That evening, they arrived at the address Melinda had given them, and Hayley's first thought was that she had been screwing with them. There was nothing here. The bus had taken them to a run-down district some distance from the city center, and then they'd walked further, until Miriam's phone assured them that they had arrived. Arrived where? There were clusters of low-rise stores lining the streets around them, but all of them were shuttered and dark. None of them looked like a suitable spot for Pokémon battles.

"Maybe it's… there?" Hayley followed where Miriam was pointing, and her eyes landed on a stairway going below-ground to a disused trolley station. The sign said that it was closed for repairs—repairs that were long overdue at this point, since Rustboro hadn't had a working trolley system since before the Calamity—but the metal grate that covered the doors had been forced open and shoved aside. Hayley frowned.

"That can't be it." But she didn't have any better suggestions, and so she followed Miriam down.

Beyond the stairs, it should have been dark, but the walls were lined with caged construction lights hooked up to high-capacity batteries. Old dirt and grime coated the platform floor, and signs plastered everywhere still warned of "no trespassing" and "high voltage—risk of injury or death" and "trolleys may run in either direction at any time." A shiver ran up Hayley's spine. "This definitely isn't it. And we're definitely not supposed to be here."

"Don't be a wuss. Look." Past a broken, rusty grate covering a row of turnstiles, there was another room and more lights. Ignoring Hayley's protests, Miriam strode forward and hopped over a locked turnstile arm, and Hayley had no choice but to follow her. This was definitely not allowed, but Hayley was currently weighing how much trouble she'd be in for trespassing versus how much trouble she'd be in for letting her training partner get eaten by a lost tribe of underground cannibals, and if push came to shove, she could say that Miriam had forced her into it.

The room beyond was an abandoned concourse. Shadowy ticket booths stood guard, their scratched windows covered in graffiti. The construction lights were strung only along the right-hand wall and continued around a corner. Miriam followed the lights, and Hayley followed Miriam—and then Hayley's mouth dropped open. They were staring down a wide hallway lined with glass-fronted shops. The floor-to-ceiling windows were almost all broken open, either by natural forces or by heavy objects thrown through them. Most of the shop owners hadn't come back for their merchandise, but scavengers had. Mannequins and shelves were tipped to the ground, boxes of product ripped open, broken inventory scattered along the floor.

Hayley shot a nervous we-need-to-get-out-of-here-right-now glance at Miriam, only to find that Miriam was beaming. "Holy shit," she breathed, gazing around like a kid at a carnival. "I didn't think Hoenn had places like this."

"Kanto has places like this?" Hayley said, and Miriam's grin grew wider.

"Obviously. This is so cool!"

Not able to argue against Miriam's apparent insanity, Hayley grimaced and released Barrett. For the second time that day, the Magby gawked at the brand-new environment, then glared at Hayley for having brought him here in his ball. Pokémon weren't allowed on the bus; what was she supposed to do? "Barrett, there are some strong trainers somewhere around here. Keep an eye out and let me know if you see anything, all right?" As expected, Barrett's shoulders squared up, and he stared around the hallway as though expecting an elite trainer to jump out from a clothing store. At least this would make it harder for someone to sneak up and ambush them.

The lights led on down one arm of the hallway, and so they went that way too, gawking all the while. Hayley saw Miriam's fingers twitch as they passed an electronics store, but the place had already been ransacked, torn clamshell packaging and trampled boxes strewn everywhere among broken glass. Hayley urged them all forward before Miriam could decide to stop in anyway. They came across a map, which Hayley paused to study, but it made no mention of an arena for Pokémon battles. Hayley suspected more and more that this was all one giant prank. But finally, as they rounded yet another corner, there came the sounds of voices and the unmistakable noise of battle. They picked up their pace, Barrett leading the charge, and past the next long hallway, they found it.

It wasn't an arena. At least, it wasn't meant to be one. What it was meant to be was a sprawling underground plaza. The floors were covered in elegant terracotta tiling that was now cracked and chipped away. The ceiling was high and domed with the skeletal carcass of a chandelier at its apex; all its glass and crystal decorations had been pillaged, and only tarnished brass rings and support wires remained. And in the center of the plaza, an enormous in-floor water fountain had been dried up and repurposed as a battlefield. It was deep enough that the two trainers inside were hidden up to their shoulders. The green-blue tiles that lined its base and sides were battered, cracked, burned, and caked in grime; at the center, they were missing completely, with gouged concrete showing below. The pipes and pumps had been removed inexpertly, with jagged edges and supports still jutting out up to an inch above the floor. Mismatched chairs and tables, clearly pulled at random from other areas in the mall, ringed the edge of the fountain in rough semicircles, and about a dozen trainers were scattered around them, watching the battle below.

