Chapter 50

"Mhm. Hi." Equally as shy and awkward, Ally didn't know how to communicate with Evelyn either! She's never had a single friend outside of Mewton. Jax didn't count since she didn't see him as a friend…cough! Cough! "Sigh. I'm sorry about earlier. I didn't know Mewton would fight with Frogadier to heavily. I've already yelled at him."

Seeing the girl who she thought was cold since she's been glaring at her from the very beginning, Evelyn was surprised to find that she had misjudged the platinum-blonde girl. "No worries. In fact, I should be saying sorry. Froggie has always been competitive but he was even more so today. I guess Dragonair must be really strong to bring out that side of him. I've never seen him like that before."

"Mewton. That's my Dragonair's name. And you can all me Ally. All my f-friends do."

"Hehe!" Beaming a beautiful smile, Evelyn introduced herself again. "My partner over there is Froggie, my Frogadier! I'm Evelyn. Just Evelyn since…well, I didn't have any friends who gave me a nickname."

"Then…I'll call you Evie from now on!"

Listening to the two girls chat, a certain silver-haired boy had a smile on his face. Jax came to Nurse Joy's Hospital to check up on Ally and Mewton but didn't want to interrupt when he saw Evelyn walk in. Knowing how shy Ally usually was, Jax was both excited and happy that she finally made a friend at this school. 'Welp. Guess I have one more rival from now on.' Thinking so, Jax left the hospital with Vioarr to get ready for the rest of the day. He still had a tournament to win against Ally's new friend or not.

After the two men finished catching up, Count Freiders caught his friend up on how his team bred such a strong Froakie, now Frogadier. After knowing this man for so many years, Count Freiders had no doubt that he was tight lipped and wouldn't leak any of the information he was telling him. Leon came to his empire many years ago on a mission and they immediately bonded over drinks when both men were chasing after the same group of criminals, Team Rocket.

"Ah, right! Since you're already here, do you want to stay and watch the rest of the tournament? Your daughter just finished her fight and will be participating as one of the semifinalists. Her opponent is a boy I have my eyes on. Remember Oscar and Doria? He's their child."

Hearing his long-time friend introduce the other semifinalist, Count Freiders was shocked to hear that his arrogant friend acknowledged a child, but he was even more shocked at whose child he was! "Oscar and Doria had a child!? Why wasn't I notified!? I would have flown here even if I was in a meeting with His Majesty! How are the two doing, by the way?"

Realizing that it's been too many years, Leon caught Count Freiders up on everything that he's missed out from his friends' life while he was back at home in the empire. "Oscar's been gone for the past six years!? Did that bastard run away after finding out Doria was pregnant!? I'll have to find him and beat some sense into him! To think I let him win her hand! ARGH!"

"No, nothing of the sort happened. In fact, from what I know, Oscar was a superb husband for Doria. He stuck by her side during the whole pregnancy but when she was about to give birth, he just vanished. He only left a note saying he had to protect her and his unborn child and to name the child Jax since the name apparently means merciful and gracious."

"Knowing Oscar, he isn't the type to leave his family for some insignificant problem. He probably caught onto a trail and chased after it, biting more than he could chew. Sigh. Don't tell me you've just been fiddling your thumbs in your cozy office."

"Are you kidding? I only recently returned. I've been throughout the world trying to find any trace of the man. Kantos and Johto was a bust. No one in Hoenn and Sinnoh had even seen a Charizard before. When I described how Zennon looked like, they just pointed at my own. I then checked out Unova, Kalos and Alola but no trace of trainer or pokemon either. After finally checking out Galar and Paldea, I figured they must still be in this region, Rexor."

"Mhm. If Oscar and Zennon really are still in Rexor, then they must either be in hiding, or…they've been captured and held captive somewhere. Knowing those two, they wouldn't have gone down without a fight. With how powerful Zennon is, you haven't seen or heard of any place that's been…blown up?"

"If I heard about something like that, I would have investigated it long ago. It was like a ghost came and spirited them away. Or, someone or something so powerful that Oscar couldn't even put up a fight."

"Well, thanks for telling me this. You keep digging up for clues. I'll inform His Majesty and do my own investigation. Oscar and Doria helped us out as much as you did. I still haven't forgotten the favor I owe him for sparing my life. Who knew he would come at me with killing intent when I tried to chase after Doria?" Remembering that dreadful memory, Count Freiders shuddered. "I'll take you up on your offer, however. I want to see with my own eyes how their boy grew up."

Sitting at his usual spot, Jax and Vioarr were in heated debate about how to win their next battle. While Vioarr was strong, Froggie was strong in his own right. With neither having a type advantage, it was more evenly matched than going up against Olivia and Elgyem, but that transformation was tricky to work around. Jax didn't know how it different from Ash-Greninja's and the unknown element was off putting for him. While the two were discussing, the referee signaled for both trainers to come up on stage. With no more time to plan, Jax and Vioarr could only make their way onto the field.

"Trainees! Ready?"

"Yes!" Jax and Evelyn cried out in unison as they summoned their pokemons.

"Good. May the strongest trainer emerge victorious!" With that, the finale was finally under way. While the two of them were battling, Ally and Olivia were having their own battle to determine who would place third and receive the Gold grade pokemon.