Zam tried to avoid her gaze but it was near enough impossible. Every now and then his eyes would dart up from his laptop screen but they were met with the same scowl and he had no choice but to look away in an attempted escape. He tried looking at the scenery rushing past outside his window but the trees and hills were boring and he had work to do on his laptop and still, he could feel those eyes staring at him. Eventually, he caved in.

"I said I was sorry, what more do you want?" he asked, finally meeting Taylor's eyes. Her angered face was spoiling her good looks and he couldn't have that.

"You left me alone, with no word whatsoever for twelve weeks," she growled.

"I told you, it was a mistake!" Zam pleaded. Taylor was apparently still seething with rage. "I can't fix it now can I?"

"You could bloody well do a better job than you're doing right now," she huffed, folding her arms and turning away.

Zam sighed, not having any kind of clue as to how he should approach this. "You know I missed you too, right?"

"Sure you did."

"I did!" he insisted. "I had to put up with a load of big headed, egotistical idiots for twelve weeks. Do you have any idea what that's like?"

"You really don't want me to answer that."

"All I'm saying is that if you think I ran away to be on that show because it was what I wanted to do, then you're wrong," Zam tried to explain. "I'd have rather spent every day of it with you."

She turned to face him once again. Perhaps she had started to come round, but there was a long way to go. "I just can't believe you didn't tell me, but you did tell Tristan," she said in a harsh whisper.

"Well, I knew you could take care of yourself, didn't I? Tristan was the one I was worried about."

"Wha' was 'at?" Tristan said right on cue, popping up from behind the couple with a confused look on his face.

"Nothing Tristan, nothing," Zam smiled. They were currently on the Magnet Train which had just pulled out of Goldenrod Station and was heading for Saffron City which was the location of the high stakes poker match that Zam was due to compete in. This was going to be a very important night for Zam. Not only was he putting up two hundred and fifty thousand Poképounds in a game that wasn't entirely skill based but technically it wasn't even his money. Since he'd pulled out of his business deal with Lord Salt, that was money that he now owed back to the business tycoon and he probably only had a very small window before he needed to give the money back. If he lost, the consequences would be disastrous for him and he'd also fail his client. He had to win.

"Mate, she is fit!" Tristan exclaimed. He was peering over Zam's shoulder, as he was sitting in the row behind Zam and Taylor, looking at his laptop screen.

"I guess you could say that she's in shape," Zam remarked, giving the picture a second glance.

"What is this?" Taylor asked, signs of jealousy beginning to grow. Zam rolled his eyes.

"I'm researching the other competitors for tonight so that I know their game, their tells and how to beat them. I also need to learn how to actually play poker. I got in a bit of practice against some of the idiots at The Apprentice household but they weren't exactly competition."

"And why in all of that do you need to be looking at pictures of this woman?"

"She's the player who's going to be sitting to my left so it'll be very important to have a good read on her," Zam explained. "And from the sounds of things, I'm going to need to get her number for Tristan."

"An' wiv dat, your trainin' is complete," Tristan grinned.

*

Melvin glanced out of the window, using two fingers to pull back the curtains just a fraction. It seemed as though his first guests were arriving, little did they know that they were all about to lose a lot of money. Well, a lot of money for them. For Melvin, this was barely high stakes.

"That's right, you're all going to lose everything," he grinned to himself. "You with your butler and you in the ridiculous white suit and you with your hairy hair. Your money's as good as mine."

Melvin laughed to himself somewhat maniacally. Being the best in the world at poker tended to coincide with madness. He walked away from his room's window over to the full-length mirror on the other wall. The brand new tuxedo that his brother had ordered him fitted perfectly and the specially designed sleeves were better hidden than they had ever been before. He ran a hand along the designer stubble that lined his chiselled jaw. He brushed a stray hair, dyed white, out of his face, stopping it from obscuring his bright blue eyes. His brother's eyes people would tell him.

