The sound of pencils scribbling and papers rustling filled the air as everyone busied themselves with the classwork that Mrs. Auclair had given them. Just then, the speakers turned on and the sound of the principal's voice rang out loud and clear, gathering the attention of the school. 

        "Good morning students! I hope you're doing well on this fine Wednesday morning. I thought I would remind you all that we will be holding the first of our School Doubles matches in just two short weeks. This year, Shalour Academy will be visiting us with their two representatives. As is customary here, we will be holding a small tournament in our advanced class to see who will be our two representatives this year. For those interested in attending the event, the battles will be held at 7:00 PM tomorrow. That's all for the morning announcements. Have a great day everyone!" 

        Mrs. Auclair cleared her throat and shut the book she had in her hand and set it down. Standing up, she made her way around to the front of her desk and sat on it, facing the class as she addressed them. 

        "You all heard the announcement, and I'm sure you're aware of what it all entails. This year is a big one for us because it gives us a shot at the title we've desired since this school opened. While we've done well in years past. We haven't won a nationals tournament in ten years. It's the second largest event next to the Lumiose Conference itself. Scouts come from all over to look for a trainer to sponsor which is how most of our graduates become pros and compete for a living. They're granted entry into every conference, not to mention the school they represent gets more publicity and prestige," Mrs. Auclair explained. 

        The class murmured among themselves as Mrs. Auclair waxed on about what it would mean for the school and for them if they were to win this year. Fiametta's eyes shifted over to Arthur who was listening attentively to Mrs. Auclair. She took a deep breath and willed herself to be calm. She wanted to compete in the nationals, and with the way her scores were looking, it was clear that she was going to be able to do so. She just had one issue. Arthur. While he was decent, and arguably better than most of the other students she'd faced, she still wasn't certain that having him as a partner would be of any benefit to her. She was clearly the stronger of the two of them, and would most likely—in her mind—be stuck with all the work. But, like it or not, she was stuck with him. Once Mrs. Auclair made up her mind, there was no changing it at all. She supposed she'd just have to wait and see how he did in their match-ups today. Shaking her head, she went about her business, doing her best to finish the classwork so she wouldn't have extra work to do in the evening. 

        Time flew by, and soon the students found themselves in the lunch room, chatting among themselves and discussing the upcoming event. Arthur sat with his usual companions, deep in conversation about the afternoon matches, when he found himself looking up into the forest green eyes of Fiametta. The ginger had her arms crossed and was tapping her foot impatiently as if she'd expected him to notice her straight away. 

        "You. Me. In the gymnasium, now," she demanded, turning to walk away with nothing more to say. 

        "Damn, someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning," Victor muttered.

        "Well, we all know how she is. Little Miss Entitled never misses a beat when it comes to getting what she wants. I'm assuming she wants to get in some practice before the tournament starts?" Estelle asked, looking pointedly at Arthur who sagged his shoulders. 

        "We've been practicing since last week. She's really pushing to evolve Arum and while battling her is great experience, getting my ass handed to me on the daily isn't exactly fun," Arthur sighed. 

        "Haven't you evolved your Venipede yet?" Magnum asked through a mouthful of macaroni and cheese. 

        Arthur crossed his arms and shook his head. 

        "Ōmukade still has some growing to do. Even if he evolves, Arum is so well trained I don't think it will matter. Her Weedle's already a Kakuna and is steadily getting tougher."

        "Well, she didn't rise to the ranks as the top student in her first year for nothing. She's been taught how to raise just about every Pokémon-type there is, and that's mainly due to all of her tutoring and a little help from her parents being able to afford it all," Estelle inputted. 

        "It's not just that, she's actually really well disciplined herself. It's like she's a different person when she's in the trainer's box. She goes into every match as though she's already won. That kind of confidence is really... how do I put this?" Arthur paused, knitting his brow as he fumbled for the right words.

        "Intimidating?" Magnum asked.

        "Yeah... that," Arthur admitted. "She sorta reminds me of my sister actually. It's weird, I know. But the way she goes into every class match is very similar to how Claudia does it."

        "And seeing that sorta catches you off guard a little, am I right?" Victor chimed in.

        "Yeah, it does. See, I was classically trained and hardwired to think in terms of black and white. Fire beats grass, water beats fire, etc. Until my sister decided to personally tutor me, I never really thought outside the box. Fiametta is almost exactly like her in that regard," Arthur replied, standing up and taking his tray. 

        "Good luck then. Hopefully she won't be too hard on you during practice," Magnum added. 

        "Thanks, I'll definitely need it," Arthur replied.

        Taking his tray over to the window where everyone leaves their dirty dishes, he set it down and where the dishwasher could take it and then proceeded to exit the cafeteria and make his way to the the gym. 

        Ōmukade curled up and barreled down the warpath toward Arum who patiently waited while adjusting her stance, bringing her right leg back slightly as he approached. As he neared, she swung it back and kicked him hard into the air with enough force to unravel him from his balled up state. Leaping high into the air, she brought a glowing white leg down upon the centipede, sending him straight toward the ground with her in hot pursuit, her foot glowing an emerald hue along with the rest of her body as it began to expand. A shriek of pain split the air as Arum's pointed foot made contact, causing the centipede to squirm beneath a now much taller and stronger Arum. 

