"Sienna?"

In the midst of my recent onslaught of depression, a voice permeated my hazy, troubled thoughts and I snapped my head upwards at the offending sound. I blinked in the watery light of the sun and I was surprised when my eyes fell on Bailey. He was standing only a few feet away, had a lemonade can in one hand, and a large white paper bag in the other.

"Bailey?" I blurted out stupidly.

I immediately scanned his face for signs of any upset from his loss, but there was none. His face was instead twisted in confusion, which then immediately turned to concerned.

"What's wrong?" he sounded worried as he sat down heavily next to me. A look of horror passed over his face. "Oh no… you didn't lose too, did you?"

"N—no…" I said guiltily. I hesitated before I whispered "But… I still think I ought to have…"

Bailey frowned at my statement. However he stayed quiet, taking a long drink of lemonade. He set the can down and next thing I knew he was rummaging around in the bag he was holding. With the air of a magician pulling a rabbit from his hat, he produced a small white box with an ornate pattern stamped on in the middle of the top. He opened up the box and offered it to me. Inside was a collection of small assorted cakes. Blinking in surprise, I looked at him, my eyebrows raising a little. Sheepishly, he grinned.

"I eat when I'm upset," he said with a short chuckle.

"Not the only one," I said with a sigh before helping myself to a strawberry tart.

Bailey picked out a small cupcake and nonchalantly started to lick he butter icing from it. "So… why do you think you ought to have lost?"

Without even thinking, my mouth opened and words spilled out without my consent. "I've lost it!"

Bailey frowned, taking a bite from the cupcake. "Lost what?"

"Lost… it." I flapped. "You know, that thing, that instinct for battle that all trainers have. I can't…! I mean, I completely lost my head in that battle. My Pokemon are strong, but… we keep losing when I know we shouldn't be!"

"But you've won both your Gym Battles…" Bailey sounded confused.

"With difficulty!" I said with a harassed sigh and taking a savage bite from my strawberry tart. "When I was at my peak… my Pokemon took down Misty of Cerulean City and Wallace of Sootopolis City. Wallace is the final Gym Leader before the Elite Four in Hoenn, yet I beat him! We took down Team Quantum thugs, we survived out on our own for months, we trained for months… I know my Pokemon are strong! Strong enough that they should have been able to easily defeat the second and third Gym Leaders in Johto. I mean, you, Scott and Jasmine wiped the floor with Whitney. And Scott took on Bugsy like he was nothing. And I… I lost my nerve battling Bugsy. I felt like I was back as a rookie trainer!"

Bailey was listening to me intently as I squeezed the foil casing of my partially eaten strawberry tart. "I mean, it's not like I didn't struggle back when I first became a trainer. It was like everyone had this in-built thing, like a manual or a guidebook that let them know exactly how to battle Pokemon without even trying! I don't know what happened to my copy…"

Bailey made a sympathetic noise as I shoved the last bite of my strawberry tart into my mouth, and swallowed it down. "I knew the dangers of running straight into battles after almost two years of not training. Like I was worried about it at first but after a little while I just kind of… forgot about it. And then when I was battling Bugsy it just… it just occurred to me. God, Bailey…" I felt the threat of tears cling to my eyes. "I just… I've lost it…! Yeah, I managed to win against Bugsy and Whitney, but that's down to the strength of my Pokemon! Not because of anything I did! I'm not going to win against stronger Gym Leaders like this… Dammit, why am I so stupid?"

"Hmm…" Bailey said slowly, looking up at the cloudy April sky. "Well, so far as I can see there's only one solution to this…"

"What…?" I asked him slowly.

"Eat more cake," he grinned, passing me another strawberry tart.

I had to laugh as I accepted the cake. "You're a man after my own heart," I said, slowly licking the cream from it, savouring its sweet, and oddly calming, vanilla taste.

"Don't let Elliot hear you say that," he said with a grin, swallowing the last of his cupcake. "No, but seriously. There is a solution to this."

I frowned. "What?"

"Easy. Just train,"

"That did occur to me," I said with a sigh. "But what use is training without someone to train against? I'm not gonna learn without someone to train against."

"Elliot? Jasmine? Nikki? Even Scott?" Bailey prompted.

"Yeah, I know, but… Oh God, this is embarrassing…" I said, covering my face with my free hand. "I don't really want them to know I'm having trouble with battling. And besides!" I said with a hefty sigh. "I know Jasmine and Nikki and Elliot's battling styles too well. It's not a challenge. I won't learn anything."

