Pride of Your Soul

by grey0716

Nate is a cynical thief who can understand Pokemon and believes that there is no such thing as 'good' in humanity. Rosa is an arrogant, aspiring trainer who believes that she will become the next champion. The world decides to give these two a reality check. Sequel to Color of Your Soul; a loose adaptation of Pokemon Black and White 2.

12. 12: Her Melancholy and Reality

Pride of Your Soul

Chapter 12: Her Melancholy and Reality

---

AN: Well a lot of you wanted to see Rosa get her own chapter. Fortunately for you all, that was what was next on the agenda. Well at least the majority of this chapter is basically centered around her.

Visorshippers rejoice, I give you some hope. Which can be interpreted into pure sadism on my part since I'm basically dancing on both sides right now and not giving a clear answer yet. It's also very, very long and has a cameo that genwunners might like.

Alright, time for reviews since I don't have a lot of time right now:

Tony Anderson: Thanks! Perhaps this chapter might be even more intense.

Defender31415: Well, Plasma kinda did capture both the Swords and the genies back in Color of Your Soul. They just made the smart choice and not let go of them for the past two years. And Zoro and Luca? Idk we'll cross that bridge when it happens.

Knight of Wings: Yeah a lot of shit happened last chapter. As for Yancy's newly expanded role in this story? Well you're gonna have to wait and see. And you're also gonna have to wait and see why Nate claims that his family abandoned him. And yes, I do plan to evolve electabuzz/magmar even further, it would only be natural, although personally I consider Magmortar a very powerful Fire-type tbh. And what will Hugh do now that he's no longer a blind vengeance-seeker? Who knows.

TheDarkMaster4000: Oh yes, if you were here in Color of Your Soul, then you would know I gave Team Plasma many, many, many buffs, one of them including a heavily buffed Shadow Triad. And yeah, Nate's starting to open up a lot more, even considering Hugh a friend. Huh, now I can actually see how you can relate to Nate (I thought you actually figured out the entirety of his character), and that makes sense.

And yes, I know I need to spell-check these things. In my defense, I do. I always spell-check and grammar-check my stuff before I upload them. HOWEVER, I am not perfect. I will end up overlooking some flaws here and there, so it would be really helpful for all of you if you could point out any grammatical errors I made so that I can fix them. Doesn't help that the majority of the time I upload these chapters at like friggin 1 AM, and I am dead tired by then and probably not in the best state of mind and concentration. I would hire a beta, but, then again I'd rather work alone on my own schedule.

Anonymous Trainer: Yeah, I found that part funny too.

I. M. Poik: Yep, Nite is so innocent, and Yancy went AWOL, and considering how Nate is working for Kyurem, I'd figure he wouldn't consider trying to capture him and have an empty slot for one more member, in this case being Zoro.

Pale1357: Well maybe, assuming shit hits the fan enough.

BreadNotDead: Well welcome then! And thanks for finding the time to review! An interesting point you make, yes he can be compared to Lack-Two; although Nate's far more of a jackass. And I can see why you prefer Nate with Yancy over Rosa, given your reasoning (personal preferences aside). And aww, you flatter me. :)

kanrisha-san: Oh, don't worry. Nate may look overpowered as of now, but there is always going to be someone above him. And you too? Man, I guess Nate and Lack-Two do have their similarities. Yeah, I can see the similarities in both of them, but arguably they both contrast each other more than they have similarities; one being a maniacal megalomaniac seeking a world purge, while the other being an undercover cop that seems to only care about the job above all. Arguably Nate is a lot more hot-headed and more cryptic, while Lack-Two is more level-headed and more secretive. And you want more Rosa? Here, have more Rosa.

ADUAN II: Well thanks! Yeah, I like to try and take a different take in characters, especially the protagonists, who are essentially blank slates. And with Yancy added to the group, there will be some new interactions and changes, you can rest assured.

Zeffron aquille: Okay I did not say 'don't make suggestions'. What I am saying is YES! ELABORATE. If you did, then none of this would happen in the first place. What? The reviews seem too small?

...Okay that is complete and utter bullshit, especially when the majority of the people who reviewed before you made reviews that are literally twice or triple the size of your review. And you ACTUALLY can't say the review option is too small, when Eris's chapter 9 review is sitting within the reviews, looking like a FUCKING MONOLITH compared to the others. You're actually just not trying hard enough.

If on the off hand you were trolling me this whole, and I just happened to not notice until now, then get the fuck out. I have little tolerance for trolls.

Guest (Mar 12): Well, this chapter is like 80% Rosa-centric, if that counts.

Bob guest: Well welcome aboard. It's kinda flattering that your buddy recommended my stories to you ^^' but I'm glad you like them and are enjoying them. Although for what Yancy wears on the bottom, I'd go with a blue skirt that matches her long sleeves, if that helps.

Alright, let's get started already.

---

Rosa glowered. She missed out on a lot yesterday.

As the group ate dinner last night, Nate had revealed that a faction of Team Plasma, known as the 'Shadow Triad', is on the move. To make matters worse, they're apparently armed with the Forces of Nature: Tornadus, Thundurus, and Landorus, and the Swords of Justice: Cobalion, Terrakion, and Virizion. When inquired about how the trio ended up obtaining such power, Rood revealed that Team Plasma had captured the Forces of Nature two years ago, manipulating Hilbert Warren, who had encountered them, to weaken them enough so that one of their own, Giallo, could capture them. Giallo then at some point handed them over to the Shadow Triad, whom used them to overwhelm the former Striaton City Gym Leaders, who had been nursing an injured Keldeo–no Deo, and used the injured colt to lure out Cobalion, Terrakion and Virizion. The triad captured the Swords using a special kind of pokéball; presumably developed by Colress.

"The 'Plasma Ball', if I recall," Rood explained. "A unique pokéball based off the elusive 'Master Ball'; it has a guaranteed capture rate, and whatever is captured is then subjugated to hypnotic waves to the brain, controlling them against their will."

Once the mission was successful, the Triad had enlisted the legendary Pokémon into their parties, and used the Swords to fend off Hilbert and his group when they were at Team Plasma's castle during the Plasma Raid. To their shock, Nate was also a participant of the event, having tracked down Team Plasma. He wouldn't reveal his motives, but apparently revealed that he, along with Luca, Brav and Deo, were able to fend off the Triad long enough to allow Hilbert to heal from a devastating wound, and managed to slice off Ghetsis's arm. Before Nate could do any further, Colress had apparently intervened, along with his new project: "Genesect". Colress used said project to aid Ghetsis in escaping, while the Shadow Triad had disappeared, until now, when they attacked Nate and Hugh in Route 6.

Whatever their motives were hadn't been revealed, but fortunately they left midway; but not without demonstrating the power they possessed.

And apparently during that, Nate managed to snap Hugh out of his rage problems; allowing her childhood friend to be able to see things without being blinded by his seething rage. It was revealed that the Shadow Triad had been the ones to steal Hugh's little sister, Val's Purrloin five years ago, and it is now a liepard under their control. Hugh had lost all meaning to his journey and fell into despair shortly, until Nate managed to snap him out of it. She had to thank him for that. Hugh's obsession for hunting down Team Plasma wasn't good for his health. She wanted to do something about it, but he didn't listen to her. Hopefully Hugh can now find a new purpose for the journey, and have a clear mindset.

But at the same time, she felt a bit jealous. Jealous that Nate of all people managed to snap Hugh out of his blind anger problems when she had tried to for so long, but eventually gave up to the boy's stubbornness. She knew it was wrong of her to feel that, but she couldn't help it. They only knew him for a month at best, and Nate already showed better results than she had.

...Come to think of it, they never did learn about Nate's motives. Sure he agreed to travel with them to help with the pokédex (against his own will, due to the circumstances of their initial meeting), but he had implied that he had other goals. He knows their goals, but they don't know his. From what he implied throughout their journey, it must have something to do with Team Plasma, but to what extent, they don't know.

The boy was a walking enigma.

Which is why watching him as his newly obtained Keldeo go through the Driftveil Gym Leader Clay's team like a hot knife through butter was terrifying in its own right.

Currently they (Rosa and Hugh) went to go challenge the Driftveil City Gym, which happened to be located not too far from the Old Team Plasma's safehouse. The gym leader, Clay, was a somewhat portly man with a scowl on his face that meant business. 'Give and take' was his motto: as he agreed to their gym challenge on the condition that they helped him out with a project of his. Due to there being three of them versus only him, Clay decided that they did a three v one; akin to when they challenged Roxie; they each sent out one member against three of Clay's members in a one on one style match.

Hugh went first; where he tested out his newest member; Heracross. Against the part Dark-type Krookodile, the Heracles beetle proved to be able to handle the competition, having relative ease against the croc. Rosa expected no less of Hugh; the boy was a strong trainer after all; and having the type advantage, no matter what Professor Cheren had said, did help.

The second round went with Nate, who sent out Deo, against Clay's Seismitoad. The toad was surprisingly nimble and fast, being able to keep up with Deo's swift strikes and agile footwork, but the colt was able to quickly gain the offensive momentum; thanks to a combination of Nate's quick thinking and brutal strategies, and Deo's sheer ferocity. Backed by Nate's commands and strategizing, the colt brutally gained momentum and pressured the toad. It was honestly frightening to see Nate like this. Sure she said that she wanted to capture Deo, but honestly he fit Nate much more than with her. Those two were alike. They both had looks that could murder.

"Tch! Bulldoze!" Clay grunted.

