Burgundy crumpled the letter of rejection in her fist, letting out a frustrated groan as tears pricked at her eyes. For the third year in a row, the PCA had rejected her application for B-class certification.
Letting out a shaky breath, Burgundy tossed her letter into a corner of her Pokémon Center room. Quite honestly, she had no idea where she went wrong.
The first year's rejection was disappointing but understandable. Burgundy had had only a year of real experience—not an unreasonably short amount of time, but she'd known the chances were slim at the time of her application. But she'd spent the years after throwing herself into connoisseur work. She'd even managed to wrangle an apprenticeship—although perhaps calling it that was too generous—with an S-class Connoisseur. He would, no doubt, be disappointed by her failure. Even if he had hardly helped her improve.
Her parents—if she cared to call them and inform them of the results—would no doubt be disappointed, too. Burgundy had just finished her fourth year in the profession and had yet to progress even one level. Such a detestable failure.
She needed some space. She ripped her pokéballs out from her bag, stuffing them into her coat pockets as she shut the door to her room behind her and ventured out.
As always, loneliness crept into the corners of her mind as she stalked down the road towards a local park, which was mostly empty on account of the cold winter weather. Mumbling Kalosian curses under her breath, she freed her Xtransceiver from her wrist and called the one person she could think of.
As she waited for Georgia to pick up the line, Burgundy felt her earlier tears of frustration sting more insistently at the corners of her eyes, and she wiped them away quickly. Four years was a long time without progress. In four years, she could've become a fairly well-respected Pokémon trainer, the way Georgia, Bianca, and Stephan had. She laughed bitterly. She could always go back to Pokémon training.
"Are you Arceus-damned crazy?" Georgia snorted, upon hearing that train of thought. "You've worked for four years; you better not just throw that all away. You might as well get your B-class license out of this."
"It's not like I'm being serious about quitting," Burgundy snarled. Even in the tiny video screen, she could see Georgia flinch back. "At least you have something to show for your efforts, Miss I-Just-Made-Top-Four-In-The-Ever-Grande-Conference." Georgia's eyes narrowed.
"Well if you're just going to quit because you didn't get what you wanted, then maybe you don't deserve to have accomplished anything." It was Burgundy's turn to recoil. Georgia's scowl dropped. "That was harsh." It was the closest Georgia would get to admitting she made a mistake, but Burgundy continued to glare at her friend. As much as it pained her to admit it, Georgia had a point. But on some level, Burgundy didn't care.
"Some friend you are," she snapped instead, hanging up before Georgia could get a word in edgewise. Remorse flooded her almost as soon as her screen went dark, but she knew neither she nor Georgia would set aside pride to call back. Not right now.
Burgundy slumped forward, burying her face in her hands and finally letting herself cry. She'd made a damned mess out of her career, and now she'd also made a damned mess out of her friendship with Georgia, even if that had the potential to be easily fixable. She became acutely aware of her surroundings once more as a voice cut through her thoughts, inciting boiling rage somewhere in her gut.
"Burgundy?" Her head whipped up and her eyes narrowed in a practiced glare focused in on her target—the green-haired bête. Heat rose in her cheeks as she belatedly realized that she'd revealed a moment of weakness. "Are you all right?" The fact that he looked sincerely concerned about her well-being only served to piss her off further.
"You!" she hissed, ignoring the tears currently making their way down her cheeks. "What do you want, salaud?" She pressed her lips together at the vulgarity of her last word. It was unusually harsh, even for her, but she wouldn't take it back.
"I was merely concerned by the bitter aroma I sensed coming from you," Cilan replied pleasantly. Burgundy scowled. He had yet to so much as raise his voice against her, and part of her wished that he would. Arceus knew that it wouldn't be completely unwarranted.
She hadn't seen him in three years—he'd left Unova to pursue further study outside of the region, she'd heard. Yet he'd remained an odd constant in her life, acting as a beacon of sorts. She hadn't returned home in three years, nor had she really spoken with her family, and while she stayed in Unova—valuing its familiarity—she shifted around at a dizzying pace, with only the thought of finally beating him pushing her forward. Her hatred had remained untouched, her hostility bubbling beneath the surface at the very mention of his name.
"You know," Cilan said after a moment of heavy silence, "The world has many splendid tastes to offer—many of which cannot be found in what we already know." He paused. "They can bring many layers of nuance to one's palate."
"Don't think you can trick me so easily, bête," Burgundy huffed, sticking her nose in the air. Her glare hardened. "I have no doubt that you're just out to see me fail." Cilan sighed.
"I see," he said. "In that case, I wish you the best of luck." He smiled kindly once more before taking his leave. Burgundy watched his retreat before whipping her Xtransceiver back out.
"Missed me already?" Georgia asked as she picked up.
"Let me go to Sinnoh with you," Burgundy said quickly. "S'il vous plait?" Georgia's eyebrows shot up.
"If you want to travel with me, I don't really mind," Georgia said, leaning back and resting her head against her hands in an attempt at nonchalance. "Just don't slow me down. Got it?"
"Bien sûr," Burgundy replied. "And I promise you some of the best cuisine you'll ever taste, too." Georgia rolled her eyes.
"Yeah, yeah. Just pack up. I'm flying to Jubilife City from Nimbasa next Monday, and if you're not there I'm not waiting for you."