Chapter 40: The Green Flame

Rose made the first move against Rin as she fired a Venoshock attack towards the Braixen. Rin countered this by using Flamethrower to block the attack, creating a massive blast that managed to leave both fighters practically untouched. Rin gave a slight grin, commenting "So, that's how it's going to be? In that case…" Rin then swung her twig in a circle around her as a magic barrier was then placed around her body.

"Well, it looks like Rinekai's acting on defense, ladies and gentlemen!" Yamatochi announced to the audience. "Already using a means of defense that counters BlossumBelle's special attacks."

"Yes, but how long the Roserade will last is left to us to speculate," Eccho replied.

Rose gritted her teeth, cursing under her breath as she was now made aware over how Rin was using Light Screen as a means to counter her attacks. Great, Rose thought. How am I going to break past that?

While Rose was contemplating her options, Josh and I were observing the battle carefully as Josh was taken nearly by surprise. "Well, I wasn't expecting this," Josh told me. "Rin seems to have some sort of strategy in play here."

"She must've adjusted her move set just before today," I speculated. "I guess that means that Rose in facing quite the uphill battle."

Josh nodded as he stared at Rose. "Light Screen blocks special attacks. The only way to break it is by applying enough damage to it that it shatters, or by using a physical attack on Rin. Although…"

"Rose's only physical attack is Petal Blizzard," I said before Josh could finish, and I groaned as I came to realize what that meant. "And given that Rose is mainly a special attacker, and Petal Blizzard isn't very effective against Fire-types…"

Josh raised a paw to silence me before I could continue. He didn't say a single word, as he stared at Rose with slight worry. I took to his example as I looked back towards the battlefield with a nervous glance, biting at my claws as I felt worried for our teammate.

Rose looked towards Rin cautiously, and slowly started walking to her right. Rin sighed and walked to her own right just to keep her eye on her. "You have no reason to hesitate, Rose," Rin encouraged. "Either way, we both know how this fight is going to end. Why not step towards me and accept that you're going to lose?"

Rose shook her head at Rin's suggestion. "Thanks, but I'm afraid I don't want to disappoint anybody today," she stated. She gulped as she kept her eye on the Braixen while she moved. "Why don't you try to strike against me if you're so eager?"

Rin snickered as she lifted her twig and held it in front of her. "Oh, that's not how I do battle, Rose," she said. "I'm not as reckless as Wulfrock. Unlike him, I primarily focus on defense over offense."

"Well, isn't that good to know," Rose commented as she moved her right arm behind her as she continued walking. "And here I thought that Team Delta didn't have any reasonable people."

Rin smiled at Rose's remark, and moved her flaming twig behind her as well. "I'll have you know, while I'm not happy to be here fighting you, I don't want my crowd to feel disappointed."

"Right, I get that," Rose remarked. "It's just that I was wondering why we're even here to begin with. Was it Josh who snapped at Volt for no apparent reason? Or…was it because Volt made a decision that directly opposed what Team Inferno was striving for?" Rose soon saw Rin pause slightly, her body becoming tense, and Rose decided to take advantage of that as she summoned up a bubble of poison over her right arm while Rin was being distracted. "I can't help but think that since, well, you're considered the voice of reason among your team," Rose retorted, "that clearly, you should've done something to punish Volt for stepping out of line."

Rin shook a little, gripping her twig tightly as she tried to argue back. "You don't know how much Volt has suffered since the death of…"

"His brother?" Rose added to provoke her. "Josh told me all about that during training. And I just want to say that I'm sorry to hear it. But Volt is so focused on the past, it's a miracle he chose to lead the Solace Guild when clearly, you seemed to be a far more suitable candidate!"

The crowd was just sitting there in curious silence, wondering what it was that Rose was talking about as they started to murmur among each other. Josh and I were listening to Rose's little rant, the both of us not sure what to make from Rose's perspective. And over at the waiting lobby where Volt was watching the match, he began to feel torn over Rose's argument. Her words were like vicious venom that struck directly into his heart.

Rin steadied herself, and stopped her walking, which Rose did the same. Rin focused as she gave an accusatory glare towards Rose. "What's your point, Rose?" she questioned. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that this whole tournament was a dumb ploy to begin with," Rose admitted. "All because of Volt's leadership, or the lack thereof. It's because of him that you chose to support his actions, willing or no. It's because of him that you wished for nothing more than to let him raise Josh and Adam like they were his own children because of the fact he can't get over the loss of his brother. That was years ago! He had plenty of time to mourn!"

"I'd suggest you stop if you know what's good for you," Rin warned as she readied herself to attack. "I don't want to hurt you too badly, Rose. And no amount of badmouthing Volt is going to change anything."

Rose soon gave a slight grin, and started giving a small laugh. "Fine, if you want to play hardball, I'm game." She then gave a brief glance towards Nick, and stated "Wasn't it Nick who made Volt the leader of the Solace Guild again? Was it because he saw potential in him?" Rose began to realize she was finally going somewhere as Rin gave a rather angry glare from her taunting. "If so, I must say, I'm rather disappointed," Rose continued as she jabbed at Rin with her words. "The weak one in this scenario isn't Volt at all. It was Nick."

