“You already received some information about the new tournament at the awards ceremony last month,” Belmont continued. “Now that we’re only two days away from the competition, it’s time to give you the rest of the details.
“Each tamer will be allowed to take up to three Djinn Level 25 or under on their roster. If your Djinn levels up in the middle of the Battle Royale, it still qualifies for all future matches, as well as the championship itself, if you make it that far. Your Djinn only need to be Level 25 and under at the start of the competition. However, only two Djinn may be used at once, and tamers can only switch out Djinn at designated areas, that appear randomly in the field of play. As previously mentioned, there will be no bracket in this tournament. Tamers are allowed to team up, fight in one-on-one or two-on-two Djinn battles, or make temporary alliances. If you so choose, you can also have two-on-two battles, where each Djinn fights one at a time. The competition will continue as long as necessary until only two tamers remain. Those two tamers will return here to Alloy City to fight in a traditional match for the championship.”
Dozens of hands shot up with questions and a quiet murmur rose from tamers and their teams all throughout the amphitheater. Briggs shook his head. “What a bunch of Bovan crap this is. All the DBL seems to care about these days are their ratings.”
“Please,” Belmont said, cutting Briggs’s rant short, “Allow me to finish before you ask your questions. There are two other features I must mention. The first is that all tamers will have location features on their holo-maps. This means you will be able to see the location of your fellow tamers on the map…but there’s a twist. These locations will not feature names, but instead colored dots. These dots represent tiers based on where you and your Djinn finished in the final season. For example, the top five ranked tamers will be blue, the next five will be red, the next five will be green, and the lowest five will be yellow.
“This leads us to the second and perhaps most important rule. This tournament will operate in a ladder format. What I mean by this is that tamers can only initiate battle with tamers equal to or higher in rank than themselves. Tamers with higher ranks may not initiate a challenge to tamers of lower ranks. If you are of a higher rank, and if you are challenged, you are obligated to engage in the fight. A complete, detailed copy of the rules and regulations has now been uploaded to each of your holo-devices. It is strongly encouraged that you read it through before the tournament begins. It will also outline travel arrangements and an agenda for the next two days. Are there any questions?”
Almost every hand in the room went up but Jackson kept his down, assuming his own questions would be answered.
“Wait a second,” Kay said. Jackson started to shush her, but she shoved her holo-screen in his face. “Look at this! It says that rehabbers aren’t going to be allowed! All Djinn will be treated for injury at the same stations where you can swap them out. What a bunch of crap! No machine knows your Djinn better than me. And why am I even here?”
“This is all just a big spectacle,” Briggs said. “It reeks of desperation for better viewer rankings. How do they plan on determining the best tamer in the Bronze League when they just throw you into a big brawl and wait to see who comes out on top?”
Jackson didn’t say anything. He’d have to read more about the system before he could judge. On the other hand, what did it matter what he thought? This was what it would take to become the Bronze League Champion. Like it or not, he had to win playing by the crazy rules — whining and complaining wasn’t going to do anything to change the structure of the tournament.
The questions continued and though some were completely pointless or a repetition of something they’d already learned, Jackson started to get a better picture of what he would be up against. The arena itself was a gigantic island set in the middle of a man-made lake. Throughout their matches, they would be tracked by drones and carefully-placed hidden cameras throughout the island. Jackson understood that the Bronze League wanted to get the ratings up, but started to share in on Briggs’s irritation. It seemed like this was turning into a reality show, not a Djinn battling tournament.
At last, Belmont stopped taking questions, promising before he left that an opportunity to contact tournament officials would be made available to each tamer and their team. If the large amount of negative feedback he’d received from the crowd had deterred him, it didn’t show through his overly optimistic and hyped demeanor.
“This tournament will change how Djinn battles are fought forever,” Belmont said in his closing remarks.
“You’ve got that right,” Briggs muttered loud enough for only Jackson and Kay to hear.
