Chapter 6: Considering Everything

Shortly after arriving back at his hotel room, Nori found himself lounging on the placemat. It was actually slightly quieter this hour than it was during the evening, due to neighboring rooms not being occupied. All the better to help with his thoughts.

Hearing all the support he had from people was assuring. It made Nori certain he was fighting a good fight, and therefore a fight he could win. If no one was courageous enough to at least voice that much, or worse yet, acted opposite to what they felt, he was unsure if he could keep going. Yet that came with another side to it - now he had all these expectations on him that he would succeed. He still wasn't a hundred percent sure if he could, and didn't want to think about what people might think of him if he failed.

It wasn't something he was unfamiliar with. Some of his peers or even just random people had ripped on him before for being special or his unique position. At least a bit of it stemmed from jealousy. But being the first of his kind came with its disadvantages. There were no guidelines to follow, no established ways to act. This meant a measure of freedom. But this also meant that he set the standard. He would determine what a Pokemon rehabilitator really is. Whether they would be deemed viable or not rested squarely on him.

And that occurred to him too. He wasn't helping a Pokemon, but a person who had issues with their Pokemon as well. That wasn't too big a stretch of the original intent, right? Success would mean that might become an expectation he establishes. But if he failed, then what? Would he try again if another opportunity presents itself in the future? Should he? Or would he just be blocked from doing so?

There were a lot of things Nori wasn't sure of. One thing he was sure of was that he had to stay the course with this. Worrying about what might happen in the aftermath could wait.

Nori glanced over at the object he had left on the tea table, a videotape. Evidently, somebody had slid it through the room's mail slot. However, it was completely unlabeled. No markings, no clues as to its contents. Who had brought it here? Why? Well, it was here. He could think of a few reasons why it was. Come to think of it, one of them would make the most sense.

Either way, there was only one way to answer the questions he had about it. Ordinarily, he would be unsure of watching a video of unknown contents and origin. There could be all kinds of things he'd rather not see on such a tape. But given the circumstances, it was something he was willing to chance. And thinking more of it, it'd be easy to immediately turn off if there was anything bad on it.

He walked over to the box-like television. He almost slid the tape into it right away, but right before he did, spotted a thin layer of dust covering it. "Probably not a good idea to put it in as-is..." Nori mused. He opened it and blew inside.

"GAH!" Instant regrets. The dust backfired and flew into his face! He instinctively shut his eyes and turned away, barely avoiding getting any particles in his eyes or up his nose. Waving the cloud aside, he inserted the mystery tape and pressed play.

What started as a side-glance turned into a fully attentive look as the image appeared on screen. "This is...!"

The grainy black and white video depicted a holding cell. It had only basic necessities - bunk beds, a toilet, and a partially rusted sink beside it. There was actually one more person than there were beds in there. Someone he couldn't properly see was dozing in the corner of the room with just a pillow and sheet over the floor. Nori chalked that up to crowding given the Rocket base raid. But the two of importance were on the beds. Julia on the top bunk, and an adult in the bottom. A timestamp in the top right said it was 1:13am.

Abruptly, the feed cut off. Nori scratched his head in confusion at first, staring at the blank screen for several moments. He hit the rewind button. For the longest time there was nothing of significance. Besides the person in the bottom doing a lot of tossing and turning, and Julia hopping down for some water, there was no movement at all.

Nori kept careful watch for anything of interest as the tape continued to rewind. When it was just before midnight, there was significant movement. As the tape continued to rewind from there, finally did things start to happen: Julia climbing to the top bunk, the two in an embrace, and into the two sitting side by side on the bottom bunk, which continued for a while. The adult appeared to be none other than Mrs. Parisa. Nori allowed it to rewind a bit further before hitting play again. The timestamp read 11:24pm.

"-this before, but...I'm relieved you're doing okay in here." There was audio. Of course there would be. That only made this more useful. Nori supposed he'd joined them mid-conversation. But he didn't know how far back it went, and didn't have the time to watch the whole thing - especially if it went back very far. But maybe he would have to if there was nothing in this spot. He had been going in circles and messing up this whole time. And if there was anything on here that could stop that detective, he'd use it. "And that I can see you again, even if the circumstances aren't ideal..."

Julia was scowling, likely from whatever it was they had been talking about earlier. She stamped the dirty floor. "Why did they put you in here anyway? I still don't get it at all!"