All at once, Rin snapped, as she rushed towards Rose with anger in her step. "You take that back!" Rin yelled as she was about to fire a Will-O-Wisp attack towards Rose.

Rose anticipated this, and she managed to rush forward, and held out her left arm to take the Will-O-Wisp attack, accepting the burn status without question. She then fired off her Toxic attack on Rin while she was defenseless, and the Braixen screamed as she was being shot backwards from the blow.

The crowd suddenly cheered as Rose began to start suffering from a burn status as she triumphed over her victory in this scenario. Chuckling to herself, she muttered "Gotcha!"

"That was quite the unexpected display by BlossumBelle!" Eccho announced to the crowd. "She took the burn status just to land a poison status on Rinekai!"

"Looks like this is going to be a quick battle if that's the case, ladies and gentlemen," Yamatochi followed with. "That is, assuming that BlossumBelle didn't already plan ahead for this."

Rose smiled to herself as she felt the burn status slowly start to eat away at her own health. Closing her eyes, she thought to herself All according to plan. I just hope I can last long enough…

Rose fell to the ground, exhausted from the training that Cross was subjecting her to. Her time in the arena was going to be three days away, and she didn't know how else she could potentially keep up to any opponent given her circumstances.

As she sat back up, contemplating things, Cross noticed how she was nervous, and said "There's no need for you to feel scared, Rose. You can't expect to grow stronger over an entire week of training. These sorts of things take time."

"I know," Rose admitted as she lowered her head in shame. "It's just that I don't think I'm going to leave my mark in there. Rin and Wulfrock seem so…powerful. They're already pretty strong fighters, and I don't want Josh and Adam to think I'm lagging behind! And then I don't think-"

"Woah woah woah! Stop!" Cross stated as he walked over to her and sat down by her side. "Where is this coming from? Rose, there's no need for you to think negatively on this. What you need to do is utilize what you currently have in an advantageous position."

Rose looked over at Cross with some renewed intrigue, and asked "How so?"

Cross smiled as he waved his hand to her. "You just…look at your status screen, and check what could be considered good for combat. It's that simple."

"I already did that with Josh," Rose admitted. "He suggested I change up my move set to accommodate my fighting style."

"Moves aren't the only thing to consider," Cross pointed out with a smile. "Abilities are also a factor. Now…a Roserade has two abilities, though there is that rare case where certain Roserades have the ability 'Technician.' If you had something like that, your weaker moves could gain a boost."

Rose couldn't help but think about the opportunity to check and analyze her status screen. Sighing, realizing that she needs to check her stats once again, she obliges and opened up her status menu in front of cross. On display, on a small screen in front of her, were her stats and moves.

Username: BlossumBelle Species: Roserade Team: Inferno

Guild: Solace Rank: Ace

Height: 2' 11' Weight: 32.0 lbs

Nature: Modest

Ability: Natural Cure

- Sometimes cures every bad status condition the Pokémon has.

Level: 59

HP: 5930/5930

Attack: 97

Defense: 109

Sp. Attack: 128

Sp. Defense: 113

Speed: 98

Moves:
Petal Blizzard – Physical Type: Grass Power: 90

- The user stirs up a petal blizzard to attack everything around it.

Toxic – Status Type: Poison

- A move that leaves the target badly poisoned. The poison damage will worsen as time goes on.

Venoshock – Special Type: Poison Power: 65

- The user drenches the target in a special poisonous liquid. This move's power is doubled if the target is already poisoned.

Aromatherapy – Status Type: Grass

- The user releases a soothing aroma that heals all status conditions affecting the user and their party.

Cross whistled as he looked over everything that summarized Rose on the status window. Rose anxiously waited until Cross could give his fair criticisms. Thankfully, it didn't take long until Cross smiled and said "This is really not that bad."

"Are you sure?" Rose asked with concern. "But…I only two damaging moves, one status move, and one healing move. I don't know if I can do this!"

"Rose, this is a good thing," Cross said as he patted her back to comfort her. "Natural Cure makes it so that in the worst-case scenario where you get paralyzed, burned, or put to sleep, you recover at a much faster rate! But the real kicker is Toxic. Paired with Venoshock, that's a deadly combo waiting to happen."

"But…what about Petal Blizzard?" Rose wondered.

"Well, it's not the strength of the moves that matter," Cross advised. "It's how you apply them in combat. Any move can be utilized in multiple ways. All you have to do is figure out how to make it work."

Rose couldn't help but find Cross's advice to be rather touching to her, as she smiled and gave a polite nod. She swiped away the status window, and she stood back up on her feet, giving a polite bow to Cross. "Thank you, Cross. I never really thought about it this way."

Cross chuckled as he got back up onto his feet. "Hey, that's what friends are for, right?" He then gave a salute as he was ready to walk off. "Take a few minutes to think things over on what to do next. I'll be expecting a refined strategy in play once you and I spar again."

Rose nodded happily at the thought. "Sure!"

