CHAPTER ELEVEN: THE PAST IS PAST

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There was only half the initial amount of people in the waiting room when Alice and Ken arrived. The volume had died down, and duos were murmuring to each other quietly in separate corners. Much to their distress, the excitement of the fellow trainers had turned into an infectious anxiety.

Replays of the previous battles showed on the televisions overhead, highlights appearing as commentators gave their remarks. It took an hour for Ken's and Alice's clip to pop up.

"...look at that Infernape. He's absolutely massive!" One of the commentators gasped as the camera zoomed in on Infernape. "You can see his muscles rippling with every movement. How long do you think his trainer's been preparing for this?"

"She's must've trained harder than anyone else here," the other replied, chuckling. "This Infernape makes a Machoke look puny."

Alice furrowed her brows. "Infernape's not that big." She turned to Ken. "Right?"

"He's twice the size of a normal Infernape," Ken replied.

The brunette went back to watching the recaps. It featured Infernape's final blow to Exeggutor, the Fire-and-Fighting-type yelling in victory when the Alolan fainted at his feet. She beamed at the sight of her Pokémon jumping in excitement and pride swelled within her. That was her Infernape being praised on national television. It was she and Ken who won the match.

The mirth in Alice's gaze dissipated as the final battle's clips were played. Her quirked lips drooped and pursed into an even line. She stopped her fidgeting and came to a speechless halt.

A pink-haired girl laughed on the screen, bouncing on the heels of her feet and cheering on her metallic Rapidash. She called out instructions with the utmost confidence, her ruby eyes sparkling when her Pokémon carried out moves with no troubles. The commentators praised the teenager more than her Rapidash.

"Alice... Alice... Alice." Ken sighed then shook his companion's shoulder, yanking Alice out of her trance. She stared blankly at him and he frowned. "What's the matter?"

"It's nothing, really," she mumbled.

"Don't lie."

"I don't want to talk about it in public."

Alice was thankful he left it at that. The commentators appeared on-screen and announced that they had the results in for what duos were paired up to battle in the second round. She dug her nails into the small bag she brought and leaned forward in anticipation.

Please, Arceus, please, she begged.

"...Alice and Ken Bristow versus Rosie Leroy and Grayson Wrys!"

The bag tumbled off of Alice's lap and onto the floor with a soft thud. She didn't move. She couldn't move. Her wide-eyed gaze remained locked on the photo of her upcoming opponents.

"Let the second round begin!" the announced cheered, his delighted voice eons away from the dazed girl.

"Alice," Ken repeated.

Nothing.

He stood in front of her, blocking the TV. "It's our turn to battle."

"Um, okay," she said.

Alice followed Ken out of the room without saying anything. She could've held a better conversation if she'd swallowed a cotton ball. Her gaze trained on her feet and she studied the tile flooring. The two came to a standstill at the doors that led out to the battling stage.

Ken's hand met the handle, and he paused. He asked, "Will you be able to battle?"

Alice nodded and forced a smile. "Yeah, let's win this."

The blond pushed the exit open and they walked outside into the blinding sunlight. Deafening roars of the crowd fell on their ears in a chaotic screaming match. Cameras zoomed in on the Trainers' taut faces, engaging commentators to gossip and critique their persons. Alice looked everywhere but the girl standing across from her, and Ken steadied his rising nerves.

"On the left side, we have Rosie Leroy and Grayson Wrys! And on the right, we have Alice and Ken Bristow!" the announcer stated in the same cheery voice as before. "Trainers, release your Pokémon!"

"Dazzle them, Rapidash!" the pink-haired girl, Rosie, shouted.

An abnormal Fire-type materialized on the field. Brilliant, silver flames coated the back of the equine Pokémon. It whinnied and stomped its feet on the earth, kicking up dust. Rapidash snorted and lifted its head only to glare its onyx eyes at Alice's direction.

Alice held Infernape's Poké Ball to her lips and murmured, "This'll be just like old times, okay? Don't freak out." She tossed it, shouting, "Let's go, Infernape!"

Infernape materialized from the white beam and tensed upon seeing Rapidash. He stood straight up and bunched his rippling muscles. A guttural snarl left his throat. The hostility seized the cameras' attention, putting him front and center on television.

"Infernape, stop!" Alice scolded, her face warming in embarrassment.

The Fire-and-Fighting-type huffed and let his lips fall, hiding his fangs.

I deserve a briefing, Ken thought as he watched the exchange. "Manectric, steady,"

"Win us a battle, Steelix!" Grayson, the guy who had his arm around Rosie's waist, shouted.

