Ever Grande City, Hoenn Pokémon League…

Even though she didn't show it outwardly, Katie was nervous. It was her first League Conference after all, and everyone back at home would have their eyes on her at that very moment.

However, she quickly reminded herself the nickname her family and friends had given her since she became a trainer: 'Cool Beauty'. Thus, she remained composed and kept her smile and calm demeanor.

She had made it through the preliminary rounds, using her Scizor to defeat the Tropius belonging to a trainer from Inua Town called Dominick. But Katie knew the real challenge was up next: the double-battle round.

"The battle between Katie from Lilycove City and Rubrum Navita from LaRousse City is about to begin!" the referee declared. "Each trainer must use two Pokémon without substitutions, and the battle will end when both Pokémon on either side are unable to continue! Choose your Pokémon now!"

Ignoring the large crowd watching her, the Lilycove trainer focused on her opponent. He seemed like a rather tall guy, wearing white pants and a red jacket, his head largely covered by a hoodie. Even though she couldn't make it out due to the distance, his eyes seemed to be of a red color.

Nevertheless, his appearance didn't matter. What really mattered was how strong and skilled the trainer would be. Katie had tried to look up info about him previously, but she didn't find much, other than the fact he had won badges from six of Hoenn's strongest gyms, and had only six registered Pokémon confirmed from official battles. She didn't know if he had more in store, but she could tell that he didn't have a very strategic battling style, instead focusing on a total offensive.

Upon a closer look she also took notice of the Snorunt holding onto his back, though she had no way to know whether he’d use it during this match, or he simply kept it out of its ball out of habit.

"Go! Swellow and Torchic!"

Well, that answered her question. Both Pokémon appeared on the field, and the girl glanced at them to analyze. She actually smiled, feeling somewhat lucky. Torchic was the basic Hoenn Fire-type starter; while it could learn some good attacks, its lack of the Fighting-type made it unable to use them at its full potential. As for Swellow, it was the most common Flying-type in the region, and she had fought her fair share of those along her journey. Perhaps its speed could give her some trouble, but nothing she couldn't handle.

The guy was probably saving his strongest Pokémon for the next rounds. Too bad for him, as Katie wouldn’t do the same, and she had the perfect team to defeat those two.

"Go, Golduck and Misdreavus!"

Her two Pokémon appeared as well, battle ready. She had spent the night studying the e-book "Pokémon Showdown", containing diverse strategies on simulated battles against famous trainers all over the world. Katie was sure she would be prepared for anything her opponents could throw at her.

"Wow! That Golduck looks really though!" the boy cried out in excitement. "And what is the other, is it a Ghost-type?!"

Katie smiled again; her opponent seemed very cheerful, but she couldn't go easy on him. Then, the boy pulled out a strange device from his pocket and pointed it at her Pokémon.

“Great, a Pokédex Holder,” she muttered under her breath. If that guy had been picked by Professor Birch, she clearly shouldn't underestimate him.

"Do I really have to tell you about these Pokémon? For the love of… They’re just a Golduck and a Misdreavus! Have you never really seen either of them?!”

"C'mon, Dex, please!"

"Alright, you win. Golduck's a Water-type Pokémon and despite a common misconception, it's not a Psychic-type. As for Misdreavus… it's just a Ghost-type who feeds on humans' fears, not much else to say. There, happy now?"

"Always so handy, Dex!"

"Yeah, what would you do without me? Look, I’m not in the mood right now. Call me when you find me a Legendary or something worthwhile, okay?"

The girl stared at her opponent's Pokédex for a bit, but she couldn't lose her focus. The battle had just begun and she had to concentrate.

"Golduck, Calm Mind! Misdreavus, Confuse Ray!"

Golduck started to focus and closed his eyes, as a psychic energy aura began coating him. Meanwhile, the Ghost-type launched a dark energy wave towards Rubrum's Pokémon.

"Dodge, quick!" the trainer called. Both Pokémon dodged the attack by jumping or flying in opposite directions. "Alright, now counter with Aerial Ace and Slash!"

Swellow flew up and performed a loop to gain momentum, charging in a speedy tackle covered in white energy, while Torchic extended its talons like sharp blades, jumping to attack with them. Katie, for her part, just analyzed her opponent. If his fighting style was pure offensive, her Golduck had the perfect move to counter it.

"Disable!"

Golduck's eyes glowed along with the gem on his forehead, and Torchic's attack was stopped, along with him in midair. However, Swellow's attack did hit, striking Misdreavus and knocking her away. Neither the Ghost nor the trainer seemed concerned, though; it was all part of their plan.

"Focus again Golduck, use Calm Mind."

