Bradley and Will continued to trek east from the Cinders. They've spent the past few nights at small pokemon lodges, and Bradley decided not to contact Aria in case Team Order was tracking any electronic traces nearby. Bradley's plan was to get closer to Fort Lexing so Team Mystic could reach him before Team Order could. He figured he was a wanted man at this point, and if Team Order wanted to try something funny like report him to the Cabinet in Richland Port, at least he would be protected and backed by Team Mystic.

Bradley and Will spent a lot of time hiding in the woods. At one point, a helicopter buzzed overhead, with the sigil of Xerneas, the symbol of Team Order, painted on the sides. It didn't seem to detect Bradley, and Will made no effort to flag them down.

Bradley figured keeping Will at this point was more of a risk, but Will never made any effort to leave, especially since Bradley stopped keeping the gun out and having his pokemon constantly keep an eye out. At first, Bradley thought Will could have been helping Team Order in some way, but as time went on, Will seemed to show his disdain for his organization. The two only made small talk up to this point, but Bradley figured it was time to reveal Will's true intentions.

"You know, let me ask you something," Bradley faced Will as the two walked along. "I have the gun put away. You didn't try anything rash at all. In fact, you could probably get away if you tried escaping right now. Why are you still here?"

"I guess I could have escaped," Will responded. "But to be honest with you, I'd rather be taken hostage than put up with Rafael."

"He's that bad, huh?"

"He's demanding and condescending, and he's up to no good. Team Order is up to no good, and it's all under the leader's nose."

"No kidding. Why exactly did they clear the Cinders?"

"What we explained to you was the truth," Will replied. "Well, the vague truth. There's more to it."

"Are you willing to tell my boss and give testimony to the Cabinet?" Bradley asked.

"If you won't charge me with anything, yes."

"I don't think you've done anything wrong."

Will paused for a moment as the two continued walking. He finally spoke up. "The natives found something that controlled their society. They were able to influence legendary pokemon at their will, until something happened where they lost control. Chaos broke out, and they were consumed by that chaos."

"Why keep that information from us?" Bradley asked, confused. "We need to learn from the past."

"They're going to control Inventum with this power, combined with Crimson Rage!"

"What do you mean? What are you talking about?"

"I'm not sure exactly. Only Rafael really knows. But Crimson Rage was something used way back in the War, where pokemon were strengthened to where their moves became lethal. There's a group in the east coast disguised as a criminal syndicate that's testing this. They have testing sites where they plan to unleash terror. That's where Team Order will come in to play hero."

"How long have you known about Inventum's past?" Bradley demanded answers.

"Years," Will regretfully admitted. "James Kyar was the one who discovered it. He was betrayed and murdered by one of those he traveled with in the Barren Wastes."

"Son of a -" Bradley stopped and stood face to face with Will, intimidating him. "You guys killed the father of a pair of twins so you can try to control Inventum for yourselves?"

"Please, I had nothing to do with it!" Will pleaded. "I wasn't even there!"

"Who killed him?" Bradley got to Will's face. "Who killed James Kyar!?"

"It was Rafael," Will looked down. "Rafael killed him."

Bradley sighed. "I'll help get to the bottom of this for Jason and Kristine if it's the last thing I ever do. Now come on, we gotta get out of here. As soon as we come to the base of the Nappalchan Mountains, I'm calling Aria."

"Rafael is the head of Team Order's research division," Will continued. "The leader, Walt, would not stand for this, but Rafael is too influential. Many are on his side, so Walt doesn't do anything about it. It's only a matter of time before Rafael takes the mantle, and when that happens, there's not much that can stop him."

"And how do you know all of this?" Bradley asked.

"Because I believed in the cause," Will spoke with shame. "If we could control the world so that chaos would never exist again, then we would be on the path to a utopian society. I was never so wrong in my life until now."

"Come now," Bradley patted him on the shoulder. "We need to get out of here as soon as possible, for your safety."


It was the early afternoon, with the sun shining over a cloudless sky in beautiful Valerie Bay. The second round of the Random Duo Tournament was well underway. More spectators flocked to the stadium, filling up the sporadic empty spaces from the first round earlier in the morning. This round was meant to test the versatility of teams, especially since many pokemon who have fought previously may need a full day's rest before fighting again.