"Leading a minor to criminal activity. That was what they said," her mother explained. The dark haired girl crossed her arms, letting out a whiny grumble. "They also mentioned negligence and possibly other charges to be determined as well." She mumbled something as an aside which Nori couldn't hear. They had already been speaking fairly quietly, and that was practically a whisper.

Parent and child remained silent for about thirty seconds. Julia gradually relaxed over the course of it, eventually propping her hands on the bed and asking, "What about dad?"

There was hesitation before Mrs. Parisa answered. "I knew he would be against me doing this. So I only told him after." Her posture slumped. "All I could tell him was that I was sorry. I thought I could save you by taking the blame, but it really did only make things worse. I'm just praying he'll be able to handle being on his own now. Our ranch is in his hands alone now...and it looks like it will be for a while. Two of his girls are in here, and a third is on the run." All manners of guilt polluted her tone.

Mrs. Parisa turned to face her daughter. "And...I also want to apologize to you, Julia. It's my fault you're in this situation. I should never have pressured you into releasing Geraldine like I did. It was wrong of me to refuse to transfer any other Pokemon until you did so."

Julia watched intently, a mix of emotions showing as her mother continued to speak, "I didn't know how much she was suffering. I could tell she had issues, but I didn't imagine they were that bad. If I had realized that, I would have told you to send her to a facility for treatment. But...I wasn't thinking about any of that. I wasn't thinking something could happen after you released Geraldine and they could connect it to you. All I could think about was making sure nothing happened while she was under your care. Plus, I was so caught up with work and trying to find Amara and everything else-"

Her daughter suddenly raised a hand. "Mom, stop it," she asserted. "Don't blame yourself for this. It's not your fault. It's not anyone's fault, really..."

"Wait, what?" Nori commented. The tape was continuing to play, but something had hit him all of a sudden. "What did she just say?" He rewound the tape and listened to it again.

"Don't blame yourself for this. It's not your fault. It's not anyone's fault, really..."

He hit pause. It's not anyone's fault? Not anyone's fault, really. He reflected back. Whose fault was this? He had been thinking about that question a lot. Who was responsible for this? He had been openly throwing blame around.

Back at the lake: "So where is he? The guy who did this?" Blaming the guy who attacked Geraldine.

In the questioning room at the department: "I don't care if she is, she still screwed up good!" Yelling about Julia.

To the reporter when being interviewed: "If anyone is to blame, it's...actually, it's Team Rocket." Trying to find another source to throw shade on.

To Mrs. Parisa when he met her: "And it's your fault she's in there!" Lashing out at someone trying to help.

And yesterday he'd mumbled here: "If that champion wasn't so defeatist about this..." Complaining about people not doing what they could to help her.

He vented about Holle numerous times: "This is all that detective's fault." That statement yesterday being one of them.

And had even gotten around to blaming himself: "This is my fault. I should've been trying harder this whole time." He even just thinking about his own shortcomings until just now.

All this time he had been thinking about who was to blame for all this. Who had caused this incident. Who should've done something differently. Who should do more. Who should do less. Or who if they weren't a factor, might have avoided or made the situation far better than it was. But it was no one's fault. No. Rather, even if there were people to blame for this, it didn't matter whose fault it was. What matters is that Julia could very well have her life ruined. Sure, there was someone out to ruin it, but this isn't about who or what could ruin it.

This was about how to fix it.

Ideas circulating in his mind, he hit play again and allowed the video to resume. Julia continued on, "Besides, blaming people isn't going to make things better." He nodded in agreement with this. He understood things now. He couldn't change what was already done. And he couldn't change Holle, either. What he could change was his approach. All this time he was thinking of how he could absolve Julia of responsibility. While being in the mindset that he had to stop Holle. In other words, stopping the person who wanted to put her in jail. But he'd realized he should've been in the mindset of how to help and improve the situation. That maybe the best solution was in front of him the whole time.

"I...I know...that's true." Her right hand went to her head, briefly rubbing an eye. "You know, that was a really mature thing of you to say. I'm proud of you Julia. You've grown up so much since you started on this journey."

Julia was silent for a few moments. "Mom..." she sniveled. Suddenly, she broke down into her mother's arms. Mrs. Parisa was shocked for only a moment before tightly wrapping her arms around her daughter. The girl was in hysterics as she rambled, "Mom! I don't want to spend the rest of my life in jail! I want to go home! I want to own my own Pokemon ranch and help Pokemon the same way you do!"

