Double

Pokémon Kalos Chronicles: Superstars of Friendship Edition

There's a certain poetic irony to the fact that for all the wealth and power Dorian has, it's Kaylan who is the one with a shiny Pokémon (Jiraiya). Which goes a long way to explain why Dorian hated him so much.

World of Light

The Captain & The Fixer I

Word Count: 2,022
EXP: +3
Rapport: Captain Falcon / Roland (+3)

A climbing challenge, eh? That was nothing Captain Falcon couldn’t handle. A race to the top through harsh environments? As far as he was concerned that was practically like an F-Zero race only without the machines involved! Of course there was the matter of the rope tied around his waist and the rule that he’d be tethered to someone and would have to work with them. Something like that was a little less familiar to Falcon, but all he needed to do was be able to work on a team. How hard could that be? Speaking of which, he tugged the rope and traced its line to find the man he had been paired up with and spotted Roland.

"Guess we’re in this one together, eh? Let’s win this thing!" Cap said with a smile and a thumbs up. It was when he gave that gesture that he noticed the mittens on his hands. He also realized that his scarf had become longer and its fabric more wooly, plus it was wrapped around his face like a full blown muffler. He suddenly realized that his racing jacket felt a bit heavier too and noticed that it was heavier and also lined with fur for greater warmth. And… wait, where was his helmet? Now he was wearing a furry ushanka hat and black tinted goggles wrapped around his eyes. That was quite the more startling realization, especially when he worried for a moment that his identity had been accidentally revealed. But the hat and goggles combination still managed to mask him, perhaps even more so with his wooly scarf now covering part of his face.

Roland could only sigh as he was paired with the guy they were trying to ‘recruit’, if what he heard before was true. The new guy trying to recruit the new guy, was this how these guys operated? Well that wasn’t unfamiliar to him in a way. Well, either way, he was forced to be a team player again and he’d at least give it a good ol’ fixer try. Especially since the monsters of the group were very interested in the stuff here, and they seemed to know way more than they let on.

”Sure pal. I’ll give it a good try. Although I gotta wonder how this works, do we both just jump together or…?” It was soon shown though as Roland was hesitating to get the lay of the land to Captain Falcon’s annoyance that the rope was very important and the two had to basically swing in tandem, using the rope as a fulcrum, to navigate the course in a timely manner. Rubbing his chin with a ”Hm… Ok I see what this is…” Roland made a move to the first platform and gave a quick explanation to Falcon.

"Roger that." Captain Falcon confirmed. "Now let’s show ‘em our moves!" And as he exclaimed this, the Captain - without warning - broke into a run toward the edge of the platform and leaped. Since Roland was the one who’d figured out the trick and explained to him, Falcon naturally just assumed he’d be able to follow his lead so they could give themselves a good running start before the real trick got going. Aerial maneuverability wasn’t that tough for the Captain. His Raptor Boost and Falcon Dive techniques gave him a way to boost himself forward and upward respectively so that he could put some extra oomph into his jump distance. And as long as he could coordinate with his partner, he saw no reason why they couldn’t easily slingshot themselves forward with that swinging maneuver he had explained.

Roland wasn’t too surprised this guy had moves like a fixer, and while Roland didn’t have his fire based mobility, he had his own stuff with his own skill and agility. While he wasn’t a fan of the initial vertigo caused by swinging on the rope so fast, it didn’t take him long to get used to it. And while the larger jumps were difficult for the larger members of their group that didn’t have hacks, Falcon’s competitiveness and Roland’s cooperativeness were all that were needed. That and the ability to actually hold each other’s weight and everything. Granted Midna and Roxas were cheating, but besides them, Roland and Cap were in the lead.

Frankly, even if Falcon did have any abilities that would allow them to “cheat”, he’d still refuse to use them. The man was nothing if not one who showed proper sportsmanship. And that meant completing games and challenges exactly as they were intended, on his own skill alone and nothing else. It was quite the point of pride for him, and in some situations it might even put him at a disadvantage against competitors more inclined to cheat or use dirty tactics. But much like he had done against the two Koopalings in the Kart race, the Captain had proven multiple times that he had a certain talent for overcoming such cheating with his raw skill and determination.

