Lake Lucid, 59 days Before the Fall

There had been so many battles, and so little time, and with that realization came the inevitable thoughts since the valley. From Victoria's Kingdra, to Sagark's pure power. And both of them had been strong enough to keep up with Dragonite.

And now, here they all were. If he could recall right, Lake Lucid was somewhere between Ecruteak and Olivine, and that the lake had been almost unrecognizably clean from when he last saw it. Still, there was something about the water that calmed him down; Jaret wasn't going to waste this moment, and took a grand inhale. It didn't quite tickle his nose or energize him the way the sea did back in Pallet but he was grateful all the same.

They had been traveling together for a little bit now, and without a doubt, Jaret had spent quite a bit of that time riddled with stress, and had gotten a little too caught up in himself. He was usually one to slow down and take in everything. Like, well, now. He couldn't help but plop down next to the waterfront and stretch as far as he could. There were far and few times in between that he could remember feeling so tense.

Pidgeot turned calm circles overhead, which was actually a far cry from normal. In fact, Pidgeot had taken to getting himself into competition with Viola's Swellow, each of them trying to outspeed the other; Jaret smirked at that. He had probably burned himself out. In fact, all of his Pokemon, from Arcanine to Eevee had taken to relaxing. Jaret took another long inhale. He had kind of forgotten about why he had been so tense in the first place.

Almost.

He caught wind of Dragonite a little ways away from his other Pokemon, as if he were trying to hide himself in the surrounding brush of trees. Actually, that was exactly what he had been doing, and it made Jaret sit upright and to really get a look at his surroundings.

There were a lot of people, he realized, more than just him and his friends. Lake Lucid had become something of a small resort boasting a restaurant, some lodging and its famous Pokemon center. The sheer number of new faces made Dragonite take to hiding, and with people like Victoria roaming around, it was to be expected. Jaret tossed his Arcanine a look, who gave a single nod of understanding, and Jaret went off to his Pokemon's side.

'Hey." Dragonite's frown didn't change, and instead, he kept his attention toward the resort attractions, namely toward the lodging. It was the place with the most people after all. "I don't think there's anyone there that's going to go looking for you. They all seem pretty nice. Or at least, not interested." Dragonite squirmed a little uncomfortably at that, still staring and pointing out to different groups of people. Jaret let out a hearty laugh and Dragonite turned to him with a glare. "O-okay! Okay! I'm taking you seriously! But…I mean what I said. None of them even look close to Victoria or Ryuu's level. Even if they wanted to come after you, you'd be able to wipe em' out in a heartbeat." That seemed to calm the Pokemon down a bit as Jaret caught the corners of Dragonite's lips as they curved slightly upwards. "Go on, you should go get some rest too. I know you know they have a lake, and Pokemon are welcome too. You haven't been in one of those things since you were a Dratini, you know." Jaret was beaming at Dragonite, and, deciding to be as cliche as possible, even added a thumbs up.

That really got a response, and it was his Dragonite's turn to laugh at him. Jaret didn't really mind it at all. He watched as Dragonite flew off, landing next to Arcanine with some kind of excited chatter. Jaret had just told him to take it easy, and had hoped that he wouldn't jump directly into challenging Arcanine to another sparring match.

It was nice to see, and remember. Again, Jaret found himself wondering: How had he become so caught up in his strength? And then he remembered again, that it had been that behemoth of a woman, malicious and as sharp as the smirk she wore that had started everything. Her Kingdra had been beyond strong, unlike anything he had ever seen before. Not even Sagark had been so outright aggressive, and at first, it had really shaken him. He smirked.

"She just caught me off guard…"

The hydro pump had blown through Arcanine's Flamethrower, had followed him wherever he went, had put them each on the back foot, and for a slight moment he had panicked, and then, he had gotten angry. He had–

He had survived, for lack of a better word. Virgil's Ampharos had survived, had been strung up in a much worse predicament. All of Jaret's Pokemon, save for Eevee at the very least, could keep up. He knew they could. Everything really came back to that Kingdra of hers.

Jaret felt himself frowning again; it made his face hurt. He didn't have time for this.

I wonder what the others are getting into…

He had found each of them exactly where he would expect them to be. He had seen Juliet hitting it off with a few of the other trainers that had come through the lake as well, and dragging Virgil with her no less. She had said something about helping him be more sociable, and judging from the look he had seen on Virgil's face when she tugged him along, he had already been exhausted by just the thought alone.

When he had strolled into the restaurant, Seria had nearly choked on her food in surprise when he called out to her. Viola had been there with her too, and laughed at that, and Jaret had to admit he did find it a little funny himself but still felt bad. That of course, earned the both of them a bit of chastising from her and then a speedy and embarrassed exit from the restaurant.