The girl smiled in satisfaction as she saw her opponent, trying to rethink his strategy after being caught off-guard by the Disable. His Torchic was able to move, but it couldn't use Slash for quite a while. Now, all that Katie awaited was for the boy to take the bait.

"We can still attack while Golduck's meditating! Torchic, Flame Charge! Swellow, Wing Attack!"

"Misdreavus, get in front of Golduck and use Protect!" she countered.

The fire chicken ran coated in a layer of fire at Golduck, while the Water-type continued in his meditating trance. Swellow soon followed with its wings coated in a white light. Misdreavus got in their way and summoned a protective barrier to shield Golduck, repelling both attacks without issue.

"Don't give in, you guys! Charge again, quick!" Rubrum shouted.

Swellow flew again with its wings coated in white, while Torchic did the same while still on fire, faster than before thanks to Flame Charge’s effect. Taking the obvious target, both of them directed their attacks at Misdreavus, just like Katie hoped. This time, Misdreavus couldn't raise the Protect and took both hits, but immediately floated back up.

"Now, Aerial Ace!"

Swellow went for another strike, but Katie didn't do any move. Misdreavus wasn't fit for taking hits, but that single attack would be enough for it to fulfill its purpose. Even if she was struck down by the opponent, she wouldn't lose.

"Destiny Bond!"

Swellow hit Misdreavus while still coated in energy. As expected, the Ghost-type couldn't take the hit and fainted. Rubrum began celebrating, but in that instant his Swellow suddenly became dizzy and fell to the ground as well, unable to continue.

Katie smirked as she returned her Misdreavus. Her strategy had succeeded.

"Swellow! What's wrong, buddy?!"

"Destiny Bond's effect," Katie began to explain. "If my Pokémon goes down after using that move, yours will suffer the same fate."

"Dang, this is bad!" Her rival quickly returned Swellow, and started breathing deeply. "Focus, if you want to win this, you need to calm down."

While Rubrum focused on getting another strategy, Katie smiled in confidence. With Swellow out, Torchic wouldn't stand a chance against a Pokémon with a type advantage, not to mention her Golduck had its special powers boosted thanks to Calm Mind.

Now there was only one thing left to do, and victory would be hers.

"Golduck, Confusion!"

The Water-type Pokémon channeled its psychic powers and Torchic was unable to do anything before being lifted off the ground. Rubrum could only watch helplessly as his Pokémon kicked around in a futile attempt to break free of the Confusion. Her plan had reached its final stage; now it was time to end the battle.

"You have to break free, Torchic!" Rubrum cried.

"Too late," Katie replied. "Hydro Pump!"

As Torchic was still floating helplessly, Golduck launched his powerful water attack. Katie had succeeded; the attack hit head on and there was no way a Fire-type could take it, let alone a starter in its initial stage.

Victory was hers. Torchic lied on the ground and unable to move. The referee approached and upon seeing the downed Fire-type starter all soaked, was about to declare the match over.

"Looks like this is it, Torchic is unable to…"

"Wait a second, look!" Rubrum shouted, pointing at Torchic who still struggled to move. "Torchic, we've faced situations much harder than this! I know you can make it, get back up!"

For a moment, Katie thought she saw a glow in Rubrum's eyes, but she quickly dismissed it. Point was, Torchic was getting back on its feet, as if those words had revived it.

"Torchic can still go on," the referee declared. "The match continues!"

Katie was left with her mouth agape; that was impossible. There was no way that Torchic could have gotten back up. However, there it was, and then a red aura began to flare up around it. She guessed it was simply Blaze triggering, which was bad in itself but it would only get worse.

The flaming aura turned brighter by the second, surrounding the chick completely, and then it let out a sharp, ear-drilling shriek.

"Tor… CHIIIIIIC!"

It literally burst into flames like a small volcano. Katie had never seen a Blaze like that, it wasn't normal. But she quickly regained her cool and began calculating her next move. Even its eyes looked more aggressive than before: it was no longer a small and cute Torchic, but rather a small flaming star that had just exploded.

“Torchic.” Much to Katie’s surprise, Rubrum’s expression showed that he wasn’t happy with the sudden power burst. He even seemed… worried? “Control your energy, remember all the hard work we’ve been doing!”

But the words didn’t seem to reach Torchic. Instead, the chick’s demeanor had turned savage and aggressive, so much that even the Snorunt accompanying Rubrum seemed to get on guard to protect its trainer. Torchic launched a roar to the sky, ignoring its trainer’s pleads, still radiating that mysterious and terrifying power.

Katie was nervous: she was facing something she didn’t anticipate. But quickly regained control to calculate her next move. All she needed was one good shot and she would win.

"Golduck, use Hydro Pump!" she called.

"Torchic, Flame Charge!"

