Great News! We have gotten enough favorites to hit the front page of this category! It's not much of a milestone, but now even more people will see this story, which is awesome. And it's all thanks to you guys. (Pops champagne cork off bottle and sprays entire audience)

As a kind of milestone gift, people have been asking me how Arron is going to evolve. Well, I don't like spoiling stories, so I'll leave you with a clue that helps you predict how he'll evolve in the future. The clue is in the form of a question.

The question is: when Vasto Lorde Ichigo was fighting Ulquiorra, why was his shihakusho ripped and torn?

If you have a good understanding of Bleach lore, you might pick up on what that implies.

Until next time, remember to leave constructive criticism. I also love to hear your predictions, as it's interesting to see where you guys think the story is going. And while most of the major plot points of the story are mapped out, many of the more personal and smaller plot points are improvised on a chapter to chapter basis, so you might actually see your prediction in the story (with credit given of course)

Oh, and one last little disclaimer: I'm running off known and unknown here: even if something in the overall lore in bleach contradicts something that Arron says, like, y'know, Grimmjow being alive in the TYBW arc, if Arron doesn't know something, it won't be reflected in the story, and since he was killed before Aizen began using the Hogyoku to transform, Arron believes that Grimmjow and Harribel are dead, despite them surviving the winter war.

All questions are welcome and I'll be glad to answer them.

The end of the week was approaching once again, and both Goh and Ash finally had justification for leaving the labs and the park. Arron was fine with this: he was sick and tired of being cooped up with the swarm of pokemon Goh had already amassed.

There was going to be a tournament, of course, because cockfighting was apparently this world's most popular sport. Arron imagined a ring filled with blood and two pokemon tearing each other to pieces, and although he knew that it was going to be nothing like that; this world was to innocent for something as barbaric as letting two drugged up creatures rip each other to shreds, a man, or should he say pokemon, could dream.

He had shared his thoughts in the form of a morbid gallows humor with Raboot, who only avoided him for the rest of the day, eyes wary on him. Serves him right for assuming she possessed some levels of maturity, he supposed.

So, they were preparing to head to this 'tournament' of sorts, which turned out to be some kind of battle festival. He didn't know what the fuck any of that meant anymore: it was said so much that it was watered down at this point. He turned to Riolu, who was sitting on Goh's bed, watching him pack since Ash was taking a shower.

His relationship with Riolu had changed a little bit, going from Riolu hating his guts to tolerating him. The little dog pokemon hadn't forgotten about his humiliating defeat, however; he was always watching for anything he could use against Arron.

"What the hell is a battle festival?" He asked Riolu. The dog pokemon just shrugged.

"I don't know, it's a less formal 'tournament' I guess? Oh, and it's being held by the gym leader's father in Kalos. Apparently, Ash knows her."

Arron raised an eyebrow. "And how do you know all that?"

Riolu snorted. "I listen, that's all. You'd be surprised how much vital information humans will drop when we're around, as if we hear them but don't truly understand what they're saying."

Arron had a wicked smile grow in his face. "To be fair, most pokemon aren't the brightest bulbs in the box. I've seen some that are pretty slow as a standard. It seems that some pokemon are just smarter than others."

Riolu's expression darkened, which only fueled Arron's desire to keep talking and to make him uncomfortable with the truth. "Oh, come on! Don't tell me you look at some of the pokemon in that park and think 'oh, gosh, they are my intellectual peers!' That's some bullshit and we both know it."

"I don't want to talk about this, Arron."

"Why not? Does this make you uncomfortable?"

"Yes, yes it does."

"Well, tough shit. You gotta realize that pokemon like you and me are a little higher on the totem pole than the rest."

"You a real jerk, you know that?"

Arron snorted. "I don't really care what you think about me."

Riolu sighed. "That's to be expected."

Arron's grin grew wider. "Glad you're realizing that."

