It's been almost an hour. Alysa hasn't been this nervous since she waited to hear news on Rei years ago. It was saddening to know wild pokemon could suffer like this out in their own element, but nature was cruel. Always has been, always will be. Even so, an early end didn't have to be the fate for the Vulpix; she would never allow something like that to happen without trying.

In the spacious lobby of Blueberry Academy's Pokemon Center, Alysa sat on one of the plush chairs. Across from her was a sectioned off room containing many self-serve healing machines, that a few students loitered around as they waited for their pokemon to heal. Alas, a healing machine wouldn't be enough for the Vulpix. They can't just "remove" starvation or reverse the degenerative effects it had on the body, otherwise Pokemon Food and the market surrounding it wouldn't be a thing. Maybe one day the technology would become sophisticated enough, but whether it would become widely-accepted or not is a different story.

She made sure to give the nurse and her assistant Rubis as well, so he could get checked. His lack of evolution, albeit concerning, wasn't as pressing of a matter that the Vulpix's grim health was. The girl was far more worried about it, and fidgeted with her fingers as she waited. A thought passed to send Tari out, her partner that had the easiest time calming her nerves, but she decided against it. Sometimes she felt guilty, burdening the Altaria...

"Alysa?" A woman's voice called out from the side of the front desk. She promptly stood up and paced over to the head nurse, somewhat prepared for the worst. The sight of Rubis on the gurney next to the woman, looking in high spirits, did help soothe her.

"Good news. Your Fennekin here is in fine health. He is past the expected time of evolution, but it has yet to produce any substantial ill effects. I do believe he is very close to evolving as well." Nurse Joy gestured for she to take the Fox Pokemon back, and Alysa did so, hugging him close. Hecrooned, nuzzling her cheek.

"The Alolan Vulpix however..." The red-haired woman become more solemn. "We've gotten her into stable condition, but she is severely malnourished. As she is now, she won't be able to survive in the Terarium, so she'll need regular feedings and plenty of rest to build up her strength. Are you willing to look after her?"

"Yes, of course." Alysa's response came at no delay. Joy smiled at her compliance.

"I'm happy to provide you with specialized pokemon food that's liquid-based, so Vulpix will have an easier time eating it."

"Understood."

"Excellent. We'll have her out in just a few minutes."

Joy returned towards the back of the facility. Alysa sat down on her previous seat, petting Rubis.

"I'm happy you're ok boy. Here," She took out his ball. "I'm gonna return you for now. I'll let you back out when I'm in my dorm."

He made a noise of acknowledgement, and was recalled. Feeling much better now overall, Alysa sighed, able to relax now that her stomach wasn't turning anymore. Nurse Joy soon wheeled Vulpix out on the gurney. Accompanying her was a plastic bag holding a labeled jar-like container, with a large-barreled syringe lacking a needle.

"Here you are! The syringe is ten millimeters in size. Starting tonight, give Vulpix one full dosage of the food. Tomorrow, space three feedings out throughout the day. You're welcome to do it by mouth, or allow her to lap it up from a bowl. Whichever is easiest; it has a mild flavor so she shouldn't reject it."

"Ok." So, ten millimeters three times a day. Simple enough; she could have the usual breakfast, lunch, and dinner be the feeding times. Taking the bag, she put it into her backpack for now. Slipping it on, she put her attention on her temporary (?) charge.

The little white fox stared up at Alysa with large blue eyes, carrying so much innocence that she wanted to bawl. She reached out to rub a finger against the fluff on the pokemon's head.

"Hey girl..." She softly spoke. The Vulpix murmured a sound, lifting her head to sniff her hand. Alysa moved to carefully pick up the Vulpix and hold her. She didn't resist, but again, she likely was too weak to. The chill from her body seeped into Alysa's shirt, but fortunately she wasn't too cold to hold.

"In two days, I ask that you bring her here again so we can re-evaluate her. By that point, she may have enough energy to properly eat solids. Though, if there are any problems, don't hesitate to return as soon as possible."

"Can do. Thank you Nurse Joy."

"It's no problem at all, dear. You two take care."

