Riven held up two bills up to a street light. They had a picture of a Pikachu on them. A yellow, electric rat. Is it some kind of logo for the company that prints the stuff? Whatever a company was, anyway. Amy had gone on about something of the sort.

He had just won six hundred from that brat in the park. Total pushover. He was a bug type trainer that blew out enough steam to rival a Torkoal. Aine pretty much swept his entire team by herself. One ember put his Dustox down for the count, and a couple more took out his Nincada and Ninjask. The flying bug was fast but Aine managed to get a lucky ember in, taking a painful slash to the face in the process.

She was not happy about that. She was giving Riven the White Queen treatment. She even refused food. Yes, Aine refused food. Apparently miracles were a thing. Just… not for him.

Regardless, the black haired trainer and his pokemon spent an evening at the park staring at the sunset. It was pleasant but noisy. The sound from the trainers and their pokemon didn't allow for quiet, peaceful meditation or much of anything really. Riven was still down about parting ways with Amy.

She was loud, obnoxious, flighty, and over enthusiastic about things but friendly. And slightly attractive? Gah, I am turning into Nemos. Riven never had much experience with women, being in the military for most of his teenage life. The ones he did know probably had bigger balls than most men. So naturally, he just treated them like he treated men. But he still missed Amy. She bought him food, that was fairly great. Buying food on your own? Not great.

Buying food for you and your pokemon? Tragic. He soon learned the value of money when Aine and Mischief kept gobbling up anything he gave them. Adding to that, he had gone job hunting again during the night, and had nothing to show for it. Such a big city and no job openings? This was Tauros shit.

He dragged his feet into the pokemon center, looking completely miserable. Nurse Joy watched him slouch back to the resident area. The teenager had her sympathies, having just parted ways with a friend and being unable to find a job at all. He had only four days of free rent left, after that it was pay only. Nurse Joy almost wanted to extend the time for him, but then she'd have to extend it for everyone.

Riven took the key out of his pocket and shoved it into the door's lock, twisting it and opening the door. What he saw next would probably haunt his dreams.

He saw an older girl and boy on his bed doing rather questionable things with their lower parts. The image was burned into his skull, and he could not unsee it. They were both as nude as they had come into the world and he saw everything.

"What. Are. You. Doing. In. My. Room?" Riven asked with eerie calm, drawing a sword and pointing it at the pair, who were now red faced and utterly terrified. The boy picked up his pants and the girl covered herself with her clothes, both looking down at the floor in shame. "I asked you a damn question. This is my room, and both of you are naked. I assume wrestling without your clothes on was not the intention, was it?"

A scream came from a trainer behind Riven, not from the sword or the deathly gaze Riven was emanating, but from seeing what was going on inside.

Moments later, Nurse Joy came running in, alarmed by the commotion.

"Gray, what's wrong why did you-" A look of horror appeared on Joy's usually kind face. "OH GOD. WHAT ARE YOU DOING? GET OUT! OUT! OUT!OUT! HOW DARE YOU DO THINGS LIKE THAT IN SOMEONE ELSE'S ROOM?" She dragged the two out of the room after they put clothes back on, pulling them by the ears, glancing at Gray with a look that said, I am so sorry.

Having already put the blade away, Riven slammed a hand onto his face, sliding it down slowly. "Nurse Joy, everything is fine," he said, twitching. "There is another bed."

Looking at his old bed, he saw the green sheets stained dark with some kind of fluid. White Queen tried to lick it.

"Do not dare lick that." Great. Now his bed was unusable. He had to sleep in Amy's former bunk now. As if that good bye was not a great enough kick to the mid region, he now had to sleep in her bed.

He got on the bed and faceplanted into the pillow. He smelled something nice. It smelled like flowers. Smells good. Then he reprimanded himself, thinking about that goodbye. He sat up slightly irritated, huffing.

"Can something go right for once?"

