-Chapter 1-
-Esther Finds A Mage-

Oar's Rest truly was a sight to behold. The trading town was built below the sides of cliffs, overlooking the sandy shores of the shimmering Pearl Sea. The sun was only just beginning to peek through the horizon, illuminating the town in an orange glow. It was the only time one could go to Oar's Rest and find it to be tranquil, without the bustling energy that encapsulates its residents throughout the day and into the night. Only a few were out and about during sunrise, most of them being store owners getting ready to open shop.

Then there were those like Esther, who was currently holding a standoff on the sandy beach of Oar's Rest with a piece of wood. Using her oh-so-impressive and immaculate ingenuity, she crafted a training dummy using stray pieces of wood that washed up on the shore. She then repeatedly slashed at it with her cutlass in a meticulous pattern. 'One, two, switch. One two, switch. One, two, switch…'

She had rolled up the sleeves of her flannel shirt, which at this point was already drenched with sweat. Her hat lay at the feet of the wooden dummy, surrounded by a trench of sand that Esther had dug herself, to ensure no harm would come upon it.

When the train had finally arrived at the station in Oar's Rest, she quickly made her way through the crowd to try and find that mage she fought. Try as she might, however, she couldn't make the head or tail of that mouse anywhere. It was almost as if he had vanished.

'Either that, or he decided to stick with a lil' subterfuge fer the time being.' Esther thought as she continued methodically slashing at the dummy. 'No surprises there, if he really was workin' for some big shot in the underworld.'

She hit the dummy one more time, then stopped. She paused for a few seconds, trying to catch her breath, then stabbed her cutlass into the ground. She stretched out her back and sighed with contentment. 'In any case, I gotta find some way to find that mage.' She narrowed her eyes. 'I need to find the Arc Amulet as soon as possible.'

Esther stood, grinning for a few moments, absolving that her day would be spent finding the mage she had fought on the train when a thought suddenly struck her. 'Wait, what if he switched trains?'

She stood still. Very still.

Then, she screamed. "SON OF A BILGE BUCKET!"

Frantically, she sheathed her cutlass and tossed her hat on top of her head before sprinting toward the boardwalk. 'Great, just GREAT, Esther! Just when ye finally get another chance, ye BLOW IT!' She dashed through the town of Oar's Rest, running past confused and startled civilians in a mission to get to the train station as fast as possible. With her luck, he probably already left the town completely!

"AHHH, C'MON CHARON, YE CAN DO IT! CATCH THAT LANDLUBBER BEFORE HE LEAVES LAND! ARRR!"

Luckily for Esther, Amir had not left land.

He was actually sitting in a bar, at the bar table, like any other normal fifteen-year-old.

Many tossed the pikachu funny looks when he had first come in, though the excitement over a minor walking into a bar died down relatively quickly. Now, only the crawdaunt bartender eyed Amir with a degree of suspicion as he methodically cleaned the shot glasses on the counter with a rag.

Amir, himself, was not ignorant of the stares. He paid no mind to it, however. Rosalio had given Amir orders to remain at The Shaken Hat until he was done with his "little errand". Amir had his suspicions about what that might have been, but he knew better than to question.

Admittedly, he was now stuck here, with practically nothing to do except try and watch his back. Which normally would not be very hard to do, but The Shaken Hat had quite the reputation for being a very…rowdy place, to say the least. Amir's presence had only briefly garnered the interest of the drunkards who were regulars here, but that quickly waned when a fight broke out between a pawn shop broker and the owner of a sandwich shop. Something about a bronze sandwich being worth a fortune, from what Amir could gather.

Sighing, his eyes wandered to the rows of glasses behind the counter. He looked over each one, counting them and re-counting them, trying to distract his mind from the noise. As he continued his journey across the counter with his eyes, he began frowning.