That one had actually sent a pang of guilt through him, that was until he realized that Seria had left without paying the bill.

When Jaret and Viola took it upon themselves to work off the debt, (thank goodness it hadn't been anything too serious…) Seria had walked by the windows, pausing to peer inside and look at them directly; a knowing grin was strewn across her face.

She had been really clever on her part,

There had even been quite a few trainers that had recognized him, even in a kitchen uniform and had asked for autographs and the like. It was strange, endearing, and a bit of an ego boost if he were honest.

Some of them had even challenged him too, and once Jaret was allowed to go free (He wasn't quite fond of how rude some of the guests could be,) he happily took them up on their offer. He had swept nearly all of the trainers with relative ease, and, unlike Virgil had been, many of the trainers seemed almost excited to lose. They were just happy to battle with someone like him, he supposed.

He had also beaten Virgil on international television. He had to remember that.

It also highlighted and reinforced the fact that Virgil was surprisingly skilled in his own right, and that Jaret was in fact strong.

When Jaret had battled a series of trainers, about ten of them straight, he hadn't really even been trying. Arcanine and Dragonite were always itching to flex their muscles and abilities, but he figured that the both of them would have been far too much and stripped back his team opting for a three-on-six in his opponents favor, and found that even with Arcanine and Dragonite on the sidelines, Pidgeot and Lucario were more than enough to run circles around his opponents. It had really been little Eevee that had gotten a lot of the spotlight; all of Jaret's other Pokemon seemed to deem the whole thing as more of an exercise than anything.

It was all a well-deserved break, if he had to make any kind of comment on it. It had been a really nice day. No, it had been a great day, and Jaret again found himself back down by the lakeshore, staring off into space, and taking in the freshwater scent as best as he could.

"You look so comfortable. Mind if I sit here?"

"You're always welcome, Viola." She chuckled and she plopped down into the space next to him.

"You know, I can't believe Seria actually got us like that."

"I think I hear you on that. I didn't expect her to be that devious." She laughed.

"Wait, what do you mean 'devious'? You say that like she's always had it in her."

"I wouldn't say that, but, you don't think anyone who looks that innocent isn't hiding a few things, right?"

"Oh, so you're a detective now, I take it?"

"I…wouldn't make a very good one, no." She laughed again and it was infectious.

"Too bold?" Jaret shrugged.

"I guess." He turned to her. She was staring out across the lake too. The slight breeze had thrown strands of dark hair into her face and she tucked them behind her ear. She was staring at Dragonite, who was floating calmly on the lake.

"You guys really like the water, huh?"

"Uh, what?" Another laugh. She was in a good mood it seemed.

Scratch that. Her guard was just down, and what a sight it was.

"You and your Dragonite. And, maybe the rest of your Pokemon, but I don't really know too much to be honest."

"What makes you say that?"

"Well, I did come to check on you earlier, and you just looked so at peace by the waterfront. It was really kind of cute." Jaret smirked at that.

"If you want to call it that, then sure. Pallet Town back home in Kanto is touched by the ocean to the south. Lakefronts are okay, but there's nothing like the salt water after-hours for me."

"Do you think Dragonite would be okay with those after hours if he got the chance?" Jaret shrugged.

"I can't really say." He paused for a moment. "You know, I actually found him as a Dratini in the safari zone back home. A couple of poachers were actually on their way to snag him when I showed up."

"Don't tell me you–"

" Yeah. I had to knock some heads around. I wouldn't do anything else, would I?"

"Of course you wouldn't," she chuckled.

"But…yeah, he ended up taking to me then, and I've had him since." Another pause. "Honestly, when Victoria showed up, I don't think anyone really saw, but he was actually really scared. He actually hadn't been swimming in a really long time since the safari zone. A lot of the time, I had to coax him into baths. I'm glad I didn't have to work so hard this time to get him to get in the water. It really calms him down."

"Then shouldn't you be down there in the water with him too?"

"So you're witty now?" Viola shrugged.

"I've only learned by watching the best."

"Ok, that one was pretty good."

"Why, thank you. As payment, I'll take an autograph."

"You don't mean that." No response. "Y-you don't really mean that, do you?" He listened a little closer, realizing that at the last moment that Viola had been trying desperately hard to stifle her giggling. Now, she was laughing openly again, and Jaret couldn't help but laugh with her.

He realized at that moment that she had probably come to check on him. The Charicific Valley had been a little rough, and Violet City hadn't been too much better before that. For once, she was actually getting to see who he really was.

For once, he was actually getting to see who she was. Everyone knew she was sharp and practical, but she was also surprisingly funny and a really good talker. Kind of like Juliet but less…Juliet.

