The clock struck seven as Enzo waited patiently at the station. He stood under a street lamp and looked down at his watch. Melody slept soundly, unaware of where she was or what had transpired within the past hour. Enzo tapped his foot impatiently. Waiting was something he detested, especially when it came to something as important as this. Every remark Seth had made made him boil with anger all the more. Even a comrade—Charles—had said something similar which made him even more agitated.

"Unskilled am I? I'll show you, Seth. And you too Charles!" Enzo growled, clenching his fists out of irritation. "I'll show you all that there's only one person deserving of Allie's affection!" 

The sound of hurried footsteps soon caught his attention, prompting him to look in the direction they came from. They grew louder with each passing second and soon he could see a silhouette of a man running—sprinting—into view. Seth's sprint came to a screeching halt as he stopped about twenty feet away from Enzo. The crimson clad youth looked up with a look of satisfaction at what he saw in Seth's eyes. Fury. The same kind of fury he felt after being declared unskilled, second rate, tenth on the list when he should have been higher. 

"Congratulations, you've found me. I must admit, I didn't expect you to so quickly," Enzo said with a grin. 

Seth remained silent, his cold sapphire hues fixed on his sister's unconscious body. Seth reached a hand down to his sword and slowly removed it from its scabbard, the metal gleaming under the light of the moon as he held it high over his head before pointing it directly at Enzo, the tip aimed for the jugular. Enzo held his ground, using whatever will power he could conjure up to remain callused on the exterior. 

"Ah, ah, not so fast," Enzo warned, holding out a hand towards Melody, drawing Seth's attention to her body. 

Seth's eyes widened as he observed a circle of violet flames erupt around her body. Surfacing from the shadows was a Chandelure. 

"Put it back or the flames will get closer. I'm sure you're familiar with what happens when a Chandelure's flames touch the bodies of its victims, no?" Enzo chuckled darkly. 

Seth slid his rapier back into the scabbard and pinned Enzo with a murderous stare. Enzo continued to laugh as he saw the expression on Seth's face become desperation intermingled with pure, unadulterated hatred. 

"I've seen what you're physically capable of. I'm not foolish enough to try to take you on in hand to hand. That's what the others are for," Enzo said with a snicker. 

"But you are foolish enough to kidnap my sister. A mistake you'll be regretting shortly," Seth spat, his tone laced with venom despite the calm face he was now pulling. 

"Is that so? I'm afraid I'm going to have to disagree. The only thing I'm regretting is not doing this sooner. The others had so much trouble trying to find out how to get to you. Who knew I'd be fortunate to find out you had a sister? you're her favorite person in the world and yet here you are, about to let her down. I can't wait to watch you suffer," Enzo snarled. 

"Shut up," Seth snapped. "Just tell me what you want so we can get on with it."

"Isn't it obvious? I want to repay you for the humiliation you caused me in our last battle!" Enzo roared as he reached down for his first teammate and launched him onto the battlefield. 

Emerging from the sphere, Medicham struck a fighting pose as he prepared to do battle with whatever Seth had in store for him. Seth said nothing as he reached down to his belt and snapped off a sphere. Expanding it he fired it with a shout of "en garde!" 

Bursting forth from the sphere in a blinding flash of light was the Soldier Bee Pokémon. A powerful wind current picked up, heralding the arrival of Vespisol. Enzo furrowed his brows in confusion. He'd never seen a Pokémon like this before. Though if he had to guess, judging by the markings, it was a variant of Combee's final evolution. A wave of disbelief washed over him upon realizing that very fact. This Combee was male. It was impossible—or so he thought—for them to evolve. Regardless of this baffling discovery, he knew that it had the same weakness. 

"Getting these two reacquainted are we? how wonderful!" Enzo said with a gleeful laugh. "If I recall correctly, their last match ended a little something like this. Medicham, use Gravity!" 

Medicham flexed his psychic power, forcing Vespisol to touch down onto the ground, thus clipping his wings in a sense. Seth remained undeterred as he allowed the strategy to take shape. 

