The five friends had decided to train separately even Kat and Ava were not training together. Each person had a different approach to training. Alex was working on trying to get better as a counter battler. He had needed to as that was how Kat and Ava had beaten him in battles before. So Alex knew that this was his weakness. He had been drilling his Pokémon over and over again. He liked to mix up where exactly he trained so that way no one knew where he was. Alex wasn't worried about the other trainers, he was more concerned with his friends trying to figure out what he was doing. Alex had already caught Kat sneakily trying to gather information for him. Alex tried to bullshit her and said he was still working on his attacking progress of his team. Alex didn't want even his girlfriend to know what he was doing. So the 19 year old was evasive with his girlfriend. Alex was still working out which team to use in the tournament. Poe, Alpha, Drago, Morisssey, and Venus were locks to join the team. The question was who would get that last spot. It was a close contest between the Hariyama Alex had just picked up or Jet the Floatzel who had been very loyal to Alex. Each had their various pros and cons, Nick wanted to watch each and then make decision.
Bunny had decided to go out and catch some more Pokémon. She had Ribes, Aster her Eevee, her Spritze, but Bunny had picked up 3 new Pokémon in Johto. Bunny had picked up a Mamoswine, a Houndoom, amd a Pidgeotto. Only Ava knew about Bunny's new teammates and Bunny had wanted to keep it a secret. She would spring it on the others. Of course Ribes was her main powerful weapon as Ribes had seemingly gotten stronger. This was because of the connection between Ribes and Bunny. So in terms of training, Bunny was focused on trying to not only work on her battlebond, but breaking in the new Pokémon. Bunny had never truly been into fighting Pokémon, she preferred her garden instead. Yet if Franz was going to come after her friends, Bunny had to be prepared. So she had really started to take the fact that she needed her Pokémon to fight in terms of battling seriously. She imagined if her brothers and father knew about this they would have been floored. They didn't know Bunny to be into battling so this would have shocked them.
As for Melody she was training all day and night. Dexter had sent her the Gengar she needed. As of right now Melody had Gengar, Victreebel, and the Steelix. That was not enough. She spent most of her training looking for the perfect partners to use for the event. She only wanted to keep 5 Pokémon on her team just in case she could get through to Elko. If she could somehow get through toner former Corviknight then she could use him on the team. But right now she needed to find two other Pokémon to join on her team. One of the first things that she did was to go fishing. She could always use a water type and she had never raised one before. So Melody had gone fishing to try and catch a strong water type. What Melody got was a Avantura version of a Golduck. It was psychic and water type. She decided to keep it as it would be a powerful ally. The other Pokémon she managed to add to her team was a Manectric. This was another good addition to help Melody round out her team. She didn't know what she would come across, but Melody just knew that this team was good enough to win.
Kat didn't need to add any Pokémon to her team, but that didn't mean that she didn't have a plan. In fact she knew that people would becoming after her. She had been so close last year to winning the cup as a sophomore. That was how great of a battler she was, but she knew people would try and take her off her throne. She was also gunning to take out Kuroku who she lost to last year. She knew that Kuroku had supposedly been an agent for The Righteous so Kat really wanted to beat him. Kat had suspected that she had been cheated out of the win in the finals. It seemed a little fishy how Kuroku had acted in the finals so Kat wanted to beat him if she fought him again. Kuroku had been Kat's mentor and she hated him after some of the things he had done to her. This was personal between Kat and Kuroku. This was why Kat had been training and pushing to their maximum. She usually didn't try to be one of those trainers that overworked their Pokémon, but in this case she had to. Especially since Gale was a mega now. So Kat began training her Pokémon day and night which was not like her at all.
Kat had even put her responsibilities as the assistant to Davis Walkmen. Arceus, she had even turned down Alex's request for a lunch date. No, Catherine Kiner had put her all of her focus on the tournament and the prep. She was pushing herself to limits that concerned her friends, but especially her boyfriend. Alex was worried that Kat was going to push herself too hard. That was why he had contacted Ava and told him his concerns about Kat. That he was worried she was not getting enough rest because she was too focused on this tournament. Ava had at first dismissed this as Alex trying to gain an advantage on who he perceived as his biggest competitor. But then Ava started to watch Kat. She did notice that her closest and best friend had started to lose weight because she wasn't eating. She seemed consumed by just watching famous Pokémon battles and training all day and all night. Ava had even seen that Kat was sneaking and having training sessions from like midnight to 4 am. Now Ava was very concerned as well. She needed to have an intervention for Kat because Ava figured she knew why Kat was pushing too hard.
