Five. Five badges were nestled inside his badge case, each representing a benchmark he'd set for himself. There were three left to obtain and yet even after doing so he needed to fill his dex with at least thirty-two more Pokémon in order to finish his qualifications for the finale of the competition. Now that he had some time to spare, having taken a break from badge hunting, he figured he'd add a few more members to his growing team a bit later.

There was one other pressing matter that needed to be attended to before he could go hunt down another teammate. Pushing himself off the ground, he dusted himself off after having meditated for the duration of an hour in the Santalune Forest. His family was at home, no doubt preparing for dinner that was to be held in a few hours. Melody had gone off to Aquacorde Town to buy some vegetables from the local mart.

Reaching into his pocket, he took out his holocaster and checked his messages. Finding he had acquired new ones during his meditation, he quickly read over them to see if there was anything of great importance that would require his attention. His eyes soon landed on a message from Serena, asking if he could pay her a visit before the day was over.

After finding out that she lived in Vanville just a short walk up the block from his house, he became painfully aware of how little he got out prior to this experience and Mathilde's training. The sound of steel clashing with steel caught his attention, drawing his eyes to a spar between Bisharp and Cerise. A grin curved onto Seth's face as he watched them exchange blows, Bisharp able to fend her off more easily now that he'd evolved and become far stronger than he was before. However, even though he had the advantage as far as strength was concerned, Cerise's skills were still as polished as ever.

Having been a skilled swordsman in her former life, it was apparent that she hadn't lost her touch. As Bisharp thrust his arm out, his bladed arm encased in darkness, Cerise artfully parried the assault and followed up with a swift slash to Bisharp's chest, pushing him back a few paces. Bisharp glanced down at his chest and then back up at Cerise who was now rocketing toward him, an orange aura surrounding her bladed frame as she began stabbing at him, forcing him on the defensive.

Mirroring the skill she was using, Bisharp began to keep pace with Cerise, their strikes echoing louder as they sparred. Seth's eyes followed as their pace picked up. He could see that Bisharp had regained the advantage and was pushing Cerise to her limits.

Well, this is what you asked me for. Now it's time to see how far you're willing to go for the results you're looking for...

"So what is it you wanted to talk about, Cerise?" Seth asked with a yawn as he walked out into the cool night air.

Cerise had requested to meet him after the sun had gone down. The matter seemed pressing so Seth couldn't simply ignore the request. He'd noticed that Cerise had been going off on her own and training, something he had a habit of doing from time to time. Her eye fixed onto his and with a determined voice she said, "I'd like to show you a few things I've picked up since we've been here, but in order to do it effectively, I'd like to ask that you let me spar with Bisharp instead of Vespisol."

"By a few things, you mean new techniques right?" Seth inquired, his eyes trailing Cerise as she floated a good distance away from him.

"Yes... I aim to get stronger in order to better serve you. As I am now, I'm more a hindrance than a help in comparison to my other companions. The only way to do that would be to fight the strongest opponent I can think of, and Bisharp fits the bill m'lord."

"I see where you're going with this, and while I disagree with your statement about being a hindrance, I do agree that making yourself stronger would be a great help," Seth replied. "Okay, starting tomorrow morning I'll have you practice with Bisharp until you feel you've achieved what you're looking for."

"Thank you! I appreciate that very much!"

I can do this! Cerise thought as she parried another Night Slash from Bisharp, her body swerving out of the way as a Shadow Claw followed.

Cerise powered her frame with a blazing orange aura and carved the air with a fierce slash which was met with strong resistance as Bisharp blocked with both of his arms, his legs buckling beneath the force of the strike. Digging his heels in, Bisharp responded with a powerful Psycho-Cut from his forehead blade, blasting Cerise into the air. Extending his arm, he gathered a sizeable ball of dark energy into a single point at the tip of his bladed hand and fired an intense beam of purple and black aura toward the sprawling sword. The blast clipped her from the sky and sent her plummetting toward the ground.

Dammit! she cursed, struggling to right herself after taking heavy damage. As she fell, her eye took in Seth's expression. He wasn't saying anything nor was he showing any form of being let down by her performance.

In fact, he didn't look the least bit upset. He was calm, without a trace of disappointment in his eyes. He seemed almost... happy. So why was she so intent on not disappointing him? had she not realized by now that he never showed any of that? he invested so much time and effort into each of his teammates, regardless of whether or not they won or lost a match or if they were slow to progress. It was no wonder his teacher saw so much promise in him. With that in mind, she redirected her focus and halted her descent by launching a Psycho-Cut of her own at the ground.

