Writing Mysteries of the Forgotten Island (Version Zero) (Complete)

PMJ

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Chapter 9 highlights:

- Nye gets an idea
- Safiri lets her hair down
- Motfia happens (if you can call that dumpster fire a highlight)
- who's Evelyn?
- Eldan and Nye go for a walk
- it's friggin dope

This chapter ended up being larger than I thought it was going to be. It largely focuses on Eldan and Nye, since everyone else is busy playing Motfia.

Chapter 10 is another filler chapter where I planned on having a small battle. I'm torn on whether or not I want to do it. There is another thing I wanna do that should end up taking up the rest of the chapter. Just a bit of character building is all, nothing too major.

Chapter 11 is scheduled to be yet another filler chapter, but I honestly don't know what to put here. I might just scrap it and put whatever I plan for this chapter into chapter 10.

Chapter 12 (or 11) marks the start of the quarterfinals with Rose vs. Thresher. I hope you're excite because I know I am.

I am liking the pace I'm on. Assuming there are no more interludes, and each chapter takes a month, I should be done with this story by this time next year. Guess that's my goal, although with the way my life is right now I really don't know if I'll be able to finish this story. I'm gonna get as far as I can, though. Thanks for sticking with me.

Like this post once you've read it. Post feedback too. I'm looking at you, literally everyone who isn't Firo or Skyleaf, E S P E C I A L L Y @bbninjas and the new guy who likes but doesn't post.

Word count: 9415

Chapter 9: Coming Clean

"Okay, now move it up your body... just like that," Eldan instructed his Gardevoir. "Yeah, that's good. Can you breathe okay?"

The floor of the training area was filled with a blue sparkling mist, a product from failed attempts at altering Misty Terrain. Gardevoir had used some psychic power to put a thin barrier around her body before filling it with some of the mist, encasing her completely. It looked promising, but it wouldn't mean anything if she couldn't actually make use of it. On the other hand, if this test was successful, it would allow Gardevoir a temporary immunity to status conditions without allowing the same benefit to her opponent.

It didn't matter much to Eldan that his team didn't rely on status conditions all that much. An advantage was an advantage, and the watching the mist swirl around inside the barrier was interesting visually, and that was good enough for Eldan.

(It tickles my throat, but I can put shields around my mouth and nose to stop myself from breathing it in. However, it's too thick to see through.)

"What if you leave your eyes unguarded? Can you alter the barrier so only your eyes are exposed?"

(Of course. One moment.) She closed her eyes and did so, and then she opened them, able to see perfectly fine. She inspected her body, seeing the effect herself for the first time. Eldan smiled, pleased with the results, and Gardevoir did the same, although he couldn't see it through the mist.

"That looks great. Though I wonder if you can still be hit by status problems if they hit your eyes," Eldan noted.

(They can hit, but they will do nothing. The rest of my body is surrounded by the mist, and that will eliminate any ill effects.)

Eldan nodded approvingly. "Sounds good. All right, this'll be form beta. Drop your shields and..." he grinned as Nye opened the door to the training area, letting out some of the mist. "On second thought, take a break. We'll keep working in a minute."

He jogged over to where Nye was standing to greet her properly. "Good morning, Nye. Always a pleasure to see you. You're looking very lovely today," he finished, bowing extravagantly.

She was wearing a light blue sundress with a floral pattern, and her massive length of hair was tied into a single ponytail. She rolled her eyes a little at Eldan's display, but smiled at him nonetheless. "Good morning, Eldan. Practicing?" She looked past him, trying to see who his opponent was, but save for Gardevoir, he was alone in the huge arena. "Or..."

"Just doing some style training. What brings you here? Did you want a battle?"

Nye considered, but shook her head. "No. I didn't know you were here, but maybe there's something you can help me with."

Eldan bit down on what would have been his immediate response to an easy line like that. Instead, he said, "How can I help you? I'll do whatever I can."

She shifted in place a bit, clearly a little embarrassed. "I want to learn more about the way you battle. I've never seen anyone fight the way you do, and I would be very grateful if you would teach me how to do it before my quarterfinal match next week."

A sly smile came across Eldan's face. Come back with me to my room and I'll teach you how to do it all night, baby!

Nye's eyes narrowed at his obvious train of thought. "Really?"

"Hey, I didn't say it, you did," Eldan countered. "And I kept my thoughts to myself, that counts for something!"

"I suppose," Nye reluctantly agreed, rolling her eyes so hard Eldan thought they might roll out of her head. "Will you help me or not?"

"Of course, of course! Come on, I'll show you the latest move we've been working on." He placed a hand on the small of her back and lead her to where Gardevoir was waiting patiently. "Gardevoir, you remember Nye, right?"

(Of course. You're very skilled,) she telepathically told Nye. Unlike Rose's relatively young Gardevoir, Eldan's Gardevoir had no problems speaking to trainers who weren't her master. (You found a weakness in my defenses and exploited it, and it lead you to victory. Well done.)

"Th-thank you," Nye replied aloud, not expecting to receive praise from the Pokemon she'd defeated. "You did well yourself. I was just talking to Eldan about his battle style and asked to learn how to do it."

"That's right. And for all things stylish, you've come to the right place!" Eldan gestured openly with a hand. "For who better to teach you about alternative moves than I, the Sultan of Style, the Prince of Panache..."

(She's leaving.)

"...the Father of - hey wait!" He caught up to her, blocking her path so she couldn't leave.

"I'm serious, Eldan," Nye said, clearly not in the mood for his games. "If you're not going to teach me, then I'll--"

"All right! All right. I'm sorry," Eldan apologized, raising his hands in an effort to placate her. "I'll do what I can." He ushered her back to where Gardevoir was standing and took a breath. "As you know, I am the epitome of style and grace, and as such, it is only natural for my Pokemon to be the same. By teaching them different ways to use their attacks, it not only looks like something straight out of a Pokemon Contest, but gives them an edge in battle."

"Is that why you cut your Gardevoir's dress?" Nye asked. "To look different from other Gardevoir?"

(It gets in the way,) Gardevoir answered for him. (I can grow it back if need be, but it serves no beneficial purpose in battle. If an opponent manages to grab it, or if it gets caught on something, it would be disadvantageous to me. That's why we agreed to remove most of it.)

"I see." Nye considered this, wondering if there was anything like that she could do with her Pokemon.

"Pokemon use their attacks largely on instinct," Eldan explained. "When they learn a move, their brains already know exactly how to do it, even if it's the first time they've ever done it. You can have a row of Pokemon use the same attack, and it will look the same every time. I call those attacks 'form alpha.' It's the basic, bog standard version of an attack. When my Pokemon and I create a new version of an attack, I term it 'form beta' to differentiate it from the previous move. I haven't come up with variants on all my Pokemon's moves, and some attacks are easier to vary than others. Psyshock, for example, has two variants, one offensive and one defensive. Will-o-Wisp and Future Sight both have seven, the most I've ever come up with. Hydro Pump, on the other hand, doesn't have any variants. It's not really a move that can be used outside of its intended purpose, and that's fine; sometimes it helps to stick with the basics."

"How long does it take to do? Could my Pokemon learn something like that in time for my match?"

Eldan shrugged. "Maybe. It depends on how well your Pokemon take your instruction, exactly what kind of variant you're trying for, and what move it is you're varying. Like I said, some are easier than others. All my Future Sight variants do the same thing, but they look different. Different colors, different energy shapes, stuff like that. When you walked in, we'd been trying new versions of Misty Terrain." He turned to his Pokemon. "Think you can pull it off again?"

(Of course.)

"Then let's see Misty Terrain, form beta!"

A spot underneath Gardevoir's feet glowed light blue, and the sparkling mist issued forth as Gardevoir put a small barrier around her body. With a touch of psychic energy, she brought some of the mist into the barrier, filling it completely. Another moment passed as Gardevoir created gaps in the barrier for her to see out of, and the attack was finished.

"It's so pretty!" Nye exclaimed, watching the fairy energy swirl around Gardevoir's limbs. "You did this in one day?" she asked Eldan.

"A couple hours, yeah. Gardevoir is a Psychic-type, though, so it's a lot easier for her. Also, don't forget, years of practice." He frowned at all the mist that was leftover after the attack. "Looks like we'll need more practice if we want to eliminate the field advantage for our opponent, but in time, she'll get it. That's very good after only doing it once before. Excellent work, Gardevoir."

(Thank you, Eldan. I'm confident that I'll have it mastered by the time we go home.)

Nye was in awe at the sight of Gardevoir using her psychic powers to use Misty Terrain like that. It wasn't something she ever would have thought of herself. Could Musharna do something like that? she wondered. She thought back to her battle against Eldan and tried remembering all the move variations that he did. There was a theme common to all of them, she realized - none of his variants were of physical attacks, only special attacks and status moves.

That makes sense. None of his Pokemon are physically inclined.

She frowned as she realized that two of her three Pokemon were. Did that mean that Musharna was her only option?

"You all right?" Eldan asked, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Sorry, I was just thinking," Nye replied. "Is it possible to vary physical attacks? I noticed that you didn't use any during our battle."

"It is, but due to the nature of physical attacks, it's harder to find ones that can be varied. Status moves are ripe for variation, though! Just because a Pokemon doesn't use special attacks doesn't mean they're entirely helpless. Now how about we get started, huh? Choose a Pokemon and Gardevoir and I will see what we can do."

* * * * * * * *

The weekend was a time of rest for the competitors that were still in the running for the grand prize, but Safiri was still hard at work - even if she was wearing dark blue silk pajamas. With no chance of any of the competitors seeing her - as they had no reason to enter the area where the Jewels rested, which was separate from the main dormitory wing - Safiri took this opportunity to clean her work outfits. The result was her current choice of attire. Doing work in her pajamas was something of a rarity for her, as she felt she had a better peace of mind when wearing the clothes she typically wore. It put her in a work mindset, and made concentrating on her task easier. Now all she could think about was how amazing the fabric felt against her skin, and why she couldn't get away with wearing this all the time.

Her hair was down - another rarity - and fell loosely over her chair and back. She'd planned on pinning it up, of course, but her pajamas had put her in such a relaxed mood that it never happened. Eventually, she'd decided that she was wasting daylight and it was time to get started on the day's tasks, pins or no pins. Though they had permission from Diamant to take it easy today - he'd actually scheduled them time off - Safiri was not one to rest when there was work to be done.

No point in putting it off until tomorrow...

The room was silent but for the sound of Safiri's fingers typing at her laptop, and the occasional click of the mouse as she cross-referenced information she'd need. Eventually, Safiri fell into the familiar rhythms of work, and she continued writing, comfortable pajamas all but forgotten. So focused was she that she didn't even bat an eyelash when her phone and laptop both started to ring. Seeing who it was, she sent the call to her laptop, allowed the caller to send and receive video, and connected them. In a moment, Diamant's face filled half of her screen. "Good morning, sir," Safiri greeted him pleasantly. "I wasn't expecting to hear from you this early."

"Ah, yes, it is pretty early there, isn't it?" Diamant rubbed his chin as if contemplating something. "Sorry, Safiri. Did I wake you?"

"No, sir, I've been awake for a while now. I've accomplished quite a bit."

"That's good to hear," Diamant replied. He wasn't offended by her insistence on working instead of relaxing, but he did worry that sometimes she was pushing herself too hard. "Though I can't say I remember the last time I saw you working in your pajamas."

"In my - oh god!" Safiri blanched, mortified that she'd been caught dressed so casually. In a panic, she threw an arm over her chest to hide herself, despite the fact that her shirt was completely buttoned. Diamant watched with humor as she threw herself from her chair and off camera, spouting out apologies as she tried making her hair presentable. Finally, Safiri returned to her seat, hair hastily pinned, but still in her pajamas. "Forgive my outburst, sir, I was out of line."

Diamant took it all in stride and merely smiled at his subordinate and friend. "No worries, Safiri. I was going to say, I was glad to see you taking it easy. You know I always appreciate your willingness to work hard for me, but don't forget to enjoy yourself. Finish your report and then take the rest of the day off. Is that clear?"

"Y-yes sir," Safiri answered hesitantly. "I'm almost done with it."

"Of course. Now, I suppose you're wondering why I'm calling."

Safiri opened her mouth to reply, but realized that no, she hadn't wondered about the why part of it. Diamant was the boss; he could call whenever he wanted. But now that he mentioned it... "It is a little strange to hear from you at this time. Sir," she added.

"There was an incident a couple nights ago in regards to the DNA testing. Helmi reported that one of the samples was contaminated."

Safiri's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Contaminated? In what way?"

"She claims that one of the subjects' DNA had two samples in it. Before it was mixed, I mean. Apparently, that's a very big problem. She worked herself to exhaustion trying to retest all the samples to make sure nothing else was contaminated."

"Whose sample was contaminated?" Safiri asked, still slightly confused. She was so sure that she'd been careful when shipping the DNA back to headquarters; what could have gone wrong?

"Helmi only told me their subject number - six. I was hoping you could find out who it is for me so we can secure another sample. Not that I have any doubts that you handled the DNA with anything but the utmost care," he quickly added, not wanting her to feel offended at his assumption, "But Helmi insisted on a second sample..."

"Right, of course. The paper files are in my office, but I have copies of them on my computer. Just give me a moment... subject profiles... here we are. Number six is--" Safiri's breath caught as she saw Frisk staring back at her. She was smiling, but her eyes made it clear that it wasn't genuine. "Her name is Frisk Achra, sir... hm."

"Is something wrong?" Diamant asked, legitimately concerned. It was not like Safiri to be unsure of herself.

Safiri pursed her lips as she considered her answer. She was surely imagining things, but as long as she had him here, she'd get some real answers. "Sir, how many biots exist as of today?"

This wasn't a question Diamant was expecting, and he didn't know why she was asking when she should have already known the answer, but he answered her anyway. "As of today, there are five - you, Ruby, Esmeralda, Argenta, and Aura. Project Krista was shelved when we diverted the funds into Version Zero. We still have the blueprints for her written up, but you know all this already. Why do you ask?"

"This girl, Frisk... I disciplined her the other day for trying to go outside. When I looked at her, her eyes were red like fire. Like..."

"Like the old Sapphire biots used to do," Diamant finished for her. His voice turned serious. "You think she's a biot?"

"I don't know, sir, but you can understand why I ask. I didn't think anyone other than Diamant Industries even had the technology capable of creating biots," Safiri said, letting a little amazement slip into her voice.

"They don't. Or, rather, they shouldn't. It's possible that the scientists who worked on the first few Sapphire models sold the information to another company, but that would get them in a world of legal trouble. Still, we can't overrule the possibility... If she is a biot, she's not one of ours."

"It would explain the additional DNA," Safiri explained. "Creating a biot from only two sets of DNA, though? Isn't that inefficient?"

Diamant nodded. "It is, but if the company that created her is working with outdated science, it's possible that they don't know how to blend the DNA as well as Helmi can. Maybe she's an early model - it supports your statement about her red eyes."

"I'll get another sample from her, sir."

"See that you do. How is she doing in the tournament?"

A few clicks of the mouse, and, "She won her first match. Her next match is scheduled for Tuesday morning."

"Did you notice anything unusual about the battle? Did she employ old battle intelligence?"

"I wasn't watching the battle that closely, sir, forgive me," Safiri apologized. "You should ask Esmeralda."

"Ah, of course. That makes perfect sense. I will make a note to do just that. Thank you for your help in this matter, Safiri. That's all I have at this time. Is there anything else you wish to report?"

Safiri thought about the recent conversation she had with Ruby and Esmeralda. While Safiri didn't feel the need to bring up her feelings on her previous conversation with Diamant, Esmeralda's recent behavior was definitely concerning. Admitting that she had feelings for one of the competitors and throwing a battle just to make her feel better... though the latter was less important than the former, it was still unsettling.

And Safiri couldn't forget about the threat Esmeralda made in her office...

"If you walk out that door, I'll blow this whole operation!"

She'd never heard anything like that come from Esmeralda, ever. She knew that Esmeralda got emotional sometimes, but even Esmeralda knew how important this project was to the company, and to Mr. Diamant. She wouldn't really have sabotaged the operation... right?

Safiri let out a breath. She loved her sisters and would do anything to support them, but this project was bigger than any of them personally. Its success was paramount. Something had to be said. "Yes, sir. We need to talk about Esmeralda."

* * * * * * * *

A solid ninety minutes after they began, Eldan and Nye decided to call it quits after their stomachs decided that the two had trained long enough. Lunch was soon, and both competitors had worked up quite an appetite. Though Nye hadn't succeeded in teaching her Pokemon how to alter their attacks, she still felt it was a good learning experience, and she thanked him for trying.

"Not bad for your first time," Eldan noted, playfully jabbing Nye in the side as he held the door open for her.

"Come on, stop," came Nye's reply, gently pushing his arm away but making no other effort to stop him. She was well aware of the double meaning behind his statement, but was in such a good mood that she paid it no mind. "Do you really think it went well?"

"Honestly? Yeah," Eldan answered, slowing to Nye's pace as they walked together. "If you want, we can try again later."

He flashed a grin, not at all lecherous, and it was one Nye reciprocated. "I'd like that... thank you."

The two continued their walk in silence, each of them leaving the other to their own thoughts.

Eldan was on cloud nine; what was meant to be a simple training session turned out better than he could have hoped. He'd gotten to spend time with the object of his affection, instructed her on how to battle with style, and she hadn't hit him or yelled at him at all the entire time.

There were a couple times she wanted to, though. Maybe I should tone it down just a bit?

He considered this for a moment before chuckling to himself. Nah, it's fine. I didn't do it that much, right? She'd say something if it really bothered her.

A part of his mind reminded him that she did, in fact, say something, and quite often - often enough that sometimes he wondered if that would finally be the last straw and she gave up on him forever. He frowned a bit as he thought of that possibility. While it was true that his mouth gained him Nye's ire more than it didn't, he didn't think it was very fair of her or anyone else to assume that he hadn't changed for the better. Surely he had, right? There were many, many opportunities for him to make crude remarks, which he passed up, even when Nye wasn't around. He even tolerated being around that loser Quayle, for Kyro's sake, and that had been an exercise in restraint.

His frown intensified as he thought of how close Nye and Quayle were. What could she possibly see in him? It was mind-boggling to see them together, chatting like old friends, like he hadn't almost killed Rose's Gardevoir earlier this week, like he hadn't called Windra a stupid bitch as he went to strike her, like he hadn't started this whole 'new and improved' ruse only once it became clear that no one was going to take his shit anymore.

Eldan clenched his fists, trying to calm himself down and to not let Nye see the anger on his face. He knew that Nye hated talking to him about Quayle because of how heated their talks became. How she could still defend him, still associate with him and call him her friend... it didn't make sense.

"Give him another chance, like I gave you one! Don't make me regret that decision!"

Nye's words rang in his head. He wanted to give Quayle another chance like he wanted a hole in the head, but he couldn't deny the irony of the situation he was in.

I don't really have a choice, do I?

He looked over at Nye. She noticed him looking out of the corner of her eye, and she looked back at him with those cool blue eyes. "This is you," she said, scrunching her face in a mockery of what she could make of his expression. The sight and silliness of it blew away his foul mood, and immediately, Eldan's frown was gone, replaced with his trademark smile, and Nye smiled with him. "That's better. Something on your mind?"

"Mm," he replied, nodding. "Just thinking about stuff."

"Stuff. How specific!" Nye teased. "I bet I can guess what kind of stuff you're thinking about..."

"No, nothing like that, not this time," he corrected her.

Nye stopped in her tracks, holding a hand to her chest in faux shock. "No!" she exclaimed, mouth agape. "You mean your mind isn't a den of sin and impropriety?" She placed the back of her other hand on his forehead. "Are you ill? No, that's not it. Who are you, and what have you done with the real Eldan?"

Eldan laughed. "I know, I know, it's hard to believe, right?"

The two stood there as the moment passed, and an awkward silence followed where neither of them said anything to the other. Eldan found himself getting lost in her dark blue eyes, and he froze as he saw Nye slowly reaching for his sunglasses.

"Wh-what are you doing?" Eldan stammered, recoiling as her hand drew near.

"I want to see you," Nye answered. "Are you hiding something? Are you horribly disfigured under there?" A thought occurred to her, and she giggled. "You're not wearing red contacts underneath there, are you?"

"What? No, of course not. It's just part of the uniform. A very stylish part, I might add. These babies," he said, pointing to his shades, "are worth two grand. You can't just grab them, you'll smudge the lenses." He paused, considering. "Because it's you, I'll take them off for you, just this once. But don't go bragging that you got to see me out of uniform, all right? I won't be held responsible if you get harassed by my fans," he finished with a grin, carefully grabbing the rims of his glasses and delicately removing them from his face.

For the first time, Nye was able to look into Eldan's eyes. They were somewhat narrow, well hidden by his sunglasses, with hazel-colored irises. It was a little strange seeing Eldan's full face, since she wasn't used to it, but she couldn't deny that she liked what she saw. "You have really pretty eyes," she complimented him.

"They are nothing compared to yours," Eldan answered immediately, putting a hand on Nye's cheek. His heart stopped momentarily as his brain caught up to his body, and he belatedly realized that he was most likely a dead man. When brain and body were finally in sync again, and he realized that not only was he not dead, but Nye had not even made an effort to break away from him, he stepped a little closer.

"You should see yourself. You look like you want to tell me something," Nye all but whispered to him, wrapping an arm around his waist, enjoying the rare sight of his eyes.

Eldan nodded, very seriously, and he put his other hand around her. "Yes. I--"

Suddenly, a loud scream was heard from the cafeteria. The sound startled the two of them, and they separated from each other as fast as they could. Eldan and Nye looked at each other, unsure of what the source could be, then rushed to the scene before anyone else left their room and saw them. Upon arriving, they found Tsomu, hands on his head in panic, pacing back and forth around what appeared to be the remains of a cake. Bae fluttered nearby, visibly upset by the scene.

"Tsomu! What's wrong?" Eldan asked as the two made their way towards the troubled man.

Tsomu was still panicking, not quite listening to what Eldan was saying. "Someone... someone ate it... what am I gonna do? There's no way I can get another one made in time..."

Nye put her hands on Tsomu's shoulders, to get him to stop pacing, if nothing else. He was still visibly panicking, and breathing heavily. "What did someone eat? This cake?"

"Yes!" he shouted into Nye's face, causing her to jump back. "Sorry! Sorry, I'm sorry, Nye, I just... ugh, this is a disaster! Someone... well, multiple someones from the looks of it... helped themselves to Windra's cake!"

The three looked over what was left of the cake. A section of it remained untouched, and Eldan and Nye could piece together what the entire thing might have looked like. On the untouched section, the letters "AY WIN" could be read on the side, but the rest was illegible due to all the tampering.

"Why did you bake Windra a cake?" Eldan asked, the curiosity getting the better of him.

"Today's her birthday. Someone called us after watching Windra's battle and told us her birthday was coming in a few days, and asked us to make her a cake and deliver her a message. He said he'd make a donation to Diamant Industries if we accepted. We ran it by Safiri, she cleared it, and we started this morning on it. It was meant to be a surprise for her. It wasn't out here for that long! How could so many people get to it? Ugh, I'm so mad!"

"I'm sorry, Tsomu," Nye consoled him. "It looks delicious."

"Yeah, it does," Tsomu replied, looking to Bae. "Search her. While you're at it, search him, too," he said, nodding at Eldan.

Ribombee flew all around Nye's person, carefully scenting her, checking for even the slightest trace of cake residue. After she was finished, she did the same to Eldan. Returning to her master's side, she shook her head, confirming neither were guilty.

"Okay, you guys are clean," Tsomu said, glancing at the clock. "Stick around. I'm going to get to the bottom of this once and for all."

With no matches scheduled for the day, Safiri, Ruby, and Esmeralda were free to join the competitors for lunch, but what was meant to be a normal lunch quickly devolved into a case of whodunit, with Detective Tsomu at the lead.

"There are cake thieves in our midst," he said, deadly serious. "Dirty, stinking cake thieves, who couldn't wait their turn for a piece of Windra's birthday cake!"

A few gasps were heard. Kiria, who was sitting at the same table as Windra, brought her in for a hug. "You didn't tell me it was your birthday! Happy birthday!"

Windra was not amused. "Yeah, I know I didn't tell you. I didn't tell anyone. How the hell did you find out, Tsomu?"

"That's not important," Tsomu said, dismissing her. "What matters is that some of you are dirty stinking cake thieves, and no one is leaving this room until I find out who."

Alex, rising from his seat, objected. "You cannot be serious." He looked to Safiri for support. "Tell me this is his idea of a joke."

"No, I'm afraid he's right," Safiri said, standing as well. "This cake was made at the request of an anonymous donor, in Windra's honor. It would reflect poorly on Diamant Industries if we reported that Windra was unable to enjoy her cake due to the misbehavior of others. As a show of faith, the three of us," she gestured towards Ruby and Esmeralda, "will also remain until the culprits are found, as we are all technically suspects."

"I'm innocent," Cody said, crossing his arms. "I don't even like cake, yeah? Just tastes weird to me."

"All the more reason you could be guilty!" Tsomu declared, pointing an accusatory finger at him. "Here's what we're going to do. Eldan, Nye, you're free to go."

Complaints and dissent rang out through the crowd as the two wasted no time in leaving the cafeteria. "Quiet! Bae has already inspected them; they are clean. As for the rest of you, we'll put it to a vote. Majority rules. They'll step forward, Bae will inspect them. If you're clean, you can go. If you're guilty, no dessert for the remainder of the tournament!"

More dissent. "Yeah, yeah, tell someone who cares! You should have thought of that before you ate Windra's cake!"

"Is no one listening to me?!" Windra shouted. "How the hell did you know it was my birthday?! What donor? In my honor? I didn't even do anything! Will someone please tell me what's going on?!"

Tsomu continued to ignore her. "It's the case of the eaten cake! I and the rest of the patient competitors will enjoy what's left of this cake, while you dirty stinking cake thieves get nothing! The game starts now. Now choose!"

* * * * * * * *

The complaints of everyone forced to stay behind and play Tsomu's game were clearly audible even though the doors to the cafeteria were shut tight. Nye was glad that Tsomu had let her go; sitting around and arguing over who did or didn't eat Windra's cake seemed very boring, if she was being honest.

"Hey, wait up," Eldan called from behind her.

A week ago, if someone had told Nye that she would not just tolerate, but enjoy being around Eldan, she wouldn't have believed it. And if they'd said that they would eventually end up in each other's arms in the hallway, dangerously close to crossing a line, she would have laughed in their face. But there they were.

He is pretty cute without the glasses.

She was impressed by the amount of restraint Eldan had shown since their battle. True to his word, Eldan had significantly dialed back his lecherous behavior, making only minor comments, and only to her. He didn't even flirt with the other girls (or guys, she remembered with a smile), let alone solicit them for sex, which Nye appreciated a lot. It was clear that he was taking his promise to her seriously, and this helped Nye see Eldan in a new way.

She slowed down, but only a little, forcing him to walk quicker to keep up with her. Nye's room was closer to the cafeteria than Eldan's was, so it didn't take the two of them long to reach her room. She felt Eldan approach her from behind and wrap his arms around her; she allowed him a moment before turning around, twisting herself out of his loose grip. "I hope you aren't under the impression that I am going to invite you in or something along that line," she said, gently pushing him a step backwards.

"Well, to be honest, yeah, I was kinda hoping we could spend some more time together," Eldan admitted. "I had fun earlier, and it seemed like you were into it a little bit ago, so..."

Then invite me to do something! Do you have any idea how to court a lady?

"So..." Nye trailed off, not helping him in the slightest.

"So... can I come in?" He waggled his eyebrows.

Oh lord.

"What kind of lady do you think I am, Eldan?" Nye asked, equal parts curiosity and teasing in her voice. "Just because I was in your presence for a while and did not want to immediately bludgeon you with the nearest blunt object because of the filth that spews from your mouth on a regular basis does not mean I am going to invite you into my private quarters."

Now Eldan rolled his eyes, but since he was wearing his sunglasses again, Nye couldn't see it. He bowed low, taking one of Nye's hands in his own. "Oh, a thousand pardons, Lady Nye, I didn't--"

Nye suddenly snatched her hand away, causing Eldan to look up in confusion. "Don't call me that."

"Huh?"

Nye shooed an image of purple hair matted under a dark hood with a flowing black cape out of her mind. "Just call me Nye, okay?"

Eldan wasn't sure what the big deal was, but he wasn't about to refuse her request. "Sure... sorry. So what will you do now?"

"Excuse me?"

"You don't want to hang out with me, so I was wondering what you'll do now," Eldan clarified.

Giving up so easily? Nye thought of her suitor. Come on, use your imagination! ...On second thought, that's probably not a good idea. "Oh, I don't know. I may catch up on some reading, or take a nap," she answered, trying her best to sound terribly bored with either idea, hoping Eldan would take the hint.

"Wow, real fun," he deadpanned. "You wanna go out with me? Outside, I mean. Everyone's in the cafeteria playing Smell the Cake Eater or whatever with Tsomu, so no one would bother us."

"Hm, I suppose I could read later," Nye conceded, happy that this game was coming to an end. "Lead the way."

The two of them headed upstairs into the main lobby of Indigo Plateau, which was completely empty, as Safiri promised. A warm breeze blew onto them as they exited the building into the stadium, which was void of life outside of the two friends. As Eldan surveyed the fifty thousand empty seats, Nye stood close by, waiting for him to take command of this date.

It's not a date. Far from it. We just went outside, that's all.

The thought seemed hollow, even to her. The two of them were alone, spending time together, enjoying each other's company and entertaining the idea of a relationship.

If it looks like a Ducklett and quacks like a Ducklett...

All right, fine, so maybe this is sort of like a date. Besides, it's not like he could take her out on a real date, not while they were both stuck here. So this would have to do.

"...sit?"

"What?" Nye asked, taken out of her thoughts. "I'm sorry, I wasn't listening."

"I said, where do you wanna sit? Plenty of seats to choose from," Eldan joked.

"Oh, could we walk and talk? I haven't been outside in days... I'd like to enjoy the sun a bit."

"Sure thing."

They stayed on the lowest level of the arena, walking in the area between the main stage and the lowest level of seating. At first, neither trainer said anything, simply enjoying the feeling of the sun. It was hot, but not humid, and although Nye enjoyed the fresh air and the warm weather, she found herself wishing she'd brought her hat to give her a little shade. She thought of the man next to her, immaculately dressed in his Team Flare uniform. It reminded her of their battle, when she imagined him "sweating with style," and she couldn't help but giggle at the absurdity of it, now that they were in less stressful circumstances.

The sound of her voice prompted Eldan to respond. "Something funny?" he inquired. She explained her thoughts to him, and he let out a chuckle. "Our uniforms are made of a cotton/rayon blend, so they breathe very easily. I don't recall feeling overly uncomfortable during our fight, or right now, now that you mention it." He grinned. "I could have Aliana get your measurements, if you like. She's head of that department. You'd look stunning in a Team Flare uniform, although cutting and restyling your beautiful hair would be a crime. I could probably pull some strings, see if I can get them to allow you to keep those locks."

Nye balked at the idea. "Absolutely not. No offense to you or Team Flare, but I wouldn't be caught dead in such a garish outfit."

This didn't phase Eldan in the slightest. "None taken. To be honest, I thought the same thing when I first joined. I hadn't even worn a suit and tie before then."

Nye pounced on the opportunity to learn more about the man behind the uniform. "How long have you been with them?"

"Four years," he answered as they rounded a corner. "Officially, I'm still a Grunt, but I've been around longer than most people in the organization, so I'm respected more than your average lackey."

"No room for advancement, huh?" she joked.

"There really isn't. There are a few people with the admin rank in Team Flare, but it's mostly a formality. The admins run day-to-day things but each of them reports to one of Team Flare's lead scientists, who in turn reports to Lysandre. I've been around longer than most of the admins. I actually trained my commanding officer because I already knew how to do everything she needed to know."

"If that's true, why didn't you just take the job yourself?"

Eldan shrugged. "Didn't want it. Like I said, the admin title is pretty much in name only. The grunts in my division look up to and respect me, regardless of my official rank, and both Celosia - the head of my unit - and Lysandre have personally commended me for my loyalty and work for the team. That's the highest praise I can ask for."

Nye nodded, although she wished she'd asked a better question. While it was interesting to learn about his life in Team Flare, she was more interested in his life out of it.

"All right, it's my turn to ask you something," Eldan said suddenly. "Why don't you like being called 'Lady' Nye?"

Nye bristled at the phrase, but she calmed herself down and reminded herself that there was no way Eldan could know, and he was just trying to learn about her. "You know Quayle and I are old friends, right?"

Eldan let out a sound of disgust at hearing Quayle's name, but the glare Nye shot him in response shut him up. "Sorry. Go on."

"We met about eleven or twelve years ago, when I relocated to Celestic Town." She smiled, recalling the sweet young boy she befriended. "He was a very quiet child, largely kept to himself... he was teased a lot, although I don't know if the teasing was because he never socialized with anyone or if he never socialized with anyone because he was teased.

"I empathized with him. I... didn't really have any friends at that age, either. I approached him and introduced myself, and I remember he had the cutest expression on his face, like he was stunned that a pretty, older girl like me was talking to him. We became fast friends, two lonely souls finding solace in the other's company. One day, a few years later, we were talking about our pasts, and I mentioned to him that I was born into wealth. Quayle was impressed by this and started calling me 'Lady' Nye. At first I thought he was doing it to be silly, like you did, but... he started doing it all the time. He wouldn't address me as anything else. It was grating after a while. I left my home to escape all of that, not to be reminded of it at every turn."

Eldan was struck silent, clearly not expecting this conversation to take such a serious turn. "What did you need escaping from?"

"My parents," Nye replied, sighing heavily. "I don't think either of them were ready to become parents, thinking back on it. For all their money, neither of them had a clue what it meant to be responsible for a child, and rather than give me up for adoption, they chose to raise me. And by they, I mean my nanny Sheila, who I loved dearly." She chuckled humorlessly. "I was closer to her than my actual mother. She taught me how to read and write, made sure I was well fed, had proper clothes for cold weather... you know, things parents are supposed to do."

Eldan could hear the bitterness in Nye's voice as she recounted her story and wondered if he should stop her, but she continued before he had a chance to interject. "I miss her terribly, but I'll always be grateful for the time we had, and for instilling in me a love of books and learning that I don't believe I would have had without her guidance."

"Did something... happen to her? She sounds wonderful, but you still left home, so..."

"When I was eight years old, while out on a walk with Sheila, I found a Munna sick and injured outside of town. I had barely heard of Pokemon, but knew some people kept them as pets. My parents had a strict policy against that, arguing that it was too much work and they didn't want to clean up after it. Sheila knew this, but after seeing how well Munna and I got along, Sheila captured it for me, and said that it was to be our little secret. We managed to keep it that way for almost two years.

"One day, when I was feeding Munna, my mother barged into my room unannounced and, well, that was that. She asked me where I got it, and I told her, proudly, that Sheila captured it for me. My mother asked Sheila if this was true, and she admitted it, so my mother fired her on the spot and demanded she leave. I stood between Sheila and my mother, refusing to let it happen. My mother grabbed me and pushed me out of the way, then marched Sheila out of my room, out of my house, and out of my life. I watched her leave from my bedroom window, screaming and crying that my mother had taken away one of the only people who I believed cared about me. I lashed out at her, telling her that I loved Sheila more than I loved her, and that Sheila was a better mother to me than she was. My mother responded by taking Munna and locking me in my bedroom, saying she would deal with me once my father got home from work."

Nye let out a breath. "I'm sorry. This isn't even what you asked about. I don't mean to be unloading all of this onto you. This was supposed to be a nice date."

"It's more than fine, Nye," Eldan replied, hesitantly touching the fingers of her left hand with the fingers of his right, and he was pleased when she silently linked their hands together. "I want to know all about you that I can."

Smiling sadly, she nodded, then continued. "There isn't much more to tell. Once my father came home, he and my mother argued for hours. Turns out he sided with me, saying that if I was able to care for a Pokemon for that long without them knowing, then obviously I could handle owning one. He finally came to see me late that night, and returned Munna to me. That night... was the beginning of the end, as far as their marriage was concerned. He and my mother fought constantly after that, arguing over what I was or wasn't ready for, how I should or should not be disciplined, where I should or should not go to school or become a trainer professionally. Things that they should have had a better handle on years ago.

"A few months later, my father told me that he and my mother were getting a divorce, and explained what that would entail. I blamed myself for their ruined marriage, and ran away the same day. I packed a bag, grabbed Munna, and left without leaving a note. I took a boat to Sinnoh, not knowing or caring where I was going, as long as it wasn't Unova. I ended up in Celestic Town after some time seeing the region, and met Quayle a short time after that." She looked over to Eldan, who was listening intently to her story, and gently squeezed his hand. "What about you? What was your life like before you joined Team Flare?"

Eldan laughed a little. "I used to joke that I have never had a life before Team Flare. My parents met at a Team Flare rally, years and years ago. They were interested in Team Flare's message, and though they didn't actually join, they supported them in other ways, volunteering, donating money... stuff like that. After I was born, they continued their work, dragging me along to various Team Flare functions whenever they would go. When I was fourteen, I saw a recruitment poster for Team Flare, so I decided to check it out. When they offered me a membership, I accepted it without asking my parents first. I wanted to stick it to them and show them that I was an adult and they could suck it if they didn't like it. Well, imagine my surprise when not only were they not mad, but they were actually happy to see me in the group. Go figure, right?"

Nye looked at the ground, away from Eldan, so he couldn't see the look of disappointment on her face. From what Eldan was saying, it sounded like Team Flare was his entire life, and she didn't know what that said about his life goals, considering what he'd told her already. "Do you ever see yourself leaving them?"

"Leaving Team Flare?" he asked, as though the very idea of it was impossible to fathom. "You know, yesterday Kiria asked me yesterday to leave Team Flare," he realized. He playfully jabbed her in the side with his elbow. "Heh, is there something you two know that I don't?"

Nye shook her head. They were approaching the final corner surrounding the arena, and they would be back at the entrance in a few minutes' time. "No, I just wonder what your ambitions are. What do you want to do with yourself? You've been a part of Team Flare longer than most people, but you're still at the bottom of the ladder, by choice. Don't you want more?"