        Arthur returned Ōmukade and hitched him to his belt. Once again, she'd bested him with only Arum and on top of that, she evolved, something Fiametta seemed extremely pleased about due to the happy tears welling up in her eyes. 

        "Finally!" she said excitedly as she walked around in front of her newly evolved Tsareena. "Our hard work has finally paid off. Oh Arum, you look lovely!" 

        Arum ran a digit-less hand through her leafy lavender locks, and gave Fiametta a knowing look as if to say 'of course I look lovely!' 

        "It's about time too. I never really could figure out why it was taking so long, but true beauty can't be rushed I suppose," Fiametta said with a shrug. 

        "Congrats," Arthur commented, stepping up beside Fiametta to get a good look at Arum's new form. "With Arum fully evolved, our chances at doing well are looking better."

        "Yes, well we have been training for a long time. It was only a matter of time before she achieved her final form. I suppose we have battling against you to thank for that," Fiametta replied casually. 

        "Wait a second. You're actually giving me credit for that?" Arthur retorted, somewhat bewildered at what she'd just told him. 

        "H-Hey! just what are you trying to say? th-that I'm not capable of giving compliments every once in a while?" Fiametta snapped, marching up to him to grab his tie and yank it while boring into his eyes with her own fiery gaze. 

        Arthur put his hands up defensively and recoiled slightly, putting some distance between his face and hers. 

        "I'm not saying that at all, Fiametta, I'm just saying that it's... surprising, that's all. During our study sessions you usually don't do that," Arthur said, backing up and adjusting his tie. 

        Fiametta crossed her arms and huffed. Why everyone seemed to think of her in such a way was beyond her. She didn't always have a case of resting bitch face. She could be nice too! Sighing, she returned Arum to her ball and took a deep breath. 

        "Arthur," she said sharply, drawing his attention to her quickly. "This tournament our school is putting on—and the nationals—it's always been my dream to compete," she said hesitantly. 

        Arthur turned to look at her, and for once there was something else on her face other than the usual stoic, standoffish expression that made it seem like she'd bite if anyone came close. There was a deep-seated uncertainty in her eyes that was never there before. 

        "I've always wanted to battle against trainers from around the world you know? to be in the heat of battle where the adrenaline is as high as the stakes, and it's just you and your team in a no holds bar match against someone as good or better than you. I crave that. Which is exactly why I don't really want anyone but you battling me."

        "I'm flattered, Fiametta, but I think we both know there are others who could do a much better job than me."

        "Tauros shit," Fiametta hissed, rounding on him and grabbing his school blazer by both sides. "Listen, I may not particularly like you or the fact that you waltzed into here with your damn high scores on the entry exams and your family ties to a trainer I highly admire, but if there is one thing I absolutely cannot stand, it's when a trainer doesn't own up to their own talent."

        "Um... Fiametta?"

        "You're the only one around here who has the capacity to compete with me mentally and even though I beat you in battle, you managed to outwit me on multiple occasions despite my best efforts to avoid it."

        "Fiametta you really should—"

        "And another thing! when a lady is speaking to you, it's very impolite to interrupt," she snapped. 

        "I'm aware of that, Fiametta. It's just that... you're too close," Arthur said quickly. 

        Fiametta, being fully aware of her body's proximity to his, immediately let go and turned her face away from his, her cheeks tinting red.

        "Coulda warned me sooner you know," she mumbled. 

        "I tried," Arthur replied, scratching behind his head nervously. 

        Fiametta shot him a glare and then sighed. 

        "Let's just get ready for tomorrow night. They're posting the brackets and I want to see who we're up against," Fiametta said, turning to exit the gym, leaving Arthur to his own devices.

        Class had let out for the day and Arthur was finally back in his room. Ōmukade was curled up on the floor resting while Arthur made some adjustments to Finn's systems.

        "Okay Finn, that new move we've programmed in should help you out when you're out there with Arum. While she's fast for a Tsareena, there are other things that will leave her in the dust, and since our first opponent has some fairly speedy teammates... well, you see where this is going," Arthur said with a smile as he patted Finn on the head. 

        Finn beeped happily at its upgraded move set and proceeded to transfigure itself into a jet, only to be stopped mid transformation.

        "Not now Finn. Last time, you almost took out the lights in the room and nearly knocked over my lamp," Arthur said sternly. "From now on, no more of that in here, okay?"

        Finn beeped an affirmative, showing he understood the command and ceased his transformation. Arthur then stood up and looked at his opened laptop on his desk with a half completed history paper on it. While he knew he ought to finish it by Monday, part of him wanted to leave it alone for a while. Resolving to be satisfied with the amount of work he had done thus far, he saved the file, sat down, and grabbed his headphones and plugged in his mouse. It had been a long day. Perhaps a game of Aura League with Magnum and his roommate would help him relax a little more.