Seismitoad jumped back and slammed his fist into the ground, causing it to shake. Deo managed to avoid it by releasing water from his hooves, allowing him to hover above the ground, therefore being unaffected by the Bulldoze.

"Now, Hydro Pump at his knees, then bring him down with Sacred Sword!" Nate yelled.

Deo snarled as he rushed at Seismitoad, shooting Hydro Pump at the knees. The attack managed to injure the toad's knees, forcing him to crouch in pain. Deo then slammed his sword down upon the toad's head, smashing him into the ground. Absolutely ruthless. The colt gave Seismitoad no window of opportunity to recover, as he mercilessly smashed his hoof onto his head, making sure that the toad was knocked out.

"Well, that was pretty violent," Clay sighed as he recalled Seismitoad, before giving the brunette a smirk. "Ya sure yer Hilbert's little bro? You're way more violent than he was when he challenged me."

"Meh, I get that a lot," Nate shrugged as Deo returned to his side. "Nice job, by the way, Deo."

"-Hmph, that was too easy,-" Deo scoffed.

"Curious, how was Hilbert when he fought you, compared to me?" Nate asked Clay.

"Hilbert? Hm...Well ta' be honest, yer a lot better than he was when he challenged me," Clay admitted. "He was hella reckless; same with his team members. They were obviously weaker than mine; yet the boy was so damn determined. His archen evolved during its fight against my excadrill and it won him the match though. He was backed into a corner, yet he somehow managed to power his way through."

"Hm...is that so..." Nate said.

"Hm...ya both are damn fun to fight," Clay admitted. "The boy with his determination and recklessness and ability to adapt quickly, versus you with yer brute strength and cunning, along with a legendary Pokémon to boot; ya both have yer own style of fightin'. And frankly they're both hella entertaining."

Nate studied Clay, before shrugging and recalling Deo and heading back to their side.

"Nice job, Nate," Yancy congratulated, walking up to Nate.

"Thanks," Nate replied, his expression softening slightly. "Eh, that was actually pretty easy. Then again, I was using Deo."

Rosa slightly scowled at the pinkette. That still got on her nerves somewhat. While she did get to know Yancy last night and decided that she was quite possibly one of the nicest and friendliest (and not to mention adorable) persons she ever met, she couldn't help but scowl whenever Yancy fawned over Nate like a love-struck cheerleader. Made even worse since Nate actually returned some of her affection with rare kindness; sure there was the usual teasing and trolling from the brunette, but compared to his treatment to herself, he treated Yancy with much more delicacy.

"You used a legendary against him," Hugh pointed out. "You would have the edge regardless."

"Hey I wanted to test him out," Nate defended. "It's not like I could send out Buzz or Nite in a Ground-type gym."

"You could've used Zoro."

"True...meh, I wanted to use Deo."

"Alrighty!" Clay yelled. "Who's left? While y'all scored two wins and'll get the badge, might as well let the last challenger get some action!"

"Sounds like your cue," Nate said to Rosa, snapping her out of her thoughts.

"Right..." Rosa mumbled.

"Hm? What's wrong with you?" Nate asked. "Usually you'd be all giddy."

"S-Sorry, I have a lot on my mind right now," Rosa managed to respond.

"? Is that so," Nate mumbled. "Anyways, get out there already."

"Right," Rosa muttered as she headed to the battlefield.

"Good luck out there, Rosa," Yancy smiled, cheering her on.

"Th-Thanks..." Rosa said back, making sure to hide the scowl her eyes from the smiling pinkette.

"Well now missy, yer my last opponent," Clay smirked, taking out a pokéball. "Yer friends showed me quite the brawls. Let's see if yer capable of the same kind of quality."

Rosa glared at the gym leader as she released Ottavia. Now wasn't the time to dwell into melancholy. She needed to beat her battle. She could do this. If they could do it, then so can she. She is the future champion in the making after all.

She would prove to herself that she was just as strong as them.

---

"Oh? A dewott," Clay commented as he released a dark brown mole with diagonal red splotches with sharp metal claws.

Rosa leered at the mole. She recognized this Pokémon. It was an excadrill. One of Hilbert's Pokémon he used during his journey. A Ground/Steel type possessing great raw power and decent bulk thanks to its coveted Steel-typing. One of its signature tactics was setting up Sandstorm, so it could activate either Sand Rush, which doubles its speed to extreme amounts, or Sand Force, boosting its Ground, Steel and Rock-type moves to staggering levels. The most common ability seen on excadrills on a competitive level, however, was Sand Rush, due to its sharp increase in speed accompanied by Excadrill's already sky-high power.

"It's been a while since I've fought a dewott," Clay said as Excadrill sharpened his claws. "Last time was against Hilbert, if I reckon..."

"Razor Shell!"

Ottavia brandished her two blades and lunged at Excadrill, who quickly parried them with his own claws.

"...Straight to the point, eh?" Clay muttered, before snickering. "Alright then, lemme return the favor!"

Excadrill pushed Ottavia back and lunged his claw at her.

"Revenge!"

Ottavia parried the claw and smashed her blade into Excadrill's gut, causing the mole to recoil.

"Now Water Pulse!" Rosa yelled.

Ottavia jumped back and shot a Water Pulse at the recoiling Excadrill. The mole managed to recover in time to avoid it however. Excadrill then whiffed his claw upwards, sending dirt straight at Ottavia, forcing her to guard.

"Revenge, again!"

"Metal Claw!"

Ottavia tried to strike Excadrill down, but the mole saw it coming, and met her attack with his own claws, catching her paw between his claws. Excadrill then proceeded to slam Ottavia onto the ground harshly.

"-Agh!-" Ottavia grunted in pain as she bounced off the ground.

"Now, Bulldoze!" Clay yelled as Ottavia landed back onto the ground.

Ottavia tried to get back up, only for Excadrill to slam his claws onto the ground, causing the field to shake violently and making her lose her balance and hurting herself.

"Stop it with Water Pulse, quick!" Rosa cried frantically.

Ottavia tried to aim a Water Pulse at Excadrill, but the violently shaking ground kept her at bay, unable to shoot anything at the mole.

"Havin' trouble there lil' lady?" Clay sneered, causing her to glare at him.

Ottavia gritted her teeth as she got back up, and then hurled one of her shells at Excadrill. The shell hit Excadrill on the head, making him flinch and stopping his attack.

"Now, Razor Shell!"

Ottavia grabbed her other shell and lunged for Excadrill as the mole recovered, slashing him with her blue blade and sending the mole back to Clay.

"Oh, so ya got some game in ya, eh?" Clay asked as Excadrill got back up, the shell that Ottavia hurled at him in between his claws. "Alright then. This outta be more fun!"

Excadrill crushed the shell in between his claws into small pieces, as Ottavia brought her remaining blade up.

"Sandstorm!"

Excadrill swiped his claws onto the ground, unleashing a savage sandstorm to flood the arena.

"Oh no..." Rosa muttered, knowing what the gym leader was planning to do.

Ottavia glanced around frantically, trying to spot the mole in the sandstorm.

"Metal Claw!"

The mole shot out from the sandstorm like a bullet, slashing at Ottavia at a blistering speed before disappearing back into the sandstorm. Ottavia grunted in pain as she withstood the Metal Claw, only for another one to strike behind her, making her collapse to her knee.

"Ottavia!" Rosa cried.

"Hehe! What're ya gonna do now?" Clay asked smugly.

Rosa gritted her teeth as she could only watch as Ottavia endure the onslaught Excadrill was unleashing.

'I have to do something...' Rosa thought. "Ottavia! Try to sense where Excadrill's going to strike next!"

"-R-Right...-" Ottavia mumbled, before kneeling to the ground, closing her eyes to concentrate.

The otter placed her hand on the ground, blocking out all sound but the raging sandstorm. Slowly, but surely, she could hear the earth shaking slightly, until the tremoring sound grew louder and louder. Ottavia quickly turned to where the sound was coming from and readied her Razor Shell. As Excadrill lunged out, Ottavia slammed her blade against the mole, causing it to go into a crash course into another side of the field, while the force of the collision caused Ottavia's remaining shell to break.

"Quickly, Water Pulse!" Rosa yelled frantically.

As Excadrill began to recover, Ottavia quickly shot a Water Pulse at him before the Ground-type could recover fully, blasting him with a powerful Water Pulse and blasting him into the wall. Excadrill slid off the wall, unconscious. Ottavia, panting, smiled, before collapsing herself.

---

"Man oh man..." Clay muttered, before grinning. "It feels good to go all out and still be defeated!"

Rosa rushed over to Ottavia, picking her up as Clay recalled Excadrill.

"Are you alright?" Rosa asked.

Ottavia grudgingly opened her eyes, giving Rosa a weak smile.

"-I-I'm alright...-" Ottavia groaned quietly.

Everyone else walked up to Rosa as she recalled Ottavia.

"You alright there?" Hugh asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Rosa said.

"That was awesome though," Yancy said. "You really are strong, Rosa."

"Thanks," Rosa smiled, although it didn't reach her eyes.

Nate glowered at the bunhead slightly, noticing her somewhat fake smile. He was about to say something, until Clay walked up to them.

"Y'all really somethin'," Clay smirked. "Li'l whippersnapper trainers who pack a real punch keep showing up one after another. Y'all deserve this."

Clay took out three badges and three TM discs and tossed one to Nate, Hugh and Rosa, making sure they each got a badge and a TM.

"The Quake Badge," Clay said. "That's yer fifth badge, I reckon? If that's so, then there's three more ta' go. And the Tm contains Bulldoze. Think of it like a weaker Earthquake with the handy side effect of lowering the target's speed."

