Chapter 29: The Fated Final Fight Act 2: The Calm

Immediately after the two make eye contact, Yancy slowly approaches her older mentor, eventually standing right in front of her.

"Lisia, I…" However, before she can finish her sentence, the teal-haired girl then whispers something into her ears.

"(Meet me outside, near the pier...I don't think it's the best idea to talk here.)" She then takes her leave, but not before winking at her former mentee.

"Finally...I made it through." Nate says, having finally caught up. "Wait, where's your mentor?"

"She told me to meet her at the nearby pier."

"So, I'm guessing you're going to meet up with her?"

"You're saying that like you're not going to come with me."

"Well, to be honest, I think I'd probably be getting in your way if I did…"

"That's fine. I was originally intending on talking to her alone. But, if you ever do come looking for me, you'll know where to find me…"

"Alright. See you later…"

"See you." She then kisses him on the cheek, before waving her boyfriend goodbye and subsequently walking out of the stadium.

…

"Yancy, over here!" Lisia says to her former mentee. Just like she had whispered to her earlier, she was at the aforementioned pier, specifically the southern one, where there were no people gathered.

"It's been a long time, Lisia…" She says to the older woman. "What brings you here? You normally don't do Pokémon battles."

Surprised at her mentee's remark, she then drops her smile. "Hahaha...I see you still know about me to heart. Yes, I normally don't like or do Pokémon battling like Uncle Wallace does. But…" Just as she says this, she begins to frown. "I went all the way here because…"

"Hm?"

"Because I...needed to apologize to you for what I did all those years ago."

Yancy, who isn't surprised by this, replies with: "I see…"

"I'm guessing you're still mad at me for what happened during our last Contest together, right?"

"Um, well I…" This time, she's caught slightly off-guard, due to vividly remembering that particular night's events. Eventually, she manages to regain herself. "To be honest, I'm not mad at you per se…"

"That's a bit of a relief, haha…But, what exactly do you mean by that?"

"I'm kind of mad that you never contacted me again after I fainted…"

"Well...That's...understandable...I thought you were mad at me for taking away your first kiss…"

Unsurprisingly, this causes Yancy's face to be flushed in red from embarrassment, still having remembered every single detail of it. "P-please...Don't remind me of that…"

"For real, though...I really apologize for doing that to you...I should have held myself back. And I still regret it to this day…"

Yancy, appreciating her mentor's gesture, begins smiling and replies with: "Apology accepted…" She then decides to switch the topic to something less awkward. Something that she had remembered hearing from Steven and Wallace only a while earlier. "Anyways, I heard from the announcement earlier that you're taking part in the World Leader's Tournament."

"Yes, I am. In fact, this one is actually the first time I'm actually taking part in. All the previous ones I've been to were only as a spectator."

"R-really? It's my first time participating as well. In the PWT and the World Leader's Tournament, I mean."

"That's great!" Immediately, Lisia regains her cheerfulness. "I'll be looking forward to seeing you there, then. Hopefully, we'll even get a chance to battle one another at some point, too."

"Yeah, I'm hoping that'll be the case…"

"Speaking of which, how's that Mawilite and Key Stone I gave you? Putting it to good use?"

"Mmm hmm." She then shows her the Z-Power Ring on her right arm, which contains her Key Stone. By now, Yancy has already customized the Power Ring in question, having had its color changed to white and pink in order to match her preferences. "In fact, thanks to it, I've won a few matches with my Mawile."

"That's great!" She then shows Yancy her own Key Stone, located in her now Z-Power Tiara. "Just like you, I've almost been investing in Z-Moves as well. They go great in Contests, that's for sure."

"Wow...I didn't know you changed your Tiara this whole time." Yancy then takes a closer look at it, confirming what she just said to her. "It looks...much fancier than the last one."

"Thanks. Although...haha...It's actually the same Tiara as I've always worn. I just had it upgraded and customized like with your Z-Power Ring there."

Just as both of them continue their conversation, they're both interrupted by a ring from Yancy's Xtransceiver.

"Yancy? Are you still at the pier?" Nate asks her over the video call. "I'm heading there in a while. I, uh, had to pick something up." He then pauses as he sees something offscreen, before turning back his attention to her. "I, uh...I'll be heading over there shortly after I finish doing something... Alright, see you!" He then hangs up before she can even reply back.

Not long after this, Lisia then brings up something."Speaking of which…I saw you being mentioned on the news recently..."

"W-which one?" Yancy asks nervously.

"All of it, hahaha." Her mentor replies, complete with a huge grin. "I've been hearing a lot about you and that boyfriend of yours a lot."

