The sounds of shoes scraping and lifting on the concrete and grass below rang out across the main quadrangle. The main party wandered about, wondering where their other member currently was.

"Where could he be?" pondered Louis.

"I thought he'd be with Coach," said Roy. "But I was wrong."

"You don't think he's sick, do you?" added Taki.

"I doubt it," replied Louis.

But then, amongst the crowd, the sight of a man wearing a green shirt and black jacket made its presence known. Spotting the group in the distance, Miguel jogged toward them. Louis immediately spotted his father approaching.

"There you are," he called.

"We've been looking all over for you," said Roy.

Miguel scratched the back of his head and chuckled.

"Sorry about that," he apologised.

The crowd around them grew larger.

"So, what's up?" asked Miguel.

"We gotta show you something," said Marowak. "You're not gonna believe it."

"Coach is letting us get a first look at the new Pokémon gym," revealed Cinderace.

The man's eyes widened.

"...seriously?" he blurted.

Before long, the party arrived at the newly-constructed Pokémon gym. Even though the exterior was visible to everyone, especially during the construction, not many people knew what the inside looked like.

At the entrance, Coach stood by, waiting for the rest of the group. Then, he caught sight of the approaching gang.

"You guys sure took your time," he chuckled.

Then, the veteran staff member walked toward the doorway. He placed a hand on the door and pushed it open. Inside was a large hallway, stretching out far and wide, a freshly-tiled and polished floor and numerous cabinets containing pictures and trophies. The scent of lavender spread throughout the large room. Even though this wasn't the main stadium, the group were already amazed.

"This is incredible," said Taki.

"Way better than the old one," added Roy.

The large party travelled through the hallway inspecting the pictures and trophies inside the cabinets. There, Incineroar spotted the picture of the team when they won the tournament years ago.

"Hey guys, over here," he called.

Louis and the other Pokémon ran over to the fire-cat wrestler.

"What is it?" said Braixen.

Incineroar pointed to the picture before them. The mere sight of the photograph sent a wave of remembrance and happiness to Team Venus.

"Boy, talk about a memory," said Lucario.

"I remember that year clear as day," added Marowak. "Especially when Louis clocked that guy in the face."

"You mean Simon," the young adult corrected.

"Yeah, him."

Coach cleared his throat, getting the party's attention. He directed them to a section of the arena that was hidden from the party by a bright light. As they got closer, the brightness dimmed down and the arena became clear to them.

What they saw made their eyes sparkle in amazement.

The arena itself had newly-fitted seats. Some of them were coloured and placed in a position that gave off the look of a Pokéball.

There was also an incredibly large screen that was present inside as well. Although it was not turned on, the party could tell that the visuals that will be displayed are going to be incredible. Lastly, the clay layout of the arena itself turned out to be a nice touch in the construction of the gym.

"Whoa..." gasped Roy. "Talk about an extreme makeover."

The musician quickly looked from side-to-side, seeing if anybody, apart from the current group, was present. Then, he brought out one of the Pokéballs from his pocket and brought out Dragonite.

As soon as the dragon Pokémon caught its first sight at the new gym's interior, it cheered in excitement, startling Roy and the surrounding party. The musician backed away in embarrassment. Coach was about to give a reprimanding to Roy but realised that this would be the type of thing that he would do in this situation, so he decided to overlook it.

"Ok, maybe we'll leave it at that for today," said Coach. "You can check out the rest of it tomorrow during the qualifiers for the tournament."

Before long, the large group of friends exited the newly-established Pokémon Gym. None of the trainers, nor their Pokémon, could contain their excitement.

"That. Was so. COOL!" cheered Louis.

Their ever-present excitement carried with him throughout the rest of the day. By night, Louis laid on his bed, eager to see the rest of the gym tomorrow. Not only that, he was eager for the tournament as well.

"Hehe, I can hardly wait," he said to himself.

