“Now who wants to challenge me?” Hearts shouted shortly after Shu and BC Sol left.

Nika hurried out of her hiding place, only making it to Hearts after Quicksilver Eye. Quicksilver Eye challenged Hearts first, and they began the battle. “Three! Two! One! Let it...

Rip!” Quicksilver Eye stepped forward right before launching, sending Orichalcum into the center. Hearts used a very steeply angled launch, almost totally vertical to the stadium. “Hades, Grim Boost!” Hades began to zoom around the stadium, it’s disc scraping against the stadium. “Orichalcum, lock down the center! Mercury Wall!”

“Now Hades! Grim Spirit!” Hades tilted even further, sending sparks of green and purple flying. The number of sparks began to increase as it was wreathed in a growing, eerie aura. Eventually this aura began to writhe, forming distinct ghost-like spirits, as Hades began to right itself. “Spirit Attack!” One of the small spirits launched itself into Orichalcum, slightly destabilizing it.

Then another.

And another.

And another. Eventually, Orichalcum was surrounded in a crown of spirits, each dragging against the stadium and slowing it down. “Now use Grim Impulse!” Hades shot directly through Orichalcum, dissipating the spirits and sending its parts flying.

Then Nika went to challenge Hearts. “Three! Two! One! Let it... Rip!” Hearts did not use the same launch, instead using a standard launch. “Easy! Grim Impulse!” Hades shot towards Nyke. “Nyke, Victory Dodge!” Nyke tilted and struck the slope, a spring-loaded wing hitting the stadium and sending it darting away.

“Hades, Grim Impulse again!” Hades shot towards Nyke again. “Nyke, Victory Dodge!” Nyke dodged again, but did not escape nearly in time and was clipped by one of Hades’ blades. “Nyke, Victory Escape!” Nyke tilted and sped up, constantly springing of the stadium’s slope in an erratic pattern.

Hearts tilted his head, his eyes glowing red and green as Hades’ beast formed around him. “You like dodging my attacks, huh? Well then, dodge this! Grim Trap!” Hades began to zoom around in a wide circle, trapping Nyke inside. Then, the trap began to shrink, and Nika came up with a risky idea. “Nyke, Ultra Victory Star Launch!”

Nyke glowed golden as it rocketed towards the outer circle of Hades’ trap. Nyke’s aura formed around her and her eyes turned golden. The golden bey shot through the circle, since it was moving fast enough to dodge Hades. “What?!” Hearts said angrily in surprise. Nyke had begun to try its luck and bounced off the wall, shooting through the circle again and forming its star shape.

“How are you dodging them?!”

Nika smirked. “Oh, but I’m not! Nyke isn’t dodging any of those attacks! After all, you aren’t attacking!” Hearts’ eyes widened as he realized what she meant. Hades had tilted slightly off-balance after Nyke had hit it once and sprang away, and it’s disc had changed into defense mode, sending it into a tight circle in the center.

Hearts had somehow not noticed this until Nika pointed it out. Eventually, Hades and Nyke began to wobble, the two nearing their end. “Full power, Nyke! Victory Whip!” Nyke wobbled towards Hades, striking with a glowing golden wing. The purple and the golden beyblades both burst simultaneously, startling Hearts.

“I told Dark she had potential!” Quicksilver Eye said excitedly. “I suppose you can be in the tournament!” Hearts said, with a mixture of anger and delight. “Now the next challenger!” Eventually, everybody had battled Hearts, nobody else thinking of a plan to work around Hearts’ specials, and nobody tying or defeating him.

Shortly afterward, there came an announcement from Beyeen 2.0, the upgraded Bey Queen, and AI designed specifically for the occasion. “Now that everyone should be settled in and all, the team tournament is officially beginning! Our first battle will be BC Sol International vs the Thunderhawks! So get rested up for an exciting battle!”

The next morning, Toko hopped out of bed, pulling on his new outfit and preparing. Then, he realized that Shu had yet to tell them who would be battling in the tournament. “Hey, Shu, you never told us who would be battling in the tournament!”

Shu picked up a clipboard. “We’re sending out Alex, Cuza, you, and Corey, and Simon will be going out there, Simon as the backup!”