The gargantuan beast forged from wrath and stone conquered its half of the field. It loomed over Infernape and Manectric, casting shadows over their startled forms.

"Dodge every attack Steelix uses. Neither Infernape nor Manectric can survive more than three hits from it." Ken warned.

The announcer said, "The team with the last standing Pokémon will advance to the next round. You'll start on 'go'. Three, two, one... GO!"

"Use Double Team to cover Infernape, and stop Rapidash with Thunder Wave!" Ken ordered.

Alice didn't skip a beat as she added, "Power up a Swords Dance, Infernape!"

A barrage of Manectric encircled Infernape in a shoulder-to-shoulder, Pokémon-made shield. The canine rushed forwards with two clones flanking her, electricity charging between them in a fashion similar to magnets.

"Use Screech, Steelix!" Grayson called out.

Steelix parted its colossal, steel jaws and released a piercing shrill. The ear-grating noise elicited painful groans from everyone on the premise. Manectric skittered to a stop and whimpered, covering her head with her paws.

Ken gritted his teeth and pressed his hands against his now throbbing temples. "Manectric, steady yourself! Thunder Wave!"

Manectric staggered to her feet and recollected her energy. Dandelion colored bolts spiraled at Rapidash, but Steelix slammed its tail down and absorbed the sparks without even wincing. Manectric volleyed over his limb only to have the two back hooves of her target meet her clone's face. The figure disappeared on impact, and she loosed her Thunder Wave on the Fire-type.

"Rapidash, use Flare Blitz!" Rosie commanded, her nervous voice betraying her poised stature.

Ken retaliated, "Keep it at bay with Thunderbolt!"

Cold gray spritz met golden strikes in a clash of dynamic light. Manectric braced herself and squeezed her eyes shut, gritting her teeth as she summoned as much power as she could. The flames were slowly eating away at her attack, forcing its way through to reach her.

"Back off with Quick Attack, and use Light Screen!" Ken ordered.

Manectric retreated, seeking refuge behind her clones as a pale pink sphere encapsulated them. She trained her gaze on Infernape who was doing acrobatics through the air while firing attacks at Steelix. The same psychic energy sprouted around him, coloring his body a lighter hue.

"Follow it, Rapidash! Agility then Megahorn!" Rosie cried.

Why isn't it paralyzed yet? I've never faced this long of a delay before battling in Kalos. Ken thought, irritation shaping his facial expression into a scowl. "Thunderbolt!"

Rapidash sped toward Manectric in a zigzag pattern reminiscent of a Zigzagoon. Its horn thickened and elongated twice its normal size. Manectric discharged her Thunderbolt, but Rapidash pressed on even further. Despite being electrocuted, the equine Pokémon dove at Manectric and pierced her side.

Alice shouted, "Mach Punch!"

Infernape fled from his position atop of Steelix and knocked Rapidash off of his partner. He whirled around as Rapidash stumbled and landed another solid blow. Manectric nodded at him then expelled yet another Thunderbolt at their Fire-type opponent, and Rapidash dropped.

The announcer started, "Rapidash is unab—"

Steelix collapsed with a groan, crashing into the ground where Rapidash had laid moments ago.

"—it appears as if Steelix has fainted from his burn, and is unable to battle. The winners are Alice and Ken Bristow!"

Something brushed against Ken, and he looked over to see Alice bolting from the arena, refusing to greet the cameras following her. He caught up to her in the hallway connected to the waiting room where she had stopped. Once he was beside her, he saw why.

"...so long!" Rosie said, tilting her head to the side and grinning. "I totally wasn't expecting to see you here! I thought you gave up on battling."

Alice laughed sheepishly and shrugged. "I took a break. My parents needed help at the daycare."

The flowery girl spotted Ken and her eyebrows almost hit her hairline. "Is that your boyfriend, Ali?"

"No, he's a foreign exchange student," Alice said, the lie easily rolling off of her tongue. She pretended not to notice the unpleasant look Ken shot her.

Grayson flashed a smile at Ken. "Hey."

"Hello," the blond replied.

"We need to meet up later. It's been forever since we've talked and I want to hear all about what you've been up to since, well, you know what happened." Rosie beamed, holding Alice's hands in her own. "You forgive me, right? The past is past. I swear I'm a lot better now."

Alice hesitated, conflict flickering across her face for a split second before she released a high-pitched giggle. "Uh, sure."

The brunette continued to play nice as she exchanged numbers with Rosie then bid her farewell. She plastered on a friendly smile, but her solemn companion could tell it was fake.