Tempting fate turned out to be ill-advised, as the universe eagerly gave its answer when the wall adjacent to him exploded. The rest of the bed and bunk was incinerated, along with part of the room. He stared at the gaping hole in the wall completely silent, then looked over to the other side. A short kid with a red hat and jacket stared back at him, expression locked into utter disbelief. "Uh….s-s-sorry?"

Riven's eyes narrowed. He glanced next to the boy and saw a Quilava next to him. It was rubbing its foot.

"Erm," the boy piped up. "Someone stepped on his foot and he reacted and he shot a fireball and-" He caught Riven's glare. The smaller trainer abruptly stopped stammering, figuring that shutting up was the best course of action to prevent getting disemboweled.

"Call Nurse Joy. Before. I. Commit. Murder." Riven warned, smiling savagely.

"Uh….yeah…I'll…. uh… be back."

Returning a few moments later, he brought Nurse Joy in, who could only gasp at the damage. "OH MY GOD! HALF THE WALL IS GONE! AND PART OF GRAY'S ROOM!" She held up a hand to her mouth. "Gray, I am so sorry. I had no idea this would happen." She caught sight of him, who looked about ready to go on a psychotic rampage.

"Nurse Joy."

"Yes?"

"Where can I find something small, cute, and generally well liked?"

She didn't like where this was going. She asked anyway. "Why?"

"Because I want to destroy it," he deadpanned. His Absol shared the look, being caked in dust and blackened soot.

"I know this has been a terrible day for you and I'm sorry, I'll give you money in return for the damages and discomfort." She didn't know if that would make up for all the things that had happened to him that very same day. Joy felt more than sympathy for the boy, now bordering on pity.

Riven's face lifted slightly. "Yes. Money would do well." Note to self, make sure who your neighbors are. And warn them if they try anything stupid, you will castrate them.

He followed Joy out of the room, shooting a piercing glare at the little boy, who backed into the corner of his room. Coming out to the lobby, he saw the two trainers who were doing things in his room and he growled at them. They edged towards the wall, maintaining a good distance away from the menacing young man.

Nurse Joy opened the register and handed Gray three thousand. He took them without a word and was about to ask a question when Joy cut him off. "I have bad news, Gray."

Riven muttered something under his breath that sounded like complete gibberish and a wave of profanity. His pokemon nodded in agreement, feeling equally as angry as him. "We have no more rooms left, and your room is… unsafe to live in right now. I can't rent you any others, they're all full."

He stared for a silent minute. Then burst out into hysterical laughter, admiring the immense amount of shit that had just happened to him. He left the pokemon center, stumbling out of the sliding doors, still laughing like a lunatic.

"This is great. Wonderful, fantastic, excellent and-" He said to his pokemon before falling on his knees, unable to breathe from laughing so hard. "-AMAZING!"

Haona, Bib, and Aine exchanged looks of concern. Trainer had definitely lost his marble, maybe more than a few. Then he suddenly stopped laughing, getting up with a look of severity on his face.

"Fuck," he said, placing as much emphasis into the swear as he could. "You three, come. To the park." He commanded, face totally unreadable. Stoic was an accurate term. No fury, no madness, no happiness, nothing. It was pretty scary.

Arriving at the park, he threw himself on the bench they had been sitting at when the sun was going down. Then he brought out his pokeballs and returned all of his pokemon. White Queen and Mischief would be furious but he could care less. He was one thousand percent done.

Everything was fucked. He thought his fortunes had changed for the better. That is until today successfully proved him wrong. He guessed something had cursed him to have terrible luck, and that's why things only got progressively worse. How things like these happened back to back was astounding.

Riven cursed himself to sleep, spewing enough verbal acid to scare a Seviper.

The next day, Riven woke up feeling worse than he had felt the night before. His neck and back ached because of the bench and he was hungry. He stuffed a hand into a pocket in his cuirass and took out some bills. He had four thousand, six hundred to his name. Not bad. Enough to get him two weeks worth of pokefood and meals.

