The next city we were going to visit was Nimbasa City. It was the third largest city in Unova and like any major city, it had a Gym. The Gym Leader was the famous Elesa, an Electric-type specialist who was also a supermodel when she wasn't trouncing her challengers. In order to get to Nimbasa, we first had to pass through Route 4. We decided to spend one more night at the Pokémon Center before we headed out.

   We were making our way up the crowded North Street to the Route 4 gate when I spotted a familiar figure through a gap in the crowd. It was the strange man I saw in the park yesterday.

   I elbowed Nate and pointed in the man's direction. "It's that guy, the one I was talking with in the park!" I almost had to yell because it was so noisy.

   "You talked to him?" Nate responded.

   "Yes, and I'm gonna talk with him again. Come on!" I grabbed Nate by the arm and pulled him behind me as I tried to weave around the dozens of people in the street. I didn't care how rude I was being by shoving people aside. Having about a day to really think about my encounter with the possible scientist only made me want to find out who he is. Before I knew it, I had reached the Route 4 gate, my poor brother being dragged along like a rag doll.

   "Sir, sir! Hello?" I yelled. The man stopped and turned to look at me. Finally! I waved my free hand and called out to him one last time.

   "Oh, it's you," he said calmly, ignoring the fact that I had been chasing and yelling at him for the past two minutes. "I was actually hoping that we could meet again."

   "Really?" I was confused. Did he want to talk about Lucky? "Why did you want to see me again?" 

   "Something along those lines," the man said. "But before I go any further, I believe introductions are necessary. My name is Colress."

   "It's nice to meet you, sir. I'm Rosalyn, and this is my brother Nathan."

   "What's with giving him my full name?" Nate hissed to me.

   "Would you rather I give him our last names instead?" I said.

   "I don't mean to interrupt your little spat, but I'm short on time and I don't know when we can meet next," Colress said, adjusting his glasses.

   "We're good! What do you want to talk to me about?" I smiled awkwardly.

   "Could you please send out your Pokémon? I would like to examine them. If you couldn't already tell, I'm interested in the scientific fields, namely the study of bringing out a Pokémon's potential power."

   "Sis... this guy seems shady..." Nate whispered. He was staring at Colress warily.

   "He doesn't look bad to me," I whispered back. "And if anything goes wrong, I'm sure the dozens of passerby would notice." Believe me, I'm better at judging a person's character than you, I also thought. I sent out my three Pokémon.

   "Is there a problem? I won't hurt your sister or her Pokémon if that is what you're worried about," Colress said, giving my brother a kind smile.

   "W-well... she's not the only one who has Pokémon!"  Nate said. He sent out all three of his.

   Colress' eyes lit up with amazement when he saw Nate's Pokémon. "Your Pokémon! I've seen several Dewott, Herdier, and especially Magnemite in my time researching, and yours seem different. More confident, perhaps? Young man, I don't know how you're doing it, but you're bringing out the power of your Pokémon. If you have any, how many badges are in your possession?"

   "Three?" Nate said hesitantly.

   "Fascinating..." Colress continued examining my brother's Pokémon.

   I scowled, beginning to feel angry, but annoyed more than anything. Colress wanted to talk with me. He was interested in my Pokémon! After taking a deep breath, I managed to shove down my anger. I cleared my throat. "Ahem! Colress, sir. Weren't you interested in my Eevee the last time we met?" I said as calmly as I could.

   "Oh, yes! My apologies, Rosalyn." Colress took a step towards Lucky and knelt down in front of her. "Like your brother's Pokémon, yours seem to look more confident than others in the same species, though admittedly not as much. If it's not too much trouble, could one of my own Pokémon battle your Eevee?"

   "Sure, that'd be fine," I agreed before I could fully process his request. "I'm not the best battler though."

   "I'm not worried about your personal skills. I'm interested in whether you're able to bring out Eevee's power or not." Colress withdrew a strange-looking Poké Ball with dark blue and gray coloring. "My Elgyem against your Eevee. May the best Pokémon win!"

   "Can we make it a Double Battle?" Nate asked.

   I shot him a glare, but he smiled at me. "I won't let you lose," he mouthed to me.

   My mouth fell open slightly. Did Nate pity me that much?! I knew I shouldn't have asked him to train me... Now he was just going to feel sorry for me.

   "A Double Battle's fine. Your Magnemite and Eevee against my Elgyem and Klink," Colress took out a second gray and blue Poké Ball. "I think it would be preferable if we battled on Route 4. Wouldn't want to cause any damage to the gate."

   The three of us stood in the middle of Route 4's newly-paved road. Lucky and Surge faced off against a gray Pokémon with beady green eyes and a large head— Colress' Elgyem, and a pair of interlocking glimmering gears— his Klink.

   "Let's start the battle," Colress said. "Elgyem, use Psybeam, and Klink, use Thundershock!"

   "Surge, use Spark on Klink!"

"Lucky, use Bite on Elgyem!"

   Surge charged a ball of electricity between its magnets and launched it while Klink's gears spun to create its own electricity. Both Electric attacks hit their targets though neither seemed to do very much damage. Lucky ran at Elgyem, dodging the pinkish beam of energy it shot, and bit down hard on its left arm.

"Elgyem, use Growl!" The Psychic-type released an intimidating growl, and Lucky instantly let go of her foe. She shrunk back, her ears pinned to the sides of her head.

"You're fine, Lucky! Keep it up," I reassured her. Her ears perked back up. She gave me a quick look, and I smiled at her. She returned my smile, yipping confidently before jumping back into the battle. A few turns later, both of Colress' Pokémon had been defeated.

   "You did it, sis! You won a battle!" Nate said cheerily.

   "Yeah, I couldn't have won without your help," I replied truthfully. I was happy, but I was also unhappy at the same time. Sure, I technically had won the battle, though it didn't feel like I had. I had really meant it when I said that I wouldn't have won without Nate's help. Am I ever going to truly win a battle on my own? I thought sadly.

   Colress had recalled his Pokémon and was now furiously scribbling on a tablet he had seemingly produced from thin air. "Amazing, simply amazing!" he kept muttering.

   "Did our battle help your research?" I asked.

   Colress nodded and slipped the tablet into one of his pockets. "Yes. Just like Unova's Gym Leaders or the Elite Four, you bring out the power of your Pokémon by being kind to them." He looked from Surge to Lucky. "Team Plasma had said we should recognize the potential in Pokémon and liberate them from humans." He scoffed loudly. "I disagree! Conversely, it should be humans who bring out the hidden potential in Pokémon."

   Wait, what does Team Plasma have to do with this? I was about to say this thought out loud when Colress handed my brother a small, blue tinted disc. "This is HM05, the Hidden Machine for Surf," Colress said. "I cannot recall which badge you need in order to use this, but please accept it anyway."

   I wasn't mad or anything when Colress gave that Surf HM to Nate. He was the one collecting badges, so it'd only make sense that he'd receive it.

   "Rosalyn, Nathan, thank you for helping me further my research. You have been of great help, and I hope you could assist me again at a later point. I would give you my Xtransceiver number... if I had one. I really do need to update to the newest model, they even have built-in recording capabilities now." Colress smiled so briefly that I almost thought he didn't at all. "It was a pleasure meeting you two."

   Nate and I watched as Colress walked away down Route 4 to Nimbasa City. I thought this meeting with Colress would've cleared up some of the questions I had. While some were answered, others were not, and even more had arisen. Studying how to bring out a Pokémon's was certainly interesting. I wondered what Colress would use this power for. I still wanted to believe that Nate's suspicions were misplaced, but now I was starting to have second thoughts as well.