"Stay focused! Cerise, Autotomize and then use Shadow Sneak!"

"Pikachu, strike back with Thunderbolt!" Trevor cried out.

Sparks flew from Cerise, and her bladed frame began to glow red from the heat of her power up. As Pikachu loosed a bolt of electrical energy her way, she made herself scarce and vanished into the shadows beneath, snaking a trail towards the bewildered mouse before bursting out of the ground and slashing upward, just missing her mark as Pikachu used Quick Attack to backpedal.

"Getting a hit in may prove more of a challenge than I initially thought," Cerise mused, adjusting herself so her body was pointing toward her adversary.

"I figured you could use some speed training. And who better to do that with than a Pikachu?" Seth replied, glancing over at Trevor with a grin. "So let's continue, Aerial Ace!"

"Iron Tail!" Trevor countered.

In a burst of speed, Cerise slashed diagonally at Pikachu after closing the distance quickly, a satisfying clang of steel against steel ringing out as the two attacks met.

"Right where I want you," remarked the blade as she sank into the ground swiftly and hammered home a Slash from behind the electric mouse, slamming him hard into the ground.

As Pikachu pushed himself up, the tip of Cerise's blade was at his throat, causing him to sweat nervously and put his paws up.

"Pikachu, come on back," Trevor called out to his companion.

With a sigh of relief, Pikachu scampered over to Trevor, who picked him up and ruffled the fur on his head. Cerise proceeded to sheathe herself and turned to face Seth, earning an approving smile from her master.

"That was a good match you two! Pikachu and Cerise were awesome!" Tierno exclaimed excitedly. "It was an awesome dance off!"

"I don't know about a dance off, but it was fun," Trevor smiled. "Your Pokémon sure are tough, Seth. Pikachu and I could barely keep up."

"While dancing and I have an odd history, I will have to side with Tierno here. A battle is exactly like a dance. There's always a rhythm to follow during the flow of battle, and it changes at a constant rate," Seth explained. "It's like the steady progression of a foxtrot."

Trevor considered this. "That makes sense. The foxtrot has various styles and can go from slow to fast at any time. Interesting..."

"Wow Trevor, I didn't know you knew so much about dancing," Serena teased.

"Did you honestly think I wouldn't with the amount of time I spend talking to Tierno? If the topic doesn't somehow involve dancing, it's a miracle," Trevor laughed.

"Can't argue with that," Tierno grinned.

Cerise settled herself onto Seth's back and sighed happily. "That was a fun duel."

"You seemed to be enjoying yourself. You did well out there," Seth commended her as he walked back to the group.

"Alright you guys, I don't know about you, but I wanna go see some caves!" Shauna shouted with glee, flashing Trevor a bright smile.

The ginger smiled back and began to ready his camera. "I'm ready too. I've been waiting a long time for this!"

"Then what are we waiting for!? let's go!" Shauna squealed, racing up to Trevor and grabbing him by the hand to lead him back into Ambrette Town.

The others soon followed suit, Serena walking beside Seth so she could converse with him. While the others were ready for the caves, Seth had decided to pay a visit to the Fossil Lab instead, telling Serena she could go with the others if she wished.

"Are you sure you don't wanna come? there could be some new prospects for partners in there," Serena enticed, getting an eye roll from Seth.

"Thanks, but I already know who I want my next teammate to be. And it's not something I'm gonna find in there," Seth replied with a wry grin.

The Kalos Academy gymnasium was crowded with spectators as Felicity and Jamie squared off in a battle. With only a short time left until graduation, Jamie and Felicity were doing their best to prepare for the adventure they would soon undertake. Going at it in the center of the gym was a Clauncher and a Pancham.

The azure crustacean darted in with an Aqua Jet while powering up its haymaker Crabhammer. As Clauncher closed the distance, Pancham sidestepped the assault while grabbing Clauncher's outstretched claw at the same time. Using the momentum given to him, Pancham executed a devastating Storm Throw and shot the blue crustacean across the arena and into a wall at the far end, knocking him out.

"Ouch..." Jamie winced as his companion slid down the wall. "I walked straight into that one didn't I?" Jamie laughed, returning his friend as he spoke.

Felicity shrugged and retracted Pancham so he could rest. "You had a good tactic going for you, but you got overly eager and it ended up costing you..."

Jamie couldn't help but laugh. "That sounds like a certain someone we know."

"Yes, well... it's not a bad thing to mimic those whom you hold in high regard now is it? though Seth and I were academic rivals, he was a good dose of healthy competition," Felicity replied.

"It's funny how you automatically assumed I was talking about him," Jamie laughed.

Felicity rolled her eyes. "Who the hell else talks like that aside from Mrs. Rosseau?"

Jamie conceded. "Good point. Anyway, you ready for this?"

Felicity let out a deep sigh and folded her arms. "Part of me is excited, mostly because I can finally start my damn journey and not have to wait in agonizing anticipation of doing so. Second, it'll be a great way for the three of us to push ourselves. Now granted Seth is ahead of the game... " Felicity trailed off. 

"Last I heard, he beat Viola and was on his way to Ambrette Town from there," Jamie added, stroking his chin.

"Huh... so he's taking it rather slow then isn't he?"

"He texted me a while back. Something about new friends that he's traveling with, or something like that. He's caught a few Pokémon too..." Jamie continued.

"I see... looks like we have our work cut out for us don't we?"

"You said it, Felicity!"

The Ambrette Fossil Lab was teeming with the lives of revived fossil Pokémon. Researchers were actively studying their behavior as they interacted with the resurrected specimens. Heading the project was a middle-aged woman wearing a lab coat with white top, black skirt and heels. She wore her auburn hair in a bun and had on thin, red-framed glasses. She was logging in data onto her tablet when the laboratory doors opened, catching her attention.

Turning, she saw a rather strange sight walk through the automatic doors. A young man dressed in a plain white t-shirt accompanied by a navy bluecape jacket with black pants and boots with several buckles, stood in the doorway. What struck her as most peculiar was the fact that the sash of a Honedge was around him and was not affecting him at all while the blade rested against his back.

Deciding not to question his defiance of logic, considering reviving dead things was also a bit of a stretch, the scientist took a deep breath and smiled warmly before walking up to greet him.

"Welcome to the fossil lab, young man. My name is Charlotte. How may I be of service?" she asked politely.

Seth took his eyes away from the other revived Pokémon and directed his attention to the woman in front of him.

"Nice to meet you, Charlotte. If it's not too much trouble, I was wondering if you had any revived Tyrunt here..."

Charlotte tapped her chin in thought. "That's a fairly popular one aside from Aerodactyl. Unfortunately we only have fossils left. Would you like me to check on what we have in stock?"

"If you could, that'd be great. How much is it?" Seth inquired.

"Eight thousand poké dollars," Charlotte replied warmly.

Seth bit his thumb and then nodded. "That seems fair... alright, I'll buy one then. How long does the revival process take?" Seth asked, taking out his card and handing it to Charlotte so she could ring him up.

"At least three hours at the very most. It used to be days, but with how technology these days it's nearly instantaneous," Charlotte replied, handing back his card after using the card slider from her tablet. "I'll go and start the process. You can return in a few hours."

Seth nodded and turned tail to head through the double doors.

Three hours huh? I guess I could kill time in the caves. They're all still exploring last I checked, so I may be able to join in after all...

Was it really any surprise that he wanted a Tyrunt? So Jamie and Felicity are prepping for their eventual graduation so they can catch up to Seth, and Allie is still on her excursion with Thomas. Not too much longer until the moment I know at least half of you that still follow this story are waiting for. Stay tuned people, it's coming.