"Checkmate."

By the time that I placed my rook in a position to overtake Lucian's king, all that the Meowstic could do was stare at the board with a blank expression. I'll admit, I was overjoyed. Finally being able to beat Lucian was an accomplishment, especially since he chose not to use his psychic powers to read my thoughts. The match also went by fairly quickly, thanks in large part to Cross providing practice sessions during my down time. What's more, I was just stunned that I could finally achieve victory over someone as calculating as Lucian.

Yet why do I feel so hollow inside?

"Don't say this is a hollow victory, because it isn't," Lucian comments, picking up the chess pieces. "You won against me, fair and square. And it only took you five days, surprisingly enough. I must admit, you've improved significantly when it comes to strategy."

"You say that, but still…" I sat there, focusing my attention to every piece that Lucian was putting away. Something about this victory didn't really feel…rewarding, if that was anything to say. "Lucian, may I ask you something?"

"What is it?"

I took a deep breath, calming my nerves, and asked him "Do you think that we can win this match?"

He shrugged, and said "Who's to say? I only happen to predict almost any possible outcome that could occur within the near future. In fact, just now, I have predicted well over 19 million outcomes for how the battle on Saturday will play out."

"And…how many did we emerge victorious?" I asked, curious to know the answer for myself, to hopefully gain some sort of morale boost.

Lucian smiled, before giving me a gentle glance. "If I told you, that'd be cheating. You can't exactly win by cheating, you know."

"Right… Sorry that I asked." I slumped my head down, and several thoughts emerged in my brain. Can we actually win? What will happen on Saturday? Who will I be fighting against? …Why must that stupid bargain leave me feeling like there are butterflies in my stomach?

Lucian finished placing the board away, and stared at me while adjusting his glasses. "You look troubled. You're nervous about Saturday's events, but don't worry about it. Just do what comes naturally to you, and you'll be fine."

"Naturally… Are you referring to me, or about Incineroar in general?" I asked. "For the past few days, I wanted to rub it in your face with a single victory. I don't know why I thought I could do that, but… I contemplated, and chose not to overreact. And now that I finally beat you, the Incineroar in me is just yearning to relish in this victory. I just want to know…is that really how I should act? Or is this just a part of the instincts of my species in-game? What exactly am I supposed to do about these thoughts in my brain? Should I choose to follow through, or not?"

Lucian sighed, levitated to my eye level, and gently placed a paw on my cheek. "Adam, you continue to doubt yourself, even though you've already accomplished so much. You shouldn't be afraid for who you really are. After all, did Sputnik Monroe ever fall under peer pressure during his wrestling career?"

Confused, I asked him "Who's Sputnik Monroe?"

Lucian gave a slight chuckle, and lowered himself back to the floor. "He was a professional wrestler who was often associated as a heel during his time. A really big attention getter as well."

"Oh… I see…" I knew all too well what a heel was, thanks in large part to that time I injured Josh during a training session three years ago. It was enough to make me feel sick to my stomach.

As if he sensed this, Lucian mentioned "No no, he was really popular during the 1950s. People adored him."

"Even though he was considered a heel?" I questioned. "A villainous role model, I take it?"

Lucian sighed, before adjusting his glasses again. "Adam, tell me, what big American movement was prevalent during the late 1950s?"

Confused by the question, I sheepishly answered "The civil rights movement? What does that have to do with anything?"

"Sputnik Monroe had adoring fans. The majority of which were black people. This drew in boos from the crowd, sure, but he used this as a tactic to draw in attention during that time period. He was using his career in wrestling as a civil rights platform. He had adoring fans who were supporting him, despite his career as a heel during wresting. He never once backed down from his position, because he knew he was doing what he could to rile up the crowd. Nowadays, people are praising him, despite his heel status." Lucian smiled at me as he said these words, and comforted me by pulling out something from his bag, and placing it in my hand. "He was an underdog, and a man worthy of respect. Being a heel isn't really a bad thing, Adam."

I was shocked to hear all of this. I never once heard of something like this before, and I just sat there in awed silence from Lucian's words. Lucian smiled gently as he soon backed away and started to walk out of my room. Once Lucian opened the door, he mentioned "Tomorrow's going to be a team battle against Team Calibur, by the way. I thought I should let you know."

"R-right. Thank you, Lucian," I said, waving a farewell to him.

"And Adam?"

"Uh, yes?"

Lucian took off his glasses, smiling at me with surprising sincerity. "I know you can do it. Don't let the embers of Team Inferno die off, okay?"

I nodded. "Yeah. Thanks."

And just like that, Lucian left the room. Once he was gone, I brought my attention to the object he gave me, and as I opened my hand, I was surprised he gave me a black king chess piece. However, as soon as I blinked, the chess piece soon changed to resemble a wooden Incineroar carving. The carving itself struck a pose, indicating it was the victor in a big battle.

I tried to shake my head to come back to my senses, and once I did, the wooden carving remained. Okay… Weird…

It was at that time that Josh entered into the room, noticing I was still sitting there on the floor. He walked up to me, placing a paw on my shoulder, and asked me "Adam, are you okay?"

I sighed, clutching the wooden carving in my hand. As I looked at Josh, I immediately smiled at him, and said "Yeah. I think so."

"Good," Josh mentioned, patting my back as he was making his way to his bed. As he began to plop down into the bed, he yawned loudly and stretched his limbs. "What a day! I'm pooped!"

I chuckled a bit before getting up and making it to my bed. I placed the wood carving on the shelf, and began to lay down. Josh noticed the wood carving, and asked "Where did you get that?"

"Oh…Lucian gave it to me," I answered. "As a token for finally beating him in chess."

Josh smiled at me. "I'm proud of you, Adam. I think that victory pose looks great, don't you think?"

"Hmm?" I turned to Josh's direction, asking "You don't see a king there?"

Josh was confused. "Was there…supposed to be a king?"

Wait, so Josh also sees an Incineroar carving? I thought I was just hallucinating?

