Pokemon Fan Fiction ❯ Sharing ❯ Hello Mother ( Chapter 4 )

Sharing

A heated back and forth conversation has forced Nozomi to reevaluate her strategy for building the rivalry that she hopes can shake up the entire coordinator's scene. But this chapter has very little Nozomi. This is the chapter where we the reader will get inside Hikari's mind and pick her brain as she leaves the ER and when the media secures time with the coordinator from Twinleaf town. She will let the world know for the very first time what she thinks of Nozomi with her interview some days later.

NOTE: Unlike the previous three chapters, this one begins in Hikari's POV, but will end in Nozomi's POV. This starts right after Hikari leaves Nozomi's emergency room.

FAIR WARNING: In this chapter, I am also introducing surnames for the main characters, along with the inclusion of the USA dub names which will be used along with the Original Japanese names. After much thought, I came up with two suitable family names for both Hikari and Nozomi. I won't tell you them here, so you will just have to read, see and review with your thoughts. Remember, I gave you fair warning. Also this chapter (I believe) is quite long.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Pokemon, a creation of one Satoshi Tajiri, and is produced domestically (in the United States) by Pokemon USA/TAJ/The Pokemon Company, and internationally by Shogakukan and OLM. I personally own nothing and make nothing by writing this.

(Chapter 4- Hello Mother)

I wanted nothing more than to leave a lasting impression on Nozomi when I left the ER. I couldn't let her know that I was petrified at the thought of losing my hair, or she would in all likelihood gloat about it to the press. Once I am out of sight of Nozomi or anyone else that would try to ask me any questions before I was ready to give any answers, I swiftly walked to the nearest unoccupied ladies room and took a long look at myself in the mirror.

I took a small handful of my hair and then brought it close to my cheek and began to breathe very hard. Concern was the expression that was plastered on my face as I fully realized what I did not that long ago. I got caught in the moment trying to look good and be brave in front of a brash, loud coordinator and my ego ended up getting the best of me.

I am shaking now as I look at my hair, representing womanhood to me and many others around the world, I consider this to be the crown on top of my head. Call it arrogance, but my mother always taught me to take pride in myself, with my hair being no exception. Of all the physical traits that I recieved from my mother, it has to rank up there at or near the top. It would be an understatement to say that my hair, among other things, meant a lot to me.

But consider what hair has meant to some people. It is the symbol that has separated men and women in these modern times. It was the strength of the biblical figure Samson before his lover Delilah cut it off. How you wore your hair was a sign of femininity and women worked hard to maintain their hair to attract potential suitors for life.

Women will spend many hours on end tending to their hair in one given day, especially in those special events in the lives of many women and young girls. On the night of prom, they wear their crowns proudly and display their look to their future graduating class, as on that one night, their beauty and grace takes center stage for all to see. Their dates and the many other young men at the prom venue give their approval with either a greeting of a hug or handshake, or a flattering wolf whistle.

On the wedding day of a blushing young bride, she would like absolutely nothing more than for this day, the day in which two become one, to be perfect. She needs nothing to go wrong. No botches, no late arrivals, no stains on the bridesmaid's dresses (much more the tragedy of a error on the bride's dress) and proper hairstyle is no exception to this desire to have perfection on this day. It's not asking for much, because for the most part, we only get, or expect to have, one wedding day. To have her parents there as they give their 'little girl' away and they cry both tears of joy and sadness knowing full well what this day entails.

I think about all of that and then I think about myself and my present situation. I am not going out to dinner, going to the senior prom, graduating or at my wedding. There was no guarantee that I would win, and I was being stubborn doing what I did. I attempted to barter with a trainer who is not only head of the class in coordinating with two ribbons, but is also well rounded, winning two Sinnoh gym battles. There would be no taking it back, however, because that would mean going back on my word, which is something you just don't do no matter what.

After all, I told Nozomi in the heat of the moment that it is best that someone stand by their word from the first breath of life to their place of repose. Was I fooling myself? I said everything in the heat of the moment, and was pissed off with her comments from the moment I entered the emergency room to the moment I left. Hell, I was pissed off from the time she made her Pokemon Talk interview to this very moment that I'm questioning my decision making and holding my hair close to my face.

I suddenly realized that my hair could very well be gone by the start of the New Year. I'm shaking even more attempting in vain to convince myself that the bathroom is just chilly. I know better than that. I know that I am scared that I could lose my hair and all it represents. I am scared to be made to look like a joke in front of Nozomi for not being able to get the job done and win contest ribbon number one. People will criticize and question, asking such riveting inquiries like 'Was your hair not that important to you,' or 'What will drive you to finally win that first contest ribbon if you can ever do it'.

Then something in my mind snapped and a wave of emotions came over me as I realized that I was faking my assertiveness with the redhead. Tears began to flow from my eyes as I knew that although I talked a great talk, I wasn't as assured in myself as I made Nozomi think I was. It dawned on me that there was a 50/50 chance that I would be a bald ten year old girl in 2007. Oh, the humor in it has me standing here with tears in my eyes.

My resolution for the New Year would not be to be nicer to people, to read more, or enter the Sinnoh Grand Festival. It would instead be to grow a thick skin. A thick skin designed to block out the stares, snickers and catcalls made by fellow coordinators, fans, detractors and hecklers who will see me at contests and laugh at the absurdity. I think about all of this and the tears flow like running faucets as I get a real good look at myself in the mirror and just broke down.

Crying is not the word to describe what I am doing. I am bawling like a baby because I've been challenged and am not confident at all that I can step up to the plate and hit a home run, much less a base hit. I had to defend myself and my pride and the result is me lamenting over my possibly soon to be gone hair. What the hell happened?

"How could I be so fucking stupid?" I scream out to no one in particular. I pound the marble countertop that surrounds the bathroom sink and curse myself for not disregarding the ignorance in some people and just running my own pace with my own rules. I couldn't be the better girl and just forget the idea of a challenge or a stipulation or a friendly wager or anything like that. I had to charge head on like a bull in a china shop, stubborn as ever and it may very well cost me.

Looking once more at the mirror, only this time I see a broken down excuse of a once confident coordinator. If Delilah cutting the hair off of Samson was the reason why he lost his awesome strength, then a modern day jezebel in Nozomi will more than likely cause me to lose all confidence in myself, if that hasn't already happened as I'm left in this bathroom contemplating the fact that I may lose that which I physically hold dear the most.

I close my eyes for a few seconds meditating to myself and trying to take deep breaths to calm my nerves and hopefully get myself together to leave the bathroom and just leave the challenge early, knowing full well what would happen once I would leave. Nozomi won't let me back out of this for very good reason, and will reinforce this by using the correct excuse of me coming up with the stipulation and having to live by it. This is just not what I planned on happening.

I say to myself, if I leave early, there are plenty of people out there who I can talk to, or get advice from, to help me. Here I am in this hospital bathroom, and I feel helpless! I don't know what to do, at all. But there are people out there who care about me. I could talk to my mother via a videophone, and just bear my soul without letting my anger for her be explicitly known. I could talk to Satoshi, who's been a trainer for over five years. If there were anyone who I was in immediate contact with that would know what it was like to face adversity from their own peers, it would be him.

The stories he has told me about his now good friend Shigeru Ookido are more resemblant of an elevator ride than a friendship due to the many ups and downs. Takeshi is a former gym leader. I'm sure there have been times where he has had to reevaluate his strategy for battling, especially when he has had to encounter a losing streak along the way. And I could also get some help from... him. Yeah. He'll know what to do.

"Are you all right?"

I am jolted by the sound of another voice that is not mine and turn to the side to find a female coordinator washing her hands, viewing me with a look of concern. I do not recognize her from the activities of the past six days, but give a halfhearted reply of 'yes' to her question. Turning back to the mirror to check my face, I see myself, but my brain plays a devious, evil trick on me and instead of seeing my long dark hair, I see a bald head; my own bald head resting squarely on top of my shoulders. It's a bad omen if there ever was one.

Those within a 50 foot radius could probably hear a loud piercing scream reverberate from the women's bathroom as shock became the dominant emotion which ran throughout my body. I came face to face with what my fate may be if I am not able to take the next step in coordinating and win this ribbon, and I became absolutely terrified. I fell to the floor of the bathroom and just continued to scream.

There was no message in the scream and I was not attempting to say anything. I screamed out of anger and disappointment in myself and my pride for leaving me in the position I am right now, a weak shell of myself being held and consoled by one of my peers; a female coordinator that I don't even know. She, whose name I don't even know because I didn't ask and she didn't tell, is asking me right now 'What's wrong? What happened? Please say something,' and I can't even bring myself to tell her why I am in this position.

I notice a crowd developing by the restroom entranceway and am mortified with the possibility that someone that I know knows me, or even heard of me could be there.

"Please tell me! What is your name? What's wrong?" That was the last question that I heard from the girl consoling me before I got up and hurried to one of the stalls and locking it, all within the space of less than ten seconds. The events that have happened to me in the last couple of days left me sickened and stricken with sadness. I looked down at the commode almost immediately after locking the door and proceeded to let out the bile infestation bubbling in my stomach. I threw up in the toilet, and in some respects felt better. I was no longer screaming, if that speaks for something, but a part of me was still sickened by what I just did, on top of the events of today and yesterday.

But it wasn't all Nozomi's fault, either. The sum of all of my parts was equivalent to a potent combination of every negative emotion and period of time I've ever experienced in my young life. Whether it was the fact that I lived in a home with a divorced mother who had purposefully driven a wedge between me and my father for the last four years, or this punk hoyden of a coordinator challenging me and admittedly getting the best of me at my worst, it all overflowed. My current environment was not a healthy one, and I saw no other means of combating it outside of leaving this restroom, this hospital, this exhibition and these islands and start to make heads and tails of the situation I am in currently.

I then realize in my dizzy haze that whether I like it or not, I am the one who is in control of this entire situation. The image of a strong-willed young lady that I placed in front of Nozomi's face should have been what I was feeling right now. I asked myself why wasn't I confident that I could win a ribbon, thereby sparing my hair and putting Nozomi in dresses for the next four months.
Was it because I saw the reality of the situation at hand and got scared? Was it because I got jolted by the fact that a renegade coordinator actually challenged my abilities in public and private forums? Was it because I had sailed so smoothly along for the first four or five months and then once I hit this bump along the road I had no idea how to combat it?