Simon stepped out of his room and waved shyly. He had very pale skin and peach eyes, and wore a black and red jacket. “The first battle is beginning, so get on down there and go battle!” Beyeen said energetically.

The five bladers, led by Shu, began to walk to the tournament area, which was actually a different place than the stadium area. The white-haired Blader led them all to a bench area designated for them and then he left to the seats. The bench across the room from them was empty for a few minutes, before the Thunderhawks finally arrived.

“Alright,” Alex said, taking the role of leader, “I vote we send out Toko first, then Corey, and then we send out Cuza. If we haven’t won by then, I’ll go out there. Everybody agree?”

The four bladers nodded their heads. Alex held his hand out in a ‘go team’ kind of gesture, and they all placed theirs atop his. “Go BC Sol!”

The room had steadily got louder as the other teams filled up the stands, until Beyeen came back onto the screen. “Everyone, silence! Our very first battle is beginning!”

Toko walked up to the stadium as the Thunderhawks sent up a dark-skinned Blader Toko didn’t recognize. “Three! Two! One! Let it...

Rip!” He was wielding Vice Leopard 6Cross Accel, an attack type combo, although the layer was a dark red, instead of the standard deep blue. “Trident, Hydro Twist!” Trident took the center, wavy blades glowing blue. “Burnbird, use our Burning Wing!”

Leopard, no, Burnbird seemed to grab Trident and drag it around in a circle with how fast it was spinning, creating a glowing red circle around it. Then it dragged Trident up to the wall, slamming it into the wall and releasing it. “Trident, Tsunami Crash!” Trident rolled down the stadium, smashing directly through Burnbird and bursting it.

“Yes!” Toko exclaimed, pumping his arm into the air. His opponent glared and walked away, abandoning the red Leopard. Toko picked it up. “Hey, you forgot Leop-Burnbird!” The floor under him opened up all of a sudden, dropping him down a long chute and out of the boat.

Toko’s eyes widened. “If that happens every time you lose, I need to be on my A-game!”

Wielding his map and with Angel perched upon his shoulder, Chris set off on his journey, stepping proudly onto Route 1. “Let’s go, Angel!” Angel rubbed her face against his affectionately, bringing a smile to his face as he began to walk.

Chris walked carelessly, for he had not realized he was walking in tall grass where Pokemon were known to lurk. And one was definitely lurking. It was a small, purple rat-like Pokemon, and it was crawling around stealthily, preparing to pounce.

Of course, Chris didn’t know this, and was startled by the Rattata leaping up at him. He whipped out his Pokédex and clicked the small button.

“Rattata, the Mouse Pokemon. It will chew on anything with its fangs, and if you see one, you can be certain that 40 more live nearby. This Rattata has a Power Level of 3.”

Should be easy enough to beat, Chris thought to himself, before gently flinging Angel into the air. Angel’s silvery wings quickly caught the air and held it aloft. “Angel, use Gust!” The white bird clapped her wings together, creating a sudden burst of air.

The purple rat dodged and began darting around, gaining speed and momentum for a move Chris would later recognize as Quick Attack. Then it pounced at Angel, slamming into her wing with a pop.

Angel let out a horrible screech as she began to wobble down to the ground, her right wing bent oddly at the shoulder. “Hang on, Angel!” She hit the ground hard and nearly collapsed, but Angel was a tough bird, and she stepped upright. “Sand Attack!” Angel flapped her fine wing along the ground, sending up a cloud of dust and sand.

“Now use Gust!” Even though Angel had a wounded wing, she was still more powerful than Rattata, and she flapped the sand into its face. Rattata let out a horrible, bloodcurdling screech, as sand got into its eyes, stinging. Angel flapped a wing again, knocking Rattata back. It’s eyes turned into black swirls as it fainted.

Chris reached into his backpack, pulling out his only potion. Then he sprayed a few squirts of the purple liquid onto Angel’s hurt wing, which bent back into position with a pop. The white bird screeched for a while in pain, and Chris stroked her feathers the whole while.

Eventually, her pain seemed to subside, since she had stopped screeching, and he began to walk again. The tall grass, which had reached up to his shoulders, had begun to subside, before eventually depositing him upon a worn path, which he followed.