“And,” the commissioner continued, “you all have the honor of being among the first participants. Good luck to each of you. Let’s have a safe, clean tournament, and may the best tamer and his or her Djinn emerge victorious!”
This time, only a scattering of applause ensued. Most attendants started making for the exit, Briggs among them.
“Come on,” he said, standing and rubbing the leg he often limped on. “I want to catch Vance before they head out.”
Jackson bit back a protest. Aside from a few awkward words with Fiona on their trip back from the archipelago, Jackson hadn’t spoken with his fellow tamer from Tyle. Part of him knew he was being childish for holding a grudge over Fiona and the whole extra ring thing. After all, he reasoned, she had risked her life so that Jackson could get to Asena in time.
Instead, Jackson justified his actions with the upcoming tournament. It made things simpler. For the next three days, they weren’t lifelong friends who’d grown up together in Tyle. They weren’t two people who had just kissed while stranded on a remote island. They were rival Djinn Tamers preparing to face off in the biggest competition of their young careers.
They found Vance and Fiona by the doors. Fiona leaned against the wall, looking almost bored, while Vance conversed with Lei Kaleo. Akamu was a little ways off, chatting with Danai, who looked just as enthusiastic as she always did. Jackson envied her ability to face every obstacle not just with a smile, but with a boisterous laugh.
“Good seeing you, Lei,” Vance said when he caught sight of Briggs approaching. The older Kaleo nodded and motioned to his son. Akamu finished what was likely some smack talk or grandiose speech to Danai and joined his father. Lei nodded to Jackson as they passed. Akamu smiled broadly and winked.
“Hope you haven’t been idle over the past few weeks, Hunt,” Akamu said. “We’ve got a reckoning to settle between us and I want to beat you on the biggest stage possible. Promise not to get knocked out too quickly by some lower-tier loser.”
Jackson wasn’t much of showboater, but Akamu had a way of bringing out the most competitive side of everyone. “Only loser I see here is you. Good luck.”
Akamu laughed and Jackson got the impression, not for the first time, that the younger Kaleo thrived on conflict. “Keep your luck, you’re going to need it. See you in two days!”
“… nothing but an overblown spectacle,” Briggs was saying to Vance when Jackson joined the conversation.
Vance nodded in agreement. “Not quite the match we hoped for between our two young protegés, eh Briggsy?”
Jackson still had a hard time understanding the relationship between the two old champions. Half the time, Briggs talked like Vance was something you couldn’t wipe off from the bottom of your shoe. The rest of the time, they seemed like best friends. Jackson had a hard time seeing him and Fiona like that, but then again, he felt reasonably certain that Briggs and Vance had never kissed one another, either.
Jackson backed out of the conversation again. While he respected the enormous amount of legacy and Djinn battling between the two famous tamers, he also hated when they talked about Fiona and Jackson as if they weren’t there. He looked around for Kay, who was over talking to Danai, giving the other tamer news about her acceptance as a Djinn Therapist, by the sound of it. By default, that left only Fiona to talk to.
“I just wanted to thank you for your help in the archipelago,” Jackson said. It was a stiff way to start a conversation, but better than pretending like Fiona wasn’t there, he supposed. “Without you, Vega might have gotten away.”
Fiona smiled in spite of herself. “You’re welcome.”
An excruciating pause stretched between them. For a brief second, Jackson thought she might apologize, but it looked like that wasn’t in the cards. Apparently, I’m just going to have to get over that one. Which was fine. There were more important things at hand than trying to untangle the complicated, competitive knot that was Fiona Sato.
“Well, it looks like Vance and Briggs are done,” Fiona said. Her tone was short, clipped and almost as impersonal as she’d sounded when they’d first started doing interviews at the beginning of the season. “Good luck.”
Jackson felt a wave of frustration and irritation wash over him. The only thing that kept him from venting it in a scream was all the other tamers still standing around. It was all he could do to force the words out.
“You too.”