Toxic should poison her, Rose thought to herself as she looked over at the Braixen. Rose winced a little at the burn status, and took a deep breath to try and calm herself. I have the ability Natural Cure. The burns should heal themselves over time. I just have to be careful until I'm in peak condition again. I don't want to risk using Aromatherapy just yet. I can't give Rin all of my strategies. I'll just have to pray that the Natural Cure works as intended.

Rin staggered to her feet, the poison starting to take effect on her. As she gritted her teeth, she stated "Well played…"

"I only learn from the best," Rose admitted as she took on another battle stance. "But now, it's time to take this seriously!"

"Yes," Rin nodded as she readied her next attack. "No more holding back!" She then fired a Psybeam attack towards Rose, which she deflected by using Venoshock.

Rose narrowly avoided the strike from Psybeam as she then began firing Petal Blizzard towards Rin. Rin braced herself, feeling the attack scratch away at her, before she then began firing a Flamethrower attack towards Rose. Rose was able to hold it back using Venoshock again, but the blast of both attacks ended up took close to her, knocking her back against the wall.

Rose staggered a little from the blast as she noticed Rin charging towards her. Rin soon fired a Psybeam attack towards Rose, which Rose didn't have time to process as it ended up striking against her. The crowd all cheered as the battle was escalating quickly, all the while Josh, Cross, Chris, Nolan and I were all looking very tense over this battle taking place as Rose was clearly at a disadvantage.

"That Psybeam is going to leave a mark, that's for sure," Eccho announced to the audience. "Rinekai is clearly not letting up in this battle."

"Though whatever BlossumBelle seemed to be thinking was good for a time," Yamatochi replied. "I don't know how she could fight back against that."

Rose staggered back up to her feet, and rubbed at her head, feeling a little woozy as she tried her best to look back at Rin. However, what she wasn't expecting, which Josh and I were afraid of, was for her to suddenly start looking lost as her eyes were all swirly. She seemed to be stumbling to and fro as visible stars were circling around her head, much to our worst fears.

"Not good!" I exclaimed with shock. "She's confused!"

"And she isn't wearing a Persim Band," Josh said with concern. "How is she going to fight back like this?"

"You're not making my anxiety over this any better, you know!" I yelled at him.

Josh was quick to give in to his emotions, and began yelling out "ROSE! CAN YOU HEAR ME!? YOU'VE GOT TO SNAP OUT OF IT!"

Rose was not having a good time, clearly. She saw the whole world spinning around her as she realized quickly what it was that affected her. Confusion status! Oh no! What do I do now!?

Rin twirled her twig in her paw as she stoically gave an elegant pose to show her confidence in her win. "Looks to me like the tables have turned, Rose," she taunted. She then felt the effects of the poison take a hold of her as she winced with immense pain and fell to one knee. Panting, Rin used her twig to try and steady herself as she tried to stand back up on her feet. "Let's face it, Rose! Either I beat you while you're confused, or you stall for time until I collapse. And we all know for a fact that the latter option isn't going to get you anywhere."

"Sh-shut up…" Rose slurred as she tried to look towards Rin's direction. Clumsily pointing towards her, she mentioned "I s-still have a ch-chance to beat you… I j-just need to…" She then fell onto her butt, laughing to herself as she seemed to have difficulty trying to focus.

"That confusion status is really taking its toll on BlossumBelle, ladies and gentlemen," Eccho announced. "Without question, she's not in a stable condition."

Over in the audience, Team Calibur were watching this display happen as they all collectively started to feel nervous over Rose's condition. Chris was the first to speak up, as he stated "This isn't good, Cross! Rose is in no condition to fight back!"

"Why isn't she using Aromatherapy?" Nolan asked with worry. "She can just heal herself just fine, can't she?"

"That would be a smart move, right?" Chris agreed with Nolan's logic. He then looked keenly towards Cross, and asked him "Why isn't she using Aromatherapy, Cross? Tell me!"

Cross was nervous over the current state of the battle, clearly. But despite how anxious he seemed with this affair, he looked on at Rose with some intrigue as he was watching her in that instant. He soon came to realize something, which he only now came to find out thanks to the training he subjected her through.

Rose was panting as she successfully landed a Toxic attack on Cross during practice, having to catch the Gallade by complete surprise as he soon staggered onto the ground. Rose smiled as she managed to land her attack, leaping for joy as she laughed over her success. Cross soon got up, feeling the poison take an effect on him as he looked over at her with a smile. "Not bad, Rose," Cross said as he took on another fighting stance. "Now, let's see how long you can last?"

"Huh?" Rose soon looked at Cross with worry, and asked him "Shouldn't I just heal you up and be done with it? I landed a poison attack on you, didn't I?"

Cross grinned, saying "One thing you need to learn about battles, Rose…" He then charged towards her, readying a flurry of Leaf Blade attacks against her. As Rose was continually dodging his strikes, he continued with "…is that you should never lower your guard! Always be alert! Even when the opponent is poisoned, you need to focus on your own survival!"

Rose soon got struck by Cross's Leaf Blade when she least expected one to approach her right side, where she soon fell to the ground. As she got back up, she looked at Cross, asking him "You're seriously considering the option to die instead of letting me heal you?"