He brought out his pokemon from their spherical prisons, only to be tackled by a black faced, once white furball. White Queen glared at him, obviously irritated that he had returned her to her ball. "Gah…Alright…I get it." A cough. "Tackling me was uncalled for." White Queen huffed in response, sending a little bit of icy wind towards Riven's face. He held up a scolding finger. "No ice beams. You already tackled me, an ice beam is unnecessary. Remember that I feed you." Dusting himself off, he looked down at the Absol. Her face was covered in soot from last night's incendiary mishap and her pristine white fur was tainted and dirty. Something had to be done. "White Queen?"

She turned her head upwards, staring at him.

"You need a bath."

Splash. Drip. Drip. Squelch.

Haona climbed out of the blue lake in the center of Petalburg Park. It wasn't dirty. Far from it actually. It's just that her trainer had the nerve to pick her up and throw her in. The water was damned cold. She was still shivering. The water temperature hadn't risen yet since the sun rose a little while ago, so that dunk was extremely unpleasant.

"Oh that does it, idiot human." She charged up a bluish white ball of energy, freezing early morning dew into ice on the grass below.

Bib and Aine backed away from Riven, who had his back turned and was rummaging through his bag for pokefood. Bib mumbled to Aine, "Oh, she's pissed. It would be healthy for us to stay out of her ice beam range for now." The torchic agreed, still in a daze after being pulled away by the Kirlia.

A blue beam shot forward, hitting Riven's backside. He jumped and gave an unmanly yelp. This alone caused his pokemon to erupt in laughter. He turned around, still holding his bottom.

Alright, I admit. I kind of deserved that.

He did technically dump her into a presumably, cold lake very unceremoniously. He would be a bit angry as well. "Aine! Dammit….I- am I actually going to say this?" His Torchic hopped over to him, tilting her head in response. "Use ember on me. Low power. And make it quick. This is embarrassing." The orange chick cheered happily and released a small burst of weak embers, melting the ice that was frozen on his backside. Now it was wet. Which admittedly felt worse.

After feeding his pokemon, the young man looked around. Some people were jogging around the park with their pokemon, while others were just sitting on benches, appreciating the morning air. The park smelled of fresh flowers, it was nearly covered in them after all. A large Wingull fountain bubbled and frothed in the middle, spewing water up into the air. Pointless, but beautiful.

Riven was determined to find a job today. Or else he would have to sleep on that dreadful bench again. Good for sitting and admiring the setting sun. Sleeping? Not so. Walking through the center of the park, he noticed something odd.

People progressively moved away from him and his pokemon; some parents even held their children back, most trainers evaded his gaze or found somewhere else to be. He had no idea why they were doing this. He even picked up little mutterings of the words: "delinquent", "ruffian", "criminal", "savage", and "mobster". These people think I am some sort of criminal? Idiots. Why would they think that?

Then he had enough decency to look at himself in a mirror in one of the restrooms in the park. He was dressed in a cut and burned leather cuirass and leather chaps, with worn out gloves, and had two blades at his sides and a large bow complete with a quiver that had three real functional arrows. The fact that he was also dressed entirely in black helped worsen the effect.

Oh, right. The answer hit him in the face like a bag of stones.

To other soldiers and people of ill repute he might not look alarming, but to ordinary civilians, he looked entirely different. Back when he was in the military, they would sometimes pass through villages; every time they did, they would receive short frank replies and an aversion to look at them in the eyes. It was the same here, he simply radiated I am here to kill you, with his very presence. Maybe that was why he couldn't find a job! That was surely it.

"I need to buy some new clothing," he reasoned. "Then I can get a job."

Haona glanced at him, unimpressed, and murmured something that Riven had assumed was an insult. Planting his fists on his hips, he smirked. "Yes, sometimes my genius scares me too, I know."

She snorted.

Now back in the central plaza, he entered a 'boutique'—a fancy name for a clothing store. At least that's what Amy said they were. This one was called "Flower Boutique".

What is it with this city and blasted flowers?