A ragged-looking Electrike was facing off against a sleek Linoone. Both Pokémon were tense and still, waiting for orders from their trainers. The small size of the improvised battlefield, and its high walls, gave Hayley the distinct impression of a cage match. Behind the Electrike, a girl with stick-straight blonde hair threw out her hand and ended the standoff. "Howl!"

"I didn't think you'd come." Melinda had been invisible to Hayley in a high-backed office chair, but now she spun around to reveal herself. An ear-splitting howl rose from the pit, and Barrett split off from Hayley's side to rush over to the edge of the fountain. Nobody else had their Pokémon out, Hayley realized, a little too late.

"You invited us," Hayley said, trying and failing to match Melinda's disaffected tone.

"Still, I didn't think you'd come." Melinda turned to Miriam. "Where's your Elekid?"

"Xena's resting," Miriam spat. She looked like she was attempting to bore holes in Melinda's forehead with just her eyes. "We did a lot of training today. We didn't just sit around watching other people fight."

"Pin missile, rapid fire!" The Linoone's trainer shouted the order, and there was a responding snarl and a patter of quills against the tile. Barrett leaned so far over the edge that Hayley worried he would fall straight in. Most of the humans in the room had lost interest in the battle, though. One by one, they were turning to stare at Hayley and Miriam.

"Oh, I've trained plenty today," Melinda said. "Taro and I were in the arena for hours until we finally had to leave to give other people a chance. Unfortunately, most of the people still in Rustboro don't offer him much of a challenge."

Taro must have been her Bagon, Hayley knew. A line of thunderbolts sliced through the air above the battlefield, spotting her vision and leaving her ears ringing. She blinked and shook her head, and when she opened her eyes, a beady-eyed girl dressed in yellow was standing at Melinda's side.

"Is this them?" she asked. Melinda smirked.

"Yep. Petalburg's finest."

"Did you invite us here just to make fun of us?" Miriam snapped. "Because I can kick any of your asses."

"You'll have your chance." There was a cry of pain from the Linoone and a curse from its trainer, and then a telltale flash of red light. "Looks like Nathan just lost, if you want to go against Lenore. We do a sort of battle gauntlet here—one trainer and one Pokémon fight challengers one-on-one until they get knocked out, and then the new victor fights challengers until they're knocked out, and so on. Lenore's on her third fight, so she should be easy pickings by now." Melinda gave Miriam a goading grin. Miriam crossed her arms.

"No. I already know I'm better than you; I don't need to prove it."

Melinda shrugged. "Fine. Rigby? You're up."

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The Linoone's trainer, Nathan, pulled himself out of the pit, and the girl in yellow took her place. Melinda swiveled back towards the fountain, and the other spectators followed her lead. "Watch and learn," Melinda said. Hayley gritted her teeth, but turned her attention to the field. Barrett was already enraptured.

Rigby tossed a Pokéball and let out a Sneasel—female, based on the size of the feather crest. Lenore's Electrike was truly exhausted now; Hayley didn't expect it would last much longer.

"Set up the field," Rigby said. Her Sneasel leapt up into the air and spun, firing an ice beam in all directions. It wasn't aimed at the Electrike; it was aimed at the ground. In seconds, the fountain was crisscrossed with uneven ridges of ice.

"Thunderbolt!" Panting, the Electrike tensed its muscles and began sparking. It didn't get a chance to complete the attack. Rigby's Sneasel fired one more ice beam directly at it, scoring a hit on its side. The Electrike yelped and crumpled to its feet. It was down before the Sneasel had even landed. Lenore muttered something, shook her head, and recalled it.

The battling order must have been set in advance, because without a word from anyone, a broad-shouldered boy hopped onto Lenore's side of the field. He sent out a Numel, which grumbled and shifted on its feet as it landed on the ice. "Ember!"

