Naru and I finished walking back to the stands. The entire walk back I was trying to explain the biology behind how exactly my synchronize ability worked, but seeing as I barely understood it myself, I probably gave a very convoluted explanation. In return to this, Naru told me about her snow cloak ability, and also tried to explain how that worked, which was quite a bit more simple than the duality of something like synchronize. Either that, or she was just a lot better at explaining biology than me.

We both found ourselves near the back of the stands, when I noticed something else as the Bisharp was calling the next two contestants to report to the arena.

My wound from that Gallade has been healed, presumably from the Audino that healed me after I was done with my battle.

Must have some talented healing abilities to clear up that wound, as well as all of the bruises and burns… I thought.

"Okay, now we have a Chesnaught going up against one of our trusted members, Kai the Absol!" The Bisharp exclaimed, prompting a cheer from everyone in the crowd minus myself.

Kai…. The name of one of the ones that ruined my life….

As soon as I saw Kai enter the arena on the other side of where the Chesnaught had entered, the Bisharp began to count down.

"One! And…. Battle begin!" A cheer erupted from the audience.

As soon as the battle was called, Kai immediately rushed towards the Chesnaught, his horn giving an ominous purple glow. However, instead of be intrigued by the interesting moves and style the two contestants were fighting with, I immensely tensed up, and began to tremble slightly. I tried my best to hide it, but the chills running up and down my spine were too much, and soon enough, I was very visibly shaking.

This did not go unnoticed by Naru.

"Hey… Kuro, are you okay? What's wrong?" She asked, her voice filled with concern.

I really wanted to answer her, but I couldn't bring myself to talk, I just looked down at the arena, and watched Kai shoot off a purple blade of sorts from his horn, promptly crashing directly into the Chesnaught.

Even know the Chesnaught looked very bulky, even know the Chesnaught braced themselves for the attack…

The attack had knocked them unconscious.

"And there you have it! The winner of this match is Kai the Absol!" Another cheer ripped out from the crowd, but I was still frozen. Not only still scared that Kai was that close, and that I had just watched him fight, but one thing floating around in the back of my mind that I've been trying to ignore for the longest time.

I was battling him next.

My breathing was still uneven from when I froze the first time, and I decided to get up and walk away from the crowd for a short while. Naru followed shortly after me.

"Kuro, what's wrong? Did something happen to you during the battle?" She asked me.

I was at a loss. I didn't know what to tell Naru. I didn't know if I should just come out and say my full, uncensored reason as to why I was terrified watching that fight, I didn't know if I should just tell her all of my memories right now. I didn't know what to say in the slightest.

So... I tried squeezing some kind of excuse out of my mouth.

"I-It's nothing… I think the crowd is just getting to me… Plus that Absol makes me uneasy." I somewhat lied.

Now is not the time to tell her about my past… Not when both of us still have application matches to worry about. I shook my head and steadied my breathing, all while putting on the most calm expression I could muster. I then began to speak, once more, as calmly as I could.

"I'll be fine, I'm just not used to crowds, after all, I lived in away from everyone but my parents in a forest until a day ago, so I need to get used to it." I told her, feigning a smile.

Naru gave me a look of concern and slight doubt, but nodded slowly.

"Whatever you say, but if something is bothering you, you can tell me you know. If you keep all of your feelings and worries bottled up, it will just make them worse when you have to face them." She told me.

I listened intently to the advice given to me by a Glaceon that had already given me advice more than once in the past, despite knowing her for little more than a day of time. I gave her a nod and we both walked back to the arena.

Naru

Something is wrong with Kuro… I thought to myself as we sat back down near the top of the stands.

Ever since that Absol, Kai, entered the arena, he had been severely tensed and looked almost scared. I initially thought it was because he knew that was his next battle, and because the Absol took out his opponent in one shot, it made Kuro worry. However, I quickly put that thought aside, as I realized that even before the battle had begun, Kuro still expressed the same tense visage, as well as uneven breathing.

He has some problem with that Absol, the question is… What exactly?

I didn't want to pry for the reason, after all, if it's a reason so important for him to keep a secret to the point that he lied to me about it, then I don't want to force him to tell me.

It's not like I don't have things I also want to keep secret, even from Kuro. I thought.

I decided to let it go for now, as the fourth battle of the ladder was about to begin, meaning I was on fairly soon. A Honchkrow and a Pidgeot, two fliers are going up against each other. While I was a small bit nervous that I was up next, I was more worried that I was going up against a fire type. I had no experience battling fire types, as my parents always made me avoid battles with them in case I got hurt.

Not really going to know what I'm doing when the time comes, but I have to try my best! Kuro managed to win his first match, and in a fairly creative way at that, who's to say I can't do the same? I mentally psyched myself.

