Titanium

by Huinari

Barry wants to surpass his father one day. Lucas wants to prove that he's a somebody. Dawn wants to keep her home safe. They all want to be strong in the end, because being strong has many different meanings. And as they grow older and wiser and push at their limits, they'll all get stronger. Just in different ways. Platinum novelization.

26. Let's Get This Party Started

A.S.107

October 21st

I think the best way to say it would be that this party was the most memorable one Mom ever took me to.

---

They all went to eat out at a popular pizza place for dinner to celebrate Neptune's evolution and Dawn winning the Marsh Badge, and also to give Lucas and Barry something good to eat to make up for the stress they had suffered.

Late into the night, they talked and laughed while their Pokémon enjoyed themselves in the Pokémon eating room. Dawn laughed even harder when she heard that Barry had roped Lucas into training with him.

"He's a fun guy to train with," Barry declared after slurping down his second glass of pinap flavoured soda. "He's pretty smart and knows a lot of stuff, so I learned a lot. He's got to learn how to think on his feet more, though."

"He runs a lot," Lucas said, sounding slightly traumatized as he wiped his slightly greasy fingers on his napkin. "I think I've been dragged into running an hour every day, at the very least."

"And, you know, it's nice to have our teams spar together," Barry continued, not paying the slightest attention to what Lucas was saying about him one seat over to the left. "He has more special attackers and different types, so it's nice to give my Pokémon some more experience dealing with diverse foes."

"His team is just as crazy as he is," Lucas said flatly, eyes looking slightly dead at the memories that floated up in his mind. "Starling dive-bombed Charlotte to see if he could push through having fire in his face. Without warning her. While she was eating. On break. And he never once realized just what was wrong about his actions. Neither did anyone else on his team, actually."

"We should train together over the winter," Barry concluded, leaning back after snatching up the last slice of pizza from the round, flat tray. He spread pepper flakes liberally on the slice before biting into it, and then frowned before dashing some more on top. "It'll really help. Just because it's cold doesn't mean it's time to go to rest, you know?"

Lucas glared at the slice of flaky pizza in Barry's hand, having been too late to grab the last slice before the other boy got to it. "But it's been good," he admitted, cradling his water. He had chosen to make the healthy choice regarding their drinks. "And training over winter together would be great, if you guys don't mind. I'm not a competitive trainer, but my team and I are still going to need to know how to defend ourselves in case of an emergency, and – Dawn, why are you laughing?"

Dawn tried to answer, but the constant giggles kept her from speaking, so she held up a hand and continued to cackle quietly, nearly bent in her efforts to laugh quietly. "Sorry," she managed at last. "It's just – pft!" She fell into another fit of giggles.

Lucas glanced at Barry, questioning her sanity.

"Eh," said Barry, finishing off the last slice. "She'll be fine. Hey, should we order another one?"

Lucas eyed the three empty pans. "Let's not. I think it's time for dessert."

That idea was popular, and so they packed up their Pokémon and paid for their meal – splitting the bill in three – before leaving the restaurant.

"I vote ice cream," Lucas said as they stepped out through the doors. Barry barrelled through, but Lucas held the door open for a family of four that wanted some dinner together.

"Ice cream in winter?" Dawn asked, shivering slightly. To keep the cold air from seeping in, she tightened her scarf around her neck, and then pulled a bit over the lower part of her face. Better.

"The best time to have ice cream," Lucas protested.

Barry, of the belief that there was no wrong time for ice cream – or food, really – voted for it as well, and Dawn followed along, outnumbered. If she caught a cold, well, she was heading home, so there wouldn't be much problems or suffering.

---

"That's a beautiful dress," the saleswoman said.

Johanna nodded politely, but waved away the pink dress nonetheless. "I'm thinking of something less pink," she said. Dawn looked good in pink, but this wasn't a place where pink would be advantageous. In a different setting, Dawn in pink might have given her the ideal armour, but on this battlefield she needed something more delicate. Something that could get the subtle job done.

Besides, that cut was just horrible. No child should have had to wear clothes as revealing as that.

"Well, does your daughter have a specific colour she likes?"

Dawn had never been one for a favourite colour. She had inherited Johanna's fashion sense, and raw as it was from underuse, it still carried her a long way in coordinating her clothes. "Maybe a blue shade," Johanna began, when her eyes caught on a particular article of clothing she hadn't noticed till now. "Oh, that's gorgeous."

The saleswoman turned to see where Johanna was looking, and was eager to agree. "It's not the latest in season, but it's definitely a classic look – never gets old."

And it was the right size as well. She'd seen Dawn's size during the contest when they went shopping for a new dress. That blue dress had been pretty as well, but, well, Dawn did need some new clothes for a more formal setting, and this one was perfect.

"I'll take it," she said.

---

It was definitely great coming home. Themis had never been to Twinleaf, so it took them a while to fly to major cities until they reached Jubilife, and then some more nudging and slow flying through the chilly air took them to the edge of her hometown where they landed without any problems.

"Great flying, Themis," Dawn told her, patting her side. Themis panted, exhausted at her first attempt at long-distance flying, but grinned at her with fangs. Dawn handed her a sour Pokétreat, and then returned her before walking through Twinleaf's familiar streets towards home.

When she arrived in front of her house, she rang the doorbell. Her house key was buried somewhere deep in her bag, and she felt a little too lazy to dig it out so she could let herself in.

The door opened, and Dawn found herself looking at Jackie. "Hey," she said to the Medicham.

Jackie nearly knocked her over as she threw her thin but powerful arms around her in a fierce hug. "I missed you too," she said, hugging back.

"Jackie? Is that Dawn?" her mom's voice, along with the sound of some upbeat music, came faintly from the basement where the 'yoga studio' was.

"Hi Mom!" she called. "I'm home!"

Dawn heard the sound of nails scratching against the wooden floor as Faith came barreling towards her. Behind her, Selene hurried along.

"Hey guys!" She made sure to hug Faith and Selene, and give a few elaborate high fives without fumble to Jumpy, who nodded in satisfaction once she had completed them successfully.

Her mom, in a tank top and shorts, came up from downstairs. Her hair was pulled back in a tight ponytail and she was wiping the sweat off her face and neck with a towel. So, she had come home just as her mom was finishing off her daily routine.

"So you found your way home," Johanna said with a smile. "I thought for sure you'd get lost in Twinleaf on the way back."

Dawn groaned. "That was years ago! And it was just once, anyways."

Laughing, Johanna slung her towel around her neck. "I missed you," said her mom.

She didn't care that her mom was covered in sweat. Dawn threw her arms around her mom and hugged her hard. "I missed you too," she replied.

"Careful, I'm all covered in sweat." Johanna kissed the top of her head, and then unwrapped Dawn's arms from around her. "And you missed me? That's why you called me so often, right?"

"Exactly," Dawn said cheekily without shame.

Johanna rolled her eyes, but she still had a wide smile on her face.

---

The days after returning home went by quickly. She and her Pokémon went out for runs and practice sessions, although after Frejya nearly knocked over a tree at the edge of Twinleaf while practicing her punches, they decided that they should be a little more careful.

"Since Medusa's pretty bulky defensively, you could spar with her," Dawn suggested to the Lopunny, who was hunkering and slouching into her large ears in an attempt to hide her embarrassment. "Medusa can take hits easily, so it should be fine. And Frejya's fast, so it should help you get used to quick opponents."

Her Tangrowth, who had mellowed out considerably since evolving, happily agreed, and the two of them went off to spar, Frejya peppering her with swift punches and Medusa swinging her arms to block them.

Themis and Helios also made good partners challenging each other, with Helios using his psychic powers to keep the Golbat on her toes and Themis lashing back with her powerful wings to counter him. It was particularly funny for everyone else when Helios, in a moment of creativity, decided to teleport right above Themis and drop on her back.

Startled, Themis very nearly dropped out of the sky like a rock with Helios on her back, but managed to continue flying while struggling to knock him off. For a few minutes, everyone stopped what they were doing to watch as she tried to buck the Gallade off of her like a Tauros trying to shake off a determined cowboy at a rodeo show. Dawn would have sworn that Sekhmet and Medusa were making bets on who would come out on top.

Themis soon figured out that the best way to get unwanted passengers trying to hook up a ride was with a confuse ray and some severely disorienting aerial work. After being flashed by the sentient light, Helios fell from her back, confused and seriously dizzy, and it was only luck that he was close to the ground when that happened.

"That seems like good practice," Dawn said when he got up to his feet. "But let's save that for when we can practice in a safer place. I'd rather not see you break your neck."

Helios nodded, and then went back to using psycho cut to snipe from the ground at Themis.

And then, there was Neptune and Sekhmet. For a while now, her two earliest Pokémon had been at odds, and it had driven Dawn nuts.

Now, though, after Neptune evolved, he was far calmer. He was still determined when practicing and liked sour food as usual, but now there was an air of collectedness about him. He was still pretty proud, but it was more tempered, and in a quiet way. He now no longer lashed out at any perceived provocations to his pride or honour, instead judging everything with a cool eye like it was beneath him.

He had matured.

Even when Sekhmet zapped him during training, there were no more outraged squawks that led to arguments that would degenerate to fights. The Luxray now treated him more like an equal, and although the two of them hadn't suddenly turned into the best of friends like Themis and Faith, they still had a strong partnership.

Dawn liked that just fine. Even if sometimes, the two of them stopped their teamwork to argue with each other on what to do. Discussion led to better ideas, right?

Sekhmet shoved Neptune into a tree, and while he didn't fly into an outrage, he retaliated by splashing her mane with a brine attack, knowing very well that brine would stiffen her hair with salt residue and make it more difficult to care for.

. . . Right.