"It sounds like you had a pretty good time, post-kitchen duty though," she remarked. "And, you can stop making that face."

"Oh, right. It, um, wasn't my favorite thing in the world."

"Maybe not, but you did get to be famous for an hour or two."

"Hence, the autograph joke."

"You got it." She chuckled. "But, I never expected to really be able to see what Jaret King was able to do." It was a soft-spoken response.

"I guess I forget the average threshold of trainers from time to time." Viola rolled her eyes.

"Oh, stop it. You're a sharp guy."

"Okay, okay. So maybe I did know, but still, I really do forget how strong I am sometimes…" She smiled at that and stood up.

"Well, I really just wanted to check up on you."

Bingo.

"Yeah," The response admittedly a little awkward and Viola's lips pursed together. She more than likely had heard that and was trying desperately hard to keep from laughing. "Thanks."

"We are friends, you know. It's the least I could do." Her hair blew in her face again and she huffed, a little annoyed, and tucked it again behind an ear. "I should probably go check on Virgil too, and make sure Juliet hasn't burned him out entirely."

"You saw that too?"

"He's…not the most social person," she replied giggling. "But, I'll see you later Jaret."

And then she was gone. He stared at the space at where she had been standing for a bit then turned back out to the lake. Dragonite was still at peace, even as orange had come to tint the surface of the lake; it was getting late.

They really were all his friends, weren't they?

All of them except Ryuu.

He stood eye-to-eye with him, nearly just as tall and with a mop of messy hair and stern, repressive eyes that Seria somehow found attractive, even if she would never say it out loud.

Ryuu had shown up so suddenly and so unannounced that to be honest, Jaret had no idea what his intentions had been, and that had been another reason why he jumped headlong into things at Violet City.

But Ryuu was also very strong and from what he could piece together, stronger than Victoria. His presence alone was enough to turn her into a blabbering and volatile mess. There was certainly one thing that Jaret found he had in common with Victoria as much as he didn't like to admit it, and it was the fact that he had no idea how to feel about the man. Strain crept into the edges of his face.

He was frowning again.

Jaret stood up, shoving his hands into his pockets. For a moment, he thought to follow Viola to go pester and ruin Virgil's date, but thought better of it. He also found himself thinking on Mastery. Jaret gave one last look over to the lake, watching Dragonite float carefree over its surface before he turned away to head over to the lodge.

He had stepped into the lodge, and was almost immediately swarmed by a few trainers who hadn't seen him from before. A few of them were members of the Johto Pokemon Fanclub and were particularly committed to getting a photograph or some kind of commemoration of the event. Jaret was quite surprised that he had managed to slip away from them at all.

He quickly made his way upstairs, a couple floors up, coming to a halt in front of a door. Jaret took a deep breath and nearly coughed in disgust at what was probably dust in the air.

Man, did he miss the ocean.

He gave a light rap against the door. The first time there hadn't been any answer and after the second he heard something that sounded like shuffling and then silence. He went to knock a third time but the door sprang open.

It wasn't who he thought it was going to be. In fact, it wasn't even anyone he knew. He had heard them grumbling some kind of obscenity while he had been apologizing. They seemed to make it a point even to slam their door in anger. Jaret sighed, a little annoyed. He wouldn't have been surprised if they had been a guest at the restaurant. He would never in his life get involved in hospitality.

He moved a couple of doors down and before he knocked the door swung open again not to who Jaret had come to see, but at the very least, it was someone he knew.

"Seria?"

"Hey..!" Jaret noted the crumbs in the corners of her mouth. "What's up?"

"You…really shouldn't talk with chewing your food, you know…"

"Oh, right!" And then, she gulped down her mouthful. "Sorry, I just…was a little surprised. What are you doing here?"

"Would you believe if I said–"

"You were looking for Ryuu?"

"Oh, y-yeah. How did you figure that?"

"Well, this is his room, after all."

"That…is a good point…" Then Jaret balked. "W-wait, then what are you doing in there…?" Seria pinked.

"Hey, wait a second! I'm just watching over Kaito!" She tripped over her next words. "He…likes to touch things that aren't his…" Jaret's expression did not change. "K-Kaito, I mean! He's kind of a handful and Ryuu wanted me to stay and keep an eye on him!"

This was in every sense of the word, awkward.

Then, he heard something fall, nimble movement and a blue blur flash across his vision. Seria snapped to attention to chase after him so quickly that the door nearly smacked Jaret in the face. It was a good thing he was pretty quick himself and caught it.

Seria came back to the door with Kaito in her arms. He was struggling fervently but settled down as Jaret came into his sight. Jaret wasn't exactly sure what that meant.

