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Route 13 - Midday

Dust swept the badlands as Zack got to training. His team cooked under the sun as they went about the business of hunting Antiq, darting through the air and hot on her tail as she swooped and dove trying to escape. All but Serene, who stayed with Zack, pressing her hands to his wounds and pushing her Heal Pulse into them so he'd heal from the inside-out. Serene wore a dull look, and Zack didn't need to be a Psychic to know why. He pushed the thought out of his mind. He had to focus.

Zack said nothing as the last of his cuts and scrapes sealed painfully shut, and he stood up to get a proper look at his team.

The old bird had given herself a few doses of Agility and did a good job at avoiding the young pokémon. It wasn't speed or raw strength that she lacked, but techniques.

'Alright, warm-ups over. Return!' Zack shouted. His voice carried across the wastes, reaching no human ears but his own. Malis paused mid-flight, letting his last Flame Jet die as he went into freefall before Flame Jetting again into a somersault that landed him at the trainer's feet. Lethal performed something similar, and Hazard simply floated over.

That was all but one.

Antiq hovered in the air, each great flap of her wings keeping her more or less aloft. Zack knew what she was thinking; there was enough distance between them that she could just escape, fly back to her ancient lair beneath the seacaves.

'Bad choice,' Zack tutted, heaving Lethal off the ground and fitting the Crawitzer to his arm. He braced himself and the water type unloaded blast after blast of Aura Sphere; the white-blue balls of energy whipping through the sky on individual trajectories until they all struck home, colliding with Antiq, one after the other. She fell from the cloud of smoke as a limp silhouette, and sent debris flying when she impacted the earth.

Zack made his way over with Lethal on his arm, his pokémon following cautiously. Antiq's eyes were still lolling in her head as he placed the muzzle of Lethal's cannon to her cheek. He smiled. 'Looks like you've got some learnin' to do.'

---

For the next few hours, Zack trained alone save for wrecking the occasional travelling trainer dumb enough to wander his way. His pokémon split off into pairs as usual, swapping teams on his command until only one was left standing before Heal Pulsing up and doing it all over again. Good way to get a couple of levels under their belts before training was done, but not particularly good for learning new techniques that didn't come to them naturally.

That required the personal touch only a loving, caring trainer like Zack could provide. He stayed with Antiq, figuring out exactly what she could and couldn't do. Notebook in hand, he went through her movelist and had the Aerodactyl perform each technique in turn. She had some basic elemental control with her Fang attacks, which was good; easier to pick up on skills familial to those already mastered. For example, Zack's first port of call was to teach Antiq how to use Flamethrower. It wouldn't be her most useful move, but it was a nice foundation for other breath attacks.

She started by sparking her Fire Fangs as she Roared, and eventually mustered a flame from her gullet, which blossomed into a length of fire. Antiq's ancient eyes opened wide in surprise as she performed her first new technique in what was likely hundreds of years. The surprise lasted only a moment, before her expression turned dark and hopeful as she looked at her new trainer.

'Don't even try it,' Zack said, batting her nose away so it faced forward. 'One win doesn't make you a master, keep going. Again.'

It was around halfway into Antiq's mastery of Dragon Breath when his holo caster buzzed. He had around half a dozen missed calls from Dexio, and one from Sina, but this wasn't them. He picked up.

'What.'

Off Route 18 - Afternoon

It took Robin maybe an hour to traverse back to the Route 18 main stretch. Her team kept a close watch for any wild pokémon, and picked them off as they approached, allowing the trainer to enjoy a leisurely stroll in a realm where most feared to tread. Once her Holo Caster had reception again, she'd started calling Franklin. The first few calls went to voicemail but she tried not to think much of it. Maybe he was taking a s**t somewhere, who knows?

But after a while, and a few more dead calls, Robin began to worry.

'Come on, Frankie, pick up,' she said as the Holo Caster beeped before finally cutting off with a "Hello. You are through to voicemail." Robin sighed and dropped her caster to her side.

She wouldn't even be worrying like this if Zack hadn't rung her acting paranoid. 18 months and still she let Zack Redgrave get into her head. How dare he.

Not really wanting to, but realising she really ought to should, Robin reluctantly picked her Holo Caster back up and dialled. A blue hologram appeared in front of Robin, like a little action figure without any legs.

'What.'
'Prince Charming, as usual,' Robin said, ducking under a low tree branch. 'Just letting you know I called up Franklin.'
'Did you get through?'
'To his voicemail, yeah,' Robin replied. She walked for a moment in silence. 'How worried should we be?'