I looked back down at the arena to see that the Honchkrow and Pigeot were flying circles around each other, seemingly faking each other out and only occasionally landing soft blows to one another. Both of them seemed to be around the same speed, so they both had a hard time actually landing hits on one another. After some endless flying passed, I saw the beak of the Honchkrow begin to glow, and they rushed towards the Pidgeot, seemingly not sure what to expect. However, soon after, the Honchkrow canceled it's attack and quickly followed up with a dark pulse, finally landing a solid hit on their opponent. The Honchkrow took quick advantage of the opportunity that had been presented to him and bolted towards the Pidgeot, its wings sporting a dark aura. The Honchkrow then slashed the Pidgeot with its wings several times over, flying back and forth past them, each time getting in another slash. After who knows how many rounds of slashing, the Pidgeot fell to the ground, all consciousness lost.

"And now it's over! The winner of this battle is Cole the Honchkrow!" The crowd cheered, making my hearing go a little bit astray. Everyone was cheering, having a great time, even if they didn't have a high chance of getting in. That is, everyone except Kuro, who was still practically frozen in his seat.

I gave him a slightly sympathetic gaze, still worried about what exactly he was so scared of. I was about to try and comfort him again, but a certain announcer kept me from doing so.

"Can I please have the next two contestants report to the prep room?" The Bisharp loudly asked.

I lightly sighed and got up from my seat, ready to face a very difficult battle. However, I was stopped when I saw a black blur stand up next to me. I turned my head to see Kuro, looking very slightly less scared.

He gave the best smile he could muster at the moment.

"Good luck Naru, I hope you do well!" He cheered at me.

I looked Kuro straight in the eyes, kind of baffled by his encouragement.

Even know he's hurting… Even know he's extremely scared… He still found the strength in his heart to encourage me.

I gave him an extremely bright smile and responded.

"Sure thing! I promise you I'll win and be accepted with you!" I assured him.

I soon turned my body back towards the stairs to the prep room, now with a brighter mood.

I entered the plain looking room, and put my black bag in the small locker, but left my scarf on. I saw Kuro leave his scarf on during the battle, and since he literally got lit on fire, then I imagined that my scarf would be fine during my battle.

I looked up above the door to the prep room and saw the light flash from red to green, prompting me to exit and head to the arena. I took a very large breath and pushed all of the nerves I was feeling deep down into my body, and then exited the room, only to be greeted by the furious cheering of the crowd.

I felt myself shrink in front of the large crowd, but tried my best to keep my stance strong. I looked across the massive arena to see my Arcanine opponent standing at the other end, already in a battle stance. I crouched down in a similar fashion that Kuro did and also prepared for the battle.

With that, the Bisharp started to count down.

"Three!"

Deep breaths Naru… Deep breaths…

"Two!"

Keep your cool… you can do this.

"One!"

Think of Kuro's encouragement… Think that he knows you can win!

"Battle begin!"

As soon as those words were uttered by our announcer, the Arcanine and I both seemed to rapidly approach each other, both of us waiting for the first attack to be thrown. The suspense didn't last long, as a wave of flames was soon launched off from the maw of the Arcanine. With the close range that we found ourselves in, I only had about a second to react, to which I sidestepped out of the way of the flames and launched a shadow ball at the ground, kicking up smoke and obscuring the vision of my opponent. The Arcanine began to panic, exactly what I wanted. I saw the Arcanine quickly leap out of the smoke, as they thought I was going to go in for a swift hit after I messed with their vision. I then launched an ice beam at the Arcanine, now soaring through the air. I did land the hit around its paws, but being an ice attack, not much damage was done. However, damage wasn't exactly what I was going for, I wanted to cause the Arcanine's body temperature to be as low as possible, slowing down their movements. No matter how high the body heat of a fire type is, it can still be lowered, and I wanted to use that to my advantage. After the Arcanine recovered from the leap into the air, they surprised me by immediately using an extreme speed to rush me down, fangs engulfed in flames.

The Arcanine landed a solid fire fang on the side of my body, prompting me to let out a small shriek as I felt the fangs sink deep into me, only to feel the spread of unwanted heat throughout my body. I launched a point-blank ice beam at the Arcanine's head, making them back off and release me from their grasp. There was blood slowly dripping down from the newly opened wound, dripping down onto my scarf. Not letting the pain get to me, I started to run towards the Arcanine, ready to attack them. I jumped up and over them, something they were clearly not expecting, because they seemed at a loss as for how to approach me after I jumped. Taking advantage of this, I landed on the back of the Arcanine, and I returned the favor he gave to me, filled my maw with an icy cold, and chomped down on the nape of the Arcanine's neck as hard as I could. They let out a small grunt, but nothing more, and they quickly threw me off, prompting me to quick attack away from them, keeping my distance. As soon as the Arcanine realized I wanted space, they once more, used an extreme speed to rush me down, but something was different this time. The Arcanine's maw was still filled with flames, and I was getting rushed again, but one thing set it apart from last time.

The Arcanine was moving much slower, presumably because of the cold I spread throughout its body. I didn't let the accomplishment get to me yet, as I still hadn't won. However, I saw a risky opportunity that I decided to follow through with. The Arcanine was closing in on me, quickly closing the space that I built up. As soon as the Arcanine was about to bite into my body again, I slid under them and grabbed the fur under its stomach with an unsheathed claw. I held on for dear life as the Arcanine tried to throw me off, but I wasn't going to let go easily.