For Kristine and Bran, this wasn't a problem at all. Having swept their opponents in the first round, they made easy work of their opponents in the second round. Their competition included two 13 year old boys who each had a single badge. Their seviper and lombre, and vigoroth and makuhita were to match for the well experienced duo hailing from the mountain regions of Inventum. Using Espeon and Herdier alone, Kristine and Bran secured themselves a spot in the semi-finals for the next morning.

Jason and Sydney took to the floor after Kristine and Bran. With hundreds of spectators looking on, Jason and Sydney faced two girls named Mia and Nora. Mia was taller, and had her jet black hair tied in a bun. She wore an oversized red shirt that nearly covered her black shorts. Nora had short strawberry blonde hair that was messy. She wore a blue and white striped shirt and blue jeans with suspenders attached to them.

Jason and Sydney knew they were clicking exceptionally well at this point. With Jason using Jolteon and Sydney using Scorbunny, they were really confident going up against Mia's Doduo and Nora's Vanillish.

"Scorbunny! Use Agility!" Sydney commanded.

"Scor!" Scorbunny started sprinting clockwise around the floor. This was Jason's first time seeing Scorbunny in person, and already, he was impressed by the pokemon's speed and power.

"You too, Jolteon!" Jason issued.

"Jolt!" Jolteon sprinted counter clockwise.

The already weary Doduo and Vanillish were struggling to keep track of Scorbunny and Jolteon. They tried to fix their eyes on them, but couldn't.

"Space out!" Mia yelled, wanting her and Nora's pokemon to not be so clustered together.

"Vanillish, Ice Beam!" Nora wanted to counter attack.

Vanillish took a calculated aim and fired, using some intuition to aim her shot just as Jolteon and Scorbunny aligned while making a lap around the battlefield. Unfortunately for her and Nora's side, she couldn't hit the targets fast enough. Ice Beam crashed against the steel barrier.

"Wild Charge Doduo!" Jason yelled.

"Flame Charge Vanillish!" Sydney ordered.

Jolteon used his hind legs to propel himself from the wall, shooting at Doduo like a homing missile. His body was covered in electric energy. Doduo looked with both heads, unsure about how to react.

"Vanillish!" Vanillish panicked when she saw Scorbunny leap at her, covered in flames.

Jolteon and Scorbunny struck their targets at the same time. The impact from both attacks sent Doduo and Vanillish flying back towards their trainers, tumbling just several feet away. Jolteon staggered briefly, having taken recoil damage from Wild Charge.

"Doduo and Vanillish are unable to continue!" the male referee in charge of officiating the afternoon matches declared.

The crowd cheered over the double knockout. Demoralized, Mia and Nora recalled their pokemon.

"We did so well this morning too!" Mia mentioned.

"We're not out of this yet!" Nora tried to remain positive.

"You're right," Mia pulled out her second pokeball. "Let's go, Ambipom!"

"Ambipom!" Ambipom greeted, clapping both of his hand-tails together.

"Murkrow, you too!" Nora summoned.

"Row!" Murkrow cawed.

"Sydney, let's do the plan," Jason faced her.

"Is he up to the task?" Sydney asked.

"Always," Jason gave a confident nod.

"Okay," Sydney couldn't help but snicker. "Let's do the plan!"

"Return, Jolteon!" Jason recalled, to the surprise of many.

Kristine, who was spectating from the second row to Jason's left, was not at all surprised.

"Is he going to do what I think he is?" she spoke out loud, with Bran sitting next to her.

"And what would that be?" Bran asked, curious.

Kristine smirked. "Oh, you'll see."

"Magikarp, this is your chance to shine in front of a big crowd!" Jason grabbed Magikarp's pokeball, sending the Fish Pokemon out.

"Karp karp karp!" Magikarp bounced, ready to take on his opponents.

This drew laughter all across the stadium. Surely Jason was doing this as a prank, or an insult to the other team. There wasn't a rule against using a pokemon that would normally not be as effective in combat. Not on their own, anyways.

"Recalling Jolteon for this!?" Nora was furious. "Murkrow, use Wing Attack on Magikarp!"

"Nora, it could be a trap!" Mia warned.

Nora ignored her partner's cautionary advice, and Mia chose to have Ambipom stay back rather than support Murkrow.

"Agility one more time, Scorbunny!" Sydney called.

"Scor!" Scorbunny sprinted across the field, picking up speed. He was moving lightning fast, which created an even bigger threat for Mia and Nora. But for the moment, Nora's focus was Magikarp, and Jason was about to show her it had nothing to do with mocking her and Mia as trainers.

