Susan rubbed her eyes to make sure she was reading the price tag right. Three hundred dollars for a pair of jeans? Were they insane?

With a wistful sigh, she returned the pants to their place in the wall. This place was going to be the death of her wallet if she wasn't careful. Then again, she had the luxury of being able to simply browse; the idea of having to actually spend this kind of money just to get by was almost too much.

Standing on tiptoes, she tried to peer over the racks past the legions of other shoppers to find her next destination. Since clothes were pretty much out of the question, and she knew she didn't have any real need for appliances or housewares, that pretty much just left the battle supplies section, where Antoine had more or less set up camp the moment they'd walked into the department store.

Letting out another sigh, she started to wander amongst the shelves, not really looking for anything in particular. At one point, as she turned a corner, she nearly tripped over Joker, who'd chosen a space right in the middle of the racks to claim as his personal spot for the time being. She gazed down at the Slowpoke, silently cursing his heedless inertia, before finding another route.

Susan rounded another aisle just in time to see Basil sniffing at a rack of blouses, not entirely sure what to make of them. He tilted his head with a curious chirp, continuing to stare at the tops. Then, gently, he leaned in and bit down on the tail of a green shirt.

"No!" Susan swooped in and batted the blouse out of Basil's mouth. The Bayleef looked at her like she'd just betrayed him. "Bad Basil! No eating!"

With a snort, Basil turned his head in defiance.

"Don't you dare sass me, Basil!" Susan checked to make sure the shirt was still intact. "You're lucky I caught you. You know I can't pay for any of this."

The Bayleef, seemingly pretending not to hear her, simply turned with a huff and walked off, ignoring his trainer.

"Get back here! I'm not done with you!" Susan yelled after him, but to no avail. At last, she resigned herself to watching Basil strut off. She really needed to invest in a leash for him, or something. If only she'd remembered to grab his Poké Ball when she left home...

"Find anything interesting?"

Susan turned to see Ryan walking toward her, a loaded plastic bag in hand. "I'm already checked out," he continued. "Just needed a few supplies."

She shook her head. "Nothing yet. Or at least, nothing I can afford…"

"I know that feeling. The prices here scale up rather quickly." He nodded in the direction of the technical machine department. "Antoine's probably over there by now, so let's try to meet up with him."

"Right."

The two set off in the direction of the wall of compact disc-shaped devices on the far end of the store. As they walked, Susan occasionally cast glances down the aisles at the endless rows of goods that she almost certainly couldn't afford. It all made her feel rather small.

"Don't worry too much about it," Ryan spoke up, almost perfectly reading her thoughts. "The prices here are massively inflated anyway. It's a big store with a reputation for quality, so they're going to milk that as much as they can."

"I guess…" This made her feel a little bit better. At least now she could reassure herself that she didn't have to worry about price gouging like everyone else here.

"So I have to ask," Ryan continued, weaving a seamless topic transition into the conversation, "what's been your favorite part of this experience so far?"

"My favorite?" Susan thought for a moment. There'd been so much she'd seen and done in the last several days that she hadn't even thought to pick one standout moment. "I don't really know, actually...I'm just trying to enjoy it all, as much as I can."

He nodded. "That makes sense. That's probably the best way to handle something like this." He paused for a minute, before adding: "But that doesn't answer my question."

"Oh. Um…" Upon more reflection, Susan thought back to the warmth she'd felt when meeting her new Pokémon-Psy falling out of his tree, Joker's oblivious serenity, Foley's territorial charge (she choked up a little as she thought of her Geodude), Roxi's silent approval, and most recently Gabriel's sudden, unexpected arrival. All of them had left their own unique mark on her, she now realized, and nothing could take that away.

"The Pokémon," she said at last. "I've gotten to make so many new friends so far, and I'm so glad I got to see them up close and in person instead of on TV. I want to give them the best life I can now, because they deserve it."