"Ambush assault." The Sneasel sprang forward and vanished into black mist—feint attack. Hayley spared a glance towards Barrett, whose eyes were wide as the Sneasel reformed behind the Numel, slashed it with a claw still wreathed in black mist, and then launched into a fury swipes attack. The Sneasel's limbs moved so quickly that Hayley could only follow the hits by the weeping red lines they left behind. The Numel didn't stand a chance; it collapsed without launching a single attack.

Next was a short girl with a Geodude. Hayley shuddered at the sight, having seen enough Geodudes to last her a lifetime. As the battle began, though, Melinda spoke to her again.

"Look, I'm going to cut to the chase. I didn't invite the two of you here to battle. I invited you because I think both of your Pokémon have a lot of potential, and I think it's wasted on you." Hayley opened her mouth, and Miriam clenched her fists, but Melinda held up a hand to stop them. On the field, the Sneasel dodged a punch with another feint attack, then countered with an ice beam. "Let me finish. It's nothing personal, you know? Sometimes trainers and their Pokémon just don't fit well together, and sometimes people aren't meant to be trainers at all." She nodded towards Hayley and Miriam in turn, though her eyes were still on the battlefield. The Geodude had endured the ice beam and now spun around to ram an elbow into the Sneasel's stomach. "Your Magby has a knack for battling, but he doesn't want to listen to you. And your Elekid, from what I can tell, has a lot of raw power, but you don't want to battle at all. So, maybe it would be better for everyone if they were raised by somebody else."

"Someone like you, you mean," Hayley shot back. Another ice beam; the Geodude went down. Barrett—Barrett had torn his eyes from the field and was now staring at the three of them. Another trainer entered the field and released a Torkoal; he didn't even glance its way.

"Yeah. Someone like me." Melinda's voice was infuriatingly calm, and she wasn't even smirking anymore. It was like she was stating clear, undisputable fact. "Your Magby has the heart of a dragon, and I know better than anyone how to bring it out. Elekid, not so much, but Rigby says she'll fit right onto her team." She gestured to the fountain, which once again contained a trickle of water as the Torkoal's flamethrowers melted the ice.

Miriam spoke up first. "No way. I'm not giving someone my Pokémon just because they think they're better than me."

"You're sure about that?" Melinda asked. Miriam responded by grabbing her Pokéball from her pocket and throwing it onto the floor. Xena materialized and immediately wrapped her arms around Miriam's leg, chirping joyfully.

"Hey, Xena," Miriam said, her voice practically a growl. "Do you want to go with these losers? Or do you want to stay with me?"

"Beh!" Xena grinned and hugged Miriam tighter. Miriam scoffed and withdrew Xena again. "Guess that answers that."

For a moment, all thoughts of Barrett were swept aside as Hayley stared at Miriam. Miriam was smiling, but her shoulders were hunched, and she was leaning towards Melinda like a Mightyena about to pounce. This went beyond her usual scorn; she was actually, seriously angry that Melinda had asked her to give up Xena. Why? Was this about pride? Or—?

"That's a shame," Melinda said, before looking at Hayley. "What about you?"

On the battlefield, fire and ice clashed. Barrett was still as a statue, his eyes glittering. Hayley had told him, three weeks ago, that if he wanted her to trade him to someone else, she would do it. So far, he hadn't asked. But now… What was he thinking? She'd never seen him with an expression like this before. She couldn't read him. She opened her mouth to say something, but her throat was dry, and no words came.

"Let's decide with a battle," Melinda said, and despite herself, Hayley almost laughed.

"So, what?" she choked out. "If you win, you get to take him? Shouldn't it be Barrett's decision?"

"It is his decision," Melinda said coolly. "I'm not taking anyone's Pokémon by force. I want to battle so that Barrett can see what kind of trainer I am, and what my Pokémon can do. Then, he'll be able to know for sure who he wants to go with."

She almost wished that Melinda had said that she was going to rob her. A test between the two of them, to see who could impress Barrett more? She was screwed. There was no way. But Barrett was already rising to his feet, smoke curling from his beak. Barrett wanted to do this—he wanted to fight. And if she told him no, this would be over before it began.

Hayley swallowed, blinked, and looked back at Melinda. "Okay," she said, her voice barely a whisper. "Let's do this."

