Seth sat inside the lobby of the Shalour Hotel while Allie, took a shower in one of the rooms that had been reserved for her by Grayson before he left the city. Sitting with him were his friends, who were all talking in hushed tones. Furfrou had elected to remain behind, something that surprised Seth as well as the rest of the gang.

"So is she really going to be with us for three days? because it's day one, and I already can't stand her attitude," Serena muttered.

"I know you're frustrated, Serena, but as much as her attitude irks me, I don't think we should give her too hard of a time," Seth cut in, earning a confused look from the group.

"That's surprising to hear. I thought you couldn't stand her. Having second thoughts are we?" Serena teased, a cheshire grin forming.

Remaining calm, Seth replied, "it's her personality and attitude that irritate me. Despite that, however, she can actually carry a decent conversation. I have to admit I was a bit shocked by this."

"So what'd you guys talk about? come on, spill!" Shauna squealed.

Seth shook his head. "Nothing important really. We just talked about our Pokémon and she, to my surprise, gave me a few pointers on how to best go about battling Korrina..."

"She did? really?" Trevor asked as he looked up from the recent pictures he'd taken of the city.

"She did, about ten minutes ago actually. After that, we came here and that's when I ran into you guys."

"Seth, you told us something very interesting just now," Serena began, twirling a lock of hair between her fingers. "You said she gave you pointers, does that mean she has battle experience? because if so, I'm curious..."

Seth could see the cogs turning in her head. He knew where this was going, and though he wasn't one get into things like this, he was curious about how well Allie handled herself, especially after what he picked up from Furfrou.

Allie closed the door to her hotel room and took a deep breath as she made her way to the bathroom. Furfrou, for whatever reason, decided to stay with Seth for the time being. Stripping down, she slipped into the shower and closed the sliding glass door and turned on the shower. Closing her eyes, she began to dwell on the events that occurred a few short hours ago.

Okay, so he can be nice... sweet even, dare I say.

Allie crossed her arms over her bosom and sighed. While their conversations went about as well as she expected, she wasn't completely prepared for everything. The image of his gentle smile forced its way into her mind. And his abs... his abs! Her cheeks burned at the thought of it all.

"No, no, NO! don't you even go there Allie girl! have some dignity!" Allie scolded herself, reaching for her soap so she could start cleaning up.

Taking a deep breath, she willed herself to calm down and began to think about what they had discussed prior to arriving at the hotel.

His team really isn't too bad now that I think of it. And after watching them practice with each other, I can see he takes their training and care very seriously...

Allie recalled the duel between Cerise and Pawniard, the Sharp Blade Pokémon being the stronger of the two from what she observed, and came to the realization that Seth was a very thorough trainer. Every possible weakness his team had, they knew something to cover for it.

But he was out muscled. Perhaps if Pawniard were to evolve he might stand more of a chance... hell, if he had a better Flying-type he could sweep through that gym. Why he caught a male Combee is something I won't understand, even if it is cute...

Allie finished bathing her body and went to work on the infernal mass of wet curls on her head.

"It's so strange..." Allie muttered to herself, the image of Seth snatching her from certain death crossing her mind again, "I said that I didn't want to know him, and that I was only doing this because my mother was up my arrière about it. But now I am not only irritated about this, I'm confused as well!"

Allie grumbled to herself a while longer before turning off the water and stepping out of the shower.

"Hmph... he'd better take my advice when he battles Korrina again. He should be happy I was willing to help," Allie fussed, wrapping the towel around her hair before grabbing the robe on the hook by the door.

Alone inside the hotel lobby, Seth sat on the floor across from Furfrou. The rest of Seth's friends had gone off to prepare for their own rematch against Korrina. He told them he would catch up with them later on. Focusing his attention on the canine, he took a deep breath before clearing his throat.

"So what's your gimmick?" Seth asked the pooch directly.

"My what?" Furfrou barked.

"Well, Allie's self absorbed and haughty, her mother's kind and clever etc... what are you?" Seth asked again, earning a surprised yelp from Furfrou.

"Wait just a moment here, you understand me!?" she exclaimed.

A grin formed on Seth's face. It seemed as though he was able to tap more into his power, enabling him to talk with more Pokémon. If this was the case, he should be able to communicate with more his teammates.

"I can, so... gonna answer the question?" Seth replied calmly.

Furfrou didn't know what to think. Sure, Allie talked to her, but never had she ever understood what she said. Oh the things she wished Allie could understand!

"I'm a dog Pokémon, Seth. Simply put, if we like how you smell, we generally like you without question. It's not complicated," Furfrou responded casually.

"I figured as much," Seth stated, enjoying the rather baffled look on Allie's prized pooch.

"I'm curious about something, and it has to do with you," Seth began, catching the canine's attention. "Upon meeting you, I noticed that you were well groomed, but not just that... you are well trained."

Furfrou dawned a nervous look.

"Well, I am put through my paces quite often. If I am to guard my home I need to be strong enough do I not?"

Seth nodded and replied, "that much is true... but what I can sense, is that you've had your fair share of battles..."

Keeping herself composed, the fancy pup acknowledged that he was indeed correct.

"Let me throw you a bone here, Seth. My dear owner is more than what she appears to be from the outside. Truth be told, there's more to her than you realize," Furfrou relayed to Seth, padding over to place her head in his lap.

"So I've been told," Seth mused, scratching behind the canine's ears. "This is going to be a regular thing with you, isn't it?"

"What? I'm comfy, and if I'm comfy, I stay. You know, the whole 'if I fits I sits' thing... "

Seth rolled his eyes.

"Ahem!"

Seth and Furfrou looked towards the direction of the voice, knowing full well who it was. There stood Allie, wearing her outfit from earlier. Her arms were crossed as she arched a brow.

"If you two are finished getting to know each other, then a certain someone needs to get to the gym, oui?" Allie stated, her Kalosian accent more evident in her tone as she spoke.

Seth looked at Furfrou, who slowly stood up, stretched, and made her way to Allie's side as she was called. Following her actions, Seth rose to a stand and picked up his sword from the seat he was in previously and hitched it to his waist. Noticing the decorative hilt, Allie had more reason to believe what Mathilde had said about him.

"So... Chevalier Bellerose made that for you I presume?" Allie queried.

Adjusting the blade a little he proceeded to call Cerise back to her preferred position. In a swift motion, Cerise had attached herself to him and gave a contented sigh. As Seth looked over at Allie, he was reminded that she was still getting used to seeing that.

"I'm not going to die, so you can stop making that face," Seth said as he began to walk toward the lobby doors.

Furrowing her brows, Allie replied, "I am well aware of that. I'm just... still getting used to it is all!"

Allie and Furfrou followed him out of the hotel lobby, and made their way to the gym. On the way, Seth began to recall the strategy Allie had decided to share with him involving the three he had chosen to battle Korrina.

It was going to be a long shot, but the more he thought about it, the more her advice made sense. If it worked, he'd have to remember to thank her afterwards.

The only question was, how would he?