Golduck fired another spiraling torrent at his opponent. Much to Katie’s horror, Torchic dodged it without issue, and rammed Golduck head on using Flame Charge!

How could it gain so much power and speed at once? That was way faster and stronger than a normal Flame Charge would be!

“Torchic! You need to focus! Don’t attack so recklessly!” Rubrum continued to plead to his Pokémon, but the latter just turned around to give him a threatening glare, causing him to cringe.

Even so, the fact that it dodged the last attack just made her realize that Pokémon was not invincible. All she had to do was connect another Hydro Pump and the battle would be over. She just needed to calculate the best timing to make her move.

She’d go back to her former strategy; she’d restrain Torchic and then finish it off with their best attack.

“Use Con-” Her command was interrupted when Torchic once more charged at incredible speed.

Golduck opened his bill and eyes at maximum when the small chick rammed him full-body in his stomach, knocking the air out of it. The duck was barely regaining its breath when he saw Torchic stood there, the flames surrounding it growing stronger by the second.

"Watch out!” Rubrum shouted at Katie. “Torchic’s about to use Overheat!"

"Overheat?!" Katie gasped as her eyes widened in shock. How could that small Pokémon have such a powerful move?

And while Torchic readied to fire, her mind drew a blank, confused and not knowing what to do. Should she try Hydro Pump to counter it? Or maybe deflect it with Psychic? Or perhaps just using Disable? Yes, maybe Disable would work…

"Golduck, use…!"

Sadly, Katie didn't get to finish her command. Wasting so much time in thinking about the counterattack, the fiery stream, boosted by that abnormal Blaze, quickly engulfed her Pokémon. Such an attack at point-blank range would be devastating no matter the type advantage.

For a minute, Katie was left dumbfounded, unable to process what had just happened. At least, until the crowd’s cheers snapped her out of it.

Golduck was still standing! He was scorched and smoldering, and he clearly couldn’t take it much longer, but he was standing, much to her surprise and relief.

Seeing how Torchic prepared to charge against her Pokémon once more, Katie knew it was time to end the battle. It was now or never if she wanted to win this match.

“Golduck, use Disable!” she called without hesitation.

Fortunately, this time around the move worked, stopping the attack before it could finish, and leaving the unusually fiery chick completely helpless in front of Golduck.

“Golduck, Hydro Pump at full power!”

The battle was sealed then and there. Not even that Torchic could withstand that water torrent at point-blank range. Immediately afterwards, Rubrum and his Snorunt ran into the field, worried for Torchic, and the trainer picked it up in his arms, as the referee announced the result.

"Torchic is unable to battle. The winner of the match is Katie!"

“What a battle, ladies and gentlemen! That’s what I call a surprise comeback!”

As the crowd cheered in excitement, Katie quickly returned her Pokémon before his burns could get any worse, while she congratulated him for a job well done. In other circumstances she’d be happy for her victory, but for now, she was too shocked for that.

Sure, she had won, but she had almost lost, and to a small Torchic of all things. Her participation in the Hoenn League had almost come to an abrupt end, just because her mind was left on a blank briefly.

All because of that unexpectedly powerful Blaze. Her whole strategy crumbled before that unexpected power boost.

“What was that? How can a Blaze ability be that powerful?”

For a moment during the match, she’d even accepted defeat. Her mind was left a blank and because of that, her Golduck had taken an Overheat to the face. If he hadn’t endured… no, even though they’d won, the prize for the victory was too high. Her Pokémon got too hurt in the process.

All because of a mistake she made. What just happened? How could it be? Why did she freeze up?

The result of the match had left her with a few questions in her head. Fortunately, she knew the right person who might have the answers.

----------------------------------------

Pokémon Center, later…

Thankfully, Nurse Joy told her that Golduck would recover completely, though he wouldn’t be able to take part in tomorrow’s match.

While her Pokémon was being treated, Katie was at the Pokémon Center’s lobby, specifically in front of one of many public videophones. There was someone she needed to talk about her last match, and hopefully, she’d give her the answers she needed.

“Well, well, if it isn’t one of my former star students. Good to see you again, Katie.”

On the phone’s screen there was a young woman in her twenties, with dark brown hair in two buns and two pigtails held by a pink bow.

“I’m glad to see you too, Roxanne,” she greeted back.

Roxanne was the Rustboro Gym Leader, and her former teacher when she attended the Rustboro Trainer School. She was happy to have made good friends with her during her tenure at school (to the point were now on a first-name basis), and even helped her a lot when she took the Battle extra class. Not only she’d come to respect her enough to challenge her for her final badge, but whenever she had questions or doubts, she’d always be willing to hear her out and offer an answer.

And today was one of those times.

“I saw your match, by the way. Congratulations on making it to the next round. It was a tough battle, but I liked the way you used Disable.”