Alysa left the Pokemon Center, in a better state of mind than when she entered it. Some students eyed her in the halls as she walked past, but she paid no mind to the attention. She held the Vulpix steadily, already feeling immensely protective.

"Don't worry. I'll help you get all better." The girl whispered to the Ice-type. She responded by laying her head against Alysa's shoulder. When she went to the Polar Biome, she was not expecting this at all. While she did want to add an Alolan Vulpix to her team, doing so to this one in the current situation didn't feel right at all. She couldn't even function on her own.

For now, she'd gladly nurse the Vulpix back up to full health, then go from there. If she wanted to return home to the Polar Biome, then so be it.

When Alysa reached her dorm, pulling out her Key Card from her pocket with one hand to unlock the door and step inside, how late it had gotten slammed into her. It was about dinner time in the cafeteria, but weariness made her not feel like going all the way over there. She'd settle for whatever she had in her fridge, but first, to get settled.

She placed Vulpix down onto the carpeted portion of the floor, though rather than stand, she slumped down to her stomach as if her legs weren't even strong enough to support her low weight. The sight was disheartening, but Alysa told herself she'd have to be patient and see if she improves.

Seeing as it would be difficult for the vulpine to drink out of a bowl like that, Alysa opted to hand-feed her from the syringe. She got the bag out of her backpack, and put its contents onto her counter. She read the container's label carefully, though it was basically marked with the same instructions the nurse had given her. Rinsing the syringe first, Alysa brought it and the container over to Vulpix. Sitting down on the floor, she popped the container open. Inside was a pale orange liquid that had some viscosity, like it was watery syrup.

"I'm gonna feed you now. It should help you get your energy up." She cooed at the little one, who squirmed her legs in a crawling fashion to get closer. Alysa filled the syringe up to the brim, and reached down to push the tip of the plastic into Vulpix's mouth. She pushed down to release some of the liquid, which the Ice-type lapped up. Enthusiastically so, some runaway drops trailed down past her mouth to fall to the floor.

Laughing, Alysa finished feeding the pokemon, then got up to grab a towel to first clean her face, then mop up the mess. Vulpix watched her closely, while Alysa tossed the towel in her hamper and got a fresh towel – the fluffiest one she had. This one she folded up near the corner of her room, and picked up Vulpix to put her there.

"I don't have any pokemon beds here, so this'll have to do." She pet the Ice-type, who didn't seem to have an issue. She just looked around, full of curiosity. Now that she was set for the night, Alysa followed through with her word and summon Rubis from his ball.

The Fennekin looked around, pausing when he noticed Vulpix. He trotted up with no hesitation, making her flinch, and freeze up when he rapidly sniffed about her. He then poked her with a paw, chirping. While amused, Alysa wanted the female pokemon to take it easy, and Rubis being too much for her would be a hinderance to that.

"Be careful with her, Rubis. She's feeling too weak to play."

He looked displeased by this, but left her alone. He walked up to his trainer, sitting down and meeting her eyes expectantly. She giggled.

"Ok ok, I'll play with you." There were some pokemon toys in the closet, most of them used by her Clefairy and Mimikyu. There was a ball that she pushed towards the Fennekin, who yipped as he batted it back. They spent the remainder of the evening messing around with the other objects, though Rubis got too excited one moment and breathed fire – singing the carpet. It was ok though, she managed to grab the used towel from before and wet it to prevent a potential fire. They definitely needed to work on he controlling his flames better.

It was about 10pm when Alysa's hunger became too strong to ignore. She had just fed Rubis, which was enough to get him feeling tired himself. He had curled up near the Vulpix and the two pokemon soundly slept, giving her a little peace and quiet. Alysa chose to throw a frozen dinner into the microwave and call it there, lacking much else worth of note. As she ate, she watched the two pokemon, fondness growing. She just got the both of them today, and she already adored them.

Training Rubis, looking after and potentially training the Vulpix, while balancing homework under the time limit she has is...a hassle to say the least, but she hasn't crumbled yet.

