Day 7: Facing A Full Team

The next morning, Alain rose and went downstairs with a new feeling of hope. Maybe, just maybe, Jacklyn would leave him alone, now that Zara had insulted her so badly in front of everyone. He strode into the cafeteria with a new confidence.

It didn't last long.

As soon as she walked through the door, Jacklyn marched up to his table and sat beside him. She didn't say anything but slid her chair to where it was touching his and moved to rest her head on his shoulder. Alain scooted away and focused his attention on the doorway.

"So you weren't in your room last night," Jacklyn began in a sweet voice "when I came to get you for that truth or dare game we were going to play." She put a hand on his sholder and made circular motions with her fingers, "Where were you?"

"It's none of your concern," Alain replied rather curtly, and moved to the other side of the table.

"But I want to know," Jacklyn pressed, her voice still sweet, rising to follow him.

"It's none of your concern," he repeated, this time angrily.

"Alright, I'll guess. Were you with that ugly, wanna-be Champion?"

Alain turned sharply and stared at her with anger in his gaze. He had to bite back a defense of Zara, but the words threatened to spill out anyway. I know I said I would try to be nice to her, but where did this feeling of anger at her being insulted come from?

"Aha! So you were with-"

"Okay Jacklyn, that's enough."

Alain glanced up to see Zara standing directly behind them. How did she get there without me noticing? Wonder which Pokemon taught her how to walk that quietly.

"You again? Why don't you just go fly a kite. Can't you see I'm talking here?" Jacklyn grumbled.

"Yeah, I can see you talking. And I can see your ignoring what everyone else is saying. Plus, I don't have a kite on hand."

"Maybe I should ignore you too."

"Ignore me if you want, but you ought to listen to Alain. Since you say you care about him having to deal with me, you ought to treat him like you care about what he says."

Jacklyn gave her a rebellious look. "And who are you to tell me what to do, Miss Goody Two Shoes?"

Zara bristled slightly at the name, but quickly regained her calm manner. "Just someone who thinks your a poor excuse for a self-proclaimed 'girlfriend'."

"Go away," Jacklyn said briskly.

"I've got a right to any seat in the place," Zara countered. "Um, so long as it's not occupied already," she amended.

Jacklyn gave her a fierce look, but then her face melted into a crafty smile, and she said in her sweet voice, "Then by all means, sit with us."

Zara eyed warily for several moments. The tension was so thick, Alain wasn't sure he couldn't have cut the air between them with a knife. Just as he was going to say something, there was a crash. All heads turned to see Wally and Brittney picking up broken dishes and spilled food off the floor.

Zara looked between the the mess and Jacklyn a couple of times before narrowing her eyes at the black haired girl and rushing to help her friend.

"So, back to my question. Where were you last night? Were you in the pool? We're you..." Jacklyn continued to talk, but Alain blocked her out. His eyes followed Zara, watching as she helped Wally clean up, and willing her to get back over here. As he watched, a thought struck him, and he looked up quickly to see if Astrid was in the room.

As soon as he looked up, he caught Lysander's eye. The tall man raised his eyebrows and nodded slightly at Jacklyn. Alain scowled at the ground and shook his head at Lysander. He would have some explaining to do when Lysander came over. He began to wonder just how much of the argument Lysander had seen.

So it was to his great relief that Sidney appeared in the doorway at that moment and said, "Would everyone please head out to the battle field! We have a lot to do today, so hustle people!"

Alain broke away from Jacklyn's grip, and went out to the battle field, despite not having eaten anything. What he saw when he stepped out the door caught him of guard. The field was strangely bare, with only a few Pokemon, including a Shiftry and Absol, roaming around on it.

As more students began to enter the court yard, they spread out to stare at the giant obstacles. Sidney followed them out, and walked to the side of the field without saying a word.

"So where's the challenge?" someone asked from behind him. Alain turned his head slightly and saw it was Gordon.

Sidney chuckled, and gave the criptic answer of, "It's right in front of your nose. It's just another battle like all the others you've fought. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Let me start at the beginning." And he motioned for them to come closer, then cleared his throat. "As I know many of your know already, I am Sidney, Dark type Master of the Hoenn Elite Four. My strategy is, actually, more of a lack of strategy, really. When you battle, most people talk about all these moves that protect you, or lower your opponent's stats, or raise your own stats, and things like that, but when it comes down to it, the only moves that really matter are the ones that deal damage."

Some of the students nodded in agreement.

"That's what I train my Pokemon for: hitting hard and hitting harder. And that's what I want to see you do today. My challenge is for you to fight me, with all my Pokemon against your Mega Evolver." When several people began to protest, Sidney explained, "I don't expect you to win this battle. If you did that would be nothing short of a act of Arceus. It's only to see how strong you are."

Mixed emotions flowed through the group. Personally, Alain thought the challenge sounded easy enough, but he knew to keep his guard up none the less. Sydney was an Elite Four member; that wasn't a title you earned for no reason.

"So who wants to go first? How about you there, with the blue ribbons," Sidney said, pointing at Abby. She pointed at herself, and when Sidney nodded, came up to the right side of the battle field and released her Altaria. Sidney crossed the field and stood in the other trainer's box.