"I, um, didn't expect Ryuu's Riolu to be so…well, this." Kaito turned his nose at that, but Jaret saw that Kaito left one eye open, and was still in that very moment, observing everything about him.

"Oh, no you don't!" And Seria tightened her grip. "He's always testing himself by taking people's stuff. You'll get used to that look and know after a while."

"O-oh…" Jaret stumbled. "Well, do you know where I might be able to find him?"

"He did say he was going to take a stroll. He said he wanted to take in the resort, and 'the souls of the people' himself."

"That's… a weird way to put it but you mean he's actually social?"

"More than you give him credit for," came her exasperated reply. Kaito was really giving her a lot of trouble. "I think he might have gone back down by the lake. He likes dusk a lot, and I guess his camera is really good for night shots. I think he has plans to start a silhouette series. " Kaito slipped from her hands then, and was suddenly out of the door and down the hall with a snicker; she sank to her knees in defeat.

"Oh…well, thanks…I…guess I'll go find him." He wasn't sure if Seria was even listening but she did give him a dejected nod. Jaret left then and as he rounded down the corner of the hallway toward the stairs, he heard Seria yell some kind of obscenity out of complete and understandable frustration.

Jaret strolled down the resort's (could he call it that?) main street. The place was definitely picking up a kind of reputation. He had heard a few times during his travels that the cleanup at the lake had really brought the Pokemon back to life and had given rise to a fledgling tourism. Not to mention that the Pokemon Center itself actually specialized in the care of Water-type Pokemon. A part of him wondered what kind of businesses had been planned to take up shop there. If anything, he would probably come back in a few years just out of curiosity.

The lake came into view, and true to Seria's word, Jaret could make out Ryuu by the edge of the lake. Jaret, if he were honest, noticed the camera before he had actually taken notice of Ryuu. The same, however, could not be said for Ryuu and even as Jaret came down to the lake, Ryuu did not budge. Or, more accurately, he didn't seem to notice him. At all.

Instead, Ryuu was trudging about on the water's edge a little rigidly and a little quickly. His speed would change as he shuffled to and fro along the edge. Sometimes, he would turn towards the treeline. Jaret could hear the clicking of the camera every time.

He felt something tickle the face of his hand, and for a moment, Jaret started. It was his Arcanine.

Oh, right. They had all taken their time by the lake. And here they all were again. Jaret looked out along the water, and he couldn't help but grin at Dragonite submerged nearly entirely in the water with only his eyes sitting above the surface.

Oh.

Ryuu must have been getting photos of Dragonite, which was a strange thought in itself. Maybe Dragonite was actually hiding in the water. Jaret started.

"Yo, Ryuu!" He didn't really seem to respond. "Hey!" Ryuu paused, then sighed.

"You came looking for me?"

"...Yeah, I did, actually…"

"Even after Violet City, after Ecruteak?" Jaret's face started to hurt.

"I just…think we got off on the wrong foot is all." There was another click, and Ryuu took to scrolling through his library then. "And…also, Dragonite is a little iffy when it comes to getting so much attention. He's…had some experiences…"

"Ah. I see." The reply was guarded.

"But, I'm serious…about butting heads on accident, I mean…"

"I think that's an understatement." Okay, so Ryuu wasn't going to make this easy.

"Okay, okay. So, maybe we really got off to a bad start, but my friends seem to really think highly of you, and really, really like you."

"That doesn't mean you don't have your reservations about me."

"I mean, no it doesn't but I think I was acting a little rashly and maybe jumped the gun a little." Jaret stopped to gather his thoughts and Victoria came to mind.

"Feeling guilty about what you said about 'Icky Vicky'?" That one…was a little sharp Jaret had to admit, and strangely, in impeccable time.

"Okay, so what I said back there was probably a little harsh, but to be fair, she came after me first," Ryuu continued to flick through his camera, seemingly almost bored and that prompted Jaret to add: "She caught me off guard anyway. I don't think she would have had nearly as easy of a time if she came at me head-on."

"And that's the only reason why you're here? To brag?"

"I came here because I thought that I should give you a chance. Haven't you been listening?"

"With more than just my ears." Now, that one had been outright disparaging. "Did you know Virgil is good with plants?"

"Huh?"

"He's actually surprisingly knowledgeable about berries, Poffins and the like."

"I would have thought that you already knew about berries."

"I only have the basics, and Poffins and Pokeblocks aren't my cup of tea."

"I bet your Pokemon are more fond of them. Both of those things are for them, after all."

"If they wanted to rot away their potential, then sure. Poffins aren't really the healthiest to begin with. Virgil claims that a good Pokeblock can actually be really good for your Pokemon." Jaret narrowed his eyes at that.

