A/N: Alright you guys, it's your good buddy DrPhill26 here with a brand new chapter of Evolution to enjoy. Now I want to apologize for this chapter being a bit behind schedule from where I'd intended it to be. Considering it's the holiday season I have been very busy of late with a whole mess of things that prevented me from writing.

Tyler: Yeah, "busy"

DrPhill26: Why'd you say it like that? I have been busy. I've been taking care of stuff for Christmas in a few days, I've been looking for work, dealing with some family issues that have come up-

Wendy: Sure Phil, whatever you say.

DrPhill26: I have! What, you don't believe me? Then what else could I have been doing with my time that prevented me from getting this chapter out of the way early?

Pulse: Well, you have been playing Super Mystery Dungeon ever since it came out so... I would think that is a big reason why you are late this time.

DrPhill26: Um... *blushes* Okay fine, I was playing Super Mystery Dungeon, but it's soooooo much fun that I can't put it down! In fact, I had to force myself to set aside time to write just so I could get this chapter done in a relatively timely manner.

Tyler: *shakes his head disapprovingly* Why are you our author again?

DrPhill26: Anyway, we're doing things a tiny bit different in this chapter. You guys are going to get a section from both Tyler's and Wendy's perspectives because we're finally introducing their partners for the tournament today. You'll know when it takes place, it's kind of obvious so yeah... let's not waste anymore time here so I can go back to Super Mystery Dungeon.

Wendy: *glares at Phil*

DrPhill26: And of course so you two can meet your partners already! Go enjoy, have fun... teams at the bottom like usual. Now go and let me explore!

"Ladies and gentlemen!" A voice boomed over an announce system of South Stadium, snapping Tyler to attention in one of the walkways onto the field. "My name is Enta, and it is my pleasure as mayor of Hearthome City to welcome you all from across the Sinnoh region, and from around the world to the opening ceremony of the 29th annual Hearthome Tag Battle Tournament!" He loudly continued as the crowd in the stadium roared to life.

"Va! Lava-va!" Tyler looked down at his partner, watching him barely be able to control his excitement. A soft flame was already burning on his back as he hopped in place.

"Hey buddy, I know you're excited, but let's try not to smoke the rest of the people here until we get to the battles, okay?" Tyler whispered with an innocent grin. Magnus playfully stuck his tongue out at Tyler, but was able to calm himself down and extinguish his flame.

"Personally, this tournament is one of my favorite times of the year, because it perfectly embodies the motto of our warm and fair Hearthome City's: The city where hearts meet. As the tournament progresses, we all become united together in friendship, comradery and through the spirit of competition, forge an unbreakable bond that will last the test of time!"

"He sure talks a lot, doesn't he?" Tyler turned around and faced Wendy who stood behind him in line.

"That's mayor Enta for you," Wendy smiled back. "But he has to say the same speech each year. I just want him to get on with it so we can find our partners already."

"You and me both." Tyler agreed as did the pair of trainers directly next to them, murmuring their opinions.

"And speaking of that unbreakable bond, let us at this time give a big Hearthome City welcome to the trainers participating in this years' tournament."

"Alright, that's your cue. Head out towards the next guide and they'll tell you where to go." Tyler heard one of the aids instructing the two trainers at the head of the line. The two at the front made their way out, leading the group that Tyler was a part of into the stadium floor itself. Tyler could hear the roar of the crowd and once again, Butterfree began fluttering around in his stomach.

"How many people can fit in the stadium again?" He turned back to Wendy, but before she could answer Tyler felt a tap on his shoulder.

"Let's go 85, you're up." Tyler could hear Wendy laughing quietly behind him as he took his first steps into the spotlight of the stadium, and his heart felt like it wanted to burst out of his chest.

South Stadium was completely packed full of eager attendants for the opening ceremony, Tyler pretty much convincing himself that not a single seat was left empty. He couldn't take his eyes off the crowd as he walked forward and into the center of the arena. Groups of trainers from the other waiting rooms were already being ordered into what looked like eight rows for the ceremony. Somewhere in this crowd was his partner; somewhere were his first two opponents. In an effort to try and calm himself down, Tyler focused on the Pokémon beside their trainers, trying to make as many mental notes as to which trainers had which Pokémon. It helped slightly, the Butterfree becoming less active in his stomach as he focused on them, but he still felt anxious as one of the aids brought him into his row.

"Magneton goes with the red haired chick with glasses, and there's a guy with a Nuzleaf… Hey, there's the dude with the Miltank again."

"Wow, look at all the people." Wendy slapped Tyler on the back with a carefree grin. "It's so weird being down here instead of up there you know?"

"No kidding." Tyler smiled at his girlfriend. Thank God she was here to keep his head on his shoulders, or he'd be too nervous to even speak. "Seriously though, how many people are here right now?" Wendy paused to look around the stadium.

"It looks pretty packed to me. If it's sold out, that looks like 81,000."

"For an opening ceremony to something other than a league match?" Tyler half shouted. "81,000 people showed up for this?"