"I have most of what I want already," Eldan countered. "Team Flare can't help me get the one thing I really want, though."

"And that is?"

Eldan squeezed her hand. "You, of course."

Nye quickly looked away from him, feeling her face get hot. "Don't say such ridiculous things."

"Why not? It's no secret how I feel about you. And I know you're starting to warm up to me, too. You wouldn't have called this a date otherwise." A satisfied grin exploded onto his face at Nye's stunned realization. "Yeah, just because I didn't derail your story right away doesn't mean I wasn't paying attention. Why are you surprised? Do you regret saying it?"

Oh, how she wanted to say yes, deny her words, deny her feelings, deny everything, but she wasn't sure either of them would believe it at this point. There was no going back now. "No, I don't," she said softly. "I mean, this isn't a typical date, but... I have enjoyed myself. I wanted to learn more about you, but it seems as though I did most of the talking..."

Eldan squeezed her hand again. "I'm not worried. We've got a whole week to... get to know each other."

He brushed up against her as he said it, and that familiar feeling of revulsion came rushing back to her, and she was momentarily surprised at how long it had been since she felt it. She extracted her hand from his with a jerk, as though touching him was making her physically ill, and she increased her walking pace. "You truly are disgusting," she spat, sounding more annoyed than angry. "I cannot believe I thought you were changing."

Eldan smiled despite Nye's actions. She'd already made her feelings clear, and he was confident he could safely crack a few jokes with her at this point. Her tone of voice as she chastised him wasn't lost on him, and it gave him confidence that soon, she'd be his. At the very least, she was still hilariously easy to fluster, so he would still have plenty of good-natured fun at her expense.

Something in the back of his mind told him not to press his luck too much, though. She was already a willing passenger in his boat; no point in needlessly rocking it.

Nye reached the doors leading inside a few steps ahead of Eldan, and she nearly ran into Frisk, who was on her way outside. "Hey, watch where you're going!"

"Sorry, sweetie," Nye apologized, stepping out of her way and allowing Frisk to pass. Right behind her was the huge form of Taikyu, and he nodded to her in greeting as he passed by. As soon as he was out the door, Nye slipped behind him and disappeared into the building.

* * * * * * * *

Windra was feeling pretty good about herself. It hadn't taken Tsomu long to give up in his search for whoever had eaten her cake, which meant she'd gotten off scot free. It was unlikely anyone would have suspected her in the first place, which made her victory all the more sweeter. But there was still something that was bothering her, so she headed back into the cafeteria, where Tsomu was sitting at a table alone. His face and eyes were red, streaked with tears. Windra felt bad for him and almost - almost - considered confessing, but then she remembered that giving up was for chumps and kept her mouth shut about that.

Seeing him so upset almost made her turn around and walk back out again. It wasn't like he was forthcoming earlier, and Windra didn't think he was going to be in a mood to talk right now either, but she wasn't about to give him a choice. The man knew something he shouldn't have, and she wasn't going to leave until she found out how.

She approached his table. He looked up at her briefly, then quickly tried wiping his eyes in a failed attempt to disguise the fact he'd been crying. "What do you want?" he spat, not looking at her. "Come to make fun of me?"

Windra sighed, hoping that he wasn't going to make this difficult for her. "You didn't answer me. How did you know it was my birthday, Tsomu? No one knew it was my birthday." A moment of realization as she remembered that that technically wasn't true. "Did Safiri tell you?"

"No," he said simply. "We got a call from some guy after your match. He asked us to make you a cake since your birthday was coming up, and he thought you could use some cheering up. Oh yeah," he added, remembering, "Hold on. He left a message for you too." He rose from his seat and disappeared into the kitchen for a few moments before coming out with a piece of paper. "He said it was kind of a long one, so he had me write it down. It was weird. Here."

Windra took the piece of paper, scanned its message.

Dearest Evelyn,

Sorry about your match. You did your best in the face of overwhelming odds, and that's all anyone can ask. I've asked these nice folks to make a cake for you, since your birthday is coming up and I'll be unable to do so myself. I'm sorry I couldn't be there in person, but just know that you are always on my mind and I can't wait to see you again. I'm in Hoenn now, so please look me up once the tournament is over.


She moved a hand to her mouth in disbelief at the contents of the note. She was almost certain of who'd dictated it, but she was very hesitant to believe. "Tsomu, who sent this?" she asked, equal parts fear, hope, and anger in her voice.

"I told you, some guy," Tsomu answered with a shrug. "He didn't give me a name. Once he finished talking and I read it back to him, he said that it was good. I told him there was no one here named Evelyn, but he assured me that I should give the note to you, and that you'd know what it meant. Then he thanked me and hung up." A pause. "Who's Evelyn?"

"Bastard," she muttered, gripping the paper tightly in a fist. "Just who does he think he is?!" she screamed, beginning to pace back and forth, gesturing with the note as she rambled. "Does he think he can just pull this kind of shit and expect everything to be fine?!"

"I... I don't know?" Tsomu offered, not having the slightest clue what Windra was going on about. "Who's Evelyn?" he asked again.

She sighed in frustration. "Evelyn is my real first name. I just go by my middle name." She suddenly turned on Tsomu, approaching him and pointing in his face. "But don't go running your mouth about it, got it? If I hear anyone else call me Evelyn, I'm kicking your ass."

"Okay, okay, chill out, Windra, geez. So you know who did this?"

"Yeah, I have an idea. Some asshole who thought it would be funny to abandon me."

Tsomu frowned. "Your dad?" he suggested.

"No, not my dad. Daddy sometimes, but not my dad," she joked, but the humor was quickly replaced by the dull anger she felt whenever she thought about... him. "Anyway, thanks for letting me know about this." She pocketed the letter and went to leave again, but she was stopped by a loud noise coming from her stomach. "When the hell is lunch?" she asked the competitor chef. I am going to eat my weight in cheesy noodles."

"It's, uh... actually been ready," Tsomu said sheepishly. "I had them keep it warm while I tried figuring out who ate your cake."

"You what? What are you sitting here for then?! Get in there and start hauling it out here before I waste away!"
 
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Skyleaf2000

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Member
My comments are mostly rubbish today, sorry about that. My edumacation has been killing me.
In it, she looked cute, flashing a bright smile with Tyeaf on her shoulder.
oh man dont make me cry, i know something bad will happen
also, a combination of Windra and Quayle? why would you ever want to create such a chaotic being of destruction??
On the untouched section, the letters "AY WIN" could be read on the side, but the rest was illegible due to all the tampering.
Ayyyyyyyy, Win!
"Is no one listening to me?!" Windra shouted. "How the hell did you know it was my birthday?! What donor? In my honor? I didn't even do anything! Will someone please tell me what's going on?!"
Tsomu continued to ignore her. "It's the case of the eaten cake! I and the rest of the patient competitors will enjoy what's left of this cake, while you dirty stinking cake thieves get nothing! The game starts now. Now choose!"
*Looker's theme plays*
It was unlikely anyone would have suspected her in the first place, which made her victory all the more sweeter.
AHAHAHAHA! I didn't guess that!!
the humor was quickly replaced by the dull anger she felt whenever she thought about... him.
if he shows up, destroy him, Win
 

NinJamezor

We love Huntail
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I liked this chapter. I especially like the relationship Eldan and Nye have. Cute and funny at the same time.
"There are cake thieves in our midst," he said, deadly serious.
This line is my 2nd favorite quote of this entire story so far, right after Eldan calling Quayle "His Royal Highness Edge Nightdoom".
 

Blakers

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So I haven’t posted anything in here since Chapter 4, god this is overdue.

I do like the direction that Rose and her subplot with Scarlet went in. Rose being in a relationship with Gardevoir and Lucario definitely wasn’t something I saw coming, but it does add a unique aspect to her character. I liked that Kiria and Jethro tried to help Scarlet, and the way Alex set up the triangle even more with the notes was very well done. I’m also hoping that Rose’s Gardevoir ends up battling Eldan’s before Rose loses to Thresher, which seems to have been teased in both chapters 5 and 9.

I’m really interested to see what kind of characters Eldan, Quayle, and Scarlet are by the end of the story. So far, they seem to be the ones that have been the most focused on character development. Who knows, maybe a potential Galactic attack could cause more development in more than one of them (and we’d maybe get to see the Jewels take a battle seriously).

Speaking of the Jewels, I was really shocked at Safiri selling Esmeralda out and think it’s a good twist. I’m curious about what Diamant thinks his options are for handling it, though. Or he could choose to not take any actions at all. I’m very interested to see where it goes, and how Ruby will react if she finds out.

I really liked the development you gave to Frisk and Chara’s relationship. Now that they’ve patched things up as siblings and Chara will supposedly he let out more often, I wonder if he’ll meet any of the other competitors?

The whole Motfia thing is something that I’m actually speculating about. I know Windra probably won’t confess (I called it from the start of the game and will always take credit for it), but will the ones who weren’t caught confess to the crime? And I wonder how Windra’s going to handle the letter that I assume is from Damien? Who knows, maybe it could lead to development for her as well.

I’m amazed at how much Eldan and Nye’s interactions have changed since the start of the story. They’re being heavily teased as a potential couple, and I don’t think Nye can keep fighting this war with herself over it for much longer. If they do turn into a couple, I’m excited to see how Quayle reacts to it.

I’ve really enjoyed reading this story so far, and would love to see more! Thanks again for writing it!
 

PMJ

happy thoughts
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Hey cool you didn't bail

I do like the direction that Rose and her subplot with Scarlet went in. Rose being in a relationship with Gardevoir and Lucario definitely wasn’t something I saw coming, but it does add a unique aspect to her character.

I planned on it becoming more important later in the story, and the time for me to pull the trigger on it is getting closer. I'm just not sure when the best time is, or what exactly I'm going to do with it. I know what I want to happen, but not how to execute it.

I’m also hoping that Rose’s Gardevoir ends up battling Eldan’s before Rose loses to Thresher, which seems to have been teased in both chapters 5 and 9.

First of all, who said Rose was going to lose?

Next, blocking a battle between two Gardevoir turned out to be harder than I thought. I don't want the battle to be boring, which is how I'm currently envisioning a battle like this, and it's making it hard to justify writing it. So I'm still on the fence about making it happen. Just need to get inspired somehow...

I’m really interested to see what kind of characters Eldan, Quayle, and Scarlet are by the end of the story. So far, they seem to be the ones that have been the most focused on character development. Who knows, maybe a potential Galactic attack could cause more development in more than one of them (and we’d maybe get to see the Jewels take a battle seriously).

Scarlet's role in this story as a main character is over, for the most part. Her subplot is resolved and she dominated the early chapters, so I want to give her a break. Notice that I didn't even mention her in chapter 9.

I wish I could give you more details about the Galactic invasion, but I don't know anything other than it's a thing that will eventually happen.

Speaking of the Jewels, I was really shocked at Safiri selling Esmeralda out and think it’s a good twist. I’m curious about what Diamant thinks his options are for handling it, though. Or he could choose to not take any actions at all. I’m very interested to see where it goes, and how Ruby will react if she finds out.

There is a scene planned in either chapter 10 or 11 that explores this very situation.

I really liked the development you gave to Frisk and Chara’s relationship. Now that they’ve patched things up as siblings and Chara will supposedly he let out more often, I wonder if he’ll meet any of the other competitors?

I liked it as well, and I hope Jesi does too, when she finally reads it.

The idea of Chara meeting the other competitors is a thread I've already started to tug, although you might not recognize it for what it is yet.

The whole Motfia thing is something that I’m actually speculating about. I know Windra probably won’t confess (I called it from the start of the game and will always take credit for it), but will the ones who weren’t caught confess to the crime?

If a scene requires it, sure, but otherwise, no. Taikyu did get found out, though, so Tsomu knows he did it.

And I wonder how Windra’s going to handle the letter that I assume is from Damien? Who knows, maybe it could lead to development for her as well.

The inability to actually bring Damien into the story means this road is mostly a dead end. It existed mainly for Motfia's plot. That doesn't mean I won't try to work it into some development for Windra, though.

I’m amazed at how much Eldan and Nye’s interactions have changed since the start of the story.

I'm not. I told you guys this was a strong pairing.

They’re being heavily teased as a potential couple, and I don’t think Nye can keep fighting this war with herself over it for much longer. If they do turn into a couple, I’m excited to see how Quayle reacts to it.

I'm sure his reaction to his childhood friend of many years whom he cares deeply for falling for a guy who he thinks is playing her will be level-headed and mature, and nothing bad will happen at all.

I’ve really enjoyed reading this story so far, and would love to see more! Thanks again for writing it!

Thank you for reading it. And that goes to all of you, even though I have to beg and plead for you guys to comment, I enjoy the fact that you guys are liking the garbage I put out on a monthly basis.

I haven't written anything in chapter 10 yet. This is mainly due to it being an in-between period for the main battles and I'm still not convinced I don't want to just skip all of it and go straight into Rose vs Thresher. Cutting out the filler chapters would also cut down on the time it takes me to finish this story. I don't want this story to take six years to finish. Best case scenario is I finish a bit past the two-year mark, so I've got to get to steppin if I want to finish "on time."

Everyone else should post their comments too :)
 

PMJ

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Chapter 10 highlights:

- story time with Jethro
- Esmeralda confronts Safiri
- Quayle makes another late-night visit to Nye
- Windra goes for a swim
- Rose's secret is revealed
- Rose and Thresher have their match
- it's friggin dope


This should have been out months ago. I was on pace to finish on time and then I stopped to work on Mafia 53. Around the time that game finished, I fell into a massive depression that I am still dealing with. Things have gotten a little better, but it's a slow process. Since the battle was already blocked and the chapter leading up to the battle was already written, it made finding the will to actually finish it a little easier. So here, several months late, is this chapter.

As for the future of this story, I don't know what's going to happen. I've talked to people in the MotFI Discord and told them I'm considering epilogue-ing this story, which would basically be a tl;dr of all upcoming chapters - think the highlights, but a little more fleshed out.

Having time to write isn't much of a problem, it's finding the desire to. I just... don't... care, for lack of a better word. Honestly, if this chapter hadn't been as far along as it was, I might never have finished it. But here it is. It brings the word count of the entire story over 150,000.

The chapter kinda ends on a mysterious note. Woo, spooky. Enjoy.

Word count: 15,749

Chapter 10: Revelations

The rest of the weekend was uneventful, but still relaxing for everyone. With no battles to be had, the competitors spent most of the remaining weekend in each other's company, usually only retiring to their own rooms to sleep.

Rose took an opportunity to learn more about the other competitors' legendary Pokemon. Tsomu was more than happy to let her meet Dialga, and while she was extremely hesitant to even be in the same room with Quayle's Deoxys, she eventually relented and the two had a brief conversation together where Quayle apologized (again) on behalf of him and his Pokemon, in full view of the others this time. For Shifter's part, it expressed grief over any lasting damage it may have caused, which Rose hesitantly accepted. It wasn't the sweeping acceptance that Quayle had hoped for, but he felt like the two were making progress towards patching things up. Nye thanked Quayle for his display, giving him a big hug and causing his cheeks to color.

Frisk naturally spent most of her days off with Taikyu, where they told stories of their respective pasts, each intrigued by the wondrous tales of the other. Frisk made good on her promise to let Chara take control of her, allowing him all of Saturday and a good part of Sunday to spend with his new best friend. In turn, Chara mostly honored his vow to lay off the pranks, only needing to be brought in line by Taikyu once the entire time. The one time was all Chara needed; Taikyu may have been old, but he was no infirm. His voice carried an authority brought about and honed by decades of commanding spirits, even at seventy years old, and the one time Taikyu had trained that strong, confident voice on Chara, it had scared the hell out of him.

Another meeting of the Close Calls Club was held; Windra was inducted as a member after she found herself unable to resist Kyro's boyish charm (and the shame she felt from the looks of disappointment from the other members when she started stammering out a refusal).

What had started as Alex bragging about his victory two days prior had turned into a discussion of egg moves; whose Pokemon had them, difficulty of breeding said moves, etc. Lenny brought up Jethro's Luxray knowing Ice Fang, and Jethro had ended up dominating the conversation from that point onward.

"I didn't catch her myself, y'see," he explained. "I ran into some rich-lookin' guy on some road, I don't recall which one just now. Had a big ol' box of baby Shinx, just yowlin' and cryin'. Heh. It was a pretty cute sight. They couldn't have been more than a few weeks old, a month, tops." Jethro paused, letting out a long breath. "He asked me if I wanted one."

"Aww, he was trying to find homes for all the wittle babies!" Kiria chimed in.

"Pah. Yeah right," Jethro scoffed. "His intentions were anything but noble. No, he said that he was a breeder and that none of the Shinx were what he 'needed', so he was off to release the lot of them into the wild to fend for themselves. I just happened to be passing by, so that's why he asked."

Cody, who was also listening, frowned. "At that age? There's no way they could survive in the wild away from their mother!"

"Exactly. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. The nerve of this guy, tossing away the lives of all those Pokemon...! Still makes my blood boil to this day. If I ever saw that guy again, I... well, I don't know what I'd do, but it wouldn't be pretty," Jethro mused. "Anyway, of course I accepted one. I wanted to take the whole box, but I didn't know how to take care of a bunch of baby Pokemon. And there were no shelters for miles, at least from what little I knew about Sinnoh. I had no choice but to let him go on his way with all of Ennis' brothers and sisters, never to be seen again.

"I never understood what that man meant by 'needed', but listening to you guys, it's possible that he was talking about egg moves. I ain't never had to put Ennis up against a Pokemon she has so much of a disadvantage against that both Electric and Normal attacks don't work, so I guess I never had the chance to see what she could do. But it makes you think, what was it the guy 'needed' if not a Shinx that knows Ice Fang? Knowing she's got an ace like that up her sleeve makes me a hell of a lot more comfortable letting her fight against Ground-types. 'Course, I'd rather let Aisling handle those guys, but... y'know.

"Anyway, I ain't complainin'. Ennis has grown to be one of my most powerful Pokemon and most trusted friends. I trust that girl with my life."

The other competitors found themselves nodding at his statement; after all, they, too, had Pokemon they felt like they could trust with their lives.

After dinner, Safiri gathered everyone in the cafeteria for an announcement.

"Good evening, everyone. I hope you've all been enjoying yourselves. On behalf of myself, my sisters, and Mr. Diamant, we would like to thank each of you for accepting our invitation to participate in the tournament. To those of you who won your matches last week, congratulations, and best of luck during the quarterfinals. To the eight of you who lost, you will be pleased to know that Mr. Diamant was so impressed by the quality of battles displayed that he has agreed to award each of you a small consolation prize in the amount of $25,000."

Cheers and applause rang out, and people near each other began commenting on it before Safiri cut them off. "I am also authorized to tell you that the losers of the quarterfinals matches will each receive one hundred thousand dollars; the losers of the semifinals will receive $500,000; and the loser of the final match will receive $5 million. A press release with this information has been sent out as well."

Quayle found it hard to be excited. Twenty-five grand was a lot of money, but he was upset about something he thought was a little more important than money. He needed to talk to Nye, but... He looked over at another table, where Eldan and Nye were sitting by themselves. Though the two of them hadn't publicly stated they were an item, they'd spent more time together in the past two days than they had all week, and the others simply assumed it to be the case, especially given her previous attitude towards him. Quayle glared at the Team Flare officer as he put his arm around Nye's shoulder. She didn't even flinch. She made no effort to move closer to him, but at the same time, she was no longer outright rebuking his advances.

He's got his hooks in you deep, doesn't he?

His train of thought was derailed by Safiri. "Mr. Diamant regrets he could not be here personally to deliver this information, but he sends his regards and heartfelt thanks for making this tournament a success, and he wishes each of you all the best in your future endeavors. And with that, I'd like to direct your attention to the the television screen here." She removed a remote from her pocket and pressed a button, bringing the television to life. "Here are the pairings for the quarterfinals."

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"As you can see, and may have already figured out, we will open the matches tomorrow with a battle between Miss Bersalk and Mr. Fessco, followed by a match between Miss Gramarye and Miss Wright that afternoon. Tuesday will see battles between Miss Achra and Mr. Beckett, and Mr. Duffy and Mr. Croft. Both semifinals matches will happen on Wednesday, the finals will take place Thursday, and the closing ceremony will be that evening. Mr. Diamant is pleased to inform you that he will be there to personally congratulate the winner and award their prize of 100 million dollars. After the ceremony, you'll all return to pack your belongings. Indigo Plateau staff have generously granted us permission to stay through the night, and Friday morning you'll all be transported back to Viridian City, where we've scheduled flights home for each of you. Does anyone have any questions?"

Esmeralda scoffed to herself. "Yeah, what's it feel like to be a traitor?" she muttered under her breath, knowing full well Safiri (but no one else) would be able to hear her. Ruby, who had been sitting with her, shot Esmeralda a look, then rolled her eyes, mouthing an apology to Safiri.

Safiri wisely chose not to bring it up in front of the others. "If there's nothing else, you're all dismissed. Battles will begin at the normal time tomorrow. Good night, and good luck." She left the cafeteria without so much as glancing at Ruby and Esmeralda, and she could practically hear Esmeralda's look of indignation as she scrambled from her chair and chased after her. Fearing Esmeralda would make good on her threat to blow their cover in front of anyone passing by, she briskly walked towards the exit leading upstairs, hitting the door just as Esmeralda made it into the hallway.

"Where do you think you're going?! Safiri, stop!" she yelled, but Safiri powered on, almost running up the steps, trying to escape before her sister could catch her. She made it up one flight before Esmeralda burst through the doors leading into the stairwell. "Get back here!"

Yep, she's mad, Safiri thought as she continued to ignore Esmeralda. She barely made it into the lobby before Esmeralda tackled her, sending them both crashing to the ground. "Damn it, Safiri, stop!"

"What has gotten into you?!" Safiri shouted, pushing her little sister off of her and scrambling to her feet. "Have you lost your mind?!"

"I could ask you the same thing," Esmeralda spat back, staying on the ground. "You sold me out!"

Fortunately, Safiri did not insult Esmeralda by pretending not to know what she was referring to. "Yes, I did. I had to say something, Esmeralda, I couldn't just--"

"Just what?!" Esmeralda shouted up to her big sister. "Just keep your big mouth shut for once? Just let us have a secret between sisters? Just let me be happy and do something nice for someone I care about? Which is it, Safiri?"

"Your 'secret' could have jeopardized the entire operation! Don't you get it? This is bigger than us, Esmeralda. We can't afford to let our personal feelings get in the way of the mission!"

"Don't you think I know that?!" Esmeralda shrieked, startling Safiri. She got off the ground and got right into Safiri's face, her eyes red and stinging with tears. "I told you that I wasn't going to say anything, but you told Mr. Diamant anyway! How am I supposed to trust you after that?!"

Safiri took a couple steps backwards, giving her some much-needed space. "Why are you getting so upset? Mr. Diamant didn't even care. He said he trusted you not to take any unnecessary risks."

"And you didn't! Don't you get it? You didn't. Mr. Diamant is our boss, but you're my sister. Do you have any idea what it feels like to be betrayed by someone you love?"

Safiri bit her tongue. She did, in fact, know that feeling, but that was neither here nor there.

Esmeralda sniffled, the first wave of her tears finally drying up, but the terrible sadness she felt every time she looked at Safiri meant a fresh batch wasn't far behind. "I just can't believe you told him. I feel like I can't trust you anymore. Why should I bother telling you anything if you're just going to report it to Mr. Diamant the first chance you get?"

"What choice did I have?" Safiri questioned her, letting a little fire slip into her voice. "You've been acting very strange lately, and it's concerning."

"I have not been--"

"You threatened to expose us to them!" Safiri fired back. "Or did you think I was going to let that comment slide?"

Esmeralda frowned, hurt by Safiri's comment. "Come on, Safiri, you know I would never do anything to--"

"Do I?" Safiri cut her off again, sensing weakness. She closed the gap between her and Esmeralda. "Before this tournament, I would have agreed with you, but now I'm not so sure. This project could change the world, Esmeralda. I can't have you falling for one of the test subjects and risking everything Mr. Diamant has worked so hard for! If you really believe in this project the way you say you do, then you can't get mad at me for bringing up your behavior to Mr. Diamant. You know what's at stake here."

"You know they're more than just test subjects for our experiments, right? Maybe Helmi's been rubbing off on you..."

"Don't you dare compare me to that... that woman," Safiri said venomously, opting not to vocalize some of the more colorful words she had to describe Diamant's sister. "Unlike her, at least I take the time to remember the subjects' names."

"Oh yeah? Do you really think that means anything, to anyone? What else can you tell me about them? Any of them, besides their names and how they're doing in the tournament?"

"This is silly. It's not my job to know these things," Safiri deflected.

"Yes it is. You said so yourself; Mr. Diamant wants each of us to build a rapport with the subjects, remember? I've done it. So has Ruby. We've always been there for them, even before you asked us to. I can tell you loads of things about them." She started counting off on her fingers. "Scarlet is deathly afraid of spiders and nearly cried at the sight of Cody's Araquanid. Taikyu's favorite color is yellow; he says it reminds him of the sun. Kyro wanted to donate half the tournament winnings to research into fossil Pokemon. Jethro has a huge scar on his chest from when he was a kid. And just yesterday we all consoled Lenny after he revealed to us that he'd lost both his wife and newborn daughter in childbirth. That's five right there, and I didn't even mention Windra, who you're sooooo worried I'm going to ruin this project over. What have you done to learn more about them? A whole fat lot of nothing, that's what. Did you know they talk about you?"

"What do you mean?" Safiri asked.

"I mean they talk about you. They whisper things to each other, things they think we can't hear. They think you're a bitch because you won't socialize with them. Not can't... won't. They don't understand why you're never there at meals, or how Ruby and I can make time for them, but you don't. They think you don't care, and Ruby and I can only make up so many excuses before it starts getting old. You might not want to admit it, Safiri, but you really are just like Helmi."

"I... am not... her," Safiri seethed through clenched teeth. "You think that just because Helmi and I prefer not to socialize openly with others, that we're the same? You have no idea what kind of a person Helmi is. Did you know that she kicked the shit out of Argenta?" The look of horror on Esmeralda's face was all Safiri needed to go in for the kill. "Of course you didn't. It happened before you were born. Argenta accidentally spilled some coffee on her and Helmi nearly killed her because of it. And here's another fun fact for you, Esmeralda. Aura was originally meant to be Helmi's assistant, but Helmi sabotaged her birth by making her an idiot and turning her into a kid. So Diamant forced her to make a second biot with the correct DNA, but he left her as a child as punishment to Helmi. That's why Argenta and Aura look the same. Mr. Diamant doesn't like talking about it, but that's the truth. He'll confirm it if you ask."

Esmeralda was in tears now, not wanting to believe what Safiri was telling her, and feeling shame over not knowing the truth about the twins' existence. Safiri let her cry, making no attempt at consoling her. "Next time you want to compare me to someone, you should do a little research and make sure what you're saying is actually true."

With that, Safiri turned around and left Esmeralda to quietly sob to herself in the hallway.

* * * * * * *

A little later, Quayle was on a mission. Nye was the only person he felt comfortable talking to about this, but he hadn't had a chance to speak with her privately all day; she and Eldan were practically joined at the hip. They spent a few hours training, then they had lunch together, then they went for another walk around the stadium, and then Safiri had called everyone back for her announcements. Dinner was after that, and of course they ate together. He clenched his fists, hating how cozy she and Eldan were getting, worried about when Eldan was going to let the other shoe drop and break Nye's heart.

And if he did that...

Well, he couldn't kill him, but there were other fun activities that could be had. His time in Team Galactic made him no stranger to some of their more inventive "interrogation techniques."

He adjusted his glasses, pushing those dark thoughts from his head. Losing his temper would only serve to push Nye even further away. He couldn't protect Nye as the old Quayle.

Another reason he needed to see her.

He approached the door to Nye's room. He knew she was in there; from the cafeteria, he'd watched her and Eldan exchange goodbyes a few minutes earlier. As much as Eldan tried, Nye still wouldn't let him in her room, and for this Quayle was grateful. It meant he'd be able to speak to her without him butting his nose where it didn't belong. He knocked solidly a few times, then waited.

Nye cracked open the door, peeking at her caller from inside the room. Seeing Quayle, she breathed a sigh of relief and opened the door fully. "Oh, hello, Quayle," she said cheerfully. "What brings you here?"

"Uh. I, uh... wow," he answered, not expecting the sight before him. Nye was wearing a light pink silk nightie with black lace around the cups and skirt. It clung to her like a second skin, and Quayle quickly averted his eyes before they got him in trouble. "Sorry! I just wanted to talk to you, that's all!"

"Oh? Sure, come on in," she said, turning away from him, not acknowledging his response at all.

Quayle entered Nye's room, closing the door behind him. "Thanks. I won't be long, I just wanted to get a couple things off my chest... what's with the outfit?" he asked, his curious mind getting the best of him. "Ah, I mean, not that you don't look amazing in it, I've just... never seen you in it before..."

"Probably because you've never seen me dressed for bed," she replied with a shrug. "I don't care if you see me in this, but if Eldan so much as caught a glimpse of me right now, I'd never hear the end of it. He'd burrow his way in here if he had to, just to sneak a peek."

"Yeah, I bet." Even with an extra inch of fabric, the garment didn't even reach her knees; it was definitely the kind of thing Eldan would go crazy over.

Nye sat on her bed and crossed one leg over the other, resting her hands on her lap. "Oh well. I'm glad it was just you. I don't have to worry when it's you," she said with a smile that warmed Quayle's heart. "What's on your mind?"

Where do I start? he thought. There were three topics, each roughly the same importance in his mind, so he decided to go with the topic that first lead him to have this conversation. He sat next to Nye on her bed. "I called Candice yesterday."

Nye's eyes widened. "Really! Tell me all the details," she said, touching his arm with her hand. What did she say?"

"Well, she said she was a little less mad at me, but still disappointed."

Nye nodded, considering this. "Yes, I suppose that's fair of her."

"Right," Quayle continued. "She said she misses me, and she's glad to hear that I've changed, but..."

"But?" Nye offered hesitantly.

"But she's not interested in patching things up. She's moving on. It's... it's over," he finished.

Nye wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tightly, and he leaned into it, looping one of his arms around her slim frame, delighted by the feeling of the fabric. "I'm sorry, Quayle," she said quietly. "Really. You two were good together." She extracted herself from him and was slightly surprised at the expression on his face. He wasn't overcome with grief, or on the verge of tears - he seemed... neutral, almost indifferent about the whole thing. "Forgive me for saying so, Quayle, but you don't seem all that upset about it."

Quayle shook his head. "No, I was. I mean, at the time. I begged her over and over to reconsider. She wouldn't do it. She said she wouldn't be comfortable being with me, knowing what I was capable of. Like she feared I'd relapse and go back to the old me."

"That's ridiculous!" Nye said confidently, getting up from the bed and picking her phone up from the table. "She doesn't know you like I know you, Quayle, I'll just call her and set the whole thing str--"

"That isn't going to work," Quayle interrupted her. "She specifically said, 'And tell Nye not to call and try to change my mind.' Oh, and she also said for me to tell you good luck on your next match."

Nye slumped her shoulders, pouting a little. "But... but she doesn't know what she's missing out on! Come on, you can't just give up!"

Quayle sighed heavily, taking Nye by the hand and seating her next to him once more on the bed. He put his other hand on top of hers, and she put her other hand on top of his. "It's fine. Really. I've had a lot of time to think about this, and... I think this is for the best." He could feel himself tearing up; he pushed the words out before they spilled out and ruined everything. "I love her, there's no mistake about that, but even if I did manage to convince her to be with me, things would never be the same between us. She would never love me again, not the same way she did before last week." He took a deep breath, steadied his nerves for the next thing he was about to say. "And perhaps worst of all? I think she's afraid of me now. Imagine how betrayed she feels. Not only did I hide my life in Team Galactic from her, but I showed her - and the world - the kind of vile monster that lurks in the darkest shadows of my heart. I think she fears that one day I might turn that rage onto her. And Nye, I swear to every god above and below I would rather die a thousand painful, screaming deaths before I harmed even one hair on her head."

"I know, sweetie, I know," Nye reassured him, squeezing his hands tightly. "I've always known. You did some terrible things, but you've spent the last week atoning for them, and showing everyone the real Quayle, the Quayle I grew up knowing, that I... had feelings for." She saw Quayle perk up at that, and she quickly continued before he could say anything. "Had," she stressed, looking sharply into his eyes as she said it. "Do you blame Candice for the way she feels?"

"No, not at all," Quayle answered immediately. "This is all on me. I made my bed, now I have to lie in it."

Nye's eyes saddened at his words. "Quayle..."

Quayle looked into Nye's eyes and smiled, despite himself. She was so beautiful and kind, far better than someone like Eldan deserved. Seeing his smile caused Nye's own grin to come back, and that only made him smile wider. He'd never seen her smile like that when she was with Eldan. In his eyes, it was all the proof he needed, and it gave him the courage to talk about the second thing on his mind. "I will say this, though. Losing Candice hurt, but it's okay because... because recently, I've come to realize something else."

"What's that...?" Nye asked cautiously, having a gut feeling she knew where this was leading.

"You know how I feel about Eldan." It wasn't a question.

"Yes..." her eyes narrowed questioningly for a moment before a sly smile danced across her face. "Ah, do you like him? Are you going to confess your feelings to him?"

Quayle was floored by what he heard. "What?"

Quayle stared dumbly at the cute girl in front of him, who giggled at his expression. "Oh, come now, you walked into that one. I couldn't resist!" But Quayle wasn't laughing, and one look at him was enough to kill the joy she'd brought herself. "Sorry," she apologized quietly, tearing her eyes away.

"No, you've done nothing wrong, it's just... I'm surprised. You never used to make jokes like that before."

"Hmm," Nye considered. "I suppose you're right. I imagine that having to rebuff Eldan so frequently has made me better at... what was the word he used?... ah. 'Zinging' people, he said. Oh, I forgot. Zing! I'm supposed to say that, apparently," she said with a chuckle. "Language certainly is interesting," she said, more to herself than to Quayle, and her mind began wandering before she reminded herself that she had a guest. "I'm sorry, Quayle, what about Eldan?"

"I don't trust him. Guys like him? Team Galactic is full of them. They will say and do anything if it means they can get in your pants. I've seen it done, heard success story after success story from the grunts under my command. Even that prick Saturn did it." He released Nye's hands and put his hands tenderly on her shoulders. "Nye. Eldan is using you. Do you honestly believe that the Eldan you've been spending time with is the same one who wanted to make me disappear? This is just a game to him. You're a quest to be conquered and nothing more. He's playing the long con with you and it's clear as day to me. I don't want to see him hurt you or take advantage of you."

"Is that what this is about?" she said coldly, shrugging Quayle's hands off of her. "Did you just come here to sob to me about Candice so I'd be in a more palatable mood for when you tried to get me to stop seeing Eldan?" She rose from the bed, went to the door, intent on seeing Quayle out. "Well, it won't work. I'll tell you the same thing I told him that day in the cafeteria - who I choose to associate with is none of your business. My friends are just that - my friends. I don't need you, or him, or anyone else telling me who I can and can't talk to like I'm some sort of child."

"So you admit you're seeing him?"

"What? I said nothing of the sort, I--"

"No, you did, don't deny it. You said you were seeing him. You and him... you're actually dating?"

"No," Nye said instantly, surety in her voice. "I don't know," she said immediately afterwards, in a voice which betrayed the confident answer she'd just given. "I know he wants to. We talked about it. But I'm not ready to say yes to him just yet."

Quayle gulped. This was it - the last thing he'd wanted to talk to her about. "Then say yes to me."

Now it was Nye's turn to be shocked. "Wh-What did you just say?"

"Say yes to me," Quayle said with a little more confidence in his voice. "I can't stand seeing you with Eldan, knowing he's more than likely going to hurt you in the long run. You might not believe me, but I've heard too many stories for me to stay silent. And the thought of him breaking your heart made me realize how much I've grown to care for you. The lengths I would go to, in order to keep you happy." He got to his feet, went over to her, and took her hands in his own. "I... Nye, I think I--"

"Don't say it," Nye sharply cut him off. "Quayle, just... just don't, okay?" She hugged him, simply letting the moment hang in the air. She relaxed with a contented sigh as Quayle hugged her back and let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. "You don't know what you're saying."

"But I do," Quayle shot back, extracting himself and looking in her clear blue eyes. "Oh, Nye, I've never been more sure of anything in my life! I only wish it hadn't taken breaking Candice's heart for me to see, but... I see now. I want to be by your side forever. You can't tell me that there isn't something there, that you don't feel something for me."

"I told you that I don't have those feelings anymore, Quayle," Nye said, remorse clear in her voice. "That was a long time ago."

"Are you trying to convince me, or yourself?" he countered. "Because I think that part of the reason you haven't pulled the trigger on dating Eldan... is because you're waiting for me."

"What," she uttered, staring blankly at him.

"You heard me. That's why you put up with my shit for all those years. That's why, when I came to you, humbled and desperate, you forgave me and set me on the straight and narrow. That's why you don't care that you're standing here practically naked in front of me."

"That's because we've been friends for years! I know the kind of person you are. I trust you not to make any lewd comments o-or stare at me like I'm a piece of meat, or--"

"You trust me more than you do Eldan." It wasn't a question. "Remember? You said you'd been trying to avoid letting Eldan see you in something like that for fear of what he might do... You've put so much time and effort into our relationship, Nye. I'm finally seeing it for what it truly was. You were trying to tell me, in your own way, that you wanted to be with me. I just wasn't worthy of you yet."

"Worthy... God, Quayle, listen to what you're saying," Nye pleaded. "You've always been worthy, I just--" she winced, realizing she'd fallen into his trap. "Okay, just hold on a minute here. You can't simply waltz into my bedroom and tell me you love me and expect me to just drop everything and... and..."

"And accept that I'm right? That, yes, we have been friends for years, and maybe I know you a little better than you give me credit for? That maybe, just maybe, now that I'm becoming the man you've always wanted me to be, you're being forced to view me in a different light? But sure, Nye. I'll be fair about it. If you can look me in the eyes right now and tell me that you honestly have absolutely no, precisely zero romantic feelings for me... I'll drop it and I'll never bring it up again."