"Ahahaha, figures that you'd be keeping track of me…" She admits reluctantly. "And yeah, we have been covered a lot ever since that incident at the Castelia Comic Con...The Celebrity Channel is pretty much taking advantage of us at this point…"

"Not surprising there." Just then, however, Lisia's mood then changes. "What I did find surprising, however, was that I heard you ran into trouble with some Team Plasma members."

"Yeah, about that…"

…

"I...can't believe it." Lisia says, having just heard the entirety of her mentee's ordeal. "I'm glad that you and the others came out of that okay. That dance you and Nate had at Village Bridge was pretty cute, though. I'll have to admit, you two looked real fine in those clothes."

"P-please don't remind me…" Yancy says, still clearly wishing to forget it happened at all. "I still can't believe that Youngster uploaded it all over the internet…"

Just before Lisia can continue the conversation, Yancy is greeted by a familiar voice coming from the edge of the pier.

"Sorry, Yancy!" Nate says just after making it to his girlfriend's location. However, just as he looks at her, he fails to realize the person standing right next to her. "I, uh...Oh, sorry to interrupt your conversation, I…think I'll wait for two to finish..." Before he can leave, however...Lisia stops him by blocking his way out.

"Oh no, you don't!" She outright tells him. "I didn't come all this way just to be brushed aside by a fellow celebrity."

Realizing his rudeness, he immediately regains his composure. "Sorry...I'm Nate."

"Yeah, I know who you are." She replies. "I've been seeing you on the news a lot, not to mention the movies you've starred in."

"Figures…"

"So…" Lisia then continues, referring to the young man now in front of her. "You're the lucky guy dating Yancy. I'm honestly surprised that you're actually...pretty cute."

This immediately causes him to blush, having not expected a remark of that sort from her. "T-thanks, I guess?"

"Anyways, I think that's enough. In case you're wondering, I'm Lisia. Nice to meet you, Nate." She then extends her hand to him. Immediately, he shakes it as a sign of gesture.

Nate then continues with: "I take it you're the one who mentored Yancy in just about everything Musical and Contest-related, right?"

"Yes, that's me." Lisia happily replies. "Everything, from Pokéblocks down to the dress she wore in her last concert." Lisia then moves a little farther, taking a look at the young couple in front of her. "Honestly, now that I think about it...I think you two are pretty cute together."

This catches the young couple off-guard, to the point that Yancy almost trips.

"Lisia…"

"T-thank you, I guess…"

"Anyways...I do apologize for that sudden remark. It was nice meeting you, Nate." She then redirects her attention towards the still-blushing Yancy. "And you're still my most favorite student. I'm proud that you've not only surpassed me in Pokémon Contests, but even as a Celebrity."

"And I'm glad I decided to learn from the best." The pink-haired girl replies. "As much as I'd love to stay around and chat a bit longer with you two, I have a busy schedule to attend to." She then leaves, but not before telling her mentee one more thing. "Oh yes. Good luck at the World Leaders Tournament tomorrow, Yancy. I'm hoping we'll get the chance to battle!" She then leaves the bewildered young couple alone on the pier.

"That...was a little awkward…" He tells her.

"Ahahaha, yes. Yes it was…" She replies back. "Though, I'm glad that we're on speaking terms again, not to mention that there's a chance I might be battling her tomorrow…Speaking of which, what took you so long?"

"Oh, well…" As he scratches his head awkward, Yancy immediately notices something on his left arm.

"Wait, what's that?" She points to the device in question.

"Oh, this? This is, uh, partly why I was a little late…" He admits, still awkwardly scratching his head. "I, uh...had my Z-Power Ring customized like you did. I had its color changed to match my outfit…"

"It...looks good on you! Much better than the default gray."

Just as Nate is about to thank her for the compliment, his expression immediately changes, which immediately worries her.

"Is...something wrong, Nate?"

"Remember how I said just now about partly why I was late?" He then points to the group of people behind her. "That's why…"

When Yancy turns around, she's immediately greeted by the sight of numerous Poké Maniacs wearing memorabilia featuring her as Nancy.

"It's Nancy!" One of them says aloud. Immediately, they begin asking for photographs and autographs from her. Nate, however, stops them and immediately blocks their way.

"Hold up!" He tells them. "Didn't I tell you guys to stop? I already defeated you guys fair and square, and yet you still insist on seeing her..."

"Come on, man!" Their apparent leader replies, clearly begging at him. "We're sorry for trying to attack and harass you."

"Wait up!" Yancy says. "I'm...a bit out of the loop here. What exactly is going on?"

…

A while earlier…

…

"Well, there she goes. I hope she resolves all those issues she had with that mentor of hers…" Not long after telling this to himself, he then gets a call on his Xtransceiver. "Wait, who could this be?"

