Welcome back! I hope you're enjoying the story! This chapters is one of my favorites so far, so I sincerely hope you love it as much as I do!

Chapter 11

Kara Novoa

Swimming cleared his mind and lightened his soul. Everything about the water felt natural and right.

"You're Princess Kara, right?"

The thoughts pushed him to go. His paws glided through the water, fueled by his thoughts. Every few strokes, he turned his head to the side and inhaled.

The white Ninetales gave him an uncaring expression. "I'm Kara Novoa, yes. You're one of the new ones, right?"

"Yes," Jason answered, rubbing his paws against the floor. "I'm also the Libra of Solgaleo."

"I presumed so." She seemed indifferent, continuing to talk to him in the same tone and manner. "Seems a little suspicious that seven foreigners show up at our doorstep at the same time the last Libras are revealed. So, what did you need from me?"

As training continued on, one Libra had yet to show. It was a few days ago when he first met Princess Kara. It was early in the morning, as the Ninetales preferred to leave before anyone else rose. He woke up early that day to make sure he could talk to her.

"I wanted to know if you would come by the Valley today. Maybe train us or train with us?"

"I'll pass, but thank you." She turned and began walking down the hall, leaving Jason in confusion.

The Eevee ran to catch up with her. "Wait, why? You're a Libra, aren't you?"

After what felt like hours, he continued to keep his pace in the water. His thoughts kept him focused, letting him hit the rock wall and turn back around without missing a beat. Despite his meeting with Kara being a few days ago, he constantly thought about it.

The ice type nodded. "Of course. You can see the bands, can't you?"

"Those are Tapu Fini's colors, aren't they?"

"The water type Land Spirit, yes. You're observant."

"So why won't you come train with us?"

She glanced down at his curious green eyes, immediately knowing they weren't his natural eye color. "I'm sure Ronan told you why."

Ronan was a different kind of pokemon. He had no problem voicing his opinion, nor did he mind giving you ten laps if you disagreed. Luckily, Jason had stayed quiet, but his sister, Kai, and Leona had to learn the hard way. They disliked him as their trainer, but he was a fun pokemon to be around and talk to. He seemed to care very much about their well-being, both physical and mental. He felt differently toward Kara Novoa, however.

"He said you don't care about your kingdom, that you're selfish, and that he has no idea why Tapu Fini chose you." Jason quoted the Greninja accurately, saying it carefully so as not to accuse her. "Aris said that's what everyone thinks, but he still has hope."

"Well," she breathed, "there's your answer."

He stopped in his tracks, surprised by her answer. She continued to walk away, seemingly not caring. But Jason knew better. "I don't believe any of that."

She stopped, paused, and turned to face him with an impressed smile below her icy blue eyes.

When Jason finished his laps around the lake, he climbed out and shook his body. Water flew in every direction and his fur was left sagging to the side. Stephanie followed second, and then the others with Leona in last. They stood in line in front of Ronan, waiting for his command. After over a week of training, totaling to two weeks exactly away from home, they learned to listen so as not to get extra laps.

Sir Ronan stared at them for a few seconds, analyzing their progress over their training course. He simply sighed and rubbed his eyes. "This is going to be much harder than I anticipated."

The Equilibrians mentally questioned him, but said nothing.

"They've made great progress," Aris voiced. From what he saw, the new Libras were moving fast. "Their endurance and defensive techniques have improved in such a short time."

"Those are fairly easy to improve, Aris. All is takes is simple training and conditioning." The Greninja's mouth twitch in annoyance, but he calmed himself. It wasn't particularly anyone's fault. "You train them to use their powers after they evolve, but getting them to the point of evolution isn't just physical. They each have a mental block."

Rhetta furrowed her eyebrows at the words. She never remembered having a mental block, nor did she remember having him help her pull it down. "How did you get rid of my block?"

"Yours was simple. You conquered it yourself through training." He used a webbed hand to gesture to the Equilibrians. "Their attack is the same, if not worse, and they're no closer to evolving."