Riolu was silent for a bit longer, and Arron didn't push any further as Goh was becoming more and more suspicious of their conversation, wondering if he'd have to break up a conflict anytime soon. But the silence didn't persist for long: gears seemed to be turning in Riolu's head.

"You know, Arron, this is why you have no friends."

Arron blew a raspberry. "Yeah, sure, like you're the most popular kid on the block. Who here is your friend?"

Rioli thought for a moment. "Ash is."

Arron burst into laughter the moment he heard Rioli's response. "Oh, God, that's the funniest shit I've heard in a while. Riolu, Ash isn't your friend, you're useful to him so he keeps you around. That's the point of all of this'" he gestured to the room, and in turn the labs and the park, "you're useful, nothing more."

Riolu's face scrunched up in a fierce expression, although the little dog pokemon's eyes were misting up. "That's not true! Ash cared about me."

"Riolu, you and the majority of the creatures here are so damn naive. One of these days you're going to have to grow up and realize the world isn't all sunshine and rainbows."

Riolu scoffed. "Yeah? Well the world you live in sucks!"

"You live in it too."

"No, I don't."

Arron sighed. "Fine, whatever. I'm not going to fuel your idiocy here. Who are we going to be fighting at this battle festival?"

Riolu shrugged slightly, still put off by the previous conversation. "I don't know, people just show up with their pokemon and we fight. I don't worry about the details, neither does Pikachu: we leave that to Ash."

"Of course you do."

"Why do you care, anyway? We're commanded In battle anyway, and we're brought out when our trainers want to use us."

Arron nearly had an aneurysm when he remembered that he'd constantly be told exactly how to fight. "That sounds awful. That's not how I fight: point me in the direction of the enemy and I'll beat 'em to a pulp, but I do it my way."

Riolu just shook his head. "You're just so determined to make this harder for Goh, aren't you?" He said, a sneer forming on his face, "that's how this works. That's how it's always worked! The pokemon do the fighting and the trainers do the planning."

But Arron wasn't listening: he left the room to find something else to do just as Goh finished packing his bag. Goh was obviously confused as to what caused the hostility between Riolu and Arron this time, but he just shrugged, slinging the backpack over his shoulder and gesturing for Riolu to follow him. "C'mon, we've got a plane to catch."

Raboot was sitting on the same ledge as yesterday, swinging her legs in the air while Scyther swung at tree saplings behind her, cutting them down in an effort to stifle boredom. She had been thinking of ways to approach Scyther with the information she had learned the day before without revealing too much and breaking the fragile trust she had with Arron, but she realized that was going to be much more difficult than she first thought. She didn't know if she should even be talking to him about this, but she felt obligated: they had been speculating about this together after all.

She sighed, This was a mess, and all she could think of was talking to Scyther. Besides, it's not like Arron had revealed that much: there had to be more, right?

"So, I talked to Arron earlier."

Scyther was silent for a moment, before snorting. "And what'd he have to say?"

"A lot."

That seemed to have caught Scyther's attention. "I'm listening."

There was no going back now.

"He told me about his past, about how he fought in this war, for this trainer… or pokemon… or someone named Aizen. He didn't go into much detail except for that Aizen was a horrible person."

Scyther walked up to her and sat down, crossing his legs like a monk, looking at her expectantly. "And?"

"Well, he didn't talk much about the war, whatever it was, but he talked about Aizen killing his sister…"

Scyther raised an eyebrow. "Oh… that could explain why he's so distant. So he fought in a war, which is already a wild claim, but his sister was killed by the same individual he was working for? That's a bold story."

Raboot elbowed him. "What, you don't believe him?"

Scyther raised his claws to his defense. "Hey, I never said that, I just said that what he said he went through is unusual. If he was fighting in a war, why was he fighting? Who was he fighting? If he was actually fighting in a war, then wouldn't we have heard about it? Wouldn't we have seen it on the news in train stations or airports? This doesn't sound like a war, this sounds like a skirmish in the wild that he and whoever was leading him lost. I saw a bunch of them before I was captured."

