pokemon contest. I wasn't entirely sold on the sport until I saw this one coordinator by the name of Ayako. I might have only been three or four years old at the time, but I was hooked by her grace, her beauty, her confidence and her flair for all she did in her contests. I'd go to grammar school and tell people that I wanted to be a Grand Festival champion just like Ayako, train a Glameow like her and much like all of the trainers and coordinators here this week, I wanted and still want to this day to win the Grand Festival, wherever and whenever it may be." At this point, I'm just laying the foundation, but so far, so good. I hope they use Ayako to lead to Hikari.

It's now Professor Oak's turn. "Do you model your appeals just like Ayako?" I give a smile to the professor. "You would think that as big a fan that I am of Ayako, professor that I would, but I really don't. I probably have one of the more unique appeals of all the rookies in attendance here. While Ayako was more of a dainty and classy girl next door who carried herself as such, talk to anyone that knows me and they'll tell you that that's just not me. If my mother were here, she would tell me stories of how I'd bawl my eyes out whenever I had to wear a dress as a little girl. Often times, it would be to a formal event, but I would be more comfortable in a modest tuxedo or a shirt and tie. Most arguments would end with her winning, especially when I was younger, but I refused to be restricted to simply wearing a dress just because 'that's what girls do; they wear dresses'. As a young girl, the only time I would play with dolls is when they were someone else's, and I would only do it so that they would not have to play alone, but I owned no dolls or anything really considered `girlish'. I don't see how the way I dress has to be anyone else's concern but my own. When I got to be about five or six, mom one day threw her hands up in the air and allowed me to wear what I wanted. Her reasoning behind this was that she saw I was simply not happy with wearing any dress. I told her that I just don't see why wearing a dress makes me any more or less of a girl, and to her credit, she understood and agreed. She's the best."

DJ Mary is now asking a question based on some of the answers I've given. "Nozomi, you talked about how your mother was a fan of pokemon. Are there any other influences that you consider important in your nascent pokemon career?" I'm hesitant to answer this question, but decide to quickly get it out of the way and move on to more important things. "Perhaps the two greatest influences in my pokemon career aside from my mother and Ayako were my good friend from before grammar school Makoto, and my father Keiichi. I don't like to talk about them much because they've both since passed away. Dad was a big fan of pokemon for much of his childhood and adult life, but because of his parents dislike of pokemon and their insistence that he be formally educated, he was never able to fulfill what I knew was his dream of becoming a pokemon trainer. Dad only had one child, that being me and always wanted the dream he was never able to fulfill himself to live in either him or her. He wasn't a stage dad or anything because I chose this path on my own, but he was a great proponent of tough love. I could always break him though. All it would take was a simple conversation with dad about pokemon. Originally, I wanted to be a trainer like dad wanted me to be first and then become a coordinator later, like Ayako. My mother was the big coordinating fan. As far as my late best friend is concerned, Makoto and I shared stories were we would just talk about pokemon, the battles and the contests we watched, and… we were going to travel together on a journey as trainers, until his untimely passing about five years ago. With all due respect, that's all I'm willing to say about my other influences, because I get very emotional thinking about those two." I prayed to whatever gods existed that they got the point and would just move on. Please, please just move on. At this point, I'm glad I put on my sunglasses, because tears are coming out of my eyes as the professor speaks to me once more.

"Let's move on then." The professor somberly intercedes. "On a much lighter note, I'm sure that over the last six months, you've met many coordinators and had many great experiences. Could you tell us some stories about coordinating and the coordinators you've met, or if you want, tell the listening and viewing audience some funny stories of your journey so far." This is the clincher. I'll have to pull myself together and go full throttle with this. I wait about three seconds, and then answer.