"I evolved, sir," Carson spoke quietly, hoping he wouldn't get another ten laps.

"Yes you did Carson. I believe that since you've already evolved, have received Tapu Koko's colors, and are the only one making any progress, you should go on to train with Aris and Rhetta on controlling your powers."

The Lucario smiled. "You got it."

"As for the rest of you, we're going to individual training now. I'll be able to get more strength out of you if I work with one or two of you at a time for a few hours as opposed to all of you all day."

"So we're splitting up?" Steph surmised with a disapproving glance. "But we always learn together, fight together, especially me and Carson."

"Not anymore," Ronan specified. "The rest of you are in desperate need of one-on-one training, especially you Stephanie. I want to see you at sunrise tomorrow morning and we work until eleven. Liam, Kai, and Leona, you three from eleven-thirty to three. Leonardo and Jason, three to six. All of you better get some rest tonight."

…

"He said it again!" Stephanie growled through a mouthful of food. "I have been working harder than ever before and it's still not enough for him!"

"Well, tomorrow you'll get a chance to show him," Kai stated, taking a big bite of his jelly sandwich.

"And why am I spending five hours early tomorrow training while you two only get three?"

"Maybe we don't need as much help?" Jason suggested with a shrug, knowing that Steph wouldn't like that response.

"I don't get it." Steph's voice was harsh with a hint of anger. She was so confused as to why Ronan thought she wasn't good enough. "I trained everyday. All I did was school, homework, training, and battles. I beat all of you almost every time we battled, yet Ronan said I was the weakest."

"Well," Leonardo squeaked out, "don't get mad, but maybe you're...not as strong as you think you are."

His words brought crazed looks his way. Any chance that Steph had to battle one of them, she always won. However, they never fought until someone fainted. Leonardo entertained the thought that maybe if they went all the way, she really wouldn't win.

"What makes you think that?" Liam inquired, desiring to know what Leo thought of Steph's skills.

"I've seen the varsity Battle team train before. It's not that good." He shrugged, the corner of his mouth lifting as if unimpressed. "You guys focus on attack and power, but that's not the whole point of battling."

"If you attack hard, powerful, and fast, you'll win a battle fast," Stephanie recited from experience. "That's how I win all my battles."

"Because that's how all Battle teams in Equilibrium train," Leo chuckled in disbelief. "You're all taught that attack and strength will win a battle, so all of you battle that way and of course the one who attacks faster and stronger will win. Jason swims, so he trains with his mother, the Wild One. She knows how to fight properly, which means Jason has learned how to fight properly, too."

Steph glanced to the ground, starting to rethink her strength.

"Honestly," Leo continued, "I bet if Jason battled you right now until someone fainted, he would win."

The female Eevee nodded. "It...it makes sense."

His ears flattened against his head. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you feel bad. I just wanted you to see why-"

"No, it's-it's okay."

Leo shook his head. "You're not bad, not at all. You just need some work on proper form and defense. That's all."

"I know," she smiled. Her confidence didn't waver. She was simply given a new perspective and a new reason to become better.

"Mom's a great teacher," Jason pointed out. "She would have no problem helping you."

"Aunt Abrielle." Leona forced a laugh. "Mom, Dad, Uncle Cyle. We've been gone for two weeks now. They've gotta be so worried."

"They're probably looking for us," Kai added in a soft whisper.

"Yeah," Carson sniffed. He looked at the new spike on his paw. "Dad and Mom. They would've really wanted to see me evolve. I-I really wanted them there."

The clock on the wall rang six times, alerting everyone to the time. It was loud compared to the silence that fell over the Equilibrians. Though six in the evening was normally the time they ate, they were losing their appetites.

"Guys, what are we doing?" Liam asked, his voice full of doubt. "Being Libras? What does that even mean? What's our endgame? Is there some sort of fight we're preparing for?"

"The Ultra Beasts," Jason mumbled. "Aris told me that the wormhole opened spontaneously without Cosmog, so now there's that to deal with. It's never happened before but I guess it's something we're training to fight. But, even then, we still have no idea if it's going to be a reoccurring thing."

