The doors to Sycamore's laboratory opened as two young trainers exited the establishment. The young man had dirty blonde hair and bright green eyes while the woman had light brown hair and vibrant hazel eyes. They each had a new companion beside them and seemed very excited about it. 

"Wow... I know we learned about Mega Evolution before graduating, but seeing it like that was even more intense than I imagined," said the dirty blonde to his friend. 

"Of course it'd be a shocker for you, Jamie, you've never seen it up close like that. Me on the other hand, I've been to the Battle Chateau where it gets even more intense than that," she told Jamie with a slight laugh. 

"You have more time on your hands than I do, Felicity. My parents weren't too keen on my goofing of too much," Jamie muttered. 

"And yet you and Seth somehow found ways to do so," Felicity quipped, glancing down at the quadruped companion beside her. 

Bulbasaur seemed quite content with his new owner, and walked confidently beside her. He couldn't count the number of times he'd been overlooked because of the other two. That euphoric bliss he felt when she passed up that lizard for him was magnificent. He glanced over at the Squirtle that was beside Jamie and smiled contentedly. 

"I had to find some way to live a little. And now that I'm off on my own, I can have all the fun I want to," Jamie replied happily. 

"I'm just happy to have earned that second badge. We're not there yet, but we'll catch up to Seth eventually," Felicity said, a certain excitement in her voice as she thought of the challenge he posed. 

"Trying to reignite that old rivalry you two had eh? I feel you. I can only imagine what his team must be like right now," Jamie pondered aloud. 

"Hyper Voice!" a familiar voice called out, prompting the two to exchange glances before hustling toward the sound of a crowd that had gathered. 

A large group of people were standing just down the street from the laboratory, all eagerly watching the match between two trainers. On one side stood a young man with dark brown hair and bright blue eyes. A Honedge hovered beside him and a Pyroar was crouched in front of him, her tail swaying to and fro. Across from them stood another young man with a Poliwrath with his arms crossed over his body, his feet digging into the concrete to keep himself from sliding any farther back. 

"Well I'll be damned, your Pyroar's a lot stronger than I was expecting," the youth said with a gleeful smile. "I knew you'd be a tough opponent. I never got the chance to thank you—Seth—and your friends properly, for saving my ass back in the caves."

"You certainly chose a fun way to do it," Seth replied with a grin.

"Battle is a language we trainers can all understand right? It conveys our deepest emotions without us having to say a word to each other. My mom said she's eternally grateful to you guys. So let's continue shall we? Poliwrath, Dynamic Punch!" Grayson bellowed.

"Flame Charge away from it!" Seth roared. 

Poliwrath drew back his fist and flashed forward at unprecedented speeds, narrowly missing Pyroar as she jinked to the side, leaving a trail of fire in her wake. Poliwrath whipped around and loosed a stream of bubbles her way, forcing her on the run. 

"Waterfall!" Grayson hollered. 

"Wild Charge!" Seth countered swiftly. 

Pyroar's fur bristled as an electrical current crackled along her frame, bolts of lightning snapping off in different directions as she exploded from her position towards the Tadpole Pokémon. Claws and fists clashed as the two passed one another. Pyroar skidded onto her side as she landed and Poliwrath stood tall, his fist extended outward. Pyroar groggily got to her feet and swayed a little before retaining her balance, her eyes fixed on Poliwrath for a moment, only to see him topple over in defeat before collapsing herself.

Grayson and Seth recalled their Pokémon and walked up to one another to shake hands. The crowd clapped excitedly after having witnessed a phenomenal match. 

"Man, that was a lot closer than I expected. If Poliwrath had stayed up a bit longer, I could have won that one," Grayson laughed. "Nice fight."

"Thanks, it's been a while since I've had a good match. Makes me wonder how much tough everyone else is getting as we get closer to the end of all this," Seth replied. 

"Me too. I've fought a few more from the contest and they are serious contenders. A few are slightly on the crazy side, but that's to be expected I suppose," Grayson admitted. 

Seth rolled his eyes as he thought of a few people he could name that fit the profile Grayson had described. He had his share of run-ins with them and preferred to keep that to a minimum if he could. However, considering the time for the ball was drawing near, he was certain to see more of them gathering in Lumiose for the fifth badge. 

"Yo Seth!" a familiar voice hollered, prompting Seth to turn around. 