Katie appreciated that her former teacher was happy for her, though she quickly seemed to notice that she herself wasn’t sharing Roxanne’s joy for the victory.

“What’s wrong, Katie? That’s not the expression of someone who’s just won a Hoenn League match.”

Katie sighed and proceeded to explain. “I’m not sure what happened. When that Torchic went… I still don’t know what it did. But I felt overwhelmed, Roxanne. The nerves got the best of me, I froze up and Golduck paid dearly for it.”

“Oh, so you mean when its Hyper Blaze triggered…”

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“Hyper Blaze?” a confused Katie asked. “What’s that?”

“Hyper Abilities are variants of power boosting abilities, like Blaze, Torrent or Overgrowth,” Roxanne explained. “They’re very rare occurrences; more powerful than normal, but also harder to control, since they can make the Pokémon go erratic and violent. It takes a lot of training to properly master them, but once it’s done, the payoff is worth it.”

Katie nodded, as she recalled how the small chick had gone rogue during the battle. “No kidding. That guy clearly needs to work with his Torchic. I guess I was lucky enough that they couldn’t fully control it yet. I’d never seen anything like that before.”

At least now that unusual power boost had a name. Good to know, that way it wouldn’t surprise her a second time if she ever encountered a similar one in the future.

The two remained silent for a bit, until Roxanne finally spoke up again.

“Katie, do you remember when you won your graduation match?”

How could she forget it? It was one of her most important days of her life. At the time, she was so nervous that she stayed up studying and barely got any sleep. It was just her and her little Spheal.

Despite everything, she ultimately did well, and she proved that she didn’t only knew the theory. She knew how to put it to use in practice before going out to face the world. She approved with flying colors, after all.

“Do you also remember the advice I gave you afterwards?” Roxanne continued. “You shouldn’t just conform to what you learned at school. In the real world there’s more than knowledge for the battles. You need to keep learning and experience new things.”

“I know, that’s exactly what I’ve been doing,” Katie replied. In a way, that advice was Roxanne’s graduation gift for her, and she’d done her best to take it to heart.

Soon enough, she learned how big the outside world was, and came to realize how her current knowledge was not enough. That was why she always did her best to prepare, studying her opponents and preparing strategies to counter them.

Though looking back now…

…

Suddenly, she saw herself during her final match, in the school training arena. While the final grades would be determined by performance rather than results, a victory would definitely net her a higher score.

Her opponent was a bespectacled, blue-haired young man. His name was Clark, and his peers had nicknamed him ‘The Conductor’ due to his knack for directing his Pokémon in battle using a baton, like an orchestra.

Rather quirky, she thought, but it was effective right now. Before her Spheal could even make a move, Clark waved his baton while instructing his Cyndaquil to use Quick Attack. The Fire-type vanished for a split second and then quickly reappeared in front of Spheal to ram him.

“A perfect note, sure to have caught the audience’s ears! Your Spheal might have greater endurance than Cyndaquil, Katie, but it’s too slow to land any attacks.”

Clark seemed to assume he’d already won. Katie was frustrated, but as much as she hated to admit it, he had a point. Cyndaquil was a speedy Pokémon, while Spheal couldn’t move freely unless he was on water. Besides, type advantage meant squat when they didn’t have any Water-type moves.

If they just could land one good hit, move fast enough to…

“Fast… that’s it! Spheal, roll!”

Katie’s Pokémon smirked, before curling up into a ball and start rolling around the field. He began picking up speed as he rolled describing circles around Cyndaquil. That was a natural ability of his species: Spheal were usually slow on land, but that changed whenever they started rolling around.

“Who were you calling slow, now?” Katie smirked as she formed a plan in her mind. It was time for the Cool Beauty to defeat the Conductor.

“This bitter note will not ruin our concerto! Finish them, Cyndaquil!”

In their attempt to keep up with Spheal’s new speed, the Fire-type once more charged with Quick Attack, once more overtaking them in speed. Just like Katie hoped they would.

“Ice Ball!”

Right when Cyndaquil was about to ram him, Spheal stopped dead in his tracks, forming an ice sphere in his maw. The Fire-type starter ended up crashing against it head on, unable to brake in time.

“No!” she heard Clark shout, but it was too late. The match was sealed.

The Ice Ball then shattered to pieces, and Clark was left frozen when his Pokémon was knocked back and slumped motionless on the ground.

“Cyndaquil is unable to battle! Spheal wins!” the referee announced.

...

“Come to think about it… what happened to me today must have happened to Clark that day, right?”

“I see you realized now.” Her former teacher smiled at her. “Clark had prepared a good strategy and was certain that he would beat you. He got confident thinking he was victorious, but you surprised him and won in the end.”