Kat had thought that Ava and Melody wouldn't notice that she was sneaking down for training sessions at midnight. She knew that this wasn't necessarily the best idea, but Kat didn't care. She had to train and win this tournament. Then she had a plan: she would challenge Franz to a battle if she won. The man that was responsible for causing so much pain to Melody and Dexter. The man that had wanted to try and cause harm to her boyfriend needed to be taken out. That was Kat was pushing so hard. She wanted to end all of this and to expose Franz for being the mastermind for all of this. If Kat could win this tournament she would make sure that everyone knew what a corrupt bastard Franz was. Kat Kiner would be the hero. Of course she knew that this was extremely dangerous and could backfire. That was why she had started to distance herself from Alex. She knew that he probably would have told her that he would do this instead. No, Kat had to do this especially after everything that had happened with Kuroku. So she wanted to do this by herself. Which was why she had begun these midnight training sessions.
Kat tried to sneak down through the back door in the kitchen as she had been doing. But as she snuck into the kitchen, a light flipped on. Sitting in the kitchen was Ava with a pokeball in her hand. Kat's brown eyes widened as she saw her best friend sitting in the kitchen. Ava had a concerned look on her face as Kat fumbled in the dark. "Kat when I said you and Alex would rub off on each other, I was hoping that his stupid plans would not rub off on you. Yet here you are sneaking off for midnight training sessions. Just look at yourself Kat, you are pushing yourself way too hard. I can't help, but think that Kuroku being in this tournament has something to do with why you are training so hard.", Kat said nothing. She just lowered her head as she knew she had been caught. Kat knew that she had been pushing too hard and there is a reason for that. She wanted to hear what Ava thought Kat's reasons were for training so hard. "Does Alex know about everything that happened between you and Kuroku? How he mentally fucked with you when you were in a relationship with him even though he was your mentor? I know this is why you've been training so hard because you want to really beat him.", Ava looked at her best friend.
Kat shook her head. No, she had not told Alex that she had been in a relationship with Kuroku. Of course Alex knew that Kat had been with other guys, but he didn't know that she had been with Kuroku or what he had done to her. It had been freshman year and Kat had just been a stupid, wide eyed 18 year old. She didn't know what a manipulative bastard Kuroku had been and still was. He had even started to manipulate her before the final last year. Kat had been in her private room before the final when Kuroku had sent her a long text telling Kat he loved her and that he was sorry. That he wanted to get back together. It was all bullshit, but it had thrown Kat off. That was why she had lost in the final. The black haired female looked at her best friend, "and he won't find out. Please Ava, this is something I have to do. If I come up against Kuroku again I have to beat him. Some of the stuff he's done to me was horrific. It's why I have to beat him." Some of Kat's lower self esteem issues came from the fact that Kuroku had called Kat decent looking. Had said she needed implants etc. This was why Kat had tried to be kinder when she was a mentor. But Kat knew that wasn't the sole reason why she had been training so hard. She also knew that Ava wouldn't be happy with what she was going to say next. "Ava, if I win this tournament I am going to challenge Franz to a battle.", Ava's reaction was not what Kat had expected.
Ava just stared at her friend as Ava twirled the pokeball in her hand. "Come and fight me, Kat. If you're going to be that stupid then I might as well get one last fight with my best friend before you end up getting killed or really hurt in public. . Because that's just stupidity. You know Franz has no conscience and so a student challenging him, he would want to make an example of you. So come and fight me, if I win you do not go through with your idiotic plan.", Kat raised her eyebrows at this. She had figured that Ava would be pissed, but to challenge Kat to a battle was weird. But Ava was not finished with her suggestions. "I want to battle scout. Scout vs Amun just one Pokémon vs the other. I need to train up Amun. Plus perhaps the Pokémon I caught with you will remind you how stupid it would be to challenge Franz.", there was a coldness and venom in Ava's voice. She had only heard this when Ava was talking about Alex back when she hated Alex. But Kat had never known Ava to talk to her like this. Kat must have really pissed Ava off. Still the black haired female was going to stand her ground if Ava really wanted to battle her. But Kat also knew that if she accepted this challenge then she would be giving away secrets.
Kat smiled, "Scout's going to kick your ass, but that's for the tournament." Kat figured that Scout was close to evolving anyways. Having him battle against a strong Pokémon like Amun would help Scout evolve. Still, Kat could feel Ava's gaze on her. Ava seemed both pissed and concerned with Kat. Perhaps this was how Alex felt whenever Kat had looked at him like that. Kat knew that her plan was stupid, but this was the only way that Kat knew how to stop Franz. Franz was going after her boyfriend and Kat had to protect Alex no matter what. So Kat could not risk Ava figuring out Kat's strategy. "I'm sorry Ava, but I don't want you knowing my secrets. Now if you excuse me, I have to go train my Pokémon.", Kat whistled as Scout came running down stairs. He was used to training at midnight right now so he would follow Kat to train outside. Kat had turned to walk out to continue her training, but was suddenly grabbed by Ava. Kat turned and saw that her closest friend was red in the face.