"Alright," Rosa muttered as they put the badges and discs away.

"Hm...Maybe...oh what the hell I suppose it wouldn't hurt," Clay muttered.

"What wouldn't hurt?" Yancy asked.

"Well you three are good enough, I suppose," Clay said.

With that, the man went over and pushed a button on a nearby podium, where the entire field was suddenly propelled upwards like an elevator until they ended up in the lobby.

"These gyms keep getting weirder and weirder I swear," Nate grumbled under his breath.

"Ya think so? I kinda like it," Clay grinned. "A lot more interestin' than last year's gym."

Everyone went out of the gym, where Clay stepped ahead and pointed out to a gate south of the city.

"Alright, go heal up yer Pokémon at the center and meet up with me at the south gate!" Clay commanded. "I got somethin' ta' show y'all, and I guarantee it'll be worthwhile!"

With that, Clay went on ahead, leaving the foursome to their own business.

"You think we should listen to him?" Hugh asked.

"Might as well," Nate shrugged. "C'mon."

Nate led the way, with the others following. Rosa, meanwhile, glanced down to Ottavia's pokéball.

"Oh yeah, Bunhead," Nate addressed Rosa. "Dunno if you know, but Ottavia's shells are gonna take at least a day to grow back like fingernails. So I suggest you bench her for the rest of the day"

"Ah...right..." Rosa mumbled.

"Hm? What's wrong with you?" Nate asked.

"What? Nothing, nothing's wrong," Rosa shot back.

"...If you say so," Nate replied skeptically, looking back ahead.

As Yancy and Hugh decided to chat up with Nate, Rosa glanced down to Ottavia's pokéball, a rather sour expression on her face.

She barely won.

Ottavia fainted soon after she defeated Excadrill. The only reason she was able to even beat that excadrill was because Ottavia was able to predict where it was going to strike. If she hadn't, then she would've been good as done for. The fight even cost her both her scalchops; making her unable to fight properly for the rest of the day until they grow back, essentially placing a handicap on her.

Nate and Hugh fared far better than she did; even if they didn't face presumably his strongest member, and they had far stronger Pokémon at their disposal during their fights; Nate especially.

...They were getting upgrades to their teams such as new evolutions and new members joining their parties; Nate already has a full team; and four of them were fully-evolved, with Nite and Kid–no, Buzz, not too far from evolving once more. Hugh wasn't too far away either; he was only one team member away from a full party, and Vibrava's already a Flygon. It was because of Flygon they even managed to beat Elesa back then.

She glanced back up as she watched Yancy talk to Nate with that same blush on her face yet again. And Hugh was acting more 'buddy-buddy' towards him too. Okay, Hugh being more friendly towards Nate wasn't bugging her too much, but for some reason Yancy taking his attention away from her did.

Wait, what? Never mind.

At this rate, she would fall behind...and not keep up and be left behind...

...No, she still won. That was what was important.

She was still strong. She wouldn't let Nate or Hugh or anyone one-up her.

She would prove it to them all.

---

After the group healed up their Pokémon, they headed to the south gate, where Clay was waiting for them there.

"Alright then, yer all here," Clay nodded, before he led them through the gate. "So, any of y'all heard of the 'Pokémon World Tournament'?"

"Ah, yes," Yancy replied. "A facility built last year in place of the Cold Storage, trainers from across the world come to compete against one another to see who is the strongest."

"That's right, young lass," Clay replied. "Trainers from across the world come to see who's the toughest."

The group were led by Clay out of the gate, where they were greeted to a large opening, full of several stands being attended do by many people. Clay then led them to the main attraction; a gigantic building with several flashing blue lights and several flags adorned on it.

"So what do ya think? Great building huh?" Clay asked. "Here's where the Pokémon World Tournament is being held. Ain't she purty?"

"Wow..." Hugh replied.

"This is...actually impressive..." Nate agreed; the strange building somewhat foreign to him.

"Follow me, tads!" Clay exclaimed as he headed in.

As the group followed Clay, Nate was a bit too busy glossing over the building to notice.

"Uh...excuse me..."

As he noticed the others leave and was about to follow them, someone tapped on his shoulder, stopping him dead is his tracks. A sharp dreadful feeling surged through Nate, making his eyes widen in alarm as he suddenly shot towards whoever was behind him, moving back slightly and hands on his knives, ready to be brandished.

The perpetrator was a tall, slim man, with pale black hair, wearing a red and white cap and sharp red eyes in a rather mellow, curious expression. He also wore a red sleeveless jacket with a white collar and stripe, black undershirt that was visible from the opening in his jacket, a yellow back pack, and baggy blue jeans with black, red and white running shoes that looked worn out. On his shoulder laid a peculiar yellow mouse with long ears and red cheeks, staring at Nate curiously.

"Uh...C-Can I help you...?" Nate asked cautiously. The pressure the man and his Pokémon was giving off was outright crushing him.

"Do you happen to know where I could get some cotton candy...?" the man asked somewhat quietly.

"C-Cotton candy...?" Nate asked skeptically, where the man nodded.

"I'm participating in a tournament later on, so I wanted to have some before I had to go participate," the man explained calmly. "But I can't seem to find a stand that sold any..."

"I-I see..." Nate muttered. "Sorry pal, but I just got here too. A friend showed me this place. I wouldn't really know where they sold food here."

"Oh, I see," the man said, somewhat downcast, but sported a small smile. "Thanks anyways."

"-Tch, damn it, he doesn't know where the cotton candy is,-" the mouse muttered.

Nate shifted his eyes to the mouse as he heard its response, which the man noticed.

"You can understand Pikachu?" the man asked.

'Shit,' Nate thought to himself, realizing that he somehow let his ability potentially slip and be known. "Y-You could say that...I'm surprised you can tell."

"I know a person who has a similar ability," the man replied. "...Say, are you a trainer too?"

"...And what if I was...?" Nate asked cautiously, slowly reaching for Luca's pokéball.

"There you are!"

Oh great now what?

Both trainers looked to see another new figure. The man was around the red-cladded man's age, who had light skin, blue eyes, and light auburn spiky hair. The man wore a black leather jacket, a black belt around his waist, khaki pants and black shoes.

"Damn it, Red, finally found you," the new man groaned.

"Oh, hey Blue," the red-cladded man, 'Red', replied.

"'Oh, hey Blue', my ass!" the other man, 'Blue', shot back. "Seriously, I leave my sight off of you for a minute, and you already wander off on your own! You know how worried Yellow and Leaf are right now?! And more importantly, you know how ready they were to kick my ass for losing you?!"

"Sorry..." Red glumly replied.

"For Arceus' sake man...just at least tell us when you plan to disappear on your own," Blue grumbled. "You practically gave Yellow a heart attack. Lemme guess, cotton candy?"

Red nodded in response in some guilt, while Pikachu sneered at Blue, the auburn-haired man simply scoffing at the mouse's expression.

"C'mon, let's regroup with Leaf and Yellow, and then we'll appease that bottomless glutton you call a stomach," Blue said sternly, grabbing Red by the collar and dragging him away, but not before noticing Nate. "Oh yeah, sorry 'bout him. He's kind of an airhead sometimes. Hope he didn't bother you too much."

"Uh-N-No, no, not at all," Nate insisted.

"Hey..." Red said before Blue could drag him off. "What's your name...?"

"Huh? Uh...N-Nate..." Nate reluctantly introduced himself.

"Nate, huh..." Red repeated the name to himself, before smiling. "My name's Red. If we ever do run into each other again, let's battle, alright?"

"S-Sure..." Nate muttered uncomfortably.

"Alright, let's go already," Blue grumbled, dragging Red off.

Once the two men were out of sight, Nate faltered slightly, before regaining his balance, shuddering extremely. The pressure they both gave off was unlike any other. It was a vehement pressure befitting of the likes of Kyurem.

"Who the fuck were they...?" Nate muttered.

"Nate~?" Yancy called out from the entrance.

Nate looked up to see the others waiting for him at the entrance. Shaking off the shudders, the boy raced up to them as they proceeded into the building.

"Are you alright?" Yancy asked concerned. "You look like you've seen a ghost..."

"What was taking you so long?" Hugh asked.

"Oh, it was nothing..." Nate muttered back. "Just...happened to see something...'interesting'...to say the least..."

---

Red glanced to Pikachu, who glanced back at him curiously.

"Hm...To think we'd run into someone other than Yellow who can understand you..." Red said as he scratched underneath Pikachu's mouth, causing him to squeal in delight.

"The hell're you talking about?" Blue asked.

"That boy, Nate..." Red replied. "...He's interesting...he was fully prepared to unleash his own Pokémon on me with one move...he even had a knife on him ready to use to attack me..."

Red stared blankly at Blue.

"...He was afraid of me," Red said. "That much I could tell."

"...Well considering your reputation and background," Blue responded. "Anyone would be intimidated by you."

"...However," Red said. "...He has potential. I want to fight him..."

Blue glanced to Red, noticing his red eyes. They were filled with a fiery, nostalgic determination.

"...Tch, battle-crazed moron," Blue muttered. "It's a wonder how Yellow can keep you in check sometimes. But still...to think a random trainer could get you this interested..."

Blue couldn't help but smirk.

"Wonder if he could prove to be as much of a challenge as the hero-wannabe Ethan."

---

The group entered the main building, where it was bustling with trainers of all kinds, with Pokémon of all kinds. Several trainers were lined up at counters, presumably registering for something.

"Wow..." Rosa said, awestruck at the sheer amount of potential participants. "You weren't kidding. That's a lot of trainers."

