Liam's first round of final exams at Everspring International Pokemon Academy was a grueling experience. Not every test was a challenge, but the ones that were took everything out of him. Rollon's literature final kept him writing to last minute. Wort's PokeBiology test made Liam feel like he had somehow forgotten every lab he'd done all semester, and although he managed to scribble something in every blank, he wasn't fully confident in any of it. Werner's final was, as expected, the most challenging of all. Liam struggled through mental calculations of Speed IVs and did his best to remember the effects of obscure Pokemon abilities, all while Werner patrolled the room with a scowl.

By Thursday, however, all the hardest exams were done. Battle Class would take up most of the morning, but it would mostly involve watching others battle while he waited to take on Jonah. All he had the next day was Huang's class, and he felt pretty confident in his ability to groom and feed Eevee, even under exam conditions. As Liam stepped through the school's main gate and waved good morning to the guard's Mightyena, he noticed Cass sitting by the tent where the younger students had lunch. She looked deeply agitated, and Liz and Rebecca seemed to be comforting her. Liam paused, unsure if he should walk over to her, but Cass noticed and called to him..

"Liam," she said, "I…"

Cass shuddered and took a deep breath. Liam noticed at once that she had been crying. He had never seen Cass cry before. Even at the Pokemon Center when Chelsea's Scraggy died, she had been calm and collected. He felt a sense of doom that he couldn't quite understand or control.

"Uh… what is it?" Liam asked awkwardly.

Cass took another deep breath, shook her head, and looked up at Liam.

"I'm not coming back next year," she choked.

Liam almost jumped. The sense of dread turned into a painful emptiness in his chest.

"What?" he stammered.

"My dad… well, he's getting transferred back to Unova," she explained, avoiding Liam's eyes in a way that made his heart hurt, "We're moving to Castelia City in three weeks. I thought—I mean, I knew moving back was always something that could happen, but I was hoping... I liked it so much here, and…"

She covered her face with her hands. Liam didn't know what to say. Rebecca put her arm around her friend.

"Liam," said Cass, wiping her eyes and straightening herself, "I know you don't… come to Youth Group, but… could you come, just once? There's a going-away party for everyone that's leaving tomorrow, and…"

"Yeah," said Liam, almost in a whisper, "I'll come."

Cass pulled Liam into one of the tight, bony-armed hugs he'd become so used to over the past few months.

"I've… well, I need to go talk to Christine," said Cass, letting him go, "Tell her I can't be president next year."

Liam nodded seriously and watched as Cass started towards the main school building, accompanied by Rebecca and Liz. He couldn't think of anything to say or do that would make anything better. And he was hurting, He looked around for someone to talk to, but he couldn't see anyone. He didn't want to go to his exam, but he didn't have a choice. With a heavy heart, he began the walk towards the school atrium. He kept his eyes on his feet.

"Liam."

Liam looked up and saw Mori. She was looking at him with deep concern.

"Cass is leaving," Liam mumbled.

"I know, I just found out," said Mori, "Liam, I…"

"You were right," said Liam, "I dragged my feet for too long, and now… I guess it's too late."

Liam looked down at his feet again. He knew Mori was still looking at him, but he couldn't focus on anything. All he could feel numbness. Numbness, slowly turning into rage.

"It's not…" he breathed, "It's not fair. Why does the stupid Unovan government have to ruin everything? Why do people have to be dragged from one side of the world to the other, just because…"

Liam shook his head. He felt the overwhelming urge to punch something.

"I'm sorry," said Mori.

"Don't you have any answers?" Liam snapped at Mori, "You who know everything about relationships?"

Mori crossed her arms.

"I know relationships always hurt," said Mori seriously, "And they almost never work out, and losing people is something everyone has to deal with, but some of us have lost a lot more than others. Is that what you wanted to hear?"

Liam looked up at Mori, but he felt his anger fading at the sight of the pain in her eyes.

"Sorry," he said, "I'm… just angry."

"Liam," said Mori, "I don't want to compare my life to yours. I'm not trying to compare scars and tell you whose is worse."

Liam chuckled at the reference.

"But I've been looking for my sister ever since I found out about her," Mori continued, "And I don't even know what her name is. I can't remember what she looks like. Most days, it doesn't hurt as much as you're hurting now. But losing someone that you love, someone that you want to be with desperately but can't have... I understand that. Believe it or not, we all do."

Mori jerked her head towards the other students in the school atrium.

"Cass wants me to go to the Youth Group thing tomorrow night," said Liam.

"Then do it," said Mori, "And you'll have a double excuse: Rain is leaving too."

"Really?" said Liam, a little taken aback.

"Yeah," said Mori, trying her best not to look too pleased, "You really don't keep up on the school rumor mill, do you? Unfortunately, she's not going too far. Her family is moving to Hempshear, which is like, I don't know, maybe three hours away? But she won't be here next year."

"Our class really can't hang on to students," said Liam.

"No kidding," said Mori, looking over her shoulder as Coach Tang's whistle sounded, "Ick, finals. Wish me luck."

"I think we'll both need it," said Liam, "At least I'm going into my battle royally pissed off."

"You just imagine you're fighting the Unovan Consular General, and I'll imagine I'm fighting Claire, and we'll both get A's," said Mori playfully.

Liam laughed. His heart felt a little lighter as he joined the others students crowded around Coach Tang. He felt like a good Pokemon battle. It would do him good.