Pokémon Swirl & Spiral

Chapter 14: Glimmer

It was almost time to leave, and Kairi was blanked out in the Data Chamber. The last few days had been a rollercoaster with extra loops.

Hazel's elimination. Getting stuck under the arena with a complete stranger. Zorua being separated. Seems like ages ago since I was scrubbing the floor at DYSK.

Despite these thoughts, Kairi knew within her how lucky she was to still be a contender in the League. She continued to maintain faith in herself and Zorua to make it to the end. She wondered what all of the people at DYSK were doing while she stayed in Luxen. Hopefully Hazel was there, telling everyone about the experiences they had shared together. She would kill to see what it was like back at the shelter.

"K-Kairi? Are you there?" A quiet voice called.

Looking up, she saw it was Taylor, who stood next to her. 

"Oh! Sorry!" Kairi apologized. "I guess I blanked out for a second. What's up?"

Taylor pointed to the large group of challengers approaching the facility's entrance. "The Admins called for a meeting."

"Oh. Thanks." She said as she got up. The message had missed her entirely.

"Yeah, n-no problem."

It had become a regular occurrence to exchange a few words with him while they were training. At first, she would only see him here and there, but eventually they found themselves meeting more often. He was polite and easy to converse with, if a little shy. Another friend, Kairi considered. She remembered feeling anxious when he first approached her after Hazel's elimination. While he was concerned for her, she was terrified of coming off as rude or saying the wrong thing. That worry accounted for everyone. Granted, throughout all their interactions together, she noticed Taylor appeared to have a similar struggle.

Following him to the crowd of challengers, she saw all the Admins standing before them along with Director Garrison. The Director had started to make frequent visits to the Training Center, often dawning the same formal suit. Garrison waited a few moments for the challengers deep in the Stamina Chamber to join them.

"Alright everyone, listen up." He stated once they all arrived. "Exactly sixty of you remain, nearly half of the field gone. As you know the second half of Trials begins tomorrow, and we expect all of you to perform at your highest. These last four Senators you are about to face are no walk in the park. Except maybe you're next one, she's a bit of a sweetheart. We still advise you to keep on training and developing your Pokémon's strength. That being said, a slight change has been made specifically for the second half. Starting tomorrow, there will no longer be any random drawing for your group slots. Lady Hera has given you all permission to decide what round you are to compete in on your own."

Several challengers looked around at each other in excitement. They all understood the privilege they just received. Kairi spotted Dakota a few feet from her, who glanced back at the same time.

"Now, let me remind you all that the maximum capacity still stands." Garrison clarified. "There's sixty of you, which means tomorrow's trials will be limited to 12 for each round. Obviously that will change with time. Sign ups will be done electronically in your respective locker rooms. Any questions?" No one raised their hand. "Alright, that's all I have for you. Get some rest tonight and good luck tomorrow."

Upon entering the hotel lobby, Kairi bumped into Dakota, who had waited for her.

"Hey. It's been a while." She said. They had barely spoken to each other since they had explored the bottom of the arena.

Kairi, disappointed she was delayed between herself and her bed, responded with a tired, "Hey." Dakota pulled her by the arm to one of the couches.