'...the glasses are off center.' His eye twitched. '...and there are more wine glasses than shot glasses. And the shot glasses are stacked unevenly. And the glasses are not clean enough. And some of the glasses are smaller than the other ones. And the stacks of glasses are awkwardly placed. And one shelf is overfilled with glasses while the other is almost empty. And, and, and…'

Amir began bouncing up and down in his seat, anxiety increasing as his mind ran through all the hundred different things that were just simply wrong with the various glassware on the counter and the shelves. Eventually, he couldn't take the suspense anymore and with a glance around, gracefully leaped over the counter. The bartender hadn't seemed to have noticed, preoccupied with listening to the rambling of an old man in the far right corner of the bar. 'Good,' Amir sighed with relief. 'This allows me the time I need to do this.'

He glared at the disorganized counter in front of him and exhaled slowly. 'Prepare to meet your match, counter!'

If the counter could, it would have trembled in fear at the truly frightening might of the pikachu.

"Foood!" Chesil and Oakley cheered in unison. At the sight of the plates of pancakes set out on the table in front of them, the two scrambled to get their seats. Ares followed, albeit at a much slower pace. He made sure to thank the waiter, who had been frightened by the sight of the two crazed teenagers running to their seats.

Cordell sighed as he trailed behind, floating awkwardly above the table as the three bandits gorged on the food in front of them. "I still can't believe I'm stuck with you three."

"Hey, don't be such a grouch!" Chesil snapped. "We are amazing pokemon to be stuck with!"

"Yeah, exactly!" Oakley turned his nose up. "You should be grateful your mage tossed you out of the train like garbage!"

Cordell narrowed his eyes. "...gee, thanks."

After a long walk, the group finally managed to find a small inn to take refuge in for the night. The inn had few occupants, most of which seemed to consist of older pokemon. Ares had asked the inn's owner how far they were from Oar's Rest and they thankfully seemed to have gotten most of the walking done with, given that the town was only "a few miles away".

"Oh, you poor, poor, knife-" Chesil began, sighing dramatically.

"Kunai."

"-thrown aside and cast aside from his so-called "loyal" master…"

"Not my master."

"Fret not, you innocent carving knife-"

"You're doing this on purpose now, aren't you?"

"-For I, the great, the Magnifique, the gorgeous; Chesil Harvester, shall be the one to free you from your chains!"

"...you're aware I'm just a single kunai, right? If you want a kunai so badly, just get one from an arms dealer or something."

"Oh, we don't work with arms dealers," Ares commented, not looking up from his food, which he had only taken a single bite out of. "Nasty experiences," he explained.

"...I see," Cordell said dryly. "Care to explain why that is?"

Oakley burst into laughter and shoveled a pancake into his mouth. "Yeah, no thanks. Maybe we'll come around if you tell us what's up with you and that mouse mage."

"Again with this?" Cordell sighed in exasperation. "You kids are persistent."

"You say that like it's a bad thing," Chesil grinned, waving her fork in the air.

Cordell sighed as the group fell back into snarfing down their pancakes. According to Ares, the breakfast had come with the room they rented for the night. He was a little surprised to hear that Ares had paid, but then again, the Three Arm Bandits "had standards".

Whatever the hell those standards were supposed to be. Cordell had no clue and he wasn't even sure if he wanted to.

He did want to know one thing about the trio, however.

"You know, I don't think I ever asked," Cordell began, catching the attention of the bandit trio. "What exactly are you three planning on doing in Oar's Rest?"

Chesil stared, continuing to chew her food slowly and methodically. "Sightseeing. Duh."

"...that's it?"

"Yuuup." She replied.

"...that's it?" Cordell repeated, unsure if he was hearing her properly.

"What, is there some magical rulebook that dictates we're not allowed to go sightseeing?" Oakley asked with a mock pout. "We deserve to have some fun, too!"

"...you're aware Oar's Rest is a trading town, right?"

"Yeah? So?" Oakley challenged.

The kunai felt frustration build. "You can't seriously expect me to believe that you, a group of bandits, are going to a trading town, filled with all sorts of expensive goods, to sightsee."