He pushed open the door and walked out of the overly fancy room before making his way downstairs to the casino area. Melvin put his game face on as he walked, exuding immense confidence and emitting a certain swagger with every step. He passed one of his competitors in the doorway of the casino and shot him a grin. It was a slightly devilish grin and it appeared to have its intended effect as the man's expression dropped. He clearly knew he was in for a rough night.

Melvin approached the green velvet table and took his seat, giving the few opponents who were already seated a glance. The young man in the white suit appeared to be flirting with his rather attractive neighbour and the others were simply sitting in silence. Melvin shook his head. He would never try such underhand tactics at the poker table. Even he had trouble stifling his laughter at that thought.

Melvin glanced up at the dealer who was adjusting his red waistcoat to fit just right. His name was Steve they were friends from a long time ago, so long ago in fact that nobody ever seemed to remember. Except for the two of them. Melvin nodded to his old friend and received a nod back. The match was finally beginning and everything was in place. They were in business.

"Now that we are all present," Steve began in a very monotone, bored-sounding voice, " We can begin. You have all already exchanged two hundred and fifty thousand Poképounds for chips and we will now use these in a game of poker. The blinds will start at one and two hundred. Now, let's begin."

It soon became clear that many on the table did not belong. Melvin dominated the opening exchanges, using his experience and status to intimidate his opponents, giving himself an early chip lead. Most of the table was easily scared, all he had to do usually was throw in a random amount of chips and he had very easily bullied them off a hand. It was child's play... for the most part. However, there was one player who was causing... problems.

"Raise, one thousand," Melvin said bluntly, tossing his round chips into the centre of the table. Now everybody was supposed to fold. He was currently in the perfect position, on the button, meaning he got to move last so he had more information than anyone else when he made his moves and of course, he was the chip leader, making it easier for him to make aggressive plays.

"Call," said the confident voice of Zam, the strangely familiar man in the ludicrous white suit. What was this? A complete newcomer out of position calling his raise? This was unheard of. Melvin quickly checked his cards before the dealer dealt the flop. He had the six and seven of clubs. They were suited connectors sure but it was hardly a hand to depend on.

"Raise, five thousand," Zam said when Steve revealed the three cards in the middle of the table. Ace, king, three. No clubs. Feeling slightly flustered and annoyed at this fool playing recklessly around a professional such as himself, Melvin realised that he had let his face slightly slip and he had given away the weakness of his hand.

"Fold..." Melvin muttered, cursing under his breath. Perhaps he did have some competition in this event after all. Maybe he would need to resort to his old tricks.

Within the next hour, the favourites for the game were made clear. Melvin and Zam practically bullied the rest of the table into submission, using their confidence and prowess to intimidate their opponents, forcing them to fold on almost every occasion. In particular, Zam seemed to have an exceptional read over his neighbour, the young Kalosian lady, and it wasn't long until she was the first to fall.

"Raise, pot," she said, shoving more than half of her chips into the middle of the table. It was a bold and aggressive move, exactly the move she needed to make to get back into the game. Unfortunately for her, Zam had other ideas.

"Nice bet," he nodded, a grin on his face as their eyes met. Then, Melvin saw her tell. It happened in a flash, almost unnoticeable and still, it was undeniably there. Her eyes darted away, breaking eye contact with Zam for a split second before darting straight back. She was bluffing. "But I suppose I'll have to go all in."

"Do you just always 'ave somezink whenever it is my big blind?" the woman asked, shaking her head once everyone else had folded and the action was back on her.

"Pretty much yeah," Zam grinned. It seemed just like a joke and it was just enough to entice a call.

"I call," she shrugged, tossing the remainder of her chips in and revealing her hand; the eight and nine of diamonds. Not the worst hand but easily beaten.

"But in this case, I really did have a hand," Zam grinned as he flipped over pocket nines. He had a huge advantage and only luck could save the lady now. Within seconds, those hopes of getting lucky were ruined as the flop helped neither player, making victory assured for Zam.

"Well played," the lady sighed, shaking Zam's hand with a pained look on her face.

"Tristan!" Zam called out behind him. A rugged man in a leather black trench coat who had been watching from afar walked over. "Buy this lovely young lady a drink. I think she needs a little pick-me-up."

