"What are you doing?" Kenya asked. Andrew looked at her.

The two of them were outside of the trainer school. Andrew was sitting, seemingly staring at the sky. He ignored her.

"Hey." Kenya nudged him with her foot. He got up.

An older boy and a woman were walking up the pathway. He ran over to them. Kenya watched the three of them walk away.

"You making friends?" Lauren asked, walking out of the trainer school. Professor Juniper followed behind her.

"I wouldn't bother with him," Juniper said bluntly. "He's a troubled boy." Lauren took Kenya's hand. Juniper and she exchanged a few words before Juniper returned to the trainer school.

"Troubled," Kenya echoed as the two of them headed up Route 1. "Aunt Lauren, am I troubled?" Lauren laughed.

"Of course not. In fact, Juniper was actually just telling me what a great student you are. She says you have a lot of potential."

"Potential for what?" Kenya asked. Her eyes drifted to the body of water alongside the path.

"Well. Anything you want, really." Kenya thought about it. "But. You cant keep getting into fights." Her stomach sunk.

"B-but, that girl started it!" Kenya blurted out. Lauren tightened her grip on Kenya's hand. Kenya went silent.

"You're just like your mother," Lauren said. She stopped walking. Kenya blinked. Lauren caressed Kenya's cheek. "So brave." They remained there for a few minutes. Lauren started to cry.

Kenya watched, silent.

.

.

.

When the smoke cleared, Kenya's heart lurched. Druddigon, Darumaka, and Yamask were collapsed on the ground. Druddigon was starting to get up, but Darumaka and Yamask weren't moving.

"W-what was that?" She sputtered. Nathan crossed his arms. His Sawk was knocked out as well. Druddigon growled, barely standing.

"Looks like this won't be as easy as I thought," Nathan said. "Better do it again. Kenya found her voice.

"Druddigon, hyper beam!" A beam of light ripped across the battlefield, hitting the ground between Klingklang and Stunfisk. The two of them were blown apart. Druddigon followed Stunfisk with the beam, blowing it back. The beam vanished and Druddigon hunched over. Kenya immediately regretted the attack.

"Klingklang!" Nathan ordered. "Zap cannon!" Klingklang charged up a ball of condensed electricity.

"Hey, Druddigon!" Kenya shouted. "Move! Move! Move!" Druddigon had to recover from the hyper beam.

Klingklang fired. Druddigon dropped onto its stomach, the attack flying overhead.

Kenya dove to the side, barely avoiding it. She sat up, pointing. Druddigon jumped up.

"Go after them!" Druddigon sprinted across the battlefield. Klingklang and Stunfisk spread out, keeping their distance.

"One more time," Nathan said. "Both of you, discharge!" Kenya was blinded by the light.

She shielded her eyes, feeling the heat of the attack. When the smoke cleared, Druddigon was still standing. Kenya got up, ignoring her scraped elbow. Nathan was stunned. Druddigon trembled and took a step forward. Its body was steaming.

"I have to commend that Druddigon of yours," Nathan said. Kenya ignored him.

"Druddigon!" She called out. Druddigon turned, looking at her. Its eyes were sharp. She hesitated. Earthquake could take care of Stunfisk but Klingklang would still be a problem. Zap cannon was dangerous. Druddigon barely stood a chance, if it got paralyzed the battle was over. She couldn't see a path to victory.

"I was gonna give up. I'd accepted the loss because I couldn't see any possible way to win."

"But you won, so who cares?"

"Tepig won. Not me. "Tepig was the one who didn't give up. Why couldn't I be like that? Once the tides turned I just assumed it was over. I should've had more faith in Tepig.".

She recalled Andrew's words after his first gym battle. She had to trust Druddigon. Druddigon nodded. Kenya smiled.

"Come on, Druddigon, Outrage!" Druddigon roared, steeling its trembling body. Nathan blinked. "Go! Go!" Druddigon charged at Klingklang.

"Quick! Discharge!" Druddigon was faster. It swatted Klingklang, sending it spinning across the battlefield.

Stunfisk fired a thunderbolt, hitting Druddigon in the back. Druddigon nearly collapsed. Nathan shouted orders.

"You can do it!" Kenya yelled. "Keep it up!" Druddigon roared again, driving its claws across the ground. Klingklang was charging up a zap cannon. "Earthquake!"

The battlefield rumbled, cracking and splitting. Stunfisk cried out.

Druddigon lunged at Klingklang, swatting it again. Stunfisk wasn't knocked out. It fired another thunderbolt. Druddigon took the hit, crumpling. Kenya gasped. Druddigon was hurt. It lied still on the ground, growling.

"Another zap cannon!" Nathan shouted.

"No!" Kenya ran onto the battlefield. She knelt beside Druddigon. It whimpered and tried to get up. Kenya silently returned it.

"Are you surrendering?" Alder asked, speaking for the first time since the battle started. Kenya stared at Druddigon's Pokeball in her trembling hand.

"I—" Kenya's voice caught. Alder repeated the question. She nodded. Nathan returned his pokemon. He eyed Kenya carefully.

Kenya turned away from him.

"Hey," Nathan called out. "You're a pretty good trainer." He paused, looking for words. "Thanks for being friends with my brother."

Kenya walked away. Her pokemon were healed.

The nurse spoke softly, trying to cheer Kenya up. She took her pokemon with a weak smile. She left the small office and followed a long corridor to the front entrance. There were a few different people congregated in the room.

She spotted Cerea talking with Elesa. Kenya headed outside. The sun was high in the sky. The street was bustling as always.

She made her way down the street, finding an empty bench. She collapsed with a sigh. She'd lost. She wanted to be angry with herself but didn't see the point.

Andrew's brother had utterly crushed her. She doubted she had much chance to begin with. She was holding Druddigon's Pokeball in her trembling hand.

"I didn't want to win that bad," Kenya whispered. Her lip quivered. Of course, she wanted to win. "Its not like we were being serious." They'd given it their all. They weren't enough. She wasn't enough.

She punched the back of the bench. She bit her lip, refusing to acknowledge the pain.

"You don't seem to be in a good mood," A woman's voice said. Professor Juniper was standing behind the bench, just outside of Kenya's peripheral.

Kenya shifted, turning to face her.

"You're Lenora's kid, aren't you?" Juniper approached the bench, smiling. She placed a hand on the bench and slung a leg over it. Kenya blinked.

Juniper hopped over the bench. She took a moment to adjust her lab coat before sitting down, not a hair out of place. Kenya stared at her. Juniper's smile was unmoving.

"Do you want something?" Kenya asked.

"No. I spotted you brooding and decided to see if you were alright." Kenya nodded.

"I'm fine." Juniper got up.

"What do you say we go watch the tournament?" She offered.

Kenya slumped on the bench.

"I'll pay for your ticket," she added and placed a hand on her hip.

Kenya groaned.

"It could be a learning experience."

Kenya gave in. She followed Juniper back to the stadium. Cerea wasn't at the entrance when they arrived.

Most of the people were gone. Juniper bought a ticket and was charged extra due to the late arrival. Kenya was given free entry on account of her participation in the tournament.

Juniper bought several snacks before they found their seats. The current battle was between Chili and a trainer named Dalton. Chili ended up winning. It was the last match of the second round. Alder spoke.

"Round three will be taking place immediately. This is due to how quickly round two went by. That was a lot of quick fights." Juniper muttered something.

"What?" Kenya asked.

"Nothing."

"The first match of round three… Cheren and Bianca."