"This tournament is a big deal for Hearthome City and Sinnoh as well." Wendy explained. "It's a huge boost to the local economy, plus from time to time we'll have exhibition matches between gym leaders, elite four or even the champion."

"Are we getting one tonight?"

"Possibly, but I didn't hear about one taking place. They'd usually announce it beforehand if there was one."

"Damn." Tyler looked back up towards the mayor in his blue suit behind a podium. He had to wonder, why was he wearing a powder blue suit? It was just too tacky for his and probably anyone's taste except this guy's. Was that just because of his eccentric personality as Wendy seemed to describe him with? But he didn't have time to think of it for much longer as the mayor spoke into a microphone again.

"Ladies and gentleman in attendance, the people you see standing before you in the heart of South Stadium tonight, are setting out to embark on a journey, which binds them together to another person in the spirit of comradery these coming two weekends." Mayor Enta announced to polite applause from the stadium. "New friendships will be forged, new memories created, and eventually, one of these groups of two will be able to call themselves champions. And the story their time together tells will forever be remembered with these." He turned and pointed at one of the two large video boards at opposite ends of the stadium.

Tyler turned his head to look at it as well, as it flashed a pair of trophies on screen. They were mostly silver with a series of golden and ruby indentations along the cup. The handles on the side, also molded silver, were further connected by a tiara looking arc of sorts above the top of the cup made to look like the top part of a heart with the gold-ruby color patterns again on it.

"And of course in addition to these wonderful trophies, our winning pair will also receive these lovely sounding soothe bells!" As the camera flashed back to the mayor, he reached into his suit jacket and pulled out a pair of innocent looking silver bells which played a sweet sounding tune over the microphones of the podium. "As well of course as our generous cash prize to split between the two victors."

"Yes! Now we're talking." Tyler punched his fists together, eager to get a potentially massive payday if he was able to emerge victorious.

"Now I'm sure all of you eager participants are waiting with bated breath to find out who among you is going to be your partner. But we have a special guest speaker who will be gracing us all with her esteemed presence, as she explains the rules once again, and blesses all of you with her well wishes. Ladies and gentlemen, at this time it is my honor to introduce you all to the most powerful trainer in all of the Sinnoh Region, Champion Cynthia!"

"So I finally get to meet the champion huh?" Tyler grinned anxiously as a pair of spotlights shone down on a walkway beside the mayor. "Hopefully she's actually worth the hype Wendy built her up with."

"Aaah! I'm so excited! We get to see the Champion!" Wendy clapped her hands together excitedly. "You'll see right away Tyler, she's the real deal. So elegant, beautiful, powerful, composed, compassionate, and just perfect in every way! *blissful sigh* She is the definition of who a champion should be!" Tyler turned to look at Wendy, a highly amused smirk on his lips.

"If I didn't know any better Wendy, I'd say you totally have a crush on-"

"CYNTHIA!" Wendy energetically waved towards the podium making Tyler smile. He couldn't help but find it amusing that she was practically bestowing her idol-like status equal to that of a rock star. He started laughing as he inadvertently reminded himself of his obsession over Michael as he followed him through the Coliseum circuit. With the rest of the crowd and the participants showing their admiration, Tyler looked back to the podium and his jaw hit the arena floor.

"THAT'S CYNTHIA?!" Now it was Wendy's turn to look at Tyler with a smirk.

"Yup, that's our region's Champion." She cocked her hips at Tyler with her smirk growing as she leaned closer to him. "Still think that your boyfriend Michael could-"

"That's the woman from the ruins!" Both Tyler and Wendy looked at each other in dumbfounded confusion.

"W-what? What woman from the ruins? What are you talking about?"

"She's the one who saved me from the ruins when I got lost that night!" Tyler animatedly pointed at Cynthia, his eyes widening as he remembered another thing. "Oh God that's right; she said that she was going to be taking part in the ceremony tonight. But I thought she was just another participant."

"Wait, hold up. You're saying you met Cynthia the night that Yuki and Pulse mated."

"Yes! That's totally her at the podium!"

"Bullshit." Wendy folded her arms. "You said her name was Sabrina, not Cynthia."

"Okay so I got her name confused, big fuckin' whoop." Tyler pointed at Cynthia again as she approached the podium and spoke.

"Thank you Mayor Enta and all of you as well for that very lovely introduction…" She began as the crowd erupted in applause again.

"Yup, definitely her. Long blonde hair, an all black-outfit, that soft but firm voice of hers?" Tyler started nodding his head, sure of himself. "If she's got a Garchomp and a Glaceon on her team and that… *shudders* that reaper thing of hers among others, then I definitely met the champion."

"Oh my God, you actually did meet her." Wendy said in shock as she looked at Cynthia again.

"Now, before we go over the rules of this tournament for those of you who have never seen one of these tag battle tournaments before, let's pay another warm welcome to this year's participants."

"What the hell Tyler?!" Wendy complained as the stadium crowd applauded again. "You should have told me you met the champion!"

