TRAINER ID
Name: Daniel Ingram
Badges: 3
Account: 32,115 credits
Location: Lavaridge Town

DANIEL'S TEAM
Ralts (Apollo) - Male
Corphish (Duran) - Male
Eevee (Orion) - Male
Trapinch - Female

OWEN'S TEAM
Makuhita (Bronson) - Male
Graveler (Roxy) - Female
Shroomish (Misha) - Female
Slakoth (Omar) - Male
Machop (Bruno) - Male

Owen lost.

Looking back, I should have seen it coming. It's not that he didn't have what it took to earn his fourth badge – even with the odds stacked against him he put up a fight I wouldn't ever want to find myself on the other side of.

No, his loss came down to what could only be described as a major oversight. Two actually, if you wanted to get technical.

The first was somewhat inexcusable, considering we'd been warned very clearly about it by Vito Winstrate. It was somewhat poetic; Owen had asked if he had any tips for Lavaridge, and the one thing he'd made a point to say was that Flannery was a bit hot-headed and that you did not want to find yourself on her bad side. Yet that's exactly where Owen found himself, and it ultimately resulted in him losing.

The second oversight was something much more excusable, in my opinion at least, although Flannery clearly disagreed. It was equally as predictable as well, and something that I distinctly recalled having mentioned to Owen while we were on Jagged Pass.

The simple truth was that Owen's decision to use Bruno cost him his fourth gym badge.

It didn't help that Bruno was the first Pokémon he sent out either, as that would set the tone for the entire gym battle.

"Just like we talked about Bruno," that's what Owen had said when he released the Machop. Flannery eyed the Machop with a slight hint of a frown, but that would soon morph into a look of annoyance and scorn as her suspicions were soon confirmed.

Flannery asked Owen how long he'd been training the Machop, which he answered truthfully and proudly in typical Owen fashion. I could tell he didn't realize that he had offended Flannery, but the ferocity that she battled with soon made it clear. Bruno was knocked out with extreme prejudice in about a minute by a Ponyta that attacked relentlessly on Flannery's insistence, though he did manage to get a couple of solid counter-attacks in. Owen looked briefly devastated, but quickly refocused as he sent out Bronson for the second battle. He didn't seem to pick up on the fact that he had invoked Flannery's ire, at least not at that point, likely too caught up looking at the battle itself to pay close attention to the opposing trainer.

But for anyone watching, it was plain to see. Flannery didn't take kindly to Owen challenging her gym with a newly-captured Pokémon, much less for his fourth badge. It was frankly startling how ferociously she had battled, and gave me a newfound respect for not only the battle prowess of gym leaders but the flexibility of the Pokémon they used to be able to adjust their intensity at will.

As tough as the first round was to watch, I'd hoped that she would have considered the matter settled after knocking out Bruno. Unfortunately, it soon became clear that the entire match was no longer a friendly test of skill, but a harsh lesson in etiquette and respect.

Flannery had made the decision that Owen was going to have to seriously redeem himself if he was to walk away with his fourth gym badge, and he nearly did. Bronson managed to knock out the hyper-aggressive Ponyta, and even pushed through her Torkoal's excessive use of Flamethrower to deliver some heavy blows up close despite being obviously burned. But eventually, Bronson was taken down by Rapid Spin and Owen was down to his last Pokémon.

Roxy wrapped things up with the Torkoal easily enough, but the final Pokémon Flannery sent out was a Camerupt, which struck me as the worst possible matchup Roxy likely could have encountered. But considering she had experience against the species and Flannery's Camerupt wasn't as big as the one we'd seen in Fiery Path, I felt fairly confident at that point that Owen was going to manage to win.

However, that's not what happened. I was once again reminded what a difference proper training made when Flannery's Camerupt came out victorious, largely thanks to the use of ground-type moves like Magnitude and Earth Power.

As gracefully as Owen attempted to take the loss, I could tell he was devastated. After the match was called in Flannery's favor, they met in the middle of the arena and shook hands, exchanging a few brief words that I was grateful weren't broadcasted over the loudspeaker. I'd put off collecting my winnings in favor of sitting in the stands with Owen, Bronson, and Trapinch, chatting and watching as the battlefield was being remade in preparation for his battle, so I returned Trapinch and made my way to the front desk to finally do so before waiting for Owen. He showed up quickly enough, and we made our way to the Pokécenter in the lingering silence that followed my failed attempts to cheer him up.

I could tell that he needed some time to digest his loss, so I silently kept him company. It was a strange thing to see Owen anything but social and energetic, but I knew he'd bounce back sooner or later. I didn't blame him for taking his loss hard – I was sure that if I were in his shoes, I'd probably be handling it a lot more poorly.

Besides, if Owen wanted silence to process things, I could do that. I was mentally drained from everything that had happened, and unlike most people I was perfectly comfortable in what many would consider an awkward silence, content to lose myself in my thoughts while Owen took the time to come to terms with his disappointing loss.

Twenty-thousand credits. That's how much I got for beating Flannery.

I couldn't help but notice a trend that every gym seemed to double in value from the last, so assuming that continued and I managed to finish the circuit, I would technically be a millionaire.