It winded in an s-shape between trees and tall grass, before eventually depositing him back in more tall grass. Small bugs flitted between long blades of grass, occasionally biting him. That patch of tall grass was longer than the other and curved up a hill, eventually putting him back on a worn path.

The split second after he stepped out, another Rattata darted after him, barely missing. Chris gently nudged it back into the tall grass and began to run forward, welcoming the unknown.

The unknown was not unknown for long, and he found himself standing on the edge of a green city. It was a small-ish city, surrounded in green trees and plant life, and most buildings had dark green roofs and light green walls. A small sign welcomed him to “Viridian City, the City of Eternal Forest!”

Chris jogged over to the Pokemon Center he knew would be there, returning Angel to her Poke Ball and handing it over to Nurse Joy. “Can you heal my Pidgey?” He asked, using Angel’s proper name instead of Angel.

Nurse Joy nodded, setting it into a small machine and clicking a button. The red ball glowed as Angel was healed, and then Nurse Joy removed it from the machine and handed it back to Chris. “Thank you!” He said, smiling as he left.

After Toko had claimed victory, Corey went out and was pitted against a Blader wielding Air Knight Zenith Keep, but a dark brown version with glowing red details etched into it. “Meet my Magma Vulcan! Three! Two! One! Let it...

Rip!” Corey instantly understood the reason for the name, as the Air Knight had begun to glow red from within, similar to a volcano. “Use Magma Root!” Vulcan’s rubber ball tip glowed red as it held down the center, forming a red shield. Vulcan also began to glow even brighter.

“Cockatris, Screeching Bolt!” Surrounded in crackling blue energy, Cockatris shot through Vulcan easily, bursting it and making the score 2-0. Then, Corey returned, and Cuza was sent out.

His opponent was wielding a metallic golden God Valkyrie Hurricane Nothing combo. “Even though you defeated my teammates, you will not defeat Thunderhawk!”

“You’ll have to see about that!” Cuza laughed. “Three! Two! One! Let it...” Cuza did a backflip, sending Chronos rolling straight up into the air. His opponent launched by slamming his launcher downwards.

“Rip!” Chronos quickly pulled into the center. “Chronos, use Gear Wall!” Chronos was surrounded by a dark blue bubble as it locked down the center. Thunderhawk began bouncing up and down, springing into the air and then becoming shorter, into the air, and then shorter, and etc.

“Now hit him with our signature move! Plasma Crash!” Surrounded in bright purplish-blue energy, Thunderhawk crashed onto Chronos, bursting it and making the score 2-1. The boy who wielded Thunderhawk grinned, not leaving the stadium. He was clearly going to be battling again, a decision he made as leader.

BC Sol ended up sending out Alex, since he had not battled and was likely to be their best bet. “Three! Two! One! Let it...

Rip!” Thunderhawk’s wielder, who was named Todd, used the same launch as before, but he jumped to gain even more altitude. Alex launched at an angle, sending Amaterios at full speed. “Golden Slash!” Surrounded in golden light, it struck the stadium’s wall and shot straight into the air.

Then it slashed a wing against Thunderhawk, spinning fast enough that four more quickly followed. Thunderhawk split into its three pieces silently as Amaterios fell down. Alex picked it up and walked back, settling amongst his teammates as Todd was sent hurtling out of the boat.

Todd was so startled that he ended up rolling down the chute and skipped across the sea like a rock, before the Beyeen picked him up with a long claw. The Beyeen was a boat automated by the original version of Beyeen, who had been relegated to saving those ejected from the ship.

BC Sol was sent up to the bleachers, except for Cuza, who managed to hang on with his feet. Then he used his feet and agility to pull himself back out of the chute moments before it snapped shut with a pop! Toko yawned, since he had not been able to get a wink of sleep the night prior.

Toko ended up dozing off into an uneasy sleep, missing most of the battles. Had he been awake, he would’ve seen her. Though he didn’t notice her, she noticed him in the crowd, bringing a smile to her face, before she resumed battling.

Toko eventually was shaken awake by Corey, who noticed his blank expression. Toko yawned and stretched as his senses eventually returned to him, near the end of the round. The Shadow Organization was facing off against the Black Knights.