Raboot sighed. "Always the intellectual, huh?"

"Just stating my suspicions. I have a feeling Arron's in denial about something, I just don't know what. As far as we know, he could be totally insane."

Raboot rolled her eyes. "You really have such little faith in him?"

Scyther shrugged. "You're the one who said his emotions would change on a whim and he was just different. He could just totally be off his rocker."

"I'll bet you ten Oran berries he isn't, and everything he said is true."

"Oh, my, the innocent Raboot placing bets in the mental state of her acquaintance? How scandalous!" Scyther sniggered while raboot swatted him with her paw.

"You're an idiot, Scyther."

"I beg to differ."

She was silent for a moment before cracking her knuckles. "So, you up for the bet?"

"Oh, raboot, I'm always up for a bet. Life would be boring without them."

Arron sat on Goh's lap as they were boarding the plane to Kalos, resting his head against the boy's thigh while everyone packed their luggage and prepared for takeoff. Ash was next to them, sitting on the window seat with Pikachu in his lap, who was quietly snoring. Raboot sat between them on the large armrests that connected the two seats together, leaning on Goh as he scratched behind her ears. They were preparing to take off for Kalos so they could join the Battle tournament tomorrow, and apparently both Ash and G0h were joining. Ash seemed surprised by that, since Goh until recently had a different goal in mind, but apparently Goh had a change of heart.

"Are you sure you want to do this, Goh? This'll be a difficult tournament: Korina's competing."

Goh rolled his eyes. "I know, I know, but remember what we talked about back at your mom's place? This will be good for Arron: he needs to blow off some steam."

Arron perked his ears up, listening to the entire conversation. He wanted to hear what they were conspiring.

"Maybe, but he just doesn't listen! You want to throw him in the ring? With professionals? Sure, he's tough, but he has the common sense of your average houseplant."

Arron heard Goh quietly gasp. "That's- That's not true at all!"

"Oh, yeah? He never listened to you when you tried to command him when he was fighting Raboot, or when you were catching wild pokemon: he just did what he wanted with little regard for the consequences!"

Goh sneered, sick of Ash's partially true accusations. "That's rich coming from you: your battle IQ is garbage. You win because you're lucky."

Arron thought the clapback was hilarious, but both Raboot and Pikachu looked at Goh in absolute horror, as if he'd just crossed a line that should never be crossed. Ash stared at Goh, incredulous for a moment, before his expression darkened. He picked up a surprised pikachu (insert surprised pikachu face here) and moved across the aisle, excusing himself politely before sitting down at the window seat across from Goh, who obviously regretted what he had said.

"Ash, I-"

"I don't want to talk to you."

And with that, the conversation ended.

Goh scooted over to the window seat, Arron in tow, and watched as the plane took off and the clouds passed by. Arron kept sniggering at the chaos, but Raboot gave him a dirty look, to which he sighed and decided to let it go.

"What Goh just said was really stupid, you know. That's one thing you never say to Ash, ever."

Arron shrugged. "The little brat will get over it."

Raboot glared at him. "How can you be so nonchalant about this! The battle festival is TOMORROW: we need to be focused and ready to fight!"

"I am focused and ready to fight. Ash being offended by an insult won't affect my ability to battle."

"But it will affect Pikachu's ability to win!"

Arron scoffed. "Oh my God, you actually believe I care or not if that little shit even comes close to victory? This is about us winning, Raboot, not him or whoever else Ash throws at us."

Over on Ash's side, Pikachu's red cheeks sparked dangerously, but he wisely chose to avoid further conflict. Ash reached down to pet the rat pokemon, face pressed against the glass absent-mindedly as he watched the clouds pass by.

"One of us has to win, Arron! were a team."