"Ain't it?" Clay asked. "Now, I want the three of ya to participate in the Driftveil Tournament."

"The three of you...?" Yancy asked.

"Dontcha worry, you don't have to participate," Clay assured Yancy. "You can act as the brunette's cheerleader. Pretty sure you'd like that."

Yancy's face heated up, while Nate leered at Clay, who wasn't fazed in the slightest and gave an amused grin in return.

"Anyways, it's a set tournament of 32 trainers. You can pick any member from yer teams, but there's gonna be a catch." Clay explained. "The first two rounds is a one v one, ya pick a member and beat the opposing side, and from quarterfinals it's gonna be a three v three. You can pick three from yer party, and you can change them throughout each round, but you can only use up to three."

"Seems reasonable enough," Hugh said.

"So this is why you wanted us here too."

The group turned to see some surprisingly familiar faces; namely Cheren, Bianca, Roxie, and Iris.

"The hell?" Nate asked. "What're you all doing here?"

"Apparently acting as guinea pigs for Clay's tournament," Cheren muttered bitterly. "I'm busy looking into something, you know!"

"Now, now, Cheren," Bianca insisted. "Clay needed our help, so we might as well reply in spades. Besides, you need a break from all the work too, y'know."

Cheren glared at Bianca, but sighed in defeat.

"Ugh, fine..." Cheren sighed.

"That's the spirit!" Clay laughed. "Although it's been a while since I've seen you two. Why, you two grown since the last time I've seen ya."

"Well, two years would do that," Bianca said sheepishly.

"Now if only he was here, then we'd be set..." Clay mused rather melancholically.

Cheren and Bianca looked down rather solemnly, while Nate glared at them menacingly.

"Professor Cheren!" Rosa and Hugh gasped, catching their attention.

"It's been a while though," Cheren replied, his expression lighter now. "I hope you've all been doing well with your expeditions."

"To a degree, yes..." Nate replied for them. "Curious though, you sure it's alright to be here? Last time I checked, you're the gym leader and a teacher at that academy."

"I had Professor Juniper convince the higher-ups to give Cheren a vacation," Bianca chimed in. "So it's alright!"

"Uh huh..." Nate mumbled, glancing at the two, before glancing to Roxie and Iris. "So what's your excuse? Dunno about Dragon-girl over there, but pretty sure you were in the same boat of responsibilities as Cowlick over there."

"You got Clay to thank for that," Roxie replied, eyeing Yancy critically as she talked to Nate. "He vouched for me to get a small break so that I could participate in his tournament. Apparently he wanted 'youths' to show the crowd the joys of Pokémon battling. Now then...you mind...?"

Roxie quickly grabbed Nate and then Yancy and moved away from the others, where no one can hear them.

"Alright 'Nancy'," Roxie said, arms crossed. "Spill the beans. What're you doing with Wild Boy over here?"

"U-Uh...w-well you see..." Yancy mumbled uneasily.

"Wait, what's the big deal?" Nate asked.

"...You know her secret, right?" Roxie asked.

"Yeah, why?" Nate asked.

"You've seen the news lately?" Roxie asked as she fiddled with her Xtransceiver.

"The news?"

Roxie brought up an article and showed it to Nate, letting the boy go through it, noting the bold title:

Rising Pop Idol Nancy went missing!

"...Oh Yance~," Nate said, getting the pinkette's dread. "Care to explain this one?"

"W-Well I..." Yancy began to blubber, panicking internally.

"I also got a call from Curtis," Roxie added. "He's looking for you too. Your old man's pissed off too."

"...Well, you see..." Yancy had difficulty explaining herself.

"You ran away, didn't you?" Nate asked.

"U-Uh huh..." Yancy nodded in shame.

"And why...?" Roxie asked.

Yancy tried to say something, but couldn't find herself saying anything. She just lowered her head in shame, hiding her guilty expression underneath her hat. Nate glared at Yancy, before letting out a sigh, scratching the back of his head.

"Fine...if you don't want to spill it now, then fine," Nate groaned.

Both girls looked up to Nate in surprise.

"Really?" Yancy asked.

"You serious?" Roxie asked incredulously.

"Look at her, Punk Girl," Nate said. "She's a friggin trainwreck right now. Look I'm sure she has her reasons, and I'll make her explain, but for now, if she doesn't want to say anything, then why force her?"

"Nate..." Yancy said, touched that he was defending her.

"But..." Roxie tried to protest.

"Look, can you keep a secret?" Nate asked. "You're her friend too, right? Then do her a solid and keep this a secret from her old man and this Curtis guy. I promise I'll explain whatever I can get from her to you later."

Roxie had a conflicted expression on her face. She wanted to object; but seeing her best friend's pleading expression, and the boy's solemn one as he asked her for this; she couldn't help but sigh in defeat like Cheren and Nate just did.

"I'm gonna regret this one day..." Roxie grumbled. "But fine, your secret's safe with me."

As soon as she said that, Yancy went up and hugged her tightly.

"Thank you thank you thank you!" Yancy squealed.

"Just...don't do anything stupid..." Roxie grumbled, although it was fairly soft.

"Of course..." Yancy replied.

Nate glanced at Yancy critically. He wondered what happened that one night that prompt her to leave so unexpectedly to the point of it making regional news.

---

Meanwhile, Hugh noticed Iris and walked up to her.

"Oh, hi Hugh! Long time no see!" Iris exclaimed happily.

"Didn't expect to see you here," Hugh commented.

"Yep, Old Man Clay over there asked me to participate in this tournament of his," Iris explained.

"Is that so..." Hugh muttered.

From what little they interacted, Iris had proven herself to be an extremely capable trainer; her haxorus was able to take on Colress's Metagross when they confronted him at Castelia Sewers, when the three of them combined barely managed to deal with Colress's Magnezone. She even gave him Tirtouga, meaning she was capable of finding rare Pokémon on her own.

Iris would prove to be a formidable foe.

"Say, how is that tirtouga doing anyways?" Iris decided to ask. "Oh and that cute Vibrava you had as well."

"Oh them?" Hugh asked as he released Tirtouga and Flygon in response.

Iris widened her eyes at Flygon, before glomping on the dragon.

"OH MY GOD! HE EVOLVED!" Iris squealed. "He looks so awesome! And I betcha he's SO much stronger now too!"

Flygon couldn't help but blush from the sudden glomp and praise, albeit a tad bit uncomfortable. The last memory he had of this girl was her suddenly tickling and fondling him. Once Iris was done glomping Flygon, Iris glanced down to Tirtouga, who glanced back at her.

"Hey there, lil' guy," Iris smiled. "How've you been doing?"

Tirtouga simply shrugged, giving off a lazy smile.

"He looks a lot happier than the last time I saw him," Iris nodded. "Looks like I was right in trusting him with you."

"Yeah, Tirtouga's been a great member," Hugh agreed. "He helped me beat Burgh."

"That's awesome!" Iris cheered.

Hugh couldn't help but smile at her cheerfulness. Between Rosa's over-arrogance and Nate's general cynicism and trolling at their expense, Iris was like a fresh breath of air to him.

---

"Hey Professor Cheren," Rosa got his attention, along with Bianca's. "Who Clay was referring to...is that...?"

"...Y'know you don't have to call me 'Professor' anymore, Rosa," Cheren replied calmly, making the girl fluster slightly. "And yes...Clay is referring to Hilbert."

Rosa looked surprised, while Bianca had a solemn look on her face.

"H-Have you heard anything from him...?" Rosa asked. Last time she recalled, Cheren caught Nate himself in hopes of getting any information about the whereabouts of Hilbert.

"No..." Cheren muttered. "Nothing..."

"I-I see..." Rosa mumbled.

"I'm sure Hilbert's fine though," Bianca tried to lighten the mood. "He's been through tougher. We just have to believe that he's alright."

"Right..." Cheren sighed. "By the way, how have you been doing?"

"Huh, well we've been doing fine," Rosa shrugged. "We got five badges, and our teams became a lot stronger..."

"Hm," Cheren mused as he glanced over to Nate. "He's certainly changed since the last time I saw them."

Rosa glanced over to Nate, who was seemingly arguing with Roxie while Yancy was acting as a mediator.

"He's acting a lot more open than compared to back in Aspertia," Cheren commented.

"...Yes, he has," Rosa muttered somewhat disdainfully.

Cheren noticed the sudden venom in her tone, but decided to not comment on it.

"Seems like you have your own problems, future champion," Cheren decided to tease.

"What?" Rosa asked, turning to her former professor.

"You seem to not approve of Nate's new openness," Cheren replied. "And since he's with a girl...do I perhaps sense some jealousy?"

"Wha-Jealous?" Rosa blurted.

"Haha, I'm just teasing," Cheren laughed.

Rosa glowered at the raven-haired teacher. It wasn't because his accusation was ridiculous. No, while she didn't want to admit it, she was jealous. Jealous of a lot of things, and almost all of them involved Nate. And that frustrated her.

"When's the tournament going to start?" Rosa muttered, wanting to change the subject.

"Well if ya wanna know so badly," Clay interjected. "It starts in 20 minutes, so y'all better register soon."

"Will you be participating in the tournament too, Clay?" Bianca asked.

"But of course!" Clay responded. "With this kind of quality participants, there's no way I won't participate and not join in on the fun!"

Which was everyone's cue to head to registrations and register for the tournament. As Rosa made her way to the registration, she bumped into someone else as they finished their registration.

"Oh, sorry," Rosa said.

"Sorry," the man murmured back in a rather muffled voice.

