WELCOME TO A WORLD OF BLOODY EVOLUTION!
The rating of the story was changed to M due to the direct mention of a heavy subject that I'd rather don't spoil or you might have already caught with the (kinda obvious) hints given in the last two chapters. oh well.
Let's get into it.
"This is a special message from the Naranja Academy, now that it's been almost two years since the incident, it seems like the perfect moment to tell you that we're terribly sorry that the villainous Team Star forced you to drop out from our prestigious academy. We know Team Star pestered you for months and that simply leaving was the best choice you had to escape from those savages. That's why we'd like to offer you a chance to return to your studies in our Academy, we know that we failed to protect you from Team Star, but have it be known that the Academy now has a completely new staff. They were informed of what happened and they'll make sure that none of you have to suffer from such threats again and we can assure you that this menace known as Team Star will be promptly dealt with and punished for what they shamelessly did to you, they'll all be expelled and arrested, we'll be waiting for your return... signed by Director Clavell."
"Those idiots bullied us for years and no one ever cared! And when we finally gathered the courage to stand up and fight back, the bullies are now the victims?! So they want to make us the villains? They want to treat us as the villains? They want to expell us! They want to arrest us?! Heh, not if we strike first!"
"We're gonna burn down the Naranja Academy into nothing but an ugly black! WE'LL TURN THE WHOLE BUILDING TO CINDERS!"
"Well, well, well, looks like our special guests did arrive after all." Mela smiled.
"So the group that she mentioned..." Atticus trailed off.
"Why don't you just show yourselves and save us the trouble?" Ortega asked.
"Guess there's no use in hiding anymore." Dendra was the first to take off the helmet and was followed by the rest of the group, with Ash taking a step forwards as the Grunts surrounded them.
"Speak of the devil 2.0, huh?" Giacomo asked.
"So this is Ash Ketchum..." Eri said clenching her fists again.
"The villainous trench who was meant to be a danger to us." Atticus said.
"Welp, is always a pain in the ass to see you, Ketchum." Mela said. "You didn't have enough with stealing Charlos from me, did you?"
"Charlos decided to come with me because he wants me to stop you." Ash answered releasing Armarouge who set his eyes in Mela. "He knows this isn't what you want."
"Pfft, you have no idea of what we want." Mela smirked.
"I can see you all care for each other and I can tell you suffered." Ash answered. "But I can't let you do this."
"SHUT UP!" Eri shouted jumping from the stage and landing in front of the group, causing the ground to shake a little. "ASH KETCHUM! YOU'LL PAY FOR TAKING HER AWAY FROM US! I'M GONNA BEAT YOUR ASS LIKE A RILLABOOM DRUM!"
"Why a Rillaboom drum specifically?" Clive asked.
"Maybe because she looks like one." Nemona whispered.
"Hey! No body shaming!" Iono said.
"Take her away from you?" Ash asked. "What is going on in this place?"
"If you want to hurt him you'll have to get through me!" Dendra shouted.
"Alright, I'm flexible." Eri crackled her knuckles while the rest of the grunts released their Pokemon.
"And as you can imagine, Ketchum, we can't let you go now that you know the plan." Mela said as Slither Wing roared again.
"I-I have to help them." Penny stuttered hiding behind the crowd. "But then they'd know the truth... and if I help them I'd be a fully-fledged traitor to Team Star... what am I supposed to do?"
.
"They got us outnumbered one to fifty at least." Clive said.
"Don't worry about that. The five of us are enough." Ash said releasing Lokix, Arctibax and Sawsbuck, who joined with Pikachu, Charlos and Skeledirge. "It's just like Penny told us that time, it doesn't matter how outnumbered they got us."
"It's not the size of the 'Mon in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the 'Mon!" Nemona exclaimed releasing her Pawmot, Quaxwell, Arboliva and Oinkologne.
"No one gets inside our circle!" Iono shouted releasing her Mismagius, Bellibolt and Kilowattrel.
"Like five stars shining in the heavens!" Dendra shouted releasing her three Tauros and Medicham.
"Let's do it then!" Clive added releasing an Oranguru, Abomasnow and Polteageist.
The battle then unfolded and the Grunts were the first ones to attack while the bosses stayed behind, the fight unfolded and attacks flew left and right, back and forth, while Ash's group kept the advantage from the beginning and Penny stayed in the background, telling her Pokemon to use attacks on the Grunts' Pokemon to help her friends without them noticing, the battle grew longer and Ash's team was forced to separate in order to keep track of their Pokemon, and once the last Grunt was defeated each of heroes ended up facing one of the five bosses.