Arron looked her straight in the eye and disagreed. "Has it ever occurred to you that just because Goh and Ash travel together doesn't make them on the she team? Sure, they work for Professor Cerise, but that's about it. We're under no obligation to help Ash, Riolu, Pikachu or whoever else is associated with him."

Raboot's face scrunched up in anger. "Why are you like this?"

"I'm just a realist. You'll get nowhere by letting people walk all over you."

Raboot stood up and walked up to him, pushing one of her furry fingers into his chest authoritatively. "Listen here: this isn't about letting people walk all over us! This is about camaraderie. Ash isn't our rival or our enemy: he's our friend."

"Is he? He isn't my friend. He's someone Goh, the individual who has control over me, associated with; Nothing more. One of these days, life is going to smack you upside the head, and you'll be clueless as to why until it's too late."

Raboot shook with anger. "You are so full of shit, and here I thought you changed."

Arrom barked out a laugh. "Changed? Why would you ever think I had changed? Because I told you a little bit about my past? Because I gave into your sympathy during a moment of weakness? You're more naive than I thought. I didn't change, and I see no reason to, so I wish people would stop trying to change me."

Raboot didn't respond, preferring to shake with rage. Arron just gave her a condescending, almost pitying look. "Where I come from, the concept of 'friend' doesn't exist. You have people you fight with, and people you fight against."

Raboot's anger quickly turned into morbid curiosity as he explained more of his past. "What kind of horrible place did you live in?"

Arron looked her dead in the eye. "You wouldn't understand."

Arron's absolute certainty in his words caused Raboot to falter before she sighed and laid back, turning away from Arron and Goh. Apparently, she didn't want to talk anymore, which didn't surprise him. All the while, Arron could hear the soft snores of Goh and feel his chest heaving as he slept. Arron leaned against him, hoping the rhythm would help him fall asleep as well.

As the two boys and their pokemon entered their hotel room, something strange was going on: nobody was talking. Not Ash, not Goh, not even their pokemon. Everyone kept to themselves and finished their tasks before clearly defining a line of separation on the strip of floor between the two beds.

Ash took the bed closest to the window and the radiator, and set up shop over there, going over a list of the participants of the festival and their registered pokemon, apparently trying to pre-determine some kind of strategy: a very un-ashlike thing to do. He was dead silent, not having talked since their fight on the plane, and both Pikachu and Riolu had avoided Goh and his pokemon, leading to an iron curtain of sorts draping across the room. Raboot had avoided talking to Arron since their conversation as well, so Arron was effectively alone except for Goh, who kept Arron in his lap for comfort.

Goh was worse for wear. He obviously regretted what he said, but he couldn't reconcile with Ash because of the latter boy's unwillingness to talk. He sat cross-legged on his hotel bed, petting Arron while Raboot had her back turned to them both, sitting on the edge of the bed and swinging her legs. Arron liked the silence, but the tension was so thick that you could cut it with a knife.

"So," Goh said quietly, "when does the battle festival start?"

Ash was silent for a moment before speaking. "At ten. We're already registered, so we only need to show up and get ready to battle. Bring a drink: it'll get really hot."

Goh remained silent for a while before attempting to talk to Ash again. "So, what now?"

Ash shrugged. "Do what you want: go catch some pokemon or something. I'm going to stay here."

Goh looked at Ash one last time, clear regret in his eyes before he hopped off the bed, causing the mattress to spring up. Raboot used the spring to hop of the bed and land gracefully on her feet while Arron landed on the ground with a loud thump.

"C'mon guys, let's go."

Goh slung on his backpack, rummaging through the contents and revealing a wad of cash. He then pulled one of the two room keys out of his pocket and opened the door, leaving Ash and his pokemon alone. Arron and Raboot followed, but they kept quiet, noticing Goh's apprehension.