Rosa glanced back to the man who bumped into her as he left. Only a large black cloak was visible on him as he walked away.

"That's a weird outfit..." Rosa mumbled as she left to register for the tournament.

Once everyone finished registration, Clay led Nate, Hugh, Rosa, Yancy, Iris and Roxie to the back rooms, while leading Cheren, Bianca and Clay to another room. Several other trainers, most likely the other participants, were already waiting there as well.

"Hm...They look boring..." Nate muttered under his breath, until he spotted someone. "Wait a min–Colress?!"

True enough, they all turned to see the familiar blonde scientist of Team Plasma, sitting on a bench casually tapping away on his tablet. The man looked up, noticing the group.

"Oh, it's been a while," Colress greeted casually.

"Hey, I remember you!" Iris exclaimed. "You're that scientist guy back at the sewers!"

"Oh, hello there Miss," Colress greeted with a smile. "It certainly has been a while. Perhaps we can catch up and settle that match in this tournament, should things go right for both of us."

"Okay so what's the catch?" Nate asked as he crossed his arms.

"Please, I simply participated on my own free will," Colress replied back calmly. "A tournament of this caliber requires that I examine every possible trainer I can fight to help in my own research."

"You really are pretty lax considering who your boss is," Nate muttered.

"I mean it wouldn't help being a pessimist, now would it?" Colress shot back.

"Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to the 3rd Driftveil Tournament! The format shall be Single Battle 1 v 1! Let's have a look at the competitors for this tournament!"

A giant screen appeared, displaying the tournament bracket.

"Geh, I'm first..." Nate muttered. "And...Oh my..."

"Wow, all three of us are in the same block," Hugh muttered.

Rosa kept her lips shut tight, making sure to hide her gritting teeth. Her first opponent was against some guy named Miles Riches; and right after Nate's match. Meanwhile, Hugh was in the last match of their block, meaning that either she or Nate would end up having to fight him at the quarters. And only one of them would make it to the semi-finals.

Meanwhile in another block next to theirs, Roxie and Colress were there, meaning that one of them would have a rematch against either of them for semis. Great, two opponents she never ended up winning against. Oh well, she would be able to get a revenge match. On the other side of the bracket was everyone else. Although she was curious to see how Bianca would fight, and how Cheren would fight with no restrictions of being a gym leader. They were both veterans from the Plasma Raid who fought alongside Hilbert, after all.

"Alright, will both competitors for the first match step up to the arena?"

"And there's my cue," Nate muttered as he got up. "One v one, right? Alright..."

"Ah, good luck Nate!" Yancy said before he left.

Nate lifted a thumbs up in response as he left the backroom. The screen changed to the main arena, as both competitors stepped onto the field.

"And now! Without a further ado! Let the Driftveil Tournament begin!"

---

From the other backroom, the other participants were watching the first match, as Nite slammed into the opposing simisage, causing the monkey to stagger back.

"Tch! Simisage, Rock Tomb!"

"Too slow!"

Simisage tried to pelt Nite with rocks, but Nite easily maneuvered over them, and proceeded to circle around Simisage, creating a ring of fire around it.

"Heat Crash!"

As Simisage tried to find a way out of the ring of fire surrounding it, Nite jumped above Simisage and crashed into the monkey in a ball of fire, crushing the monkey into the ground.

"AAAAND IT'S DOWN!" the announcer yelled. "A devastating Heat Crash took out Biker Dillon's Simisage, which means our first winner is Trainer Nate! What a spectacular way to start off this tournament!"

Nite jumped back in front of Nate and waved to the cheering crowd, while Nate simply tucked his visor in.

"Wow Nate did great!" Bianca complimented as Nate recalled Nite and left the arena.

"Yeah, he's improved since the last time we fought," Cheren agreed.

"Figures them younglings would go off with a bang," Clay smirked. "I knew bringing them here was a good idea."

"And with Round 1 finished, let's move onto Round 2! Will Rosa Echoes and Miles Riches please enter the arena?"

"Hm, looks like it's my turn."

Everyone glanced to see a boy in a rather dashing white suit with curled suave brown hair leaning against the wall, grinning rather smugly.

"And I presume you're Miles Riches?" Cheren asked.

"But of course," the boy, Miles, replied smugly. "It's time to show these plebeians the might that is I, Miles of the Riches Family."

"How bold of you," Cheren rolled his eyes. "Although I suggest you do not underestimate your opponent."

"Oh? Do we have a soft spot for this Rosa?" Miles asked, that smug grin still on his face.

"...It's a basic notion as a trainer to never underestimate their opponent," Cheren shot back.

"...Very well then," Miles shrugged, before he made his leave. "I'll show you all why I will win this tournament."

As Miles left, he noticed another man, leaning against a wall away from everyone else, covered on a black cloak with his arms crossed against his chest, with a black mask obscured his entire face.

"And who are you?" Miles asked.

The man simply looked up, one sharp red eye visible from the right triangular eye hole of the mask boring itself into Miles, unnerving him slightly.

"Hmph, freak..." Miles huffed as he left.

The man in black stared at the door as Miles left, before he lowered his head, resuming his original position.

"Yeah...I hope Rosa wins," Bianca said. "That guy got on my nerves real quick..."

Cheren leered at the door, before glancing towards the man in black.

"Curious, who are you, anyways?" Cheren decided to ask.

The man in black looked up, both red eyes glancing at Cheren, before he pointed to the tournament bracket displaying on the screen, pointing to the top right match block.

"...'Schwartzer'?" Cheren asked. "...That's a strange name..."

The man, 'Schwartzer', simply shrugged.

"...I do hope he didn't offend you," Cheren said.

Schwartzer simply waved his hand, gesturing that he felt no offense.

"There are arrogant trainers such as him," Schwartzer replied in a rather gruff voice, most likely muffled by the mask he was wearing. "You shouldn't pay too much attention to the likes of them. Such arrogance will only lead to self-destruction."

Cheren stared at Schwartzer. The man was right; too much arrogance was never good. It would cloud ones decision. However, that could be said about both trainers that were about to fight.

---

"You're up," Nate said to Rosa as he returned to the room.

"Good job, Nate," Yancy said as she went up to him.

"Yeah. That looked pretty easy," Hugh commented.

"Meh, I had the type advantage," Nate shrugged. "He wasn't that good anyways."

Rosa nodded as she got ready to go.

"C'mon, loosen up," Nate said, noticing how Rosa looked tense. "You got this."

Rosa glanced at Nate, somewhat bewildered, before returning it with a smile.

"Thanks," she said quietly, before leaving.

Nate leered as Rosa left the room.

"...Something's not right..." he muttered.

---

Rosa sighed as she stepped up to the arena, the announcer booming an introduction about her. She was nervous. This was something foreign to her. Normally she would (and should) be ecstatic about this. Being able to perform in battle with an audience this big meant that she would be able to show them all her skills that would let her become the future champion of them all. But now that she thought about it, should she lose and fail here, then everyone would see her burn and fall.

Made even worse since Nate was outright flawless in his battle prior to hers. The expectations were high, and it was a tough act to follow.

...No, she needed to focus. Rosa slapped her cheeks, making herself focus. She could do this. She wasn't some weak trainer after all. She just needed to use her strongest member, in this case, Eve, and get through this round. She made it this far, so she could definitely get past the first rounds. And then, she would be able to fight Nate.

She looked up to see her opponent step up to the arena. An admittedly good-looking 'rich boy' class trainer, if his name was anything to go by, the man was seemingly examining her, before he sported a rather smug grin.

"Well then, pretty lady," the man, Miles, if she recalled, said with a suave tone. "I'll try not to hurt your Pokémon too badly."

Rosa glared at Miles. Oh she SO didn't want to lose to someone like him.

"Alright then, remember, only one Pokémon in this one v one," the announcer said. "And let the second round BEGIN!"

Rosa and Miles both released their Pokémon at the same time. Eve appeared in front of Rosa, while a large, gray elephant-like Pokémon with a thick, black band of hide running down the length of its back and extending to the tip of its long trunk, resembling a car tire, landed onto the field.

"A donphan..." Rosa muttered. This is going to be tough.

"Ladies first," Miles said haughtily.

"Alright then," Rosa growled. "Eve, Hyper Voice!"

Eager to start the battle, Eve let out a violent scream, blasting the sound waves at Donphan. However, the elephant didn't budge, seemingly unfazed by the attack.

"-Wh-what...?-" Eve gasped slightly, shocked that the donphan took it rather well.

"You call that an attack?" Miles asked tauntingly. "No no no, this is an attack. Rollout!"

Donphan curled up into a tire-like ball and proceeded to charge at Eve at a blistering speed. Eve barely dodged the oncoming ball as Donphan continued to roll out throughout the field, relentlessly pursuing Eve.

"Eve, Shadow Ball!" Rosa yelled quickly. "Aim for where it's about to head!"

Eve nodded and shot a Shadow Ball right in front of where Donphan was about to go, stopping Donphan in its tracks and stopping its Rollout.

"There's no way I can let Eve challenge this thing with Take Down..." Rosa muttered. "And Hyper Voice did shit all...I doubt Shadow Ball would do any better..."

"Hm, that was quite clever," Miles mused. "Donphan, Ice Shard!"

Donphan created several shards of ice in front of it and shot them at Eve, who was forced to defend herself since she couldn't avoid it.

"And Donphan is taking the offensive! Eevee can't move at all, being forced to endure the punishment the Ground-type is unleashing!"

"Great, I can't do anything about this?!" Rosa hissed. "...Dig!"