I was going to win this battle.

Once I secured my grip, I started charging my energy in my maw, but I didn't hit the Arcanine with another ice beam.

I launched a water pulse straight into its stomach.

I heard the Arcanine grunt in pain a lot louder than they did with the last attack I threw at them, and I continued my assault, launching water pulse after water pulse, all exploding directly under the stomach of the Arcanine.

After the fifth one was shot off, the Arcanine fell over, prompting me to get out from under its body. I looked over at their face… Only to see that consciousness had left their body.

"And the battle is over! Surprisingly, victory goes to Naru the Glaceon!" The Bisharp excitedly exclaimed. I heard the crowd's screams echo through my ears and wondered if it would give me headache later.

I smiled to myself, extremely happy that I won.

I did it… I won… I have a chance to be accepted! I mentally cheered, very hopeful.

You hear that little Bro? Your sister might become one of the ones you used to admire so much… your sister might become a Raven! I prayed to my brother.

With positive thoughts in my mind, the Audino at the side of the arena healed me after the Arcanine was carried off to be healed once he regains consciousness.

With that, I walked through the prep room, and hurriedly rushed up the stairs, excited to talk to a certain Umbreon.

?

I sat in the spectating chamber high above all of the applicants, observing who the new members of my association would be. All of the pokemon who have fought so far showed a lot of promise, especially two in particular.

The Greninja looked around the room, miles above where everyone else was spectating. She was located in a box, seemingly floating in the sky high above all of the other spectators, as well as the arena itself. The box had a very comfortable interior, sporting a soft, purple carpeting over the metallic floor, just like the purple coloring in the main lobby of the building. The walls sorted the color pattern of a rainbow, making the room look odd to someone who had never been here before, but as the owner of the association that is currently recruiting new members, she had grown greatly accustomed to the design of this room. In front of her lie a small panel with buttons to call her current members if need be, but she didn't want to pay attention to them right now.

What she wanted to pay attention to… Was the Umbreon that fought in the first match, along with the Glaceon that had just won her match.

I can tell by the way those two fight… That they will make valuable assets to us. They both are resilient to pain, and don't just throw attacks at their enemies, they form a strategy beforehand and attempt to put into into practice.

The two Eeveelutions definitely stuck out to me the most out of every applicant that has fought so far, but that's not to say that others haven't caught my eye as well. The Honchkrow from the previous battle certainly showed some prowess, and there was a Gabite in the fourth battle who really showed how well they can control their attacks, as well as find an opportunity to strike and take it.

So many intriguing pokemon this recruitment… I wonder what will become of this… I thought amusingly to myself.

After my internal rant was finished, I decided that it was time to continue observing my possible new recruits.

Kuro

I sat calmly next to Naru after congratulating her on the amazing win against her Arcanine opponent. She had a very similar balling style to mine, she waits for an opportunity to push her opponent into a corner with a strategy she comes up with. She attacked the Arcanine with ice in order to slow it down, taking one step back in order to move two steps forward, similar to how I took a fire blast head on in order to prevent the Dragonite from continuing to fly around the arena.

Now that I think about it… There really was probably a better way I could have won that… I mentally scolded myself.

Regardless, I was in high spirits as both Naru and I had won our first matches, giving us an actual chance at being chosen to become members of the organization. I looked down at the arena, noticing that both of the next contestants were already down there, standing on their respective sides. On one side stands a Luxray, on the other stands a Gallade, a current member of the organization.

"Hey, Kuro," Naru started. "Who do you think is going to win this? There aren't really any type advantages or disadvantages here." She asked.

"Well, I honestly think the Gallade is going to win. If that Absol, Kai was any example, then their current members really do have a lot of battling talent." I told her.

My body shuddered at the thought of Kai… My nerves had mostly cooled down since my initial recognition of the Absol, but I was still feeling uneasy. Naru winning her battle certainly rose my spirits a bit, taking away some of the negativity and fear I had, but it was still present regardless.

I took my thoughts away from my own fear and focused on the battle that was about to start.

"Battle begin!" The familiar Bisharp shouted into his mic, followed by cheering from the crowd.

The Gallade quickly rushed at the Luxray, blades glowing with a light purple. The Gallade then shot out multiple purple blades that swerved through the air, all curving in different directions, and they never stopped running forward. The Luxray, looking slightly panicked, dodged all but one of the blades, the last one skimming lightly across their fur, but not enough to do any real damage. However, because the Gallade had never stopped moving, he was now directly in front of the Luxray, and began to slash their blades at the electric pokemon. The Luxray took three slashes from the seemingly endless stream, causing cuts in the Luxray's body that were bleeding slightly. In order to stop the barrage, the Luxray filled their fur with electricity, and let out a discharge all around him, spreading over quite a large range. The Gallade was hit by a small bolt, but he quickly recovered and sent a two shadow balls at the Luxray. The Luxray dodged the first one, and then batted away the second one my filling their paw with electricity and slamming it into the shadow ball. The Luxray looked like it was about to attack, but the Gallade rushed forward yet again, causing the Luxray to need to dodge their blades once more.