I remember not that long ago that I would have not worried about something like this, because I had been to multiple contest finals and the only difference between me now and me with two contest ribbons is only two wins. The only difference between the finals wins and the semifinals wins and the quarterfinals wins of a contest is the hype leading up to the match and the baggage that comes with it being a finals match. It would be up to me to live up to the hype and come out of this a winner. And, quite frankly, throwing up in a hospital toilet or crying over something that hasn't even occurred will not make me a winner.

'I won't lose. I can't lose.' That is the mantra that I am continuously repeating in my mind. I know I am better than bitching, moping and complaining about what is essentially the sky falling. I open the door of the stall and see about 15 pairs of eyes fixated upon me, but I could have cared less about them.

Quite frankly, I don't give a damn what they thought about seeing this girl, myself, scream out her frustrations in what is essentially a public arena, take a minute in private, put all things in perspective and come out the better for it. It's good therapy, and it got a smile on my face for the first time since confronting Nozomi. I walk calmly out of the bathroom and out of the hospital not saying a word to anyone along the way. The feeling was mutual, as no one else reached out and said a word to me, either.

Walking to and outside of the automatic doors of the Sevii Islands hospital, I stop and look around. What I saw were people all over going about their normal routines. Their inner feelings and emotions may not be clear to the outside world, but for the most part they go out and live their lives, because that's life. I thought about that and carefully considered my situation. After about 30 seconds, I turned around and went to another wing of the hospital.

I spoke to a receptionist at the wing about what I was going to do, and she was more than happy to oblige to my request. I continued onward to the hospital wing adjacent to the receptionist's desk. This wing was for pediatric cases, such as kids suffering with cancer, leukemia and other severe illnesses or injuries. I walk slowly through the hallway, taking quick but lasting glances in each room.

Young children are in beds resting while connected to machines that regulate and/or monitor their conditions. As I take this winding walk, I notice the kids seemingly getting sicker and sicker as I walk further and further down this hallway. One of the final rooms I come to has a child, who I presume to be a young girl of about eight or nine. She is working on a large puzzle and is listening to music through headphones of an iPod nano.

Two of her most prevailing features are her dark chocolate brown eyes and somewhat pale skin, showing blue veins all across the portion of her body not covered by her hospital gown. The most obvious feature, however is a pink and black skull cap stretched across her head. There appears to be no sign of any hair on either her head or just above her eyes. She is kept occupied, but I know that aside from the grave, this is the last place that she would want to be. A girl like her should never be worrying about whether she is going to die young due to any illness.

I knock on the side of the door to get her attention. She turns towards my direction and proceeds to pause whatever song she was listening to for now. "Hi. My names Hikari." I modestly introduce myself to her to start a conversation. She smiles upon the hearing of me introduce my name. She must not get company that often. "Hi there. My names Alexis." She tips her head to one side. "Hey, wait a minute. You're Dawn Kamiko! You've been in pokemon contests! I see you on TV all the time!" A high price of fame is apparently a level of image recognition that you never knew you had, and one you probably never wish you had, but that's neither here nor there. I'm just surprised that she knew my childhood nickname. Did I mention it in a interview previously? Oh well. It won't hurt to ask later, if she keeps doing it.

"Yes. I started about six months ago. Do you want to be a coordinator when you reach age?" "Oh, do I ever. You know, it couldn't have been that long ago I was sitting at home with my friends watching the Kanto and Hoenn Grand Festivals and I talked to them about how I wanted so badly to become a Grand Festival champion. I was laughing and joking like any normal kid... but one day, I had these terrible headaches that just would not stop."

"They were so painful and my mother tried everything to stop them, but nothing would work. About seven weeks ago, we saw a specialist after having MRI's. He put me in intensive care almost immediately and determined not that long afterwards that I had a brain tumor." I covered my mouth as she described in great detail the many process that Alexis's family went through to keep her alive. The specialist had told her mother that if she had not sent her in when she did, it might have been too late to save her as the cancer would have spread.

Seeing Alexis in her situation really put my piss poor demonstration into perspective. This girl, who is only about 1-2 years younger than I am fought through adversity over the past two months just to stay alive. Going through therapy in an attempt to not only reduce the impact that the tumor could have on her brain activity, but prevent it from coming back is not something I can even dare to imagine. Her body I am almost certain has been ravaged with pain through chemotherapy procedures that have left her too weak and tired at times to stand, eat or talk. Here I was feeling sorry for myself for possibly losing my hair, when this girl, a greater fighter than any boxer, pugilist or mixed martial artist in the world, is here with me.

They say seeing is believing. I see that she is not complaining or feeling sorry that the world has placed this burden on her. She is just living life much like the people outside of the hospital doorway. If it was not for the machines, the gown, the white room and the skull cap on top of her head covering her lack of hair, no one would even know that she was very sick. Looking at it from that point of view, someone in my situation who did what I did should have been embarrassed, and boy did I ever look like the most conceited brat ever. My mother, despite her haughty streak, raised me better than that.

For about the next thirty minutes, me and Alexis talked about just random kids stuff. I even helped her out with her puzzle which was 5,000 pieces. She was about halfway to her goal and I didn't mind helping her towards the finished product; a panorama of the largest crowd for a Grand Festival in the modern era of coordinating. This Grand Festival was from 1982 and took place at Celadon City.

It didn't matter the setting or the age difference, because my mother always taught me that the greatest gift you can ever give in your life is you. I gave Alexis my valuable time, not because I expected something in return, but because Alexis had been quite lonely over the last three days and needed someone to talk to and confide in. Her parents are really busy at their places of work, and at times find it hard to see her, but always make it priority number one to have numerous phone conversations with their girl on a daily basis.

She said that although she won't get her hopes up to high, she is confident that she will be playing with her friends again and becoming a coordinator sooner than you might think. When she asked if there were any hints, clues or strategies that I used in battle that would help her, I simply replied that she would have to go out and get as much experience and learn as much about pokemon as she could on her own. She was somewhat under whelmed by my response, but much like I had to learn a lot on my own these past five months or so, Alexis would have to do the same. There are just some things that a one on one conversation can not prepare you for and a pokemon journey is one of them.

This is a fact that Nozomi fails to wrap her mind around, and that is simply her blind judgment at work. I won't let her or her actions affect me any longer, because I now know what my priorities are. If I could go to the finals of two contests in my brief career, then what is stopping me from winning a ribbon right now if I wanted to? Once I leave the rookie challenge, which at this point I think will be an early leave, I know that the media will want to get my thoughts and it will be a good change for me and all the coordinating fans to shut this girl up, or at the very least, put her into an embarrassing situation like she did to me.

They say that a picture is worth a thousand words. I hope the press has hundreds of thousands of words to print for the first four months of the year, because I plan to collect them all whenever I need a good laugh or twenty. Alexis insisted that I talk more about my journey so far. She started the conversation, and perhaps that was a mistake. I tried in vain to avoid much of the talk of pokemon or my particular situation, because I didn't want to burden the girl with my troubles.

"You're the trainer that's been all the talk of the news for the last day or so. It was the trainer named, I believe her name is... Nozomi Kobashi who said those things about you yesterday. Just what did you do to make that girl so mad?" I breathe a sigh, because not even in the back of my mind can I remember anything I did in the two times me and Nozomi met to set her on this course she is in right now.

"To be honest, Alexis, nothing. I can't even think of one time I rubbed her the wrong way, yet she is saying all of these things about me. You shouldn't believe everything that the news reporters or the television journalist say. I know that some of them are probably very scathing towards Nozomi, but I haven't..."

"Scathing? Are you serious? News reporters are calling for her license to be revoked. There are people that want her to be suspended! There's outrage in the pokemon world, and the most coveted interview that journalists want is not the one from the GFCA brass after the rookie challenge, but the one where you give your rebuttal to Nozomi's interview. Because of the laws in place you obviously can't give that interview now, but don't be surprised if you get a bunch of cameras and microphones in your face when you become free game. What you say could have a big effect on her future coordinating career." I was surprised to hear all of this coming out of her mouth. She's a big time fan of coordinating.

"Are there any suggestions you have for what I might say in my interview?" I say this not really expecting anything of substance to come out of her mouth. I was simply looking for an unbiased opinion.

"Well... everyone is expecting you to be the bigger man, or young woman in your case. That's the safe option for you to just go onto TV or radio and tell everyone that you'll just ignore her idle threats, take your business to another region and forget about Nozomi, unless of course your paths cross again."

I hadn't even considered that I could just restart my journey in another region like Kanto, Johto or Hoenn, and allow Nozomi to be an afterthought in my career and my life post our stipulation.

Then my thoughts went to the nasty, despicable and reprehensible comments that she made and directed towards not just me but my mother and knew exactly what plan of action I had to take. She would pay for them if I had anything to say about it. Satoshi and Takeshi have been my traveling buddies for a while now, and learning the ropes from these multi-year veterans of the trade has done nothing but help me over the past five months or so.

That won't change as I will not start over in another region, essentially putting me back at square one as far as automatic qualifying for coordinating is concerned. I will not let Nozomi just move me to some unknown territory because I, in her mind only, don't want to stand up to her. If it's a rivalry that Nozomi wants, then it is a rivalry that Nozomi shall have.

"If I go on TV or radio and say that I will just leave Sinnoh, the same region where my mother became Grand Festival champion, I would pretty much be telling Nozomi, my mother and the media at large that I give up. That'd be like throwing in the towel or waving the white flag, and in this instance I can't see myself doing that and helping this situation in any way. What's to say she won't go back on the radio and talk about me being a coward because I duck and ran from her words? And besides, we had a talk recently, and although no one knows this but the two of us, we have a little wager to test my coordinating skills."

"A... wager?"

"Yes, a wager. She is not too fond of my coordinating skills or me for that matter. She thinks that if the stipulation we agreed upon doesn't inspire me to win a contest ribbon by the end of this year, then nothing will. The stipulation is... oh, will you promise me something, Alexis?"