Eve nodded as she ducked underneath another Ice Shard and burrowed underground. However, Miles merely grinned.

"Such an amateur mistake," Miles shook his head. "Do you really think using 'Dig' against a Ground-type is a good idea?"

"What...?" Rosa asked, before she realized what he meant. "Oh no–!"

"Donphan, Earthquake!"

Donphan grinned as it smashed its feet into the ground, causing a massive earthquake to erupt the arena, and blast Eve out of the ground.

"-AAAAAAAAAAH!-" Eve screamed in pain as she was forcibly ejected from the ground with faulting plates of the arena.

"EVE!" Rosa cried.

Eve fell to the ground, groaning in pain as she tried to get back up.

"Finish this with Seed Bomb," Miles commanded.

As Eve got back up, Donphan relentlessly shot several hard seeds from its mouth, pelting Eve with exploding seeds. Once the smoke cleared, Eve was lying on the floor, completely unconscious.

"AAND WE HAVE IT! After a one-sided battle, the winner of the second match is Miles Riches!"

"Hmph, as expected," Miles smirked as he recalled Donphan.

As Miles left the arena, Rosa didn't even respond, her head lowering in shock.

"I-I...lost..." Rosa muttered.

She stared at Eve's battered figure, before eventually recalling her and returning to the backroom, head hung in shock.

---

Cheren just stared at the screen in shock. He didn't expect Rosa to lose that badly. Sure he knew she wasn't the greatest, but he would've expected her to put up a better fight, hell even win to some extent. He also didn't expect Miles to be fairly competent too.

"Wow...that guy was actually pretty good..." Bianca didn't want to admit, but did anyways. "Poor Rosa..."

"Hmph, it was obvious I was going to win anyways."

They all turned to see that Miles returned from the arena, a smug grin plastered on his face.

"That trainer was an amateur," Miles scoffed. "Of course I would wipe the floor with her."

"You don't have to say it like that," Bianca shot back.

"Heh, I'm just stating facts," Miles said. "That trainer was weak. Thinking an eevee could take on my Donphan."

"You both released one Pokémon at the same time," Cheren argued. "There was no way for her to have known any better."

"She's still stupid for thinking an eevee would be any useful," Miles casually scoffed.

Miles simply sighed as he took a seat on an open bench, crossing a leg over the other one.

"That was simply a warm up," Miles declared. "I'll show you all why I will win this tournament, and why you are all weak trainers compared to me."

That earned him the glares of everyone in the room, although Miles didn't seem to be too fazed by it. Well, all, except for Schwartzer, who was ignoring the rich boy, and instead focusing on the screen.

---

Rosa returned to her side's backroom, completely defeated. Her friends all gathered around her as she opened the door.

"Rosa!" Hugh exclaimed.

"Oh...hey..." Rosa mumbled.

"A-Are you alright?" Yancy asked.

"...Yeah...or at least I'd like to say that..." Rosa muttered, as she headed out the other door. "I'm...going to go heal Eve..."

She didn't even look at anyone as she left the room, leaving them worried.

"Man, she looks real down..." Iris commented.

"Well, she did lose," Roxie said. "And to a bigot like that guy."

Nate glanced to the direction Rosa left, staying quiet for a moment.

"Well, we better go comfort her," Hugh said. "At this rate, she's going to need the moral support."

"...Is this the first time she lost?" Nate asked Hugh all of a sudden.

"Huh?" Hugh asked, before he thought about it. "Well there was the time when she tied with Roxie–."

"I mean is this the first time she legitimately lost?" Nate asked. "No draws, no close calls. Is this the first time she lost like this?"

Hugh's eyes widened slightly, before registering what he meant.

"...Yeah..." Hugh confirmed.

Nate narrowed her eyes at the door, before proceeding to sigh, grumbling something under his breath.

"I'll deal with her," Nate said.

"You sure?" Hugh asked.

"You have a match to go to," Nate said, pointing to the screen. It showed that Hugh was up next. "I'll deal with her. You focus on your own shit."

"R-Right," Hugh nodded as he got ready to leave. "Just...don't be too harsh on her..."

"Yeah, yeah, I won't," Nate muttered, shooing him off. "Now off you go now."

Hugh nodded as he left the room and headed to the arena.

"Are you gonna be alright?" Yancy asked.

"What? You think I can't act as a guidance counselor to arrogant girls who just lost badly?" Nate asked. "I think I did a pretty good job counseling you if it motivated you enough to run away like that."

"I–I didn't mean it like that!" Yancy yelled back.

"I know, I know," Nate chuckled, patting Yancy on the head as he headed out. "Don't worry, I got this..."

---

Rosa huddled against the wall in a secluded hallway, away from any people. She didn't want anyone to see her like this.

She looked pathetic, and she knew it. She just lost, and here she was, huddled away from anyone, even her friends, and crying like a baby. But she couldn't help it. She never lost this horribly before.

She lost. She lost horribly. Eve stood no chance against that donphan. Hyper Voice and Shadow Ball did nothing. There was no way Eve could beat a donphan in a test of strength. And Dig was shut down and countered by Earthquake.

She lost badly. Even the announcer called it a one-sided battle. And everyone in that arena saw it. Everyone in the back saw it. Everyone watching the battle saw it. Everyone saw how poorly she did and how badly she lost.

Come to think about it, she was always the worst out of the three of them. Hugh was always naturally skilled like her, but he utilized type advantaging and strategized better than she did, and Nate was on a completely different level from either of them. While she did capture Mandi, Hugh captured Heracross and even got Tirtouga, Servine shined much more than many of her Pokémon, and even Vibrava evolved into Flygon and Magby evolved into Magmar. If it wasn't for that, then she wouldn't have been able to win against Elesa. He was only one member away from a full party.

And then there was Nate. He already proved to be on par with the veteran trainers such as Cheren, already had access to vehemently strong Pokémon like Luca and Brav, Nite and Kid–Buzz were pulling their weight just like them. And then in one day he obtained a mythical Pokémon in Keldeo, and another powerful Pokémon in Zoroark, making that a full team at his disposal. And he won his first match. Rather easily, at that. And that's not counting all his other abilities such as his inhumane strength and ability to speak to Pokémon.

But Rosa? She had the least amount of party members. Her 'strongest' member was an eevee. Her fully-evolved member was thanks to Nate showing it to her for her to catch. She only had Ottavia and Nina; one who couldn't even fight for the day because she barely won against an excadrill and lost her main weapons, and Nina being a mere growlithe. She was the only one out of them to end up pulling a draw in one of the gym matches. She was the one who struggled the most. She was arguably the weakest out of them. And despite that, she proclaimed that she would become the future champion and become a trainer as great as Hilbert.

"Heh, 'future champion'," Rosa cackled out of depression. "More like 'future loser'..."

Rosa sighed as she resumed her position, sulking to herself. From her pokéball, Eve emerged by herself, having been healed up, and looked up to Rosa with a sympathetic look in her eyes.

"-Rosa?-" Eve asked, before she went up to her and nuzzled her cheek affectionately.

"Thanks Eve," Rosa smiled weakly at Eve's attempt to make her feel better. "...I let you down though...you must think I'm a horrible trainer...I'm so sorry..."

"There you are."

Rosa looked up. It was Nate. The boy was glancing down upon her with his usual lazy scowl. Rosa stared at him for a moment, before sulking back down.

"I'd hardly think Eve would consider you a bad trainer if she would go and learn 'Charm' by herself just to cheer you up," Nate shrugged.

"What do you want? Come to mock me or something?" Rosa asked.

"Hmph, looks like your ego couldn't handle the loss," Nate shot back. "I thought you were better than this; sulking by yourself in a dark corner like a baby."

"Oh please," Rosa scoffed. "You didn't lose that badly. You aren't the one falling behind. You aren't the one with a weak team. You won your match. You have the stronger team. Me? I humiliated myself out there. I let Eve get beaten badly. I'm claiming that I'm going to become the future champion, and here I am losing my first tournament match."

Rosa sulked down, hiding her face under her visor.

"I'm a failure..." she murmured.

Nate leered at her, before sighing and sitting next to her.

"You're an idiot, you know that?" Nate asked.

"Oh so you are going to mock me..." Rosa muttered.

"Let me speak, girl," Nate growled, flicking Rosa on the forehead.

"Ow..." Rosa yelped.

"Look, you aren't as bad as you're saying you are," Nate said. "You literally went through Unova so far, challenging the gym leaders in Challenge Mode; shit normal sane starting trainers wouldn't do. And you managed to get your badge through all of them."

"But I only won because you and Hugh were helping me," Rosa muttered. "I wouldn't have been able to win by myself."

"At the very least you're hella lot better than average trainers," Nate insisted.

"Hmph..." Rosa grunted, still not convinced.

Nate glared at the girl, before groaning.

"Look, I'm going to be blunt with you," Nate said. "I found you annoying when we first met."

"What?" Rosa asked, perking up a bit.

"Yeah," Nate said. "You were arrogant, boastful, somewhat loud and proud, you kept denying that I was Hilbert's little brother, you kept yapping about how you were going to become the new champion, etc...Basically you annoyed me a lot."

"Gee, thanks," Rosa muttered sarcastically.

"However," Nate interjected. "As we traveled through Unova this past month or so, my opinion about you...kinda changed."

"What?" Rosa asked.

"While you were still an egotistical little girl," Nate admitted. "You never gave up. You were always determined about your ambitions and goals. While they were naïve and self-centered, you still cared about those around you enough to lend a hand. And...I can't deny the effort you put into it, and it's admirable...your determination, your ambitions..."