"You are acting really fucking stupid Catherine. Look at yourself, you're sneaking out in the middle of the night because you know this is stupid. You haven't even eaten at all today. Alex is worried about you, Kat. Think about that for a second, Alex is the one concerned about you! He even texted me to check up on you.", Ava squeezed Kat's right arm. The black haired female tried to pull away from Ava, but Ava kept her grip tight. With her free hand, Ava pulled out her phone and dragged Kat into her seat. Ava wanted Kat to see what even her own boyfriend was worried about her. Ava made Kat read the texts from Alex where he asked Ava to check up on Kat. That he had noticed that Kat had really not been herself and that even Dr. Walkmen had told Alex that Kat had not been herself. He said that he knew that she was overtraining, but he didn't understand why she was doing it. Alex called her a badass so he really didn't understand why she was acting this way. "So I want you to call him and tell him. I want you to tell him everything. I want him to have a full picture of what is going on with you. So that way he understands what exactly is going through your head.", Kat looked horrified.
Catherine Kiner had buried her experience with Kuroku in the back of her head. She didn't want to tell Alex about everything Kuroku had done to her. How he had driven her to secretly turn back to drugs momentarily to numb the fact that he had caused Kat so much self hatred her freshman year. Then there was the taunting after Kat had lost to him in the finals, "I told you that you would never be able to beat me. Why don't you just give up?" Those had been the words Kat had been replaying over and over in her head again. That was what was driving her over training. She truly wanted to shut him up and show that she was his equal finally. But Kat knew that Alex would be very upset and probably go after Kuroku before the tournament even started. She shook her head at Ava, "no I can't tell him everything that Kuroku has done. You know how Alex is. He's going to lose it if I tell him everything that Kuroku has done to me. Please Ava, I'll stop overtraining. Don't make me tell Alex." Kat pleaded with Ava. But Ava did not seem to care. Ava reached into Kat's pocket and pulled out her phone. She started to dial Alex's number.
"What is this a booty call?", Alex chuckled to himself as he answered the phone call from his girlfriend. Of course he knew that it wasn't a booty call as Ava had texted him before hand to let him know that Kat would be calling him. Alex was worried about Kat as she had never acted like this before even last year during the tournament. This was not like her at all and he wanted to understand why Kat was acting the way she was. Alex could hear that she was breathing heavily which sent red flags up to Alex. "Kat, what is going on with you? I just want to make sure you are ok. You haven't been to class and you haven't eaten in like a day. Ava and Melody have told me that all you have been doing midnight trainings for hours and hours. You aren't acting like yourself. Talk to me.", this wasn't Alex just talking like a boyfriend, but rather as a friend. He wanted to make sure that Kat was ok tournament aside.
Ava looked at Kat and nodded. This went beyond the tournament, she wanted Kat to know that she was scaring everyone. Kat took a deep breath, "it's about Kuroku, Alex. There are things you don't know that I never told you. We used to date my freshman year. I was young and stupid. He was dark and mysterious so I was attracted. Plus he was my mentor so there was a natural attraction." Kat winced as she got those words out. She could hear the silence on the other end of the phone which made her gulp. Still Ava was right and Alex had to know why Kat was acting like the way she was. "It started off well and it was fun. But then it turned dark. He cheated on me so many times. Then he would purposely challenge me to Pokémon battles. He called me a shitty trainer. Said my Pokémon sucked and that I sucked. Then he started going in on my looks. Called me ugly nearly every day. Yes, I started doing some drugs to calm the nerves because of that. Then last year in the tournament right before the final, he told me he was still in love with me. Me, being an idiot, fell for it and was completely thrown off before the final. That's why I lost. This is why I want to beat him. This is why I have been training so hard cause I have to beat him.", Ava put a arm over Kat to comfort her.
"I'm going to kill him.", Alex said. He was beyond upset at this point. This wasn't just because he and Kat were a couple. No, Alex would have said the same thing just because Kat was his best friend and mentor. Kat couldn't see Alex, but he was fuming. He was going to make sure that he took out Kuroku in this tournament. He would humiliate him. "I am going to make sure that I face him in this tournament. I am going to humiliate him just like he tried to humiliate you. And don't tell me no Kat because I am going to make sure this happens. I will cause him to cry like a bitch that he is. I wish you had told me sooner then I would have dealt with him before.", Kat winced. This was why she had not wanted to tell Alex about her history with Kuroku. She loved Alex, but his hardheadedness was the one quality that she did not love about him. It was going to be his downfall.