"That's more like it." Ryan allowed himself a barely-visible smile. "You're starting to understand what traveling with Pokémon is all about. That's quite impressive for your age."

"I guess so." She couldn't help but smile back.

As quickly as it had come, his smile vanished again. "Do you think your brother feels the same way?"

"I think so...?"

In truth, Susan had no idea. He'd never really talked about his Pokémon that much on their journey, except to note how strong they were growing or how well they did in battle. He hadn't even let Kylian out to walk with them since he'd evolved. Did he feel the same way? Was he just better at keeping it internal? She couldn't quite tell.

Still, this answer seemed to satisfy Ryan, who nodded. "That makes me feel a lot better about the next thing I wanted to ask." They were approaching the TMs now, but Susan was too intrigued by what was about to come out of Ryan's mouth just now to pay much attention. "You see, I've been trying to give away some Eevee for a little while now, but I'm not having much luck. So I just thought I'd ask, for the sake of trying."

"Well, I'd say yes, but…" Susan felt a sheepish grin coming on. "Antoine told me I'm not allowed to just adopt Pokémon out of nowhere anymore. He's still annoyed about that Togetic yesterday…"

"Oh, I didn't necessarily mean you. I was actually about to ask if your brother would want one."

"Ant? But…" She hesitated. "I mean, I'm sure he would, but...are you sure you're able to just give a Pokémon away like that?"

"Of course. My Jolteon had a clutch of eggs a couple of months ago, and Enzo and I have been trying to give as many of them away to good homes as possible. I think your brother would make a fine Eevee trainer."

Susan stopped in her tracks. "Wait a minute. You know Enzo?"

"Indeed. We've been roommates for a year or two now. We each sort of go our own way most of the time, but both of us are sort of...well, I guess 'attached' to Ecruteak, for lack of a better way to put it." Ryan pulled off his glasses and began to wipe them with the tail of his shirt. "Once we got to know each other and figured out how much we had in common, sharing a little place just made sense, practically speaking."

"But doesn't it get frustrating never having time to yourself?"

"That's what going off on my own is for. If I want solitude, I can just go out and lose myself in the world for a while. If I want someone to talk to and confide in, I just have to go back home." Ryan lifted the glasses, inspecting them for any remaining smudges, then replaced them on his face. "Sometimes the best part of traveling is knowing you have a home to go back to afterward, you know?"

Susan felt a lump forming in her throat as images of her adoptive parents flashed across her mind. All she could muster in response was a muted "Yeah…"

Ryan must have noticed, because he immediately changed the subject. "So how often do you battle?" he asked. "With all due respect, you seem to be a bit of a novice."

"I don't do it all that often." Susan hesitated for a moment. "Should I?" she added.

"Not necessarily. Nothing wrong with being a pacifist." Ryan pulled a couple of discs from the rack and squinted at them, almost as if trying to stare right through them. "But everyone has to battle sometime, whether it be for fun, for glory, or just for self-defense."

"I guess…" Susan thought for a moment. "I mean, I guess Roxi would be a good choice for battling, but I haven't had her that long, so I don't know if she really trusts me yet. Psy doesn't really listen to me much anymore ever since he evolved. And Joker, well..." She scratched her head. "I'm not even sure if he knows who I am."

"What about your Bayleef?"

Susan froze, then immediately shook her head. "No. I'm not going to make Basil get himself hurt. He's here for moral support, and that's it."

"But he's-"

"No buts. Basil doesn't fight. At all."

Ryan sighed. "I suppose I can't argue against wanting to keep your companion safe." He put the discs away and scanned the rack for a moment. "But there's more ways to battle than just going on an all-out offensive."

Susan blinked, confused. "Like what?"

"Antoine mentioned that your Bayleef used a certain specific move right after evolving back in Ilex Forest. Let's see here…" He traced his finger down the row of display cases, scanning the label of each as he passed it, before finally finding the one he was after.