"Hey, Nate!" Hugh tells him over the call. "Those guys at the shop in Join Avenue told me that you can pick up that device of yours now."

"Wait, really? Alright, tell them I'm on my way there, now." He then promptly hangs up without saying goodbye. "(This just might give me enough time to get to Join Avenue and back.)"

"Braviary, Fly me to Nimbasa City!"

Upon making it to the shop, he then picks up his now-customized Z-Power Ring, and then thanks the shopkeepers. All without incident, fortunately. Satisfied, Nate then flies back to the PWT. After landing in front of the main entrance, he then calls Yancy. Just as he's about to tell her he's going to meet up with her as he had promised, something catches his eye.

"(Wait, what's that over there?)" Upon closer inspection, he notices a group of Poke Maniacs standing facing the pier. Becoming suspicious, Nate decides to investigate further. "I, uh...I'll be heading over there shortly after I finish doing something... Alright, see you!" He then hangs up, then promptly walks over to the group in front of him.

"Isn't that Nancy over there?" One of the Poke Maniacs asks another.

"Yup…" The one next to him replies. "And that's Lisia right next to her."

"No way!" A third Poke Maniac screams. "If that's Nancy, then that means that Lack-Two is here, too! Maybe we can get revenge on him for stealing her from us."

The second one immediately replies. "Haha. Brilliant idea! We defeat him, and maybe we can have her all to ourselves. Maybe even get some nice pics of Nancy while we're at it, too!"

A fourth Poké Maniac, clearly uncomfortable with his friends' remarks, then asks the others: "Wait, you actually think we can beat Lack-Two? That guy's the former Unova League Champion! Not to mention unsolicited pics!? "

His cocky friend then answers. "Yeah, so? He resigned as Champion after he lost to Red. He'll be easy meat for us. As for the pics, that'll be easy. We just have to..."

…

"That's when I lost it and decided to confront three of them." He tells his girlfriend. "I defeated all of them, of course. Though, from the looks of things right now, I'd say they're a persistent bunch…"

Yancy, unsurprisingly, is pretty freaked out and disgusted by this revelation. "Hold up. You mean to tell me all of you were planning to attack my boyfriend and then stalk me for pictures!?"

The fourth Poké Maniac then replies to her with: "Not me. I've been trying to tell them that their whole shenanigan was a terrible idea."

"Yeah, I can vouch for him." Nate seconds. "And thank you for not backing up your idiot friends. Here you go!" He then hands back a notebook to the guy. "Consider this as a favor for not trying to stalk me or hurt my girlfriend."

"I see…Then in that case..." Yancy then grabs a pen and paper from her bag, subsequently signing it. "Consider this as my personal thank you." Just before she hands over her newly-signed autograph to him, she then asks: "Wait, could I get your name?"

"It's Steve." She then writes "To Steve, for not being a creep" before handing it over to the Poke Maniac.

"Thanks!" He says.

"Hey! No fair Steve!" One of his friends says, clearly upset at him receiving an autograph from their idol.

"Well, I wasn't the one stalking Nancy and planning on attacking her boyfriend in public." He replies, still clearly disgusted at them. "Don't come crawling to me if you're still planning on ganging up on him." He then leaves his friends, who up until now were speechless at the sight in front of them.

"That's it!" The lead Poké Maniac shouts, having felt betrayed by their friend as well as their own idol. "Say, Ashton, Hector, how about we go for Round 2 against Lover Boy here, and this time...we battle Nancy as well? Maybe she'll give us autographs and photos that we want if we beat her."

While at first reluctant to face Nate, his two friends then agree upon realizing they can take on the apparently weaker Yancy instead. With a couple of nods as a reply, they gang up on her.

"Darn…" She says, clearly not expecting to be taking on two Trainers at once. "You two really think I'd still be willing to entertain your requests?" She asks, clearly unable to contemplate their motives.

"Yeah." One of them replies to her. "If we beat you here and now, you'll have to give in to our demands anyway."

The second one then continues with "At this point, we're just desperate, especially after that Steve ditched us!"

"Sigh…" Yancy mutters to herself, clearly disappointed in them. "I guess I'll have no choice but to prove a point to them…Go for it, Togekiss!"

"Argh..." Nate says as he sees what's happening. "Once I deal with you, your friends are going to be next again!"

"But can you beat me in time to prevent that, though?" Just then, one of Yancy's opponents screams out.

"But...how!?" Ashton cries out, watching as his Slowking faints. "She was supposed to be an easy target…"

"I guess I'm proven my point…" She then withdraws her Pokémon, then subsequently faces the other Trainer. "I guess you're still planning on trying to coax me into taking pictures with you?" She asks while glaring at him with a smile.