"Huh. I don't think he's ever really brought anything up like that now that you mention it…"

Well, Juliet is a coordinator, like Seria. He really only came around talking about it once she got him to open up about it."

"They came over by the lake? The last I saw them, they had been rushing off somewhere towards one of the ritzy tourist traps on the main avenue."

"I think that it was actually Juliet's idea to come over this way." Ryuu grinned a little despite himself. It was probably the strangest thing that Jaret thought he didn't see. "From what I could tell, Virgil might have been getting a little jealous." Jaret found that he got a kick out of that himself.

"And he says that they're not a thing." Confusion set in. "Why did you bring any of that up anyway?" Ryuu's camera flashed and the light disappeared from his face and his response was sharp.

"Because you clearly haven't even given a thought to anything I've said to you before, which means you still haven't answered my question."

"Which is?" Ryuu made a noise somewhere between irritability and surprise.

"You forgot already? You mean to tell me that you've never really given any thought as to why you're so distant from your friends now? How do you think I found out about any of that?"

Oh.

Oh.

"Hey, fuck you." That response had been a reflex really,and Jaret had to strain a little in the dark, but he was certain that Ryuu had turned to face him now and he was more than likely glaring at him. "And, it's not like I don't care about what they have to say, it's–"

"Answer. The question." Jaret sneered. He had had enough of being cordial at this point.

"I'm not pushing anyone away. Especially not my friends." Ryuu sighed, notably annoyed now.

"So stubborn."

"That must be quite an observation for a know-it-all like yourself."

"It's not exactly an astute one when it's so obvious. The only reason you even came looking for me was for another fight, right?" Jaret gave an exasperated sigh.

"It wasn't going to be anything like Violet City. It was going to be a friendly spar."

"I don't believe that. Victoria left too much of a bitter taste in your mouth if I remember correctly. All you've done since I've come around is brood about how weak you've felt since."

"It's different now," Jaret snapped. "That situation just caught me off guard. She's strong, but I could take her if I really need to. The actual question is that I need to know where I stand with you. I actually don't think you're too far ahead of me. And, I've already put it together that wherever you go, she'll probably show up. That being said, I would like to know for sure. To be able to help my friends if they need me. If someone comes along that's stronger than you, then what?"

Silence.

"You'll hurt yourself," came Ryuu's flat response.

"Is that right? Then set it up for tomorrow. Meet me over here tomorrow and we can find out."

"...Alright. But don't say I didn't warn you."

Fresh lake air filled his chest, and sunlight shimmered from the water surface. Across from Jaret stood Ryuu, still tall and un-moving. There was enough light this time and Jaret could see his glare clearly this time.

The conversation from last night had really gotten out of hand between them. For a moment, Jaret couldn't quite comprehend how the two of them had gone from having a conversation, no matter how strained, to a bitter competition alongside the lake. A part of Jaret wished he had chosen somewhere else. He didn't want to ruin the calm the lake brought for him.

Viola had even tried to talk him out of the battle, insisting that he should get some more rest, or tell her more about his love for the "saltwater after hours" but it wasn't as if he could back out now.

The both of them had garnered a bit of an audience, their group of friends among them as well. Quite a few of them had their eyes on him, like he was used to and were waiting for what they assumed would be his inevitable victory. Jaret wondered if any of them had even heard of Ryuu, and the small group of faces in the audience that he saw with their attention resting on him probably knew who he was. There were some who seemed like they couldn't quite believe he was even real. Ryuu simply seemed to have that effect on people.

"So, what kind of battle do you want?"

"We'll make it a 3-on-3. I don't want to ruin the lake," came Jaret's flippant response.

"Alright." Ryuu's hand flashed to life and with it, his Luxio took form. "Levitas, you'll start."

"Starting off a little light, don't you think?" Ryuu ignored him. Jaret felt Lucario take a place at his side. He, like a lot of his Pokemon, was curious to see how far he had come, and more than likely, wanted to study Ryuu himself. "Then that's fine by me."

Lucario had made his move first and like Jaret had expected, Levitas stepped around and away; Lucario followed, intentional in every movement. In fact, Lucario had gained the advantage much quicker than he had thought he would.

Lucario connected, sending Levitas sliding on his side but rebounded deftly. That was immaterial because Lucario was there again, on his way to connecting a second time, and nearly had. Ryuu was quick and Levitas was even quicker, calling a barrier in a near instant; Lucario bounded from the Protect and landed expertly on his feet a little ways away.

Murmurs rippled through the crowd, ranging from how "That Ryuu doesn't stand a chance" all the way to overt and outright adoration on his part. None of it moved Jaret's focus. He honed in on Levitas. That first exchange had been fast paced, mere seconds and Lucario had already gained the upper hand.

Levitas certainly seemed slower than what he had seen before.

