"And it's official people! The winner of the Hearthome City Pokémon Contest is Hailey!"

Gabe listened as the announcer prattled on about her narrow victory over her competition and watched as a woman in a purple dress with an accessory similar to the mouth of a Drifblim on the side, handed Hailey the ribbon. The woman's hair was violet, as were her eyes, and her skin was very fair. Gabe recognized her immediately as none other than Fantina herself. Her thick French accent was a dead giveaway.

"And there you have it folks! Today's contest is over. Congratulations to our winner, Hailey, and good luck to those of you who will enter next month's contest!"

The announcer signed off and the TV cut to a commercial. Gabe crossed his arms and began to mentally prepare himself to face Fantina. It certainly was not going to be an easy match, now that he thought of it. She had three fully evolved Pokémon and all of them were stupidly strong. Gabe considered himself fortunate to have caught Houndoom when he did.

He couldn't very well rely on Jamie for the entire battle. Crossing his arms, he closed his eyes and began to formulate a strategy for facing a Gym Leader of Fantina's caliber.

Let's see... she has a Gengar, a Drifblim and a Mismagius. All three are very dangerous. However... now that I have Houndoom, it shouldn't be too hard to pull out a win. Especially since one of her main strategies won't work on Houndoom...

"I've got this," Gabe said confidently to himself.

As he stood up, Gabe heard his gear ringing, and reached into his pocket to pull it out. It was Palmer. Taking a deep breath, he answered it.

"Hey dad," Gabe said casually.

"Barry my boy! How are you!?" Palmer responded enthusiastically.

"Oh you know, the usual. Won two gym badges and I'm going for my third," Gabe grinned.

"That'a boy son! Say, you'll be facing off against Fantina then won't you? I hear she's quite the strategist," Palmer replied.

"Is that a fact?" Gabe responded, feigning ignorance as he listened to his dad.

"That's right. But don't worry, I'm sure it's nothing that you can't handle, son," Palmer stated with a grin.

"You're probably right. I mean, I did learn from the best am I right?" Gabe stated calmly.

"Right you are! In any case, I called to see how you were doing and to see if you had signed up for the tournament yet. After all, it takes place this weekend," Palmer informed.

"I remember dad. And as a matter of fact, I signed up an hour ago. And you're not gonna believe this, but the tournament is a doubles style tournament! Though... we can't pick partners as it's decided for us in a randomized process. I think it's so it'll make things more interesting," Gabe added.

"That is surprising! Leave it to the Hearthome Tournament Committee to create such an event. You can be certain your mother and I will be there to see how much you've grown," Palmer said with a hint of pride in his voice.

"I'll make you proud dad," Gabe replied happily. "Just you wait and see, my partner, whoever that may be, and I, will win it all!"

"I have no doubt that you will rise to the occasion. Do you know when you will find out who you are paired with?" Palmer inquired curiously.

"We find out tomorrow so it will give us time to prepare," Gabe informed his father.

"Well, whoever they might be, I hope the two of you will work as a team. I know you are strong Barry, but just remember that strength alone doesn't win in a fight," Palmer advised his son.

"Thanks dad, I'll do my best to remember that," Gabe assured him.

"Good! Well I have to get going. You probably want to challenge the gym right now, so I'll leave you to it. I'll be rooting for you, son!" Palmer exclaimed.

"Thanks dad. I'll talk to you soon," Gabe smiled.

"Alright son, do your best! Remember that your mother and I love you very much," Palmer stated cheerfully.

"I... I love you guys too," Gabe replied softly.

And with that, the conversation ended and Gabe placed his gear back inside his pocket before standing up to make his way out of the center.

The crisp cool air greeted Gabe once again, reminding him to adjust his scarf and zip up his jacket. So much was running through his mind at the current moment, and all he wanted to do was find a place to sit down and think. It was at that moment that he remembered there was such a place.

"Amity Square," Gabe muttered to himself, dawning a smile as he thought of the place. "It's pretty peaceful there. Maybe I can cool my head there before my gym battle..."

With that resolve in mind, Gabe deterred himself from the pathway to the gym and instead, headed towards the entrance to Amity Square. It wasn't long before Gabe was at the gates of the nature park. Reaching down to his belt, Gabe tapped Jamie's ball and let her loose.

Jamie yawned a little as she was let out, and stretched a bit before sitting and looking around at her surroundings with a slightly bewildered expression.

"Hey Jamie, how ya doin'?" Gabe asked as he knelt down to ruffle the fur on her head, getting purrs of approval in return.

"We're gonna take a little walk. I thought we could have some down time before taking on our next gym," Gabe told her as he itched beneath her chin.

"Lux!" Jamie agreed, rolling onto her back on the ground before flipping over onto all fours.

Chuckling, Gabe stood back up and beckoned her to follow him along the treelined pathway towards the bridge that led to the small island in the center of a large pond. As he approached, he stopped short, causing Jamie to do the same.

Just a short distance away, sitting under a gazebo at the end of the first bridge, was Jupiter. She had her textbooks with her, however the book she had in her hand was of a different kind.

Okay... what are the chances of this happening? I mean... I just talked to her an hour ago!