In similar vein to Rubis, she wanted to give the Vulpix a nickname, even if it wasn't guaranteed she'd be keeping her. She bounced ideas around in her head, going from one naming scheme to the next. Flowers was a classic, and soon, she landed on something that sounded fitting.

"Zarea..." She tested the name out on her tongue. "Yeah...I like that."

She smiled to herself, getting up to throw her trash away once her simple meal was finished. Dressing down into nightwear and wrapping her hair up, Alysa turned off all of the lights, leaving the dorm's dim window projection as the only source. As she settled down under her comforter, the call of slumber beckoning her, she had a fleeting thought to check her phone. She had left it silenced for the last six or so hours.

Leaning over the edge of her bed, she zipped open her backpack to pull it out, and turned the screen on. She had one unread message...from Drayton, sent around when she muted her phone.

Recalling what she last sent him, Alysa checked their conversation with bated breath.

...He sent a kissy emoji.

Great. Cool. Awesome. Looking at her phone was definitely a good idea, because now all she could do was stare up at her ceiling with a racing heart. So much for good sleep. Alysa did want to send him a goodnight text, but it was currently late, and there was a chance he was asleep by now. She'd hate to wake him up.

Drayton, though...the more she thought about them dating, the less reasons she saw to say no. Primarily her lack of actual reasons to say no. All of them were based upon her own insecurities, nothing to do with him or aversion to them being a couple. Her moment with Tari from before reaffirmed this reality.

Why not just go for it then? What was the harm? These questions sat in her head, the girl eventually dozing off, envisioning the boy laying next to her...


The next day, Alysa woke up feeling surprisingly good.

Zarea, as she's taken to calling the Vulpix, is showing signs of improvement already. In the morning, she was much more alert. After her breakfast feeding, she got a little more active, doing her sad-but-cute crawling around her dorm's floor – thought she didn't do it for long, getting tired out fast. Alysa had faith she'd make a full recovery, and would be bounding around with Rubis before she knew it.

After she fed the two foxes, she recalled them to send out her main team, in order to give them their breakfast next. Rei was curious, catching Zarea's scent from the towel she had been lying on, but she just explained to him that she'd be introducing new friends to them all soon.

After all of her pokemon were fed, and she did general checkups to see how they were feeling, they all were recalled and she got ready for her day's classes. Things went normally, but Alysa did catch more of a buzz in the halls as she walked by. She assumed news of what's went down in the League Club has spread over the entire school, and she ascending to a rank she might not deserve.

Her suspicions were proven true, when someone tapped her shoulder as she neared her second class. They were a boy, one she didn't know.

"Yes?"

"Your name's Alysa, right? You're gonna challenge the BB League Elite Four?"

She gulped. "Yes, and...yes. Why're you asking?"

"Just amazed, is all! No one's made a serious challenge against them since...well. Since Kieran rolled through the league." He laughed.

"You battling them, and maybe Kieran, is sure to be a fun time! Me and friends are looking forward to it."

"Uh...thanks." The boy's tone was very flippant, but she let him walk away, choosing not to address it. It told her a fact she knew deep down, but it hadn't manifested in the real world until that very moment. People in the League Club itself wanted her to succeed, but the people outside? Who had no stock in the club's bad situation?

They just wanted entertainment. She and frankly the others were almost like celebrities in the eyes of the public, less like people and more like objects to gawk at or create fantasies about. It was an uncomfortable, nauseating realization that stuck to her well into the afternoon. Alysa chose to get a sandwich and leave the noisy cafeteria, eating her meal in the much quieter student lounge.

Afterwards, having shaken away the nerves for the time being, she stopped by her dorm to feed Zarea her special meal, and give her many affectionate rubs as she did so. With that complete, Alysa went to the clubroom next, choosing to carry Zarea with her.

She entered to a very quiet noise level, as there were only two people in the room. Crispin, and Drayton. They were talking about something, but stopped once she walked in.

"Hey!" The chef beamed. "It's good to see you..."

Both boys honed in on the pokemon she was holding.

"Is that an Alolan Vulpix?"

"Uh huh." She stepped forward, trying to ignore the heaver thumps of her heart from Drayton's keen attention. "I got her in the Terarium. Obviously. Her name's Zarea."