"Well, what about Scott? He's a tough trainer. And I'm sure you've never battled him before?"

"Scott!" I said with a short laugh. "He'd never agree to it. I'm pretty sure he doesn't like me. Actually, I'm pretty sure he doesn't like anyone."

"That's not true," Bailey said, but the tone of his voice indicated he didn't even believe what he was saying.

"It is true," I said with a heavy sigh. "So… I don't know what to do."

There was silence for a few moments as the two of us continued eating cake. I crinkled the foil casings in my hands for a while, breathing heavily, my eyes firmly on the grey pavement. Then all of a sudden Bailey spoke again. "Battle me."

"What?"

"No, not right now!" he remedied hastily, waving his hands around. "I mean, once we've all rested and gotten your Pokemon healed, maybe then. Don't you think it'll do us both some good? I mean, I lost against Bugsy. I need to get my Pokemon stronger and you need to…" he paused. "Heh, what is it you need to do again?"

I sighed. "Learn how to read battles."

Bailey looked flummoxed. "But you had a really good strategy against Whitney's Miltank, don't you remember?"

"That was one time. A fluke,"

"Sienna, I think you're over-reacting a little…" Bailey said slowly. "Yeah sure, you may be a little rusty, but I don't think it's that big of a deal. You can still think up strategies, you can still react to something that happens straight away."

I made a non-committal noise. "I just don't think I'm a good trainer anymore."

"I disagree. You were really awesome in your battle with Whitney. The strategy you thought up with your Girafarig was really good!"

"Then how come it took me two Pokemon to beat her and everyone else, including you, beat her with one Pokemon?"

Bailey looked flummoxed again. "Well gee, Sienna, I don't know…"

"That's just it. I just need to get better at battling," I reiterated firmly. "I should have been battling and training ever since I came to Johto. But I haven't. And now I'm really paying for it…"

"Sienna, I still don't think you have a problem…" Bailey said with a long sigh. "You won against Whitney and Bugsy. Sure you had a little difficulty and you aren't as good as you were… what? Two years ago? That's to be expected. Don't beat yourself up about it. It… it's like riding a bike. You don't forget how to do it; you just start out a little wobbly at first when you try again after a while."

"Hmm…" I grumbled.

"Yes, maybe not training while you've been in Johto was a bad idea." Bailey said with a laugh. "And maybe charging in to Gyms without really training was a bad idea too. But you're still able to win! That's the important thing! The only advice I can give to you is just to start practicing again. Honestly, that's the only way to improve, and improve properly."

I let out a sigh, Bailey's words resonating with me deeply. "You know what, Bailey? You're right. You're absolutely right."

He laughed, scratching the back of his neck nervously. "Well gee…"

"Honestly," I said, turning my gaze on him and feeling a small smile tug at my lips. "Where did you learn to give such good advice?"

He shrugged. "I don't know really. Growing up, you get a lot of people talking and not many listening. When you're a listener in among all the talkers, you hear a lot of problems. And when you hear a lot of problems, somewhere along the line, you tend to get good at giving advice,"

I frowned. "But… doesn't it suck listening to everyone else's problems all the time? Does anyone ever make the time to listen to your problems?"

Bailey shrugged airily. "I don't really have problems…"

"Everyone has problems, Bailey."

"Well yeah, but… we'd do well to listen more to that boyfriend of yours. "Always look on the bright side of life" and all that, right? I mean, it could be a lot worse, eh?"

I sighed, knowing he was right. "I guess so…"

Bailey smiled. "Like take this situation for example. Sure, I lost against Bugsy. But it showed me what I still have to learn."

I shook my head, finding myself amazed at this guy. "I don't know how you can stay so cheery, Bailey." I said, running a hand through my hair.

"Practice," he said deftly.

I blinked, ready to challenge him on this when I heard someone hollering my name. As I stood up, a dark haired blur collided with me. "Nikki?" I gasped in surprise as she looked up at me, her dark eyes wide with panic.

"I was worrying about you!" she cried, her hands tight around my wrists. "And you too, Bailey." She glanced at Bailey momentarily before turning her attention back on me. "Why did you both run out like that?"

"Sorry Nikki," I apologised as sincerely as I could.

"Yeah, sorry…" Bailey looked a little sheepish.

Desperate to get the conversation changed and avoid any type of questions on why I ran out of the Gym, I quickly tried a different tactic. "Uhh… Nikki? Aren't you supposed to be in the Gym? For Jasmine's battle?"