"Oh, I'm not going to die, Rose," Cross said with giddy enthusiasm. "This poison means nothing to me. I've dealt with worse."

Rose couldn't help but feel worried for him throughout this exchange, and once again took a battle stance. Cross soon came after her again, this time with a series of Aura Sphere attacks, which Rose knew she couldn't dodge. So, she ended up deflecting them with repeated Venoshock attacks, trying her best to break through Cross's barrage. As she picked up the pace, she soon got a rhythm going as she then managed to eventually break through, landing a Venoshock on Cross, knocking him onto the ground.

Rose gasped as she then rushed over to him. "Cross! Are you okay? Say something!"

Cross chuckled weakly as the poison was slowly starting to eat away at his health. As he looked over at her, he said "I told you…to never let your guard down, even for a second in battle…" He then reached an arm around her, placing a blade arm to her throat that was charged up with psychic energy, and Rose stifled a breath as she realized that Cross was more than willing to keep fighting. Rose could hear Cross chuckling to himself as he then said "See? It's all about taking advantage over every…possible…outcome…" The poison soon overtook him and he collapsed on top of Rose.

Rose was thankfully quick to push Cross off of her as she then used Aromatherapy to try and get rid of the poison. All the while, she was muttering to herself, begging for him to still be alive. "Please be okay. Please be okay. Please be okay. Don't you die on me!" The moment she finished using Aromatherapy, she then gripped at Cross's shoulders, and started shaking him. "Cross! Cross! Hey! Wake up!" There was no response.

Rose set him down gently as she sat there, almost on the verge of tears, muttering "Oh no… What am I going to do? You can't be dead… You can't…"

This was then interrupted by Cross's hand gripping at her arm, and she immediately jumped to her feet as Cross slowly started to regain consciousness. Chuckling to himself, he muttered "Got you good, didn't I?"

Rose got all huffy, and in a fit of anger, she kicked at his side as Cross was laughing over the practical joke he pulled on her. "You jerk! You could've died!" Rose protested.

"Yeah, I know…" Cross said as he sat back up with a smile. "I'm just glad there's someone kind enough to use a recovery move on me before it's too late."

"You told me not to use it during out battle," Rose said nervously. "A-a-and you kept on firing those Aura Spheres at me, and then I…" She turned away, taking a moment to collect her thoughts over the incident. "Oh my god, I almost killed you there!"

"But you didn't," Cross said positively. He then placed a hand on her shoulder, and said "Listen, take it from me, but even with a bad status condition, you should show no signs of weakness. Fight on until the last breath if you have to. But no matter what, never forget that you should focus on trying to take advantage of your opponent when they lower their guard."

"Oh…" Rose was so close to losing her lid that she ended up looking away at him in anger for a bit. However, Cross's kind demeanor towards her soon made her remember that this was all just a part of training, and she immediately calmed down. She sighed, looking back at Cross with an apologetic smile.

Cross returned the smile to her, and said "Try hard not to give in to fear, Rose. If you must fight, try to focus on overcoming the fear inside of your heart. Once you have mastered overcoming your fears and doubts, then your spirit is set free."

Rose giggled, before saying "Nothing ever brings you down, does it?"

Cross shook his head and both he and Rose ended up laughing over their most recent sparring match. They both felt like they got the chance to learn off of each other better, and in time, Rose felt slightly less worried over how her upcoming fights were going to be. At the very least, Cross's words seemed to reach to her, and she had to find a way to make these words truly sink in.

Cross, as he looked at the burned, and confused Roserade on the battlefield, he recalled the training he went through with her, and smiled. "I think she'll be fine," Cross said softly.

"HUH!?" Nolan and Chris exclaimed with concern.

"Rose seems more confident with herself than the last time we saw her," Cross said to his teammates. "I believe that she's not afraid to risk it all if it means scoring a few lucky shots on Rin."

Chris and Nolan weren't sure what Cross was up to with this line of thinking, but realizing that he was smiling as he was watching Rose in the field, they realized then and there that they just had to trust him, and put their faith in Rose for this battle. They returned to watching the battle without another word, but they both seemed so concerned for Rose's safety.

Rose was suffering from a burn status, and a confusion status. Two afflictions that she was not too confident about, but as she stumbled here and there on her feet, trying hard to focus on Rin, she tried to think of a counterplan in her head. Natural Cure should be able to help me. I just need a little more time. The only question is: what can I do without making Rin realize what's up?

"I'm sorry, Rose," Rin stated as she readied a Flamethrower attack at the Roserade on the battlefield. "Any last words before I finish you off?"

"J-just a f-few…" Rose stuttered as the confusion was slowly beginning to ebb away. Once her focus was on Rin, at long last, she grinned and said "Eat this!" She then twirled around, and summoned a Petal Blizzard that slowly encased her. But Rose also dotted the petals with her Toxic attack, barely even traceable as she fired off the combo.