"But why can't we go home? Why can't we tell our parents we're here?"

"Liam's got a point," Leo agreed. "Surely Equilibrium would have to understand what's at stake here. We should talk to Silver and Bolt about it."

"We have to talk about more than that." Steph looked around to the longing, questioning gazes of her brother and cousins. "We've all been a little out of it since the evolution test, and being taken from home hasn't helped, but I think we need to talk about it."

Jason's ears rose in realization that the clock rang just minutes ago. He had somewhere to be by six-fifteen. "We do, we really do. But I have to go. I'll be back in a few hours, but don't talk about it without me!"

The Eevee ran out of the room in a haste, leaving everyone else with confusion.

…

Carson adjusted the new gear on his arm, still getting used to the feel. On his right bicep was a thin, red and blue-white, metal bracelet. In the center was a round, colorful stone with a twist design at its center. On his wrist was his Z-stone bracelet, newly fitted with a brown Z-crystal.

"It feels like so much weight." Carson shook his arm out. Luckily, the bracelets were a perfect fit and didn't rattle or shake against his arms.

Across the grass field, Rhetta stood with her own Z-stone bracelet bearing a dark black crystal. "I felt the same in the beginning, but you get used to it. Try your aura shields again."

Carson nodded and obeyed. He held out his arm, aura rapidly snaking around it, and gathered his energy in a ball on his paw. At the same speed, Rhetta had formed and launched a Shadow Ball his way, forcing him to speed up. He closed his paw, commanded the aura with his mind, and it formed a shield just as the Shadow Ball collided with it. As the small smoke cloud cleared, Carson's perfectly rounded, glowing blue shield remained intact, protecting the Lucario.

The aura retreated back to his paw and he stood proudly, smiling with his mouth wide open in awe.

"You're getting much better," Aris complemented, though from his tone he seemed to be a little out of it. "Think you can try mega evolution?"

Aris had seen Carson in another pokemon before. The excitement in his eyes after his first success at controlling his powers. The hours of training without stopping. The fire in his soul, wanting to grow stronger and be better. Even the bonding with a teammate. Aris had seen it all.

Carson, sweating yet smiling energetically, responded, "Absolutely. What do I need to know?"

"This is where I come in." Ronan stepped out of his viewer position on the sidelines, mega stone glistening on his wrist.

"So Greninja can mega evolve too?" Carson's eyes sparkled as he compared the two orbs. "That's fantastic."

"Well, so far I'm the only Greninja that can." Ronan held his arm in front of his chest. "But lucky for you, it's how I can teach you to evolve."

"Great! Let's get started." Carson dropped into a fighting position, paw on his mega stone.

"Slow it down, Lucario. Mega evolution isn't like learning a new move. You don't just jump right in, and there is no ready position."

He slumped his shoulders and stood up straight, grudgingly agreeing to follow Ronan's orders.

"First, you have to understand that mega evolution drains you, not just physically, but emotionally and mentally. If you're not careful, if you're not responsible, it's entirely possible that you could hurt yourself."

Carson looked away for a second, focusing his dark red eyes on the Tapu Koko statue. He soaked in the seriousness of mega evolve, understood the risks, but kept his determination. His attention went back to Ronan, and he nodded in understanding. "I'll do my best, and I'll take it slow."

"Good. Now first, you've got to find your anchor."

Carson knew exactly what was keeping him standing in the constantly changing rivers of life. After that, going through the steps seemed pointless (especially the breathing exercises), but he pulled through. He knew better than to stray from the basics, and that made finally getting to mega evolution much more satisfying.

Much like his change from a Riolu to a Lucario, his body became surrounded in a blue-white aura once he touched the stone. The stone dissolved into his body and its power flooded his veins, causing him to grow and change. Once the aura broke apart, his fur was decorated with intricate black designs and his paws were stained red. His tail had gone from a thin streak of blue to a bushel of cream fur.