That is, if I did a good job saving and didn't spend an absorbent amount of money along the way, which was far from guaranteed.

Though it seemed like an unfathomable amount of money to me, it also brought along a realization of just how skewed my perspective of money and wealth truly was. For reference, my mother's inheritance had been just over 2,300 credits, and I had been perfectly happy with that amount at the time. It had allowed me to get quite a few potions, antidotes, and other supplies I desperately needed before setting out on my journey, though it wouldn't have been nearly enough to get me going without Miss Augustine's contributions.

Interestingly, I was only about a month into my new career as a trainer and already much more financially secure than my mother had ever managed to be. My account currently sat at just over 32,000 credits, an amount most others would likely scoff at, but it gave me confidence that I could comfortably afford almost any random expenses that might come my way.

But I was beginning to understand just how insignificant that amount of money was in the grand scheme of things, and it was frightening to think about just how quickly it could all disappear. Being goaded into making a single high-stakes bad wager during a trainer battle could wipe the entire account to zero, and a single bottle of high-grade vitamins for a single member of my team member was roughly ten-thousand credits. Each bottle was a month's supply, and the bottles I'd gotten for Duran and Apollo were quickly approaching empty while Orion still had plenty. If I were to buy them another month's supply, and if Trapinch ended up joining my team and I granted her the same privilege I had the others, that would put me back to square one alone.

I considered it a worthwhile investment though, even if I couldn't be sure just how beneficial it truly was. I was exceedingly happy with the rate at which my team was growing though, and truthfully there was little else I could think to spend the money on.

Well, other than a space-tech backpack. But a good one was over a million credits, which put into perspective just how fast my potential future status as a millionaire could disappear. It was mind-boggling how something I viewed as an extreme luxury was portrayed as an essential item on the forum threads I had been perusing before embarking on my journey, and the only reasonable explanation I could come up with was that many trainers were basically gambling addicts in disguise, throwing around huge sums of money with absolute faith that their team's ability was adequate to make them rich.

The thought of betting tens or hundreds of thousands of credits on my odds against an unknown opponent seemed inconceivable, but perhaps that was the only way I was ever going to be able to comfortably afford a space-tech backpack. I could also get a lower-tiered one, or one that only had the tech applied to the main carry space as opposed to every pocket, but if I was going to invest in something like that I was only going to do it once, ensuring it was good enough to carry me throughout my entire career as a trainer.

Or perhaps that mindset was just as skewed as my perception of wealth, and both needed to be reconsidered as I continued to find my financial footing. I couldn't be certain, as just thinking about that seemed so far away. I was still in the lower end of having five digits in my account, so it wasn't worth seriously considering a space-tech backpack for quite some time.

Those were the thoughts that occupied my mind as Owen and I sat patiently and quietly in the Pokécenter lobby, waiting for our teams to get cleared by Nurse Joy.

"So… I guess we'll be splitting up now," Owen eventually said with a defeated sigh, breaking the long silence.

"Not necessarily," I said carefully, "Sammy still hasn't texted me back after telling her I'd won and asking how her contest went, so she's probably still performing. If she doesn't win, she'll be stuck there another week. If that's the case, I'll probably hang around here with you until you can have your rematch. It'll give me time to work with Trapinch and hopefully do some work around town."

"Didn't you promise Trapinch you'd be back to the desert in a week to release her if she wanted?" Owen asked confusedly.

I hesitated, "Things seem to be going reasonably well, although it's still a little tense at times. I don't think she's in a rush to go home, but I should probably have a proper chat with her about it."

"Either way, I wouldn't want to make you wait around for me. I'm the one who made a mistake, I should be the only one who bears the consequences," Owen said solemnly.

"For what it's worth, I don't think you did anything wrong," I said honestly. "Between Bruno and Misha, I think Bruno was the obvious choice. If Flannery hadn't taken offense, I'm sure he would have done great. It's not like he was unruly or ignorant of the rules, he was perfectly qualified to participate in that battle in my opinion."

"Sure, but I also can't help but see Flannery's point," Owen admitted. "This was a challenge for my fourth badge – a huge milestone as a trainer since I'd have completed half the circuit. If I put myself in the shoes of a gym leader, I'd be pretty unimpressed that some young trainer was battling me with a partner they've just barely caught and hardly trained. Gym battles don't only test your team's strength, but the decision-making of the trainer. If I were a gym leader and thought that some challenger was trying to coast by on the natural strength of their team without putting in any of the work to train them, I'd probably be tempted to make sure that doesn't happen as well."

I nodded silently, suddenly finding myself much more understanding of Flannery's perspective when put that way. I still thought that she didn't need to go quite so hard, at least on Owen's other team members, but I could understand wanting to quickly dispatch Bruno.

"Even so, I don't think she should have kept the grudge going after Bruno got knocked out," I thought out loud, "And I can't say I'm the biggest fan of gym leaders being that hot-headed."

"Well Vito did warn us," Owen chuckled grimly, "I just hadn't even considered that something like that would be what did it."