Then, the Pokéball that had been painted to reflect the appearance of Incineroar began rocking sideways. Seeing this happen reminded the young adult of when he helped Marowak, when he was still a Cubone, cope with his mother's passing.

He brought Incineroar out of his Pokéball, and to Louis' surprise, Incineroar seemed...excited.

"Huh. Incineroar, you sure seem happy," said Louis.

"You bet, the qualifiers are tomorrow," replied Incineroar. "I've honestly been waiting to get back into it for a long time."

Hearing the joy expressed by the fire-cat wrestler warmed the young adult's heart.

Out of nowhere, the sound of knocking on the door rang out, surprising the duo.

"Who can that be?" wondered Louis.

The young adult stood up and stepped over to the closed doorway. He twisted the handle and pulled the door open. On the other side of the portal was someone that he was not expecting to see - It was Blastoise, one of Suzuki's Pokémon.

"...Blastoise?" blurted Louis.

The young adult closed the door behind him.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

Then, the water Pokémon presented Louis with a folded sheet of paper.

"I was asked to give this to you," answered Blastoise.

Louis carefully took the paper from the Pokémon's hand. Curious, the young adult locked eyes with Blastoise.

"Who's it from?" he asked.

"It's best if you read it and find out," replied Blastoise, cryptically.

Intrigued, Louis opened the door behind him.

"Um...thanks," he said.

As he re-entered his room and closed the door, he turned to Incineroar.

"So who was it?" the fire-cat wrestler asked.

"It...it was Blastoise," answered Louis.

"Blastoise? You mean the one on Suzuki's team?" questioned Incineroar.

– "Yeah."

Incineroar raised an eyebrow.

"What did he want?"

Louis showed the Pokémon the folded sheet of paper he had received.

"He gave me this," he answered.

"...paper?" said Incineroar.

"Not just that. I...think it may be a note. But I don't know who it's from."

Soon, Louis began to unfold the paper. It was revealed to the human that the folded sheet of paper was in fact a note. And, to Louis' surprise, it had apparently been written by a known individual. The young adult's eyes widened.

"I-...Incineroar, look at this," said Louis.

The fire Pokémon moved over to the human and read the note alongside his trainer. On the note, it read;

Louis,

I need to speak with you. Meet me at the beach.

Azul.

– "Ugh... what does he want?" grumbled Incineroar.

"How should I know?" wondered Louis.

Then, Louis put the note into his jacket and walked toward the door.

"I might go with you," said Incineroar, about to follow his trainer.

"No," replied Louis. "I'd prefer to handle it on my own."

Incineroar considered protesting the young adult's decision but soon realised that if he went with him, he'd probably attack Azul. So, he decided to obey.

"If you say so," he said.

After closing the door behind him, Louis carefully tiptoed through hallways of the dormitories, unsure if some trainers were asleep. Soon, he made it to the outdoors. The cool air from the night sky sent a small chill through the young adult's body as he made his way to the beach.

'Why would Azul be writing a note to me?' thought Louis.

As he got closer to the stone steps leading to the island's beach, Louis saw the Greninja facing the low-tide waves, with his arms folded. Still unsure, Louis carefully stepped down the stairway, with the night sky making it hard to see where his feet were.

Thankfully, the young adult safely made it to the bottom of the stairs. He walked toward the Pokémon, leaving footprints in the sand. Once he was close enough, he stopped walking. Sensing his presence, the ninja-frog turned to the human.

"Hey..." said Azul.

"...would you mind telling me why we're out here?" replied Louis.

Before the conversation could continue, Azul looked down at the ground, with a sad expression.

"...hey, are you ok?" inquired Louis.

For a brief moment, Azul remained silent. Then, with a flick of his hand, a sheet of paper appeared in his grip.

"You may want to look at this," he said. "It's serious."

Louis took the paper from the Greninja. He carefully read what was on it. However, once he had finished, Louis couldn't figure out what exactly it was.