The new power shook his core, making him feel like he was going to fall apart and lose his grip. His paws trembled, his stomach twisted around, and his brain pounded against his skull. His heart beat faster, producing the new power at dangerous levels. It hurt, but it felt good.

He thought he could take it, that he could control it. The pain faded away within a matter of seconds. After that, it wasn't half-bad, nor was it terribly hard to control. The blood pumping through his veins carried the energy from his heart to his paw, creating a sparkling Aura Sphere that was much too big to be safe.

Ronan stepped away, gesturing for Rhetta and Aris to do the same. "Carson," he called carefully.

He stared at his Aura Sphere, seemingly hypnotized. "Amazing."

"I think that's enough for right now."

Carson's head snapped to the side, gleaming red eyes focusing on the blurry image of the Greninja. "Why? I have it under control."

Ronan nodded, appearing calm, but in his chest his heart was beating fast. He wanted to appear calm so that Carson would stay calm. "For now you do. This is your first time with mega evolution, so please take it slow."

His vision began to blur, and he lost his ability to see color. His consciousness seemed to fade in and out, and his thinking process became jumbled. Carson was trying to convince himself that he was fine, that this power wasn't affecting him, but he knew it wasn't true.

This isn't strength. Carson inhaled through his nostrils, closing his eyes. It's too much right now. He opened his eyes and looked at his Aura Sphere. It was too large to be safe for those around him. If he lost control of it, he could hurt someone. His eyes strayed to everyone around him. Even Aris and Rhetta know it's out of hand. You've got to know when to stop, and the time to stop is now.

Carson cutoff the energy flow to his Aura Sphere, keeping his hold on it while it dissipated into the air. As soon as it was gone, he fell apart in a flash of light. The mega stone formed back inside the band on his arm, and the regular Lucario collapsed.

…

"Left at the fountain and...behind the three Oran berry bushes."

Jason followed the directions perfectly. He was led to the back of the castle where the gardens were, just behind the mountains surrounding the Valley where he trained, around the Milotic fountain, and to a small cave behind three berry bushes. The opening was fairly big, yet small enough to be concealed by simple bushes.

"If you want to know who I am, why I do what I do, I'll be waiting there."

What she was trying to do, he didn't know. She was always off on her own. Know one ever knew where she was. Her motifs, however, sparked curiosity in his mind. He knew better. She wasn't the way everyone believed she was. She was a Libra. He was a Libra. They were both chosen for a reason.

He followed the small, dark tunnel for at least ten minutes, aiming toward the light he saw at the end. When he finally exited the tunnel, a warm sunset light greeted him.

"Glad you came."

His attention followed Kara's sweet, soothing voice to the shade of a palm tree. She laid by the unnaturally thick bark, where it seemed as if two feet were extending from the trunk. After his eyes followed the trunk to the top, he found three Exeggutor heads. His eyes widened in both curiosity and surprise, and when he glanced back at the white Ninetales, several purple Meowth and black Rattata were gathered by her side.

"Are those...regional variants of Meowth and Rattata?" Jason tilted his head at the pokemon. "And Exeggutor?"

Kara chuckled. "Yes. They're wild pokemon who live here."

The Eevee's eyes took in the surroundings. Meadows of flowers and grass covered the ground, while actual palm trees swayed in the wind. Wild pokemon danced around, playing games with one another. "Where are we?"

The ice type stood up and stretched. "We're on the other side of a tourism spot just outside the kingdom. The Drilbur dug the tunnels for me so I could easily get out of the Ice Domain without complaints from anyone. There's more than just that one."

She turned and gestured for him to follow, leading Jason to another cave in the hill he had emerged from. This one was bigger, and he could smell fresh water at the other end.

"Why would you want to leave home so often?" Jason asked.

Without answering his question, she ventured into the cave while calling back, "Walk and talk."

As Jason followed, his eyes couldn't adapt to the amount of darkness. He blindly stumbled through the cave, relying only on Kara's voice to guide him.

"I love to explore," she stated. "I don't like being a princess."

"Do you like being a Libra?"