"It's strange being on this side of things. Historically, I'm the one in your shoes, accidentally pissing people off and causing trouble for myself," I remarked.

"You and Sammy both keep saying that, but during our time together I haven't seen you causing trouble, you've even actively avoid it. You camp tucked away where nobody can find us, kept your cool around Preston, and were very diplomatic with Ana. You and your sister seem to have a skewed perception of what constitutes stirring trouble."

"It's more a matter of me realizing that holding my tongue usually results in less headache down the road, something especially appealing now that it's not just me that has to deal with the consequences. The old me would have said some dumb shit to Preston and Ana just for a moment of instant gratification. But if I'd done that, right now I'd probably be blacklisted from a potential sponsor, maybe ended an engagement, and likely ended up as a chew toy for a certain Arcanine."

"Well you seem rather level-headed from where I'm sitting, but I guess I haven't seen you at your worst. We've had reasonably smooth sailing since journeying together, it's a shame we can't keep it going."

"We might be able to. I'll know for sure by tomorrow morning at the latest, after I hear from Sammy and possibly have a chat with Trapinch. It still feels a little early to pop an ultimatum for her, but you're right that I shouldn't hold her captive if she ends up wanting to go back home."

"Honestly, I might not even stick around," Owen said, surprising me. "It would be pretty crummy to just wait out the timer and throw myself back at her the first chance I got. I think I might be better off just coming back later in the circuit."

"Considering how far out of the way Lavaridge is, I don't think she would fault you for trying again in a week. That's enough time to get familiar with a new teammate, no way she'd react the same way."

"You're right about that, but it's embarrassing," he said with a sigh. "I think I'd rather come back with my head held high."

"It's your call, but I really don't think it's that big of a deal. You're more than welcome to join me when I leave, but I think I'll probably end up visiting Slateport to watch Sammy's next contest before heading east from Mauville. If you were to skip Lavaridge and come back later, it'll be a long way back. Route 119 is the longest in all of Hoenn, and I read that parts of it don't even have a clear path like everywhere else we've been. If you were to tackle the Fortree, Mossdeep, and Sootopolis gyms, you'd have to circle back to Petalburg to redo your entire journey up to this point to finish up the circuit."

Owen sighed, gazing up at the sky wistfully before apparently having a thought, snapping his attention to me seriously.

"Wait, Danny… Is that what you're planning on doing? Taking on the eastern gyms after you meet up with your sister?"

"It's the obvious next step," I confirmed with a nod. "I'm saving Norman for last, since I really want to battle him at full strength. He might refuse to use his true team, but at least there's a chance he'll consider it if I have every other badge. He's the only reason I'm where I am today – I probably would have never met Apollo or had Miss Augustine's help if he hadn't advocated on my behalf. He even gave me the Pokéball I caught Apollo with, which is why he's the only one on my team that has a normal Pokéball. It's got a lot of sentimental value for us. I'd love the chance to show him that his faith in us wasn't misplaced, and I can't think of any better way to do that than by taking on his true team."

"I can relate to that a lot, I actually got Brawly to agree to a battle against his true team if I ever managed to finish the circuit," he said with an approving nod before leveling me with a serious look. "But Danny… You realize that neither of us can tackle the eastern gyms yet, right?"

I cast him a confused look, "What do you mean?"

"Most of them have badge minimums, and for good reason," he explained. "Consider the specialties for those gyms – flying, psychic, and water. All three types are exceedingly difficult to battle against unless you're an experienced trainer who really knows what you're doing, and there's a reason they are at the end of the traditional circuit. They'll accept your challenge if you are missing one badge, since quite a few trainers are type specialists like me and seriously struggle with a gym that their team is particularly weak against, but we're both missing two of the badges from the first half of the circuit."

I stared at Owen blankly, my mind racing as I processed the new information. I was vaguely familiar with the idea of badge minimums for certain gyms, but I hadn't considered that they could be so stringent that deviating from the traditional route could completely stall out a trainer's circuit. I'd always assumed that most of the minimums were a badge or two, so that the gym leader of a massive city like Mauville had a way to filter out the potential flood of challenges from novice locals who only challenged them for fun.

"Well, I guess that means I'm going to have to head to Dewford from Slateport," I sighed.

"You'll love it, I promise! Just be sure you check out Granite Cave, it's home to lots of interesting Pokémon. You've probably only traveled through tunnels, but diving deep into a proper cave is a blast!"

"So what, you're thinking of going to Petalburg instead of hanging around here? Why not just come with me then?" I proposed. "I'd love to have a Dewford native show me around, and you could just take the ferry to Petalburg if you wanted to. We'd probably have to split up then though, I'm not quite ready to return to Petalburg."

He shrugged, "I dunno, I'll sleep on it. I'm not in the best state of mind to be making any decisions. Who knows, maybe after a good night of sleep I'll be more open to waiting around for a week to challenge Flannery again. As things stand now though, I think it'd be too embarrassing to do that, and I don't want to make it seem like I didn't learn my lesson."

I felt my phone vibrating in my pocket and pulled it out, feeling surprisingly tense as I realized it was a phone call from Samantha and that I was likely about to hear the results of her contest.