Hector, now clearly shocked at her Pokémon's strength, wisely chooses not to pursue further aggression. "N-no. I think I'll let my friend over there handle this one…" He then flees, leaving his friend behind.

"D-damn it!" Rather than face Nate, the Poké Maniac opts to flee as well. Before he can get far, though, a familiar-looking voice calls out.

"Ali, use Sing!" A disembodied voice commands out loud.

The fleeing Trainer, hearing the Humming Pokemon's song, eventually falls unconscious. Not long afterward, police arrive, taking the unconscious man into custody, alongside the two other Trainers who had confronted the young couple only moments ago. They also see Steve talking with two other police officers, apparently telling them his side of the story while also telling them not to harm his friends.

"Wait, that Altaria…" Yancy mutters, immediately recognizing the Pokemon. "Isn't that…" But before she can conclude, the Humming Pokemon's Trainer, sure enough, appears right before her.

"Good thing Ali managed to capture that creep." Lisia says right next to her mentee. "I'm quite impressed how you managed to handle yourself just now."

Yancy, who is caught immediately off-guard by the former's sudden appearance, asks her mentor:"Lisia!? But how?"

Nate, arguably just as surprised, continues with: "I appreciate you helping us, but I thought you said you had something to do?"

"I, uh...kind of did." She admits to both of them while scratching her head. "But…"

"But?"

"But what?"

"I happened to pass by those same Poké Maniacs who had confronted you two earlier. They looked kind of suspicious, and I have dealt with some pesky stalkers before. I put two and two together and had a feeling that they might be after you."

"Well yeah…" Nate replies. "I defeated three of the ones who were after me and Yancy while you two were talking earlier…"

"Haha! I figured, since they did look really upset." Lisia then continues on with "Now that they're out of the way, I think it's best if you two make your way out of here. Wouldn't want any unwanted attention from the paparazzi again now, would you?"

"No…"

"Nope. Not after what happened the last few times…"

"Then get going, you two. And don't worry about the police and the news. I'll be handling everything."

Just before the young couple bolt it out of the pier, both of them make sure to thank the older Trainer.

"Hey, uh...Thanks a lot." Nate tells Lisia. "I'm really grateful for your help, even though we've only just met."

"Think nothing of it. Now get out of here." The older woman then turns her attention to the young lady in front of her. "As for you, Yancy, here's to hoping we'll be battling one another tomorrow."

"Same here, Lisia. And...thank you. For everything." She then waves goodbye to her, before vacating the area with her boyfriend as fast as they possibly can. Eventually, they both make it back into Driftveil City undetected. When they both look back, several onlookers have already gathered in front of the pier, not to mention Lisia being hogged by dozens of what appears to be her fans as well as numerous paparazzi.

"Honestly, I'm glad we're out of that mess…" Nate says, trying to catch his breath.

"Agreed…" Yancy replies, who drops to the ground to take a rest. "At this point, I don't want to be interviewed by them anymore, much less be attacked by angry fans…"

"Need a hand?"

"No...I think I can get up." Just as she tries to, however, her legs give in. "On second thought...I think I'll take you up on that offer…" Initially expecting Nate to carry her by piggyback, she's immediately caught off guard when he instead bridal carries her.

"W-wait! What are you doing!?" She asks him, her face becoming fully red in the process. "What if someone sees us!?"

"Well, you said it that one night. We're lovers now. Hahaha." He replies jokingly, before switching to a more serious tone. "And don't worry about that part. I made sure to see if there was anyone else nearby. So far, most people are focused on the PWT. The only people we'll be running into are police and security guards. And they'll be preoccupied with looking for more suspicious folks, not a young couple acting all lovey-dovey." Hearing this, she decides to calm down, allowing herself to be carried by him for the time being.

Sure enough, he manages to carry her far enough to reach the entrance of the Driftveil Chateau Hotel where they were staying. He then lets her down, just as both of them are greeted by a familiar figure in the hotel's lobby.

"What the heck happened to you two?" Rosa asks the two of them, with her immediately noticing their tired walking postures. "What, were you two being chased or something? I was wondering where you two went."

"It's...a long story." Nate replies with an awkward smile.

"Well, given that you've figured out what we've been doing before…" Yancy says as she buys a bottle of Fresh Water from a nearby vending machine. "Yes, we were being stalked…" She then takes a few sips from the bottle, then subsequently heads to one of the chairs in the lobby to take a rest. Not long after, the young couple continue to narrate to their friend the rest of their experiences earlier, eventually continuing the conversation over dinner at the hotel's cafe.