[Pokemon Rebirth] Altair News and Announcements

Every currently live TV screen in Altair City would briefly turn black, flickering with static for only a short moment before what appeared to be a camera feed started to stream. A familiar pair of green eyes appeared astonishingly close to the camera as it tilted slightly. When Julia, the manager of Andromeda Stadium and event coordinator for the Altair region finished fiddling with its alignment, she smiled briefly to herself before sitting down in her chair.



"Good afternoon, Altair! Glad to have you all with me here for our announcement today, I'm sure you've all been fervently looking forward to it, eh? So, this is usually the time of year where trainers far and wide really start kicking their efforts into high gear to get ready for the Summer's End Festival that we have every August, but I'm here to throw a wrench into those plans of yours." Julia let out a light huff as an apologetic smile took hold. "The bad news is that, well, we're going to be retiring that tournament series." This expression, of course, was immediately replaced by a dazzling grin, the excitement palpable on her face. "Instead, it's going to be replaced with something new that we haven't ever done before! Introducing, if I may, the Altair Rising Rivals Circuit~"

With a tap of the remote on her desk, the TV screen would shrink down her camera feed, condensing it into an overlay in the corner as a chart appeared, taking up the majority of the screen. "And don't worry, we're still going to continue to hold the actual festival part of Summer's End every year as scheduled, this is simply replacing the tournament. But anyway! The Rising Rivals Circuit will be an ongoing competition throughout most of the rest of this year, wherein each participant has their own ranking points. Initially, these will be determined by your background and accomplishments, and if you're starting fresh, you might expect to be set at 1000, but in order to gain more ranking points, you can challenge any other participating trainer to a Rising Rivals battle, wherein the victor will gain points based on the opponent's ranking, and vice versa for the loser. Of course, there will be an always-available ranking ladder online containing all participants and their point values for your reference at any time. You may consider their ranking point values as their relative strength, but of course, that all means nothing until you meet in the heat of battle. All challengers achieving a total of at least 5000 ranking points will be eligible for the circuit finale that will be held at the beginning of autumn."

Julia's smile suddenly turned mischievous. "Here's the spicy part: for competitors aiming for the very top, there's going to be a little bonus involved if you want an extra large boost to your ranking points. There will be four trainers located across the Altair region designated as our Radiant Stars. For those from other regions, you may consider this an analogue to your own form of Elite Four. If you manage to defeat one of them in battle in the format of their choosing, you'll find, at the very minimum, 1500 extra points added to your ranking, depending on the member that you emerge victorious over. The third Radiant Star will be worth 2000 ranking points, the second will provide 2500 ranking points, and the strongest Radiant Star will be worth a whopping 3000... if any of you manage to create a miracle and succeed. Just for some extra motivation!" Julia winked, before panning over to the next slide of the presentation.

"The real meat of the Rising Rivals circuit, of course, is the circuit finale. The victor of that invitational tournament not only will receive a substantial monetary prize as usual, they will also be granted the top seed in the upcoming Winter Dreams event for that year. And in addition..." Julia pointed to the screen. "They will become the fourth Radiant Star for the Rising Rivals circuit of the upcoming year. If you want to, of course. Shall I introduce them?"



"This is Ophelia. More understandably, you may know about Avior Forest's resident, Lady Evangeline. This is her younger sister, who is returning from overseas in order to participate as one of Altair's Radiant Stars. She may not like to admit it, but her savant-like proficiency is one-of-a-kind, the type of prodigy that we might never see again. It scares me a little to think about how much stronger she's grown since leaving Altair. She is, without question, the top-ranked Radiant Star."



"This is Kain. He is a private contractor who is often called upon by Altair in order to take care of various tasks around the region that not many could handle, usually for special circumstances. Thriving in dangerous environments, high pressure stakes are not just familiar to him, but rather his area of comfort. A reliable man in any situation, he was willing to serve as an obstacle for the aspiring trainers across Altair, but be assured, he is no stepping stone, but a mountain. He is the second-ranked Radiant Star."



"This is Sebastian. You may know him as our champion Sylvia's butler, and one of her managers in regards to her business activities, but he is also a formidable bodyguard and elite trainer in his own right. This is the first time that he is stepping into the spotlight on his own, so it not only is an enticing prospect for us, but also a new experience for this veteran himself. Like Kain, he was also quite happy to oblige in becoming a guiding light for Altair's rising stars at Sylvia's behest, so I truly do have to thank her for granting his presence to the Altair league. He is the third-ranked Radiant Star."



"This is Vivien. I'm sure you are all aware of her victory in the most recent Spring Hearts Open, which is what propelled her to take this place among the others here. This fourth position is special, as I explained earlier, that the winner of the Rising Rivals circuit finale will become the fourth-ranked Radiant Star. As a result, she is also eligible to participate in the circuit finale herself to reclaim her position. If you want to stand in her place at the top, you're going to have to take it from her, and I'm sure you know she's well up to the challenge. Good luck."

The screen returned Julia's camera feed to full size. "You may challenge these trainers at any time, but they are not going to be exclusively tied down to the circuit, as like anyone else, they have their own lives to live. Instead, the Altair league will be providing a map that will provide the area that they are currently located in, should they choose to move. If they decide to travel outside of Altair City, you may consider any wild location that they are in as a safe zone, so feel free to travel to locations you may not normally visit and take advantage of these opportunities. We will also be providing Corviknight taxi services free of charge during this season as a bonus to every participant in the circuit. Additionally, the Rising Rivals circuit's ranking points ladder will be permanently available both online and on an assortment of billboards around the city for your convenience. I hope to see as many promising trainers as possible at the beginning of autumn." Julia grinned. "I plan on being there too, of course."

"I know you're all going to be excited about this, but the season will not begin until tomorrow morning, so please be patient until then. Use that time to organize yourself carefully, scout opponents, get some last-minute training in, or simply get some good rest. The four Radiant Stars will also be available for a meet-and-greet this evening at Andromeda Stadium, should you wish to ask any of them questions. I will be at the stadium as well, like usual, if you have any questions about the circuit itself." Julia flashed a peace sign with her hand. "See you later~"

The camera feed cut off, and all of the TV screens returned to their original programming.










Ranking points are initially indicative of a trainer's strength and accomplishments, even if they are not participating in the circuit as a challenger. 5000 points or higher are required to participate in the circuit finale at the beginning of autumn, although participation is voluntary. Points can be gained and lost by battling other trainers in official circuit matches, although point gain will not be directly correlated with point loss, as quality of opponent and number of battles are both factors. If you would like to withdraw from the circuit, please inform Julia. Updates to the participants' rankings will be monitored here.


10000 Sylvia [C]
8600 Ophelia [R1]
7700 Evangeline
7100 Kain [R2]
6300 Sebastian [R3]
5500 Vivien [R4]
------------------------------ Circuit Finale Threshold ------------------------------
4500 Julia
3000 Bianca
3000 Levi
2900 Noah
2700 Harald
2500 Ashleigh
2300 Zane
2100 Lester
2000 Camilla
2000 Kerrigan
1800 Clair
1500 Elliot
1400 Dalton
1000 Aventail
1000 Jan
1000 Klein
1000 Marley


[Please just imagine for the sake of my NPC sanity that there are more participants. Thanks~]