Chapter Thirty-Four
The next two days passed by in a blur as Jackson made his final preparations for the Bronze League Championships. He and the rest of the tamers were put up in a fancy hotel in town — a suite almost bigger than the entire apartment Jackson shared with his grandmother back at home in Tyle. They wanted for nothing — food, last-minute rehab, and light exercise in the gym for the Djinn, whatever anyone asked for.
Jackson now understood why the Bronze League was working so hard to up their ratings. This stuff didn’t come cheap. And if they wanted to keep sponsors out of this level so as to help retain the spirit of grooming the next batch of professionals from all walks of life, they had to find some way to make the money. Jackson wondered why they felt the need to offer such extravagant amenities.
And it wasn’t just him. In addition to Kay and Briggs, Jane had also been flown in and was put up in the hotel — but down on a lower level in the regular-sized rooms. He’d offered to let her stay in his room, but she refused, insisting that he have his space.
Jackson could tell she was going out of her way not to fuss over him. He’d still only given her the slightly less dramatic version of what had happened on the island — leaving out all of the guns — but that didn’t seem to matter. Their encounter with Vega and his lackeys had awoken a part of his grandma that still grieved, missed, and wondered endlessly about her daughter. Luckily, Briggs proved to be a handy distraction for Jane, somehow managing and critiquing Jackson’s last-minute preparations in addition to putting her at ease.
That meant that when Jackson wasn’t getting drilled by his coach, he basically had no one to talk to but Kay. None of the other tamers were really associating with one another, so Jackson had no idea if they were out on the town, giving interviews, or playing a shut-in like himself. As always, he had Kay to lean on as the tension started to mount the day before the tournament was scheduled to begin.
Kay understood and seemed to know exactly what to say and do to get Jackson out of an emotional tailspin while keeping him grounded at the same time.
Though, in spite of her help, by the second day, Jackson’s emotions were a bit of a rollercoaster. He thought he’d prepared all season for the tournament, but events in the last two weeks had completely shaken up his team — hopefully for the better, if he could manage his way around all the key differences in his lineup.
For one, having Triton completely changed their strategy. With a third Djinn that had an Element neither Scrappy nor Asena had, the Aquestria made Jackson much more versatile in battle. Of course, it also meant he had to do everything he could to work on preparing his new Djinn for battle in short order. Triton seemed to naturally take to Jackson, but even their relatively good Bond of 62% (a pretty quick rise, considering how long things used to take) wasn’t always enough to overcome some of the skittishness and uncertainty Triton showed in the battle simulations Briggs put them through.
The Aquestria’s Water Channel was an amazing ability aside from Triton’s powerful Attack and excellent Speed, but trying to steer the Aquestria through pools of water and spawn in random locations with no rhyme or reason almost seemed like a bigger headache than it was worth. The only upside to Briggs’s constant berating and repetitions was that it drew Jackson and Triton closer. Jackson knew Briggs was hard on him because it kept Jackson from working himself into a nervous wreck, but that didn’t make the simulations any more enjoyable.
And then there was Asena, whose evolution was both a bit of a blessing and a curse. True, she had forgiven Jackson for keeping her penned up during the majority of the time on the archipelago, but managing a Lobolf proved to be more of a challenge than Jackson would have thought.
When Scrappy had evolved from a Magglecaw into a Scoundrook, his personality had become a bit more mellow, his stats had boosted, and his attacks had become more powerful. Asena seemed to act almost exactly the same after her evolution, but there were several subtle changes to her stats and advantages that required a shift in Jackson’s strategy.
GENERAL STATS AND INFO
Djinn: Lobolf
Level: 24
Name: Asena
Element: Fire/Earth
Species Rarity: Rare
Tamer: Jackson Hunt
HP (Hit Points): 385/385
EP (Elemental Power): 180/180
XP (Experience): 2,416 to Next Level
DJP (Djinn Points): 0 Unallocated
Attack: 160
Defense: 145
Speed: 155
Accessories: None
Items: None
Status: Neutral
Bond: 92%
Move Set: Swipe Left to See More >>>
For one, Asena’s Defense had received a substantial increase, meaning that, although she was as fast as ever, Jackson wouldn’t have to rely on the Lobolf’s Speed to avoid attacks quite as much as he had when she was a Lyote. That meant he could be more aggressive with her physical and Elemental attacks, which was almost the opposite of what Briggs had been pounding into his head for the past several months. She even had a couple of new moves.