Today it was Drake who took the referee's place. "If the challenger is ready, we will begin."

"I'm ready," Abby said, though she didn't sound ready.

"Then challenge begin!" Drake shouted.

"Shiftry, use Extrasensory! Sharpedo, Crunch!" Sidney ordered.

"Altaria, use Moonblast!" Abby ordered back.

Sharpedo Crunched down on the Moonblast, causing it to explode. But before Abby could give any more orders, the Extrasensory attack came crashing down on Altaria. The Humming Pokemon faltered, then crashed against the ground.

"Cacturn, use Needle Arm!"

Cacturn leaped forward and slammed a spiky arm down on Altaria. Altaria cried out painfully.

Abby winced at the sound of her Pokemon's cry, and shouted, "Use Sing!"

The song floated across the field, and one by one all of Sidney's Pokemon dropped to the ground. Alain thought he heard snores from some of them.

"Now Mega Evolve!" Abby cried, grasping the end of the long blue ribbon in her hair. Her Keystone reacted with Altaria's Mega Stone, and Altaria Mega Evolved. "Now send a Moonblast into the middle of the field!" Abby commanded.

The Moonblast struck the ground between Sidney's Pokemon, and all of them but Absol went flying in every direction. Cacturn struck the courtyard wall and fainted.

"Moonblast again!" Abby cried.

Altaria charged the attack, but suddenly Absol raised it's head and roared.

"That's it Absol! Use Psycho Cut!" Sidney shouted.

Absol released the Psychic type move, and it colided with Altaria's Moonblast. In the explosion that followed, Mightyena leaped up and use Crunch from below Altaria. The Humming Pokemon managed to shake off Mightyena, but by that time Absol was charging it with an Areial Ace. The Areal Ace connected, and Altaria fainted.

"Altaria is unable to battle, so Sidney's team wins." Drake announced.

Abby recalled Altaria and walked of the field looking very relieved.

"Next!" Sidney shouted. "Who wants to try their hand at it?"

At first no one moved, but then from the back of the crowd a hand went up, and Zara strode up to the empty trainer's box. "I'll take a whack at it."

Sidney smiled a pleased and slightly aggressive grin.

"Are you ready?" Drake asked.

"Born ready," was Zara's instantaneous reply. "Sceptile, at the ready!"

She's rather confident today. Alain thought.

"Sceptile, Mega Evolve!" Zara touched her Keystone, and Sceptile Mega Evolved. "Start things off with Dragon Pulse!" she commanded.

"Absol, use Night Slash!"

Absol intercepted the Dragon Pulse, but it alone wasn't powerful enough to stop the attack. Absol was thrown backward, striking Shiftry and the newly-revived Cacturn when it landed.

Dust settled on the field, revealing a pleasantly surprised Sidney and focused and confident Zara.

"Now use Leaf Blade on Sharpedo!"

"Sharpedo, use Aqua Jet!"

The attacks connected, but once again, Sharpedo wasn't strong enough on its own to stop the attack, and flew back to collide with the back wall.

"Shiftry, Leaf Blade! Cacturn, Needle Arm!"

Both Grass types charged Sceptile. Zara, however, was ready for them. "Use Detect!" she ordered, and Sceptile dodged swipe after swipe after swipe of the two attacks. "Now Dragon Pulse!" Sceptile drove Shiftry back.

Sidney's eye narrowed in concentration at this turn of events. "Cacturn, Needle Arm! Sharpedo, Crunch! Mighteyena, Sucker Punch!"

All three Pokemon raced at Sceptile, side by side as the crossed the field.

"Jump over Mighteyena" Zara said. Sceptile cleanly leaped over the Dark type. "Leaf Blade on Absol!" Zara ordered. Sceptile jumped forward and sliced a Leaf Blade across Absol's front before Sidney had a chance to order anything.

She landed a direct hit on Absol, and that's good, Alain thought, but now she's put her only Pokemon in between two sets of attackers. How is she going to get out of this?

Sidney shouted orders to all his Pokemon to hit Sceptile, and the Dark types closed in, Cacturn, Sharpedo, and Migheyena from Zara's side of the field, Absol and Shiftry from Sidney's side. Some of them began to spread out a little, circling Sceptile.

She's trapped, Alain thought, and there's no way she can get out of that trap.

All of Sidney's Pokemon leaped at Sceptile. It was seconds from being all over.

Then Zara shouted, "Use Detect!"

To Alain's amazement, Sceptile darted between Cacturn and Mighteyena, escaping from the circle of opponents unscathed. Unfortunatly for Sidney, all his Pokemon were still leaping at the place where Sceptile had been. But now that they had lost their target, they crashed into each other, creating a huge dust cloud. When the dust settled, everyone of Sidney's Pokemon lay in a pile where they had colided. Everyone of them was knocked out.

Sidney's mouth fell open. Drake could only stare for several minutes, but then seemed to remember that he was the referee, "Sidney's team is unable to battle, so Sceptile wins. Therefore the victory goes to Zara."

Sceptile reverted from its Mega form, then held its head high and roared at Sidney's Pokemon, who were just starting to get up. Zara had a huge smile on her face, as she watched her Pokemon. "So, you were saying about beating you would be nothing short of a act of Arceus?" she asked.