Josh sighed, before resting in bed. "Oh, whatever. It looks cool, though. Perhaps I could give you a 'king' title if we win, Adam. Wouldn't that be nice?"

I was not sure how to respond to something like that. So, I just lay there in bed, my mind racing as I was not sure what to believe anymore. Now that I think about it, Lucian's chess pieces changed appearance when I began to doubt myself. But…if Josh is seeing this as well, then what is going on? Was Lucian just screwing with me?

I decided not to question it further as I had sleep overtake any rational thought, and I was lulled into relaxation. Starting tomorrow, things were going to change.

Chapter 33: Human and Pokémon

It was around noon when we were to partake in our big battle with Team Calibur. Josh, Rose, and I were standing side by side as we saw Cross pacing back and forth. Chris and Nolan were standing firmly behind him, and if I was being honest, seeing Team Calibur acting militaristic for a change of pace was a little bit jarring to say the least.

"Over the past week, when you all began your training, you were nothing more than people with untapped potential just waiting to burst forth from your bodies," Cross began, speaking in a phony drill sergeant voice (which none of us took seriously, for the record). "And now, thanks to our efforts, the three of you have shown signs of growth as individual fighters. For you, Josh, you have grown in a sense that you are now more adept and fast on your feet than before. Rose, your strength lied in wait as we molded you into a tactical fighting machine. I'm sure that your poison attacks will knock your foes off of their feet, or my name isn't…" He then crossed his arms in an "X" motion again, proclaiming "X-GLAIVE! Master of combat the world over!" He then lowered his arms as he walked up to me. "As for you, Adam, your biggest flaw was you didn't have much incentive to act accordingly unless you were told. You needed to learn independence, and strengthen you mind as well as your body.

"As you are no doubt aware, this final test we're about to perform for you is quite simple. You all must prove how your enhanced skills translate in the field of battle. However, there's a catch to this. Your final test to prove yourselves as individuals begins tomorrow. But for today, you will all come together as one and prove just how effective of a team you can be."

I soon raised my hand anxiously, and Cross took immediate notice. "Yes, Adam?"

"I'm just curious, but Josh and I have a system going with how we attack, though Rose hasn't quite figured that out yet. How are we going to communicate with her and guide her actions without the enemy knowing?" I was legitimately nervous, because I knew how Josh and I operate in the field of battle. We use cryptic terminology as a way to guide our attacks, based entirely around our knowledge with Pokémon. However, my main concern was whether or not Rose could catch on.

Rose wasn't sure what I meant, and asked "What do you mean?"

"He means how we usually handle fights," Josh answered. "You remember when we first met, right? I gave cryptic hints to Adam to help us out of that fight, while not making it immediately obvious."

Rose wasn't exactly getting it, but she nodded just to be nice like she understood what Josh said partially.

"Yeah, well, unfortunately, dog man, you are to try and work as a team without your odd tactics," Cross mentioned, giving a smile at the three of us. "What I want to see is how all three of you work together without telegraphing your attacks directly to us."

"I'm sorry, but how is that telegraphing our attacks if we're being cryptic about it?" Josh asked.

"Ah, now herein lies the problem," Cross said, raising a hand to silence us. "I thought back on our first battle, J, and we all realized your trick relatively quickly. However, the thing about Team Calibur is that not every strategy will work twice on us." He then clapped his hands a couple of times, and both Chris and Nolan stepped forward, before all three of them declared to do more posing.

"Combat is my passion, but friendship and loyalty are my life. I am the Jade Blade, Scicle!" Chris said, striking a pose.

"Whether it be sword or shield, I always make my mark. I am the Golden Blade, Zweister!" Nolan said, striking a differing pose to Chris.

"And with great strength, nothing can stand in our way. For I lead them as the Ivory Blade, X-Glaive!" Cross said, striking his signature "X" pose.

"And together, we are the Ace Rank Swordsmen, Team Calibur!" they all said at once, all the while showing poses that were different from last time. Chris was holding one of his legs up while holding one arm close to his chest. Nolan just held a sash hand over his eye while resting his shield in his other arm to his side. Cross just knelt down and rested on one knee, holding his arms in an "X" like usual.

Comically, Josh just said "And your attempt at doing poses continues to astound me. What are you doing?" And just as comically, the three of them collapsed from the shock of Josh poking fun at their poses…again.

Cross chuckled, got back up on his feet, and said "Okay, we seriously need to rehearse, otherwise we're not being as imposing as intended."

I slumped forward, my own surprise to this being as baffling as ever. "Somebody remind me that they need to get their act together," I mentioned.

Anyways, it didn't take long for Cross and his team to compose themselves, before Cross mentions "You are given express permission to use whatever item you want, as long as it is a piece of equipment. For Chris, he's wearing a Pecha Scarf. Nolan gets to wear a Cover Band. As for me…" He then motions to the scarf he's wearing, before showing the Galladite that was attached. "This time, we're all going in with everything we've got. So you better plan things out carefully."

I gulped, knowing fully well that this should've been said earlier. However, I guess I wasn't paying too much attention, as Josh grabbed my arm and brought me towards him and Rose for a team meeting. Looking at Josh, I asked him "Any ideas, Josh?"

"I'm thinking. Just give me a minute," Josh pondered.

"Well, whatever it is, it'd better be good," Rose mentions, taking a look back at Team Calibur, seeing how the three of them are already making plans of their own. "Cross is an expert with combat, so beating him won't be easy."

"I'm aware of that, Rose," Josh said, trying hard not to wince from the stress. "Ooorgh… Well, let's see here… Chris is wearing a Pecha Scarf, so poison won't be in effect on him. Nolan's Cover Band makes it a guarantee he will act as a shield. And as for Cross, the challenge will be if he Mega Evolves or not during the battle."

"So, what's the plan?" I asked. "How do you suppose we should take them out?"

Josh thought about it carefully, before asking Rose "You replaced Sludge Bomb with Venoshock, correct?"

"Yes, but as you said, Chris is immune to being poisoned," Rose uttered.