.
"Slither Wing, use Lunge!" Mela ordered and the bug jumped to then smack down Pikachu, Skeledirge and Charlos with his tail, the trio then countered with Thunderbolt, Torch Song and Armor Cannon, but the three attacks were avoided and Slither Wing then attacked them all with a Wild Charge.
.
"Oranguru, Focus Blast!" Clive ordered and his Pokemon sent an orange orb of energy towards Ortega's Dachsbun.
"Play Rough!" Ortega answered and his Dachsbun jumped to avoid the attack and fell over Oranguru landing a double slash with his front paws.
"Ortegoon, I don't quite follow your flow." Clive said while he brushed his hair. "You're the son of a wealthy family and hair of a major apparel company, why would you join a gang of baddies like Team Star?"
"Because this gang of baddies are my only friends and the only people who understand me!" Ortega shouted. "And I will not let anyone talk them down! I'll be there for them because they were there for me when I needed them too!"
"I see..." Clive said.
.
"Well, if it isn't my cheap replacement." Giacomo said along his Bisharp.
"I think you mean your better version." Nemona answered with her Pawmot by her side. "The Student Council has never been better than it is right now, though I admit cleaning your mess and random rules was quite a bother."
"Argh, enough talking! Come on, show me what you got!" Giacomo shouted.
"¿Quieres que empiece? Vaya problema, no lucharé contra ti mientras temas..." Nemona replied. "...Ha! Kidding! I never say no to a battle! Bring it on!"
.
"And Stream Start!" Iono exclaimed to her Rotom Phone along her Bellibolt. "One live ass-beating on the way."
"Thy filthy attitude disgust me." Atticus told her along his Revavroom "Thou incorporate the whole wrong of our generation."
"I don't know what you're saying, but I know you're lying!" Iono replied.
.
"You must be Eri." Dendra said to the muscle idol. "The used-to-be-star of the Battle Studies Class."
"And why do you care about that?" Eri asked.
"Because I'm the current teacher of that class and something tells me you and I would get along in different circumstances."
"Too bad for you that this is the current situation."
"Well, let's see if you're as tough as I've heard!" Dendra exclaimed along her three Paldean Tauros, one of each breed.
"Ha! You think Annie can't handle three Tauros?" Eri laughed while her Annihilape prepared herself. "Come at us! One Tauros is for cowards!"
.
"Psychic!" Clive's Oranguru raised his fan and Ortega's Dachsbun was rose in the air and then slammed into the ground several times until he was knocked out.
"NO!" Ortega shouted to then slam his staff onto the floor. "Why won't you people leave us alone?! Who do you think you are?!"
"The name's Clive." He answered brushing his hair again. "And it looks like I still got much to learn. I got a few more questions for you, Ortegoon...Huh?" Clive closed his eyes for a second as he meditated only to notice Ortega had already left the scene. "Well, that was quite rude."
.
"Brick Break!" Nemona's Pawmot jumped up and then fell down with a Karate Chop over Giacomo's Bisharp and knocked it out completely.
"Argh, not again!" Giacomo shouted. "If we keep up like this, you'll never evolve, man!"
"Great job, pal!" Nemona cheered on her Pawmot.
"YOU!" Giacomo shouted pointing to Nemona. "What makes you think you can stop us?!"
"What makes you think I'll let you burn down my school?!" Nemona answered.
"You don't know the half of the abuse, not even a quarter of the horrible things that happened in that school." Giacomo said. "If you knew you would never defend it like that."
"I've heard about the bullying in the past, but things aren't like that anymore. The school is a completely safe place now."
"It's not as simple as that. The damage is already done." Giacomo scoffed. "After all, rezando dos 'Arceus Nuestro' el asesino no revive a su muerto." He said to then return his Bisharp and run away.
"Hmm..." Nemona simply stayed silent for a moment.
.
"Use Soak!" Iono's Bellibolt shot down an orb of water towards Atticus' Revavroom and caused it turn light blue, changing him to a Water-Type. "Now Zap Cannon!" Bellibolt charged energy in his stomach to then expell it out with a huge blast that knocked out Revavroom with an explosion.
"Tsk, my aim is true but my mind is conflicted." Atticus said.
"And that's another win to Team Ketchum!" Iono smiled to the camera. "Don't forget to like and suscribe, fellas!"
"You really think this win of yours represents a victory?" Atticus asked as he recalled Revavroom.
"Uh, yeah, that's what a win means." Iono replied.