Alain struggled to keep his expression nuetral.

Sidney shook his head in disbelief. "I don't know how you did it, but that was an incredible show you just put on, Miss Zara. So what that I lost, it was fun anyway. Good job! Now, who wants to try next?"

Zara returned Sceptile to its pokeball and left the trainer's box. She walked over to the edge of the field, and stopped next to Wally. Several of the students' hands shot up, eager to be the next one to battle. Guess now that they've seen it is possible, they're more eager, Alain thought. Now I really want to battle her.

"How about you in the red," Sidney said.

To Alain's surprise, Jacklyn strode out from the crowd and into the trainer's box. She releaced her Blaziken, and said saucily, "Here comes your second loss."

Sidney just smiled back and shouted, "Absol, Psycho Cut!"

Alain watched the battle for a few minutes before he just zoned out. This was going to get rather boring after a while.

"Are you still mad at me from last night?"

Alain didn't need to look to know who had spoken. "No."

"That's good. Sorry if I said something to offend you."

"Do me a favor."

"Okay."

"Stop apologizing for everything."

"Alright." She paused, "You know, you never actually answered my question. What are these peaceful purposes that Lysander is collecting Mega Evolution energy for?"

"Why do you care?" He said it a bit more curtly than he meant, but none the less, she was getting really nosy.

"Same reason I ask about all the other things I've asked about. I want to get to know you."

"Why?"

She hesitated, but finally answered, "I already told you, because Steven told me to." After he gave no responce, she went on, "So, do you want to do something later today, after you participate?" and she nodded at the battle field where Jacklyn was battling.

"Like what?" Nothing that will waste my time, I hope.

"I was thinking trying to swim again, since the last time was interrupted so quickly."

Alain thought about it. He didn't really want to distract himself from his goals anymore than was necessary, esspecially now that Lysander was here to watch every battle he fought. He couldn't lose now that Lysander was here to see the loss. He said he had no time for weaklings...

But, on the other hand, being in the water had relaxed him. And he had said he would try to be nice to Zara, and it did seem like it would be rude to refuse.

It was a tough choice. Thus, all he said was, "We'll see."

Zara looked away, and Alain thought he heard her mumble, "Well, at least that's not a 'no'."

Jacklyn fought an impressive match, but in the end she lost to Sidney, and left the courtyard in a huff. Brittney, Tracy, Mary, Flash, Dave, and Wally all had similar results. Zara stayed for these matches, but after Wally's battle was over she left, saying the Champion had another job for her.

Alain stayed in the courtyard for the next couple a matches. He was watching Eric's Abamasnow take an Extrasensory from Shiftry, when his Holocaster went off.

He had recieved a message from Lysander. All it said was for Alain to meet him in Lysander's room. Alain went there immediately.

When he arrived, Lysander rose from his chair at the room's small desk to greet him. "Good. I see you recieved my message."

"Yes, sir. What did you need?"

"If it is not your turn for this challange, I would like you to explain who that dark haired girl is that you were sitting with this morning."

Alain groaned to himself. "Her name is Jacklyn, sir."

"And why was she with you?"

"I'm not sure, sir. I've told her repeatedly that I don't want her around." He paused, embarrased, then said, "I think she finds me attractive."

The smile that crept onto Lysander's face showed his amusement at the thought, much to Alain's distaste. "But you do not find her attractive?"

"Not at all, sir!" Alain said firmly.

Lysander eyed him carefully. "Are you sure about that?"

"Very sure, sir. She is the most annoying person I think I've ever met."

This seemed to satisfy the tall man, and he relinquished his piercing gaze. "Well now that you have explained that matter, is there anything else that I should know about?"

Alain shook his head

"Are you certain, Alain? Anything, even something that you find completely unimportant, could potentially be a large threat to our mission."

Alain looked at Lysander with surprise. Something going on here that could prevent Chespie from being cured and Marin from smiling again? He would never let that happen. He racked his mind for anything that seemed worth telling Lysander.

"If there is anything, I hope you will tell me," Lysander continued, "because this is the reason I told you to be on your guard. Many people here would try to use you to destroy all we have worked for, and to turn you away from your mission and your goals."

Alain again looked at Lysander with surprise. Steven and the Elite Four wanting to use me to destroy my goals? His face hardened at the thought. I didn't think they meant me any harm, but now that I know, I'll be more careful with what I tell them. Especially Steven. He went back to searching his memories of the past few days for anything worth telling Lysander. There was one thing that stood out in particular.

"Sir, an organization called Team Magma attacked the school two days ago. I was told their leader was with them when they attacked, but their intentions were not revealed to me. Steven and the Elite Four confronted them and drove them away."

"Interesting. I have heard stories of this team, and the crimes they have comitted. Why did you not confront them yourself?"

"I was told to stay in the courtyard. I would have gone out, but the penalty for breaking the rules is disqualification. And they enforce their rules strictly." He couldn't stop his mind from jumping to a memory of Drake's angry face.

Lysander closed his eyes for a moment. "I see."