While they parted from the couple, Alice said, "It's time to go home; the semi-finals and finals are tomorrow. I'll explain everything tonight."

* * *

Ding~

Alice's cracked phone screen illuminated, grabbing the attention of the said girl. She eyed the device lying on her nightstand and bit her lip. Meowstic, the unfortunate Pokémon trapped in her arms, perked her ears and mewed.

"I saw the notification," Alice muttered.

"Meow."

"It's... it's Rosie."

The white-and-blue feline stiffened. "Meowstic?"

"We battled her today at the tournament."

Meowstic escaped Alice's clutch and shuffled to the end of the bed and slid off. She swung her paw at the cellphone and to her trainer's shock, Meowstic pushed it onto the carpet and sat on it. The two stared at one another, confused brown eyes attempting to find the purpose behind the red-eyed creature's actions.

"What are you doing?" Alice asked.

"Meowstic, me~ow."

"You know I pretend to understand you, right? I have no idea what you just said."

"Meowstic."

Alice climbed off her bed and nudged Meowstic to the side and to retrieve her phone. She ran her thumb across the jagged screen and read the message with a frown. Her fingertip lingered over the reply button only to draw back at the last second.

Someone knocked on her door, distracting her from her predicament. Alice called them in and her lips curled into a grin when Ken emerged from the threshold with a bowl in his hands. He took a seat in her lime green spinning chair and held the dish out to her.

"Your mom baked cookies to congratulate us," he explained.

Alice murmured her thanks and ate one of the warm treats. She wiped her mouth after swallowing and batted Meowstic away from the deserts.

The brunette took a deep breath. "So about today... it's a lame story, really. It's nothing exciting. Just drama."

"Go on," Ken said. He propped one leg on the other and nodded. "I want to know what happened."

"I actually started off my journey with a group of girls, including Rosie. We went to school together and thought it was the best idea ever. It started off great. We traveled through Kalos and Sinnoh with no problems," she began, memories flashing before her eyes.

"We were in Johto when things went downhill. I wasn't into the stuff they liked so we started growing apart. I noticed things were different too late. I tried to change and relate to them, but it didn't work..." Alice hung her head and her volume depleted. "The group left me in Goldenrod. They said it was better for us, but by 'us' I know they meant them. I wasn't—" she stopped short of two words "—never mind."

Meowstic clambered onto her trainer's lap and nuzzled her face into her torso. Ken pressed his lips into a thin line while millions of thoughts raced through his mind.

"I was by myself for the rest of my traveling. It was kinda lonely, but it made me closer to my Pokémon. That's a perk, right?"

A pained grimace that was supposed to be a half-hearted smile stretched across Alice's face.

"I'm not good with confrontations, but you probably know that already. That's why I spaced out when I saw Rosie. Even Infernape got angry." She cleared her dry throat. "I told you it was a boring story."

"If it were unimportant then it wouldn't be affecting you to this day," Ken disagreed. "However, I don't understand why you agreed to reconnect with her if she upset you so much."

Alice replied, "We were best friends growing up. If she said she changed then I should give her a second chance."

He frowned, not believing his ears. "You're going to forgive her for abandoning you on your Pokémon journey that easily?"

"Friends forgive each other," she said, crossing her arms over her chest and accidentally squishing Meowstic.

"According to what you told me, your friend left you behind on a whim. Who's to say that she won't do it again?"

"Rosie wouldn't ask me to hang out if she was going to leave. You don't know her like I do."

"I know enough to tell you that renewing your so-called friendship with her is a terrible idea." Ken missed the agitation flaring in the brunette's gaze and continued, "What I cannot grasp is why you're becoming so defensive over her when you were avoiding her today."

Alice snapped, "Because she could be a good person now, and all you're doing is tearing her down. You don't even know her, but you're still not giving her a chance!"

Both her eyes and Ken's widened at her sudden rise in volume. Meowstic gaped at her trainer, never having heard Alice's tongue sharpen in all their years together.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to yell." Alice relaxed her grip on Meowstic and sighed. "I just want to believe that Rosie changed. It'd be nice to be friends again."

Ken tried his best, but he couldn't see the logic in Alice's philosophy. No person who betrayed their peers deserved a 'second chance' in his eyes. A crumpled piece of paper was still damaged no matter how much you tried to smooth it out.

"I'll respect your opinion," he said after a long, heavy silence. No comforting words came to mind, so he held the bowl of cookies out to Alice once more. "Would you like another?"

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Author's Note

Question of the Chapter: Are you a forgiving person?