Chapter 3: Katherine Meleski

"There it is folks! The Pokémon World Championship is finally over. After an exciting battle, your new Pokémon World Champion is Erik Croll of the Rica Region. Please join us later tonight for the live coverage of the awards ceremony," the radio announcer said. Then with that, the radio broadcast of the Championship ended.

"Wow, that was intense," Christopher said, sighing loudly. "I can't believe Alexzia gave up. But I guess it was the right thing."

"I'm just glad that it's over," his mother said. "That was a horrible battle. I think both trainers were pushing their pokémon too hard, especially Erik."

Christopher started to feel cramped in the car, so he got out and stepped onto the pier. During the Championship, his mother was lucky enough to find a small ferry in East Amarill Port that would take them across the river. If they had not found the ferry, Christopher and his mother would have had to drive further along the river to get to the bridge two towns over. Just now, they had been sitting in their car, listening to the Championship, while waiting for the departure time.

There was still some time before they left so Christopher walked the streets of West Amarill Port. West Amarill, and its sister port across the river, East Amarill, were small port towns that mainly served as rest stops for those who sailed the neighboring river. There were several small shops and motels. At first site, both ports would probably just look like small rural villages, but, on the contrary, they were lively. There were many boating and fishing businesses across the piers. One major difference was that West Amarill had its own small pokémon battle stadium where sailors could take a rest from the sailing and battle other sailors in tournaments to win prizes or money.

Christopher sat down on a bench and looked up into the cloudy, blue sky full of wingull, pelipper, and various other flying pokémon. Then he watched as many trainers walked around with their pokémon. He saw some pokémon help around their trainer's store and some helping to build small boats. Christopher always found it interesting to watch people and pokémon work together instead of always battling.

Christopher got up and walked toward the stadium. As he walked closer, the cheering from the stadium got louder. There was a tournament going on. He wanted to go inside and watch for a while, but then he saw a sign showing the entry fee. Disappointed, he turned around and walked back towards the docks.

"Hey, kid. Wanna battle?" Christopher turned around to see a muscular sailor with a machoke at his side. The sailor said, "I sure could use a lil' sparring before I compete in tomarra's tournament."

"Er...sorry, sir," Christopher replied. "But I don't have any pokémon."

"What? No pokémon, eh?" the sailor said, grunting, which sounded like a choked laugh to Christopher. "I fig'red a young one like you might be a trainer. Guess not. Well, g'bye then." Both the sailor and his machoke turned and walked away. Christopher watched as they then challenged another sailor.

Christopher was used to things like this, where trainers ask him to battle, but must always turn them down. But he was still hurt by the fact that he didn't have a pokémon of his own. Christopher continued toward the docks, staring at the ground most of the way. All of a sudden, the noise of an explosion came from behind him. At first, he thought it was just the battle of the two sailors. But when he turned around, he saw a plume of smoke rising from the stadium. Christopher looked around and noticed that the attention of the townspeople faded quickly away from the plume, and then continued their own business. He found out why.

"It must be that girl again," Christopher heard an old lady say as she walked into a store.

Christopher was curious and decided to go back to the stadium to see if he could find out what happened. He figured he had enough time after walking past a clock post. He hurried his pace when he saw other trainers gathering in front of the stadium. The smoke had disappeared by the time he got there. He noticed that a group of trainers were gathered around something. He approached and heard a voice coming from a radio.

"Well, it seems as - schh - has won again. And, as usual, made a mess - schh - field. Good thing it's just a dirt field. Anyway, - schh - join us tomorrow for another tournament where the prize is - schh -" That was last thing said. Christopher decided to head back to the ferry as the group started to complain about the town's bad reception.

* * *

"Alright, you two ready to go?" said the owner of the small ferry.

"Yes," Christopher's mother replied, making sure the car was secure and would not roll. "We can go now."

Christopher was at the bow, leaning forward over the side of the ship, looking out onto the wide river. He looked down into the clear, blue water and was able to see a few water pokémon as they swam near the surface. The sailor turned on the engine and started to leave the dock when a girl's voice called out to his boat.

"Wait! Excuse me," said the girl. She was about the same height as Christopher and might have been the same age. She wore dark blue pants and a black t-shirt with a red insignia on it. She had long brown hair that she wore in one long ponytail. "Please wait, I need to get across this river." She jumped onboard just as the boat slowed down.

The sailor left the helm to see who it was. "Oh, I was wondering if you'd be coming back to the other side with me. Well, pay the fare and we'll be off." As she paid, he said, "From here, I saw that you won your tournament. Never seen a girl so destructive 'cept my sister."

"Thank you, I guess. I did make quite a mess," she said before the sailor pocketed the money and returned to the helm. She looked around the boat and saw Christopher's mother, who she greeted with a smile. Then she saw Christopher, who had walked to the back of the boat to see who had joined them. "Hi, name's Katherine Meleski. You can call me Kat," she said with a smile while holding out her hand.