"And now for the fun part! Medicham, Fire Punch!" Enzo commanded. 

"Mega Punch..." Seth countered.

Medicham cocked back his fist and channeled heated energies into it, igniting a flame around it. In a burst of speed, he quickly closed the distance between him and Vespisol, his fist swinging for Vespisol's face. As the attack drew near, Vespisol took advantage of the increase in speed from his introductory Tailwind and ducked the strike to answer with one of his own. Vespisol's fist shot up and hammered into Medicham's abdomen with tremendous force, knocking the wind out of the Meditation Pokémon, sending him rocketing away and onto his back, skidding along the ground. 

Medicham coughed and held his abdomen as he pushed himself onto all fours before slowly standing back up. He'd taken hits before, but what just struck him was something unlike he'd ever experienced. A fist, with the power of the wind? That wasn't something he'd been expecting. 

"I see he's improved. That still won't stop us. Just because you got a lucky hit in doesn't mean a thing! Medicham, use Bullet Punch!" 

"Aerial Ace!" Seth called out fiercely. 

Vespisol shifted his stance, and while he was fast, Medicham came in faster and nailed him across the jaw, the force of the Pure Power backed punch doing more damage than he was ready for. Vespisol tumbled end over end before managing to right himself in time to evade wave of psychic discs that were sent his way. Batting one aside he answered with an Air Slash that blew Medicham off his feet. 

Medicham stumbled to his feet and panted heavily. Looking over at Vespisol, he could see that his foe was also running low on stamina. Vespisol took a deep breath and stilled his racing heart and steeled his nerves. He remembered the battle he first had with Medicham and was determined for it not to end the same way. 

"Finish it off Medicham! Fire Punch!" Enzo shouted ferociously. 

"Mega Kick!" Seth fired back. 

Medicham ignited both fists and surged forward, launching himself at Vespisol with intent to drive him into the ground. Vespisol tapped into the power of his element and expelled it from his frame, forming a violent tornado around his right leg. As Medicham closed in, he leaped up, his leg shooting skyward before coming down hard on Medicham's head in a concrete-splitting ax-kick. Medicham had been knocked completely unconscious. Enzo recoiled a bit at the result. 

"Medicham, return!" Enzo said with a humph of irritation. 

Placing the ball back onto his belt, he reached for his next contender and enlarged the sphere. 

"It appears I may have underestimated you on that one, a mistake I won't be making again! Weavile, battle station!" Enzo growled, launching his partner onto the battlefield. 

The bipedal weasel bared his fangs and brandished his claws as he materialized onto the arena that was North Boulevard. Vespisol turned to meet his new foe, unwavering confidence written on his face as he stared the Sharp Claw Pokémon down. 

"Weavile, show this insolent pest how strong you've become! teach him how unskilled he is! Icicle Crash!" 

"Gust!" Seth countered swiftly. 

Long spears of sharp, jagged ice formed around Weavile. With a shrill cry he launched them toward Vespisol who hastily blasted them apart with a fierce funnel of wind. The moment was short lived, however, as Weavile came bursting forward with his claw cloaked in ice, slashing across Vespisol's chest, causing his body to slowly freeze over upon hitting the ground. Without saying anything, Seth recalled Vespisol and quietly muttered his thanks to his friend before reaching for his next partner. 

"Ha! how was that? not so unskilled now am I?" Enzo gloated.

"Pawniard, en garde!"

The steel chess piece exploded from his ball and landed heavily on the battleground, his eyes widening the moment he saw Melody encircled by flames. He glanced back at Seth, a confused look in his eyes as he beheld the horrific sight before him. He could see anger written all over Seth's face, and it was all directed at Enzo. He had never seen Seth like this before. But given the circumstances, it was understandable. Pawniard knew Melody just as well as Seth. She had also been a friend to him and an unknowing inspiration for her novel. 