"Sure, but not Cross," Josh said with a slight grin. "I have an idea, but it'll be tricky to pull off."

"So what do we do?" I asked.

Josh motioned for the both of us to group closer, and he whispered to us "Rose will wear the Fierce Bandana. This will help get her moves the edge they need to be on a similar level with us, Adam." He soon handed her a red scarf with yellow stars dotted along it, before turning to me. "Adam, since I'll be relying on you to be our defense, you get to wear the Defense Scarf." He then handed me a white silvery grey scarf, which I just looked at curiously. "As for me, I'm going in there with a Mach Ribbon." He was then able to pull out a red ribbon with a yellow arrow pin. "I prefer to be fast when confronting danger."

"Yes yes, but what is the plan?" I insisted.

"Look, all three of them are going to probably attempt to use the same strategy as before," Josh mentioned. "Cross sits in the corner using Calm Mind to boost his special defense, and in turn, make his Aura Sphere attack stronger. All the while, Chris and Nolan will end up using their refined techniques in an attempt to beat us until we're vulnerable. Adam, you will help in weakening their shield. Rose meanwhile will draw the attention of their sword, Chris, and I do what I can to provide assistance."

"And if that doesn't work?" Rose asked with worry.

Josh shrugged, and just said "Well…if that fails, we can always wing it. What do you think?"

"Wing it? Josh, are you crazy!?" I whispered loudly. "Winging it against three professionals isn't going to change anything!"

"Then please provide some sort of idea if you claim you know better, Adam," Josh suggested. "Because I'm merely relying on instinct for this one."

"Instinct?" I questioned. "Josh, you want us to act on instinct?"

"Well…yeah! You beat Lucian at chess, didn't you? You must realize that you have to trust your gut and rely on instinct to beat a tough foe."

I wanted to argue back, but the moment he brought up Lucian, I immediately began to think back to when Lucian was finally beaten. He seemed to be eager to help, but I don't know… Should I rely on my instincts? The last time that happened, I…

The last time I relied on instinct in battle was years ago. And the last time I did it, Josh got pretty badly injured, and I made a vow that I would never do anything as careless again.

Lucian's words rang in my head. "I know you can do it. Don't let the embers of Team Inferno die off, okay?"

I took a deep breath, and silently nodded, knowing that Josh wouldn't accept me backing out, especially at a time like this. Rose nervously nodded as well, as she put on her Fierce Bandana. Josh smiled, patting the both of us on our shoulders, before telling us "Whether we win or lose today, don't think about that. Instead, give it everything you got out there. Today, we focus on one thing: victory. Now…let's go spread our flames, Team Inferno."

We broke away from the formation on that note, and began to ready ourselves for our battle. I held the Defense Scarf in my hand, and I stared at the three opponents that we were supposed to defeat in combat. I was nervous. Really nervous. Almost like at any moment, things might end up going wrong for us, and we would end up unable to hold our own in battle the following day. My heart raced in my chest, as I felt like the world around me was starting to spin.

Josh and I were sparring with each other under his suggestion. He and I both wound up matching each other blow for blow per our training. We smiled as we kept on engaging in combat, all the while Wulfrock and D-Volt watched over us, monitoring our progress. Honestly, whatever they were talking about wasn't really all that important to me. What really mattered was that I show the two of them what I was capable of.

Josh and I picked up the pace, the two of us managing to strike and block each other effortlessly for a good couple of minutes. However, I felt the need to push myself further if I wanted to be of any use. So, I gripped both of Josh's paws as he tried to land some solid punches at me, and I gave a cheeky grin to him. "What's the matter? Afraid to kick it up a notch?" I taunted.

Josh struggled to loosen himself from my grip, but he smiled at me and said "I'll have you know, I'm not exactly trying to go all out. If I did, that would mean I'd be putting you in danger."

"Josh, we both complement each other through type matchups alone," I stated. "I think I can handle a few punches from you." I then let go of his paws and shoved him back, taking a cocky and determined battle stance. "Now, why don't you give me all you've got?"

Josh chuckled, taking a battle stance of his own, and replied "I guess you want to go home that badly. Fine then. Let's do this!"

The two of us then charged at each other. Josh readied some Force Palm attacks in the vain hopes of damaging me and leaving me stunned. I, on the other hand, readied against him with a few Fire Punch attacks. Our attacks struck each other for a good while, with Josh ultimately taking a few blows that really did a number on him. I too felt like I was being given a bunch of serious damage from Josh's attacks, and it simply kept me wanting to fight back harder.

I then used Throat Chop to try and land a solid strike against Josh, but he soon countered with a Bone Rush to my face, followed by a blow to the chest that knocked me back. I struggled to get back up to my feet, and Josh said "I think we should stop for now, don't you think?"

"No! I want to keep going!" I yelled, determination spread across my face.

"Adam, we need to think about our safety in this world," Josh pointed out. "After what happened at the Zero Isles, I don't want to put you through all of that trouble again."

I gritted my teeth. And for the first time in this world, I felt…frustrated. But, the reason for that was unknown for me at the time. I owed it to Josh for protecting me on Zero Isles, so I made a promise to grow stronger alongside him. And yet, the fact he chose to prematurely end our little battle was infuriating to me, like some part of me wanted to keep going.

What happened next, however, would stay with me forever…

Josh turned around to walk away, wanting our little battle to end. But the next thing I knew, I got up onto my feet, and yelled "Don't you dare walk away, Josh! This battle is far from over!" I then felt like my body temperature was rising as I charged forward, ready to strike against him with a Fire Punch attack. Josh was quick to turn around and swiftly grapple my arm with both of his hands, before he then threw me onto the ground, hard.

Josh sighed, letting go of my arm, and said "I think I've made my point before. Don't make me repeat myself."

Josh soon waited for me to get back up, before I soon gripped his arm tightly. I growled at him, as flames began to surround my body. With a grin, I told him "I'm not through yet."

