I wished I could've said that we kept the secret to ourselves; that we let the class find out about Roark's appearance themselves. Unfortunately, though, Eris was really, really bad at staying quiet.

So everyone found out about the gym leader's arrival, and by the time we went out and across the street the next morning, everyone was all abuzz about it. There were whispers all throughout the group, which was starting to tick me off a bit. As soon as we got over onto the dirt field, I moved over to the side, sitting by myself.

As much as I enjoyed the company of the other three, it was nice to just be alone. In the dorms, privacy was nearly nonexistent, and I never really had time to just think. When I could take the moment to myself, I did, though the moments were becoming fewer and fewer.

It was extremely hot that day, and it was hard to ignore the sweat that was already culminating on my neck and every crevice on my body.

I wasn't built for weather like this, I thought, happy that I had kept Swinub in his Pokeball. The poor thing would be miserable in the heat.

One Pokemon that was perfectly fine with the temperature, though, was Aster's Chimchar, who decided to ruin my peace by jumping on top of my head.

"Char! Char!" Chimchar put his hands over my eyes, as if I actually wasn't able to see with his tiny hands in the way.

"Hey buddy, you think I'm cooler than Aster?" I picked Chimchar off of my head, careful not to burn myself. I put him down on the ground, though, since it was too hot to hold a fire Pokemon against me.

"Hey, it's not my fault I don't have an ice-type Pokemon." I felt Aster's hands on my shoulders as they kneeled down next to me, and looked over at them. It was a cheesy joke, but I couldn't help but laugh with them. "Why are you over here?"

"Just wanted to be alone. Not used to talking with a lot of people all the time, I guess." I wrapped my arms around my knees, knowing that I did not bring enough water for this.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I--"

"Those two, right there! They're two of that group that beat us!" My head snapped when I heard someone yelling, looking out into the street. There was a whole clump of people, all wearing space suit-looking outfits. And, they were walking towards us. I scrambled to my feet, trying to look confident as they approached us.

Telling the truth? I was absolutely terrified.

"Can we help you?" Aster spoke before I had the chance to do so, calling out to the group of people. Now that they were closer, I realized they all had the same bowl-cut, except for one woman. Her hair was still short, but it was red instead of the strange blue that the rest of them had, and even though clue I don't know what to call her haircut, it was definitely not a bowl cut.

She was probably the one in charge.

"Actually, you can, brats." The woman with the red hair soke, starting off in a sweet tone, but giving a bit of a snarl at the end. "I've heard that you kids humiliated my grunts over here, and I'm here with an, offer."

"Who are you?" I stepped in front of Aster, feeling my heartbeat in my ears. "And, I'm getting the feeling that that offer isn't going to be fair."

"Oh, don't worry sweetie, it'll be fair and simple. But first, I am Mars, one of Team Galactic's Commanders. My--"

"Team Galactic was disbanded! There is no Team Galactic anymore!" I heard one of the kids behind me yell out, making me tense up and glance over at Aster. One, we knew that wasn't true. Two, people were watching. I didn't like that.

"Well, who's to say we aren't coming back?" Mars sat back on one leg, looking as confident as I wished I was. "Anyway, my offer is this. I'll fight one of you. One, that's it. If that person wins, I'll leave, and never bother the four of you again--" She turned towards one of the grunts-- "there were four of them, right?"

"Yeah, there are four of us." I jumped slightly when I heard Markus's voice from behind me, looking back as he place his hands on Aster's shoulders. "What happens if you win?"

"Well, then that person has to join Team Galactic. After all, I believe that you four have a lot of potential, and I think you could learn a lot from us." Mars's gaze seemed to rest on me as she spoke.

"You don't know us." My throat was starting to feel a little dry, but I wasn't going to stay silent.

"Kid, you don't know how much I know." Mars stood up straight, taking out a Pokeball from her belt. "So? What's the plan?"

"You know Roark is in town, right? It would be easy to just, you know, go and get him." Markus started to try and push me to the side to stand in front, but I stayed glued to where I was.

"You think he could stop us?" Mars let out a high-pitched, snobby-sounding laugh, taking a step towards us. "You don't even know how powerful we are." She snapped her fingers, and one of the grunts sent out a Glameow. Fierce and swift, she bounded up to a group of students that were standing slightly behind us, pausing for a moment. Then, she sent out her claws on one of her paws, leaning back as if ready to pounce.

"You can't do that!" I felt my legs move before I could think about it, and I was suddenly right in front of Mars. "You, you can't do that."

"Then you'll be the one to take up my offer?" Mars smirked, her eyes narrowing into a sort of glare. This was what she was expecting.

"Yes."