Most importantly, she was an important link to the bond he now shared with Seth. For once, a normally stoic Pawniard dawned a new face. His eyes anchored into a frown. Everything Seth felt, he felt, almost as though they were connected by something more than just their bond. 

"Brick Break!" 

"Metal Claw!" 

Both cries went out, and the clashing of claws echoed through the streets as both combatants engaged in close quarters combat. Pawniard's claw connected hard against Weavile's jaw while the latter's claw came crashing down on the former's shoulder, forcing them both apart. Weavile stumbled back a bit and regained his footing before rocketing forward, claws alight with golden aura. Pawniard shook off the disorienting blow just in time to send a ghostly claw into the gut of the speedy weasel, narrowly avoiding the strike that went over his right shoulder. But while his reaction was perfectly timed, he was not fast enough to see the Low Sweep that knocked him off his feet. 

"Brick Break again!"

"Double Team!" Seth countered quickly.

Weavile slammed his claw into the ground, cracking the pavement and sending concrete into the air after missing his target. Pawniard had moved safely away, replicates of himself in his wake. The duplicates vanished as swiftly as they appeared.

"You won't get away that easily! Weavile, use Quick Attack and then hit it with another Brick Break!" Enzo roared. 

"Metal Claw!" Seth cried out. 

Weavile blurred forward swifter than Pawniard could track and slashed him across the face with his sharp claws and followed up with a downward chop to the other shoulder that forced Pawniard to his knees, a crater forming around him from the force delivered. 

"Finish him off! Low Sweep!" Enzo cackled. 

Weavile shifted his stance and swung his leg back. Just as the blow was about to strike, Pawniard's body began to glow a bright gold, startling his adversary mid swing. Pawniard gathered all of the stored energy from taking the brunt of Weavile's first assault and launched it back at him in a single blow that hammered Weavile skyward, taking him out of commission before he even hit the ground. Enzo's eyes went wide and he became even more infuriated than before. Weavile had lost to the same opponent, twice. This was an outrage. 

"That does it! I can't stand this any longer. I will not be made a fool of!" he roared as he ripped off the last ball from his belt and fired it onto the field. 

A haunted cry announced the arrival of the hell hound himself. Houndoom snarled ferociously as he made his presence known. Hung about his neck was what was unmistakably a Mega Stone. Seth knew that he should switch, but as he reached to return Pawniard, the faithful chess piece turned and held out his claw as if to tell him to stop. Seth had no idea what to make of it. Pawniard knew this wasn't wise and was usually more prudent than this. So why was he determined to stay? That's when Seth followed his gaze to Melody. Of course. Pawniard wanted to finish this himself, for her sake. Seth nodded and secured the ball back onto his waist before turning his sights onto Enzo again. 

"Not going to switch are we? that's perfectly fine with me. It'll make it all the sweeter once I burn you and that pathetic hunk of metal to ashes! Mega Shinka!" Enzo shouted powerfully. 

The heat around the area suddenly intensified as Houndoom underwent a harrowing transformation. His claws sharpened and his body became larger as the power flowed through him. A large toothed structure formed around his neck, making him even more menacing than he already appeared. Another haunting howl expelled from the maw of the beast as his final form was realized. 

"It's time I put you in your place! starting with that Pawniard! Fire Blast!" Enzo bellowed.

"Dark Pulse!" Seth riposted.

Flames crackled in the maw of the beast as he drew his head back and lurched it forward, expelling a five-pointed blast from his throat. Pawniard stood his ground and extended both claws, drawing in highly concentrated darkness and releasing them in a single beam of purple and black energy. The two attacks collided and cancelled each other out.

A veil of smoke went up, and from it leaped a snarling monstrosity with fire encasing his body as he slammed into Pawniard. The steel chess piece was knocked backwards and hit the ground with a heavy thud. Houndoom prowled toward Pawniard, a gutteral growl emitting from his throat as he closed in on his prey.

"Now to put the final nail in the coffin. Burn him to a crisp! Flamethrower!" Enzo demanded.