"I didn't know she was the champion!" Tyler defensively replied.

"She said her name to you!"

"Well in case you forgot from when I told you, I got chased by that reaper of hers and was a little preoccupied with trying to save my own life! I had more important things on my mind than remembering somebody's name!"

"So let me get this straight," Wendy began, but lowered her voice to a loud whisper as Cynthia began explaining the rules again. "You ran off to the ruins and got lost, found her reaper, ran screaming for your life, ran into her Garchomp, her signature Pokémon mind you, then ran into Cynthia herself, and somehow it didn't click to you that she was the champion?!"

"You never told me any of the Pokémon on her team! I'm not from Sinnoh! I don't know all her accomplishments by heart like the rest of you people do."

"It didn't once strike you that something was weird about her at all while you were with her?"

"Not really, no?" Tyler frowned as Wendy muttered something beneath her breath. "We just talked about what it means to be a Pokémon trainer and she told me about the ruins and what they meant. I did think it was weird though when a little girl approached her for an autograph at the ice cream shop after we left the ruins, but I thought that was jus-"

"You got ICE CREAM with the Champion?!" Wendy furiously glared at Tyler who could only blink back an awkward response.

"Um… yes?" Wendy folded her arms, quickly turning away from Tyler's face with a huff and looked back at Cynthia, who was still explaining the rules.

"I am so mad at you right now."

"Me? What did I do?"

"You got ice cream with Lady Cynthia, Champion of the Sinnoh Region, one of the most respected and powerful trainers on the planet. And you didn't even think to invite me?"

"Hello? I was walking through ancient ruins!" Tyler sarcastically retorted. "I'm sorry the Aura Guardians didn't think it was necessary, to build a goddamn cell-tower inside their ritual sites 500 years ago!"

"You could have called after you got out." Wendy looked back at Tyler again. "Do you have any idea how many people would kill for the chance to spend a night with the champion like that?"

"Well sorry that I was too busy running for my life from the reaper of souls to check my phone for cell coverage!"

"Hmph." Wendy pouted, turning back away from Tyler once again to go back to Cynthia's speech. "I'm not talking to you anymore."

"I – what the – but – I – how is this… UGH! FINE! Be a bitch." Crossly, Tyler folded his arms and looked back at the Champion who'd just inadvertently caused his first fight with his girlfriend.

"-will be moving onto the second weekend of our tournament, where all the block champions will be placed in a new bracket, and will battle for the chance to be crowned Hearthome Tag Battle Champion, right here in beautiful South Stadium!" Polite applause rained down on the group again as mayor Enta approached Cynthia again, pointing at the video board above him.

"Now, I'm sure that all of you participants down there on the stadium floor have waited long enough to find out who your partners are."

"Yeah we are!" More than a few voices in the crowd voiced their approval as Tyler quietly approved himself.

"So let's not waste any more time then, and turn our attention to the video boards on both sides of the stadium." Tyler and everyone else in the stadium looked up at the board, which now flashed two numbers on the screen, the numbers one and sixty-four. "If your entrant number is between the ones shown on this monitor, pay attention to it, otherwise turn your attention to the monitor on the opposite side of the stadium." Tyler, Wendy and the rest of the group with high numbers turned their attention to the other board, already flashing the numbers 65 and 128.

"Once I hit the randomizer, all of you will be randomly assigned to your partners and given your block assignments in a pair that looks like this." An example pair showed on the screen, reading B2 : 135 – 211 – 10:30am SS. "Your numbers will be arranged numerically on the left with your partner's on the right. The time is when your match is to be held and the letters beside it indicate the location of your match. The SS abbreviation means that your match will be held in south stadium. CH, means Contest Hall, AS, means Amity Square and lastly HG, means the Hearthome City Gym. So, now that all of that is said, shall we begin?" Loudly, both the participants and stadium members voiced their opinion, a unanimous yes. "Then let's the 29th annual Hearthome Tag Battle Tournament begin!"

Numbers started flashing all over the screen and Tyler's heart jumped nervously into his throat. As long as his number 85 wasn't paired with 69, he'd be happy. Even if it was such an improbably low chance they'd be paired together, it still was one worth investigating. Conveniently, Shaq's 69 was the first number he spotted on the board, being paired with 99, which made Tyler's heart relax and come out of his throat. Relieved, he moved down the list towards his number.

"Let's see… oh! Here it is." Tyler read his line on the board. "So I'm in the F1-block huh, and my partner is number 52? Okay cool. I'm fine with that, and that I'm at the Contest Hall tomorrow. Great" A brief frown overcame his face though as he read the time next to it. "Not okay with an 8am start though but oh well, it can't be perfect every time."

"Ha-ha! Yes! Lucky number seven." Tyler heard Wendy excitedly cheer beside him and frowned again. Secretly, he wanted a lower number as it told him that the person really wanted to compete and would likely be a strong partner. Finding her on the board, Tyler also saw Wendy was in the E1-block and had an 8:30 match at the Contest Hall. "I knew I was destined to win this!"

