Casey and the others look over at Ash with concern. He's really taking all of this hard. Brock is quick to reassure his longtime friend by placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. It's a simple gesture, but it seems to calm Ash down, "Yeah, me too. But Officer Jenny will catch her one of these days."

Casey sure hopes that Brock is right. People like J deserve to pay for their crimes, but nobody can make them pay if they can't be caught. As doubtful as she feels, she believes that J will get caught in the act eventually. It's just gonna take some time. But, then again, doesn't everything worth fighting for?


It's early morning in the Sinnoh region, the shining forenoon sun breaking through the canopy of the forest trees and through to the dirt path, which Casey and the others just so happen to be walking along. They're still heading towards Floaroma Town for Dawn's next Pokemon Contest, but first they have to pass through a small village not too far ahead.

"Listen to this!" Dawn's excited voice catches Casey's attention, a small, detailed pamphlet in her hands, "This village is holding a festival, and they're going to have an informal Pokemon Contest as well! Don't you think that I should enter it, guys? I mean, Pachirisu hasn't had the chance to be in one yet."

"Sounds good to me."

"I agree with Brock." Casey nods in agreement over at the bluenette, "I say go for it. It'll be great practice for the real thing."

It's similar to a field battle when preparing for a Gym Battle. The more field battles you take part in, the stronger you and your Pokemon will become. Casey still doesn't know overly much about contests, but she figures that it must be much harder for Coordinators to find field opponents than it is for regular trainers. Coordinators kinda need to battle other Coordinators to gain a full understanding of the technique of such battles (although regular battles obviously do provide some experience for Coordinators as well), whereas regular trainers like Casey and Ash can battle all varieties of trainers and always take something away from it.

Regardless, Casey believes that Dawn should jump at the chance to get some practice in for the big contest in Floaroma Town, so why not now more than ever?

"Aipom! Give me back my hat!"

Casey's attention is quickly drawn towards Ash, who is yelling furiously at Aipom. The Long Tail Pokemon is rushing away with its trainers hat on its tail, giggling cheerfully as Ash chases after it.

"I guess some things never change."

Casey looks over at the former Pewter City Gym Leader, confusion falling on her face at his words, "Has this happened before?"

"Oh, yeah." Brock replies causally, "Its just how Aipom shows its affection for Ash."

Casey can't help but think that how Aipom's acting is sure an odd way to show affection, but then again each and every Pokemon has a different personality; from what she's seen from Aipom so far, The Long Tail Pokemon has quite the excitable personality.

"We should probably head after Ash." Brock says. Casey silently agrees with him; their friend has already ran further into the forest and out of sight, frantically chasing his mischievous Pokemon, "Knowing those two, we could end up having some trouble on our hands if we don't catch up to them soon."

Dawn and Casey both agree with Brock and follow him down the bumpy dirt path, chasing after Ash and his runaway Aipom. They catch up to the former of the two shortly after setting off, Casey looking over at Ash worriedly at the absence of his Pokemon, "Where did Aipom go, Ash?"

Ash simply responds with a shrug. Casey takes that as Ash not having a clue where Aipom's gotten off too, which admittedly is not exactly the response that Casey, Dawn and Brock were hoping for. Not all hope is lost, though, as Casey and the others are quick to notice a familiar looking hat as it slowly floats down from mid-air.

"There's my hat!" Ash reaches out for his hat and places it atop his head once again, restoring the item of clothing to its rightful position before shifting back to his fretful state, "But, where's Aipom?"

"Ai-pa!"

Aipom's distressed cry catches their attention, Ash calling out to his Pokemon and running at top speed in the direction of the noise. Casey, Brock and Dawn follow in tow. The four Pokemon trainers soon reach the missing Long Tail Pokemon, all of them gawking in horror when they see what state it's in.

Aipom is atop a thin stone slab, which is balancing haphazardly upon a tall, thin rock spire, but he's not alone. Jessie is on the stone slab as well, clutching onto Aipom desperately as the slab teeters back and forth dangerously, on the brink of toppling over at any moment.

"It's Team Rocket!"

Jessie lets out an awfully high-pitched scream as the stone slab begins to slide down the side of the small rock precipice, Aipom crying out in fear as they go. The slab slides right down the sloped rock and down into the canyon below before, unbelievably, sliding right back up it again, both Aipom and Jessie landing relatively unharmed around about the place where James and Meowth are stood, watching Jessie with perturbed looks on their faces.