Nye looked into Quayle's rich brown eyes, the ultimate denial hot on her tongue, but... she wavered. When she revealed to Quayle that she'd actually had feelings for him all those years ago, it had been in anger, to try and make him feel more terrible about what he had done, not drive him to all but confess his love and force her to question everything her heart had been telling her.

But, Nye supposed, that was the point, wasn't it? Quayle may have had no fashion sense at all, and despite choosing a deep, lovely shade of purple for his hair... it was still purple... he definitely wasn't afraid to go after what he wanted. His methods were questionable at times, but Nye couldn't bring herself to hate him for his motives. After all, she'd lost friends and family in the attack on Celestic Town, the same as he had. It was only natural for him to want vengeance for those who had been slain.

She disagreed with his thoughts on Eldan - that much she knew for certain. She didn't think Quayle was lying, but it was ridiculous to assume that all men were like the ones he knew in Team Galactic. From what Eldan had told her, Team Flare seemed like a harmless group of activists trying to preserve the Kalos region's natural beauty. It was a noble enough goal, but she wasn't sure where the obsession with red came into play. And while she accepted that Eldan was a pervert, he had never shown any indication that he was anything like the men Quayle talked about.

Nye pursed her lips, realizing glumly that that was entirely Quayle's point.

Still, she was sure that Quayle's fears were misguided and everything was fine. That didn't mean that she didn't or couldn't appreciate his concern for her well-being, though. She swallowed, thinking how close he'd come to actually saying the words, then nearly went ashen at the realization that'd she'd said them for him just minutes ago.

And he didn't deny it... that confirms it, then... he really...

She didn't want to say it, even in her head. She wasn't sure what to think. She couldn't accept Quayle's confession, but she accepted that a part of her didn't want to throw it away, either. Most of what he said was rooted in truth, hesitant as she was to admit it.

"I can't," she finally said. "I can't tell you that I feel nothing. But you have to understand Quayle, it's been a long time since the thought even crossed my mind, and I wasn't going to try to come between you and Candice. I know what you want me to say to you, and... I can't. At least, not in the way you want me to. That's just going to have to be enough for now."

Quayle nodded vigorously, clutching Nye's hands to his and kissing the back of her hands. "I'll take it. You won't have to worry about anything, if he tries anything at all I'll--"

"Stop," she ordered, and Quayle obeyed immediately. "None of that. I'm not saying I want to be with you, Quayle. I have to be clear on that. I do care for you, but I don't want you to think that things are suddenly going to change between us. It's not like that at all. I'm not going to stop talking to Eldan, either." She noted the look of disappointment on his face, and her expression hardened. "I'm sorry that isn't what you want to hear, but I'm being honest with you, Quayle. The last thing I want is for you to think the situation is different than what it is."

Quayle nodded. "I understand. You're right, it isn't what I want to hear, but I'll accept it. You already know how I feel about you, so I won't pester you about it. But promise me you'll tell me if something happens, okay?"

Nye sighed before she could stop herself. It was nice that he cared, but she still couldn't shake the feeling that he was just paranoid about the whole thing. "Yes, I promise. Thank you, I suppose. For looking out for me. While I'm being honest, I do feel a little safer with you around. But just a little. Don't read too much into it."

Quayle grinned. "Wouldn't dream of it."

* * * * * * * *

Windra lay in her bed, staring at the ceiling as she casually petted Tyeaf, unable to get her mind off the man who had thrust himself back into her life. Archeidon sat perched in his usual spot, fast asleep; Chomper was curled up at the end of her bed, snoozing away as well. Her initial anger at learning of Damien's return had dulled away by now, and was replaced with curiosity. Where had he been all this time? Why hadn't he told her where he was going? What was he doing in Hoenn now? Was she really always on his mind, like he said she was?

Against her brain's will, her heart fluttered at the idea that he'd been thinking of her. Aside from her parents and Damien, Windra hadn't had any other meaningful relationships, so the concept of being missed was largely foreign to her. She missed her parents, of course, and they missed her, but that was a different feeling altogether.

"I don't get it," she told Tyeaf. "Why now, of all times? Why couldn't he get ahold of me before now?"

Tyeaf used one of her claws to tap out several patterns in Windra's skin. Windra had taught Morse code to her long ago, allowing Tyeaf to get her thoughts across more easily than simply chittering something unintelligible and making Windra guess. It wasn't perfect, but it was a great substitute for the signs she taught Chomper, what with her lack of hands or fingers.

"Unable? You think he wanted to, but he couldn't? I guess that could make sense. But if he cared so much, why didn't he tell me where he was going? ... Yes, I know I left, but he never told me he was leaving. If he had, I would have come back and at least gotten to say goodbye."

Tyeaf tapped out another phrase to her master.

"Find him. Yeah, I probably should. I guess he doesn't have any reason to come here, since I'm out of the tournament... Hoenn is far as hell though. And I bet he didn't leave a number where I could reach him when he talked to Tsomu, either, so once again I'm left without any clues. Why is he making it so difficult for me to actually find him? ... 'Don't know.' Yeah, me neither."

Windra was frustrated at Damien's seeming lack of willingness to make it easy to contact him, but at the same time, a part of her was glad. She hadn't seen him in a few years, and while she hadn't changed much in that time, she didn't know how she would react to seeing him again. Would he want things to go back to the way they were before? Would she want them to? What if he'd moved on, found someone else, and was only reaching out as a friend?

But he said he thinks of me all the time. He wouldn't do that if he was with someone.

Windra considered this. Though it was possible he was two-timing some poor girl, Windra didn't think it was likely. So maybe he really did want Windra back in his life. But that brought her back to her previous point - if he wanted to see her so badly, why didn't he tell her exactly where he was?

She sighed. "Think anyone's using the training area?" she asked her Pokemon. "Probably not, this late at night, huh? Thought about going for a swim, clearing my head. What do you think? ... Helpful? Yeah, I think so, too. You wanna come? ... All right, suit yourself." She fetched her swimwear from her pack and changed into it, then grabbed a towel and her room key. "I'll be back in a bit. You're in charge until I get back, okay? If Chomper wakes up and tries sneaking out... I dunno, Spore him or something. Kai's pretty good about keeping him in line, though, so you shouldn't have anything to worry about."

Tyeaf tapped out "ok" on her table, then nestled in the warm spot Windra left behind, eyes trained on the sleeping Pikachu. Windra put on a pair of sandals and left, making her way toward the training center. The first time she'd been in there was for her battle with Esmeralda, and she was impressed by the large pool in there. She made a note to come back and enjoy it when she could, and now seemed like as good a time as any. She'd be able to relax, gather her thoughts, and swim off some of her stress, a fine end to the weekend.

But when she reached the door leading to the training area, she stopped cold. She could see one end of the pool from the doorway, and in the pool, leaning against the wall, was Rose, eyes closed, her head thrown back in obvious pleasure. Lucario was in front of her, his hands on the pool's edge on either side of her. His movement in the water allowed no question as to what he was doing.

Windra stood silently as she watched, unable to tear her eyes away from the sight in front of her. She wanted to give Rose the benefit of the doubt; as obvious as it was, maybe, just maybe, it wasn't what it looked like. And then Lucario kissed Rose's neck, and Windra's remaining doubts were erased. Rose turned her head towards the door, eyes still shut tight. Lucario nipped her neck a little too forcefully, and Rose's eyes shot open in surprise.

She locked eyes with Windra and froze. Sensing the sudden surge of terror over their bond, Lucario opened his eyes, then looked to see what had Rose so spooked.

There was Windra, still outside, simply staring with increasing disgust at his trainer.

(Shit. How long do you think she's been standing there?)

Long enough, Lucario, look at her! What do we do?

(That depends on her.)
Lucario withdrew from her as subtly as he could; he didn't know how much Windra had seen, but he didn't want to give her any more ammunition than she already had. Rose had the same idea, sinking a few inches further into the water to discreetly readjust her swimsuit.

Now that there was no point in hiding her presence any further, Windra entered the training hall and stormed her way over to the pool, where Rose got out to greet her. Lucario remained in the water, posted at the water's edge but prepared to pounce at any moment. This was a very dangerous situation his master was in, and if there was even a hint that it was going to end up badly for her, he'd ensure that it didn't.

"What the hell?!" Windra screamed.

"Calm down, Windra, it's not what it looks like," Rose placated, still preferring to go the denial route. No sense in admitting to anything when she wasn't sure of exactly what Windra knew.

Windra scoffed. "That's your argument? You really sure you wanna go with that?" Windra put her fists in front of her chest and pointed both her index fingers outward. "Yeah. Nothing was happening, all right. And I'm sure the only reason your Lucario hasn't gotten out of the water yet is because he likes it in there. You're sick."

Rose bit her lip, avoiding making eye contact with Windra. This was not how she envisioned this situation happening. Ideally, it wouldn't have happened at all, but she would have been foolish not to prepare for the occasion. She could only be glad that there was no one else around to witness this spectacle, but if Windra continued on in her loud voice, she would surely wake up some of the competitors who were sleeping in the nearby rooms. And if there was one thing Rose didn't need right now, it was a crowd.

Now that it was clear that Windra knew what had happened, there was no point in trying to hide it any longer, but that was still the least of Rose's problems. It was plain to see that Windra did not approve of the situation. The question now was, what was Windra going to do about it?

"You don't understand what we have," Rose began, going into her practiced damage control speech. Her goal now was not necessarily to get Windra to change her mind (although that would be preferable), but, more importantly, to keep her mouth shut about it; however, unlike Rose's parents, Windra had no inherent desire to see Rose safe. A rejection here could be catastrophic. "Our relationship is no different than any other human couple."

"It's extremely different!" Windra yelled. "They're Pokemon!"

"So what? They're intelligent, sentient creatures. They are more than capable of giving or withholding consent," Rose countered. "And, frankly, if they didn't want it, even some of the weakest Pokemon are more than powerful enough to fend off the advances of even the strongest human. What Lucario and I have is far beyond just physical, Windra. And it's not against the law, in any case."

"It's an affront," Windra spat, glaring at Lucario, who hadn't moved since Windra's approach. "Just because it's not against the laws of man doesn't mean it's acceptable. Sleeping with your Pokemon is something you just don't do. I love sex and I've never thought about doing it with a Pokemon. You couldn't convince me even for all the money in the world. My standards are pretty low, but they aren't that low." She shuddered visibly at the thought. "At least I can rest easy knowing I'm not the biggest slut in this tournament anymore."

Lucario tightened his grip on the pool's edge. (I'm not going to sit here and let her talk to you like this,) he growled through their bond, not taking his eyes off Windra for a second. (Say the word and I'll rip this bitch's throat out. It's obvious she's not going to accept us.)

Stand down for now. If calling me names is what it takes for her to keep our secret to herself, I'll gladly take it.
"I wish you could see things the way I do, Windra, but I can respect your opinion." She closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. She knew Lucario wouldn't actually harm Windra without her giving the order, and she didn't want to do that, but she had to steel herself and prepare for that possibility. Rose opened her eyes and asked the most important question. "My relationship harms no one. All we want is to be left in peace. I'm asking you, please, to keep this information to yourself. Will you please do that for me?"

Windra grinned devilishly, seeing a grand opportunity here. This was a juicy piece of information she had; it would be a shame not to use it to blackmail the blasphemous whore and get whatever she could out of her. She assumed a cocky stance and placed her hands on her hips. "No."

"Lucario."

Before she even finished saying his name, Lucario vaulted from the pool and pushed Windra over with a burst of aura before she could even think about reacting. She flew backwards several feet, tumbling painfully across the ground, coming to rest on her back. Lucario was on her before she even stopped moving, and he thrust one of his paws to Windra's throat, fangs bared, raising his other aura-cloaked paw high and daring her to try something.

Rose casually walked over to where Windra was laying, where she was struggling defiantly, albeit uselessly, against Lucario's grip. Rose leaned over the slim girl, shaking her head sadly. "I'm sorry I had to do that, Windra, but as you can see, I take this very seriously. If you won't cooperate willingly, I'm afraid I have no choice but to force you to comply."

"You can't make me do shit, you stupid--hnng!" Lucario fired another blast of aura into Windra's stomach, leaving no visible mark but hurting the girl plenty. She winced as she teared up from the pain, but she was intent on not giving Rose the satisfaction of seeing her cry.

"On the contrary," Rose said, a cold smile on her face, "I believe I can. Because if you don't, then I'll just have Lucario kill you right here."

Windra's heart skipped a beat at Rose's statement, because with the look on Rose's face and the casual way with which she delivered it, she thought that Rose might actually make good on her threat. Unwilling to show any fear despite this, Windra let out a choked noise that almost could be described as a laugh. "You're bluffing, slut. You wouldn't kill me."

Rose leaned in close to Windra's face. "Don't presume to know what I would or would not do to protect the ones I love," she warned. She nodded towards the pool. "Girl swimming alone at night sounds pretty dangerous. It would be a shame if you 'slipped' and 'hit your head', causing you to fall unconscious and drown. It would be such a tragedy. A terrible, unavoidable accident."

Just then, Gardevoir teleported into the room. "Okay, I'm going crazy in there! One of you needs to come ffffuhhhhhmmmmmm. Oh dear."

Gardevoir took in the display before her. Windra was on the ground, Lucario positioned to smash her face in. Rose was on her knees next to her, a look of cold determination on her face. Windra struggled to turn her head to see who the new voice belonged to, but Lucario wouldn't let her. Unfortunately, Windra could still move her eyes, and she caught a glimpse of Gardevoir. "She talks..."

Rose pursed her lips, trying to think of a way this night could possibly get any worse. "Yes."

"What's going on here?" she asked.

"Your master is a bigger slut than me!" Windra exclaimed gleefully, laughing even as Lucario started to choke her. "Oh, god, you're so hilarious! Of course you're also screwing your Gardevoir. Of course you are. Haha! If she only knew the kind of person you were..."

Gardevoir switched to telepathy. (She? Who? What happened?)

(We've been compromised,) Lucario answered, and Gardevoir's face hardened.

(What? How? Shouldn't you have sensed her coming?)

(I was distracted, okay? That's not really important right now.)

(Mm. So this girl knows Rose's secret, and I take it she doesn't like that.)

(Yeah. But we're going to make her play nice, or she's f*cking dead.)
He tightened his grip on Windra's throat, closing off her airway completely. Windra tried pushing Lucario's paw away, but her eyes widened in terror at the realization that he wasn't physically choking her.

"Watch her vitals," Rose told Gardevoir. "If she starts fading out, give Lucario the signal. Let up once she does," she told him. "It'll be hard to explain if you kill her like this." She looked back down to Windra. "Seems like you're in a tough spot."

Windra lashed out with her hands, trying to strike Rose, but Gardevoir held them down, leaving her completely at Rose's mercy. "I can't imagine you've got too much longer left, so I'll ask again. Will you keep this little incident to yourself?"

(You're applying too much pressure. You'll break her neck if you keep going like that,) Gardevoir informed Lucario. (Ease up.)

(Not until she answers,) Lucario replied, but loosened his grip a little all the same.

Windra frantically nodded as hard as she could, gasping loudly and coughing as Lucario finally released his grip on her throat.

"Get her to her feet," Rose commanded, and her two Pokemon did so. Gardevoir continued to restrain Windra as she caught her breath, and Rose paced slowly in front of her. "I'm sorry this had to happen, Windra," Rose began. "But you didn't think I was serious. These two are more than just my Pokemon. They are my friends, my saviors, my mates, my most treasured and cherished possessions. I love them both dearly, more than I can put into words. It would be wonderful if everyone saw things the way I did, but I know that's a foolish dream. Instead, all I want - all I have ever wanted - is to be accepted. To be able to live without fear of being persecuted for something as silly as falling in love. And until the world is ready to allow me that request, I will use whatever force is required to ensure that me and my Pokemon are safe. Deadly force, if necessary. Do you understand?"

Windra responded by spitting in Rose's face. Lucario went to hit her again, but Rose stopped him with a hand. "Don't. It's fine. She's frustrated." She wiped her face, cleaned it off on her swimsuit. "Be frustrated, Windra. That's your right. But, and I'm sorry to say this, if you ever tell anyone about the events of this evening, then I really will kill you."

"Good luck finding me when we all go home, you psycho bitch," Windra shot back.

Rose simply smiled. "That won't be a problem. The Ranger Union is a worldwide organization, and I'm very good at getting information. I have no doubt that finding you will be easy, especially with your added fame from the tournament." She looked behind Windra at her Gardevoir. "I expect that you will also keep my Gardevoir's ability to speak a secret as well?"

Windra huffed to herself, hating the situation she was in. She was the one who was supposed to make Rose do what she wanted, not the other way around. She thought of getting Archeidon to handle things, but didn't think he could handle both Gardevoir and Lucario if they decided to attack at the same time, to say nothing of Rose's third Pokemon. Windra couldn't remember what it was, but whatever it was, it would only make the situation worse.

Rose took Windra's silence as tacit agreement. "Of course you will. So here's what's going to happen, Windra. My Pokemon and I are going to go back to my room. I've got an important battle tomorrow, and I want to be well-rested. I assume you're here to swim, so you are free to do that, if you wish. But you will make no move to harm me or my Pokemon once Gardevoir releases you. If you do, well..." she smiled at Windra again, that same bone-chilling smile Windra was starting to develop a healthy fear of. "You won't like what happens. Am I clear?"

Windra scoffed. "You think you're so tough. What would you do if I told everyone at breakfast tomorrow? You honestly think that you could get past, what, four dozen of the toughest Pokemon in the world? All that Pokemon sex has made you delusional."

"Most of the other competitors don't have their Pokemon on them at all times. Take yourself, for example."

"They're sleeping, moron. Unlike you, I don't bang my Pokemon into all hours of the night."

Rose frowned. "I think we're finished here. Gardevoir, let her go."

Gardevoir hesitated. "Are you sure? I'm still sensing a lot of hostility in her."

"You're gonna sense my foot in your ass if you don't let me go," Windra taunted, struggling to break free.

Gardevoir simply rolled her eyes; she was more restrained than Lucario was. It would take more than that to get under her skin. "Very clever. Rose?"

Rose nodded. "Yes, release her. She'll be good. Her life depends on it." Gardevoir acknowledged the command, and finally released her hold on Windra's wrists and ankles.

Windra stumbled to get her balance, and glared at the Ranger and her two Pokemon. "You really think you're in control here? Don't forget, you're the one with something to hide. And if it's that important to you... I could keep your disgusting secret. For a price."

All Rose's animosity vanished in an instant at the thought of not having to go through with her awful threats. "What is it?"

"Two conditions. The first is easy: forfeit your match against Thresher tomorrow."

"What?!" Rose all but shouted.

"You heard me. I can't stand the thought of someone like you winning it all. Thresher is a really nice guy and he deserves a shot at it far more than you do. If you quit against Thresher, and agree to the second condition, you have my word I'll take your secret to the grave."

Gardevoir stepped forward. "Big talk from someone who was flirting with death a couple minutes ago. Why should we trust you?"

Windra crossed her arms. "Two reasons. One, because my word is my bond. I'm already keeping a certain black-haired girl's secret, one that I know you would be pretty interested in, but I can't tell you because I promised the dumb bitch I wouldn't. And two... because you don't have a choice. I mean, if you really wanna kill me, then--" she stopped as Lucario visibly powered up in front of her, his aura raging around him.

"You should hear the things he's been saying," Rose chimed in. "The only reason he hasn't killed you yet is because I ordered him not to. Don't take my mercy as a sign of weakness. But... I'll consider your offer." Gardevoir whirled on her, clearly surprised by Rose's statement, but Rose held up a finger, silencing any protest. "But I can't just forfeit. As far as everyone else knows, I have no reason to. What if I threw the match instead?"

Windra smirked. Finally, things were starting to go her way. "Doesn't matter to me. As long as it's not you going onto the semifinals, I'm happy."

"All right. What's the second condition?"

"We'll worry about that after your match. I'll be in my room, so come find me and we'll talk."

"Very well," Rose said with a suspicious nod. "We'll take our leave now. Lucario, Gardevoir, let's go."

Windra stood and waited as they made their way out of the training hall. Moments after the three were out of sight, Windra's facade of coolness finally broke, and she collapsed to the floor and cried harder than she ever had in her life. She pulled her legs into her chest and sobbed, the magnitude of what had just happened to her finally hitting her. She'd never been so afraid in her life; the feeling of Lucario choking her nearly to death was something she would remember forever. And Rose, that disgusting tramp. How dare she call herself a trainer - a human, even. People who did that with their Pokemon didn't deserve to be called human.

Windra growled in frustration, tears streaming down her face. She crawled to the pool's edge, all of her limbs aching with a dull pain. She dunked her head into the water and screamed as loud as she could, releasing as much of the pent-up energy as she was able. She beat her fists uselessly on the water's surface, imagining that each strike was another blow to Rose's pretty face. Windra lifted her head out and caught her breath, feeling a little better. She would see a victory over the whore, one way or the other.

* * * * * * * *

Sixty-eight... sixty-nine... seventy...

Thresher was up early the next morning. He was in the training center, unaware of the events that transpired during the previous night, taking the opportunity to get his usual morning workout in. There was more space in there, and he didn't have to worry about waking anyone with all the noise he made from jumping around. He'd also be able to get a good swim in. He didn't particularly like it - he didn't have to worry about swimming into a wall in the open seas east of Pacifidlog, and the distinct smell of chlorine in the air was stifling, nothing like the warm sea air he was used to back home. But, with a reminder to himself that beggars could not be choosers, he smiled and was thankful that there was water to swim in at all.

Eighty-nine... ninety... ninety-one...

As he closed in on his goal of one hundred push ups, his mind drifted towards the young woman he was set to battle in a few short hours. She was young, but very skilled, taking out a mythical Pokemon and a Mega Evolved Pokemon in her match against Quayle. Thresher had never even heard of Deoxys before that day, and he felt a little bit of relief in the knowledge that there would be no surprises like that in his battle against Rose.

He took a few moments to rest after finishing his hundredth push up and tried to remember Rose's team. There was the Gardevoir, of course. Quayle had made her Rose's most popular Pokemon, but that didn't mean it was her ace. Psychic-types were always a pain to go up against; being able to move objects and other Pokemon with one's mind was such a powerful skill that at times it seemed a little too powerful. Prickles would likely be the best choice against her. There was no denying Gardevoir was fearsomely powerful, but Thresher bet she wouldn't last too long if Prickles got his thorns into her. If he could get Stealth Rock onto the field, his mobility would be increased tenfold, but if Rose saw what he did to Taikyu's Necrozma, Thresher knew there was no way she was going to let it happen. He chuckled to himself. If worse came to worst, Prickles could always just blow Gardevoir up.

He jumped into the water. The water felt especially cold to his hot, sweat-drenched body, and it shocked him into alertness. He surfaced, shaking the water from his eyes, feeling loads better already.

Well, what're ye waitin' for, an invitation? Get to it, ya lazy bones.

He pushed off the wall, opting for a simple freestyle stroke to get started.

Problems with Gardevoir aside, he liked his chances. He was practically giddy knowing that Talonflame would be at a disadvantage against two of his Pokemon, and Coral especially. What was her third Pokemon? He thought back to the battle. Talonflame had fought against Mega Absol, then Octillery hit him into the water. And then... oh, damn. Lucario.

Thresher didn't like Lucario. They were unique in their ability to use 'aura' to buff both their attack and defense, and he'd heard rumors that high-level ones could even employ a bit of telekinesis with it. They were non-Psychics with psychic-like abilities, and knowing Rose had one was a little disheartening. Suddenly, Thresher felt a lot less sure about his prospects. Fighting-types were particularly dangerous to his team; Coral wouldn't stand a chance, the poor thing, and while Prickles would last longer in battle, Lucario's attacks would hurt like a son of a bitch. Would the aura protect Lucario from getting injured by Iron Barbs? What if he knew Focus Blast to circumvent the ability entirely? At least the attack was slow, and loud, so Prickles could probably dodge it, given Lucario was far enough away.

As he finished his first lap, he tried to stay positive about the whole situation. It wasn't like him to be pessimistic about anything if he could help it. Even as his father's condition worsened and things were looking grim, Thresher didn't let that get him down as he spent day after day in search of Mirage Island. The fact that the key to his cure was nothing but a myth didn't faze him. Any hope was better than no hope at all.

The loss of the Fessco family patriarch was a devastating blow to the morale of the citizens of Pacifidlog. A benevolent man and a fishing legend, even among some of the older folks, Don Phileas Fessco was a true gentleman, respected and loved by all. The entire village joined Thresher and his siblings in mourning the loss of this great man, but so too did they join them in a weeklong celebration of life, filled with music and laughter and stories, the way Don would have wanted. He had instilled his optimistic, never-say-die attitude in Thresher, and it was that attitude that told him that even though Rose had a significant advantage over him, he would honor the memory of his father and stay positive and smiling until the very end.

He entertained the idea of what he would do if he won the grand prize. He would certainly be able to fund massive expeditions to search for Mirage Island with 100 million dollars. Even though he himself was unable to find it in time to try and save his father, simply finding the island could be considered a huge victory. The island in question was so named due to how it seemed to be there one moment, and gone the next. Thresher had heard the story of Mirage Island from his father, who claimed to have set foot there when he was a boy; the moment he set sail from the island, it vanished, and he never saw it again for the rest of his eighty-three years.

Even if Thresher lost, learning he'd be walking away with 100 grand was an exciting prospect. He'd be able to afford new fishing gear for everyone in the village... fix up his father's ailing old boat... build new houses for the ever-growing population... probably all at the same time. It was almost too much money - far more than he'd ever had in his life. A lot of good could be done with that much cash.

Lap number ten came and went, and he climbed out of the pool, his joints delightfully sore. He toweled off, headed back to his room, and took a quick shower, then headed to the cafeteria, where nearly everyone had gathered for breakfast. The one person missing, Thresher quickly noticed, was Rose.

* * * * * * * *

(Calm down, will you?)

"I am calm!" Rose snapped back before resuming her pacing around the confines of her room, which seemed a lot smaller with both Lucario and Gardevoir taking up space in there. She ran her hands through her hair and let out a frustrated noise. "God, you guys, what did I do last night?"

Gardevoir placed a comforting hand onto her master's shoulder, sending a soothing Heal Pulse into her. "You protected yourself," she said reassuringly, her soft voice a calming contrast to Rose's agitated rambling. "Now relax, my love. You're safe now."

"We are not safe. How can you think we're safe? You were there! She heard you talk, and not only that, but the first thing out of your mouth was a request to get laid! We're not safe, we are completely screwed! Windra is probably on her way to the announcer's booth right now to tell fifty thousand people that Rose Bersalk has sex with her Pokemon!"

(Should have let me kill her,) Lucario mused, earning him a glare from Gardevoir. (What? F*ck that skinny little bitch. She's lucky Rose let her off easy.)

"You're not helping," she scolded him. "Threatening to kill her should not be our first response."

(It wasn't,) Lucario fired back. (Rose asked her nicely not to tell, and she refused.)

"Still, that doesn't mean we should threaten to murder everyone who says no. You can attract more flies with honey than with vinegar," she recited before turning back to a hyperventilating Rose. She sent another Heal Pulse in response in an attempt to calm her master's nerves. "We should wait until she does something drastic before we respond in kind. Do you really think Windra will keep your secret if you forfeit against Thresher?"

"God, I don't know. She said she was already keeping someone else's secret. Someone with black hair."

(She has black hair,) Lucario pointed out.

"Yeah, but I don't think she was talking about herse--" her eyes slowly widened as her mind worked around a sudden realization. "Wait a sec. You know who else has black hair? Scarlet. Do you guys think the secret Windra is keeping is that she had sex with Scarlet? She said I'd be interested in hearing it, and if Scarlet talked to Windra about the notes being switched, then Windra would know that Scarlet likes me. So I guess she doesn't know that Scarlet already told me everything. Scarlet did say that they fought about it... maybe we can trust Windra," Rose finished, cautiously optimistic.

(Don't tell me you're actually considering forfeiting,) Lucario complained.

"Can you really blame me?" Rose countered, desperation clear in her voice. "I won't risk your lives over this. They'll have you both put down if we're caught, you know that."

"They'll have to take us kicking and screaming, because I'll never allow them to take me from you," Gardevoir reassured her, taking one of Rose's hands in her own.

(And that goes double for me,) Lucario agreed, taking the other. (We'll fight for you until our last breath. And besides, I think all three of us scared her pretty good. I could practically taste her fear. She was terrified.)

Rose frowned. That had been the first time she'd ever threatened anyone. Even the worst criminals she faced were never treated this way. "I feel really bad. I should apologize to her."

Lucario stared at his master in disbelief. (What? Are you serious? She threatened to expose us! You don't owe that bitch anything!)

"Maybe not, but that's not the kind of person I am. I should have asked her how we can make things right, not jumped straight to violence at the first sign of trouble."

(No, f*ck that,) Lucario growled. (You can't just let people walk all over you. Even if Windra does keep her word, one day you're gonna run into someone who doesn't, and they're either going to blackmail you for as long as they want or just turn you in outright. There's no shame in defending what's yours, especially in your situation.)

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but I agree with Lucario," Gardevoir admitted, giving Rose's hand a gentle squeeze. "Don't let Windra get to you. Keep your head held high, as a Ranger and as a woman." She gave Rose a peck on the cheek. "Lead us into battle, and we'll proudly give our all for you, our mate, and you, our trainer."

Rose sighed, still uncomfortable with the whole thing. "Yeah... yeah," she said again, a little more confidently this time. "I can't let a scrawny little thing like Windra push me around, right?"

(Right!) both her Pokemon answered together.

"Thank you, you two," she said, giving a hug and a quick kiss to each of them in turn. "For believing in me when I started not to. Now let's go. I'm starving, and there's not that much time left before our battle."

* * * * * * * *

Indigo Plateau was packed.

Sixty-four thousand, eight hundred ninety-seven fans piled into the stadium to watch the upcoming battle, filling all but a small handful of seats in the massive arena. Safiri would later report that it was the largest turnout in the tournament's history, eclipsing attendance for the finals by nearly two thousand. Both Rose and Thresher had had a nail-biter of a win against their respective opponents, and everyone was excited to see how a battle with these two titans would play out. Rose was the odds-on favorite to win, with her battle against Quayle, and especially Gardevoir's near-death experience, making national headlines and biasing people's opinions of the battle. Many people felt sorry for Rose and wanted to see her advance for no reason other than that.

"Good morning, ladies and gentlemen!" Ruby's voice boomed over the clamor of the immense crowd.

This meant the battle was about to begin, and the cheers swelled to new heights. Both Rose and Thresher could feel the energy coming from the spectators, and it made each of them a little nervous, hoping they could live up to the crowd's expectations. The two of them had met briefly just before the battle and exchanged pleasantries, wishing the other luck and promising they'd do their best. Rose had felt those words sounded hollow once they'd left her mouth; despite the reassurances of her Pokemon, she was still deathly afraid of Windra revealing her secret, and potentially paying for her silence was still an appealing prospect.

"I hope everyone had a great weekend! My name is Ruby Erthgrand and I'd like to welcome you to week two of our tournament of champions!" Another swell of cheers from the crowd told Ruby she wasn't going to have to work very hard to fire them up for this battle, but she'd do it anyway. "This is the first of our four quarterfinal matches, all of which I'm sure are going to keep you on the edge of your seats! I'm just as excited to get started as you are, so let's not wait any longer! Ladies and gentlemen, making her second trip to the west platform is a young Pokemon Ranger who just barely edged out a win over Quayle Valentine last week in a battle I'm sure you all remember. Will this be her last time battling on this great stage? Only time will tell! Give it up for Rose Bersalk!"

As Rose emerged from the building and the crowd got their first view of her in a week, the cheers and the ocean of pink flags dotted with the occasional cluster of blue made it abundantly clear to Rose that she was the favorite. It calmed her somewhat, realizing that so many people believed in her. Even if they might hate her if they knew her secret, they were still her fans now, and Rose felt a sense of responsibility to them to give them a great battle. She remembered hearing the crowd's displeasure when Tsomu gave up at the end of his battle and did not want a repeat performance of that, especially at this stage of the tournament. She took her place at the same platform she'd fought at the previous week, ready to give Thresher the fight of his life. She'd worry about Windra later; right now, she had a match to win.

"I can see Rose has a lot of fans here today, but don't worry, Thresher fans, I see you out there, too! Coming to the east platform is your favorite fisherman who faced Taikyu last week and emerged victorious with a stunning Mirror Coat finish that left me breathless. I still can't believe it happened, ladies and gentlemen! Will he catch himself a second win today, or will he be heading home empty-handed? Everyone please join me in welcoming back Thresher Fessco!"

The crowd was still plenty loud for Thresher when he came out onto the field, and Rose was only a little surprised so see a fair number of pink flags replaced with blue. She supposed it made sense for some people to not pick a side and simply cheer for both players, only wanting to see great battles held on the most famous stage in the world.

Esmeralda was introduced as the field wheel was spun, which revealed the two competitors would be duking it out on the ice field. Neither player was excited about this, as their Pokemon would have to take extra care not to slip and fall on the slick ice that now covered the field. A blast of cold air accompanied the field as it rose into view, and the temperature in the surrounding area dropped noticeably. A light snow fell from the sky above the arena. It was purely aesthetic (it would not affect weather-based moves or abilities, for example), and finalized the backdrop of this sure-to-be hot battle.

The battlers were in place. The stage was set. Esmeralda stepped forward and said the words the crowd had been waiting a lifetime to hear. "Trainers, release your Pokemon!"

"Coral, I choose you!"

"Gardevoir, you're up!"

The two Pokemon were released onto the ice, and each took a few moments to orient themselves on the slippery surface. (This is really slick,) Gardevoir relayed to her master. (I may have to stick to teleportation to avoid falling down, but if I miss the landing, I might end up on my ass anyway.)

Rose nodded in agreement and went to reply, but Thresher wasn't having any of it. He was up against what was arguably Rose's strongest Pokemon first, and he needed to push whatever advantage he could. "Spike Cannon, sweet Coral! Just like we practiced!"

Corsola let out a cry as she took aim at Rose's Gardevoir. Almost impossibly fast, an enormous barrage of spikes issued forth, so many that it would be impossible to dodge them all. But Gardevoir didn't have to dodge any of them; she simply held a hand in front of her and focused, stopping every needle Corsola was throwing.

Thresher grinned widely. "Perfect, Coral! Keep up the pressure!" Corsola started firing the needles faster, tumbling in a wide circle around Gardevoir, forcing her to raise her other hand and extend more energy just to stop all the needles from connecting. Eventually, Corsola had Gardevoir surrounded on all sides by a massive spike prison; Gardevoir's hold on them was all that was separating her from a world of pain. "Now, Earth Power! Show me a big one!"

Gardevoir looked down in horror as the one safe space she had left was starting to rumble beneath her feet. She had to teleport now; if that Earth Power connected and forced her to relinquish control on all those spikes, the damage from being hit with so many would be more than enough to wipe her out instantly.

Rose was thinking the exact same thing. "Teleport behind Corsola!" she ordered, and Gardevoir obeyed with not a moment to spare. Her blinking out released the hold she had on the spikes, and the entire mass of them shot out towards the walls like a detonated shrapnel bomb. Gardevoir went to shield upon blinking back in, but the spikes were moving far too fast for her to block so soon. She was stung by several dozen of them at once, and she instantly fell to the ground with a wince, clutching herself and crying out in pain. A large mass of needles collided briefly in the center where Gardevoir had been standing seconds prior, only to be launched into the sky by Corsola's Earth Power. Dozens of needles mixed with bits of ice and earth rained down onto the field, forcing Gardevoir to finally get a shield up, ruining any hope of a counterattack.

She could barely get back to her feet before Rose gave her another order. "Thunderbolt, quickly!"

Gardevoir's eyes shot open as she saw Corsola preparing a Power Gem attack; Gardevoir's warning shot was enough to make Corsola abort her move, switching to Protect to keep herself safe. It was then that Gardevoir could see that Rose had made the correct call about teleporting behind Corsola; since most of the needles had come from this direction, there were fewer on this side. Needles covered the walls all around her, far more than she'd been hit with. If she'd teleported anywhere else, she would have taken more than twice the damage she did.

Thresher assessed the field, impressed with Rose's quick thinking and Gardevoir's resilience. Coral looked fiercely determined, ready to bring her master victory. Gardevoir was slowly rising to her feet, her breathing noticeably more labored; continuously spending all that energy had taken its toll on her. Still, Thresher reminded himself, he would be foolish to count Rose out so quickly.

He pressed his advantage before Rose could formulate a plan. "Surf, Coral!"

Corsola rolled to the far end of the arena, summoning a massive wave of water beneath her. Gardevoir immediately clasped her hands together in preparation for a Wish, but she honestly didn't think it would help. Corsola pushed the wave forward, carrying all the dropped spikes with it, and slammed it down onto Gardevoir, driving her into the wall and pummeling her with a load of spikes.

The crowd's cheers swelled to new heights as they watched Gardevoir slowly get to her feet. She was on her last legs for sure, but she wasn't ready to give up yet. Rose pumped her fist in the air, just as excited as the crowd. "Yes! That's my girl! Now let's turn this battle around. Grab Corsola with Psychic and toss her into the sky!"

Being careful not to slip and fall, Gardevoir reached out with a hand, telekinetically grabbing Corsola with a pulse of light. She threw her hand up, and a wailing Corsola sailed high into the air with it.

(I've got this,) Gardevoir reassured her master as she threw her other hand up to the sky, summoning dark clouds. As Corsola plummeted helplessly towards the ground, Gardevoir brought down a wicked Thunderbolt onto her, driving Corsola into the ground with a huge explosion. Gardevoir fell to her knees, completely exhausted. She threw out her senses, trying to gauge Corsola's energy, and she was pleased to find that she could hardly register it at all. Did that mean...? She looked to Esmeralda, who was watching Corsola's smoke-covered position. When the smoke finally cleared, Gardevoir was shocked to learn that Corsola was standing up, cloaked in a fiery red aura.