This time, I wanted to beat Josh. No matter what. And as my brother struggled to escape my grip, I used Darkest Lariat and spun him around in circles, before I soon managed to then toss him up into the air. As he came back down, he didn't have any time to react as I landed a Fire Punch attack square into his jaw, knocking him a lot farther than I ever thought I could muster, as he collided with the nearby wall of the Solace Guild.

As I raised my fist into the air, laughing over my victory in this battle, that was then when I took a glance back at my brother the moment the flames surrounding me diminished. All at once, I began to suddenly worry as Josh was apparently knocked unconscious, suffering from some pretty bad injuries, as Wulfrock and D-Volt pried him out of the wall.

Josh was soon dragged into the building, as I tried to catch up, concerned for my brother's safety. As Volt took Josh inside, Wulfrock looked back at me, and said "He's fine, Adam. Give him a few hours, and he'll be fine."

"I… I didn't mean to…" I said with worry, my whole body feeling tense around me. "I was just…"

Wulfrock patted my arm, telling me "I know, Adam. I know. But you must understand that he has his limits, too. Okay?" He then looked at me square in the eye, and told me "Come on. Let's go and wait for Josh to recover."

I was scared. I simply didn't know what came over me that day. As my heart was racing, I simply stared down at my own two hands, shaking at the raw strength I just displayed. I mean, a part of me was proud over how strong I really was. But…there was this part of me that also felt afraid. Like I was now being judged deep down for being a vicious animal, and that going all out like that was a burden more than a gift.

"Adam?" Wulfrock called to me as he reached the door.

I trembled. Why did I go on like that? What was going on with me? I didn't want Josh to feel like I was slowing down, sure, but for the first time since the Zero Isles, I was scared beyond belief. Wulfrock continued to call for me to follow him, all the while I just stood there, petrified from the fear of what this could possibly mean for me in the future.

"Adam!" I heard Josh yell out, taking me out of my thoughts. I turned to him, and the Lucario asked me "Are you okay?"

"Uh…yeah. Yes. I'm fine." I took a look back down at my Defense Scarf, and I ultimately did what I could to put my insecurities behind me as I placed it around my neck.

Josh looked at me with a little concern, but ultimately nodded as he placed his Mach Ribbon onto his right arm. He then created a bone out of aura as he readied a Bone Rush attack, before taking on a fighting stance as he stared at his opponent. "Ready when you are!"

Cross smiled, as he, Nolan, and Chris took on differing positions. Chris took a leading position alongside Nolan, who appeared to be in his attack form as well. It seemed like they had some sort of plan going forward. All the while, Cross stood there, his arms crossed, as he nodded at the rest of us. As he took a battle stance of his own, he yelled "En garde!"

All at once, Chris opened with Agility, boosting the speed of his entire team as they all charged straight towards us. Nolan readied himself with Sacred Sword while Cross charged in with a Psycho Cut. Nolan seemed to be charging towards Josh while Cross went for Rose. So, naturally, as Josh nodded to me, I charged forward to take on Chris.

I readied a Fire Punch to fight against the Scyther, but his swift reaction time resulted in him leaping over my head, before being ready to strike back against me with X-Scissor. In response, I reflexively countered with a Darkest Lariat, to prevent his attack from reaching me.

"Nice!" Chris complimented. "But let's see if you can keep up!" Chris soon used Double Team and multiplied into dozens of copies. His next move was to have all of those copies charge towards me with Night Slash, which I couldn't possibly counter with very well, and I ultimately braced for impact.

"Aww, what's the matter? Where's your strength?" Chris taunted, as he sent his multiple copies towards me.

The multiple Scythers then slashed at me, and I ended up using Bulk Up to try and raise my own defenses, as steam emitted from my body to signify an increase in strength. I roared as I pushed the Scythers aside, and the multitude of copies soon vanished quickly. However, that only allowed the real Chris to charge towards me and land a solid X-Scissor to my chest, knocking me back a bit, which I took as an opportunity to leap behind me as I ended up back to back with Josh, who seemed to be having difficulty with Nolan.

"Any luck on your end?" Josh asked.

"Nope!" I answered. "You?"

"It's like trying to fight a tank," Josh replied. "Power Trick seems to be his ace in the hole."

"I see," I said. I then took a look towards Cross and Rose, and noticed that Rose was in grave danger, as Cross seemed to be pushing her back, before landing a strike against her with Aura Sphere. Gritting my teeth in frustration, I told Josh "You go and protect Rose. I'll handle Nolan."

Josh looked back at me, and questioned "What about Chris?"

"We'll worry about that when we get to that," I mentioned. "Now go!"

Josh nodded, and instantly dodged a Sacred Sword attack from Nolan, yelling "Behind you, Adam!"

Knowing what was going to happen, I used Darkest Lariat to block the oncoming Sacred Sword attack, knocking Nolan back. Josh quickly ran towards Cross, readying a Bone Rush attack to strike against him with. Cross anticipated this, and leapt out of the way, before he then charged straight towards Josh, and using Psycho Cut, which he used to fire a series of crescent blades from his arms towards him. Josh was ready to brace for impact, if not for Rose using Petal Blizzard to block the attack and protect him. Josh smiled at Rose, telling her "Thank you."

"Anytime," Rose said, using Venoshock to strike against the Gallade with everything she had.

Meanwhile, I had my attention towards Nolan, who seemed to be ready to strike at me with everything he has. "You have a different air about you, Adam. Like a young man ready to win no matter the cost."

"Let's just say I have a few tricks up my sleeve," I said, knowing fully well that Chris was not that far behind me. As I was surrounded on two sides, I had to take into account what the two of them were wearing. Chris had a Pecha Scarf. Nolan had a Cover Band. I should instead focus my attacks on Nolan, but that means being wary of my surroundings and preparing for the worst that Chris has to offer.

"Mein Freund," Nolan started, "you don't seem to know what kind of battle you're facing. You're outnumbered, and we both know your moves."

"Maybe… But I'm willing to bet that you don't know what kind of thoughts are in my head," I suggested. "After all, I've been trained by a chess master and a cunning strategist."

