"How did Chuno even get in? I had enough trouble as it is, and I actually had badges!" Kevin fumed, pacing the room. He didn't care that the carpet was going from beige to charcoal; it looked better like that anyway.

"He probably has connections. You know he's not seriously competing—"

"I don't care about that! The only reason he's doing this is because we refused his stupid alliance! Arceus, I'm not fighting him! How do we get him out of here?" Looking to Kari yielded no answers, so he glanced around the rest of the room. Unfortunately, he was met with a bunch of perplexed faces. Kevin growled.

"H-hey, Slickky! Cool off! Rage quitting isn't going to solve anything!" said Chikoro, who was following Kevin's steps tenderly, trying not to burn his feet. "Besides, if you win, it doesn't matter, right?"

Kevin stopped, thinking. Well, that was true. If he beat Chuno, he'd move up and proceed as normal in the rest of the tournament. He sighed. "This is just like that one contest I saw, where this guy with five ribbons entered just to stop this other person from getting to the Grand Festival…"

"Except in this case," Kari said sternly, catching his attention, "it's not going to be much of a challenge. You said the first round is three on three, right? Chuno's only one Pokémon. He can't beat three of us that easily."

"Yeah, I guess," muttered Kevin. He supposed he was making a pretty big deal over it. Kari could probably knock him out in one Earthquake, so there was nothing to worry about.

There was a knock on the door. Mist got up to open it, carefully stepping around the charred carpet. She turned the knob, stepping back as soon as she saw who was there.

Chuno was standing on the other side, grinning like mad. Oddly, he was wearing a fedora and trench coat. He tipped his hat and strode in. "How are you all doing today?"

Kevin stared, stunned. Not only was the Naturalist wearing clothes, but he was speaking plain human, to boot. "Um… What?"

"I said, how are you doing? Isn't it lovely outside? For December, I mean. There's not a snowflake in sight!" He smiled, putting his hat back on his head.

Kevin frowned. Now that he thought about it, Chuno had spoken – rather, sang – in human before. Still, his whole demeanour seemed different.

Chikoro walked up to him. "Are you, like, Chuno's evil twin? Or, like, his good twin, I guess?"

Chuno laughed, patting Chikoro on the head. "Oh, no, no. This is merely my work wear! You see, I have to give Shady one thing. He has the right idea talking human to the humans. As such, wearing their clothing and speaking their language catches their eye as well! Therefore, I am not merely Chuno, but Chuno the Naturalist!" He struck a pose, like he was some sort of superhero or something.

"So you're dressed like a mobster…?" asked Kevin, still reeling from shock.

"My wife thinks it's cute," said Chuno. Kevin decided not to respond.

Kari took the opportunity to growl. "So you're in your work uniform or whatever. Fine. Why are you even in this tournament?" Oh, right. That.

Chuno smiled, placing his paws in his pockets. "For giggles."

Kari said nothing, though a vein was visible on her forehead. Chuno cracked a grin again.

"All right, all right. One, I need some good publicity. You're the hot topic of the moment, my boy, so I'll get that by association. Two, I want to see how strong you are. If you can beat my men and I in a battle, I'm sure Shady won't stand a chance. And three… for giggles!" He clapped. "That's that."

"I think you have enough giggles," seethed Kari, but Kevin cut her off.

"Um, but aren't you famous? You have publicity, don't you?" Kevin asked.

Chuno rolled his eyes. "I said good publicity, boy. You need to clean your ears."

Kevin opened his mouth to say something else, but Chikoro stepped in. "Did you say you and your men?"

"Indeed I did! You can obviously hear perfectly well, even if I can't see your ears!" said Chuno. "You didn't think I'd be so stupid as to enter the Pokémon League without any backup, did you? Jacques, my assistant, has kindly offered to battle by my side, along with a friend of his. Exciting, no?"

"E-exciting?! But, wait, I don't get it, you have men?" Chikoro asked. Judging by his tone of voice, Kevin guessed that he was too curious to be mad.

Chuno nodded rhythmically, his ears bobbing awkwardly by his hat. "Please. Shady has the Shades, and I have my people as well. Though I suppose 'my men' may be a misnomer…" He gazed at the ceiling. "Well, whatever. I'm looking forward to our match tomorrow, my boy! See you!" And with a swift pivot of the heel, Chuno strode out, his coat flying in a stylish manner behind him.

Kari grunted once he left. "I can't believe he's managed to round up supporters. You'd have to be mad to want to completely destroy the human race. I mean, they're not that terrible."

"I thought we agreed Chuno was insane already," said Kevin, sighing. "Great. Unless he somehow has a trainer's licence, how are we supposed to know who his other two 'men' are, anyway? He won't show up on the computer."