"Ha! You sweet thing, well done!" Thresher exclaimed, clapping his hands together. "The best Endure I've ever seen, and ya did it all on yer own! Definitely gonna have ta thank Jethro for that one!" Knowing that his window of opportunity was rapidly closing, he gave his next order. "Now, Flail! Let's finish this battle, Coral!"

Coral burst forward, tumbling on the ice, preparing to deplete the last bits of Gardevoir's energy. Gardevoir simply reached out, telekinetically grabbed Corsola, and flung her into the wall behind her; that was more than enough to wipe out Corsola's strength, and she fell to the ground, defeated.

"Corsola is unable to battle!" Esmeralda declared. "The winner is Gardevoir!"

The cheers from the crowd increased to new heights as Gardevoir's wish activated, shining on her like a spotlight as it restored a bit of her energy. She smiled and waved to her fans, thankful that Corsola hadn't been able to land that last blow which would have surely destroyed her.

Thresher, for his part, acknowledged Gardevoir's skill, but he was starting to feel nervous. Gardevoir had just picked Coral up and tossed her aside, just as he'd feared would happen. He quickly brushed the pessimistic thoughts from his mind. After all, Coral had done a fantastic job of holding her own against a cheater--

Now, now, don't say that.

--against a skilled Pokemon like Gardevoir. All that meant was that Prickles would have an easy time cleaning her up, that's all. He recalled his fallen Pokemon, that familiar confidence quickly coming back to him. "Prickles, I choose you!"

Ferrothorn materialized where Corsola fell, making a show of sticking his thorny tendrils solidly in the ice, securing his footing. Pick him up? Just let her try.

"Stealth Rock!" Thresher ordered.

"Don't let him get those rocks up, Gardevoir! Focus Blast!"

Perfect, Thresher thought as Gardevoir began charging her attack. Prickles wouldn't have much time, but it would have to be enough. As the pillars started to rise, Gardevoir fired off her shot. Quick as a whip, Ferrothorn threw out a tendril and latched into one of them, slingshotting himself over Gardevoir's attack. Before she could react, he threw another one, taking Gardevoir by surprise and connecting solidly with her chest. Once she was hooked, Ferrothorn swung her over his body and hurled her screaming into the wall, where dozens of Corsola's spikes had been washed up. They dug into her body and once she fell silent, Esmeralda declared her defeated.

Rose winced at the pain her mate was in. She quickly recalled Gardevoir in order to minimize the pain she felt, then took stock of the situation. Like Windra before her, none of Rose's Pokemon were able to do anything about Stealth Rock once it was up, which meant Talonflame was due for a hell of a beating when he came in. Still, she conceded, she couldn't ask for a better opponent in Ferrothorn - while being able to slingshot around the field increased his mobility by a great deal, Ferrothorn was still much slower than Talonflame, and Rose doubted he'd be able to reach Talonflame in the air. Lucario could easily shrug off Stealth Rock's damage, and his aura would provide some protection against Ferrothorn's Ability, but if he fell to Huntail, then Talonflame would be at a huge disadvantage.

Talonflame it was, then. Rose cursed herself for not thinking her team composition a little more carefully as she released her bird into the fray. Immediately, the stones went to work, battering Talonflame and draining his HP. Rose pointed to one of the higher stones, one she was pretty sure Ferrothorn couldn't reach. "Get up there and Roost! He can't reach you up there!"

Thresher grinned, a little thankful Rose didn't immediately go on the offensive. "No ya don't! Gravity, Prickles, knock him outta the sky!" Ferrothorn dug its tendrils into the ground and focused, covering the field in a purple hue. Talonflame, moments from alighting, suddenly plummeted face first into the stone pillar and tumbled hard to the ground. He barely managed to stand upright before he slipped on the ice and fell, and Thresher went in for the kill. "Use Rock Climb!"

"That's perfect! We've got him now! Talonflame, don't move! When he gets close, use Flamethrower and burn him to a crisp!"

Rose's bird voiced confirmation and replied with a steady stream of flame that would have torched Ferrothorn had he not thrown a tendril out and used it to carry him behind a nearby rock. Rose went wide-eyed at Ferrothorn's mobility, momentarily struck silent at how something so heavy could be so quick. Fortunately for her, Talonflame was still paying attention to his opponent, firing off jets of Flamethrower whenever Ferrothorn got anywhere near him.

Seeing an opening, Ferrothorn threw a spiked tendril forward, intent on doing the same to Talonflame as he did to Gardevoir, but Talonflame was ready; Ferrothorn roared in pain as the flames took hold of him. He began to growl as dark storm clouds started forming overhead.

"Ya beat me to it, Prickles! Cool those burns with Rain Dance, and I'm sure Predator will thank ya!"

Wow, he's more resourceful than I thought, Rose thought as Talonflame looked considerably more worried. I won't even have to try very hard if I decide to throw the match...

Rose frowned. The events of last night still weighed heavily on her mind, despite her pep talk earlier. There was no telling what was going to happen, now that Windra knew her secret. For all Rose knew, Windra could be blabbing to everyone right now. She'd finish her match and go back inside to find League police, her boss, and lord knew who else, come to confiscate her Pokemon and destroy her life.

But what if Rose was right about the secret Windra was keeping? The more Rose thought about it, the more she was confident in her guess as to what Scarlet's secret was.

That was three days ago. She's had more than ample opportunity to--

Her inner monologue was cut off by a loud bang and a flash of light where Talonflame's wet and beaten body was tossed against the barrier. Esmeralda's voice ringing loud throughout the stadium. "Talonflame is unable to battle! Ferrothorn is the winner!"

"What?! Shit!" Rose cursed as she was brought crashing back to reality. "Oh, damn it, Talonflame, I'm so sorry!" She quickly recalled her fallen Pokemon, trying not to look at the damage her inattentiveness caused. And everyone's watching, too... damn...

"Rose, lass, are ya okay?" Thresher asked, full of concern. "This isn't like you at all."

"I'm fine!" Rose lied. "Just spaced out for a second. You were right to attack! It's what I would have done."

"If you say so, sweetness. If ya ever need an ear, I'm always available. Now whadaya say ye chin up and we finish this battle, eh?"

"Right. Lucario, you're up!"

No sooner had Lucario entered the fray did Thresher call out again to Rose and her Pokemon. "Ya know, I really was not lookin' forward ta fightin' your Lucario. And as luck would have it, turns out I don't have to!"

"What are you talking about?" Rose inquired.

"Yer down ta yer last Pokemon, and I've still got one in reserve," Thresher explained. "So if both our Pokemon were to faint..."

"Then you'd win," Rose finished for him. "What's your point...? Wait, you wouldn't!"

"I'm afraid so, Rose! Prickles, it's time ta end this battle! Use Explosion!"

Ferrothorn dug into the ice and started the irreversible process of overloading his body with energy. Realizing that attacking was pointless now, Lucario instead stood his ground, closed his eyes, and focused. As he did, Ferrothorn exploded, and Lucario grit his teeth, bracing for impact - just in case. When the smoke cleared, Lucario was still standing, without a scratch on him. He opened his eyes, which were currently glowing in a light blue that faded after a few seconds, and the crowd went crazy.

"Ha!" Thresher laughed. "Well, I shouldn't be surprised yer Lucario knows Detect. Probably shoulda tested the waters a bit before jumpin' right in, but it is what it is. Looks like we'll be havin' a right proper finale after all, won't we?" He took his final Poke Ball in hand. "Predator, I choose you!"

"Close Combat!" Rose commanded once Huntail had materalized on the ice.

"Stay alert, Predator! Use Waterfall and meet Lucario head on!"

Both battlers dashed forward with their respective attacks, but after only a few steps into his, Lucario slipped and faceplanted into the ice, allowing Huntail to execute Thresher's command literally; Huntail bashed himself into Lucario's face, sending him flying back at an astonishing speed.

What power! How in the... oh wait, it's still raining, Rose remembered. "Lucario! Are you okay?"

(Ow, son of a... yeah, I'm fine,) Lucario groaned through their bond, getting to his feet. (This ice is really slick, though.)

"Extreme Speed, Lucario!"

(You got it!)

Careful not to fall again, Lucario again dashed forward faster than Huntail or Thresher could track. He nearly slipped again but was able to regain his footing long enough to deliver a sound blow to Huntail as the rain finally started to let up and the sky cleared.

"Keep the pressure on, Lucario, Close Combat again!"

With his speed advantage gone, Thresher was back on defense, but he was by no means out. "Sound that Screech, Predator! Make him regret coming in!"

As Lucario drew closer, Huntail let out a horrible screech that forced Lucario to abort his attack and cover his ears to block out the damaging sound. He shut his eyes tight and winced as the screech's effect took hold of him, distracting him long enough to miss Thresher's next order.

Luckily, Rose was able to communicate with her Pokemon through less audible means. Lucario, he's coming for you! Jump out of the way!

Lucario threw his senses out and spotted Huntail headed straight for him, Aqua Tail charged. Without opening his eyes, he jumped to the side, narrowly avoiding Huntail's attack, and fell down immediately as he landed. He scrambled to his feet and opened his eyes, on guard in case Huntail was pursuing him, but he wasn't.

(That was close. Look, hon, this ice is making it too hard to get close. Might have to long range him.)

Yeah, I think you're right. How you holding up?

(I've got some steam left in me. That first attack hurt, but it'll take more than that to put me down.)


"Great," she said aloud. "Dragon Pulse!"

(You got i-- wait, huh? Really?)

Trust me?

(Always.)
Lucario held his hands out in front of him, summoning a turquoise ball of energy. He fired it at Huntail, who dived underneath it, sliding several feet forward on the ice.

"That's our opening! Waterfall, Predator!"

Huntail zoomed forward using the momentum gained from the ice and brought his head up just under Lucario's chin and sending him sailing several feet into the air. Rose gasped as she felt her bond with Lucario sever as quickly as if it were unplugged from an outlet; Huntail's attack had jolted Lucario's brain, short-circuiting it and knocking him out cold.

Esmeralda, with her ability to see a Pokemon's energy, picked up on this too, as she halted the battle before Lucario had even hit the ground; with impressive speed and footwork, she rushed to Lucario's position and caught him in her arms as he fell. "Lucario is unable to battle. The winner is Huntail, and advancing to the next round is Thresher Fessco!"

The moment the barrier went down, Rose was on the field in tears, rushing to where Esmeralda and Lucario were. After nearly losing Gardevoir in her first battle, she was assuming the worst.

"Lucario!" Rose shouted, slipping several times as she made her way towards her injured Pokemon. Esmeralda walked over to Rose and set Lucario down on the ground in front of her. She fell to her knees, cradling her Pokemon in her arms. "Is... is he..."

Esmeralda kneeled down next to the defeated trainer. "Don't worry, he's alive," she confirmed after a quick scan of Lucario's vitals. "His brain just took a shock, that's all. You'll want to get him to the Pokemon Center right away."

"Oh, thank goodness," Rose breathed in relief, hugging Lucario tight to her. "I thought I'd lost you, my love," she said quietly to him, unheard over the roar over the crowd or Thresher's approach and shouts of concern, but not to Esmeralda...
 

PMJ

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Hello. It's been a while since I've posted anything on this forum - I've mainly been lurking, and doing work as an article editor behind the scenes. But rest assured, I have always been around.

I was going to wait until chapter 11 was finished to post again, but I figured that I might as well make a post to bring this story up from the depths to get it fresh in people's minds. If I'm lucky, I might pique the interest of a couple newcomers.

To those of you who are new to this thread, I started working on this story a little over two years ago. My original plan for this story has gone up in smoke, so my current plan is to end the story sometime soon, if I can just put the words on the page already.

I often get stuck when writing and frequently lose focus, which is part of the reason why it's been almost, what, nine months? without an update. With that said, I have been writing quite a bit; as of this writing, chapter 11 is sitting at about 11,000 words. I've been jumping from place to place in the chapter to write things down elsewhere so that if I lose focus in one spot I can try to at least direct my attention to another part of the chapter.

If you're new here, I invite you to go back to the first post, where I have each chapter linked for your convenience. I enjoy hearing from my readers, so do not hesitate to tell me how off the rails this story's gotten and also your favorite ship.

I also have a Discord server where I have conned invited suckers people to chat with me directly. You're welcome to lurk there if you like.

If you aren't new to this thread and you aren't caught up... catch up. :>

Tagging @PikaMasterJesi because I really want her to read up past interlude 3. Everyone else'll get a tag once the chapter is done.
 

PMJ

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Chapter 11 highlights:

- Windra has a chat with Kiria and Rose
- The Close Calls Club has a meeting
- Eldan and Quayle continue to fight over Nye
- Esmeralda spends some quality time with Windra
- Kiria and Nye have their match
- it's friggin dope

There's a part of me that wants to say that this won't be the last chapter, but in all honesty it probably is. I'll probably whip up something resembling an epilogue sometime within the next nine months (lol). It's kind of a shame because after this chapter ends you will definitely want to know what comes next. And you'll get it. In the epilogue. ;)

I promise to do a tl;dr of the things that happen in the next couple chapters, so this story will still have something resembling an ending.

If you've stumbled on this thread by accident, hey. Give the ol' girl a read, I spent a lot of time on her. Lemme know what you think.


Word count: 14,096

Chapter 11: Shattered Dreams

Windra sat on her bed, legs crossed and a satisfied smile on her face. She and nearly fifty thousand others had just finished watching Rose take a loss to Thresher. Whether Rose threw the match or was simply outplayed by Thresher, Windra didn't know nor care. The important thing was the disgusting tramp was out of the running for the grand prize.

She took a bit of a devilish thrill in watching Rose's Lucario get knocked unconscious, a just and proper punishment for crossing the line with his trainer.

Should have just let him fall, Windra thought, remembering how quickly Esmeralda had moved to catch Lucario. Might have landed on his neck and broke it.

Windra grumbled as she remembered Rose collapsed next to her fallen Pokemon, worried her precious sex toy was damaged.

They wouldn't be cheering for her if they knew her secret.

She turned off the TV, sighing. How badly she wanted to tell everyone else what Rose had done. But, she reminded herself, she made a deal, one that she was slowly starting to regret making. It was almost worth it to tell Rose that she'd changed her mind and report her to Safiri, League officials, or anyone who would listen. While Rose was right that what she was doing wasn't illegal per se, Windra didn't doubt that Rose would be found guilty in the court of public opinion. Even if she wasn't thrown in jail... Windra knew there were far worse things that could be done. And it was possibly because of that reason that Windra was willing to keep her mouth shut. That, and her second condition, which she felt Rose would be more than willing to agree to.

A knock sounded at Windra's bedroom door. Right on time, she thought as she stood in her doorway, arms crossed and chest puffed out, trying to look intimidating for the whore who'd embarrassed her. "Enter, slut," she ordered.

The door handle turned, and the person outside poked her head in. "That's not a very nice thing to say," she said, pouting.

"Mom! Geez, sorry, I wasn't expecting it to be you," Windra apologized, rushing to the door to let Kiria in. "Come on in." Windra closed the door behind her and let out a breath. "Sorry again. I didn't mean it."

"I know," was Kiria's simple reply, not put off by Windra's remark. She pulled a chair to the edge of Windra's bed, sat in it, and motioned for the young girl to sit next to her. Windra plopped onto her bed, facing the ceiling with her hands behind her head. "I'm here to talk to you about what happened between you and Scarlet."

Windra scoffed, rolling her eyes. With all the drama involving Rose, Windra had forgotten all about her dealings with Scarlet. "What about it?" she asked, not looking at her guest.

"I think you know 'what about it,' Windra."

"Tch. Guess that means she blabbed to you about what we did... What else did she tell you?" Windra asked, propping herself on her elbows.

Kiria crossed her legs and rested her hands on them. "Everything."

Windra rolled her eyes again, turning away from Kiria this time. "Yeah, I doubt that. Probably made me out to be some evil bitch."

"That's why I'm here. I want to hear your side of things."

Windra turned back to Kiria, sneering. "I thought she told you everything?"

"I thought you said she didn't?" Kiria countered, just this side of annoyed now. "I want to hear it from you." She decided to dispense with the pleasantries and cut right to the heart of the matter. "Why'd you hit her?"

"Because she had it coming. She's lucky slapping her is all I did."

"That was wrong, and you know it," Kiria scolded. "I'm not excusing what she said, but violence is never the answer. Were you really that offended by what she said?"

"Yes!" Windra shouted, sitting bolt upright and staring at Kiria in disbelief. "Don't tell me you're taking her side!"

"No, just getting the facts," Kiria calmly explained. "But I do think you acted rashly."

Windra stood up and pointed an accusatory finger at the older woman. "You are taking her side! I can't believe this!" she fumed, pacing around the small area of her room.

"I'm not taking her side, Windra, calm down--"

Windra whirled on her in an instant. "Yes you are! It's all, 'oh, Scarlet was hurt!' and 'she didn't deserve that!' Well, what about my feelings, huh?!" She cursed herself as she felt angry tears coming to the surface, but she powered on regardless. "How do you think I felt having to stand there and listen to her tell me that everything she felt for me was a lie?"

"I didn't know you liked her," Kiria said softly.

"I don't!" Windra shouted, throwing her hands up in defeat. "I mean, I, I thought she was cool, but I didn't want anything serious with her! Then I found her dumb note and I was so excited that she changed her mind and I showed up and... wow." She rubbed the tears from her eyes before they got too out of control. "Just... wow, Mom, that's the only way I can describe it."

Kiria raised her eyebrows in mildly impressed respect. "That good, huh?"

"Yeah. And then I find out the next day, 'oops, I don't like you after all, it was for Rose the whole time!'" She took a breath, feeling old anger creep into her voice. "And then she has the audacity to judge me and say that I'm the one who's dishonest?" Windra shook her head in disapproval, subconsciously balling her hands into fists. "I don't care that she likes Rose. I care that she was dishonest about where she and I stand. Now, I'm no saint. I've had plenty of flings. But I've always, always been up front about it. No feelings. No expectations after we're done. That way shit like this doesn't happen." Windra sat down on the edge of her bed, looking at her hands in her lap.

Kiria moved to Windra's side on her bed and wrapped her arms around Windra in a gentle hug. "Here's what I think. Both of you messed up here." When Windra started to object, Kiria simply held onto her tighter and shushed her. "Listen. Scarlet is awful about telling people how she feels. She absolutely should have said something to you when you came onto her - which, by the way, was wrong, regardless of what some note said."

Windra grumbled to show Kiria what she thought of that.

"I told Scarlet she needs to apologize for offending you. You need to apologize for hitting her. I'm not saying you have to be best friends, but apologizing is the absolute least you two can do for each other."

A knock was heard on Windra's door, and Windra quickly wiped her eyes, unwilling to let anyone else see her get so emotional. "Who's there?" she called out.

"It's Rose. I'm here to talk."

The two women looked at each other, and Kiria reluctantly let Windra go. "I'll leave the two of you alone. I'm guessing she's the one you were expecting earlier?" At Windra's eye roll and nod, Kiria sighed. "I don't know what she did to piss you off, and I really don't want to know. Just keep your hands to yourself, okay? I'm gonna go make sure my Pokemon are ready for my match later. I'll see you at lunch."

Kiria opened the door to leave, confusing the young lady outside Windra's room. "Oh, hi, Kiria," Rose greeted her, discreetly checking the sign on the door to make sure she had the right room.

"Hi, Rose," Kiria greeted her cheerfully. "Windra and I were just having a talk. I was on my way out. How's Lucario?"

"Better, now that he's getting some help," Rose replied, being careful not to look at Windra.

"I'm glad to hear it. You two have fun, now," Kiria said, excusing herself and leaving the two younger ladies alone.

"Sit," Windra ordered, pointing to Kiria's chair, and she was pleased to see that Rose complied without complaint. She would not be humiliated here, of all places. "Tough break today," she said with a smirk.

"Cut the crap," Rose shot back, clearly in no mood for small talk. "I lost. What's your second condition?"

"I want your winnings," Windra answered simply. "Every last dollar."

"Done."

This gave Windra pause, and confusion crept over her face. "Wait, really?"

Rose nodded, very seriously. "Yes, Windra, really. Do you really think I care about the money?" She considered how much she was losing, and sighed. "I'll admit, a hundred thousand dollars is... a lot of money. I could do a lot for the Ranger Union with it. But I would gladly give it up for you to keep my secret safe. I know you don't agree with my lifestyle, Windra, but I love him. Both of them. I don't care about winning, or being famous, or the money. At the end of the day, I just want us to be safe. If the price tag on my safety is a hundred grand, I will pay it without hesitation."

Windra couldn't help but chuckle, despite her desire to look intimidating. Had she known it was going to be this easy, she would have milked this whore for all she was worth. It was tempting to try to get more out of her, but a deal was a deal, and since Windra had already showed her hand, the jig was up. "Tch. You're lucky I'm so nice, or I'd have asked for more," she said, crossing her arms in front of her.

Immediately, Rose was on her feet, startling Windra and causing her to fall onto her bed. "If you were so nice, you wouldn't be blackmailing me out of my winnings," Rose shot back. "I told you not to mistake my mercy for weakness. I value the safety of myself and my mates higher than some tournament prize. I'll cut you a check for the 100k, Windra, but don't think for one second that I won't hunt you down if these details ever surface." She closed her eyes, taking a calming breath. "I don't think I'm going to have to do that, though. You say your word is your bond. I believe you."

For a moment, neither girl said anything. Windra didn't want to admit that she was still afraid of Rose, or appear friendly to someone she'd just successfully blackmailed. Rose simply let Windra think about what she'd said, while at the same time hoping that she wouldn't have to go through on her threat. Finally, Rose spoke up. "I think that takes care of everything. Give me your contact information and I'll send you your money after the tournament is over."

Windra wordlessly stood up from her bed and took a small notepad and pen from her bag and scribbled something on it, then handed it to Rose. "Here," she said, thrusting a slender arm in Rose's face.

Rose took the paper, holding it out from her face so she could read it. "Who's this?"

"My parents," Windra said, sighing heavily. "That's their address in Village Bridge in Unova. Make the check out to them and mail it there."

Rose's mouth opened slightly as she realized the implication of the request. And though she was angry at the girl who was blackmailing her, knowing what she was going to do with the money dulled her anger just a little. "I will. You have my word."

"And you have mine," Windra replied with disappointment clear in her voice. "Your disgusting secret is safe with me."

"Thank you," Rose answered, ignoring the jab and exiting Windra's room.

Once Rose was gone, Windra closed her eyes and took a deep breath before slowly letting it out. When she opened her eyes, she was smiling.

* * *

"The Close Calls Club is now in session!"

Kyro stood at the circular table in the cafeteria, smiling as he surveyed the members of his club. Quayle, Windra, Taikyu, Scarlet, Eldan, and Rose were all seated at the table with him. He was overjoyed that his club had been such a success so far, with more and more members added every day. Quayle and Eldan were sitting across from one another, with Quayle finding it more and more difficult to uphold their agreement to keep club meetings civil. Neither Windra nor Rose betrayed anything about the conversation they had a couple hours prior, chatting with those near them, but not to each other. Scarlet, not wanting to look at either Windra or Rose, remained quiet, fidgeting with her fingers at the table. And Taikyu, in the middle of everyone, could tell that something was off with the young group. The aura around the group wasn't visible the way Chara's had been with Frisk, but it was obvious to the elderly sage that the energy around the table was decidedly negative.

Kyro had no such abilities, however; to him, all appeared well. "Today, we'll be discussing Miss Rose's match against Mr. Thresher from this morning." He turned to Rose, who was seated next to him on his right. "Welcome to the club, Miss Rose! Sorry about your match."

Rose smiled at the young man. "Thank you for having me," she said, rising to her feet. "I'm a little sad that I lost, but I'm very pleased with how I did in the tournament."

"But at least you'll be leaving with a ton of money!" Kyro exclaimed as Rose took her seat. "That's so cool!"

"Yes, that is very cool," Rose said without missing a beat, smile planted firmly on her face. She could feel Windra's eyes boring into her, but she wasn't about to give Windra the satisfaction of seeing her crack. She changed the subject. "Anyway, I think the turning point of the battle was when Ferrothorn used Rain Dance. It gave Huntail a major advantage against me. I think if I'd KOed Ferrothorn quicker, I might have won."

"If I could offer a differing point of view?" Quayle spoke up to Kyro. After being acknowledged, he turned to Rose. "I think you could have utilized Lucario's strengths better. They are skilled fighters at long range, so it might have been smarter to try and attack via that avenue, especially since you were fighting on the ice. How is he doing, by the way? That last attack was brutal."

The others now all turned to look at Rose, having had similar thoughts but no one wanting to broach the subject. "He's fine, thanks," Rose replied, not taking her eyes off Quayle. "He should be better by tonight, but he may stay in the center overnight, just to be safe."

"You know, the lord of the night has a point," Windra chimed in. "Doesn't your Lucario know Aura Sphere?"

This time, Rose did look at Windra, wondering what she was getting at. It was a miracle Windra was even at the table; in the past week, she'd hit both Quayle and Scarlet and managed to blackmail Rose, although the others at the table had only known about her punching Quayle. Windra had flat out refused to sit next to Scarlet, and Eldan and Quayle sat as far from each other as they could. As the newest inductee, Rose's spot at the table was next to Kyro, leaving no place for Windra except next to the one person she possibly hated more than Rose. It was no secret that Windra was no fan of Quayle, and Rose knew how Windra felt about her, so what was the point of all this small talk? "Yes, he does," she finally answered.

"It's his signature attack, right? Really strong, locks onto the opponent's energy signature so it can't miss, right? Why wouldn't you use a powerful tool like that? I don't remember you using it once..."

"Hey, yeah! Great idea, Miss Windra!" Kyro excitedly turned to Rose. "Do you think that could have changed anything?"

Rose barely heard him; she hadn't taken her eyes off of Windra, who was smiling very smugly at her. "Well, anything's possible, right?"

"For sure!" Kyro answered, blissfully oblivious to any of the drama of the other competitors. He turned to Scarlet, who was doing her best to avoid the conversation. "What do you think, Miss Scarlet?" he asked her, having noticed her silence and wanting to include her in the meeting.

"Huh? Oh, uh, yeah, what they said," she replied, shrinking into her chair.

"Are you okay? You look sad."

"A ha, do I?" she replied nervously. "Sorry, it's nothing, just thinking about stuff. Got a lot on my mind."

Thinking she was referring to her loss, Kyro's face exploded into a grin once again. "Well, just because Miss Rose's match is our focus for today doesn't mean that we can't go over your match again! There's always room for improvement, right, Mr. Quayle?"

Quayle smiled back at the young lad. "Yes, exactly."

"No, no, it's not that," Scarlet deflected. "Personal stuff. Not worth talking about."

"Oh, sure it is," Windra responded cheerily, earning her glares from both Rose and Scarlet that went unnoticed by everyone except Taikyu. "Why don't you tell everyone what's on your mind?"

"Didn't you hear her? It's personal," Rose shot back before Scarlet could stammer out a reply.

"And a lady's choice should always be respected," Eldan said directly to Quayle.

"Yeah, that's right!" Scarlet agreed, giving Windra a dirty look.

"What are you looking at me like that for?" she asked innocently.

"Oh, no reason, I just thought that what Eldan said makes a lot of sense," Scarlet answered.

"You got something you want to say to me?" Quayle shot back to Eldan, eager for a chance to put him in his place.

Just then, Taikyu calmly rose from the table. All eyes immediately shot to him, and he smiled down at the young trainers. "Why don't we change the subject for now, hm?" The others, not wanting to further embarrass themselves in front of the old man, or each other, all agreed. A short distance away, the cafeteria doors swung open, revealing Kiria and Nye. "Ah, perfect timing. Good afternoon, young ladies," he greeted them.

"Hello, Taikyu," Nye replied warmly. "Everyone. What's going on? Ah, another club meeting?"

Kyro nodded, his general enthusiasm dulled somewhat by the arguing of the others. "Yeah, but it's not really going well."

Before Nye could start asking questions, Quayle stood and placed a hand on the young boy's shoulder. "Nye's match is starting soon. Perhaps we should adjourn for now."

The excitement of another battle coming was enough to get the boy smiling again, and he nodded in agreement. "Yeah, you're right. Thanks for coming, everyone. And good luck, Miss Nye, Miss Kiria!"

"Thank you, little one," Nye answered, giving the boy a hug. "I feel like I'm going to need it."

Kiria scoffed at this. "Don't sell yourself short. I saw what your Pokemon are capable of. I'm gonna try my ass off to give you a good battle."

"Oh, I don't think that will be a problem," Nye said, looking around the room. She lowered her voice slightly. "No offense to Tsomu, but you destroyed him."

"Okay, we get it, you're both good," Windra complained with a roll of her eyes.

"It's true," Eldan chimed in. "I mean, of course I've got money on Nye, but if I weren't biased, I could see myself betting on Kiria. Even Alex thinks you've got this, but I told him there was no way I was betting against you," he said to Nye. "I have no doubt that it's going to be a fantastic battle. Good luck to you both," he finished, flashing a perfect grin.

"Thank you, Eldan," Nye said, smiling. "And thank you for practicing with me. I hope to be able to put what we've learned to good use."

Safiri's voice came over the loudspeaker requesting that Nye and Kiria report to the stadium. The other competitors wished them luck one last time, and the two ladies made for the exit. "Nye, wait a second," Quayle blurted, causing Nye to spin around in place.

"What is it, Quayle? I'm going to be late," she said impatiently.

With steely resolve, Quayle moved to the other side of Kyro and quickly brought Nye in for a hug before either she could object or he chickened out. He made sure he was making eye contact with Eldan as he said, "Good luck."

To his relief, she returned his hug, albeit quickly - though she was oblivious to the smirk Eldan was giving Quayle behind her back. "Thanks," she said, extracting herself from him and heading for the door. "Gotta go."

"Uh, before you leave, I got something for you," Eldan said as he stepped into her path and reached into his jacket. "A good luck charm. Hold out your hand."

With an exasperated sigh, Nye did as he asked. "Hurry it up, I seriously have to g--"

In one deft movement, Eldan pulled nothing from his jacket and instead took Nye's hand in his. Gasps were heard from the other competitors as Eldan pulled Nye in for a kiss before she even realized it was happening. Had they been in private, it might have taken longer for her to react, but with everyone watching - including Kiria, who'd returned after noticing Nye hadn't followed her out - and the pressing issue of her match, it took all of half a second for her to push him off of her. "Are you out of your mind?!" she shouted.

"Not at all," Eldan said, thoroughly enjoying the sight of Quayle's quickly reddening face. It was clear that he was absolutely livid. Good, Eldan thought. Quayle wanted to play this game? Then game on.

"Not at all?!" Nye repeated. "Does nothing we talked about mean anything to you?! Damn it, Eldan, I - Quayle, calm down," Nye said as she turned to notice Quayle's furious expression and clenched fists. She threw her hands down, closing her eyes tight and taking a calming breath. "I don't have time for this. You and I will have words later," she spit to Eldan, fire in her voice. "Goodbye," she finished, and she marched out of the cafeteria, leaving a room full of shocked people, and Kiria to hurriedly chase after her.

Scarlet, Windra, and Rose were all sitting at their table, mouths agape at the sight that just happened. They could all see the dirty looks that Quayle and Eldan were giving each other, and the three of them quickly left the cafeteria, headed for the sanctity and quiet of their own rooms to watch the battle. Old man Taikyu remained to defuse the situation, hoping that the two young men would be too embarrassed to fight in front of an old man since he would be virtually powerless to stop them if they did.

"I see right through you, you know," Quayle said, almost conversationally, to Eldan. He moved back to his spot at the table, wanting to put some distance between him and the man in red.

Seeing this as a sign of fear, Eldan casually followed him, closing the gap between them. "Oh yeah? And tell me, o wise and knowledgeable relationship god, what is it that you are seeing?"

"I see you for who you really are," Quayle answered. "I know that you don't care about Nye. Not really. I know plenty of guys, served with plenty of guys, who are just like you. You see a nice girl, wanna take her home for the night, so you say and do just the right things to get them on your side. And maybe it works and maybe it doesn't," he continued with a shrug. "But that's all part of the game, isn't it? If she doesn't go along with you, why, that just means you need to switch up the game plan! Get to know her well enough to know what she's into so you can pretend to have an interest in them so she changes her mind about you. And then, once she finally relents and warms your bed, it's mission accomplished and you throw her to the curb so you can brag about it to your buddies." Quayle clenched one of his fists in frustration, desperately wanting to hit the smug young man in front of him but knowing that he would probably lose if he and Eldan actually came to blows. "You stay away from Nye," Quayle warned, his voice low and dangerous. "She might not see the truth, but I do. And when - not if, when - I find out that you hurt her... you're going to wish you'd never met me."

At this, Eldan laughed openly. "Dude, I already wish I'd never met you. You know, you've got a lot of nerve trying to lecture me on how to treat a lady. Didn't your mom tell you never to hit a woman? You're lucky that Thresher stopped you because if he hadn't, and you'd actually hit Windra that day, you'd have gotten the beating of your life from me. Lenny and I both agreed that you would have deserved it. You disgust me. And it's sooooo sweet watching you lose your mind at the thought of Nye being interested in me, because I know she will never in a thousand years go for a loser like you. I know you know that, deep down, and you are pulling out all the stops to make sure she doesn't end up with someone you hate. Because that wouldn't play out in that little fantasy you've got swirling around in that head of yours, would it?" He chuckled to himself. "If this is a game, then I've already won. It's over. Your precious Nye is putty in my hands and there is not a single thing you can do about it. If you don't believe me, ask her what she meant when she asked me if nothing we talked about meant anything to her. When you were off probably sulking at your miserable life, I was spending time getting to know my future wife. ...Damn, that rhymed, that was pretty cool," he said to himself. "Anyway. I asked when she was going to let me kiss her. I was this close to doing it a couple days ago, but Tsomu and his dumb cake shit ruined the mood."

"I'll have to thank him," Quayle chimed in, not wanting Eldan to dominate the conversation.

Eldan ignored him. "During our training, I brought it up again. She said, and I quote, 'Not today, but soon.' I said I would be happy to wait, and that was the end of it. I do regret that I ended up not waiting because I would have liked our first kiss to be more special, but I'll take her being angry with me for a little while if it puts you in your place and shows you just how futile your efforts to stop me are. Face it, Your Highness. You've lost." He capped his monologue with a grin that Quayle desperately wished he had the physical strength needed to wipe it off his face.

"You really think you have a monopoly on Nye's feelings, do you?" Quayle replied. "I may have been a terrible person in my past, but unlike you, Nye knows that my motives for such actions were noble."

"Drowning Rose's Gardevoir is not noble, you idiot!" Eldan shouted back. "What noble motives made you do that, huh? Or punching a girl in the face, yeah, that's real noble. Yeah, I can see you balling those fists, little man. You gonna hit me too? Because I guarantee you it'll be the worst mistake of your life. I'll whoop your unstylish ass in front of Taikyu and look damn fine doing it. Hit me, you little weasel," he said, jutting his chin out in front of Quayle, mere inches from his face. "Right here. I dare you. I double dare you."

Quayle could almost feel Eldan's breath on his face, and he started to wind back for a swing, but closed his eyes tightly and put his hands down. He took a deep breath, and then opened his eyes. "No."

"I knew you wouldn't do it," Eldan replied with a smile. "And that right there is why Nye wants me and not you. You're too afraid to go after what you want, and I'm not. She might put on a front in public, but in private? Nye eats that shit up. She's a bold woman and she wants a bold man who sees something, decides he wants it, and goes and gets it. Even and especially if it's her."

"That's a tremendously ignorant thing to say, even for you," Quayle said, shaking his head. "I spent most of my life doing exactly what you said. After Team Galactic destroyed my town, I joined them with the intent of destroying them from the inside. I was commander for several months, leading their research and development team and spearheading several important projects. And my desire for more power, that drive to go and 'get' anything I wanted without regard for others almost got me killed. It lost me my fiancée. And it nearly lost me Nye. She knows the kind of person I was and she's been trying to get me to be that person again because I believe she wants to be with me. She just needs to see that I'm capable of returning to the sweet young Quayle she once knew."

"Real riveting tale, buddy," Eldan said with a stretch, trying to appear bored. "But you're kidding yourself if you think anyone but you truly believes you're changed. At least I'm still the same sexy, stylish guy I've always been. Yeah, I can be crude sometimes, but at least I'm honest about it. I rein it in with Nye because as much as it bugs the hell out of you, I do care about her and she cares about me. So you're just gonna have to deal with it," he finished, poking Quayle in the chest. "Now then, if you both will excuse me, I'm headed to my room to watch the battle. It should be starting any minute now, and I don't want to miss any of it."

With that, Eldan turned and left without waiting for a response. Quayle stood there and watched him go, then took a deep breath, relieved and more than a little proud of himself that for once he hadn't taken the low road. Surely that would count for something? He smiled and he grabbed the remote to the cafeteria television and flipped it on. "Were you going to watch something out here?" the scientist asked Taikyu, still seated at the table.

"Just the battle. I imagine you were going to do the same," the monk replied. "If you don't mind, I'll watch it with you. Saves me the trouble of heading back to my room."

"No, not at all," Quayle said, sitting next to him at the table. Ruby hadn't even started her pre-battle spiel yet - he hadn't missed anything. "Can I ask your opinion on something, Taikyu?" he asked suddenly.

Taikyu smiled, always pleased to provide guidance when asked. "Of course. What is it?"

"What do you think of Eldan?"

"I think he is a fine young man," was Taikyu's simple answer.

This took Quayle by surprise. "What? Really? How come? You heard all the things I've seen guys like him do. You've seen the way he acts towards Nye and the other girls. I can't stand to even look at him. None of that bothers you?"

"I will admit that it did, at first," Taikyu began. "I am ashamed to say that I acted similarly when I was his age. But I grew out of it after I came to realize that people deserved to be treated the same way I wished to be treated. A simple lesson, but one that took me far longer to learn than you or Eldan. I didn't have the support of friends and comrades the way you two do. What I wouldn't give to be able to make amends with all those I've wronged in my foolish youth," he said forlornly. "So when Eldan says he's being sincere, I believe him."