Move Set:
Fire-Elemental: Fire Growl (5 EP), Fire Bark (15 EP), Fire Howl (25 EP)
Earth-Elemental: Earth Hunt (10 EP)
Plain-Elemental: Attack, Headbutt, Wild Bite, Fierce Cry, Wild Sprint, Pack Leader (X)
Fire/Earth Combo: Volcanic Fury (30 EP)
Asena also learned a new move that Jackson still didn’t quite understand. The limited amount of information in the Djinncyclopedia listed Volcanic Fury as a Fire-Elemental Area Attack, but not much else was known about the move. It certainly wasn’t in the standard Lobolf attack tree, leaving Jackson and company to ponder where Asena might have picked it up.
“It had to have been that Everore, or whatever it was really called,” Briggs had said when Jackson explained the new move to his coach. “There are thousands of documented cases of Djinn learning new or different moves when exposed to varying compounds like that rock of yours.”
“But she wasn’t ever exposed to it,” Jackson had insisted. “I never brought Asena out during the battle inside Mount Ahina.”
“So she wasn’t exposed at any other moment?” Briggs had said. “Once you were off the island, that was it? No more stone?”
“No, I…” Jackson’s mouth had hung open. He’d actually taken home one of the stones with him. It was in his pack the entire time and was ultimately left on his dresser at home.
“And where was that stone when Asena evolved?” Briggs had said.
“In my pack.”
“In your pack, on your back, feet away from Asena?”
Jackson didn’t answer.
“Well, that’s good enough for me,” Briggs had said. “There are plenty of instances of Djinn acquiring moves after being in close proximity to certain stones for an extended period of time. Just having the stone with you on your wa
y home could have been enough to trigger it later. The process varies from stone to stone. It’s honestly why I didn’t fight you too hard when you went off to Lombardia in the first place.” Briggs shrugged. “Djinn are mysterious creatures — the entire collective knowledge of every monster stored in your Djinncyclopedia isn’t everything there is to know about them, it’s just what we’ve discovered so far. Why do you think there are professors and researchers who send tamers around the countryside just to gather more information and entries in the Djinncyclopedia? Just for the hell of it?”
Jackson might have pressed the issue further, but Briggs made sure to keep him too preoccupied to worry about anything but what was happening in the next thirty minutes. In the space of a couple of days, they had to completely rewrite their entire playbook. And while it meant that Jackson had more strategies at his disposal to employ in battle, it sure made for a stressful couple of days. But it was all for the best, for when the morning of the tournament came, Jackson arose with only a slight twinge of nervousness. He felt excited, and strangely, relieved, when he said goodbye to his grandma for the last time before the competition began.
“You’ve done more than most people ever thought you could have,” Jane whispered to him as they embraced. “You’ve done more than I ever thought you could. Prove past me wrong again.” When they pulled apart, Jane gave him a warm smile and squeezed his hand reassuringly. “Now go kick some ass!”
“Grandma!” Jackson laughed. Aside from the few times Jackson had riled her up enough to really make Jane mad over the years, Jackson didn’t think he’d ever heard her swear. Somehow, that proved to be more centering than any amount of drills and gameplans he conducted with Briggs.
When the last of the family and friends had cleared the room, Bronze League officials gave them their final instructions before the match. It seemed they would be airlifted from the hotel to the island while up to three members of their support teams — in Jackson’s case, Briggs, and Kay — would be sent on a separate lift to an observation area overlooking the island. Communications between tamers and their teams would be allowed throughout the match through small, almost invisible ear buds each tamer was given.
Djinn Tamer - The Complete Bronze League Trilogy Page 79