I flipped it open as Owen watched with interest. "Hey, how'd you do?"

I heard a sigh over the phone, which made me fear the worst. "Marelle wasn't kidding when she said she was going to come at me with a vengeance. It was close – really close. We were separated by a mere two points, which is about as neck-and-neck as you can get."

"So… Who won?"

A long, dramatic pause had my mind scrambling for what I should say to console her, but just when I was about to break the silence with words of reassurance she finally spoke up.

"...I did."

I blinked, not having expected her to say that after the way she had been acting.

"You won," I repeated slowly, which elicited a huge grin and a thumbs-up from Owen as held up a finger and stepped away, indicating I needed a few minutes of privacy. "Then why don't you sound happy about it?"

"I am… I dunno, I guess don't feel like I deserved to win, and I feel really bad for Marelle. She had a great routine, and I can tell she put a ton of work into it. Now it's just… gone and wasted. There's no doubt she did better than us in the appeal round, her routine was extremely technical and difficult. It left the judges and the rest of us performing stunned, but the problem is the crowd doesn't care about how hard something is, only how it looks, and the crowd's reaction has huge sway in how things get judged. Stella and I were the crowd favorite, and our routine was good enough we barely got the win despite Marelle and Marill doing better overall. I even had a slight stumble during my routine, it was so embarrassing… I thought for sure we'd lost, so I haven't really come to terms with the fact we somehow won."

"You used Stella? I thought you were going to use Chase this time," I remarked in surprise.

"I said he was almost ready. We're still perfecting our routine, and I'm not done designing our aesthetic. I already have a perfect dress that matches Stella, as well as a few fully fleshed-out routines we'd made before even leaving Rustboro. Also, not that I blame you or anything but we felt a little pressured to win this one so we could meet up like we planned."

"You didn't have to do that," I said simply.

"I know, I wanted to. And Stella won't admit it, but I can tell she misses Apollo. I didn't want her blaming Chase if we lost, so I put it on her and she pulled it off. I felt so bad when I almost ruined the routine, I was sure I'd let her down."

A moment of silence followed until I could think of how to respond.

"Well, I'm happy for you two. I still don't see why it seems like you aren't, though."

"Sympathy for my fellow coordinator? I know Marelle's routine was better, both more technical and performed flawlessly compared to mine. Think about it Daniel – if you lose a contest and have to try again, are you going to perform the same routine to the same group of people? You have to show something new, and she only has her Marill."

"If anything, it should serve as a wake-up call that she should prepare more routines and train more Pokémon, right?"

"Routines can take weeks, sometimes even months to dial in. We have less up our sleeve than you might imagine. As far as catching more Pokémon, it's not unheard of for someone to do the circuit with one Pokémon, but it's harder for sure… Enough about all that though, congrats on your win! Not that I'm surprised, between Apollo and Duran you pretty much had that gym in the bag."

"Apollo actually got shut down pretty badly, Duran as well to a lesser extent. Believe it or not, it was Orion that really pulled through," I said vaguely, not wanting to give her ammunition for further teasing by mentioning the Attract situation before quickly changing topics. "By the way, I met Preston's fiance before the battle, she watched our battles with Preston. Nothing happened, but the weird thing is that before we even had our gym battles, she… offered us a sponsorship."

"...WHAT?! How is this just a side note to you? Explain, now!"

I gave Samantha a condensed retelling of our encounter with Ana, doing my best to relay just how odd I found the entire thing to be.

"You're an idiot, Daniel Ingram."

"Exactly which part of the story gives you that impression?" I asked confusedly.

"Turning down a sponsorship just because Preston is loosely associated. I told you already, Ana is a good person. The Stern family is all about their reputation, there is zero chance they'd sponsor you with the intention of somehow fucking you over. Which, by the way, I don't even see how they'd do. What, they throw money at you as a way to get back at you? Give you access to a farm with trained professionals to care for any Pokémon past your carry limit?"

"I don't know, maybe they mistreat my Pokémon and blame it on scuffles with other residents?"

"Those farms are inspected weekly by the League, and every single person working there is licensed to do so with yearly recertifications. If any of your Pokémon were mistreated, they'd know. You really think they'd risk the entire company folding just to indirectly get at you?"

"If I'm being honest, I don't trust the League not to let something like that slide," I said bluntly. "It's pretty obvious they favor people like Preston. How is the guy even still a trainer when Georgia was forced to step down, and how is it he can have all mentions of him purged off my profile with the wave of a hand?"

"Arceus Daniel, just think about what you're saying. You think Preston would go down there and mistreat them himself? Or in your mind does he call up the farm and demand that they abuse and starve your Pokémon? They're bound by a code of ethics, just like doctors. They use League psychics to check the memories of Pokémon when they investigate potential malpractice. You're insane if you think they'd sponsor you just to mess with your Pokémon."

"Could be something else. They could trick me into breaking the sponsorship contract, then I get slapped with a massive fine and go bankrupt. Or maybe Preston just wants to have me under his thumb. Either way, I'm not about to walk into something like that, it's completely unnecessary to risk it even if the chance is slim."