"Yeah... about other coordinators. Forgive me, but I have a question for you two. Do you remember earlier this week interviewing a coordinator named Hikari?" If their memories are sharp, they'll remember. And once you see her, it's quite hard to forget her. "Well over the last several days, we've interviewed many coordinators, but I..." DJ Mary then suddenly interrupts. "Wait a minute, Oak. Remember when Nozomi talked about Ayako? The Grand Festival champion Ayako is Hikari's mother!" "Oh, Hikari! That's right! You know what; I couldn't say enough positive things about her after our time together. She was such a nice, kind young girl, and she wants to be a great coordinator like her mother so badly..." Now is my time to take a stand. I calmly interrupt the Professor's verbal praise of Hikari. "I beg to differ. If you ask me, that girl is doing nothing more than grasping at straws." I appear to have startled DJ Mary and the professor with that statement. Yay me. A series of 'uh's' are being swapped back and forth by the twain like hot potatoes and I break the silence by continuing my fake rant.

"Even though my parents were not great trainers or coordinators like Ayako, it doesn't mean that my determination is any less than Hikari's. My goal since I was only three or four years old was that I would not waiver from the ultimate objective of entering the Grand Festival, and from there on becoming a champion. She, and I'm talking about Hikari, may have had a completely different goal of not losing the respect and love of her dearest mother by slipping on the proverbial banana peel in her first contest. Whenever I think about Hikari, two words always enter my mind, and they are 'silver spoon,' which is exactly what she was born with inside her mouth. It's an undeserved and unfounded title placed half upon her shoulders and the other half gently upon her lap because she's the daughter of a Grand Festival champion. The daughter of a Grand Festival champion, for Pete's sake! You might as well take twelve average coordinators from the last decade and have all of those trainers giving Hikari their secrets of success."

"Well I didn't grow up with that kind of fortune, Hikari. She should count herself as nothing short of a lucky individual. Unfortunately, the vibe I've gotten from her at the contest we were at about four months ago and the scant time I've spent with her this week was far from what I would consider humble or appreciative of the fact that she's here. And Hikari, if you're listening and I know you are, I want you to know that at this point, you, I and the other 510 coordinators here are essentially at an equal playing field. Genetics and 75 cents will get you nothing but a cup of coffee in this sport, but I'm sure you've figured that out already, O great poster child of nepotism. Nothing is ever as easy as it looks, isn't it? And the fact that you still have not yet won a contest ribbon proves this to be the honest to goodness truth." Outrage and disbelief should be arriving in three, two, one...

"Uhh, Nozomi, don't you think you're being just a bit too hard on Hikari?" DJ Mary looks very uncomfortable answering this question, and I know I've done my job near flawlessly so far. I smile at the question given to me and continue.

"Somebody has to be hard on her, Mary" I reply matter-of-factly. "Like I said, the girl was born with a silver spoon in her mouth, and a road map to success in coordinating under her arm. My feelings for Ayako aside, I don't like nor do I truly care for her offspring. If a coordinator wants true success, and not to be an overrated, over hyped, cocky, arrogant, spoiled second generation piece of crap like daijobu girl, you have to win ribbons, and you have to win them often. Where are your ribbons, Hikari? And by the way, I'm not talking about the good luck ribbon your mother gave you before you left home. Ribbons can't be bought, and I'm living proof of this. Not one, but two ribbons and I show well-roundedness, because I also won two badges, even though I have no plans whatsoever to compete in the Sinnoh League Pearl Conference."

"How did I get all of this? It certainly wasn't because of a parent in the business, because neither of my parents ever competed in battles or contests. But with the combination of their love and support and me going out on a journey the past seven months and busting my butt day in and day out, I got to the point where I'm almost halfway to the Sinnoh Region Grand Festival. Hikari can't say that because the bottom line is she doesn't have the drive to push herself to that next level. The privileged progeny will never get there because she's never needed to prove herself like I have. She can always fall back on something because of the notoriety of Ayako, and her constant lifeline from now until her retirement will be her mother. Her success will always be compared to her mother, so she'll never trudge her own path like I will. It's a shame when you think about it, but I'm not crying a river, much less a rain puddle for the girl."

Professor Oak appears to be beet red in his face and shaking in his work boots, and if his jaw was not attached to his head, it would have fallen to the ground thirty seconds ago. That's another notch on my belt. "Isn't there anything at all redeeming or positive you have to say about Hikari?" DJ Mary does not ask this after about 15 seconds of 'uh's'. I'm somewhat surprised that she continued on the subject and did not aim to change it and move along, but I'm not complaining.