"Well, well, well, my dear dis is a forchoonate occashun for you indeed!" the man said, as though his mouth had some problem with actual words. "I jus' so 'appen to 'ave a fine bottla merlo' in me 'otel room. Care ta join me?"

Melvin tried to brush the thought of those two out of his head as Tristan took the young lady's hand and escorted her from the floor to do who knew what. Possibly it was some kind of underhand tactic put in place by Zam to throw him off his game. "Concentrate!" he told himself. "Focus on the game!" Now that he actually had some competition here, he needed to put his mind to this task. After Zam's good play, he'd gained a very healthy chip lead and had put himself in a very good position early on. Bullying the other players would now be extremely easy for him. Melvin would need to match him in chips very soon if he was to stand up to this threat.

And so, fuelled forward by his plan of action and the fear of loss, Melvin played recklessly. He threw chips around when he had absolutely nothing to back it up on and used his knowledge of his opponents' hands to his advantage. Of course, they weren't aware of this knowledge but that was Melvin's little secret. As the hours passed and the blinds were gradually raised, several players started to fall, still with only two standing out from the crowd. Only two players here were real players and it was the interactions between those two that were the most interesting.

"Raise, twenty thousand," Melvin said, throwing a large portion of discs towards the dealer. He had something, a small hand but in this situation, it was easily enough for him to try and steal the pot before the flop was shown.

"Re-raise to fifty thousand." Melvin's head sharply turned to the raiser. It was, of course, Zam. It was a large amount of money, enough to where Melvin had to seriously consider his options. Upon weighing his options, he decided his best move was to look at the marked cards that Zam had been given.

"Call," Melvin said, attempting to look confused and cautious as he pushed the correct amount of chips forward. On the inside, he grinned to himself. He had the nine and ten of hearts whilst Zam had nothing. He'd been bluffing on the two of diamonds and the seven of spades, one of the worst possible hands in poker. Now all he had to do was pretend he was weaker and allow Zam's continuation bet so that he could then steal his chips.

"Check," Zam said when he saw the flop, three and four of spades and the jack of clubs, eyeing Melvin in a way he didn't like. Perhaps Zam somehow knew that Melvin had a read on him. Once again annoyed but not exactly discontent with the outcome, Melvin forced Zam off the hand and took the small portion of his chips gladly.

A small smile came onto Melvin's lips when he saw the confused look on Zam's face. He'd been pulling that kind of manoeuvre all game with nobody standing up to him and it was about time somebody did. It was almost like a role reversal. Melvin was used to playing like Zam and hated it when idiotic newcomers tried bullying him around and now Zam was feeling the same. He'd been allowed to run riot over this game for too long and Melvin was about to show him why you didn't mess with the world champion.

"Nice play," Zam said after a few moments once he'd figured out the Melvin had read his hand.

"You learn to expect that sort of thing when you play against Melvin Jones."

"Well it won't happen again, trust me."

"We'll see." The next hour was when the action really ramped up. The field went from eight down to five in a matter of moments before Zam, with an admittedly brilliant play, sucked in three of his opponents, weaving them into his web as he revealed the best hand when all three had gone all in. Now it was down to just Zam and Melvin. Unfortunately, Zam had a huge chip lead thanks to the way the rest of the table had practically given into him, leaving Melvin with quite the task on his hands.

For a while, it was a conservative battle as both players knew that they could no longer play as recklessly as they had been doing for the whole game. Zam was cautious of Melvin and Melvin was cautious of Zam's massive pile of chips. It wasn't until deep into the game, when the time was around three in the morning, when a decisive move was finally made.

"I'll raise to a hundred and fifty thousand," Zam said. Annoyingly, his hands were slightly covering the secret markings on his cards so that Melvin could only make out the value of the cards, the suits remained a mystery. So, he was facing a queen and a king. Melvin decided that it was time for him to make his move.