"Now!" Jason initiated his plan.

"Scorbunny, pick up Magikarp!" Sydney commanded.

"Use Flail on Murkrow!" Jason yelled.

Scorbunny raced to pick up Magikarp before anyone knew what was going on. Holding Magikarp with both paws like a big weapon, Scorbunny leapt into the air to meet Murkrow head on. Magikarp and Murkrow traded blows, which was something both Jason and Magikarp wanted; the more damage Magikarp was able to take, the more powerful Flail became.

"Scor!" Scorbunny struggled to get a firm grip of Magikarp, as the Fish Pokemon attacked relentlessly.

"Murk!" Murkrow nearly crashed to the ground, but was able to recover and fly away.

"Karp karp karp!" Magikarp had his sights on Ambipom.

"Move to Ambipom and keep using Agility!" Sydney followed up.

"Scor!" Scorbunny dashed at Ambipom.

"Ambi-" before Mia was able to issue a command, Scorbunny was already within striking distance, hopping several feet off the ground and wielding a very determined Magikarp.

"Karp!" Magikarp struck Ambipom, sending him sliding back a few feet.

"Pursuit, Murkrow!" Nora realized Jason's plan was a legitimate one, if not nuts.

"Fury Swipes, Ambipom!" Mia called.

"Ambi!" Ambipom leapt at Scorbunny and Magikarp.

"Assurance while Ambipom is attacking for maximum impact!" Nora added.

"Agility and get out of there!" Sydney responded.

Scorbunny escaped before Ambipom and Murkrow converged on him and Magikarp.

"Now circle back around and whack them silly! Use Agility one more time!" Sydney followed up.

Scorbunny was able to nearly max out his overall speed potential, but he was running at bullet-speed at this point. Two seconds later, Magikarp delivered an attack that seemed faster than any first priority move on both Ambipom and Murkrow.

"Again!" Sydney called the shots.

Scorbunny took off and made another run, using Magikarp to strike their opponents once more.

"Again!"


The laughter turned into cheering across the stadium. Some fans were chanting, "Magikarp! Magikarp!"

Kristine and Bran sat there, completely dumbfounded.

"I thought he was just going to have Magikarp use Bounce," Kristine looked on, both shocked and impressed.

"I'm not sure what exactly I'm seeing," Bran was completely lost. "This is unorthodox to say the least."

"That's my brother for ya," Kristine leaned back.


Sydney stopped giving instructions. Scorbunny and Magikarp completely took the match over, striking Murkrow and Ambipom over and over again.

"Well, uh," Sydney faced Jason. "That went well," she laughed.

"I wasn't expecting this to pull off the way it did," Jason looked on.

At last, Murkrow and Ambipom both collapsed to the floor. Even the referee wasn't quite sure what just happened.

"Uh, Murkrow and Ambipom are unable to battle," he announced. "Jason and Sydney are the winners!"

"So that's a thing," Nora recalled Murkrow. "Now I know."

"Don't say I didn't warn you!" Mia bantered, meaning that in good gesture. She admitted that she was outmatched, no matter what pokemon she went up against.

Jason and Sydney cheered and exchanged high fives. Scorbunny returned to them with a nearly fainted Magikarp.

"Return, Magikarp," Jason recalled him. "You did awesome out there, bud."

"You too, Scorbunny!" Sydney recalled. She faced Jason with a smile. "We make a great team!"

"We do," Jason agreed. He felt a little odd saying that, considering the only other person he tag battled with was Kristine, and she was a darn good partner at that.


It was late in the afternoon as the second round matches ended. Fans left the stadium satisfied, and while eight trainers left disappointed they couldn't advance to the semi finals, eight trainers were able to leave with their heads held high and enjoy a well deserved rest up until the next morning.

Jason and Sydney caught up with Kristine and Bran, who were waiting outside for them.

"Hey you," Kristine approached Jason and exchanged high fives with him.

"Survived the day!" Jason cheered. "I saw we're not matched up against each other tomorrow."

"That means we're not allowed to lose!" Kristine replied with a confident smile.

"Today's been fun!" Sydney added. "I'm really looking forward to tomorrow!"

A moment went by.

"Hey, um," Sydney continued. "Would you guys like to come over to my aunty's house? She would like to meet you all!"