"I did, however, see one of their elite members who tried to infiltrate the school from the back entrance. They were stopped and fled before they would reveal the purpose of their mission, so I cannot report on that subject, sir."

"And why did you not interrogate them before you let them escape?" Lysander asked.

"I was not the one to confront them, sir. Steven's student, Zara, was. I was only there to see the end of their battle, and then to block a Rock Slide attack from striking her."

Lysander's expression did not change as he said, "Why were you with her?"

"I followed her to see why she was disobeying Steven's orders. She was in trouble, and I helped her." He paused here, thinking, And she just ran off after I helped her. Of course she did give me a good explination afterward...The conversation came back into his mind unbiden. Wait, that has to be importaint enough to tell Lysander! He opened his mouth to explain the rest of the day's events, but closed it almost as quickly. His face hardened in frustration as he remembered his promise. His promise to Zara that he would not tell anyone what she had confided in him.

Lysander noticed Alain's hesitation. "What is it, Alain?"

"There is something else that may be of importaince to you, but I was told never to repeat it."

"And who told you this?"

"It was Zara, sir. She made me promise never to tell anyone...what she told me."

Lysander moved back over to his chair at the desk and reseated himself. "Alain, you may not realize it, but any information you can give me is invaluable. But rest assured, if you are to tell me this secret, then I am bound by your promise to keep it as well. I will never reveal anything you tell me here to anyone. I give you my word."

Lysander's words dismissed Alain's hesitation, and he began to recount the events of the rest of the day, and all of Zara's story, not leaving out any details. When he finished, Lysander rose and asked, "And why has she chosen to lie to the Champion?"

"She claims it's because she wants to leave all memory of the attack in her past. She wants to forget about it, but she's still afraid of Team Magma seeing her as a target, and wants to protect herself from them." Alain answered.

Lysander leaned back in his chair. "Thank you, Alain. You have helped me greatly."

"And you will not tell anyone of Zara's story?" Alain asked anxiously, though he didn't know why.

"No, I will not," Lysander replied patiently. If Alain had looked closer, he would have noticed the scrutiny in Lysander's eyes, but he was too lost in his own thoughts to catch it. "Two more things Alain, and then you will be dismissed; why did this Zara tell you her secret?"

"She gave me a number of reasons: she didn't want me to find out on my own and be free to tell anyone I chose, she was tired of keeping it secret and thought that she could tell me without anyone in Team Magma finding out, and she said she trusted me for saving her life."

Surprise showed for an instant on Lysander's face but it was gone as quickly as it came. He said nothing for a while, but finally broke the silence with, "And why did you listen to her?"

The question caught Alain off guard. He faltered, and struggled to come up with an answer. "I'm not sure," he answered truthfully. And then he admitted something to himself. "Perhaps it is because I enjoy her company."

Lysander closed his eyes in thought and said, "That is all. You may go."

Alain turned and left. If he had glanced back, he would have seen his boss with a pleased and almost sinister smile on his face. When he had left the room and shut the door, Lysander said softly to himself, "You have helped me more than you will ever know, my subordinate."

Alain walked back out to the battle field, where Astrid and her Mega Absol were blasting there way through Sidney's Pokemon, and getting blasted back in turn. He slid into the crowd and watched for several minutes untill Mega Absol was hit by a particularly strong Aerial Ace, and Astrid had to duck to avoid her Pokemon's form that flew over her head.

"Absol is unable to battle, so Sidney's team wins!" Drake anounced.

"Nice job there, Miss Astrid. You've got a fine partner there." Sidney complemented. "Who's next? What about you there, with the blue scarf."

Alain's attention snapped to Sidney's face. The Dark type Master was looking right at him.

"Come on, hustle! We don't have all day!" Sidney urged.

Alain stepped up to the trainer's box, and shouted, "Charizard, let's go!", throwing Charizard's pokeball.

"Is the challenger ready?" Drake asked.

Alain nodded.

"Then challenge begin!"

"Absol, Psycho Cut!"

"Dragon Claw!"

The Dragon Claw sliced through the Psycho Cut, and Charizard bared its teeth at Absol.

"Now respond to my heart, Keystone," Alain said, "Beyond evolution, Mega Evolve!" And touching his keystone, it reacted with Charizard's Mega Stone and Charizard Mega Evolved.

"Sharpedo, use Aqua Jet!" Sidney commanded. Sharpedo raced forward, its body growing a watery covering.

"Dodge it, Charizard, and use Flamethrower!" Charizard shot into the air, narrowly missing the Aqua Jet, then let loose a Flamethrower at Shiftry and Mightyena. They took the Fire type attack full on."Flamethrower again!" Alain commanded.

"Sharpedo, use Poison Fang!"Alain and Charizard were caught off guard as Sharpedo snuck up behind Charizard and sank its poison covered fangs into the Fire type. Charizard growled and shook it off, but as Sharpedo fell back to the ground, Charizard winced, and purple bubbles appeared around its mouth. They popped quickly, but not before Alain saw them. "Poisoned, no!" he said, worry in his voice.

"Absol, Aerial Ace! Shiftry, Extrasensory! Mightyena, Crunch!"