"Oh," Nikki's face immediately softened. "It…it's over…"

"Already?" I gasped, completely surprised. "Wow. Jazz must have beaten Bugsy even quicker than Scott did, huh?"

Nikki looked uncomfortable. "Umm…"

"Wow, she really is a great trainer!" Bailey cried animatedly, eyes shining.

"But the thing about that is…"

"She probably used her Quilava though, that'd be an unfair advantage…" I sighed, crossing my arms.

"Guys, you're not—"

"Even still, that's pretty awesome." Bailey grinned.

"You don't understa—"

"She's a crafty little so-and-so that Jazz! She always pretends that she's a worse trainer than she is. I bet she took them out with one move!" I laughed.

"Jasmine didn't—"

"Maybe we should be taking lessons from her, Sienna!"

And then, all of a sudden, Nikki's voice blasted to a volume I had never heard her achieve before. "JASMINE LOST!"

My mouth snapped shut and I turned to look at Nikki. I tried to croak out something, but I was that shocked that nothing came out.

Bailey however was able to respond to that shocking news quicker than I did. "She… she what?" he gasped, looking horrified.

"How could she lose?" I demanded, finding my voice at last. "Jasmine's team is practically ideal for taking on Bugsy. She has a Quilava for goodness sake!"

"She didn't use Quilava."

I stopped. "She… she didn't?"

Nikki shook her head.

Flummoxed, all I could do was croak hoarsely again. My mind started racing. Jasmine must have had a reason not to use her best Pokemon against Bugsy. Perhaps for the same reason I didn't use Kiba? Maybe she didn't want to give herself too much of an advantage? But even without Sulphur, she had three other well-trained Pokemon she could have easily utilized to win. "Well… what about Heather?" I asked at once. "I know it's not a brilliant advantage, but Heather's well trained!"

"She didn't use Heather either…"

"Skittle, then. Surely!"

Nikki shook her head slowly.

"She… she didn't use Mizu, did she?" I said, my heart sinking.

"No. She didn't. She used Albus and Honey."

"Her new Pokemon!" I gasped.

"Yeah…"

"Why?" I demanded. "Jasmine knows better than to use Pokemon she's just caught in a Gym Battle! I mean, I've never even seen her battle with the Hoothoot and the Heracross! What was she thinking?"

"I… I don't know…" Nikki said softly.

"How did she take the loss…?" Bailey inquired, looking crushed.

Nikki looked at us in a confused manner. "She took it surprisingly… well. She just recalled her Pokemon and left the battlefield. She didn't shout or get angry, you know, like Jasmine does," she flashed me a knowing smile.

"Where is she now?"

"Everyone's in Bugsy's Gym room, talking about something. They should be out soon, but I thought I should come out and find you two…"

I let out a long sigh, putting my head in my hands. "I can't believe Jasmine lost…"

"Me neither…" Nikki looked upset.

"Hey, maybe…maybe it's not all bad!" Remembering what Bailey had told me earlier, I tried to focus on the bright side of things. "I'm sure both Jasmine and Bailey can just… challenge the Gym again, right?"

"Oh yeah!" Nikki brightened up almost immediately. "I forgot about that! I'm sure you can just challenge him again, right, Bailey?"

"Well…" Bailey looked a little sheepish, rubbing the back of his neck. "Well Jasmine can if she wants. But I won't."

"Why?" I pressed him immediately.

"A loss is a loss," Bailey said slowly. "I'm not going to win against Bugsy just because I try again and hope real hard. Maybe it was cos I was fighting Bug types, maybe it's because my Pokemon weren't strong enough yet, whatever the reason, I still lost. I need to take some time and train them up some more."

"But aren't you worried if that you can't beat the second Gym Leader in the circuit you won't beat the others?" Nikki inquired softly.

"Yeah, the thought did cross my mind!" Bailey said with a cheerful laugh. "But I think I'll be okay as long as I train up some more. I know there's a difference between me taking on Bugsy again, and Jasmine taking on Bugsy again. Jasmine lost cos she used her newest and weakest Pokemon. I lost even though I tried my hardest. So I know I have to try even harder,"

I let out a long sigh. "Bailey…"

I was about to say something when a sharp "Hey!" cut through my thoughts. We all turned around and saw Bugsy walking towards us, tailed by Scott, Elliot and Jasmine.