Casey and the others rush towards where Team Rocket and Aipom are, the goofy crooks quick to notice to them, "You?" Jessie glances down at Aipom, who is still firmly in her hands, before looking back to Ash and his friends, "So this Aipom is a twerp Aipom?"

"It sure is. But you guys actually saved my Aipom?"

"Yes. You can close your mouth now."

Jessie's sharp response makes Ash abruptly stop gawking at the crooks, clearly shocked at their kind gesture. Team Rocket never helps them out, after all, "Right. Well...thanks, you guys."

"Look, twerp!" Jessie responds sharply, pointing an accusatory finger right at Ash, "If it weren't for me, Aipom might not be here. I hardly think thanks is worth Aipoms life."

"Yeah? But then what do you want?"

Ash sounds confused and Casey doesn't blame him. She has no idea what Jessie's getting at either. She's quick to fill in the gaps for them. She talks about the upcoming practice Pokemon Contest that Dawn mentioned earlier; she wants Ash to let her use Aipom is said Pokemon Contest, which makes Casey do a double take. She'd never expect Jessie to be someone who likes to compete in Pokemon Contests.

Regardless of what she thinks, Ash is clearly dismissive about it all, and is quick to protest Jessie's suggestion, "I can't do that! Aipom doesn't wanna, anyway!"

"Aipom!"

"I hate to rain on your Twerp-Parade, but that sure ain't want Aipom's saying." Meowth says matter-of-factly. It still creeps Casey out that Meowth can talk, but at the same time it's kinda cool, not that she'd admit that to Meowth. That would only boost his ego further than it already is.

"If Aipom wants to complete with moi, then what kind of trainer are you to stand in the way?"

"I hear ya, but the idea of helping you..." Ash's voice trails off as he speaks reluctantly. Casey understands his hesitancy - they aren't exactly the best of friends with Team Rocket.

"Let us not forget who saved this little doll!" Jessie says pointedly, hugging Aipom tightly and cooing excitedly at it. She really finds Aipom adorable, "So enough of this tepid twerp talk, ya got that?"

"Ash, the truth is," Brock says, "If Aipom really wants to do it you should let it."

Admittedly, Brock is right in some respects. Whilst lending a Pokemon to Team Rocket is a downright horrifying thought, Ash technically does owe Jessie for saving Aipom in the first place. And besides, if Team Rocket truly did have cruel intentions, they would request to borrow Pikachu instead of Pokemon, considering that they've been after the Electric Mouse Pokemon for as long as they've known Ash.

"Okay...but only for a little while! Just until the contest battle is over!"

Jessie begins to cheer victoriously as she jumps around with Aipom in her arms. Meowth and James simply stand there and watch their cohort; Casey doesn't know if they're simply clueless, or embarrassed, or both. Casey sometimes wonder how the two of them survive with Jessie around. She sure has a fiery and rather terrifying personality.

"I still don't know about this." Ash mumbles.

Casey draws her attention away from Team Rocket and back to Ash, trying her best to offer support, "I'm sure it'll be fine, Ash. It's just one contest, right? What's the worst that can happen?"


Casey rushes over to Brock and Dawn, being mindful of the growing crowd around her as she runs. Despite the fact that the village is rather small, a whole lot of people have come out to the festival. Casey suspects that many of them are here to see the contest.

"Guys!" Casey breathes heavily as she stops in front of Dawn and Brock. She takes a couple of seconds to compose herself before speaking again, "I just spoke to Nurse Joy over at the Pokemon Center. Apparently there's a beautiful meadow on the outskirts of the village which is perfect for training in, and since pratically the entire village is here at the festival, I'll get to have the entire meadow to myself to train in!"

"That sounds great, Casey." Brock says with a smile, "Having all of that space gives you the chance to try out some of those cool new strategies I've seen you working on."

"Right. I was going to rush right on over there, but I figured that I should come and check with you guys first." Casey looks over at Dawn, "I'll be back before the contest starts to see you compete, Dawn."

"No need to worry." Dawn replies, "Go and enjoy your training session."

"Thanks, Dawn." Casey smiles gratefully.

Casey looks around briefly, only just now noticing the absence of a certain raven-haired trainer from the group. She looks at Brock inquisitively and speaks up.

"Hey, Brock. Where's Ash?" Casey says, "I was going to ask if he wanted to come to the meadow as well. I'm sure that Monferno would love another battle against Pikachu."