"Charizard, Dragon Claw! Intercept Absol!" Charizard rolled into a dive, and met Absol halfway as the Dark type leaped to strike it. It easily threw Absol off, and the Disaster Pokemon crashed against the ground.

"Now use Flamethrower!" Charizard twisted it's head around and released a jet of flames at Mightyena. Mightyena winced from the impact, and fell back, unable to compete with Charizard's raw power.

Charizard pulled out of its dive, and winced itself from the poison. Then, seemingly out of no where, the Extrasensory attack came crashing down on the Fire and Dragon type. Charizard lost its balance and fell several feet before it caught itself, then struggled to regain altitude.

"Absol, Psycho Cut! Shiftry, Extrasensory! Cacturn, Needle Arm! Quick, while it's low!" Sidney ordered as quickly as he could.

I can't get away from them all! Alain thought frustratedly. There are too many attacks to dodge, too many Pokemon to intercept. I'm surrounded.

"Charizard, fly higher and use Dragon Claw above your head!" Charizard flapped it's wings as hard as it could, and surged upward. As it rose, it raised its claws above its head and the Extrasensory attack came crashing down on the Dragon Claw. Charizard roared, then broke through the Extrasensory, and rolled to the right to dodge the Psycho Cut. Cacturn stood on the ground below Charizard, scowling at up it, and releasing the energy it had gathered to use Needle Arm. Charizard was too high for it to hit.

I'm so busy dodging and intercepting attacks, I have no chance to strike back. I wish I could hit them all at once. Alain thought angrily. Wait, what if I...yes, that might just work.

"Use Dragon Claw!" Alain shouted. Charizard brandished its claws, and dove into the group of Dark types, swiping first at Cacturn, then Shiftry, then Sharpedo. Slowly but surely, Charizard began to corral Sidney's Pokemon into the center of the battle field.

Sidney began to order attacks from his Pokemon, but Chaizard, guided by Alain, dodged or intercepted every one of them. The Fire and Dragon type soon was circling the tight mass of Sidney's team, but continuously had to keep sending Flamethrowers in every direction to keep it that way. And all the while it kept taking damage from the poison.

Finally, when Alain thought Charizard had gotten their opponents as tightly packed as it could, he ordered, "Now use Blast Burn!"

Sidney's eyes-along with everyone else's-widened. Sidney frantically shouted orders to his Pokemon to hit Charizard with whatever moves they could, but to no avail. Charizard dodged around a Psycho Cut, and reaching the ground, punched it with a firey claw. The Blast Burn spread out from around it, knocking attack after attack out of its way, untill it exploded underneath the knot of Sidney's team.

Smoke and hot wind blew into Alain's face, and he screwed his eyes shut to protect them. He couldn't see anything, but he could hear Charizard panting heavily.

And then he heard a thud.

Then...silence.

The dust settled to reveal that the Blast Burn had done its job, and every member of Sidney's team had been knocked out from it. But Charizard, try as it might, had taken too much damage, both from attacks and from its poisoning. It had collapsed itself, and lay before Alain with swirls in its eyes.

Drake looked at the field in confusion for the duration of a heartbeat, then raised his arms and stated, "Sidney's team is unable to battle, and Charizard is unable to battle. Therefore we have a tie."

"Excellent job!" Sidney praised, "You really understand where I'm coming from, don't you? Because you definitely know how to hit hard." And he smiled his aggressive smile. Addressing all the students, he said, "OK, I'm going to give my Pokemon a break for about half an hour, so you all can take a break for that long. Just be back here when the bell rings."

Alain returned Charizard to its pokeball, and stood staring at Sidney as he tended to each of his Pokemon. He hadn't won the challenge. True, he hadn't lost, but that was no excuse. And the one challenge he didn't win just happened to be the one that Lysander was present to watch. Alain cringed inwardly at the last thought. He knew Lysander would not be pleased with him.

He walked across the courtyard, barely comprehending where he was going till he walked in the Pokemon Center door.

"Hello, and welcome to the Pokemon Center!" Nurse Joy said cheerfully, "Would you like me to care for your Pokemon?"

"Huh, oh, yes, would you take care of this, please," he answered, handing her Charizard's pokeball. She took it, and went to the back of the Center, and Alain sat down to wait. He remained there for the better part of ten minutes, before she came back out with his Pokemon. She handed the pokeball back to him, and he left the Center without knowing where he was going.

Alain walked up and down the hallway for the entire break time. It wasn't till the half hour was up that something managed to pull him out of his thoughts. Namely, Lysander's voice.

"Alain!"

Alain's head shot up, and he stopped pacing. Lysander strode down the hallway, stopped in front of him, and asked, "What are you doing in here?"

"Trying to figure out why I didn't win, sir," Alain answered, looking at the floor as he said it.

"You did not win," Lysander said firmly, but not unkindly, "because Sidney is strong. No one expected you to win this challenge, Alain. And you did not lose."

"But I didn't win either," Alain protested. "I failed to-"

Lysander held up a hand to cut him off. "You did well, Alain. You should be proud of yourself, not angry."

Alain started to protest again, but stopped himself, and replied, "Thank you, sir. I will try."

"Good. Now I have something to tell you. Z1 has been located and two of our head scientists are on their way to capture it."