"How do you know he's not going to hurt her?"

"I don't," he said simply. "You could be completely right about him."

Quayle nearly burst out of his chair. "So then why do--"

Taikyu held up a hand, silencing the young man. "You asked what I thought of him. And what I think is that while he is by no means perfect, I don't believe he is the kind of person who would do the things you describe. Those with those kind of ulterior motives are rarely so open about their intentions. I also think you're not being very fair to Nye here. She seems like an intelligent and capable young lady. It's obvious you care a great deal for her well-being, but she may grow to resent your help if you try forcing her to see your point of view without considering hers. Would you stop being her friend if she and Eldan started a relationship?"

"No," Quayle replied immediately.

"Then trust her judgment," Taikyu said, putting his arm on Quayle's shoulder. "It can be hard to watch our loved ones make the decisions we feel are wrong for them, but until they see the error of their ways for themselves, our hands are tied. What's important is making sure that she understands that you support her, as a friend, and that you will respect her choices - even if they are not ones you agree with."

As the cameras zoomed in on Nye approaching the platform, Quayle sighed. "Easier said than done."

Taikyu chuckled to himself. "Isn't it always?"

* * * * * * * *

"Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen! My name is Ruby Earthgrand, reporting live from Indigo Plateau! Welcome to the second of our quarterfinal matches of the first Kanto League Invitational! Earlier today, we were treated to quite a battle, and I'm confident that every battle from now point will be even hotter! Let's start by bringing out our competitors! Coming to the west platform is a woman who advanced after her opponent sadly forfeited, and she's anxious for another chance to show the world what her Pokemon can do! Let's hear it once again for Kiria Gramarye!"

As Kiria approached, she tried pushing thoughts of Nye out of her head. She couldn't help but feel sorry for the young woman - Quayle and Eldan fighting over her was the last thing she needed before an important battle. She didn't think Nye was the type of person to give up when things got tough... she certainly didn't against Eldan... but a distraction was a distraction. She hoped it wouldn't affect her too much, but Kiria wasn't foolish enough not to press any advantage she had. If Nye faltered even a little bit, Kiria would make sure she regretted it.

She'd gotten a reminder of Nye's Pokemon from Safiri and didn't like her options. Each of Nye's Pokemon was extremely threatening to her team depending on the matchup, and the last thing she wanted to do was give any of them a free turn to boost their stats or heal in the event she guessed wrong and needed to switch.

She's going to want to get Beedrill Mega Evolved as soon as she can, Kiria reasoned. Hope I'm right on that, because it's going to be bad news if I'm not...

"And returning to the east platform is a young lady who I'm sure you'll all remember defeated Eldan Faradel last week with a nail-biter of a finish that very nearly ended in a draw... it just goes to show that even the speed queen has her work cut out for her on this honored stage! Here's hoping she can give her opponent, and you all, a great battle! Keep that applause going for Nye Wright!"

If Nye was worried about what had happened earlier, Kiria decided she wasn't showing it very well. Nye was all smiles as she waved to the crowd, making her way to the same place she'd been a week prior. She waved to Kiria, who waved back.

Wow, she seems fine. Guess she's more in control of her emotions than I gave her credit for.

The crowd's cheers swelled as Esmeralda came onto the field and revealed that the two ladies would be battling on the grass field. Kiria wasn't getting any immediate ideas about how to use the terrain to her advantage. The tree in the arena's center was thick and sturdy, and the leaves would make for decent cover, but she didn't plan on any of her Pokemon getting caught up there. Fortunately, she didn't expect any of Nye's Pokemon to hide up there either, so all in all, it was a fairly neutral battling ground.

It was time to begin. After Esmeralda verified each battler was ready, she gave the starting command: "Trainers, release your Pokemon!"

"Eleonora, come on out!"

"Musharna, it's up to you!"

Kiria cursed internally as Nye's first Pokemon proved she'd guessed wrong, and now she was up against a debilitating weakness. Musharna's body glowed white momentarily, and Kiria knew that Nye had been made aware of Arbok's strongest attack. While this in itself wasn't a huge deal, it still made Kiria feel a little more exposed.

Did she predict my lead? Or did she predict that I'd predict she'd use Beedrill first, and then predict I'd go for Eleonora?

She shook that idea out of her head. Ask why later. Focus on now.

At least Eleonora is faster. I'll have to use that to my advantage, but...

Rose's Gardevoir simply tossing Thresher's Corsola into the wall was fresh in Kiria's mind, and she hated the position she was in.

I'm going to have to trust in Eleonora, though, Kiria realized. I can't afford to get Maiko's disguise broken this early, and while Barry might be able to hold his own if Musharna tries boosting her stats, if I guess wrong or she gets a lucky hit, it's all over. I'll need to drop those defenses in the event Eleonora goes down.

With this new plan, Kiria confidently gave the first move. "Acid Spray, Eleonora!"

"Hypnosis! Let's end this quickly!" Nye countered as Arbok flew towards Musharna's position, venom dripping from her mouth. Musharna gripped Arbok telekinetically immediately after the command was given but was slow firing the move, allowing Arbok enough time to belch a large blob of the poison at Musharna. The thick spray coated a great deal of Musharna's body as the Hypnosis took effect, and Arbok fell to the ground, fast asleep. "Dream Eater!" Nye ordered, not giving Kiria any time to respond. The energy-sucking beam connected, but the moment it did, Arbok's body glowed white; Arbok burst forth a moment later, wide awake and leaving behind the glowing outline of her body, which dissipated into nothing a moment later. A surprised Musharna barely had time to back off as Arbok lunged at her in a counterattack.

"Ha! Talk about a lucky break!" Kiria exclaimed at her good fortune. "You've got her on the run, use Sludge Bomb!"

Arbok reared back, taking aim at Nye's Pokemon, but Nye was quick to give her next command. "Float out of Eleonora's reach and use Trick Room! We won't be taken by surprise again!" Arbok fired shot after shot at Musharna as she floated straight up into the sky, settling above the highest part of the tree and barely out of Arbok's reach.

Shoot, Kiria thought as the battlefield's dimensions were twisted. Musharna descended at an alarming speed, prepared to turn things around.

What to do, gotta stall, gotta stall--

"Glare!" she blurted, and Arbok obeyed, leveling a fearsome glare at Musharna. It took effect easily, paralyzing Musharna and causing her to move even faster.

"Thanks, Kiria!" a thrilled Nye called from across the field. "You've just sealed your own fate! Musharna, use Psychic!"

Musharna was on Arbok in an instant, enveloping the snake in psychic energy. She lifted Arbok off the ground and prepared to toss her when Musharna's nerves suddenly seized up, causing her to abort the move and harmlessly drop Arbok to the ground.

"Just what I was looking for!" Kiria shouted, pumping a fist in the air. "Try that Sludge Bomb one more time!"

Burst after burst of filthy poison issued from Arbok's mouth, easily pelting Musharna who was still reeling from paralysis. The attack battered her into the very tree she'd plan on throwing Arbok into; Musharna was only able to escape by Arbok running out of energy for the attack. Though moderately damaged, she was by no means defeated.

"Psyshock!" Nye commanded, and Musharna formed a massive blob of energy at an alarming speed. The attack was hurled at Arbok, who under the effects of Trick Room was just too slow to evade, and it dealt a large amount of damage to her. Seeing her opening, Nye continued her assault. "Hypnosis again!"

Musharna linked her and her opponent's bodies together once more, and after a flash, Arbok fell to the ground, put to sleep for the second time this battle. This time, much to Kiria's horror, Arbok didn't wake up, and she was at Nye's mercy. Nye sighed audibly, relieved things were finally starting to go her way. "Heal Bell!"

With Arbok snoozing, Musharna was free to sound the healing chime to rid her of paralysis, though she was still covered in poisonous gunk. At Nye's next order, Musharna began healing with Moonlight as Kiria frantically shouted for her Pokemon to wake up. Musharna had nearly restored all of her energy when Arbok finally did wake up, just as the dimensions returned to normal. Kiria saw her chance to bring the battle back in her favor and went for it before Nye could do something horrible. "Crunch!" she commanded, and Arbok dashed, too quickly for Musharna to evade. With poisonous fangs bared, Arbok lunged, managing to snatch Musharna out of the air and send them both to the ground. Arbok wasted no time in wrapping her length around Musharna's body and delivering another vicious bite attack to her opponent as she squeezed, attempting to secure a win.

Musharna choked out a cry as Arbok's poison started coursing through her system, and Nye pounded a fist on the platform. "Damn," she cursed quietly before her eyes went wide. "No, wait! Oh my gosh, this is perfect! Musharna, use Psyshock, form beta!"

Musharna lit her whole body in psychic energy, damaging Arbok and forcing her to release Musharna and slink away in pain. Nye screamed in amazement as she watched her efforts pay off. "Get her, Musharna! Just like we practiced!" Still cloaked in the psychic energy, Musharna dashed forward, crashing herself into Arbok and sending her toppling backwards. Kiria could do nothing but stare slack-jawed as Musharna battered Arbok with her own body before rising high and dropping her full weight onto the snake, decisively knocking her out. The crowd voiced their pleasure at this surprise development with screams and cheers. Esmeralda made Musharna's win official, and Ruby could hardly contain herself as she tried giving the play-by-play of what just happened.

Wow, was all Kiria could say as she recalled her defeated Pokemon. These kids today, I swear... Okay, so Eleonora still managed to get a few good hits in, and even though Musharna healed a lot, she's still going to be worn out from fighting this whole time. I could use Maiko here to hopefully get an easy knock out, but if she goes down before Beedrill does... gosh, I hate her team. Still, she smiled to herself, thankful that she'd already gotten a better battle than she did against Tsomu.

"Barry, come on out!"

Kiria's Slowpoke took the field, his deceptively dopey gaze betraying nothing about the speed at which his mind was working. Though slow by nature, Slowpoke was still a Psychic-type, and though Kiria didn't think Nye wouldn't respect the powers that entailed, Kiria was secretly hoping she would - an easy victory here would mean less work for Mimikyu.

Fortunately, Kiria considered, I can attack with powerful Water-type attacks, giving Barry an advantage. I just take down Musharna, use Trick Room on anything she brings out after that, and then go from there.

"Barry, use Surf!"

"Stop him, Musharna! Put him to sleep with Hypnosis!"

Kiria groaned as Musharna did as Nye asked. Though both Pokemon were hugely slow movers, Slowpoke was just barely too slow to launch the attack; as such, he was put down by Musharna's move.

Well, that went awesomely, Kiria groused. Well, I guess since Musharna's a pure Psychic-type then there's nothing she can really do to--

"Now use Nightmare!"

Kiria sighed. ...I just had to open my big fat mouth.

A dark black smoke began to issue forth from Musharna's body, surrounding the sleeping Slowpoke. The nightmares took hold of him and he thrashed about, unable to wake up or shake their effects.

"Excellent. Now, Calm Mind!" Nye called to her Pokemon, a knowing grin spreading on her face. Kiria shouted to her Pokemon in an attempt to wake him up, but her calls fell on deaf ears. The sight of Musharna boosting her strength combined with Slowpoke's energy rapidly draining from the nightmare was almost too much for Kiria to bear. She quickly understood how Tsomu felt during his battle with her - she couldn't switch, she couldn't attack, she couldn't defend. All she could do was pray that her Pokemon would wake up before Nye's Musharna laid waste to the remainder of her team.

Come on... come on... you gotta get up, she silently pleaded. She didn't mind losing, but to do so without being able to defend herself? That would be extremely disappointing. She didn't want to give up, but--

Kiria's patience was finally rewarded as Slowpoke finally woke up, breaking off the nightmares after they had taken a significant portion of his energy. "Slack Off!" she cried, and Slowpoke didn't appear to obey, simply sitting there and giving Nye pause.

She realized that Slowpoke was, in fact, healing off all the damage he took, and quickly moved to end Slowpoke's life. "Shadow Ball, hurry up!"

"No you don't! Psych Up, Barry!" Slowpoke linked up his energy to his opponent's, copying all the boosts that Musharna had accumulated and putting them on even ground once again. Kiria breathed a sigh of relief, but she knew she wasn't out of the woods yet.

"You and Barry are quite tenacious," Nye admitted. "But I can keep this up as long as I need to! Musharna, Hypnosis again!"

The attack shot forth quickly and with precision, hitting Slowpoke dead on, but it took no effect. Seeing a chance to pull ahead, Kiria commanded, "Disable it!"

Slowpoke glowed in a blue aura, linking his energy once again with Musharna's and stopping her in her tracks, telling both trainers that the attack was successful. Nye paused, her lips pursed in frustration. After a few tense moments, Nye recalled her Pokemon, and Kiria visibly relaxed, letting out a breath. She tried to disguise her excitement, but she didn't do a very good job of it.

I can't believe she switched! This is my chance! I'm in a good spot, but I can't get complacent...

Nye threw out her next Pokemon with hardly a pause. "Dragonite, it's up to you!"

"Sl--" Kiria caught herself, willing herself to take a moment so she wouldn't jump headfirst into any possible trap Nye was setting by making this switch.

Unfortunately, Nye didn't give her any opportunity to think through a new plan, as she quickly commanded her Dragonite, "Use Outrage!"

"Blizzard!" Kiria blurted as Dragonite rushed forward in a fierce blue aura. Slowpoke summoned the ice and snow from behind him and blew it towards Dragonite. He was severely damaged by the chilling wind and snow, but it didn't stop him on his path towards Slowpoke. Once he reached his target, Dragonite grabbed Slowpoke by the tail and hurled him hard into the tree; Slowpoke barely had time to tumble to the ground before Dragonite was on him again, punching and slashing at the poor Pokemon until Esmeralda stopped the battle.

"Slowpoke is unable to battle! Dragonite is the winner!"

Wait, what? That definitely should have knocked him out... gosh, that was awful. Oh, shoot, I've got to hurry up before Dragonite's confusion wears off!

Kiria quickly recalled her Pokemon, intent on stealing the advantage back from Nye. "Maiko, come on out! Hone Claws!" Kiria watched Dragonite carefully as he rushed straight for Mimikyu. Dragonite swiped blindly at her, his attack passing harmlessly through her and nullifying his attack. "Okay, use Play Rough!"

If Dragonite hadn't already been severely weakened by Slowpoke's Blizzard, he would have stood a better chance at taking the powerful attack from a fresh opponent. As it was, Mimikyu descended on him in a flash, enveloping him in a sight-obscuring cloud of dust and battering him with her stick. When the attack was complete, Mimikyu leaped off her defeated opponent and landed with a flourish. Dragonite didn't even try to get up. Nye brought her Pokemon back, replacing him with Musharna just as quickly. Musharna glowed white, revealing Mimikyu's strongest attack to Nye. This didn't worry Kiria in the slightest, as she had no plans to use the move against either of Nye's remaining Pokemon.

"Use Trick Room!" Nye commanded, and Kiria was quick to respond.

"Shadow Claw, Maiko! Don't let her pull that off!" Mimikyu made a mad dash towards Musharna, a sickly black phantom claw extended as far as it could go. Musharna was slashed just as the attack was completed, and the dimensions were twisted once again. Realizing that Musharna had not only survived the attack, but succeeded in pulling off the Trick Room, Kiria blurted out another order. "Shadow Sneak!"

Mimikyu vanished immediately, leaping from shadow to shadow on the ground as she moved with impressive speed towards Musharna. Once she was close, she reappeared and bashed Musharna hard with her stick, sending the wounded Pokemon crashing into the wall. She fell to the ground, finally defeated. Nye brought her Pokemon back after Esmeralda declared a win for Mimikyu, and Kiria breathed a sigh of relief. Mimikyu still had her disguise intact, and Nye was down to her last Pokemon. Beedrill took the field as the crowd cheered their support for both players, and Nye surprised Kiria by not opting to Mega Evolve right away.

"Poison Jab!" Nye commanded, and Beedrill flew towards his target.

Realizing a few moments too late that Beedrill would have the speed advantage under Trick Room while in his normal form, Kiria did her best to adapt before Beedrill closed in for the kill. "Move, Maiko! Use Will-o-Wisp to cover your escape!"

Mimikyu shot an impressive stream of blue fire from underneath her cloak, trying to spread it around as wide an area as she could and force Beedrill to retreat, but to Kiria's horror, Beedrill wasn't having any of it; he powered on through the flames, taking the burn and delivering a harsh blow to Mimikyu and sending the frail thing reeling. Nye joined the crowd in a cheer as her plan went off without a hitch.

Damn... quite the little gambit there... hopefully she doesn't try anything like that again, or it's off to the Close Calls Club with me!

Kiria winced as Mimikyu struggled to get to her feet. As if to add insult to injury, she'd been poisoned by Beedrill's attack. Mimikyu growled angrily as she tried in vain to keep her body's head upright, which had been snapped cleanly at the neck. She extended two phantom claws and screamed, rushing Beedrill without Kiria's order. Beedrill floated high above the arena, far out of Mimikyu's reach, and this time, Nye reached for the barrette in her hair. With both Pokemon's health slowly being sapped from status effects, the time for being passive was over. It was clear Mimikyu felt the same way; she tossed wave after wave of Dark Pulse at her opponent, but Beedrill was too far away for them to hit.

Nye held the barrette close to her, feeling her energy pouring into it. "Swords Dance!" she commanded as Beedrill began his battle evolution.

"Hone Claws, Maiko! This battle's as good as won!" Kiria ordered. Both Pokemon increased their stats as Mega Beedrill was revealed once again.

Kiria swallowed as she realized a very important detail. Trick Room is still up! Maiko should have no problem outspeeding Mega Beedrill now! Just need him to get close enough to hit...

As if reading Kiria's mind, Nye quickly gave her next command. "Stay high, Beedrill! Rain down Pin Missile and don't let up!"

"No you don't! Maiko, Double Team, then Shadow Ball him out of the sky!"

Beedrill aimed his stingers downward, using his superior aerial position to spray needles in nearly every direction. Sure enough, when Mimikyu exploded into a dozen copies, they were dissipated almost immediately. The real Mimikyu had taken cover under the tree, the thick leaves and branches briefly hiding her from Beedrill's view. Immediately realizing the only possible place for his opponent to have gone, Beedrill swooped down near the tree's trunk. He deftly circled around the tree and made a wild swing with a venom-tipped stinger, hoping to find Mimikyu hiding just out of his view, but he only hit bark. The powerful hit shook the tree's branches, and Mimikyu tumbled down from above, having lost her footing. She hit Beedrill on the way to the ground, stunning him for a moment. That moment was all Mimikyu needed as she let loose a Shadow Ball from point blank range.

Beedrill was rocketed backwards by the force of the blow, but was able to recover in midair. He could feel his energy fading fast, but he knew Mimikyu was no better off; the damn thing was tricky, but only a fraction as resilient as Eldan's Milotic. All he needed was to land one hit and--

"Poison Jab!" he heard his trainer command, and he was all too happy to obey. He fearlessly flew towards the weakened Mimikyu, intent on claiming a victory or forcing a draw - he would not stop, no matter what Kiria did.

Kiria knew this was it. Beedrill was coming whether she liked it or not. There was one tactic Kiria hadn't yet utilized in her battle - something she never had the need, or desire, to use against Tsomu - and she was hesitant to use it now. Despite her reassurance she would press any advantage she had, she still had her doubts. There was, in her opinion, a pretty damn good reason she didn't use this particular tactic. Pokemon subjected to it... didn't always recover. Sure, the physical attack's damage would get healed, but the lasting psychological damage that often accompanied the technique was something that you couldn't just undo with a trip to the Pokemon Center.

Nye's Pokemon were pretty strong, though. Beedrill definitely had to have a strong will, to put himself at a massive disadvantage if it meant securing the win. He could handle it... right?

She was out of time. It was now or never. She shut her eyes tight and hoped for the best. "Terror Claw!" she shouted, just as Beedrill raised his stinger to deliver the killing blow.

Immediately, Mimikyu's shroud was up, obscuring the immediate area around the two Pokemon. When Mimikyu cloaked itself again a moment later, Beedrill was standing stock still, having flinched from bearing witness to some unspeakable horror. He did not respond at all to Nye's pleading, and Mimikyu wasted no time in revealing a massive black claw from under her cloak. One massive swipe with that eldritch hand was all it took to wipe the remainder of Beedrill's energy. He soundlessly fell to the ground, decisively defeated.

"Beedrill is unable to battle!" Esmeralda declared, stunned herself at the last-minute finish. "Mimikyu is the winner, which means Kiria Gramarye advances to the semifinals!"

It was only now that Kiria opened her eyes, just in time to see Nye recall her Pokemon, struck dumb at what she'd witnessed. Mimikyu limped her way over to her trainer and nuzzled against her leg. She climbed up Kiria's body, perching herself on Kiria's shoulder, and made a questioning noise when Kiria didn't seem to share her enthusiasm over winning.

Kiria felt lower than she had in a long time. She felt like Quayle ordering his Deoxys to drown Rose's Gardevoir.

I didn't have to do that. Maiko could have done something else. Even if she didn't, look how close that match was! A loss would have been fine. Even a draw would have been preferable to f*cking up her Pokemon's mind. For what, for money? God, I'm as bad as Quayle.

Nye made her way over to Kiria's platform, all smiles. "Congratulations, Kiria, and you too, Maiko!" she began, giving the wounded ghost a little tickle. "I must say, I am impressed. Whatever that last attack was took both me and Beedrill by surprise. Terror Claw, was it? I don't believe I'm familiar with it. What exactly does it do?"

Kiria recalled her Pokemon and walked with Nye towards the main building. "It's a combination move I invented. When I first caught Maiko, one of my younger Pokemon made the mistake of sneaking up on her while she slept and looked underneath her cloak to see what she really looked like under there. Whatever it was scared the hell out of him; he just stood there, his mind broken. It was a full twenty minutes before he'd even moved from that spot, and another day before he started eating again. I came to realize I could use this to my advantage in battle, and so I did.

"Whenever things were getting desperate, I'd command Maiko to use Terror Claw and the battle would irreversibly turn to my favor. How could it not? Her opponents shut down, unable to even comprehend whatever it is they just saw. It wasn't until a few months later that I learned that some Pokemon hit by Terror Claw suffered permanent psychological damage as a result of the attack. I... I got desperate, Nye, and I'm sorry. I only did it because I thought if Beedrill was strong in mind enough to willingly take a Will-o-Wisp to the face just to break Maiko's disguise, then he'd probably be able to recover from Terror Claw."

"I see," Nye said, considering this as she opened the door for Kiria. "How often has a Pokemon suffered lasting damage?"

"Only three times," Kiria answered immediately. "I've only had Maiko for about two years, and I've had dozens if not hundreds of battles since then. Still, you should get Beedrill checked out right away."

Nye was all smiles, seeming like she and Kiria were discussing topics as mundane as the weather. "I'll do that. Thank you for your concern, and thank you for being up front with me. I'll let you know how he is later."

Despite Nye's reassurances, Kiria was still worried for the well-being of her opponent's Pokemon long after they'd gotten their Pokemon to the Center to be healed.

* * * * * * * *

Esmeralda made her way downstairs from her room, having just completed her share of the daily report to Diamant. Dinner would be soon, and that meant spending more time with the competitors she'd come to grow quite fond of over the past week. She loved listening to them talk about their lives and families back home; though she was quite happy in Diamant's employ, she found herself a little envious of the simplicity of civilian life.

She was all smiles as she strode though the doors leading into the VIP area. As she turned towards the cafeteria, she heard a voice from behind her call her name.

"Hi, Rose!" Esmeralda greeted her cheerfully. "What's up?"

"Hey. Just coming from checking on Lucario again," Rose explained. "He's doing much better, but I'm still leaving him in the center overnight just so they can monitor him better."

Esmeralda nodded. "I'm glad to hear it. That was a pretty nasty hit he took."

"Yeah... Listen, I also wanted to thank you for what you did out there. If you hadn't caught him, his injuries might have been far worse."

Esmeralda immediately wrapped her arms around the Ranger, squeezing her tight. "You're welcome. I was lucky to be close by when it happened..." She let Rose go, looked around to see if anyone else was nearby, and lowered her voice. "Can I ask you a personal question?"

"Sure, I guess," Rose answered hesitantly.

"What's it like having a Pokemon as a mate?"

"What?" Rose said immediately as hear heart plummeted into her stomach. "Who said anything about that?"

"You did," Esmeralda pointed out. "At the end of your battle, I heard you call Lucario 'my love.'"

Rose's breathing quickened as her worst fears started replaying in her head. First Windra, and now Esmeralda... her hand instinctively reached for her belt and she cursed herself for leaving Gardevoir in her room. "How could you have possibly heard that...?" she asked.

"Oh, I have very good hearing," Esmeralda answered cheerfully, although she did notice the look of stark terror on the young girl's face. "I only ask out of curiosity. I've never dated anyone, and Safiri's exes are both human. Just wondering what it was like to be with a Pokemon, that's all."

Rose's heart nearly stopped at Esmeralda's response. It sounded like she was almost... tolerant of the whole idea. But still, she needed to be careful. "You're not disgusted by the idea?"

Unknown to Rose, Esmeralda had no knowledge of the taboo associated with Pokemon/human relationships, so when Esmeralda gave her a puzzled look and replied, "No... should I be?" Rose nearly cried.

"Come with me," she ordered, dragging Esmeralda to her room before she actually did start crying. Once they were safely behind closed doors, Rose took a few minutes to compose herself before asking, "Why don't you feel disgusted?"

"Why should I?" Esmeralda asked again, confused now. "I don't see any reason to worry about your choice of mate."

"A lot of people do," Rose said, a little confused herself at having to explain this. "If anyone found out about us... anyone who wouldn't keep it to themselves, anyway... I'd be in a lot of trouble."

"So you admit he's your mate? Boyfriend? What do you call him?"

Rose sighed. "Yes. Please don't tell anyone."

"Oh, honey, of course not," Esmeralda said, hugging Rose tightly again. "You can trust Safiri and Ruby too. We all feel the same way about this sort of thing. You should be free to love whoever you want, right?"

Esmeralda found herself getting squeezed as a tearful Rose hugged her back. "You have no idea how much it means for me to hear you say that. Thank you so much."

The two ladies spent some time talking amongst themselves after that. Once it was obvious that it was safe, she'd let Gardevoir out to sit and chat with them. Rose told Esmeralda the story that brought her and her Pokemon together, though she left out the naughty bits at the end. Esmeralda had a bit of fun at her expense by guessing at some of their activities, causing Rose to start turning as red as her name.

Esmeralda felt herself tearing up as Gardevoir leaned over to gently kiss Rose on the cheek. "Just look at you two together," she said, clasping her hands together in front of her. "How could anyone be against such a lovely thing?"

"I wish I knew," Rose answered, taking one of Gardevoir's slim hands into her own. She breathed another sigh of relief at the fact that she did have allies in this world. "If I could shout our love from the rooftops without being judged for it, I would. I hate having to keep it a secret, but knowing I have someone I can come to means everything to me."

(Huh,) Gardevoir mused, staring at Esmeralda.

What's up?

Gardevoir shook her head, clearing her thought before Esmeralda realized she was staring. (It's nothing, love.)

Esmeralda smiled at the two lovers, unaware of the details of the conversation taking place but aware enough that one was happening that she would never be privy to. "I am so envious of the bond you share. My Xatu isn't much of a talker and he's even less affectionate... My Lilligant loves to cuddle, but our conversations are pretty one-sided, as you can imagine." She glanced at the clock. "It's just about dinner time. It was nice meeting you, Gardevoir," Esmeralda said, shaking Gardevoir's free hand as she stood.

"She says the feeling is mutual," Rose replied, getting to her feet as well. "I wish I could bring her along. But even if I might be able to get away with it once or twice, it wouldn't be smart to push my luck. The less people think, the better. Although I guess I'll have to be extra careful from now on if you could hear what I said earlier..."

"My hearing is better than most," Esmeralda said, putting a reassuring hand on the young woman's shoulder. "I don't think anyone else could have possibly heard you." As if on cue, Rose's stomach growled audibly, eliciting a giggle from the green-haired Jewel. "But I'm pretty sure everyone in Indigo Plateau heard that! Come on, let's eat!"

* * * * * * * *

At dinner, conversation involving what had happened before the battle was kept to a minimum. Quayle and Eldan were openly hostile to one another, sitting at separate tables as far from each other as they could; Nye, still angry at Eldan and unwilling to stir the pot by sitting with Quayle, chose to eat with Ruby, Esmeralda, and Windra instead. Eventually, the tables were cleared and the other competitors began to turn in for the evening. Before long, it was just Windra and Esmeralda left, with Esmeralda listening intently as Windra told her stories about her travels to different countries and what life on the road was like.

Esmeralda enjoyed every minute of it, and wished it would never end - and then Windra let out a humongous yawn. "Oh my. It is getting kind of late," Esmeralda pointed out.

"Maybe, but I'm not that tired. Don't let the... yawn fool you," she said, pausing to yawn hugely a second time. "Talking to you hasn't been totally awful. This whole week has been stressful, what with stuff going on at home, and my birthday, and the tournament. You seem pretty chill, Esmy," she finished, recalling the name Ruby had used.

"Only Ruby has ever called me that," Esmeralda said, eyes widened in slight surprise. "But I wouldn't mind if you did, too."

Windra shrugged. "Whatever you want. I totally respect if you want to be called something other than your given name. You want me to call you Esmy, then you're Esmy from now on," she finished with a smile, one that Esmeralda returned tenfold.

"Good, good. Would you... like to accompany me outside?" Esmeralda asked.

"I thought we weren't allowed to go outside," Windra noted, a devious glint in her eye.

Esmeralda leaned in closer to Windra. "You're not. But there's no one here at this time of night. It'll just be us. And besides... what Safiri doesn't know won't hurt her." There was a bit of hurt in her words as she thought of going behind Safiri's back, and the fit she'd throw if she knew what Esmeralda was doing, and with whom she was doing it, but she was still a little sore at Safiri for not trusting her.

"Well, all right then," Windra said, rising from her chair. "Lead the way, Esmy."

The two quietly slipped out of the cafeteria and headed upstairs to Indigo Plateau's main level. Sure enough, they were the only ones around. Esmeralda turned the lock on the doors leading outside and lead Windra out to the main steps. Esmeralda took a deep breath of the crisp night air as she sat at the top of the steps and motioned for Windra to sit with her. "You said you were stressed. Sometimes I come out here late at night to gather my thoughts and de-stress."

"De-stress? How?" Windra inquired.

"Close your eyes and listen."

Windra did as she was told, but after a few moments opened them again. "I don't hear anything."

"Exactly. It's so peaceful at night. There aren't any wild Pokemon in the immediate area, so it's very quiet. My job is really hectic and I'm a very emotional person, so it's important for me to find outlets to let out all the day's stress. Back home, I sit and listen to the ocean, watch the waves roll onto the shore, maybe catch a glimpse of some aquatic Pokemon. Around here, there's none of that, but it's still very calming."

"Huh." Windra considered this. For someone who had been on the road for her entire adult life, she had never thought of the outdoors as a place specifically to relax, though she could appreciate how serene it could be at times.

Esmeralda closed her eyes again, letting the sound of the wind blowing through the trees relax her.

And you were worried that Windra and I together would be a disaster. Everything is fine.

She reached up with one hand and removed the pins from her hair, allowing it to fall freely down her back, coming to rest on the pavement on which they sat. She frowned a little when she realized that she couldn't tell Safiri about this. It would be the perfect example to prove to Safiri that her fears were unwarranted, but if she did, then Safiri would never let her hear the end of it. She would report her to Mr. Diamant for sure, and even though Esmeralda had his blessing, it wasn't the same as having Safiri's. Esmeralda's frown deepened when she remembered the argument she and Safiri had earlier. She knew how poorly Safiri and Helmi got along, knew how comparing Safiri to her would get under her skin, and she did it out of anger as payback for selling her out.

Everything was going great! Why did Safiri have to go and run her mouth to Mr. Diamant? If she'd just kept her big fat mouth shut and let her do something nice for someone special for once then everything would be--

"You all right?" Windra asked. "You, uh, don't look very relaxed."

Esmeralda's eyes shot open as her facial muscles relaxed from frowning so hard. She sighed. "Have you ever had to keep a secret from someone you care about?"

"Yeah," Windra answered simply.

"Did they ever find out about it?" Esmeralda went on.

"Hell no. And that's how it's gonna stay," Windra said.

"I feel the same way sometimes," Esmeralda said, standing up and going down the steps to the clearing at the bottom.

Windra waited a few moments for Esmeralda to continue, but she didn't, merely staring up at the stars. "I, uh..." Windra trailed off. "I won't pry if it's personal."

"Thanks, but I do want to talk about it," Esmeralda said, smiling back at her. "Just let me ramble, okay? It'll come out."

"Okay. Hope you don't mind if I get up and stretch." Windra joined Esmeralda at the bottom of the stairs, taking a few moments to work the kinks out of her body for sitting so long.

"I love Safiri," Esmeralda began, slowly pacing around Windra as she spoke. "Really, I do. But she makes me so angry sometimes. She and Ruby both treat me like a child."

"Wait, really?" Windra interrupted her. "Aren't you all the same age?"

Esmeralda shook her head. "Ruby is a year older than me, and Safiri is four years older."

"Wow," Windra said, impressed. "How old are you?"

Esmeralda kicked herself for leaving an opening for Windra to ask this question. She hadn't been given a fake age by Mr. Diamant, and even if she told Windra she was barely a year old, she doubted Windra would believe her. "Um... How old do you think I am?"

Windra let out a breath as she considered. "I dunno, twenty-five?"

We'll go with that!

"Hey, good guess, you got it."

Windra nodded to herself, taking a small bit of pride in getting it on the first try. "Damn. I thought you guys were triplets or something."

"Nope! We just look similar, that's all. Can I confide something in you?" Esmeralda asked, desperate to change the subject.

Windra met her eyes warily. "Yeah, I guess... what's up?"

Esmeralda clasped her hands together, feeling terribly nervous all of a sudden but unsure why. It's not like saying that would spoil the big secret, right? Besides, Esmeralda still felt like she had something to prove, and so she timidly began, "I like you. A lot. I've never had a relationship before... and I want you to be my first."

Windra rolled her eyes, turning away from the older girl. "That's not a good idea," she said, shaking her head dismissively. "I'm not worth it." She managed to take a few steps towards the building when Esmeralda reached out and stopped her, one bold hand on her shoulder.

"You are to me," she said.

Windra sighed and wondered how she'd managed to get herself tied up in all this relationship nonsense. If she'd known that it was going to be this much of a hassle, she never would have signed up for that dumb tournament. Still, she did like that Esmeralda actually came right out and made her feelings known, unlike a certain dimwit who shall remain nameless. She turned back towards Esmeralda, whose usual infectious smile was plastered on her face. "So is that the big secret?"

Esmeralda shook her head. "Mmm. That's part of it, though. Safiri said she doesn't want me having feelings for you because it'll mess up the plan."

"Plan? What plan?" Windra asked.

"I can't tell you," Esmeralda replied. "Admitting my feelings for you was bad enough - if Safiri ever found out, she'd lose her mind."

Windra shrugged. "It's just a crush. I'm pretty sure the fate of the universe isn't hanging in the balance."

"Maybe not," Esmeralda continued, sitting on the steps again. "But even though Safiri doesn't trust me, I have to prove her wrong. I have to prove that even though I'm more emotional than the two of them that I'm still capable of keeping a secret."

"So there is something weird going on behind the scenes... you just can't tell us what it is?"

The look of muted horror on Esmeralda's face told Windra all she needed to know. "That's a yes!" she crowed, a triumphant glint in her eye.

Esmeralda rose to her feet again, panic setting in. Maybe Safiri was right? She dismissed that thought outright. "It's not bad, I promise!"

"Then why can't you tell me what it is?"

"It's something that's never been done before. If everything goes according to plan, it could change the world. Just promise you'll keep it to yourself?"

"I guess," Windra said with another shrug. "Long as I get my prize money, and whatever you guys are doing isn't hurting anyone, I'm okay with it."

"Thanks," Esmeralda said, glad that went easier than she'd expected it to. "I really wish I could tell you everything. Someday, once the project is done, I'll take you out on a big date and I'll explain everything. Umm, that is, if you want."

"Yeah, I guess I could get in on that," Windra replied with a smile. "As for right now, though, I think I'm gonna take things slow. There's this guy, and... it's probably nothing, but I gotta see it through to the end." She put an arm around Esmeralda's waist after seeing her become visibly upset at this rejection. "It's not no. Just not right now. I can't in good conscience say yes without being sure you're not just filling a bastard-shaped hole in my heart, especially if you've never dated before. We still cool?" she asked, presenting her fist to Esmeralda.

The green-haired Jewel stared curiously at the gesture, putting up her own fist in the hopes she was doing something right. It seemed to do the job, as Windra quickly bumped her fist to Esmeralda's, and Esmeralda smiled. "Yes, of course. I'll wait for you as long as it takes..."

"Uh. I mean, there's no need for all that," Windra began, a little uncomfortably. "Don't sweat it. If you find someone else before I'm ready, go nuts, you know?"

Esmeralda nodded, but didn't say anything. She would wait - she had all the time in the world.

Windra yawned again, and this time she didn't fight the exhaustion begging her to get some sleep. "Sure is getting late."

Esmeralda made a show of stretching her limbs so Windra would think that she, too, was tired. "Yes, I suppose it is, isn't it?" The two of them stood in silence for a few moments, with Windra trying to find a polite way to excuse herself without offending Esmeralda, and Esmeralda simply enjoying the time with Windra. "Thank you for talking with me. It's kind of nice to have company. It gets kind of lonely all by myself."

"Yeah, no problem," Windra said, angling herself towards the building. "I guess it was nice talking with you, too. Like I said before - super chill. Heh, not to mention really easy on the eyes," she added, admiring the feminine curves she'd never have. When Esmeralda just smiled at her, Windra decided that she was too tired to try and come up with a subtle to way to excuse herself, so she sighed and blurted out, "All right, I'm gonna go pass out. You coming?"

"No thanks. I'm going to relax out here a little longer," Esmeralda replied, bringing Windra in for a hug before she could escape. "You are worth so much, Windra. Whatever happened to you, I'm sorry," she said quietly. "I'm here whenever you need me, okay?"

