Aspen looked around. And so we return to Driftveil City once more, she thought. She smiled as she observed the building that she and the other contestants would be battling in. She wondered if she would see any familiar faces. Probably. Drew seems to show up here pretty often. Same with Patrick and Ella. Or at least in the last two. Aspen saw Drew talking to a couple of Trainers inside a restaurant and decided to drop in on them. She walked into the building and headed to their table. "Hey, Drew!" the girl greeted him. "You been doing okay with all of...that?" Aspen meant his injuries. She was glad that nothing that serious had happened to her yet. Hopefully it wouldn't...
Rose cast a wistful glance around the city as she walked in from the direction of the Driftveil Drawbridge. The veteran Trainer's ponytail whipped behind her in the wind. She remembered this place very fondly, and knew that eventually she would have to visit an old friend. First, however, she stopped by the Gym. The inside looked shiny and clean, which was relatively ironic. She talked briefly with Clyde, the Greeter, for old time's sake, then headed to the elevator. It went down quite a bit before coming to a sudden stop. Rose stepped out and smiled nostalgically, memories of her Pokemon journey flooding back. Though it was dark, a detail that she couldn't recall from before, the low drone of conveyor belts and other machinery was very similar. The Trainer carefully made her way through the maze to the platform in the center. In front of her stood Clay, the Driftveil City Gym Leader. He huffed, seemingly agitated. "League's started already, kid," he said. "Yer a little late startin to collect badges."
"I didn't come to get a badge," Rose had a smile on her face. Her voice echoed throughout the cavern. "I came for another battle, this time not flustered, crying and lucky not to be lost." This seemed to flip a lightbulb for Clay. He chuckled.
"Alrighty then, Rose. Ya got yourself a battle. Don't think I'll go easy on ya!"
Abigail jumped into the air. "Yes!" she exclaimed as she pumped her fist. Across the battlefield, a Skitty lay fainted on the ground. Abigail's Eevee jumped into the girl's arms. I had to have passed the test! That was a great battle! Abigail thought. This was a test for her from the mysterious group that had taken her from her home around a year ago. They had shown her kindness and hospitality, however, and were even helping her to get stronger! Unfortunately, Abigail's young, impressionable mind led her to be naive sometimes. She didn't even realize that she was being taken advantage of and played like a violin. The Masqueraders only wanted her because she would cause a great deal of pain to Isabel Maey, the Mask of Fairies-turned-IDF agent, by becoming the new Mask of Fairies.
Isabel walked onto the streets in front of the battle hall that would house the Unova League. She brushed her hair behind her ear, still self-conscious of the fact that she looked better as a blonde. But being an IDF agent and on the run from a criminal organization had its downsides. An awful lot of them, actually. Her brother, Jason, walked beside her. Since the Masqueraders had attacked at the League Tournaments before, it was likely that they'd strike at this event as well.