"Julia...oh, Julia. I know!" she sobbed. "I know that! I wanted to help you, but...but..."

Julia hyperventilated, words coming out garbled until she eventually got out, "I want to be out of here, and get to travel with Perrine and Caiseal, and Hikaru, and all my other Pokemon again!"

"And you will," Nori replied as her frantic pleading continued on, as if she could hear him. "You will."

He didn't know who had sent this surveillance tape or how that person got hold of it. But all that mattered was that he owed them one. No, more than that. Whoever had done this had given him just the weapon he needed.

"I want to write books, read books, draw cartoons, and help people and Pokemon alike! I'll even go back to school again! School's way better than jail, even though nobody likes me there! Why did this have to happen?! I never wanted any of this to happen! I'm so sorry, Mom! I never wanted anyone to get hurt! This is all my fault! I just want everything to go back to the way it was before!"

"So, what do you think?" Nori asked. His doubts were completely extinguished, much to the surprise of some of the patrons still around from earlier. In their place was a confident glint in his eyes. A few of the regulars were downright stunned, one woman sitting slack-jawed and not just because of what was on the tape. They'd been following Nori's progress, but had never seen him like this before.

Connor gave his patron a pat on the back. "I think you got money, son," he told the young official. "Ain't nobody reasonable who can see that and say they ain't sorry for the lass."

"Which means they might go easy on her!" Perrine concluded. Nori had swung by the Pokemon Center before heading back to Connor's. He found her and Caiseal there as he'd hoped and asked them to come along. This was something he felt they needed to see.

"Her mother, too."

"Wait, WHA-!?" the orange-haired girl gasped in surprise. "You can help her too?! How?"

"Didn't you hear her?" Nori asked, with a shrug of his shoulders. "Mrs. Parisa more or less said she acted in the heat of the moment and didn't know the full extent of Geraldine's condition, among other things. Which means she didn't act with intent." He tapped his chin. "If everything comes together as I'm hoping it does, I think Julia might get off with a slap on the wrist at worst."

Perrine nodded, bursting with glee at this. "That's all well and good," Caiseal spoke up. He was doing a far better job of containing his as he asked, "But what exactly do you plan on doing?"

Nori just chuckled deviously at the realist question. With a wild grin, he declared. "Show this tape. Like I am now."

"I don't know," the blond boy said with uncertainty, shaking his head. "Should you really have this tape? Shouldn't you return it to the police station?"

"That's the plan," Nori elaborated, his grin widening as he hit the rewind button to get the tape back to the relevant location. He instincts had been whispering to him about something. "I'm going to go there and show them what's on the tape." His proclamation triggered chatter around the whole diner. Overhearing one conversation, he replied to it, "Yeah, and if you can get the word out too, that'd be great. Attack them from all angles." He knew that media pressure was a very real thing, even before this incident. Yet it was rarely enough on its own. "The public has their say and can make a bit of a difference in a case. But what this really comes down to is convincing the police. If we can make them see Julia's not a bad person..." He closed his eyes. "Then maybe we can do this."

More chatter. People were responding positively to what he was saying. Nori smiled to himself, stopping the tape and taking it out of the diner's VCR. He carefully wrapped it in the towel he had borrowed from the hotel room to prevent damage to it, placing it back in a flap in his bag. "But...what about that detective?" Perrine asked. "He said he wants Julia punished as much as possible. I don't think you'll be convincing him easily..."

And there it was. He knew somebody was going to bring up Detective Holle. The big obstacle to his plans, the one he was fighting against. Perrine didn't need to remind him or bring it up. It was a fact he was painfully aware of from the very beginning. Getting around him wasn't going to be easy. But he had a plan, an idea of how he could pull it off. "With the way I'm going to approach it...well," He paused, deciding to be more honest. "With any luck, he won't be a factor."

This incited confusion among people. How could that detective not end up a factor? Nori continued, "Here's the thought process. I know I'm not going to be able to convince him. That's why I'm hoping to convince as many others as I can." He closed his eyes again. "Holle may be an issue, sure. I'm banking on the rest of the force saying that maybe they should go easy on her. Maybe this whole law about releasing a Pokemon is a bit silly. That maybe they should consider the circumstances of this whole mess." The young official's eyelids flew open. "I know people have the sense to see this. And I have faith that they can stand up to say that."

Silence. Caiseal broke it by saying, "Do you really think it will work?" He asked this in a way that while he believed it could, he needed convincing for his doubts about it to go away.