This Gallade really isn't giving them any breathing room, is he? I thought. I can see why he's a current member.

I glanced over at Naru, who seemed to be so into the battle that it would take me shouting into her ear in order for me to get her attention. I smiled at the sight, finding it rather amusing, before turning my eyes back to the arena.

The Luxray was still dodging slashes from the Gallade, still with little to no room to make a move. At this rate, the Gallade would tire out the Luxray before they could land a solid hit.

It was almost as if the Luxray had the same realization as me, because as soon as I thought that, the Luxray launched a point-blank thunderbolt directly at the Gallade. The Luxray must have been charging that up for quite some time, as it was a very powerful blast of electricity that you wouldn't be able to release on the spot. The Gallade looked like he took the damage rather well, but he did stumble back a little bit, which was the moment the Luxray was waiting for.

The Luxray lunged at the Gallade, biting into his arm with electricity coursing through his maw. The Gallade let out an audible grunt in pain and attempted to slash the Luxray with his other blade. However, the Luxray was expecting this, and they released the Gallade in order to jump back, making the blade miss him entirely. The Luxray then took a few steps back, and seemingly charged up a green-like energy around their body. The Luxray then crouched down and promptly leapt at the Gallade, not giving him any time to react.

The Luxray connected a harsh giga impact directly into the center of the Gallade's body, sending him flying back at an immeasurable speed. The Gallade then slammed into the wall of the arena, and then slumped down to the ground.

The battle was over, and the Luxray had won.

"Amazing! This battle has concluded, and the winner is Kage the Luxray!" The Bisharp yelled.

The crowd then yelled louder than they have in any of the other battles, which was expected, as we just this Luxray, Kage, had just beaten one of the current members of the organization. It truly was an unexpected development.

"Wow, he just turned the fight back around on the Gallade in a matter of seconds!" Naru exclaimed, clearly surprised at the outcome of the battle.

"No kidding, once he had an opportunity to strike, he took the Gallade down immediately…" I followed, also surprised by the outcome of the battle we just witnessed.

"Okay, now that the first round of battles is over, I'd like to congratulate everyone who won their battles and is now moving on! However, we are going to have a slight change in environment for the future rounds!" The Bisharp explained.

Change in environment? What exactly does th- My thought was cut off when I looked back down at the arena.

Each one of the metal blocks were turning over, revealing their bottom sides to be covered in dirt and short grass. Each of the blocks turned around, one by one, changing the entire metal battlefield into a field of dirt, but still keeping the wooden walls.

I sat there, observing the new arena we would be battling in, curious as to why exactly they decided to change it in the first place.

Before I was able to dwell on the thought, an announcement was spoken, freezing me on the spot.

"Now then, the first battle of the second round will be between Kuro the Umbreon and Kai the Absol! Both contestants, please make your way to the prep room for your battle!" The Bisharp announced.

I couldn't move my legs, even know I knew I had to. I stood there, idle, not even paying attention to my surroundings.

It was then when Naru placed a paw on my shoulder.

"Kuro, are you sure you can battle like this?" She asked me with concern. "I don't know exactly what's wrong, but it seems like you may need to skip out on this battle." She suggested.

I could tell from her voice that, while she was concerned, she also really didn't want me to not partake in the battle, as that would severely decrease my chances for being chosen as a member. However, what would it matter if I couldn't battle? What did it matter if I couldn't face a fear I've had since I was eight?

I can't back out of this… I need to face him… Even if I can't move when the time comes.

I brought one of my paws up to my face and stared at it for a few seconds, confusing Naru a bit.

I then took my paw, and hit myself in the face as hard as I could.

I felt the pain spread throughout my head, but that didn't matter to me. What mattered to me, was that I broke myself out of my frozen state.

"Kuro! Why did you do that?" Naru hastily asked me, sounding a lot more worried.

"I just needed to snap myself out of a trance, I had some idiotic thoughts going through my head that I can't listen to if I'm going to try and fight against sadistic, murderous pokemon one day." I told her.

She shot me another look of concern, but I assured her with a small smile, showing that I was ready to face whatever I needed to.

She slightly sighed.

"Well, if you think you can do it, I won't try and stop you." She told me. "Good luck Kuro! Try your best!" She then encouraged me.

I then walked down the metal staircase and went through the prep room. I placed my bag in the small locker, and then tightened the teal scarf I wore around my neck. I then gripped it tightly, using it as a mantra of sorts to help my confidence. I stood in the prep room, staring at the red light, waiting for it to become green.

While I was waiting, I thought more about who I was going to battle from a standpoint of trying to win, and not one of trying to not have a mental breakdown. It didn't help that the Absol's only battle lasted about twenty seconds, but I at least knew one of his attacks, as well as how fast he can move.

