A/N: Thank you to Wolflyn, EmilyLauren94, leafeons, NoLife-sama, Etheyyy, Rieth, Sky65, Cindy1315, ArtisticNerd64, StormSkyress for your reviews, as always. I'm always stoked to hear from all of you. Hope you're doing well!

s. shadow ball

May and her team were given a week to rest and recover after their initial match against Sidney (or now "Sid," as he insisted she call him). Since then, she had seen him a couple of times as he dropped by the Challenger quarters, which were empty beyond the small room she and her pokemon shared. It seemed like they were breaking some kind of nepotism rule, but Sidney didn't seem to care. Truly, he hardly seemed like someone who could even be affected by rules or punishments, and so in a few brief moments between training sessions, May forgot the invisible pressure of implied rules and found herself joking over food and gossip with the Dark Master.

She decided she liked him. Talking to him reminded her a bit of the days she had spent in her father's dojo bantering with his older students, the thrill of being one of them. He swore a lot more than anyone she'd ever met though. She found it was starting to rub off on her and couldn't help but wonder how her father would react if he heard her cursing back and forth with Sidney.

If the life of the Elite Four were spent in this way, she imagined she would be very happy. Sure, she missed trees and open skies. Her pokemon longed for the beach and mountains. They missed real sunlight. But beyond that, this was a pretty comfortable way of life. She told herself comfort was something she should get used to again.

But the week had passed, and she knew her little reprieve was over. May found herself in another small room with a door in front of her, as generic as any other. There was no laughing Sid to encourage her, only her pokemon. She reminded herself that this was how it always would be, no matter how much she liked the people who came and went.

The door opened, leading her to another arena, nearly as dark as the first. Dim yellow lanterns lined the walls. Too warm, May thought. Something about the stillness of the air made her eyes start to sag. She took a sharp inhale and looked across the arena to face her opponent.

In the years that May had watched the Elite Four, she had always found the Ghost Master elusive. Her height and demeanor implied a young age that May was sure was wrong, but even as the years passed, that youthful appearance remained constant. Now as May stood across from her, even in the soft light, she found herself thinking again that the woman called Phoebe could also be a ghost.

She smiled radiantly. It glowed in the dark.

"Welcome," she said. Her hips swayed slightly, the long skirt ruffling around her bare feet. Her voice was bright. "It's good to finally meet you, May. I'm Phoebe!"

"Um, nice to meet you," said May hesitantly. The flickering lanterns were silent as May's voice faded. Still, Phoebe smiled, as if knowing that a sweat had begun to break out on May's upper lip.

"Well, we can get to pleasantries later. Shall we?"

A ball appeared in her hand - May didn't know from where - and in an instant, May was in the battle. She leapt back and threw out her first pokemon.

Akagane let out a shriek, and lightning filled the arena. May winced as the room went white for a moment, and in the distance, she caught a glimpse of something gray and vague. The room went black again, and the ghost disappeared into the shadows. Looking around frantically for her opponent, Akagane sent another wave of electricity through the room. There it was again - a wisp of smoke. The room went dark again as it dissolved.

Akagane dove into the dark, fearless. The arena was a dance of blinding white light and deep darkness, and in the seconds of flashing light, May could see the yellow Pokémon battling something gray and white. Something red flashed in the darkness, flickering, flickering, and she realized that it was a deep mouth - wide, empty, endless.

The ampharos dove as May caught a glimpse of a flame in the dusclops' gut. Instead, it came down on one of the lanterns that lined the walls and the light in that corner was gone. Darkness as thick as the sea seemed to take its place until the red-eyed ghost turned on Akagane once more.

Undeterred, the ampharos readied herself again, but the dusclops didn't move. Instead, its single eye flashed and then flashed again. May felt that strange pressure at the back of her head again. A line of sweat trickled down her neck, mind swimming. She jerked upward as she felt the sweat hit her spine coolly.

"Aka-chan, look away!" she shouted.

But it was too late. The ampharos had gone still. May called her name again, but her ears did not even twitch. When she finally, slowly, turned, her gaze was empty. The dusclops lifted its arm, and she mirrored it. May tried to call her name once more, but she made no response. The dusclops opened its mouth wide and let out a hollow shriek that echoed from Akagane's mouth. May lifted her hand in defeat.

"I forfeit this round!"

Both the Pokémon retreated. A chill slithered its way up May's spine as she saw the grin on Phoebe's face. Akagane was one of May's strongest pokemon, and for her to be defeated so easily made May's stomach churn. She couldn't lose this round or it was over. But Akagane had lost. What could she do? She grasped at a ball and prayed.