"What's that, Dawn?" she asks more so wanting to know what me and Nozomi agreed to than to make a verbal contract.

"Tell nobody what I've told you until I have my media interview which I presume will be less than a week after the challenge ends. Is that clear?" I reach out my hand to seal the agreement. She is considering it as I speak.

"You've got a deal." And just like that we shook to the deal, and I put in my end of the bargain and proceeded to tell her all of the details of our wager. Afterwards, she was shocked to say the very least.

"How could you agree to something like that? You actually put your beautiful hair on the line just to prove a point? You could have just said no!"

"I'm flattered, Alexis, but at the time, I was in the moment, wanting to do what you just said, and throw Nozomi's words right back into her face. It wasn't until a little later that I fully realized what I did, and when I did, I got really scared. I saw an image of myself bald in my mind, and I hated it. Uh, no offense."

"None taken. The doctors are really working overtime to overview the activity in my brain and prevent the cancer from reforming. I keep pictures of myself with hair to remind me that if I keep a good attitude, follow doctor's orders, dream big and tell myself that I will get better, I know I will grow my hair back." The subject of pictures intrigued me to no end. "Can I see a picture of you with your hair?"

"No problem, Dawn." She reaches over to a side table and grabs a small frame. Indeed it is a picture of Alexis, and what I presume to be her folks and two brothers. She has dark brunette hair and really looks great. Seeing it makes me want to take present day Alexis and imagine her right here with me as her long hair is very much intact. "This is a really nice picture. So I presume that the adults in here are your parents?"

"Yes, and the boys are my older brothers. The one on the left is Shannon. He's 15 and studying to be a pokemon breeder with a concentration in fire type pokemon. The one on the right is Kirk, and he's 11. He's currently in his first year of his pokemon journey in the Orange islands. My parents own their own business in Mikan Island specializing in pokeopathic remedies and healing techniques." I don't say it, but I found it highly ironic that Alexis's parents are into pokemon health, yet Alexis is here in the hospital fighting for her life. Modern medicine certainly has a long way to go.

"You've got a great family. They all seem so tight nit."

"Absolutely. We all have each other's backs when times are rough like right now."

"And when your back is against the wall, you can either stand up and fight or go over to the corner and cower like a kitten. It all makes sense now. I don't care how long I have to have this war of words with Nozomi. If I win enough matches against her, she'll eventually shut her mouth."

Alexis looks at me when I made my last comment. I've made it more than clear that I would not sweep this problem under the rug and put it out of sight, and you know what they say about things that are out of sight. "It's good that you are committing yourself fully to winning the contest ribbon. You might have to resort to saying some things in your interview to catch Nozomi, the press and the fans off guard and make them wonder what your agenda is. You don't want to put all of your eggs in one basket, so you should have several backup plans in case one or another fails."

"Backup plans? Just where are you getting at?" To say I'm confused would not even tell half the story. Just what does this girl mean by 'backup plans'?

"I'm saying that it is to your benefit to schedule as many bookings for contests at you can for the month of November and December to get you back into the habit of simply going out and performing. Logging enough hours of practice will allow you the chance to lay out numerous strategies for victory, and that will lead you to your first ribbon. More experience will also ready you for future contests beyond that all important first win and better prepare you for the Sinnoh Grand Festival."

"The more contests you are in, the better chance you have of winning a ribbon, especially on an off week when there are not as many coordinators to do combat against. Your best bet to win a ribbon would probably be during the Thanksgiving week in late November when most coordinators will be home with their families. If that doesn't work, then mid to late December is another option, as most trainers and coordinators again will be home for the holidays. Just schedule to the point where you benefit, because I know you have what it takes to win the ribbon if you work not hard but smart."

Alexis made some great points. She's a very intelligent girl to have thought of that strategy in that short length of time. The fact is that I don't have to go for the jugular and win the ribbon right away. Nozomi gave me about ten weeks to work with, so it really would benefit me to pick my spot, and by correctly doing so, sparing my hair.

My job beforehand is to turn the hype machine up to full blast and play up the rivalry as much as possible to ensure that Nozomi feels as embarrassed as I was by her. We are all a slave to the media, and if I have a say so, Nozomi will find out what that means in the most unenviable way possible.

"There are some other things that you might want to consider doing when you go in for your interview with the press. My advice would be to light a fire in the bellies of the media and Nozomi and stretch the truth. Based on what you've told me, Nozomi was very liberal with her thoughts concerning you and told many outright lies. For what reasons you will probably never know, but that's her problem and you should let her deal with it. But if you are going to add some color to your comments, do it for the sole reason that you know that they will tick her off. So when the moment comes when she finds out that you have won your first ribbon, she could very well be floored by a feather at that very second."

Every new thing that comes out of Alexis's mouth seems to make more sense than the last thing did. Her observations on a brewing feud that she just gained knowledge of are astounding, and most noteworthy is the fact that all of this is coming from an eight year old brain cancer survivor. It is not so much the disease that makes me question her style of going about taking on Nozomi rather that this astute hypothesis cannot often be found in men or women three times Alexis's age.

"I have a question for you, Alexis. How did you come up with all of that strategy? I know you want to be a pokemon coordinator when you come of age, but your strategy had very little to do with that. So where does it all come from?" I strategically ask this in the hopes that there will either be an osmosis effect of her knowledge of staying cool through 'worst case scenario' situations like cancer that can rub off on me, or in her description, I can get tips to prepare me for my journey, however long it might end up.

"I may be eight years old, but I can read at a university or college level and my brothers have very high reading and comprehension levels as well. All of us kids were home schooled for much of our lives and know the importance of a great education. Using these advanced skills, I can apply them to any situation, because one of my strong points has always been critical thinking." Then I see a sly smile appear on her face. "Besides, it's quite clear that I am one to rise up under pressure. Not to be a braggadocio or anything, but a lesser individual would not be sitting here talking to you right now. My best advice to anyone else who'd like to think the way I do is to realize but accept the possibility of failure, but focus all of your efforts on success."

"What you want to do is eat, breathe, sleep and drink this contest ribbon 24/7. If you get all of your priorities straight, you will come out of this victorious. The thing to remember and is most important to your success is that pokemon coordinating is for the most part like a very complicated puzzle" she says this while pointing to the puzzle we spent about the last 45 minutes on together, in an attempt to complete. "Coordinating is like an exercise in critical thinking."

"Like every puzzle, you have your border pieces. These pieces of the puzzle are like the pokemon you can always trust to get you off the ground and flying. They make the greatest appeals and will get you the best scores and seeding for the battle portions of the contests. Appeals in contests, much like border pieces of a puzzle, will always connect to each other because they form a straight and even foundation towards the completed puzzle."

"Keep in mind that four of your pieces will always make up your corners of the puzzle. Those four pieces form your strategy for battling and appeals. If you don't have a strategy, you don't have much of a career plan, and are destined to fail. It would be like if you had a chicken with his head cut off trying to coordinate and train. The best coordinators will often build from their corners on the outside to the borders that surround the picture, and finally to the pieces on the inside. Those pieces on the inside represent you."

"The bottom line is you can have the most powerful arsenal of pokemon and the most surefire strategy, but if your heart is not into coordinating or training or any endeavor, you don't have a chance, and you won't have much of a picture. So you have to be a plan-oriented coordinator first and foremost, with pokemon that are more than capable of getting to the next level, and you have to want it or you won't get it. It will require a great amount of patience, but if you imitate a racing horse and put on blinders to block out distractions and negativity, you'll be certain to win and from it, get a great finished product as a reward for your effort."

When coming into this room of the hospital wing and finding this girl who had a great interest in coordinating, I thought it would be a great opportunity to become a mentor for a future trainer. I might give her some stories of coordinating, but most of all encourage her to kick cancer's ass and become the best you can be in whatever you want.

It's funny how people can affect your life when you least expect it. Yes Alexis did give me this immeasurable amount of advice and information on how to control the rivalry that Nozomi set into order over 24 hours ago. I did not expect it, but once it came I more than welcomed it with open arms.

"I think I understand where you are coming from with all of this. Obviously, you've been a fan of pokemon and coordinating for much of your life. Thank you for all your help. I'll be honest with you Alexis. I wasn't that confident in myself going into the wager I made not that long ago with Nozomi. The only thing I could think of was the possibility that I could lose my hair in 2007. It was very humbling, but I eventually got over it with some meditation and coaching from you."

"OK. You were honest with me, and I will be honest with you." Alexis seems somewhat hesitant in saying whatever she is about to say. "Nozomi was... very much out of line for the things she said. I told you earlier that the GFCA is considering revoking her license for her interview, but won't do anything at the moment because she's still at the rookie challenge. Now, it's entirely your decision, but you are the reason they will or won't decide to prematurely end her career."

"If you go out there and tell people without beating around the bush that you don't want Nozomi to be punished, then she won't be punished. You can still have a great interview and make her hot under the collar, but you want this rivalry to go on, right?"

I flash her a big smile and a wink. "I feel like there are some lessons of tact that that girl needs to learn, and I'd be more than happy to teach her. Sure I want it to go on. Though I was pigheaded, I was sport enough to accept her challenge, and I'm not backing down for nothing."

"If that's the case," Alexis replied, "then who am I to say that you're out of your mind? Just remember in whatever interviews or statements that you provide to the press that you say in no uncertain terms that you don't think Nozomi should get in any trouble for her comments. I have to tell you, if it were me in that situation, I don't believe..."

"Excuse me, young lady?" Alexis's words are halted by a voice that is not mine. It is coming from the doorway, where a young male orderly is standing with a clipboard in his right hand and a pen in his left. "I'm sorry to break up the fun here, but visiting hours for the children's wing are going to end in about ten minutes."

All I can say in my mind is just my luck. I could have learned so much more from her if I had some more time, but in this and many other instances, rules are rules, and they were meant to be followed.

"Could I have about two more minutes with her alone, please?" I flash the orderly the same smile that I gave to Alexis not that long ago. He acquiesces with my request once he sees that Alexis mouths the word 'please' along with me. Two seconds later, he was out of sight.