Zack's hologram pinched its brow. He always did that when he was annoyed-thinking.

'There's a lot going on in Kalos, and it's ******** up. Ever heard of Darkhorse Hunters?'
'Sure. Mère talked about them when I was little. You telling me Frankie got got by an urban myth?'
'They're not a myth.'
'Since when were you so anti-sceptical?'

Robin finally escaped the forest and made it onto Route 18 proper. In the distance, she saw a pair of trainers jogging down the route.

'Robin. I'm serious. People disappear in the Kalos League. Sometimes people die.'
'Okay then, let's go to the police,' said Robin, stretching before she jumped onto a rocky wall and slid to the bottom.
'Can't. They're in on it.'
'You know, you've never sounded less paranoid-'
'-Robin-'
'-than you do right now. Look, I'm going to keep trying to call, and if I don't get anything back by tomorrow, I'll speak to the police ******** sake.' Zack said. 'I promise you, that's a bad idea. Robin, please.'

Silence hung on the air. Robin sat on the bank overlooking the river. She had known Zack Redgrave half her life, probably knew him better than his own flesh and blood. She didn't buy into conspiracies, but she did buy into Zack. She owed their former friendship at least that much, didn't she?

'Where will you be in an hour?'

Juliet didn't miss a beat. She caught Helena's shoulders before the girl toppled into her, and stepped back to place her on her feet. "Easy there."

Unfortunately, now was not that time to talk to her father about this. She had to be present and accounted for at this event to do damage control if Alanza or Salieri went wild. Besides, she was tipsy. Jullien would not take her seriously now.

"Do you have friends here? Or Pokémon? Something to look after you. I'm too deep into another conflict right now to volunteer, sadly."

"My best friend is about to challenge a problematic league trainer to a duel due to issues involving my fiance and myself, among other things. It's very complicated," she explained in a blasé, rushed manner.

Juliet looked over Helena for anyone that might recognize the Unovan. She couldn't leave Helena alone in good conscience, but she couldn't watch over her either. Not if Alanza needed her. "Helena, focus. Do you have friends here?"

"Your stalker is tied directly to my family. It's happening to you, but it's about more than you. What's about to happen here tonight is not comparable."

Juliet sighed. "I don't think there's much either of us can do. Both of these girls are a tour de force. But if you'd like to watch, at least it should be a good show. Alanza Taine knows how to make a memorable performance."

Juliet rose an eyebrow. Helena had experienced a horrid trauma minutes ago, and yet she was still curious about Juliet's business. She regretted having so much sway over the teenager. "I already told you, there's going to be a duel, of sorts. The twist is that the participants don't realize how important the results will be."
"JULES!"

Juliet's head whipped to find Alanza stomping into the foyer from outside. "She's been here for like thirty minutes!"
"What do you mean?" Juliet asked, watching Helena out of the corner of her eye. She was reluctant to let the Unovan out of her sight when she had no safety net to fall back on. It felt irresponsible to do so.
"I asked around, they said Salieri's chatting up the party. I feel like a fool waiting for her. Why is she shooting the s**t?"
Juliet pinched her brow. Between Helena and Alanza, she knew she'd be getting a migraine later. "Don't get worked up. She has an advantage if she gets a rise out of you."
"Well too late for that, I've been risen for the last 10 hours." Alanza put her hands on her hips and huffed. "I'm gonna put the pressure on. She doesn't face me soon, she'll look chicken."

Alanza stomped again, this time deeper into the party. "Aly!" Juliet called, but she was ignored. She whistled loudly, facing the doorway so the sound traveled outside. Heads turned her way, and their interest faded just as quickly.

"As you can see, it's complicated. I'm just a moving part here tonight, Helena. I have a role to play, that's all." Juliet met Helena's eyes. "I appreciate your concern, but I'm not in any danger."

While looking over her shoulder every few seconds, Salieri weaved between guests into the room with the bar. Mia was behind the counter, handing out cocktails to a rotating line with grace and speed. The Machamp that had been serving before was arm wrestling with Biz Marquis. [HEY! Just one arm at a time pal!] the Chesnaught slurred. Sal wanted to watch that match very much, but her reason for being here was the priority.

"Yo!"
Mia looked up mid sip of her drink. "Where have you been?" She stopped what she was doing to mix a new drink, a dark and stormy for Sal.
"All over the place. Dude, there is a straight up platoon of trainers here who have beef with Alanza."
"I know, they wanna see her get dunked on. I've been talking you up for the past thirty minutes, you should be mythical in fifteen." The drink was already done. "Voila."
Sal grabbed her drink. "Bon dieu. Mia, you could make a Charmeleon blush."
"You owe me a day of manual labor in the lab."

