When he first saw her, she had fresh eyes. The type of curious gaze that seemed constantly engaged. A shade of blue that could rival the sky. Over time, they would harden. That clarity would shatter like ice, filled with a storm gray, gleaming with malice. She would stare at him like a hungry animal, caged but struggling for release...but this was long before then. Back when her shoulders were slumped, when she seemed to cower from attention. Before she would bare her teeth at him, and before he would taste defeat.

Long after their first meeting, when they were alone, she had told him that she didn't understand people. And to him, after some brief observations, he couldn't help but agree. She was a fighter. Charisma was not her strongest point, it was her crippling weakness. The girl had few friends, but that would slowly change in this region...but even now, reflecting back, he couldn't help but question it. Did she really consider that rag-tag team of children friends? When it had been her who fought the hardest? Maybe it was some sort of delusion on their part, believing they could approach a displaced solider like her.

When he had met her, she had been nothing but a shadow of what was to be. He would have dismissed her for another adventurous youth, just like the rest, but something had caught him. Something that he only now understood. When he looked at her, she stared right back with that sharp gaze. Even with such a small frame and such delicate steps, she had power. Maybe not in her grip, but from the core of her being. Potential at it's purest form, waiting to be brought forth. He wished he had appreciated it before that strength had taken over. Wished he could have known her when she was still a mere Fletchling, before her flickering ember would become a roaring fire. When the only problem that would trouble him would have been her social anxieties, and not the monster that battled so relentlessly.

He had first heard of her from that Professor. Sycamore, with his wild curls and childish excitement, had practically glowed at the opportunity of inducting another child into his little squad. Another bundle of potential tucked beneath the wing of his lab coat. The girl, as he had been told, had only just moved to the region. A day shy of eighteen, making her the eldest of the squad of trainers. As to why she had moved with that single mother...the details had been foggy. Now, he realized why...but that was so long after that conversation.

Her name was Porter.

He had wondered if the name originated from the ale, or if it was just a simple nickname. When he asked the Professor, he had been given a mere shrug, his observations dismissed. "See her for yourself! The whole gang will be here soon. I hear Calem and her got their first badges already~!"

When he met her, it had been a brief exchange.

She had been clutching a new pokemon, a Squirtle that was lazily holding itself against her. A parting gift from Sycamore for being such a good pupil. Back then, Porter had wild blonde curls barely contained beneath that small red cap, and it had bounced when she had emerged from that elevator, looking down at the pokemon almost in disbelief. Her team had become two, because he could recall that she only possessed that Braixen. Sycamore had made some parting comment on it, as if he had been concerned as to why she wasn't trying to jam as much information onto her Poke'Dex as possible. He later learned that she was unusually picky when it came to her traveling companions. It was to such an extent, that when they first battled, she was one pokemon shy of a full team. Only five pokemon were in that little Poke'Dex, with only the entries entered from their evolution and nothing more.

She had paused when she saw him, and he had paused in return. It had been a brief silence, but there had been tension. It had caused an itch beneath his skin. Rather then dismissing her, just as he done the rest of her little friends, he could recall making some long winded introduction. She seemed like she was worth the time, and maybe he was still captivated by the intensity of her gaze. He could recall her response, as crisp and as clear as day.

"Porter. Pleasure." So sharp. He should have realized she would be the one to scar him, just from that sentence alone.

In those two words, he had met his match. He just didn't know it yet.

Of course, that wasn't the only time they saw each other that day. Their second encounter had been at that Cafe, with her trailing behind the weak boy like a shadow. For so long, people had honestly believed them to be rivals. Maybe for a period of time there had been a struggle for power between the two of them...but she was quick to overpower him. Within weeks, she was on a completely different level then the boy. It was amusing. Sycamore had praised the boy first, only to have been proven dead wrong. Whatever potential the boy had was sucked away from him when he stood around Porter, and maybe she felt a bit of pity for it.

But, for now, he walked along as if he was the leader. Like he was coaxing along the little stray at his heels around this new region. Maybe for a time, she fell into this role. Porter didn't know her strength then, and maybe she found some sort of security in following after this Calem. The boy did have a habit of spouting out facts inherited from his parents. It made him seem wiser, but he was nothing more then a Chatot reciting lines from people far more experienced then him. The boy had waltzed into the Cafe, bright and confident, and then came Little Porter. She shuffled behind him with a light gait, footsteps barely making a sound.

This encounter was far less captivating then their first. She hadn't looked at him. Didn't bother to acknowledge his presence or anyone else for that matter. Little Porter was more content with that turtle in her arms, petting and coaxing the pokemon into a slumber. It had been only ten or twenty minutes, and she had the creature so content. It had nuzzled it's blue cheek against her hand, bringing out a soft smile that was solely reserved for her pokemon. The type of motherly tenderness that she would never give to anyone else. Her team would come to adore her furiously. They would lay their life on the line for her, just as she had done for them so many times.

He had been chatting up with the actress, the Champion. Diantha. At the time, it had been so easy to dismiss the presence of the two teenagers and focus it all on who he believed to be the strongest trainer.

Lysandre was later proven wrong with that assumption. In fact, he was proven wrong about a million things. It still left a bitter taste in his mouth.

Whatever he had said must have spurred the boy, because he could remember that Calem looked rather conflicted as he listened in on the conversation. Rude. Porter had noticed it, as he recall, and had grasped the boy's shoulder. She had brought her hand back quickly, as if the gesture had never even happened.

He had walked away from Diantha, feeling conflicted with the region Champion. The two of them had conflicting viewpoints and he didn't wish to explore their differences any further, and maybe he had spared some sort of greeting towards Sycamore's pupils. Neither of them responded, but as he made his way for the door, he heard Porter's voice. Commanding and clear. "What did you want, Calem?" It had sounded more like an order then a question. Poor thing, so blunt and sharp with her words. It would be awhile until that edge would be softened away...but he still appreciated it, if only because it showed how brutally honest she could be.

The makings of a trainer. Or maybe a Conqueror. The same one that would march to him on his throne and overthrow him. Maybe that was why he found her so fascinating, so long after his downfall. He wanted to recall her rise, wanted to remember every breath and every declaration she ever made in his presence. He had been her first conquest...and far from her last.

Author's Notes: HELLO EVERYBODY! Thanks for taking the time to read this little chapter. Just a fair warning to any new readers, this story will contain spoilers for the X/Y story line as it progresses. And I'm a bit aware that this chapter was a bit...dramatic, but blame that on Lysander for being so over-the-top. I still don't think I got his character down with, but hey, I'm sure it'll all get better over time. (First Fan Fiction, crossing my fingers and hoping it won't be a complete flop.)

Any Reviews and Revisions are completely welcome!