Bisharp watched as Cerise refocused her attention on the battle instead of the war in her mind. Although there were a few scratches on her steel frame she was every bit as tough as she was when he first sparred her. He was given clear direction by Seth to push her to her limits and so far, it was working. Brandishing his bladed appendages, he darted forward at top speed, cloaking his blades in dark aura as he prepared to strike.

That's when Cerise took a stance with her bladed body facing upward. Her body was soon set ablaze by a bright blue energy that elongated her form dramatically from that of a short sword to a full length longsword. With that energy she lashed out at Bisharp, meeting his heavy strike with one of her own. The force of their converged blows sent a shockwave through the area that shook the ground. Seth steadied himself with his own aura so as not to stumble. A smile formed on his face as he saw the result of Cerise's determination manifest itself in the form of Sacred Sword.

Now Bisharp had a real fight on his hands. Cerise sliced through the air and hammered herself onto his crossed arms with crushing force, sending him skidding backward several feet, tearing up the grass as he tried to slow his stop. Pivoting to the right, he avoided a swift Sacred Sword thrust from Cerise and retaliated with a succession of Night Slashes and a Psycho-Cut that launched her back once more.

Cerise phased through the tree she was heading toward and dove into the shadows darted along the ground, using the shadows of the trees for cover as she stealthily moved around Bisharp while searching for any possible opening. Occasionally she'd pop out the ground and slash from a new angle before diving back into the shadows. Each time, Bisharp would fend her off as he attempted to get a feel for any sort of pattern to her strategy.

Looking down, he saw that his own shadow was starting to shift ever so slightly. Raising his arm swiftly, he successfully repelled the succession of strikes that were aimed at his head, torso and stomach. Cerise's assault didn't stop there, becoming more relentless with every slash of her body. Seth's eyes widened as her body began to glow with even more intensity than it had upon the usage of Sacred Sword.

Power erupted from Cerise as a crimson light encased her frame as her next blow struck the guarded form of her sparring partner. Bisharp looked up at his comrade to find that something had definitely changed. Feeling another presence, he moved back as a second blade swept the air in front of him just inches from his chest. A smirk crossed Seth's face as he saw the transformation Cerise had gone through.

So she finally decided to go through with it huh? It'll be interesting to see how things play out from here, Seth thought, the temptation to reach for his own sword suddenly springing into his thoughts. His eyes soon trailed down to his pocket as he heard his holocaster going off. And as much as I'd love to do that... I do have somewhere to be. Think I'll call it a day with these two...

"Okay you two, that's enough," Seth commanded as the two were inches from coming to blows once more.

Bisharp powered down the aura around his claws, Cerise dispersing the power around her blades as well.

"That's all for today you two. I'd love it if you were able to keep going... but considering you've already carved through a few trees I think we should call it quits. Besides, I think we've disturbed a few homes..." Seth laughed, catching sight of some Fletchinder and their young looking on from the tree behind him.

"I suppose we'll have to pick this up later. I look forward to seeing how much stronger you are now that you've evolved," said Bisharp before being returned.

Seth placed Bisharp onto his belt and turned to Cerise who seemed to be examining the other sword before her. Seth couldn't tell exactly, but she seemed puzzled by this new development.

"How's it feel?" Seth asked, walking over to her calmly while she examined the other sword.

"It's strange... I feel different yet the same somehow..." Cerise replied, watching as the other blade mirrored her actions before coming to rest beside her. "It seems I'm able to manipulate it as I see fit. Almost like having a blade of my own, which is odd considering what I am..."

"Something tells me you'll get used to it eventually. If anything, this opens up new avenues for you," Seth responded, his eyes following her as she hovered around back of him, the other blade following before crossing over her as the two came to rest on his back.

"I know, but it still doesn't make it any less weird. But this does give me plenty of new ideas for the next time I'm used in battle. I'll need to ponder this a bit longer. At any rate m'lord... was there something you needed to do?"

"At present, only one. After all, the ball is but a week away and I still need to go meet with Serena today. I wonder what she'll think of this new development," Seth said as he reached for Staraptor's ball.

Releasing the bird of prey from his chambers, Seth mounted the massive bird and kicked his heels against his sides. Spreading his wings wide, Staraptor blasted into the sky.