Liam was still caught up in the excitement of the moment as he jogged out of New Court's north entrance with the other members of Team Virtue. Tobias had promised to meet them at Bookwood Street, and Liam had a theory he needed some time alone with his industrial music to recover his damaged dignity. Apart from Mori, Vasilio, and Marsha, everyone was in their green Team Virtue uniforms, and Liam thought they looked like a military unit as they passed the community park and turned left in the direction of Bookwood Street.

Liam had made the trip from Tobias' gym to the New Court area more than a dozen times, and it was no light stroll. But the streets were cleared of cars, and the urgency of their mission ensured that no one—other than Marsha—voiced a single complaint. They knew that they were likely to bump into Team Power before they even made it to Bookwood Street, and Liam kept glancing at his Sneasel perched high on his shoulder. If there was trouble, he would be the first to spot it.

They found a few grunts—apparently drunk—looting a store about halfway to the walking street, but they drove them off without so much as a contest. Liam reminded himself not to get cocky. Whoever had Tobias's gym, they wouldn't give in without a struggle.

Liam's anticipation turned to rage when they finally made it to the bootleg CD store that served as the entrance to Tobias's gym. The contents of the store's many shelves had been dumped unceremoniously out onto the sidewalk and a few grunts were picking through the rubble in search of useful TMs. The woman who sat at the checkout desk was nowhere to be found. A Fire Blast from Liam's Houndoom sent the grunts packing back into the store, which was Tobias's cue to emerge dramatically from the nearby shadows.

"There are… at least fifteen inside," he said mysteriously. He had combed his hair and reapplied his gothic makeup while he was waiting for them, and his spooky manner was back in full force.

"Thirteen," said Chelsea, holding a hand to the side of her head. "At least, that's all the minds I can count."

"So what's the plan?" asked Liam.

"Go in and kick ass," said Mori.

Their allies from No. 1 High School giggled, earning a reproving look from their leader.

"Sounds alright to me," said Vasilio. Mori still hadn't looked at him, and she seemed a little offended that he had the nerve to agree with her.

"The guy in charge is an admin," said Chelsea, closing her eyes in concentration. "His name is… Zhang."

She glanced at Liam, as if checking whether the name rang a bell.

"He should pose no difficulty," said Tobias smoothly. "To the acolytes of the School of Virtue."

"Tobias," snapped Mori. "I swear, if you wait out here while we go in and get your gym back, I will take your stupid Remembrance Badge and I'll shove it right up your—."

"He's coming," said Liam. "If he doesn't help us, I'm setting up a Dark gym here," he added with a teasing grin at Tobias.

The inside of the shop looked even worse than the outside. The grunts had started to spray paint over the murals of Ghost-type Pokemon, and most of the posters had been torn from the wall.

"Savages," growled Liam.

The door to Tobias' hidden gym was dangling from its hinges, and Liam could hear voices on the other side. Team Power was ready for them. They would have to go in one at a time, exposed to whatever attacks were sent at them. He glanced at Mori, then at Chelsea.

"Can you take us both in at the same time?"

Very reluctantly, Chelsea nodded. Putting her hands on Liam and Mori's shoulder, she closed her eyes, counted down, and teleported through the door.

Vasilio and the leader from No. 1 School were right behind them, which was lucky, The onslaught was intense, and Liam immediately pulled Chelsea to the ground as a Sludge Bomb crashed into the wall right over their heads. The grunts were defending from the elevated stage and had dragged in shelves from the CD store as barriers. Pinned against the far wall, Liam and the others relied on Protects and Wide Guards while a few Pokemon—like Liam's Sneasel and Marsha's Raichu—took the fight to Team Power.

Mori was completely fearless. Her Ninjask and Misdreavus darted over the battlefield, protected only by Shedinja blocking with Wonder Guard. She ignored the attacks ricocheting off the gym's spray-painted walls as she shouted commands over the din. If Vasilio's Amaura hadn't been casting Light Screen, she would probably have been toast. Chelsea, for her part, turned back or deflected more than one Thunderbolt with her psychic powers—something Liam had never seen her do before.