Gabe muttered something unintelligible under his breath and stood there for a moment. What was he to do? He knew she was part of Team Galactic, and was bad news altogether. On the flipside, she hadn't done anything to him yet. He wrestled with the thought of crossing the bridge, knowing that she was going to notice. Just as he was about to make his decision, Jupiter looked up from her book and made eye contact with him.

She blinked, almost surprised to see him again in such a short period of time. She had only come to relax for a while before going back to her hotel. Needless to say, this was a surprise for her.  With a smile and a crook of her finger, she invited Gabe to join her on the bench she was sitting on, prompting her Skuntank to move off the bench to make room.

Hesitating a moment, Gabe took a deep breath, steeled his nerves, and casually walked over to her, Jamie trekking close to him.

"My, my," Jupiter giggled, "we meet again."

"I-It certainly appears that way, doesn't it?" Gabe replied somewhat nervously as he sat down, prompting Jamie to hop into his lap.

Jupiter looked down at the feline and blinked.

"I see she's evolved. She looks healthy too," Jupiter observed. "May I?" She inquired, indicating with a hand that she wished to pet the electric cub.

"Err... yeah, sure. Go right ahead," Gabe stuttered.

Jupiter smiled and stretched out her hand and gently scratched right behind Jamie's ears. Jamie's nose twitched and her eyes widened in surprise for but a moment and then relaxed as she eased into the magic fingers of Jupiter. Purrs rumbled from Jamie's throat as the woman's affections pleasantly assailed her ears.

"She's quite the attention hog isn't she?" Jupiter grinned.

Gabe smirked.

"You could say that," he replied, stroking Jamie's head. "She does love being spoiled, don't you princess?"

"Lux!" Jamie cooed, nudging her face into their hands.

Jupiter retracted her hand and placed it on Skuntank's head. The large skunk was getting slightly jealous of the attention and had been nudging Jupiter's leg.

"This is a peaceful place isn't it?" Jupiter said aloud, crossing one leg over the other as she leaned back on the bench. "People from all over come here, just to have fun with their Pokémon," Jupiter smiled.

"It is a great place for it," Gabe admitted. "It's also a good place to unwind, as I see you are doing."

Jupiter smirked and set down her novel.

"What can I say? It's been a long day. I needed some peace and quiet," Jupiter responded. "And perhaps some company too," Jupiter smirked, throwing him a flirtatious look.

Gabe swallowed hard and recoiled a little as the heat rose to his cheeks. Jupiter then chuckled to herself before looking away.

"Relax Barry. You're looking at me like I'm going to eat you or something," Jupiter snickered.

Yeah, she's saying that now...

Gabe gave a nervous chuckle and shook his head.

"That would be pretty ridiculous wouldn't it?" Be replied hastily.

Jupiter rolled her eyes.

"Honestly, loosen up a little. You look tense," Jupiter said with a faint smile.

Gabe took a deep breath and did his best to relax a bit. It was no small feat considering he was sitting next to a woman with dangerous curves and a personality to match. And those eyes... he had a hard time not staring.

"I guess I am a little tense aren't I? I've got a gym battle coming up soon. I'm just here to clear my head," Gabe told her as he stroked Jamie's head once more.

"Well you've come to the right place. There's no better place in all of Sinnoh to take a load off than Amity Square," Jupiter said as she undid the bun her hair was in, letting her violet hair waterfall down her back and tumble over her shoulders.

All of that was in her bun? Gabe blinked, watching as she ran her hands through her hair to shake it out.

"You know, they say a picture is worth a thousand words," Jupiter stated with a smirk, chuckling as she saw Gabe quickly avert his gaze.

"S-Sorry," Gabe apologized.

Jupiter waved him off.

"Not to worry. I just needed to let my hair down for a while," said Jupiter as she picked up her novel and placed it with her other books.

"So I noticed that you signed up for the tournament," Jupiter began, pulling a few strands of hair away from her eyes as she spoke.

"How did you-"

Jupiter reached for her gear and pulled up the list of names she found that were registered for the tournament. Turning to Gabe, she showed it to him.

"Ah... that's how. I guess I forgot about that," Gabe murmured.

Jupiter nodded and set her gear down.

"Truth be told, I meant to tell you about it during our encounter earlier, but it looks like you beat me to it," Jupiter smiled. "It's going to be an exciting venture. Perhaps we'll meet in battle and you can show me how much you've improved?"

Gabe nodded and looked down at Jamie who looked up at him with innocent eyes. Jamie had certainly become stronger, and not just because she had evolved.

"Jamie and I will be ready to take you on again," Gabe grinned.

"So that's her name huh? It's cute," Jupiter smiled. "I certainly hope you two will give me a good challenge. Until then," she replied, standing up and picking up her books in the process, "good luck in your endeavors. Perhaps we will meet up again during the tournament? I'd love to chat with you again. You are pleasant company."

Gabe looked up into the endless purple depths of Jupiter. It was difficult to read her motives for wanting to see him again. He knew that she was not safe to be around and yet he found himself being drawn in closer every time.

"I guess it couldn't hurt," Gabe replied casually. "You're nice to talk to so... why not?"

"Well I'm flattered you think so. At any rate, I shall see you soon then. Ciao for now, Barry," Jupiter said sweetly as she made her way off the bridge, turning to give him a wave before walking away once more, leaving Gabe to his own devices.