"NO! You do not understand." Atticus sighed. "As much as I didn't fully agree with my partners' plan, there's only one chance left to take the right stand, and that is ripping out the evil by its roots. My hand may not be steady, but I feel certain now. With this chaos will come honor, and with honor redemption."
"Okay, uh, I only understood honor between all that." Iono said. "But how can you even speak of honor? You want to burn down a school!"
"A school that burned us away first." Atticus replied. "But spare me the talk, I am not deterred. Ninpō shissō no jutsu!" He shouted tossing a white smoke bomb to the ground and disappearing from sight.
"Pfft, how dramatic." Iono said.
.
"Rage Fist!" Eri shouted as her Annihilape attacked Dendra's three Tauros. "Rage Fist! Rage Fist!" She kept shouting while the three Tauros dodged, but the Combat breed was eventually hit and knocked out.
"You want rage? I'll give you rage!" Dendra replied she made some fighting movements and the Blaze and Aqua Tauros stood side by side. "Raging Bull! Horn Passing Horn!" The two Tauros made a forward jump at the same time and rotated their bodies together while they were surrounded in water and fire, crashing down on Annihilape and knocking her out.
"And that's all." Dendra clapped to herself while her Tauros headbutted each other to celebrate their victory.
"N-No..." Eri knelt on the ground defeated. "I... I'm so sorry, everyone."
"...Listen, Eri, I told you, you don't seem like a bad girl at all." Dendra said getting closer to her. "If you and your friends were really the victims all this time, then you all have to go to the Academy and talk it out."
"TALK IT OUT?!" Eri shouted standing up again and stomping the ground. "That's what we tried to do for years and no one ever listened!"
"But you know the school changed its full staff after the incident." Dendra answered. "All of my coworkers are great, even Raifort who acts a bit suspicious most of the time, I promise things will be different this time. You guys have to stop all this, what you're trying to do is simply wrong!"
"No! We can't back down after everything that happened!" Eri said in the verge of tears. "Focus, Eri, take the anger piercing your heart and turn it into strength... There's one more thing I can do." Eri took a deep breath and made a quick spinning kick that Dendra blocked crossing her arms, but the teacher was still pushed back by it; and before she could notice, Eri had already disappeared from her sight.
"What in the- How did I even lose someone so big?" Dendra wondered looking around "...And what is that poor girl thinking to do now?"
.
"Crunch!" Ash ordered his Skeledirge who tried to bit down Slither Wing, but the bug quickly grabbed him by his nose and tossed the croc aside.
"Iron Tail!" Pikachu fell from above with his attack, but Slither Wing smacked him away with a Lunge of his own tail.
"Icicle Crash!" Arctibax shot several ice spears from his mouth, but Slither Wing broke them all with a Close Combat and then sent the dragon flying away with a strong kick.
"Bounce!" Sawsbuck jumped and fell from above, but Slither Wing caught him mid air and smacked her onto the floor.
"Axe Kick!" Lokix jumped to attack, but he was stopped by a point-black Hyper Beam from Slither Wing.
"Well, this doesn't look good for someone." Mela laughed while Ash returned his defeated Pokemon, even Pikachu, most to his dislike, with only Charlos left standing. "Cut it off, Ketchum! Not even you can beat Slither Wing!"
"Arma!" Charlos shouted at her.
"Heh, I'll give you one last chance to give up or I'll have no quarrel at all with you two." Mela said.
"We're not going to give up! We can't let you do something like this!" Ash said.
"Try and stop us then." Mela said while Slither Wing roared. "That surely has been working so far."
"I-"
"Ash ketchum!" Eri ran to him and suddenly grabbed him by his neck with her right hand, Charlos tried to go and help him, but he was sent flying by a kick from Eri. "So you think we're evil, right?!" She shouted to Ash again. "You think we're just another bunch of goonies you can beat! Don't you?!"
"Eri..." Penny whispered with heavy breathing as she looked at the scene, still hiding between the crowd of Grunts. "No, you wouldn't."
"It's about time you suffer like we did." Eri continued. "I won't let you take this away from me!" She shouted to then slam Ash onto the ground while still holding him by his neck, leaving him unable to scream or grunt from the pain. "I should have found you and leave your face too mangled to identify the first time Mela told me about you. I bet you think you're immortal, don't you, little legend? Well, let me tell you something, you may be the strongest trainer in the world, but you made one fatal mistake: YOU MESSED WITH MY FAMILY!" She shouted to then raise her free fist.
"ERI, STOP!" Penny shouted coming out of the crowd to then put herself in between Eri's fist and Ash, with the fighting girl barely having time to stop her fist before it reached Penny.