"Here we go." He grabbed a pink-tinted jewel case and handed it to Susan. "This is the Technical Machine for a move known as 'Light Screen.' The idea is that it helps protect against any non-physical attacks against your Pokémon. It would complement the move Basil already knows: 'Reflect,' which dampens incoming physical attacks."

Susan blinked as she stared down at the case in her hands, his words not quite making it into the part of her brain that processed language. "Sorry?"

"If your Pokemon uses Light Screen, my Jolteon's Thunderbolt would do less damage to it than usual, but her Spark would do about the same amount of damage." Ryan pushed up his glasses. "And with Reflect, it's the other way around."

"Oh." Susan flipped the case over. Within seconds, she was having to pick her jaw up from the floor upon seeing the price tag. "Whoa. Um...I can't…" She felt her cheeks go red as she fumbled to put the disc back on the shelf. "I can't actually afford this…"

"Relax." Ryan grabbed her wrist, stopping her from returning the CD. "This one's on me."

"What?" Susan couldn't believe her ears. That TM cost a fortune! "But-"

"Don't worry about it. I've got more than enough to cover it. In fact..." He turned around and grabbed another disc off the shelf behind him. This one was bright yellow.

"You have a Flaaffy too, right? I'd say it needs a good Electric-type move to take advantage of its power." He handed her the disc. "I think Thunderbolt should do the trick."

"Um…"

Now Susan couldn't help but feel a little suspicious. Here was some guy who, let's face it, she barely knew, and yet he was offering to buy her not one, but two expensive Technical Machines. She couldn't help but stare at him a little; if he noticed, he didn't seem to feel like responding.

"Thank you," she eventually said. "This is really nice."

"Don't mention it." He nodded. "Always happy to help out someone in need."

"Uh-huh." Susan tried not to let her suspicion creep into her voice, but she realized she wasn't doing a great job.

Before she could say anything else, she heard a voice calling out to them:

"There you are!"

She turned to see Antoine coming up toward them, with Penny following along behind. Susan noticed that Penny seemed to be walking a little more slowly than usual...and had she always been that bulky around the middle?

"We should check out soon if we're going to that Pokeathlon thing." Antoine hoisted his shopping bag over his shoulder. "I'm not sure why he told me to buy that Water Stone" (he nodded toward Ryan) "but I've got everything else I need."

"So we're leaving, then? Great." Penny adjusted something in her waist section, which Susan now saw was profoundly lumpy and misshapen. She didn't say anything, though; part of her wanted to see what would happen next.

"Yeah, I think-" Antoine started to look at Penny, but was caught off guard by the sudden amount of bulk she seemed to have put on. He took one look at Penny and sighed. "Absolutely not."

"What are you talking-"

"Don't play dumb. Out with it."

"Fiiiine." With a groan, Penny reached under her shirt and began pulling out merchandise. It took quite a while for her to finish, and by the time she was done, Penny had excavated five Max Potions, three Technical Machines, a dozen Repels and one extra-large bottle of Protein (Susan wasn't quite sure she wanted to ask how she'd hid that last one).

"Is that it?" Antoine squinted at Penny as she emptied the last bit of illicit goods.

"Um…" Penny patted herself down. "Oh! Wait a second." Digging in one last time, she pulled out a single Ultra Ball from within her sleeve, which she tossed onto the pile. "There we go," she said at last. "That's it."

"Good. The last thing we need is for you to get us in trouble with the law." Ant turned back to Susan. Go round up Basil and Joker and let's get going."

"Right." Susan turned back and plunged back into the maze of the store. "Basil? Come on, we're leaving!"

It took a few minutes to find Basil (he'd become distracted by the toys in the Pokémon Care section), but Joker, unsurprisingly, was right where she'd left him. By the time she'd gathered both of them and returned, the rest had finished checking out.

