Rachel, Sawyer, and Lear

Oh, come on! You found ANOTHER of our hideouts?

Our backs are really up against the wall now! We've got no choice but to fight back!

You nitwits don't really think you stand a chance against me, do you?

Donphan, go! Wipe the floor with these...

Wait, young master! We came to back you up!

Yeah, like, let us give you a ha...

Save it! You two would only get in the way!

B-but, young master...

Gaaah! Enough already!

Go, Donphan! Now!

H-how is a lone Trainer beating us this handily?

Grr! Fall back, fall back!

Hmph. That's right! Come at me with whatever Pokémon you like, you'll lose just the same!

Your strength is a sight to behold, young master. But if you keep shouldering all these burdens alone...

Did you not hear me the first hundred times, Sawyer? I'm...

Hmm?

Ugh! That Goody-Two-shoes again?

I'm going on ahead. You two stay here and deal with him!

Young master!

Don't you dare follow me!

Well, he certainly seemed eager to cut you two loose.

You again? Whyyy do you keep, like, barging in wherever we go?

Like I've said before, if Hoopa has fallen into Team Break's hands, that spells danger for all of Pasio.

Plus, I can't help but worry about Lear.

Back home in Unova, I work as a Gym Leader and a teacher.

Although Lear's not my student, I can't let him do whatever he pleases, seeing how reckless he is.

Sorry, but your teacherly instincts are nooot our style. We don't need your help, like, at all.

Right, Sawyer?

... ... ...

Heeey. You, like, falling asleep over there?

Listen, kid, I mean, Cheren. I took the liberty of looking up a little more about you.

I know you didn't get to be a teacher without some leadership skills.

So what do you say to using those skills...to help our young master find his way?

Whaaat?! What are you even saying?

Ever since he lost to Scottie, the young master's been growing more and more obsessed with becoming powerful.

He can't afford to go on that way.

I'm worried the young master'll get himself into big trouble if he takes the throne without learning what it means to be a true king first.

You see it too, don't you, Rachel? That temperament of his isn't kingly at all.

Like...I guess, but still...

Let's enlist Cheren's help. It's for the young master's sake, after all.

Weeell...

If you're really that sure, Sawyer, then I guess it's fine... Not that I'm, like, bursting with confidence in this guy.

Well, it may not relate directly to saving Hoopa, but it sounds like your problems run deeper than I thought.

Please, tell me all you can about Lear.

I know that to you, the young master probably looks like some power-obsessed snob who treats people and Pokémon like tools.

But he used to be a kind boy, the type of son you'd hope to see in a royal family.

A "kind boy"? Lear?

Yeeeah, back in the day. He could count on us for anything, and he was a real sweetheart to Pokémon, too.

But things were never really the same after Her Majesty the queen passed away.

The queen being Lear's mother, correct?

Right. After she passed, His Majesty the king took the young master from our care and sent him off to a strict school.

And when he came back, there wasn't much left of the kind boy we knew.

We were, like, shocked. Our little Master Lear suddenly couldn't trust anyone but himself.

He started saying awful things, like, like telling people and Pokémon they were just dead weight dragging him down.

Kiiinda like what he said back there.

So not only did he lose his mother, he was also torn from the two people he relied on most.

Between all that loss and the rough experiences he must have had at school, it sounds like he lost his trust in others.

I've been hoping that running the PML would help him work through some of his troubles.

Think about the meaning of the five badges and how the tournament's structure allows Trainers to team up with sync pairs they've battled against.

The rules don't really sound like something the young master'd come up with, do they? That's cause I'm the one who made the arrangements.

The idea was that the setup would help him remember what it's like to trust people and Pokémon.

But my efforts weren't enough to make any difference in the young master.

I'm sorry to hear that, Sawyer.

Please, Cheren, make the difference I couldn't.

Help him find his old self who cared so much about those close to him...so he can become a worthy king.

... ... ...

I don't have half as deep a history with Lear as you two, and as far as teaching goes, I'm still a beginner.

But in some ways, that might actually make me just the person for the job.

I'll do what I can to help Lear become a loving and beloved king.

All right! Thank you. It means a lot to me.

You haven't won my trust juuust yet, you know.

But if you're gonna do it, like, give it all you got. This is Master Lear we're talking about.

Of course I will. He'll get my full effort.

But there's one thing I still don't understand.

How does Hoopa figure into this? It never came up during your story.

Well, to tell the truth, we don't get the deal with Hoopa ourselves.

The young master just showed up with it all of a sudden after we decided to put together the PML.

He wouldn't tell us where or how he met it, let alone why it's helping him.

Odd. Well, if you don't know, you don't know, I suppose. No point dwelling on it for now.

In any case, I'd like to get started with Lear right away.

But to do that, I need to ask the two of you for a favor...

Bwahahaha! What a bunch of weaklings! I can see why you called yourselves Team Break!

There you are, Lear. We've been looking for you.

Ugh. Still hovering around, are you?

Well, since you're here, take a look at my work!

See?! Look how many sync pairs I took down all on my own!

No sync moves, no outside help, just me and my own power!

Has it finally sunk in that I'm fine without your precious teamwork?

In fact, I'm BETTER without it! Having others around would just hold me back!

Tell me something, Lear.

Now that you're this strong, what kind of king do you plan to be?

What's with you, changing the subject all of a sudden?

Well, I'm in a good mood, so I'll deign to answer your question!

What kind of king will I be? The strongest king of all!

I'll be so strong, I'll put down all the little upstarts like you!

The strongest king of all? Hm.

Just wait and see! Once I grow even more powerful, there'll be no one who can defeat me!

Not Scottie, and not that twerp with the red hat! I'll clean all their clocks and become the Champion of Pasio!

Then I'll claim my crown to go with my title as the strongest Trainer around!

Bwahahahaaa!

Oh, Lear...

Rachel! Sawyer! Time to march! Hoopa wasn't here, so we're off to the next hideout!

... ... ...

What, did I stutter? Get a move on!

I'm afraid we're done going along with your plans.

What did you say?!

Did HE stutter? We're saying, like, so long.

Why, you...

Do you understand what you're saying?

Absolutely. We're giving up on you. We've had enough.

I really hoped that if you got to know lots of other sync pairs here, it'd bring back the good in you.

But if your recent behavior is anything to go by, it seems I set my hopes too high.

It's such a shame. It really is.

Wha, ?!

We're leaving Pasio. Excuse us.

Yeah, sooo, peace out...

Master Lear.

Rachel... Sawyer...

F-fine! Do as you like! I never needed you two anyway!

... ... ...

Lear...you've got to change.