"Once again, thank you for your advice. It really did help me out."

"It was no problem. I just have one more thing to ask of you if I could."

"What's that?" I ask curiously.

"Could you at one point in your interview mention me? I think that would be great for me and my family and... much of the world to see?"

No matter the intellect or the ability to think on your feet quicker than a lion in the pride lands, the fact remains that Alexis is still a kid and always will be a true kid at heart. She sees her heroes in pokemon coordinators and has studied the past histories of all the greats, but is not flustered when one of the people she sees on TV or hears on the radio is sitting right next to her having a conversation about rivalries, but just like me, she is still a fan. I agree to the request to say her name on air and I give her a hug, wishing her the best in her recovery. I then proceed to go leave the room. Before I do so, something in my mind causes me to turn back around and ask my new friend a final question.

"Alexis? Before we got interrupted, you said something like 'if I were in your shoes' about if you were me and Nozomi said those mean things about you. What were you going to say?"

Alexis thinks back to that time period about a minute ago. "If Nozomi had said those things about me and I were in your position, I would have not even had a rivalry and would have called for her to be suspended from coordinating. I don't care what someone did or didn't do, those things she said were absolutely uncalled for. If I had to really give her a piece of my mind, well..." she stops her speech to make a fist with her right hand and punch into her left palm. "I think you get the idea, Dawn."

"You know, I did confront her not that long ago, and when I did, well..." I then proceeded to make a fist and punch it into my palm. "I guess great minds do think alike, eh?"

"Whatever," Alexis nonchalantly replies. "Don't forget to mention my name, and don't ever expose your hand, otherwise your rivalry will become too one sided in Nozomi's favor, as she'll know what to go after in the heat of battle." I nod in agreement with that statement and say my final goodbye to Alexis for now.

"Good bye, Dawn." I think it will only take a few seconds to find out the answer to this question, so I ask Alexis, "How do you know that my nickname is Dawn? I'm just curious."

Alexis tells me quite frankly "It was in the offical Sinnoh Region program for rookie pokemon coordinators" and she pulls out a copy. D'oh! How could I have forgotten filling out that form and having a picture taken a month or two prior to my journey?

"Sorry, I forgot that I even did that."

"No problem." Alexis says. "It has Nozomi's nickname here as well..."

"Uhh, no thanks. That's not important to me right now. Good bye again, Alexis." To which Alexis says good bye back one final time.

A few minutes later, I left the hospital once and for all. I went to a care place of a different sort right after the conversations with Nozomi and Alexis, respectively. I've neglected to give my pokemon much care after Nozomi's comments consumed me with anger to the point I forgot the people and things most important to me.

After having dinner, it was about six o'clock in the evening and I decided to make a stop at the Sevii Islands pokemon center before it closed. Less than thirty minutes upon my arrival, the Sevii Islands Nurse Joy calls me to the desk to tell me that all of my pokemon are OK. That much was expected, but what happened afterwards was not.

"Oh by the way, Hikari, you have a phone call from someone." I did not expect it, but took the call from one of the videophone receivers. When I saw the face on the monitor, all of the air around me seemed to suck into my mouth in a prodigious gasp. It was my mother Ayako, and she had a very concerned look on her face. There was a big part of me that was hoping it was only due to the fact that she had not talked to her little girl (me) in a while, but I'm young, not naive.

Those that did not hear the comments that Nozomi directed towards me have most likely been living under a rock. As Alexis told me, the words have been played to the point of ad nauseam on TV and radio. If there is one person that is sick of them, it is me, and I am reminded of them as the moments play on monitors all over the pokemon center and the PA system that I assume is connected to a radio feed. Though I have soon tired of the interview played over and over in my head, Alexis said I would have to feed off this and develop enough of a personality to embarrass the red head as much as is necessary when I win.

My thoughts on my rival are halted by the comforting voice of mother dearest. "Hello? Hikari? Is everything alright over there with you?"

"Hello mother." I reply back in a somewhat indifferent tone. Not because of her, it's just that my mind is on other stuff. "Everything's fine, mom. Could you do me a favor?"

"Yes, dear. Anything for you."

"Please trust me when I say this, anything negative that you may hear about me in the media is simply not true, OK? There is a young girl that for whatever reason is trying to get under my skin and agitate me. In some respects, she already has, but she's just spreading lies about me. I just want you to know that I can handle this myself. I don't need you to come to the Sevii Islands or hold my hand for the rest of this journey, however long it may be. I've got everything under control right now"
I see that my mother is starting to form tears in her eyes. "My baby has grown up so much these last six months. You know I'll always love you no matter what, right? I know you're not the type to let anyone's petty insults stop you from living your dream of becoming a world class coordinator, right Hikari?"

A single tear is forming in my eye when she says I've grown up. It's quite embarrassing, but I'm inclined to agree with her. I think I've done quite a bit of growing up today, as I went through several peaks and valleys of this Friday October 20th. My Friday the 13th must have come a week late because of all the negative crap I've had to deal with as far as Nozomi is concerned.

"Mom stop it, please. You're gonna make me cry. I swear everything will be alright with me. I'll get this mess fixed and have my good name cleared..." and I stopped when I realized that along with sullying my name, Nozomi defiled my mother's good name and reputation as well. "...and I'll be sure to get your name out of the mud as well, mom."

"I remember this girl from about four months ago." She says. It almost appeared to me that she dodged that last statement I made. "You battled her and lost in your first contest. I'm flabbergasted because she seemed like such a nice girl. She did provide the finishing touch to your contest outfit, and when she said those reprehensible things, I just couldn't believe it. You'd never do anything to make someone that angered at you, Hikari."

"That's just the thing, mom! I can't remember anything to make her act like this. And here's the strangest part; up until her interview on Thursday, we had seen each other for only the second time, or was it the third? Anyway, at that point, we had only seen each other, much less talked to each other only sparingly. I can't for the life of me remember a single moment in time where I got her so pissed off, that she railed..."

"Young lady!" Oops! In the heat of the conversation, I seemed to have overstepped the boundaries of appropriate conversation between mother and daughter and used profanity, albeit mildly. I take the time to humbly apologize for my profanity, and mom goes on a nearly one minute long tirade about how to conduct yourself as an upstanding young lady, be it in a private or public setting, and profanity is not a part of proper conduct. My language has to be used carefully from her on out, as I cannot afford any more strikes on mother's warning list. I get another, and our conversation will be longer than the ones I had with Nozomi and Alexis combined.

"Are we clear?" is how she ended her rant, and I said 'yes ma'am' to get that part of our conversation out of the way and move on to what I believe are things more important than acting ladylike and foul language.

"You shouldn't let the things she said about me hurt you in any way, dear." Mom says to me in a most compassionate tone. "You don't think I had to deal with people like her in my day? Goodness knows that the arguments and fights backstage at a contest or a Grand Festival would put daytime TV to shame. Look... what you need to do is go out there and forget about her, you know? Just... I really don't get this."

"Ever since I was coordinating, I never had someone call me out in the media. It was very taboo, and us trainers would be run out of contest halls if we even attempted to utter such slander. There were rivalries and what not, but this puts things in a new perspective. If there was ever a dispute, it would occur in private. This girl-- her name is Nozomi, right?"

"Yes it is."

"She's... different. She has a different kind of mettle than any coordinator I've seen back in my days. It takes some ability to win ribbons and badges on top of that, and I've always said that to be a great coordinator, you must first be a great trainer. I'm not condoning it in any way because Nozomi had no right to say the things she said, especially if you didn't provoke her at all."

"But in her interview, she said that when she was a young girl she idolized me, and when I see some of her work, I see some of me in her. There are... obvious differences between us like our appeals, but she did say the reason she trains a Glameow is because I did. And you wouldn't be bad if you've won two ribbons as quickly as she has. She certainly is one that looks like she could attract attention wherever she goes. It's hard to forget..."

"MOM! Why in the world are you trying to stand up for her?" For the record, I am extremely ticked off about my mother giving this girl she has never met personally all of this commendation. "Remember? She said that I didn't have what it took to be a coordinator like you. Why would you say all these good things about someone who said so many bad things about your only daughter?"

"Settle down, Hikari. If you recollect on what I said, I am not giving Nozomi a stamp of approval. By saying all of that, I'm trying to determine out loud what of her personality and battling could contribute to her saying what she said." With those words, I calm down, but I'm still mad that she won't admit to giving Nozomi the kind of praise she just doesn't deserve. "Admittedly, there were times where I've wanted to tell people in public exactly what I thought about them, but didn't because we just didn't do it."

"There wasn't a outlet for any of us to let out our frustrations because the old guard always believed that no one wanted to hear our thoughts. The battling and appeals would speak for us. She's got some guts risking everything just to let the world know what she thought about you and me. Can you believe it, Hikari? Do I have some fans or what? Nozomi told me that she loved me for providing her the platform to become a coordinator. I... I... gotta say, I'm quite flattered. I've had admirers, no doubt, but... that certainly takes the cake."

"Do you have any advice as to what I should do? I've heard it say that the press wants to know what I feel about Nozomi, and based on what I say, it will determine whether or not she remains a coordinator." I already know that no matter what my mother tells me, I will give an interview and will lobby to prevent her from being suspended. I just want to know what she would do in my shoes, and stop her from giving Nozomi this verbal stimulation that she doesn't deserve.

"I would just do the interview and move along, Hikari. I personally would just say my peace, but I wouldn't want to get into a full-fledged rivalry with someone if I didn't think it was necessary. I wouldn't want her suspended, because I would only judge her on her contest work, but the brass has always wanted coordinators to maintain a level of integrity that Nozomi just didn't show. You should probably just say that you have no problem with her and that if she won't apologize, then you'll start over elsewhere." Not bad, but I just don't want to go that route.

"Thanks for the advice, mom, but I don't think I would want to restart at this point, uncalled for comments or not. I just need to let her know that I'm not going to back down and won't let her uneducated remarks affect me. If she still wants to play hardball at that point, then I don't mind providing the Louisville slugger."