As they walked out of the store, Susan spotted Penny surreptitiously tuck a Hyper Potion into a rear pocket of Antoine's backpack. Then, noticing her, the girl winked and put a finger to her lips. Susan, struggling to hold in a giggle, returned the gesture.


Even from a distance, it was difficult to miss the enormous steel arena that peeked over the Goldenrod skyline. The newly-constructed Oichi Stadium, named for a historical figure held in high regard by the city's populace, was truly a sight to behold. Not only was it pretty to look at, but as the posters outside it claimed, it would bring an exceptional sum of added revenue into the city treasury over the coming years courtesy of the upcoming Pokeathlon circuit.

As the group melded into the throngs of people streaming toward the grand stadium, Susan felt the butterflies in her chest start flapping again. The view from the street was enough to take her breath away.

"We should probably hurry if we're going to see this exhibition," Antoine shouted over the noise of the crowd, interrupting her inner awe. "We're nearly late already."

"I wouldn't worry too much," she heard Ryan respond. "There's almost certainly going to be some sort of opening ceremony, so we have a few extra minutes as long as we don't mind missing it."

Susan didn't bother responding. She was too busy trying to recapture the feel of the moment. The anticipation was-

"Ow!"

A rock had struck her in the small of her back. She whipped around to see Goji perched on Penny's shoulder, attempting to seem distracted so as to look innocent. His occasional sidelong glance at Susan made this impossible.

"Goji, what the hell?" Penny grabbed her Larvitar off his perch and tucked him under her arm. "That was mean! No more shoulder for you until you behave yourself."

The small rockbiter stuck out his tongue at his trainer.

"You little-ugh." Penny looked up at Susan. "Sorry. He gets agitated in big crowds."

Susan shook her head and sighed. The wonder of the moment was now completely lost.

Luckily for all involved, the arena now lay right before them. It was even bigger up close than any of them could have imagined. Out in front of the ticketing plaza, a conspicuous crowd was beginning to form around a rather large, gray-bearded man in a blue suit and his similarly-hued Pokémon. He seemed to be having a jolly time chatting with those in attendance as his Pokémon, a Poliwrath, stood nearby in stoic vigilance.

"That must be Gunther Magnus," Ryan explained. "He's on the executive board of one of the biggest banks in the world. This stadium has been his personal pet project for at least five years." Though he kept his tone neutral, there was a distinct undercurrent of admiration in his voice. "He must have been dreaming of this day for a long time."

One of the assembled patrons must have said something funny, for at that moment the massive man burst into a spectacular belly laugh. His gaze turned, and suddenly he caught notice of Susan and company. He resumed his wholehearted grin as he waved them over.

"Come on, come on!" he beckoned. "Don't be shy! Feast your eyes on the newest and greatest entertainment venue in all of Johto!" He looked at Susan specifically and greeted her with a warm grin. "Have you seen the like of it, child?"

"Uh...no, not really." She wasn't sure which was putting her off more: the enormity of the stadium, or the sudden and unexpected prospect of being forced into conversation with a complete stranger.

Antoine tried to bail her out by joining in himself. "This place is massive," he began, scratching his head. "How much did this whole thing cost?"

Another laugh from Magnus. "More than I can say, young man!" He sighed. "Ah, but it's worth it, every last penny." (Penny, who had zoned out during most of this, briefly snapped to attention upon hearing her name, before realizing what was being said and promptly letting her mind wander again.) "I'd pay any cost to give back to this city even a fraction of what it's done for me."

"Wow…" A wave of awe washed over Susan. "This must mean a lot to you."

"It certainly does, child. It certainly-"

At this moment, Susan saw Magnus' eyes flicker upward to spot something over their shoulder. Whatever it was, in an instant, his cheery demeanor gave way ever so slightly; she barely managed to make out his eyes widening slightly, almost in fear, as he took in whatever he'd seen. Then, as quickly as it had come, the moment was gone, and he was back to himself.

