When Claire didn’t answer me for a minute or so, I stepped up, gently shaking her shoulder. She shivered for a moment, before snapping out of whatever trance she had been in, her eyes focusing on me.

“Did you see that?” she asked, a dreamy smile on her face.

“I saw,” I admitted, smiling despite myself. “It really was Shaymin, wasn’t it?” I just had to ask, a small part of me not quite believing the events. Compared to the events right before my first meeting with Cynthia, this one had been harmless - At least until I tried to get close.

“I think so,” she nodded, turning to look up into the sky, where the Pokémon had long since vanished.

“At least you got a gift,” I told her, reaching out and tapping her temple, right below the flower. Part of me wanted to touch it but I refrained, feeling it might be seen as disrespectful.

Prompted by my action, Claire reached up, her fingers gently touching the flower and a confused look settled over her face. When I merely grinned, without telling her what she actually was feeling, she felt around a little more, before taking off the flower crown.

“Wow,” she muttered breathlessly. “Is that…” she paused, her eyes going back towards the sky where Shaymin had vanished. “It is, isn’t it?” her voice was almost silent, little more than a sigh and filled with awe.

“Most certainly. It gave the flower to you.” I confirmed, a little amused at the sheer awe in her voice. Not that I couldn’t empathise, but it didn’t change my amusement.

“It’s beautiful,” she whispered, staring at the flower in her hands.

“Let’s get some more sleep.” I broke the moment, remembering that we had a meeting later.

It took a bit of effort to get Claire moving, but we both got a few more hours of sleep, only waking up when the noise around the Pokémon Centre got too loud to ignore. During the day, we walked around town, enjoying some of the stalls still open after the festival and relaxed. In addition, Claire was repeatedly reaching to her temple, checking that the flower was still there, a little awestruck.

Curiously, the flower appeared to have changed, or maybe it had always been that way. It looked like a normal, beautifully red flower but, according to Claire, it felt more akin to a soft, pliable metal, cool to the touch, and very, very sturdy. Not quite certain what to make of it, she considered asking Kendra, while I suggested trying to talk to Joyce or Cyntia at some point. Ultimately, she decided to keep the details a secret and do some research on her own. After all, the crown was hers and who knew if it would be taken from her if she let people know.

By the time three o’clock rolled around, we were sated and ready for whatever challenge Kendra would throw at us, to give us our badges.

When we got to the Gym, we had to wait a little, until Kendra had time for us and we were shown into one of the solid houses, an ordinary-looking office inside.

After a round of greetings, the meeting got on track in a surprising fashion. A part of me had expected some sort of Pokémon battle, but what we got was very different.

“Now, evaluation time.” Kendra began, continuing to speak before either of us could respond. “The attendants had an eye on your battles in the tournament and I decided that it would be enough to evaluate the two of you. After all, it’s only your third badge, the first few are supposed to be given easily.”

“Could you explain?” Claire asked, sounding as confused as I felt.

“Well, the first four badges are basically the sign that you can reliably travel between towns and that you can join the courier service.” Kendra shrugged. “Once you get past those, you will be tested and your actions will come under higher scrutiny, But that’s not what tis is about. Let’s talk about your performances in the tournament.” Kendra declared, getting nods of acceptance from both of us.

“Now, let’s start with you, Claire.” she pulled out a sheet of paper, looking over it for a moment, “In your first fight, you were faced with a Glameow. Your Grotle performed solidly, good use of its innate strengths but little creativity, not that there was any need.” she shrugged, before continuing.

“Your second round was more interesting, battling against a Machoke. There, you made excellent use of your Grotle’s Withdraw- and Growth-abilities to get a solid footing and repel the physical attacks, while slowly pushing your opponent back. Again, solid performance, good tactics, nothing really to criticise. Continue training your Grotle the same way and you’ll have a solid base to form a team around.”

“Lastly, the round against Henri and his Mawile.” she let out a brief sigh, “Well, it’s a powerhouse, no doubt about it. You tried to do the same but the difference in power was simply too much.” she shrugged and Claire could only nod in acceptance. Some battles just couldn’t be won.

“Anyway, you performed solidly and it is obvious that you train your partner with care and a plan. Those are what I care most about, so I’ll happily grant you your badge,” she concluded, giving Clarie a smile.

“Now, Dani,” she pulled out another sheet, briefly reading through it, before focusing on me. “You and your Kirlia. Interesting little thing, very unusual colour. You care a great deal about it, that much was obvious, even from a distance and the care is reciprocated. Given the empathic abilities of that particular family, that is a solid indication of your character. What I saw of your Charmeleon and you last night only added to that.” she gave me a happy smile.

“About your battles, “ she couldn’t suppress a brief grimace, “Nasty style you’ve got there. I’m not saying it’s bad or anything, but I wouldn’t want to be on the other side and I don’t think I could train my partner that way. Regardless of my personal feelings, it's a highly effective style and you will be able to go far with it, as long as your remain cognisant of the limitations.” she reminded me, and I had to agree. The time Vio needed to muddle an opponent's mind was her greatest weakness, maybe trying to train her in some of the defensive techniques of the psychic side would be required.

“Good performance in the first battle against the Machoke, good timing and focus, pushing your advantage to the maximum early on, before slowly riding it to victory. Once you get into battles in which your opponent can switch his Pokémon, that will be less effective, but against wild Pokémon, it’ll remain strong.” she shrugged.

“Now, the second battle.” she let out a sigh, “Honestly, that one made me consider not giving you the badge.” I froze at her words, not quite sure what to say.

“Sending the Geodude careening out of the arena was a useful tactic, you managed to disrupt the roll-out and deal massive damage You warned the people around the arena, making sure that nobody was in danger, which is why you get the badge. But what you need to consider are the optics.” she gently chided me, before explaining.

“Shouting, screaming, waving people aside, those make it look like you are not in perfect control of the situation. We, trainers, have to be seen as the protective wall, calm and controlled especially in battle, always ready to step up if needed. Or that’s the ideal at least.” her words made a certain amount of sense, especially if I considered that the tournament likely was an exercise in morale-raising.

“Please, keep my words in mind.” I nodded at her words, getting her point, “Now, the last battle against the Mawile. Short and brutal, nothing to say there. Level and affinities were massively against you and let’s leave it at that. I don’t think I could have put up a fight in that situation.” she shrugged, a wry smile on her face.

“Anyway, that’s that “ she concluded, pulling out a small case. “Rise, please.” all three of us stood.

“Now, Claire, of Twinleaf-Town. I hereby bestow the Blossom Badge on you. Wear it proudly and carry the scent of our meadows into the world.” Kendra handed over the badge, before shaking Claire’s hand.

“And Dani, of the Pokémon League.” she raised an eyebrow at that, but didn’t pry, “ I hereby bestow the Blossom Badge on you. Wear it proudly and carry the scent of our meadows into the world.” she handed over the badge and shook my hand.

“Please, both of you, be safe out there.” she reminded us, before quickly finishing the papers and ushering us out of the office.

“I didn’t expect that,” Claire admitted as we were walking away.

“Neither did I.” I replied, before adding, “It did seem a little too casual, didn’t it?”

“A little.” she agreed, before asking, “Now, when will we head out? Let’s be honest, living in a tent in town isn’t too much of a draw.”

“Let’s make sure we have everything we need. It’s a long, long way to Eterna City.” I told her, curious about what we’d experience on the way there. Eterna Forest would be an interesting challenge.