"That is exactly what we are doing," Chesil said simply.

Cordell sagged in the air, letting the tip of his blade touch the table. "...oh sweet Mother Xerneas. You're serious."

The trio blinked at him; not collectively, but individually. Cordell thought it was much creepier than if they had blinked in unison.

"You know what, never mind." Cordell sputtered out. "Just finish your food."

The trio of bandits exchanged looks. Chesil grinned and went back to gorging on her food a second later, Oakley behind her. Ares kept his gaze on Cordell for a minute longer, keeping his thoughts about the kunai in his head. He didn't trust him for even a second and refused to let his guard down around him.

Of course, Cordell felt the same way. The second they arrived in Oar's Rest, he was going to make like a tree and leaf. He needed to find Amir before the pikachu decided to…become a bartender or some crazy shit like that. 'Arceus, I really hope Amir isn't going to get involved in anything crazier than he already has…' He paused internally then groaned, slumping against the table. "Yeah, that's unlikely…"

"Excuse me," Esther trudged over to the geodude stationmaster, her footsteps uneven. She had arrived at the train station quicker than expected, though it helped that she used Bounce to speed up her "journey". The station was surprisingly crowded this early in the morning, though she wasn't entirely surprised. The buzz of chatter and excitement filled the air, presumably about all the goods that could be found in Oar's Rest. It seems that the trading town was about to have its serene peace interrupted. "Have ye seen a pikachu around here lately?"

The geodude raised an eyebrow as he looked Esther up and down. "Well, I don't know. I see many pokemon that come through the station every single day. You can't expect me to remember every single one."

Esther sighed in frustration. "Dammit…well, thanks anyway, pal."

The stationmaster squinted as he continued speaking. "Although, I will say…I haven't seen anyone like you. What are you supposed to be? A paperboy? What's up with the eye patch?"

Esther's eye twitched in annoyance. "A paperboy?" She growled deeply, trying to resist the urge to whip out her cutlass, which was sheathed in its scabbard behind her back. "Listen here, ye landlubber! The last thing ye want to do is make a fool outta me, the infamous Esther Charon!"

The geodude stared. "...who?"

"...dammit," Esther sighed. "Aye, that's a pretty typical response."

"Hmm…" the geodude crossed his arms. "You said you were infamous? For what, if I may ask?"

Esther blinked and stared.

The geodude stared back.

Esther continued staring.

The geodude also continued staring. Then he raised his nonexistent eyebrows. "You…gonna answer my question or…?"

"...avast, a flying pogo stick!" Esther pointed behind the geodude dramatically.

The geodude swirled around, taken aback. "Wait, what is that supposed to-hey! Get back here!" He called out to the fleeing buneary. He groaned as she slipped into the crowd and rubbed his head. "Please don't tell me I just held a conversation with a bandit or something like that…wait, is that a sword on her back? Why is that out in the open? Why is nobody questioning that? Am I going insane, or what?"

Esther snickered as she dashed away from the befuddled geodude. "Talk about a close call. Mama'd be proud of me for that slip!"

She slowed her pace as she reached the front gates of the station. A crowd was slowly starting to trickle into the trading town, the sun had risen far enough to be seen entirely over the horizon. Esther closed her eyes and listened to the various chatter of salesmen, families, nobles, and workers in the air. She loved the cheer in the air. It reminded her of the sea songs she would sing with the Pyrite Flora below deck.

Her personal favorite had been the tale of a crew hinging on the hopes that a "wellerman" would arrive in their most dire moments to bring them supplies and assistance. She memorized the entire song by heart, always pestering the crew to sing it to her to go to sleep.

Without even realizing it, she began humming it to herself as she walked out of the station. The song itself didn't have origins in Mysteria specifically, having come from another region. 'Now that I think about it…I never asked where the song came from, eh…?'

She closed her left eye and put her hands behind her head, careful not to accidentally throw off her hat. 'Guess I'll just have to save that question for later, then…' She slowly opened her eye and narrowed it. 'Now, how to find that mage…?'

