With a breath of relief, she pushed away her computer. That's quite enough for now! If she didn't know better, she'd think that there was more and more every day. There wasn't, though; she'd made a bot to check and it had come out exactly how she'd suspected. Wouldn't it be nice if there was such an easy answer to all her questions? If Pokémon were that easy to understand, she supposed, her work would have been done a long time ago, and she wouldn't this nice job. Well, you win some, you lose some.

Still, it wasn't like they weren't making progress. She, and many other scientists around the world such as the prestigious Professor Oak of Kanto, had been advancing with leaps and bounds. While she was new, Juniper was sure she'd catch up.

"After all, I did find out their secret weapon."

It wasn't some kind of underhanded trick as such, but the idea of using children below the graduate level, who still wanted to explore and search, was a creative one. She was proud of her picks, as well- Black was very dedicated, always filling in the entire report and adding his own comments, even if his priorities were sometimes rather odd. Bianca had a lot of insight in hers, and went the extra mile in caring for her Oshawott. And as for Cheren… well, the effects of Hidden Abilities on battle performance were now obvious.

Still, it's not like there weren't oddities. In her less charitable moments she sometimes thought they might never be explained. It was like the universe was trying to drive her crazy! It followed mathematical laws, precisely, everywhere! Unless Pokémon were involved, in which case all sense went out the window. She'd always subscribed to the idea that if you couldn't understand something, it was because of you and not what you were attempting to learn. The universe seemed ready to put it to the test, though, and it sometimes felt that humans just weren't meant to understand. That was ridiculous, though, wasn't it?

Bianca looked at Lily and smiled. Wasn't it nice, to be with your Pokémon, playing and having fun? Sometimes she felt that her friends, for all their intelligence, didn't understand that. They were so focused on battling, on their own interests- no, she cut herself off. That wasn't true. After all, no matter what they might say on the matter, she knew Black and Cheren. They adored their Pokémon, and so what if they were focused on their goals as well? That's what goals were. Besides, it wasn't like they were unkind.

The Team Plasma people, on the other hand… how could people be so cruel, and yet claim to be good? Stealing people's Pokémon... Bianca shuddered. What if the next group succeeded?

"Well, I was going to be challenging the gyms anyway. In that case... let's get training. Come on, Shell, Lily- we have work to do.

Cheren worried. It wasn't like the night before he left, where he had been frantically thinking of anything he could have forgotten. It wasn't like the day before the test, or any other of a hundred times he had worried over an outcome. No, this time it was serious- their lives, and that of their Pokémon were in danger. He wasn't expecting goons to come in after them, or even much consequences for their counter-plasma actions- the police weren't incompetent, and this wasn't some kind of movie. Going after them like that wouldn't help them at all, and if Cheren had gotten anything from Ghetsis' speech it was that the man was frighteningly competent.

Still, by their very nature they'd be coming into conflict. Cheren knew he was a good battler, but he wouldn't kid himself. If someone with a couple years of experience and decent Pokémon battled him, he'd almost certainly lose, no questions asked.

Unlike most of his problems, Cheren couldn't just solve it by working harder. His training plan was pushing what was advisable a bit already, and while Cheren was eager he wasn't an idiot. After all, it didn't matter how strong he and his Pokémon became if their relationship or ability to function was overly impaired. Sure he'd be with Black and Bianca, but that wouldn't last forever and they were at about the same level as he was.

Cheren sat, and worried.

The kingdom was divided into two camps- The host of the dark and the host of the light. It hadn't always been that way- Just five years ago, there had been no boundaries to separate the two. Even now, there was no conflict- Yet. But the passing of the late king, and his dragon with him, had changed things.

Now the two argued, and the world held its breath.

And then the elder said to the younger- what good is hope, with nothing to back it up? Its simply an illusion. Ideals are meaningless next to reality- You cannot destroy the mountains by wishing them gone. You "plan" will lead nowhere but ruin, with your friends dead beside you and nothing achieved.

And the younger said in reply- what good is all the surety in the world, if it yearns for nothing? You speak of truth, but what good is it if it stands in the way of the future? Such a state of mind is useless- it does no good, and having it is identical to not. It doesn't matter if I can't succeed- at least I set out to try.

I see, then, that we can never agree. I suppose that if we cannot settle our differences in debate, we have but one recourse.

And then, without a warning on the wind, the battle began in earnest.

A/N- Ehhehe, its been a while. I've been distracted, unmotivated, and generally forgot this story existed on my account. I thought I shouldn't procrastinate any longer, though, so here it is. I've actually got the next chapter written up, But it needs editing and I'd like to get a bit further on chapter 10. As always, any feedback is welcome.