"Well don't choke in the first round on me. Otherwise we can't find out who's better in the finals." Tyler remarked, looking over at Wendy with a half-smile. She didn't say anything back, but did share the same smile.

"So, with your matchups decided, the ceremony will come to a conclusion and you will be free to have the rest of the evening to become acquainted with your new partners. And, in the spirit of our wonderful Hearthome City, the cities where hearts meet, I implore you to do exactly that. Spread the love of our fair city with each other and I wish all of you the best of luck!"

With that the mayor's well wishes completed, the crowd and the participants in the stadium all showered each other with polite applause. But as the love and respect the mayor had mentioned rained down upon Tyler and the rest of the participants, he could tell that the atmosphere among his fellow competitors was shifting in a different direction. It was becoming more confrontational, more electrified and hostile, the complete opposite of what the mayor had wanted. But it only made Tyler smile, realizing a different kind of heart was beating in his chest. Not one of love, but one of passionate competition.

"So…" Tyler looked back at the scoreboard briefly, then towards Wendy. "You got lucky number seven huh?"

"That's right." Wendy smirked confidently at Tyler. "You know you're jealous, but you don't have to make it that obvious." Tyler folded his arms as he laughed at her.

"You think I'm jealous of number seven? Absolutely not, in fact I'd be worried if I was you, and you wanna know why?" Wendy kept the confident smirk on her lips, giving him a light shrug of her shoulders. "Number seven tells me that you got somebody eager to take part in the tournament."

"Yeah, and that means that they're a strong trainer. Whoever my number seven is will be a perfect partner for somebody like me."

"Maybe you're right…" Tyler did admit, but he sneered at her nonetheless. "But I think it's more likely that they're overconfident. Anyone can participate in this tournament, even somebody without a gym badge like you."

"Keep it in your pants Tyler." Wendy leaned closer to Tyler, pointing at his belt. "You've only got one yourself you know."

"That's exactly my point." Tyler leaned in so his nose was just inches away from Wendy's. "If anyone can participate, that means an overconfident kid with one badge could be sitting in the number 7 slot. Meaning you won't necessarily have the strong trainer to rely on like you think you do."

"Whatever Tyler, you can tell yourself that if you want. But it won't matter when number seven and I knock you out of the tournament next week."

"I'd like to see you try." Tyler chuckled to himself, as did Wendy who placed her hand beneath Tyler's chin, surprising him as she pulled him closer to a kiss.

"ALRIGHT LISTEN UP!" A deep male voice bellowed over the battlefield, startling both Tyler and Wendy and making them headbut each other instead of completing their intended kiss. "Number 85! Whoever you are, it's time to report for duty!"

"Ah crap…" Tyler frowned as he looked at his card, the number eighty-five staring him in the face. Whoever his partner was had just loudly announced his arrival, which made Tyler worried all over again. The last thing he wanted aside from being Shaquille's partner was somebody just as boisterous as him, and apparently that's exactly what he'd just gotten.

"What was that about having an over-confident partner Tyler?" Wendy teasingly laughed at him.

"Maybe he just has a loud personality." Tyler said, more so to himself than Wendy.

"Well go on Tyler, go say hi to your new friend." Wendy leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. "I'm gonna go introduce myself to the other future champion of the tournament."

(-o-) Tyler's POV (-o-)

Wendy waved a goodbye to Tyler, taking Pulse with her as she walked towards the crowd of people in front of her, leaving Tyler and Magnus to find their loudmouthed partner on their own. With a sigh, Tyler turned in the direction of the voice from earlier and quickly walked towards it, not wanting to hear another outburst if he could avoid it. Others around him tried to ask if he was their partner, but he just shook his head and continued marching straight towards the voice.

"Lava-la…" Magnus unenthusiastically huffed a puff of smoke off his back.

"Agreed buddy. This guy sounds like a piece of work." Tyler grumbled, pinching the bridge of his nose as he walked. "I mean does he have to be so loud?

"Va…"

"I know right? I mean I'm glad he's not Shaq, but that was totally a Shaq thing to do." Tyler shook his head. "Come to think about it, I'm surprised that Shaquille has more decency than to order his partner to come beside him… unlike this guy."

"Quil. Quilava-va, La." Magnus scampered up just ahead of Tyler's pace.

"What's up buddy? You know where we're going?"

"I SAID… 85 is to REPORT TO DUTY!" The voice yelled a second time. Tyler stopped, turning to his left and following the new direction of his partner.

"I heard you the first time jackass." He muttered beneath his breath before calling a response. "I'm over here man! You don't need to yell!" Tyler took a few more steps forward, walking around another group of people and Pokémon before seeing a pair of people walking towards him. He reached into his pocket, pulling out his entrance card and holding it up as the pair now stood in front of him. "One of you guys looking for 85?"

"Nope."

"'Fraid not." Both guys responded at the same time, holding up their cards. "You seen 20 around here?"