But still, Jaret had to make sure. Lucario seemed to have noticed too and his stance shifted to something more passive; he was waiting for orders, and waiting to see where Jaret stood. A part of Jaret almost felt guilty but he sent Lucario after Levitas.

The exchange was near instant, and Lucario caught Levitas on two separate occasions, each blow well-placed and well-executed, sending Levitas back into the dirt and on his side. Lucario's posture had changed entirely now and there was not the slightest trace of defense, and by extension concern with Levitas.

That Luxio was stubborn however, and a small pang of pity struck Jaret as he watched Levitas struggle to his feet. Jaret passed a glance over to Lucario. A scowl lined his face as he watched Levitas. They both knew that Levitas was simply outmatched. Lucario looked to Jaret and again, waited for orders.

"He's off, I know, but…" Jaret sighed. "Dark Pulse. Take him down." Lucario obliged and outstretched a palm forward with darkness forming at the center. It seemed like overkill, if Jaret thought about it. Levitas was moving slower, lethargic even.

But Jaret was certain he hadn't seen the Pokemon do much of anything besides sleep since he had gotten there, and that had been just yesterday. Jaret ignored the thought. That wasn't important. Whatwas important was that he was going to win, and it wasn't as if he were out for blood.

He tuned into the murmuring again, which had escalated into a kind of exaltation.

"Ryuu can't even keep up!"

"Jaret's so cool…!"

"Jaret…!"

"...Jaret…!" For just one moment, Jaret wished they would shut up.

Lucario cast the bolt forward, and almost immediately after, it was redirected skyward; standing tall in front of Levitas was Ryuu's Blaizken, Shinobu; Shinobu tensed.

"Close in!" And then, Shinobu sprang forward and nearly overtook Lucario with that one motion alone. Ryuu had a keen sense for battle tendencies. Lucario had been too lax and found himself pressed on the back-foot; Shinobu was relentless and every bit as methodical as Lucario was.

Damn it..! Jaret had to do something, and judging from how the battle had titled so quickly and was getting worse, he needed to do something fast. At that thought, Lucario tripped up and a powerful kick sent him onto his back and with Shinobu in fierce pursuit; the Pokemon was already in the air and set to come down on Lucario.

Perfect.

"Catch him!" A palm sprang forward and Shinobu froze in mid-air. Lucario spread his fingers apart and Shinobu responded in kind; Shinobu was entirely under his control; Jaret had set up Lucario's Psychic flawlessly. There was a sigh of relief; Shinobu had him worried there for a second. "Good stuff, Lucario. Wrap it up." Lucario obeyed, this time with more fervor and excitement; Shinobu was an opponent in good condition, and a good test for his skill. Lucario pointed his palm downward to the dirt, and Shinobu followed suit.

Jaret's eyes flicked over to Ryuu. It was near imperceptible, but Jaret could fish out the traces of surprise in his expression. Jaret felt a sneer rise up in him. It was like he had said and thought. Ryuu was strong, but he couldn't have been that much stronger than him, especially if he chose to move from place to place because of someone that had caught him off guard.

The gap between them was definitely bridgeable.

"You haven't returned your Blaziken."

"Shinobu isn't done fighting yet." Another bland response.

"Don't you have any emotion?"

"None for you," it was such an acerbic response. So… arrogant.

Ryuu was infuriating.

"We won't be able to continue if–" His voice trailed, and Jaret brought his focus a little over to Ryuu's side and a little ways in front of him. Shinobu was standing, albeit battered and shaky, but still standing.

"Shinobu, how are you doing?" Shinobu strengthened his posture as a response to his trainer, saying nothing and pointing the whole of his focus onto Lucario. "I see. Then, I'll leave it entirely to you."

No way. Jaret prepared himself as Shinobu steeled himself against the trembling of his body and charged in for a third bout.

If he had to describe Shinobu in a single word, Jaret would have chosen smoldering. Ryuu had said he would "leave it to him" and a trainer allowing a skilled and powerful member of their team to fight on their own was not uncommon. Jaret had seen it numerous times, but he had never seen it to such a degree.

Shinobu, like Lucario, fought with purpose and intention in every single action. No energy, or movement was wasted and even after Shinobu had taken a Psychic at point-blank range, he still came after Lucario with a sense of tempered ferocity and rage. There had been a few moments where Jaret was uncertain if Lucario would be able to hold his own.

Jaret had soon done the same, and decided to let Lucario navigate the battle wholeheartedly, and that had seemed to level the field somewhat. Jaret had watched how Lucario's face had shifted throughout the battle, from a face of concern for Levitas, to an exaltation of battle and focus toward Shinobu. For Lucario, it was something of a benchmark test.