He didn’t know what kind of a competitor his partner was, however. "Cheaters never prosper." He said offhandedly in reference to some of the other teams who weren’t playing completely by the rules, "A man who overcomes a rigged game gains a lot more bragging rights than the one who does the rigging." Was this mostly just a philosophical belief? Yes. But it was one he had built his entire career on, and Cap wasn’t about to abandon that belief any time soon. Roland could agree with Captain Falcon, but in his mind honor was the choice of the winner.

Their first real platforming challenge came in the form of a wide gap. Too far to jump, even with the swinging technique they’d just lose altitude along the way and not be close enough to grab the ledge at the other end. Instead they’d have to make use of the three awkwardly placed overhangs, by grabbing the wall, swinging themselves underneath it and back up to the opposite side and then use that to launch themselves forward to the next overhang. Cap didn’t find this particularly taxing, but he wasn’t sure the same could be said for his partner. He just had to hope Roland had the same kind of determination to see this through that he himself had.

Roland had determination in spades, although for this he was just winging it. Doing the cliff hang so Falcon could swing over, using his daggers to hold himself until he could follow his would-be partner. While looking like a beanpole, Roland was quite strong. Give it one thing, at least the City had some amazing augmentations. Looking back, after making it through this section, it was obvious those having trouble before were having trouble now as well. ”I guess this course shows who is athletic and who isn’t huh?” Or he figured, who used their superpowers and who was ‘normal’.

"Separates the men from the boys, you might say." Cap said in agreement. Now climbing up to the top of the structure they’d just been swinging under, they could see the next platforming challenge up ahead. A series of precarious jumps with little more than small blocks worth of platforms to land on that elevated upward toward a long overhang that blocked the path to the next platform above. ”This looks like it’ll take a lot more careful aim and precision than the previous jumps." Falcon warned. But rather than look worried, he instead flashed an eager smirk. "Just the kind of challenge I like!"

Roland looked behind them and besides the cheaters in front of them, so far they were far in the lead. ”Well, so far it’s been pretty easy, so this shouldn’t be that bad.” Roland said as they got ready for this crazy jump. Falcon on the other hand, just cracked his knuckles and neck. They’d gotten this far, so by now he had full confidence that they could do this no problem.

The first jump, for Cap at least, was a near miss. In fact he had to use his Falcon Dive to be able to reach the target and not plummet down to the bottom of the climbing challenge. The jumps after that weren’t quite as far apart. And the overhang proved to be relatively simple to deal with. As some of the only challengers actually performing the climb as intended, that had the unintentional side effect of giving Roland and Cap quite a bit of practice in the art of swinging themselves under and onto the other sides of these things. But then there was a tiny pixel of a platform they had to jump to. Now that looked intimidating but the jump still wasn’t quite as far as that first nearly disastrous one was. After that they were in the clear.

"Yes!" Cap chanted with a victorious arm pump. Up ahead the two saw an entrance to what looked like a mine of some kind. So climbing and jumping in a dimly lit or even dark cavern? That was certainly going to be one way to up the ante on this challenge. But Cap wasn’t worried. They’d done excellently so far so what harm could a little darkly lit spelunking do here?

”Wasn’t this supposed to be a ‘mini’ game? There is nothing mini about this if we can't see the finish!” Roland said, a bit annoyed at how long this was taking. They had left the slower pairs in the dust at this point. Well, so far they didn’t see the end, so he guessed the mines were the way to go. ”Well, unless there is some invisible exit or something, I guess that's where we gotta go. Why do I feel like a mouse in a maze?” Roland said, agreeing with the captain.

"Go big, or go home, I say." Cap said, maintaining his fearlessness. He entered the mine and noticed something kind of surprising. "Ha! Look at that!" He’d spotted another team that apparently managed to break ahead of the pack. It was the ones who had been getting around the jumps by somehow creating platforms of their own. " We aren’t the only ones ahead." In addition he also saw moving platforms. Great, so that meant they’d have to have the right timing in addition to everything else. This challenge was just getting better and better.

”I saw those two cheating earlier. Considering the big bee can’t fly here, I wonder how they got their powers working?” Roland said, rubbing his chin while he thought. But then he could summon his weapons from his gloves, so maybe that wasn’t owers, but items or technology or something. Well, either way, these moving platforms weren’t too bad looking at them. The pair had been pretty good working together so far, so Roland was sure they could handle this bit pretty well too. He went to take the first platform, not having really any of the captain’s flashy fire moves but he had kept up with the guy’s moves so far with his natural agility. Honestly Roland was waiting for the rub here, so far it had been pretty straightforward and just required teamwork and basic physics understanding. Was there going to be something to mess them up soon?