Rin fired her Flamethrower attack at the Petal Blizzard, where, suddenly, all of the petals exploded in massive puffs of purple smoke, obscuring the entire arena in a dense fog. As the smoke was enveloping the area, Josh pushed me further into the access tunnel to avoid any of the smog as a barrier was placed to prevent the fog from breaking through. Nick saw how fast the smoke was going off as he flew up into the sky to avoid any of the poisonous fumes from reaching him.

Rin coughed as she found herself blinded by the smoke, using only the lit flame on her twig to see what was going on around her. "What…?" Rin asked between coughs as she was not expecting the combo of Toxic and Petal Blizzard to encase the arena like it did.

"What in the world?" Eccho commented as he looked at the fog in the arena. "Whatever that Roserade is up to, she seems to have bought herself some more time! Rinekai seems to have lost sight of her!"

"But more importantly, nobody else could detect her in this fog either," Yamatochi stated. "BlossumBelle seems to have found a way to turn things around for herself amidst the confusion."

"Alright!" Cross yelled out as he looked at the power play at work. "That's the ticket, Rose! Keep it up!"

Rin coughed a bit more as she struggled to see what was going on in front of her. She swiftly growled and twirled her flaming twig around her to clear up some of the poisonous fumes, and before long, as the fog slowly started to die down, she was shocked to notice that Rose was no longer in front of her against the wall. "What the!? Where did she…?"

"Looking for me?" Rose taunted as Rin turned around, surprised to see that Rose was glowing a bright green, accompanied by the Grassium Z that she had on her scarf. Rin was stunned silent over Rose's newfound confidence in herself, and started to back away, only for the poison to slowly start whittling away at her health.

Rose smiled, as she then asked "What's the matter? Where's your confidence from before?"

"You..." Rin inspected Rose, and saw that she was no longer burned. "What happened to your burn status?"

"A little something I have called Natural Cure," Rose answered honestly. "And this…" She then raised her arm into the air, and all at once, a strong gust of wind began to brew all around Rose as green spores surrounded her. "This is Z-Aromatherapy."

Rose looked over the Grassium Z in her possession, as Cross walked over to her the moment she began to sit idly at the table in the mess hall of the Solace Guild. As Cross sat down by her side, he eyed the green gemstone, and said "I'm surprised you chose to buy that."

Rose nodded as she set the gemstone on the table. "I got some for Josh and Adam as well. Hopefully, these could give us an edge in battle."

"Well…we'll have to wait and see, right?" Cross said with a smile towards Rose.

Rose returned the smile to him, before looking over the Grassium Z again. "Cross, have you…ever used a Z-Crystal before?"

"Once or twice," Cross answered. "Why do you ask?"

"Before you could Mega Evolve, did you have to use these things for combat in the various tournaments you competed in?" Rose asked. "I was just wondering what it was like, that's all."

Cross smiled widely as he began reminiscing. "Man, that sure takes me back…" Sighing to himself, he pondered on any memories he had back when he took part in regional tournaments around the game, until finally he said "Oh, yeah! I remember! It was before I became the Gallade you saw me as today, in fact."

"Really?" Rose asked curiously. As she listened closely to Cross's explanation, she had her eyes wide with a giddiness to learn about her friend's personal background.

Cross chuckled out of embarrassment as he then mentioned "Well, it's not something I particularly feel proud of. But back then, I used to carry with me a Psychium Z."

"Oh! Well, I bet it helped out a ton during your battles," Rose pondered.

"Well, my first use of the item wasn't particularly…helpful, per se," Cross admitted as he gave a sheepish grin. "No no. It was my second use of the item that really changed everything."

"Really? How come?" Rose asked.

"Well, by technicality, a Z-Crystal can help unleash a super move against a particularly tough opponent," Cross described to her. "However, whether or not it could actually land a solid strike against them is the question. I tried using Shattered Psyche the first time I had to use it, and let's just say it wasn't enough. But the second time… That was when I realized the benefits of these things."

"Benefits?" Rose questioned with intrigue. "Like what?"

Cross grinned wide as he soon went into detail about these benefits. "You see, a Z-Crystal can do more than just give you a super attack. They can also help you out in a pinch just in case you need to restore stats or boost your power, and so forth. The second time I used the Psychium Z, I was in a particularly rough bind with a foe that kept on decreasing my attack stats and whittling at my defense. So, I decided to use the Z-Crystal in conjunction with Calm Mind, and the result was that all of my stats were restored to peak condition." He then pointed towards his scarf, and the mega stone that was attached to it. "It was the very tournament where I ended up winning me a Galladite, for the record."

"Wow… I had no idea that Z-Crystals could be used for stuff like that," Rose stated in awe. "So…does that mean that Aromatherapy can also benefit from this?"

"I don't see why not," Cross said with enthusiasm. "Again, what's most important in battle is you take every opportunity presented before you and apply it. No matter what happens, the main thing you should focus on is what you should do with whatever resources you have available. Your type matchup, abilities, moves, etcetera. If you have a moment, take it. What matters most is that you keep going, regardless of the circumstances."

Rose stood confidently as the Z-Aromatherapy ended up restoring all of her health until she was back in peak condition. The crowd cheered as Rose managed to turn the tides around in her favor. With renewed energy, Rose ended up striking up another battle pose, ready for the second round.