The ghost didn't disappear this time. A sableye stood in the center of the room, eyes glittering in the yellow light. Across from it stood Shinju the blissey. She watched him warily as his head and arms twitched mindlessly.

"Don't look him in the eye," warned May.

For a long minute, the sableye just twitched in place, eyes scanning over his opponent. There was nowhere for her to run in this arena when it was built to her opponent's advantage, and so Shinju readied herself, waiting for the ghost to make the first move.

First, it grinned - the kind of funny grin one would make after a joke. May frowned at the strange expression and noticed that Phoebe was also grinning. Wide and yellow, the sableye's pale blue eyes gleamed brightly, blindingly. Light was gathering in its eyes, building. Shinju dodged and rolled away as the light shot through the dark, crashing into the far wall. Time snapped forward as the two pokemon launched at each other.

Ghost versus normal - it was an odd exchange of useless attacks, a test of who would exhaust first. Each swipe and kick went completely through the other pokemon with no effect. May wondered when the ghost would show his other cards, for he surely had more tricks than the Power Gem move with which he began the battle; however, May did not watch the sableye, but his Trainer on the opposite side of the arena.

Something about that smile had bothered May, and though she could not figure out why, she was experienced enough now to trust her instincts. The Trainer's mouth maintained that smile, and though it was still, there was a strange movement to her eyes that was odd. They moved quickly, widening. It bothered May. Why?

Her gaze tightened, and that feeling rang in May's gut. Just as she felt the alarm in her own head, the sableye flipped back away from Shinju, only to rush her like a bull. Shinju flinched, throwing her arms up to shield herself, and the sableye grinned, dipping down unexpectedly to bring his claw upward. The blissey shrieked as she was thrown back, a dark gash forming at her little arms.

The sableye rushed again, but Shinju dug her feet into the ground. Just as the ghost swung to claw at her again, she stomped hard into the floor and rushed him at blinding speed, sending him straight into the ground. Though he recovered quickly, Shinju dodged his counterattack, and they leapt away again.

The same glint formed at his eyes as he braced himself, but the blissey did not wait this time. A shield went up directly in front of him, sending the attack ricocheting back and striking him in the chest. The sableye gave a strange shriek as he flew back, and Shinju sent up another light screen behind him. He fell back into the painfully and, disoriented, did not notice the glowing box go up around him until it was too late.

May expected the sableye to rush Shinju again, but as he steadied himself, he went completely still. Even the twitching of his arms stopped, and as he looked around to see the glowing barrier around him and Shinju, something seemed to change in his posture. Slowly, his head turned to see his Trainer behind him, and May saw a strange look in the woman's face. That smile was gone, and the intensity of her gaze had dampened and stilled.

Shinju attacked the sableye again before he could turn back around. Pushing him up against the light screen, she struck hard and then struck again. Phoebe's hand was up after less than a minute of the blissey's brutal attack.

"I forfeit the round!"

May grinned as the blissey gave a funny, victorious yelp, retreating into her ball. Though she and the sableye disappeared, the light screen remained. Phoebe's eyes scanned over its shimmering walls, and May knew that it had somehow changed something in the battle. Her suspicions were confirmed as she saw Phoebe's banette solidify and glance back at her Trainer with an odd sort of hesitation. Suigan the gengar floated up above the arena, mouth wide. His laughter echoed through the darkness.

In the banette's hesitation, Suigan disappeared and, in a flash, sent the banette reeling with a sharp strike of lightning. She dodged the next strike and managed to catch the quick gengar with a nasty faint attack, and they both disappeared into the darkness.

Howls echoed through the room, and in little glimmers and wisps, May could catch sight of the two ghosts clashing. The banette shrieked with pain as Suigan struck her with another flash of white lightning, parrying it with a deep purple flame. The fire caught Suigan's leg, sizzling up the gaseous limb painfully, but he barely winced. The blood thirst flashed in his eyes and shot straight into the banette's face. The ghost shrieked as it was blinded by the light.

"Puolo!"

May jumped as Phoebe's voice echoed through the arena for the first time since the battle began. Even the banette looked shocked as she flailed against the gengar. The sound of her partner sparked something within her and she lurched forward, slashing against Suigan's stomach. He yowled with pain as the shadows crept up his face, slithering into his wide open mouth.

But something else came sliding out to meet it. Over his gleaming teeth, something brown and rancid oozed over the banette's dark grasp, and a sour, burning smell filled the room. As the poison sank into the ghost's cloth body, she screamed through her zipper mouth, and in the shock of her pain, light flashed from Suigan's eyes once more. When May was finally able to squint her eyes through the light, Phoebe was calling the banette back to her ball.