"Yeah, and I'm looking for 103."

"Sorry guys." Tyler replied as a third person approached from behind the two. "I'm just trying to find the guy who told me to report for duty."

"Oh you're with the yelling guy? Man sucks to be you." One of the two replied with a laugh, walking with the other guy to Tyler's left. The third person however stayed, holding up his card and smiling at Tyler.

"So, you're 85 huh?" Tyler took a look at the guy's card as he held it up, seeing the number 52. "Alright, you look like you've got a good head on your shoulders."

"Um… thanks?" Tyler raised an eyebrow curiously at the guy as he pointed towards the gate that Tyler had walked out of to get on the field.

"How's about we go find a quieter place to get acquainted and come up with a strategy for the tomorrow?"

"Yeah, good idea." Tyler agreed, catching up to the man as he walked towards the gate with his partner Pokémon behind him, who Tyler noticed was a Breloom.

"Sorry 'bout the yelling." The man apologized, catching Tyler off guard. "Everybody always says that I'm a bit too impatient for my own good."

"I don't think that's a bad thing." Tyler replied politely. "Being impulsive means you're able to think on your feet and make quick decisions. That's a good skill to have in a tournament like this."

"You think so?"

"Yeah I do, especially partnered with an analytical type like me." Tyler extended his hand towards his partner.

"Nice!" Excitement showed through the man's gravelly low voice as he eagerly shook Tyler's hand. Tyler took the chance to look over his partner, but something about him seemed oddly familiar for some reason. He wore an olive colored jacket with white stripes along the arms and down the zipper, along with tan pants that were tucked into his boots. That wasn't it… was it the jet black hair under the beanie on his head with a camouflage pattern? Sure it was unique, but not really familiar.

"Say… you look kinda familiar to me." The man remarked, alerting Tyler to him being looked over as well.

"I'm getting the same feeling myself." Tyler stopped, looking into the man's golden-brown eyes.

"Wouldn't hurt to ask." The man stopped, his Breloom standing beside him. Now something really seemed familiar with this guy. "You ever been to North Sinnoh? Snowpoint City perhaps?"

"Yeah actually, I was hospitalized there after a hovercraft accident not too long ago." The man gripped his chin in deep thought as he looked at Tyler again, until his eyes went wide.

"Is your name like… Tanner, or Taylor, or something like that with a T?"

"Tyler actually." The man clapped his hands together, doing some kind of mini-celebration as he looked back at Tyler with animated eyes.

"You're the guy who's scared of ghosts!" Tyler looked at him alarmed, his cheeks lighting up in faint blush. "Ha-ha, I thought that was you. Name's Jason Ivy, ring a bell? You watched me fight Candice in her gym the day you got checked out of the hospital."

"Oh hey I do remember you!" Tyler smiled, pointing at the man in front of him. You had the Gengar that hid in the rocks of the stadium! And your Breloom here was ice skating the whole time!"

"Yeah, that's us alright." Jason laughed, putting his hand in front of Tyler. "Small world huh?" Tyler slapped his hand into Jason's quickly and shook it.

"Small world indeed." Tyler pointed back in the direction they were going. "Alright so how about we get ourselves acquainted with each other's Pokémon, start coming up with some strategies."

"Sounds like a plan to me." Together, both Jason and Tyler started walking back towards their original exit, with their Pokémon falling in line behind them and exchanging their own greeting.

"Say, didn't you challenge me to a battle right before we left?" Jason asked as they stepped off the stadium floor.

"That's right I did." Tyler shook his head remembering his headstrong challenge at the end of Jason's battle.

"Well, there are worse ways to get to know your partner's strengths than by battling them." Jason smirked at Tyler, who matched his gaze with one of his own.

"I think I know a place where we can spa-" At that moment, Tyler's phone went off in his pocket, a simple melody playing as he picked up is phone and saw Wendy's number through the cracked screen. "Hold that thought, it's my girlfriend, I gotta take this."

"Yeah sure, go ahead." Tyler pressed the green button on his display carefully as not to cut himself before speaking.

"Hello?"

"Hey cutie-Ty! It's Wendy." Wendy's voice joyfully sang through the speaker. "You find you partner yet?"

"Yeah actually I did." Ty replied, looking at Jason again. "We were just on our way out of the stadium. Should we meet up somewhere out front?"

"Nah, you don't have to. Maddie and I are gonna go get some coffee at this coffee shop on the north side of town by her hotel the Contest Hall."

"Maddie? Is that your partner?"

"Yup! And she's way cuter of a partner than you." Tyler rolled his eyes, hearing Wendy's giggling through the line.

"Whatever. But how you gonna get there, 'cause I've got the keys to the hovercraft."

"Oh we're gonna walk. I'm a local remember? I know exactly where we're headed. It's right next to her hotel."

"Okay but how do I get back into your apartment later then since you've got the keys to that?"