"But you don't want to listen to me all day, surely!" He waved the group toward the door. "Hurry on in! There's not long left until the event begins!"

Before any of them could protest, or even ask about the sudden urgency, the assembled crowd began to drift toward the entrance. Rather than obstruct the flow, they had little choice but to follow along.

As expected, the ticket window gave them no trouble, although Jasmine had only thought to provide three tickets, meaning Ryan had to pay his own way in (a fact which he didn't seem to mind all that much). Upon checking in an annoyed Basil at the counter for security reasons, they navigated their way through the massive crowds in the lobby and found their seats at the front end of the balcony, immediately overlooking the corner of the field some way down. Over the loudspeaker, the emcee seemed to be wrapping up some sort of presentation.

"Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for your patience!" The presenter's enthusiasm seemed almost infectious, as a roar went up from the crowd as he said this. "On behalf of the Goldenrod Stadium Corporation, and CEO of SilverBank Gunther Magnus, who is in attendance here tonight…"

At this, the big screen switched over to display a live feed of Magnus' personal balcony, which Susan quickly realized was right next to their own. She craned her neck to see Magnus standing, raising his hands in appreciation for the round of applause he now received.

But ultimately, Magnus wasn't the person she ended up staring at.

Just behind the large man and his Poliwrath, on the near side, stood a familiar-looking figure. Clad mainly in white, his cool demeanor and conspicuus cape gave him away instantly: the odd man from Azalea.

But what was he doing here?

As if to answer, Susan felt that weird chill again, just the way it had appeared last time. Every neuron in her brain was firing a warning signal, as if trying to alert her that something was amiss. Still, she said nothing, though she felt her gaze locked on the man regardless. Her mind now stood conflicted. Was she supposed to stay away, or get closer…?

"Su? What's wrong?"

Antoine's voice once again broke the spell. She shook her head, as if shaking free of whatever beguiling presence the man seemed to project. "Nothing," she lied. "Just thought I saw someone I knew."

Antoine nodded, then turned his attention back to the field. So too did Susan, as the emcee on the ground had already begun to announce the participants.

"...In the green uniform, from Vermilion City...Hudson Quincy, accompanied by Ohm, Livewire and Socket!" A tall, wiry young man waved to the crowd, his Magneton, Electrode and Shuckle remaining stock still. "And last, but not least, in the yellow uniform…"

The crowd were already on their feet before the announcer could finish his thought. Out of necessity, Susan and the others got to their feet as well. This was who they'd come to see; as if the Steelix weren't already enough of a giveaway…

Still, the announcer did his best to plow through. "From Olivine City, the five-time Trainers' Weekly Magazine Pokéathlete of the Year...Jasmine Stahl, accompanied by Spark, Dynamo and Rusty!"

The thousands of people packing the stadium went into a frenzy. Jasmine herself stepped forward, flanked by her Magnemite and Magneton, and blew a kiss to the crowd. Behind her, her Steelix, which to this point had been coiled up on the ground, now uncoiled itself to full stretch to stand tall, eclipsing everyone and everything smaller than it. Rearing back, the enormous metal snake released a deafening, grinding roar that nearly shook the building. Susan almost lost her balance from the sheer force of the noise.

The roar only served to bolster the cheers of the crowd. There was no question whom they considered the favorite.

"Now, Goldenrod," the loudspeaker proclaimed, "are you ready for the first event?" The crowd roared its approval. "Then get on your feet! Let's…"

As one, the crowd screamed: "POKÉATHLON!"

((If this were Glitched, the next line would be something to the effect of "It was at this point that Victor began to wonder if he'd accidentally stumbled into some sort of weird cult gathering."))

The atmosphere now was positively electric. Susan felt goosebumps crawling over her skin as the anticipation began to take hold. The stiff breeze that now began to pick up somehow only added to the feeling.

"Now for today's first event…" The announcer paused for effect, then bellowed: "Ring Drop!"