"Sorry to disappoint you, Casey, but I don't think Ash is going anywhere, at least not until he gets Aipom back."

Casey nods in understanding. If Team Rocket were borrowing one of her Pokemon, she wouldn't let them out of her sight either. She knows that it's best not to try and persuade Ash otherwise, so she instead decides to take her leave, waving a warm goodbye to her friends as she goes.

We've got some training to do!


Casey pauses in the middle of the empty meadow, pausing to inhale the sweet smell of the exquisite flowers, the aroma circulating around the meadow through the slight breeze of the calming area. A plethora of lucious green trees sit not too far from where Casey is; they probably act as a perfect canopy on a hot sunny day on a day such as this. There's also a picturesque lake nearby, its waters glistening underneath the warm sun.

This place is perfect!

"Come on out guys!" Casey throws her Pokeballs high up into the air and her three Pokemon burst out in bright flashes, landing on the ground and looking up at their trainer eagerly, "Are you three ready for some training?"

Her Pokemon cry out in enthusiasm, their excited reactions bringing a wide smile to Caseys face. Her Pokemon sure are fired up.

"That's great, because I want to try out some new strategies I've been working on. You see, I've been really impressed with how fast you all are. It was thanks to your speed that we won our first Gym Badge, so there's no concern in that field."

Her Pokemon cry out in approval and pride, clearly happy to be receiving such praise from their trainer.

"I've been studying some battle footage from previous Sinnoh League Conferences whenever I've had the chance, and by watching that footage I've learnt a lot. This new strategy is going to be quite difficult to grasp, but I know that you guys can do it." Casey gives her Pokemon a supportive and determined smile, "Because you're all super strong!"

Her Pokemon cheer once again, their eagerness to train growing and growing by the second. Casey decides to feed off of their enthusiasm and get started right away, "Okay, Monferno and Elekid, you two are up first!"

Monferno and Elekid both cheer once again whilst Dratinis face falls, a crestfallen expression on her face. Casey notices this and kneels down in front of the Dragon Pokemon as Elekid and Monferno run to stand opposite each other, preparing their own battle positions.

"I'm sorry, Dratini. I promise that you'll have your turn soon. I'm training Monferno and Elekid first since their form of the strategy is practically identically, so it's best to teach them both it at the same time. I have a special strategy planned for you though, so don't worry."

Her response lifts Dratinis mood right up; the Dragon Pokemon jumps up and settles on Caseys shoulder without any form of warning. Even though Dratinis not the heaviest Pokemon, the sudden added weight makes Casey stumble every so slightly.

"Give me a little warning next time, hey, Dratini?" Casey laughs lightheartedly and rises up from the grass, directing her attention towards her two other Pokemon, who are ready to get into training immediately, "Okay, let's try this out! Elekid, I want you to use a Thunderbolt on Monferno, and Monferno I want you to block it with your arms like this!"

Casey shows her Pokemon what she means by making an 'X' shape with her arms, holding them steadily out in front of her. Both Pokemon on the battlefield nod in understanding before turning back to face each other, waiting for their trainer to command them.

"Let's do this! Elekid, use Thunderbolt!"

Elekid obeys her command. An intense surge of lightning rushes towards Monferno at breakneck speed, the Playful Pokemon raising his guard as commanded. The attack collides with great strength, exhibiting just how well Elekid has been trained. Monferno stumbles back as the attack hits him, clearly struggling to cope with its power.

"I need you to concentrate your power to where the attack is hitting you, Monferno! Use that strength as a barrier and brush off the attack!"

"Mon...ferno!"

Casey watches as her Pokemon struggles to hold back the attack, looking as if he's going to break at any moment, "Elekid, hold it!"

Elekid obeys instantly once again and halts the fierce attack. Casey rushes over to Monferno, kneeling down beside her weakened Pokemon and looking at him apologetically, "Sorry, Monferno. I probably should've explained that strategy with more detail before trying it out, huh."

"Mon-ferno!"

Casey smiles once again at her Pokemon's enthusiasm, "You want to try it out again?"

Monferno nods brusquely at her proposal, shaking himself off and moving back into his battle stance, clearly ready for round 2. Casey nods back at him and stands up, moving back to her original position at the side of the battlefield.

"That was great, Elekid!" Casey calls over to the Electric Pokemon on the other side of the battlefield, "Let's try it again! Use Thunderbolt once more!"