The corner of her mouth twitched upward. "Ronan told you all those things about me, and I can assume you're upset that I didn't go to fight Nihilego, yet you still didn't believe I was a bad pokemon."

Jason shook his head. "No one's a bad pokemon. Sure, they make mistakes, but I'd like to believe that everyone has their reasons. Just like you do."

This time, Kara's smile filled her face. "You should feel special, Jason."

"Why?"

"Because I'm going to tell you something I don't tell anyone. I'm going to tell you who I am, and why I act the way I do."

"Good, because I want to understand."

Only one other pokemon had said that to her, but with a tired and uncaring tone, unlike Jason's curious and almost loving tone. "My mother became queen before I was born, so I never knew what it was like to be a regular pokemon who got to run around outside, battle, and explore new places. I spent my life learning to act properly for a position I would never obtain."

Jason took in her words carefully, his mind quickly examining the speech.

"I snuck away any chance I could, and I went to the battle arena. But a Vulpix with white fur is easily caught, and I was forbidden from battling."

"But?"

"But I refused to be a princess, so I kept sneaking away, I kept battling. I stopped upholding my responsibilities as a princess, which, trust me, didn't mean very much." She brushed her fur over her head, already becoming irritated with everyone involved in the story. "Then, one day after I snuck out, I found pokemon from the Ultra Kingdom trying to sneak into Ice. I tried to fight them off, but there were five of them and one of me, so naturally I didn't fair too well."

Jason smiled in amazement, saying, "And then Tapu Fini came, right?"

Though she couldn't see him, she looked in his general direction with a raised eyebrow. "How did you know?"

"That's what Carson told me happened with him."

"Carson?"

"Another Libra, but he said that when he was fighting Nihilego and losing, that he evolved and Tapu Koko came."

"Happened to me the same way," Kara stated. "Tapu Fini appeared, and I thought she was going to fight them off, but instead she handed me an Ice Stone and told me 'Be who you are. Never let anyone make you something that you're not' and disappeared immediately after."

"So you fought them off, and Tapu Fini gave you a Z-stone?"

"Yes."

"But you still don't train with Aris or Ronan?"

"I never liked having a teacher that told me how to do something. I enjoy figuring things out for myself, and because I didn't train, everyone thought that I didn't deserve to be a Libra."

Jason nodded. "I think you deserve it, but I also think that maybe you should come train with us. None of us can get stronger without some help."

"I'll see. If I decide to I won't come every time, but a few times a week."

As they followed the turning tunnel, a dim light illuminated in the distance. The sun was already going down, leaving little light. The sound of cascading water echoed through the cave. As they arrive to the edge of the tunnel, Kara blasted a wave of ice from her mouth, providing a pathway through the waterfall. When Jason crossed over the ice bridge, he found a familiar sight.

"You were the one who saved us that night," he breathed with surprise and realization. He gazed at the road that he and his friends had spent an entire day climbing. Running to the edge of the cliff, he found the wreckage of the cart that had tumbled over the side.

"Sorry for sending you down there," she apologized. "I didn't mean to hit the cart so hard, but I thought the royals could use some help."

He didn't notice her allusion to his royal status. "How did you know we would be here?"

"It was by chance, really. When the Ultras were heading over to Equilibrium, I overheard them discussing their plan, so I came back every night and waited for them until I saw their cart pass by. You know the rest."

"Thank you, from all of us."

She smiled genuinely. "Thank you, for trying to keep our kingdom safe. I'll keep your secret as royals."

Instead of being surprised, he was quite calm. Kara had his complete trust. "Was it that obvious?" he asked.

"Only because I knew the royals from Equilibrium had gone missing. Otherwise, you were pretty good at covering it up."

They stood in comfortable silence, watching the sunset. Jason thought about all he had learned about here, and his face scrunched up in confusion when he came to a specific thought. "Were you going to let me think that everything Ronan said about you was true?"

She nodded slowly. "Pokemon think what they think. As long as I know it's not true, I don't care what they believe."