"Nice. Already making progress, I see." The white-haired boy chuckled. Alysa placed Zarea down on the table, and as expected, she flopped down to her belly. At least, her legs put up more resilience this time.

"Oh man, is she ok?" Crispin and Drayton gazed at the Ice-type in concern, as her head went to-and-fro from both of their directions, nose twitching.

"She will be. When I came across her, she was stuck in a snow mound, starving and too weak to free herself. Nurse Joy said she should recover in time."

"That's good." Worry gone, Crispin happily greeted her. "Hey little girl! Zarea's your name, huh? You sure are cute. Too bad Lacey's not here..."

He pet her head, and to Alysa's joy, she trilled in pleasure. Thinking it'd be wrong for her soon-to-be teammate missing out on the fun, she took out his pokeball.

"I got another pokemon too." She said, and pushed the release button to call her new Fire-type out, who materialized on the table. His ears twitched, and in seconds his head was darting about at the foreign surroundings.

"Sweet, a Fennekin!" Amber eyes twinkled like stars. The Fox Pokemon took interest in the two boys. He trotted over towards Drayton first, who rubbed his head with an amused smile.

"His name's Rubis." Alysa said, fawning over how adorable the entire scene was. Rubis went to Crispin next, who leaned down at the table's level to adamantly stare.

"Woah, look at those scars! I bet you're a real firecracker!"

Rubis barked, Crispin's energy infectious even to him. He hopped up to bat at Crispin's hair, making the boy laugh.

"What, do you like my hair? It is super red like your ear-fur! I guess we match!"

Laughter bubbled from her, emanating mirth. She was glad she chose to come by the clubroom. Looking back at Zarea, she caught the Vulpix crawling closer to Drayton, intrigued by him. He too pet her small head, using two fingers. Her heart swelled again.

It grew even more, when he made eye contact with her.

"I'm assuming these two are gonna be your picks for my trial?"

"Yes. Though, I'll tell you now...I'm saving you for last."

"Oh?" He smirked. "I won't get to battle you for that long?"

There was a teasing note in his words. Embarrassment and amusement mixed, Alysa smiled but played with her fingers.

"Indeed. Is that problem?"

"Nah. It makes sense. But hey, me watching the battles you have with the others will make up for it."

That made her blank. "W-Watch?"

"Yup. Spectators are allowed for the Elite Four battles, if they happen to show up to the plazas on time." He rested his chin in his palm. "You can bet that I'll be at every match."

As if she didn't have enough hanging on her mind! Drayton being in the audience of such important battles would probably distract her so much. She couldn't tell him to not go either, he had much of a right to be there as anyone else. And, honestly...Alysa knew she could never truly hate getting attention from him. Which, brought her thoughts back to the questions she was asking herself last night.

He was here right now, right in front of her...Crispin was also here, but she could always ask Drayton to come with her to a place more private. However, an arrival of someone in the room buried that possibility.

It was Lacey, who was carrying a stack of documents.

"Hi, Alysa!" Lacey noticed her first, grinning. When she put her attention on the table though, she suddenly squealed.

"Is that an Alolan Vulpix?!"

"Uh, yeah." Alysa backstepped as Lacey dashed forward, dropping the papers onto the table and immediately petting the Ice-type.

"You're so precious! What a sweet little baby~." The pink-haired girl crooned. Zarea murmured, eyes angling down happily. Drayton and especially Crispin watched, entertained. Lacey did stop however, widening her eyes.

"Oh dear, you're so skinny..."

"Yeah. I found her starving and too weak to move. Nurse Joy said she should recover." Alysa reiterated in a short form way, figuring that'd be the last time she needed to repeat the tale. The others would likely spread word around about her new team members, or hopefully they would.

"That's comforting." Lacey sighed. Rubis watched with a tilted head, but she didn't leave him out, petting him as well.

"So, these two cuties are your new pokemon Alysa?"

"Yeah. I nicknamed the Vulpix 'Zarea', and Fennekin is 'Rubis'."

"Those are lovely names!" Giddy, the girl focused on her. "When are you going to train them? Considering Zarea's condition..."