Amir had been a lot more…odd, for lack of a better term, compared to other mages she had met. Granted, she hadn't met very many; given how mages themselves are considered a rare breed, but from the ones she had…Amir was a lot younger than the lot, wasn't he?

Her thoughts trailed back to when she had shown him the map of Mysteria. '…something about the way he reacted was off, now wasn't it? Is it possible that…he could be lookin' for the same thing as me?'

Esther pondered this for a while, before shaking those thoughts off. She could ask him any questions she had once she found him, which she really should have been getting back to doing.

She let out a frustrated sigh and crossed her arms. "Forget this. I need a drink." She glanced around at the buildings as she strolled through town, searching for a pub or bar where she could get a beer.

Of course, she forgot to account for the fact that there was no way she'd be able to get a beer, given both her age and size.

'Ah, it's fine!' She chuckled to herself. From her experience, the crazier the occupants in a bar, the less likely they'll be strict about drinking laws. 'I'm sure if I find the rowdiest lookin' bar, those landlubbers 'ill give me a pass.'

It took quite a bit of searching and asking around-as well as dodging questions about the very conspicuous sword scabbard strapped to her back-but she was eventually able to find a bar that seemed suited to her needs. Hopefully, they wouldn't ask her any questions about her sword, either. 'I'm startin' to think I shoulda just left the scabbard at me side,' she grunted as she trudged through the alleyway, using the directions a paranoid shop owner had given her. 'Either that or I should buy meself a vest to cover it up.'

She stopped for a moment to look around. The street was empty, "Accordin' to that kecleon, the bar was right around here…what was it called again?"

"AHHHH LOOK OUT!"

Esther barely had time to look up before a pokemon slammed into her and sent her tumbling into the ground. "Argh, what in the-"

"Urgh…" the pokemon pushed himself up, revealing himself to be a crabrawler. "Dammit, Karl, that was dirty!" He shouted, glaring at a crooked building.

Esther raised an eyebrow. Outside the building stood a krabby, with various other pokemon peeking out from behind the crab and through the windows. "Shut up, Charl! I know what a bronze sandwich looks like when I see it…and yours ain't one!"

The crabrawler growled. "Well, ya didn't have to throw me into someone!" He turned to Esther apologetically. "I am so sorry about this, miss…?"

Esther broke into a grin. "Esther."

"Who cares?" The krabby scoffed. "Honestly, you deserved it for trying to pass off that stupid faux delicacy of yours as worth anything more than ten measly cleffs!"

"CLEFFS?" The crabrawler shouted. "That's not even one ward!"

"And that's how much your stupid sandwich is worth," the krabby scoffed.

Esther looked back and forth between the two, trying to figure out what the subject matter was. She couldn't quite pinpoint what they were arguing over, but it was entertaining to her nonetheless. Plus, bonus, she was pretty sure that the building the krabby was standing in front of was the very bar that the shop owner from earlier had directed her toward.

"The Shaken Hat, ay?" Esther pondered as she strode past the krabby and into the bar. "Odd name for a bar smack in the center o' town."

She walked past the pokemon crowding the windows, who began making bets on who was really on the right in the whole debacle that had been taking place. A few cast her strange looks as she walked by, though their focus was occupied with far more important things at the moment.

As was hers, funnily enough.

She plopped onto a seat and outstretched her arms over the bar counter with a heavy sigh. She closed her eye for a few seconds, taking in the noise of the other bar attendees' chatter. After a moment, she cracked her eye open and mumbled into the counter. "...what am I even doin' anyway…?"

"What a coincidence. That's exactly what I'd like to know."

Esther glanced up to see an irate-looking crawdaunt leering down at her from atop the table. "...and who're ye s'posed to be?"

He raised an eyebrow. "...the owner?"

"Ah. Aye, good for ye." She paused, then sat up, feeling rejuvenated. "Ye serve drinks here, correct?"