She gave a long sigh, "...Fine, suit yourself. For what it's worth though, I think you're making a mistake. It's not too late to reach out to Ana, it sounds like the offer still stands."

"I'll pass, at least for now. I've never even heard of this company anyway, maybe I'll feel more inclined when they've got a reputation at stake."

"It's still pretty new, but they've been selling products for a little while now. Their problem is that it's mostly done online, since getting shelf space in a Pokémart is not easy. They've been trying to break into the market, but there just isn't enough demand or brand recognition. They mostly do natural remedies, which tend to be more expensive, slower acting, and less effective than something like a lab-created potion or antidote. There's a niche market for the stuff, but you've gotta be mainstream to get into a Pokémart. Word on the street is that they're looking to expand their horizons, so I'm not too surprised they're looking for trainers to sponsor as part of that."

"Yeah, fine. I can agree that Ana might not have any ulterior motives, but Preston? The dude refuses to acknowledge our past, is wiped off my profile, and was borderline taunting me with the fact he knew who you were. You think that's nothing to be concerned with?"

"Believe it or not, that's all extremely on-brand for Preston. He'll make his subtle little jabs in private, but he's a social Kecleon – if he has anybody around whose opinion he cares about even a little, he'll act exactly how he thinks they'd want him to. I'd bet a small fortune he's been on his best behavior around Ana ever since they met, and he probably had a team clean up his image before getting engaged. You're better off just letting it slide. If he's busy cozying up to Ana, that's less he can mess with you."

"I guess… I already have my badge, and Ana said they'd be leaving town tomorrow, so maybe I'm home free if I don't poke the Ursaring."

"As far as Preston goes, I'd say yeah – you should be fine if you don't do anything to provoke him. But have you heard about this new sickness that's been going around?"

"First I'm hearing of it. You know I don't exactly keep close tabs on current events."

"Well you really should, at least for major stuff like this. Apparently there's some sort of mysterious Pokémon illness that's been popping up around the region the past few days, and it's quickly becoming a big deal."

"Pokémon get sick just like we do though, is it that big of a deal?"

"It is," she confirmed, a seriousness lacing her voice. "This one is different – it's infecting lots of different Pokémon, not just a select species or habitat, and Pokémon who get it aren't 'sick' in the way you would expect. They're aggressive, relentless, and act sort of like they've been confused. It's dangerous and poorly understood, so if you see a Pokémon that is acting weird or is hyper-aggressive, keep your distance."

"I'll keep an eye out, and I'll tell Owen about it," I said as I quickly glanced back at Owen to see him lost in thought again.

"Good, be sure you warn him, and maybe avoid unnecessary battles if you can help it. Also, sorry to hear about Owen's loss… I'd have you pass along a message, but I doubt he wants to be reminded of that right now. Just cheer him up where you can, give him space when he needs it, and I'm sure he'll rebound on his own. I should probably get going though, I'm having dinner with Marelle soon and I still need to get ready."

I let out a sigh that came dangerously close to being a groan, doing my best to stifle the mixture of annoyance and bewilderment I had at the fact that Samantha was still palling around with Marelle.

"She doesn't feel any kind of way about you beating her again?" I asked, unable to hide my skepticism.

"Believe it or not, coordinators don't tend to hold grudges just because somebody else did better than them. It's a friendly competition, at least until the final face-off at the Grand Festival. Besides, Marelle and I get along really well, and it's nice having somebody I can talk to about contests and routines."

"If I'm an idiot for avoiding Preston, then you're one too for this. You could befriend anyone else who competed, why does it have to be the walking lie detector?" I asked exasperatedly.

"Because Marelle is interesting and talented, and we get along exceptionally well. We already made plans to check out Route 114 together tomorrow morning, since there are a couple of species she's interested in and I want to see if I can find a Swablu. Oh, speaking of the lie thing, she told me how she does it. It's not some sort of superpower or anything like that."

I raised a brow in interest, "The only thing I can think of is micro-expressions and body language, but if that's all then she must be a savant and should probably work for the government or something. I did my best not to show any tells, and she still saw right through me."

"Wrong. Well, mostly. She is good at that but it's not the main way she does it. It's far more ingenious and consistent than anything like that. Maybe she'll tell you sometime if you two can ever get along," Samantha teased.

"Just tell me," I nearly demanded, my curiosity getting the better of me and my annoyance peaked at Samantha toying with me.

"Nope! It's not my secret to tell. I've gotta go anyway, we are supposed to meet in the lobby here soon and I'm not even ready."

"Wait!" I shouted into my phone, "How long are you hanging around Fallarbor? We're still meeting in Mauville, right?"

"Duh, why wouldn't we? I need at least tonight to catch up on sleep though, so I'll either leave tomorrow afternoon or the morning after, depending on how worn out I feel after a good night's rest."

"Can you please try to find someone to travel with? I don't want to backtrack through Fiery Path just to escort you through the desert."

"I don't need to, dummy. I can just cut through the forest separating the north and south portions of Route 112. The only reason we even went through the desert was just to experience it and say we did. We've done it once, I'm more than happy to skip it on the way back."

