Thelma could not sit still any longer, so she finally picked up her phone to ask her two closest friends for advice.
Lizette: "What does it feel like to like someone?"
She sent the same message to both of them at once.
The first to answer was Lizette, an underwater performer who had already earned a name for herself at the Luma Gym and naturally served as the team's dance leader.
Zinnia: "Oh my! Thelma, do you actually like someone?"
Lizette: "No, I'm asking you. Why are you jumping to conclusions?"
Zinnia: "The moment you ask a question like that, it proves you've already fallen for someone!"
Lizette: "You're mean! You've never even had a boyfriend yourself, yet you know exactly how to tease me! I'm ignoring you now!"
A few minutes later, her other teammate and best friend, Janella, finally replied as well.
Eight-Layer Rainbow: "If you like someone, it must mean you want your Cloyster to be paired with his Dugtrio! I'm certain of it!"
What kind of nonsense was that? This girl, the younger sister of a Fairy-type Elite Trainer and a member of the new generation of the Nine-Tailed Fox Clan, seemed even less helpful than Lizette. Thelma didn't even understand what she meant, let alone how to respond.
"Is there a single normal person in this chat?"
Asking her teammates for advice hadn't calmed Thelma down at all. If anything, it had only made her more restless.
She sighed, wondering how she was supposed to survive the next two years surrounded by such an odd group of friends.
Meanwhile, in another room, Nova and Aresdra had reached the part of their call where they liked to show off surprises to one another.
Aresdra: "Silly, I have something good to show you!"
Nova: "Aresdra, I have something good to show you too!"
At the same moment, both of them pulled out a bank card and held it up to the camera. Looking at each other's cards, the two of them burst out laughing together, clearly thinking the same thing, like a pair of Gimmighoul admiring each other's treasure.
Nova: "You go first."
Aresdra: "This is my signing bonus. Once the group officially debuts, I'll be working for the Nine-Tailed Fox Company. Look how much it is, Silly! Five million! From now on, I'll be the one supporting you."
Given how well Aresdra had done during the auditions, and how steady her performances had been through every round since, her popularity was already sky-high. Some fans were even calling her the "Nation's Girl" of the new generation across the whole Norlandia Alliance, so a five-million signing fee from the Nine-Tailed Fox Company was hardly considered excessive for someone like her.
Nova held up his own card and gave it a little shake. "This is what I earned over the last two months. Forty million! So don't worry, I'll still be the one taking care of you."
There was silence on the other end. All Nova could see on the screen was Aresdra blinking, as if she couldn't quite believe the number.
Aresdra: "Silly, did you rob a bank or something?"
This was an old joke the two of them used to share back when they had nothing better to do, lying awake at night after they had first left the Exeggutor Orphanage, back when they barely had enough money to eat properly.
They used to imagine becoming a pair of legendary bank robbers, sweeping through the Norlandia Alliance together, and would even come up with detailed, ridiculous plans for their imaginary heists. It had been a small comfort that helped two hungry, penniless kids get through countless difficult nights.
Nova: "Yeah, so what? Impressive, right?"
Aresdra: "That's not fair! You should have waited for me!"
They both laughed at that.
Aresdra: "But really, where did all that money come from?"
So Nova told her everything about Mort and Gilbert.
Aresdra: "So basically, you sold yourself too, just like me. I had to sign a performance contract, and you have to take over a Gym."
Nova: "Don't twist it like that! This is me chasing my dream and finally succeeding. How is that selling myself out?"
"Won't it be exhausting, though?"
Before Nova could finish defending himself, Aresdra cut in gently.
"You have to beat Elite Trainer Gilbert within a little over two years. That's going to be really exhausting, isn't it?"
Nova: "It'll be fine. You know how talented I am."
Aresdra: "I believe in you, Silly. But promise me this. If you get tired, rest. If you don't feel tired, rest anyway. If you want to use Slack Off, then rest. If you want to work hard, then also rest first."
"Honestly, I don't care whether you become the Gym Leader of the Layered Peaks Gym, and I don't care if you become some famous Ground-type master. What I care about is you. If you can't become a Gym Leader, I'll still support you no matter what. But if you push yourself too hard or put yourself in danger, I won't be able to do anything to help... so please, take care of yourself."
This was perhaps the biggest difference between Nova and Aresdra. Aresdra was the more emotional one, so if pursuing a dream meant her partner might get hurt, she would rather he give it up and simply lean on her instead.
Nova, on the other hand, believed that a person should always be allowed to chase their own dream, and that his role was to be the safety net standing behind that dream.
That was why, when Aresdra chose to join the K.D.A Girl Group, Nova never tried to stop her. And that was also why, when Nova chose to take over the Layered Peaks Gym, Aresdra worried about him so much.
Nova: "You always treat me like I'm still a kid. I'm older than you, remember? You're the one who isn't allowed to push yourself too hard, understand? Just remember, we have forty million now. If being a big star ever gets to be too much, you can always come home and rest."
...
The two of them always seemed to have endless things to talk about, but every call eventually had to end.
Once Thelma had gone back to her own room, Aresdra, always considerate, decided it was time to say goodnight to Nova. After all, Thelma still needed her sleep, and Aresdra didn't want her own reluctance to hang up to get in the way of her teammate's schedule.
Nova put his phone down, but he didn't feel sleepy at all.
Aresdra's warm words hadn't made him want to slow down. If anything, they made him want to work even harder.
Aresdra deserved the best person in the world, so Nova was determined to become exactly that.
Starting tomorrow, he would double his training.
Meowscarada had long since gotten used to Aresdra's voice through the phone speaker. After two and a half hours of listening to the two of them talk, it had started treating their voices as background noise and had curled up on the bed, snoring softly.
Nova wasn't asleep yet, so naturally, he couldn't let his Pokémon fall asleep before him.
He reached over and gave Meowscarada's big paw a shake. It slowly opened its eyes, its petal-shaped pupils clouded with confusion.
Meowscarada: "What is it?"
Nova: "Nothing much. Just making sure you're awake before you go back to sleep."
Meowscarada: "Are you serious right now? Are you feeling okay?"
After a short scuffle with his very annoyed Pokémon, Nova finally felt satisfied.
After all, if you don't tease your Pokémon every once in a while, it's like you never really raised one at all.
Early the next morning, Nova got up and began a brand-new day of training.
This time, before setting out, he decided to make full use of the Layered Peaks Gym's training facilities, along with his newfound wealth, to work on adjusting the Abilities of his main Pokémon team.