However, Shinobu had simply managed to outmatch and overpower Lucario and defeat him by a slight margin, which ultimately led to Arcanine coming up to the fore. Shinobu was thrown onto the backfoot, and like Levitas, refused to back down. But unlike Levitas, Shinobu was seemingly imperturbable.

But Arcanine was even faster than Lucario, and applied pressure with a kind of efficiency that only he was capable of. Shinobu had taken quite a few blows but never once did he go down. He had even begun to catch on, parrying and dodging some of Arcanine's blows or catching some on an arm. But Arcanine was always a little too fast and would pull away just out of reach.

Still, it was dangerous to draw out the fight, and Jaret was already a Pokemon down, not that Shinobu could possibly have too much fight left in him. He could barely stand now, and somehow still soldiered forward. There had to be something that he could do to put the Blaziken down.

Jaret's eyes flicked then over to the crowd about them, to the right and picked out both Virgil and Juliet, both of whom seemed to be worried for lack of a better word. Honing in on Juliet, Jaret remembered:

Mastery.

Ryuu had told them about it, and Jaret knew that Ryuu was onto something. They had all seen it with their very own eyes. If anything were going to help him win this bout and match Ryuu, it was that.

He remembered Victoria, and the Valley entirely.

"Arcanine, explode with strength! Flamethrower!" Arcanine did as commanded, but the sheer exhaustion he had come to expect was absent, and more so, the attack in question simply felt like less. It didn't take much for Jaret to realize that it was a powerful but ordinary Flamethrower.

Ryuu shifted almost immediately, and Shinobu responded with another foray forward. The shift brought forth an entirely different kind of countenance for Ryuu, brought pure strength and also with it, a kind of pallid frailty.

Did Ryuu just do what he had just attempted to do?

Shinobu met the flames head-on and cut through them with speed alone, coming up on Arcanine with a fist aimed for Arcanine's underside, just under his ribs. Both trainer and Pokemon kept up, and a wall of mud sprouted between the two. Shinobu did not falter and dug headlong into the wall, and it buckled at first before shattering completely.

Jaret and Arcanine both drew back on the defensive at the ready; Shinobu did not move. Jaret's eye went past him and he realized that Ryuu had disappeared.

He's gone…?

No. Jaret had seen this before.

"Bulldoze, aim high!" And aim high was what Arcanine did, summoning a mud wall as high and fast as he was able. Jaret turned his attention upwards when he heard the sound of solid contact.

Bulldoze had struck Sagark, and Jaret was a little appalled and possibly livid that Ryuu was blatantly going after him. Speaking of, Jaret had also caught wind of Ryuu who was falling from Sagark's back, aiming directly for him.

Ryuu landed on him with a crash and the two rolled against the dirt. The sheer impact left Jaret breathless but he nearly came to blows with Ryuu from sheer reaction. Ryuu seized Jaret by the hem of his shirt, and his other hand balled into a fist ready to strike.

Ryuu, in every sense of the word, was pissed.

The murmurs came back a third time and were closer to a kind of bewildered panic. Virgil had immediately sprang into action, grabbing a hold of Ryuu and pulling him back. His face was sour. Viola and Juliet made their way over to check on him, helping him to his feet. Juliet had turned her attention then to trying to clear out the bewildered crowd. Jaret figured that a lot of them battled by official tournament rules, and probably had never met anyone like Ryuu or Victoria in their lives.

"Do you even realize what the hell you just attempted!?" Scratch that. Ryuu wasn't just pissed, he was livid.

"Hey! You can't just talk to Jaret that way!" That had been one of the random trainers.

"You don't have to be such a sore loser, y'know!" That was another one. Ryuu sighed and his mask slipped back into place. His eyes settled on Jaret, and with a newfound animosity in them.

"You should know what you're getting into instead of diving headfirst into things you don't understand," Ryuu recalled all of his Pokemon, save Shinobu, who turned to follow him as he left back toward his room.

Jaret had been staring at the ceiling for what seemed to be hours. He had hoped that Ryuu would have come around, or at least been a little more understanding that he had genuinely attempted to come clean about his rash actions back at the Valley and Ecruteak. Instead, he had been guarded and defensive, understandably so, but still…

There was a rap at his door, and before he had even given permission, it clicked open.

"Yo," came Virgil's flat reply.

"Yo."

"Oh come on, that was kind of weak. You can do better than that." Jaret shrugged.

"I guess. But, I'm not really in the mood."

"Yeah, no kidding." The door closed behind him with a second click and Virgil took his place at the desk nestled in the corner of the room.

"Are you gonna' tell me I got thrashed again?"

"Thrashed? To be honest, I actually thought you had the upper hand."

"You're lying."