They left the hotel before Goh led them down the street, kicking pebbles as he walked and avoiding pedestrians. Raboot and Arron followed close behind, Raboot obviously concerned and Arron somewhat curious as to how the boy was going to cope with the person who seemed like his best friend shunning him. To his surprise, Goh led them off the cobblestone walkway on the side of the street and to the shore, where the sun was just beginning to set on the horizon. Then he sat down, sighing and watching the waves crash into the sand and the many water types continue on with their business along the Beach. Raboot seemed shocked that Goh wasn't making any effort to catch the pokemon on the beach, so much so that Raboot nudged on his arm with her paw to get his attention, but that only served to deepen his depressive state.

"Not now, raboot, I just need a moment."

Raboot, ever the stubborn one, plopped down next to him with her ears flipping onto his lap. Goh scratched them affectionately, but continued to mope. Arron sighed, realizing that he'd had to join in if he didn't was Raboot's disapproval and for Goh to remain in this state. So he got up and sat on the opposite side of Goh's lap from raboot, looking up to the boy's eyes and seeing them look into the horizon blankly. That didn't seem good, but it couldn't be that serious, the boy probably just needed some time to think and unwind after the past three weeks or so: it couldn't have just been his fight with Ash, could it?

Arron couldn't comprehend why Goh was so affected by his strained relationship with Ash. Were they friends? Arron guessed so, but the concept of 'friend' was still incredibly foreign. Arron didn't have friends, just acquaintances and comrades, people he worked and lived with for a lack of a better term. Wasn't that the relation Goh had with Ash? They simply worked and lived together, and they had only done so for a few months at most. Arron had known some of the Arrancar he had served with under Aizen for what felt like centuries in Hueco Mundo, since time passed slower in the world of hollows, and he never considered any of the friends. Ulquiorra and Starrk were nice to be around, but that was simply because Arron found them to be pleasant company, or at least as pleasant as a hollow could be.

But here Goh seemed genuinely hurt by Ash's response to Goh's seemingly deserved albeit disrespectful retort. Maybe Arron had just forgotten what having a whole heart was like: even as an Arrancar, his heart had returned in a somewhat full state, but he could not understand it's motivations: it was probably why he had been so wishy-washy as of late: he had fully fledged emotions, yet he couldn't comprehend how to embrace them. Remaining callous was just so much easier, not to mention less risky.

So he just sat there, hoping that Goh would get over whatever was plaguing his mind. It's not like he could do anything to help the boy.

"Man, what's got you all gloomy?"

While Arron detected their unwelcome guests long before they announced themselves and Raboot remained relatively aloof once she noticed them, Goh nearly jumped out of his skin before spinning around to find a young girl a few feet behind him. She was no older than thirteen, with lemon yellow hair and fair skin, far lighter than the skin someone would expect a resident of shalour city to have. She wore a skirt with red stripes in geometrical patterns across it, and her bare feet clung to the sand. In her hands was a pair of roller skates and what looked like a bicycle helmet, which she probably took off once she reached the beach.

About a foot behind her was her pokemon, which looked like a bigger, more mature version of Riolu to be exact, it was nearly the exact opposite of the stranger; it's stern expression and rigid expression contrasting with the girl's carefree and relaxed demeanor. It stood perfectly straight, unyielding and unconforming to the clearly safe and quiet beachfront. On its arm was a band containing what seemed like a pearl… something Arron could already tell he was going to hate. In fact, he already hated everything about this pokemon: It reminded him too much of Ulquiorra for his liking.

The new girl gave Arron a funny look before returning her gaze to Goh. "Sorry, didn't mean to sneak up on you like that, you just seemed a bit off is all."

Goh sighed. "It's alright, I'm fine."

"Could've fooled me."

"Look, I'm not in the mood to talk about my feelings with a total stranger. Is there anything you want?"

If the girl was offended, she didn't show it. "Well, I came up here to check out this little guy," she gestured to Arron, "but then I saw you acting all glum and I thought I could help out."