But strength wasn't all they had to work on. For the upcoming coordinator party her mom was taking her to, they had to work on their presentation and control as well.

"Right," Dawn said, staring down at a notebook's blank page. At the very top, she had written 'Party', but she wasn't sure what else to write. "So. Coordinating party."

Seven pairs of eyes stared at her blankly. While some of them had seen the practicing they had gone through for a contest – and, in Neptune's case, even participated in one – they weren't quite sure about thinking of moves and combinations in terms of making them beautiful or showy as well as effective.

They were even more confused when Dawn told them that the moves didn't have to be at full strength, and their priority should be that the results were appealing in some way.

Dawn took a deep breath and tried to organize all of it in a way easy for her Pokémon to grasp. She didn't blame them for being confused – their primary interest had been in battling. That meant getting the most out of the least energy spent. That meant taking their foe down through quiet planning and surprises.

Taking them through flaunty, showy ways that their opponents could see coming would feel . . . weird.

While using the skills of Pokémon for entertainment instead of battling or survival had been around for a long time, the term 'coordinating' hadn't come into being until around half a century ago.

Back when the Kantonese Empire had colonized a good chunk of the world and created an empire on which the sun would not set upon, the lords sent to watch over those colonies would often bring entertainers from their home in Kanto, and then have the arts be taught so they could enjoy their life ruling over the territories. This led to a mix in Kantonese arts with the native culture of the colonies, such as the idea of battling artfully where points would be given for a more appealing move rather than a practical, blunt force of power.

But when the Commonwealth had been dissolved after Kanto began losing its power and its colonies began rebelling, the newly freed regions like Hoenn and Sinnoh had sought to rediscover and firmly establish their origins and own culture, which had been shadowed and distorted by Kanto's efforts to control them.

One of the efforts made had been to revitalize the arts, which allowed entertainers to continue to make a living. Some of Kanto's influences were kept, as over the centuries of Kantonese rule their mark had been left behind, but these efforts sought to revitalize what made the regions special and unique.

The result was Contests. Entertainers would be brought to demonstrate their skills in planning and leading Pokémon through a series of moves that would entrance the audience and keep the spirit of their home alive. To give incentive, prizes would be given to the performers judged best.

Sinnoh and Hoenn were known especially as the Two Great Birthplaces of Contests and Coordinating. The two countries had developed contests, but had done so completely separately.

They were similar in many ways, but unique and different in just as many others. Hoenn placed more importance in the skill of a single Pokémon, and emphasized the Pokémon's natural beauty, seeking to draw out and enhance it through the Pokémon's efforts alone. Some contests would have stages where the Pokémon was simply to pose – to demonstrate not only composure and control, but also allow viewers to notice their well-groomed state and natural appearance.

Sinnoh, on the other hand, sought to bolster the Pokémon's attractiveness through the use of items, or dance skills on top of what moves the Pokémon could use skillfully. Their focus was on how a Pokémon could grow more appealing through interactions with a human. These weren't Pokémon in the wild – they were well-trained ones. The Sinnohan logic was that therefore, there should be something to make them stand out from others of their species. A more human touch, so to speak.

Now most styles were being combined into a fusion to get the best of all worlds – the coordinating world, like all other frontiers, had gone international – but terms like 'Sinnohan' or 'Hoennian' were still used to refer to specific coordinating styles.

Hoenn was the first to officialise coordinating and make contests a part of the League, providing legislation, funding and official League backing. Sinnoh followed on in AS52, when the First Sinnoh Champion formed the Sinnoh League at Lily of the Valley Castle. That year, Sinnoh not only created the Sinnoh League, but also an association for Sinnohan contests – the Sinnoh Contest Association.

The flourishing ages of these two, however, didn't come until nearly two decades later. Like Pokémon battling, coordinating didn't really become a 'big thing' in Sinnoh until the seventies, when television became more common in households and got better quality. Suddenly, trainers and coordinators gained fanbases, admirers who knew not only their names, but also their Pokémon's. More and more people became interested in Pokémon, and the system grew bigger and bigger with more support until the League system was integral in society not just as a way to defend it, but also as a method of entertainment that became a key business worth billions.

And leading the rise of coordinating in the world from the young age of ten had been her mom. She had been, from the start of the surge of public interest in coordinating, one of the most famous coordinators.

Unlike other child stars, however, she never went off the deep end or got into trouble with the police or drugs. Johanna Steele had come from a family of iron will who had produced the First Sinnoh Champion, and while she was a gifted, dedicated coordinator, she was also a very shrewd businesswoman and knew how to handle her stress and work. She delegated, hired managers and agents who would look out for her, and did her own thing. She didn't follow trends – she set them, becoming a pioneer in the frontier that was Pokémon Coordination. From the start, Johanna had Sinnoh wrapped around her finger, and this didn't change as she grew older. Other stars faded, or began to lose the public's interest, but not her.

Instead, she matured, gained more experience, and became even better, staying original and masterful. Soon, Johanna's name wasn't just a household one in Sinnoh, but internationally known as well. She not only coordinated, but also acted in movies and television shows, and even modelled a few times. It was joked that despite being a Steele, she had the Golden Touch – everything she did was a success. People loved her performances, but also the Johanna Steele as a person. Her charm, her natural grace and soothing beauty were all points in her favour. She didn't make headlines through scandals. She kept a clean lifestyle, and then proceeded to still be famous for being talented.

At the age of twenty six, she had won three Sinnohan Ribbon Cups – the equivalent of entering and winning a Regional Conference for the coordinating world – and three more in other countries, setting a record that had yet to be beaten by any Sinnohan Coordinator. After that, she was politely asked by the Sinnohan Coordinating Association to stop competing in Ribbon Cups so as to give others a chance. She retreated gracefully, instead entering smaller contests, or appearing as special guests or judges in events.

She also mentored a number of talented coordinators and Pokémon into achieving their full potential, and more than one survey had found her to be the biggest influence for coordinators around the world. One year, she ranked twenty seventh on the list of most influential women in the world, beating other candidates that had made the list like Johto's only female Champion Tamara Pierce and former Elite Four Bertha Rowan.

By the time she was thirty, Johanna had a line of Pokémon accessories named after her, two albums, several movies and shows she had appeared in, and more awards than she could count. It had made news and brought forth a lot of speculation when she chose to marry, of all people, a man who worked as a financial lawyer for one of the Steele Group's rival companies.

From the stories Johanna told to Dawn about her father, he was apparently a man who didn't like numbers – something Dawn could relate to all-too-easily – but still became a financial lawyer because he was good at law, research and reading. He was an orphan, raised at an orphanage run by a temple of Azelf in Sunyshore, but had been very determined, and managed to get a good education and become a lawyer with his people skills.

"But he wasn't a very good businessman," Johanna had said wryly. "Which is why he pretty much became an over-glorified accountant. His words, not mine," she had added at Dawn's frown.

While there had been speculation that he was only a gold digger seeking higher prestige, Johanna insisted that the marriage had been one of love. "He didn't even know how famous I was until a month after we started dating, when we got found and mobbed by the paparazzi. He wasn't much for television," she had said. "Or, well, anything Pokémon-related, really. He only really got more into Pokémon after he met me, and even then, he never did have an interest in training Pokémon, even if he got along with them well enough."

Still, he had to prove to Johanna's family that he wasn't just seeking to climb social ladders by using her. He resigned from his job at the rival company and transferred to a lower-paying, less prestigious one at Steele Group, married into the family – taking on the Steele name – and was coldly treated by Johanna's brother and cousins for a good few years until Johanna had put her foot down and chewed them all out for their horrible treatment of her husband.

"He always had a way of looking at the bright side, even through all that," Johanna had said, shaking her head slightly in fond exasperation. "Saying things like, 'Well, I never did have a family, so I'm glad that another one's willing to adopt me, even if I'm a bit old now.' Only that man could make light of being an orphan and being forced to take on another name."

Even after marriage, Johanna's activities hadn't stopped. It was only after she became pregnant and successfully gave birth to Dawn at the age of thirty four that she became less active, focusing more on her family.

But her influence remained. She still had friends and students who were active, and she kept in touch with everyone in the industry. They called her in for guest judging, special performances or appearances, occasional speeches and even just to 'hang out'.

This party was one of those events to 'hang out' at, although using that term to describe a fancy dinner at a billionaire's mansion seemed to be . . . understating things a bit.

"I'll be leaving everyone else behind," Johanna said, talking about her own Pokémon. "Otherwise someone is going to try and get me to demonstrate, and I'd really rather not. This is a night for the young to shine, not for old timers to come and hog their spotlight."

She did, however, encourage Dawn to take some of her Pokémon. "Not the full team," she had said. "But a few that you know can behave themselves, and be both strong enough to show how you're a great trainer, but also skilled enough to pull off appeals. I think four is a good number."

Johanna had recommended Faith. While the Eevee still remained more interested in battling than coordinating – as was proven when Selene joined in and she didn't – she was still well-behaved, and was more than capable of thinking up ways to be tricky and demonstrate how clever she was.

And, of course, she was an Eevee. That alone got her racks of points in the cuteness department.

The question was who else to take.

"Okay," she said at last. "Who wants to go? It's a party, but you'll probably have to stay in your balls until the people want to see you. They might try to pet you and touch you, or even talk about you right in your face like you're not even there. You also have to behave, and demonstrate being pretty or cool or cute when asked to."

Perhaps that was putting it too negatively? "I'll try to get you guys food. Hopefully it'll be the good stuff, but . . . ." But her mom had made her brush up on her formal dining etiquette. "No guarantees," she finished lamely. "Don't feel like you have to attend."