"I was going to start with Rubis today. He's been pumped for it."

The Fennekin chirped, standing straighter with a determined smile. Touching upon that, Alysa figured now was a good time to start. She had one more class, but it wasn't for another two hours.

"It's about time to get that going, actually." She recalled both of her pokemon.

"You're leaving?" Drayton spoke up. He appeared keen.

"Can I go with you?"

Alysa was stunned, but Lacey moved into his vision with a displeased look.

"YOU'RE not going anywhere! You have work to do, Drayton!" She pointed at the documents. The horror that painted his face was comical, as was how his hair magically drooped.

"But, Laaaaceeeeey-" He started to whine, but she cut him off.

"I don't want to hear it! You've been slacking off long enough this time around! You're lucky the stack isn't bigger than this!"

Crispin laughed at their banter. Toting his treasured frying pan as always, he stepped around the table and went towards the exit.

"I got stuff to do too. Catch you later!"

He waved at Alysa, and she returned it. The show of Drayton complaining to an irritated Lacey was hilarious, but she couldn't stick around either. As much as she wanted to. She needed to talk to Drayton, and she'd get another opportunity to do so soon she hoped.

"Bye guys."

"'Lysaaaaa! Don't leave meee!"

Chortling, she gave him an apologetic look and waved at Drayton desperately making grabby hands at the air, much to Lacey's disapproval. The clubroom's doors removed them from each other's sight.


"That's it! Flamethrower again!"

Alysa commanded to Rubis, and the Fennekin launched the attack against the boulder serving as their temporary training dummy, within the Canyon Plaza. Unable to bear the extreme heat, it started to melt. Rubis stood, panting.

"Good job boy." She praised him. His flames were inconsistent, but with repeated use at the same intensity, Alysa believes it'll become like muscle memory for him. Rubis recovered enough stamina to stop panting, and faced his trainer, eyes full of enthusiasm.

"Ok. Let's see what your agility is like."

Alysa sent out one of her team that Rubis hasn't met yet. A Clefairy skipped about, waving her arms.

"Lulu! This is Rubis." She got the fairy's attention, guiding her over towards the Fennekin. They looked at one another avidly.

"He's one of our new team members! We're training right now, and I want to see how agile he is. So," She smiled. "It's time for play tag!"

The Clefairy cried happily, and skipped away, going to stand at a distance. Rubis was obviously puzzled, so Alysa explained.

"Rubis, I want you to try and catch Lulu, ok? No using attacks, just run and touch her."

He barked, and took off into a dash at the fairy. Naturally, she moved at a very fast pace, skipping away from the Fennekin and giggling as she did so. Out-maneuvering any leaps or changes in path to cut her off, Lulu was certainly quick and elusive. Just like how she was trained to be. Follow Me was one thing, but being able to dodge attacks to avoid damage outright and continue supporting her allies supplemented her role greatly.

Funnily enough, them developing this elaborate game of tag took the name of 'Follow Me' literally.

Rubis, exhausted in the next 5 minutes, slowed to a stop and fell to the ground. Seeing that this meant the game was over, Lulu stopped running. Compared to Rubis, there was not a glimmer of fatigue to be seen in her. Alysa paid close attention to their bout, and recognized that Rubis was fast on his feet. Yet, he seemed to be focused on catching Lulu directly, which is were he was failing.

"You're pretty swift physically, Rubis." She kneeled down next to him. "But I can tell you weren't thinking about or prepared for the times when Lulu darted to the side. You have to expect the unexpected, and have your body be ready to respond."

Speed was key in battles. Pokemon moving too slowly or reacting too slowly could easily get overwhelmed, and she knew with how well the Elite Four's teams were trained, weaknesses like that being too stark would prevent a victory. The only pokemon who could be slow and still work efficiently are the ones with high defenses – something Rubis' species didn't have. Even with how tanky Lulu was, it was mainly thanks to the Evolite hidden under her curl, and it didn't buff her defenses enough to where she never had to worry about getting one-shotted by a powerful attack. Thusly, she was trained to be faster on her feet.

