It was beautiful spring day in San Francisco. Flying through the clear skies were Wingull and Starley by the hundreds, flocks of the birds socializing with each other as onlookers fed them crumbs. In the Bay, Milotic and Seaking swam through crystal water, and schools of Remoraid searched for food, nibbling on the feet of giggling children. Man and Pokemon lived side by side in peace.

Perhaps the most symbiotic relationship of Man and Pokemon, however, was in the arena. On this particular day, a massive tournament was being held at the Golden Gate Recreational Center, dozens of proud participants coming from across the globe to compete in the mixer. Even the local Gym Leader had taken the day off to compete, hoping to bring a favorable place for his city. Crowds gathered in the thousands, with more than million watching world wide.

Also on this day, a much smaller competition was being held at White Beach. Open to any hobby trainers, the beach had several areas cordoned off in front of a set of bleachers, where the battling would take place. With the pleasant weather, it was the perfect day for a small tournament.

The eight spots for the competition were quickly filled, and the starting match up figured out by drawing. One would face two, three would face four, and so on. The nearby sitting was half-full, mostly just passerby who couldn't make it to the Rec Center's tournament. Still, everyone was excited to see new blood battle, and today's competition looked especially fresh.

[hr]

"Ok. Number five. That means we're one of the opening three matches!" Standing on the sidelines, a young man with messy black hair shifted his weight from one hip to the other, biting his lip. "We can do this. It's just some one-on-ones. My team and I have been practicing, and we're more than ready to win this."

The boy blanched. "Wait, I can only use one of you!" Pulling out his two pokeballs, the youth seemed to weigh each ball in his hands, carefully considering each. "You're both fast, and hit strong from afar, but you do better with the other.. Yeah, I guess I'm going with you for this one, buddy." Pocketing his other ball, the man stood there for another moment, before pulling out the ball once again.

"Lets think about this one more time.." Biding his time, Zacharias pondered every move he could, waiting for the competition to start.