Helios volunteered, as did Frejya. Both of them, Dawn thought as she nodded and wrote their names down, would be good. Helios was always well-mannered – and female psychic Pokémon seemed to adore him – so he would be a good choice, and Frejya was naturally beautiful. Her stoic and gutsy nature would be great for a surprising tough spin if needed.

The remaining four Pokémon that had not yet volunteered consulted among themselves. Neptune didn't seem too willing to go, and he was in a quiet talk with Sekhmet. Medusa was sullen for the first time since evolving, having reverted to her habit of hunching in on herself. Except now she had arms to cross around her body, making it more like she was huddling. Themis perched on Medusa's head, and although Faith looked cheerful, the usually smiling Golbat looked less enthused. Out of all Dawn's Pokémon, she had been the one to have the most reluctance with 'appealing' moves.

Since Themis didn't have difficulty with putting together several moves and manoeuvres while in battle – and make the feats look incredible – Dawn assumed that it was because the Golbat hated the idea of having to put on a performance for an audience and then be judged for it. She didn't blame her for feeling that way, and decided to not pressure her.

But who to take? She needed to know early so she could let their sheen grow better through poffins, and practice their appeals. Demonstrations were a definite at the party, and while she knew coordinating wasn't the path for her, she didn't want to come up short, especially given who her mom was.

"C'mon guys," she whined. "Any volunteers?"

---

"You do it," Sekhmet said to Neptune immediately when Dawn pled for the last volunteer.

Had it been Neptune before his final evolution, the Luxray knew he would have bristled at the order she gave him. Now, he simply shook his head. "I refuse."

"Damn it, Neptune." Sekhmet nearly bared her fangs in frustration, but to do so would be to let him win, and give him higher ground. "You've done it before. That contest thing, remember? You got that weird badge thing."

"It was a ribbon," Neptune corrected her coolly. "And yes, I do remember. I just don't wish to do it."

"Don't tell me you're scared," she jabbed verbally.

Once, that would have been enough to have him flying into her face with an outraged squawk. Now, he just rolled his eyes.

"The lady doth protest too much, methinks," he said dryly, making Sekhmet rear back. What had he just said?

Okay, it was official – evolution was just making him weird.

"Why don't you go, Sekhmet?" Faith asked as she tried to figure out whether she had been just insulted.

"Me?!" Sekhmet made a face. "You're kidding, right?"

But Faith shook her head. "I think you'd be great at being tough or cool," she said. "You've got that intimidate, so right away, everyone's going to be like, oh wow, this one's a real toughie! But then you have this awesome roar like, rawr!" Faith gave her attempted interpretation of Sekhmet's battle cry, and it came out endearingly, even to Sekhmet, who normally thought 'cute' was unnecessary. No wonder Dawn wanted her in for the cute part of these shenanigans.

Faith wasn't done. "And when you use your charge-spark combo you glow, so you'd be really cool! Maybe Dawn can teach you flash or something, or even just have you use leer while you glow. Wouldn't that be something to see?"

"She's right."

Sekhmet started slightly. She had thought Themis and Medusa would be busy talking to each other, trying to pawn off the duty of going.

Medusa adjusted her body carefully so that Themis, roosting on her head, wouldn't pitch off. "Electric moves always make a good impression because they're flashy, and you have excellent control over yours," the Tangrowth said briskly. She wasn't much for giving compliments, Sekhmet knew that, so for her to say this was . . .

Well, it was something, alright.

"The sight of a Luxray alone would be helpful to Dawn," Neptune added his two cents. Sekhmet smacked his foot with her tail, but he ignored her. Damn his new typing. "They'd see and know she's a highly skilled trainer."

Themis grinned widely. "It's settled, then," the Golbat said smugly, looking relieved that she wasn't the one being cornered. "You're going."

Sekhmet began to bristle, but Faith jumped in between her and the rest of them. "Great!" the Eevee yipped.

Helios and Frejya joined in as well. "Sekhmet will be coming?" Helios asked, soft smile on his face. "Splendid. It reassures me to know that you'll be there with us."

Frejya just patted her back, and stayed silent, but Sekhmet received the message loud and clear. There was no arguing.

"Fine," she bit out. "But I'm eating all the sour poffins Dawn makes."

Only that statement could have made Themis, Faith and Neptune all blanch simultaneously in stunned silence for a moment before breaking out into loud protests. Good to know that some things could still get an outraged reaction out of Neptune.

---

Up until the day of the party, Dawn and her Pokémon trained, raising sheen through a diet packed with poffins and creating flashy techniques befitting any appeal battles. Her mom's Pokémon had helped, giving pointers and occasionally even demonstrating. Jackie took Helios in like she had Selene, and taught him how to pull proper punches after squawking in outrage over seeing his form with rock smash. She even bothered to tutor him with the elemental punches, which Dawn was thankful for. Not only did they look pretty, but they'd also help with battle.

"Can you hold both at the same time?" Dawn asked him as he demonstrated first a fire punch, and then an ice punch.

Helios tried, but ended up holding neither. He frowned, concentrating even harder, but still, neither element covered his fists.

"It's okay if you can't," Dawn backtracked when it looked like he was about to lose his control and end up hurting himself. The elemental punches were skills that required having the elements fire, ice or electricity encasing the fist used to punch, but there was a special protective force that needed to be put around the fist itself so as to not end up burning, freezing or shocking the user. Jackie, being the expert she was, had taught him ice punch first so it would be easiest for him to recover from the damage. Only once he had fully mastered ice punch had she moved onto thunder, and then fire punch. "It's something only masters can do, because those are opposing elements and all."

Jackie demonstrated her mastery by simply holding up both slender gray arms, one encased in freezing, glistening energy and the other not burning despite being wrapped in fire.

Dawn gave her a look. She wasn't helping.

Frejya frowned, and then held up two different punches – fire and thunder.

"That's great!" Dawn told her warmly. Frejya had apparently become friendly with Jumpy in the times she had spent with Johanna, and when Jackie had begun to teach Helios, the Kangaskhan had taken it upon herself to teach her fellow normal-type the elemental punches. She just hoped the two tutors wouldn't pass down their 'friendly' rivalries to their students as well. "Helios, let's try thunder and fire together."

Those two were more similar to each other, needing to pull up a force around their fists to protect from heated elements, and so easier to do at the same time. Helios managed to pull them up himself after a brief moment of concentration. Like Frejya, in one hand he held crackling golden lightning, while the other fisted a flaring fireball.

"Awesome, both of you," she told them sincerely. They were both making great progress. Even Jackie, the perpetual perfectionist, grudgingly admitted that they had done great so far. She did, however, clap her hands and make a shooing motion, making it clear that they better get back to practicing.

Dawn thought it said much for both Helios and Frejya's patience that they didn't run away from the picky Medicham.

Frejya also had to practice smiling. While normally, her stoic, blank look that had earned her the nickname of 'ice queen' from Barry did well in battle to throw off any foes that expected some kind of reaction, in an appeals battle they wanted something a little more . . . expressive.

So while she rested, Frejya held a small handheld mirror in front of her and practiced smiling. Johanna occasionally sat down with her to give tips on how she should hold her head at a certain angle for maximum effect, or avoid certain actions.

Figuring that her mom was the expert on smiling, especially for an audience, Dawn let them handle it on their own.

Faith was also doing remarkably well.

"Use swift, around yourself."

The Eevee concentrated as she fired the rays of golden stars, but instead of simply flying off to hit the target, they spun in a starry hurricane, lighting up the immediate area and making her the eye of the small storm.

That was pretty – and maybe it would make for a decent counter shield in battle – but Dawn wanted to see if she could make it something more. "Can you aim up so they'll converge on top of your head?"

At the self-doubting tone in her voice, Faith shot her an impatient look and cocked her head at an angle, like she was telling her to try again.

"Right," Dawn said, and this time said it with more confidence. "Have them all converge above your head!"

The swift attack spun upwards, and they smashed into each other, breaking into sparkles of light.

"Nicely done," Dawn said, and discreetly snuck Faith a sour Pokétreat. "Shh."

Faith gobbled it down before the others noticed and purred happily before prancing off.

And then, there was Sekhmet. Right from the start, the 'cute' option had been discarded for her, as the Luxray refused to even consider it. Beauty, she argued with her Pokémon for a good while, but in the end had to give up, as Sekhmet refused to give even an inch.

That left smart, cool and tough. Sekhmet hadn't minded portraying 'tough', or 'cool'. Being 'smart', she seemed more reluctant on.

So that was left to Helios, who chivalrously agreed.

"Charge, and then roar!"

Sekhmet glowed and sparked as she charged up, and then Dawn braced herself when she straightened her back and let out a roar to shake the very earth.

Roar when used by Sekhmet in normal times was scary and intimidating enough. Roar, backed with a mane streaked with electric sparks, glowing golden eyes and claws crackling menacingly was a sight to take her breath away in awe.

When she had finished her intimidating but incredible performance, Sekhmet tossed her head lightly, but continued to hold herself regally. She gave Dawn a look as if to say, 'well?'

Dawn had to flounder to find her ability to speak again. "You sure you don't want to do beauty?"

Sekhmet bared her fangs in distaste and let loose a low grumble of dissent.

"Alright, if you say so." Dawn stroked her mane back down. The charge had raised the thick dark blue hair up on edge so Sekhmet looked even bigger than she was, and she felt the slight sting of static on her fingertips as she stroked them back down.

They had this.

---

An hour before the party's start, Dawn took a shower and dried off before slipped into the dress her mom had bought for the occasion.

She hadn't wanted to look too young, because that tended to mean the adults didn't take her seriously enough. And she had enough of a handicap already with her less than average height. She didn't need any more help in looking too childish. That meant no frills or bows or excess of ribbons.