The Fennekin stood up, transfixed by her words.

"But that's ok. Developing traits like that takes time, and we'll be doing plenty of practice." She stroked his back. He nuzzled her hand.

"For now, let's take a break and go to the Central Plaza."

The girl thanked her Clefairy for helping out, and called her back into her ball. Together, she and Rubis begun making their way over to the distant rest area just down the path. Alysa had high spirits from the reality of Rubis having a lot of potential. He had the makings of a great battler, he just needed to be guided in the right directions. Truthfully, she was more excited about this training than she could've imagined.

It's been years since she last trained a pokemon, that being Thea back in Galar. Not to say training could ever be fully completed, but she stopped needing to go over fundamentals with her team, just further building upon what they had learned. Rubis was a clean slate, one where she had to start from the ground and build up. She felt like a new-ish trainer again...

They passed over an elevated slope, but just below them, Alysa saw something that had her stop in her tracks. A horde of Scyther, fluttering about. Not good.

They should be ok, they were higher up and the wild pokemon hadn't noticed them yet. Though, Rubis noticed his trainer stopped moving, and backtracked to see what she was staring at. Unfortunately...in his rush to run over, he bumped against a rock. That tumbled down the hill, picking up speed to where it bounced and plowed into one of the Scyther.

A dozen or so eyes went to their direction. And Alysa had never felt fear like this in a long time either.

They all cried out in anger, and zipped their way. They were surrounded in the next second. She paled.

"Rubis, Flamethrower!"

Sensing the danger, the Fennekin sprung forward and breathed a stream of fire at some of the hostile pokemon. Some were hit, but the others also moved. Alysa tried to reach for another one of her team's pokeballs, but found herself getting rushed. Despite bobbing to dodge some flailing scythes, one managed to cut her arm. The sharp pain and unsteady feet made her fall down with a pained yell.

Rubis gaped in shock, and in panic when he saw more of the Scyther close in on them. Close in on Alysa. His instincts flared to life, as did an intense wave of fire.

The flames licked the air as they churned, scorching multiple Scyther. It was followed by a burst of light, one that made the girl reel. From the light, more fire surged, and the remaining Scyther were blasted. When the chaos ended, and she got to sit up straight, she was stunned.

"Rubis! You...evolved!"

A Braxien stood, fire crackling at his hands. When he saw that the threat was over, the flames dispersed. And raced with a clumsy gait over to the girl, falling down by her feet. Concern was written all over his face. Alysa got a good look at his left ear, still baring its v-shaped scar, along with the other healed wounds covering his body.

"Wow...Nurse Joy was right. She did say you were close."

He blinked, and took a moment to take in his own appearance, like he hadn't noticed his body changed. His shock turned into joy, and he stood up to hop in place. The happiness of the moment was ruined by the stinging pain in Alysa's arm, reminding her of her injury. Examining it, she determine that the bleeding cut wasn't that deep and hopefully wouldn't need stiches, but she needed to tend to it post haste-

Something descending from the sky near them had her jump, and had Rubis get defensive yet again.

"Alysa?" A familiar girl got off of her Skarmory, adjusting her glasses.

"Amarys! W-What're you doing here?"

"While flying to the Canyon Plaza, I spotted what looked to be an exploding fireball over in this area. I assume it came from your...Braxien?" She asked. Seeing as she and the Skarmory weren't threats, Rubis relaxed his posture.

"Yeah. We got attacked by Scyther. I..." She cringed, standing up. "I got cut by one."

The other girl's composure was partially dropped, enough to let her eyes widen. "Let me see your injury."

Alysa allowed her to do so. Amarys' brow furrowed.

"It does not look to be serious, but treatment is required. Do you have a first-aid kit?"

"Not on me."

"Follow me then, to the Canyon Plaza. There are first-aid kits there."

"Oh? O-Ok..." Her request was surprising, but Alysa would not complain. As Amarys saddled her Skarmory, she addressed her Braxien.

"Thanks for fighting against those Scyther, Rubis. You were incredible."

He chirped, before he went back into his pokeball. She would definitely have to buy treats for him later. Taking out Sally's ball, Alysa flew on her back after Amarys.