Windra tiredly hugged Esmeralda back, appreciative of the gesture but wanting desperately to go to sleep before Esmeralda started prying further. "Yeah, thanks. I'll see you in the morning, Esmy."

Esmeralda's face lit up like the sun at Windra's use of her nickname. The object of her affection gave one last wave and entered the building, leaving the Jewel of Tajna alone with her thoughts.

She hugged herself tightly, giggling to herself at the overwhelming joy she was feeling.

Is this what love feels like? Goodness, I'm so excited!

She skipped and danced around the entrance, humming contentedly with thoughts of spending more time with Windra. Once she was finished, she took a deep breath in an attempt to calm herself before sitting on the steps leading into Indigo Plateau proper.

Things went so well tonight. Better than I ever could have imagined. Safiri has absolutely nothing to worry about.

She started thinking of ways to broach the subject with her sister. Even the fear of Safiri's reaction wasn't enough to dim the brightness Esmeralda was feeling in her heart, and she had to stop herself from marching inside right this instant, waking Safiri up--Yeah right, Miss Tight-Ass probably doesn't know the meaning of the word rest, Esmeralda snorted--and proclaiming her feelings to her.

A part of her mind reminded her that she didn't need Safiri's blessing since she already had Diamant's, and it was a small victory, but she still longed to have the green light from her sister. Ruby was cautiously okay with the idea, warning her not to endanger the project for her own desires. And she hadn't done that, had she? Okay, she might have let a little bit of information slip, but nothing too bad, right? She trusted Windra to stay silent. No one was being harmed - Mr. Diamant would never allow such a thing to happen. Their gathering of the competitors' DNA by discreetly collecting the silverware they ate with might have been ethically dubious, but it didn't hurt anyone. Mr. Diamant wouldn't give permission to create a biot from the pilfered DNA without his direct supervision, so there was no chance of any repeats of the Aura incident, either.

He would be here in a few short days. Esmeralda vowed she'd bring Windra up when Diamant inevitably met with the three of them to discuss their future plans. Safiri wouldn't have any choice but to hear her out then, and she wouldn't dare go against Mr. Diamant's wishes. It was a little devious, and Esmeralda was a little surprised at the realization of the lengths she would go to for Windra.

No, that wasn't right. This was something Esmeralda had to do for herself, to prove to Safiri that she wasn't the weak little pushover Safiri and Ruby thought she was. She would force Safiri to respect her, or... or...

Esmeralda shook her head ruefully at that line of thought.

One day at a time, Esmeralda.

By now, the night wind was starting to chill her, so she stood up to go inside. Just as she did, a man rushed into the clearing, holding a Pokemon in his arms. It cried out in pain, and Esmeralda's heart broke for the poor thing.

"Excuse me! Young lady, wait a moment, please! My name is Damien. My Pokemon here is very hurt." He opened his arms to reveal a Weavile clutching its stomach, its face contorted in a grimace. "Is there any way you could take me to the Center here? The closest one is miles away in Viridian City, and I'm not sure he'll make it in time. It's my fault he's like this, I'm scheduled to fight the Viridian Gym Leader tomorrow and I forced him to stay awake to train and I knew I shouldn't have done it but I pushed him and now he's going to die if I don't get him to a Pokemon Center right away!"

"Oh no, that's awful," Esmeralda said, stroking the crying Pokemon's fur. "There, there, little one, everything's going to be--"

Esmeralda suddenly stopped petting the Pokemon as a chilling realization came over her. As a gauge to see how serious the Weavile's injuries were, she'd scanned the creature, and was terrified to learn that the Pokemon was in perfect health. The Weavile made his move, leaping from Damien's arms and slashing one of his claws across Esmeralda's throat.

Esmeralda stumbled backwards, blood pouring from where she'd been hit. She tore a length of fabric from the shirt she was wearing and tied it around her wound to try and stop the blood flow, but Weavile slashed her again, across her legs, tearing the flesh and sending her tumbling in a bloody mess to the ground.

"I saw you talking to Windra," Damien said conversationally as he approached the wounded woman. "Did you know that she and I... well, I don't think you'll have time to hear the whole story." He chuckled as Esmeralda stared silently at him, her breathing becoming more and more labored. He was impressed that she was still alive - that hit to the throat should have killed her. It was no matter, though. It was clear that she didn't have long. "Shame we had to meet this way. You're sexy as hell. Three of us coulda had a lot of fun... ah well." He stood up, nodded at his Weavile when he found the door to Indigo Plateau was unlocked. He took a radio from his pocket, switched it on. "Target eliminated. We're in."
 

PMJ

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Chapter 12 highlights:

- Team Galactic has invaded
- Not everyone makes it out alive
- This is the last chapter
- it's friggin dope

After six and a half years, it's finally time for the end.

As I recently said in my Discord, this story has gotten too far away from me for me to rein in with all the other stuff I have going on in my life right now. It's just one extra plate to keep spinning and I've grown tired of trying to make sure the nearly 17,000 words I've put into this final chapter don't go to waste. So, to that end, rather than letting this remain incomplete, I've decided to just stop right at the climax (I know, I know) and give you a play by play of how I planned on the story to play out, and let you fill in the details with your imagination. Like I said, I've got 17k into this chapter - you're still getting a good meal out of this chapter. Just not as big a portion as you could have (I had originally expected this chapter to break 30,000 words easy).

I am tagging everyone for this final chapter and will do so again for the inevitable epilogue. To everyone who submitted characters, thank you. I know I made some executive changes, but I hope that it made for a more interesting story. To those of you who lurked in my Discord while this story's progress continued to lag despite my semi-yearly updates, thank you. I love a good nostalgia trip so I don't know if I will be closing the Discord at some point. You are free to lurk there as long as you like.

If you are in neither of these groups and just happen to be an interested reader, I thank you for any part of this story you read. There is nothing that means more to me as a writer than people engaging with me and my work, so by all means, leave me a comment here, on my profile, or on Discord (username: perfectpurity).

It's been real, y'all. Enjoy.

Word count (before tldr): 16,759

Chapter 12: The End

It wasn't often that Safiri actually slept. That was not to say that she didn't enjoy it when she did, but under normal circumstances, she found it to be a waste of her abilities. The fact that humans required several hours of sleep a night in order to feel recharged for less than a single day was something Safiri found wildly inefficient, and she was glad for being able to go for days at a time without feeling fatigued. Still, when she did rest, she preferred to take short naps rather than lay down for a longer, fuller rest, as she was doing now. Honestly, she hadn't planned on sleeping at all; the only reason she was in bed right now was because Diamant ordered her to get more than the thirty to sixty minutes she'd planned on taking... eventually.

As she closed her eyes and tried to prepare her body for sleep, her mind drifted to Esmeralda and the argument they'd had last night. She couldn't remember a time when she'd been so nasty to her sister. She let out a breath, wishing she hadn't left things the way she did.

I shouldn't have said those things. Esmeralda is right; it's not her fault that she reacts the way she does. It was wrong of me to take advantage of that.

When her brain reminded her that Esmeralda threatened to expose them, Safiri had to admit that the only reason Esmeralda made an outburst like that was because she and Ruby had refused to talk to her. Esmeralda was just as important a part of Version Zero as either her or Ruby; was there really such a need to continue treating her like a child, just because she's prone to emotional outbursts? Was it her fault that she was blissfully unaware of Helmi's treatment of Argenta? Would she have compared Safiri to Helmi if she had?

Probably not, Safiri mused.

Would Esmeralda still be upset with her for telling Diamant about her crush on Windra? It was possible, but Safiri still felt it was the right decision. Even though he'd understood and even welcomed the idea, Esmeralda was more upset that Safiri had broken some unspoken vow of silence when it came to discussing Esmeralda's love life.

Safiri frowned as she realized she'd gotten upset with Esmeralda for simply being Esmeralda, but got angry when Esmeralda was fuming at Safiri for being Safiri. Both of them were acting within the expected parameters of their programming, but both of them had been blinded by anger and unable to see the other's point of view.

Don't I feel silly. I'm embarrassed that I couldn't figure that out sooner.

She thought more about what Esmeralda had said to her, about the subjects--competitors, she amended with a wince--thinking she was a bitch for not being more sociable. She hated to admit it, but Esmeralda was right; she'd actively avoided befriending any of them, preferring to keep things professional. Part of this was due to her programming, but a larger part than she was willing to admit was from her own failed relationships. This was also something Esmeralda wasn't privy to the details of, and Safiri was ashamed to realize that she had kept that information from Esmeralda, not because of how sweet and innocent Esmeralda might react to the idea of her big sister having romantic relationships, but because she just didn't want to tell her.

I've been treating you more like a subordinate than a sister. I'm sorry, Esmeralda.

Resolved to apologize in person as well, Safiri briefly considered heading to Esmeralda's quarters and having her chat now, but she was already in bed and comfortable, and nothing she had to say was so urgent that it couldn't wait until tomorrow to be said. She guessed Esmeralda was asleep anyway - not that she needed the sleep, but she so loved this little game of pretending to be human that she'd mimicked their sleeping schedules.

Safiri settled into her pillow, and closed her eyes, happy that she had a plan to patch things up with her sister. Almost immediately, a huge bang was heard from inside Esmeralda's room. It jolted Safiri into alertness, and she sat upright in her bed, trying to figure out what could have made such a noise. A few moments later, it was heard again, followed by a large crash in the hall. Safiri scrambled to her door and opened it up to see a Xatu blast past her and disappear down a hallway. Ruby's door opened a second later, having apparently also been awakened by the noise. The two Jewels looked at the remains of Esmeralda's door in a broken pile on the floor.

"What in the hell was that?!" Ruby screamed as she went to check on Esmeralda.

"Esmeralda's Xatu," Safiri answered as she joined her. "How's Esmeralda?"

"She's gone," Ruby said as she pushed her way past Safiri into the hallway. "I don't like this, Safiri," she continued as she briefly ducked into her room to grab her Pokemon.

Safiri looked to make sure her own Pokemon were where she'd left them. "I don't either. I haven't seen him this spooked since Esmeralda almost drowned at sea. If he's causing property damage, she's in danger. You and your Pokemon should be able to handle it, so go after him and do what you can. I'll call Mr. Diamant and fill him in, then meet up with you in the cafeteria."

"Right!" Ruby confirmed, dashing down the only path Xatu could have gone and disappeared the same as he had.

Safiri quickly went for her phone and dialed her boss, offering silent apologies for this unscheduled call, even if it was an emergency. As it rang, she couldn't help but fear for the worst. Whatever had scared Xatu enough for him to not only break out of his Poke Ball, but shatter Esmeralda's door and zip past her without a word, couldn't be anything remotely good.

******

Ruby ran as fast as she could, following the unmistakable sounds of battle. She made it to the lobby just in time to see Esmeralda's Xatu dispatch a dozen Pokemon with a single Psychic; immediately, more took their place, but a single Heat Wave did them in. It didn't matter; they were simply too numerous.

"What the hell?!" Ruby shrieked, her hand on her belt in an instant. "Go, Darmanitan!"

(Outside! She's in danger!) Xatu told his master's sister as he crushed a particularly strong Croagunk into paste with Zen Headbutt.

She looked outside, trying to find her sister as seemingly a hundred Team Galactic grunts and more than twice as many Pokemon tried forcing their way into Indigo Plateau. Many of them hesitated after seeing Xatu's show of force and seeing Darmanitan effortlessly dismantle any Pokemon she could get her mighty hands on, but a few of the stronger grunts pushed forward anyway. Ruby scanned the invaders and found their power levels varied wildly, ranging from as low as 20 to as high as 104. She noticed several spikes of Pokemon in the 180s approaching from farther out, and she gasped as she saw a Pokemon among them that was level 245, nearly maxing out the range of her scanning capabilities. It genuinely frightened her, as she didn't know of any Pokemon that powerful, or any trainer powerful enough to command such a creature. She tamped down on that fear, however, and focused on saving her sister. "I'll take it from here! Go wake the others, then get Safiri!"

(Understood,) Xatu replied, and in a flash, he was gone. With Xatu out of the way, one of the grunts who'd been hanging back decided to use his Sharpedo to take advantage of Darmanitan's weakness to water. It used Aqua Jet, and hit Darmanitan square in the back, but Darmanitan was so much stronger than the poor grunt's Sharpedo that it did minimal damage even with the type advantage. Darmanitan reached behind her with alarming speed and snatched the Sharpedo by its mouth with one giant hand; pulling it in front of her, she grabbed the flailing Pokemon's other half and, with a roar, tore its mouth backwards and ripped it savagely in half.

Dozens of the Pokemon who'd witnessed this act gave Darmanitan a wide berth, their self-preservation instincts overriding the orders of their trainers. Darmanitan showed no quarter to the ones that remained, punching and stomping and spewing mighty blasts of flame at anyone, human or Pokemon, that was in reach. And still they kept coming; it was like there was a neverending stream of Pokemon. Though Darmanitan was slowly working her way outside, she wasn't moving as quickly as Ruby would have liked, given the circumstances. So she took another ball from her belt. The damage was likely going to be substantial, but she'd worry about the repair bill later. "Turtonator, help! Clear a path with Shell Trap!"

Ruby's massive turtle came out and activated her trap; immediately, a Pokemon attacked her, causing her back to violently explode outwards, incinerating every human and Pokemon caught in the blast zone. All the humans died, and any Pokemon that survived the blast was quickly put out of commission by Darmanitan's violent fury. A Toxicroak leaped from Turtonator's blind spot, but Darmanitan caught it in midair, crushing its neck effortlessly. Turtonator moved through the wide hole that used to be the entrance to Indigo Plateau, and Ruby followed after her, desperately looking around for her sister.

"Find Esmeralda!" she instructed her Pokemon. By this time, several of the surviving grunts had turned tail and fled, but the ones that hadn't seen the carnage that Ruby's Pokemon had inflicted stayed around to try their luck. Darmanitan shouted something as he punched out a pair of Weavile, and Turtonator responded to him by turning her back and activating another Shell Trap. With so many attackers, it was activated effortlessly, and another massive explosion issued forth, spraying bodies everywhere and clearing a path thirty feet out. Darmanitan leaped into action, using the gap Turtonator made to close the distance between him and something on the ground. Ruby was horrified to see the trampled body of Esmeralda lying in a bruised and bloody heap on the ground, and shrieked in panic upon seeing the bloody, hastily ripped fabric around her throat, and open wounds on her legs. With Ruby's Pokemon giving her cover, she scooped Esmeralda into her arms and retreated into Indigo Plateau just in time to meet Safiri, Quayle, and Tsomu.

"What the hell's going on?!" Safiri demanded, but upon seeing Esmeralda's bloody body, she screamed. A quick scan showed she was still alive, but just barely. "What happened to her?!"

"She's fading fast," Ruby blurted, thrusting Esmeralda into Safiri's arms. Take her to the Pokemon Center, she's mostly human so they might be able to save her." The four could hear intensifying sounds of combat, and grunts of effort from Darmanitan and Turtonator. "I gotta get back to my girls, they're all alone out there. Hundreds of them, Safiri, maybe even a thousand. Power levels all over the place, including one at 245."

"Excuse me?" Safiri asked, finding that hard to believe. The tournament of champions was meant to find the strongest trainers in the world, and no one in the tournament had anything even approaching level 100.

"Just trust me, it's not an error. Now go! You two," she pointed at Quayle and Tsomu as Safiri headed for the Pokemon Center, "Grab your Pokemon and help me defend this place! I don't know who they are or what they're after, but we can't let them in!"

"They're Team Galactic," Quayle informed the others as they went back into the fray. "I recognize the uniforms. I used to work for them, but that was a lifetime ago. I don't know why they've come, but even I could handle most of the people in the team. We shouldn't have much trouble, depending on who's in charge of this mission--"

Just then, Darmanitan and Turtonator were both knocked backwards by a massive Dark Pulse, and they came tumbling in a heap at Ruby's feet. A quick scan showed they were low on health, and both of them had suffered from minor acid burns. The three trainers looked up to find a tall, slender woman with violet hair approaching them; next to her was an enormous Skuntank, and Ruby correctly guessed it had been the cause of her Pokemon's predicament.

The visitor smiled at the one person she recognized in the group. "Well, if it isn't Umbriel."

Quayle swore he could have felt the color leave his face, but he maintained his facade of coolness. "Hello, Jupiter. So you're running this op? Well, you're tough, but even you can't handle all three of us at once." He and Tsomu both took Poke Balls from their belt as Jupiter simply looked on, amused.

Ruby scanned the Skuntank to see if there was any truth to Quayle's claim and was shocked to see it was one of the outliers she'd scanned before. "Level 182. I'm not so sure about that, Quayle."

"You should listen to your little girlfriend there," Jupiter taunted as she gave Skuntank a pet. "Now then, you should know why we're here. Dialga. The boss needs it, and you're going to give it to me."

"Absolutely not," Quayle declared, releasing Shifter from his Poke Ball. Tsomu's Venusaur was likewise released, and the group stared down their enemy. "I'd rather die than let Cyrus have his way. Shifter, Thunderbolt!"

Faster than anyone could track, Shifter shifted into Attack Forme and launched the massive bolt, but Skuntank was protected by a massive Purugly; The attack harmlessly deflected off the shield, and this time, the fear showed on Quayle's face as the Purugly's redheaded trainer joined the group. "Did I miss anything?" she asked.

"Oh, shit. Mars. Okay, we are definitely outmatched now. We have to run. Let's regroup with the others."

Mars laughed defiantly. "You're not going anywhere! Purugly, Shadow Claw!"

The fat cat Pokemon lunged towards Quayle, and Deoxys intercepted, shifting between Speed Forme and Defense form lightning quick in order to most efficiently take the blow, but Purugly was easily able to overpower Shifter's Defense Forme. As her claws sank into Shifter's flesh, Tsomu's Venusaur tried Frenzy Plant to erect a barrier to separate them from Mars and Jupiter, but Jupiter's Skuntank responded by torching Venusaur with a powerful Flamethrower and completely destroying the little portion of the attack Venusaur managed to get off.

Ruby's scream of horror barely registered to Quayle as he helplessly watched Purugly rip Shifter's insides out. She was stunned for only a moment as she reached for her Blaziken's Poke Ball, but that one moment was all her foes needed; Purugly slashed at Ruby's hand, cleanly amputating the appendage along with a good chunk of her arm. She fell to her knees and screamed, but those screams were rapidly snuffed out as Skuntank vomited up a pile of horribly corrosive acid onto Ruby's face and chest. She was dead within seconds and slumped over, coming to rest in front of her weakened Pokemon.

With the grim realization that they were all about to die, Quayle turned to Tsomu and made his final plea as quickly as he could. "Dialga has power over time. Use it to go back and fix this. It's up to you, Tsomu. Warn the others and save Esmeralda! When you find me, tell me, 'bad can be--'"

Purugly slashed Quayle across the throat, and he stumbled a few moments before he was hit by a Shadow Ball, ending what few minutes remained of his life.

For his part, Tsomu turned around and ran as fast as he could, dropping Bae's Poke Ball to serve as a distraction. He apologized to her as he left her to certain death. Bae started a Quiver Dance, but Purugly was still too quick, even at his massive size; he clipped one of Bae's wings with a claw, messing up her flight enough for Skuntank to knock her out of the sky with a Dark Pulse. Tsomu approached the main building just in time to hear Bae's screams of agony as Skuntank roasted her to death with a Flamethrower. Knowing that everyone was depending on him, he ran faster through Indigo Plateau, tears freely streaming from his face at having lost his best friend.

Tsomu decided to head for the stadium; Dialga was a huge Pokemon, and he didn't know if he'd need a lot of room to use his time-shifting powers, and it wouldn't do any good if he summoned Dialga right here to find Purugly and Skuntank hot on his heels. He didn't dare turn back to see how close his pursuers were, just ran like a man possessed down the hallway towards the entrance to the stadium. He opened the door leading outside just in time to see a massive fireball headed straight towards him; he leaped out of the way with just seconds to spare as the errant attack tore a new hole into the building. Remembering that he was likely being chased, Tsomu scrambled to his feet and ran outside into hell, Dialga's Poke Ball in hand.

It was clear that the swath of grunts who'd been seen out front was only a small fraction of their entire force - the majority of them were here, using their superior numbers in an attempt to overcome the competitors' trained Pokemon. What they hadn't counted on, however, was Safiri; she was seen commanding a massive and fearsome Metagross, who eliminated whole handfuls of Pokemon at once. Glaceon was at her side, spraying blasts of ice into anyone who tried coming close. A Raticate leaped on top of Glaceon and sank its teeth into her flesh, but Glaceon simply froze her fur into needles, tearing the Pokemon's mouth and skin and forcing it to abort the attack. A bash to the skull that Tsomu recognized as Last Resort put the rat Pokemon down for good.

He caught sight of Thresher, Taikyu, and Eldan doing battle against a group of grunts and decided he'd lend his assistance. Tsomu released Dialga from his Poke Ball, and the massive lord of time towered over all the other competitors. It roared mightily, causing several of the attackers to stop and assess the new threat. Metagross capitalized on their confusion by folding its legs into its body and crashing into the entire crowd at high speed, spinning its body to cause maximum damage.

"Dialga!" Tsomu cried. "Please help us! Undo this carnage! Help us, please, Dialga!"

Across the stadium, another massive Pokemon was released, and Dialga took off like a shot after it.

"Wait!" Tsomu pleaded, and ran off after his Pokemon.
.
Dialga mowed through Pokemon as if they were barely there, none of them coming close to being able to damage him. Its target charged a Hyper Beam and fired; Dialga easily moved out of the way, but Tsomu was barely able to duck underneath it by hitting the ground. He didn't escape unscathed, however, and the burning energy beam painfully grazed his back. Dialga didn't wait for Tsomu to get up before charging a Hyper Beam of its own. It traveled along the same path and hit the new intruder dead on, but the attack looked like it didn't do much damage.

Rose and Eldan helped Tsomu get to his feet, and the three of them eventually caught up to Dialga, where it was standing in front of an enormous beast that none of them knew the identity of. Cyrus stood calmly next to the monster, with a scary-looking Honchkrow posted at his side as an extra bit of defense.

"You," Cyrus began, recognizing Tsomu from his battle. "You're the troublesome little brat who has my Dialga."

Tsomu looked confused. "Yours? How could it be yours if I caught it? What is that thing?"

Cyrus shook his head, disappointed. "It's as I feared. You truly don't know anything, do you, boy? This mighty Pokemon is Palkia, the lord of space. A Pokemon spoke of only in Sinnoh legends, and one half of the pair of Pokemon I need to realize my dream to reshape this wretched universe. Dialga is the other. It is an insult to see such a majestic Pokemon reduced to a child's plaything, and not even one who appreciates when the lord of time has fallen into his lap!"

Safiri and Glaceon caught up to the others at the end of Cyrus's monologue. Safiri looked to Palkia and scanned it; she was horrified to see that Ruby hadn't been lying about its power level. It was higher in level than even their Pokemon. Still, she didn't think it was something she and Ruby couldn't handle; they'd handled simulations of around this strength before.

"Now, we can make this quite simple," Cyrus went on. "I am here for two things. One is Dialga. The other is the head of Quayle Valentine. Give me both and I give you my word that we will leave without another drop of blood being spilled."

"And if we refuse?" Eldan said, crossing his arms in front of him. "You say that's a legendary Pokemon? That isn't any legendary Pokemon I've ever heard of, and we--"

He didn't get any further than that; at Cyrus's nod, his Honchkrow shot forward with a Drill Peck that pierced Eldan's chest and sent him and the bird tumbling. His Gardevoir fired a shot of Thunderbolt at the bird, but Honchkrow simply evaded it with a Sucker Punch, causing her to hit Eldan with the attack instead. Gardevoir barely stammered out an apology before Honchkrow hit her with another Dark Pulse, knocking her out in a single hit.

"To me," Cyrus ordered, and Honchkrow obeyed, leaving Eldan to bleed out. Rose and her Gardevoir went to tend to Eldan as Cyrus continued. "Consider that a warning shot. The Team Flare brat may yet live, if you hurry. Stall any longer, and the lives lost as a result will be on your hands, young man. I will ask only once more. Give me Dialga and Quayle and I swear to you that Team Galactic will leave you all in peace. Refuse, and Team Galactic will leave you all in pieces."

"What will you do if I give you Dialga?" Tsomu asked. He didn't want to give up Dialga, but if he wasn't going to reset time to a point where he could save everyone, then minimizing the body count was the next best thing.

Cyrus smiled. "That's not your concern, boy."

"Look around you... Cyrus, was it? Do you really think we're going to make it out of this alive? I've seen what the people under your command can do. Well, I assume they're under your command, since you've got this enormous and scary Pokemon and all they had was a Purugly and a Skuntank."

"So you encountered Mars and Jupiter," Cyrus said. He nodded, affording Tsomu just the slightest iota of respect for living long enough to tell the tale. "Maybe you're not as weak as you look."

Tsomu shook his head. "Oh, I am, there's no doubt about that. I'm only here because I ran away. My Pokemon gave their lives so that I could escape. Quayle and Ruby tried fighting against them, but Purugly and Skuntank killed them both."

"What?!" Safiri grabbed Tsomu by the shoulders and violently shook him. "Say that again!"

Tsomu gave the Jewel a sad look, taking her arms into his. "I'm sorry, Safiri. She's dead."

"Where is she?!" Safiri demanded.

"Out front, but--"

"Metagross!" she called out, and the giant Pokemon teleported to her instantly. "Out front!" she ordered, mounting the Pokemon in a single leap. Metagross grunted and the two vanished in a flash of light.

"I won't believe that bastard Quayle is dead unless I have proof. Confirm the kill," he ordered his Honchkrow, and it nodded, flying over the stadium walls and out of sight. Immediately, Cyrus released a Houndoom that dutifully sat at her master's side. At Tsomu's terrified look, Cyrus chuckled. "Insurance, that's all."

Tsomu took a deep, calming breath before he continued. "We've got a few minutes before Honchkrow gets back. Why don't you tell me about your plan? Something about reshaping the universe? How would you even do that?"

"The details of that are so far above you that it is not worth explaining," Cyrus answered. "But perhaps you'd consider joining me and finding out for yourself? You say you are weak, but you were smart enough to know you had no chance of beating Mars and Jupiter, and resourceful enough to know to sacrifice replaceable Pokemon in order to ensure your own survival. And, as irritating as it has been for me, you have been chosen by the lord of time itself, for reasons only it knows. You would be a competent soldier with a little honing of your talents. What do you say?"

"You flatter me, sir," Tsomu said, casting a brief look towards Rose, Gardevoir, and Eldan. "I have to admit, I have to admire what you're doing."

"Oh?" Cyrus asked, intrigued. "Do tell."

"I mean, think about it. You've got so many troops here, hundreds and hundreds of Pokemon, all for a single Pokemon? Scorched earth tactics. I like it. I'm still a little confused as to how you got in here in the first place. Wait, let me guess - someone on the inside? Quayle did say he worked for you - was he really a spy all along? That would be pretty poetic, don't you think?"

Cyrus chuckled good-naturedly, finding the sudden expression of merriment awkward but choosing to ignore the nagging of his brain. "No, that bastard defected years ago. If he's dead, I'll be nothing but happy about it. As for how we managed to get in... it was almost too easy. We'd learned through our intelligence that the referee liked to spend time alone outside Indigo Plateau at night. We sent a plainclothes grunt to eliminate her; after he reported back, we simply walked right in."

Just then, Metagross and Safiri teleported back in. Safiri threw down Honchkrow's lifeless body at Cyrus's feet. "That's for Ruby and Quayle, you son of a bitch. Tell your subordinates I'm coming for them, and they had better hope I don't find them. You have no idea who you're dealing with. If you had, you never would have set foot here." She and Metagross teleported away before Cyrus could react, leaving a stunned Tsomu to deal with him.

Cyrus knelt down and offered a moment of silence for his fallen Pokemon; though he would end up training another, this one had been with him for many years and served admirably and loyally. "She will pay for that," he finally said, rising to his feet. "Palkia!" he pointed towards the wounded Eldan, where Rose and Gardevoir were still tending to his wounds. "Earth Power!"

Tsomu tried his best to warn his friends. "No! Rose, Gardevoir, look out!"

Palkia's Earth Power came out so quickly that Gardevoir didn't have time to protect them; a column of earth exploded from where Eldan lay, mortally wounding him and sending Rose and Gardevoir tumbling backwards in opposite directions.

"Dragon Pulse!" Cyrus ordered, pointing to Rose. Palkia shot the attack with wicked speed, but Gardevoir was able to teleport in front of Rose and absorb the attack. Gardevoir charged a Moonblast and fired, and it hit home, but the attack barely made Palkia flinch. Palkia retaliated with a monstrously powerful Hydro Pump; it hit Gardevoir dead on, shattering her ribs on impact and causing her to start bleeding internally. Palkia fired again immediately, hitting Rose this time; the extremely high pressure blast hit her in the neck, breaking it instantly.

"Cyrus, please!" Tsomu pleaded. "Please, stop! I'll give you Dialga. Just please stop hurting my friends!" As a show of goodwill, Tsomu recalled Dialga to its Poke Ball, and held it out to Cyrus. "Here. Please, just take it and go. No more death. Please."

Cyrus grinned maliciously and approached the young man. "You're smart," he said, taking the ball from Tsomu's outstretched hand. Once Cyrus held Dialga in his hands, he turned to his Houndoom. "But not smart enough."

He whistled sharply to his Houndoom, whose ears perked in attention. He nodded at Tsomu, and Houndoom attacked immediately, pouncing onto Tsomu and knocking him onto his back. Tsomu screamed for help, but no one was close enough to matter. He could feel Houndoom's searing hot breath on his skin as the Pokemon stood over him. Cyrus approached him, Dialga's ball in hand. As he pocketed the legendary Pokemon, he gave one last look to Tsomu, who was openly crying and begging for his life. He nodded to his Houndoom. "Do it."

Houndoom took one mighty breath and exhaled a hot blast of Flamethrower directly into Tsomu's body, scorching the poor man until he was unrecognizable.

"No!" Tsomu screamed, shooting upright in his bed in a cold sweat. He frantically ran his hands over his face and chest.

A dream?

He shuddered to himself in the darkness, his pulse still rapid-firing.

Hell of a dream. It felt so real.

As he lay in the dark, he recounted the details. He'd woken up - or at least thought he did - thanks to a loud banging at his door. Bangs were heard on everyone else's doors in quick succession. When Tsomu checked who it was, he saw a Xatu disappear down a hallway. He thought he'd heard someone shout for help, but didn't know from where the voice came. Several of the others came out of their rooms to investigate, and the group of them met with Safiri. They headed for the stadium while Quayle, Tsomu, and Safiri went upstairs to the lobby to help Ruby look for Esmeralda.

Ruby...

Even though it wasn't real, the sight of Ruby and Quayle being brutally murdered was still tough for him, and a few tears fell regardless. Still, he was glad that it was all a dream - it meant his friends were safe and sound.

Just then, someone knocked at the door, startling Tsomu and causing his heart to race again. "Who's there?" he called out.

"It's Quayle. Are you all right? I heard you from my room."

Quayle!

Tsomu threw himself from his bed and rushed to the door, flinging it open barely after Quayle had finished talking. Sure enough, there he was, in the flesh. Overcome with emotion, Tsomu captured Quayle in a tight hug, one that Quayle hesitantly returned. "It's you. It's so good to see you..."

Quayle all but peeled Tsomu off of him, putting a few inches of much-needed distance between the two men. "Uh... good to see you too, I guess. I just came to see if you were okay."

"Sorry," Tsomu apologized. "I just had the most horrible nightmare of my life. I'm glad it's over, that's all."

"You're sweating, and you're breathing heavily," Quayle noticed. "Must have been awful."

"You don't know the half of it." A pause. "You were in it."

"Oh yeah?" Quayle asked, his curiosity piqued. "Did I do anything interesting?"

"You were murdered. Ruby was there, and she died, too. Venusaur, and Bae, and oh, gosh, Rose and Eldan, and who knows how many. All of them, dead, there were so many people, hundreds of Pokemon, bodies all over the place, and--"

That was more than enough for Quayle, who stopped the rambling Tsomu with a hand. "Wait, hold on, just a moment. Murdered? I was murdered? Who killed me?"

Tsomu didn't need to think hard - it was an image that would stay with him for the rest of his life. "Two women, one with red hair and one with purple hair, kinda like you. They--"

"Stop," Quayle interrupted him harshly. "Did they tell you their names?"

"Yeah, Jupiter and Mars. They called you Umbriel. They said they were here for Dialga. Me, you, and Ruby tried to fight them off, but they killed your Deoxys, my Venusaur, and then Ruby. Before they killed you, you told me to use Dialga to go back in time to fix this and save everyone. Oh, I almost forgot! Esmeralda! I don't know what happened to her, but she was hurt real bad. Safiri took her and left."

Quayle was feeling increasingly uncomfortable as Tsomu recounted the details of his dream - there were too many coincidences. Not even Nye knew about his code name from his time in Team Galactic, or that Team Galactic was searching for Dialga and Palkia, or details about his former fellow commanders. Quayle knew that Dialga could bend time to its will from his studies of the Pokemon, but he'd never seen it in action before.

"There was one other thing you said," Tsomu added. "You said that after I found you, to tell you 'bad can be.' You..." he ran his thumb in a motion across his neck. "You didn't get the rest of it out."

Fortunately for Tsomu, he didn't need to - the first three words were all Quayle needed to hear, and all the proof he needed to know that something fishy was going on. "Tsomu, listen to me very carefully. I have reason to believe that what you experienced wasn't a dream. I think... I think you really might have been sent back in time by Dialga."

"But how is that possible? I asked Dialga to help before Cyrus killed me, and--"

"Cyrus was here?" Quayle said, his voice full of fear. "Shit. Shit. That's really not good. Okay, Tsomu. We can investigate this. If you've really been sent back in time, we have to go back to the point where the two timelines split. That's where we can change things. What's the earliest thing you remember from your dream?"

"A huge bang woke me up. A bunch of us came out cause we all heard banging on everyone's doors... Safiri came and told us that Esmeralda was possibly in danger. You and I went with Safiri upstairs and found Ruby coming back in from outside with Esmeralda's body."

"This happened tonight?!" After Tsomu nodded, Quayle really started panicking. "We gotta go, right now. Grab your Pokemon and head upstairs, I'll be right behind you! If Ruby brought Esmeralda in from outside, she's probably out there right now!"

Tsomu dashed into his room to fetch his Pokemon as Quayle did the same. They emerged from their rooms just as Windra came into view.

"Windra!" Tsomu called to her. "Have you seen Esmeralda?"

Windra yawned hugely before answering, mostly because she was tired, and partly because she was stalling, trying to determine whether or not to tell them she was breaking the rules. In the end, she decided that she was too tired to care. "Yeah, she's outside getting some air, I'm going to--"

Tsomu dashed past her before she could finish, taking the stairs leading up to the lobby two at a time.

Windra shrugged and started towards her room, but Quayle blocked her path. "Windra. We're under attack by Team Galactic. Esmeralda's in danger, please wake everyone up while I go help Tsomu!"

Windra wasn't in any mood to play this game. "What are you talking about? I was just out there, the only person out there is Esmeralda. I'm exhausted, Quayle, please just get out of my way so I can go to bed?"

"Damn it, I don't have time for this!" Quayle shouted as he took it upon himself to bang on each competitor's door in turn, shouting for them to help.

******

Tsomu reached the main lobby in record time, and he could see Esmeralda standing at the top of the steps. Good, he thought, she's still alive. He saw a man approach her with a Weavile in his arms, and Cyrus's words came rushing back to him. There was no doubt in his mind that this was the plainclothes grunt Cyrus referred to. Without a moment to spare, Tsomu burst from the door, startling both Esmeralda and the stranger. "Esmeralda, look out!" Tsomu screamed, Poke Ball in hand. "He's with Team Galactic!"

Esmeralda turned around to see who'd addressed her, and that was the opening the man was looking for. He signaled to Weavile, who leaped up and slashed Esmeralda deep across the throat.

"NO!!!" Tsomu cried as his Venusaur materialized. "Vine Whip!"

Quick as lightning, Venusaur was able to restrain the Weavile before it could do any further damage. His trainer turned around and fled; Tsomu saw him say something into a radio, but couldn't make out what it was. He instructed his Venusaur to put the Weavile to sleep with Sleep Powder before he turned his attention to Esmeralda, who was in a motionless heap on the ground. She'd tried to cut off the blood flow by using a part of her shirt, he noticed, but the wound was terrible. He picked her up easily, surprised at how light she was for her size, and went inside just as Quayle, Safiri, and Ruby met in the lobby.

"Were we too late?!" Quayle asked, seeing Esmeralda's condition.

"I don't know," Tsomu said. "I don't know if she actually died in my dream or not. Here, take her," Tsomu said, handing her to a concerned Safiri. "Get her to the Pokemon Center."

Safiri didn't need to be told twice; she was all but dashing down the hallway with her sister held tightly to her chest.

"You two wanna fill me in on what's happening?" Ruby asked.

"No time," Tsomu said to her. "This was their main method of entry; once they had people inside, they opened the doors to the stadium and the majority attacked through there."

"I'm more concerned about Mars and Jupiter," Quayle said a bit anxiously. "If they're here, we're going to need all the help we can get." He looked towards the empty stairwell leading downstairs and frowned; no one was here yet.

"Attacked? Who attacked us and when?" Ruby chimed in, trying to piece together clues. "If Indigo Plateau needs to be defended, Safiri and I can handle any Pokemon these people have, as if they could get past all sixteen of you."

A detail sprung to Tsomu's mind. "I don't know if it matters. One thing I remember you saying to Safiri was that there was a Pokemon that was level 245."

At this, Ruby almost laughed. "Excuse me?" she asked incredulously.

Tsomu nodded. "That's what Safiri said when you told her, but you said it wasn't an error. After that, you went back out to fight with your Pokemon. A Turtonator and a Darmanitan. We joined you, and that's when Mars and Jupiter showed up. It didn't end well for any of us."