At the same time, she didn't want to wear something that was too mature or revealing. Not only would that make her mom look bad, but that also meant no one would take her seriously, writing her off as a child too eager to be an adult.

Her mom knew all of this, which was why she had picked out the perfect dress – a simple white flare dress with a beige ribbon tied into a bow at the back. There was even a pocket, deep enough for her to put her four Poké balls in without them sticking out too much.

Good thing too, because the clutch purse she was taking was way too small for her to put anything else in after she had managed to stuff a hyper potion bottle into it. Just in case.

"Stylish, and subtle," Johanna said approvingly. She then brushed Dawn's hair out so it was loose and slinky around her instead of being pinned with her usual hair clips, and added only a little makeup. "Since you're not a coordinator, you shouldn't try to look like one. Instead, show your own talents."

Dawn saw what she meant about 'looking like one' when her students came. This year, Johanna had chosen to take three of her students with her – a large number for her. Usually she only took one.

And she normally took in lots of different types of coordinators. Johanna never discriminated with a certain style, always seeking for talent, hard work and enthusiasm. And since she was talented and could fit virtually any style of coordinating, she could actually get away with being a mentor to so many diverse young coordinators.

There were two girls and a boy in this year's students. The boy, who looked two years older than Dawn, was dressed in a flamboyant suit-like costume that made him look like he was playing the part of a prince in a theatre production. He kept touching his dark auburn hair nervously, until the taller of the two girls slapped his hand away to make him stop.

The taller girl looked around the same age as the boy. She was more boyish, with her red hair cropped short – but stylish, definitely stylish. Instead of going the traditional route and wearing a dress, she had chosen to wear a stylized light blue suit with a white evening cape. The intricate embroidery on her clothes, however, made up for her lack of jewelry, and she would definitely stand out.

The last girl looked like she was around Dawn's age – and she was really pretty, like a princess. Her turquoise hair was wavy around her doll-like face, pinned by a barrette to the side, and her tiered knee-length dress was a dark indigo that reminded Dawn of a star-filled night sky.

"Dawn, this is Zoey, Kenny and Lisia," Johanna introduced them, pointing to each. "And Zoey, Kenny, Lisia, this is Dawn, my daughter."

Zoey was the first to approach. "Hi," she said, extending a hand to shake. Dawn took it, and found her grip to be firm and confident but not painful. "Nice to meet you in person at last."

"Nice to meet you too," Dawn replied. "I hope my mom's not driving you crazy."

Zoey laughed. "Nah, she's great. It's an honour working with her."

Dawn gave her mom a very pointed look. "I can kick her out of the room and you can be honest with me, if you want," she joked.

Zoey's smile grew wider.

"I'm Kenny," the only boy in the group introduced himself, adding a little bow. Dawn played along, and gave a mock-curtsey in return. "I heard you had a Prinplup?"

"He evolved," Dawn replied proudly. "Neptune's an Empoleon now."

Kenny looked impressed. "Really?" he said. "Would you mind if my Prinplup met him – not now, of course," he added in a hurry. "Maybe later."

"That sounds good to me," Dawn said. Perhaps Neptune would be able to impart some valuable knowledge.

And then, Lisia came up to her. "I'm glad you're coming with us," Lisia said after exchanging greetings.

"Why?" Dawn asked, wondering if the other girl wanted someone that would make her look good in comparison. She doubted her mom would have taken on someone with an attitude like that as her student, but she wondered all the same.

Lisia's smile was genuine. "Because I'll have someone in my age group!" she said. "I'm thirteen, and I was really worried that I was going to be the youngest one there."

That did sound a little nerve-wracking. Dawn hadn't thought about that before, but now that Lisia had mentioned it, she was glad that there was going to be someone the same age as her there as well. At the very least, if the party got too boring, she'd have someone she could – somewhat – relate to.

Kenny smirked and poked Lisia's arm. "I thought you were bringing a date?" he asked innocently.

Dawn blinked while Lisia flushed red. "He's a friend!" she cried. "And doing a favour because he's nice – unlike certain people whose names I won't mention!"

Zoey silently shook with laughter in the back while Johanna just sighed, finishing off the last touches to her own makeup. She had chosen to wear a simple black dress with a diamond pendant and a cream wrap. Classic, and more background material than a performer's. She really did want to be in the audience for this one.

"I'm still not sure I approve, Lisia," Johanna said. "I really would have liked to meet him first, even if your uncle said he was alright."

"He's a great guy, I promise," Lisia said hurriedly. "Uncle Wallace used to mentor him with Uncle Juan, and he's definitely been checked and approved by them. He used to teach me about Pokémon when I was younger, too."

The doorbell rang, and Dawn went off to answer it. "I think your date's here," she called, not able to resist a small jab at the other girl's expense.

Laughing at Lisia's wail and the other two's laughter, she opened the door.

"Hi," said the person outside, too wrapped up in a thick scarf and a winter coat for her to really make out his face. "Is this the residence of Ms. Johanna Steele?"

"You're at the right place," Dawn replied, eyeing him carefully in case he was a fan of her mom's who had just decided to drop by and stalk her. It had happened before. More than once. "I can take your coat and scarf for you," she offered, holding out her arms.

"Thank you," he said cheerfully, and unwrapped the scarf from around his head before laying it on her arm and starting on his coat while Dawn looked him over.

The potential fan or Lisia's possible friend-slash-date was an older boy. Or man. Dawn thought he was eighteen at the least.

And he was, she noticed, really good looking, looking sharp in a charcoal gray suit, light blue shirt and dark indigo tie that matched Lisia's dress. His dark brown hair was short and neat, and his smiling, clean-shaven face could let him easily rival any movie star her mom had worked with.

For some reason, he also looked familiar to her. Dawn tried to place him in her memories. Had she seen him on television, maybe? Mom hadn't met him, so it was unlikely she had met him in person . . . .

"This is Brendan," Lisia, who had come running after her, introduced him, and Dawn started at the name. Could he be . . . ?

When Lisia called her by name, Brendan turned to meet her eyes, and then his polite, awed smile turned into a friendlier one. "Dawn and I have met," he said, smile widening to show his white teeth.

Wow. And Dawn had thought Brendan had been handsome covered in mud and wearing his ratty sweatshirt. Dressed to the nines like this, clean and looking sharp, he had her fighting to not blush and say something really stupid in front of him.

"Small world," she managed with a smile and really hoped didn't look too weird.

He laughed. "I'll say. How's your Tangela doing?"

"She evolved!" Dawn said proudly. Her Pokémon. The subject she felt confident in. Excellent, she could do this – talk without making a fool of herself.

"Really?" he raised his eyebrows. "That was quick. I didn't know you were a coordinator, Dawn."

"Oh, I'm not." Dawn would have said more, but the rest of the group joined them in the front of the house.

"You must be Brendan Birch," Johanna said, sweeping up to him like she was a queen and in a full regal wear instead of a simple sheath dress. She certainly did have the effect a queen might, though – Brendan snapped to attention and looked very respectful.

"Yes ma'am," he said. "It's an honour to meet you, ma'am."

"Please, just Ms. Johanna will do," she said with a friendly smile.

Dawn silently began counting down from ten in her head. Ten. Nine.

"Now, Wallace has told me some things about you."

Eight.

"Yes ma – Ms. Johanna."

Seven.

"He tells me that you're a good man and coordinator."

Six. Five.

"I try, Ms. Johanna. And I swear that I won't do anything to cause Lisia – or anyone else – harm or embarrassment."

Four. Three. Two.

"Good. Because if you do end up doing something stupid out of carelessness or thoughtlessness, I will do everything in my power to end you. Are we clear?"

One.

Right on time, her mom's smile, which had been on the setting of 'friendly' and 'beauteous', suddenly changed to 'frightening'. Dawn saw Brendan's eyes widen in shock and fear.

Huh, he took that well. She'd seen some grown men flinch and outright cower when her mom put that particular smile on. Heck, she'd seen Jagger stand down when her mom turned The Smile onto full 'listen to me or face my wrath'.

But then Brendan's eyes cleared and he straightened his back. "Yes, Ms. Johanna," he said crisply. "I swear on everything that I hold dear and important to my heart that I will be nothing less than a gentleman."

Even more impressive – not many could recover their strength that quickly after witnessing The Smile. And there was no sarcasm or irony in his voice – he genuinely meant it. More points in his favour.

Johanna's smile turned warmer, as did the surrounding air. "Good. I've been hoping to meet you, since Wallace has been highly recommending you for a while now to the coordinating community. You coordinate, but you also research and train, I hear? How do you manage all of your activities?"

Brendan relaxed slightly, and answered her questions intelligently. Dawn could see her mom approving of him, and gave a reassuring smile to Lisia, who was fretting silently at the side.

"I have to admit," Zoey muttered quietly, dreamy eyes glued to his animated face. "He really is a catch. Nicely done, Lisia."

Lisia floundered, blushing hard, while Kenny rolled his eyes.

"I'm actually in Sinnoh for the semester because Rustboro University has an exchange program with Sunyshore Institute of Technology," Brendan was saying when the doorbell rang.

"Ah, there's our ride," Johanna said, rising with a clap of her hands. "Everyone has what they need? Good, let's go."

Outside, a handler dressed like a butler and the Alakazam with him bowed. "Please hold on tightly," he said, extending a gloved hand. He made sure that all six of them had a firm grip on either his arm or someone holding onto him. "Teleport."

Helios was good at rapid bursts of small teleports. He was extremely reluctant, however, to take her or anyone else along, which was why Dawn had respected his wishes and let him just teleport alone.

However, there was more to teleport than just moving around the field during battle to confuse and annoy opponents. It could be used as a way to easily transport people to their destinations. While it was easy to shut out teleporters, it was easy for the owners of properties to allow certain time periods where it would be possible for select psychics to teleport in.