"Call," Melvin replied, eager to see the flop. He hadn't bothered looking at his own cards yet. Steve the dealer did not disappoint. The three cards were the jack of spades, the ten of spades and the nine of diamonds. Melvin tried to hide his grin. His opponent had hit a straight. A very powerful hand, especially in the current situation when it was just the two of them. Right now, Zam's hand was unbeatable and that was exactly what made Melvin excited.

"Check," Zam said, attempting to hide the strength of his hand. It was time for Melvin's signature move. He leant forwards in mock thought, glancing at both the cards in the middle of the table and Zam, using a big move to cover a small move as the magicians would say. Unbeknownst to anyone, Melvin's sleeves were now resting on his cards and in the blink of an eye, the mechanism activated, snatching his cards and replacing them with the best hand in the game, pocket aces. He leant back to check his cards making sure that everything had gone as planned. Ace of hearts. Ace of clubs. He was in business.

"Raise, four hundred thousand." He could imagine what Zam was thinking right now. Somebody throwing hundreds of thousands of Poképounds at him when he had the best hand guaranteed? It was free money. He just had to not look too confident and the game was his.

"Call," Zam said after much deliberation, slowly running a hand through his beard as if he was in deep thought. Melvin looked at Steve, his old friend, and nodded very slightly. It was unnoticeable unless you knew exactly what to look for but of course, Steve knew what to look for. His partner in crime gave a completely blank look as he flipped over the next card, the ace of diamonds.

"Check."

"Raise, five hundred thousand," Melvin shoved almost all of his remaining chips into the middle of the table. He'd improved his hand thanks to his friend's ingenious card manipulation and sleight of hand but he was still behind Zam's straight. Still, there was no reason not to continue raising when you knew your opponent would call your bet and more to the point, you knew what the final card was going to be.

"I'll call," Zam said after more time pretending to think. Steve flipped over the river card. It was the ace of spades, giving Melvin four of a kind, or quads, a practically unbeatable hand and a much stronger hand than Zam's straight but at this point, he was in too deep and had no other options. "I'm all in."

"Call!" Melvin grinned as he instantly replied, flipping over his cards and revealing the four aces. It earned multiple gasps from everyone watching. The spectators were in utter shock at the strength of his hand.

"Oh, that ace on the river..." Zam sighed, somehow still smiling despite the huge amount of money he'd just lost.

"And that is why you don't mess with the pros kid," Melvin laughed as he began to gather the chips up.

"No, no sorry, you must've misunderstood," Zam laughed, reaching out and grabbing Melvin's arm to prevent him from taking away the money. "That ace was what sealed the hand for me, it won me the game."

"Don't be ridiculous, it helped me to hit quads!"

"More to the point it gave me this." Zam flipped his two cards dramatically and this time every single spectator took a sharp intake of breath. It was unbelievable. He'd had the queen of spades and the king of spades. Add that to the ten, jack and ace of spades and he had an utterly unbeatable hand. He had a royal flush.

"But, but... that's impossible..." Melvin stuttered in sheer disbelief. He couldn't lose and certainly not like this, the odds were just far too unlikely. "You cheated!"

"To cheat is to act dishonestly or unfairly in order to gain an advantage," Zam said as if he were reading from a dictionary, clearly unfazed by Melvin's accusations. "Trust me Melvin, I had no advantage over you. Thanks to the dealer for that last ace though, I couldn't have won without it."

Melvin's head darted towards his friend. Surely he hadn't been betrayed? He'd promised Steve half of the winnings for those aces to come up, just like usual. Steve gave the slightest of shakes of his head. No, Steve had given him the card that he wanted, it just so happened to be the card that Zam also wanted. Unless... unless Zam had known that Melvin wanted that card to come up but that would mean... but that would mean...

"Say hi to Duncan for me!" Zam grinned as he turned away with all of his winnings before grabbing an attractive young girl's hand, who had been sat watching nearby, and pulling her away from the tables. "Come on Taylor, let's go have victory sex."

Melvin looked after the two as they began to bicker over whether or not their action would end at mere cuddling. Dark thoughts came into his head. Just who was this Zam and what did he know? He breathed heavily. Maybe it was time to give his brother a call. There was a problem that needed sorting.