Seven had nearly pounced on you the moment you left the store you were in. They were a patient person—really—but you were testing them without trying to. That was worse.

"Battle me," they immediately said in lieu of a greeting. For the past month they'd been hounding you to battle them again after their devastating lose. Normally Seven didn't care if beginner trainer won against them. That was the whole point of them being a Gym Leader, to eventually be beaten and hand out badges. Sure, losing stung, but it came with the job.

But you weren't a trainer. Seven had attempted to hand you the badge and you turned it down. Their usual resting blank face had nearly cracked. Everyone in the gym had looked lost. Why challenge them just to turn down the badge? They couldn't understand you.

And so they'd become obsessed.

Seven was one of the more popular Gym Leaders. They were confessed to a dozen times a day. Most of the time they didn't bother even responding to the confessions. They weren't interested in love, they were interested in Pokemon battles. Romance wasn't going to make them stronger. It all sounded like a waste of time.

It wasn't until you waltzed in that they had shown interest in another person. Seven's interests were simple: Pokemon and Pokemon battles. They had friends, sure, but nobody they were interested in like they were with you. It wasn't a crush like Olympia—a fellow Gym Leader—had suggested. They just wanted to beat you.

"One more time," they demanded. Seven was already reaching out to bring out a Pokeball, tossing out their Corsola. They weren't going to let you run away this time.