"Hikari, is that really necessary? Do you have to retaliate in that manner?" My mother was very shocked to find that I would not humble myself and let Nozomi's comments mimic water under the bridge. There are many reasons for this. One that she doesn't know but will eventually find out about is the stipulations we placed on one another.

"I can't let her get the last laugh and insult me and my family like that. I hope you understand that this is something I've got to do for my pride. Goodbye mom. I love you."

"Wait Hikari! You don't need to push the issue. You'll end up in..." I cut the feed off from the videophone and immediately left the pokemon center with my pokemon well rested and in hand. I regretted leaving my mother in the dark and prematurely ending our phone conversation; the first one we've had in about two weeks. But I doubt she would understand how personal Nozomi has made this entire situation to me. This girl has made me so angry to no end by just running her mouth; it has gotten to the point of ridiculousness. It's obvious she can't bring herself up to my level and settle this in an adult fashion, so she'll just have to watch me come down to her level and get just as nasty, petty, bitchy and despicable as she was.

I head back to my hotel room and pack my items as I ready myself to leave the rookie challenge early. There was nothing left here for me but mere pageantry and games without frontiers. The rookie challenge was something you only get to be a part of once in your lifetime, but much of my memorable experience will not concern meeting new coordinators, showing off appeals, or working on battle techniques with coordinators my age. It had more to do with someone who stood up and begged to be heard loud and clear by all of those within a radio's radius or a television's transmitter.

Quite frankly, knowing that I was even in the Sevii Islands, and that bitch was also here nearly sickened me once again. I wanted nothing more than to just go back to the people that cared about me, and set everything straight with everyone at once. The sooner I go back to Twinleaf town, the sooner I can let all of my thoughts and plans out in one forum, the less innuendo will be spread, and the better we will all be for it. I regret not calling him, but only for a moment. All I could think of now was getting out of here ASAP.

My newest and most important task would be to take the earliest form of transportation back to Twinleaf town and prepare a statement for the press. I'll leave the rest up to fate, imagination, and my wit.

October 24, 2006

Right now, I am sitting in the lounge of the local pokemon center in Twinleaf town. It has been about five days since Nozomi made her now controversial comments about me, and I have not seen or talked to her since our conversation in her hospital bedroom. From the time I've spent leaving the rookie challenge early to right now at this moment, I've been working out what I will say in my prepared statement.

There are a few givens that will be covered and I knew I would cover from the onset. Number one is to inform the press that I don't want the redheaded coordinator to be suspended for what she said. I might not have liked it, and I don't really care for her either, but that leads us to point number two; our stipulation. Once the press knows of our deal, it is a guarantee that neither of us will be able to back out of it.

The media will play it up, bringing photographers, interviewers and other journalists and talking heads, and that should in theory draw interest of not just the diehard coordinating fans, but the casual demographic as well. As far as I'm concerned, the more people looking on as Nozomi experiences self-consciousness to the nth degree, the better.

Another point I will make is that I have not yet defeated this girl one on one. I am a coordinator first, and the bare bones of our rivalry are the fact that two good coordinators have drawn the ire of each other, and will settle their respective scores not in hand to hand combat, but in the numerous contest houses worldwide. I would still like to beat her to prove that I'm not as bad as she says.

The final point that I promised to make will be an acknowledgement of a young cancer survivor at the Sevii Islands hospital named Alexis. She more than deserves it giving me all of that assistance and recommendations for the statement I am about to give in one hours time at city hall before numerous media markets, but most importantly Nozomi. If I had it my way, she would have a front row seat for everything that I am about to say.

I decide after about four or five drafts of my statement worked on, proofread and evaluated over the last four days that it cannot be more ready than it is right now. With it complete, I make my way about ten blocks to Twinleaf town's city hall rear way entrance. This entrance plan made by me and Mayor Cameron W. Sellers's office well in advance over multiple telephone calls so that the media would not try to get any answers out of me before I would be ready.

Everyone would hear me at the same time with no exceptions. My mother tried about two or three times to get the answers out of me, but I would not have any of it, and would instead change the subject. Satoshi and Takeshi have been supporting me in the execution of this public statement since day one.

For the record, the two of them are just as peeved at what Nozomi said as I am. Funny how she not even once mentioned the two in our conversation or in her radio interview, because they did talk at length the three of them did the very first time I met the tuxedo terror. At that time they didn't have anything bad to say about her. Satoshi talked about how she said that while coordinating is a nice hobby, it would be best for him to focus on training and being the best he can at that.

He was stunned to find that she had not taken the same advice that was given to him about four months ago, and was also competing for badges in the Sinnoh gyms. 'A foolish hypocrite if I ever saw or heard one in my life,' Satoshi said to me as we had about the fourth or fifth conversation concerning Nozomi since returning early from the Sevii Islands. Both Satoshi and Takeshi have been accompanying me since I announced that I would deliver public address on Tuesday. They have been acting like makeshift bodyguards while I attempt to guard my thoughts for this all important testimony.

Combine the fact that over the last four days, I have not been that sociable with anyone outside of Satoshi and Takeshi with my wish to do my best not to let any part of my revenge speech slip out, and most of my conversations have been relatively quiet. Most people in this half a week have only wanted to know what I thought about what Nozomi had to say about me, and my answer in each and every exchange has been, 'You'll have to wait for my interview this Tuesday at 12:00pm on the steps of city hall,' or something to that extent.

If anything got any further than that, or if there were people that would not take 'no' for an answer, I just left their sight without saying a word. One or two media trucks have been camped outside of my home on multiple occasions, but the officers in Twinleaf town have done a great job in keeping these sleaze seekers at bay. I should thank them for that.

I hear a knock on the waiting room I am in along with Satoshi and Takeshi. It is a high-ranking assistant to the mayor of Twinleaf, and he says that everyone is ready for me to start. I grab a full unopened bottle of water from the snack cart they provided us and give the assistant a nod, saying that I was also ready to begin. I leave the waiting room first, and then Takeshi flanks me carrying with him a mango and a can of Mountain Dew.

Satoshi is the last one to leave the waiting room, and along with pikachu on his shoulders, he has a bottle of Pepsi and some Oreo cookies in a napkin. I have not eaten anything in about 18 hours. My thoughts and the speech have consumed everything in me and the desire for nourishment has not taken any precedent in my normal routine, for this day at least. This day is different.

My interview is now about ten minutes away from starting. A sort of peace has now overtaken me. No longer am I afraid of hurting the feelings of the girl that hurt my own. I simply say to myself 'an eye for an eye' to make myself feel better about it and fire me up for my comments. I may be fired up, but I am happy that I get to do this, and for the first time in a while a smile comes up on my face. The walk to the front doors of city hall seems to have lasted over five minutes, as my party along with the mayor's staff has had great difficulty getting past the government workers and other people in their respective activities.

The plan is to have the mayor take about three to five minutes to thank the media for their patience, introduce the television and radio audiences not familiar to Twinleaf town to this city and finally introduce me. The mayor's people were not given an idea of what I would say. Though they allowed me that freedom, I was told that there would be some minor ground rules. The number one rule was that I could not use any profanity in my speech. Should I break this rule, my speech would prematurely end at the hands of the mayor, who will stand in the production truck and give the signal to kill the audio at any moment.

Another rule is that they want me to try to keep the speech below fifteen minutes in length so that a question and answer period can be done afterwards, which gives me a total of about 30-45 minutes of media time. Although I am at peace, there are butterflies aplenty in my stomach. I welcome whatever criticism comes my way from what I say, and as the mayor and his entourage approach the podium, I flash a smile in the direction of Takeshi and Satoshi. My attention is turned back to the direction of Mayor Sellers as the emcee introduces him to the media.

Mayor Sellers deliberately walks to the podium, and it begins. "On behalf of the great people of Twinleaf town, I, the mayor of would like to wish our company here and our viewers and listeners nationwide and worldwide a good afternoon. We, much like everyone here were absolutely disgusted with the hateful and uncalled for comments made by one Nozomi Kobashi approximately five days ago. No matter what happens, we the representatives of Twinleaf town stand by our young trainer 100 percent." "We'd like to take this time to thank the many members of the media for respectfully honoring tradition by not attempting to interview Hikari during last week's rookie challenge. We would also like to give kudos to the majority of media outlets for giving Hikari her space and allowing her to get all of her thoughts out on her time. Very few people can understand what she has been going through since last Thursday, and I for one am anticipating just what our hometown girl has to say."

Mayor Sellers continues, "For those that are unaware, the young lady I am about to call up to the podium is Hikari Kamiko. She is ten years old and a first year coordinator. Her mother, Ayako is a now retired hall of fame coordinator. In her day she reached the top of the coordinating ladder and became the Grand Festival champion of the Sinnoh region. She believed in great competition, dignity, restraint, grace, a winning strategy, and the will to hang on and fight for all that she believed in. Prior to her great success as a coordinator, she was a top trainer in regions such as Johto, Hoenn and her home region of Sinnoh, winning numerous exhibition tournaments and finishing in numerous tournament and conference semifinals and finals."

"She brought that discipline in battling and coordinating to life when she had Hikari, and she will continue in what many hope to be a winning tradition for the Kamiko family. Ladies and gentlemen, without further adieu, I present to you one and all Twinleaf town's own Hikari Kamiko!" Mayor Sellers motions with his right arm for me to come to the podium and begin my speech. There is a very small throng of supporters scattered within the media who applaud the introduction of me to the rostrum. I take this opportunity to think of all the people who may be watching what will happen in just a few seconds.

I think about my loving and caring mother, who did not come with me to city hall as she doesn't understand why I am even having this 'charade'. Her words, not mine. Alexis and the many kids at the Sevii Islands hospital along with many of the attendants are probably watching or hearing this. Alexis most likely gathered anyone that could into a lounge room nearby either a television or radio to hear it and brag about the mention that I will soon give to her. I think it's a great probability that both DJ Mary and Professor Samuel Oak are also intrigued by this display and would like to know what I thought about it.