I blinked, unable to believe I'd never seriously considered straying from the defined routes, at least when traveling to a destination.

"Alright, sounds good. Maybe we can meet up at the Winstrate's house if we get the timing right, I can always shoot Vito a text to give him a heads up and make sure we aren't intruding. It'll take you longer to reach Mauville than it will for me, so I might hang out in Lavaridge for a couple of days since Preston is likely leaving with Ana tomorrow. It'll give me a chance to find some work around town and–"

"Daniel, I really don't have time for you to keep talking my ear off right now. I'm sorry, but I seriously have to go. Stay safe and tell Owen what I told you. Talk later, bye!"

With that, she hung up on me. I clicked my tongue in annoyance as I slid my phone into my pocket and returned to Owen, who stopped staring up at the ceiling as he heard my approach.

"That was a long phone call," Owen remarked with a hint of interest.

"Lots to talk about," I shrugged. "We also had to make time to disapprove of each other's life choices."

Owen gave me a confused look and seemed tempted to say something, but I quickly pivoted topics.

"By the way, Sammy warned us about some sort of Pokémon sickness that's been going around. Apparently it makes Pokémon particularly aggressive and causes some confusion, so we need to avoid any Pokémon that seem off."

He furrowed his brow, "That's strange. It's not exactly uncommon for Pokémon to get sick, but I've never heard of one that makes them aggressive."

I shrugged, my eyes drawn to the Pokécenter door as two people entered.

Two people that I recognized and really didn't want to talk to – Ana and Preston.

Ana glanced around the lobby, her eyes landing on us before she gave a friendly wave and approached with Preston in tow. I got the sense that he would rather be nearly anywhere else, but he forced a smile as we made eye contact and resumed his nice-guy routine.

"Danny, Owen! Good to see you two again, great battles today," Preston said as earnestly as he could muster.

Tempted as I was to snap at him and tell him not to call me Danny, I settled for giving him a simple nod in acknowledgment and thanks. I didn't want to pick a fight in front of Ana, especially not in the middle of a Pokécenter.

"Indeed! We thought we might find you two here," Ana explained with a much more genuinely warm smile, "We wanted to personally congratulate you two on a good showing, it was quite a treat to watch."

"It feels a little bittersweet to be congratulated considering I lost," Owen said bluntly.

"Just barely. You obviously have what it takes to earn your fourth badge, you simply found yourself on the receiving end of a gym leader wanting to provide a harsh lesson. An unfortunate thing, but not exactly unprecedented, particularly for Flannery. If you ask me you didn't do anything wrong, but if she saw fit to prove a point there's little to be done about it. She isn't the type to hold a grudge between different battles, so I'm positive you'll be successful on your next attempt. Besides, it's wholly expected that even the most promising of trainers would lose a couple of gym battles throughout their circuit. What matters is that they keep trying, improving, and persevering," she recited dutifully, as though it was some sort of well-known mantra.

"I'm surprised you two would bother watching," I commented with mild suspicion. "I would have figured you'd have better things to do."

"I don't often get to watch gym battles in person, and I must confess that I've been somewhat fixated on you two since our conversation earlier," Ana said with a hint of embarrassment. "When I was talking to Preston about things, I mentioned to Preston that I ran into you two and that you were about to challenge the gym, and he was interested in watching as well so we kept our eyes on the schedule online. I'm quite glad we did too, it was very exciting."

"It's been a while since I've seen you battle, so I was curious how you were coming along," Preston chimed in, glancing at me with a look I couldn't quite place before turning to Owen. "I'd also never seen you battle before, Owen. You were both quite impressive, I can see why Ana wants to recruit you so badly."

As tempting as it was to respond with a quip alluding to our battle that had been scrubbed from my profile or about him watching the gym battle he'd tried to rig, I resisted the urge and kept my mouth shut, surprising myself. I'd thought that if I ever saw Preston again I'd be unable to bite my tongue, and with us being in a Pokécenter as well as having Ana present there was almost no chance of him doing anything shady. I got the sense that he was actually nervous that I'd say something to paint him in a bad light, and although the thought of getting back at him was appealing, I found myself willing to go play nice if it meant that my life would be easier.

As things stood, I was beginning to think that Preston might have moved on, and I was beginning to think it was best that I do the same. While I'd never like the guy and I didn't believe for a second that Preston wasn't a scumbag in disguise, it occurred to me that although it would be satisfying to speak my mind and out him to Ana, it would only increase the chances of him causing problems for me, Owen, or Samantha. Considering he was the only one who knew Sammy was actually Samantha Stone, I didn't find myself particularly interested in provoking him into doing something with that information by calling him out and possibly souring his engagement. If Ana was able to keep the nasty side of Preston contained, I was content with letting her continue to do that.

"We were wondering if you two would allow us to buy you dinner," Ana proposed, breaking me from my thoughts. "I'd like to get to know some of Preston's friends better, and it would be extremely helpful to pick the brains of traveling trainers so we could better understand the needs and thought process of the modern trainer. I bet you already have plenty of interesting stories as well – I'd be especially interested to hear about your run-in with that deplorable Team Rocket."