Nolan acknowledged my resolve, and he gave a slight chuckle. "Well then, let's see just what they managed to teach you!" He then took a glance at Chris, and yelled out "Vorrücken!"

Chris then charged towards me, and I counterattacked him with a swift Throat Chop. However, he saw that coming, and flew up into the air, leaving my backside exposed to an attack from Nolan. He used Power Trick to increase his own attack power, and he soon charged a Steel Beam attack. I panicked, and quickly shielded myself for impact. The Steel Beam soon fired, as I was then engulfed in a powerful attack. This was far more powerful than what Nolan demonstrated to me a few days ago. So naturally, I had to do what I can to endure.

Nolan finished his attack, wincing from the energy he wasted upon firing it, and he and Chris stared at me as I stood there, having sustained heavy damage as I was rather battered and bruised from the Steel Beam attack. If I wasn't already a Fire-type, there would've been a chance I could possibly go down from such an impact. I stumbled as I fell by one knee, breathing intensely as I barely felt like I survived that attack.

"Good thing he was a Fire-type," Chris added. "Now, what do you suppose we should do with him?"

"Obviously, take him out," Nolan brought up. "Without a shield, that leaves Josh and Rose vulnerable."

"Ah, I see," Chris added. "Now, can you still fight?"

"Ja," Nolan said. "But that last attack was a risky one."

Chris nodded, before looking towards me as I knelt down. "Adam. Are you going to call it quits?"

As Chris asked that question, I looked towards Josh and Rose, seeing the both of them struggle to hold their own against Cross. Josh even went as far as block a Leaf Blade attack from Cross, only for the latter to then leap up into the air and fire simultaneous Psycho Cut attacks against my teammates. Cross seems to be getting an edge against the two of them, and I was just standing there… Watching it happen. The sight of Josh being knocked back by the attack in particular bringing back memories…

As Josh was recovering in the medical wing, I sat next to him on a chair. I was worried sick over the idea that he could possibly be angry with me over my insistence with wanting to continue our battle, despite him telling me that we've had enough. And not only did I not listen to him, but I ultimately ended up hurting him pretty badly.

The moment that Volt entered the room, he noticed that I was sitting there, staring at Josh with worry, just waiting for him to wake up. He sighed, and told me "Puss… Let this be a reminder for you in the future. Your own reckless nature ended up putting your brother into this place."

I whimpered as Volt's words stung into my core. "I didn't mean to do this to him. We were only sparring. I have no idea what happened."

"I think I know the answer to that one," Volt mentioned. "Tell me, are you at all familiar with wrestling?"

Looking at him, I mentioned "I've heard of it. But…I never got to see any wrestling matches."

"I thought so," Volt said, before crossing his arms and staring at me with a glare. "Your species is known as an Incineroar. They are often referred to as the Heel Pokémon."

"The Heel Pokémon?" I asked, almost with worry. "What does that mean?"

"In a sense, a heel in wrestling is someone who is supposed to rile up the crowd," Volt answered. "They are the ones who tend to be portrayed as the opponent most people expect to be defeated, thanks in large part to their dirty tactics and underhanded methods. In other words, they are the villains of wrestling."

I was shocked from hearing this. What Volt mentioned to me was a cold shock of reality. I was unable to think. Unable to breathe. I felt as if I had just been given a startling realization over what Pokémon I ended up taking the role of.

"Incineroar are prideful of their own combat, and tend to be incredibly violent when facing a tough opponent," Volt continued. "They often disregard the safety of either themselves or others in order to win. Sometimes, they may even ignore the orders and instructions of others because of how aggressive they can be."

Hearing all of this, I placed my head into my hands, and trembled. "I… I had no idea… I only took this appearance because Incineroar was my favorite." Tears were starting to pour from my face as I clenched my fists in anger against my own foolishness. "I… I'm not a villain, am I? After all, Josh saved me on the Zero Isles. And I saved him in return. I can't be a villain."

"I don't know if that was because of your desire to escape from this world, or if it was your own Incineroar instincts awakening inside of you, but regardless, you brought this upon yourself," Volt said sternly. "Let this be a reminder for what happens if you decide to ever be aggressive towards your brother. What you need to do is control those Pokémon instincts and make them a part of who you are."

"Make them…a part of me?" I questioned, looking at Volt with a hint of anger. I gripped the Electabuzz by his neck, holding him up into the air. "Do you think I asked to be like this!? I never wanted to be trapped in a virtual world, let alone as something that isn't even human! And you're telling me to make this body a part of me!?"

Volt was struggling to breathe, and all I really wanted to do was choke the life out of him. That's what my brain seemed to be telling me in that instant.

But then, I felt a sudden grip on my tail, and that caused me to turn around, and see that Josh was awake. He gave me a glare, and without saying a single word, I understood exactly what it was he wanted me to do. He wanted me to stop what I was doing before things got worse.

I looked back at Volt, and saw how my own hand was choking him, before I quickly dropped him and backed away. Volt coughed as he tried to catch his breath. I felt incredibly tense, and I stared at my hands as I stood there, shaking.

"Adam is no villain," Josh said, grabbing our attention as he let go of my tail. As Josh sat up, he stared at Volt with an intense glare. "If you dare say anything of the sort again, you'll pay dearly for it, Volt. I swear you will."

Volt was able to catch his breath, before standing back up as he looked at me. "Like you know how to treat Adam after what happened today!" he stated. "Adam's strength is remarkable, and yet you seem to believe that he can learn to hone it to help save the both of you. Yes. I'd say mission accomplished. You proved that Adam still has a few things to work over!"

"And I know that!" Josh yelled back. "You don't know what Adam went through! Just give me time, and I can help him!"

"What you both need is to grow up and understand that you need to embrace this is your new reality!" Volt argued. "You, Mutt, can accept it just fine. And if that's the case, then why, pray tell, does Puss seem to be struggling to come to grips with who he is? Is he that desperate to die out there?"

"How dare you say that! Don't you dare mention that in front of us ever again!"