Being home for the last two days, I saw their reactions to Nozomi's comments, and their reactions were like everyone else; pure shock and awe. My final thought goes towards Nozomi. Like I said, I wished that she could have a front row seat to witness this forum personally. If she were here, the remarks I have may have caused her to want to strangle me before I was finished. That's my job as far as I'm concerned; to fire up the fiery red head and make her fall from arrogance mountain that much higher. I don't know how she'll see or hear my comments, but the sooner the better.

I shake Mayor Sellers's hand, for the photographers and cameramen to get a good pose, and then proceed to place my notes on the podium and test the singular microphone in front of me. I adjust it to fit my height and begin my speech.

"I thank you Mayor Sellers, the city fathers of Twinleaf town and all of the respective media outlets for this time. I realize that this has been a very stressful time, as I know that there are many people out there on the edge of their seats as they await my comments to the interview of the coordinator Nozomi Kobashi at the Annual Sevii Islands Rookie Challenge. I will say to those people that there is absolutely nobody here or anywhere else for that matter that is more anxious to let her thoughts be known to the world than myself."

"Admittedly the last five days have been quite possibly the most stressful days of my young life. To keep the feelings that have been building inside of me a secret has been an arduous task to say the least. Fortunately, I shall no longer be burdened by the statements of the grossly uneducated as they shall know how I feel along with everyone else." I take a swig of water and continue to read.

"I have been a coordinator since the month of May in the year 2006. I am young and inexperienced right now, but I feel that with the right combination of hard work, the business of pokemon coordinating will not become a difficult endeavor. I come from a very loving household and town that has shown me nothing but the best of support as I began my journey some five months ago. When I began, I had the same dreams and aspirations as any other coordinator to be the absolute best that the pokemon world had to offer. I never bargained that my dreams would be put into question and made the focus of everyone's attention at the hands of a rogue and renegade coordinator in Ms. Kobashi."

"She has... brought out the worst in me, and she knows exactly what I am talking about when I say she has brought out the worst. It has never been my intention to step on anyone's toes as I grew and progressed in this trade. She claims that my attempts to be the best are an idle effort to grasp at straws and prove to myself that I'm no fluke. Well, Nozomi, like I told you at the time we confronted each other not that long after you said what you said, I have every intention on proving you wrong. You were very much out of line for opening you mouth and wanting to draw unnecessary attention to yourself. Quite frankly, I don't believe that you even needed the spotlight, because many will argue that your performance since beginning your journey speaks for itself."

"I hope you realize how much your words truly did hurt me, Nozomi. I've been home for the last three days or so, but I've gotten about 40 or 50 different phone calls from various relatives all over that are concerned, because they think that I actually rubbed this girl the wrong way. Some of my closest relatives were yelling at me over the phone wondering what I did wrong. I could not tell them enough times that she was shooting from the hip with these comments. I can't pull anything from my memory bank that would tell me that she would have a rational reason for saying the things she said."

"Nozomi. You questioned my determination and might to stand tall in contests and not waiver. Right now, however, I question your courage for not coming to me and telling me face to face these things. You felt it necessary to hide behind the protective veil of the media to let everyone know what you thought about me. Your actions resemble in the minds of many a scarlet letter of cowardice, and a mark of extreme insecurity. I may never know why you took it upon yourself to embarrass me on radio and television, but at this point, as cynical as it might sound, I am beyond the point of caring. To say the very least, you my friend have crossed the line."

"I heard your entire interview, and I want to make these points crystal clear. I feel bad about the fact that you've lost a father, but I am not going to feel sorry for you because you don't have a father in your life. Why do I not feel sorry for you? Well, you're not the only one who has lost a father. He may not be dead, but he might as well be, as I haven't seen or talked to him in over four years. I also feel bad that you lost your best friend at that young of an age. I can only assume that it had to be a traumatic experience for you, and I would never wish the death of a young boy or girl on anyone's family."

"Speaking of family, you drove my family name through the mud. I can't help but feel bad for you when I think about you attacking my family, more specifically my mother, for whatever sick cause you're representing. I ask rhetorically, do you have any shame or decency at all? You're sharing very public and sordid details about yourself and have no problem doing it so long as you get what you want. You say that you loved my mother and she is the one main reason why you are coordinating right now. Like I told you when we talked the day after our interview, my mother is the reason I am a coordinator as well. There is not that much difference between us in that aspect. I just wish that you could have been a lot more personable with your feelings instead of pulling out a surprise every fifteen seconds for the sake of pure shock value." I take a moment and catch my breath. There is still major business left to take care of before I leave this podium.

"Despite my qualms, and admittedly there are many that I have with this coordinator, I would like to make this one thing abundantly clear to any and all pokemon coordinator's commissions in Sinnoh or any other region. Despite her uncalled for comments, I do not wish to have Nozomi Kobashi's license revoked or suspended by any of the many governing bodies. Despite her lack of discreetness, there is no denying her great talent as a coordinator. From one coordinator to another, I would hate to see that talent go to waste. Again, I do not wish to have her suspended, as I believe that nobody can learn and grow from this punishment. If we as a family are willing to accept all members, we cannot and should not sweep our problems under the rug. We must confront them and attempt to make the best of an otherwise difficult affair."

"One thing that you made very clear to me in our conversation is the fact that you do not believe that as long as I am coordinating, nobody will take me or my work seriously. Like I said at the start of this statement, I am always trying to get better. Not necessarily dwelling on the past, but learning from my prior mistakes and moving forward. I will grant you these two things, Nozomi. Number one, you've always said that I have the potential to be a great coordinator, but that the responsibility of taking my training to the next level rests solely on my shoulders. And number two is that you are consistent in whatever you say and do. You believe in and enjoy the challenges of everyday life. This love for challenges I can only hypothesize is the reason that you made this particular one between the two of us."

"While we confronted each other this past Friday, Nozomi laid out a challenge for me. For those of you who have followed my career up until this point, you know that I have not yet won a contest ribbon. Nozomi does not believe that I can win one by the end of this year, so we made this deal. We've agreed to disagree for the most part, but the terms of our stipulation are as follows; should I succeed in my quest to win my first ribbon, Nozomi has agreed to wear various dresses of my choosing for the first four months of the year. If I am not able to win a ribbon by the end of this calendar year, then I have agreed to have my head shaved." This revelation causes loud murmurs from the attendees and the flashbulbs from the cameras are popping at greater frequency than normal. I turn my eyes away from the lights for a moment to prevent any temporary blindness.

"Through our agreement, I have also decided that I will not cover up my lack of hair over the duration of our stipulation with any wigs or hats. Though it is a very daunting stipulation, I am confident, happy and ready to work on this new endeavor with my rival Nozomi." I halt my speech for a moment to confirm in my mind that that is what I am faced with. Like her or not, she is my new rival. "One thing that the people in charge of pokemon contests have valued more than other things is competition."

I've only battled this girl one time, and I am a coordinator first. I would like another chance to battle her once more and come out the victor. That can't happen if Nozomi is suspended. On the subject of our stipulation, I have been telling myself six simple yet effective words to guide me through this ordeal; they are 'I won't lose. I can't lose'. Along with getting my mindset in the proper order, I have also retuned my strategy for victory. I did this with a little help, and this acknowledgement goes out to a young girl at the Sevii Islands Children's Hospital named Alexis O'Connor. Alexis is a cancer survivor. Alexis, if you're listening, thank you for all of your help and I hope everything's going well, because when you get of age to become a coordinator, I'd love to battle you one on one."

"In closing, I'd like to take this opportunity once again to thank Twinleaf town for providing me with this time, and the many media outlets here for their patience. Now, I understand that there is reserved time for a question and answer period, and Mayor Sellers will tell you more about that. So with that in mind, I yield the floor back to his honor." I step from the podium with the feeling of accomplishment plastered on my face. A light but visible smile has returned to my visage as I momentarily step to the side of the pulpit.

"We will now open the floor for questions for Hikari Kamiko to answer. Please keep in mind, however that there will be some rules in place. First and foremost, Hikari is not liable to answer any question that she does not want to answer. Second rule; if you want to ask a question, remember that you can only ask one question at a time. To ask a question, calmly form lines at these microphones that we've placed at the bottom of the city hall steps. Are there any questions?" After three seconds, "If there are no questions, I give the floor back to Hikari." Mayor Sellers invites me back to the podium like he was a praying mantis and I was his lunch.

I start saying what else, but "Let's begin". If they're gonna take me through hell, they are coming with me.

"Hikari," a reporter begins. "Would you be willing to sign a written contract for this stipulation?"

"I am, but Nozomi is another story. Signing a written contract gonna depend entirely on Nozomi's willingness to sign a contract, but she told me when we talked that she wasn't gonna back down if I wasn't gonna back down, and I made the same promise to her. But as far as I'm concerned, and I will only speak for me, I am fine with putting that stipulation to paper."

"Hikari, is it true that you violently confronted Nozomi with your frustrations the day after her interview?" Quite frankly, that's none of their business. If she had said the same things about you and your family members, what would be your gut reaction?

"Next question, please," I say to the reporter. I may be disappointing her, but if word did get out that I did punch her out and caused her head injuries and Nozomi was willing to press charges, I could face time in a juvenile hall or pay some restitution. That's something I didn't want to risk, especially with all of the media coverage on me right now.

"What hurts you the most after everything that Nozomi said?"

This is an easy one. "Well, like I said, I don't think I would have been as hurt if she said these things to me face to face. She used the media as a crutch for her apparent vendetta against me, and it just was not necessary."

"When did you plan with the Mayor this speech of yours?"

I've got no problem asking this one. "I had left the Rookie Challenge early, and once I came back to Twinleaf, I went to the mayor's office requesting this time. Once he found out who I was, he was more than willing to give me all the time that I needed. When I told him that day I wouldn't need much time, we traded dates in which I could greet with you here today until we decided on this one. Next?"

"Do you believe that you and Nozomi should go through counseling to alleviate the pressure in your relationship?"

What the hell kind of question was that? "Why? Do we look like a married couple to you? Next question."

"You've criticized Nozomi for going to the media to let her feelings be known. So why did you agree to do an interview if you knew that that action would be seen as hypocritical?"