"Who you callin' little?" Arron retorted, forgetting that there was a severe language barrier between them, but Raboot just chuckled at the comment, glad to have a distraction. Her pokemon gave him what could only be described as a death glare, and Arron stared back, undeterred: if this pokemon was anything like Riolu then it wouldn't be hard to beat.

The girl, who obviously was trying to make a good first impression, chastised her pokemon for it's less than welcoming behavior. "Lucario! I taught you better than that, at least try and act friendly."

The pokemon, apparently Lucario was its name, became flustered by the girl's admonition and looked to the side and instead of at her or Arron, clearly embarrassed. Arron's standard frown morphed into a wicked grin and Raboot sniggered behind his back, clearly enjoying the show that the girl and her pokemon were providing.

"Don't give me that look, Lucario, we've talked about this: you need to stop being so hostile."

Lucario grunted in response, clearly trying to articulate an argument but failing miserably. The girl put her hands on her hips, one eyebrow raised and head tilted to the side, which seemed to be the breaking point. Lucario sighed, looking down at the ground and nudging the sand like a moody child. Goh, who had been caught completely off guard, was blushing in discomfort at the whole scenario. The girl gave an apologetic smirk and sat down in the sand in a criss-cross with a thump, and her Lucario wandered off to mope somewhere else.

"Sorry about that, Lucario doesn't like strangers, especially strangers as… strange as your pokemon."

Goh looked back at Arron, who had decided to mind his own business, rolling on his side in the sand to sunbathe while Goh chatted with the new girl.

"Yeah, well, Arron isn't too friendly, so.im not surprised he gets a few sideways glances."

The girl snorted. "Oh, Lucario does that to everyone. It's a bad habit we're trying to break," the girl cupped her hands around her mouth to serve as a kind of improvised loudspeaker, yelling to her pokemon. "Isn't that right, Lucario?"

Licario grunted loudly in defiance, causing the girl to shake her head. "I swear, that attitude of his is going to be the death of me one day."

Arron chuckled at the comical pair the two made, noticing that every so often Lucario would glance back at the four of them, as if he expected Arron and Goh to rob his master at gunpoint.

The girl sighed before sticking out her hand. "Anyway, I'm Korrina, and that ball of angst and distrust over there is Lucario. He acts all tough but everyone knows he's a big softy."

Goh took her hand and shook it. "I'm Goh, that's Raboot and this passive aggressive nut-job is Arron."

Arron gave him a cross-eyed expression while Raboot snickered some more, obviously enjoying the spectacle of the two 'tough guy' pokemon getting insulted.

"He seems like a handful."

"You have no idea."

Korrina flipped her hair to the side and cracked her neck. "So, what brings you three to Shalour? Most people come here for the gym."

"The battle festival. Me and my… friend… signed up a while back and qualified, and we decided to see who was better at the time." The word friend had an obvious strain imposed on it.

Korrina's eyes flashed. "Oh? And who's your friend?"

"Oh, yeah. His name is Ash. We've been traveling together recently."

Korrina's eyes widened. "Ash? As in Ash Ketchum?"

"Uh… yeah, why?"

"I know Ash. He battled me for my gym badge last time he was in Kalos. He helped me with a few problems too." She sat up straight and tightened her lap. "So, why are you so glum? Everything alright between you two?"

Goh snorted. "Yeah, no. We've been at odds recently. I said something I shouldn't have and he took it very seriously. I tried telling him that I regret saying it, but he doesn't want to hear it."

"Well, what did you say?"

Goh rubbed his hands together anxiously. "Well, I told him that he has no battle IQ and that he 9nly wins battles because he gets lucky."

Korrina practically guffawed at Goh's response. "Oh no, that's something you should never say to Ash. Why would you ever say that to him?"

Goh was silent while Korrina waited for a response, giving him a stink eye in the process. "Ash… he was doubting me. He thought I wouldn't last in the tournament because battling isn't my… 'thing'. He especially didn't think I'd be able to control Arron."