In a manner of speaking… yes there was at least one drawback veering its head now. Cap’s darkly tinted goggles were now making the dimly lit mines even harder to see in. And yet for some unspoken reason he was adamantly not taking them off. The first time this cropped up was when he nearly overshot the first moving platform, but was able to correct himself with a Raptor Boost. And the reason he was refusing to take off the goggles? Well that would mean showing his face to someone. And Captain Falcon’s number one rule in all of his career was to not reveal his identity unless he was first beaten in a race. So unfortunately, honor was taking precedence before reason here. But it wasn’t actively slowing them down… at least not yet anyway.

Pokémon Kalos Chronicles: Superstars of Friendship Edition

<Snipped quote by Double>

Aaawr, don't want to pick Siloh up? X3

@AwesomeZero5

It's just that he's coming from a totally different direction. Ninja Village is located in between Anistar City and Couriway Town. That means he'll be hoofing it through the mountainous routes that wrap around the western side of Kalos in order to reach Santalune City so he can go south back to Vanville.

He can be there to pick Siloh up provided he arrives early enough. It just depends on when he received his letter and departed compared to the others, I guess.

Pokémon Kalos Chronicles: Superstars of Friendship Edition

<Snipped quote by AwesomeZero5>

I’m thinking an Airport.

@Crimson Flame

I'm thinking Kay's the exception there since he's traveling from Ninja Village, which is still within Kalos.

World of Light

&

Word Count: 769
Level 8 Roxas: 31/80
Level 6 Ganondorf: 20/60
Exp Gained: +2
NEW EXP Balance--- 33/80 | 22/60

Carnival Town

Sandswept Sky

It wasn’t hard for Roxas to recognize some of the other Seekers. Bowser and his Troop were pretty much impossible to miss no matter what changes they went through. Queen Sectonia was also equally hard to miss as well. The Orsterrans, on the other hand, took him a moment to remember. But he did indeed see them both at the Twilight Town meetup. But there was one particular person Roxas remembered that didn’t seem to be present anymore. And it didn’t take him long to inquire from one of the other Seekers what happened to her. Jesse had apparently decided she’d had her fill of fighting Galeem and took her leave.

It saddened him. Jesse, along with Midna, had been the first Seeker Roxas really got to interact with other than Sectonia. But she had clearly made up her mind, and so she would be missed. The Nobody then also realized that Omori was missing too. But unlike Jesse, he wasn’t gone because he had parted ways. Apparently he had fallen victim to one of the Consuls and the Seekers had no choice but to take him down along with a group of other allies that had previously parted ways with them. Just how strong were these Consuls if they could turn Seekers against one another like that?

And then there was the one new face among the other contingent of Seekers, whom Roxas did not recognize. Ganondorf, the tall cloaked man in dark armor. For a bit he seemed to be giving Roxas an occasional look whose meaning he couldn’t comprehend. But what Roxas could tell about the man was he was practically teeming with darkness. Maybe that was it. Maybe the Gerudo Warlord was being put off by the Light in Roxas’ Heart.

”Hm.” Ganondorf finally said to the lad, ”Another would-be Hero of Light. How… quaint.”

”What’s that supposed to mean?” Replied Roxas with a bit of tension in his tone.

”Nothing to worry thyself over.” The man responded. ”I was merely… remembering someone from mine own world.”

Roxas paused a long before he finally said anything back. ”...Right.” Something about this guy was making him feel uneasy. Maybe it was the obvious power of darkness he was drenched in. Or maybe it was something else entirely. Well, maybe he’d get a little more comfortable around him over time. At least he hoped he would.

”I understand that thou can eliminate Galeem’s influence without using a Friend Heart.” Ganondorf said out of the blue, ”Pray tell, is this true?”

”That’s right.” Roxas confirmed. ”It’s a power my Keyblade possesses, among other things.”

”Interesting,” Ganondorf said. ”very interesting, indeed.”

Roxas had seen that kind of look before, and he shook his head with a smirk. ”Don’t even bother.” He said, seemingly able to guess what the warlord was thinking. ”The Keyblade chooses its master. It’s not something you can just take by force.”

