Both Red and I woke up at the same time. We seemed to be in unison for the whole morning. We did everything at the same time. Well, nearly everything, except bathroom responsibilities, but that's common sense. It was about 11:53 by the time we arrived to the location of the event.

I started feeling uneasy suddenly. I haven't spoken to my friends since I've left. What if they're here? They'll surely find me. What to do, what to do?

"Erm, Red? I'm not gonna participate. It should be you! You're the foreigner and us Unovians looove foreigners. Plus I'm not really feeling all that up to battling."

"WHAT? But you're the one who was all excited about doing this thing in the first place…"

"That was before I thought about my friends seeing me here. There's no doubt in my mind that they're here. I know I have to eventually face them, and I will, but not today…"

"I guess you're right, though I'm not sure I follow the whole story, but it doesn't matter. I better go and register before the deadline, which is in…. TWO MINUTES!"

Red then sprinted to the sign-up booth. I snuck to the bottom-most bleachers nearest to me. I attached my vest's hood by snapping the buttons into place, then promptly slid it up onto my head. I need to be slightly unnoticeable. I heard a familiar squeak-ish voice whom I recognized to be Bianca's. I stood straight up and started tip-toeing away from the bleachers, then felt someone tapping on my shoulder.

"Yes?"

I said, not turning around, with a false Germanic accent.

"Could you point me to the contestant's corner?"

"Over there."

I pointed behind me, somewhat to my left.

"Thank you! C'mon Cheren!"

I heard Cheren "hmm.." but shrug it off and ran behind the bleachers. That was a close one. I was right, though. They are here. My X-transceiver rang, and it was Cheren. I declined it so it wouldn't attract too much attention. I silenced it as well. I can't be found out. I had always told myself running away from my problems would never work, but some things you just can't help. I'm ignoring my best friends all over a guy I love who's engaged to someone else and someone I just met who I have a lot in common with. They'd be so proud. Sarcasm. One language I'm amazing at. The loudspeaker started booming with a female's voice, another I could make out quite clearly.

"Good afternoon, ladies and 'gents. Welcome to the first annual Pokémon Meet 'n' Greet with yours truly, Elesa from Nimbasa Gym!"

The crowd literally went wild. I'm not the biggest fan of Elesa, but right now, I'm glad she's popular. It takes my friend's attention away from me. I continued sneaking onward, still behind the bleachers, when I saw the silhouette of someone.

"Going somewhere?"

I sighed and took my hood down.

"I really don't wanna hear it, Cheren."

"Well too bad. You blow off Bianca and myself and you expect everything to stay peachy keen. The world doesn't work that way, Sephyr, and you know that."

"Now be nice to her, Cheren."

Bianca trilled. I groaned, knowing I was going to get the talking-to of a lifetime.

"Bianca, this has gone far enough. She obviously wants to be separated from us. It's about time she got what she wants, like always."

Yeowtch. That hurt.

"Cheren! You know she doesn't want that! She may be a bit harsh and ignore us, but knowing her, it's for a good reason."

Thanks for sticking up for me, but you coulda done it a tad differently.

"Bianca, if by good, you mean selfish, then yes. Good intentions."

Hello? I'm still here. I could feel the tears well up in my eyes, and as much as I wanted to hold back, I couldn't.

"Cheren, you obviously don't know me well enough. You don't know what I go through every day."

By this time, I was crying. I'm such a crybaby.

"I'm in love with someone who's never going to love me back and it hurts. It hurts so much and-"

"You don't think I don't know what that's like? Trust me. I know what it's like more than you'd think."

"At least you're not in love with your alleged rival. There. I've said it."

"You're in love with Ghetsis?"

Bianca sure knows how to lighten a moment. This time, no sarcasm.

"No, silly. I am with N though."

I sniffled and wiped my eyes.

"He's really such a good guy, and everyone hates him for it. He was manipulated by Ghetsis when he was young, but people only take into effect what he's actually done. Pokémon liberation alone is technically what should happen, but certain Pokémon know humans and love us as much as we love them. It's hard to let go of a loved one. We all know that. And to top it all off, I really shouldn't love him. He told me he liked me back after I told him how I felt. I told him when I ran off, which I'm sorry for but I figured you guys'd make fun of me for it… He said he liked me, technically, but he didn't wanna be together until he deciphers humans more and rights his wrongs. I met Red more than once and befriended him quite quickly. Outside of the Champion's Den, I saw N with an ace-trainer named Marianna. That's when he was proposing to her. He seemed really serious and she did too. I ran away from them, and Red met back up with me again. We've been travelling since and then we arrived here. You're pretty much caught up. Oh, besides the fact I was kidnapped by some weird organization who calls themselves "Team Rocket". Ghetsis, yes, Ghetsis rescued me. I was in Kanto though, so I don't know why he'd be there. But I met Red there and he needed to talk to Alder about something so we travelled here, then all other events fell after. NOW you're all caught up."

