I hadn't properly seen Nick since Eterna. That seemed like so long ago, even if it was just a sparse couple of months. I was slightly cranky from lack of sleep, but I figured I had enough energy to greet my friend.

My Pokemon, however, were way past the 'cranky' stage. After actually getting punched by Carlita, I decided to let them sleep in their pokeballs. They could be social later. Preferably when they would behave themselves.

I was waiting outside the Pokemon Center when the shadow passed by overhead. I instinctively looked up, only to see one of the largest, fiercest birds ever dropping out of the sky towards me. I skittered back inside the building to watch from the safety of glass in between us. The bird halted its dive with an expert's precision just above the ground, flapping its overly large, grey wings a few moments to regain its balance. It was then that I noticed the semi-terrified trainer gripping the feathers around its neck with rather white knuckles.

I ran back outside as Nick slid off of the bird, laughing weakly. "G-Good job, Ser…" he muttered, patting its shoulder as it finally settled delicately on the ground. It shifted from foot to foot uncomfortably.

"Ser?" I asked curiously. Nick looked up, jumping slightly. He immediately relaxed into a wide smile.

"Short for Serling, actually. You aren't the only one who shortens nicknames, you know," he replied. He looked back at the bird with a touch of fondness. "She's my Staraptor. Well, kind of mine…" The bird, Serling, apparently, shifted again and clicked her beak. "You can go now. Bye, Ser." With that, he hugged her, and the bird flapped its wings once to get airborne again. She spared me a glare before soaring off.

I stared at him, slightly unnerved. "You… just released her?" I didn't know why that scared me as much as it did. I suddenly wanted to get back inside. Instead, I forcibly calmed my nerves and looked around for the Froslass--after all, she would usually appear at a time like now.

"No, no! Serling is… Well, kind of wild. She comes when I call, but otherwise, doesn't travel with me very often anymore. She just gives me rides these days. It's… kind of complicated." He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. I grinned uncertainly at him. I still felt uneasy. Nick walked over and clapped a hand on my shoulder, steering me away from the Center. "We're going for a walk. You look pale. You need some sunlight!"

"Yeah…" I needed sleep, and I needed my Electabuzz back and my allergies to it gone. Still, I walked beside him. He was still my friend, after all.

Nick looked down at me, frowning lightly. "Hey, you okay?" I looked back up at him, blinking innocently. He brushed back my bangs, leaning down a bit to look at my eyes. "…Your eyes are darker. Which of the three did you suffer?"

"What?" I asked blankly, completely caught off guard and clueless.

"The three greater tragedies." He smiled again, but this time, it was strained. "Which of the three happened to you?"

"…I don't know what you're talking about." I wanted to back away from him, but the warmth of his hand on my forehead was too good to pass up. I was too used to Froslass' cold little hand there. "What are the three greater tragedies?"

Nick sighed, straightened, and removed his hand, much to my dismay. "The three greater tragedies of Pokemon training. There are a few minor ones, too… But they're three things that inevitably happen to every trainer, as much as everyone would wish they didn't." He held up three fingers, taking one down for each he named. "The first is that you lose so many battles that you just give up. It's the hardest one to fix, precisely because it can be fixed. It breaks your spirit; you have to rebuild it. The other two are a bit more… permanent.

"The second is when you have to release a Pokemon. You have to. Whatever the reasons, it'll happen." He paused too long before taking down the second finger. "…Finally, the third greater tragedy is a Pokemon's death. It can happen in battle, or from old age, or from anything… really…"

I didn't like the far-off look he suddenly got. Each of them inevitably happened to a trainer, right? It looked as if he had recently suffered one of those. I reached over and tugged on his sleeve, a little desperately, because that look really scared me. Pokemon training was supposed to be happy, albeit tough, and no one should have to look like that while thinking about their own team. "I-I caught an Electabuzz, Nick."

"Oh?" Just like that, he was instantly smiling and bright again. I relaxed and let go of the fabric. "Wait--"

"--I had to release it."

"…Oh."

"I was, um, really allergic to it. Really allergic…" Why did it sound like such an excuse now? I had desperately wanted to keep that Electabuzz. It was my first captured Pokemon, it was awesome, and it was probably the strongest on my team. "I didn't want to get rid of it, but I couldn't go near it, so I just gave it away…"

"I'm sorry, but it's alright." Nick gave me a hug, and that seemed to be all I needed. All was well once more.

-.-.-

"So, how many badges you have?" Nick asked around a mouthful of sandwich. I, as opposed to his actual meal, was currently picking through a salad; as much as my Pokemon ate my food, I figured that they'd eat this, too. I had noticed that Des was getting bigger, and not height-wise, either. Pokemon had to eat healthy, too, right?

"Three, now."

"Congrats. Which three?"

"Well, Gardenia's, Roark's, and Fantina's."

Nick choked on his bite. After recovering, though admittedly losing a fair portion of his dignity, he asked, "Haven't you battled Maylene or--oh, come on, you could totally take Crasher Wake…" I tried not to flinch at the thought of taking on the water Gym leader. "Isn't that why you got Carlita? To battle against water types?"