"Jazz!" I said at once without meaning to.

She raised her eyebrows at me, which I knew was her way of telling me to shut up and not to pursue the obvious issue, but I didn't care. I looked helplessly at Bugsy and then back at her. "Aren't you going to challenge Bugsy again?"

Jasmine grimaced, shooting Nikki a filthy look. "Well I see Nikki filled you in quite nicely."

Nikki chuckled nervously.

"Well, aren't you?" Bailey asked at once, before I could.

"No, I won't be challenging Bugsy again."

"What?" I shrieked. "Why not? You could beat him easily if you just used Sulphur!"

"What's the point in that?" Jasmine said, crossing her arms. "That would be an easy win."

Bugsy shot Jasmine an insulted look.

"I wanted to test out Albus and Honey." Jasmine continued, completely oblivious to Bugsy's distaste for her previous comment. "I intended to use them instead of Sulphur and my other Pokemon."

"Why?" I demanded.

"Cos they needed battling experience,"

My mouth hung open. "Jasmine, are you all there in the head? You and I both know that battling Gym Leaders is not the way to train up newly caught Pokemon. If you really wanted to train them up you could've asked me or anyone else here to battle you!"

Jasmine said nothing.

"Jazz!"

"Like I said, I wanted to use Albus and Honey." Her voice was convincing enough, but she wouldn't meet my gaze, and her face was twisted in a frown.

"Jazz, don't lie to me! I just wanted to—"

"Hey," Bailey put his hand on my elbow. The sudden contact made me stop mid-sentence and turn towards him accusingly.

He didn't grimace or even waver in what I'm positive was an extremely dirty and annoyed glare. "Sienna… I think… you should stop now."

"But—!"

He merely shook his head, his eyes boring holes into my skull. I opened my mouth to protest again, but something made me bite back my disapproval. "Fine!" I snapped, turning around to shoot Jasmine a glare. "But don't think the issue is closed, Jasmine."

"Sienna!" Elliot said sharply, coming to my side and taking my hand. I noticed he pushed past Bailey to do so, positioning himself in between us. "Enough," he said firmly.

I lapsed into furious silence, but silence all the same. Elliot tightened his grip around my hand as if to warn me from saying anything else. Some wicked part of me wanted to squeeze his hand back as hard as I could, in an attempt to crush his fingers. Somehow, my self-control stayed strong and I resisted the temptation.

In the aftermath of everything, Bugsy suddenly cleared his throat loudly. He turned to focus on Bailey. "So… Bailey, was it?"

Bailey visibly jumped as the Gym Leader addressed him, a pink blush tinting his cheeks. "Y… yes! That's me." He stammered.

"Are you willing to battle me again? A rematch, for the Hive Badge?"

Bailey frowned a little at the question. "I…don't think so. I don't think I'm ready to battle you again yet." He hesitated before adding "Maybe a rain check sometime?"

"Sure," Bugsy said with relish. "I'll look forward to it."

Bailey grinned. "Thanks, Bugsy."

"No problem," Bugsy said cheerfully before clapping his hands together. "Now, Elliot tells me you're all going for Johto League badges, right?"

We all nodded.

"Well, as you may or may not know, the closest Gym to here is in Violet City run by Falkner,"

"Of course! The Flying type Gym, right?" Elliot grinned, snapping his fingers in realisation.

"Yep!" Bugsy said with a grin. "It's not really that far. All you do is just head across Route 22, go through the Union Cave and then up Route 23. You can't miss Violet City."

"Cool." I said with a grin. "A Flying Type Gym, huh? Should be interesting. And we'll get plenty of opportunities for training along the way."

"Oh!" Bugsy said with a smile. "Well, if it's training you want, you should definitely go to Violet City then. They have an annual Battle Tournament there and I've heard the competition is quite tough. Trainers come from all over Johto and other regions to compete. There's big money and big prizes for the trainers who do well. It's being held in a couple days, so you could easily get there in time for it,"

My heart leapt. A Battle Tournament! With other strong, skilled Pokemon trainers competing alongside me? My initial thought was one of horror. After everything I had just gone through with Bugsy, all my worries over my strategizing, over if I could still battle the way I used to, the thought of competing against horrifically strong contenders scared me. But then I started to think about it a bit more. It was a good goal to work towards. We wouldn't reach Violet City for a few days at least, and having a Battle Tournament to compete in would be a perfect excuse for some intensive training! The Battle Tournament itself would be a perfect excuse to test out that training and gain some extra experience, without the risk of losing in a Gym Battle. A grin touched on my face.