I have to assume that he is going to have something that can hit me hard… Absols typically have something to hit most types. The problem is, I really don't have anything that can do too much damage to another dark type, so I'll probably have to push him into wall in order to win… That raises the question… How do I go about doing that? I wondered.

As soon as I was about to attempt to think of a strategy, I noticed that the red light above the door was no longer red, but shining a bright green.

I took multiple deep breaths, steadying my breathing before I went out there and faced my fears. I also hit myself in the face once more, letting the slight pain spread through my head in order to have something to distract me from my oncoming nervousness.

After I couldn't stall any longer, I stepped out of the room and into the newly dirt arena.

I took my first few steps out and felt the dirt attach itself to my fur, as well as the light brush of the small patches of grass that were scattered throughout the dirt. I looked across the arena, and standing adjacent from me giving me a blank stare, was an Absol. Kai.

One of the ones who ruined my life.

I felt myself stiffen a bit, but quickly shook away the feeling, as I was already done freezing up in front of my fears. I crouched down into a battle position, watching as the Absol didn't move a muscle.

"Okay Why don't we get started? Are both contestants ready?" The Bisharp loudly asked.

I gave a firm nod, and the Absol across from me slightly rose and lowered his head.

"Okay, then let's go!" The Bisharp said.

"Three!"

Keep your breathing steady… Don't freeze up… Remember that you can fight him now…

"Two!"

Breathing….. Breathing….

"One!"

Remember the advice Naru gave you, remember that she won her battle against all odds, and remember that you want to become members with her!

"Battle begin!" The Bisharp yelled, causing the crowd to do the same.

Before I could even move, I saw a dark sphere flying towards me at an extremely fast speed. I dodged to the side, making the ball continue until it hit the wall, making an enormous puff of smoke appear, as well as a very loud explosion.

I'm glad that didn't hit me… That sounded painful…. I thought.

I began to move myself to the center of the arena, occasionally kicking up dirt behind me as I did so. I noted how easily the dirt was kicked up, it didn't stick to the ground at all. I looked ahead of me and saw Kai sprinting forward, his horn turning pitch black with color. He launched a dark pulse directly at me, and I countered it with my own dark pulse. The two blasts hit each other, but once they connected, I noticed that both weren't completely gone, Kai's had powered through mine, and was still flying at me. I managed to dodge it, but then Kai rushed in right next to me, his horn glowing a brilliant green. He slammed his horn into the side of my body, not having an angle to pierce me. However, even if he didn't pierce me, the megahorn that slammed into my side caused me an extremely large amount of pain. The ache traveled through my body as I flew back and landed on the dirt ground. The impact with the ground only further increased the spread of aching pain in my body. I slowly got up to my feet, my legs shaking slightly, and turned my eyes back to Kai. He was rushing me again, his horn still colored in a bright green. I sidestepped Kai, and he continued to run past me before sliding on the dirt ground to a halt. Noticing his slight movement misstep, I immediately quick attacked over to him and encased my tail in a bright light. I slammed down on Kai's back with the most powerful iron tail I could muster, but he didn't make so much as a noise. All he did was turn his head back and look me in the eye, a menacing glare present. I quickly backed off from being right next to him, but as soon as I did, he launched another dark pulse at me. I managed to dodge this one, but I lost my footing on the dirt. Seeing this, Kai gave a smirk and ran up to me, sinking his fangs into the side of my body. As he crunched down, I suppressed a scream. His fangs entering my body and having pressure put on them was extremely painful. I gathered energy in my maw and fired off a dark pulse directly at the face of the Absol, but he stood there and didn't budge. The pain was still spreading through my body, as Kai didn't remove his fangs. Not knowing what to do, I unsheathed a claw on one of my paws. I lifted up my paw, and slammed my claw towards the side of Kai's body, piercing his skin. He still didn't make a noise, but I noticed his facial expression change, meaning that he definitely felt it. I slowly dragged my claw down, still inside of Kai's body. I noticed him twitch a little bit, but still not releasing me from his fangs. Finally, I created a dark pulse in the center of the paw that I still had its claws inside of Kai. I launched the attack, not going inside of his body, but putting a ton of pressure on the wounds I had just created on his side. He finally groaned in pain, almost as if he was suppressing a scream, and released me from his jaws. As soon as I felt the intense pressure lift off of my body, I shot another dark pulse, this time out of my mouth, and used it to propel myself backwards. Right after I did that, Kai jumped back, seemingly traveling the same distance that I did. However, as soon as I landed, I felt one of my front legs give out.

I found myself down a front leg, as whenever I tried to put weight on it, the new wound that Kai gave me would stretch out, causing an unbearable pain throughout my body. This posed a bit of a problem, while I had definitely done quite a bit of damage to the Absol, I had most certainly taken more. Kai was standing on all four of his legs still, and I was down one, making this situation not one I can see myself winning.