“I… when I defeated that Swellow, I thought I had won already. I never expected Torchic to turn the tide around.”

“And that’s what makes Pokémon battles so interesting, Katie. You can never be certain of what could happen, the abilities, strategies or even the trainers’ creativity. All of that results in surprises, you can’t anticipate to everything.”

“But I investigated about Rubrum, I thought…”

“Katie, it’s good to be prepared against your opponents. But you shouldn’t get too cocky just because of that advantage. Pokémon battles can turn around in the blink of an eye,” Roxanne explained.

Katie was left pondering for a bit. It was frustrating; she had a strategy ready, but the moment that Torchic got back up, her plans crumbled and she didn’t know what to do. She seemed to understand what Roxanne was trying to get at.

“You’re always bound to be surprised in a match, Katie. But never let your confidence crumble if one of your strategies fails. There’s a big difference between theory and practice. You will encounter all kinds of trainers who will surprise you in different ways, and you’ll earn experience from all of them. Learn from those battles and you’ll overcome the blocks.”

“Yeah, I understand now.” The trainer finally smiled again. “Thanks, that’s just what I needed to hear.”

“Don’t worry, whenever you need some advice, I’m just a call away,” Roxanne replied. “Okay, I have to go prepare my class for tomorrow. Good luck in the rest of the tournament, by the way.”

After bidding goodbye, Katie hung up and went out for a walk to think clearly. The League had just begun, but she couldn’t get any careless. She’d take her former teacher’s advice and learn from this battle, while also focusing on the upcoming matches.

She’d have to take note of those Hyper Abilities from now on. She’d underestimated her opponent upon seeing that Torchic, never considering the possibility of it having an ace in the hole, which almost costed her the match. She’d be more careful from now on.

On the bright side, she now had a full grasp of what happened. She always tried to be as cautious as possible, to investigate her opponents and prepare strategies to counter them. And in this case, her opponent wasn’t exactly a strategist himself, and didn’t use species known by their sheer power.

‘But he was this close to beating me,’ she thought. For a moment, she wondered whether she should have, on precaution, sent her Sealeo, her strongest Pokémon. Maybe that would have made the victory easier…

She quickly shook her head. Had they lost, it would have been neither Golduck nor Misdreavus’ fault. They did an excellent work. Responsibility for the result was hers alone: she hit a block when her Pokémon needed her the most, and that almost costed them the match.

It was time to think of new strategies, as she had to keep going in the Hoenn League. Her next opponent had probably been decided already, so she’d better investigate them to create a strategy. She’d use her battle against Rubrum as a learning experience, and she wouldn’t freeze mid-battle ever again.

Right then, she saw a familiar figure across the street, walking alongside a majestic Gardevoir. She smiled; since the competition had started she’d hoped to run into him, but never got the chance.

In fact, hadn’t she seen his matches, she could probably have some doubts on whether he’d qualified or not.

“Obviously, there was no way he’d be left out,” she said as she raised a hand. “Hey, John!”

He turned around, and replied in kind, so she quickly approached him. John Archer was a trainer about the same age as Katie, rather tall and with dark hair, red eyes and a pair of Z-shaped marks on the cheeks. They had crossed paths a few times during the journey, and she considered her one of her main rivals to beat.

“Katie, hi,” he greeted her with a kind smile. “I just saw your match, congratulations.”

“Same to you,” she replied, folding her arms. “You’ve done pretty well yourself. Of course, I wouldn’t expect any less from my great rival.”

John sighed. “You’re still bent on that? I’d rather be just friends with you instead of rivals.”

“We are friends, John,” Katie cleared up. “But that doesn’t mean we can’t have a healthy competition, does it?”

Katie saw how John simply shrugged, as if trying to evade the issue. She first met him at Petalburg Woods, when both were starting their journeys and John was being chased by a wild Taillow flock, which she drove away. At the time, she thought he was a frail-looking boy, which probably prompted her to intervene.

Since then, they had encountered each other a few times across Hoenn, to the point they became good friends. And every time they met, John made a notable progress, to the point she’d find it hard to believe that he, the same kind, frail-looking boy she saved that day, could have gotten so strong in such a short time.

“Hey, since the battles are over for today, we still have some free time,” John said. “How about we go for something to eat? The guide says there’s a lot of gourmet restaurants close to the stadium.”

“Always thinking with your stomach, aren’t you?” Katie let out a small giggle. John had an unusual appetite for someone so slim. “Well, I wouldn’t mind some good spaghetti with Tamato sauce.”

“I know the right place. It’s your favorite food, isn’t it?”

“You got that right,” she replied. “Well, you got me then. I think it’ll be a good chance for us to get up to speed. I want to know what you’ve done since the last time we met.”