As Pawniard struggled to his feet, he looked up to see Houndoom's open jaws gathering fire within. Fear, for the first time, gripped him. Fear of letting down his friend and trainer, rushed through him, rooting him in place. This couldn't be all he had left. There had to be more. So why couldn't he reach it? Was this his limit? Fear turned to panic as Houndoom reared his head back to fire.

"Do it!"

Houndoom fired. The attack was nearly point blank, leaving next to no time to evade. As the fire sought to devour him, a bright red aura exploded around Pawniard as his battle cry pierced the air. Instantly the flames were dispersed and an intense pressure overtook the area, making it hard for Enzo to stay grounded.

When the light died down, Enzo could make out two gleaming white eyes and an unrecognizable silhouette. The figure was a mass of scarlet energy with what appeared to be a spear for an arm and a shield-like appendage on the other. Due to the amount of aura surrounding the much taller figure, it was impossible to tell what he was looking at. Did Pawniard evolve?

Even more startling, was the azure light surrounding Seth's body like a raging inferno. His eyes seemed brighter than before and his face still held that same stoic, rage-filled expression.

"Sharp!" The crimson figure growled, pointing the spear challengingly in Houndoom's direction.

"I don't know what's going on, but that's not going to stop me! I'm taking you down! Pawniard may have evolved, but he still is at a severe disadvantage! show him Houndoom! Flamethrower again!"

"The only one going down here is you! You can try to hurt me all you want, I don't give a damn. But when you bring my family into it, that's something I can't forgive! Bisharp, Brick Break!"

The mass of aura dubbed Bisharp, shifted his stance and pointed the spear tip toward Houndoom. The spear lit up and elongated as power flowed through it. Putting his shield arm before him, Bisharp erupted from his spot, shattering the ground in his wake. With a howl, Houndoom sent a stream of deadly fire towards Bisharp who defended with his shield and pushed the fire back.

Houndoom let out a surprised yelp as Bisharp burst through the flames. In a swift jabbing motion that mirrored his trainer, Bisharp drove the tip of the spear into the bone structure of the beast and blasted him back at blinding speeds, sending him crashing into the station wall, his mega form fading. Enzo's face paled as he saw Houndoom fall.

"It can't be! Houndoom was... was—"

Enzo whirled around and glowered at Seth. His eyes were met by what now appeared to be a normal Bisharp. Gone were the abnormalities that had played a factor in Houndoom's defeat. This only served to make Enzo angrier still.

"You bastard! how dare you!" He screeched, recalling Houndoom before reaching for his pistol to aim it at Melody.

"I told you I would make you suffer, and now I will make good on it!"

As he put his finger on the trigger, Bisharp and Seth moved in unison, Bisharp putting Chandelure out with a Night Slash instantly. Enzo's grip on the gun became nonexistent as a heavy fist was driven into his gut. Looking down, he was met with the fury filled eyes of Seth. Gritting his teeth, Seth followed up with an uppercut to Enzo's jaw accompanied by a succession of aura infused palm strikes that riddled Enzo's body with intense pain. Enzo collapsed to his knees, blood trickling from his lip as he looked up at Seth. Regret filled him as Seth stood over him and stared him down.

Enzo's eyes were pleading for mercy, something Seth was about fresh out of. The only thing holding him back was knowing his teacher would reprimand him for breaking the one rule she had made him agree to upon accepting him as a student.

Under no circumstances are you to use these skills to kill. Failure to abide by this will terminate your contract and you will cease to be my student...

Taking a reluctant deep breath, Seth lowered his guard as soon as Enzo collapsed and passed out. With a sigh, he turned away from Enzo and walked over to Melody and knelt down to scoop her into his arms. Turning around, he saw that Enzo had been removed from where he was on the ground. Without a word, he carried his sister away, all the while being watched from the shadows on the other side of the Lumiose Station. When he was out of sight, a shadowy, feminine figure darted away with Enzo in tow.