The Black Knights all wielded the same Beyblade except slightly different. Their leader, Adam, wielded Grand Ashura Hurricane Atomic, which he named Green Knight. His teammates also used Grand Valkyrie and Grand Dragon, a.k.a Blue Knight and the Light Knight.

Adam went up first against Nika/Golden Eye (I’ll use Nika since it’s easier), who was eager to prove herself. “Three! Two! One! Let it...

Rip!” Nyke went rocketing around the stadium, and Toko noticed that it was a lot like Nyke, but did not come to the conclusion that Nika was Golden Eye. Instead, he thought that Golden Eye had copied Nyke since Nyke was strong. Nyke curved into the center and slashed at Green Knight.

“Root Armor!” Green Knight seemed to fuse into the stadium, making it nigh impossible to budge. “Nyke, Ultra Victory Whip!” Nyke struck Knight with a golden blade, and then they clashed for a few moments.

Then Green Knight gave in to Nyke’s relentless attack and burst. Nika beamed as she picked up Nyke and returned to the Shadow Organization, sitting down on the bench. Nika slowly began to doze off, before settling into a trancelike half-asleep state, unbeknownst to anybody else.

Either Toko or Nika had been unable to sleep, and their twin bond somehow kept them both up. It was odd because their minds were never linked in any other way, except for then.

Committee Aoi looked at his new bey, Valerius. “I can’t wait to show them how powerful we are!” Committee said, beaming. Then he looked up at his opponent, Lantujima Kiyama. “You’re going down!”

Lantujima smirked. “I’m not so sure about that! Three! Two! One! Let it...

Rip!” Lantujima launched, sending his Medlimsliv directly into the center.

“Super Shooooooooooooooooot!” Committee roared as he launched. However, his poor launching technique sent Valerius straight into a statue of his principal, cracking it.

“Valerius!” Committee dived forward and grabbed Valerius. “Uh, Committee, you might want to-“ Lantujima was interrupted by a loud crash as the statue split cleanly in half, the top piece falling backwards.

“Who would dare destroy the statue of Principal Shinoda and disrespect him?!” An angry teacher cried out as he saw the damage.

Lantujima sighed as the teacher gave them a hot glue gun and told them to put it back together or they would get their beys confiscated. “You got us in trouble!”

“My bey should’ve won, it looks and spins cooler than yours!”

“Yeah? Well, I at least have regard for the basics!”

“The basics?”

“You clearly don’t even know the basics!”

“Yes I do! You, uh, put the ripcord in the launcher, and then rip it and the bey starts spinning!”

“What a joke!!”

Committee fell to the floor. “The basics? What are the basics?” He wondered aloud.

Then, he raced out of there. “Hey!” Lantujima called out to him as he sped away.

An hour later, Committee was by a tree, wearing a tire on his back and with a thick vine wrapped around it. “I need to learn the basics! Let it Rip!” He yanked the vine.

“Again!” Committee kept at it for a while, before eventually training his balance on a bunch of tires. It seemed as if the sky turned dark within a few seconds, and he realized he had to get home, so home he went.

The next morning, he walked eagerly to the WBBA building, prepared to battle. The moment his blue eyes locked on the crowd, he realized how many people there were watching, and he stiffened and became white as a sheet.

Committee suddenly shrieked, “Ow, I bit my toungue!” and then proceeded to trip on each of the three steps up to the stadium. At the top was Lantujima, in his whole outfit.

“The victor of round one shall be yours truly, me! Prepare to be owned by Medlimsliv and I!”

All of a sudden, it came to him. He suddenly learned of all of the basics, as if Valerius was guiding him, which was probably true. Committee’s natural launching stance changed, because his original stance would never work, which startled Imyou Kurenai from the stands. Imyou was Committee’s friend from when they were young, and he wielded the fearsome Danger.

Lantujima also noted this and smirked. “Three! Two! One! Let it...

Rip!” Medlimsliv and Valerius went spiraling into the center, smashing into each other. “Wow, you’re so fast, Valerius!” Valerius and Medlimsliv clashed for a while, before Medlimsliv looped away and then smashed Valerius, sending the blue bey flying out of the stadium as Medlimsliv’s spirit formed around Lantujima.