"She's got so much potential." That much is true, by the way. Hikari really does have great potential as a coordinator. "Don't get me wrong, I just feel that there are much better coordinators that never had a former Grand Festival champion whispering in her ear. Speaking of Ayako, I should probably be honest about how I feel about her."

Professor Oak, who now appears to have gotten himself back together and in shape, asks a question to tie up the loose end that I threw out. "And just how do you feel about... Ayako? Do we want to know?" I see that the professor is begging for something positive to come out of my mouth. Much like a dog begs for love and attention from his master, the professor won't stop until he gets what he wants. For his efforts, he will be rewarded with a vocalized treat.

Don't worry professor. You'll like this. “As it pertains to Ayako and my feelings for her, I'll be honest... I love her." What the professor didn't know was that the treat was the equivalent to a bag of sweet tarts or Sour Skittles. This bolder than bold statement caused, for the second time in this interview, the mouths of both the professor and DJ Mary to open wide like tunnels once more. This is, again, a true statement that I just made. "Would you care to explain why you... love Ayako?" DJ Mary simply has not learned. Oh well. I don't blame her for wanting to press this particular issue. After all, I just declared my love for my childhood idol in front of the whole of the media. DJ Mary is a reporter first and foremost, and her modus operandi is to get the story. I am more than willing to play the role of the dealer, and provide this addict with her fix. I'm evil. I should be ashamed, leading her and everyone else that's either watching or listening on as if they were pets on a leash. Call me Nozomi, the ultimate in masterminds. I really could get used to this.

"Well, like I said, I watched Ayako when I was a young girl and thought at times to myself that she was the epitome of beauty. In her, there was everything in my heart and mind that I wanted to be, but couldn't be at the risk of compromising my integrity and being dishonest with myself. The fact is I'm not a girly-girl like the legacy leech known as Hikari. I've been active in sports like softball, basketball and gymnastics since I was five. And... there is no other way to put it than to just say that I had a childhood crush on her. Though it might sound silly now just thinking about it, I found myself attracted to her and made a point of never missing her appeals and never missing her do battle, with her pokemon at her side. That's why I say that I love her, because she's the reason why I am where I am right now. She's the reason why I train a Glameow. Why? Because she trained a Glameow. If not for her, I wouldn't be in what I consider to be the world's greatest occupation and the last great sport of kings and queens. No. Scratch that. It never feels like work to me. Everyday I wake up, I'm thankful because I get to go out there and have fun, with me and my great pokemon at my side."

"Are there any final remarks you would like to make before we wrap up here?" Professor Oak has had some time to calm himself, because he looked very nervous in many parts of this interview. I honestly feel bad because some of the comments I made were very critical, and categorically false. But if this doesn't drive Hikari to want to be better, nothing will, and that is the consolation I get for making these remarks. After all, my plan is not just for me, it's for both of us, and I need no help inspiring myself.

"There may be better coordinators out there, with more powerful pokemon and more effective strategy in their coordinating, but nobody... absolutely nobody will work harder than me. You won't get that from Hikari, because it is not a priority on her list. She doesn't have the desire to do it like I do. She thinks that you can learn this trade through osmosis, but if not later, soon she will get a very rude awakening. She doesn't have the parent that was denied his dream by his parents. Her mom got to live out her dream and then some. In me, there is a part of my late father and his undying love and passion for all things pokemon that lives in his only child every single day. So, in closing, whenever I'm going out there, I'm slowly but surely building my legacy into a strong tower that will never waiver. Hikari will never get this opportunity seeing as how much of her legacy was built without her even stepping foot into a contest house." And, speaking of towers, our foundation to our strong tower is finished. Our genesis has now been written.