”Naturally.” Ganondorf said with a bit of a deadpan tone. ”Not that I would ever dream of conspiring against my fellow Seekers.” He added, even though Roxas found it really hard to believe that. ”And besides, I cannot imagine a scenario in which I would willingly embrace the Light such as that.”

Later on, both Ganondorf and Roxas were among the Seekers in the Big Top. Frankly, Ganondorf was about to turn around and leave, having little interest initially in playing minigames. But then the Orb Machine was mentioned, and this at last piqued his interest. A machine that could dispense Spirits in exchange for prize tokens? Maybe there was a good reason to take part in these games after all? Of course, the other thing that convinced him to stick around was the sudden appearance of Captain Falcon. The man in question was the first one to accept the challenge and follow Ballyhood through the curtains. Well this meant the Seekers wouldn’t have to scour the town in search of him it seemed. Instead it seemed as if the Captain had found them, albeit by happenstance.

Roxas, of course, had no idea who Falcon was. ”Who was that guy?” He asked no one in particular. And Ganondorf happened to be standing nearby enough to give him an answer.

”Captain Falcon.” He said. ”He was one of the original fighters who stood with us against Galeem in the beginning.” The warlord explained before adding. ”We would do well to add him to our ranks before we leave here.”

Pokémon Kalos Chronicles: Superstars of Friendship Edition

@Crimson Flame
Since Kaylan did his first gym challenge 5 years ago, I'd be curious to know if any of the Gym Leaders were different back then. Like if Clemont and Korrina are teenagers now, would they still have been Gym Leaders five years ago or would their predecessors have been the Leaders at the time?

Pokémon Kalos Chronicles: Superstars of Friendship Edition

@Crimson Flame You can use Dorian if you want. It practically gives me an excuse to use him as Kay's driving force to master Nega Evolution or even Ash-Form for Jiraiya.

Anyway I transferred over the character and made the necessary adjustments to backstory to account for Jiraiya not being with him. The Jiraiya CS is still there but he's specifically labeled as "Not in Party".

Pokémon Kalos Chronicles: Superstars of Friendship Edition

Kaylan Osborne

Name: Kaylan Osborne
Nickname: Kay
Gender: Male
Age: 20

Appearance: Tall, dark, and gloomy. Kay stands at around 6'1", though you sometimes wouldn't know it based on his slouchy posture. He's also pretty toned and athletic, despite his choice of attire making that hard to notice. He does wear a tight shirt and slacks that would otherwise show off some of his physique, but he also wears a long black poncho of all things over the top of that which generally hides what his physique looks like underneath. He used to keep his dark hair short, with blue highlights along the combed back top. These days, though, his hair is a bit longer and not quite as cleanly combed. Instead it's usually just lazily tied back into a ponytail of some kind, although the blue highlights are still visible. Once upon a time his previous travels favored him with a bit of a tan as a result of time spent outdoors. That's not the case anymore, it seems, his skin now more on the pale side - as if he's spent some time living as a shut in.

Personality: Kay would call himself a "realist". But most people instead call him an outright pessimist. He's got a bit of a gloomy outlook, typically the first one to question a plan or even just outright poke holes in it because he sees it as foolish or pointless. All this is a far cry from the fiery ball of determination he used to be back when his friends first knew him. He still values his friends and relationships, otherwise he wouldn't have been convinced to go on this journey at all. And yet, when the chips are down and it's time to fight or battle, sometimes you can still see an occasional spark of the determined trainer he used to be. But it's often drowned out by an overwhelming drive to win, and prove something either to the world or to himself that no one but Kay knows.

History: While Kaylan himself was born in Vanville Town, his parents both originally immigrated to Kalos from the faraway Johto region. Among his friends, he was also the one that originally wanted to be a Pokemon Trainer the most. He suggested they all give it a try, but they all had their own interests and passions that eventually made them drift apart over time. But Kay, fiery kid he was at the time, didn't let this deter him. He'd go on a journey and take on the Pokemon League alone if he had to. He began with a Froakie courtesy of the Professor that he named Jiraiya, and left on the journey that would ultimately break him.