Gradually—and not without losses—they gained ground. Tobias—blood dripping from his nose—overwhelmed the first barrier with his Banette, and the Team Virtue members from No. 1 High School came charging after him. Liam recalled his fainted Houndoom and sent out Murkrow—the same Pokemon that had won him his very first badge in Tobias' gym just a year ago. He fixed his eyes on Zhang, the admin who was commanded the battle from atop Tobias' enormous electronic keyboard on the high stage. If they could take him out, the battle would be over.

"Chez!" Liam called. "Can you get me up there?"

He pointed to Zhang.

"I'll try," she called back, but before she could reach him, Liam was knocked off his feet and hit the floor—hard. He had been sideswiped by a Corkscrew Crash, and as he came back to his senses. he felt a sudden, searing pain in his left shoulder. Two students from No.1 High School were dragging him back towards the door, which only made the pain worse. Something was broken. He wasn't sure what, and it was hard even to think through the overwhelming pain. Liam tried to find Chelsea in the midst of the chaos.

"No!"

It was Chelsea's voice. Admin Zhang was bringing his boot down on the skull of a fainted Ivysaur—a Pokemon belonging to one of the students from No. 1 School. There was a look of gleeful hatred on his face—the same look Liam had seen on Jiu's. But before he could do it—before his boot even grazed the fainted Pokemon—the Team Power admin was jerked into the air by an invisible force, then slammed into the ground like a child swinging a doll.

"Never again!" shouted Chelsea. "Never again, never again, never again!"

She slammed him to the ground over and over again until his limbs flopped lifelessly and his face dripped with blood, then she threw him against the wall, where he slid down into a broken heap.

The other grunts scattered as soon as they saw what had happened to their leader. The initiates from No. 1 School helped to route them while Liam leaned against the wall, his eyes watering with pain. Mori and Vasili were checking him over. Chelsea was standing alone in the midst of the now-empty battlefield.

"Is… is he okay?" asked Chelsea. Her voice was trembling. Tobias was up on the platform, being over the admin's body.

"Life is still in him." said Tobias. "The spirit world will wait."

Chelsea sunk to her knees and started to sob. Marsha rushed to her side and help to lift her to her feet.

"I'm just like him," she choked. "I'm j-just like—."

Liam suddenly remembered something Professor Werner had said to him, back when Chelsea had first walked into the green tent and asked to join Team Virtue. "Don't nurture her anger." He hadn't nurtured Chelsea's anger—he was just as terrified as she was by what she had done. But he had nurtured his own.

"Chez…"

He tried to get up again. It hurt too much. Marsha helped Chelsea slide down against the wall beside him.

"I can't believe I did that," she said blanky. "I didn't even know I could. I just wanted him to stop. I wasn't trying to…"

"We get it," said Mori. "Seriously, I wouldn't have stopped when you did. He'd be red paste on the wall if I could—."

"Not helping, Mori," said Liam as Orchid snickered. "Well, you learned something, right? And we won. And that gothy freakshow has his gym back."

He jerked his head at Tobias, who was running his fingers lovingly over the keys of his huge electronic keyboard.

"As a gothy freakshow, I'm offended," said Mori. "Oh, and Liam, your collarbone is super broken. You're gonna need a sling. And ice. And good luck keeping up. I've still got a score to settle."

The news that Liam had a serious injury turned Chelsea's attention from her own terrifying power in an instant. With help from the No. 1 High School students and some cryptic remarks from Tobias, they managed to make Liam a sling and tape some ice that Vasilio's Amaura breathed out to the place with the most pain. It was still hard to walk—and it was almost unbelievably painful—but Liam was determined to keep moving.

"Seeya, Tobias," said Mori. "I got an old enemy I need to beat the crap out of. Make sure the paramedics aren't too gentle with the war criminal."

Tobias flashed an indulgent smile.

"May the rage and resolution of souls long passed give you strength," said Tobias, bowing with exaggerated courtesy to the leader of No.1 High School students. "Honor the ancestors. Nanzo is theirs, as well as ours."

He disappeared back into his gym.

"Coward," said Mori.

Liam snorted. It was just another confirmation of what he had always suspected: Tobias wasn't a very good gym leader.