He stepped inside, seeing an assortment of clothing on white human sized models.

A helper stood in front of the store, eyes closed, greeting him. "Oh hello. Welcome to Flower Boutique! How may I help- oh." She noticed his appearance. "Sir, how….may I …help…you?"

"Why are you talking so slow?"

"No reason and uh….sorry! Ummmm, the men's section is on the second floor," she quickly corrected herself, looking at those deadly looking blades. The man was armed to the teeth. Either he was here for a cosplay expo or he had just come out of the wilderness. She watched the man walk upstairs, then took out a radio and called security. "Reynolds, there's a questionable looking man on the second floor. Put surveillance on him in case he does anything suspicious."

Skimming through the clothing upstairs, Riven searched for something similar to his clothing. A white shirt with a grey pattern on it caught his eye. The pattern looked complex and geometric, with strange symbols around the corners. "Ah, that's a rune logo." He turned around, facing an older male helper that was dressed in the same uniform as the woman downstairs. His name tag read "L. Reynolds".

"What does it mean?" Riven asked, confused as to what the symbols meanings were.

"I don't know. They found markings like that in various places around the Hoenn region. They thought it looked cool and put it on shirts. Most trainers pick pokeball designs."

"This is fairly appealing. I like it. Nice and symmetrical." Riven explained, holding the shirt up, pointing to the center and the sleeves where the rune was located.

The older man chuckled. "Well, you're a different one I suppose. I suggest a nice vest to go with that. Like that one there." He directed his hand to a black vest with the same symbol on its sides, colored a nice grey color with a hood attached to the back. "You might want some pants too. Durable ones so they don't rip out there on the cut. Nice strong denim."

"I will take the vest and the shirt. Along with these pants." The black haired trainer showed him the black chinos he had slung over his shoulders. "And a belt too."

"Nice choice, the colors complement each other and it matches your style perfectly. You should go get fitted to see what's the right size for you."

Riven walked out of the fitting room, looking much more modern than before and had spent far too much time in front of the mirror. The clothes were lighter, and more comfortable. Less protective, but definitely lighter. Not having the reinforced leather at his knees and at his elbows made him feel a bit naked, though. Hood was nice too.

"Where can I get some durable gloves?"

"Right over here, sir."

Picking out his gloves, he tried them on. A nice black with blue accents, durable and had good grip. They fit perfectly and were lighter and more comfortable than his military gloves, while being equally as functional. Granted his other gloves were nothing more than rags at point barely held together by half-destroyed leather fittings but eh. Satisfied with his attire, he turned to the older clerk, who was admiring the young man's new look.

"How much will it be?" Riven asked, taking out a wad of cash.

"Since the store is having an everything must go sale to get ready for the winter clothing, all of your purchases will only amount to two thousand seven hundred."

Handing over the money, he walked out of the store feeling much lighter than before. He had kept his swords, knife and bow. No way am I discarding those. Too useful to let go. The store also included a rather large bag to carry all of them in, which he slung over his back, looking like a 'guitar' player. Albeit a player with a colossal sized guitar. Completely free of charge too. Free things were always welcome. Now an important decision loomed over him. He headed back to the park.

The location was silent and there wasn't a single soul around him. Holding the black military uniform, he now felt torn. It represented the military. A chapter of his life that had been eye opening and equally as horrible. It had taught him many things; how the world was, how people were, and how to survive, lessons he would keep with him forever. It was a bitter gratitude. It also carried the weight of his people, his parents, their work, their vengeance. Vengeance he once swore he would enact.

Too late for that though. Time travel said to go screw yourself.

Making a tough decision, he carried the leather to the bonfire pits, ordering Aine to light a fire. The fire blazed upwards, and Riven dumped the uniform into it, watching the flames consume the leather and cloth. The youth sat down in front of the fire for what seemed like ages, staring into the flames until his former attire was now dust and ash.

Am I still a soldier?