"R-Really...?" Rosa asked.

"And who ever said losing was a bad thing?" Nate added. "Sure yeah you lose, but you learn from losing; you learn from your mistakes and improve yourself so you don't repeat them. In fact, constantly winning means you won't be able to learn, and eventually you will lose. So losing is a part of life we all need; you too. If you feel so bad about losing, then try again with what you learned from losing and prove them all wrong."

"N-Nate..." Rosa mumbled, touched that Nate would say that about her.

"Oh, what's this?"

Nate and Rosa looked up to see Miles, looking down on them rather condescendingly.

"M-Miles..." Rosa muttered.

"Oh, you comforting your girlfriend?" Miles asked Nate rather mockingly.

"Girlfriend?" Nate asked in a rather disbelieving manner. "Please, she's just a friend I have to comfort since you beat her badly."

Rosa leered at Nate slightly.

"Hmm..." Miles said as he glanced to Rosa. "...Y'know, on closer look, you're a pretty little thing, aren't you...nice ratio...impressive bust...easy on the eyes..."

"W-What...?" Rosa blurted.

"Y'know, I could always teach you how to be a better trainer," Miles offered, putting up a seductive tone as he cupped Rosa's chin. "Just you and me...How's about it, Miss Echoes?"

"Wha–?!" Rosa blurted.

Before Miles could do anything else, Nate grabbed Miles' hand and pried it off of her.

"Okay there buddy, pretty sure there's something called 'personal space'," Nate interjected.

"Nate...?" Rosa mumbled.

"What? I thought she was just your friend," Miles said. "Then there should be no problems if I ask her out."

"Yeah, because asking the girl you just beat the crap out of is always the best idea," Nate drawled sarcastically. "Especially if they're sulking about it."

"Oh please," Miles scoffed. "Does it really matter what the method is? As long as the goal is achieved, then we shouldn't see a problem. Now then..."

Miles approached Rosa, as she stepped back into the wall.

"I have the money, the resources, and the means to make you the best trainer ever," Miles offered. "Possibly even better than me. I'll give you the strength you want, and all the pleasure you could possibly imagine and more. All you have to do is become my girlfriend. A fair trade, isn't it? Being the girlfriend of someone as handsome and powerful as I?"

"Why you–!" Rosa snarled, outright offended.

But before Rosa could slap him, Nate already struck the back of his hand against Miles' nose.

"Agh!?" Miles yelped, backing off in pain as he held his nose. "You little...!"

"Wow you really are something," Nate muttered. "You have no respect towards her as a human being, do you? Doing all that just cuz you want to get in her pants. Keh, you're pretty grimy."

"Why you–! I'm Miles Riches!" Miles growled. "I'm the best trainer you'll ever get the honor of knowing!"

"Well since you're not Hilbert Warren, then that's a load of crap, you egotistical little prick," Nate rolled his eyes.

"Oh, Hilbert Warren? That loser?" Miles scoffed. "Hah! He hasn't shown up in two years! He abandoned his home country doing whatever it is deserters like him do. He's no hero at all. He's just a fraud! I'M the best trainer there is!"

"...Oh really...?" Nate all but growled, his tone now filled with malice and anger. "The first match in the second rounds are between us, if I recall. Let's settle it there then. Surely if you're the 'best trainer', then you wouldn't have any problems, now would you?"

"Hmph! Fair enough," Miles held his head up high. "But if I win, I'll be taking Miss Echoes over there."

"Wha–I'm not property!" Rosa yelled.

"Please, Miss Echoes," Miles had the gall to wink at her. "You'll be loving every moment of our time together."

"And if I win, then you get the fuck out," Nate said. "Crawl back to whatever hole gave birth to you and never show your face in front of me or her ever again."

"That's if you do win, which is unlikely," Miles smirked. "I saw your first match. Decent, but you had the type advantage. You're nothing but a rookie with good enough luck. It'll be a piece of cake."

With that, Miles made his leave, still nursing his injured nose, leaving Nate and Rosa to themselves. Once Miles was out of earshot, Nate growled in anger as he smashed his fist into the wall, leaving a visible crack in it.

"That little piece of shit!" Nate growled. "HE'S better than Brother?! Hah! That fucking arrogant womanizing silver-tongue bigot! He couldn't even compare to Brother's piss!"

"Nate, calm down!" Rosa yelled, grabbing his arm and shaking it.

Nate shot a glare at Rosa, and then took a deep breath.

"Yeah...sorry 'bout that," Nate muttered.

"AAAAND with that, the first rounds are OVER!" the announcer's voice boomed throughout the hallways. "We will begin the second rounds shortly!"

"Wait, they're over already?!" Nate blurted. "Jesus Christ how long were we here for!? Alright let's get out of here..."

"Ah, wait!" Rosa said, still holding Nate's arm.

"Eh?" Nate asked.

"Well...uh...th-thanks...for defending me back there..." Rosa mumbled.

Nate stared at Rosa's slightly embarrassed expression, before shrugging.

"Heh, don't worry about it," Nate shrugged. "That little faggot was pissing me off too...well at least you're feeling better...somewhat..."

With that, the two headed back to their backroom, with Rosa still holding his arm. She stared at Nate's back, blushing slightly.

---

"And we're back!" Nate announced as he kicked down the door.

"Nate!" Yancy exclaimed happily. "You're back!"

"Finally!" Hugh yelled. "Where were you two?!"

"Emotional crap happened, sorry, whatever," Nate muttered as he dragged Rosa back in. "She's feeling better at least. Is the match about to start?"

"You got five minutes," Iris informed him.

"Alright then," Nate nodded, before looking up to the bracket, ignoring the normal trainers and scanning for any notable matches. "What the hell does second round even look like?"

Nate vs Miles Riches

Hugh Matis vs Hiker Willy

Roxie Vomica vs Colress

Schwartzer vs Iris Lilia

Bianca Belle vs Ace Trainer Ryan

Cheren Heilian vs Clay Yacón

"Holy shit I missed a lot," Nate muttered. "Well at least everyone I know made it...and who the fuck is 'Schwartzer' and who names their child that?"

"A rather mysterious trainer cladded in pure black," Colress answered.

"...Are you being racist?" Nate asked.

"I mean his clothing is literally the color black," Colress shook his head in annoyance. "He's the trainer of gossip at the moment, finishing his battle against his opponent's skarmory with a shiny haxorus, in under five seconds with one Dual Chop."

"...What kind of piss poor skarmory was that?" Nate asked.

"That's the thing," Colress replied. "The skarmory was actually quite potent. His haxorus was just monstrously powerful; or at least had monstrous strength. Oh by the way, your match is about to start."

"Shit," Nate muttered. "Alright, I'm off. Rosa, you better watch this, this kinda involves you too, y'know."

Rosa nodded meekly as Nate headed out of the room, while eyes were on her.

"What does he mean by that...?" Hugh asked.

"...Miles wanted me to be his girlfriend..." Rosa murmured. "And they bet on it in this match."

"WHAT?!" Hugh gasped. "The hell is Nate thinking!? Okay first off, what the hell is this Miles asshole thinking, assuming he can just make you his girlfriend like that, and second, what the hell is Nate thinking betting on that?!"

"Hugh!" Rosa yelled. "Just...please...trust him on this...Nate knows what he's doing..."

Hugh looked at Rosa somewhat doubtingly, but conceded.

"I hope you're right..." Hugh sighed as they all turned to the screen.

'Nate...' Rosa thought as she saw him walk in the arena.

---

"And here we are..." Nate glowered at Miles as he stepped up to his side.

"Indeed," Miles replied. "You sure you don't want to back out? You should at least save your Pokémon from the humiliation I'm about to unleash on them."

"I could say the same thing to you," Nate smirked, making Miles grit his teeth slightly.

"Hmph, fine, once I'm done with you, I'll win this tournament, and leave with two prizes," Miles declared. "The prize this tournament will give me, and my soon-to-be new and undoubtedly delectable lover."

"Y'know the saying 'don't count your torchics before they hatch'?" Nate asked out loud. "You might wanna look into that, ya fucking creep."

"Hmph, say what you will, you'll still just an obstacle in my way," Miles scoffed. "Now then, let's get on with it. I'll show you why I'm the best trainer out there, and not that foolish twat Hilbert, and why Miss Echoes will be mine to use as I please."

Nate's malicious glare in his eyes suddenly turned blank. Something snapped inside him.

"How full of yourself are you...?" Nate muttered as he released Luca.

"What's this?! I didn't even commence the match and already Nate has released his Pokémon!" the announcer gasped. "And a shiny lucario at that!"

"-Wha–? Nate?-" Luca asked him, somewhat confused. "-I thought I was sitting this one out so that you could let Nite and Buzz fight–...-"

Luca turned to Nate, but stopped as she saw his expression. She knew this one. Nate wasn't just pissed.

"Change of plans, Luca," Nate said in an eerily calm tone. "Go all out. Whatever that sends out. Make sure it's just barely alive."

He wanted blood.

"-...Of course...-" Luca responded, her tone now serious as she turned to face her opponent, preparing a Bone Rush staff.

"So hasty to come and lose?" Miles shook his head. "So be it. I have the perfect counter for this too."

Miles smirked as he sent out a mainly red, squat ape-like Pokémon with long bushy flaming eyebrows.

"And from Miles Riches' side comes out a rather formidable darmanitan! Thanks to Nate sending out his Pokémon first, Miles was able to pick out a Pokémon with a great type advantage!"