"Oh, good point." There was a pause for a moment and Tyler could hear some whispering on the other end before Wendy spoke up. "Okay, I'll be back at the apartment around ten. Think you can keep yourself busy until then?" Now Tyler pulled the phone away from his head and spoke to Jason in a whisper.

"Think we can make this last 'till about ten?"

"Yeah easy." Jason put his hand on his chin in thought. "Let's say we train 'till nine-thirty. That gives us time to get in a healthy training session where we can figure each other out before our match tomorrow and get us back in town for a good night's rest."

"Yeah but what about healing our team? Our match is right at eight tomorrow morning, we aren't gonna be able to get our team healed overnight and get them to the match on time."

"Ah we'll swing by my hotel on the way out of town. I got a crap ton of Hyper Potions we can use to treat them after the training today. A couple Revives too incase we need them but let's hope we don't."

"Alright, sounds like a plan." Tyler pulled the speaker back up again. "Yeah we can make that work. I'll need to drop Jason off at his hotel anyway so I'll see you later tonight."

"Yeah, see you tonight. Bye Ty." Tyler heard a click on the line and put his phone back in his pocket.

"You wanna stop by a repair shop on the way out to drop that thing off?" Jason suggested.

"Yeah, let's do that first. Last thing I need now is a busted up phone." And with that, Tyler and Jason both marched confidently out of the arena, making their way to a nearby park for a brief sparring session, before their first round match tomorrow.

(-o-) Wendy's POV (-o-) Ten minutes earlier (-o-)

With a slight spring in her step, Wendy turned her back on Tyler and started walking through the crowds with Pulse by her side to go find her mystery lucky number seven. She was excited, wearing her smile plainly on her face and saying polite hellos to everyone she passed while trying to find her partner. A lot of the people she met seemed disappointed not to have her as a partner, which only made her mood improve and make her that much more eager to find her partner and start conversing with him or her.

"Isn't this great Pulse?" Wendy laughed to herself as she continued to scan the people around her. "The energy here is just so infectious. I'm so excited!"

"If it is as infectious as you say, then I think you missed the general mood of the rest of the participants." Pulse remarked through their telepath-link. "I sense anxiety and uneasiness in the auras of almost everyone we have walked past."

"Well then everyone else needs to pull the stick out of their ass and learn how to relax, especially Tyler." Wendy thought while another person asked her about her number. "He's been all business since we got here. Looking at Pokémon to scout his competition, trying to psych me out with the things he said earlier about number seven being unlucky, all that just says he's nervous like the rest of the people here."

"Not all people can be as relaxed and care-free as you master." Pulse was quick to remind her. "Some people find situations like this uncomfortable for them."

"Yeah I know." Wendy lightly placed her hand on Pulse's head, scratching him behind the ears. "But Tyler didn't have to be a dick about it."

"I SAID… 85 is to REPORT TO DUTY!" The voice of Tyler's partner shouted a second time.

"I'm glad karma found it funny to put him with a loudmouth like Shaq after he was mean to me." Wendy added as she and Pulse continued their search.

"In my opinion master, what Tyler said is not untrue." Pulse suggested, a faintly visible smile on his lips from Wendy scratching him. "I believe he was trying to tell you that you were being overly confident and to lower your expectations from winning the tournament."

"Oh please, we both know I don't have a realistic chance of winning the whole thing." Wendy admitted, saying no to another person talking to her about numbers in the meantime. "I'm only doing this because Tyler said it would be fun, so I'm trying to have as much fun as I can. If he wants to be all gung-ho with gusto and actually try to win the tournament, then good for him. I on the other hand want to make friends and have a few laughs while I'm here. That's good enough of a victory for me."

"I understand master." Pulse nodded in agreement.

"Now that doesn't mean I want you, Tess and Yuri to go soft on me. We're still gonna try to win so we can have more and more fun as the tournament progresses. Just don't get mad if we lose to someone better than us."

"We all understand master. We'll do our best."

"Great! Now we just need to find our partner and we can get started…" Wendy again looked around, seeing a lot of familiar faces whom she'd already asked about their numbers. "Except we can't seem to find our partner at all."

"I believe we have asked everyone who is still in this main cluster." Pusle's words made Wendy let out an annoyed sigh.

"I want to meet my partner already Pulse!" She folded her hands as a pouting expression came to her face. "Can't you find somebody we haven't already asked Pulse?"

"I can if you would give me a moment to focus." Wendy nodded, giving Pulse some space to let him tap into his aura. A purple cloud of energy surrounded his head and is paws as he held them close to his chest-spike. He closed his eyes, letting his connection to the natural aura of the world around him guide his true sight, seeing small orbs of color floating around him.

"There!" Pulse opened his eyes again, a visible tint of purple to his eyes as he looked around. "Here we go master, there's a group over-"

"Hey there's somebody we haven't asked!" Wendy excitedly took off in the exact opposite direction Pulse was planning on leading them. The Aura Pokémon sighed, shaking his head as he followed his master along with her adventure.

