A week and a half had gone by since Seth had obtained his fifth gym badge. During that time he and his team trained daily so as not to leave their skills unpolished. After examining his team, he found that he still had a long way to go before he'd fulfilled the requirements of the contest. Because of this, he found himself on Miroir Way once again with the intention of finding yet another partner to add to his team. What he was looking for, even he didn't know. Then again, that was half the fun. With Cerise at his back, he remained vigilant to anything that might pop out and surprise him. He had already planned on using her in whatever battle they might face. 

He could hear the wind rustling through the trees along the trail, as well as the distinct pattering of tiny feet most likely belonging to some rodent Pokémon. There were many prospects within the area, of that much he was certain. His eyes shifted to his right as a small bipedal, orange mouse-like Pokémon scampered out of the brush. The little creature sniffed the ground near it, sparks of electricity flying from its whiskers as it sensed its surroundings. As it scurried along the ground, a great shadow soared overhead, snatching its attention immediately. 

Seth's eyes trailed upward to catch sight of a massive bird of prey. Its eyes were lagoon blue, and it had a dark blue feathered body with traces of black intermingled with it. It had a circular white patch on its forehead that was covered partially by a black crest with an icy blue tip. Larger white markings covered most of its throat and chest. It had a black tipped orange beak and talons to match. The massive Flying-type's eyes were set on the small electric rodent. Without missing a beat, it dove, talons open as it aimed to snatch the little Pokémon into the air. 

Reacting quickly, Cerise unraveled herself from Seth's back and launched herself at the bird of prey. The crimson blade landed a well-timed Night Slash, fending off the sizable foe. The Staraptor soared back into the air and observed the new adversary from above. Cerise was certainly strong, that much was for certain simply based on the power of the attack she had used. Perhaps he would find a challenge out of this after all. Cerise shifted her body toward Staraptor and pointed the tip of her blade upward, lacing it with Psychic energy before launching several crescent blades upward. 

Staraptor jinked to the right and dove downward, weaving around the blades as they carved through the air at him. Plummeting down like a missile, Staraptor's body began to glow as he pulled in his wings to gain more momentum. With a loud screech, he unfurled his wings and burst into flames as he rocketed forward and collided with Cerise's steel frame, sending her spinning through the air. Sparks flew up Staraptor's wings, causing him to wince after taking recoil damage. Cerise managed to keep herself from getting her blade caught in a tree by phasing through it. 

She snaked down the tree using the shadows for cover, prompting Staraptor to follow her movements. Seth kept watch as Cerise continued to battle on her own, gauging the strength of the Staraptor for himself and finding him very suitable indeed. He'd brought along a few Ultra Balls for such an occasion as this. Staraptor spread his wings, creating an orange glow around them before flapping them rapidly, creating a powerful heated gust of flames that sliced through the air toward the ground where Cerise was heading. Stopping short, Cerise retreated and popped out of the ground only to be nailed hard by an Aerial Ace from behind. 

Taking back to the skies, Cerise narrowly avoided another Brave Bird assault and launched a Flash Cannon, clipping Staraptor's left wing, sending him spiraling downward. Seizing the opportunity, Cerise shot toward Staraptor and in a swift upward motion, sliced along his chest area, further injuring her foe. With a screech, Staraptor crashed into the ground and struggled to get back into the air. Due to his wing being damaged, he was hard-pressed to get anywhere fast. 

Seth, knowing that neither one of them would last much longer if it continued, primed his Ultra Ball and whipped it at the Staraptor. The ball bounced off his head and opened with a flash of light, absorbing him inside. The ball hit the ground and began to violently twitch. What was only a few seconds, felt like an eternity to Seth as the third twitch finally came around. The ball went still and a satisfying 'ding' was heard, signifying that his target had been caught. A sigh of relief left his lips as he walked up to the ball and picked it up. Clipping it to his belt he called Cerise back to him. 

"That was a rather tough battle m'lord," said Cerise as the two made their way back to Lumiose City.

"It was, but you did well out there despite him overpowering you like that. The fact that you were able to disable him like you did shows how much you've grown," Seth replied casually. 

"It wasn't easy. Had I not avoided that Heat Wave, he might have done me in," Cerise muttered.

"Possibly, but it looked like you were counting on him doing something like that. In any case, great work Cerise. If we keep at it, you'll evolve before we reach the next city."

"I do wonder about that," Cerise mused to herself. "Will I still be the same?"

"That's right... it will be a bit different for you won't it?" Seth replied with a raised brow. "I'm sure you'll be fine. It'll just be like... having a twin."

"I can't imagine that. Even so, I suppose I'll deal with it when the time comes," Cerise chuckled. 