The crawdaunt scoffed. "Yes, but don't even think twice about trying to get any. How old are you, anyway?" He paused, then squinted. "...and is that a cutlass on-"

Esther groaned. "C'mon, ye landlubber! Cut me some slack, here. I've been runnin' around town all day! I'm tired, thirsty, and very much lackin' in the area of…self-motivation. I need me drink!"

The crawdaunt stared, then repeated. "...how old are you?"

Esther groaned and sank back onto the table.

"I'm waiting." The crawdaunt said, tapping his foot against the table.

"...sixteen."

"Ah, sorry, what was that?" He leaned in a bit closer, holding a pincer to his head. "I couldn't quite catch that. For a second, I thought that…you're perhaps under eighteen!" He let out a mock gasp. "The horror! A child walking into MY establishment? Why, my reputation would just be tarnished!"

Esther gave a wry smirk. "I didn't expect to get ye riled up this much just by walkin' into a bar. Back where I'm from, the bar owners wouldn't think twice about who entered their pub as long as it wasn't any of those nasty types. Ye know the ones I'm talkin' about, don't ye?"

"Hmph. I'd wager a guess and say you're from the Isle of Leigh, aren't you?"

"Aye, that'd be correct, matey!" She winked.

The crawdaunt analyzed Esther for a moment, before letting out a sigh. He scuttled past her. "...I'm not giving you anything with alcohol, but I can get you something else to drink. Will your Isle-hardened stomach tolerate some simple orange juice for a change?"

Esther let out an exasperated sigh. "Aye, that's fine."

"Name's Enkai, by the way," the crawdaunt remarked as he jumped down the bar table and onto the counter set up behind it. He opened a cupboard and began shuffling through it. "Yours?"

"Ah, that'd be Esther, seadog."

"Seadog?" The crawdaunt, now dubbed Enkai, muttered under his breath. He let out an amused chuckle. "The kids that hail from those damned isles just get weirder and weirder, I swear." He pulled out a jug of orange juice and pulled it onto the counter. Setting a glass down in front of the buneary, he poured the juice into it. "So, what brings you to Oar's Rest? Not anything dangerous, I hope."

Esther grinned. "Well, ye see-"

She was interrupted by a cheer that erupted from behind her. The crabrawler from earlier walked through the saloon doors triumphantly, with the krabby slumped over his back. He set the krabby on the floor and bowed dramatically. "Thank you, thank you. Glad to see everyone agrees that I'm the one in the right here."

Esther snickered. Enkai, on the other hand, groaned. "You've gotta be kidding me. How many times have I had to tell those idiots-" he glanced at the buneary apologetically. "Alright, give me a minute. I need to make sure nobody's trying to kill each other."

"Ye sure that krabby ain't already dead?" Esther asked, taking a sip of her orange juice. It was sweet and tangy. Freshly squeezed, no doubt.

"Well, he'd better not be…" Enkai grumbled. "I'll be right back." He scuttled off the table and toward the group of pokemon. "OI! What'd I tell you morons about trying to kill each other?! If you're going to fight to the death, do it outside my damned establishment!"

Esther tried not to choke on her drink. The crawdaunt was amusing, that was for sure. Admittedly, she still felt a bit put down that he wasn't allowing her a little beer. He acted like she was asking for an entire cup when she just wanted a couple of sips worth.

"Heh," she chuckled to herself. "Me father wouldn't approve of this either, would he?"

She leaned back on her stool and watched as Enkai attempted to get the krabby and crabrawler to make peace. It was oddly nostalgic for her, seeing the drunk pokemon in the bar unite with each other over something as simple as a brawl. She still had no clue what the two pokemon in question had been at each other's throats over in the first place, but it was still amusing nonetheless.

She finished off the rest of her drink and turned around on the bar stool to set it down.

Right at that moment, a pikachu stood up from seemingly nowhere behind the bar counter, facing the other direction, and placed a single cup in a cabinet.

Esther squinted her eyes and stared. Hard.