"Maybe tomorrow, if your aunt is okay with it," Kristine smiled. "But," she nudged Jason on the shoulder. "Maybe Jason would like to hang out with you. Maybe even sleep over, if your aunt is okay with that."

Sydney faced Jason. "Do you want to?"

Jason glanced at Kristine before facing Sydney. "Sure."

"Well, I'm going to head back to the pokemon center to get some rest," Bran chimed in. "See you all later!"

"Bye!" Sydney smiled and waved.

"See ya," Kristine gently nodded.

"See you tomorrow, Bran!" Jason waved.

"I have to go ask my aunty if it's okay you can sleep over," Sydney said. "But you can grab your things if you want and come over, if you remember where the house is."

"I'm pretty sure I do," Jason replied. "I'll be there soon!"

Sydney nodded. "See you soon! Bye Kristine!"

"Bye!" Kristine waved as Sydney departed.

"Don't I have to ask Mom?" Jason said. "You know, sleeping over at a girl's house and all."

"Well, you could open up the comms in our room and ask her if you'd like," Kristine replied.

"Okay," Jason began to proceed back to the pokemon center.

"You know," Kristine walked alongside him. "She's really nice."

"She is," Jason agreed. "I'm glad you like her."

"Just remember," Kristine looked at her brother. "No dating until 16!"

"Don't need to worry about that!" Jason laughed. "Sydney's a friend, and a cool one at that."

"She seems interested in you. It's really cute, actually. Bran doesn't seem to be interested in me but he's a good friend."

"I'm sorry to hear that, sis."

"It's fine," Kristine maintained her positive smile.


A short while later, the twins arrived back at the pokemon center. Jason and Kristine fired up the computer terminal in their room and contacted their mother back in Mountain Spring.

"Hello dears," Veronica greeted, her live feed appearing on the screen before the twins. "You're in Valerie Bay according to the call."

"Yep!" Kristine replied. "We entered another tournament, but this one was a tag team tournament with random partners."

"Gotta love those," Veronica lightly laughed. "How are you doing so far?"

"Good," Jason spoke up. "Kristine got paired up with one of our friend-rivals, Bran."

"Yeah," Kristine smiled. "I kinda have the advantage, being paired with someone that I know."

"Well, it's about the luck of the draw," Veronica added. "It's really all it comes down to."

"I got paired up with a girl from Galar, Sydney," Jason mentioned. "She's visiting her aunt while on vacation, or holiday or whatever."

"Is she cute?" Veronica asked.

Jason's face blushed as Kristine and Veronica laughed.

"He was meaning to ask you something," Kristine spoke for Jason.

"We were wondering if I could spend the night at Sydney's aunt's house," Jason asked.

"Hmm," Veronica pondered. "And I take it Sydney is twelve as well?"

"I think so," Jason said.

"Okay, you can spend the night," Veronica approved. "Kristine, is that okay with you, dear?"

"One night on my own wouldn't hurt anyone," Kristine smiled.

"Might be best to spend one night away from each other," Veronica added. "That way you have a taste of independence from one another."

Both Jason and Kristine were quiet. Neither were quite sure what Veronica meant, but both knew in the back of their minds there would come a day where they would drift apart from each other as they move forward in life.

"Anyways," Veronica continued. "How far are you in the tournament?"

"Semi finals," Jason and Kristine responded at the same time.

"And you're not going against each other, right?"

"Right," Kristine nodded.

"Well, there's a chance it's going to be a sibling showdown, if both of you win the next round."

"I think we're okay with that," Jason said.

"The tournament will be mine!" Kristine gave a playful evil cackle.

"Good luck to both of you," Veronica smiled. "I'm sure I can find the tournament off the extranet somewhere."

"Thanks!" Kristine replied. "I'm sure you can."

"Be safe, and have fun," Veronica began to sign off. "Love you both!"

"Love you too!" Jason and Kristine said at the same time.

Veronica's feed then cut off.

"Okay, bro," Kristine faced Jason. "Pack your things and get out of here."

Jason walked over to his backpack. "I'm pretty much packed!"

Kristine walked over to the bathroom, and walked out seconds later, carrying a handful of items. "Toothpaste, toothbrush, vitamins, comb."

"Well I did say pretty much!" Jason laughed.

Jason spent a moment packing up the rest of his belongings.

"Well," he got ready to head out. "Have a good night, sis."

"Have fun!" Kristine waved goodbye.

Jason walked out the door before closing it.