That made it helpful in bringing in guests if one lived a distance from cities. Richard Backlot lived in a mansion with a territory large enough to be a neighbourhood of its own, and he was calling in people from all over Sinnoh. It would be easier if he had people teleported in, which was why he had sent psychics to his guests.

Dawn saw a flash of violet, and then the familiar setting of Twinleaf had been replaced with the large entrance hall of the Backlot Mansion.

"Here we are," their teleport handler said, withdrawing his arm and bowing. "Please enjoy your time, honoured guests, and have a wonderful evening."

Johanna nodded graciously, and then led them to the direction of the ballroom.

Dawn hung back slightly. "How did you do that?" she whispered to Brendan.

"Hm?" He looked at her. "How did I do what?"

"You know, just, act like Mom didn't scare you."

He cracked a slow smile. "Your mom's not the first protective, powerful guardian figure I've had the pleasure of meeting," he said. "And compared to some of them, she's really not that bad. At least she didn't have a Slaking or a Gyarados next to her while she did that."

"No," Dawn said thoughtfully. "But her Salamence was somewhere else."

Brendan paled slightly, and his smile faltered. "So you're Johanna Steele's daughter," he said, changing the subject.

Dawn's own smile slipped, but she quickly pasted it back on. "Uh-huh," she said, bracing herself for the inevitable comment on her life's choices.

Most people always made the comment or asked the question. Always wondered why she had no interest in following her mom's path as a coordinator. They had laughed and teased her for it when she had been younger and declared her dream of becoming a trainer because they had believed she was only saying that. It didn't make sense to most people, that the only daughter of a legend wouldn't follow her footsteps to create a dynasty to rule the (coordinating) world. Now that she had actually chosen her path, she didn't doubt that there would be more questions.

But Brendan broke her expectations yet again. "That explains why I thought you looked familiar when I first saw you," he said with a small but decisive nod. "You have your mom's eyes and nose, I think. And her facial structure. Definitely her hair, too."

Dawn blinked. "You're not going to ask questions about me not being a coordinator?" she asked.

"Should I?" he asked with a bemused smile.

"Well, no – I mean – wait," Dawn sputtered, confused.

Brendan laughed. "Relax, I'm just kidding. And as for why . . . well, I don't believe that people should expect you to be a certain person simply because of what your parents are known for. Be your own person, do what you like, you know?"

Dawn stared at him. "I like you," she decided out loud as they walked into the ballroom, where people were already fluttering around, talking to each other and sipping at drinks. A Kricketune and Kricketot were singing a harmonic song at one end, following the hauntingly beautiful melody set by a famous coordinator whose name currently escaped her playing a lyre and singing in Sinnohan.

"Thank you," he said with a grin. "I like you too. Want some sparkling pecha juice?"

Dawn reached out for the flute he had snagged from a passing waiter. "Thanks," she said, for more than just the juice.

"No problem." He snagged a pomeg drink himself. "No alcohol while on the job," he explained before holding his flute towards her.

She clinked her own lightly against his. "You better not," she said jokingly, and then took a sip. It tasted pretty much like all sparkling juice did, but she loved it anyways.

"Johanna Steele!" a voice boomed from across the ballroom. People looked towards the host of the party and owner of the mansion, a heavy set man with both hair and thick moustache graying, who held his arms wide.

Her mom gave a gentle smile. "Richard Backlot," she replied while shaking her head slightly in exasperated fondness.

"It has been far too long since I have last seen your beauty, my dear," he boomed, crossing over to her side to give her a hug. Johanna returned it, and then held him at arm's length. "I am pleased beyond words that you have finally reciprocated my love!"

Brendan stiffened. "Wait, what?" he said in surprise.

Dawn giggled. "It's a joke they have," she explained. Although if he ever did become serious about it she wasn't going to be happy.

"And Dawn's here as well!" Suddenly the rich man's attention was on her. "I see you're still as cute as ever!"

She gave him a wide smile. "Hi, Mr. Backlot," she chirped. "Thank you for inviting me!"

"Of course, of course!" he patted her shoulder. "I hope I'll be seeing you performing later on in the appeal battles?"

Dawn nodded.

"Excellent," Mr. Backlot said with a beaming smile. "Enjoy the party!"

"I will," she said. When he went back to talking enthusiastically with her mom, she turned to Brendan. "I'll give you back to your date," she told him. "Have fun bye!"

Before Brendan could react, she fast-walked away.

Sometimes, having Barry as a best friend really helped. Especially with her speed and getting out of situations before anyone realized what had happened.

Now . . . what to do?

While her main purpose here was to network and try to gain sponsors, she couldn't very well just walk up to people and demand their money. That wasn't how it worked.

At the same time, she couldn't just randomly approach people to strike up conversations. This wasn't just a school playground where friends were made by going up and suggesting a game to play together. The general rule was that you were introduced. Johanna would have her hands full with her three students, meaning that she wouldn't be able to introduce Dawn to other people without taking attention off her students.

And she certainly wouldn't have brought Dawn along to merely sit on her hands until the appeals round. She had to make contact before, introduce herself and let them get to know her on a closer level if she really wanted them to remember her.

Which meant her best option was to –

"The appeal rounds won't be until an hour later," said a voice.

Dawn nearly jumped, spinning around to find a dark-haired teen in a white suit. "Hi, Liam," she said, greeting Mr. Backlot's only son.

He smiled back. "Hey, Dawn. You're short as ever."

She puffed out her cheeks in anger. "I bet I could beat you in a battle," she muttered. Liam was nice, in an older brother way, but he always teased her about her height. Sometimes she was tempted to just kick him hard between his legs. Let's see how he liked height differences then.

"I'm sure you could," he said condescendingly.

She gave him a toothy smile, silently promising herself that when it came time to do the battles, she'd seek him out, and then have her Pokémon crush his.

And then she'd have to seriously act cute to Mr. Backlot if she wanted to crush his son and not insult him. Was it worth it?

"So, you came with your boyfriend?" he asked, nodding to Brendan's direction. "He seems a little old for you."

"Not mine," she corrected him, and pointed out Lisia. "Hers."

"Ah. So you're the unrequited part of the love triangle."

Yes, it would most definitely be worth it to crush him. She couldn't wait.

"Where's Celeste?" she asked before she gave too much consideration to the thought of introducing Liam to Sekhmet. Specifically his head to the inside of her mouth. Nice thoughts.

"With her boyfriend. She wanted to spend more time with him, and they had a dinner and movie date planned in Unova." He rolled his eyes. "Stickler for the classics."

Dawn tried to remember why she didn't mind his presence most of the time.

"So I guess you're stuck with me," he said, offering her a bent arm. "Come on, I'll introduce you to the people you don't know."

Oh right, that was why. Because at heart, he was a pretty nice guy with good intentions. He just sometimes said things without thinking about how that might affect other people.

Dawn took his arm. Her best option was to find someone else she knew pretty well and stick with them so they could introduce her to their acquaintances, and Liam had just solved that problem for her. "Thank you."

"Anything for a beautiful lady," he replied. "Even if she's a bit of a midget. So. Since you're a trainer now, you should really meet some of the people in the training industry. You've heard of Galactic Corporations – are you alright?"

"Sorry," Dawn apologized, having stumbled and nearly knocked him over. "Galactic – they made Porygon-Z, right?"

"That's the flashiest thing they've come up with, but yes," he replied. "They also design armour for rangers or soldiers, and computer programs that simulate Pokémon battles for training purposes. The Sinnoh League is currently negotiating a contract with them."

Dawn frowned. She didn't like the sound of that. She didn't trust Team Galactic, and Galactic Corporations sounded a little too shady to her, what with their connections to the group.

Maybe Professor Rowan would have something to say about this. She made a note to find a way to bring it up and ask about it.

"Anyways, those two ladies over there happen to be representatives from GC," he continued on, nodding to a middle-aged woman with heavy makeup. Her long dark blue hair was pinned up in a tight bun, and her clothes were the style of someone in her twenties, but her eye shadow was too thick, and only made her seem even older.

The younger woman next to her was dressed more quietly, in a discreet gray cocktail dress with a black bolero jacket. She looked like an assistant to the older woman, from the way she stood to her superior's side and held herself subserviently. Still, her eyes were bright and her face lively, surrounded by light brown curls half pinned back by a jeweled pin.

"I see," she said.

"Liam, have you gotten to harassing young women into being your dates again?" chided a soft male voice.

Dawn looked away from the Galactic people and saw a purple-haired man with a smile twitching at the corners of his mouth.

Liam scowled. "Lucian, it's not like that," he said. "She's an old friend."

Lucian looked at her with lazy violet eyes. "I don't believe we've met . . .?" he trailed off.

Dawn held out a hand and smiled. "Dawn Steele," she said. "Nice to make your acquaintance."

He took the hand, but instead of shaking it bowed over it and let his lips hover over her knuckles for a brief moment. "The pleasure is all mine."

She flushed, not having expected that, and then glared at Liam when he snickered. "Looks like someone's got a crush," he teased.

Oh, he was so getting his butt kicked.

Lucian, however, waved it off. "Perhaps if she'd been in the presence of a proper gentleman who treated her like she deserved to be, she wouldn't have been so surprised to witness decent manners from our family. My apologies, Ms. Steele, for my cousin's rude behaviour. I believe the fault lies with me, as I dropped him often when he was a baby."

Surprised at the unexpected joke, Dawn giggled. "Just Dawn is fine," she told him.

"Then, Just Dawn," he said with a slightly more upward curve to his lips. "I do hope you enjoy the party. Pardon me."