"And... with that ladies and gentlemen, that was Nozomi, one of the many... fired up and excited coordinators here at the Sevii Islands First Years Challenge. We hope to see more of her in the coming months, as she aims for what she claims is her ultimate goal, the Sinnoh League Grand Festival Cup. Nozomi, on behalf of the `Pokemon Talk' crew, we thank you for being here with us today." Professor Oak, despite his jaw dropping on more than one occasion remained professional throughout the interview, giving me a thank you prior to the shows ending. "The pleasure was all mine, DJ Mary and professor." I end the interview short and simple.

DJ Mary now gets to do what I'm sure she wanted to do from about a third way through the interview. Move on to something or someone else. "Folks, stay right where you are because coming up after this brief timeout, more interviews from the rookie coordinators from all around the world. For Professor Samuel Oak, I'm DJ Mary, and you've been listening or watching Pokemon Talk on the Road!" The 'ON AIR' sign is no longer lit up, and the interview has ended. I don't think I'll truly know the impact I've made until after I leave the outdoor studio.

Uh oh. Maybe I spoke too soon, because I think I may have lit a fire underneath the tails of both DJ Mary and Professor Oak. They are both giving me the dirtiest of looks right now. I'm talking about the kind of looks people give a person when they are about to choke the life out of you. As I say my goodbyes to both DJ Mary and the professor, they hesitantly bring out their hands for me to shake. They are not exactly enamored with me right now and that's saying the very least. They didn't even respond back to me when I said my good-byes. Interesting to note is that they remained professional on the air, but showed their true colors and feelings towards me as soon as we wrapped up business. As I left the outdoor studio, I began to see the effect my interview had with the members of the studio, as they are likewise giving me the same dirty looks that Mary and the Professor gave. When I tried to say goodbye to Randall, he wouldn't even speak to me. He seemed like such a nice guy, too. Oh well.

I didn't eat prior to my interview, so upon leaving the studio, I took a quick trip to a restaurant near the boardwalk. As I waited to be seated, I felt very uncomfortable as there were about four or five people waiting along with me, and all of them were giving me the same types of stares that the producers and hosts at the studio were giving me. When I tried to sit down with any one of them, they made the lame-ass excuse that their seat was taken, or they simply left their seat to sit somewhere else, or they stood up until their party was called.

I knew exactly what was going on when I saw the large plasma screen along with several other television screens placed around the building and radios at most of the table booths. These people had either just seen or heard my interview and appeared to be royally pissed off at me for my comments, primarily the ones focused on Hikari. I tried to start a conversation with someone, and if the conversation didn't work, that would be my fault. I wanted to try and break the monotony of this tense situation, and hear a voice—anybody's voice that wasn't my own. If I were to talk to the wrong person, I would have put myself in unnecessary danger. It turns out the person I talked to was my roommate for the week, Cindy. Her attitude initially appeared to be the same as everyone else I've seen in the last thirty minutes, and the fact is that if looks could kill, I wouldn't have made it out of the outdoor interview, much less the restaurant.

"Oh... it's you." Aside from the waitress who harshly told me to sit down and wait, and the one person who said their vacant seat was taken, these are the most words that have been spoken to me since my very recent interview. "Just so you know, I talked to Hikari not that long ago on the phone, and she's looking for you." Cindy and Hikari met during day one of the exhibition. They hit it off real well and Cindy told me that she really thought Hikari could be one of the best ever, even better than her mother Ayako. The primary reasoning behind this was that Cindy had not met any other coordinators over the week that had the kind of natural confidence within herself that Hikari did. She told me about Hikari on day two, and I was more or less indifferent, attempting to not let Cindy in on my plans, or the fact that I even knew who she was. At this point, I've been found out and simply told her that I had met Hikari before and did not have a pleasant experience with her at the time. Thankfully, she didn't question me any further on the matter.

"I take it that she's not happy with the things I said, right?" I knew the answer to this, but I just needed the confirmation. All Cindy said to me was, "Damn right." In a way, it was the completion of step two; get Hikari fired up. "I suggest you watch yourself, because you're going to let loose a firestorm of ill will from the pokemon press. Can you really live with everyone feeling this way about you?"