It went well for a good while. Kay was able to challenge gyms and win their badges, all the while gradually developing a team of trusted Pokemon along the way. But he did have a rival at the time, a snobby prep school kid from Lumiose City named Dorian Young. Apparently the heir to some Fortune 500 company, Dorian was rich and not afraid to remind the rest of the world of that fact. It also became clear early on that his wealth afforded Dorian a distinct advantage as a Prokemon Trainer, whether it was higher quality Poke Balls or Vitamins that could make his Pokemon stronger. But here again, Kaylan refused to let that deter him. And for the most part, he kept pace with Dorian despite everything. At least, for a while anyway. Everything changed at the Kalos League Conference.

By this point Kaylan hadn't seen Dorian in a while. But he was fully expecting the jerk to turn up at the conference with all eight badges in tow. And sure enough, he did. But it soon became apparent why he had shown up fashionably late. He claimed to have been doing "special training" that allowed him to unlock abilities for his Pokemon that would make them unbeatable. And when the battles began, he showed off exactly what that ability was. His Ace Pokemon - Gallade - had somehow gained the power to evolve into a new form during battle that heightened its abilities in ways Kay had never seen before then. Kay refused to be intimidated and he battled his way past the first two rounds and was paired against Dorian in the third.

And while Jiraiya - now a fully evolved Greninja - fought valiantly, in the end he just couldn't overcome the power of the evolved Gallade and was defeated. In the end, victory went to Dorian. "I told you, didn't I? You never stood a chance. Worthless nobodies like you never do." He arrogantly said, gloating over his victory. Eliminated from the tournament, Kaylan left without even staying to see who won in the end. He was too devastated, both by the loss and by the cruel words Dorian told him afterward.

When he returned home, Kay found himself unwilling to talk to anyone about what happened. He holed up in his room for a while and then one night he and Jiraiya left town without even telling anyone where they were going. Some time after that, Kaylan found himself living in the remote Ninja Village. He followed rumors and stories about the place where People and Greninja both live and hone their skills. Maybe here he and Jiraiya could find some kind of clarity. And it was here they remained. Kay was just over 15 when he first left on his Gym Challenge, and had turned 16 by the time he had returned from his crushing defeat at the Kalos Conference. He remained at Ninja village for nearly four years. Until one day - against all odds - he received a letter.

Who could possibly have found him in order to send a letter? Well it turned out to be from one his old friends. André apparently decided he wanted to give the Pokemon Trainer thing a try. He was kidding, right? Now he wanted to go on a journey? Still valuing the old friendships he previously had, Kay set out for Vanville Town. If nothing else, he would tell André in person that he had already taken on the League once and didn't really want to do it again. But then again... maybe he should try again? Either way, Kaylan was going to Vanville empty handed, with none of his Pokémon in tow.

Other:

Jiraiya (Not in Party)
Species: Greninja

Gender: Male

Personality: Loyal to a fault. After already going on one journey with his trainer, Jiraiya has become insistent on staying by Kaylan's side no matter where he goes.

History: He was first given to Kaylan when the latter began his first journey in Vanville Town. Things didn't start out smoothly, and in fact they were almost defeated in the first gym until their bond pulled them through. He's been a loyal and steadfast partner ever since.

Pokémon Kalos Chronicles: Superstars of Friendship Edition

Kaylan Osborne

Name: Kaylan Osborne
Nickname: Kay
Gender: Male
Age: 20

Appearance: Tall, dark, and gloomy. Kay stands at around 6'1", though you sometimes wouldn't know it based on his slouchy posture. He's also pretty toned and athletic, despite his choice of attire making that hard to notice. He does wear a tight shirt and slacks that would otherwise show off some of his physique, but he also wears a long black poncho of all things over the top of that which generally hides what his physique looks like underneath. He used to keep his dark hair short, with blue highlights along the combed back top. These days, though, his hair is a bit longer and not quite as cleanly combed. Instead it's usually just lazily tied back into a ponytail of some kind, although the blue highlights are still visible. Once upon a time his previous travels favored him with a bit of a tan as a result of time spent outdoors. That's not the case anymore, it seems, his skin now more on the pale side - as if he's spent some time living as a shut in.

Personality: Kay would call himself a "realist". But most people instead call him an outright pessimist. He's got a bit of a gloomy outlook, typically the first one to question a plan or even just outright poke holes in it because he sees it as foolish or pointless. All this is a far cry from the fiery ball of determination he used to be back when his friends first knew him. He still values his friends and relationships, otherwise he wouldn't have been convinced to go on this journey at all. And yet, when the chips are down and it's time to fight or battle, sometimes you can still see an occasional spark of the determined trainer he used to be. But it's often drowned out by an overwhelming drive to win, and prove something either to the world or to himself that no one but Kay knows.