"...and where exactly did ye come from?" she finally spoke, not expecting much of an answer.

The pikachu jumped and whirled around in a panic. He went into a defensive stance, one hand in front of him and the other at his side, ready to draw out…whatever weapon he had sheathed. Esther was willing to bet it was a kunai.

She broke into a huge grin. "Well, well, well, if it ain't me friend, Amir. I've been lookin' for ye!"

Amir grinned nervously and slowly began to step in the other direction. "Hello, Miss Esther."

"Oi, drop the 'miss'. I'm pretty sure we're the same age."

"I am pretty sure, as well, but…" His hands slowed to a stop. Then he continued. "I…like to be polite…?"

"Polite?" Esther smirked, then stood up from her stool. "I wouldn't exactly call yer lil' vanishing act on the train to be very polite."

Amir's eye twitched. "I did tell you I was sorry."

"Well, that ain't enough for me!" Esther loudly declared, then hopped onto the bar table, brandishing her cutlass as she did so. She twirled it in her hand before pointing it at Amir. "Yer comin' with me, Magic Man!"

Amir blinked, then slapped his hand to his face. Why, why, why did he feel the need to rearrange the bar owners' entire bar counter…?

Oh, right. It was disorganized. Silly him.

He took a deep breath and tried to reason with the crazy pirate. "Can we please talk about this first? I am quite sure you do not need to do anything drastic, such as picking a fight with me in this enclosed space or wrapping me up in that terrifying rope that you seem to have with you ready to kidnap me for…whatever nefarious purposes you have in mind."

"Hmm," Esther paused, then grinned. "I dunno, Amir, those two options sound pretty reasonable to me!"

"What in the world is your definition of 'drastic', then?!" Amir signed frantically. "And do you not think it would be better to take this fight outside?!"

Esther paused, considering. Was she perhaps taking this a bit too far? Maybe. But the mage's reactions were hilarious. Not to mention that she felt high in the mood for a fight.

"Nah, then ye'd be able to get away," Esther said, still contemplating her options.

Her father always told her that she needed to think about things more thoroughly before doing things, after all. What did she need more, a fight or a mage willing to work with her?

Amir nervously glanced around and settled on two pokemon sitting on a table in the corner who looked to be playing an impromptu arm wrestling competition, then his eyes lit up. 'Betting…'

"How about we make a deal?" He signed.

Esther raised an eyebrow. "A deal?"

"Well, if you want a fight, I can give it to you." He paused. "However…how about we…shake things up a tad, as well? If I win, you have to do what I ask of you. If you win…"

Esther sheathed her cutlass behind her back-damn, she needed to buy a vest the next time she walked into an establishment like this-and sat back down in her seat. She smirked, finally having caught on. "So, winner takes all, huh?"

Amir winced. "In a word, yes."

"...well, I'm sold!" Esther laughed. "I gotta say, ye don't exactly strike me as one to make this type of deal, Amir."

The pikachu grinned sheepishly. "I get that a lot."

"I'm a bit curious, though…" Esther pondered, causing Amir to send her a questioning look. "Hmm, oh never mind! Ye just phrased somethin' a lil' funny, that's all!"

Amir stared at her. "I see," he finally signed, seeming a bit off put.

"I cannot believe I am asking this question again…but what the hell do you think you're doing?"

Esther and Amir turned around simultaneously to see an impatient-looking crawdaunt behind the pirate.

"Me?" Esther's grin widened. "I ain't doin' anythi-"

"Not you," Enkai grumbled."You, the pikachu. What are you doing behind my counter?"

Amir flinched, unsure of how to get out of this situation. He glanced at Esther, who had decided to "take a drink" from her empty glass, looking the other way.

"Well? I'm waiting." Enkai demanded.

"Aw, c'mon, old man. Give 'im a pass, would ye?" Esther said lightly. "Besides, if ye kick 'im out, then ye won't get to witness a badass-lookin' fight!"