There was no way to refuse. The league trainers could eat for free, and with John’s appetite, it’d take a while for him to finish his meal, so they could chat aplenty while doing so.

----------------------------------------

Later…

After such an intense battle, and being on the edge of defeat, a good meal seemed the best way to lift the mood. It also helped clear her mind and get ready for the next round match, and at the same time, she and John could catch up.

Although Katie was satisfied after two big spaghetti plates, John still seemed to have room for more. The boy could seemingly eat the equivalent of everything his team would consume in a single course, and considering that right now he had them all out of their balls, she was certain that her estimation was close to reality.

Not that she was bothered by their presence, but there were inconveniences to that habit of his, aside from the obvious looks they were drawing.

“Hey John,” she suddenly said. “You think it’s a good idea to have all your team out like that?”

“What’s wrong with it? My friends are hungry.”

“I know, but aren’t you worried one of your future opponents could be watching? They’ll have an edge by knowing of them.”

“Like you now?” he said. Strangely enough, he wasn’t being sarcastic.

Katie simply shrugged, thinking he probably had a point. Even in the restaurant it wasn’t unseen that trainers would decide to eat along with their Pokémon, even if they didn’t have their full teams at once.

“I’d rather keep my friends close, Katie. And if they’re good with it, that’s all what matters.”

“I guess you’re right on that.” Katie grabbed one of her own Pokéballs, letting Sealeo out so he could eat with her. She hadn’t used him in combat yet, but keeping him well fed was important for his performance once his turn came.

“Hey, is it me, or your Sealeo looks bigger now than last time?” John asked.

“It’s not you.” Katie smiled with a hint of pride, as she patted her first Pokémon’s head with affection.

“He’s probably very close to evolving,” John said. “He’ll be a very powerful Walrein when he does.”

Katie nodded. It seemed like almost yesterday when he was just a little Spheal and she could carry him in her arms. It was unbelievable how big and strong he’d grown, and she was very proud of him.

After remaining silent for a while, John ordered another course. His Gardevoir looked at him with disapproval, and judging by the glow in her eyes, she was probably mentally scolding him for eating that much.

Katie knew Gardevoir was John’s first Pokémon, so they were probably as close or more so than she and Sealeo. He too had yet to use her during the tournament, so he probably was saving her for the next rounds.

“So tell me, what will you do in tomorrow’s match?” Katie asked. “Do you plan on using Gardevoir?”

“Well…” John simply shrugged. Even without completing the sentence, Katie could see in his face that he probably hadn’t even considered it.

“Come on, John, you need to prepare better for your matches,” she said. “Especially now, the opponents are bound to get tougher every time. I’d hate it if you were defeated before we can have our match. You haven’t forgotten, right? Our promise.”

“Of course not,” he assured, although he seemingly didn’t give too much importance and continued to eat as if trying to evade the issue.

Katie shook her head and sighed again. Sometimes she wondered what could have happened to him, hadn’t she saved him that day. John was a nice and kind boy, perhaps too much, to the point he seemed to need someone to take care of him.

…

It was a long trip from Lilycove, and it took her a bit to decide her route. What she did have clear, though, was who she would challenge for her final badge, and so she told Roxanne when she stopped by the school for a visit.

Thus she began her walk to her first destination: Petalburg Gym. She knew it was one of Hoenn’s top-ranked gyms, so she figured it’d be as good place as any to begin her challenge. But to get there, she’d have to go through Petalburg Woods first.

She knew that place was inhabited by a particularly territorial Taillow flock, one that wasn’t usually happy with chasing out their enemies. Sometimes they would pursue them to the forest’s edges or beyond. Although she was certain that Spheal was capable of driving them away if necessary, she still decided to walk cautiously, just in case she’d run into one of them.

After turning around for a bit, she heard wing flapping, along with squawking and peck noises not too far away. As she came closer she could identify them, and it didn’t take long to deduce what happened. The aforementioned flock had most likely stumbled upon somebody else.

From that distance, she could see the person being attacked was holding a Ralts in their arms, trying to protect it from the birds.

“Spheal, use Ice Ball!” she said as she threw her Pokéball.

Spheal appeared instantly, throwing a huge chunk of ice to bring down the apparent flock leader. The birds then turned their attention to her, and then another ball, bigger than the first, took down a couple more.

Now she had their attention, the victim looked at them, and Katie knew it was time for them to move out.

“Hurry, run! We need to get out of here!”

The boy, as she could see, didn’t wait for a second call, and immediately ran past them. Spheal fired a third Ice Ball that shattered into multiple pieces, taking out several birds and giving them the opening to run away.

They hid behind some bushels, and once they couldn’t hear any more flapping or squawking, Katie went out to check if the danger was over. She then called out to the boy.

“The coast is clear. You guys okay?”