"What do you think guys?" I consulted the others.

"A Battle Tournament!" Elliot had a look of childlike glee in his eyes. "Yes! I haven't competed properly since the Kanto League two years ago!"

"I'm up for it," Scott said with a swift nod.

"I guess training's always a good thing, right?" Bailey said with a noticeably forced smile.

Jasmine said nothing but nodded firmly. She was clearly up for it too.

We all looked in Nikki's direction who let out a long sigh as soon as our eyes touched on her. "Uhhh… I guess I should probably give proper battling a go again, shouldn't I?"

I had to stop myself from cheering out loud. Elliot looked deliriously happy. Even Scott had a rare smile gracing his face. The idea of a Battle Tournament had completely revived my spirits. It was a perfect opportunity to train and get stronger, both in my Pokemon and my own strategies. And if everyone else was going to be training too, it would be the perfect cover up for me to train to compensate for the mistakes I made in the Gym battle.

"Well, I should be going back to the Gym," Bugsy said with a smile. "Thanks for all the battles today, guys."

"No problem," we all said and bade him goodbye as he disappeared into the Gym.

For a moment, there was silence. My mind was reeling. Too much had happened today. The realisation that I had lost a lot of the skills I had as a trainer. Jasmine losing against Bugsy despite all common sense. The thought of the upcoming Battle Tournament that would give me the drive, and cover up, to train. I let out a long sigh and centred myself. Right now, I was exhausted and would kill for a nap, even in the lumpy, uncomfortable regulation Pokemon centre beds.

"We'll head for Violet City tomorrow, okay?" I said, stifling a yawn. "Right now, I could really use a nap."

"You sound like an old grandmother," Elliot laughed, cuddling into me.

"I feel like one," I said seriously.

We left for the Pokemon centre there and then. Jasmine dawdled at the back of the group looking distinctly unapproachable. I wanted to break off from everyone and talk to her about her loss against Bugsy. I wasn't buying her explanation that she used Albus and Honey to test their strength. Something about that just seemed so… fishy. There must have been another reason… I didn't know what the reason was, but I knew she had been lying. But try as I might, I couldn't break away from Elliot who was being unusually clingy, keeping his arm firmly around my waist as we walked.

It was dark by the time we got back to the Pokemon Centre and we sat down for dinner straight away. It was noisy and crowded in the Pokemon Centre canteen so there was little opportunity for chatting. I was desperate to talk to Jasmine about her loss at the Gym but sandwiched in between Elliot and Nikki, I was as far away from Jasmine as I could get. I didn't even get a chance when we went up to bed. Elliot waylaid me on the way to my room and we went out for a late night walk. I had to admit, it was nice to spend time with him alone, walking hand-in-hand in the cool air and in the shadow of the moon, just talking about anything and everything. However, by the time we got back it was after midnight, and both Jasmine and Nikki were already sound asleep by the time I crept into my room. Sighing, I had no choice but to undress and slip into bed, my questions still remaining unanswered. I was asleep almost as soon as my head hit the pillow, but my sleep was restless, disturbed by dreams filled with unease and the noise of soft, sinister, disembodied laughter.

Author's Note

This will be my last update until at least December 10th, as I have an essay and an exam due in for next week. Thought I'd update Free Spirits in the meantime. Sorry it's only really filler and doesn't advance the plot much, but hey... It's the best I can do.

Splashstorm: I'm so happy you're back to reviewing, it's lovely to have you back :)

Sniper Mudkip: Yeah, it was a bit of a shameless plug. But I have no shame! Haha! :) Aww, thank you very much. Last chapter was fun.

WarriorSwift: Yep, it's Bailey who'll be catching a Pokemon first! But what...? :)

WOWFan123: Haha! Themes are fun! :) Thank you for the review!

Manser77: Well, in regard to BaileyxJasmine, it's going to be explored. Still not sure if they'll end up together or not...

WildCroconaw: Yeah, it was definitely a wake-up call for her.

TwewyReaperGirl: Aww, I'm glad I could do something to make you feel better! And I'm here to talk to any of my readers if y'all have something that's bothering you!

Aeroga: Welcome back! :)

Zoeten: I don't know WHY the italics are running into each other. It's annoying. Thanks for pointing it out.

May and Dawn are the best: Thanks for the two reviews! :)

Well that's it for now. Read and review, folks! :)