"Yeah, but… She's only one Pokemon…" I muttered, sighing as Des stole my last tomato. Carlita growled at him for it, and tried to whack him with her tail. The only problem was that I was sitting between them; she inadvertently got my back as well. Watery-eyed, I glared at her. "And she doesn't behave very well, either."

My Breloom at least had the grace to look apologetic. She pushed one of the carrots she had stolen earlier back onto my plate, trying to make amends.

"If you're that paranoid about it, then go challenge Maylene first for training. She's a fighting type, so you don't have any weaknesses. Oh--! I know!" Nick brightened, making me wary. The last time he was so cheerful, he made a bet with me which I subsequently lost. I still hadn't paid him back, either, even though he said I didn't have to… "Take on Byron! He's the steel type. Both your Pokemon have advantages against that!"

"Huh?"

"Des is fire, and Carlita is now fighting. Both are good against steel types. You could take him on, and I bet it'd be a pretty easy match."

I took a sip of my drink, thinking it over and trying to ignore Carlita as she stole back the carrot from my plate. "…Isn't he the sixth Gym, though…?"

"Fantina was the fifth," he retorted. I ducked my head. I hadn't realized that when I'd challenged her; I had thought she was the third. "If you want, you can battle Maylene first, and then Byron. Then you have to take on Crasher Wake, though."

"Why?" I asked feebly.

"Don't you want to be the Champion? Last time I checked, you need eight badges to get to the Elite Four." I squinted and looked away. Why did he have to make sense?

Fielding, I asked, "What ever happened to your Elite Four campaign? I didn't get to watch the rest of Lucian's fight…"

"I beat him that first time. Cynthia completely wiped me out, though." He looked down, poking his sandwich. "I've battled her twice more since then, but I just can't get past her team… I need my Garchomp to take down her Garchomp, but he can never last longer than her Spiritomb, and I always waste so much time trying to take down her Milotic…"

"You--haven't beaten her? But you were so good against Lucian!" I spluttered, taken aback by his confession. I had figured he'd at least… I don't know. Maybe not become the Champion, but not have trouble!

Nick smiled wryly at my exclamation. "I had a few type advantages and knew how to use them, that's all. Since then, I've swapped out my team a few times, and I've never beaten him as easily as that first time."

"Wait--what?" I gave him a blank stare. My Pokemon took the opportunity to scarf down the rest of my salad.

"…I do have more than six Pokemon, you know," the older trainer said simply. "I actually have enough to make about two and a half teams that are strong enough to battle on fairly even ground with the Elite Four. The rest of them, I'm still training. Buuuuuut I got sick of that. So I'm visiting you and saner country. Do you want dessert?"

"Huh?"

"Your meal has been finished for you. Want anything else? My treat."

I looked down at my plate, somehow unsurprised to find it empty and licked clean. Carlita burped, covering her mouth with a clawed paw. Nick couldn't help but laugh. "…Yeah, a chocolate shake would be nice." If there was only one straw to guard, I might actually get to eat most of it.

"Nu!" Des head butted my elbow. "Numel!"

"Bre! Bre!" Carlita added, tugging on my other arm with a big grin.

"Three chocolate shakes, then."

"Wait--You can't just buy them--" I tried to get away from them to stop Nick from spoiling my team and I further, but my Pokemon were rather hard to get around. So several minutes later, all four of us were sipping chocolate shakes. "…Isn't chocolate bad for Pokemon?" I asked sourly, glaring at my two. We had to sit outside, since Des couldn't walk and drink like we could.

"Only for some. Most can have it in small doses," Nick replied easily.

"I could've paid for it…"

"But you don't make the money I do."

"Don't you lose half of it each time you lose against Cynthia?" I asked flatly.

"Ah, yes, normally that is true. But like most challengers, I figured out a way to cheat the system." I gaped at him, and he must've realized that I genuinely had no idea you could do that, for he elaborated. "Look, the official rules of battling say you have to hand over half of your money, right?"

"Yeah…"

"Well, technically, you only have to hand over half of what's with you at the time. So you can simply buy a lot of items before battling, or you could deposit your money in a bank. I've heard some people even hand it over to a friend for the duration of their battling spree."

I practically drooled at his wisdom. No longer would I have to worry about money now! I just had to win a few more battles and then stash it away somewhere… "Is that really legal?"

"Pretty much."

"…Wow."

"So, now that you're unafraid to lose money, let's go battle Wake."

"Okay, sure--wait no." Paranoia back in full throttle, I crouched down and hid behind Des, setting my drink on his back. He had managed to get me to battle Gardenia, but I'd had an advantage with her. Des was especially weak against water. I wasn't setting foot near that evil Gym because of it. "You're not getting me to go there."

"Why? I think Carlita could handle it."

"What if she can't, though?" I heard her snort of disbelief, but I wasn't going to be dragged, blackmailed, bribed, or otherwise coerced into going to that Gym.

Nick stared down at me, trying to get an edge. No longer was I the weak, scared trainer in Eterna. I had survived three badges, a rogue Abomasnow, the Froslass and her psychotic tendencies, and my own team's craziness. I could survive my idol as well.

I was tied up, blindfolded, gagged, and deposited in front of Crasher Wake twenty minutes later.