Ruby stared at the young man, pursing her lips. It was strange that he knew she had any Pokemon at all, and even stranger that he'd correctly guessed two of them. She didn't know what was going on, but Tsomu clearly did. Level 245? It sounded ridiculous, but she belatedly realized she could easily verify the truth. She looked outside, where Tsomu's Venusaur was standing guard, applying a fresh dose of Sleep Powder to the still restrained Weavile. Ruby threw out her senses and was shocked at what she saw. Not only was Tsomu right about the Pokemon at level 245, but it was rapidly approaching the stadium.

"Holy shit, you're right," Ruby said, almost in awe. The idea of a Pokemon that powerful was terrifying. It was higher in level than both her and Safiri's Pokemon, but it was just one Pokemon. They should be able to handle it, but the competitors wouldn't stand a chance. There were a seemingly endless number of Pokemon that were more in their range, however, and they'd need all hands on deck to push back this threat.

"What are they after?" Ruby asked Tsomu, ready to defend her friends.

Tsomu counted on his fingers. "Cyrus said he wanted two things - Dialga... and your head," he said to Quayle.

"So he's on the hunt for Dialga and Palkia again," Quayle remarked.

"Palkia?" Tsomu said. "I remember that name from my dream. Cyrus commanded it."

The color drained from Quayle's face. "He had it with him?!"

"Yeah," Tsomu confirmed. "Is that bad?"

"Bad doesn't even begin to describe it, Tsomu," Quayle replied seriously. He swallowed, memories of the dragon's wrath rushing to the forefront of his mind. "This is a certifiable catastrophe."

Just then, the footsteps of several of the other competitors were heard as they came up the stairs to the lobby. Rose waved as she approached Quayle and the others. "Xatu didn't explain much, he just kept shouting at us to get up and fight. What's going on?"

Before Tsomu could answer, Safiri teleported in with Esmeralda's Xatu, her pajamas darkened with Esmeralda's blood. Her face was red and stained with tears, and Ruby feared the worst. Without missing a beat, and without saying where he was going, Xatu teleported away.

"How is she?" Ruby asked, dreading the answer but needing to ask anyway.

Safiri took a long, deep breath before responding. "She's alive. The staff have requested we not disturb them while they work to stabilize her."

With everyone (or nearly almost everyone - Tsomu noticed that Alex was absent) here, Tsomu explained to everyone the dream he had, and how Quayle had reason to believe it was Dialga's way of sending Tsomu back in time to prevent them all from being slaughtered by Team Galactic. He said that Esmeralda had ended up wounded anyway, but they'd already changed things since they weren't being taken by surprise anymore. The enemy outnumbered them by nearly a hundred to one, Tsomu guessed, and he warned them about taking on Mars and Jupiter, describing them to the group with Quayle's help.

"And if that wasn't bad enough, Cyrus may have Palkia, the lord of space, with him," Quayle informed the others. After confirming that several of the competitors weren't familiar with the Sinnoh deity, Quayle gave them a brief description of the creature so they would be able to see it. "I have witnessed the destruction Palkia is capable of firsthand. Do not, under any circumstances, attempt to fight it alone."

"It's the level 245 Pokemon, isn't it?" Ruby asked, more to herself than anyone else. She turned to Safiri. "Level 3 power scan, that way," she told Safiri, pointing towards the stadium. "You see those huge spikes?"

Safiri did as she was asked, and nodded. "I do. We will hunt them down specifically," Safiri said confidently. "Mr. Diamant has been made aware of the situation with Esmeralda and the threat of a potential attack. He is en route to Kanto as we speak and will stay at a safe location until we confirm that the threat has been handled. I've also notified Viridian City authorities, but we'll be on our own until they arrive."

Quayle almost laughed at that idea. "Palkia will lay waste to this entire facility before those guys get here - as if they're stronger than any of us. Cyrus will be on the hunt for Tsomu and Dialga, and if all of us stand up to Cyrus, we should be able to beat him, but that's not even considering Palkia, or how weakened our Pokemon will be by the time we get a chance to fight him... But he's our target."

Suddenly, a massive explosion was heard from far away that shook the building. "That sounded like it came from the stadium!" Scarlet pointed out.

"Showtime, everyone," Cody added. "Let's defend this place!"

"I'll stay here to defend this entrance," Tsomu stated. "Quayle, how many of us would it take to defeat Mars or Jupiter if they came this way?"

"If it was just one of them, I'd say three of us could defeat her. If they both came this way, we'd need about half a dozen," Quayle answered.

"They're that strong?" Kyro wondered.

Quayle nodded. "Unfortunately for us, yes. Not as strong as Cyrus, thankfully, but still plenty powerful." He turned to Tsomu. "I'm going to head to the stadium, I think; it'll be harder for them to kill me if they can't find me in the crowd, and since Cyrus is looking for Dialga, it's better that we aren't together."

"I'll stay with you," Lenny offered to Tsomu, patting the young man on the back. "With you until the end, son."

"Thanks, Lenny," Tsomu said with a smile. "Anyone else?"

Thresher, Kyro, Cody, and Windra raised their hands, and they joined the small group of trainers who were tasked with defending the entrance. "That should be enough, I think. The rest of you, head to the stadium. If we don't see anyone soon, we'll be there to join you," Tsomu instructed.

Ruby glanced outside, did a scan, and took all the uncertainty out of Tsomu's statement. "Oh, they're coming, all right. Dozens of them, headed this way. Looks like they decided to attack this way after all."

Thresher looked outside into the night and could only see Venusaur and Weavile. "Not ta be rude or anything, but do ye mind tellin' us how ya came ta that conclusion?" he asked.

Ruby winked. "Hit me up later and I'll tell you all about it, handsome, but right now, we've got a battle to win. Come on."

After the others had left, the six remaining battlers headed outside, where Venusaur was still diligently guarding the snoring Weavile. The area surrounding Indigo Plateau was quiet, although voices could be faintly heard on the other side of the complex. Tsomu didn't like standing out here while his friends went to face danger, but he did feel safer having more than just his Pokemon standing by him. Tsomu recommended that each of them have a Pokemon help stand guard in case they were attacked, and each competitor sent their Pokemon out in turn.

No one traveled far from the entrance to Indigo Plateau. Cody suggested that they split up further, sending a smaller group further out in order to scout, but it was quickly vetoed by the group. None of them had any idea how many were out there, and Tsomu was too afraid of Mars and Jupiter to risk facing them with anything less than their full numbers.

Fifteen minutes passed with no major disturbances. Cody looked to his Primarina. "See anything out there?" Primarina responded in the negative. "Me neither. I'm getting kind of worried about the others."

"Me too," Kyro admitted as he turned to his Archeops. "Can you fly up and see how far away they are, please?"

With a nod, he was airborne, flying high over Indigo Plateau. Almost immediately, he squawked a warning down to Kyro and the others.

"Dragon Breath!" Kyro ordered. "Force them out!"

As the others prepared for battle, Archeops dove towards their hidden enemies, loosing an enormous blue beam from his mouth. He swept across the edge of the forest surrounding the building as the beam hit home; Kyro noticed several Protect shields that had been thrown up to protect the waiting Pokemon and their trainers from the blast, giving away their position. There had been so many of them just out of sight, biding their time and waiting for a perfect opportunity to strike. With their cover blown, they charged as one, dozens of Pokemon rushing the competitors' position.

Tsomu's Venusaur tossed his sleeping captive into the crowd in order to free up his vines; Archeops picked him out of the sky and carried him high before dropping him to his death.

"Fire Blast!" Lenny and Windra called to each of their Pokemon; side by side, Archeidon and Camerupt blew their attacks at the crowd of invaders, a massive wall that pushed its way unyielding through the crowd before exploding in an enormous ball of flame.

Cody's Primarina immediately followed the salvo with Surf, summoning a huge wave and washing away the stragglers. The others were shocked to find the defeated Pokemon replaced almost immediately; with almost no warning, a Toxicroak leaped onto Cody's Primarina, punching him repeatedly and injecting him with poison. Archeops dove down and grabbed Primarina's assailant, tossing him off, barely evading when a group of Sableye went to latch themselves onto him.

Suddenly, a Bronzong emerged from within the forest, crashing hard into Primarina; he teleported away before any of the Pokemon could counterattack. Primarina was knocked out cold by the blow, and Cody recalled him before any further damage could be done.

"What was that?!" Cody asked, looking around in a panic for any sign of his assailant.

"Everyone stay on your guard!" Lenny called out as his Camerupt crushed a brave, yet foolish, Raticate underfoot. "They could be anywhere!"

"Over there!" Windra called out, pointing towards the location where Bronzong had rematerialized. "That Bronzong! Get him, Kai!"

Archeidon flew towards the Pokemon in question, but he didn't get too close before a Carnivine leaped from the crowd and latched onto him, his vines wrapping several times around them. Unfortunately for the Carnivine, Archeidon's Fiery Dance burned him up before his corrosive saliva could cause any lasting damage. Free once again, he flew towards the Bronzong; it teleported away just as Archeidon went to attack, sending him crashing into a tree instead.

As others fought to fend off their attackers, one man slipped unnoticed towards where Windra was standing. She was too preoccupied with finding his Bronzong to notice him sneaking up behind her. He made his move, covering her mouth with one hand as he dragged Windra kicking and screaming into the forest, the sounds of battle and his hand muffling the sounds she was making.

Windra managed to kick her assailant hard in the legs, causing him to cry out. "Ah, damn it, Evelyn, if you're going to be that way, then maybe I'll just let these guys kill you, huh?"

Hearing the familiar voice use her first name gave Windra pause, and she stopped struggling completely. "That's a good girl. I'm gonna let you go. Don't scream, okay?"

Windra nodded, breathing heavily, and she slowly turned to face her attacker. "Bastard. What are you doing here?!"

Damien went to put his arms around Windra, but she slapped him away. "Is that any way to treat someone who saved your life?"

A whirlwind of emotions blew through Windra as she regarded the man she once loved. Windra's fists balled as she settled on anger. "Shut up! Why should I listen to anything you say, you bastard! You left me!" She hated that she was crying now, but she powered through the tears, determined to let Damien have it. "I... I loved you and... and you left! Disappeared without a word! I searched for you for so long..." she cried pitifully. Damien went to hug her, and she hit him repeatedly in the chest with her balled fists. "And you think that sending me a goddamn cake is supposed to make up for abandoning me?! Damn you!"

She looked into his eyes, her own shining with tears, waiting for a response, anything that would explain where he'd been all this time and why he'd chosen to leave her alone.

"Evelyn--"

"Shut up," Windra snapped instantly. "How dare you think you still have the privilege to use that name."

"Of course. You're right. Windra. I'm sorry... I got into trouble with some very bad men and I needed to disappear for a while. I wanted to stay in touch with you, I swear I did, but I couldn't risk it. I thought about you every day. And every night," he said, leaning in closer, his stunning blue eyes locked on Windra's.

Windra felt herself quickly turning to goo at the older man's words. She hated how he had such control over her, even now; she gasped as she felt Damien's breath on her neck. "Bastard," she whispered as she felt one of Damien's hands moving lower.

"I missed you, too," Damien whispered as he lifted Windra's face to his own, capturing her lips in a kiss.

Damien grabbed her rear and pulled her close to him, causing Windra to moan as she wrapped her own arms around his neck to return his kiss.

The sounds of people calling her name barely registered to Windra as she forced her tongue into Damien's mouth. He growled in response, pushing his hand up her shirt.

That was enough to get her attention. "Wait," she said forcefully, pushing him off of her before he could get anywhere. "Not here." She heard her name being called again, and she pulled herself away from him. "I have to get back to my friends. Do you have Pokemon? Help us beat these assholes and I'll reward you beyond your wildest dreams. You thought I was freaky before? Wait until you see what I've learned since you left," she finished with a wink.

The squawking of Kyro's Archeops was heard by both overhead, and Damien took Windra into his arms. "Oh, I don't doubt that. I'd be glad to help, love. Just one thing, first."

"Windra!" Tsomu yelled as he and Kyro ran into the forest where Windra and Damien were standing. Windra turned around, still in Damien's arms, embarrassed that the others had seen her like this. She tried to discreetly squirm out of the older man's grasp, but he was easily able to wrap a single arm around her slim frame and hold her in place. "Are you all ri-- you!" Tsomu exclaimed, pointing at Damien. "Windra, get away from him! He's the one whose Weavile nearly killed Esmeralda!"

"He what?!" Windra screamed, and this time she more forcefully tried to get away, but Damien held a knife to Windra's throat that he'd taken out in secret. "What the hell?!"

"That's enough, all of you," Damien began. His eyes darted around at the others as they and their Pokemon slowly closed in on him. "One sudden move and this pretty girl's blood is gonna stain the ground." Speaking over his bond, he called to his Bronzong, and it teleported to his side. "Take care of these pests, would you?" he asked audibly.

Bronzong suddenly began to spin wildly, its arms glowing white, and it crashed into Archeops before it could fly off. The Gyro Ball attack was monstrously powerful, knocking Archeops out in a single hit; before Bronzong could deliver a killing blow, Bae sounded a Bug Buzz that gave it pause long enough for Kyro to recall his Pokemon. Bronzong quickly regained its bearings and continued its attack; Bae barely managed to avoid being shredded by the supereffective attack.

"Kai, help!" Windra screamed, and Damien pressed the knife's edge into Windra's skin.

"Shut up. You wanna die tonight?" Damien warned as her friends continued to fight off Bronzong. "One more sound and this knife's going into your neck."

Windra didn't dare call Damien's bluff; she gulped, felt the sharp blade move in time with her throat. She saw Archeidon off in the distance, handling two Pokemon at once. She didn't know if Archeidon heard her cry for help over the noise of the battle, but she needed to do something. Her friends were busy fending off the attacks of not only Bronzong, but also a Crawdaunt and a Probopass that had joined it; it was going to be up to her to free herself. But how?

An idea quickly formed in her head. It would be risky, but if she knew Damien like she thought she did, it had a good chance of working.

"You know... this is kind of hot. I've got goosebumps all over," Windra said to her captor, leaning into him, equal parts glad and ashamed that she wasn't lying about that. "Maybe we can sneak away and have a little fun, huh? I'd do anything to feel your hands around my neck again."

"Anything?" Damien asked after a few tense moments.

"Uh huh," she confirmed, unable to nod with the knife pressed tightly to her throat. "Please?" She hesitantly fiddled with the zipper on his jeans, and breathed a sigh of relief when he didn't immediately kill her for it.

Lucky for Windra, it had the desired effect. As Windra went to work, Damien replaced the knife with his hand, and slowly but firmly began to tighten his grip on the sides of her throat.

"Oh, I've missed this," Damien groaned, and Windra moaned at his touch.

"Yeah... so have I," she replied honestly. "Which is going to make this all the more difficult."

She squeezed with her busy hand as hard as she could, making Damien roar in pain; she then elbowed him in the gut, forcing him to loosen his grip on her just enough for her to wriggle out of his grasp. She wasted no time in fleeing, but Damien took his knife and threw it at her; it caught her in the leg, and she fell to the ground with a scream. She called for Archeidon again, and this time, he heard her; cloaked in flame from several Fiery Dances, he flew straight for his trainer.

Damien rose to his feet, still sore, but able to move. He called Bronzong to him as he slowly limped his way towards Windra. "You are gonna pay for that," he growled, ordering his Bronzong to use Heavy Slam on her. Before it could execute the order, Archeidon crashed into it in a fiery tackle, fainting it in one blow.

Archeidon, shaking with rage, glared down at Damien. He shrieked as he fired a Flamethrower, unbidden, on the man. Damien screamed in agony as the flames consumed him; perhaps fortunately, with Archeidon so powered up, the fire was so hot that he died almost immediately. The Crawdaunt and Probopass, having just seen their ally murdered in front of them, wisely ceased their attack, but Archeidon still showed them no quarter. He Fire Blasted both of them in turn, causing them to faint - but at least they would survive.

Cody rushed to Windra's side, tearing off his shirt in the process. "Don't move!" he told Windra as she cried and tried to inspect the damage Damien's knife had caused. The blade wasn't in deep, but the wound was still bleeding. "Don't take it out!" Cody warned as he saw Windra with her hand on the knife's handle. "You'll only make it worse." Windra wailed in pain as Cody tied his shirt tight around the wound and scooped the bleeding girl into his arms. "Up we go," he said, and the group made their way towards Indigo Plateau. It was quiet in front of the building now; Lenny was there to greet them as they emerged from the forest. "I'll be back," he told the others as he quickly made his way inside.

"We beat 'em back," Lenny informed Tsomu. "Took a hell of a beating, but we won." He patted his Camerupt, who snorted in triumph despite large areas of his fur being matted and stained with blood. He nodded towards Thresher, who was kneeling next to Coral on the ground. "Thresher's Corsola didn't make it. Took a hit for Camerupt that almost definitely would have killed him otherwise, killed her instead. Went out a hero." He sighed. "Glad to see Windra's okay, all things considered."

"Yeah. It was almost really bad," Tsomu said, explaining what had happened as Cody left with Windra, Archeidon flapping lazily behind them. Kyro went to offer Thresher his condolences while Tsomu and Lenny talked.

"How you holding up, son?" Lenny asked him after a few moments.

"Not well," Tsomu answered honestly. "I'm still trying to come to terms with all this. Dialga clearly sent me back to change things, but I couldn't even stop Esmeralda from getting hurt."

Lenny rubbed his chin as he wrapped a strong arm around the young man. "Well, I'm no expert, but if I had to guess, I'd say you've done a hell of a job so far. Esmeralda still got hurt, but this time, you were here to make sure things didn't end as badly as they did before. That's gotta count for something."

"Maybe you're right," Tsomu admitted. "I don't know just how much I can change, but I'm going to fight to protect my friends."

Lenny nodded in approval. "Well said. The rest of us will stick around here for a while longer and defend this position. You join the others and we'll meet up with you later."

******

The other group, led by Quayle, hastily made their way towards the main stadium after separating from Tsomu and the others. Dozens of Galactic soldiers were everywhere, causing destruction wherever and however they could. An enormous hole was blasted through the back wall of the stadium, allowing their invaders a point of entry.

"How are you going to find Mars and Jupiter in this crowd?" Quayle asked Safiri as Nye and Eldan branched off from the group to handle business.

Safiri and Ruby scanned the area. It was a bit daunting to see hundreds of signatures, and it made sorting through them slightly difficult, but sure enough, she made out a cluster of three immensely powerful Pokemon, unmoving, towards the very back of the stadium.

"There," Ruby said to her sister, pointing in the general direction of the threats. "You see the levels on them?"

Oh, Safiri saw them, all right. She was confident that she and Ruby could handle the pair of 180s, but there was no mistaking the reading on one particular Pokemon. It unnerved her a little, although she didn't show it on her face. It made her glad that Ruby was with her, as she would need all the help she could get against such a foe.

As Taikyu, Kiria, and Frisk split off to handle some approaching Pokemon, Safiri nodded and removed a Poke Ball from her belt. "Yes, I see them. They're going to regret what they've done." In a flash, a humongous Metagross materialized in front of her, which she mounted. She held a hand for Ruby to mount the steel steed as well. "Come on."

Ruby nodded wordlessly and joined Safiri on top of her Metagross. As Safiri relayed directions to her Pokemon, Quayle approached them with fear in his eyes. "Be careful, you two. Don't underestimate them. Mars's Purugly is extremely fast, despite its size, and Jupiter's Skuntank has far more corrosive poison than is typical of its species. We'll join you as soon as we can, but please don't get yourselves killed in the meantime."

"We'll be fine," was all Safiri said before Metagross teleported itself and its riders away.

There was no time for Quayle to worry about Safiri and Ruby's safety, as there were plenty of threats that he needed to do his part in stopping. He quickly turned to the three remaining competitors. "Will you hate me if I go to Nye right now? I... I love her. I would feel better if I could be there to protect her."

Scarlet and Rose shared a look for barely a moment before both of them averted their eyes at the realization they'd both been thinking the same thing. "Yeah, of course, go!" Scarlet said, all but pushing Quayle in the direction Nye had run off in.

After receiving a nod of approval from Jethro, Quayle was on the move, waving to the three battlers and shouting his thanks as he left.

In a flash, Julia, Prince, and Rose's Gardevoir were on the field. Their trainers barely had time to warn them to keep their guard up before the vines of a Frenzy Plant forced them to scatter.

"There!" Jethro pointed to the offender, a huge Torterra that grumbled at its missed chance. Prince responded immediately, barking something at Gardevoir and firing wave after wave of Dark Pulse at the Torterra to keep him occupied.

"Understood!" Gardevoir replied. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and began to focus her mind.

"Watch out!" Scarlet cried, pointing at a new assailant. This one, a Bibarel, heard Prince's suggestion to Gardevoir and moved to make sure she couldn't execute it. "Julia, Energy Ball!"

Julia leaped to Gardevoir's exposed side and fired, decimating the creature in a single hit. It barely had time to celebrate its victory before a Mismagius and a Purugly--not Mars's--moved in for the kill. Panicking, Julia charged up a Seed Flare and fired; both Scarlet and Julia were surprised at how fast the attack had charged up. It had been near instantaneous. The energy wave knocked both Pokemon back long enough for Gardevoir to teleport them away.

"Of course," Scarlet said in realization. "There's so much negative energy here, it makes sense that an attack like Seed Flare would be powered up so quickly! Keep it up, Julia, defend Gardevoir!"

"Neat trick," Jethro noted as Prince landed another strike on the Torterra. "Can't you just teleport all these guys outta here just like that?"

"Too much energy," Rose answered. "Oh, look out!" she cried as a brave Croagunk tried to slip through their defenses, but Gardevoir dispatched him with a wave of her hand; she hadn't even needed to open her eyes. "Teleporting herself is easy and takes almost no energy at all, but doing it to multiple targets is a big energy drain. She wouldn't be able to get more than a couple dozen or so much farther past the stadium before she'd need to rest."

"What is she doing, exactly?" Scarlet asked as Julia finished off the two attackers with Seed Flare, happily cleansing the immediate area of negativity.

"It was Prince's idea," Rose explained. He and Julia aren't really trying to spend a lot of their energy fighting since there are so many Pokemon. So Prince thought that Gardevoir could hang back and use Calm Mind until she was so powerful that she could wipe everyone else out effortlessly."

"He said all that?" Jethro asked, wincing as Prince took a powerful Wood Hammer and was sent reeling.

"Yep," Rose beamed. "It's a good plan. And judging by that Croagunk she took out, that plan is well on its way to working."

Prince smacked Torterra hard with Last Resort, causing visible damage, and just barely was able to dodge another Wood Hammer. Jethro pumped his fist in the air, cheering on his Pokemon. "Yeah, that's the way! No offense, Rose, but she'd better hurry. I don't think Prince can take much more punishment from this Torterra, he's a tough one. I don't even see his trainer giving commands nowhere..." He turned to Scarlet. "Think I can get some backup from your little Pokemon there, Scarlet?"

Julia was locked in battle against two Drifloon and a Drifblim that were peppering it with Icy Wind, weakening the already ineffective Seed Flares. "I was just about to ask you the same thing, to be honest," Scarlet replied. "Julia's really struggling, nearly all her moves are Grass-type and--"

Just then, Gardevoir held her hands out to either side, lit Prince and Julia in a soft blue glow, and teleported them both to the opposite side, just as their attacks fired. Prince's Dark Pulse wiped out the two Drifloon and stunned the Drifblim long enough for him to knock it out, and Shaymin's Seed Flare was enough to finally bring down the remainder of the Torterra's energy.

"What the... Gardevoir, that was incredible!" Rose gushed, but Gardevoir said nothing, even telepathically. Her mind's eye was open wide and her psychic powers were near their maximum power. Jethro recalled Prince as Scarlet did the same with Julia, giving them both some much needed rest. Ennis and Roserade quickly took their places, defending Gardevoir in the same way the others had. Out of the corner of her eye, Rose saw a Floatzel charging a Hydro Pump from behind Gardevoir, and she shouted to her Pokemon in warning. Gardevoir teleported behind the would-be attacker, placed one delicate hand on the back of its head, and shocked it with Thunderbolt before its own brain could register what had happened. It convulsed on the ground involuntarily; Gardevoir picked up the weakened enemy using a touch of psychic energy and used it as a meat shield, blocking attacks from anything that dared to try attacking her.

As it turned out, Prince's idea went off without a hitch; Gardevoir was tossing enemies aside left and right, dispatching them in increasingly creative ways that only a Psychic-type was capable of. Ennis and Roserade covered Gardevoir's flank, but at this point it was merely a formality. Gardevoir's senses were so heightened that she could sense, analyze, and effectively counter any opposing force within a second or two. The only Pokemon that managed to get close was a powerful-looking Bronzong, but after Ennis managed to paralyze it, a single Shadow Ball was enough to drop it for good.

Despite their progress, Rose was starting to get worried. "Gardevoir, can you sense the strong Pokemon that Ruby mentioned? Or how the others are doing?"

Gardevoir didn't think she could further focus her already clarified mind, but she was shocked to see that it wasn't too difficult. She pointed north, towards the massive hole that Team Galactic had blown into the stadium wall. (There are so many Pokemon that I can't get a clear read, but there is definitely something extremely powerful in that direction. Even as powered up as I am, the thought of approaching it terrifies me on an instinctual level... but I won't back down. I will fight for you until my last breath.)

Rose smiled, wanting so badly to embrace her Pokemon. "Thank you, Gardevoir. You've been a huge asset to us so far."

"Yeah!" Scarlet added. "If we really need to, I can try having Julia use Healing Wish to top off your energy. If she's about to go down, we'll try that instead of just wasting whatever energy she has left.

"Sounds like a solid plan," Jethro reassured the ladies. "Thanks to Prince's quick thinking, we've got a powerful force in your Gardevoir. Ennis don't mind providing backup at all, do ya, girl?"

Ennis roared in reply as she tore into a Kricketune's neck with Thunder Fang. Not to be outdone, Roserade shot her vines into the sky, ensnaring a surprised Staravia by the wings and causing it to crash hard into the ground. A quick Sludge Bomb later and it was defeated. Together, the three trainers slowly made their way to the north end of the stadium.

******

Safiri and Ruby materialized several yards in front of Jupiter and Mars; with so many people and Pokemon fighting, they were able to avoid detection, although most of the Pokemon in the immediate area instinctively knew to get well out of the way of the much more powerful Metagross. Ruby's Blaziken was on the field as soon as her feet hit the ground; the two Pokemon shared a brief look before they turned their attention to the carnage. He made a show of powering up, hot flames shooting from his wrists as he let out a battle cry.

"Our targets are a Purugly and Skuntank," Safiri relayed to her Metagross. "Where are the highest-level ones?"

Metagross raised a leg, pointed it forward. (Two hundred eleven feet in that direction. Purugly, level 187; Skuntank, level 182. No other Pokemon of those species is within a hundred levels of either of them.)

"Chances of victory against them?"

(Against Purugly, simulations show a 98% chance of victory. Against Skuntank, 93%. In the event both attack simultaneously, 91%.)

Safiri nodded, pleased with those numbers. She wouldn't even have to power him up. "And if Blaziken assists you?"

(One hundred percent in all scenarios.)

"Kill them," Safiri commanded.

(Yes, ma'am,) Metagross answered and, after taking a brief moment to levitate and tuck its legs in, rocketed forward towards Mars and Jupiter.

"You heard him. Back him up," Ruby instructed, and Blaziken nodded, running after his teammate. He didn't have Metagross's super brains, but he was every bit as strong, at least physically. All that power, plus Metagross's psychic abilities? The battle would probably be over before he could catch up and he wouldn't even need to help.

The Galactic admins could easily see the Metagross whizzing towards them, sending Pokemon and humans alike scattering in every direction. Skuntank went to intercept, readying a Sludge Bomb. Purugly stepped in front of her comrade and braced herself, readying a Shadow Claw of her own. Sure enough, Metagross crashed into Purugly at top speed, but she was ready for it; her massive weight and power meant she was only pushed back several feet. Her claws dug into Metagross's body, holding it in place long enough for Skuntank to attack it. The Sludge Bomb was potent enough that it started melting Metagross's steel hide.

"Damn, that's a strong Metagross," Mars conceded. "Who do you think it belongs to?"

"It doesn't matter," Jupiter replied. "It isn't ours, and it isn't the boss's, and it attacked us, so that means it belongs to someone here. And that means we--"

"Yeah, yeah, I know, we gotta kill it. I'm just saying, it's kind of a shame. I think Purugly's actually struggling to hold onto it. It's gotta be powerful to hold its own against her."

"All the more reason to end this as soon as possible," Jupiter reminded her. "Skuntank, Dark Pulse!"

Skuntank readied the attack quickly and fired; prepared as always, Metagross teleported out of Purugly's grip, leaving her to get smacked by the powerful move. Metagross reappeared directly behind Skuntank and delivered a devastating Meteor Mash, sending her flying into Purugly and the two of them crashed into some other fighting Pokemon. By this point, Blaziken had caught up, and he spewed a Fire Blast at the two foes. Purugly was quick to react, throwing up a Protect shield and keeping both her and Skuntank safe from the flames.

Ruby and Safiri caught up to their Pokemon. Metagross and Blaziken returned to their masters' sides as Purugly and Skuntank got to their feet and did the same.

"Are you two Mars and Jupiter?" Safiri asked. They matched Tsomu's description, but she wasn't about to bring her wrath down upon them unless they confirmed it.

"Yeah, that's right," Jupiter answered for them. "Hell of a Metagross you've got there. I wasn't expecting--"

The first part was all Safiri needed to hear. "Meteor Mash!"

Purugly tried putting up another Protect shield again, but it fizzled out quickly after forming. Caught off guard, Metagross delivered a crushing blow across Purugly's face, shattering her jaw on impact. Skuntank leaped on the psychic spider, flames already spilling from her mouth, but Metagross ducked down low enough for Blaziken to tackle Skuntank off of it. The two went rolling to the side, Blaziken using its superior brawling tactics to mount Skuntank's back and keep her from spraying him or Metagross with her acid.

As Skuntank tried to wrestle Blaziken off of her, Purugly was slashing at Metagross, trying hard to ignore the intense pain from her broken jaw. Metagross would have had a slightly more difficult time if Purugly had been fresh, but the pain was slowing her down just enough that her Shadow Claws were easy enough to dodge. With every missed attack, Metagross sent a steel arm smashing into her side, her thick skin and many layers of fat and muscle only providing so much protection before the attacks were visibly wearing Purugly down. She stumbled, shadowy enhancements dissipating as she weakly fell over.

Blaziken was having an easier time against Skuntank. Skuntank were virtually helpless if attacked from above, as their poison spray came from their tails, the tip of which pointed the same direction as their face. As it was, Skuntank could do nothing as Blaziken punched her repeatedly with a flame-cloaked fist, trying to get the skunk to submit. For Skuntank's part, she didn't go down quietly, bucking and twisting her body in an attempt to free herself of her rider. She sprayed a pool of acid on the ground and tried her best to fall into it such that Blaziken would fall into it also, but Blaziken was strong and his grip on Skuntank didn't falter. When he felt Skuntank's tail muscles flex and shift underneath him, a sure sign that a big burst of acid was coming, he yanked her body to the side, pointing her towards the fallen Purugly. Skuntank screamed for Purugly to put a Protect shield up, but Metagross had beaten her so badly that she could barely act. Skuntank tried to move out of the way, but Blaziken held her firm. She couldn't hold back the acidic buildup any longer and had no choice but to expel it in a violent, sudden burst out of its tail, covering Purugly with the corrosive stuff. The acid was potent enough to melt Purugly's face and chest, and she slumped over, dead within seconds.

Blaziken inhaled deeply before breathing hot flames over Skuntank's face and tail, stunning her long enough for Metagross to close in. At Metagross's signal, Blaziken pushed himself off his foe, and Metagross teleported a few feet above the skunk Pokemon before simply dropping his half-ton weight on top of her. Her back was broken instantly and she fell flat on the ground, screaming in agony as her pain reached unbearable levels.

Jupiter, still in shock over the loss of Mars's Purugly, fumbled with Skuntank's Poke Ball. Blaziken leaped into the way of the return beam and blocked Jupiter from recalling her Pokemon; his wrists flared as he stared the tall woman in the face, growling a dare to try anything.

Realizing that they were hopelessly outmatched and that these two brutes would not likely stop after they'd finished Skuntank off, Mars turned to her longtime partner and pulled her into a kiss. It surprised Jupiter, but after a moment, she relaxed into the kiss.

"Sorry," Mars said after the moment was over. "Didn't want to go out without having done that."

Jupiter chuckled, the carnage around them momentarily forgotten as she savored her last moments. "Figures you'd wait until we're about to die before doing something I've known you wanted to do for months now." She winced as Metagross swung an arm down hard, right onto Skuntank's head - that blow surely was fatal, as she stopped making any noise instantly after she was struck. She wrapped an arm around her comrade, smiling as Blaziken approached. She gave Mars one final quick peck before turning to Blaziken and spitting in his face. "fudge you, and fudge your trainer," she spat. Blaziken looked to his master, who had approached along with Safiri and Metagross. With a nod from Ruby, Blaziken exhaled his fire onto the two admins as they embraced, their screams cut short as Metagross easily smashed their fragile bodies with another Hammer Arm.

"That was for Esmeralda," Safiri said as she clenched her fists together. She wanted so much to just break down and cry, but there would be time for that later. For now, she had a job to do. She scanned the area for the level 245 Pokemon and saw that it wasn't too far away from where they were.

Having done her own scan and seeing where Safiri was looking, Ruby asked, "You think we can handle it?"

"We'll have to. They're strong enough that they can provide backup, but we'll be doing the heavy lifting."

"Too bad Esmeralda is laid up. We could really use her," Ruby lamented.

"I know. I wish she were here, too," Safiri replied, placing her arm on Ruby's shoulder in a rare display of comfort. "Now let's go."

******

Lenny, Kyro, and Thresher stood guard at Indigo Plateau's entrance for another ten minutes before deciding to join Tsomu and the others in the stadium. Cody had returned only minutes after delivering Windra to the Pokemon Center. She would be just fine, he reported, but had no updates on Esmeralda's condition. After making sure Thresher would be able to continue fighting, the four men headed to the stadium.

In spite of Team Galactic's superior numbers, the competitors' well-trained and powerful Pokemon were enough to keep them at bay. Hundreds of dead humans and Pokemon littered the space, and though the small group didn't see anyone they recognized, they were still unnerved by so much death. There was still plenty of fighting to do, so all four trainers released their fresh Pokemon and rushed to their friends' aid.

Kyro spotted Tsomu and Bae and pointed them out to the others. Eldan, Quayle, and Nye were with him, holding off a group of attackers. Eldan breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of more allies; his Pokemon were getting tired from holding the line. He took a moment to lean on his Milotic, who'd just sent a pair of Stunky packing with a powerful Hydro Pump. Even though she was bruised and a little winded, her impressive bulk and stamina meant she still had quite a bit of fight left in her.

Just then, a Staraptor made a dive towards Milotic in her blind spot, but just as quickly, Mega Beedrill skewered the bird with Poison Jab and sent it into the waiting hands of Shifter, who shifted into Speed Forme, wrapped its tendrils around the bird, and zapped it into submission with Thunderbolt. Without missing a beat, Shifter dropped the bird, set up Reflect and Light Screen barriers for its teammates, and then shifted into Attack Forme to take on a fearsome-looking Garchomp that appeared nearby.

As Bae and Mega Beedrill went to give Shifter some assistance, Quayle and Nye now noticed Lenny and the others approaching. With their Pokemon powerful enough to hold their own against whatever showed up, the humans were allowed a few precious moments to hold council.

"Where's Windra?" Quayle asked, worried about her absence.

Tsomu recounted what had happened out front, including their encounter with Damien, Windra's injury, and Coral's death. Nye crushed Thresher in a hug at the sad news, while Eldan offered his condolences and a silent prayer. Quayle was visibly angry, clenching his fists and swearing vengeance, although he relaxed a little when he learned that there had been no further casualties on their end.

"Have any of you seen Palkia?" Lenny asked Quayle and his group. "Or Mars and Jupiter?"

Quayle shook his head. "Not yet. Safiri and Ruby took off to fight them on their own. They seemed to know exactly where Mars and Jupiter were, and Safiri was confident that they could win, but I'm still worried about them."

"She killed Cyrus's Honchkrow," Tsomu remembered. "Safiri did. In my dream. That means something, right?"

Quayle's eyebrows raised in surprise. "I'd say it does. Cyrus is stronger than both Mars and Jupiter. I've never faced him in battle, but I've heard stories. If Safiri has Pokemon that are capable of going toe to toe with Cyrus's Pokemon..." He paled as a memory surfaced of him just before his battle with Rose, being openly rude to Safiri and Glaceon, and Glaceon's growled threat that fortunately had gone unanswered. He blew out a breath, shaking his head as he realized just how lucky he'd been. He made a note to apologize to Safiri when this was all over. "All right, you guys. Let's focus on finding Taikyu, Frisk, and Kiria. They left us nearly half an hour ago. If we have to face Cyrus, I'd rather we do it as a united group. It'll be tough... but I think we could beat him."

The relief provided by the front door team was enough to allow Eldan, Nye, and Quayle's Pokemon some well-deserved rest. As the three pulled their Pokemon back in their Poke Balls to rest, Quayle turned to Tsomu, hoping to gather as much information about their foe as he could.

"How did you end up facing off against Cyrus?" he asked as the group slowly pushed their way through the enormous stadium.

"Before you died, you told me to use Dialga to go back in time," he explained. "I took him to the stadium because I figured there'd be more room there, and he suddenly just took off out of nowhere. He led me right to Palkia, and Cyrus. Rose and Eldan were with me, but Palkia seemed like it killed them both without even trying. I'm surprised I lasted as long as I did."

"So am I," Quayle replied honestly. "Once he saw that you had Dialga, there was nothing stopping him from killing you outright and just taking it. So why didn't he? You didn't actually fight him, did you?"

Tsomu shook his head. "No, we just talked."

This revelation was enough to make Quayle temporarily stop in his tracks. "You... talked? What? That's impossible. Cyrus doesn't make small talk. The hell did you guys talk about?"