No. He was just a person now, among the millions. A trainer, even. He no longer felt the constraints of responsibility for his people or his nation. They were dead and dust. Sure he missed his parents and Nemos, but they were gone. Not here anymore. Not important anymore. A sad truth.

Just me now. Riven. All there is to it.

He pulled over his hood and walked away, leaving the weight of the past behind, writhing in the bonfire's flames. This was his new reality now, like it or not. If it was, why not make the best of it?

"Well then. If that is the case… come on world, take your best shot."

And it did all right.

Some son of a bitch managed to snatch the small bag where he kept his money, since he no longer had secret pockets in which to place it, which led to a chase around the city. Climbing up buildings and jumping from rooftops, the little pickpocket managed to lose Riven in the midst of a crowd of trainers. It was exhilarating and immensely liberating but it also meant he had lost the remaining amount of money he had and had no means of obtaining anymore. He needed to eat. So did his pokemon. New world or not, his luck was still effectively shit.

He walked to the edge of the main Petalburg plaza and sat down on a bench, unsure of what to do next. He needed a job, and fast. Slouching in the bench, he watched trainers come and go, seeing a plethora of Skitty, Poochyena, and Wurmples.

Uninterested in the other trainers, Riven thought about Amy. She was his first human friend in this world. He wondered where she was now. She mentioned that she would be staying in Petalburg for a quick errand or two, then head off to Mauville City to go meet up with her parents. He secretly wished the pretty blonde would have stayed, he liked having someone to talk to. Well, he listened to her babble most of the time. But it wasn't unpleasant. Actually, anyone apart from him would do. Having his pokemon around all the time never made him feel lonely but they couldn't speak so he was unable to access the same amount of interaction he experienced with Amy.

Riven looked down as his pokemon, who wore the same bored expression. Sighing once again, he looked up at the sky. It was sunset again. The sky was a tinted orange and the clouds began to take on a reddish hue. The fluffy clouds moved slowly across the sky, a calming sight that almost improved his mood. Hunger ruined it again.

"SHIT!" Picking up a pebble, he launched it across the water and almost hit a Wingull. It chattered angrily at him.

He sat in the same position for nearly a half hour, joined by his pokemon in cloud watching. Riven stuffed his hands in his pant pockets, trying to find some money, or challengers. Something. But there was a whole lot of nothing. Stupid pickpocket. Of course, he could just battle all of the trainers in the park and snatch their money but they were all just starters. They didn't have much money and wouldn't be able to meet his needs. He needed richer targets. Unfortunately, there weren't many.

Adjusting himself on the bench, he pulled his hood up and went to sleep. Another day had gone by and nothing had been accomplished.

The next three days were uneventful and fruitless. No job, no money. He had resorted to swiping food at the farmer's market to feed himself. Pokefood formula was also dangerously low. He needed to buy more, but he needed money for that too. Stealing here was illegal too. Except in his world, you lost an arm for doing it. Not that it stopped him and Nemos though. They swiped food all the time.

Munching on an apple, Riven passed by a decently sized building with a pokeball logo on it. The sign read, "Petalburg City Gym, Leader Norman". Probably one of those pokemon gyms that the trainers went raving mad over.

Walking inside, he was stopped by a man at the entrance. "Halt, trainer. Before you progress further, do you have four gym badges?"

Riven took a bite out of his apple with a loud crunch. He flipped open an empty badge case.

The man frowned and gestured him to turn back. "You can't face Norman until you have a total of four badges and more than three pokemon."

Well, he had three pokemon but no badges, so he walked out of the building. Flipping open Charles, Riven asked him a question, "Charles, who is the first Hoenn region gym leader?"

"Ah, yes sir. That would be Roxanne, the Rustboro Gym Leader. That is your destination right? Perhaps I suggest hitting two Taillow with one stone and acquiring your pokenav and the first gym badge in one stroke?" Charles suggested.

"Good suggestion, Charles."

"My pleasure sir. Is that all you ask of me?"

"Yes. Although I might call on you for a bit of conversation at times. You know, like at the hospital. That would be nice."

