Sarah steps fully inside the suite, her head lowering instinctively as she moves past the threshold. The rich carpet muffles the sound of her boots.
Ellie Halloway follows, her eyes wide and darting from the charcoal bed to the restorative alcove before settling back on me. A deep tremor runs through her frame.
"Introductions first," I say, my voice a low, steady current in the quiet room. "Then what you want to achieve as a Trainer."
[POV: Sarah]
My shoulders tense, Pidgeotto's Pokéball tight in my fingers. This is it. My chance. Don't stutter. Show him I'm worth it. I need his help for Pidgeotto, for everything. Total commitment. It's the only way.
"I'm Sarah Hasegawa," she says, her voice trembling slightly but holding firm. "From Route Three. I want to become a top-tier trainer, dominating gyms and the League with a powerhouse team starting with my Pidgeotto."
Her eyes lock onto mine, intense and unblinking. "I'll do whatever it takes under your guidance to get there."
[POV: Ellie]
My shoulders are rigid, my breath catching in shallow hitches. He's dismantling us psychologically like he did Sarah's Pidgeotto. My brother would tell me to run, but he's not here to pull me back. If this is the real path to mastery, then I have to take it.
Ellie steps forward, past Sarah. "I'm Ellie Halloway, nineteen, from Viridian outskirts." She pauses, swallowing hard. "I want to climb the circuit as a balanced grass-water duo. Your Pokémon showed us we're playing small."
Her eyes hold mine—a desperate, challenging plea. "I want the real path to mastery. Total commitment, if it means power for Oddish and Poliwag."
"They are also, as you've both discovered today, insufficient alone." I pause, allowing the weight of their recent humiliation to settle. "I offer a different path."
My eyes fix on Sarah, then Ellie.
"A path to maximizing your Pokémon's true potential—abilities, movesets, strategic application beyond anything you've imagined. A full, customized training manual will be my investment in you, personally."
My voice deepens, each word a command.
"The price for this... for this path and this power, is your submission."
[POV: Sarah]
My breath hitches. A surge of desperate hope crashes over me, tangled with the fresh humiliation of my defeat. His words are a lifeline. A training manual. Total power. 'Submission' means handing over everything, but what else is there? Pidgeotto's future demands this.
Sarah nods sharply, once. She takes a half-pace closer, her head still lowered but her gaze fiercely direct.
"Yes—show me how," she says, her voice edged with an undeniable urgency. "I'll submit fully for Pidgeotto's potential and the manual. Tell me what you need proven right now."
[POV: Ellie]
My breath catches sharply. He's actually offering real advice, a real manual—this could be the break we've needed. But 'submission' means handing over control. After today, fighting it feels pointless when his Pokémon prove he's lightyears ahead.
Ellie nods, a quick, almost jerky motion. Her voice steadies. "Show us the submission you want," she says. "We'll do it for that manual and the power it promises our team."
I lean back, the amber light of the suite casting long shadows.
"My Pokémon are my strength, and my pride," I say, my voice a low thrum. "But my vice, a truth I embrace without apology, is the exploration and enjoyment of beauty such as yours. You are both striking, in different ways. And if you truly seek my guidance, you already know the tribute I expect in exchange for my investment."