"Excuse me miss!" Wendy waved her hand over her head towards a woman with a pair of long sunset colored braids that dipped between her shoulders standing next to what must have been her Houndoom a good distance away from the large crowd. She turned towards Wendy on her calling out a second time, Wendy taking note of her outfit, a simple chartreuse top with a fuchsia-colored flower design on her hip above a skirt that seemed to flow into what looked like ribbon tails resting above her pleated sky-blue skirt.

"Hi! Have you found your partner yet?" Wendy asked on approaching her.

"Euh, no. I 'ave not found zem yet." The woman replied, Wendy picking up on her French-sounding accent.

"Oh! You're from Kalos, aren't you?" The woman nodded a response. "I thought I heard an accent just now. It's actually not that noticeable though. You must have lived here a while if that's the case."

"Yes, I used to live in Santalune City." The woman replied. "But I moved 'ere to Sinnoh about… I sink it was four years ago. Now I live in Jubilife City."

"Wow. So you must like it here then?"

"I do miss my 'ome sometimes. But Sinnoh has its own set of charms." The woman admitted, a smile starting to curl on her lips. "It is quite peaceful here."

"You know, I actually went to Kalos last summer myself on a business trip. Went to Lumiose City for about a week but I didn't get to do any touristy stuff. It's such a shame too. Lumiose is a gorgeous city; we don't have anything like it in Sinnoh."

"À mon avis, in my opinion, I sink Jubilife is pretty close to Lumiose, no? I like ze hustle and bustle of zee city, and the atmosphere is just as energized." Wendy smiled herself.

"Yeah, but it's nowhere near the size of Lumiose. Not to mention when the Prism Tower lights up at night? Simply gorgeous. Can't say that about Jubilife at night."

"Again, it has its own set of charm zat I enjoy." The woman replied again, looking at Wendy with happiness in her eyes. "You know, you are ze first person I have talked to today who did not just ask me for my number and run away when I said no." Wendy looked at her embarrassedly for a moment, realizing that's the whole reason she was trying to talk to her in the first place.

"Oh I'm sorry if I'm droning on about Kalos to you if you want to get right down to business." The woman held up her hand, halting Wendy's apology.

"Au contraire, it is quite refreshing to see someone genuinely interested in talking to me."

"Oh, well thank you. By the way I love your outfit, it is just adorable. I love the ribbon you have on your skirt." The woman blushed slightly, curtseying at her with the skirt.

"Merci mademoiselle, I like yours as well."

"Oh thank you but I don't look all that pretty compared to you. You look stunning. But let's not get distracted again. I haven't found my partner yet either and I'm really hoping you're my partner now because that would be awesome."

"Zis may be a bit forward of me, but…" The woman began, reaching into a bronze colored shoulder bag and looking for her card. "Even if we are not partners, would you like to say… get a cup of coffee with me later. You seem like a really nice person and I would love to get to know you better."

"Yeah! That'd be great! I know the perfect place to get one too right here in Hearthome, we can go sometime later next week. You know, since we'll probably be busy with the whole tournament thing."

"I would like zat a lot." The woman pulled her hand out of her purse with her card on it as Wendy did hers.

"On the count of three?" Wendy asked crossing her fingers and hoping for the best.

"One…" The woman began.

"Two…" Wendy said next.

"Three!" Both women turned their cards around and Wendy's eyes sparkled, seeing her lucky number seven standing right before her.

"YAY! I found you!" Wendy excitedly leapt forward and gave her new partner a hug, the woman cautiously returning it with one of her own before Wendy broke off the hug, placing her hands on the woman's shoulders. "I am so excited that you're my partner! Of all the people here, I was kind of hoping to get a girl more than a guy just so we can show all these arrogant guys that girls can kick butt too."

"I was hoping ze same." She replied, a faint band of blush on her cheeks from Wendy's surprise hug. "Men can get a bit overly competitive in zis environment no?"

"Right? Like there's this one guy I know who's in the tournament named Shaquille, but he is such a douche. Loud, obnoxious, rude to everyone, thinks he's so much better than everyone. I want to kick his butt so bad!"

"Well, let's not focus on ze obnoxious one. Let's you and me get better acquainted now." The woman leaned forward, placing a gentle, friendly kiss on both of Wendy's cheeks. "My name is Madison Bourdon. You may call me Maddie if you would like." Wendy smiled, returning the greeting with cheek-kisses of her own.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Maddie, my name is Wendy Riding. I'm afraid I don't have a cute abbreviation of my name, but Wendy is fine." Wendy turned her attention to the Houndoom sitting stoically beside its trainer as if waiting for instruction. "So who's your friend here?" Wendy asked, crouching down to his eye level.

"Ah, zis is my partner 'oundie!" Madison crouched down herself, petting the Pokémon's head between is silvery horns. "'ee's been my most loyal partner ever since we met."

"Aw, that's cute! His name is just like your name." Wendy cooed as she extended her hand towards the Houndoom's chest. "Hi Houndie, I'm Wendy. Can we be friends too?" The Pokémon looked at his trainer, seemingly for permission.