The attack speeds towards Monferno for the second time, slamming into the Fire-Type with equal force as before. Monferno seems to cope with the attack much better than the last time around, listening to Caseys instruction and concentrating all of his power to where the Thunderbolt attack is striking.

"You can do it, Monferno!" Casey shouts supportively, "Push your arms outward and dispel the attack!"

Monferno attempts to do just that. He pushes out his arms and expels the electrical current as Elekid halts his attack upon Caseys request. In a real battle, a trainer would likely stop using an attack if it ended up not being effective, so Casey's trying her best to simulate that.

Everything seems to be going well. Monferno manages to push the attack away, clearly trying to aim it back at Elekid to gain the upper hand. However, despite the fact that Monferno has managed to dispel the attack rather well, he doesn't exactly manage to turn it around on Elekid very well. The attack power ends up being directed towards the ground just in front of Monferno, the built up strength of Elekids attack causing a large explosion to occur!

"Monferno, no!"

The Playful Pokemon cries out frightfully as he goes flying up into the air, his destination looking to be the nearby lake! Casey, with Dratini still on her shoulder, races after Monferno, calling out for him desperately as she goes. Elekid follows after her as well, both him and Dratini calling out as they go.

No! I have to catch up to Monferno! I can't let Monferno fall in the lake!

"Monferno, I'm coming!"

Monferno's now above the middle of the lake, likely to plummet down into its waters within a few seconds. There's no way that Casey can get to him now. Monferno's going to fall right into the lake, and there's nothing she can do about it! She's too distressed to even reach for her Pokeball, although she doubts that it even reach Monferno from where she's stood.

"Monferno, no!"

"Garr!"

Just when all hope seems lost, a shadow appears in Casey's line of sight, rushing right into Monferno just before he drops down into the water. At first Casey does a double take. She has no clue what this shadow is upon first glance, but she sure is grateful for it nonetheless.

"Monferno!"

Casey and her other Pokemon rush around the left side of the lake, where Monferno is now thankfully safe and sound. Elekid and Dratini are both quick to rush over to Monferno, the latter of the two practically bolting down from Casey's shoulder to check that the Playful Pokemon is okay.

Casey takes a moment to sigh in relief before turning towards the shadow to show her gratitude, recognising exactly what it is when she sees it up close, "Whoa! A Garchomp!"

"Garchomp, the Mach Pokémon. When it folds up its body and spreads its wings, it can fly like a jet plane at the speed of sound."

"So that's how you saved Monferno, huh?" Casey smiles gratefully at the Mach Pokemon as she pockets her Pokedex, "Well, thanks a lot, Garchomp! That sure was awesome!"

But who do you belong to?

Casey's fairly certain that a random wild Garchomp wouldn't be flying around a meadow on the outskirts of a small village. Perhaps up in a cavern on , but not all the way out here. She comes to the logical conclusion that Garchomp must belong to somebody, but who exactly that is she doesn't know.

"Excellent work, Garchomp."

Casey jumps in surprise when she suddenly hears a voice behind her. It sounds oddly familiar, but she can't place her finger on it; she assumes that whoever they are, they're likely Garchomp's trainer.

With that in mind, Casey turns around to express her gratitude towards Garchomp's trainer, "Hey, thanks so much for..."

Casey's voice trails off when she sees who's stood there, completely awestruck by their presence. Hundreds of questions fill her mind as soon as their eyes meet, but she only manages to splutter out two simple words because she's so dumbfounded, "You...you're Cynthia!"

"That's right." Cynthia replies smoothly, nodding her head over at Garchomp, "I can see that you've already met Garchomp."

Casey tries her best to shake away her awe, but she has to admit that she's finding it rather difficult. She's stood right in front of the Champion, after all! How is this happening? Why is this happening? Why is Cynthia even here? What is she supposed to do? How is she supposed to act? She doesn't have a clue what to do!"

"Mon-ferno!"

Casey's snapped right out of her frantic thoughts when she feels a reeling pain in her gut as she goes flying up into the air, landing with a splash right into the lake that Monferno came dangerously close to falling into himself. She pushes herself up from underneath the water, briefly pausing to wipe some of the lake water away from her face, and looks over at Cynthia, who is clearly taken aback at what's just transpired.

Casey knows exactly how she ended up in the lake. She doesn't even need to question it; she glares sharply over at the guilty Pokemon, "Monferno! Just because you have a strong Mach Punch, it doesn't mean you can keep hitting me with it!"