Kristine stretched her arms, not sure what to do next. Then she had an idea.

"I'll go for a nice hot bath!" she declared.


The sun began to set. Jason walked along the cobblestone road to the avenue where Sydney's aunt's house resided.

"Well, here goes," Jason muttered to himself, arriving at the house and walking up the steps to the door. He rang the doorbell that was to the left of the door, on the wall.

An older woman opened the door a moment later. She had long light brown hair, wore a white t-shirt and blue jeans, sported squared glasses, and was just a few inches taller than Jason.

"Ah, you must be Jason!" she spoke in the Inventum east coast accent, to Jason's surprise, though there was a vague undertone that could perhaps have been the remnants of a galarian accent. "Sydney wouldn't shut up about you! Come on in!"

"Aunty Fan, don't say that to him!" Sydney yelled, loud enough for Jason to hear.

Fan chuckled. "Looks like I'm in trouble! Why don't you come in, Jason?"

Jason followed Fan inside. The interior consisted of brown hardwood flooring, dark red walls, and a white ceiling. There were numerous art pieces throughout the annex and beyond, each one a watercolor drawing of a pokemon. Jason noticed an ampharos and marshtomp, able to identify them immediately. To the right of him was a staircase leading up to the second floor.

"Sydney, come on down and say hi to Jason!" Fan said.

"Right!" Sydney came down. "Hi Jason!"

"Hey Sydney," Jason waved.

"So Sydney asked me if you could stay the night," Fan continued, facing Jason. "I'll allow it."

"I'm staying in one guest room but we have another," Sydney added. "Come on, I'll show you where you can place your backpack and I'll give you a tour!"

Sydney grabbed Jason's hand and pulled him up the staircase.

"Be down for dinner in ten!" Fan yelled.

"Will do!" Sydney replied, already reaching the second floor with Jason.

Jason looked down the hallway, reminding him of the second floor back home. It brought him back memories for a brief moment.

"My room's on the right," Sydney said. "Yours is on the left," she opened the first door on the left.

Jason walked in, seeing a queen sized bed with red sheets and a wooden dresser, but not much else other than the window that overlooked the cobblestone path below. He placed his backpack on the bed.

"And this is my room!" Sydney walked across the hall and opened the door to her room. Her room was pretty much the same, only there was an open laptop on the bed, charger plugged into an outlet, in addition to a pikachu plush beside one of the pillows.

"Yep, here it is!" Sydney casually shoved the pikachu plush off the other side of the bed, hoping Jason didn't notice it.

"Your aunt has a really nice place," Jason complimented.

"She does," Sydney agreed. "My mum and dad have a flat back home."

"Flat?"

"Oh uh, apartment."

"Oh, like a fancy apartment?"

Sydney chuckled. "No, but it's home. Funny, I would think an apartment is a fancy flat."

"Kids, dinner!" Fan yelled loud enough for Jason and Sydney to hear.

"Had to have been no more than five minutes," Sydney muttered. "Be right down!" she yelled back.

"Guess we should head down," Jason said.

Jason and Sydney walked back down. Jason began smelling a delightful aroma that resembled some kind of stew. Back down to the annex, the two walked towards the back of the house to the kitchen. The kitchen had white tiling and purple walls, completely separating from the theme of the rest of the house.

"I made some potato stew," Fan used two oven mitts to bring a large pot over to the square table. "I usually make too much, but Sydney does eat a lot!"

"Aunty Fan!" Sydney snapped in disapproval of that comment.

"It's okay," Jason laughed. "So do I!"

"Oh dear," Sydney's face turned bright red out of embarrassment.

Jason and Sydney sat down across from each other as Fan put the oven mitts away, sitting adjacent to both trainers.

"So, Jason," Fan spoke. "I think I've seen you on the telly before."

"You probably have," Jason replied. "My sister and I won the Power Duo in Richland Port and I think we were on IPSN a few times."

"What a void you two opened up in Richland," Fan chuckled. "I've heard Dave and Dan are trekking across the Mountains as we speak!"

"I hope they make it out okay," Jason said. "I never wanted to destroy their pride. Take them down a notch, maybe."

"See," Fan smiled. "I can tell you have a good head on your shoulders. I couldn't stand those boys whenever IPSN interviewed them, anyways."

"The Mountains," Sydney spoke up. "Are they dangerous?"

"They are!" Fan replied. "Injuries, even deaths are known to happen!"