Nori affirmed his answer. "Think of it this way. This is the most extreme example mind you, but what if everyone on the force but Holle wanted Julia to receive minimal charges, and yet he still went ahead with the maximum sentencing?" He allowed that to hang for several moments before following it up. "It wouldn't reflect good on him, would it? Or would he even go through with them in the first place?"

Even more chatter. People liked it. And it made sense, didn't it? Even with that detective being Tauros headed, even he might be reluctant to go against the flow. And if he did...well, at least he'd probably damage the detective's reputation in the process. However to Nori's surprise, it was Connor who spoke and brought up a counterpoint next. "If you don't mind me sayin', I don't think that detective's gonna let ya run roughshod. How ya gonna show them folks at the station that tape without being stopped?"

"Er, well." That didn't occur to him. And worse, that was something the young official could admit he had no real answer to. "I...don't know." There was no avoiding that without proper timing. "I mean, there is one thing I can try, but..."

"Well take it!" Connor enthused, slamming a fist into a palm. "You ain't gone this far just to back down, right?"

"Ri-right!" Nori stammered. He was absolutely right. This wasn't an ideal solution. He'd even say it was towing the line of legality, or at least integrity. That said, Nori knew he couldn't let worries like that shackle him right now. "But I'll need to borrow the phone for a minute for that."

"By all means." The former pitcher brought the entire phone up. Nori stared blankly at the black machine. It didn't look like any phone he'd ever seen. There were no number pads, just a disc with holes in it. "It's an antique from Grandmama, so treat'er carefully."

"Okay, I will." Even if it wasn't an antique, he always treated others' things with extra care. All he did at first though was stare at it as if it were an alien device. He was unsure how to operate this machine, but wasn't about to resort to help right away. "Do I just...?" he mused to himself, putting his finger in the space where the 7 was. Nothing happened.

"Just turn it," Connor spoke up, causing him to jump and nearly jam his finger. He grumbled and shook his head. He never liked it when people gave him advice he didn't ask for, even if it was helpful. He probably could've figured that out by himself in a few seconds, anyway...

Sure enough, twisting the dial accepted his input. He retrieved a scrap of paper from his pocket as a reference, repeating this process with the rest of the number. Slowly but surely, he went entered the whole number on the old phone and waited to get through. It made Nori wonder that if it was an antique, why Connor didn't leave it secure in his own home. Maybe it was part of the diner's image?

A woman spoke to him as the toning halted. "Hello, you've reached the Mahogany Town Police Headquarters. How may I help you?"

Jumping directly to an operator. Convenient. "Hi, my name is Nori Carino. I'd like to speak to Lars Bunston, please?"

"Hold please."

Music that would ordinarily be pleasant filled Nori's ears, but to him, it was not helping. His heart was threatening to beat its way out of his chest. He was hiding it well, but internally his nerves were running high. Success or failure would be dependent on the conversation he was about to have. And the wait was not helping, the music coming across as the preamble to doom. "Come on...it won't be long before he picks up. I hope..." he mumbled to himself.

"Sir!" Bunston's sharp and eager voice suddenly spoke up. Nori nearly jumped, but composed himself enough to make it appear he was simply snapping to attention. "To call me personally on this line, it must be very important!"

"Yes, you're right." The immediate understanding surprised him, but he was thankful for it. That meant he had no need to elaborate on matters any more than he had to. "Let's get right to it. I've got something to show people at the station, but I'm worried about Holle."

"Well, the detective rarely leaves the office. When he does it's usually for investigations or something important. I think he's earned his place, so he doesn't have to patrol as much as other officers. And when he does get out that's only after things are established. Heck, he even stayed back when all hands were called to the lake! I mean, some had to to watch the station sure, but even I had to go!" With a grunt, the stout officer said, "If you're trying to get him out of here, that'll be tough, sir!"

Nori went rigid. So he was looking at an uphill battle. He couldn't think of any options he had. He was second guessing his initial thought as well, there would be a huge risk involved in staging something. If it were even possible to stage something that would convince Holle to personally become involved. The one thing he might be able to do to get Holle out wouldn't allow him to show the tape, and he didn't want anyone else sticking their neck out doing that in his place.

Bunston's next words were quiet, so much so that Nori almost failed to notice. "But if you come down at around 2pm, that's when he always has questioning scheduled."