Josh and I were practically in awe at the spectacle before us. Rose managed to use her Z-Crystal in a way that neither I nor Josh could've predicted, and we couldn't have been any prouder of her in that instant. For once, it looked like Rose managed to give us hope that she could win.

"This was quite the turnaround, ladies and gentlemen!" Eccho announced to the crowd. "BlossumBelle created a cloud cover just so she could recover her own health!"

"That Z-Aromatherapy is just what the doctor ordered," Yamatochi said with a smile. "BlossumBelle is once again in peak fighting condition, while Rinekai is still suffering from the lingering effects of the poison. Yessiree, I can't help but think Team Inferno has quite the delicate flame at their disposal, here!"

In the audience, Nolan and Chris were cheering loudly as they stood from their seats and gave the best support they could for Rose. All the while, Cross just sat there, eyeing the Roserade and giving a big smile to her. With a slight chuckle, he added "That's how it's done."

Rose soon began to create a storm of flower petals around her as she stood against Rin with newfound confidence. Rin began to realize that her opponent was far stronger than she gave her credit for, and gave a playful laugh. "I see your training has finally started to pay off," Rin remarked as she readied herself. "But full restore or not, I still think you're going to lose."

"Au contraire, mademoiselle," Rose playfully teased. "I only see one player that's going to lose, and it's the vixen that's in front of me."

Both players ended up staring intensely at each other, waiting for the next moment to strike. As they looked into each other's eyes, they both saw a drive to go beyond themselves, and to do better for their teams. Rin wanted to do what was best for Team Delta, while Rose wanted to do whatever was possible to support Team Inferno. Both fighters seemed to be eager to continue, and before long, Rin fired her attack at Rose, as a Will-O-Wisp was sent hurtling towards her direction.

Rose countered that attack using her petal shield, and began to fire off multiple Venoshock attacks towards Rin as she ran around her. Rin tried her best to deflect every oncoming attack heading her direction, but the constant barrage of the toxic sludge kept on forcing her to be on guard, which didn't bode well for her as she was slowly losing consciousness over the fact that the poison status was still in effect on her.

Forcing herself to strike back, she fired a Psybeam at Rose, which she leapt into the air to dodge. Rose then twirled as she released a Petal Blizzard down towards Rin from above, encasing the Braixen with an intense storm of flower petals. Rin struggled to brace herself against this onslaught as she winced from the combined pain of the poison and the flower petals.

Rose then switched tactics upon seeing that Rin's Light Screen had finally worn off, and took the opportunity to twirl in the air and fire a barrage of Venoshock attacks at the Braixen. Rin didn't have time to prepare a counterstrategy, and thus ended up taking the barrage of toxic orbs fired at her like she was being shot from above by a Gatling gun. A massive explosion encased Rin as Rose landed on her feet, her arms outstretched as she gave a confident smile to the audience. Once she bowed down, the crowd roared with applause at Rose's incredibly skillful strategy.

Josh and I were amazed by how much Rose was able to have improved on herself over the past week. We were so awestruck by our teammate that we both cheered for her in the access tunnel. "Way to go, Rose!" Josh yelled as he yelled at her direction.

"That was incredible!" I exclaimed as I yelled to her as well. "You're incredible!"

Rose soon stood up from her bow as she waved over to the cheering audience, thinking that she's got the battle under wraps. She was no longer timid. No longer afraid of anything. She was not the delicate blossom that we saw her as at first. Now, it appeared that she had matured greatly this past week. Whatever training and mental fortitude she gained ever since she joined our team, it seemed to have paid off.

But then, that was where we were all taken by surprise.

Rin fired off a Flamethrower towards Rose's direction, which she then tried to deflect by using Venoshock. However, the attack was too close to her, but more importantly, it was far more powerful than she could manage, as she got engulfed in flames and was soon knocked back.

Everyone gasped at Rin's sudden burst of strength, and as we all looked towards where the Flamethrower came from, we could see why. Rin was now glowing an orange aura around her, as small flames were coming out around her body. I knew that all too well, as that's her Blaze ability kicking in. One final Hail Mary before she could kick the bucket, I'm sure.

Rin panted as she struggled to stay up. Rose was still active, thankfully, though the Fire-type attack ended up doing some critical damage to her as she got back up to her feet. Rose was almost in disbelief by Rin's determination to win in this fight. Baffled, she stammered "B-but…how can this be!?"

"Like I said… Only one of us is going down…" Rin soon readied her final Flamethrower attack as she let the flame build up on her twig. "You've earned my respect, Rose. With a little more practice, you'll be in the same league as the boys, without question. Unfortunately…I was ordered to give it my all… So therefore, you're getting all I have to give."

Rose realized then and there that she just needed to buy a little bit more time. One more attack. One more strike. One more effort to prove that she can save anyone. Rose gritted her teeth, and readied herself with one final Venoshock attack, letting the poison glob build up in front of her as she readied her final strike.