"Tell me about it," Jason briefly rubbed the back of his neck, withholding details of his personal experiences of the Nappalchan Mountains. He focused on his stew and took a bite.

"Oh wow," Jason quickly took another bite. "This is good. Thank you, Fan."

"I try," Fan snickered.

Sydney also took a bite. "Aunty Fan makes the best stew!"

"I try to be a cool aunt," Fan mentioned. "The only rule I'm gonna enforce is lights out by ten o'clock."

"Got it," Sydney nodded.

It had been a long time since Jason was under the direct authority of an adult. It felt a little different to him, as he and Kristine were personally responsible for practically every aspect of their lives as trainers, as well as the livelihood of their pokemon. There were no curfews, no rules, other than the ones their mother laid down prior to them starting their journeys. If there was a value that Jason caught onto more than others, it was respect. He knew while under Fan's roof and technically under her supervision, he had to respect her rules.

"So Jason," Sydney faced him. "Aunty Fan's an artist. She sells a lot of stuff here in Valerie Bay."

"Yeah," Fan laughed. "I'm one of the lucky ones. You don't start off making loads of money, but when you're on a roll, you're on a roll."

"You do have a nice home," Jason complimented before digging more into his stew.

"Why thank you!" Fan smiled. "Seems like they teach you manners in the mountain regions."

The three finished eating a short while later. Sydney helped her aunt clean the dishes while both of them insisted that Jason sit there at the kitchen table. The night sky was in full swing over Valerie Bay, as Jason gazed through the sliding glass door past Sydney and Fan.

"So, any big battle plans for tomorrow?" Fan asked.

Sydney shrugged. "We need to do research tonight on the two boys we're fighting against tomorrow."

"Didn't they play after us?" Jason recalled. "From the minute or two I saw them, they were pretty good."

"One of them had a quilava," Sydney added. "That means it's Wooper time."

"Woop woop!" Fan chanted, Sydney's face becoming completely red from embarrassment once more.

"I love embarrassing you!" Fan laughed.

Jason had a good chuckle from that. He patiently waited as Sydney and Fan finished cleaning.


Later on, Jason and Sydney were in Sydney's room, both of them sitting on the floor as they browsed through the laptop to scout their competition for tomorrow.

"So Caleb used Quilava in the second round, and that's his ace," Sydney scanned. "The other pokemon he could use is anyone's guess. Ethan likes electric types."

"I can use Jolteon to cancel out any electric type attacks, and Growlithe to cover for Wooper, kinda like this morning," Jason suggested.

"Also, we're trending."

"Huh?"

Sydney expanded a browser window she had previously opened, showing it to Jason. "There's footage of Scorbunny and Magikarp popping up all over the place. 'MagikarpMVP' is especially trending."

"Well, what do you know," Jason laughed. "I hope Magikarp is happy."

"I find it cool you pay attention to all of your pokemon," Sydney admired. "People freak out when their magikarp evolves and then they act confused when their gyarados pays no mind to them."

"That's the grand picture," Jason replied. "I want Magikarp to know he's not alone in this. No one is alone in this. They will all get an equal opportunity to be the best they can be out there."

"I feel like that's what I've been missing," Sydney faced Jason. "It's that connection with pokemon. I think at one point, the very thing that I loved doing became a routine. I go in all automated instead of someone with passion. The more I think about it, the more I realize why Mum said I should go on holiday to clear my mind."

"Sydney," Jason stood up. "There was something that no one really knew outside my sister, or my mom as a matter of fact, in detail," he picked up the pikachu plush that was previously discarded on the floor. Perhaps he did so without thinking about it.

"Oh uh," Sydney wanted to make an excuse as to why there was a pikachu plush there, but she stopped herself, seeing Jason was focused on what he was about to say to her. "Go on."

"Well, others knew, like our friend-rivals, but I didn't really tell them about it," Jason continued. "I started my journey all energetic, as did Kristine. Day one didn't work out so well, but we bounced back, grew up, and had an amazing time learning how to be trainers. First badge was intense, for me anyways. I put myself and my team in a hole and I had to help guide Jolteon out of it. Second badge, I tag teamed with Kristine and won it that way. Then came the Nappalchan Mountains.

"The Mountains were challenging. There was a night where a frosslass created an illusion of a luxury lodge for us," Jason chuckled lightly. "Ghost pokemon scare me a little bit."