"So our mission is almost complete?" Alain asked, thinking hopefully of Chespie.

"Yes, it is. Soon we will have the power of Mega Evolution harnessed for the sake of all humanity." And Lysander smiled a distant smile at his prediction.

Alain was about to add that Cheapie would soon be healed as well, but stopped as a new question formed in his mind. One that he had been asked himself very recently. "Sir, how exactly do you plan to further humanity with the Mega Evolution energy?"

Lysander stopped smiling and fixed a hard stare on Alain. "Why do you ask, Alain?"

Several reasons formed in Alain's mind, but he replied with the one that seemed the most obvious. "Because Zara asked me, and I couldn't give her a good answer."

"We plan to improve the quality of life for all people on earth with the energy we collect," Lysander answered, "and we hope to improve relations between those on this earth within the next few years so that life is easier."

Alain hated to push Lysander, but he could hear Zara saying in the back of his mind, Well, yes, but how specifically do you plan to do that? What does that involve? "Yes, sir, but what are you going to do in order to improve life here in Kalos?"

Lysander's eyes narrowed. "Most importantly, we will eliminate all the evil in the world, including all those who oppose our mission. And," and he paused significantly, "including those who would hurt the people you care about."

The answer satisfied Alain. "Yes, sir. Thank you, sir."

"Why did Zara ask you about our mission?" Lysander questioned.

Alain replied immediately with, "She said it was to try and understand me better. She says I don't make any sense to her." He pointedly didn't go into detail about her questions. Zara had asked things he himself wasn't sure quite how to answer, but he didn't want to admit that to anyone, Lysander included.

Lysander didn't press him to explain why Zara thought he made no sense. Instead he said slowly and deliberatly, "This Zara seems like an intriguing person. And you seem to be spending plenty of time around her."

Alain only nodded his agreement.

"Take care, Alain, that you do not become distracted from our mission by this girl. She may be an independent person, but she still answers to the Champion, and anything you say she may report to him. And whether she would hurt our mission intentionally or not, the Champion more than likely would."

"You're saying she may be a threat?" Alain asked, surprising himself when the question came our almost accusingly.

"All I am saying," Lysander said firmly, "is to keep your guard up." And with that, he left.

Alain watched him walk away. He felt troubled, almost as if his mind had been turned upside down and shaken. Keep my guard up around Zara? She would be a threat to our mission? He didn't want to believe it, but if Lysander said it, he knew he needed to take it seriously. But, Zara? She didn't seem like she would do anything to destroy his and Lysander's goals.

Whose side are you on! his mind suddenly shouted at him, breaking through his muttled thoughts for the moment. Why are you defending her! These are Lysander's orders you're defying by doing that! Do you want him to think you care about her more than your goals?

And then a though surfaced that both angered and scared him. Do I care about her more than my goals?

He immediately supressed the thought, as a feeling of mortification spread through him. Of course he cared about his goals more than this Champion's assistant, who he barely knew! Whatever it was that had made him think otherwise, he needed to forget about it. He had to keep his guard up around her now. He had to. Just to be safe.

Giving his head a quick shake to clear it, he left the hallway, and went back to the courtyard.

The day dragged on for Alain. He watched lots of the other students, including Sylvester, Yvette, Maxine, and Luke battle during the afternoon. All of them lost to Sidney, though some came closer to defeating him than others. He finally gave up watching when there were only two trainers left waiting to battle, ate supper, and went to his room, which thankfully was Gordon-free.

He rested for some time. At least, he rested his body. His mind he couldn't seem to calm, no matter how hard he tried. Thoughts of Zara and her account of her history, Lysander and his warning, Mairin and Chespie, and his level of devotion to his goals ragged inside him and threatened to explode. He knew he would never give up on his mission to make Mairin smile again. Never. But, at the same time, the more he thought about it, the more he realized he didn't want Zara to get hurt because of what he was doing either. She had started to grow on him, even though she was being extremely nosy. But would not wanting Zara to get hurt stop him from doing what he needed to do?

No. No it wouldn't. He just needed to make sure she stayed out of his way when it came to serving Lysander. And only for the next week. That shouldn't be too hard.

He needed to protect her. Only for another week, but still. He could do that. After all, she was much more capable of caring for herself than Mairin.

With his mind at ease, Alain closed his eyes and was about to drift off to sleep, when another thought of Zara surfaced. One from this morning. One where he had said he might go to the pool with her this evening. With a start, he sat up and pulled himself out of bed, then raced out of the room and downstairs.

The ground floor of the building was completely deserted when he got there. He looked everywhere, first for Zara, then for Wally, then for anyone who he could ask where either of those two were. He couldn't find anyone. After thirty minutes of looking, he noticed the sun was about to set, and decided to give up his search. He walked back to the staircase at the back of the building and was about to start climbing, when the building's back door opened, and Zara walked in.

Alain wanted to shout and ask where she had been, but a closer look at ther face stopped him. She looked completely exhausted. Her clothes were dirty, her Ponyta tail was coming down, her head and sholders were drooping, but the most striking diference was her face. It looked like all the cheer she'd had this morning had been drained out of her, leaving behind only an empty shell with sad, hollow eyes. So instead, he called out, "Zara!"