“Lantujima Kiyama wins with an Over Finish!”

“Hahaha! Medlimsliv’s super heavyweight disk allows it to take a beating and then dish one out that’s ten times as powerful!”

Committee frowned, squeezing Valerius tightly. And then a huge smile came to his face as he looked back up at Lantujima. “Yay! I’m all fired up and ready to go!”

Lantujima raised an eyebrow. “Uh, what now?”

Committee just grinned. “Three! Two! One! Let it...

Rip!” At the last second, Valerius seemed to guide his arm, tilting his launcher to a steep angle. Valerius went shooting in a straight line, slashing into Medlimsliv at full speed.

Then it curved away and struck again, rapidly slashing against Medlimsliv. “Go, Valerius! Archive Shoot!” Valerius was shooting around so fast it seemed as if there were multiple of it, and then all of them struck Medlimsliv from all sides.

Valerius’ beast slashed its sword down as its bey counterpart shot through Medlimsliv, sending the orange bey’s parts flying. “Committee Aoi gains two points with a burst finish! Committee wins 2-1!”

“Yay! We won! We will be the very best!”

Nika was shaken awake by Quicksilver Eye. “You missed my battle! Why did you fall asleep?” Nika yawned and rubbed her eyes. “I couldn’t get a wink of sleep last night, and I was basically just running on fumes!” Quicksilver Eye rolled his eyes (redundant, isn’t it) under his mask.

“Had you been awake, you would’ve seen my amazing talent in action! But instead, you just had to miss it!” “Yeah, yeah, let’s just get on with the next match!”

“Fine, but you’ll probably just fall asleep and miss Night’s battle!”

“Who is Night?”

“Night is one of our teammates. His real name isn’t Night, but only Dark knows what his real name is. He wields the powerful Omega Amaterios! Hey, there he is!”

Night was walking up to the stadium. Nika noticed a striking similarity to Alex, and if Quicksilver Eye was telling her the truth, they had to be related. After all, when two bladers wield the same bey’s beast and look very similar, it had to be a logical conclusion.

“Three! Two! One! Let it...

Rip!” Beta Amaterios was a stark gray, five pointed bey that looked almost exactly like its Alpha counterpart, although it lacked color. Amaterios went shooting around the stadium, far faster than its golden double.

His opponent was wielding the ‘Light Knight’, aka Grand Dragon. “Go, Light Wing Attack!” Light Knight shot in a glowing blue line at Amaterios, who darted out of the way.

“Now use Shadow Blaze!” He roared, his dull purple eyes brightening and the whites of his eyes turning black. Amaterios was surrounded in black flames as five of its wings glowed purple and it struck Light Knight at full force.

Then it shot straight through through, bursting its white opponent.

Night simply smirked as his eyes returned to normal and he walked back to the bench extravagantly. The Shadow Organization was moving on!

The next morning, BC Sol went back out against the Roaring Beasts. The team composed of Ken Midori, Blair Pai (the leader), and Ben Azuki. Toko’s eyes widened. “Ken?”

Ken saw him and grinned, and then he held up his puppets, who mouthed (as well as puppets could, I guess) ‘you’re Valt’s bro right?’

Their mostly silent conversation was cut short by the eager voice of Beyeen. “Hello, bladers! We have an exciting match coming up between two star-teams! It’s the Roaring Beasts versus BC Sol International!”

“Let’s do this!” Toko exclaimed, excitedly. Corey and Ken grinned.

They decided to send Toko out first like usual, although he ended up going against Ken. “Wow, it’s you again!” Keru said in its nasal, high voice.

That voice brought back good memories, and Toko smiled. Keru noticed this, of course, and responded, “Hey, it looks like little Toko is happy to see us!”

“I can imagine why!” Besu replied. Toko laughed at the two of them, before beginning the battle. “Three! Two! One! Let it...

Rip!” Chain Kerbeus went spiraling in a tight circle to the center, while Trident went looping around it. “Trident, use Hydro Twist!” Trident’s wave protrusions glowed blue as it rolled into Kerbeus.