The crowd was left waiting in anticipation, not entirely sure what to make out of this final clash. Cross and his team were looking on with eagerness to see what happens next. Wulfrock was over at the opposite access tunnel, eyeing Rin and Rose with intrigue. Volt sat there in the waiting room with his eyes glued to the screen. Nick was still up in the sky, witnessing the whole battle taking place from a safe vantage point. Josh and I had our hearts racing, wondering whether or not Rose could actually secure this win.

Once both ladies had their attacks ready, without a moment of hesitation, they both fired their attacks. Rose's Venoshock grazed past the Flamethrower as it reached Rin and exploded upon contact with her. Rin's Flamethrower soon reached and made contact with Rose, engulfing her in flames before the attack also exploded around her.

As both attacks went off at the same time, nobody was sure who was going to emerge victorious in this bout. We all stood there in anticipation, waiting for the moment when the dust settled and we saw someone collapsed on the ground, or shattered into pixels. This was perhaps the most intense moment of the entire tournament for me, and it was mainly because I was hoping, praying even for Rose to hopefully emerge victorious.

The moment the dust settled, both Rin and Rose stood there, panting as they both had to endure so much damage from those attacks. The crowd waited to see what would happen next. Rose and Rin acknowledged each other silently with blank stares, before they both smiled. Rin winced a little and fell to one knee, and it almost gave us some hope. However, that was it. Rin still stood tall on one knee, wincing from the poison afflicted on her.

Rose, meanwhile, collapsed as she fell forward with a smile on her face. She closed her eyes, but before she did, she eyed both me and Josh in the access tunnel, seeing our shocked expressions. With a single tear going down her eye, she smiled at us as she fell. I hope…that this was enough…to make it up to you guys… The moment she collapsed onto the ground, out cold, a message appeared above her that read "BlossumBelle has fainted."

Nick flew down to the battlefield, and as he landed next to Rin, he helped her to her feet and raised her arm up. "The winner of the second round is Rinekai of Team Delta!" Nick announced to the crowd.

The crowd cheered as Rin secured her win. It was something people were to expect somewhat, given the circumstances, but they were mostly cheering for something else. Mainly, they were amazed over how much Rose was willing to stand up for herself in the battlefield, and were easily impressed by her refined combat skills on full display. Rose may not have won the battle, but clearly, she had won everyone's hearts.

Josh and I rushed into the battlefield to check up on our fallen comrade. Josh gently cradled her in his arms as she slowly started to wake up. Josh had used a Reviver Seed to bring her back, and sure enough, it was working to good effect. Rose looked all sad upon seeing us revive her, and she said to us "I'm sorry, guys. I lost."

Josh sighed deeply as he looked at her with a smile. "No, Rose. You didn't lose. You gave it your everything, and I couldn't have been happier."

Rose was uplifted by Josh's kind words, and she soon stared up into the clear blue sky. "I have to thank you guys," she said. "For so long, I was worried that I had to carry a lot of weight to build up our team. I was the weakest one, after all. I can't even compare to the likes of you two. You're both far more experienced. But during my moment of clarity while I was knocked out, I remembered something."

Josh and I were wondering what she was referring to as we comforted her, and she looked over at us both with a smile that was hiding a lot of pain. "I remembered that speech you guys made earlier. How you yearned to overcome your loneliness. I can't help but realize that you guys had it so rough all these years. You fought together, but you were alone. And I…" She stared back at the sky, her smile close to faltering. "I always thought that in order to get better, in order to protect others, I had to grow and mature on my own. I had always fought for nothing but myself. I even joined Team Inferno because I wanted to prove to myself that I can do better. But the moment that you guys were injured on Mount Ebott…I ran away. I must've been such an insensitive person to leave you guys so suddenly. I just want to say that I'm sorry. I'm so sorry…"

Tears started flowing from Rose's eyes as she began to weep, her own arm trying to wipe away all of her tears. I looked over at Josh, noticing that he was very melancholy as well, understanding why Rose felt the way she did. He sighed as he lowered his head, and he told me "Adam. Get Rose into the access tunnel and back to the waiting room."

I was not wanting to argue here, so I nodded and I lifted up Rose in my arms, feeling how she was clearly crying a river. I couldn't help but feel sorry for her in that instant as I cradled her. Once Josh got back up on his feet, he stared up at the sky, and he commented "That's weird. I wasn't expecting rain today."

"Rain?" I asked, looking up at the sky, seeing that there were no signs of any rain clouds. Confused by this, I looked back at Josh, about to tell him "But it's not raining, Josh." However, I was cut short by seeing Josh smiling, with tears showing on his face, which he didn't want Rose to take notice of. I sighed, and I soon nodded, before walking back to the waiting room with Rose. I guess we all have issues that need working out…

Josh ultimately sniffed as he then wiped away his tears. Turning to see that Rose and I were back in the access tunnel, he realized that now more than ever, he realized that both Rose and I had managed to make him proud. I could tell that the moment I saw him smiling while shedding tears after Rose broke down in front of us, he realized that Rose was able to shine brightly. She proved herself as a true member of Team Inferno.

Rose was ultimately, and forever will be, our Green Flame.

