Episode 1: Virtue and Prowess
The void ripples with palpable anticipation. Disembodied voices whisper and giggle in glee. It’s almost time! The proverbial stage is set, and— No, wait! It is time! The voices hush as the fabric of non-reality begins to shimmer.
“Welcome, esteemed viewers both within and without the binary gender spectrum, to the most breath-taking, awe-inspiring show in all the universe: Pokémooooon Purgatoryyyyyyy!”
The disembodied audience cheers, claps, and whistles.
“And now, introducing your gracious, griseous host, it’s the one, it’s the only: Giraaaaatinaaaaaaa!”
The shimmering void parts like a silken curtain. Thunderous applause welcomes the celestial centipede swooping in on tarry wings, its aurous armour glinting in the pseudo-light.
“Thank you for joining us! If you enjoy tournaments and heart-wrenching redemptions, you’ve come to the right place! And if you enjoy Pokémon, you’ve come to the right place, squared!”
The audience roars its approval.
“Over the next however many weeks I decide, you’ll get to see twenty lost souls battle it out in the arena that is Sin City. Their test? To prove their virtue and prowess! Their ultimate goal? To earn! Their! Salvation!”
Giratina coils and twists through the void in an unfathomable dance. It practically winds up the excitement with its dramatic loops and turns, for the disembodied audience begins to vibrate, a churning sea driven to the very edge of existence.
“Perdition for the damned! Paradise for the saved! And Purgatory for the rest! Let! Us! Begin!”
The audience, able to restrain itself no more, bursts into a nigh-infinite number of coloured rays. Screaming and whooping, the rays crisscross and scatter to create a scene transition. Giratina now floats in a bejewelled night sky above a lavender-lilac feline of sorts. The feline bows nobly.
“This dashing fellow,” Giratina says, its voice clear and resonating like a divine chorus, “is our esteemed director, Serene. His will brings my vision to fruition!”
The disembodied audience, once again coalesced into an entity of near-ethereal substance, applauds more politely.
Serene closes his eyes and nods ever so slightly. He wears a wisp of a smile, appreciative of the show of restraint. With a voice like polished jet, he says, “It is my honour.”
Though there is no moon hanging from the navy canvas above the pair, the night casts a blue, undulating hue that comfortably illuminates, rather than obscures, the splendid scene. The soft light paints Giratina’s armour into lapping pools of scintillating gold.
“As my left and right hand, Serene will ensure everything proceeds as it should. Please, explain to our dearest viewers how the show is structured.”
“Certainly.”
Serene himself floats in the air, merely a hand’s breadth above the blue-grey ground. A lustrous orb in hand, he makes a sweeping motion across its surface to produce a projection of images and text around him.
“There will be twenty rounds, and as there are twenty participants, the first round will be used to determine preliminary performance. Thereafter, each round will see a participant eliminated until only one remains. Participant performance will be measured in terms of both virtue and prowess; the former will determine a participant’s standing and therefore their worthiness of ascending to Paradise, whereas the latter will simply reflect their relative skill in combat. All points gained for virtue and prowess will earn a participant an equal number of performance credits, which can be spent to redeem advantages throughout the tournament. A participant’s virtue and prowess may also decrease, depending on their actions, but this will not affect their credits.
“The nature and duration of each round will be determined randomly, as Our Grace pleases. All rounds will occur within the confines of Sin City, where numerous souls committed to Purgatory reside. Many dangers also lurk there, and the participants will need to face these dangers, as well as navigate Sin City, using twelve initial techniques. These techniques are arbitrary definitions of significant actions that participants may take. They are sorted into offence, endurance, support, and pressure. Six classes emphasise two of these categories in unique combinations: attackers emphasise offence and endurance; defenders emphasise offence and support; suppressers emphasise offence and pressure; blockers emphasise endurance and support; eroders emphasise endurance and pressure; and controllers emphasise support and pressure. Participants may select as many techniques as they like from the emphasised categories of their chosen class, but no more than one each from the other two.
“Additionally, each round may be further divided into stages. Solo and group stages will specify whether participants are allowed to cooperate, while open, limited, and restricted stages will specify whether participants may use all, most, or only some of their techniques. The participants have already been informed of these rules, as have they selected their classes and techniques. They now await introduction by Our Grace.”
Giratina, who had leisurely been circling the area from far above in the meantime, dives downwards in a corkscrew motion before pulling up and spinning to a sudden stop above Serene.
“Whether they barely escaped eternal torment or just narrowly missed eternal bliss, our participants come from all walks of modern life! They may be dead, but their stories are still incomplete — and their next chapter starts now!”
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