The Chikorita tapped his foot, deep in thought. "Um… We could wing it, right? They never used computers for the league in the old days, anyway."

Kevin frowned. "Mm, in Kanto, maybe, but I'm sure they did in Hoenn." He spat out a small fireball. "Fine. I guess sometimes, being blind is more fun." Kevin blinked before quickly adding, "Metaphorically, I mean."

The large tortoise glared at him. "If you say so, dear."

Chikoro stared at them both in confusion, but neither Kevin nor Kari bothered to clarify.

December thirty-first. Along with being New Year's Eve, it was the first day of the preliminaries. It was slightly nerve-wracking to walk around the temporary villages set up for the league and see trainers everywhere making last minute preparations. Kevin would have done so, too, if he had known what he was up against.

Oddly, it seemed as if several shops had sprung up around the tiny town, all of them selling either concessions or strange merchandise for some of the more famous participants. Kevin had seen booths akin to them back at the Hearthome contest, but he figured it was all part of the flashy nature of contests in general. Nonetheless, seeing crudely painted, generic Monferno key chains that claimed to be proportionately accurate recreations of "Slick" was weird.

"Who would buy that?" He found himself asking upon seeing an assortment of buttons with what appeared to be his horrible league picture on them.

"Fangirls love those, actually. I see buttons like them on bags all the time, haven't you?" Kari said, smirking.

Kevin raised an eyebrow. "Uh, no. Why aren't there any of the Shade, or Chuno?"

Kari laughed. "You think people want to buy stuff with Chuno on it? Look, he was kind of right, in one way. You're the newest and most popular Pokémon right now. People are flocking to you and your unlicensed merchandise because nobody knows anything about you. It's kind of like how it was back in '03…" She frowned. "Except a reporter hasn't found you yet."

"Kind of weird one hasn't," he remarked, glancing around. "Where'd Chikoro go? I thought he was following us."

"Hm? I don't know, I wasn't looking," said Kari.

"Over here!" the Chikorita shouted, revealing himself from behind a booth. He had half a dozen human girls with him, all of which were around Lana's age. He ran up to Kevin. "Hey! These girls want your autograph!"

Kevin blinked. "What? Why?"

Chikoro flipped his leaf and sighed. "Right. Maybe 'cause you're the Shade's nephew? Seriously, Slickky, get with the times." He then made a face that looked like a mixture of being incredulous and not amused.

One of the girls grinned. "This sweet little Chikorita told us you'd give us your autograph, if you don't mind." Chikoro's face turned into a disgusted one.

"Um… Sure. Just a second," Kevin said, turning around and dragging Kari with him. Once he felt he was safely out of earshot, he harshly whispered, "He knows I can't read! Why the hell did he go and tell them I'd give them autographs?!"

Kari rolled her eyes. "It must have slipped his mind. It's not like you elaborated on it. So what are you going to do?"

"What? I was going to ask you that!"

"You really think I can help you with this? It's not like I can write, either!" she said, stomping her foot to prove her point. "Look. All you have to write is 'Slick'. Think you can manage five letters?"

"Um, maybe?" Kevin answered, frowning. "Can't you help me at all?"

Kari bit her lip, and then grunted. "Okay, I'll try," she said. Lifting her foot, she gingerly attempted to trace something into the dirt on the ground. When she finished, all it looked like was a mess of scribbles. Kari glared at him. "That's 'Slick', on the ground. Copy that, and you should be good."

Kevin squinted at the ground for a few seconds before responding, "Okay. So it's like a squiggle, a straight line, another line with a circle, a half circle, and… that last letter. Um, that's K, right?"

"Just sign their stuff," Kari muttered, sinking lower to the ground. Kevin nodded and went back to Chikoro and the girls.

After signing various items, including notebooks and oddly, a hat, Kevin bid the girls farewell as they walked away, somewhat satisfied. Kevin noted grimly that his signature was nowhere near the neatness and clarity of Kari's rendition, and the looks on some of the girls' faces confirmed he was a horrible writer. He sighed.

"Um, no offense, but why did it take you five whole minutes to do that? Writing your name's usually not that hard, just saying," said Chikoro inquiringly.

"Because I can't read, I can't write, either," said Kevin through his teeth. "So don't give out any more promises, 'kay?"

"Whoa. Sorry, Slick. I just figured you'd have the most basic abilities ever," Chikoro said, glaring. "How the heck did you not learn how, anyway? Did you really live that deep in the woods?"

"Yeah, kind of! When you're a family of four, rare Pokémon in a region humans don't know you live in, you kind of have to hide yourselves a little more than if you were Zigzagoon or whatever. We never went around humans." Why Chikoro had decided to be an arrogant brat, he didn't know, but Kevin was beginning to get really irritated.

"BS." Chikoro scoffed.