He drifted away, soon disappearing from sight. Dawn looked back towards Liam to find the older boy shaking his head like he knew something she didn't. "What?" she asked defensively.

"It's not often Lucian comes to these events," he said. "His mom's my aunt, and he's always hated coming to social events like these. I bet he's heading to the library right now so he can read in peace now that he's made his obligatory appearance. Or to hang out with the hot blonde 'friend' he brought as his plus one," he said, adding air quotes around the word like he didn't believe Lucian would be just friends with whoever he had brought.

"Okay?" Dawn asked slowly.

Liam grinned. "Don't get a crush on him, is all I'm saying."

Since no one was looking, she kicked his ankle.

"Ow," he whined.

Dawn huffed. "You kind of deserved it."

Liam recovered from the 'grievous wound' soon enough, and led her to the Galactic people. Dawn was slightly tense about meeting them, but kept her head up and breathing steady.

"Chief Legal Officer Io," Liam greeted. "Ms. Sutherland. Great to see you here."

The middle-aged woman looked at the two of them with half-lidded eyes. "Liam," she said. "And who would this be?"

Dawn didn't think she really cared all that much, but was feigning interest just so she could look halfway interested. "Dawn Steele," Liam said. "Dawn, this is Diana Io, the CLO of Galactic Corporations. And next to her is the lovely Ms. Sutherland, her secretary."

"A pleasure," CLO Io said, and Dawn wondered if the older woman knew her voice sounded flat. She certainly didn't sound like she considered it a pleasure to meet her.

"Nice to meet you," Ms. Sutherland smiled brightly. "Are you a coordinator?"

"Oh no," Dawn said, surprised at the genuineness of the secretary's . . . well, everything in contrast to her boss. "That's my mom's thing. I'm a trainer."

"I see. Will you still be partaking in the appeals battle later on?"

Dawn nodded, feeling more comfortable talking to the brown-haired woman than the cold CLO.

Still, even with Ms. Sutherland's somewhat soothing presence, the older woman was making her feel extremely uncomfortable. "I'm aiming to demonstrate a balance of power and appeals," she said, reciting the official reason for why she was here. "Do you have any Pokémon of your own?" she asked, trying to make it a conversation instead of a monologue. This way she actually engaged.

"A Leafeon – but she's at home, resting. I don't think I'll need to ask whether you have Pokémon of your own," Ms. Sutherland said with a mischievous smile.

Dawn smiled back. "And what about you, CLO Io?" she asked.

"A Porygon-Z," was the clipped reply. Dawn felt her smile falter and had to actively keep it on her face.

Keep trying.

"Galactic Corporations made the upgrade to evolve Porygon-2 into the newer version, right?" she said, thanking Mespirit that she had talked with Maylene about that before and had prior knowledge of what the company did. "I have a friend who has a Porygon. He's interested in the evolution his Pokémon's going to go through."

Actually, Lucas was interested in evolution, because he was interested in Pokémon in general and studied with the evolution expert of the Pokémon research world, but a little embellishment wouldn't hurt in her favour.

"The sooner he evolves his Porygon, the better," was the dry response. "The Porygon-Z is a fantastic upgrade that will become a valuable member of any trainer's team. Excuse me for a moment."

And with that, the CLO walked away. Dawn wasn't sure whether to feel relieved that the woman had left, or feel disappointed that she had failed to properly engage with her.

The secretary picked up on her mood. "Don't feel too bad about it," Ms. Sutherland said with an understanding smile. It occurred to Dawn that she really was young, maybe in her mid-twenties. "She's not very good at expressing herself."

"Okay," Dawn said, not really sure how to respond to that. With pity? In Dawn's opinion, she was expressing herself a little too well. "Thanks, Ms. Sutherland."

"No problem. And please, call me Lily."

---

They wandered through a few more of the guests before Dawn's stomach growled and she had to head over to the buffet table to pick up some food. Liam eventually left her side after seeing her mom's students so he could try and chat up Zoey. Dawn watched in amusement as he seemed to be struggling against the smirking redheaded girl. She popped a Krabby puff into her mouth and chewed. Delicious. And even more so when Liam was getting a karmic kick to his backside.

She decided that she really liked Zoey. The girl was very cool.

"Hi," Lisia said, joining her side with a small plate in her hands. Dawn glanced towards it and found a few vegetables. Nothing else.

She frowned. She herself had grabbed two big plates, piled with all sorts of food. Granted, one of them was for her Pokémon, but still. "How are you enjoying it so far?"

She shrugged, letting the issue of how much Lisia ate go. She wasn't the performer. She could leave dieting for her mom to talk to her students about. "Not too bad. You?"

"Oh, um, good." Lisia fidgeted, and Dawn realized she had something to say. Popping another puff – this one filled with Mareep mutton – into her mouth and chewing, she waited for her to get her courage.

"Do you have a crush on Brendan?"

Having been in the middle of swallowing her pastry, Dawn choked in surprise. She coughed, eyes watering with tears, and had to take several deep breaths so she wouldn't choke and die.

What a horrible, embarrassing way to die that would be. Barry would alternate between laughing his butt off and yelling at her grave for dying so pointlessly.

"What?" she managed to say once her coughing had subsided. She grabbed her glass – this one filled with water – and took a deep swallow, washing her throat out of any food that still stubbornly stuck.

Lisia looked at her with wide, serious eyes. "Do you like Brendan?"

"Well," she said, stalling. Was this girl talk? She wasn't a fan of girl talk. She liked talking with Lyra, but they mostly talked about Pokémon-related things. And this kind of conversation would never see the light of day with Barry, not if she could do anything about it. "Um."

Lisia drooped, and she looked like a heartbroken princess. "I see," she said softly.

Oh dear, Lisia was getting the wrong idea. "I mean, I like him as a person," Dawn said hurriedly. "He helped me when I first met him, and he's funny and nice. I think he'd be a good friend. I like him in that way, I guess."

The teal-haired girl looked at her with doubt in her eyes. "Really?"

Dawn nodded, and then understood why Lisia was acting like this and asking such questions. "Do you like Brendan?" she asked.

Her answer was obvious even when Lisia didn't say a word in reply – it was evident in the fiery red her face and neck had turned.

Dawn smiled. Okay, so girl talk wasn't so hard. "Don't worry," she reassured her. "He's all yours."

"Really?" Lisia didn't seem to believe her.

She held a hand over her heart. "Cross my heart and hope to die," she said solemnly.

Slowly, Lisia nodded. "Thank you."

Of course, now that Dawn knew about this, she couldn't just let it go. "So why do you like him?" she asked, grabbing the last savoury pastry on her plate. After this, she wanted dessert.

Lisia hummed thoughtfully, biting into a celery stick. Dawn made a face. Healthy eating was fine and all, but really? Live a little.

"I've liked him for a few years now," she said at last, after she swallowed. "I guess for the reasons you've listed. He's a great person, funny, nice, smart, talented, and good-looking as well. He's always understanding, and tries to protect the people he cares about. And," she added, almost as an afterthought. "He saved my life a few times."

Oh, well that would do the job pretty well, she supposed. "That wasn't the main reason why?" Dawn asked drily.

Lisia shrugged, spreading her hands across her skirted lap nervously. "I mean, it definitely helped. I think it got me interested in him in the first place. But you know, the more time I spent with him, the more I found that I really liked him. I've loved him for years now."

Dawn looked at her with skepticism at a particular word. "Love?" she said slowly. That sounded . . . well, a little extreme.

The teal-haired girl returned the look. "I know what you're thinking," she said. "I'm probably too young, and it'll eventually pass. I hope so – he doesn't like me like I like him, and that hurts."

If she said so.

But still, now Lisia looked a little sad. So Dawn reached out and patted her back gently. "It'll all work out," she said softly. "In the meantime, just do your best, right?"

Lisia smiled. "Right."

Then, because there was a call for appeals battles, they got to their feet. "Ready?" Dawn asked, feeling her hands grow slightly damp from sweat. She wiped it off and pushed the full plate far back so it wouldn't be as noticeable.

"Mm-hm," Lisia replied.

Before Dawn could get Liam so she could crush him, however, Lisia reached out to touch her arm. "And, um, thanks, Dawn."

"No problem," she replied.

Then, Sekhmet's ball in hand, she rushed towards Liam. "You, me, single battle," she said. "One-on-one."

"If you insist," Liam said, flicking his bangs theatrically.

She smiled. This was going to be so fun.

There were five small battlefields set up in the middle of the ballroom, each with a force field set up and a referee doubling as a judge. Ten participants could hold appeal battles at the same time, if they did single battles.

Some, however, were doing doubles, either by themselves or with a partner. Lisia was looking more cheerful as she and Brendan faced off against Kenny and Zoey. Dawn kind of wanted to see how that matchup would go, but decided to focus on her own battles.

Standing at her end of the field, Dawn saw Johanna and Mr. Backlot make their way over to watch their children's battles, and she straightened her back. Her mom was watching.

That was it, she was winning this.

"Begin!" the referee called.

The appeals battle was a Kantonese style of coordinating that had grown immensely popular and spread worldwide. It was a battle, but the winner could be decided not just based on knocking the other out, but also through skill of performance and presentation – through appeal to the audience, or more specifically, the judge.

The rules of appeals battle for tonight would follow the standard contest format. Five minutes for each battle, each side starting off with a hundred points. The flashier and more effective one side's moves were, the more points the other side would lose. However, if the move failed to go through, or were rendered ineffective by the other side – or heck, even dodged elegantly – the user could lose just as many points.

When one side's Pokémon fainted, or five minutes passed, the appeals battle was over. Whoever had the most points would then win, and head to the next round. Normally, when a Pokémon was knocked out, enough points were lost so that it almost always meant a loss, but occasionally even with all Pokémon unconscious, some coordinators had still managed to put up a more appealing battle, giving them a win.