At his word, her head came up, and she forced a smile onto her face. "Hey!" she replied, her voice cheerful but clearly strained, "What's up?"

"I've been looking for you."

"Why? Is something wrong?"

"No. You asked me to come to the pool with you."

"I asked you to-" Zara began to repeat his statment, then stopped and face palmed. "No, I forgot! I am so sorry! It's just that Steven's job took me longer than I expected, and I lost track of time, and-"

Alain walked up to her and gestured for her to stop talking. "I asked you to stop apologizing."

Zara put on a chastised face, and said, "Sor-no, not going to say it again. Anyway, I'm afraid it really is too late to go swimming now, so is there anything else you'd like to do instead?"

Alain gave Zara a critical look. All the exhuation he'd seen in her before was gone without a trace, save a slight strain in her voice. And here she was offering to go do more, when only seconds before she had looked like the only thing she could do was colapse. Either she was faking her energy now, or she had been faking her exhaution before, which he wasn't sure. But one way or the other, she was a good actor.

"No," he answered simlpy.

"Well," Zara said slowly, "at least let me walk with you back upstairs."

Alain nodded, and they both began to climb the staircase.

"What," Alain started after they had taken a few steps, "were you doing for the Champion?"

Zara sighed heavily, her shoulders sagging slightly for a moment. "Moving more crates and such. I think by the time this seminar is over, I'll have gained more experience with moving things out of a truck than with battling," and she chuckled tiredly at her own joke. "I'll just be glad to get to a shower and get some sleep. And with any luck, maybe I won't have to clean my bed off tonight."

Alain glanced at her before saying, "At least your problem can be fixed."

"What do you mean?"

Alain closed is eyes. "My roommate snores. Loudly."

"Hmm. Have you tried wearing earplugs?"

"I don't have any."

"Oh. Well, I can't really help you there. Too bad there aren't any spare rooms that are ready for people to stay in them. We could stay in a couple of those and solve both our problems." Silence fell between them for several moments. Then Zara stopped abruptly, letting Alain get a few steps ahead of her before he realized she had stopped, and said coily, "Who says we need another room? There are other places to sleep than rooms around here."

Alain gave her a puzzled look. I hope she doesn't mean sleeping in the hallway...

"Why don't we sleep in the courtyard? It would be quiet out there, and we'd be protected from anything but rain."

"Isn't that against the rules?" Alain asked, uncertain.

"It's not as far as I know, and I'm fairly confident I remember all the rules from the 'Terms and Conditions' sheet."

"Alright. I'll come."

"Good. Just let me shower and grab a pillow, and I'll meet you down there in a few minutes." They walked on, and when they reached the top floor, Zara added, "Do you mind if Wally comes too?"

"No." To be honest, Alain thought Wally being there would make it seem less like he was spending time with just Zara, in case Lysander happened to be watching them through a window.

Zara smiled and walked down the hall and around a corner.

Twenty minutes later, Alain was standing in the middle of the courtyard, a pillow and blanket from his bed under one arm. The sun had already set by now, and the field was lit only by the light from the moon and stars. Zara soon came out onto the field to meet him, her Sceptile, Wally, and his Gallade following her. "Hi, again."

"Hi!" Wally chimed in.

Alain nodded to them, then reached into his pockets as inconspicuously as he could for Charizard's pokeball. Finding it, he tossed it, and the Fire and Flying type burst out. It glared at Sceptile, and Sceptile glared back.

Gallade just glanced at the two Pokemon, confused, but it stayed silent. It walked across the field to where Charizard stood, then lay down. Wally sat down in front of it, and as he did, he yawned.

"I think Gallade has the right idea," Zara said with a smile. "Time to wind down."

"But w-we only just got out here!" Wally protested.

"Hey, hey, calm down, I just said 'wind down', not 'go to sleep'." When Wally smiled, she and Sceptile settled down next to him, dumping her pillow and blanket on the ground next to her. Alain sat down as well, and he felt Charizard lay down behind him.

"So Wally, what do you think of the Mega Evolution Acadamy now?" Zara asked.

"It's great! I just wish I was stronger now, so I could do better in it."

"Strength isn't everything. Not to brag, but I won my match against Sidney today, but not because I was strong."

"Then why?"

"Because, well, because I out Delfoxed the Delfox. I outsmarted him."

Wally looked thoughtful for am moment before asking, "Like when you tricked that whole swarm of Beedrill?"

That caught Alain's attention. "Huh?"

"It was almost a y-year ago, when we were in the woods in the north part of Hoenn. Zara was helping me look for a n-new Pokemon for my team, when we were attacked by this huge group of Beedrill. I didn't know why they were mad-"

"We still don't know," Zara interjected.

"R-right. But they were mad, and started attacking us. Then Zara br-brought out Sceptile, and they jumped up into the trees and started leading the Beedrill away from us. I remember watching you r-run away, and all the Beedrill followed you, and you shouted back at me to hide. I hid for a l-long time, and then you came back and said the Beedrill were gone, and that you had led them into a cave where a lot of Golbat l-lived, and the Beedrill started fighting the Golbat, and n-neither of them noticed you slip away and come back to me." By the time he'd finished his narative, Wally was staring at Zara with eyes full of admiration. "You're not afraid of anything, are you Zara?" he asked.