"Go ahead 'oundie. I doubt she will bite you."

"If I'm in the sheets I might, right Pulse." Wendy thought to her partner through their link, deciding it would be better not to tip her hand on possibly being a Poképhile right away with her. Pulse shook his head at his master's remark, deciding not to comment. Instead he watched the Houndoom turn back to Wendy and sniff her hand for a bit, before pushing his head into it and getting petted.

"I sink 'ee likes you." Madison smiled warmly at the two quick friends.

"Of course you do Houndie, everybody likes me!" Wendy laughed to herself as she stood back up, stepping behind Pulse and pointing at him with her hand. "Well, this is my partner Pulse. He's my first and most loyal partner." The Lucario walked up to her, his paw extended in a greeting which Madison took in her hand.

"It is a pleasure to meet you Miss Madison." Pulse spoke to her and Wendy easily noticed her surprise in looking wildly around the nearby area for the voice playing in her head.

"What was zat?" She asked Wendy worriedly. "Zhere was a voice just now, you 'eard it too no?" Wendy quietly laughed to herself.

"That was Pulse saying hello." Wendy explained. "See, Pulse and I can talk to each other telepathically because of his use of Aura. It's kind of complicated to explain but that's what you heard." Madison let out a sigh of relief on Wendy's explanation.

"Okay, good. Zat startled me for a moment." Madison let out a sigh of relief, holding her hand over her chest.

"I apologize for startling you Miss Madison." Pulse bowed his head before her. Although she again flinched on Pulse speaking to her, she smiled at him nonetheless.

"Zank you monsieur Pulse."

"You get used to it after a while." Wendy smiled, clapping her hands together excitedly. "Oh hey! Since we actually are partners, how about we go get that coffee we were talking about earlier? We can get to know each other and talk strategy for a bit if you want, or just you know, hang out and relax."

"Zat sounds lovely." Madison smiled warmly at Wendy, letting her take the lead.

"Alright, just let me call my boyfriend and tell him what's up." Wendy reached into her pocket, taking out her phone and dialing her cutie-Ty's number. After waiting a moment, she heard his voice on the other line.

"Hello?"

"Hey cutie-Ty! It's Wendy." Wendy giggled to herself excitedly. "You find you partner yet?"

"Yeah actually I did." Tyler replied. "We were just on our way out of the stadium. Should we meet up somewhere out front?"

"Nah, you don't have to. Maddie and I are gonna go get some coffee at this coffee shop on the north side of town by her hotel the Contest Hall."

"Maddie? Is that your partner?"

"Yup! And she's way cuter of a partner than you." Wendy giggled again looking at her partner beside her.

"Whatever. But how you gonna get there, 'cause I've got the keys to the hovercraft."

"Oh we're gonna walk. I'm a local remember? I know exactly where we're headed. It's right next to her hotel."

"Okay but how do I get back into your apartment later then since you've got the keys to that?"

"Oh, good point." Wendy pulled the speaker away from her lips. "He doesn't have a way into the apartment. How long do we want to get coffee for?" Madison shrugged her shoulders.

"Well, we 'ave an early match tomorrow, so I would like to get some sleep."

"Good point…" Wendy paused a moment, thinking to herself." Well, the coffee shop is right next to your hotel if it's the one I'm thinking of, so we can stay really late. How about say, quarter to ten and I can take a cab to my place for the night?"

"Zat sounds fine to me." Madison nodded a reply.

"Okay, I'll be back at the apartment around ten. Think you can keep yourself busy until then?" Now it was Tyler's turn to whisper quietly around the phone for a bit before finally replying himself.

"Yeah we can make that work. I'll need to drop Jason off at his hotel anyway so I'll see you later tonight."

"Yeah, see you tonight. Bye Ty." Tyler heard a click on the line and put his phone back in his pocket. "There, looks like you and I have a date tonight Maddie." Wendy grabbed her partner's hand and happily shook it without a care in the world. "Now let's go have some fun!"

"I would like zat lot." Madison replied, just as happily taking her partner's hand and walking with her pace towards the stadium exit, the first round match tomorrow a distant thought on the horizon. Tonight was all about becoming friends and having a good laugh, just like the spirit of Hearthome is supposed to be.

A/N: And there you have it you guys, that makes Chapter 32 in the books and next chapter we'll be finally getting started on the fist round of matches in the tournament. These next few chapters are gonna be action packed with good stuff so I hope you're looking forward to it as much as I am writing them! ... ... There, that looks like a long enough post message. Now I've got more dungeon crawling to do so I'll leave it at that. Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and all that festive season's greetings to all of you. This is DrPhill26 signing out and I hope that I'll get to see you all again next year!

Tyler's team: Magnus (Quilava, Male), Caelum (Staraptor, Male), Felix (Gligar, Male), Yuki, (Glaceon, Female)
Wendy's team: Pulse (Lucario, Male), Tess (Ampharos, Female), Yuri (Lilligant, Female)