"So you're competing in the Sinnoh League, then?"

"Right." Casey nods, "We've already got our first badge, and we're planning on getting our next one over at the Eterna Gym. That's why we've come out here to train."

"That sounds like a smart idea to me."

Casey smiles over at Cynthia, still in shock that she's in the vicinity of such a formidable trainer. After regaining her composure and drying off after her little splash in the lake (which didn't take too long thanks to the heat from the vivid sun in the sky above the meadow), she couldn't resist asking Cynthia some of the questions burning in the back of her mind. Those questions soon led the two of them into a full-blown conversation, which is why the two of them are currently sat on the smooth grass at the edge of the river, their Pokemon sat not too far away from them.

Casey's already asked many of the questions that sprung to mind upon first seeing Cynthia, and the Champion even asked her some questions of her own, most of them to do about her travels as a Pokemon Trainer. She told Cynthia about her previous travels through Kanto and Johto before going on to her newly started Sinnoh travels, referencing her new travelling companions whilst doing so.

In short, Casey's had quite the surprising afternoon, to say the least.

"If you don't mind me asking, Cynthia...what brings you all the way out here?" Casey says, hesitancy still present in her voice, "I mean, not to stereotype or anything, but I can't exactly picture a Champion taking a stroll through a meadow on the outskirts of a small village."

"You'd be surprised to know that's actually why I'm here."

"Really?"

Cynthia nods, "You see, I actually passed through this meadow back when I was on my Pokemon journey around about when I was your age. I found it to be such a peaceful place back then, and I still do to this day. Sometimes, if I have the opportunity, I'll come out to peaceful places like here and just get away for a while."

"And I kinda ruined your peace and quiet." Casey's face turns a deep shade of red in embarrassment. She looks at Cynthia apologetically, "Sorry about that."

"There's nothing to be sorry about. I enjoyed watching you train with your Pokemon. You actually remind me of myself when I was much younger."

Casey feels honoured to be compared to such a powerful Pokemon trainer, even when they were a much younger are, but she holds back her excitement as she continues to listen to Cynthia respectfully, "But I'm really sure what you were trying to achieve in your training. Your strategy looked interesting, but what was its purpose?"

Casey takes this time to explain everything that she told her Pokemon before: all of the footage that she's been studying, the plan for her new battle strategy. Cynthia sits there and listens with interest, a thoughtful expression clear on her face as she does. This thoughtful expression remains on Cynthia's face even after Casey finishes her explanation, and the young trainer soon grows worried about the Champion when she simply sits there mutely.

"Uh...Cynthia?"

The next few moments are silent, Casey waiting anxiously for the Champion to say something. She has to admit, the way that Cynthia is acting is kinda freaking Casey out, but it's not like she's going to question it. She respects Cynthia too much to do that.

"Can I ask for your help with something, Casey?"

"Sure. What is it?"

"I'd like to have a battle with your Monferno."

Casey's caught off guard by Cynthia's request. Did the Champion just request a battle with her? It seems completely unorthodox to her. Champions usually only accept challenges, and even those battles are usually from members of the Elite Four and perhaps the occasional field challenge. From what Casey's seen, Champions rarely request battles. This truly is an opportunity that she can't pass up on.

"That sounds great. If Monferno's up for it, of course." Casey turns around and calls over to her Pokemon, who are still playing around Garchomp, who is sat there calmly as the smaller Pokemon enjoy themselves, "You hear that, Monferno? Are you ready to go?"

Monferno responds enthusiastically, jumping up and down on the spot and punching his fists in the air. Garchomp has a much calmer response to Cynthia's request to battle, but Casey just figures that's how the Mach Pokemon operates. Pokemon all have different personalities just like people, after all.

Cynthia points out the space that they are to battle within, which puts them a considerable distance away from the lake. That's smart thinking on Cynthia's part. They last thing they want is a mishap like what happened before. Casey moves to stand behind Monferno whilst Cynthia does the same for Garchomp, both Pokemon poised and ready to battle. Casey reaches for Dratini and Elekid's Pokeballs on her belt, figuring that they may as well return since they aren't battling.

"Dratini and Elekid, return!

Both Pokemon return to their Pokeballs in the form of red light; she places the Pokeballs back on her belt once they're both safely inside. Casey turns back to the battlefield herself and looks over at Cynthia with a steeled expression on her face, the Champion looking back at her stoically. She sure does have a tough resolve, to say the least.