"Why would he think that you couldn't control Arron?"

"He's fiercely independent and he doesn't like taking orders because he's very strong, at least for his age. When he fights on his own, he knows exactly what to do and when to do it, and it's hard to command him because he's just so competent."

Korrina nodded, seemingly understanding Goh's plight. "Well, first off, Ash is many things, but stupid isn't one of them." She was silent for a moment, rethinking what she had just said. "You know what? Scratch that. Ash is VERY stupid, but one thing he knows his stuff about is battling. I think he was just trying to help."

Goh groaned. "Great, now I just feel like a jerk."

"Now hold on a minute," she replied, "knowing Ash personally, I have a feeling he could have been more polite about it. But we passed the point of no return, right? You're going to have to take the nuclear option if you want some resolution here."

"What do you mean by nuclear option?"

Korrina gestured to Arron. "Prove him wrong and win the battle festival! I can tell you right now, most of the contenders aren't that tough, and if Arron is as strong as you say he is, the first half won't be much of a challenge."

Goh scratched the back of his neck. "But… aren't you going to be battling?"

"Yeah, of course, I set it up in the first place. But I've already battled Ash, and while he's fun, I have a feeling Arron is going to be even more fun to battle. He's got a certain gleam in his eyes, the eyes of a fighter. He reminds me of Lucario a little bit, when he's not acting like a spoiled toddler at least."

Lucaruo grunted in the distance, and both Korrina and Goh giggled. "But I'm serious Goh, you can do this, you two just have to work together, and you can accomplish anything. Besides, consider this secondhand revenge on Ash for when he beat me last time. Ash could benefit from swallowing his pride once and a while anyway."

Goh chuckled. "I knew you weren't just doing this out of the kindness of your heart."

Korrina rolled her eyes. "And you thought I was innocent, you sweet summer child, you ain't seen nothing yet."

Goh looked back out at the ocean to see the sun dipping under the Horizon. "I have to get back to the hotel. It was nice talking to you Korrina."

"Yeah, it was. Thanks for putting up with me, Goh."

"You're welcome."

Korrina gave him a goofy smile before turning back to her pouting pokemon. "C'mon Lucario, time to head back!"

Locario hopped to his feet, eyes focused on Arron, pupils gleaming. Arron stared back, grinning maniacally at his newfound rival. No words had to be exchanged, no rivalry drawn up. This was going to be a battle of wits and power, something that Arron sorely missed. And he was going to win, not just for his own pride, but for Goh's as well.

This was going to be a good tournament, that much he could tell for certain.

Ash walked into the hotel room to see Ash in the same spot as before, eyes focused on his notepad as he scribbled down hasty notes before Goh could see what he was writing. Then he crammed the notepad back in his bag just in time to avoid Goh's peeping eyes. Ash stared back, still obviously sour from earlier, although his anger subsided.

Goh was about to pass the point of no return.

"Ash, I'm going to beat you tomorrow."

Ash's eyes widened, just a little, before he laughed. "Yeah? You're going to beat me?"

"Yeah, I am. And I'm going to win the tournament. I'm going to make you swallow your pride."

Ash realized Goh wasn't kidding. "You're serious then? Well, if you are, I'm going to make you eat those words, Goh. I'm going to win this tournament: I have to if I want to face Leon."

"I guess you won't be facing Leon then."

Ash's eyes narrowed. "We'll see about that."

The rest of the night was as normal as any other: they ate food they ordered from room service, watched some television, they even talked a little, although the conversation was always strained. Then they went to sleep. Goh was going to be prepared tomorrow, and he was going to beat Ash. He had too, and Arron seemed to agree, as he curled up next to Goh in the way he only did when he noticed Goh was stressed. Goh rubbed behind his ears. "We can do this, you and I. We can make this work, so do it for us, ok? I know you can."

Arron gave a mild snort of acknowledgement before hurrying his head beneath his paws. Goh hoped he got the message.