"Penny... get out of the way." Eri said.
"If you want to hurt him... then you'll have to kill me first!" Penny shouted.
"P-Penny..." Ash called her with difficulty. "What are you doing here?"
"I-I'm sorry." Penny stuttered. "For everything."
"You'll pay for taking her away from us..." Ash repeated what Eri told him earlier. "...You?"
"Eri, please!" Penny shouted. "You've always been the kindest of Team Star, I can't stand seeing you like this."
"LIKE THIS?! YOU CAUSED THIS" Eri shouted to then suddenly toss Ash away, making him crash roughly on the ground.
"Ash!" Penny shouted and tried to go and aid him, but Eri suddenly grabbed her by her hood, not too hard to harm penny, but more than enough to stop her from moving. "E-Eri..."
"You want me to stop?" Eri asked while Ash stood up again albeit with difficulty while holding his neck. "Then tell him everything, all the truth, let's see how much he loves when he learns who you really are."
"Guys!" Nemona made it into the scene and was about to intervene, but she was stopped by Iono. "W-What are you doing?!"
"P-Penny can handle this!" Iono replied. "She has to! She needs to do this!"
"What... do you mean?" Nemona asked as she looked at the scene.
"Don't... you hurt her." Ash said between coughs.
"Ash, everything is gonna be okay." Penny told him. "She'd never hurt me... We... she... I am..." Penny tried to start explaining but the words wouldn't come out of her mouth.
"See? You can't even admit it." Eri said. "To think I used to look up to you, we all looked up to you."
"I know you did... but I never deserved that." Penny sighed to then look then at Ash. "Ash, you deserve to know the truth, I... I am the founder and the original Big Boss of Team Star." She finally confessed earning a gasp from Ash, Eri and Nemona, while Iono let out a small smile and the other bosses along Dendra and Clive got closer to the scene. "It was... just a little bullying support group at first, but as the situation worsened, we had to worsen as well, we gathered all of the bullies and fought them, and we won, but after the fight was over the bullies started dropping out from the Academy and everyone thought Team Star were the villains, I, as the Big Boss, tried to take responsibility and the former Director Harrington sent me to study abroad in Galar in exchange for not expelling my friends as he investigated, then I returned to start anew in the Academy and I tried to forget everything about Team Star, but it wasn't the same without my friends..." She continued while she began weeping, yet a smile formed in her face. "That's when I started skipping school... and then I met you, Ash; and I've been lying to you, to Nemona and to Iono, because I thought that if you guys knew the truth then you wouldn't trust me anymore, but I'm done running from my past, I'm done pretending I'm innocent in all this, I didn't just abandon Team Star, I abandoned my friends, the first people who actually supported me and cared about me, I didn't even keep contact with them while I was in Galar, and then, I suddenly tried to act like I was better than them and tell them they had to disband Team Star, as if I had the right to tell them what to do with their lives... I'm the only villain here, Ash... Eri... everyone... please forgive me."
"I... I-I don't." Eri let go off Penny's hood only to turn her around and face her while the wrestler was crying again, washing away her face paint once more. "I don't forgive you, it was meant to be us against the world, we were supposed to do everything together, we were supposed to stick together, we were supposed to do anything for each other, if you had asked us to destroy the airport so you wouldn't have to leave, we wouldn't have even asked, we just would have done it."
"But that doesn't mean you should have..." Penny replied to then look around at all the Grunts staring at her. "...Team Star! My name is Penny, but I imagine your bosses have told you about me by the name Cassiopeia, I founded Team Star and led it in our first big mission, but even that mission was a mistake. We were all consumed by vengeance after what happened to Mela, but Team Star was never about destroying what we hated, but about protecting what we loved... please, think about what you're trying to do, there are good people in that school now, they shouldn't pay for the things that happened before them. If we do this, then we'll become just like the people we hate so much, we'll be just as bad, just as conniving, just as evil, and just as unforgivable as those bullies! And if we behave like bullies then what is the point in winning?! Don't you see? We are proud, and brave, and strong! We are good people, with good hearts, and we are all beautiful on the inside and the outside. We know this. So, why should we care about what those sad, pathetic and pitiful bullies think of us?! We're better than this!"
"I've heard enough!" Atticus shouted to then appear with an smoke bomb in front of Penny.
"A-Atticus..." She stuttered.
"Even after all this time..." Atticus took off his mask to reveal his face and look at Penny. "Even after you left, you've stayed truer to the Anti-Terrorism Squad's believes than any of us... I have failed you." He whispered to then kneel to Penny. "Please, forgive me... The Navi Squad yields!" Atticus shouted crossing his arms and all of his Grunts crossed their arms as well.