"Fairy pokemon scare me a little bit too," Sydney added, in hopes to sympathize with Jason. "Impidimp are mischievous little things."

"The biggest challenge wasn't the storms, or the frosslass, or the other dangers of the Mountains," Jason added. "Every day became the same routine over and over. I got caught up too much in it, that it was affecting everything around me. You don't really think about these things, or at least I don't. I came down with the flu as a result. I never paid attention to what training in the cold day in and day out would do to you. I scared my sister and I still feel so bad about it. I, well, uh, I collapsed one day, and nearly died from my sickness."

Sydney gasped.

Jason gently placed the pikachu plush on one of Sydney's pillows. "Everyone pitched in to save my life. I didn't realize how much everyone cared for me until that happened," Jason could feel his eyes getting heavy. "And yeah," he sat back down.

"I'm sorry you went through that," Sydney softly spoke. "Thank you for telling me that."

"Yeah," Jason held back his tears. "Kristine still struggles with it, and so do I, I guess. But every day was a new day for me. I felt grateful for being out there, given the chance to battle alongside my pokemon. When you turn yourself into a robot, that's when you need to step back and realize the big picture."

"Hey," Sydney placed her hand on Jason's leg. "You're a good guy, Jason, and a good friend, never mind that we only knew each other for a day."

"Yeah, well, I'm happy we got paired up, no matter what happens tomorrow," Jason smiled. He placed his hand over Sydney's.

Neither knew what to say or do afterwards. It was just a comforting moment between the two. Then, suddenly, there were three loud knocks on the door, prompting the two trainers to withdraw their hands. Fan then came barging in.

"All right, kids! Lights out!" she declared.

"Okay," Jason got up, facing Sydney. "Uh, goodnight, Sydney."

"Yeah, you too," Sydney replied with a slight smile.

Jason exited the room and went into his.

"You should get into your pajamas, being in those clothes all day long," Fan suggested to Sydney.

"Right," Sydney nodded. "You have a good night, Aunty Fan."

"Sleep tight!" Fan left the room and closed the door.

Sydney closed her laptop and gently pushed it underneath the bed before getting up. She walked over to the dresser to get her pajamas out for the night. As she opened the bottom drawer, she saw a glimpse of her alternate kit that for some reason she brought with her to Inventum. The kit itself was black with thin yellow stripes, with the number seven embedded across the back, and her last name, Adams, across the top back.

She pulled out the top, looking right at it with confidence. This was one of the two kits issued to her when she got her sponsorship in the Galar League. She remembered how excited she was to be a part of the biggest stage in Galar, and she knew she needed a morale boost before going back home. She considered herself lucky to meet Jason, and she swore to herself from that moment that she wasn't going to care so much about embarrassments or quirks. She was Sydney Adams, a proud trainer of Galar.

"This is why I battle," she said with fiery determination.


"Yeah!" Kristine cheered as Fletchinder delivered a powerful Aerial Ace against a female opponent's gurdurr. The super effective attack that was virtually impossible to dodge slammed Gurdurr to the ground, rendering the pokemon unable to continue and thus securing the third consecutive sweep for Kristine and Bran, who had Noctowl out the entire time.

"Oh no!" the red haired girl recalled Gurdurr. "That's all she wrote."

"Was fun while it lasted," the jet black haired male trainer who partnered with her through the three rounds faced her with a smile. "Pleasure working with you!"

The girl hesitated for a moment before smiling back. "Likewise."

Kristine and Bran exchanged high fives. They were going to the final round and had every reason to celebrate. The large crowd, much larger than yesterday, cheered for them, and the roars were exceptionally loud.

Jason and Sydney, in similar yellow and black gear as the day before, waited in the hall as Kristine and Bran approached them. Both had slept well the previous night, with Jason being surprised about how comfortable his mattress was.

"Win it, guys!" Kristine gave high fives to Jason and Sydney. She then faced Jason. "How are you?"

"Doing well, and yourself?" Jason asked.

"I had a quiet and relaxing night," Kristine smiled. "Can't complain! Now win this!"

Jason simply nodded as Kristine and Bran departed. He faced Sydney. "You ready?"

"Always," Sydney looked onto the field, ready to win.

As the PA announcer called their names, the two entered the field. The cheering was immense in terms of volume, and there were excessive chants of "Magikarp! Magikarp!" Jason and Sydney faced the two trainers approaching them. Those trainers were all that stood between Jason and Sydney, and the final round.