I'm a lot more comfortable speaking to Cindy, primarily because she is the only person that has spoken to me since my interview. "You're talking to me. That's more than what I can say about everyone else I've run into this afternoon." "Well, it's not really out of any sympathy towards you, because eventually, you'll have to suffer the consequences of your actions. Personally, I think you have some moxie to say the things you said, though I found them quite unnecessary. If you said you had a bad experience with Hikari before, I don't see how it wouldn't have benefited you to just say your peace to her in a private setting. There are some coordinators out there that I would like to say some unadulterated words to, but... I don't. You did though, and… in my book, that deserves some credit."

Through Cindy's words, I realized that she did not feel as badly about the comments that I made towards Hikari as everyone else apparently did. I counted myself as fortunate, because the fact that she was even talking to me when no one else was meant that at least I wouldn't be completely ostracized for the remainder of my stay at the Sevii Islands. Heck, the fact that she showed some semblance of concern for me made me feel better than when I walked into the restaurant. "Thanks for your concern, Cindy, but you shouldn't worry about me. I know what I'm doing."

“Chalmers, party of one.” a voice barks out loud.

Her name was called to a table and she left me by simply saying "Whatever you say, Nozomi." Though my face never showed it, I was smiling inside knowing that the rest of the weekend wouldn't be a total loss. I decided to just leave without being seated and spend the remainder of the day in my room, with my pokemon.

I woke up on day six (Friday) of the rookie challenge, and found the seeds of my falsified cynicism have grown and produced some appealing fruit. On the front page of the newspaper, there is a very large picture of me sitting with DJ Mary and Professor Oak as I say my peace concerning Hikari. There is a long column where I am bashed by a noted reporter and editorials deep within the paper that say things much worse than what a respected periodical would allow from their beat writers. For the most part, I shrug it off, because they are only referring to the fake Nozomi I've created and not the real person. Had they been referring to the real person, I would have been hurt, but I won't give this glamorized press more than a second thought.

After going to the hotel's breakfast bar and getting even more stares from people, I decided to take this particular day from the rookie challenge off. I planned to just spend this day with my pokemon, as we lounged at the beach as a means of blocking out the people that have been staring a hole into me everywhere I've went these last 24 hours or so. Going to the boardwalk, I get even more stares. A part of me would like nothing more than to break the monotony with the clichéd quote, 'take a picture, it'll last longer,' but I remain silent throughout this trek. I say nothing and through the course of this walk, you could hear a pin drop. That is until...

"HEY ASSHOLE," someone yelled. I turn around and am rocked with a quick stiff punch right in the center of my face. It was strong enough to knock me down to the ground where the back of my head landed on a hard surface. I presume that this hard surface is concrete. My eyes rolled into the back of my head for a moment. About five seconds passed, and I regain my equilibrium, though I don't get up from the floor. At this point, I am pretty sure I am bleeding through a broken nose because of the shot. My vision clears long enough for me to see a female coordinator with blue hair, a black vest, a white hat and a pink skirt. Hikari was the one who knocked me down to the ground, and to my surprise, screamed out that obscenity. As for the punch, goddamn did it ever hurt! I may be injured, but at the same time, I am impressed. She proved Isaac Newton's third law to be correct. For my action of saying those negative things about Hikari, I got introduced to the equal and opposite reaction via the athletic right cross of Hikari, who with this shot heard 'round the pokemon world is now one step closer to becoming my new rival. Once my mind confirms that this was Hikari's doing, I start to slowly lose use of my senses until everything turns black.

It's a familiar feeling, though I haven't felt this in a very long time.

A/N: Whew, that was quite a chapter! Well, I realize that was a lot to digest, but subjects like Nozomi's father Keiichi and her late best friend Makoto will be discussed in future chapters. Forgive me if you believe that Hikari would be out of character saying the obscenity that she did and punching Nozomi, but I felt that the chapter had to end with a bang. If it were me in Hikari's position, regardless of age, I probably would have done the same thing, or something of that magnitude. Remember the story is somewhat Alternative Universe due to the original characters and timeline, but that shouldn't discourage anyone from no longer reading. Speaking of which, remember to read and review with your constructive criticism and check the author's page for more updates on these and other stories.