Jack recalled his team back into the Pack and ran down to the arena; both to congratulate Ash on his astonishing victory, and to get ready for his own match which was up next. He met Ash in the hallway leading out of the arena, and the two shared an enthusiastic handshake.

"That was an amazing battle," Jack said. "It really got my blood pumping; you could say, it got me all fired up."

Ash chuckled. "Isn't that my line? Anyway, I'm glad you liked it. Paul and I have fought before, but never like this. This is also the first time I've ever beaten him, so I'm really hyped. Have you ever met Paul before?"

Jack nodded, his expression neutral. "Yeah, we've met. You know Lucy, my Absol? I won her from him."

Ash nodded. "Actually, Infernape used to be Paul's Pokémon back when it was still a Chimchar; Paul released it after it lost a battle, and I took it in. He might seem… harsh? Aloof? Apathetic? All of the above? I don't know. But deep down, he's not really. He cares about his Pokémon just like I do, even if he doesn't usually show it."

Jack nodded thoughtfully. "I'll keep that in mind. Anyway, my battle's up next. Wish me luck."

"As if you needed any," Ash shot back with a grin. "But good luck anyway. See ya."

With that Jack stepped out into the arena, and Ash walked up to sit with Dawn and Brock to watch the rest of the matches.

Jack's quarter-final match went almost as quickly as he expected, with Jason, Ivy, and Solomon wiping out their opponent's entire team in less than ten minutes flat. The other trainer did have a few nasty surprises up his sleeve, such as a Ninjask that used Substitute, Agility a bunch of times, and then Baton Pass to switch to a Smeargle. Smeargle then set up Ingrain and Belly Drum while being protected by Ninjask's Substitute, and then it too used Baton Pass; this time to switch with a powerful Hitmonchan who, with the effects of multiple Agility moves, Ingrain, and Belly Drum backing it up thanks to Baton Pass, gave even Jason a run for his money.

The fight between Jason and Hitmonchan ended with Jason the victor, but too weak to take on another opponent; so Jack sent out Ivy instead, and from then on it was smooth sailing. The trainer's other three Pokémon were strong, but not strong enough; they tried that Baton Pass chain trick again, but Jack was expecting it and didn't let them pull it off a second time.

All things considered, the battle went fairly well. Afterwards, Jack headed back to the stands to watch the remaining two matches; although the only one that actually interested him was Tobias's. The mysterious trainer once again took out his opponent's team with only Darkrai, but Jack had already figured out the strategy Tobias was using.

Darkrai's first move was almost always Dark Void and, unless its opponent was a Dark-type, Darkrai then followed up with Dream Eater; dealing massive damage, which would often one-hit-KO the other Pokémon. If Dream Eater didn't knock out its opponent in one hit, Darkrai would usually then switch to Ice Beam before repeating the process. That, combined with Darkrai's penchant for evading its opponent's attacks, was likely what had won Tobias so many battles.

Of course with that information, it wouldn't be too difficult to come up with a counter-strategy; like sending out Lucy first. But Jack was hesitant to act rashly; he'd already seen that Tobias had contingency plans for situations in which Dream Eater wouldn't work. Sending out Jason first was also an option, to try and knock Darkrai out with lightning speed and super-effective moves before it could use Dark Void.

Tobias's match was the last one of the day, so Jack had plenty of time to speculate on potential stratagems. He'd have to run them by Solomon that night and see what the resident 'master of strategy' thought.

After the daily matches were finished, Jack decided to take the scenic route back to the hotel. The sun was just setting past the horizon, painting the sky with a stunning collage of brilliant reds and oranges. Looking at the beautiful sunset filled him with determination; he was going to win the Sinnoh League.

"And find out who's stalking me," Jack muttered to himself, although it was far from an afterthought.

As he was walking, Jack heard voices behind him. Ordinarily he wouldn't have payed much attention, but he recognised one of the voices as Ash's. Turning around, Jack started walking back towards the voices. There was another one, but it was a lot quieter than Ash's and Jack couldn't quite make it out.

As he turned around the corner of the colosseum, finding himself on the road that led to Lily of the Valley Town, he realized that Ash was talking to someone who was just leaving the stadium. He was about to go and see who, when the person in question walked out from behind the row of shrubbery that lined the path. When Jack saw who it was, a million different emotions instantly started jumping around in his head; but to his own surprise, anger didn't come out on top.

"Paul," Jack said calmly, his expression staying neutral.

Paul seemed somewhat taken aback at seeing Jack there, but his surprise quickly faded into his usual poker face.

"Jack Storm," the purple haired trainer replied. "I was wondering if I'd run into you on my way out."

"I saw your match with Ash," Jack commented, not knowing what else to say. "It was close there at the end."

Paul nodded. "Yes; although looking back on it now, I can see that outcome was pretty much inevitable. Ash has a strength that I can't match; his Pokémon fight because they want to make him happy. They care about the battle just as much as he does, because he does, and they fight all the harder for it." Paul looked Jack in the eyes. "I suppose that's one thing I never really understood, although Ash did his best to teach me. And, in your own way, I guess you did too."