“Hold him off, Kerbeus! Use your Steel Wall!" Kerbeus’ perimeter glowed green as Trident bounced off. “Trident, Tsunami Shot! Break through his defense!” Trident struck again and was bounced straight into the air.

Then, Trident went shooting straight down towards Kerbeus. The two beys clashed for a few moments, but then Trident burst against the green beys armor. “Ha!” Keru said, snapping its teeth together.

Then Ken shot around the stadium just as the floor opened up beneath Toko. “Ah shoot.” He muttered as he closed his eyes tightly, preparing for the bite of ice cold water.

A few minutes passed, and he opened his eyes. Keru and Besu had been discarded, and Ken had grabbed Toko’s hands to save him. Toko used his feet to shimmy back up, with Ken’s help, and was nearly out when Keru fell down.

“Uh-oh,” Ken muttered, but Toko was prepared and caught it on his shoe. Then he lifted it carefully back up, so Ken could grab Keru, and then Toko crawled out, both panting from the effort.

Chris grinned, feeling a spring breeze blow across his face. “Ah, what a beautiful day!” He said to himself, and he took a moment to savor it, before stepping off the porch of the Pokemon Center.

Then the black haired trainer began to explore the city, trying to find someone to practice against or something to do. While walking, Chris noticed a flash of motion from behind a tree.

Assuming they were a trainer, Chris spun on his heel and raced after the dark silhouette. As they came into the light, Chris saw that they were a guy, wearing a silver jacket over a black shirt.

All of a sudden, the man stopped outside the Pokemon Center that Chris had recently come from. Running up next to him was a tall woman wearing a similar outfit.

Standing between them was a small Pikachu-like Pokemon with icy white fur and deep blue cheeks. “Lucidissimouse, use Dazzling Gleam!” The Pokemon- Lucidissimouse’s fur began to light up, and a glowing white aura began to form around it.

Eventually, it became a dazzling white star that burned to look at. The white Pokemon remained like that for a moment, before the light exploded outward, ripping open the front half of the Pokemon Center.

Chris’ eyes widened and his expression became one of surprise at their less-than-pure intentions. “Nurse Happy, give us those Pokémon!”

Nurse Joy, flustered by all this, went back into the rooms with healing Pokemon, and began to gather them all up.

Chris steeled his nerves, took in a deep breath, and then shouted at the top of his lungs, “Her name is Nurse Joy, and stealing is wrong!” The two thieves spun around, startled. “Well, well, well. What do we have here?”

Chris’ courage seemed to fade from him, and he stepped back. “Aw, is da widdle kid a widdle bit scared?” The girl mocked. Chris frowned. “Angel, come on out!”

The younger trainer flipped his Poke Ball into the air, sending out a bolt of red energy that revealed his white Pidgey, Angel. Chris stepped back. “I challenge you to a Pokemon battle! If I win, you leave Nurse Joy and those Pokemon alone!”

The girl smirked. “Why not?” Lucidissimouse hopped in front of them. “We are the Team Prism Grunts, and we take what we want!” Chris quickly scanned the Lucidissimouse, but his Pokédex only beeped as if it didn’t recognize that Pokemon. He hit it with the palm of his hand, and eventually a message popped up on the screen.

‘Pokemon not recognized,’ it read, ‘Do you want to log this information as a new Pokemon?’ He clicked a ‘yes’ box and entered Lucidissimouse as the name. Another scan from the Pokédex revealed it was a Psychic type, it was male, and it was Power Level 9.

Chris' eyes widened with surprise at how close it was, Power Level wise, to Angel. It also knew the moves Dazzling Gleam, and Light Screen. “Angel, use Gust!” Angel clapped her wings together, sending a small tornado at Lucidissimouse.

“Lucidissimouse, Light Screen!” Lucidissimouse lit up, and a glowing translucent wall appeared in front of it. The tornado dissipated, and the wall disappeared. “Now use Dazzling Gleam!” Lucidissimouse lit up with white light and charged straight at Angel.

“Angel, dodge it!” Angel darted to the side, not quite escaping fast enough to avoid being clipped by the energy. The sleek bird went spiraling down into the ground. “Now that you lost, get out of here!"