The competitors, taking this as their cue, walked down toward the near end of the arena, coming to a halt on a raised square platform. After they had made their way to their designated positions at each corner, the platform hissed with steam, then began to rise into the air, revealing a network of scaffolding and mechanisms underneath. The platform rose and rose, going higher and higher into the air, until it was almost at eye level. There it stopped, and from each corner sprouted a rectangular extension, onto which the trainers now retreated.

"This is Jasmine's best event," Susan overheard Antoine explaining to Ryan to her left. "She's almost unbeatable with that Steelix of hers."

On her opposite side, she felt Penny fidget a little in her seat. She turned to see the girl with her legs tucked up into her chest, so that she was barely peeking over her knees at the action in front of them. Susan deduced that she must have been afraid of heights.

"Pokéathletes ready!" the announcer called out. One by one, the four competitors signaled that they were indeed ready to begin.

"Referee ready!"

Susan now noticed a small flying machine hovering over the ring, wherein sat a small figure in black and white vertical stripes. Evidently the referee was also prepared, as the countdown now began.

"Three! Two! One! Go!"

In synchronization, the four trainers tossed out their Pokémon onto the platform. The two trainers Susan had missed sent out a Snorlax and a Machoke, Hudson released his Magneton, and, naturally, Jasmine led with her trusty Steelix, whose appearance drew immediate applause.

In a flash, the other three Pokémon immediately converged on the giant serpent, pooling their power in an attempt to knock the favorite out early. The Magneton released a piercing metallic shriek that staggered the Steelix, opening it to a charging tackle from the Snorlax that sent it skidding backward. Without wasting a moment, the Machoke leapt in behind to catch it, taking the metal monster in what would be called a waist hold if Steelix had a waist.

"And immediately our other three challengers team up to fight off Jasmine's Steelix!" the announcer narrated. "It seems they've all agreed on the highest priority target!"

If the Gym Leader was perturbed by the strategy, the close-up of her that now appeared on the jumbotron didn't seem to show it. Instead, she called something out to her Pokémon, accompanying her command with some sort of hand gesture.

In response, the Steelix, surprisingly not even slightly encumbered by the onslaught, coiled itself into a pile, then leapt into the air. For a full second, the giant metal snake looked almost like a parade balloon, the way it hung in the air so effortlessly. Then, as quickly as it had ascended, it flung itself to the ground in a massive aerial slam. The impact of the attack sent shockwaves across the stadium-Susan could have sworn she felt the balcony sway beneath them.

The attack was devastating. Like chunks of papier-mâché, the Machoke and Magneton flew off the platform from the force of the slam, their trainers' Poke Balls intercepting them before they could fall too far. The attack, a replay of which instantly appeared on the screen, sent the announcer into a frenzy.

"Oh my! Rusty with the double elimination! How quickly the tables have turned!"

Susan joined in the massive cheer that erupted from the crowd as the two remaining competitors squared off. Steelix slithered across the platform, drawing close to the Snorlax before bellowing out in mechanical fury right into the beast's face. The spectacle made the cheer from the crowd reach a fever pitch.

But once again, she felt that eerie chill run down her spine, and she knew something wasn't quite right. It was only now that she noticed that the breeze had died down. On a hunch, she glanced over toward Magnus' balcony, just in time to see the large man retreating inside the building, his caped guest following close behind.

If she'd had any doubts before that something was amiss, they had been completely dispelled. Before she could so much as rationalize her actions, she hopped to her feet, mumbled something to Antoine about having to use the bathroom, and made her way up the steps and back inside as discreetly as she could manage. She was a full three steps away from the door before she could piece together that she'd let her instincts take over again. At that point, though, she pretty much had to go inside anyway-what, was she going to just change her mind about going to the restroom? Nobody would buy it, and then she'd really have some explaining to do.

This was almost certainly a bad idea, she knew. But then again, decision-making hadn't exactly been her forte lately anyway.