"...a fight." Enkai's eyes fell into a dull glare.

"Yup!"

"You're seriously picking a fight with someone right after I just broke another one up?"

"Yup!"

"You're not even old enough to hold a sip of wine and you're picking a fight in a bar?"

"Yup!"

"...in MY bar?" Enkai shouted exasperatedly, catching the attention of the other bargoers. "Listen, I dunno who you crazy kids think you are, but I refuse to allow two minors to get into a fight in-"

"Come on, Nishimura!" A pokemon called out from somewhere in the bar. "Let the lil' kiddies fight!"

Esther's grin stretched even wider, causing Amir to glance at her warily. Did she know how to do anything else?

Enkai glanced behind him uncertainly. "Alright, listen here, you-"

"Let them fight!" Another called. Two pokemon cheered and rose their drinks to that.

Enkai's eyes widened as more pokemon in the bar joined in, clapping along to the chant that one single 'mon had started in support of the buneary pirate. "Oh, you've got to be kidding me…"

"Let them fight! Let them fight! Let them fight!" The chant continued.

Amir put his face in his hands and slumped against the bar table.

"What's wrong, Amir?" Esther teased. "Scared already?"

The pikachu glared at her from the corner of his eyes.

"Alright, alright, ALRIGHT!" Enkai snapped, causing the chants to quiet down. "Fine! If it'll get you lot to shut up…" He directed his glare toward Esther. "You have five minutes. Take it outsi-"

"Oh, no you don't!" The krabby from before leaped off of his chair and snapped his pincers together. "Alright, boys, move the tables around!"

"No, do NOT move the tables around!" Enkai snapped back.

The group looked between each other, hesitant as to what to do at first…then proceeded to move the tables and chairs.

Enkai blinked, taken aback, then groaned.

Esther watched the scene play out in fascination. All the pokemon seemed to unanimously agree that she and Amir should fight. 'Well, I sure as hell ain't arguin'!' She snickered as she watched the bargoers form the tables and chairs into what looked to be akin to an arena in the center of the bar. Glancing behind her, she saw Amir watching as well, though with a more hesitant look on his face.

Once the last of the chairs were put into place, the crabrawler from earlier crawled over to Esther and tapped on her barstool. "Alright, young lady, you have the floor."

"Thanks a million, ye landlubber!" Esther cheered as she lept off of her chair toward the "arena".

Amir sighed then trailed after her. Esther took the tail end of the circle, allowing Amir to stop a few feet upon entering. The pokemon closed the makeshift door, entrapping the two teens inside.

Esther began bouncing from one foot to the other, punching the air rapidly to warm up her muscles. Across the room, Amir was doing something in a similar vein, albeit he was merely stretching out his arms and legs at a much slower pace.

"Alright, alright, everybody quiet down!" Enkai ordered, pulling a sandglass onto a table. "I can't believe I'm doing this…" He directed his gaze onto Amir and Esther. "Alright, you two, quick ground rules. Since these idiots have decided to start another brawl arena in my bar with a bunch of kids, I've decided to overlook this one personally. You have five minutes to get knock your opponent out, either by actually doing so, or keeping them down on the floor for ten seconds. For you two, however, it'll be five. Is that understood?"

"Sounds good to me!" Esther exclaimed.

Enkai looked to Amir for confirmation, who nodded. The pikachu then pulled out a kunai from his side and got into a defensive stance. Pulling out her cutlass, Esther did the same. She tightened her hat on her head and slid her wooden foot back against the wooden floor. She met Amir's eyes.

They narrowed.

So did her own.

Enkai glanced between them and raised the sandglass, ready to flip it. "The time starts…"

Both opponents took a slow breath to steady their breathing.

A beat passed.

Then another.

Then Enkai turned the sandglass over and slammed it on the table.

"NOW!"

A/N:

A Wild Jewel Chapter Appeared!

Well, it's been three-thousand years, but I'm finally back! With a cliffhanger!

...see ya'll in July!

... : D