Chapter 79: Second Stage II- Old Flame

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Ionic Stadium, Sinnoh

"You are in group C. Please ensure that you don't cross the blue lines outlining your area."

Oliver opened his eyes, his head whipping around in both directions as he got a feel for his surroundings. A sense of Deja vu overwhelmed him while he came to realize that he was in a forest yet again. It was a similar experience to the preliminary round, where he woke in a forest with nothing but his journal and a colored bandanna to hold onto. This time around though, he wasn't alone.

An arm wrapped around the Oshawott's neck, which was soon joined by a cheerful exclamation, "We're together this time! That's awesome!"

Oliver smiled softly, his eyes drifting over to who was beside him. Of course, it was Jacob, who seemed both excited and relieved that they would get to take on the second stage together. To their right was Pixen, who spotted them and swiftly ran over to the duo, just as excited.

Jacob let go of the Oshawott before taking a look at the other ten participants himself. Of course, there were many Pokémon he didn't know. One of the participants, however, made him immediately freeze, his eyes focused on the Pokémon.

Oliver was quick to take notice of the Pikachu's sudden moment of pause, raising a brow and slowly following his line of sight. Quickly, he came to realize who Jacob was looking at, a similar moment of pause keeping the Oshawott from taking his eyes off of the Pokémon.

Standing not too far away from the Kanet natives was Logan, who was in the middle of stretching his arms in order to prepare his body for what was to come. He stared at his right paw for a moment, watching as a red glow emerged from under the fur. Not long afterward, though, the glow faded before he looked up from it and glanced around to see who he was up against in this stage.

And that's when he saw them.

His eyes met those of Jacob's before moving over and settling on Oliver's. His jaw tightened, realizing that they would be competing in close proximity for however long the second stage lasted. That was the thing he wanted least. He didn't want to have to be near them at any time during the Ion Cup. That's why he opted to finish things quickly. Yet, in the preliminaries, he ended up running into Oliver in the process. For all he knew, they still wanted to know what was going on with him. There was no time for that, though. Not if he wanted to keep them out of his business.

Jacob, meanwhile, couldn't help but to be filled with a sense of overwhelming frustration. Over the past two months, he wondered why Logan didn't want to talk to them. Why he refused to explain what was going on with him. They were friends, weren't they? One of the reasons why they were there in the first place was because Logan and Sophie agreed to help them and boost their chances of winning the Ion Cup. It just didn't make any sense.

Oliver glanced between Logan and Jacob, wondering what was happening in their minds. He wondered if they were just as scrambled as his own.

"The helpers are released! Participants, escape at any cost!"

The three were snapped back to reality by the sound of the announcer's voice. The Pokémon near them began to scatter, going in different directions. Logan's eyes narrowed as he pulled them away from the Kanet natives, running away from them before swiftly scaling a tree and using a Flame Shot to launch himself upward.

Pixen noticed the stares of his friends, and was quick to ask, "Who was that?"

"That was Logan," Oliver answered, "...I didn't think he would be in this group with us."

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