"Sekhmet!" Liam wasn't much for training or battling competitively. Sekhmet could intimidate whatever his choice was, and then seize the momentum easily, dominating with her tough and cool moves before her opponent could try to retaliate.

"Kloey!" Liam shouted, releasing a –

Oh come on.

Sekhmet entered the field, roaring loudly and sparks crackling in her dark mane. Her powerful roar drew the attention of many people, who saw the majestic Luxray, her fluid power obvious in the way she held herself ready to spring at a moment's notice, and how she looked like an incarnation of a thunder god.

Facing down a Blissey.

A Blissey.

Oh come on.

The Blissey family were Pokémon that were healers, not fighters, by nature. They were immensely popular with nurses because of their innate nature to heal the wounded and sick. They were popular with trainers as well, because they were able to serve as extremely effective tanks and clerics on the team.

Facing one not only made Sekhmet look like a bully, but it would also be a tough fight.

Liam's smirking face, however, only made her more willing to take him down. "Charge, Sekhmet!"

The electricity crackled around her, raising her mane slightly. Her claws and eyes gleamed golden, and her low growl vibrated deeply.

"Kloey, growl!"

The Blissey took a deep breath, and then chirped softly, trying to appeal to Sekhmet's soft side.

"Leer," Dawn replied, barely keeping the devious grin off of her face.

Sekhmet yowled, interrupting the growl, and flashed her eyes. Usually, her leers were kept simple and quick.

But right now, the importance was the flashiness of the moves. Her eyes glowed, and then, due to the charge she had used, a larger apparition of the glowering eyes projected itself in front of her face, making a more dramatic and terrorizing effect.

Kloey the Blissey cowered and screamed. She was a domesticated Pokémon, used to small skirmishing battles and the life of a pet. Sekhmet was a Pokémon that had been wild, who had trained to fight – to win. On top of that, she was an apex predator.

The terror she felt was completely justified.

"Kloey, it's okay!" Liam called, although he seemed as unsettled from the sight as his Pokémon was.

"Roar," Dawn said in a cheerful girly voice, knowing all-too-well that the order's tone would contrast greatly to the effect.

Sekhmet took a deep breath, steadying herself, and then she roared.

Her entrance roar had been impressive. This one, with eyes hauntingly glowing and shooting out the golden beams that her species was known for, was not only louder, but far more regal and magnificent, demanding instant subjugation from her enemy. How dare the foe stand against her – she was to be obeyed, not opposed. The penalty for daring to resist would be withdrawn in pain and suffering.

Poor Kloey never stood a chance against the onslaught of terrifying intimidation that radiated off the Luxray. The Blissey, round healing blob of pink that she was, nearly flew backwards until she reached the edge of the field, where she curled up into herself and rocked back and forth, whimpering in terror.

Sekhmet gave Dawn a very pointed look, as if to say, I never even touched her and she's acting like this. Why did you send me out to deal with her?

"I forfeit," Liam called, returning the sobbing Kloey. "That Luxray of yours," he said, exhaling as the sparks began fading from Sekhmet's mane. "He's impressive."

The force field came down so her Luxray could walk out of the field. Sekhmet, having heard the last comment Liam made, bared her teeth and growled lowly, making him stiffen in fear.

"Sekhmet's a girl," she told him cheerfully with a wide smile as the Luxray joined them, laying a hand against the side her head. The static stung her hand slightly, but Dawn ignored it. "Great job," she added to Sekhmet. "You were amazing out there. I think we could weaponize that."

Her Luxray gave a low purr, always pleased to be told that she had been amazing, and gently butted her large snout against Dawn's shoulder. She stood on her toes and smoothed down the top part of her mane, freeing static sparks from the dark blue hair while the judge settled the scores.

She got a surprisingly large amount of points for a battle that was more battle than actual appealing. She guessed that was all Sekhmet's natural charisma . . .

. . . and how the poor Blissey had been unable to even dare stand up against her.

The other battles went a generally positive direction as well. Frejya, against the coordinator who was known to incorporate sound in all his moves – Nando, that was his name – slumped to the ground at the Kricketune's sing.

When the Kricketune had rushed her, however, its wings vibrating with a bug buzz and x-scissors wrapped and powered up by the streamers produced from them, she had jumped up right before it could hit her and then given the poor bug-type a fire punch uppercut.

Then, she had proceeded to alternate between flashy fire and thunder punches, easily taking and ignoring every attempt her enemy made to fight back and almost toying with her foe until the bug had been driven to a corner of the field, severely shaken up by how all of its attacks seemed ineffective against the serenely smiling Lopunny.

Frejya was a scary Pokémon to be crossed.

Faith did well, kicking up sand attacks that then wrapped swifts to create a meteor's tail-like effect. Despite that, her opponent, a Clefairy, managed to pull off a metronome that summoned – of all things – an aura sphere. That attack broke through the thin protective layer of swift and stunned Faith long enough for the Clefairy to knock her out cleanly with a double slap.

But she had done well, and Dawn was proud of her.

"You're pretty good," Zoey, her last opponent for the appeals round, told her. "I didn't think that a trainer would last so long, even if it was appeal battling."

Dawn held her Gallade's ball in her hand. "Thank you," she said politely while thinking, gotta beat them all. "I had a good teacher."

The redheaded girl smirked, and then released a Glameow. Grinning widely at their luck, Dawn sent in Helios.

"A Gallade," Zoey noted as Helios bowed elegantly to his foe before taking an impressive-looking stance. Already, he was turning on the charm and raking in the points. "I was wondering whether I should get a dawn stone for my Kirlia or not. Bellatrix, fake out!"

Helios was flinched by the whipping tail of the sudden blur that was the Glameow. Dawn kept her face smooth – flinching was better for them in the long run. Her Gallade had gained an interesting ability after his stone-induced evolution.

"Helios," she said, and her Gallade straightened from his instinctive cower, scarlet eyes blazing with psychic power ready to be unleashed upon his foe. "Ready?"

"Sorry, can't let you do that." Zoey smirked. "Shadow claw!"

Yowling, Zoey's Glameow lunged forwards, both front paws enwrapped in a shadowy material that sharpened into threatening claws.

Helios narrowed his eyes. "Psycho cut with the right!" Dawn instructed. Right arm glowing blue with psychic energy, he swung wide from the left to right, and sent the blade that materialized flying towards the cat Pokémon.

At the sudden appearance of the wide psychic blade, Bellatrix was forced to duck to avoid being cut, but she didn't stop running even when she felt some of the hair on the top of her head be sliced away. She looked up to see where her foe would be now –

And, to her shock, found that he was right there, far quicker than she had expected for him to be.

"Rock smash," Dawn said, smiling. Steadfast – her Gallade's ability – raised his speed when flinched, something Themis had unfortunately discovered after trying to gain the upper hand on him with a barrage of astonish attacks. Helios had ended up speeding up to the point where he could out-speed the Golbat.

With his left hand curled into an orange-glowing fist, he brought it down upon the Glameow's head. At the last minute, she managed to roll out of the way so that the fighting-type move struck her shoulder and not her head, but it was a close one, and a hard hit. She hissed in pain, and tensed.

"Secret power!"

After darting away from Helios, Bellatrix let her entire body shine with a pink light as she absorbed in energy from her surroundings. Her entire body shone, outlining her feline form.

"Iron tail!"

Still brightly glowing pink, the Glameow covered her entire curling tail in steel energy, and then screeched fiercely. The pink light covering her body transferred to the tip of the long tail, forming a large glowing orb.

"Spin it, Bellatrix!"

The Glameow, hissing triumphantly, began spinning her tail. The pink ball of light began to fluctuate sharply from the centrifugal force as she did so, forming spikes on its surface, and appeared as a powerful mace, ready to strike.

The more it spun, Dawn saw, the longer the 'spikes' on the end of the mace became. And the more it was spun, of course, the harder it would fly when the normal-type finally released it.

Helios stayed calm throughout it all, red eyes showing no fear whatsoever in the display. He simply braced himself, ready to spring into any action when necessary.

"Now!"

Instead of releasing the pent-up energy like Dawn had guessed, the Glameow lunged forwards, still spinning the secret power with the iron tail.

Fine with her. "Helios, dodge with teleport! Follow with ice punch!"

Just as the iron tail with the secret power mace came smashing down upon him, Helios blinked out of sight. The Glameow hissed in pain when her tail hit the hard ground, and then yowled outright when he appeared before her to deliver a precise ice punch.

"Shadow claw!"

Getting to her feet, the Glameow lunged forth, shadowy claws larger and sharper than ever. Helios, having a bad experience with that particular move, narrowed his red eyes.

"Fire punch, parry with swords dance!" Dawn shouted, crossing her fingers. Truth be told, she hadn't thought of the idea of pulling off an elemental punch with a swords dance at the same time until this very moment. He needed power to not only effectively parry, but also push back Zoey's admittedly powerful Glameow. The fire punch would add a flare to the swords dance parry they liked to use . . .

She hoped. She really hoped that it wouldn't just blow up in their faces – literally.

The first shade-wrapped claw was blocked from scratching his eyes out by an easy swing of his arm blades, the second by a fire punch that cancelled out the majority of the attack's oomph. The Glameow, however, was increasing its speed and power between each shadow claw, and even with the swords dance to parry and block, Helios was going to be driven to a hard spot. The ghostly energy was effective against his psychic typing, meaning that it was almost like a physical claw attacking him.

"Shock wave," Zoey ordered.

The electricity, crackling, began to charge up at the Glameow's curly tail. The pale blue energy was growing, and Helios was still locked up with the two claws of the Glameow.