"You may have the first move, Casey."

"Right." Casey takes Cynthia up on her offer and calls her first attack with gusto, "Monferno, lets start this out with Flamethrower!"

Monferno tenses as he stores up his fiery power before unleashing it right at Garchomp. The blistering hot ray of fire speeds towards the Mach Pokemon at top speed, looking as if it's going to land a direct hit; a confident smirk begins to grow on Casey's face as Monferno's powerful attack approaches Garchomp. It turns out, though, that she became far too confident too early, as just before the move makes contact Garchomp lifts up its fins, completely blocking the attack and retaining no damage whatsoever.

Garchomp yells victoriously as it thrusts its fins away from its face, some remnants of the Flamethrower appearing before quickly fizzling away like the rest of the attack.

That's exactly what I was trying to get Monferno to do! But what about the way Garchomp did it made it work?

"You haven't give up just yet, have you, Casey?" Cynthia's voice is the direct opposite of mocking, but it still frustrates Casey slightly. She's not giving up just yet.

"No way! Now, Monferno, use Dig!"

"Garchomp, up!"

Casey groans as the Mach Pokemon flies up high into the air, Monferno simultaneously digging deep underneath the ground. Monferno can jump up high, but not as high up as Garchomp is. Cynthia's effectively made Monferno's Dig attack useless.

"Monferno, jump up and back away from Garchomp."

The ground cracks as Monferno jumps up from beneath it within seconds, obeying Casey's command and retreating back to their side of the battlefield. Garchomp lowers itself back down to the ground without so much as a order from its trainer; it almost seems as if Garchomp knows what to do before Cynthia can even order it to do so. It's quite astonishing to witness.

"I'm impressed, Casey. Monferno sure does know some powerful moves." Cynthia says, still maintaining her relaxed posture despite how intense the battle has been so far, "But there's more to a battle than just using powerful moves. Strategy makes up a large portion of each and every battle."

"Oh, I know that!"

Cynthia smiles, "Good. Then I expect that you also know that the best way to devise or perfect a strategy is through watching other trainers who have grasped what you're trying to master. It is important to identify what parts of a strategy you and your Pokemon are misunderstanding in order to become stronger. In order to become strong, you must be willing to learn from your mistakes."

Watching other trainers who have grasped what you're trying to master? Learn from my mistakes?

Casey takes a moment to ponder on Cynthia's words, almost cheering when the lightbulb goes off in her head. She understands exactly what Cynthia's trying to say.

"Okay, Monferno! Lets use Flamethrower again, and give it all you've got!"

Monferno unleashes his mighty Flamethrower attack once again and Garchomp responds in the same way as before, using its fins to block the fiery attack with ease. This time around Casey pays close attention to Garchomp as Monferno continues to fire his attack at the Mach Pokemon, trying to determine exactly what allows Garchomp to pull of the tactic.

"Look at Garchomp's stance!" Casey's eyes flicker over to Cynthia as the Champion shouts over to her, Monferno still firing the attack at Garchomp with all of his might, "Study how Garchomp steadies itself! Think about where the power of the attack is going!"

Casey carefully considers Cynthia's words as she looks back to Garchomp, listening to her advice and deciding to study the Pokemon's whole body instead of just its fins. In doing this she notices the positions of its legs. They're separated, the right (presumably the stronger of the two) slightly further back than the left. Both feet are also rooted tightly to the ground, the claws on said feet buried into the grass like an anchor of a ship is to a sea bed.

That's how it works!

"Monferno, stop!"

The Playful Pokemon stops the attack instantaneously and stands there breathlessly, his chest heaving heavily as he attempts to catch his breath. He really gave it his all.

"Garchomp, return."

The Mach Pokemon returns to its Pokeball, Cynthia thanking it for its assistance on the battlefield. She crosses the field until she reaches Monferno, who looks up at the Champion in confusion as she abruptly stops in front of him. Casey watches with innate curiosity as Cynthia kneels down in front of Monferno, a placid expression on her face.

What is she doing?

A smile breaks out on Cynthia's face suddenly. She brings her left hand up to Monferno's head and pats it lightly, the Playful Pokemon leaning into her touch and smiling brightly back at her. Casey smiles at the heartwarming exchange and walks across the battlefield, bowing her head respectfully to Cynthia when she reaches her.

"Thank you for our battle, Cynthia. Monferno and I both learned a lot."