"STOP IT! I CAN'T TAKE IT!" I yelled, scaring the both of them as I ran off to my room. Josh wanted to chase after me, but he still winced from pain due to our previous battle.

As I ran up to our room, I slammed the door behind me, and leaned against it. I was scared. I was angry. I was in a panicked daze.

Trying to collect my thoughts, I walked up to a nearby sink and started to spray cold water up to my face to calm my nerves. Once I did so, I tried everything I could to compose myself. Before long, I stared up at the mirror in front of me, and I stared at my own reflection. I felt intimidated by the fact that this was no longer a human staring back at me. I've been here for over a month, and yet the fact that I was still trapped here didn't really sink in until now.

Volt's words rang in my head as I stared at my reflection. The Incineroar that stared back at me was just as scared as I was. I grew frustrated with myself, and in a fit of rage, I punched the mirror in front of me, shattering it.

By the time that Josh fully recovered and made it back to our room a few hours later, the room was in tatters. I was so furious with myself, that I destroyed the entire room out of anger. I sat there in the middle of the room, sulking to myself.

Josh slowly walked up to me, and he gently sat down by my side. "Adam?" he asked. "Are you okay?"

I looked over at Josh, tears in my eyes, and unable to form coherent sentences, I gave him a hug. I cried right into his shoulder, scared beyond belief. Josh was there to comfort me that day, as he patted my back and did what he could to calm me down. I could also feel him trembling a bit, though since he was the older brother, he did what he could to hold back his tears. And yet, it wasn't long before I felt the warm liquid of tears fall from his face and onto my back.

I made a vow that day. A vow to retain my own sense of identity. And that meant I had to defy my own instincts as an Incineroar. What I wanted the most was to return home with Josh. To be human again. That was all I asked for.

As Josh thudded to the ground during his scuffle with Cross, my attention was soon drawn towards the sudden sight of Chris charging at me. I narrowly ducked and began use Bulk Up, increasing my overall strength, before charging towards Nolan.

"Bitte, don't strain yourself, Adam!" Nolan said, reflexively using King's Shield to protect himself from my Fire Punch attack. I could feel my strength beginning to wane as I kept on throwing punch after punch as I raged against him. Nolan was being pushed back, but I chose not to give up at that moment. However, as I felt like my own strength was faltering to do nothing to this Aegislash, Nolan pointed out "You can't hold out forever, Adam! You're only wasting your energy!"

I smugly grinned at him, telling him "I'm not the one who wasted energy." And as I thought, I could tell that Chris was close behind me, ready to slash at me with Night Slash. And just like that, I gripped the Aegislash when he least expected it, and suplexed Nolan directly into the path of Chris. The Night Slash ended up slicing Nolan in two, and his body disintegrated into a series of pixels, with the message "Zweister has fainted" appearing in his place.

Chris instantly backed away from me, yelling "That's a dirty trick!"

For me, however, I didn't care. I got up, giving Chris a smug grin, and clenched my fist, ready for Round 2. "Incineroar can be aggressive in combat. I thought that was obvious, Chris. Especially since I tend to do any tactic necessary to win!" I then charged at him with a Fire Punch, only to then realize that in my effort to try and get rid of Nolan, I ultimately had my strength sapped away, and as soon as the punch hit Chris, he didn't even flinch as he held his ground.

Chris chuckled, before saying "That's cute. But still, you're not out of the woods yet, kitty." He then kicked away from me before he then used Double Team, surrounding the entire battlefield. "Nolan's down, Cross! You know what to do!"

Cross smiled while he parried Josh and Rose's attacks, before he then leaped high into the air. "Time for the real fun to begin!" He then tapped at the Galladite and began glowing brightly before landing on the ground. Upon standing up, his form had changed as the glow faded, and he was suddenly a Mega Gallade.

Taking the time to rush to my teammates, I saw that Josh and Rose were partially worn down, but still staying strong. Curious, I asked them "How did you do against him?"

Josh panted, turning to me, and asked me "What do you think?"

"There was just no stopping him," Rose said in between breaths. "He's fast. Really fast."

"Yeah, well, unfortunately, as long as Chris is active, he's only going to be moving faster with that enhanced strength of his," I mentioned. "I just barely hanged in there when I defeated Nolan."

Josh smiled at me, and gave a gentle fist bump to my shoulder. "I knew you had it in you," Josh said. "Now, to destroy Chris before taking on Cross."

"But how?" Rose asked. "Chris is immune to poison, not to mention Adam's not going to last long if that's the case."

That's when I chuckled, before saying "I think I have a solid strategy going. I say we do a pretty risky maneuver."

"Woah! Who are you, and what have you done with my brother?" Josh asked with some renewed confidence.

"Look, what I'm saying is we use a flaming torrent. Make it rain fire," I suggested. "Rose, your Petal Blizzard attack could prove valuable."

"Wait, my Petal Blizzard?" Rose asked curiously. "But Adam, you don't have any ranged attacks."

I smiled at her, and mentioned "Trust me." I then turned my attention towards Josh, and he smiled, and said "In that case, a use of Petal Blizzard should provide some decent cover. Adam, Rose, I'm counting on you to take care of Chris. I'll handle Cross."

"So you're the bait? For what?" Rose asked.

"When he loses Chris in the storm of flaming petals, he'll lose his speed advantage," Josh answered. "When that happens, I will so what I can to dispose of Cross. The moment Chris is gone, Rose, use Toxic to surround the arena, and Adam, light it on fire. I'll handle things personally."

This plan was crazy. It had a bunch of insane ideas. But sure enough, Rose and I nodded in approval as we waited for the chance to listen to Josh's signal. Josh readied a Bone Rush attack once more, and as he and Cross made eye contact, Josh said "Cross, for the longest time since I've met you, you've been crazy, unpredictable, and full of surprises." He then pointed the bone towards Cross's direction, and declared "This time, however, your reign as the greatest fighter will be dethroned."

Cross smirked at Josh's declaration. "We shall see." Cross then took a battle stance, ready for anything Josh could throw at him. "Let's dance."