Nori remained silent except for a small huff of acknowledgement, processing this information. That could work. It'd also avoid any ethics problems. He glanced over at the wall clock. It was about 1:30. "How long?"

"Enough. Enough, I have to go!" Abruptly, he was hung up on.

Nori instantly recognized it for what it was. What he needed to do wouldn't take long, and with Holle occupied, he would have an excellent chance of being able to do so. Come to think of it, he arrived at the station yesterday just after two. And while it was earlier than that the first time, Holle had come in to personally start questioning Julia at around that time as well. Something that the detective had said rung in his ears.

People have habits and desires. Therefore, it's easy to track and predict the movements of a person. You simply need to be there when they are.

An uncontrolled smile broke upon Nori's lips. It appeared he would be doing that to Holle this time. Being there when he wasn't.

"Hey, are you okay?" He was brought out of his thoughts by a concerned Perrine speaking up at his spacing out. She was extremely worried. "I hope you didn't get bad news." Nori's initial reply was to just smile confidently, shocking but ultimately washing away her concerns.

"More than okay," he declared. "That's settled, it's perfect. That detective is apparently going to be working in questioning soon. So if I time it right I should have enough time to show it to the force without being interrupted by him."

The restaurant owner took the phone back. "Sounds like things are workin' out, then."

"Do you really think that'll be enough?" Caiseal spoke up. His lingering doubts refused to leave him alone. "I mean, will personal opinion really make them not want to charge Julia?"

The dark-haired teenager shook his head. "I'm not sure," he admitted. He was hoping they would. The best case would be that they decide to take pity on her. But reality was nagging that the best it might do is simply reduce the severity. His words at face value were those of uncertainty, but his face held a different expression. "That's why I want to explore every avenue. Can I use the phone again? One more time, please."

"Seems you're callin' everyone today," Connor agreed with a chuckle, passing the receiver back to Nori. "Just don't be tyin' it up too long, ya hear?"

"This should be the last one!" Nori insisted. "I have one more trick up my sleeve..." He dialed a particular phone number he had put in a few times in the past. Enough that he knew it by heart.

"Hello! May I ask who is speaking?" came a jovial voice from the other side. The person that he usually had to report into as a Pokemon rehabilitator. He was a very quirky man to say the least, but a good one as well.

"Hey, it's me," he greeted.

"Ah, if it isn't Mr. Nori Carino!" came the reply, recognizing Nori's voice. His manner of speech always struck the young official as odd. He wasn't sure if it was because English wasn't his first language or if it was just him being blusterous, but he didn't want to ask. "It is very much early for you to be reporting in. Besides, are you not being on vacation?"

The young official explained it plainly, "Yes, but I can't just ignore my job either."

The man on the other end chuckled. "Very true, yes that is very true."

With pleasantries exchanged, Nori got right down to it. "So I was wondering..." He paused, as he tried to think about how to word this. "I heard officials might be able to do this, but is it possible for me to make a recommendation in the defense of someone who could be facing charges?"

"You have been hearing correctly!" Confirmation that made Nori beam. "So long as one is having no circumstance to suggest much bias, an official can indeed vouch for one who may be facing trial!" And since he had no relation to the person in question, having just met her days ago, that would be a hurdle he would not have to worry about. "However!" the man then declared. "It is difficult to speak on whether one such as you would qualify as an individual who would have such a privilege!"

Nori was frustrated to hear that, but undeterred. He was an official. Even if it was a very new position, that meant he should be able to do something. But how would he present that? Well, he had been allowed to get involved due to it being within his conjuration. So he should be able to speak on the matter! "This is regarding a certain incident involving a Pokemon with mental problems. In other words, the same field I work in. Since the circumstances of the arrest revolve partially around said Pokemon, should I not be able to speak in defense of her former trainer and whether or not she was responsible for its actions?"

The man on the other end thought about this. "Ah, I do concede your point! It does make perfect sense." Nori knew that even this person could speak on matters relevant to his position, too. "Very well! I shall be passing this around to the higher-ups."

Nori paused. "I...take it you already know what I'm talking about?" He supposed it should have been obvious. After all, this sort of incident could theoretically make national headlines, and he went on television.

"Oops! I should be getting that information from you!"

Nori rolled his eyes. This man had always been like this. But looking on the upside, it meant he could take a few moments to consider what to formally say. "Then, tell them this," the young official started. "Say that I, Nori Carino, believe that Julia Parisa is a good person who deserves a second chance. And that she acted with the best of intentions. Also that I know she'll never let anything like this happen again. She respects the law so much, that it's a shame she got caught up in it like this."