I glanced at Preston, who only nodded in agreement. Although I was willing to let the past stay there, I still had absolutely no interest in any sort of future that involved Preston, at least not beyond the bare minimum required.

"I'm pretty beat after my gym battle, and I haven't changed my mind about not feeling ready for a sponsorship," I said bluntly.

"Same," Owen agreed.

Ana frowned slightly, but quickly corrected back to a warm smile. "We don't have to talk about the sponsorship, or anything else you don't want to. I realize that reliving your experience with Rockets might not be the best topic over dinner, so we can keep things light. Surely you two are famished after your hard-fought battles."

Normally, Ana's flavor of persistence would rub me the wrong way, but there was a genuine plea on her features. It was like she truly wanted to know where the disconnect was, and why we seemed so reluctant to give her the time of day. Part of me thought that it might be her affluent upbringing showing – either not being used to things not going her way, or the fact that her name alone hadn't swung things in her favor.

But strangely, I didn't get that sense. Every fiber of my being told me that she only had the best of intentions. Even if she was a bit clumsy and unthoughtful in her delivery, such as congratulating Owen for losing or thinking I'd want to discuss my near-death experience with a Rocket over dinner, it felt like she was only fumbling because she was being left in the dark by everyone else present at what the underlying tension was.

I hesitated, not wanting to cave and subject myself to sharing an undoubtedly tense meal with Preston but also not wanting to shut down Ana too rudely. But as it turned out, Owen was done playing along. Between losing his gym battle, being reminded of it, and the way things were headed, he decided to put his foot down and bluntly say what I had been trying to carefully dance around.

"Learn to take a hint. We don't have any interest in dinner, chatting, or your sponsorship, and we are not friends with Preston."

All of our eyes widened except for Owen, who crossed his arms and held a resolute expression.

"In fact, should you really be soliciting us in a Pokécenter?" Owen continued, reaching a hand up to rub the slight peach-fuzz on his chin in a dramatic display of theatric thought. "You know that your stunt at the gym could have gotten Flannery in a lot of trouble, right? She apologized the moment you left and begged us not to tell the League. I'm sure the same rules would apply to a Pokécenter, considering it's also League property. What would Nurse Joy think if she knew you were trying to recruit trainers in her lobby? Maybe we should go ask."

The color drained out of Ana's face and she had a look of outright horror, realization washing over her. For his part, Preston's eyes flashed with anger and I saw a vein in his forehead bulge as he glared daggers at Owen, who returned his gaze unflinchingly.

Not that I believed that there was any chance of it turning into a physical altercation, but if that were to happen, I'd have bet every credit to my name on Owen coming out on top. While Preston was taller, Owen had at least fifty pounds on him, if not more, and I knew first-hand that he was in great shape and knew how to fight.

In some ways, you could even call it a specialty of his.

"We haven't said anything about a sponsorship other than we don't have to talk about it," Preston growled. "We were just trying to be friendly. But if you want to burn bridges because you're pissy about Flannery making a fool out of you, that's your right."

"Preston!" Ana scolded, giving him a warning look mixed with disbelief.

"I'm 'pissy' because sharing the same air as you makes me sick," Owen said, raising his voice as he jabbed a finger into Preston's chest with enough force to lean him back.

"What is going on over there!" Nurse Joy's voice rang through the lobby with enough force and authority to cause us all to freeze in place.

She stormed over, glancing between Owen and Preston who were still staring one other down challengingly.

"There will be no fighting here, young men! I suggest you two go your separate ways, now!"

I grabbed Owen's shoulder, pulling him back as Ana wrapped herself around Preston's arm and pulled him toward the door.

"We're so sorry," Ana apologized, glancing between Nurse Joy, Owen, and myself as she kept towing a reluctant Preston toward the exit. "This was all my idea, I should have known it would be a bad time.

"I challenge you to a battle, tough guy! A hundred thousand credits, or whatever you can afford!" Preston shouted near the door as Ana did her best to get him to take the last few steps outside.

"I don't battle known cheaters or sore losers, even for easy money," Owen shouted in response, eliciting a roar of anger and frustration from Preston.

"You coward! You–" Preston's tauntings were cut short as the front doors slid shut, and it took every ounce of self-restraint I had not to burst out laughing or high-five Owen in front of Nurse Joy.

Sure, I felt a little bad for Ana. She didn't exactly deserve that, operating from information that was both lacking and plain inaccurate, but at the same time… she did basically congratulate Owen on his crushing loss, even if she hadn't meant it quite like that, and she had indeed failed to take the multiple hints that we didn't want to humor them. Besides, it was hard to feel that bad for Ana when Owen was just saying what we were both thinking, especially since it managed to get Preston to drop his nice-guy act and revert to the Preston I'd known was alive and well.

We stood in awkward silence for a moment as Nurse Joy glared at us, her arms crossed with a decidedly disapproving look as I focused on my breathing to keep myself stifled.

"...Sorry about that Nurse Joy," Owen said with a deep bow.