I was out of breath, and they looked both confused and taken aback.

"N? The dummy who wanted you gone?"

"Sephyr, you have horrible taste in men."

"Yes, Bianca, that N. And Cheren, please. I like who I like, just how you like who you like. Shall I start comparing?"

He started turning red. He likes me but he doesn't know I know. Either that or he pretends I don't know.

"No…"

I smiled that I had my friends back. They needn't apologize because I should have just been upfront with them in the first place.

"And that concludes battle number 1! Battle number two consists of Corbin and Cheren! Come on up here, guys."

"Well, that's my cue."

Cheren ran up to his battle position and rose up to the podium thing. I'm not sure what they call it here. Once Corbin took his station, the battle began. These battles are just one-on-one. It was a unique idea, but I'd want at least a back-up Pokémon. Cheren sent out his Liepard, and Corbin sent out Chandelure. Well, Cheren had the upper-hand, but who knows what kind of moves his Chandelure knew?

"Alright, begin!"

Elesa blew the whistle, thus beginning the battle.

"Liepard, use Night Slash."

Liepard bared its claws and a dark purple and red glow encased its paw. It slashed at the Chandelure, making a direct hit. Chandelure used Fire Blast without the call of its trainer. Corbin just smirked.

"When you understand your Pokémon, they know which moves to use and when. Looks like you're not even that close to your Liepard."

Cheren's face hardened, obviously angry at Corbin's words. He played right into his trap. What Corbin said was a lie though. Liepard was the first Pokémon Cheren caught with the help of his Snivy. I know what Cheren was thinking. I knew him too well.

"Little do you know about battling."

He pushed his glasses up, smirking.

"I've worked with Liepard for a long time now. I know his strengths and weaknesses. I know when he's feeling up or down. I understand him more than you think. My Liepard and I trust each other. I exclaim the attack because I'm not fearful whether the other trainer can counter it. I'm confident that my Liepard will prevail. If he doesn't, no big loss. I've learned along the way that it's not about brute strength. It's about learning with your Pokémon. The experiences you share should be memorable. With that being said, Liepard, use Night Slash again!"

Liepard gently spoke his name and his paw glew again. Corbin spoke his attack this time.

"Chandelure! Use Payback!"

Chandelure began glowing a bright fuschia, but it was too late. Night Slash had struck already, and Chandelure fell to the ground. It tried to levitate again, but to no avail. The battle was over.

"The winner is Cheren!"

That's what I admire about Cheren. He really does care about his Pokémon. It's not about whether your Pokémon knows its moves and can use them without the help of its trainer, but more about working with your Pokémon, and Cheren knows that. When he came back over, Bianca hugged him.

"You did wonderful, Cheren! I really admire you!"

Cheren blushed this time.

"So Sephyr, when are you going to battle? What number are you?"

I hesitated, but had to confess.

"Well, actually, I didn't enter because I didn't want you to see me and get mad at me…"

"We would have understood your position at the beginning. We don't judge, remember? We're your best friends. Trust us."

"I know. I was kind of selfish. I mean, I can trust you. If it makes you feel better, I never told Red either. I kind of held back as well. It was more of a personal matter. I'm sorry, guys."

"Hey Sephyr, I'm number 20… oh…hey."

Red reluctantly came over, unknowing whether or not I was ok.

"They understand, Red. I should have known that from the start. Too bad I didn't sign up. This is an awesome opportunity, and I'm missing out."

"You don't have to, you know."

His hand grabbed onto my shoulder.

"I could pull some strings for you."

"I really couldn't ask you to, Alder."

I'd be acting on impulse. I'll be right back."

And like a swish of a lamb's tail, he was over at the sign-up booth, talking to the lady in charge.

"What kind of battle do you think is going to occur? Which Pokémon are you going to use?"

Bianca kept asking me what I thought would happen.

"Bianca, this is all going to be a surprise. I don't even know yet."

Alder came back after a few minutes.

"Did you sign her up?"

"Yes, I did Cheren. They didn't need you to register a Pokémon either, Sephyr. She's a fan of surprises."

"Did you find out any information on the trainer I'm battling?"

"Yeah, number 20. Ha, Sephyr. It's you and Red."

Red and I just looked at each other. This is going to be an interesting turn of events.

_AN: I suck at battle scenes. I know, I know, it's kind of dumb to have her face Red first off, but I guess I wasn't thinking. Sorry about that D: I hope you still liked it!