"That makes seven," Allie sighed as she set her things down and kicked off her boots. "Seven visitations and I've still got many more to attend. I'm going to need to speed things up if I hope to be done in time for the League."

Allie sighed and rubbed her temples as she flopped onto her bed. Furfrou, now out of her ball, hopped up beside Allie and placed her head in her lap. 

"Are you feeling exhausted too?" Allie said with a slight laugh as she stroked her friend's fur. 

Furfrou wagged her tail happily as Allie pet her affectionately. It had been tiresome, but Allie had made some decent headway despite the fact that there were more bachelors to visit. 

"Well, look at it this way Furfrou. At least now we can put the rest of our energy into the ball, right? the maids have already seen to the cleaning and the decorators have already put everything up for it. I've arranged for the court musicians to play and for the chefs to whip up the finest meals they have to offer. It's going to be a grand night, I just know it."

More importantly, it will give me a chance to see how the contenders I haven't gotten to yet treat their dates to the ball. They may not know it yet, but this is where I separate the wheat from the chaff. I can only hope that too many aren't weeded out because there are still more I'd like to get to know...

Allie stood up and walked out to the balcony and looked out over the garden. Slowly but surely, she was beginning to grow fond of this spot again. Furfrou pranced up beside her and looked up at her trainer. 

"It's a beautiful day, isn't it? what do you say we go put you through your paces for a bit? since we have more time now, it'd be a shame not to exercise you wouldn't it?" Allie said, looking down at her canine companion with a smile. 

Furfrou nodded in agreement and made her way into the bedroom with Allie slowly following behind. 

Seth sat quietly in the center as he waited for his companions to be treated. After the battle he'd experienced on Miroir Way, he needed a good rest himself. His holocaster began sounding off, causing him to reach into his pocket and pull out the device to answer. On the screen were the faces of none other than Felicity and Jamie. 

"Hey guys, what's up?" Seth asked, smiling at his friends. 

"Not much, just thought we'd let you know that we've got our third badge!" Jamie exclaimed, flashing his badge along with Felicity for Seth to see. 

"You guys weren't kidding when you said you'd catch up to me," Seth laughed, rubbing the back of his head. 

"It took us a bit, considering Korrina had a Mega Lucario that was damn hard to take down. Nothing a good strategy couldn't fix though," Felicity said nonchalantly. 

"Sounds like you had just as hard a time as I had..."

"Believe me, it was difficult. Seeing Mega Evolution is one thing. Fighting it was something entirely different. We're just chillin' out in Shalour City for right now for a little r & r. It's been an extremely crazy day," Jamie added. 

"Tell me about it. I had an eventful day myself. But it looks like things are going to get a little easier from here on out," Seth replied with a faint smile, thinking of his newest companion and the benefits he'd bring to the team. 

"That's good to hear. Anyway, we just wanted to see how you were doing. We know that you were a bit shaken up by what happened with Melody. Thankfully she's okay now," Felicity inputted with concern in her voice. 

"I think she's more than okay now. She did get to spend some time at the palace after all, though I'm sure she's told you already."

"Well duh. She wouldn't let us hear the end of it," Jamie laughed. "Sounds like you and the princess are getting along better too."

"I can't refute that. A lot has changed since she spent part of my journey with me."

"I bet. After what Melody told us, I'm surprised you two aren't more than friends at this point," Felicity replied with a grin. 

"Let's not get too hasty here. I've still got a long way to go before I know for sure if there's anything there between us."

"So you do agree that there might be something more, right?" Felicity prodded. 

"Well uh..."

"I dunno Seth, it sounds like you're starting to like her bro. Think of it this way. It's more incentive for you to kick ass and take names," Jamie said grinning.

"For lack of better words, yes. Face it Seth, you're like an open book. You wouldn't have gone through the lengths you did to impress her if you didn't feel something for her, am I right?" Felicity stated firmly. 

Seth sighed deeply and looked back at his friends. He had to admit, they had a point. At first, he was only being nice because that was what the rules dictated. But after spending time with her, and gaining more than surface level knowledge, he found that he had started to become attracted to her. Thinking back on his actions on the last night they spent with each other, it was clear to him that there was indeed something there. 

"Anyway, we'll talk again later. Felicity wants to go see the Tower of Mastery. Gurkinn said he'd give us Mega Bracelets since we both have teammates that can Mega Evolve later on."

"Ah, that's pretty cool! take care then. I'll give you guys a call sometime okay?" Seth replied, earning a nod from Jamie. 

After a short exchange of words, the trio said their goodbyes and ended the call. After the call was over, Seth's teammates were ready to be picked up. He thanked the nurse and hitched them back to his belt before heading out of the center.