"Lonely, sir?" Charles could detect a bit of longing in his owner's voice.

"Not really." He sighed. "Fine. Just longing for some conversation with someone that is not just myself. I enjoy my own thoughts but it does get stale quickly."

"I fully understand. Feel free to speak to me if needed. I may be in the mood."

"Thank you, Charles." Flipping him closed, Riven walked around the city a bit. Fliers were posted on the walls everywhere. Apparently there was an event going on tomorrow at the concert hall, a 'contest', whatever that was. He picked up a flier, scanning it over with faint disinterest. It sounded terribly unappealing, until he read in bold letters at the bottom of the paper, Security Detail Needed. Running Short. Competent Trainers being hired.

Riven's mood skyrocketed. He had found a possible income source! He looked for the address on the paper, 2754 Lily Road Way, Office of Contests and Events, North Petalburg City. He had never been to North Petalburg, apparently it was inhabited by people who had an unhealthy obsession with the gym leader, Norman. An almost fanatical obsession to be precise. Creepy, but that was their business not his.

He hitched a ride on a bus with an open roof, climbing a street light and jumping on as it passed below. It was insane but it was rather fun. He wanted to do it again. The people sitting on the bus thought he was mad, jumping off a street light onto a moving vehicle. Releasing his pokemon from their balls again, he was glad to find them enjoying the ride. His Absol stuck her head out, watching the blur of people and buildings as they moved across Petalburg. Mischief psychically played with a bald man's single hair and Aine jumped incessantly in her seat, brimming with vigor.

Riven couldn't help but admire the ease of transportation in this world. Mechanical machines called cars used fuel, which they burned to move a multitude of internal gears and levers, producing motion. A person 'drove' it with a wheel and two levers below their feet. The levers controlled the velocity of the machination and the steering wheel controlled the direction in which the rubber wheels moved. People payed for the fuel but it was well worth it, being able to move around quickly. He sat back and enjoyed the ride, feeling the wind flow through his hair.

They arrived about an hour later, stopping in front of an office building with a flowered pokeball sign on it. He walked inside, looking at the sharply dressed people inside, heading towards the registry desk. Looking at the secretary, who was typing away, he stated, "Excuse me. I am here for a job."

The woman stopped typing and looked up in slight annoyance, "Sorry, but if you want a job here you'll have to show me a high school diploma or better."

"I meant the security job for tomorrow's event."

"OH. Well, why didn't you say so?"

Riven held up an hand, curling a lip upward. Seriously?

"You certainly have the face for it, at least." The secretary led him to the Petalburg contest director, Malcolm Van. The man had a thin, twirly mustache and a booming voice. "Sir, he's here for the security job."

"SPLENDID! SIMPLY SPLENDID!" The man boomed, placing a hand on Riven's shoulders. The young man winced in pain, cupping his abused ears.

"I suppose you want to know all the details first?"

Riven recovered and stated, "What am I doing and how much am I getting paid?" He hardly cared what he was doing, as long as he was getting his pay.

"Ah. Straight to the point. I like that. No beating around the bush, no sir!" He responded cheerfully. He drank a glass of some brown liquid. "Since you're the first, you will have the very special honor of protecting the most honored contestant there!" He stared at the young man, whose expression didn't change at all. "You'll be protecting Norman's very own daughter, the renowned pokemon Coordinator, the Princess of Hoenn!" He stroked his mustache. "Beautiful, skilled, and wonderfully alluring to the eyes of men, you get to be her personal bodyguard." He looked at the trainer again, this time fully expecting to see the drooling expression that most men had whenever they heard of the Princess of Hoenn. Her beauty was simply staggering. However, the boy's expression didn't change in the slightest.

"Okay," he responded simply, ignoring the man's stunned gawk in response to his nonchalant attitude. Princess… Is she royalty or something? Eh, who cares. At least they are paying me. Which brought up a very important question. "How much?"