"You really think I would be lying about how you absolutely stonewalled Levitas?" That got an amused snicker from Jaret.

"I guess, but Levitas was also very tired. I don't know what went on with him, but Ryuu's Luxio is usually much more polished." Virgil sughed.

"You just can't take the win, can you?" Jaret laughed at that.

"No, I guess not." Virgil frowned; Jaret returned the sentiment, then added: "You shouldn't do that. I do enough of that whenever Ryuu comes around anyway."

"Frowning?" Jaret rolled his eyes.

"No, picking my nose. Of course I mean frowning,"

"Hey, picking your nose can probably be considered a kind of hygiene." Jaret made a face.

"I hope you had better things to talk about on your date." Virgil's face went hot.

"A date?" Then, nervous laughter. "I didn't do anything like that. Juliet just wanted to explore whatever the resort had to offer is all."

"I never specifically said anything about Juliet," Jaret remarked. More nervous laughter.

"Right, because it wasn't a date. We're friends, like the both of us."

"Man, you're bad at this." Virgil turned away from him. "Oh, come on. You're not pouting again are you?"

"If I were, that'd make two of us." Jaret raised a brow at that.

"Wow, way to call me out." Jaret sighed. "But still, all I really did was try to use the same thing that made Victoria so strong. Mastery is basically the next step up, right?"

"Could be," was all Virgil could manage.

"I don't understand why Ryuu was so angry about the whole thing. He was the one that told us about it when we got here, and even showed us a demonstration on your Ampharos." Virgil grimaced.

"Yeah, don't remind me." Virgil turned back to him then. "But, you have to admit, Ryuu is kind of strange. He's basically like an alien right out of a movie."

"That's a way to put it, I guess."

"No, really." Virgil was solemn then. "You've seen the weird mist going on in his eyes, from time to time."

"Yeah, the stuff that gives him visions and all that. He said it came from his Sigilyph, if I remember right. Apparently, it's also supposed to cause a lot of pain. But the only time I even experienced it was at the Valley and it really just kind of felt like I was being bled dry."

"Then, maybe it comes from the abilities the Pokemon give you in the case of Mastery." Virgil raised a brow at him then. "And, you can stop making that face. I'm not entirely stupid, y'know."

"I mean, no, but…I didn't even stop to think about that. Or, maybe it could just be repeated use. That could mean Ryuu's been doing it for a while."

"What gave you that idea?"

"That last bout before the stalemate earlier today. When Shinobu pushed through Arcanine's Bulldoze, I saw Ryuu shift a little bit, and when he got closer, he seemed almost pale. His grip didn't even feel as strong as I thought it would've been…" Virgil grimaced at that, too.

"That…does not sound great, at all."

"You're telling me. And, he also said that with Avia's little…whatever, that he can't really control when it happens. If it's immutable, then it's almost like it's a constant toll on him." There was a profound change in Virgil's face then.

"Oh man. I…actually feel bad for him in a way. I wonder if he regrets any of it." Jaret cast his eyes down forlorn.

"Yeah, who knows…"

"Ah," Virgil spun himself around in the chair. Once, then twice. "This is all really heavy stuff. I really kind of came here at Viola's request. She was worried about you, but also didn't want to bug you. Didn't you guys have a talk about some 'after hours' or something?" Jaret laughed.

" The 'Saltwater After-hours'. She asked about them yesterday,and she said she would like to experience that for herself. She's been to the ocean before, given she's from Hoenn, but I guess she said she's never experienced the kind of calm that I talk about a lot at the ocean."

"That's…probably because Hoenn has some of the most dangerous waters I've ever heard of. They had quite a few ships sink over that way if I remember right." Jaret gave an impressed sounding whistle.

"Wow, you really do know your history." Virgil chuckled at that.

"I'm just full of surprises, huh?"

"Yeah, and quite honestly, I wish you would have told me some tips about Pokeblocks beforehand."

"...Ryuu told you, didn't he?"

"In not the most particularly kind way, if I might add." Then Jaret laughed. "But, I think that might give you some brownie points with your 'girly girl'." Fire came back into Virgil's face.

"Hey, knock it off!" Virgil had said that with a laugh, and he wasn't even really denying it at this point. Virgil was never the most direct with how he felt. Or, more accurately, he was probably still confused about himself, but he had become a little more solid and into himself, especially when it came to Juliet.

No denial on that front was all the confirmation he needed to know that Virgil really trusted him, and so did Viola. They trusted his strength and his better match against Ryuu had proven to him again that the gap wasn't as large as it seemed. He might have battled Ryuu to a stalemate for the second time, but he was going to catch up to him. Jaret grinned at the thought and for a moment he thought that he had caught a whiff of salt water.