Kevin clenched his fists. "Excuse me?" he enunciated each syllable, feeling the fire crawl into his words.

"You speak human like you've done it your whole life. I lived in a lab for all of mine, so I know for a fact that you must've grown up with some sort of human influence, 'cause otherwise, you'd sound like Kari or something!" Chikoro growled, standing up as tall as he could.

"Like you know anything about me or Kari," Kevin shot back, narrowing his eyes. "Kari's been speaking human longer than you, and so have I, so your little analysis is dead wrong. You want to know why I can speak it so well? It's my first language. There."

Chikoro shook his head. "No way! I don't believe you," he said, although he was starting to look a little less confident.

"Want proof? Fine," Kevin spat, taking a long breath. "Well, here you go. Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers, twinkle twinkle little star, I have a freakin' accent and you know it, okay?"

Chikoro backed away before turning; the leaf on his head hiding his face. "It just doesn't make any sense," he said quietly, and Kevin got the impression that he was somehow staring right at him through his leaf. "You don't make any sense."

Kevin blinked in confusion, lowering his temperature. Behind him, he heard Kari slowly wander up to the two of them, sensing the thinning tension. "What are you talking about?" Kevin asked carefully.

Chikoro peeked out from behind his leaf. "There's just… this feeling I get. It's like, whenever I look at you I get all apprehensive or something." The young starter frowned. "Um… Have you ever been hit by Scary Face?"

"A couple of times, I guess," Kevin answered. He didn't like where this was going.

"It's like that feeling, but not scary, just… like I should stay away. And I've only had that feeling once before," said Chikoro, now facing Kevin directly.

Kevin eyed the ground. "And when would that be?"

The Chikorita glanced at the sky. "When that professor came in to give us all the human speaking pills," he said. Suddenly, he jerked his head down, to face Kevin. "Slickky, you're not Professor Holly somehow, are you?"

Kevin managed to choke on air, sending himself into a coughing fit. After a moment or two of clearing his throat, he shook his head furiously. "N-no, I'm not. Um…" Kevin honestly had no idea if he could trust Chikoro, especially with something as important as—

"Professor Holly is his father," said Kari bluntly. Kevin choked again.

Chikoro's eyes widened. "Ehh…? But—"

"Kari!" Kevin managed to blurt out. "What the hell?! Why are you—"

"And before you ask," she continued, "'Slick' is not a human. He's only one quarter human, even if he acts like he's more than that. He was caught by someone in a defective Pokéball that stopped him from aging for ten years, and now he's here to win the league so he can go have a reunion with the Shade. And no, I am not in any way special, aside from the fact that I learned to speak human without that pill. Did you get all that?"

Chikoro stared, wide eyed, completely dumbstruck. He nodded so slightly that Kevin barely noticed his head move. Kari grunted. "Good. Now that we've gotten that cleared up, we'd better head over to the stadium to start our match. Come on."

Kari led the two boys with her head held high, as if she had done nothing more than explain why the sky was blue or something. Kevin glanced at Chikoro, who still looked like he'd seen a ghost.

"Hey, um, I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't tell anyone else," he said.

Chikoro shook his head. "Like anyone would believe me. I don't believe it."

Kevin shrugged. Well, if that was the answer he was getting, it wasn't that bad of one. It was better than nothing, at the very least, but he'd rather have something more concrete. He just wished he could dispel the heavy feeling that descended upon him as the three of them walked towards the stadium.

As the referee introduced both him and his opponent, Kevin felt nothing.

He didn't know why. An hour or two ago, it would have been exhilarating to hear his name – his pseudonym, rather – be announced to fans in the stadium as one of the competitors. But right now…

All he could feel was sick to his stomach, desperately wondering about what Chikoro would do. The kid had assured him he wouldn't tell anyone, but Kevin couldn't shake the feeling that somebody else would find out. He really hoped that somebody wouldn't be Chuno.

Kari nudged him from behind. "Hey, they called you. Aren't you supposed to go out there now?"

Kevin nodded, using the motion to try and clear his head. It worked with little success, because now the pain had turned into the sour taste he hated so much. He shrugged it off and walked out into the arena.

The crowd was filled with more murmurs than cheers. Kevin narrowed his eyes. Of course they'd be that way; he was battling Chuno! The Naturalist versus Slick, battle of the century and whatnot. It was a big deal.

He looked behind him. Kari was there, along with Styler, who he'd decided would be a good choice as a third member. Good thing, too – he shuddered to think what Chikoro would say if he were sent out.

On the other end of the field was Chuno, still in his fancy clothes. He was enjoying himself, to Kevin's dismay, and flashing grins to the crowd. He saw Kevin looking at him and waved, as if nothing were more natural. Kevin clenched his fists.