Eventually, once repairs to the battlefield were being made, Josh got to stare at the monitor in the waiting lobby as he saw that coming up was his battle against D-Volt. Meanwhlie, I just sat there on the bleachers as I comforted Rose while she was getting over her insecurities. Soon enough, I had to break the silence, as I asked him "Are you okay, Josh?"

"Yeah," Josh said quietly. "Hard to believe that this whole tournament was just part of my asinine ramblings at first. But now…I think we've all reached a point where I don't even think winning is worth it anymore."

Rose and I were surprised to hear Josh say this out loud. "What do you mean?" Rose asked with worry.

"What I mean is that I only chose to make this argument against Volt just to prove we were more than capable of fending for ourselves," Josh answered, looking directly at us. "I lost focus on what's really important for our team at the time, and I was so scared that I blew away any of our chances to see things through any further." He sighed deeply, and turned back to see the monitor. "I just wanted Volt to realize that we were not simply little kids anymore. And I acted irrationally and childish in front of him. In many ways, that's no way for a leader to act. A leader can't just force others into accepting every decision they make, especially if it's someone from another team." He then stood up and walked towards the door, before resting his head on it. "Volt knows this as much as I do. A true leader looks after his team, and respects the decisions of others. I wanted so bad just to prove to him that I was able to make smart decisions."

"Josh…" I muttered, almost at a loss for words.

Josh stifled a laugh as he looked at his paw. "And now that I'm here, having seen the both of you prove to me what it truly means to be a leader of a team, I now know what I have to do." He then clenched his paw into a fist, and lowered it as he turned to us. "I'm going to forfeit this match. Volt deserves to win, not me."

"What?" Rose and I questioned together as we stood up and looked at him.

Josh averted his gaze, and he smiled. "I knew that would be your reaction, but I just had to get it out of my chest, didn't I?"

"Josh, you can't just give up!" I exclaimed. "After all, you're the best fighter out of all of us!"

"Even though I was the sole reason we're in this mess?" Josh argued.

"Josh, we all agreed to train together for today's tournament!" Rose stated. "You can't back down now!"

"It's not the tournament I'm referring to!" Josh shouted, silencing us both. He sighed, and he realized he acted impulsively again as he rubbed at his arm. "Sorry… It's just… For so long, I've always fought on my own, for myself, and nothing more." He then gazed over at us, and reiterated "But the moment I saw the both of you take to that stadium, I realized that I needed to think critically about what it truly means to fight for others."

I walked up to Josh as he said that, staring at him with a slight glare. Josh looked up at me curiously, before I then bonked him on the head. "Ow! What was that for!?" Josh yelled at me.

"Because I need you to get your head out of the clouds," I said, before giving him a hug. "What happened back then was all in the past, Josh. All of these years, you tried to run from it. Now…" As I then stopped the hug and placed both of my hands on his shoulders, I told my bother "I want you to learn from the past. Don't make the same mistakes, Josh. You're better than this. I know you are. You've never given up on me after three years of being trapped in this game. And you know why? It's because you yearn to own up to your mistakes and understand what needs to be done in order to guarantee a brighter future. We've all been there, Josh! Rose! You! Even me! And…" I sighed, knowing fully well what I wanted to say to him. "In some respects, Volt has as well. Which is why I need you to spread that message to him like you gave to me."

Josh looked at me all confused, and asked "Where the hell is this coming from?"

I chuckled as I rubbed at his head, and I said "A moment of clarity. Let's leave it at that."

Josh chuckled as well as I felt him push my hand off of his head. Rose soon walked up to the both of us, and with a smile, she encouraged "Don't focus on the past, Josh. Focus on the now. On the future."

"Yeah," I added. "And make sure to teach Volt a lesson he won't soon forget, okay?"

Josh was so moved by our words of encouragement that he nodded and felt his own eyes become all misty from the sentiments he was getting. Now, feeling more determined than ever, he said "Alright! I'll do it! Volt needs to know what we're made of, and I'm the only one who can prove it to him." He then placed a paw on Rose's shoulder and made me kneel down as he placed a paw on mine as he gave one of the most optimistic smiles I've ever seen him give off. "I promise you guys that first thing tomorrow, whether or not we win or lose this final match, Volt will change his tune! I'll make sure of it!"

We all then got together for a group hug, as we smiled and could feel Josh radiating newfound confidence in himself. In a way, I could definitely tell that Josh was more than willing to finish what we started a week ago, only this time, he's determined to finally prove to Volt how much we've grown.

While that group hug took place, we failed to realized that Volt was outside of our waiting room, having listened in to our conversation behind closed doors. He quickly and quietly turned away from the door as he then proceeded down the hall. He sighed to himself, realizing deep down what it was he needed to do.

He then came across Rin as she was walking by, and she asked him "What are you doing out here already? The battle isn't even ready to begin yet."

Volt turned to look down the hall and towards our waiting lobby. With a blank expression, he said to her "Just thinking about things. That's all."

"Did you…pay Team Inferno a visit?" Rin asked curiously.

"Tsk! As if I had any reason to pay them a visit," Volt stated sternly as he turned back around and continued down the hallway. "The Mutt is going to face me in the final round. I better make sure he's put in his place."