"Um...what am I actually looking at?" asked Louis.

"It's Zack's finalisation for the qualifiers tomorrow," answered Azul.

'I hope this works,' the Pokémon thought.

The young adult took another look through the list. Then, after reading through it a number of times, Louis noticed that something was missing.

"But...I don't see you on here," he said.

"That's the thing," replied Azul.

The ninja-frog took a deep breath, hoping that Suzuki's plan wouldn't fall through.

"...although I'm still taking part in the Battle Royale, Suzuki took me out of Zack's line-up for the actual qualifiers," he said.

This response jolted Louis from his calm demeanour.

"What?!" he exclaimed. "Are you serious? But why?"

"Suzuki said I hadn't been putting in the effort," fibbed Azul. "He thought that I had been ignoring the duties of being on Zack's team."

The young adult was horrified. He couldn't believe that his friend would do something so insensitive. Azul caught a glimpse of the human clenching his fist.

Fortunately, Louis calmed his nerves, not wanting to bring any negativity.

He sighed and said, "That's really ignorant of him."

"Huh?" responded Azul.

"If only he knew about what happened years ago," Louis continued. "Maybe then, he'd...understand."

Recollecting the revelation from Miguel earlier in the day, the Greninja said a quiet mantra in his head to help clear his conscience. He shifted his focus to the young adult and said;

"...it wasn't your fault."

Surprised, Louis locked his gaze with the ninja-frog.

"...I'm sorry?"

The small waves crashed onto the shoreline.

"What happened years ago. None of it was your fault," explained Azul.

To say that Louis was stunned at Azul's words would be an understatement. His jaw dropped at the maturity now displayed by the Greninja.

He took a minute to compose himself before speaking again. However, Azul interrupted him before he could speak.

"You didn't fail me, either," he added. "What made me act the way I did that day had nothing to do with you."

Unbeknownst to Louis, Azul's mouth trembled under his tongue-scarf.

"Louis...I..." he stuttered.

He tried his best to keep himself together, but he failed. Soon, a tear began sliding down his face and tongue-scarf. Then, another tear appeared, and another and so on. Streams of tears flowed from the Greninja's eyes. He collapsed onto his knees and began sobbing.

"I'm..." Azul stammered through broken sobs.

"...I'm so sorry, Louis," he apologised.

Louis looked on in stunned silence. It broke his heart seeing his friend let out his bottled emotions. He knelt down to the Pokémon, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Louis...I didn't mean to make you quit years ago," sobbed Azul.

Louis raised an eyebrow.

"...how did you know that?" he questioned.

Azul sniffled.

"Y-...your father told me," he revealed.

"What?!" blurted Louis.

"He...he had a talk with me earlier today. He just needed some answers from me."

The young adult was taken aback.

'So that's why we couldn't find Dad earlier today,' he thought.

The Greninja did his best to compose himself, even though he was still shedding tears.

"Louis...I really am sorry...for everything," he apologised.

Hearing those words of regret and sorrow made Louis ponder to himself. His train of thought brought him to the tournament over half-a-decade ago. The memory of all the good times Team Venus had together consumed the young adult as he gripped his pendant tightly. Snapping back to reality, Louis focused on the ninja-frog.

"Y'know what?" he began. "...you can battle with us in the qualifiers tomorrow."

Azul wiped his tears away and locked eyes with the human.

"Y-...you mean it?" he questioned.

"Yes," answered Louis.

"The Louis of the past probably wouldn't be so forgiving for what happened..."

He paused, composed himself, and said,

"...but I'm ready to forgive you now."

Aww, how sweet of Louis. Now we know that the pair have finally made peace. I can't wait to see them battle alongside one another again.

Anyway, thanks for reading. Is there something you enjoyed? Can you guess what happens next? Or...what do you hope to see in future chapters? If so, go ahead and leave a review explaining any of these reasons. (Please don't leave hurtful reviews)

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Thanks again. See you next time