They clinked glasses, and as they drank they leaned over their sides of the counter to speak more closely. Bass hopped off Mia's shoulder to join the huddle, and Veillantif jumped out of Sal's belt to do the same.
"I'm chill with Azucena now, she's gonna rotate our playlist in."
"Okay?"
"Was that not part of the plan?"
"No but I love it." Veil took a sip of Sal's drink, contorted her face into that of sheer disgust, and blew a light brown bubble that popped behind the counter. Mia flicked at the Horsea. "I only need like ten minutes tops. Can Veil chill with you? Her part's over."
"I'll teach her how to make a rebel charge." Veil Bounced into a somersault. "Ok, so. What's the plan?"
Sal shook her head, mildly pained. "I still can't tell you."
Mia coughed as she swallowed her wine. "Why not?" she asked. She tried to hide it, but Sal knew she felt dejected.
"Because I have to control as many factors as possible, and until I know how she pulls off her thing, I gotta keep my plan on the downest of lows."
"The downest of lows? Pfft. I don't see how me knowing would be anything other than dope?"
"It could be dope, but also might make it fall apart. I can't tell you how thought. Just try to keep as many people as possible downstairs when the games start, please? Mia, you are an integral part of this and more precious than a Shiny."
Mia rolled her eyes. "Considering how you operate, this is such a weird pattern of requests. But I am killing it, so."

BAM! The girls and the Pokémon jumped as Machamp's hand slammed into the counter, cracking the stone surface. Biz stood on his stool and roared, eliciting a wave of cheers around the room.

"Ok break thank you Mia you are a saint and a mermaid queen see you soon!" Sal spewed, hustling out of the room the way she came. Mia watched as a blue bandanna left through one door, and the red bandanna on Alanza's head came through the other. Mia ducked behind the counter, reached up, and brought the drinks down with her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

No no no. Yet another thread connecting her to Salieri Soledad had entered her life. Juliet just wanted to be free of that web. It's one league season. That's all. She pondered how much she should tell Helena. Clearly they held a similar opinion about Salieri. But Juliet had just met this girl, and already they were sharing too much for her comfort. All she had wanted was access to Bertrand for a night, and instead she'd gotten more of Jean-Pierre. The idea of her father's bodyguard being a shadow in the night hadn't left her head. Her mind was a whirlwind.

"Darkhorse hunter? Is that what they're calling it? Hmm." Juliet folded her arms. "Yes, the rumors are true. Apparently, that is what she does. But I know her better than anyone. Aly's not like the stories you may have heard. She's good," she said distantly, looking off in the direction her friend had taken.

Juliet turned her attention back to Helena. "I happen to be in an arranged marriage with Matheson Leroux. A union between houses. And recently, he has been quite enamored with Salieri Soledad....I don't really care...but Alanza has taken offense to this, and she has business to settle with Salieri regarding previously obtained badges anyway. I may not be the cause, but I am the trigger. You see why I have to be here for this now, right? I may be able to stop it."

She snapped her fingers. "Kalli." And just like that, Kallikrates slunk into the room, brushing her silver fur along the corner of the wall and she sidled up to Juliet and sat down. Helena had been dodging the question about if she was at the party with other people. It was clear that Helena would rather be with her. If she had to watch the girl, she wanted to try getting more out of Helena about Jean-Pierre throughout the night. Who was the person clashing with Jean over Helena?

"If you came here alone, you can accompany me to watch what I can only assume will be a shitshow. Or I can contact your brother to pick you up. Either way, you'll be safe with Kallikrates here. Alanza may be my best friend, but the relationship between a trainer and a Pokémon is different. I'm sure you know. Kalli is exceptional." She curled her fingers under Kalli's chin and scratched, causing the Ninetales to purr.

Juliet let Helena's words linger in the air. It was the first time Helena had shown backbone in her presence. It was something she could respect. "Like I said, I'm here to try to stop it. As long as I'm able, I won't let Alanza hunt again."

She took a step closer and looked down at Helena, rubbing her chin. "You do presume a lot about me, and the company I keep. I understand that she's done terrible things. Still, you don't know her like I do. My friend has been on a dangerous path, but I still see the good in her. If you think less of me for it, I understand that too. But I won't start a fight to end another."

The noble realized she had been doing the regal presence thing again, and mellowed out her tone. That was uncalled for here. Either way, she couldn't leave Helena alone. "I'm going to find them. You can come if you'd like."