Throughout his statement, the man gave vocalizations of acknowledgement. When Nori had finished speaking, he remained silent for several moments as if expecting more. Eventually he acknowledged, "I have recorded this and furthermore wrote it down with a pencil on the sheet of paper that has been placed in front of me!"

That was perfect. "Thank you, Mr. Martins!" Appreciative as he was, Nori kept it short. Besides, he had things he needed to do. "Gonna get moving right away. Bye!"

The jovial man started stammering in alarm, "I-I-I told you, p-please refer to me as my codename-" but Nori hung up before he could finish.

"Okay, that's done! I'm going to get over to the station now!"

Perrine hopped off the stool she was sitting on, motioning to Caiseal who was already following. "We'll come, too!"

Nori lowered his head. He figured they might want to get in on this. But he could not let them do that. He opened his mouth to speak, and after a thoughtful pause, simply told them, "Sorry," with a shake of his head. He explained the situation plainly to the two confused kids. "I understand you want to help, I really do. But I don't need you two to show the tape. And...there is a chance I might go down for this. I don't think I will." Rather, he was hoping he wouldn't. "But I don't want you two to have to risk that too."

While one of them immediately understood and accepted this, the other found herself being overtaken by zeal. "I don't care!" the orange-haired girl protested. "Julia is my friend! I want to be a part of this even if it does mean I could be put in jail too! So-"

"Perrine," Caiseal interrupted, trying to bring sense into her. "He is right. We can't take this risk ourselves. And I don't think Julia would be very happy if we got put in there too."

"But, Caiseal...!" She looked to him and to Nori. "I just..." Perrine couldn't finish verbally, feelings of helplessness strangling her. The remainder of her statement, "...want to do something," was mouthed as she peered down, tearing up in frustration.

Nori confirmed Caiseal's sentiment. "She actually made me promise not to get thrown in there, either. So I'm sure she'd want the same for you." The orange-haired girl frowned, unable to argue that. And just to make it clear he was self aware, Nori chuckled. "I say that and yet I'm taking this risk. But if I do get in trouble for it, I'll be counting on you two."

"Really?" Perrine asked, eyes lighting up. "What'll we have to do?"

The young official had been trying to think ahead. He wasn't sure how well he was doing on that front, but explained anyway, "I may need to call you to back up my story about this tape." If anyone asked him about it, he would need people who could affirm that he did not steal it from the station himself. "And...if the worst does happen, you might have to pick up the fight in helping Julia."

"We will!" the orange-haired girl eagerly spoke. Just hearing Nori say he was depending on them was a huge boost to her mood, even if her help wasn't necessarily going to be needed. "And don't worry, we were planning on helping Julia any way we could, anyway!"

"And if things do go bad for you there, we'll back you up like you asked," Caiseal assured.

"Thanks, you two. I may end up having them call you too, Connor." The former pitcher acknowledged this. Every little bit helped, after all. "I'll be off, now." Nori turned and left with determination. As he was walking out the door, he turned and added one more thing to Julia's friends. "Just make sure you're either here or at the Pokemon Center, just in case! All right?"

"Got it!"

"Okay."

That settled that. It was time to head off to the station to finally settle this. Nori didn't even use his skateboard, just marching as quick as he could on foot. He had time to spare, and wanted to make sure he was fully prepared for what was to come.

Even with Holle not a factor, this wasn't going to be simple. Just showing the tape wouldn't be enough. Presenting a solid argument alongside would be necessary as well, and it had to be one they would accept. He would need to find a way to get people to pay attention in the first place. To go over every little thing he wanted to say in his head, and all of the things he might have to say as well. He wanted...no, he needed to get this right. He had only one chance to do so.

In spite of this, Nori held certainty within him. He knew he could pull this off. After all, he made it through that gym leader. He made it through his official's training. What more could it be to make it through something like this? It was just another test. Not a formal one, but thinking of it that way helped with his mood.

If this was a test, this would be the last part of it. All he was needed to do was pass this and he'd be in the clear, right? And he fully intended to pass with flying colors.

I almost designated this a .5 chapter (or the next one), given that MarJour does them and splitting one up would logically qualify one as such. Ultimately I decided not to, even though I am trying to emulate it to some extent. A silly thought did occur with them, aside: making their titles be two halves of a statement.

Two more chapters to go!