What can I do? He can outrun me with little to no effort… Not to mention he's less injured than I am…

I lost myself in my thoughts for a second, wondering if there was anything I could do to turn the tables.

I need to find an opportunity to attack… And even then I have to be close enough to the wall in order to blow him into it…

I didn't have any more time to think, as Kai was running towards me, although not as fast as before. I saw his horn glow a light green. I knew if I got hit by that, then I wouldn't even be able to stand. There was only one thing I can think of doing, so I slowly started to limp in the same direction that Kai was running, directly behind me. I only had about five seconds before Kai ran into me, so I turned around and readied myself.

Five

I just have to be precise.

Four

I can't screw this up…. If I do it's over.

Three

I've been building up energy in my body for a while now, I just need to release it after I get into position…

Two

I know I can win as long as I get it right….

One

Now! I have to act!

Kai's horn was about a millimeter away from me. With perfect timing, I pushed off of my front leg, feeling the wound tear open further was excruciating, so much so that I gave a large groan, almost screaming as soon as it did. With that push however, I was able to slide past Kai, his horn missing me my a molecule.

I turned my head to Kai only to see that he was in the middle of stopping his momentum, not thinking I had any way to dodge.

I then took all of the energy I had been building up, and I released the largest hyper beam I could, aimed directly at Kai.

The blast made contact, and Kai flew across the arena, all while he let out a scream in pain.

His body smashed into the wooden wall, prompting another scream from Kai as the wall was slightly cracked.

I had actually won.

Kai looked towards me and held a strange gaze. It wasn't an expression of anger, or one of frustration.

I was a gaze of curiosity and slight worry.

I was about to ponder why he would feel like that, but then I looked down at myself and saw the massive amount of blood pouring out of the wound that I stretched out in order to win. It was bleeding a lot more than I thought it would, and after my adrenaline wore off, the mass amount of pain came back.

Soon after, I saw the Audino on the sidelines rush towards me, and I blacked out.

Naru

I looked down on the battlefield, completely shocked at what had just happened.

Kuro had not only won against a current member, but he won while being at a severe disadvantage. It looked like he couldn't move one of his legs, or at least, not without severely injuring himself. I remembered what I had witnessed a few moments ago, and it made me cringe. Watching Kai sink his fangs into the side of Kuro's body, all while I could tell he was in extreme pain due to his facial expressions. I remember when Kuro finally shook Kai free, and seeing the blood drip of out Kai's mouth. I remember seeing Kuro struggle to stand up, seemingly not able to move his leg due to the injury sustained on the side of his body. I remember Kuro narrowly leaping out of the way and launching a hyper beam at Kai, promptly ending the battle in an amazing fashion. However, the image that stuck with me most from the battle, was the blood rapidly pouring out of Kuro's wound right as he jumped away, making the dirt below him change colors to a deep red.

I shook my head, trying not to think about the amount of pain Kuro felt during the battle. I instead turned my eyes to Kuro, lying unconscious in a pool of red. There was an Audino standing over him, a light stream of pink connecting the two. The Audino was presumably healing Kuro, something I was thankful for. I felt more anxious than I have in a very long time while watching Kuro fight, and there was more than one reason.

One reason was that I knew that Kai was a tough opponent, as he did win his first battle with one attack on a very bulky pokemon. Knowing that Kuro was up against that kind of power, I was already worried about Kuro's safety before the fight had started.

The next reason was Kuro's mental state. He definitely seemed better than he was when I first noticed that he was acting weird, but there was definitely something still wrong with him, no matter how much he wants to hide it from me.

Why won't you tell me? It's clearly bothering you… I thought to myself.

I shook away my thoughts and looked down at the arena to see the Audino carrying Kuro away, presumably to an infirmary of some kind. I got up from my seat and walked over to the metallic staircase near the arena, wanting to follow wherever Kuro was being taken. As I was walking by all of the other applicants, I heard everyone talking about the battle that had just taken place. Some were praising Kuro for beating a current member, some were saying that his victory was pure luck, some were curious about his injuries, and some were even scolding Kai, a seemingly superior pokemon, losing to an an Umbreon that wasn't even as big as he should have been.

I somewhat ignored all of the voices around me and found a separate door from the one leading to the prep room. The door had the same construction, a plain, metallic door with no noticeable details that stuck out. I slowly opened the door, and walked into the room.

The room wasn't very spacious, but sported a bright white coloring on all of its walls, as well as the ceiling. The floor had a slightly darker shade in its white coloring, but it was very soft, bringing a pleasurable feeling to my paws. While observing the rest of the room, I saw a small table that a few medical tools set upon it, next to the table standing an Audino.

Next to the Audino was a large bed with white blankets, under said blankets laid a familiar Umbreon.

"Kuro!" I exclaimed. I didn't mean to shout his name out loud, as there was another pokemon standing about ten feet away from me.

I hastily walked over to the side of the bed, only to find Kuro sleeping peacefully, his chest slowly raising and then falling. He looked calm, lying completely still other than the occasional stir in his sleep.