"Jamie, and Felicity too? I didn't know you two were here," Seth said with a startled expression.

"I told you man, we weren't going to stay behind you too long, right Felicity?" 

Felicity nodded and stepped forward to get a good look at Seth. Their eyes met as they always had back when they first began their rivalry. The same intensity she'd seen back then was staring her right in the face, sending chills she could never forget down her spine. To be able to really go all out with him would be a thrill. However, after seeing his Pyroar and apparently a Honedge, she could safely assume that she'd get her ass kicked if she decided to have a go at him with her current team. 

"You've gotten a lot stronger haven't you?" Felicity remarked, canting her head at the blood red blade hovering around him. "And you're still as fortunate as ever..."

"And you're still as sharp as you've always been. I hope you'll catch up soon so I can have someone to keep me on my toes a bit more," Seth said in a serious tone. 

"Don't you worry about that. When we do battle, it'll be just like old times," Felicity said as a matter of fact.

"Don't forget about me, we still have a score to settle too," Jamie cut in, a grin forming on his features as he put his hands behind his head. 

The three spent time catching up for a while after Seth had bid farewell to Grayson. Seth had separated himself from the others due to their wanting to take on the gym. The previous day, Tierno and Trevor had succeeded and now Serena and Shauna were taking a crack at it. The trio decided to stop at the Pokémon Center in order to sit down and converse over lunch. 

Melody sighed heavily as she leaned back in her chair inside the Lumiose Cafe. It had been a long day, and she was thankful that her workload had been completed. Now, all she had to do was continue writing her story. She stared at the blank page in front of her and looked over at the list of chapters she'd already written with a frown. Once again, the dreaded writers block monster had reared its ugly head, and she had absolutely no idea what to write. She was understandably frustrated.

For weeks she had been fleshing out chapter outlines and revising draft after draft until each chapter was how she wanted it. She was a third of the way through her book and now she'd run into a snag. Perhaps it was the fact that finals were over and she had been doing nothing but studying, and had very little spare time between cramming for tests to work on her story. 

Glancing over at the clock on the wall, she saw that three hours had passed since she had sat down. Was she really in that much of a funk? Rubbing her temples, she groaned to herself before slapping both hands on the table and standing up. It was time to shift her focus.

"Okay," she said to herself as she took a deep breath. "I think I need to go out for some air. Oh! I know, I'll call Seth!If anyone can give me ideas, that brother of mine certainly can."

Packing up her laptop, she strapped it to her shoulder, grabbed her cup to throw it away and hurried out the door. Upon leaving, the barista finished up preparing a drink and slid it down to a young man in a red suit. 

"There you go Enzo. Just the way you always have it," he said with a proud smile. 

Enzo took the cup and sipped his drink, savoring the chocolate taste of his mocha as it went down. With a satisfied smile, he glanced over at the door and grinned. 

"Thank you, it's as tasty as always," he added smiling. 

And so was that tidbit of information I just heard...

Melody inhaled a breath of fresh air and smiled contentedly. She was glad that exams were over and that she could finally breathe easier. Taking out her holocaster, she dialed Seth's number and waited for him to pick up. Sure enough, a hologram of her big brother appeared in front of her. She smiled from ear to ear upon seeing him. 

"Hey big brother!" Melody exclaimed excitedly. 

"Hey sis, how are you?" Seth replied, smiling back at his little sister. 

"I'm okay, just thought I'd check in and see how my favorite person in the world is doing," Melody said happily. 

"I'm doing well, actually. I've got four badges now," Seth stated, taking out his badge case to show her. "I'll be getting the fifth one soon. I'm here in Lumiose right now actually."

"Really!? so am I! I was just at the Lumiose Cafe working on my story. I hit a wall and decided to take a break and talk to you," Melody said in a cheery tone. 

"Stuck again huh?"

"Yeah," Melody said, her cheerful expression deflating. "But at least exams are over! I don't have to lose sleep anymore."

"That's true. Wait, you haven't been sleeping?" Seth responded, a concerned tone in his voice as he looked her in the eyes. 

"Err... well, no? I mean, you know how I am. I'm not satisfied until I understand what I'm being taught," Melody laughed nervously. 

"True... you're just like mom in that regard. Always pushing yourself. Speaking of which, is she working tonight or no? I was thinking of stopping by her work to say hi."