She furrowed her brows, then sighed in exasperation. "Please don't cause a stir in my Pokécenter. This is a place of peace and healing. Speaking of, I've finished checking on your teams. Meet me at the desk, I'll return momentarily with your Pokéballs."

We nodded, walking over to the front desk as Nurse Joy retreated into the back room. We stood in silence for a moment until Owen spoke up.

"Sorry dude, I just couldn't keep going along with it," Owen apologized, a look of embarrassment and remorse on his face.

I shrugged, letting a grin show on my face. "It's fine, you just said what was on both of our minds. It kinda sucks that Ana got caught in the middle of that, but at least the record got set straight."

"I'm surprised you are willing to play nice. Why not just give him a piece of your mind and out him to Ana now that we're back in town and we don't have to worry about him doing anything too shady?" Owen asked.

"Well for one thing, I've already been kicked out of a Pokécenter before, and that sort of thing gets noted on your record as you saw when we booked our rooms. I'm not keen on seeing what happens if I make a habit out of it. I also think that Ana and their joint business are the only things keeping Preston from trying to fuck with me. Sammy told me that Ana is one of the good ones, and from what I can tell she's right. I feel bad for Ana being associated with Preston, let alone engaged to the guy, but I figured I'd just try to play along if it would make my life easier."

Owen furrowed his brow in thought, "One of the good… what? I'm confused, does Sammy know Ana?"

I silently cursed at myself for having spoken a bit too freely, having been too focused on dancing around the topic of Preston knowing a secret I didn't want to provoke him into somehow leveraging.

"They went to the Rustboro Trainer's School together," I answered smoothly and nonchalantly, realizing that I could be largely truthful while still keeping her cover. "They don't exactly know each other well or anything, but she's got a good reputation for her oceanic conservation, being genuinely nice to people, and making sure she does her family name proud. Naturally, there are a lot of rich kids from influential families that go to that school, and Sammy will talk your ear off about how stuffy and insufferable they can be. Ana is one of the rare exceptions, at least that's Sammy's impression. I tend to find myself agreeing, even if she occasionally puts her foot in her mouth, it seems to come from a good place."

"Oh wow, I never even thought about all the elites Sammy might have gone to school with," Owen said, his eyes alight with interest. "I bet it was seriously weird for her to get adopted by a well-off family and find herself at a prestigious school surrounded by trust-fund kids."

"Probably, but she adjusted and managed," I shrugged.

"Wait, so that means she must know Preston too, right? You said he tried to punch you on campus–"

To my relief, our conversation was cut short as Nurse Joy and Chansey both came out carrying our trays of Pokéballs, setting them on the counter in front of us.

"Great news, your Pokémon are in excellent health. There were some minor burns, but we've sorted that out. Mr. Ingram, your Eevee has some damage to his fur, but that's unfortunately outside of our purview."

"That's fine, I can take care of it until I get him to a groomer," I nodded as I clipped the balls to my belt.

"Excellent. I have one more thing to bring to your attention – your Corphish is showing the early signs of an upcoming molt, and I have reason to suspect it might be their last as a Corphish. He's ready to evolve."

I gave her a long, searching look to see if she was messing with me, but she held her usual friendly smile and seemed completely serious.

"Evolve? But the last time he molted, she guessed he had a couple more in him before he was ready."

"Yes, but you've clearly been taking excellent care of him. His shell is exceptionally healthy, I can only assume you've been keeping him active and feeding him adequately, and if my suspicion is right you've likely even been giving him vitamins regularly. I would also presume you've come to Lavaridge to challenge the gym, which would mean he's likely faced his fair share of tough battles and trials. Evolution depends highly upon one's life experiences and overall health, so it's not surprising his would come sooner than expected given his lifestyle."

We thanked Nurse Joy, and after a short exchange with Owen we parted ways for the night. Even with a couple of hours of daylight remaining, I decided to skip evening training and turn in early. I felt confident that it was the right thing to do, although Owen was of a different mind and seemed particularly driven after losing his gym battle. I hoped that he wouldn't push himself or his team too hard out of frustration, but decided not to try to talk him out of it.

Besides, I had plenty on my own plate to worry about. I had a team to celebrate a gym victory with, a pending evolution to reveal, a fur coat to trim, and starter to console, and future plans to adjust.

A/N: I've rewritten this author's note over ten times, and every time I wrote an essay that gave far too many hints. I don't want to spoil anything or piece together things that some might not have realized yet, so I'm doing my best to say as little as I can. Some of the coolest chapters I've ever written are queued up for the coming weeks, and I'm very excited to finally be hitting one of the main plot points I've had planned before ever writing a single word of this story. Sorry it took so long to get here, hopefully it starts to make sense why as things quickly unfold, although even then I've learned a few lessons about pacing along the way. The next four chapters (at least) are all absolute bangers in my opinion, with one being a rare pov swap for reasons that will become abundantly obvious next chapter.

On another note, FFN has been dying again recently, so this is a reminder that you can also find this story on AO3, and if you are ever worried about missing new chapter notifications you can get them the instant a chapter goes live by joining the discord.

Shoutout to Feanix for beta-reading this chapter.

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