Melinda stood and called down to the battlefield. "Rigby, Cedric, hold up." Rigby and her opponent—the Torkoal trainer's replacement, who had just selected a Pokéball—looked up at her. "I've got a battle of my own to do."

Without a word of protest, the two trainers exited the fountain. Rigby shot Melinda a knowing grin as she passed by. Melinda and Hayley both lowered themselves down; Barrett leapt in like a wrestler entering a ring, and immediately snorted in disdain as he landed in the half-inch of water. Great; on top of everything else, Hayley was going to have the field working against her. Melinda released Taro, who immediately shook his head and planted his feet.

"I'll make it easy on you," Melinda said. Her smarm was back in full force, as though it had never left. "We'll only use one of our moves. And you can have the first attack." She paused, and when Hayley said nothing, followed up with, "Whenever you're ready."

One move. What would it be? Probably not dragon dance. Hayley knew about iron head and dragonbreath, and—both of those techniques were ridiculously strong, but—steel attacks wouldn't be very effective against Barrett as long as he could keep his body temperature up. And dragonbreath was a dragon attack, but it was also kind of fiery? Maybe that would help Barrett resist it?

Barrett looked over his shoulder at Hayley, rolled his eyes, and huffed. He was making a show of following the no-attacking rule she'd set out for him all those weeks ago. Hayley dug her nails into her palms and make a last, desperate glimpse around the arena. The water on the ground was definitely going to work against them. The walls would make it tricky to avoid any attacks that covered a large area; Hayley and Melinda could see over them, but they were tall enough to enclose the two smaller Pokémon completely. If Taro used dragonbreath, there would be nowhere for Barrett to run—but, wait. That also meant…

Against all hope, a plan began to form in Hayley's mind. It was a long shot, but they had a way to win. "Barrett, listen," she said, struggling to sound confident instead of pleading. "Taro's really strong, and you can't beat him by just running up and attacking. But I know how you can beat him. It'll be different from how you usually fight, but if you do what I say, you've got a chance to win, all right?" Barrett scoffed in response, turning away from her again. Hayley shut her eyes, counted to five, and braced herself for what was coming. Then she snapped her eyes open again, and shouted, "Fill the arena with smog!"

Barrett didn't obey. There had never been a chance he'd obey, and she'd known it. He'd never used his smog attack, on command or otherwise, except that one time on Route 104 when he'd directed at her. And he didn't use it now. Instead, he ran forwards towards Taro, beak shut and claws raised.

Well, it had been worth a try.

Melinda smirked, and said only one word. "Rage." Hayley swore.

"Barrett, stay back!" Barrett didn't listen. Taro growled and flexed his muscles, and a red sheen flickered across his scales just before Barrett's claws dug in. The scratch barely hurt him, but even so, the red aura flared stronger. Taro reared back and rammed Barrett with his head, sending the Magby sprawling. Hayley cursed again. "Ember from a distance! He can only attack you if you get close!"

Of course, that just made Barrett pick himself up and charge again, hitting Taro with a point-blank salvo of flames. Taro didn't bother to dodge or block—why would he? His rage aura strengthened again, limning him like flickering flames, and he swung his head into Barrett again. This time, Barrett slammed into the cracked tile of the fountain wall with a grunt of pain. Hayley bit her lip. This wasn't it. This couldn't be it. This couldn't be how it ended.

"Ember!" she shouted again; one last, desperate command. Barrett pulled himself to his feet, but he was hunched over and panting. Even if he decided to listen to her, he wouldn't be able to catch his breath in time.

"Finish it," Melinda said. Taro ducked his head and gave a guttural growl—

"Cops!" Melinda, Hayley, Taro, and Barrett all froze in place. A scrawny teenager in a dirty white t-shirt had burst onto the scene, gasping for breath behind the rows of chairs. He inhaled deeply, then shouted again. "Cops are coming! Scatter!"

"Someone snitched?" Melinda said, at the same time Rigby said, "You led them here?" And then it was chaos. The spectating trainers leapt to their feet, knocking their chairs to the floor, and trampled in different directions. From down the hallway, there was the sound of barking and shouting. Melinda glanced at Hayley.

"You should probably run," she said, almost casually. "This whole operation technically isn't legal." Then she recalled Taro and hauled herself out of the fountain, and just like that, she was gone.