For Her Hand

Chapter Fifty-Nine

Five. Five badges were nestled inside his badge case, each representing a benchmark he'd set for himself. There were three left to obtain and yet even after doing so he needed to fill his dex with at least thirty-two more Pokémon in order to finish his qualifications for the finale of the competition. Now that he had some time to spare, having taken a break from badge hunting, he figured he'd add a few more members to his growing team a bit later.

There was one other pressing matter that needed to be attended to before he could go hunt down another teammate. Pushing himself off the ground, he dusted himself off after having meditated for the duration of an hour in the Santalune Forest. His family was at home, no doubt preparing for dinner that was to be held in a few hours. Melody had gone off to Aquacorde Town to buy some vegetables from the local mart.

Reaching into his pocket, he took out his holocaster and checked his messages. Finding he had acquired new ones during his meditation, he quickly read over them to see if there was anything of great importance that would require his attention. His eyes soon landed on a message from Serena, asking if he could pay her a visit before the day was over.

After finding out that she lived in Vanville just a short walk up the block from his house, he became painfully aware of how little he got out prior to this experience and Mathilde's training. The sound of steel clashing with steel caught his attention, drawing his eyes to a spar between Bisharp and Cerise. A grin curved onto Seth's face as he watched them exchange blows, Bisharp able to fend her off more easily now that he'd evolved and become far stronger than he was before. However, even though he had the advantage as far as strength was concerned, Cerise's skills were still as polished as ever.

Having been a skilled swordsman in her former life, it was apparent that she hadn't lost her touch. As Bisharp thrust his arm out, his bladed arm encased in darkness, Cerise artfully parried the assault and followed up with a swift slash to Bisharp's chest, pushing him back a few paces. Bisharp glanced down at his chest and then back up at Cerise who was now rocketing toward him, an orange aura surrounding her bladed frame as she began stabbing at him, forcing him on the defensive.

Mirroring the skill she was using, Bisharp began to keep pace with Cerise, their strikes echoing louder as they sparred. Seth's eyes followed as their pace picked up. He could see that Bisharp had regained the advantage and was pushing Cerise to her limits.

Well, this is what you asked me for. Now it's time to see how far you're willing to go for the results you're looking for...

"So what is it you wanted to talk about, Cerise?" Seth asked with a yawn as he walked out into the cool night air.

Cerise had requested to meet him after the sun had gone down. The matter seemed pressing so Seth couldn't simply ignore the request. He'd noticed that Cerise had been going off on her own and training, something he had a habit of doing from time to time. Her eye fixed onto his and with a determined voice she said, "I'd like to show you a few things I've picked up since we've been here, but in order to do it effectively, I'd like to ask that you let me spar with Bisharp instead of Vespisol."