Mouth open, May panted, realizing she had been holding her breath. Suigan's cackle filled the shadows, and as the lights flickered on, he bounced and flipped through the air back to May's side. She smiled awkwardly as he slipped back into his ball, leaving her and Phoebe alone in the silent room. As Sid had before, in the light Phoebe looked more mundane than May had expected. She was small, child-like. The sway of her hips had stopped, and her smile was gone. She was scanning May up and down with that odd, confused expression as she had given her sableye. May felt a bit naked, even though Phoebe was more scantily clad.

But then, she smiled. "Damn. I've gone and lost, haven't I?"

The rhythm in her legs returned as she walked across the arena towards May. She scrambled to meet the senior Trainer, only making Phoebe's smile broaden. As they met in the middle, May found that the woman was nearly an entire head shorter than she. All of the intimidation of her team seemed to compensate for the tininess of her physical person.

"Well done. That was a good battle," said Phoebe.

"Yeah," said May dumbly. Phoebe grinned.

"You seem confused."

"I am."

"Don't be."

"I can't help it. This is a weird situation to be in," said May helplessly.

"What, winning? I'd have thought that'd be normal for you by now," said Phoebe, eyebrow raised. May wondered why her expression felt so familiar.

"Yeah, but this is different." May paused and wondered if she could be as frank as Phoebe seemed to be. "You and Sid are different," she said honestly. This seemed to please Phoebe.

"You talk like you're not." May's face flushed, earning a bark of laughter. "Really, you're pretty remarkable, even as far as Challengers go. I never would have guessed you'd use that light screen." May frowned.

"Light screen?" Phoebe's frown matched May's.

"You blocked me out from my pokemon," said Phoebe.

"What do you mean?"

"You didn't mean to do that?"

"I still don't really understand, so no, probably not," said May.

The Ghost Master stared hard, thoughtfully. May wondered why the smaller woman's gaze did not irk her now. Unlike her pokemon, she was so colorful and open. She was reminded of Flannery.

"Your blissey's light screen - it's something we haven't encountered before. Trainers rarely come here with Normal types because of the obvious difficulties between Normal and Ghosts. If it had been done by a Psychic type, that move would have been useless, but we weren't even able to hear each other through it." May's frown deepened.

"What do you mean? I didn't hear you say anything."

Phoebe gave May that thoughtful look again. Then, she smiled. It was a kind expression.

"When I was a kid, I went to Mt. Pyre with my family to pay respects to an old pokemon of my mother's," said Phoebe. "I was doing typical kid stuff; got bored and wandered off on my own. Before I knew it, I was hopelessly lost among the tombstones and trees.

"As soon as it got dark, Ghost pokemon began to appear. I got scared and wound up even more lost, and by the time I realized how lost I was, I couldn't see anything. I spent the night running away from ghosts and hiding in a mausoleum until the sun came up, and when I finally made it back to my mother in the morning, something in me had changed.

"That something is what your blissey blocked," said Phoebe, smiling. "I couldn't hear my pokemon anymore or speak to them. That had never happened before."

"You can speak to ghosts?" said May, awkward and amazed. Phoebe grinned.

"Don't tell anyone. It'll take away my edge," joked the Ghost Master. May stared with awe.

"That's why you looked so off," she realized aloud.

"You saw it, huh? That was pretty sneaky of you."

"Oh, um, I'm sorry," said May. Phoebe laughed again.

"Why are you apologizing? It worked, didn't it? You sure aren't anything like I expected. When I heard you were Norman's daughter, I was expecting you to come in stomping and pounding your chest, but you were so quiet the entire time. It was a little spooky," said Phoebe. She smiled at her own joke, and May thought it was one of the kindest expressions she had seen in many years. "I'm glad we got to battle. I think I learned a lot, just from the one match and watching Sid's. I'm excited to have you in the group."

"I still have three more battles to go though." Phoebe waved a dismissive hand.

"You'll be fine."

"How can you tell?" asked May, nonplussed.

"I just know," said Phoebe, smiling.

"You're not just trying to get into my head, are you?" asked May suspiciously. Phoebe threw her head back and laughed.

"No, no, no! I'm not that kind of Trainer. I mean, I kind of am, but I'm straightforward outside of the ring. I'm excited to see you win. I mean it."

"Why?"

"Why not? I can't explain it. I just have a good feeling about you. I hope we can become good friends."

May was struck at the sincerity of the woman's words, how plainly and frankly she presented herself beyond the arena. Phoebe beamed, and May found the last shadow of the battle slip away. She, too, smiled.

"Me too," she said, wishing it with all her heart.

"Good. Get some rest. Your team worked hard, and you'll need your energy for Glacia." May winced at the thought of the next coming round.