"OH! Since it is a special event, the security will be doubled. Your pay also got doubled as well! Your position in particular is 15000 guaranteed!" Van grinned wildly, bouncing on his tip toes.

Fifteen. FIFTEEN. I need to get me some of that. Mind made up, the black haired trainer confirmed, "Deal."

"Good, Good! Be here tomorrow at noon, that is when the contestants will arrive. Good luck!" He scratched his head. "Oh right! What was your name?"

"Gray."

"No last name?"

"Is it needed?"

"Not really."

"Then no."

Writing information on a document, he handed it over to Riven. "Sign here and here." Riven picked up the mechanical quill and signed a simple Gray in scarily formal writing. Van's eyes nearly shot out of his skull at how beautifully written Gray had signed his name. An art student turned security guard? What has this world come to? He watched the young man and his pokemon leave the office building and shook his head. Such a shame.

Content with his new job, he hitched another bus ride back, the same way he had last time. The ex soldier started to like the city a little more, there were plenty of high places and vantage points. Higher ground is always better. It was still a few hours until sundown though, so he had time to spare. He needed to entertain himself somehow.

Spotting a building with plenty of people around the entrance, he got off the bus and headed there. It was a large edifice with screens that had different pictures on them, usually accompanied with some sort of cheesy title. G-Men: Days of Future's Past, How to Train your Salamence 2: Coming soon, A Million Ways to Die in Kanto,Tyranizilla,The Amazing Ariados. What were these?

Curious, he managed to slip by undetected into the building in the midst of a large crowd. He entered the 'cinema 5' which was showing that one G-Men thing. Apparently they were "movies", fake recordings of actors and "special" effects that combined to make a story and present it in film format. He watched the movie and understood absolutely nothing but he had to admit the fight scenes were rather impressive. It left him feeling a bit pumped.

Riven ran back the rest of the way to the park, alongside White Queen and Aine, who were happy to stretch their legs and get some exercise. The run was invigorating, reminding him of the times he would climb mountains as a scout, eager to reach the top. Looking out hundreds of feet below, he would feel amazing. He felt so alive that he thought he could just sprout wings and take off, leaving everything behind. Reaching the park, his energy had not subsided at all. He decided to practice something he had not performed in a long time.

He fell into a stance, closing his eyes. Feeling the breeze in the air, he listened to the movements and sounds of the park around him. Moving in controlled movements, he imagined a sword in both hands, slashing through the air as he moved about, raising his awareness and his strength.

Picking up the pace, he began sweeping and thrusting his arms forward, movements becoming more erratic and unpredictable. A dance of swords.

Unbeknownst to him, a small crowd of people began watching him as he moved about the center, including his own pokemon, who were entranced by the performance. Finishing the routine, he placed his palms towards the floor, then straightened and exhaled deeply.

Opening his eyes, he was surprised to see all the eyes staring back at him. He felt a little embarrassed. Then someone started clapping. "Wow! That was great! Did you see those moves?" A dark skinned boy mentioned to his friend, who was nodding in agreement. "It was slow and mystical at first, then BAM! Super martial arts master. It was totally awesome!" Riven only stared dumbfounded, the strange terms flying over his head.

A boy with glasses came up to him, "That looked like swords dance! Very cool! I remember seeing a Grovyle use those moves before! Your Absol doesn't know it yet? You should teach it! How did you learn it anyway?" The kid hammered away, talking very very fast. "I've seen some trainers teach it to their pokemon like that before, but it's easier with a TM."

Riven looked confused and held his hands out, bidding the child to slow down. The army partly taught it to me, thank you for asking. "I sort of just erm...discovered the thing? I saw pokemon do that, so I memorized it. Makes you feel stronger when you do it, at least I think it does."

The darker skinned boy ran down next to the two. "Oh cool! Can you teach us?" He asked rather excited.

Riven shrugged. Sundown was a couple of hours away so why not? Calling White Queen over to learn as well, he told the boys and their friends to get close. The dark skinned boy took out a small portable device out of his backpack and plugged it into some black boxes with holes in them. The sound that played out of his device was amplified and was much louder. The tune was catchy and spirited, inspiring him to move.