History: While Kaylan himself was born in Vanville Town, his parents both originally immigrated to Kalos from the faraway Johto region. Among his friends, he was also the one that originally wanted to be a Pokemon Trainer the most. He suggested they all give it a try, but they all had their own interests and passions that eventually made them drift apart over time. But Kay, fiery kid he was at the time, didn't let this deter him. He'd go on a journey and take on the Pokemon League alone if he had to. He began with a Froakie courtesy of the Professor that he named Jiraiya, and left on the journey that would ultimately break him.

It went well for a good while. Kay was able to challenge gyms and win their badges, all the while gradually developing a team of trusted Pokemon along the way. But he did have a rival at the time, a snobby prep school kid from Lumiose City named Dorian Young. Apparently the heir to some Fortune 500 company, Dorian was rich and not afraid to remind the rest of the world of that fact. It also became clear early on that his wealth afforded Dorian a distinct advantage as a Prokemon Trainer, whether it was higher quality Poke Balls or Vitamins that could make his Pokemon stronger. But here again, Kaylan refused to let that deter him. And for the most part, he kept pace with Dorian despite everything. At least, for a while anyway. Everything changed at the Kalos League Conference.

By this point Kaylan hadn't seen Dorian in a while. But he was fully expecting the jerk to turn up at the conference with all eight badges in tow. And sure enough, he did. But it soon became apparent why he had shown up fashionably late. He claimed to have been doing "special training" that allowed him to unlock abilities for his Pokemon that would make them unbeatable. And when the battles began, he showed off exactly what that ability was. His Ace Pokemon - Gallade - had somehow gained the power to evolve into a new form during battle that heightened its abilities in ways Kay had never seen before then. Kay refused to be intimidated and he battled his way past the first two rounds and was paired against Dorian in the third.

And while Jiraiya - now a fully evolved Greninja - fought valiantly, in the end he just couldn't overcome the power of the evolved Gallade and was defeated. In the end, victory went to Dorian. "I told you, didn't I? You never stood a chance. Worthless nobodies like you never do." He arrogantly said, gloating over his victory. Eliminated from the tournament, Kaylan left without even staying to see who won in the end. He was too devastated, both by the loss and by the cruel words Dorian told him afterward.

When he returned home, Kay found himself unwilling to talk to anyone about what happened. He holed up in his room for a while and then one night he and Jiraiya left town without even telling anyone where they were going. Some time after that, Kaylan found himself living in the remote Ninja Village. He followed rumors and stories about the place where People and Greninja both live and hone their skills. Maybe here he and Jiraiya could find some kind of clarity. And it was here they remained. Kay was just over 15 when he first left on his Gym Challenge, and had turned 16 by the time he had returned from his crushing defeat at the Kalos Conference. He remained at Ninja village for nearly four years. Until one day - against all odds - he received a letter.

Who could possibly have found him in order to send a letter? Well it turned out to be from one his old friends. André apparently decided he wanted to give the Pokemon Trainer thing a try. He was kidding, right? Now he wanted to go on a journey? Still valuing the old friendships he previously had, Kay set out for Vanville Town. If nothing else, he would tell André in person that he had already taken on the League once and didn't really want to do it again. But then again... maybe he should try again? Either way, Kaylan was going to Vanville empty handed, with none of his Pokémon in tow.

Other:

Jiraiya
Species: Greninja

Gender: Male

Personality: Loyal to a fault. After already going on one journey with his trainer, Jiraiya has become insistent on staying by Kaylan's side no matter where he goes.

History: He was first given to Kaylan when the latter began his first journey in Vanville Town. Things didn't start out smoothly, and in fact they were almost defeated in the first gym until their bond pulled them through. He's been a loyal and steadfast partner ever since.

I know the Pokemon is fully evolved. For balance purposes, I'm willing to have Kaylan have no Pokemon on him at all to start with so that Jiraiya can rejoin him later, if such a compromise is preferable.

Pokémon Kalos Chronicles: Superstars of Friendship Reboot Interest Check.

Obviously for the sake of balance/fairness, if a trainer is challenging the league for a second time, they would be pulling an Ash Ketchum and committing to starting fresh with a new team. Minus perhaps their original starter as the sole holdover from the first team.