They said their goodbyes, and the Ghost Master turned and sashayed out of the ring. May took a deep breath and closed her eyes. The heat of the room had calmed. The air was clear of just a little of the heaviness from before. From the pop at her waist came Shinju, beaming up at her Trainer. May put a tender hand to the scratch at the blissey's arms.

"Does it hurt?" she asked softly. The blissey shook her head, beaming. May smiled with relief. "Well, we have the room. Might as well bandage you up now, huh?" She gave a sharp laugh as the blissey threw herself at May, both of them tumbling to the floor. May let the anxiety out from her lungs with a loud laugh.

"She's much more open with her pokemon." Phoebe and Sid stood in the dark box above, watching the Challenger unnoticed.

"It's weird to expect her to be buddies with you right after a battle," said Sid, brow arched. Phoebe grinned.

"That's awfully funny, coming from you," she teased, "seeing as how chummy you've been with her." Sid shrugged, watching the young woman down below with a curious eye.

"She's interesting."

"Have you learned anything about her this week?"

"No miraculous answers, if that's what you mean. She just seems like a normal kid." He frowned thoughtfully for a moment. "Or she looks everything like one. I don't know. Something's a little off about her."

"She's a little skittish."

"That's the impression I've gotten, too."

"Flannery made it seem like she was a pretty bubbly kid."

"Victory Road changes you."

"You think it could change someone that much?"

"No, but the incident with Kygore probably could."

Sid nodded quietly as they continued to stare down at the Challenger. She and her blissey were sprawled out on the floor together. Despite the rigid stance she had taken while battling Phoebe, she seemed to move without inhibition when it came to her pokemon, at least when she thought no one was looking.

"That light screen took me for surprise. I'd never seen anything like it," she said.

"You really couldn't hear your pokemon?"

"Not at all. It was honestly kind of scary," said Phoebe, smile slipping just slightly. "Did you tell her to do that?"

"Nah, I wouldn't have even known to try it." She nodded thoughtfully.

"Lucky for her. Was Glacia here?"

"Yeah, she just left."

"What'd she think?"

"She seemed pretty excited. You know that creepy smile of hers."

"You're one to talk," said Phoebe with a snort. Sid shrugged again.

"How do you think she'll do next round?"

"I think Glacia better come prepared for a tough fight. That blaziken your team fought could give her some problems." Sid nodded in agreement.

They stood in silence again, watching the woman speaking softly with the blissey in the empty arena. Her bright red scarf glowed in the bright flood lights, bobbing slightly as she applied a potion to the blissey's pink belly. Sid gave a quiet sigh.

"Okay, I'm bored. You heading back?"

"I'm going to decompress here for a few more minutes." He shrugged.

"Suit yourself," he said, and with a wave, he turned down the hall and left her to the quiet box. Phoebe took a deep breath.

The Challenger down below showed no sign of leaving yet, and Phoebe was somewhat comforted that the young woman seemed to also need a quiet moment to herself and her pokemon after their battle. The injured blissey was sprawled out on the floor with her head in her Trainer's lap. May seemed to say something to her, and they both laughed softly. Phoebe also smiled.

After the stories from Wallace and Flannery, Phoebe hadn't known what to expect when the girl had stepped out of the the tunnels below, but she had thought that someone hailed as such a prodigy would surely be confident, poised. The young woman in red had a certain reassurance about her, but it was quiet, gentle. She wasn't the kind of character Phoebe would have thought to place up on the pedestal, but as she imagined May standing beside her among the Elite Four, Phoebe had to admit that she very much liked the picture.

Her thoughts were broken as she heard the light clicking of shoes against the stone floors. Phoebe waited for the man in the doorway to say something, but he remained silent. She gave a quiet sigh.

"Nice to see you too," she said drily.

Still nothing. She rolled her eyes, and though he couldn't see her face, she imagined he knew she did.

"I can see why you're so interested in her. Didn't know that was your type though," she said. She knew she was being a little mean, but he was the one person she would never feel sorry for.

"Are you going to see her or just keep creeping around like this?" The man didn't respond, and Phoebe sighed loudly this time. "I don't know why you all are so intimidated by her. She's so straightforward."

Still, he didn't respond, and Phoebe rolled her eyes once more, heading for her apartment. As much as she liked the Challenger, she had still lost and didn't have the patience for silent observers slinking in the shadows. "Well, better keep that throne warm for her. She's going to kick your ass." She then left him standing in the hallway alone.

Below, he saw the Challenger still seated on the floor with her pokemon. Her mouth moved, smiling, and the little blissey she was tending to seemed to cry out happily. His throat tightened as he watched the young woman sweep the blissey into her arms and stood from the floor to rest from the day's challenge. The blissey's curls bounced happily as they exited.