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"Retaliate with Cut!"

Using the Glameow's close proximity to her advantage, Phi quickly lashed out the feline again. This time, he received a good hit to his leg. With a wince and a limp, he shot back from the Buneary and to the safety of his side of the field.

James's mouth drew into a thin line. Was he going to lose?

[Rho's HP: 400/900]
[Phi's HP: 200/900]

After handing off her Pokemon and their Pokeballs to the Nurse Joy at the counter, Magnolia took a seat next to Sonya who had flopped down on the stools provided for them in the waiting area. The older teen let out a sigh when she cupped her chin.

"That boy..." she said with her exhalation.

Magnolia eyed her friend with curiosity. "Why did you stop the fight, Sonya?" she queried.

Sonya directed her ebony eyes to the girl and gave her a one shoulder shrug. "James had that look."

"Look?"

The older woman nodded her head a few times. "Whenever he starts feeling bad about something, he enters into this... sort of rumination and detaches himself from whatever is happening. Just like he did a few minutes ago."

Magnolia still didn't know what she was talking about, but since Sonya was James's sister, she obviously knew him better than she did. Nodding to her, she bowed her head in silence, but it popped back up a few moments later when the Nurse Joy at the counter cried out her name. At once, the trainer bounced to her feet and dashed to her. Sonya watched her run off and let out another sigh.

I bet he's gone somewhere to mull over his loss, she thought to herself. He must be sour now.

After confirming the Pokemon were hers, the nurse presented Rho and Phi on their counter with their Pokeballs in a tray next to them. The Glameow stretched himself while the Buneary rubbed her paws together nervously. Without warning, Magnolia threw her arms open and embraced her Pokemon with as much force as she could. Rho's eyes widened as all air was compressed out of him in a choked puff. Phi was more open to the hug and she returned it with as far as her paws could stretch on her trainer's body.

After a few hisses from the Glameow, Magnolia let him go. As the cat frowned, the lavender-haired girl plucked Phi's Pokeball from the tray.

"I'm sure you'd like a nice rest, Phi," she told the Buneary, to which she got a nod in return. "Return."

A red beam shot from the sphere and engulfed Phi before she was withdrawn. Pocketing her ball and Rho's, she turned to Rho and offered her shoulder. The Glameow took his spot around the nape of her neck and let out a yawn. Now seemed like a good time for a nap.

Halfway through her way there, Sonya's coal-colored eyes caught sight of crimson hair that was far too familiar. In the distance, James was trudging the opposite way his sister was heading. The teen tried to call out to him and ask him where he was headed, but the length between them made her question fall on deaf ears. Deciding to follow where he was going, her trek took her right back to the park that was outside the Pokemon Center.

Her following eventually formed to an awkward stalking as the fourteen year old began to turn his head about as if looking for something. Sonya reflexively hid herself behind a tree trunk and alternated between several as James continued to ventured deeper into the park. Eventually, he stopped when his eyes found what they were looking for.

At the foot of a hill, Magnolia had her back turned as she watched the early start of a sunset slowly descend behind the mountains surrounding Motterossa. James called out to her and with a quick turn, the two held glances. When they started to talk, Sonya took this as a chance to tiptoe to a nearer tree.

"Why'd you call me out here?" Magnolia questioned the boy firmly, a slight glare worn on her features. "Did you want to berate me about how our battle wasn't fair or something?"

"I... Well..."

"Well?"

"Um..."

"What is it- Ah."

Suddenly, James's hand shot out to the distance separating them. Using his other to scratch the back of his head, the boy reddened a bit and mumbled just audibly. "I... I wanted to get you this... C-Congratulations on your win..."

Magnolia's eyes wavered at the gift he had brought her. Clasped within the boy's hand was the girl's favorite flower, the Gracidea. Sonya, behind the tree, gasped in surprised before balling her fists and pumping them with a nod.

How cute! Making the first move! she shouted in her mind. You go, James!

Magnolia clutched a hand to her bosom before her hand drifted out and intertwined with the stem of the pink blossom. A small smile touched upon her lips as she sniffed it.

"Ah, it smells so sweet," she muttered before fixing it right behind her ear. "How does it look?" she asked the boy with a tilt of her head.

"G-Good..." James replied, blushing even harder this time.

"Thank you so much Pier- James," she said.

"I-It was nothi- Wah!"

Suddenly, Magnolia hugged the boy with the same energy she gave her Pokemon and Sonya. The boy's body rocked as her arms tightened about his waist. James was so flustered and shocked he wasn't sure where he was to put his hands on her in return, so they stuck straight from him as if he had transformed into a scarecrow.

"I don't know why you're being so nice," she muttered to him by his ear. "But if I had to pick, I like this James much better."

After another moment, Magnolia backpedaled from him and clasped her hands behind her back. James was still frozen stiff in surprise. When his body registered the weight of her own had withdrawn from him, the fourteen year old fixed his off-kilter glasses and poked them higher up on the bridge of his nose.

"R-Right..." he replied behind the curl of his fingers.