The entire arena shook with the force of an earthquake as the match between Grayson and Korrina came to a screeching halt.

"Diggersby is unable to battle! Lucario wins, meaning the victory goes to Korrina!" Gurkinn declared.

Lucario powered down from his mega state and breathed a sigh of relief. To think that he and Korrina needed to push themselves that far...

"Phew! that was a tough one!" Korrina declared, sighing in exhaustion as she made her way to the center of the arena to meet Grayson.

Grayson returned his comrade and whispered a note of thanks before hitching him back to his belt. Looking up, he was surprised to see a badge being held out to him.

"With all due respect, I am not the victor here," Grayson began.

"That does not matter Grayson," Allie cut in, folding her arms as she spoke. "As Gym Leader, Korrina can give a badge to anyone she sees fit to give it to in accordance with the regulations that have been set by the League. Any trainer demonstrating knowledge and understanding of Pokémon to the best of their ability, may be given a badge whether they win or not."

"In other words, it's at our discretion," Korrina added, placing the badge into Grayson's open palm.

"Adding to what you have said, princess, if we feel that a challenger has not placed their all into a match, and if they lose, we reserve the right to withhold a badge until they take the battle more seriously the next time around," Korrina continued, her gaze shifting ever so slightly towards a certain sword bearing individual seated in gym.

Following her eyes, Allie dawned a smug grin.

So that wasn't just a general statement eh? Sounds like the pauper has gotten himself into a bit of a fix. So even a student of the Chevalier has trouble hmm? He must not have been a good student if he's tripping up this early in the game.

"Thank you, I gladly accept this badge," Grayson responded, closing his fist around it and taking out his badge case to place it inside.

"Not a problem, you definitely earned it," Korrina assured him, her gaze shifting over to Seth who seemed to be focused rather intently on something, or rather... someone.

"Well, as exciting as all this was, I do need to be heading off. There are a few things I need to... prepare for tonight. Not that I'm looking forward to it or anything..." Allie said, her eyes shifting to Seth after her last statement, her gaze lingering for a moment before her brows anchored into a frown. "Grayson? it's been a pleasure spending time with you. I do hope that you'll do well on the rest of your journey..."

Grayson smiled and nodded as she said this. His attention was drawn, however, to Seth whom Allie seemed to be fixated on at the moment. He knew what she meant by her comment. Tomorrow marked the beginning of her time with Seth. Why she was so agitated with him was something he could never bring himself to understand. He wasn't going to try to bring it out of her though. He'd known her long enough to know that if she didn't want to talk about it, she never would.

"Thank you, Allie. If you'll let me, I'd like to escort you out. I know your ride will be here soon," Grayson offered, getting a smile from the redhead in return.

"I'd like that, Grayson. Thank you."

Grayson made his way to Allie and the two walked out of the gym together. Allie looked back at Seth with a rather disdainful expression before returning her focus ahead of her and walking out the door. Having watched the exchange and caught on to what Allie had meant, Serena clenched her fists.

"Wow... she really is an insufferable little snot isn't she?" Serena spat, crossing her arms with a huff. "I mean, she didn't say it, but those statements were clearly thrown at you."

Seth rolled his eyes. Of course he knew that. Allie was far too easy to read, which was what made it irritating yet amusing at the same time.

"You weren't kidding when you said she wasn't exactly someone to write home about," Trevor sighed, glancing down at the picture he'd taken of Allie.

"That's a good pic Trev, but uh... any reason for it?" Tierno inquired with a raised brow.

The ginger shrugged and looked at the photo.

"It's not every day you get to see someone of royalty. I thought it'd be nice to add to my album, you know? I'm hoping to get some pictures of her family too, just so I can say I have pictures. That... and some people pay pretty good money to collect anything that has anything to do with them," Trevor mused.

"Ah, I see," Tierno smirked, glancing over at Shauna who was now conversing with Seth and Serena.

Leaning over to Trevor, Tierno said, "it's Shauna's birthday soon isn't it? trying to get a few extra bucks to get her something huh?"

Trevor's face went Darmanitan red as he heard Tierno's words. Tierno grinned in amusement. It was pointless for Trevor to try to hide his feelings. He knew Tierno was right. He was trying to find a way to earn some good money to get Shauna something she had her eye on for a long time.

"It's so pretty!" Shauna exclaimed, her eyes fixed on a rather intricately designed blue and white dress inside the most expensive boutique in Lumiose City.

Trevor, who was inside looking for somewhat reasonable deals, was having difficulty finding anything that would fit his style. Hearing Shauna's squeal of delight, he turned around to see the very dress she was gushing over her. As he studied it, he couldn't stop himself from imagining Shauna in that dress. It was beautiful. From what he could tell, it would fit her perfectly and bring out the sparkle in her eyes even more. Oh how he wanted to see that! His fantasy however, was cut short by the price tag.

Dear Arceus that's a lot!

"I wish it wasn't so expensive though... man!" Shauna huffed.

Trevor fixed his eyes on the price and began to think of all the ways that he might help her purchase that dress. It wasn't going to be easy, but he was determined to do it.

I've almost got enough. Just a little more...

"Trevor? you in there man?"

Trevor snapped out of his thoughts and looked up at his portly friend.

"Yeah, sorry. What are we doing now?" Trevor asked, glancing around to see that Serena and Shauna were alone now and that Seth had walked out of the gym.

"Where's—"

"He needed a little time to himself," Serena cut in, a sigh slipping from her lips. "To be honest, I don't blame him."

"Oh come on, she didn't seem that bad," Shauna interjected. "She just has a... colorful personality!"

The group gave her a look that seemed to suggest she was nuts.

"I'm... not being very convincing am I?" Shauna laughed nervously.

Seth stared up at the majestic structure that was the Tower Of Mastery. On either side of him were two pillars, each engraved with the symbol for Mega Evolution, a power that he did not yet possess. Without that, defeating Korrina was next to impossible.

Impossible is not a word... it's just an excuse not to try...

A smile crept onto Seth's face as he recalled the words of Mrs. Rousseau. Deep down, Seth knew she was right. He would only be making excuses for himself if he looked at the task as insurmountable. As powerful as Korrina's team was, he had been able to see not only Grayson battle her, but he watched her Lucario, Mega Evolve.

He could feel an intense burst of aura the moment that occurred. The intensity of it was enough to shake him up a little. Pokémon had the best aura control and seeing hers battle was a sight indeed. However, that wasn't the first time he'd seen a Mega Lucario. Mathilde's immediately came to mind. The power he bore was on a completely different level.

Knowing the task before him, he knew he needed to do his best and remain focused. Having found out that Jamie and Felicity were done with school, he knew it was only a matter of time before they caught up to him. A wave of excitement washed over him at the very thought of that. His eyes shifted back up to the tower and a smirk graced his visage.

I may not be ready right now... but I will defeat you, Korrina. There's just something I have to prepare for first...