I softly smiled at the sight, realizing that Kuro was in a peaceful state. I heard footsteps and looked back to see the Audino standing closer to me.

"Hello there, are you a friend of this Umbreon?" The Audino asked.

I nodded to them and turned my gaze back to Kuro, noticing that he was stirring a lot more often than when I initially looked at him, signaling that he was close to waking up. It was then that I noticed that the Audino was gone from the room. I was confused as to where exactly the Audino went, there was no noise, so I didn't think she just walked out of the door. I then heard a voice behind me, snapping me out of my confusion.

"Naru? What are you doing here?" I turned my head to see Kuro awake, sitting up with his stretched out wound wrapped up in numerous white bandages, and his teal scarf was resting next to him, folded up nicely on the bed.

"Kuro! You're awake!" I said excitedly. "That was an amazing battle! Way to stick it out against a member!" I told him.

Kuro awkwardly scratched the back of his head with a paw, as he still wasn't used to communicating with others, let alone being praised.

"Thanks, Naru." Kuro told me with a smile.

After Kuro smiled, I looked him in the eye. I was about to return his smile, but then I observed his expression. I may have only known Kuro for a day and a half, but I was already able to read his emotions from his face.

I could tell that Kuro was giving me a feigned smile, and I could tell that Kuro was still emotionally distraught. He kept his fake smile while looking at me, but I could tell that he still had a lot of emotional turmoil in his mind.

Something is still bothering him… And I can tell that he's not going to get any better unless he talks about it with someone… I thought.

"Hey, Kuro," I began to ask. "Is there something bothering you? You seem like you're struggling with something in your mind." I asked him.

Kuro quickly averted his gaze and bit his lip, and I could see the anxiety building up in his eyes.

I know something is bothering you, and I need to make you open up about it. I thought to myself.

I let out a light sigh, having no idea how to get Kuro to actually talk about what was bothering him, as I was never good at getting information out of people, let alone something that they clearly don't want to talk about. However, I knew I had to get him to talk, if not, then he would just keep suppressing his thoughts and emotions, and that would hurt him more as time passed.

"Kuro…" I started to say. "If something is bothering you, then you really need to talk about it, otherwise you're going to keep hurting. I know it has something to do with Kai, that's when you started to freeze up and act strange. Did something happen between you and him at some point? Or was it just his battling prowess?" I asked him.

Kuro seemed to look at me with an indifferent gaze, somewhat surprised that I caught on to why he was feeling the way he was. He once again averted his gaze, this time turning it to the bright scarf that layed down next to him. He took the paw that he couldn't move during his battle and ran it up and down the scarf. He then took a large breath, and turned to look me in the eyes.

"That Absol ruined my life." He bluntly said, prompting a slight flinch from me. "I used to live in a small cave, quite far away from any civilization, it was a very nice place, surrounded by beautiful grass and trees, I loved every second living there with my parents, despite the small size of the area." Kuro continued slowly.

That explains his amazement at something as simple as my home…. Also explains him being so uncomfortable around other pokemon.

"I spent the first eight years of my life living there, and it was a very peaceful eight years. That's when I woke up, and led outside by my Mother on the morning of my eighth birthday, only to see three unfamiliar pokemon waiting outside, talking to my Father. The three pokemon were an Umbreon, a Flygon, and an Absol. I didn't recognize any pokemon that weren't one of my parents, so I didn't know what to do in that kind of situation. I just stood there and watched the pokemon and my Father converse, when then something I wasn't expecting happened." Kuro seemed to tense a bit more than slightly when he said that, but took another breath and continued to talk.

"The Absol who had been talking to my Father, without warning, jammed his horn into the chest of my Father, and brought it up to his head, shooting a dark pulse and mutilating his head, creating the first scarring image I had that day… And also creating the fear I have for that Absol." Kuro then started to tremble, noticeably shaking as he forced himself to keep talking.

"My Mother didn't know how to react… A-and… the Flygon grabbed her with their claws.. Flew her up to the sky.. And they slammed her to the ground… Crushing her in front o-of me." Kuro started to stutter, and his shaking intensified.

"I stood there, completely…. Dumbfounded… N-not knowing what to do… The pokemon looked at me with a strange stare. The Flygon flew at me and pinned me down… T-the other two pokemon came over t-to me and t-they both started to a-abuse me, t-he Absol and U-Umbreon both.." Kuro took one of his paws and put it to his head, still shaking intensely. I observed Kuro's expression, and I saw tears begin to build up in his eyes.

Kuro's story was terrible. I thought I had a depressing past, but it was nothing compared to Kuro's. He had not only had clear sight of his parents when they were killed, but he was also directly used by them afterwards. Kuro was used in a way that would warrant killing the pokemon responsible, and I don't think anyone would oppose. I stood there, watching as Kuro covered his face from me, still trying to hold back tears. I felt bad that I was the one that made his memories resurface, but I knew that it needed to be done, otherwise Kuro would be an emotional wreck for who knows how long.

