When the SS Anne docked in Olivine, the passengers were encouraged to disembark and have a look around. Arden exited the ship amongst a crowd of rich, excited tourists, holding Gentry and feeling extremely silly for coming to such a familiar place on a sight-seeing tour. As he reached the shore, the gaggle of tourists turned toward the light house while he started along the beach.

"Niiido," said Gentry, looking around at the little sea-side city.

"It's nice here, isn't it?" said Arden. "I used to come here all the time, because I liked it better than the city I lived in. Goldenrod was too noisy and too big, and I hated it there when I was little. So I'd come here with my brother, or my mom…"

He sat down on a rock facing the ocean and set Gentry in the sand. "Sometimes I'd sneak off and come here alone, too," he continued. "I wasn't supposed to, because it was dangerous. That's what my mom said. That it was dangerous to travel around without a pokemon. Of course, when I asked to borrow hers, she wouldn't let me…"

"Arden?"

Arden bit his lip at the familiar voice. With a great effort, he turned toward the speaker—a dark-haired girl about his own age in a sweat shirt and skirt with a larvitar at her heal.

"Felicia," he said.

"Oh, it is you," said the girl. "I thought so. I mean, no one else I've ever met wears ugly clothes like that."

"I thought you'd left Olivine city."

"I thought you'd left Johto."

Arden crossed his arms. "I did," he said. "I was just taking a break from training on a ship that happened to be stopping here for a bit."

"A break from training?" said Felicia. "How cute. You actually believe that real trainers take breaks. Oh, Arden—that is exactly why you'll never make anything of yourself. Everything's too hard for you, isn't it?"

Arden gritted his teeth. "I'll have you know," he said. "I already have two badges from the Kanto gyms."

"Two gym badges, huh? And you already have to take a break?" asked the girl, crossing her arms behind her back with a soft laugh. Her larvitar laughed as well. "I've already gotten six badges. And I got them here in Johto, without needing to run away from everyone I know in fear of them seeing me fail."

"That's not why I went to Kanto," said Arden defensively. "I went there to make a strong team of exotic pokemon."

Felicia pointed to Gentry. "Is that one of your 'strong, exotic' pokemon?" she asked.

"As a matter of fact, yeah. He is."

"Well, he's certainly adorable, but I can't help but wonder how you got two badges without evolving that pokemon to the next stage."

"You're pokemon's still in its first stage, too!" said Arden pointing at the larvitar. "Hypocrite!"

"That's because this pokemon—aside from being vastly powerful—is also newly acquired," said Felicia, putting her hand on the pokemon's head.

"What are you even doing back in Olivine city, huh?" said Arden, turning away. "I thought you left this place for good. I mean, that's what you said, wasn't it?"

The girl shrugged nonchalantly. "I'm just collecting my seventh badge," she said. "Jasmine wasn't around when I left, so I left Olivine without battling her. I'm back only for that badge. Then I'm off to the other edge of the region to get my last badge. Then, I'll go to the Pokemon League and I'll be the champion and I'll be too famous for this place."

"You're every bit as arrogant as you ever were, Felicia," said Arden, scooping up Gentry.

"And you're every bit as sour, Arden," Felicia said.

"I need to get back to my ship. It should be leaving soon."

"Why bother?" asked Felicia. "I mean, we all know that you can't cut it as a trainer. Sure, that's an embarrassing fact to admit, but it's not like it makes all the people you know more disappointed in you than they were to begin with. Why don't you go back home to Goldenrod?"

"I am not a failure," said Arden, puffing out his chest. "I'm not going to go dragging myself back to Goldenrod, a failure."

Felicia laughed and turned away. "The longer you try to pretend that not true, the more painful it'll be when you have to admit it," she said. "Perseus, come."

"Tar," said the larvitar, following her as she started up the street.

Glowering, Arden turned and—digging his nails into Gentry—stamped toward the boat. "Where does she get off talking to me like that?" he demanded. "I am not a failure and I am never going to go crawling back to Goldenrod with my tail between my legs!"

"…nido."

"Never. I don't care what happens to me. I don't care if it never gets any easier than this," he said, boarding the ship. "I refuse to give that girl the satisfaction. Her and my stupid brother and my mom. I don't care."

He found a couch in the ball room and sat down on it, staring out at the ocean. Gentry lay against his chest, trying to cheer him up until the tourist passengers filed back in and restarted their party. It wasn't long until the boat started moving once more, and Arden's mind was taken off of Johto and Felicia, replaced instead by requests from the sight-seers to battle.