"Thanks for this...but, you really don't need to..."

"Nonsense. You became injured in the Canyon Biome, therefore it is my responsibility as the Elite Four member stationed here to ensure you receive medical care."

That was noble of her. Amarys flinched as Amarys rubbed a cotton swab doused in an antibiotic disinfectant against her wound, and cleaned away the dried blood from her skin. There were few other students around in the plaza, the ones nearby not paying the two girls any mind as they sat on a bench.

Alysa understood her logic, but didn't know why Amarys herself was treating her, rather than she doing it herself-

"Additionally, we are friends, are we not? I feel obliged to care for you, based on that alone."

...That told her plenty. Flustered, she looked down at her lap.

"Y-Yeah. Thank you..."

Silence fell. Amarys finished cleaning the cut, then dried the area surrounding it. She pressed a sterile dressing pad to the wound, and held it in place by wrapping her upper arm with gauze.

"That should be enough."

"Great..." She was just happy she didn't need stiches, otherwise that would've been a trip to the infirmary. Amarys collected the disinfectant, gauze, and hand sanitizer she used before cleaning the cut to place them all back into the kit's plastic case.

"While I am pleased you are training, I do hope that you will be more careful."

Face burning, she bit her lip. "I'll try. But knowing I'll get booted from the club for being too complacent is sitting heavy on me. I only have two days left before I have to challenge one of you." Three days tops, if she for sure issues a challenge on the fourth day.

"...I see."

The topic was evidently a sensitive one, as Amarys's demeanor softened.

"I do apologize for the position you are in. The ruling was voted in, and the institution's word is law, but I know it puts undue pressure upon your shoulders."

"I've been...trying to not think about it too hard." It's worked, so far.

"It's not a hopeless situation, but Kieran makes it feel like it is. I don't know if he wants me to fail or what..."

She grumbled. Amarys closed the first-aid kit, resting it straight on the center of her thighs.

"Kieran, he... I considered him a good friend and still do, however, it does trouble me tremendously to see him behave with such callousness. He was not once like this."

"So I've heard." Talking about Kieran was getting Amarys further downcast. While not wanting to step over a line and invade personal space, Alysa's curiosity won out. Asking this question may net worthwhile knowledge.

"How'd he even get like this then? A person doesn't just go through a huge personality shift for no reason."

The Steel Specialist looked at her.

"...Carmine entrusted the information to me, but I see no harm in telling you. I do ask that you keep what I will be disclosing a secret, however."

"Ok. No problem."

Turquoise eyes went back out towards the distant biomes.

"For the sake of time, I will tell you a summarized version of the events. Last year, Kieran and Carmine went on an annual field trip to Kitakami, that is shared with our academy's sister school: Uva Academy, in Paldea. There, the two met an Uva Academy student named Juliana."

Alysa perked up. "I've heard of her! Just what Drayton's told me."

"He is aware of Juliana's existence, but nothing of what happened in Kitakami. Carmine made it clear that she has no intention of enlightening him, and I highly doubt Kieran has said a word to him about it." Amarys explained.

"Moving on, Juliana and Kieran picked each other as teammates for an assignment. They were to travel around the country and photograph signboards that tell of a legend intertwined with Kitakami's culture. There's many aspects to it, but to keep it short: it's of an ogre character that tormented the land, but it was confronted by three pokemon that died in combat against it. They were enshrined as the Loyal Three."

Amarys cleared her throat. "Kieran admired the ogre since his early youth, but he nor anyone else in the present day had seen it for themselves. Until one night, during Kitakami's Festival of Masks celebration. There, Juliana and Carmine discovered the ogre...that is apparently called 'Ogerpon'. It too is a pokemon."

"Oh wow. They met a Legendary?" That's what it and the 'Loyal Three' sounded like.

"Yes. They kept such a thing secret from Kieran, however. Carmine explained that she wished for Kieran to be spared potential grief...though she gave no further details. Regardless, he eventually found out, and he felt betrayed by the both of them. This bitterness stuck with him, well until something mysterious happened, and the Loyal Three were revived."