It was then she could take a better look at her. The boy was wearing a black and blue jacket with a yellow collar, black pants with a yellow trim around the ankles, and a pair of matching sneakers. He was quite tall, even more than her, with black hair, red eyes with a strange glow about them, and Z-shaped marks on his cheeks.

“Yeah, we’re okay. Thank you, you saved our lives. My name’s John, by the way. John Archer.”

“I’m Katie, and you’re welcome,” she introduced herself, shrugging. “What happened exactly? Why were those Taillow attacking you?”

“I’m not sure. I just found one of them on the ground. It had an injured wing and I tried to help it, but then it shrieked and…”

“You don’t need to say more,” she intervened. “Even if you mean well, sometimes an injured wild Pokémon is more dangerous than a healthy one. Especially if it calls its friends like that.”

“It’s a pity. I thought maybe I could become friends with them.”

Katie wondered who’d like to be friends with a flock of savage birds, but then again, trainers could be all kinds of people, as different as Pokémon themselves.

“By the way, do you know how to get to Rustboro City?” John asked after a while.

Katie raised an eyebrow. “You’re planning to take on the Gym Leader?” When John nodded, she added, “How many badges do you have?”

“This would be the first.”

Katie placed her hands on her hips, before looking at John from head to toe. His rather impressive height aside, John and his Ralts didn’t seem particularly intimidating or strong. In fact, he looked rather fragile, both physically and emotionally.

That and the fact that he ran away from the Taillow rather than at least try and face them. Someone like him would have no chance whatsoever against Roxanne.

“Before that, how about a little sparring match with me?” she suggested. “Just to see if you’re ready?”

“A match? I don’t mind, but here? And now?”

“What? No, of course not. Come on, we better find a safer place, just in case those birds come back.”

She’d have to backtrack just a bit, but it’d be a small price for giving the boy a hand. Besides, she could also use the experience.

…

That sparring match didn’t last much, but John and Ralts had come a long way since then. Perhaps that loss had given them the push to become stronger, as she could attest for every one of their subsequent encounters with each other.

But alongside the rivalry, friendship bloomed between them. John seemed like a rather naïve person, but he was very kind, and in every encounter he became considerably stronger. That was the reason she always looked forward for the next time their paths crossed.

And now they were at the League, she couldn’t wait to see what new tricks John’s Pokémon had learned. She had prepared many strategies specifically to counter each one of the members of his team, and she was determined to win.

However, when she was about to take a drink and finish her meal, she noticed something weird: the glass in her hand was much colder, and the liquid inside had been completely frozen. Katie almost turned to scold Sealeo, but quickly realized he wasn’t responsible.

“Snow!”

“Hey, who’s that Pokémon?” John asked.

A small, black Pokémon with blue eyes and covered in yellow hood of sorts, was happily dancing over their table. Katie recognized it as a Snorunt, having read about it in a few books.

“Hey, little buddy,” John greeted.

The Snorunt simply giggled and blew a small blizzard at his face, covering it in frost. Gardevoir and Ninjask almost jumped, seemingly ready to fight the little Snorunt.

“Hey Snorunt!” a voice called out. “I’ve told you plenty of times, no pranks on strangers!”

That voice sounded familiar to Katie… no, could it be him…

“Sorry, you guys! My Snorunt loves pranking people, though sometimes she goes a little overboard!”

Yes, it was. That tall boy with the red hoodie was unmistakable. Katie placed a hand on her temple and shook her head. What were the odds?

The boy lifted the Snorunt off the table and held it in his arms, while saying “Bad, bad, very bad! You can’t do that!” as he wiggled his finger around. Meanwhile, Snorunt seemed to just giggle at the whole thing.

“I’m really sorry, I hope she didn’t cause you any trouble,” the trainer apologized once more.

“Don’t worry, my friend. Truth be told, it was a bit hot in here,” John replied with a chuckle, as he removed the frost off his face. “My name’s John Archer, by the way.”

“Your name was… Rubrum, right?” Katie asked.

“Yep, that’s me! Oh, and you’re Katie, right?! I’m glad I found you, that battle was incredible!”

“Yeah, in a way, it was.” Katie decided to keep her composure and force a smile. ‘Incredible’ was a way to describe it, although for both the context was probably not the same.

Rubrum seemed to realize what she was thinking, as his cheerful expression dimmed down a bit while he continued.

“Sorry ‘bout what happened in the match.” He scratched the back of his head. “I found out my Torchic has a very powerful Blaze, but he seems to lose it whenever it triggers. I’m glad you stopped him; I would have felt bad winning like that.”

“I can see you’ve trained him well,” Katie said with a stern tone. “Although using him when he can’t control that kind of power… that was reckless of you, I must say.”

