After watching the stream, Nova turned the situation over in his head. Aresdra's sudden surge in popularity was a real problem. The apartment he had rented for her in Goldenlight City was no longer a safe option.
When he had first set it up, his thinking had been simple: even if Aresdra eventually made a name for herself, that would happen after the group officially debuted. He had not expected her to pull off something this big on the very first day of the Auditions.
That said, Nova also understood why Aresdra had kept it a secret from him. The performance wasn't just a routine she had prepared to advance through the competition. It was something more personal than that. It had been her way of making a confession to him, broadcast across the entire league. A little surprise between the two of them, which was exactly why she hadn't said a word about it beforehand.
Of course, the Psyduck had played its own part in the chaos. Nova was fairly certain that without Psyduck stumbling into the middle of the performance and turning it into something completely unplanned, the clip would not have spread nearly as far. There was something oddly charming about a wonderful performance ending in unexpected disaster. It was a little like a great painting with one unfinished corner. The imperfection made people talk.
And this one had made everyone laugh on top of it.
Still, blowing up overnight was a good thing overall. The Auditions had gone so well that Aresdra had practically used Lock-On on a debut slot. But with that visibility came attention Nova wasn't comfortable with, from fans, from curious onlookers, and from people with less friendly intentions. The rental apartment, surrounded by short-term residents and strangers passing through, was not the right place for her to be right now.
Nova sent her a message right away: find the best hotel in Goldenlight City, book the best room available, and don't worry about the cost. Once the group entered closed training, this kind of thing wouldn't be an issue anymore.
Aresdra's reply made the warmth drain right out of him.
"Oh, I'm actually staying with a friend I made during the competition! Her place is really big, so don't worry about me."
Nova sat very still for a moment.
He desperately wanted to ask: Is this friend of yours, by any chance, a girl by the last name Tucker from Goldenlight City?
He did not ask.
After he put the phone down, he spent a good while telling himself that he was being completely unreasonable. He and Thelma were friends. Just friends. They had a clean, uncomplicated friendship, and there was nothing strange about it at all.
Friends.
Just friends.
So why did he feel like someone who had just been caught doing something wrong?
He knew, if he was being honest, that the guilt wasn't really about himself. It was about Thelma. He genuinely thought of her as a close friend, someone he could talk to easily. But what Thelma thought about their friendship, he was no longer sure. That was the part that sat uncomfortably in the back of his mind.
It brought to mind that old question everyone argued about: can boys and girls ever truly be just friends? Most people who said yes were probably not being fully honest with themselves.
Nova had Aresdra. That was why he could keep things simple in his own head. But Thelma didn't have anyone else like that. He wasn't sure if the things he had said to her before had made her start looking at her own feelings more carefully. And if she had, and she still decided she liked him anyway, that would be the single biggest disaster of his life. He didn't even want to imagine telling Aresdra. He valued his life too much for that.
And so, without fully meaning to, his instincts had quietly kicked in and made the decision for him. He had said nothing. He had chosen to leave this particular problem for a future version of himself to deal with.
Good luck, future Nova. Today's Nova is rooting for you.
There was nothing left to do but sleep. He unrolled his sleeping bag, settled in, and checked his messages one last time.
There was one from Thelma.
"Did you watch the K.D.A. Auditions today?"
Nova stared at the ceiling.
If he had just told Aresdra earlier that he knew Thelma, this would have been a simple message to deal with. But he hadn't, and now one small choice had quietly grown into something much harder to untangle. He typed back:
"Didn't watch it. I'm out in the mountains on a training trip. No signal out here."
The reply came almost immediately. Apparently Thelma wasn't asleep either.
"Then don't watch the replay later."
"Why?"
"I said don't watch it. Are you going to argue with me?"
"Of course not. Whatever you say."
"Don't look up anything about K.D.A. from now on. You can only watch when I tell you to."
Nova could read between the lines easily enough. She hadn't taken first place, and part of her was embarrassed about that. But she had advanced, and some other part of her still wanted to hear that she had done well. She just wasn't going to ask for it directly.
He had always been good at reading the room.
"Understood. I'll follow your orders and stay away from it.
But I do have to say this much: congratulations on advancing. You were seriously impressive today."
"NOVA!!!! You said you didn't watch it!!"
"I was teasing you. Look, you're all worked up again."
"I'm ignoring you!!! For the rest of my life!!!"
"Before you do that, can I ask you something?"
"What."
"With your battle instincts, why didn't you go straight for a Pokemon Master title? Why a Contest group? You're not exactly the type to care about artistic expression."
"Are you seriously questioning me right now? I'm the best at everything I do, for your information."
"I'm asking genuinely. It feels like a waste, giving up battling to become a Coordinator."
"You think I had a choice?"
There was a short pause, then:
"Go check who the current Grass-type Pokemon Master of the Norlandia Alliance is."
Nova read the message, and something clicked into place.
The Norlandia Alliance's Master Tournament worked like this: Trainers who specialized in the same type all competed for a single spot as that type's Pokemon Master. Only after earning that title could a Trainer move on to compete for a seat among the Elite Four, or even challenge for the position of Alliance Champion.
Mr. Charlie was in his prime. On top of that, from what Max and Thelma had both mentioned at different points, the method Nova had once shared for using Ultra Beast materials in Pokemon training had given Mr. Charlie a lot to think about. Word was that he was now traveling in search of Ultra Wormholes, with his sights set on hunting a Kartana. If that worked out the way everyone expected, Mr. Charlie would be pushing for an Elite Four seat, or possibly the Champion throne itself, at the next Master Tournament.
Which left Thelma with no clear path forward.
She knew she was talented. She probably knew, somewhere in the back of her mind, that she could surpass her father someday. But that was exactly the problem. She didn't want to be the one who stood in his way. She didn't want to be the person who ended the dream her father had spent his whole life working toward.
And so, a girl who could have gone anywhere in the world of Pokemon battles had taken a different road instead.
Even someone with every advantage, talent, family, and opportunity, could still find themselves having to step aside for someone they loved.