Thelma's natural talent and raw strength meant she had little reason to envy Aresdra, who was equally gifted. If anything, Thelma's battle ability was something else entirely. Even Nova, who had faced all kinds of opponents, admitted that battling her back to back was exhausting. For Aresdra, it was the first time she had looked up at someone her own age and thought, she's on a whole different level.
Thelma's wealthy upbringing had shaped her into someone who came across as cold and sharp at first, but was actually warm and thoughtful underneath. She just had a funny way of showing it. Once you got used to her blunt, roundabout way of expressing herself, you realized she was actually quite open and sweet. Aresdra had only just met her, and they had barely exchanged more than a handful of words, but she already found herself enjoying the other girl's company. Thelma had a kind of breezy, carefree energy that was hard not to like.
So when Thelma asked for advice, Aresdra had no hesitation. She was going to share everything she knew.
"Honestly, Thelma, your stage routine is already really solid," Aresdra said, her expression focused. "The issue is that the way your Pokemon use their moves, it's aimed at power rather than visual appeal. That's great for battles, but in a Contest, the judges are looking for something more. With just a few tweaks, your performance this round could honestly be even more beautiful than mine. What we need to do is shift the emphasis from impact to flow..."
Aresdra kept talking, her small face puffing out with concentration as she worked through her thoughts. She looked, Nova would have said, exactly like a Goldeen blowing bubbles.
Thelma watched her for a moment, then reached out and poked Aresdra's cheek with one finger.
"Hey!" Aresdra pulled back, looking flustered. "I'm being serious!"
Thelma let out a short laugh. "I know you are. But Aresdra, we're still rivals before the final round. Are you really going to sit here and coach me?"
Aresdra gave her a flat look. "Then, fine. Can you at least help me with my battle training in return?"
"Deal!" Thelma clapped her hands together, looking genuinely pleased. "I'm in."
"Although," Aresdra added, tilting her head, "you're really strong, you know. Battling you almost feels like battling my boyfriend. And he's a Professional Trainer."
Thelma raised an eyebrow at the compliment, then smirked. "An average Professional Trainer wouldn't make it past two rounds with me. And this was a Contest Battle. I was holding back." She crossed her arms with a confident tilt of her chin. "If we ever have a proper Pokemon battle, you'll see what I mean. Your little boyfriend will be the one needing a trip to the Pokemon Center."
Aresdra slipped back into her best reassuring voice. "Right, right. You're the strongest, Thelma."
But Thelma had already latched onto something far more interesting. "Wait. You have a boyfriend?"
"I do."
Thelma clicked her tongue. "That's a shame. I was going to ask you to go out with me."
Aresdra bit back a smile, thinking that if Nova somehow heard this conversation from wherever he was training up on the western plateau, he would be the first one to protest. Loudly.
"We've been close since we were kids," Aresdra said. "So I suppose you could call us childhood friends."
Thelma rested her chin in her hand. "That's actually really sweet. I don't have anything like that. The boys I know are mostly just rivals."
Neither of them realized, not even for a second, that they were talking about the exact same person.
The situation was quietly heading in the direction Nova had always worried about most.
After a while spent waiting at the Pokemon Center, Aresdra's Pokemon were fully recovered, their energy restored by the healing machines and the attentive Chanseys. The familiar soft chime of the machine signaled that everyone was healthy and ready.
Thelma stretched her arms above her head. "So what are you doing tonight?"
"I was just going to grab a cab back to my place," Aresdra said. "I need to call my boyfriend and fill him in on today."
Thelma made a face. "Don't take a cab. Come with me. I'll have my driver take you."
"I don't want to be a bother..."
Thelma gave her a sideways look. "You're saying that to me?"
Aresdra smiled. "Alright. Thank you."
She had known, in a vague sort of way, that Thelma came from money. It was hard to miss. But she hadn't quite understood the scale of it until she saw the car waiting outside.
It was a long, polished luxury sedan, complete with a driver, a bodyguard stationed near the door, and a composed, neatly dressed butler standing to one side. Aresdra blinked.
This is what a young lady looks like.
The sedan drove smoothly through the city streets and pulled up in front of Aresdra's rented apartment building. Thelma peered out the window.
"You live here?" she asked.
"I do," Aresdra said. "It's about as much as my family can manage right now."
Thelma shook her head slightly. "I didn't mean it like that. I've slept in a grand villa and I've slept in the wild, out in tall grass or inside a cave while on a long journey. I'm not looking down on where you live." She paused, her tone shifting. "Actually, it's a perfectly nice place. But have you thought about something, Aresdra? After tonight, you're not quite the same person you were this morning."
Aresdra looked at her. "What do you mean?"
"Your performance in the Auditions turned heads. You made an impression, a big one. This building is the kind of place where people come and go, all sorts of travelers and temporary residents. If it gets around that you're staying here, it could cause problems for you. Fan attention, unwanted visitors. That kind of thing."
Aresdra understood what Thelma was getting at. It wasn't an unreasonable concern. But the reality was simple: she couldn't afford anything else in Goldenlight City right now.
Thelma seemed to read her expression. She leaned forward slightly. "Come stay at mine. You can help me work on my Pokemon's technique, and I'll give your team some battle practice in return." Then she leaned in close to Aresdra's ear and added, in a quieter, almost teasing tone, "The house is pretty big."
Aresdra glanced at her.
Thelma just smiled.
It was two in the morning.
Thelma lay stretched across her princess bed in her pajamas, idly twisting a strand of hair around her finger and staring at the ceiling. On the balcony, the glass door slightly ajar, Aresdra stood wrapped in her own pajamas, speaking quietly into her phone. She had been out there for a while.
Thelma wasn't particularly interested in what young couples talked about at this hour. But she had a lot on her mind tonight, and she wanted someone to talk to.
She scrolled through her contacts. Once, then twice.
There was no one she wanted to call. No one who fit.
In that way, Thelma was not so different from Aresdra. She didn't have many friends either. Her life, for all its comforts, was a quiet one.
Almost without thinking, she stopped on a particular name. A boy who managed to irritate her just by existing in her memory, and who she somehow kept thinking about anyway, no matter how much she told herself not to. She stared at his contact page for a moment.
Then she pressed call.
The line rang once.
Then came the automated message: "The number you have dialed is currently unavailable. Please try again later."
The good mood she had managed to hold onto all day dropped straight to the bottom of a Wailmer's tank.
Still on the phone at two in the morning?
Thelma set her own phone face-down on the sheets and stared at the ceiling again.
That absolute Tauros. He's probably sweet-talking some other girl again.