[Through battle.... he's sure their frustrations would be more easily communicated, too; the sort of frenzied irritation and self-consciousness he instinctively figured they both had. It seeped into everything and colored their feelings toward their rivals.]

[It bore the fruit that was now rooted in their chests. Maybe if they'd had a proper outlet here, things might not have gotten to this point. Blue grumbles to himself.]

Yeah. I get you. [His mouth twists with irritation. How does he put any of it? Well, to begin with, he clams up cold with Raihan's question. With a kind of nervous hesitation, his eyes flick subconsciously towards the doorway to the hall, as if thinking of something in particular, before he tightens in on himself.]

[No.... This wasn't something he was willing to talk about. Not when he's here. It's way too complicated. He swallows it down.... as unhealthy as that is, and another coughing fit tries to erupt from him.]

It's........ [He finds something else to say about it, instead, when he catches his breath again.] After a certain point, when we were kids... He only ever cared about Pokémon. That was how it felt. I started to see him as more of an obstacle than a goal. I started to hate him.

Suffice to say, things were pretty rough between us for a long time. [Guilt clouds his features.] I was pretty cold towards him, but all I'd wanted was for him to notice me again.

....Didn't really work out that way....