This was quite the story. Alysa was very invested in it. "What happened next?"

"As it turns out, the entire myth as the people knew it is false. The Loyal Three were in fact villains who attacked Ogerpon and her human partner to steal the masks they possessed, allegedly killing the latter. Ogerpon was simply avenging her partner, resulting in the deaths of the Loyal Three. With them revived, they resumed their original plan of stealing her masks and potentially ending her life as well."

Alysa gasped. That poor pokemon. "Did Juliana and the others help her?"

"They did. It was a grand effort, but in the end, they defeated the Loyal Three and returned Ogerpon's masks to her. This...is where the situation truly went south." Her frown grew.

"Ogerpon had grown attached to Juliana, and wished to join her team. Kieran, having admired Ogerpon for all of his life, took immense offense to this and challenged Juliana for her. He was defeated, and watched as Juliana battled Ogerpon, successfully catching her afterwards."

Amarys faced her again. "I must add that during this entire debacle, Kieran had challenged Juliana to battle many times, but lost all of them. This final loss is what pushed him over the edge, and fostered his thirst for power. Likely from his sense of failure at continuously losing to Juliana, and having lost Ogerpon to her."

There really was more to him than what met the eye...

"He returned from Kitakami completely changed. If he was not attending class, he was either studying battle strategies for hours in his dormitory, training his pokemon in the Terarium, or battling trainers in the club. This went on for a handful of months, until he ranked up far enough to challenge the Elite Four. He defeated the Rank 5 trainer at that time, Crispin, myself, and Lacey. As you know, Drayton was the sitting Champion, and Kieran did not hesitate to challenge him for the title. He won."

This painted way more of a vivid picture than whatever she could've come up with on her own. Alysa was grateful that she bothered to ask.

"So, that's the gist of his story...man..." She felt like she had a mental bomb dropped on her.

"It explains his change, but make no mistake Alysa, it does not justify his behavior." Amarys' tone took on an edge.

"How he is treating our fellow club members is not right. How he is treating himself, deliberately cutting back on sleep and adequate nutrition to focus on training, is not right. I wish there was a way for any of us to help him, but alas..."

She shook her head. "I wonder every day if any of us can. We all attempted to talk to him before, but he shut each and every one of us out."

"Has anyone tried to get a teacher involved? The school counselor?" Alysa's frown grew.

"We have, but Kieran refused to comply with them as well. None of us can force him to seek guidance."

That was true, but still frustrating.

"I wonder if I have what it takes...if I can somehow coax him into seeing the destruction he is wreaking, to others and to himself."

Alysa sighed. "...I think, he'll only listen to someone who's capable of defeating him. Power is all he cares about now, so power is what he only cares to understand."

That was the conclusion she was drawing.

"Hm...that is a similar sentiment Drayton holds, last I checked. He himself has tried to defeat Kieran since losing the title, but he has yet to achieve victory. It has been some time since his last attempt. He may have given up."

This really made Alysa speculate on what she should do. Or what she can do. She joining the club was voluntary, but she's been forced onto this path, and it'll end with she challenging Kieran or leaving the club with her head held down.

"You are a fantastic trainer, Alysa. So is Kieran. I cannot make a prediction on who would win between the two of you in a battle."

"...It's gonna be an unknown factor, until it happens. So, like what I said in the clubroom before: I can only do my best."

She exhaled a long breath.

"If my best is good enough or not...we'll see."

"...Yes...we shall." Amarys agreed, and it became quiet once more; both girls falling deep into their own thoughts. It was interrupted by Amarys pulling her silver watch out from her shirt's pocket.

"Time for me to go." She clicked it, before putting it back. She handed the first-aid kit to Alysa.

"Take this, so you may have one on hand from now on."

"You sure?" Still, she accepted it.

"Of course. We have many more." Amarys stood up, adjusting her uniform.

"So long, Alysa."

"See you..." She spoke her farewell to Amarys, watching her walk away. Alysa was left with a plethora of emotions, the most prominent of course being worries about what the future may bring.

She couldn't say she was confident through and through, but when has she ever been that confident about anything?