"Alex, this isn't your fight. It's mine.", her voice started to crack. The painful memories of everything she had endured the past two years was starting to get to her. She appreciated that her boyfriend would try to defend her, but this wasn't his battle. Kat needed to go and beat Kuroku herself. That was if they met in the tournament again. Of course, Kat knew that the only way they would meet again would be a rematch in the finals. That was why she had been training so hard because she did not want a repeat of last year. "I know I have been pushing myself so hard. But that's because I really want to win. It's so sweet of you to care so much about me. And trust me I will remember this and you'll be rewarded.", Ava made a gagging noise as Kat cackled. She listened to hear if Alex was starting to relax just as Kat had. Of course Kat had to know her boyfriend better than that.
"Kat, I know it's your battle. But you're letting him win again. You're literally consumed with trying to get even with him. You're breaking your body and mind while he probably doesn't give a damn what about you. You've let him win Kat.", Alex's voice cracked. He cared so much about her and he hated to see her withering away. Afterall it had happened to Alex before. "Remember when I was so obsessed with Ava that I was not acting like myself? How I hurt you? Well that's how you're acting now. Everyone is worried about you Kat. You need to know that obsession like this isn't healthy. You need to stop and focus on just worrying about yourself. I don't want you to end up how I did.", if anyone knew what it was like to go down that deep dark hole of being overly obsessed it was Alex. He knew that it was a road to no where. He didn't want Kat to go down that road. He decided he would try to help her, "Kat we all know how much of a badass you are. You are tougher than all of us combined. Plus you're the hottest girl in the university. Fuck what he said about you. You're going to prove that dumbass wrong."
Kat blushed as she whispered some sensual things into the phone. Even Ava blushed from Kat's words. This was truly the honeymoon phase of Kat's relationship with Alex. To be honest, Ava didn't know Kat knew ome of those terms, but she did. Finally, Kat just smiled though her boyfriend couldn't see her. "I love you Alex, but your sweet talk isn't going to work on me. I am still going to whoop your ass when I come against you in the tournament just like last year.", Kat cackled again which caused Alex to huff. He promised that he would beat Kat and then Kuroku. They continued to have banter for about five minutes when Alex hung up the phone. Ava though had noticed that Kat had forgotten to mention her plan to Alex. Ava had wanted Kat to tell Alex everything. But Kat had not and this disappointed Ava. She just stared at her best friend who looked at Ava with a confused look on her face. Kat tilted her head at Ava's look, "what?"
"You didn't tell him about you wanting to fight Franz if you won the Tournament. I mean you aren't going to win, but still the sentiment is there. You should have told him about that. Now you are going to drop a bomb on him. You should have told him.", Ava crossed her arms and continued to stare at Kat. She still was not satisfied with the way her best friend had acted. Ava just wanted Kat to realize how stupid she was being. She had hoped that Alex could have talked Kat out of doing her stupid plan, but she had not even mentioned it to him. Now Ava wanted to do whatever she could to prevent Kat from winning the tournament. This meant that she would have to beat her best friend in the tournament. That was fine with Ava, "I am going to beat you at the tournament Kat. Then I will stop you from challenging Franz."
Kat just laughed at Ava and slipped back to bed. She needed to get some rest because she planned on having a big breakfast in the morning. She was back to normal.
Ooc: I wanted to do a small chapter in the lead up to the tournament. The next chapter is going to be very long. Just wanted to give you guys a small background on how everyone is training. Next chapter will be round one of The Institute Cup. I did t want to do several chapters of filler where I drag the story out just so I can have a story that's over say 500 chapters. I won't do that to you guys. Anyways here's the teams of the main characters. Yes there will be new characters in the tournament that you will meet, I promise. So tell me how you think these characters are going to do in the tournament:
Alex team:
Floatzel
Dragonite
Dragalge
Avantura Sawsbuck
Glasolemos
Avantura Lycanroc
Bunny team:
Ribes
Spritzee
Eevee
Mamoswine
Houndoom
Pidgeot
Melody team
Gengar
Victrebeel
Avantura Steelix
Manetric
Avantura Golduck
Kat
Gardevoir
Glaceon
Swellow
Herdier
Vulpix
Nidoqueen
Ava team
Galarian Rapidash
Impidip
Mimyku
Blossom
Togekiss
Umbreon