"That's what I was hoping to hear." Cynthia smiles, "I trust that you'll keep working on that strategy of yours."

"Right, and based off of all I've learnt from watching Garchomp battle, I'm sure that we'll have it down pat in no time!"

Cynthia nods, reassuring Casey that she fully believes that she and her Pokemon can master the strategy, which only further inspires Casey to keep working at it. She's not about to give up on the chance to become stronger. She wouldn't even consider it.

Grrr!

Casey's surprised when she hears a low grumbling noise coming from Cynthia's stomach. The Champion flushes slightly red in embarrassment, but remains as calm and collected as ever and smiles apologetically over at Casey, holding a hand over her growling abdomen.

"Sorry about that!" She laughs lightly, "I suppose that all of that battling works up quite the appetite!"

Casey laughs back as her own stomach growls in hunger, a red tint coming to her own cheeks at the sound; she's quick to laugh it off coolly, "I agree. I could really go for some lunch right about now."

"Oh, I expect that it's past lunch time by now."

Casey totally forgot about eating lunch. Brock made a rather large breakfast earlier that morning, so her hunger's been satisfied for most of the day, but like Cynthia said: battling sure can work up quite the appetite. Still, she feels as if not too much time could've passed since she left Dawn and Brock at the festival to come out to the meadow and train, but she feels as if it's best to check anyway.

She glances down at her Poketch on her wrist and flips through the various applications to the clock application, her eyes going wide when she sees what the time is.

"2:37PM!?"

No! No! No! This is not good!

Back in the village, Casey remembers seeing the signs for the festivals, which explicitly listed the Pokemon Contest to be starting at 12:30PM. She promised Dawn that she'd be back in time to watch her compete! Even if it is just a practice contest, Casey should still be there to support her friend.

"What's wrong?"

Casey looks back to Cynthia, panic spread across her entire face, "I'm so late for something, Cynthia! Something really important! I'm sorry but I need to go right now!"

"Of course, go o-."

"Thanks!" Casey turns around and sprints back in the direction of the town at breakneck speed, calling back to Cynthia as she runs, "It was great meeting you, Cynthia! Thanks for everything!"

Cynthia smiles fondly as she watches the young trainer from Pastoria City race off, not even remotely mad that she rushed off before she even finished her sentence. She can't bring herself to be mad as she actually likes Casey, for both her fiery determination and one other thing. It's something that Cynthia believes everybody has, but very few people grow from and fully utilise.

That thing is potential, and she sees a great amount of it in Casey. She hopes that she gets the chance to meet her again. She wants to see that potential shine through once again.


"I'm here! Don't worry, guys! I made it!"

Casey stumbles into the town square, the location that the Pokemon Contest was advertised to be held at. She hopes that she's on time to see at least the final few minutes of the contest. At least then she can say that she was there to support Dawn for some of the contest.

Where is everybody?

Casey pauses abruptly when she finds that the square is completely deserted, the only sign that a contest had been held there being a few small banners that nobody's bothered to take down just yet hanging loosely on a few posts across the square, the weak paper blowing slightly in the wind.

"Casey!"

Casey turns around as her friends approach, looks of relief evident on their faces. Casey smiles back at them, but she can't help but feel a pang of guilt hit her when she makes eye contact with Dawn, who surprisingly looks glad to see her.

"There you are!" Ash says, "We've been searching all over for ya!"

"Pikachu-chu!"

"Sorry about that, guys. I got caught up in training." She says apologetically, directing her apology mainly towards Dawn, "I'm sorry that I missed your contest, Dawn. I know I said I would be there to watch it, but I got caught up."

Casey expects Dawn to snap back at her, to get mad and not accept Casey's poor excuse, but she ends up doing the direct opposite. She nods back in understanding, using her signature catchphrase with a smile, "No need to worry! It was only a practice contest, and we didn't win it anyway."

"But you and Pachirisu did really well, especially considering that it was Pachirisu's first contest." Brock says supportively.

"Well, I promise that I'll be there to see the next one." Casey smiles warmly over at her friends, "Shall we continue heading for Floaroma Town?"

Her friends agree with her suggestion and the four of them begin to make their way out of the empty square, all of them laughing and smiling together as they go. Brock turns to Casey, the Pokemon Breeder asking her about her training session with interest, "So, Casey. Did you get the chance to try out some of your new strategies."

"Yeah, something like that, Brock." Casey smiles knowingly, "Something like that."