Dawn thought as fast as she could. Should he take it? His special defense was fine, more than enough to take that. But that meant letting the attack hit, and effective or not, it would still make her lose some points. An attack to cancel it out? It had better be something that had an advantage, or at the very least resist electricity if he wanted to be able to block it while keeping up.

Fire punch? No. Thunder punch? No. Ice punch? Maybe – it could freeze the energy. Rock smash was too 'solid' for something like electricity, so –

No, wait, there was one. "Leaf blade!" she shouted.

The fire punch on his right arm flickered out, and then his right arm blade extended, glowing green with grass energy. He pushed with his left, and then raised his right just in time to take the worst of the shock wave.

A shadow claw very nearly raked him in the face, but he lowered his leaf blade arm to block it from doing more harm, locking their arms and front paws together once more in an energy-wreathed stalemate.

The Glameow snarled, angry that her efforts had failed. She was getting tired herself, and keeping a move like shadow claw as flashy and menacing as she was right now was taking up a large amount of her efforts and energy. The shadowy energy would fade soon, and if it dissipated without being effective –

Hissing, Bellatrix dug her claws into the Gallade's forearms, and felt vindicated when she saw him wince. To his credit, however, he didn't give up.

"Shock wave again!"

She was getting desperate if she was trying to use the same move twice in a row, in the same situation, after Dawn had just proven how she could render it less effective. "Rock smash!"

Zoey was taken aback at Dawn's order. "But shadow claw's a ghost-type move," she muttered as on the field, Helios focused his power into his fists, still caught up in the shadow-cloaked claws of Bellatrix.

Helios shoved with all of his weight, and with his left arm free of anything except his strength, punched at the shadowy curtain that originated from the front paws of the feline Pokémon. The focused fighting-type move wrapped his fist in orange ki, and passed through the shadow claw's cold energy without catching. He winced when the shadow-wrapped claws managed to reach his chest, leaving black marks on his white body, but didn't let up on his punch.

And he hit Bellatrix right between her eyes, jerking her head back.

If it was his psychic typing that let him parry the ghost energy, then a fighting-type move would let him bypass that. Or so that had been her theory, and Dawn was glad to see it work.

Bellatrix crumpled, unable to continue fighting anymore after taking a swords dance-boosted rock smash to her face.

"And the winner is . . ." the referee let the results be shown. Dawn and Helios had at least twice as many points as Zoey. "Dawn!"

The force field down, Dawn grinned widely at Helios as Zoey returned her Glameow. "You're a tough trainer," the redheaded girl said to her.

"Thanks," she replied with a wide smile.

Zoey eyed Helios as he came over to stand by Dawn's side. "I'm definitely liking the idea of my Kirlia evolving into a Gallade now," she said musingly. "Any tips?"

Dawn eyed the shadowy burns left on Helios, and dug out her one hyper potion. Helios tried to protest, but a warning look from her shut him up. "Well, Helios was bulking up his muscles for a while before he evolved," she said, breaking the seal on the spray and making sure that the potion's mist set on the wounds. "Exercising, focusing on improving his physical attacks instead of his special, stuff like that. Lots of protein and vitamins to help with physical strength is really good, too, especially right before he evolved so he could, you know, build up on it."

"I see," Zoey said. "How long has he been a Gallade?"

"Back in the middle of September, I think," she said as she finished spraying off the last of the wounds. Helios shook his head when she held up the potion, signalling that he was all good now. "You sure? Nothing else hurts? Don't put up a tough front. If you're hurt and you don't tell me, it could get worse. Actually, show me your arms – you blocked a lot of hits and I'm worried about them."

Reluctantly, Helios held out his arms, and Dawn examined them carefully. She looked at Zoey when the other girl chuckled.

"What?" she asked, spraying a deep puncture made by the Glameow's claw. His arm tensed under her fingers, but he held still.

"You remind me of your mom," Zoey said with a smile. "Actually, you just remind me of a mom in general with her kid."

Dawn grinned, but then went back to examining his blade arms. "I know you're tough, but honestly, Helios," she said as she looked over the green arms. They were made up of tougher skin than his white torso, but they were still covered with wounds. "This is not okay."

Her Gallade bowed his head.

"But great job," she added. "You were awesome out there, pulling off all those appeals. I think we could try a fire punch boosted swords dance in battle, too – that might make your opponent think twice about trying to get up in your face while you get your swords dance up. Oh, and I have some food you guys might like. Let's get you some now that we're all finished up-"

"Fantastic battle," said a soft voice.

Dawn looked up. Zoey had wandered off, presumably to get her Glameow healed up. The soft voice belonged to Lucian, Liam's cousin.

And next to him stood a familiar face.

"Cynthia?!"

The blonde, dressed in a black cocktail dress similar to her mom's, smiled. "Dawn," she said with a friendly wave of her hand. "I didn't know you'd be here."

"Neither did I – what are you doing here?" But even as she asked, she looked at Lucian and remembered Liam's earlier comment about a hot blonde. "Is he your date?"

Cynthia laughed. "Good Azelf, no. We're just friends. He just let me come because his uncle is a collector of many valuable artifacts and tomes, and recently he unveiled another piece of his private collection."

Lucian smiled. "But your Gallade is quite a skilled battler," he said, nodding to Dawn before facing Helios directly. "May I know your name?"

Helios looked to Dawn, unsure of what he was supposed to do. "His name's Helios," she answered for him.

Lucian nodded, but still looked to Helios. "Pleased to make your acquaintance. I must say, this is a coincidence, because -"

Whatever he had been about to say was cut off when all of the lights suddenly died and plunged the entire ballroom into darkness, making several people scream in surprise and fear. Dawn gasped, and then reached out to Helios. She was comforted to make contact with his arm, and held on tightly to his forearm, making sure to leave his elbow free in case he needed to extract his blades. "Can you pull up a fire punch for light?" she asked.

Helios shuffled, careful to not aim either of his fists in her direction in fear of hurting her, but before he got to it the lights reappeared.

"That was -" Dawn began, looking around, and then she stopped.

In the middle of the ballroom, in the middle of the four battlefields, on a glowing golden stage composed of some translucent material that looked similar to a light screen, stood a tall man. He wore a top hat, and a cape with raised collars. His face was hidden by an elaborate mask fit for a masquerade, and in one of his white gloved hands he carried an ebony cane tipped with golden metal.

Murmurs began rising from everyone, but they all fell silent when the mystery man in costume-like clothing opened his mouth.

"Ladies and Gentlemen," he announced in a loud, clear tenor voice that echoed all throughout the ballroom. "As promised, the phantom thief Grand Master Rocco has come to claim his treasure!"

---

Teams

Dawn

On Hand: Sekhmet (Luxray), Faith (Eevee), Helios (Gallade), Frejya (Lopunny)

Home: Neptune (Empoleon), Themis (Golbat), Medusa (Tangrowth)

Barry

On Hand: Champ (Torterra), Starling (Staraptor), Marcus (Heracross), Allen (Floatzel), Billie Jean (Mime. Jr), Bruce (Hitmonlee)

Home: (Murkrow), (Chatot), Camarero (Rapidash)

Lucas

On Hand: Charlotte (Monferno), Arthur (Kadabra), Miranda (Clefairy), Cupid (Togetic), Sherlock (Shieldon), Alan (Porygon)

Home/Lab: Brandon (Bibarel)

---

(Long) AN: Hey, it's been over a year since this story was started! I realized it after Titanium's birthday, so no special b-day update, unfortunately (I'm such a bad author). Since we're more than halfway through the story, maybe next year. I hope we'll be finished with Titanium by then, and starting on the Hoenn arc of the 'Hall of Fame' universe (although truth be told I'll be happy if we finish this before Adamant Diamond and Lustrous Pearl or whatever the Sinnoh remakes will be named come out).

But honestly you guys are awesome! We've passed 200k+ words, 50 favourites, 100 reviews and not a single flame! (I've just invited the trolls, haven't I?) Thank you so much!

Rocco, Lily and Io are characters in the Phantom Thief 7 manga. Lily's last name is Sutherland because it looks similar to 'Seven', which is her twin brother's (the titular character) Phantom Thief identity, and it's Norse for 'south land' which I thought was fitting, given their debut's location. Rocco, I used instead of Phantom Thief 7 because he's dressed better.

If you're thinking 'the side arcs are nice and all, Ten, but I really just want to see Dawn get to Celestic and then move to Canalave before the year ends' . . . well, in true Canadian fashion, sorry, that's probably not going to happen. I promise that the stuff that's in between will be relevant, but she won't win her next badge for another handful of chapters. My excuse is 'sorry', and 'character development'.

Next chapter: 'the party has been crashed', or, 'what all you rich folks gonna do about it?' I realize I may have left a bit of a cliffhanger, but if I didn't cut it short it wouldn't have been as fun. And this chapter alone was long enough.

Finally, I have an important question, and I need you guys to answer this (so don't let me down?). I'm in the process of writing a 'side story', which is going to be essentially a collection of different sections from this canon.

Is there anything you guys would be interested in reading about in particular that doesn't seem like it'll appear in Titanium or other main arc stories (ex: ranger regions, background/interaction of specific characters)?

So far I've got two short stories definitely in planning, a Colosseum and PMD Blue, with much more focus on the former. It shouldn't be too long, I'm aiming for something around 20k+ words each. It'll give Orre's history (and talk a little more about why it's essentially the North Korea/insert-dictatorship-of-your-choice-here of this canon), a few scattered battles that you guys will hopefully like as much as the ones here, lay out groundwork for future stories, maybe some insight into what Wes's Pokémon are thinking and some development in character/relationship.

I'd really like to know what you guys want to see, though.