"A Fighting/Steel-type like Lucario will fall to this Fire-type behemoth," Miles declared as he haughtily swiped his hair to the side. "One Sheer Force Flare Blitz is all that'll do it!"

"A rather bold declaration from Miles!" the announcer boomed. "And now, let the first match of Second Rounds...BEGI–!"

Before the announcer could even finish, Luca was already right in front of Darmanitan and smashed her staff across its face, sending the Fire-type crashing into the wall.

"–N...huh...?" the announcer asked, somewhat confused at what just happened.

"Wh-what...?" Miles asked, confused as well. "Darmani...tan...?"

Miles slowly looked to see Darmanitan in a wall, when just a second ago, he was standing right in front of him proudly, and instead Luca was in front of him. Nate signaled to Luca, who then proceeded to go to Darmanitan, grab it by the head, and proceed to slam him into the ground several times, before dragging it across the floor and throwing him back into the arena.

"-Don't faint, just yet,-" Luca hissed rather sadistically, a somewhat crazed smile adorning her face. "-My master wants to see you both suffer...-"

As Darmanitan got up, Luca already smashed her foot into its face, punting the large ape across the field. As it bounced across the field like a rock thrown on a lake, Luca proceeded to shoot several Aura Spheres at the darmanitan, pelting it with the projectiles as it landed.

"Damn it, what's going on here?!" Miles swore. "Get up, Darmanitan! And use Flare Blitz!"

Darmanitan managed to roll out of the way of the projectiles and proceeded to launch itself at Luca in a giant fireball. It connected, leaving a huge explosion from where the collision was.

"Hmph, there, what a bother you made yourself to be," Miles sighed in relief as he saw the attack connect. "Wait...what?!"

As the smoke cleared, it revealed that Luca had stopped Darmanitan with her two front paws, her four appendages floating as her entire body was exerting a blue aura.

"-Max aura...-" Luca muttered as she held the hulking Fire-type up high.

Nate stared at the darmanitan, then at the panicking Miles, before sporting a rather psychotic smirk full of glee at the opponent's turmoil.

"Crush him," Nate commanded with silent gusto.

Luca mimicked the psychotic grin with her own, as she proceeded to slam Darmanitan into the floor like a pillow. Darmanitan tried to break free from her grasp, but Luca held it firm, making sure it didn't get away as she proceeded to brutalize it even more.

"-Hahaha...ahahahahahaha...!-" Luca began to laugh as she continued to slam Darmanitan onto the floor, until it went into a complete demented cackling. "-AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!-"

The demented cackling filled the arena, unnerving everyone at the brutal carnage that was being unfold. This wasn't a battle anymore. It was a one-sided torture session.

Miles was shocked; no he was outright unnerved at the sight. His mighty darmanitan was no more pathetic than that eevee as the lucario was ripping it apart with little difficulty. Flare Blitz, his strongest move, didn't even dent the thing, as it tanked it and then proceeded to slam Darmanitan on the floor like a pillow at a pillow fight.

But what unnerved him the most was them. The lucario and that brat both had a grin that would look more suitable on a sociopathic serial killer.

"-P-Please...s-stop...-" Darmanitan was begging as he kept finding himself being slammed into the floor.

"-Did you not hear what I said earlier?-" Luca asked, suddenly stopping and bringing the darmanitan's face up close to hers. "-My master wants to see you both suffer...and now I want to see you both squirm.-"

Panicking for his life, Darmanitan suddenly shot a Flamethrower at Luca, causing her to let go and allowing Darmanitan to retreat to Miles.

"-Please, forfeit!-" Darmanitan was begging his trainer, who unfortunately couldn't understand him and was shocked at the sight. "-Please just end this and save me from this torture! Please, Miles, plea–?!-"

Darmanitan gagged out blood as Luca's fist was cemented into his back, as if the Flamethrower had no effect.

"-And who said we were done?-" Luca asked as she hurled Darmanitan back into the middle of the field.

Snapping out of his shock, he saw Darmanitan struggling to even move as Luca approached him, shooting Aura Spheres at the ape as she approached him.

"Flare Blitz! Kill this thing!" Miles yelled.

Against his better judgment, Darmanitan obeyed Miles and launched a Flare Blitz at Luca, hoping to finally take it out. This time Luca stopped it with only her right paw.

"-WEAK!-" Luca guffawed as she slammed Darmanitan back into the floor, proceeded to prepare another Bone Rush staff, before slamming it at Darmanitan like a golf club.

Darmanitan was sent into the wall behind Miles, barely missing the trainer as he was sent flying. Before Miles could make a move, Nate finally gave out another command.

"I think we're done here," Nate said, seemingly satisfied. "Aura Sphere. Max Power."

Luca clicked her tongue in some disappointment, but complied nonetheless. She charged an Aura Sphere to its full capacity, before launching it at the already down Darmanitan, blasting the poor fool with it, while grazing Miles slightly with it. Once the smoke cleared, Darmanitan was out for the count, several bruises and bloodied wounds littered across his body.

---

"A-And with that one-sided onslaught, Darmanitan is down for the count!" the announcer declared, recovering from his initial stupor. "Which means that Nate is the winner of the first match of the second rounds!"

The crowd was silent for a moment, before slowly but surely letting out a roaring applaud for Nate.

"Nice work," he said as he recalled Luca, before walking up to Miles. "So? What happened to being the 'best trainer out there'?"

"Wh-wha...?" Miles stammered.

"That look suits you," Nate said tauntingly. "So how does it feel? To lose so badly to someone you thought of as a 'rookie with good enough luck'? You think this is luck too? You think that Luca slaughtering your pathetic excuse of a darmanitan was just 'luck'?"

Miles couldn't say anything back, but glared back at Nate, who seemed to relish in it.

"You mad? You feeling anguish? You feel like you want to crawl into a corner?" Nate mockingly asked. "Good. The pain you caused her is way more than that."

With that, Nate turned away from him, leaving Miles to wallow in his own shame.

"A deal's a deal by the way," Nate called out to him before he left. "You stay away from me and Rosa. That is, unless you want to see your precious Pokémon reduced to a bloody pulp."

Without even staying to listen to Miles' reply, Nate left the arena, a satisfied grin plastered on his face. As he returned to the backroom, however, his grin quickly returned to his usual frown.

"Alright, done with that twat," Nate announced.

No one said anything as they all eyed Nate with some disbelief and shock. Well, until Yancy walked up to him and handed him a towel.

"You're pretty sweaty," Yancy pointed out, seemingly unfazed by what she just saw a few moments ago on the screen.

"What, that's all you have to say?" Nate joked as he accepted it.

"Good job though," Yancy smiled. "That was...something though..."

"I guess," Nate shrugged, before glancing back to the others. "...What?"

"That was...a little much, don't you think?" Hugh asked.

"Hey, he had it coming," Nate shrugged, before he noticed Rosa and walked up to her. "...Yo."

"H-Hey..." Rosa mumbled.

"There, I defended your honor," Nate said. "At the very least, he got what he deserved."

Rosa looked up to the boy. She saw the match. She saw how quickly Nate and Luca descended into malevolent insanity and gleefully tormented Miles during the match. She could tell that he was outright furious; the fact that he immediately let Luca out and let her go all out presumably was proof enough. And as frightening and shocking it was to see Nate and Luca in such a crazed and sadistic state, she didn't feel any actual terror from him.

He got that furious for her sake. He did all that for her.

"...Thanks..." Rosa mumbled, a genuine smile back on her face.

"...Don't mention it, Rosa," Nate replied back, giving her a gentle smile as he turned to talk to the others.

Rosa perked up. He called her by her name. Not Bunhead, but 'Rosa'.

She finally earned his respect.

As Nate began to converse with Hugh once more, Rosa stared back at him. When she first met him, she thought of him as nothing more than a frustrating troll and jerk. But now? She certainly didn't think that at all. She saw how he developed as a human being as they traveled Unova. He supported her in his own, crude and blunt way. And in return, she and Hugh subtly showed him how to be more open with himself.

Although, from what he displayed out there, he and Luca harbored hidden extremity and insanity; but most importantly hatred. She could tell. When all the questions were revealed, Nate might be revealed as nothing more than a villain who was manipulating them all.

But Rosa couldn't find herself to care about that. At least not right now. She couldn't help but not care about that. In fact, she didn't care if he did turn out to be evil. She would gladly succumb to evil with him if that was the case.

She found herself falling in love with this potential maniacal villain.

---

To be continued

---

AN: Oh noes, Rosa's now smitten by Nate, and now it's Visorshipping vs Transceivershipping. Sorry if I rushed through the preliminaries, but I wanted to get to this point ASAP, and if I did go into ALL the battles, then this would be even longer than it needs to be, and frankly I'm tired. Next chapter will have all the battles more fleshed out, I promise. Personally, I think the PWT is one of the best things Pokemon included to the games, even if it was just form BW2.

FWI Miles Riches isn't an OC, but an actual NPC you can interact with in BW, although I basically inserted a new, horrible personality into him. Schwartzer on the other hand is an OC I made. You'll see why he's important in the near future. Oh yeah and Red and Blue's in there too. Will they affect the plot? I dunno, maybe.

Nate: Luca (Lucario) / Nite (Pignite) / Buzz (Electabuzz) / Brav (Braviary) / Deo (Keldeo) / Zoro (Zoroark)

Rosa: Eve (Eevee) / Ottavia (Dewott) / Nina (Growlithe) / Mandi (Mandibuzz)

Hugh: Flygon / Servine / Magmar / Tirtouga / Heracross

Welp, that's about it. Thanks for stopping by, hope you enjoyed it, and I'll see ya next time.