"Who me? Of course I'm afraid of things," Zara answered.

"But you led those Beedrill off, and y-you fought Trainers that are t-twice your age, and you st-stood up to Jacklyn!" Wally protested.

"That doesn't mean I wasn't afraid when I did them," Zara replied. "Wait, correction, that doesn't mean I wasn't afraid when I did all of those things except stand up to Jacklyn. But isn't that the definition of courage? Doing something, even when you're scared, because you know it's the right thing to do?"

Wally yawned again, and said though the yawn, "I wish I was courageous like you, Zara."

"I think you need to go to sleep now, Wally," Zara answered him, giving him a sweet smile as she spoke. "Where's your pillow and blanket."

"I didn't b-bring any down,"

"You didn't? Why not?"

"I want to take the one off my bed, because it would get dirty out here, and I thought I would get in trouble if I got it dirty."

Zara threw her head back a laughed a clear, ringing laugh. "Wally, they wash those sheets every day, when we're battling!" she cried. Alain had to smile, even if it was only because laughter is conatgious.

"Oh," was all Wally said.

"It's alright, here, you can use mine so you don't have to go get yours," and Zara held out her own pillow and blanket to the green haired trainer.

"Then what are you going to sleep with?" Wally asked as he took the offered items.

"I'm fine without anything. After all, when I was on my journey, I slet with less than this all the time."

"Are you sure?"

"Possitive. To quote a wise man, 'there is no softer bed than the ground below, no warmer blanket than the stars above'."

"Well, i-if your s-sure," Wally said, then lay down, spreading Zara's blanket over himself. "Goodnight."

"See you in the morning," Zara replied, then lay down next to Sceptile, putting one arm under her head in place of a pillow. Alain pulled off his leather jacket and lay down as well, laying on his back and staring up at the stars.

Within minutes, he heard Wally's breathing become steadier, and he knew the young trainer was asleep. Across from him, Zara raised herself up on one elbow, and whispered, "Alain?"

"Yes."

"Can I tell you something?"

"Sure."

"I'm not brave."

"What?"

"I said, I'm not brave. Wally just thinks I am, because that's all he sees of me."

"Leading off a swarm of Beedrill seems like something to be considered brave for."

"They were just Pokemon. I may not have known why they were angry, but it wasn't hard to get them to leave us alone. If it had been Team Magma, and not a bunch of Bug types, I don't know if I could have gotten us out of there in one piece." She paused, and in the dark Alain could see the outline of her face and tried to make out her expression. "They really scare me, Alain. People who could destroy me with just a word to their grunts. And all for helping themselves become rulers of the world, or whatever it is their trying to do, further themselves and all that. They will stop at nothing. Not even killing. They make me want to hide under a rock and never come out, because I know I'll never be safe till one of us is gone."

Alain had no responce for that.

Sceptile shifted closer to Zara and let out a muffled cry of sadness. Zara lay back down and curled up next to the Grass type. "I just want to be safe. Is that too much to ask?" She said it more to herself that to Alain, but he the words struck a cord inside him. He lay still for a long time, untill he heard Zara's breathing even out, then pounded a clenched fist against the ground. Lysander had to be wrong about Zara. For all her nosiness and persistence, she had grown on him, and he knew she would never hurt him or anyone else on purpose. He hurt inside because of what she had told him, he hurt for her. He wanted to protect her.

But Lysander said to keep your guard up around her. You can't just be friends with her; she could be a threat. Not an intentional threat, but she could lead to Steven becoming a threat. Besides, she has Steven to take care of her, and for that matter, she can take care of herself! She's not like Mairin, constantly tripping and falling over something. She's strong and smart and pretty...wait, did I just call her pretty? I can't think like that.

Alain turned over and decided to sleep on it. He was drifting into a dream, when he heard a shudder from Zara's direction. Sitting up and letting the blanket fall from his sholders, he realized how cold it was tonight. Reluctantly, he crawled out from under the blanket and across the clearing untill he was next to Zara. She shuddered again, more violently this time, her breathing becoming more ragged, and muttered in her sleep, "Mom, no. Dad."

She's having a nightmare, Alain realised. Laying a hand on her arm, he suddenly felt how cold she was. Guess the stars aren't such a warm blanket after all. Grabbing his own blanket, he draped it over her and watched her for several minutes untill she didn't shudder anymore, and her breathing calmed. Then he went back to his own bed.

Charizard lifted its head as he settled down. "Char?" it growled.

"It's alright Charizard," Alain assured it. "I was only seeing why Zara was shuddering."

Charizard lowered its head till it could look Alain in the eyes. It was too dark for Alain to be sure, but he could have sworn that Charizard was smiling at him. Then it put its head back on the ground and went back to sleep. Alain fell asleep only moments after.

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OK, I hope this chapter was everything you guys were hoping for. As always, please review and let me know!

*The one who Zara was quoting above when she gave Wally her blanket was Grandpa Smurf. Think whatever you want, I liked the saying.