Jack was stunned, completely speechless. It was all he could do to keep his mouth from hanging open. He'd held hopes that Paul had changed, but he'd never imagined this. It was like talking to a completely different person.

"I still say that my training methods are my business..."

Well, maybe not completely different.

"But," Paul continued, lowering his gaze slightly as a sliver of regret slipping into his tone, "I admit that I may have been wrong to treat my Pokémon as harshly as I did."

Jack felt a stab of anger as he remembered Lucy's scars, but this time he found it a lot easier to quell.

Paul lifted his gaze back up and looked Jack in the eyes again. "We'll probably never be friends, you and I, but I… I want to ask a favor of you."

"Name it," Jack replied without thinking.

Paul's expression changed slightly; deep regret painting itself across his face, and his voice. When he spoke, Jack didn't doubt his words at all; he obviously meant every one.

"The next time you talk to... to Lucy, tell her I'm sorry for what I did to her. Tell her that I'll never treat anyone else like that again, I promise."

Jack was suddenly very conscious of the fact that Lucy, as well as the rest of his team, were still in the device on his back; and with the snake-cam/microphone still poking over his shoulder, they might very well have seen and heard everything. Thomas controlled what they could see and hear from inside the Pack, so there was a chance that they had no idea what was going on; but he wasn't sure whether or not he'd actually prefer that they stayed ignorant.

Jack was about to say… something, although he had no idea what, when there was a bright flash of light from inside his backpack. The light flowed out and solidified in front of him and, even before the light faded and he could see again, Jack knew exactly who it was.

"Paul," the Absol said gently, tears in her eyes.

"Why not tell her yourself?" Jack asked, pretending that he'd orchestrated Lucy's appearance.

The guilt on Paul's face intensified as he looked at the Pokémon he'd once trained half to death, and then lost to Jack in a battle. Paul tried to say something, but the words seemed to stick in his throat. Jack was once again struck with how much Paul had changed since they last met; the old Paul would never have shown his emotions this freely.

"Lucy," Paul managed to say, "I…"

Lucy turned to Jack. "Tell him."

"What… what did she say?" Paul asked fearfully.

Jack looked at Paul; the person he'd hated with a burning passion for so long. Now though, that person was gone and in his place was a trainer who would never do what the old Paul had done. A trainer who honestly wanted to be better. As Jack said the words, he realized that he was speaking for himself just as much as Lucy.

"I forgive you."

Paul stared at Jack for a second, then he realized what those words meant. The trainer's expression changed to one of astonishment, and his eyes started to tear up. He looked back down at Lucy, and sank down to his knees. Lucy walked over to her former trainer and, approaching from the right to avoid her scythe getting in the way, nuzzled his face with the side of her head.

Paul could barely comprehend what was happening, but Jack knew that Lucy was giving the Absol equivalent of a hug. As Paul realized what the gesture meant, that Lucy really had forgiven him, he tentatively wrapped his arms around her and gently returned the embrace. Lucy continued to nuzzle him as tears flowed down the trainer's cheeks and an innocent, almost child-like joy spread across his face.

"Thank you," Paul said quietly, his voice muffled by Lucy's thick fur. "Thank you, Lucy."

Jack wiped a tear from his own eye as he watched the touching scene. Although he had no intention of giving him a hug, Jack found that he had forgiven Paul; completely.

Once Paul's tears had run dry, he stood up and faced Jack again. His expression had once again settled into his natural poker-face. Devoid of any emotion except for a faint hint of a smile, which he couldn't quite erase, playing at the corners of his mouth.

"Thank you for taking such good care of Lucy, Jack," Paul said. "I'm glad she's happy with you. I hope we cross paths again some day. And… I look forward to having a real battle with you. Especially if you end up winning the Sinnoh League."

"You're not going to stay and watch the rest of the tournament?" Jack asked, as Lucy trotted back over to his side.

Paul shook his head. "There's no point. It'll be on every news channel about a hundred times a day anyway. And I've got to get back to my brother's house, to see the rest of my Pokémon; and he'll probably want a battle as well when I get there."

"Alright then," Jack replied. "Good luck. I hope we see each other again some day too. Who knows, maybe we could be friends after all."

Paul chuckled cynically. "Now you're starting to sound like Ash. Anyway, see ya."

With that, Paul turned around and walked away into the sunset leaving Jack and Lucy staring after him. After a while of standing there, watching the trainer's retreating form, Jack and Lucy turned around as well and walked back to the hotel in silence; neither wanting to spoil the moment by speaking.

As they walked, Jack put his right hand on Lucy's head; feeling her brace up against his hand as he started scratching her in the special spot right behind her scythe. Jack knew how much she loved to be scratched there, and he felt she'd earned it, What she'd just done was the most beautiful things he'd ever seen. This was a moment Jack wanted to treasure forever, until his dying day.