This is a good question. This is one I have to think about, but I do give an answer. "Well, there are two reasons. One is that we wanted to advertise our stipulation to prevent either party from backing out of the deal. Nozomi was the one who came up with the idea of me going to the media and saying my peace because she wanted to know what I thought and wanted to push the stipulation. And I suppose the other reason was because I wanted nothing more than to prove her wrong and make her look like a fool for even pulling such a publicity stunt."

"Quite frankly, I don't find it hypocritical to do an interview, because I was blindsided by the comments that Nozomi made. The first and second times that we met, she was very nice to me, but these comments were made the day after the second time that we met, so I have no idea what I did to make her say what she said. I don't have a lease on her mouth. She can say whatever she wants to me and I hate to sound like a broken record, but I have a problem with her not saying these things directly to me."

"At the end of your statement, you called Nozomi your rival. My question is, how far are you willing to go with this rivalry?"

"As far as Nozomi is willing to go is as far as I'm willing to go, plus one more hour."

"Why has your mother not accompanied you to this gathering today?"

I'm somewhat annoyed by this, but I don't dismiss it entirely. "You're gonna have to ask her. Next question."

"Would you have preferred your mother to be here with you today?"

"Yes, but either way it doesn't matter in the long run. Again, you'll have to speak to my mother, because I refuse to speak for her. All I'll say is that she doesn't agree with some of the things I'm doing, and until the conclusion of the interview, she did not know about the fact that I made a wager with Nozomi. Again, if you want her opinion, ask her."

"Hikari, what does your mother think about Noz..."

I have to stop this nonsense now. I hold up my hand and interrupt his forthcoming question. "I'm sorry, but can we... I don't mean to be rude sir, but can we please turn away from the subject of my mother? I thought I made it very clear that I am not at liberty to answer any questions that involve my mother. I'm not doing that, because right now, were not on that good speaking terms due to the fact that she is upset with me, as I haven't told her anything I've told you here in advance. I don't want to speak for her, because she can do that. I don't know if you will get the answers you want, but it doesn't hurt to ask. Now for future reference, I will not answer any questions that concern my mom. Any other suitable questions you have, I will attempt to answer them to the best of my ability. Thank you."

"Hikari. How did you and Nozomi come up with the stipulations?"

"We both came up with our own losing stipulations. That is, I came up with having my head shaved should I lose and Nozomi came up with wearing dresses for the first four months of 2007 should she lose." I think to wrap up my answer there, but continue for the sake of not having to answer the obvious later. "And for those wondering, Nozomi came up with her stipulation first then I came up with my own."

"You mentioned a cancer survivor named Alexis in your speech. You said that she helped you out a lot. Would you care to specify in what way or ways she as assisted you?" Again, that's none of their business.

"Next question."

"Would you care to release any details whatsoever about this girl?" Uhh... hell no.

"Next question."

"Would you care to respond to the rumors of you having a nervous breakdown in a women's restroom at the Sevii Islands hospital during the rookie challenge?" It sounds like someone is trying to sabotage me, because this was the same reporter that asked about me punching Nozomi. Apparently, she got multiple sources to confirm my misdoings on the boardwalk and my breakdown later that day. No matter though. Whether she is part of a credible and noteworthy source or a sleazy tabloid, she won't get any answers from the ultimate source.

"Next question."

This exercise continues for about another 20 minutes until it reaches the point of near laugh ability. The questions become more absurd and the reporters become more frustrated with my lack of cooperation. They should have come up with better questions. Mayor Sellers returns to the podium to wrap up the question and answer segment and gives a final thank you to the reporters and to those watching at home.

I walk past the large throng of media and fans that continue to persist and try to dig up more dirt on me than I would ever allow. Some people show their support for me and thank me for standing up against the 'red devil' as they call her. I can only think to myself how creative and appropriate it is. Some of them ask me to sign merchandise and autograph books, which I do because I have no problem with it. I also want to get home as soon as I can to see my mother and get her thoughts on what I had to say.

The walk from city hall to my home would normally be about 8-10 minutes. I had a feeling that it would be a bit longer due to the crowd, but did not expect it to be 25 minutes from city hall to home. I lost sight my traveling companions while on the course to home. Turns out they were able to use a shortcut and barricade the front door before anyone could bulrush it. I hurried to the door to avoid falling deeper and deeper within the media cesspool and to try and make my way to my mother's house.

How she would greet me, I am not sure. I've not been the model daughter these past few days, as I've attempted to avoid all conversation with my mother, as she only wants to talk about what I was going to say in my speech. Now that my speech is done and behind me, I can only guess that it is now time to reconcile and try to explain my actions over the last week or so.

I open the door and Satoshi and Takeshi follow me in after I go in first. My mother is on the couch and looks over to me somberly. She doesn't even say a word to me, but motions to me to come over to the couch and sit with her. I do so and she then speaks to Satoshi and Takeshi. "Pardon me boys, but if you don't mind, I'd like to speak with my daughter alone."

They oblige with my mother and after about 15 seconds, they leave the front door and are bombarded by the media before even leaving the front porch. I don't know what they will be asked, but I could care less. My entire focus has now turned to explaining to my mother what I'm doing and why. The only problem is that I have no idea how to break the ice and open up to her on all that I have done and will do.

My mother is finding it hard to even look at me, but after a minute or two finally gets the ball rolling in what I presume will be a long conversation.

"Hikari" she says softly. "What... why in the world would you fall into her trap? What would cause you to even agree to something like that? This wasn't necessary, Hikari and I'm at a loss trying to figure out in my why you'd risk shaving your head. For what? To prove that you're a great coordinator? You don't need to do that with your words. You do that in contest houses and battlefields region wide. Why couldn't you just be the bigger woman and ignore her nonsense? I swear, every time I've looked at you since you started your journey, you remind me more and more of... you know what? That's not important right now."

I angrily retort to my mother. "I'm nothing at all like him and you know it." I do that to feed her huge ego. I knew exactly who she was talking about, and only gave her the response that I did so I could save myself from her wrath. If she found out that I had secretly been speaking to him for as many years as I have been, she would kill me in blind rage.

"Are you sure? You've given me nothing short of the cold shoulder the last four days of this ordeal. And you are one of the most stubborn people that I've ever met or known in my life. Is there something else that you're trying to hide from me like he did? Something you don't want me to know about? You might as well let me know everything going on inside your head, because you are not leaving this couch until I hear everything." I made the mistake of turning my head away from her glaze, and to emphasize her point, she grabbed my chin and forcibly turned it back towards her direction.

"Do you understand me, young lady?" she demands.

I look down for a moment and then answer her with the indication of a tear in my right eye "yes ma'am".

My mother's face starts to fall. "I'm sorry if I was too rough, but you gotta understand, dear. I'm very, very disappointed in you right now. Not just for the fact that you wouldn't tell me what you were going to say in confidence, but you broke that thing we promised each other after... well, you know. You remember what we agreed to so many years ago, Hikari?"

I nod my head, because this is something she will not let me forget for the life of me. "We'd always tell each other what is on our mind and be open and honest with each other. That we'd always stick together and... be there for each other when one is in need."

"That's right. Now right now, dear, I am in need. You need to tell me why you've done the things you've done, and you need to tell me right here and now. No more ducking and covering and no more beating around the bush. Just tell me why you've chosen this path of a rivalry with Nozomi."

I reply to her fair request with a simple 'yes'. I asked her to listen to me fully and with an open mind, but most of all to not interrupt me until I told her I was finished. I told her about the thoughts that permeated in my mind when Nozomi said what she said. I wanted nothing more than to defend myself and my family name. I talked about the fact that my pride had gotten the best of me in a situation where rational thought was not something I was thinking about.

The thought to shave my head was something that came out of the blue, because I felt the stipulation initially in place was not something that would have inspired me to go out and give it my best. I continue on, saying that I confidently laid out the stipulation to her, and would not even consider the possibility that I might lose. After leaving her hospital bed, reality began to hit me like a ton of bricks as I realized that I could lose, and be the laughing stock of pokemon coordinating.

I told her about how the mere thought of losing my hair made me sick, along with other things. I then proceeded into the inspirational part of my speech, as I talked about how I picked myself up, knowing that I was in control and headed out of the hospital. There was no use moping and bitching about this if it hasn't happened yet, though I didn't say it to mom in those exact terms. I then decided to visit the wing for pediatric cases and saw Alexis, the girl I mentioned in her speech.

I talked about how we helped each other in our own special way. I told her that I am not sure what caused me to visit the young girl, but that I was glad I did. The reason for the speech was that I wanted Nozomi to know what she has done to me by opening Pandora's box and complicating my relationship with my whole family, more so my mother. I didn't want her suspended, because I want to beat her on the battlefield like mom said, and that is the reason for the rivalry. I was done and I told her that I was done. To her credit, she did not interrupt me once.

I got a response that I did not expect after I bared my soul. She proceeded to give me a big hug and cry out loud. I returned the gesture with equal force and we proceeded to cry in each other's arms for a time I could not tell you if my life depended on it. What I knew I could depend on now and for however long this rivalry with Nozomi would last is that I had the full support of my mother. In the course of our embrace, she whispered to me a soft 'thank you,' and I knew that our reconciliation was complete. I need not worry about worrying my mother any further. After a while, we finally let go of each other.

Mom finishes our conversation. "Thank you, dear, for being honest with me about all of this. I know it had to be hard to relive all of that."

"It was mom, but I'm past the anxiety. It's... s'no problem, mom." My attempt to inject humor in this emotional time did not fall flat like I thought it would, and I finally got something out of my mother that I'd been praying to see for several days; a smile. I got that, along with a hearty laugh. Oh yeah, things would be all right for now at least. Once I leave and continue on my journey, it will be up to me to keep this momentum at a high rate.

"I just have one more question, Hikari. You'll have to answer a lot of questions with all of these interviews, news reports, articles, journalists, talking heads and the like. Are you really ready to handle it all, dear?"

I give her a caring smile and simply said "Like I said, mom; s'no problem. I'll be fine. I promise you." I seal this verbal contract with a hug. I think once more about Nozomi wondering if she has ever shared the kind of bond that I have with my mother right now. Our family unit may not be 'perfect', but the two of us are there for each other for better or for worse. I turn my thoughts away from Nozomi. It's for the best after all. Never again will I allow her or anyone else's words to poison me or my thoughts and actions. From now on it's just positive thinking and activity as I work to make myself into the coordinator I wanted to be so many months back.