“Like I said, sorry ‘bout that,” Rubrum apologized again. “I’m gonna work hard until we get that Blaze under control. But other than that, the League was lots of fun, so I have no regrets.” He then turned to John. “You’re still in the competition too, right?”

“Yes I am.” John nodded.

“Haha, well then, Johnny-bro, if you and Katie can do me a favor, win the next rounds for me, will ya?” He then raised his hand for a high-five.

Katie hesitated, but figured it wouldn’t hurt and accepted it. John followed suit, though for a split second as their hands made contact, she could have sworn she saw a small glow in John’s eyes.

The same she recalled from the first time they met. Was she imagining things?

“Do you want to sit with us?” John invited. “If Katie doesn’t mind, of course.”

“At all.” She moved away to make room for him. If John wanted to make a new friend, who was she to deny it?

“Thanks!” The boy in the red hoodie sat next to them, as his Snorunt hopped onto his head. “I like you, bro! Are these your Pokémon? They look awesome!”

“Well, not all of them are mine,” John cleared up. “The Sealeo belongs to Katie.”

Truth be told, Katie felt a little uncomfortable that John had invited that boy who, she thought, was a bit irresponsible, for bringing to the League a Pokémon that lost control. But John was that kind of person: kind and friendly to everyone. She could swear he’d probably give an olive branch to a Draconid who’d probably sic a hungry Salamence to devour him.

On the other hand, out of that little mishap Rubrum didn’t seem an unpleasant guy. Katie decided to not to hold any grudges over the fact that he almost beat her. That would be almost as bad as being a sore loser.

Much to her surprise, Rubrum pulled out his Pokédex and began pointing it to every Pokémon around.

“Hey Dex! Check out these awesome Pokémon!”

“Now what? You probably just want data of some common creature that… is that a Gardevoir?! At long last you did something right, human! Put me closer, I want every possible data of a rare Pokémon like that!”

“I didn’t know Pokédexes could have that kind of personality,” the girl commented.

“Yeah, my Dex is quite the character,” Rubrum said with some pride.

“Hey Katie, what’s a Pokédex?” John asked.

“Don’t you know? It’s a tool given by Professor Birch to potentially exceptional trainers, along with a Starter Pokémon,” Katie explained. “I assume you got your Torchic along with it?”

“Haha, actually, no.” Rubrum scratched the back of his head. “My first Pokémon is actually little Snorunt here, and Professor Birch gave me a Treecko. I caught Torchic in the wild a few months back.”

“That was… very lucky for you, wasn’t it?” Katie said. Starter Pokémon were hard to find in the wild, and even more with Hyper abilities, if what Roxanne told her was true.

“Yeah, this human’s been very lucky, but luck eventually runs out. Like it did in the last match. You can’t say I warned you, can you?”

Katie had never seen a Pokédex from up close, and although she acknowledged the advantages of such a device, from the little she’d seen of Rubrum’s Pokédex, she thought it had the personality of an idiot. John’s Gardevoir for her part seemed uncomfortable with the device scanning her, and Katie couldn’t blame her.

As the conversation continued, Rubrum and John seemed to click very well with each other, despite their opposite personalities. Maybe it helped that both shared a voracious appetite; when Rubrum’s order came to the table, Katie could attest that it was about probably as big, if not bigger, than John’s.

If she didn’t know better, and seeing them up close, she could have believed they were brothers. She had to admit it made her feel a little bit jealous.

She wasn’t particularly good at socializing with people. The moniker “Cool Beauty” came in part because she was someone who liked to keep her distance. Not that she hated being close to others; she simply wasn’t one to take the initiative, unless they found some common ground to talk about.

And one of those few areas was Pokémon Training, so she found it easier to make friends through rivalry and competition rather than trying John’s approach.

“Ah, that was delicious!” Rubrum exclaimed while rubbing his now full belly. “Well, it was a pleasure to chat with you guys, but I have to jet back to the Pokémon Center! Catch ya later, gang!”

“Hey, wait!” Katie called out, but Rubrum ran off out of the place, followed by his Snorunt waving them goodbye with her tiny arms.

John and Katie remained seated, a bit confused about what just happened. That boy seemed quite full of energy, so much that he couldn’t seem to stay in a single place for too long.

“I believe we should go after him,” Katie said.

“Why?”

“He forgot this.” She picked up the Pokédex.

“Hey, you stupid human! Don’t you see how valuable I am?! How can you drop me off like this?!”

The device continued to rant nonstop about being abandoned by its trainer. The girl wondered how someone so easily distracted could have gotten one of them, but after that battle, he clearly showed some hidden potential. She gestured to John to follow her, and together they went out after Rubrum to give it back so it would shut up.

The tournament was bound to be full of very interesting opponents.

To be continued…