"Yep! but the good thing is, she gets off early. Now all I gotta do is convince her to go to bed early so she can be more rested," Melody informed him, a determined expression fixated on her features as she spoke. 

Seth sighed as he thought of how hard his mother was working. She and his father both did their part to provide, albeit one was around more often than the other. Seth's parents had a complex marriage to say the least. Mathilde had filled in the details over the years, allowing Seth to better understand why things were the way they were with them. 

"That's good to hear. Make sure she doesn't overdo it like always. It won't be too much longer before she'll be able to open up her own restaurant," Seth said as he sat back in his seat inside the lounge of the center. 

"I'm sure she'll be happy to hear that. At the rate you're going, you'll be done in no time! I'm cheering for you Seth!" Melody chirped. 

"Thanks, Melody," Seth chuckled, his eyes shifting over to the nurse who was wheeling his team out. "Hey, I gotta get going okay? I love you. Go take a break from writing for a bit. Maybe some inspiration will come to you if you visit some of your favorite spots."

Melody thought for a moment, an elated smile spreading across her face as an idea came to mind. 

"Thanks! love you too big bro! do you think we can meet up later tonight? I wanna hear how the date went with Allie, and you'd better not skimp out on the details mister!" Melody said in a demanding tone.

"I wouldn't even think of it," Seth chortled, shaking his head at his sisters adorable frown. 

"Yay! love ya big bro. Let's meet up at Le Yeah tonight so we can say hi to mom together!" 

"Sounds like a plan. See you... seven o'clock?"

"On the dot!" Melody chimed in a sing-song voice as she hung up. 

Melody smiled warmly and pocketed her holocaster and stretched her arms above her head. As she soaked in the suns rays, she heard footsteps stop behind her. 

"Excuse me, I'm terribly sorry to bother you but could you help me with something?" asked a young man as he gained Melody's attention. 

Turning around, Melody faced the individual before her and raised a brow. He wore a crimson suit and had on matching sunglasses as well. Hovering beside him was a blue-green bell with round red eyes that were glowing brightly. The more she looked, the more sleepy she became. It wasn't long before she slumped to her knees and then toppled over onto the ground in a heap. The red-suited youth smirked as he walked up to Melody and picked her up off the concrete. 

"Good work, Bronzong," he commended his Pokémon as he returned it. "Now that I've got the bait... it's time to set the trap..."

The day had fast come to a close, and the time when Seth would be meeting his sister was fast approaching. The others were out shopping and visiting the studio where Diantha shoots her movies. A new movie was coming out and they were all eager to see it. Seth continued his walk down Autumnal Avenue with hopes of seeing his sister waiting for him. As he arrived, he heard his holocaster going off. 

That must be her, he thought, reaching into his pocket to pull out the device. 

Who he saw, however, was not who he was expecting. Staring back at him was none other than Enzo, a trainer who Serena had a strong dislike for, and that was putting it mildly. How he obtained his number was anyone's guess, but he was determined to find out.

"Why, if it isn't the lowly pauper, how do you fare this evening?" Enzo asked with a devious grin.

"I never thought I'd say this, but there's only one person who can call me that, and—last I checked—you're not her. How did you get my info, Enzo?" Seth snapped, shooting Enzo a dangerous look.

"Oh, that? why your sister of course! you see I just met her today and she's a lovely young lady. Not much of a conversationalist though, as you can see," Enzo laughed, giving Seth a glimpse of his passed out sibling on the ground nearby. 

Seth's eyes went wide. They had his sister. His. Sister. Seth gritted his teeth and glowered at Enzo, a fury like no other burning in his sapphire depths. 

"Where are you?" Seth hissed, clenching his fists in rage, his body shaking with anger.

"Angry are we? as to be expected. As for where I am, you'll have to figure that out for yourself. But don't worry, I won't do her any harm, rest assured. It's you I'm after. Ta ta." Enzo said before winking out. 

Seth slid his device back into his pocket and willed himself to be calm. Sparks of aura crackled along his body and the pressure he was exerting was cracking the pavement beneath his feet. Closing his eyes, he tapped into his aura reserves and began to expand his senses outward, getting a hold of multiple auras walking around, none of which were his sister. That's when he felt it. It was warm and familiar, and not far from his location. His eyes shot open and he looked in the direction it was coming from. He took off into a full sprint toward the location, leaving an indentation in the ground after bolting down the street.