October 25, 2006

If anyone is still interested,

Fortunately, I'm no longer wandering aimlessly like a kid at a birthday party playing pin the tail on the donkey. Yesterday, I was able to see and hear Hikari's comments to my tirade, and it put my plan back into a realistic perspective. There was a point in my plan where I forgot what the main objective was. I had one ultimate goal heading into this project, and that was to elevate Hikari and myself to the top of the pokemon coordinating tower, but Hikari's welfare was first and foremost in my plans. Hikari's actions as of late have shown herself in my eyes to be a legitimate threat to win any contest ribbon or Grand Festival in any region out there. If Hikari is willing to step up her game, then I must do the same.

My only assumption as to why I thought I was losing control of the rivalry that I created was due to the hallucinations that came from after having a concussion. Being faced with unusual territory and confronted with the rapidly matured fruits of my labor was enough to make me more than just uncomfortable staring into the eyes of Hikari. I might have referred to her as 'daijobu girl' on more than one occasion in the past, but in today's conversation, that would only be an empty and hollow stereotype at best.

To right myself in the correct direction, I remembered that the initial goal was to make Hikari an intimidating force. My plans were from the very beginning centered around making Hikari a player in pokemon coordinating. My expectation was that this would take a while to develop, but that turned out to not be the case. I was shocked to the point that in my last entry I claimed not to know heads or tails of this rivalry. I spoke, or in this case wrote too soon. I can't control how Hikari thinks or acts from this point forward, but I believe that that fact will make this thing more fun than if I had been pulling all the strings.

Watching her at that podium, I was captivated by her control of the power-hungry media. She laid down the line between those questions which would be accepted as legitimate knowledge that credible reporters looked for to build the true story, as opposed to glorified circus promoters who shouted out their shock headlines via a figurative megaphone based on the garbage that they sought to exploit from people like Hikari. She is the type of person who commands respect, and her refusal to answer questions that had nothing to do with our current rivalry and more to do with her mother proved that. I love that attitude in someone; sifting through all of the B.S. and letting your point be made. This is what makes someone a compelling figure in the media, when you can stand your guard and not becoming a victim of their games.

By virtue of Hikari going out there and being herself without much coaching from me, it also brings a great level of legitimacy to our elongated quarrel. Although I have to work harder to keep up to date with the results of contests, I no longer need to occupy myself with Hikari's end of the rivalry. She no longer needs my coaching, and I'm seriously doubting that she ever did need it. Now it is simply a matter of waiting and wondering. Will any of this progress correlate into victories in contests houses, Grand Festivals or even gym battles and league championships should she ever choose that route. It's just a matter of time before things really start to get interesting, and it all starts with our friendly wager. I'm more concerned than ever that I will lose. I not shaking in my boots at the prospect of wearing dresses at contest until the end of April 2007 just yet, but that doesn't mean that if I go down, I'll go down easily if at all.

I fought tooth and nail with my mother for a few good years over this very issue. Unfortunately, I don't think Hikari will bend like mom did. After all, I put her (Hikari) through hell with my comments. A few months as a debutante should in her mind be enough to humble me, but she doesn't know my mind.

At times, I don't even know where my mind is, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.

Back in the high life again,
Nozomi

November 19, 2006

It's Thanksgiving week, and what would normally be a very hustling and bustling environment more closely resembles a cemetery as I am currently in the pokemon center in Canalave city. Another recharging of the batteries of me and my pokemon team was needed. Speaking of which, my team has expanded once again to include a very feisty female Flareon as of three weeks ago, bringing my squad up to five. The last month or so has been busy to say the least and the pokemon center silence is a welcome break from the norm. I've gotten numerous requests to do radio and television interviews and to give my rebuttal to Hikari's speech back in late October. I haven't turned down a single request, meaning that I have done about 50 or so different conversations with the media since after Hikari confronted me in the emergency room.

Hikari and I also took part in an official right of passage in our rivalry. We signed the document that made our stipulations legally binding. Both of us signed the contract about two and one half weeks ago, and I couldn't have been more happier than to see a large crowd of people there to see it all. In attendance was the type of crowd that would frequent a weigh in for a boxing match, or other form of hand-to-hand combat. Well, if they came to see a fight, they were surely disappointed, because the fight already happened, with victory going to Hikari in a first round knockout. Fortunately, nobody looked disappointed, at all. We've got them right in the palms of our hands.

I am currently occupied with an activity that I have performed just about every day since leaving the rookie challenge. I am for lack of a better term entranced by the images of the television news broadcasts. I do this for multiple reasons. I need to prepare for any new remarks that may come from Hikari. Another reason is to keep me abreast of contest results and find out if or when Hikari will get her first ribbon.

The final reason, which is admittedly a minor one is to see myself on the screen; a habit I've formed to be my own critic and find ways to improve my image and appearance for future contests. This exercise has helped me in many ways. Perhaps most important is the fact that I won my third ribbon in Sinnoh at the start of November in Solaceon town using the appeal of Misdreavus and the newest member of my team, Flareon in battle. I also watch Hikari in contests, but that's mostly to see if she's won, and what she has worn.

When I watch myself in contests, I often do not say any words or mutter any thoughts. My routine includes and is limited to me sitting in a couch or chair and watching the battle. I take no notes on pen or pencil and paper. I barely move; the most active parts of my body being my eyes as they move across the TV screen looking at me, and any other time Hikari, in action. Often times, I am jolted out of my concentration, which is higher than a glass of orange juice from a carton by a voice. Nothing really has to be specific about this voice, it just has to be someone-- anyone at all calling out my name.

"Paging Nozomi. Nozomi Kobashi to the front desk, please. Your pokemon are ready."

Just like that.

I quickly go to turn off the TV, because no one else was in the room with me, and swiftly walk to the front desk. The Canalave City Nurse joy greets me once again.

"All of your pokemon are resting just fine." she says in her and her cousin's typical cheerfulness.

"Thanks again, Nurse Joy." I reply in earnest. As I head to leave through the exit doors and travel to Floaroma town, Nurse Joy answers a telephone at the desk.

"Oh, Nozomi!" she shouts to get my attention before I can leave the center. "There's a lady here on the line that would like a word with you." I'm not really surprised. Reporters have had one of two options to try and contact me for information on the rivalry I've concocted. Either wait until I've left one interview and ask, or call from a pokemon center when they've found out that I have arrived in a specific town. I don't mind doing them, although they can end up being quite repetitive after doing as many as I have. I just tell myself that this has less to do with me than it does me and Hikari together in this feud. I thank Nurse Joy for holding the call and take the receiver to the non-video phone.

"Hello?" I ask whoever this might be at the other end of the line.

"Zoey?"

Oh dear Lord. That voice. That name. Damn it! How could I have forgotten about her?

"I've been vacationing for about the last six weeks. Trying to get away from it all, trying to forget the troubles of the world, you know? Wouldn't you know that the very second that I come home from a nice relaxing vacation, I'm literally bombarded by news reporters and tabloid wanting to know things as outrageous as if I should have my daughter institutionalized. Of course I respond the only way any sane human being would... I asked them 'what the fuck are you talking about?' in a loud and almost screaming voice wanting to choke out anyone that said anything negative about my only girl. And that has been the reaction to many questions they've posed in my direction. Again, I respond just like I mentioned wanting to know why people think my daughter belongs in a freaking loonybin."

"Someone tipped me off to look online and see the interview that you did at the rookie challenge, and to be honest, I still don't understand things any more than when I first came back home. What I could gather from it is that you apparently hate this girl who is coordinating, but that's as far as I can see into this nonsense. I found out that this girl is the daughter of your idol Ayako, which threw yet another monkey wrench into this conundrum. So dear, would you kindly explain to me just what the hell is going on? And no need to do that over the phone. I want to sit down and here this." She affixes that last comment with a light chuckle. "So come home as soon as possible, Zoey. I prefer Thanksgiving or sooner, so we can figure out this mess and I can figure out what happened to my daughter since I went away. So what do you say to that?"

There is quite possibly no other individual in the whole wide world that can turn me into jellyfish like the person on the other end of the line is able to do. It's my mother, Hitomi Kobashi and she is pissed off to no end. For what reasons, it is exceedingly crystal clear. Like most everyone that cares about pokemon coordinating, she was not impressed. The difference between the world being mad at me for my remarks and my mother being steamed is almost like night and day.

Comparing the scolding that I would get from both the pokemon contests promoters and the Grand Festival Administration to the lashing that I expect from my mother when I come home in a couple of days is like comparing a bountiful reward with a prison sentence. While my late father Keiichi was a staunch disciplinarian in his own right, I've always contended that my mother was the one that could always bring me to my knees. The only issue that I ever won with her involved my refusal to wear dresses since the age of about four. That is something I still don't understand how I was able to get my way with, but like mom would always tell me, count your blessings.

"Well, Zoey? Do you have anything to say at all to me, or would you like to save it all for when you see me?"

It's hard to put into words what I'm thinking at the moment, so I just take the path of least resistance to try and get mom off of my back... for now, at least.

"Uhh..." I sheepishly vocalize.

"Hello mother. How was your vacation?"

A/N: In chapter five, Nozomi tries to explain what is going through her head to her mother, along with why she feels a rivalry will bring Hikari and herself closer together. And a character who will have a bigger impact in later arcs of this story makes his debut.

If you don't know who 'he' is by now, (though I think it's pretty obvious) you will find out in chapter six.

I've honestly been very surprised and pleased at how this story has been coming along thus far. I started writing the initial chapter in early March 2007, and my current goal is to have this first arc, which will be six or seven chapters long, contain over 60,000 words. It now appears that this story as a whole could well eclipse 250,000-300,000 words.

I ask all of you to be patient with this story. I realize that we are far from romance at this point, but I assure you, it will come, and when it does, you will not be disappointed.

As always, leave your constructive criticism and check back on my author's page for updates on this and other stories.