"You better keep up."

Both boys jumped in excitement, "ALRIGHT!"

The black haired trainer and his newly found dance acolytes practiced the form for five hours, until the clock read eight pm and the sun had just set. Telling them to practice more, he headed back to his bench. He was tired. So was White Queen, who almost fell asleep standing up. She had managed to learn the dance fairly quickly, and found it enjoyable to do, despite being very tiring.

Riven enjoyed the experience too, which attracted a very large crowd of onlookers. He hoped he could do it again, it was very fun and got a lot of trainers and pokemon moving. In short, a good day. He had found a job and even had some fun. But it was time to call it a night. Returning Aine and Mischief to their balls, the young man and his Absol fell into a deep sleep.

Riven woke up, feeling uncomfortable from the heat of the sun. It was eight in the morning, four hours left until noon. Pokemon fed and ready to go, the trainer headed back to the Contest Office on Lily Road Way, hitching another ride. Stepping into the building, Van shot up next to him, leading him into the building with haste.

"Oh good, you've arrived." He frowned, looking at Riven's casual looking clothes. "Oh those clothes, heavens no! You need a uniform, here." He threw him into a dressing room, filled to the brim with fancy suits with a petal logo on the collar. Taking one, he put it on, placing his clothes in a locker, as well as his weapon case. A man with a fuller figure appeared, handing him a metal baton.

"You're gonna need this in case someone tries anything funny. Just flick it outwards and beat 'em on the head with it." Taking the baton, he retracted it and placed it on his belt. Now in uniform, it was time to head to the Contest Hall.

The security team for the event rode in a black car together into central Petalburg, stopping in front of the plaza where the Contest Hall was located. Lines extended into the plaza with people waiting to buy tickets to enter the viewing stands. This must be some really important event, Riven thought. Exiting the vehicle, the security team headed inside, where last minute adjustments were being made. The contest would begin in three hours.

Riven and the rest of his fellow security simply stood at the entrances, waiting for the people to be allowed in. An announcement was made over the intercom and people flooded inside like stamping Donphan. The guards backed away, careful not to get trampled by the crazed horde. The seats in the hall filled up quickly, noise and whistles coming from every direction. They were ready to see the show.

Van appeared on stage, inciting an explosion of noise and applause from the crowd. "Thank you, Thank You!" Blocked out by the noise, he waited a moment for the noise to die down. "Welcome to Petalburg! The City of Flowers! And welcome to the 40th Annual Petalburg City Contest!" The audience roared in response. It was hurting Riven's ears. "As you all know, we will have wonderful appeals and beautiful performances. As well as appearances from legendary pokemon coordinators!"

"And boys! Yes, the Princess of Hoenn, May! Is here!" The crowd erupted, whistles and strips of paper floating down from the stands. This was her hometown, naturally the people would root for her. "Now without further ado, I present the judges: Nurse Joy from Petalburg, Alexa Laise from the Kalos Region, and David Bower, Mayor of Petalburg!" The crowd clapped loudly, only intensifying when Van called out Alexa's name. It was only the boys who clapped louder, sending some wolf-whistles her way. She giggled, reddening a bit.

"The prize will be a Petalburg City Ribbon and this special jewel, a marvel of brilliance, found deep in a cave in Mt Chimney!" He demonstrated the ribbon and a white shining jewel to the crowd, who were mesmerized by its appearance.

Riven stared at it oddly, thinking nothing of it. He had a strange feeling in his stomach. Dismissing it, he turned his attention back to the stage. Nothing looked out of place, but one could never know for sure. Scanning the crowd, he figured it was just paranoia.

Van continued, "LET THE CONTEST BEGIN!" The mustached man raised his hands, officially starting the contest.

Amidst the crowd's cheering, Riven couldn't shake the feeling of uneasiness, chalking it up to unfamiliarity.