"This match will be three on three! Begin!" Kevin heard the referee say. Chuno gleefully took off his hat.

"Right then, first up will be me," he announced, throwing his coat to the side of the stadium. "Hey, reffy, I've got a question," he said.

The referee looked at the Raichu in confusion. "Uh, yes?"

"If I faint, may I be revived to command the rest of my team? The same goes for Slickky over there, of course," Chuno said melodically. Kevin frowned.

"Er— Yes. Due to special circumstances, if the, er, leader of each team is to faint before the match is decided, he may be revived to continue with the other Pokémon. However, he may not battle himself once he has fainted." Fair enough, Kevin thought, and he nodded in agreement.

"Let's start then," Kevin said, trying to keep cool. "Kari, Earthquake his ass."

Kari chuckled. "It's about time I got to do that," she said. She made her way onto the battlefield and grinned before driving her foot through the ground and causing the shockwaves to form. Kevin avoided it by jumping onto Styler's back.

Chuno didn't even try to dodge, instead comically keeling over onto the ground, already fainted. One of the league staff brought over a revive, and within the minute he was back up again, rubbing his head.

"Oh my, it looks like I have some tough competition," the Raichu mused. Then, out of nowhere, his expression turned dangerous as he snapped his fingers. "Jacques, get out here."

Kari actually stepped back. Kevin studied his opponent's face with curiosity. That was odd. How could his expression suddenly be so dark? It was almost as if his eyes were daggers, and it was pretty freaky. Kevin directed his attention to behind Chuno instead, where a Machoke was emerging from the shadows.

"The turtle they called Kari… The real one behind it all… Crush her skull," Chuno rasped, slipping into Pokémon. The Machoke did not hesitate to run into the battlefield. "Dynamic Punch!"

Kevin blinked in confusion. The real one behind it all…? What exactly was he going on about? Kevin gritted his teeth. "Use the awesome Razor Leaf! And tuck in your head," he added as an afterthought. He doubted she hadn't heard the skull-crushing bit.

She obeyed him without question, combining the defensive manoeuvre with the attack that had taken down Byron's Bastiodon with ease. Kevin narrowed his eyes as the Machoke ran through the barrage of leaves unfazed and slammed his fist onto Kari's shell.

"Do whatever you have to, but kill her," Chuno insisted once more. Kevin told Kari to Earthquake and then glared at The Naturalist.

"Just what the hell are you trying to pull?" Kevin snarled, keeping the conversation at least semi-private from the crowd. No doubt somebody was translating, though.

Chuno smiled, this time with malice instead of the friendliness he'd shown before. "You thought I didn't know? I did my research, Kevin, and Shady's little girlfriend is the one who started it. She's the one who thought, 'Hey, let's make a crude excuse for a rights movement and all be friends with the humans!' It's her fault!" he said, sparks flying from his cheeks. "It's her fault this damn philosophy – that humans could ever be our equals – is now widespread! Do you think I'm seriously going to stand here and let this chance get away?"

Kevin stared. "What— What the hell is your problem, anyway? If you have so much of a damn superiority complex, why are you taking it out on her?" He had to admit Chuno's intensity was scaring him. Kevin also chose to ignore the fact that somehow, Chuno knew his real name…

"HUMANS DON'T BELONG HERE!" Chuno screamed, visibly trembling. "THEY AREN'T LIKE US! THEY'RE SELFISH, SADISTIC SCUM WHO ONLY EXIST TO MAKE OUR LIVES HELL, AND SHE THINKS WE'RE ON PAR WITH THEM?" He pointed an accusatory paw at the Torterra still fighting, though she was beginning to wear down. "She's just as horrible as a human!" Chuno finished, his anguish fading away to be replaced by a cool, calculated stare.

"Not all humans are like that—"

"So you're claming your psychotic furry grandfather was good, are you? Like hell he was. You really are demons. Every single one of you." Chuno bared his fangs.

That was it. He snapped.

"Switch out," he growled, not bothering to wait for Kari to get out of the way. He marched across the field, burning the ground as he walked. Not that it registered. He got to the other side and threw a punch to Chuno's jaw.

Chuno reeled backwards from the force and giggled. "Is that all?"

Kevin snarled and threw several more consecutive punches, all aimed at Chuno's head. The Raichu failed to stop laughing.

"Hit me all you want, boy, I can't feel it. Pain doesn't exist." The Raichu laughed even harder after looking at Kevin's face. "What, are you angry?"

Kevin didn't respond, breathing heavily. He heard the referee blow a whistle, signalling a time out, or something. He didn't care.

"Do you know what my name means?" Chuno asked, his voice soft again, as if it were a normal conversation. "Angel. Angels always beat demons." The Raichu grinned.

Before he could say anything more, Kevin was sucked into a black abyss.