Tsomu tried remembering as he watched Bae flit around, tossing Pollen Puffs to heal her allies. "Uh... his plans, I guess. He said he wanted to reshape the universe, but didn't go into any more detail than that. Oh! He did offer to let me join Team Galactic since I was willing to... to sacrifice my Pokemon for my own survival," he finished shamefully.

Quayle's jaw nearly hit the floor. "He what?" Cyrus's plans--his actual plans, not the nonsense about world domination that he fed the rank and file--were known only to a few people in all of Team Galactic. Quayle himself was part of the team that created the Red Chain and even he hadn't known the true reasons for building it until months later. "That doesn't make any sense. Why did he tell you, a civilian who is actively standing in his way, his greatest scheme? Why did he even talk to you at all?"

Tsomu shrugged. "Just worked a little of my Tsomu magic on him, I guess. I've always had the ability to get people to do what I want... I think he was a little dumbstruck that I had captured Dialga, too."

Quayle could do nothing but shake his head in disbelief. "You are one lucky bastard, you know that?"

"Not really," Tsomu disagreed. "I wasn't able to keep Dialga from him, and I got killed anyway. If anything, you deserve the credit for telling me to warn everyone. I would have just brushed it off as a bad dream otherwise."

The group spotted Drampa soaring high overhead, dropping attacks as Taikyu commanded the beast from atop it. As the dragon and his rider continued in the direction they were headed, Dialga suddenly burst from its Poke Ball, unbidden. "What the-- Dialga, what's wrong?" Quayle asked just as Dialga faced away from the group, roared, and bolted, barreling through both people and Pokemon.

"Oh no," Tsomu realized in horror. "This was just like my dream. It's going for Palkia!"

"Shit. Well, we can't just let Cyrus have it. After it!" Quayle shouted as he gave chase.

"We'll follow Taikyu and regroup with you," Nye said as she and Eldan swapped their Pokemon out. "You go keep Quayle from getting himself killed!"

"All right!" Tsomu agreed, running as fast as he could after the former scientist, leaving the other men to catch up with him.

This is different than it's supposed to be, Tsomu thought. How have things changed at all? I couldn't save Esmeralda. Thresher's Corsola got killed. Dialga is still leading us to our deaths. What are we supposed to--

His thoughts were interrupted by a sudden realization. He ran faster as Palkia loosed a Hyper Beam from its position. "Quayle, look out!" he shouted just as Dialga leaped out of its path. Quayle had barely turned his head towards the sound of someone calling his name when he was tackled to the ground.

Quayle screamed in pain as the searing white-hot energy beam tore through his lower leg, amputating him at the calf. He quickly turned himself over to survey the damage and to thank Tsomu for the assist, but he was horrified to see the detached arm of Tsomu fall limply off of him, the rest of the young man having been vaporized by the attack. Quayle screamed again, this time in terror instead of pain, and scrambled backwards until he met resistance. He turned to come face to face with a Toxicroak, mere inches from his poison-tipped knuckles.

Quayle braced himself for certain death when the Toxicroak was tackled by a Huntail. A Ninetales followed the attack up with Fire Blast, roasting the would-be attacker before it could harm Quayle.

"Lenny! Thresher!" Quayle exclaimed in relief as the Pokemon's owners came into his view. Lenny took one look at Quayle's bleeding wound and instructed his Pokemon to close it.

"Focus on me, son," Lenny instructed as he took Quayle's hand. "Where's Tsomu?"

"Dead. He's dead. A Hyper Beam got him...!" Quayle screamed in agony as Ninetales cauterized his leg. The pain lessened a little after Ninetales applied a helping of Safeguard to the wound, allowing Quayle to continue on through clenched teeth. "It was probably from Palkia. I've only seen an attack do this kind of damage once before. Damn it, my leg!" he cried, clutching his stump.

"Where's Dialga now?" Thresher inquired as he brought Quayle to his feet. "Can ya fight?"

"I wouldn't miss this fight for the world," Quayle hissed as Thresher helped support him. "Dialga is long gone. He went that way. We need to stop Cyrus from catching it. With Tsomu gone, Dialga is effectively wild again, and it may attack us if we get in its way."

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it," Lenny said as he looked in the direction Quayle pointed. "For now, we focus on the most important thing, and that's defending Indigo Plateau. Nye and the others will meet up with us later. Let's trust in their strength like they're trusting in ours. Now come on."

******

Cyrus watched in silence as the carnage unfolded around him. His eyes were cool, scanning the battlefield for his objective.

It shouldn't have taken this long.

His flat lips turned into a slight frown as he thought back to earlier in the evening. Their intelligence had been sound; his lieutenant reported that the referee was outside, and alone. Cyrus had ordered him to dispose of her and then report back. When he finally did hear back, the man had informed him that he'd run into a little trouble, but the woman had still been taken care of. Cyrus didn't like that one of the competitors had shown up after all of his intel suggested this would be a clean entry. It meant losing the element of surprise. It was a minor rumple in his plans, but it was a rumple nonetheless. It set the tone of the whole operation off.

A voice was heard in his ear, informing Cyrus that they had encountered resistance. The competitors. Cyrus held a hand to his ear, informing his subordinate that this was to be expected and to show them no mercy. He knew there would be casualties on his end - that was why he brought as many agents as he could. Strong as the competitors would be, fighting through the nearly twelve hundred Pokemon would take a toll on their teams, teams that weren't even full due to the restrictions imposed by their little tournament.

All he had to do was wait and allow his subordinates to do the dirty work. Even Mars and Jupiter, powerful as they were, were expendable, although there was no reason to believe they'd have any trouble slaughtering these weak trainers. Still, Cyrus had not left anything to chance. If anyone had managed to work their way to him, he would be ready and waiting with his full and fresh team that was surely stronger than anything the competitors had. And if by some stroke of luck they managed to get by his personal squad...

Palkia stood quietly next to Cyrus, tall and imposing, surveying the battlefield, waiting for orders. Cyrus looked up at the fearsome deity, quietly fingering the Master Ball in his pocket. He had been reassured time and time again that the Master Ball used to capture the creature would guarantee Palkia's obedience - after all, that child had managed to bring Dialga under his control, and the publicly available information on the competitors revealed that Tsomu had used a Friend Ball, of all things, to capture it. There was nothing that suggested Palkia would, or even could, rebel. As a man of science, Cyrus trusted in the data he had been presented with, but standing next to Palkia, a perfect being, a literal god? It was a frightening prospect. It could destroy him in the blink of an eye, destroy him, his team, and everyone in this wretched place if it wanted to.

He should have put the Red Chain on it anyway, just to be safe.

As Cyrus watched the battle, he cursed under his breath. When he'd been told that Quayle hadn't been among the competitors who had been seen at the entrance, he'd instructed Mars and Jupiter to stay with him, thinking it would increase their chances of finding Quayle. In hindsight, that was probably not the best idea. It was not impossible that the competitors would be able to defeat the small contingent he'd sent with his lieutenant, and Cyrus hadn't thought to ask about whether Tsomu was out there or not.

The fact that the lieutenant had never reported back was a little concerning, but not worth getting bent out of shape over. If anyone here was powerful or resourceful enough to survive long enough to meet him in battle, he would afford them a small amount of respect... and then he would slaughter them.

Nearly an hour passed before the sounds of battle began to fade. He couldn't say for sure if he was winning or not; there was no way to tell how well the competitors were doing. Still, the fact that his men had not yet returned triumphant after battling for an hour straight proved the competitors were, at the very least, holding their own. He supposed he could expect nothing less from them. They were strong, even if they were not as strong as him.

Suddenly, Palkia's head snapped to the front, and it let out a roar as it started to power up an attack, unbidden. The heart-stopping fear that Cyrus felt in that moment was something he was ashamed of, but he did not dare put himself or any of his other Pokemon in the way of Palkia's attack. It didn't look like Palkia was training its wrath on him specifically, so he simply stood and let Palkia do what it wanted.

A Hyper Beam issued from Palkia's maw, bright enough to make Cyrus shield his eyes from the attack. The searing beam blasted across the entire battlefield, disintegrating everything it came into contact with. When the attack was finished, Cyrus looked up to find none other than Dialga staring him down. Safiri and Ruby arrived only moments later, the two women and Blaziken hopping off Metagross from several meters away.

"Palkia. And Cyrus, I presume," Safiri said as she pulled a pen from inside her suit jacket; at one end of it sat a small round jewel, silver with orange swirls. "You ready, Ruby?"

Ruby stood next to her sister, pulling out a small pendant from inside her shirt. The black and red swirls of the tiny sphere gleamed in the moonlight. "Ready as I'll ever be. Let's do it!" They held the jewels to their chest, and both Metagross and Blaziken were surrounded in a bright light.

Cyrus looked to Palkia in the hopes it would defend him from these two powerful women and their Pokemon, but it was entirely focused on Dialga, the two deities firing attacks at each other. When it became clear that he was on his own, he let his entire team out of their Poke Balls. The five of them huddled around their master, aware of the two enormous threats in front of them.

When Metagross and Blaziken had finished their battle evolutions, Metagross immediately went on the offensive, bravely rushing Palkia in an attempt to take advantage of its distracted state. Cyrus's Honchkrow swiftly went to intercept the attack with Sucker Punch, but Metagross turned towards Honchkrow and punched it in the gut at a speed the bird could hardly keep track of. Knowing he was outmatched and would need a change in tactics, he returned to Cyrus's side with Roost, restoring his lost energy.

Quayle, who arrived with Cody, Lenny, and Thresher just in time to see Safiri's Mega Metagross send Cyrus's Honchkrow reeling with a single punch, released his Octillery as he directed the others. "Let the girls take Palkia. We need to keep Cyrus's other Pokemon busy."

"How are we supposed to do that?" Cody asked, sending his Araquanid into battle. "You said he was stronger than even Mars and Jupiter, yeah? How are we supposed to take him on with just the four of us?"

As if on cue, Taikyu soared overhead, raining down an attack towards Palkia that Thresher recognized as Aether Comet. Palkia was struck hard by one of the meteorites, giving Blaziken enough of an opening to deliver a mighty uppercut to Palkia's jaw. The god-Pokemon stumbled back a step, but was no worse off. It waved a hand towards the sky, ripping a large hole in the very space there. As soon as Drampa was halfway through the portal, Palkia closed it up, cleanly slicing Drampa in half at the neck and sending Taikyu crashing to the ground.

No sooner had this happened did Rose show up with Scarlet, Jethro, Nye, and Eldan. When they saw who they were up against, they all released their freshest Pokemon to assist in the battle. Quayle did a quick head count and did not like that so many people were missing. Were their numbers really that low? Tsomu was dead. Taikyu was almost certainly dead after taking that fall. Windra was wounded, which left...

Suddenly, Frisk whizzed by on her Rapidash, ignoring Cyrus, ignoring Palkia, ignoring everyone, making a bee line for where Taikyu fell. Quayle breathed a sigh of relief when Cyrus ignored the young girl and instead turned his attention to the near dozen competitors in front of him. Safiri and Ruby were doing a good job keeping Palkia busy - it took his breath away to see them hold their own against the lord of space.

Focus, he admonished himself. Who else was missing? He wasn't surprised to realize that Alex had been missing this whole time. Quayle promised himself that if he survived this whole ordeal, he was definitely going to give the rich boy a piece of his mind. That meant everyone was accounted for except...

"Kiria?" Quayle called out, looking around in a panic. "Has anyone seen Kiria?" No one answered. He didn't like that she was unaccounted for; it was bad enough that she was missing. He wanted to go back for her, but he was in no shape to travel on his own, and the others would need all the help they could get.

Cyrus tightened one of his hands into a fist at the sight of his former chief scientist. Ideally, he would have had Palkia simply wipe Quayle off the face of the planet, but those women and their Pokemon were, somehow, holding their own. He could not afford to tell Palkia to ignore them, as they would not give it any chance to attack. Fortunately, the rest of his team was battle-hardened and tough, and Cyrus was confident that his team could handle things. He turned to his Gyarados, who was patiently waiting for an order. "Kill him," Cyrus commanded, pointing at Quayle. "Kill them all!" he shouted, directing his team to attack as they pleased. He did not need to command them individually, as they were all well trained.

(It is at this point the story elements stop and the play by play begins.)

* Palkia vs Ruby and Safiri - These two keep Palkia from killing everyone as their Pokemon are the only ones powerful enough to do so. Ruby's team consists of Mega Blaziken, Turtonator, Darmanitan, Jynx, Porygon-Z, and Scrafty; Safiri's Pokemon are Mega Metagross, Glaceon, Malamar, Azumarill, Greninja, and Salamence. I chose their Pokemon based on their color. Ruby's Pokemon are all in the red group, Safiri's are blue. (Esmeralda's team, though she and her Pokemon are absent from this battle, are all from the green group: Mega Tyranitar, Cacturne, Reuniclus, Xatu, Lilligant, and Alolan Muk.)

By the time the two Jewels are able to finally bring Palkia down, both their teams have been wiped out through fainting, death, or being vanished to an alternate dimension.

* Honchkrow vs Nye's Musharna and Eldan's Ninetales - Musharna tries putting Honchkrow to sleep as Ninetales uses a sun-enhanced Flamethrower on it. The combined attacks send Honchkrow tumbling to the ground and it lies there unmoving. When Musharna hovers nearby to check Honchkrow's status, it reveals that it was only feigning injury and knocks Musharna out in a single hit with Dark Pulse. When Nye recalls Musharna, Honchkrow skewers Eldan through the chest with Drill Peck. Eldan grabs Honchkrow as the two tumble to the ground, commanding his Ninetales to use Inferno to roast the both of them; Nye screams at Ninetales to stop, but she doesn't. Musharna manages to put Honchkrow to sleep just before Ninetales's attack finishes; Nye rushes to Eldan's side, tossing the bird off of him with his help. The Inferno attack is enough to severely weaken Honchkrow and not a moment later it starts raining. After a few Charge Beams and a second Inferno from Ninetales, Honchkrow falls. Nye remains by Eldan's side, trying to stop the bleeding with a combination of Safeguard from both Musharna and Ninetales while she applies pressure to the wound with her pajama top.

* Houndoom vs Cody's Araquanid and Scarlet's Pachirisu - This battle goes fairly well at first; Pachirisu immediately paralyzes Houndoom with Thunder Wave and Araquanid nails it with Infestation. The speed decrease means that even with Houndoom's significant level and stat advantage, Pachirisu is capable of outrunning it, especially with Araquanid providing a distraction. The sun from Eldan's Nientales inadvertently gives Houndoom a massive increase in strength, and it looses a huge Fire Blast that Pachirisu barely avoids. In a moment of inspiration, Cody orders his Araquanid to use Entrainment on Pachirisu, followed by Rain Dance; thanks to this, Pachirisu gains Araquanid's Water Bubble Ability, allowing it an immunity to burn and severely weakened Fire damage. The rain falls and Araquanid goes on the offensive, slamming into Houndoom with Liquidation and Lunge. Pachirisu takes advantage of the newly changed weather by hitting Houndoom with Thunder, but Houndoom manages to get a Dark Pulse off, knocking Pachirisu out in one hit. Araquanid lands another Liquidation on Houndoom, and the battle is over.

* Crobat vs Kyro's Clefairy and Frisk's Alolan Marowak - Under the cover of battle, Kyro heads to Frisk, knowing she won't stand much of a chance alone and that she's likely unaware of how things have escalated. He finds her bawling over Taikyu's body and tries warning her of the danger but she doesn't listen. Cyrus's Crobat appears and attacks with Supersonic, causing the humans to cover their ears to try and block the shrill sound. Out of range of the other competitors, Kyro commands Clefairy to use Gravity; Crobat briefly falls out of the sky and Frisk sends out her Alolan Marowak. As a ghost, it is only partially affected by the increased gravity and therefore can fight fairly easily. In a shock to both children, Cyrus's Crobat manages to remain airborne in Gravity, although it is noticeably more sluggish, having to expend much more power to stay in flight. Clefairy keeps the pressure on with Sing and Encore while Marowak goes on the offensive with Shadow Bone and Flare Blitz. Crobat's Supersonic eventually hits the mark, confusing both Clefairy and Marowak. They turn on each other; Marowak beats Clefairy as the encore wears off, and Crobat finishes Clefairy off with Sludge Bomb. Still confused, Marowak continues savagely beating Clefairy. On instinct, Kyro leaps in to protect Clefairy, and Marowak hits Kyro once in the back as he is hunched over Clefairy's unconscious form. The force from the blow breaks Kyro's spine and he falls to the ground, screaming in pain. This snaps Marowak out of his confusion; horrified at what he's done, he barely has any time to feel sorry for himself before Frisk commands him to use Shadow Bone on the Crobat. No longer encumbered by Gravity, Marowak whips his flaming bone at Crobat and smashes him directly between the eyes, knocking him to the ground. One more Flare Blitz and Crobat is down for the count.

* Weavile vs Jethro's Hydreigon and Lenny's Darmanitan - Both Hydreigon and Darmanitan prove to be no match for Weavile's speed and power. A single Ice Punch is enough to bring Hydreigon to the brink of consciousness, and Lenny's Darmanitan doesn't have half the speed or strength of Ruby's. As such it cannot hope to land a solid hit on Weavile. Lenny comes up with a plan to sacrifice Hydreigon so that Darmanitan can get his hands on Weavile; Jethro hates the idea but agrees to it as long as the plan doesn't get Hydreigon killed. When Weavile cuts Hydreigon's throat with Ice Shard, killing her, Darmanitan manages to wrestle Weavile to the ground. When Lenny sees Houndoom's Fire Blast coming his way, he directs Darmanitan to throw Weavile into the attack. He does, and Weavile is instantly defeated.

* Gyarados vs Thresher's Ferrothorn and Quayle's Octillery - Both Ferrothorn and Octillery immediately go for Electric moves against Gyarados, but it manages to dodge both moves. Ferrothorn is knocked out by a Fire Blast from Gyarados and is only saved from death due to Octillery putting out the flames before they could do any permanent damage. The two resume their assault as Gyarados retaliates with Hyper Beaming everything. Scarlet's Pachirisu is caught in the blast and is instantly killed. Octillery is gobbled up off the ground but Gyarados only gets a single vicious bite into him before he is killed by a Thunderbolt from Rose's Gardevoir. Octillery, who was still in Gyarados's mouth and took the full attack as well as Gyarados, is also killed.

* Dialga vs Rose's Gardevoir - Rose's superpowered Gardevoir first tries communicating with Dialga to beg it to help against Cyrus's other Pokemon. When it refuses to listen, Gardevoir attempts to subdue it by force. Dialga lashes out with Iron Tail; when Gardevoir dodges it, Dialga rewinds her to her previous position and forces her to get hit by the attack. All the Calm Minds in the world are no help against the physical blow, and the frail Gardevoir takes huge damage. Thinking quickly, she hits Dialga with Moonblast, inflicting heavy damage. Weakened, Dialga starts to rewind time to undo its wounds, but suddenly disappears in a flash of light. A Poke Ball has been thrown at it, but it is not one Gardevoir immediately recognizes. Whatever it is, the capture is successful. She hears Cyrus order his Weavile to retrieve the ball; he does, and throws it to Cyrus. Rose and Gardevoir move in to get Dialga back. On their way, she sees Gyarados scoop Octillery off the ground and Gardevoir instinctively Thunderbolts Gyarados in an attempt at rescuing Octillery and accidentally kills them both.

* Cyrus vs everyone - With Palkia defeated, Cyrus sends out Dialga in a desperate attempt at victory, but after Gardevoir shouts to everyone that Dialga is now under Cyrus's control, the surviving Pokemon all attack at once, and this combined strength is enough to bring the already weakened Dialga down. Quayle makes a remark about how a part of him regrets being unable to get revenge in the way he wanted, but seeing Cyrus brought low by his friends is just as sweet. Rose's Gardevoir restrains Cyrus as the competitors regroup. Tears are shed as the reality of the situation hits them. The gang decides what to do with Cyrus and after brief discussion it is put to a vote. In a lopsided decision, the group votes to execute the Galactic leader. Rose's Gardevoir does the honors, and with Cyrus's life extinguished and none of the remaining surviving grunts any sort of threat, the invasion has been put down and our heroes can finally rest.

After the battle is over, Kiria is found amongst the bodies; her Pokemon are all dead and she is grievously injured, but she is alive.

The scene changes to the cafeteria where the surviving competitors are holding council with Ruby, Safiri, and Diamant, who arrived with Aura on the scene after Safiri gave him the all clear. He is depressed to see so few people present; the fact that Kiria, Kyro and Eldan survived and were only absent because they were flown to Viridian City's hospital for treatment does not give give him much relief, but he is happy that they are alive.

Safiri informs Diamant that everyone is here and they can begin the meeting, but Windra inquires about where "Esmy" is and how Indigo Plateau staff wouldn't let Windra see her. After Diamant presses her, Safiri tearfully reveals that Esmeralda succumbed to her wounds and died in the opening stages of the battle. She kept this information to herself so as not to keep everyone's spirits as high as possible. Naturally, everyone is devastated by this news, and Diamant says that hearing this has cemented his decision to cancel the remainder of the tournament. Alex fervently objects, as he is still in the running for the grand prize, and everyone shouts over him, offended by his remark. Diamant reminds Alex that as the one bankrolling the tournament, Diamant Industries can, in its sole discretion, cancel the tournament and void all prizes, though he commits to paying out a sizeable chunk of money to everyone regardless of tournament placement. This is not good enough for Alex, who threatens to sue, and storms out of the room.

Windra then reveals the conversation she had with Esmeralda about something going on behind the scenes and demands that Diamant come clean about the whole thing. He deflects at first, but then, feeling guilt over Esmeralda's death, decides to be honest. He reveals everything: first, that the Jewels and Aura are all biots; second, a brief description of what that means (using Aura and her golden hair as an example) and how the creation process works; and third, the real plans behind the tournament - to use the DNA from the strongest trainers in the world in order to create a truly perfect biot. Diamant explains that the sixteen of them represent the first field test of the perfect biot program - version zero. Following the tournament, Diamant had planned to tweak things that worked about both the tournament as well as the biot program in order to improve future versions.

With everything that has happened, however, and Esmeralda's untimely death, Diamant vows to end the biot program. When Jethro asks what will become of Ruby, Safiri, and Aura, Diamant explains that the biots are not immortal, although they may as well be due to their molecular makeup. They will all be free to live their lives for as long as they wish, Diamant says, and can return to Tajna at any time when they are ready to be decommissioned. He instructs Aura to remind him to codify plans to allow this to happen in the event that date comes after his death.

The competitors all rest as Indigo Plateau is cleaned and news breaks of the invasion. It is eventually leaked that Taikyu was killed in the attack, and that several other competitors were seriously injured. Diamant makes a statement expressing regret for what happened and publicly declares the tournament is over with no winner, out of respect for the dead. In light of recent events, the remaining competitors are all heavily guarded as they were shuttled to Viridian City's airport under cover of night.

Safiri and Ruby travel with them to the airport. Goodbyes are said. Tears are shed, for more reasons than the bittersweet feeling that comes from having to depart from a dear friend. As a group, they vow to stay in touch with one another and ask their escorts to relay lists of well-wishes and addresses to Kyro, Kiria, and Eldan. Initially, no one wants to leave, but when Thresher and Lenny decide to go first and board their plane headed for Hoenn, the others found it a little easier to depart themselves. Finally, all planes are safely in the air, and the Jewels are left alone to return to Indigo Plateau and decide what to do with the rest of their lives.

This is the end of the story proper. What follows is an epilogue of sorts that happens after a fiveish-year time skip, where we learn the final fates of all the major players.
 
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PMJ

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Merry Christmas, everyone. Here's the epilogue, which marks the actual true end of the story. After nearly seven years (of terror), another Pulitzer-worthy PMJ story comes to a close. Thanks to all of you who joined me for the ride, even if I'm talking to a bunch of ghosts now. It feels great to finally put this story to bed for good.

@Nyora @thegrovylekid @Athena @double o squirtle @Little Cherrim @VinculumStellarum @Reshiwott @NinjaPenguin @Blakers @GrandPanacea @NotJim @quakingpunch73 @Jabberwock @Skyleaf2000 @NinJamezor

RIP @TheSceptileMaster

Word count: 3128

Final word count (excluding chapter 12 tl;dr): 198,735

Epilogue: Final Moves

Tsomu

There wasn't much left of Tsomu to bury, but his remains were sent back to Alola once they had been sorted from the others. There, he was laid to rest at the peak of Mt. Lanakila, outside the Pokemon League. Quayle makes sure to take a trip up the mountain once a year to visit the man who saved his life; although Nye is usually thrilled to spend some time under the warm Alolan sun, she is typically less enthusiastic about ascending the mountain, where temperatures are significantly colder. Tsomu's family was initially cold to Quayle after he explained who he was, having only seen him in his battle against Rose, but after apologizing to them and fortunately having Nye with him to back him up, it was enough for them to slowly warm up to them. Now, every year, Quayle and his family join Tsomu's family for a meal on the anniversary of Tsomu's death, where they talk about the man they all respected.

Nye

Nye used her prize money to help rebuild Celestic Town and commissioned a new mural to be painted which told the stories of old. Much to Quayle's chagrin, Nye had chosen to date Eldan over him despite the long distance, and the two of them were together for about a year following his release from the hospital; however, after it became clear that Eldan wasn't willing to give up his life in Team Flare for her and she wasn't willing to leave Celestic Town for him, they decided to mutually end their relationship and remain as friends. Though she rebuffed Quayle for a couple years after he'd learned she was single again, eventually she was won over. Though Eldan hadn't liked receiving an invitation to her wedding in the mail, he'd come anyway, congratulating her both on her nuptials and how beautiful she looked despite looking like she was ready to burst. She would eventually give birth to twins, and agreed with Quayle that they should each pick a name for one of the babies. She nearly left Quayle after he gave one of their daughters a name she thought was absurd, but her love for her new family won out, and she kept them all together, feeling fulfilled in her life as wife and mother.

Cody

Cody spent another year searching Alola for any sign of his parents. Eventually, he found a clue that led him to definitive proof that his parents had been killed. Though this was disheartening to learn, he was just happy to not have to wonder anymore. After putting that issue to rest, Cody did some traveling, visiting all of his competitor friends using his prize money. He intentionally saved Windra for last; the two of them traveled together, and Cody ended up confessing his feelings to her. Though Windra admitted that Cody was a great guy and a fantastic travel companion, she wasn't interested in anything serious. After two years of casual dating and traveling together, Cody and Windra parted ways, although they made a promise to each other to stay in touch. Back home in Alola, Cody settled down in his hometown of Seafolk Village, having seen the world, made many new friends, and fallen in love, even if the object of his affection didn't exactly feel the same way. He and Windra still wrote letters to each other and called each other whenever they could, but it would be another two years before he ever saw Windra again.

Scarlet

Scarlet's work as a Ranger took her all over the world, and she always made time to visit her new friends whenever work brought her close enough to do so. Her correspondence with Rose, however, was a constant in her life. After three years, Scarlet achieved Ranger Rank 10, and requested a transfer to Johto so she could be closer to Rose. Reunited at last, Scarlet and Rose finally began dating, although Gardevoir still harbored some minor resentment for a few months afterward. It would be two years before Rose came clean about her relationship with her Pokemon, and Scarlet not only was fine with it, but expressed curiosity in such a thing. Life for the Rangers hasn't been easy, but the two are still together to this day.

Kyro

Though he survived the Galactic invasion, his wounds left him wheelchair-bound for life. Even this debilitating injury was nowhere near enough to extinguish Kyro's spirit, and as he matured into a young man, he used his share of the prize money to turn the Close Calls Club into a worldwide organization, with branches in every region. Additionally, for the past five years, Kyro has traveled all over the world as a motivational speaker, inspiring those young and old to never give up on their dreams. His desire to research Fossil Pokemon is as strong as ever - after hearing about the unique fossils in the Galar region, Kyro makes plans to head there to meet up with the researchers there and discuss their findings.

Frisk

After hearing about the biots and remembering Taikyu's words about being able to transfer a soul from one body to another, Frisk and Chara have a brief conversation about asking Diamant to make Chara a new body, but Chara shuts the idea down, not wanting to be away from his sister. Over the next five years, even though the siblings remain in Sinnoh, their relationship flourishes. Frisk stops referring to their shared body as "hers", instead referring to it as "theirs" and allowing Chara to take more and more freedoms with it, including cutting and styling their hair, dressing as a boy would, and staying as the active consciousness for as long as he felt like it, sometimes days or weeks at a time - a feat made simple by Frisk's small chest and thin body. Frisk didn't get upset when people would refer to them as male when Chara was in control - in fact, it was something that Chara took great pleasure in, finally feeling seen after being trapped inside Frisk's head for so long. She could feel the warmth spread through him, and that happiness was Frisk's greatest treasure.

Alex

True to his word, Alex sued Diamant Industries for breach of contract. After a two-year, drawn out legal battle, thanks to finding a miniscule legal loophole in the contract's wording, Alex and his team of lawyers were successful in their lawsuit and forced Diamant Industries to resume the tournament from where it had left off. This was met with an almost universal outcry, especially from the surviving competitors who had learned they were contractually obligated to participate, and from those who had lost Pokemon in the Galactic invasion. The remaining tournament was held over a few days shortly after the trial ended. In the quarterfinals, Lenny was able to defeat Frisk, and Alex was victorious against Jethro. Kiria tried forfeiting against Thresher but couldn't, only because Thresher beat her to it. They both thought the money was dirty and Thresher couldn't bring himself to force Kiria to battle after losing her entire team, so he quit as soon as the battle begun. After hearing about it, Lenny agreed, and threw his match against Alex. The final match, featuring Kiria and Alex, almost didn't happen, since Kiria planned on simply quitting and letting the baby have his bottle. Everyone else, however, had talked about things, and they didn't want to see Alex win it all. It was up to Kiria to get justice and put the smug bastard in his place. Though she gave everything she had to defeat him, in the end, it wasn't enough. Alex just barely managed to defeat Kiria to claim the championship and the $100 million prize. After receiving his winnings, he made sure to gloat about it for weeks on social media. A couple years later, as Alex and his father were leaving a business meeting, Alex was gunned down in a violent drive-by shooting that still remains unsolved to this day. It seems that, despite happening in broad daylight and in front of a crowd of paparazzi, nobody saw anything and, mysteriously, no footage exists of the event.

Rose

Rose continued her work leading the Johto chapter of Pokemon Rangers she helped create. Even though she was afraid of her secret getting out, Windra had kept her promise and never uttered a word of it to anyone. After she and Scarlet started dating, Rose expressed an interest in trying to destigmatize Pokemon-human relationships. She polled households across Johto and learned that about 30% of respondents were at least indifferent to the idea. Emboldened by this data, and with Scarlet by her side, Rose held a press conference in which she outed herself, hoping to use her clout as a Ranger to educate the masses. While many did show support for Rose, there were many who didn't, and called for her resignation or removal. When the Ranger Union stood behind Rose for her years of service and many accomplishments, some tried to take matters into their own hands. After surviving an assassination attempt, she was forced to go into hiding for a time to recover from her injuries, but Rose reassured her fans that she was determined to do her job while spreading her message of love. She and Scarlet are still working towards this goal today.

Jethro

After a long discussion with his Pokemon, Jethro decided to take a sabbatical from training and enjoy a nice long vacation in Alola at the Hano Grand Resort. It wasn't until weeks after he'd arrived that he learned that Kahili's father, as the owner of the resort, pulled some strings and bumped Jethro to the top of the nearly yearlong reservation list, which made Jethro a bit uncomfortable. Following his visit, and inspired by Ennis, Jethro educated himself in Pokemon care and opened his own Pokemon day care, doing his part to make sure that fewer Pokemon ever ended up like Ennis' siblings. He occasionally corresponded with some of the other competitors, Scarlet chief among them, and he was happy to see that she had seemingly finally gotten her act together.

Quayle

When he got out of the hospital, Quayle returned to Celestic Town, where he helped with the rebuilding effort. With Team Galactic wiped out, Quayle decided to retire as a trainer and use his winnings to live a simple life in his hometown. He repaired his relationship with Candice, even sharing a few lonely nights with her when Nye began seeing Eldan. Over the first few years, they began to rekindle their relationship, but it slowly became clear to Quayle that his heart wasn't it. After several attempts, Nye relented and gave him the chance he longed for, and although she would never admit it under pain of torture, she was just as excited to be with him. Only fifteen days after their wedding, Quayle became a father to identical twin girls, Sheila and Lucrecia. One day, Quayle received a call from Kyro, asking him if he was interested in opening a Close Calls Club in Sinnoh, and Quayle still acts as president of the entire region's clubs to this day.

Lenny

Having had enough excitement for one lifetime, Lenny returned to the simple life he led in Lavaridge Town. Initially, he retired from his job as a kindler, but he soon became bored, and didn't like how all the idle time brought back bad memories of the family he lost. Only a few weeks later, he was right back to work as if he'd never left. Occasionally he received letters from his fellow competitors, and writing back to them was always a joy that made him feel less alone. The town of Lavaridge saw a massive influx of tourists as a result of Lenny's participation in the tournament, and while it was awkward at first, over the years, Lenny learned that being recognized was part of his life now, and he didn't have to let that stop him from doing old job as a kindler or his new job as mentoring the youth of Lavaridge.

Kiria

After recovering from her injuries, Kiria fell into a deep depression, which was only made worse by being forced to participate in the tournament thanks to Alex. After her loss, she used her money and influence to tighten the screws on Team Rocket's presence in Kanto. She worked alongside her friend Barry, who she was ecstatic to see had left the organization to pursue a career in law enforcement, and together the two of them were able to drastically reduce the syndicate's presence in the region before she got the urge to travel again. No matter where she went, however, she always would return to Azalea Town a few times a year to feed the Slowpoke (who were no longer being harvested by Rocket or anyone else) and share stories.

Taikyu

Taikyu's remains were brought home to Johto. Per his wishes, he was cremated, and his ashes were spread from the top of the rebuilt Brass Tower. Frisk was invited to the ribbon-cutting ceremony as Morty's personal guest, where they were allowed to cut the ribbon to signify the opening of the new building. Several of the other competitors were also in attendance, and they used the opportunity to hold an impromptu celebration of life for Taikyu. It was here Frisk first introduced the others to Chara; they greeted him with open arms and welcomed him as a friend.

Eldan

Eldan was quick to gloat when he and Nye started dating. The long distance wasn't a problem at first, but after it became clear that their dreams were conflicting with one another, they decided to split and remain friends. Inspired by Nye's words, he poured all of his energy into Team Flare, making admin immediately after asking about it - as it turned out, Lysandre had been wanting to promote Eldan for years and was simply waiting for the young man to be ready. A few years later, after an unfortunate incident saw Lysandre killed, Eldan saw an opportunity to continue Lysandre's noble work. He was promoted to lead the team, and he reformed Team Flare along with Lysandre Labs to be a powerful force of good for the Kalos region. When he attended Nye and Quayle's wedding a few months later, he and Quayle buried the hatchet, and he offered them both sincere congratulations, even making them both honorary members of Team Flare. When Nye opened his gift and found two baby-sized Team Flare uniforms, a cackling Eldan took a picture for posterity before running for his life; even as heavily pregnant as she was, it turned out Nye was still a force to be reckoned with.

Thresher

Thresher went home to Pacifidlog Town and did everything with his money that he said he would. He fixed his father's boat, fixed everyone's boats, built more houses for its growing population. He also spent a year or two searching for Mirage Island, but never found it. One day after he came home from a trip searching for the island, he found Ruby waiting for him. She confessed her feelings for him and Thresher invited her to stay with him as long as she liked. As it turned out, that ended up being forever, as the two were eventually wed in a quiet ceremony on Tajna. As a wedding present, Diamant offered Thresher a chance to help research Mirage Island and help pin it down, if possible, and Thresher was only too happy to agree; Diamant provided Ruby with a report detailing that she should be able to give birth with no complications for her or the child. The excited newlyweds went straight to work, happy to no longer have to fear this part of their relationship.

Windra

Windra resumed traveling the second she was able, wanting to forget all about the tournament and the drama associated with it. After Cody had found her and asked to travel with her, she was hesitant to agree, but caved after deciding that he had been the least obnoxious out of all the competitors, and she had been feeling rather lonely since she parted ways with everyone. Of course, he had to go and complicate things by saying he liked her, but at least he'd been cool about it when she shut him down. He was still a blast to be around and ended up being a pretty good lay, and Windra wasn't surprised when she found herself missing him after they separated a couple years later. After Damien, Windra didn't think she could ever love again, but she couldn't argue with the way her heart ached after reading one of his letters or talking to him on the phone. She surprised him by visiting him in Seafolk Village and surprised herself by admitting she'd fallen for him. After Cody agreed to not force her to settle down in such a tiny village (and admitting that Village Bridge wasn't much better), the two traveled together as a couple, forgetting all about Rose and Scarlet and living her best life.

Safiri

Safiri returned to work for Diamant Industries, supervising the end of the biot program. Argenta was decommissioned at her request; Aura chose to stay and continue serving Diamant, although after only a year she became depressed without Argenta around and agreed to join her sister in death. Following the official end of Version Zero, Safiri remained by Diamant's side as Diamant Industries explored other business ventures. She stayed in touch with Ruby, and after learning she wanted to start a family with Thresher, Safiri convinced Diamant to help her research whether or not they could give birth. Their research was concluded just in time for Ruby to get married, and it didn't take long for Ruby to become pregnant herself. Safiri has fallen into the role of devoted aunt quite well, and she and "Uncle Lucas" visit the young family quite often.

Ruby

After settling down with Thresher, she gave birth to a little girl named Esmeralda. True to Diamant's claim, the pregnancy went off without a hitch, although Thresher had been worried when she went into labor after only 29 weeks. Both baby and mother were perfectly fine - it seemed that Ruby's superior body and genes allowed for a faster gestation period than a typical human. Following baby Esmeralda's birth, Ruby wanted a son, and though Thresher agreed to try his best, it would be several years and four more girls before Ruby was blessed with a boy. After that, she had told Thresher if he wanted any more kids, he was going to be the one having them. The two of them were still proud of their large family, and lived a happy, quiet life in the southern Hoenn seas.
 
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