Josh took the invitation and ran towards Cross, as Chris's Double Team swarm started to charge at him. At that note, I told Rose "Now! Fire a Petal Blizzard!"

Rose got on top of my shoulders as I lifted her up, and she mentioned "I hope you guys know what you're doing!" She then fired a Petal Blizzard attack, as pink petals started to surround the both of us. Giving it all of her effort, she fired the attack onto the oncoming swarm of Scyther in the air, which I ended up lighting on fire using my Fire Punch technique. The flaming petals are then whisked into multiple directions as the Scyther that are surrounding us slowly start to try and evade the oncoming attack, distracted from fighting Josh as he attempts to solo against Cross.

"What are you two trying to accomplish through this?" Chris asked. "You guys are being rather risky, if this also ends up hitting Josh."

"This won't!" I shouted. "I'll put my faith in Rose for this one!"

Rose seemed rather touched as she continued firing the Petal Blizzard in every direction. Rose then saw the range of the blizzard itself spreading to reach Josh and Cross, and breathed as she continued onwards. "JOSH! HEAD'S UP!"

Josh swiftly then deflected the Flaming Petal Blizzard combo with a Double Team, followed by all of his copies twirling a Bone Rush to deflect the attack. The moment that the blizzard blew past him, the Lucario copies vanished. Cross, meanwhile, could only brace for the attack as the entire battlefield is suddenly engulfed in flaming petals.

Chris, unfortunately for him, couldn't dodge every flaming petal heading in his direction, as the entire sky lit with small embers that strung right through him. Realizing he's at a disadvantage in the air, he recklessly tried to charge towards Josh. That's when Josh struck Cross with a Bone Rush, which Cross ended up deflecting, and Josh yelled to us "NOW!"

Rose then jumped into my arms, and I chucked her up into the air, where she then fired a Toxic attack in a circle around both Josh and Cross. And the moment that one of the flaming petals ended up touching the poisonous substance, it set on fire, engulfing Josh and Cross around a massive wall of flames, making access for Chris practically impossible.

"What!?" Chris exclaimed as he was stopped by a giant fire wall. The moment that he turned to see us, Rose and I stood ready to face against Chris and finish him off. The three of us couldn't see what was going on with Josh and Cross, but it was obvious that the two of them were going to fight it out.

Cross, recognizing he's fallen for a trap, he said "You're either really smart, or really crazy. This fire could technically kill you!"

"I would worry less about the fire and more about the toxic fumes," Josh mentioned, making his distance from Cross. "Toxic is a Poison-type move that eats away at your own health. But guess what? I'm part Steel-type. The fumes won't affect me that much."

Cross soon took a small whiff of the toxic fumes, and started coughing, and from his status, he appears to be suffering from a "Badly Poisoned" status effect. Cross grinned, a purple streak across his face (a sign of being poisoned), and he said "Well played. But let's see if I can beat you before I end up collapsing."

"Yes. Let's." Josh then charged towards Cross as the two of them engaged in intense combat.

Meanwhile, Chris, having no choice but to fight me and Rose, smiled at the both of us. "You guys think you're so clever. Putting everything like this on the line. I must admit, I never would've seen such bizarre strategies like this before meeting you." He then readied himself with an X-Scissor, and said "How about we settle it here?"

After cracking my knuckles, I used Bulk Up once more to raise my strength, before then deciding to light my fist on fire in preparation to use a Fire Punch. "Rose… In case I don't make it, I want you to finish him off."

"Right. Be careful, Adam." Rose then backed off as I was left to face the Scyther by myself.

All at once, my body temperature felt like it was rising again, as I could feel like it was slowly starting to be set on fire. But then again, I wonder if that was really the case, or I was feeling the heat of the arena engulfing me. Either way, I could feel that this next attack was going to decide everything.

Chris, meanwhile, I could see was suddenly glowing a bright green aura around his body. My guess this was the ability of Swarm. His X-Scissor attack was going to hit hard if that was the case. Of course, I chose to oppose him using something that could be super effective against him, despite how my strength seems to be lower than I would've liked.

Regardless, this was the first time since that day three years ago when I've felt this way. I felt determined to finish my opponent off no matter what. I could see that Chris was ready to end this, too, so no doubt in my mind he was willing to see where this was going to go.

Before long, the two of us charged towards each other. My heart was racing, and I was willing to do what I can to finish him off. This was it! The moment for me to change everything! I was going to win!

I remember when Josh was thrown in the air, and I soon smacked him to the other side of the battlefield with a solid Fire Punch to the jaw, smashing him against the wall.

I remember sitting next to Josh's hospital bed, listening to Volt's words about my nature as an Incineroar to my face, labeling me as a villain.

I remember staring at my reflection in the mirror, and being so furious with myself that I punched the reflection until it shattered.

I remember when Josh sat there by my side, comforting me, and the vow I made to myself to never be as aggressive ever again.

I remember…

All at once, I began to hesitate, and I felt the flame I had inside of me start to wane. My Fire Punch was put out, and I couldn't help but slow my actions as I couldn't bear the thoughts of the trauma of what I went through years ago. I wasn't ready. Not for a while.

Chris soon landed a solid strike against me, and I could feel the attack actually cut into my chest, leaving some faint blood to start coming out, before I collapsed. Defeated, I just lay there, unable to rekindle that flame I was told to keep strong. I'm sorry, Josh. I don't know if I'm ready yet.

Chris failed to notice that the moment I collapsed, Rose fired a Venoshock attack towards Chris, and combined with the damage he sustained earlier from both my earlier efforts and the Flaming Petal Blizzard, was enough to finally defeat him, as he too collapsed. A message above Chris's head said "Scicle has fainted" as he laid there on the ground.

Rose rushed over to my side, where she then flipped me onto my back, noticing the small cuts that Chris left behind on my chest. "Oh my God. Adam. Adam! Are you okay!?"

I smiled, looking over at Rose, before saying "Yeah. I think so. Though…why does my chest suddenly feel so wet?"

