With the ball being but a week away, many of the competitors were rounding up their fourth badge and filling up their dex as much as they could while they had some down time before the big event. Knowing he needed several more Pokémon to his family of companions, he found himself once more on Menhir Trail where towering stones littered the landscape. His eyes were closed in meditation.

Meanwhile, Cerise hid in her master's shadow. Behind them were berries that Seth had accumulated along his journey that acted as bait to a particular breed of Pokémon. Several nanab, asper, pecha and chesto berries were all scattered about in the open. Remembering what Mrs. Rosseau had taught him about Pokémon and their berry preferences, he'd compiled a list and stocked up on what he'd need prior to landing on the trail. Menhir trail was known to have a few Pokémon that were rarely seen due to their natures.

Seth however, was only interested in one. As he waited, he could hear rustling in the grass behind him. Something was slowly approaching the berries that were strewn across the ground. Whatever it was, Seth could sense great power coming from it. Soon, he heard the distinct sound of chewing, meaning that the Pokémon was now digging into its berry of choice. Slowly, Seth poked his head out from behind the rock to get a good look at whatever was consuming his bait.

The canine had yellow, prickly fur with a spiky fringe at its tail as well as a white ruff around its neck. It had large, pointed ears that were black on the inside. It had a small black nose and black eyes. Seth remained silent, as did Cerise as she marveled at the sight of the Jolteon that had waltzed into their trap. Both blades turned their attention toward Seth, and finding confirmation that they should act, skulked through the shadows unheard toward their prey.

Jolteon's ears twitched as he felt a disturbance in the air around him. Mere seconds after the feeling hit, Cerise's first blade burst through the ground and arched her blade edge into a downward slash, sending a Psycho-cut slicing through the air toward the surprised foe. In a blurred motion, Jolteon backpedaled at startling speeds, avoiding the crescent blades that tore up the ground where it stood. His fur bristled and crackled with electricity as he stared down his offender.

Jolteon opened his mouth and gathered the energy stored into his body, forming a ball of electrical energy and launching it at Cerise. While Cerise dodged, Jolteon prepped another sphere of energy. This time, however, it was composed of shadow energy and was considerably more dangerous to Cerise than the Electro Ball that was thrown her way.

As Jolteon reared his head back to fire, a second blade sprang up from beneath him and slashed across his underbelly, causing him to fire the sphere upward instead of in the direction Cerise was hovering. Jolteon was sent tumbling along the ground until it finally rolled back onto his feet in time to avoid a Night Slash from the set of crimson swords. Sparks of azure lightning began building up around Jolteon's body and before Cerise could react, the canine exploded forward, his body encased in bright electrical energy as he rammed into the twin blades.

Cerise sprawled through the air and was soon forced to separate from her counterpart in an effort to avoid the Thunderbolt that split the air between them. Cerise, while having the advantage in strength, had come to the realization that she was at a severe disadvantage when it came to speed. Jolteon were notoriously fast, and this one was a prime example. The negative ions stored in its body did more than allow it to shoot lightning. It enabled them to move at incredible speeds.

She knew that if she was to win, she would need to match his speed. To do that would require a little sharpening of sorts.

"Alright speedy, I think it's about time I kicked things into high gear!" Cerise declared, sparks flying from hers and her counterpart's body as they began to sharpen themselves.

Feeling lighter, Cerise and her double tested the speed of their slashes and thrusts while Jolteon stared them down. Having found Cerise a worthy opponent, Jolteon had resolved not to take her lightly. Widening his stance, he crouched and began gathering an azure aura around his body. Then he ran full tilt toward Cerise who responded in kind by powering up a double Sacred Sword. Cerise lashed out at blinding speeds, the attacks just barely missing Jolteon as he deftly avoided the attacks with his superior agility.

The two began trading blows, Jolteon striking out with Iron Tail while Cerise continued with an onslaught of Sacred Sword attacks. Cerise landed a harsh blow to Jolteon's left flank followed by an upward slash with her second sword that sent Jolteon upward and backward. Jolteon landed with a thud. Cerise dove into the ground and snaked through the shadows toward the slowly rising Electric-type.

Planting his feet, Jolteon waited patiently for his adversary. As she drew near, his eyes began to glow a bright shade of blue. When Cerise shot out of the shadows with an upward slash, Jolteon evaded the first strike and the second one that followed. Cerise surged into a chain of techniques, one blade utilizing Sacred Sword while the other hacked away with Shadow Claw. Jolteon weaved and ducked around each one with relative ease before launching a counterattack in the form of a blazing ball of fire which he launched from his mouth, forcing Cerise to separate again.