I hope I didn't just make him an emotional wreck by bringing this up. I thought to myself, trying to think of a way to comfort him. While I was thinking, a memory came to my mind.

I had a memory of me feeling guilty, and didn't think I could be forgiven because I was the reason that someone got hurt.

I decided to copy that memory, and softly placed a paw on top of Kuro's head. I slightly shifted his paw from his face, giving me a view of one of his eyes. I think he was surprised by my gesture, but ignoring that thought, I gave him a gentle smile, and tried by best to comfort him.

"I'm sorry, I had no idea what you had been through, otherwise I wouldn't have made you look back on them." I assured him, but didn't break my gaze. "I have some things that happened to me in the past too, and since it's only fair, I think I should tell you. In the home I showed you, I used to live with my two Fathers and one Brother, and we lived a happy life, just as you did. I was always bullied due to the situation of my parents, but it wasn't enough to depress me or anything, as my family were the only pokemon I needed. However, one day I came home to see all three of them, dead in the kitchen of my home." My smile dropped when I had started to explain my past, but I still kept my eyes locked with Kuro's, refusing to break contact. I also had to push a thought away, now knowing what happened to my brother either before or after he was killed.

"I was devastated after what happened, and I had no idea who may have been responsible for their deaths. All of that with the other pokemon still bullying me prompted me to run away, not being able to stand it. However, after enough time passed, I came back home, and decided it was time for a change. I left Myriad, going to train myself so I could handle being alone, but then I bumped my head into a certain Umbreon traveling along a trail." I told Kuro, smiling at the thought.

Kuro looked at me, seemingly taking in the information that I had just given him, now knowing that neither of us had a family to call our own anymore. Our eyes were still locked, refusing to break from one another. However, I was not expecting Kuro to talk.

"I knew that something happened to you in the past… But I had no idea to what magnitude. I didn't want to bring it up with you, because I thought that I had things I wanted to keep secret and you did as well." He told me. "However, I think talking about it out loud is something I needed. I feel… Better now. I feel like some of the weight stuck in my chest has been lifted, I guess not telling anyone about what happened really was taking its tole on me… I never realized." He said. I noticed that he wasn't shaking anymore, and his stutter was also gone. I could tell he was feeling better.

Not only that, but I felt better as well. I had also never told anyone about the sight that I walked in on when I had figured out about my family, and although I didn't have something right in front of me to make me scared like Kuro did, I could still feel some weight lift off of my chest after both of us had told each other about our pasts. I looked over to see Kuro no longer suppressing tears, and now held a small smile. I returned the gesture.

"Thank you, Naru." He told me in a very appreciative expression. "I thought that if I just continued to bury my thoughts down, then eventually I would be able to get over them, but clearly that was not the case." He told me, keeping his smile.

"I mean, it helped me out too." I told him. "I never told anyone what happened to me either, so it also lifted some weight on me." I told him, keeping my smile as well.

Kuro then began to lightly laugh, something I wasn't expecting given the situation. I gave him a confusing look that Kuro was not ignorant to.

"I'm sorry," He started returning from his laugh back to a smile. "I just find it a bit strange that we've barely known each other for a day, and yet here we are, sharing secrets that we've both kept to ourselves for years on end." He told me with a large smile, a lot bigger than what he had initially.

"I never thought about it like that, I guess you're right." I told him, also lightly laughing.

Kuro took the blankets off of his body and grabbed the scarf from the side of his bed, wrapping it around his neck. He got up from the bed, his previous injury acting like it wasn't ever there to begin with.

"Let's go back to the stands and watch the next battle. After all, one of us may be going up against them in the future." Kuro said.

I nodded and we both left the infirmary in high spirits, completely oblivious to the fact that our entire conversation had been listened to.

Hello my readers! I just wanted to put a quick author's note here stating that I may or may not have screwed up the tournament ladder, and in the future, it might not make sense how many matches there are, or how early the semifinals and finals are. To be honest, I didn't really think it through, and I'm sorry if it bothers some people or some of the accepted members to the organization aren't mentioned in the tournament. Basically, this is my plan for the third round of the tournament. (Names will be mentioned in the future chapter) Also, sorry for some of these pokemon not being mentioned when the initial ladder of the tournament was introduced, as I was not thinking ahead at the time.

Kuro vs. Winner of Gabite vs. Lucario

Winner of Cole vs. Scizor (vs.) Winner of Frogadier vs. Noivern

Winner of Metang vs. Bronzong (vs.) Winner of Charizard vs. Electrode

Winner of Naru vs. Kage (vs.) Winner of Machamp vs. Zoroark

Yes, this would make these battles the quarter finals, and once more, I want to apologize, as making a tournament ladder for fifty-two pokemon was not something I have time for, (Or something I have the creative mind to do.) Plus, I don't want to spend ten chapters on the tournament, as that would get pretty repetitive after a while.

Anyway, thank you to everyone who has decided to read, follow or favorite this story, it really means alot to me!