"You're bleeding. Here, I'll help heal you up," Rose mentioned, before she then looked into her bag and pulled out a white gauze that she then wrapped around me to help stop the bleeding. "Once Josh is done with Cross, I'll see if I can find you an Oran Berry or something to help speed up the healing."

"Thank you, Rose," I said with a smile. As I stared at my hand, I couldn't help but say to myself "I almost felt like myself out there."

"Hmm? What do you mean?" Rose asked.

"For years, I always wondered if I was trying to embrace who I am as a person, or as a Pokémon. But for just a moment, I felt like I was both. Was this…what it's like for Josh? And Cross?"

Rose couldn't help but think the same thing, as she then mentioned "When you and Chris were charging towards each other, I noticed that you were almost lit ablaze. Like…the fire itself was becoming one with you. Maybe…that's a part of it? Don't you think so?"

As I turned my attention towards Rose, I had to agree she made a good point. I then stared back at my hand, and I couldn't help but picture what that feeling was like at the back of my head. And deep down, I had to ask myself: Is this me as a human? Or as an Incineroar? Which one is it?

While I was thinking all of that, the flame wall was slowly diminishing, as Rose and I could see a few seconds of Josh and Cross trading blows with one another, until the both of them seemed practically exhausted from the sparring. They both panted for breath, ready to continue until one of them was going to collapse. As it turns out, that would happen sooner rather than later. Cross could feel the effects of the poison in his system take a hold, and he soon collapsed, reverting back to his original form as a result.

The battle was rough, but miraculously, we won.

Team Calibur was defeated by Team Inferno.

Mount Sanda was under constant surveillance as two adventurers decided to pass by. One of them held up a poster of Zeraora, seeing the description of his hideout, and mentioned "There's no mistaking it. This is the place."

"Yeah. Do you think that they'll let us through?" the second one asked.

"Ace, if I know anything, they'll be sure to let us through to hunt him down," the first one said. "Come on. Let's go."

They both soon approached the mountain entrance, where standing in their way, there stood two guards. One was a Meowscarada, while the other was a Golisopod. They both soon looked at the two figures approaching, and the Golisopod was the first to walk forward and obstruct their path. "I don't want to go in there if I were you," the Golisopod said. "After all, it's still a likely death trap, given that Zeraora could still be in there."

"Oh, we're aware, all right," the second cloaked figure said. "We just want to hunt him down and eliminate him."

The Golisopod was almost dumbfounded upon hearing this, before whispering "You do realize that he's a rogue AI, right? One wrong slip-up, and that could mean a world of crap for everyone. If he's in there, then you need to stay out of this while we are currently surrounding the area. We need to find his hideout, and once we do, WHAM! We get him where it hurts!"

"Wow," Ace added. "Um, could we perhaps help out? After all, if this Pokémon is let loose, it could mean bad things for trapped players, right? Therefore, we want to help as much as we can!"

The Golisopod soon looked at Ace suspiciously, before asking "What's with the hoods?"

"The hoods?" Ace questioned, before he then immediately stated "OH! Yeah! Sorry!" He then removed his hood, revealing his Cinderace appearance to the Golisopod. "If I offended you, I'm so sorry! I guess that means we could try to talk things over?"

"Talk things over?" the Golisopod questioned, staring at the two of them. "Regarding Zeraora?"

"Yes," the second cloaked figure said. "We believe that we can try and catch Zeraora much faster if you allowed us to run an investigation in there."

"Okay, wise guy. What are you a detective or something?" the Golisopod asked.

"I'm a hunter, actually," the second cloaked figure answered. "My name is…"

"I don't care if you're a hunter or not. Nobody's going up that mountain," the Meowscarada interrupted, walking towards the strange duo. "We are members of the Moon Guild in Esther. We call ourselves Team Sakura. The second highest ranked team in the guild, behind Team Nagi, though they seem to find it amusing to want to sit by and chit chat with each other instead of taking their jobs seriously."

Username: Cerefleur Species: Meowscarada Team: Sakura

Username: IsoShogun Species: Golisopod Team: Sakura

"Ah, well, pleasure to meet you," the cloaked figure said to them. "But trust me when I say this, you'll probably need someone like me to investigate."

"Oh, and why is that?" Cerefleur asked.

"Because unlike you, I have a particular set of skills that could be of benefit," the cloaked figure said, before he then removed his hood. Upon doing so, he instantly took Team Sakura by surprise, and stunned them both into silence. The figure in question revealed exactly what kind of species he is.

He's a Lucario.

Username: Canis Species: Lucario Team: Alpha

As both Cerefleur and IsoShogun were stunned silent by all of this, Canis was quick to reiterate "Now, will you let us through, please? This is very important."

"You're him… LucarioTrainerJ!" Cerefleur stated in total shock.

Canis and Ace were both confused by her reaction, and Ace was quick to say "Now hold on here! We don't know what you're talking about! We're just here to…"

"Heath! Stop Team Inferno, NOW!" Cerefleur commanded, readying an attack.

Without warning IsoShogun ended up using the move First Impression, landing a solid strike against Canis without warning, knocking him back towards the mountain. Ace was so stunned by the display that he failed to notice Cerefleur use U-Turn on him, resulting in her partner to come in and attack using Liquidation, knocking the Cinderace back towards his Lucario partner, as they both were knocked unconscious.

The Golisopod soon turned to his partner, and asked "Should we contact Rohan about this?"

"No. I was hoping to have an order of Darjeeling tea with biscuits. YES, contact Rohan about this!" The Golisopod took her attitude to heart and made an immediate run back towards the guild.

Meanwhile, Cerefleur was standing there, looking over the two unconscious players. "All I was told about you was that Team Inferno was led by a Lucario. If you are what I think you are, I do apologize for all of this. I just can't bear the idea of two players crossing paths with Zeraora, especially with regards to how you almost died to him twice. I can't exactly put you in danger, after all."

The last thing that was on Ace's mind that day prior to blacking out was simple: What kind of crazy hell have we run ourselves into, Josh? Where are you?