So it knows Weather Ball and Detect from the looks of things. That's some damn good coverage! Seth mused, his eyes glued to the fight as the duel went on.

Allie relaxed comfortably on her towel as she soaked up the suns rays on the Southern Isle of Azure Bay. Joining her was her younger cousin, Cecily, who was now swimming back to shore. Allie sat up as her cousin trudged up to her and sat on the towel  beside her.

"This has been so fun!" Cecily exclaimed, flopping onto her back to stare up at the clear blue sky.

"I couldn't agree more. Today was the perfect day for a swim," Allie replied smiling.

"Mhm! I met so many friends too. These cute Mantyke swam up to me and wanted to play. So we swam all around the island!" Cecily giggled.

"That sure sounds fun," Allie laughed.

Allie rolled onto her stomach and untied her top to tan her back. Cecily copied her cousin while looking her way.

"So how's the competition going? has anyone captured your heart yet?" Cecily wondered aloud.

"Huh... you know, I was having such a good time relaxing that I almost forgot about it," Allie said with a nervous laugh. "But now that you mention it... there are some who are pretty close."

At this, Cecily perked up.

"Oh? and who might they be?"

Allie raised a brow at Cecily's inquiry.

"So far, there are a few who have dine exceptionally well. I'm nearly half done and already I'm beginning to see more of what I desire in a man reflecting in some of them. I say some, because there are others who are rather bland, and some are rather egotistical," Allie pointed out.

"Not to be rude Allie, but you can be egotistical at times too," Cecily reminded her cousin.

Allie blushed in embarrassment and looked away while twirling a lock of hair between her fingers.

"Yes... well, I've grown since the start of this. Meeting with these fine gentlemen has helped me in that regard," Allie responded casually.

"Sounds like you're really enjoying this event. Speaking of which, I forgot to tell you that I met with one of the contenders!" Cecily announced.

"Did you now? who did you meet?"

"His name is Seth!" Cecily replied grinning.

Allie's face flushed at the mention of his name. Thoughts of their date danced through her mind and her heart began to flutter inside her chest.

"Seth, yes, he's a good man," Allie replied hastily.

"He's a really strong trainer too! I watched his match against Grant. He was amazing!" Cecily declared.

"He's amazing alright," Allie murmured, the image of Seth coming out of the water now flashing to the forefront of her thoughts causing her to shake her head vigorously.

Dammit Allie, behave! She thought, pushing the thought back where it came from.

"I forgot to thank him for helping me that day," Cecily sighed.

"What happened?" Allie asked curiously.

"See, it went like this..." Cecily trailed off, going into detail about their encounter and how Seth had helped her get her courage back which eventually lead to her earning Grant's badge.

"That does sound like him," Allie said with a smile as she looked up at the sky.

"I wonder how he's doing right now," Cecily pondered.

"Yeah, me too..." Allie said, her eyes shifting to her holocaster.

Reaching over, she pulled up her contact list and scrolled through it until she found Seth's number. Without hesitation, she began messaging him.

Cerise and Jolteon found themselves locked in close range combat once again. Blow after blow was landed until Cerise finally landed a decisive strike that downed the spunky fox. Jolteon struggled to get back on his feet but found his legs giving out on him, causing him to collapse. Cerise was barely levitating and was looking worse for wear herself.

Out of the corner of his eye, Jolteon spotted a flash of black and white rocketing toward him. The object nailed him on his side and absorbed him inside. The Ultra Ball twitched a few times and finally went still. Cerise loosed a relieved sigh and hovered over to Seth who treated her with a high quality potion.

"That was unexpectedly difficult. Not to mention how strange it was to see a Jolteon of all things out here."

"I was as surprised as you were. I had hoped to find an Eevee, but this was even better," Seth stated smiling, his eyes dancing with delight as he looked at the sphere in his hand.

"He will definitely make an invaluable partner," Cerise commented as she strapped herself to his back.

Seth agreed. He got way more than he hoped for. As he clipped his new companion to his belt, his holocaster went off. Taking it out, he looked down to see a message from none other than Allie.

It's been a while since we spoke. I was curious how you were doing so I decided I'd check in. I'd call but my cousin Cecily is here at the moment. You met her, right? Anyway, I was wondering, if you don't mind, if we could possibly meet up sometime later this evening, maybe get some ice cream? I'm not saying you have to, but I'd like to thank you for what you did for my little cousin.

Au revoir, Pauper~