Excuse me, what 'fading' are you talking about? Rika got 230+ last season regularly (minus GPF when she was injured), even without Lz. Her 3A is still better. She won over everybody except to the Russian 3A. But which Japanese lady could win over them?Rika's best chance was her first senior year, after that, she started to fade away. It's what happens with most skaters. The first senior season they are fresh faces and interesting.