"...Thank you." Penny smiled at him and then looked at Eri again, who was still crying, now with her whole face paint washed out again.
"Y-You... You c-can't just-" Eri stuttered almost unable to talk.
"Eri, I can't change what I did in the past." Penny said. "But I can change what I am now and maybe that can change what awaits for us in the future, please, just give me one chance to make things right."
"C... C-C-CAPH SQUAD YIELDS!" Eri shouted with her arms crossed and the scene repeated with her Grunts. "Ugh, I'm tired of making this paint over and over again, I'll just get a mask." She said with a weak voice while she cleaned her tears.
"There's my Eri." Penny smiled again to then hug her friend and Eri hugged her as well.
"I-I'm so sorry, of course we can be friends again." Eri stuttered. "I... oh my gosh! ASH!" She shouted to then run at him. "A-Are you okay?! Did I hurt you?!"
"Hey, don't worry, I'm fine." Ash replied while Charlos reached to them after recovering from Eri's kick. "I've been thrown harder than that, if that was needed to happen so you guys would reconcile then I'm glad it happened."
"I'm really sorry about attacking you, I don't act quite like myself when I'm angry." She answered offering a handshake that Ash took. "Uh, name's Eri Botree, by the way."
"Nice to properly meet you." Ash said. "And you too, Atticus."
"The honor is all mine, Sir Ketchum." He answered with a bow. "If you're worthy of our Noble Boss' trust then you're worthy of ours as well."
"Thanks, so... nice to meet you too, Cassiopeia." Ash said while looking at Penny who was slowly walking to him.
"Please don't, I'm still just Penny, your friend." She answered. "I know I lied but-"
"But you had your reasons." Ash interrupted. "I'm not not saying I'm totally okay with the whole situation, but it's fine... and I already kinda supposed it."
"...YOU WHAT?!" Penny shouted.
"Ah, yeah, you always seemed to know a bit too much about Team Star." Ash answered. "There was also that time when I heard Iono mentioning some 'past crew' of yours, so picking up the other puzzle pieces wasn't that complicated, I just imagined it wasn't something that you were confortable talking about so there was no way I was going to push you to confess it."
"Oh, I... I see..." Penny laughed nervously while she blushed.
"I knew you would tell him when you were ready." Iono said walking into the scene and then patting Penny's back.
"And why did nobody tell me about this?! I thought we were friends!" Nemona complained while the other three laughed.
"So, does this means I'm forgiven?" Penny asked.
"Come here, you." Ash said trapping Penny in a hug, which was then joined by Iono and Charlos.
"I'm still mad!" Nemona exclaimed but joined the hug either way.
"I love you all, guys." Penny whispered and then hug was then joined by Eri.
"This feel nice." Eri said resting her chin on Ash's head.
"What now?" Ortega asked to Giacomo. "Should we yield as well?"
"After everything we've been through?" Giacomo asked. "Are you crazy? What about Mel?" He asked and the two looked at Mela who was still on top of the stage along Slither Wing, simply clenching her fists while looking at Penny's moment.
"No... NO!" Mela shouted getting everyone's attention. "I WON'T LET YOU TAKE ANYONE ELSE AWAY FROM ME!"
"Mela, this has gone too far!" Penny shouted parting from her friends to then stand in front of her. "You have to stop with this path of revenge!"
"REVENGE?!" Mela shouted. "That's what you call this?! After years of brutal subjugation?! This is justice! Even more, what I'm going to do is not enough, so you know what? After I'm done with the Academy, I'm going to go after all those bullies, each one of them! And I won't be done until I see them all on their knees begging for me to stop!"
"I don't know how bad things were back then, but the Academy isn't bad at all right now!" Nemona replied.
"And maybe those bullies changed too!" Iono added.
"I know you're a victim, but... does bullying really justifies all this?" Ash asked.
"So you think it was merely bullying." Mela scoffed. "Do you have any idea of how much we suffered? Of what what happened to me... nah, wait, why am I even asking? Of course you have no idea, there's no way Director Harrington would have made that public, something like that couldn't have happened in his perfect school, so why don't I tell you my version of the story since everyone here is opening up?" She asked in a surprinsingly cheerful tone while Penny and the Bosses all felt their hearts stop.
"M-Mela, wait!" Penny shouted.
"I WAS RAPED!" Mela shouted out loud and this was followed by a grim silence from the whole base. "I... was... raped." She repeated shrugging shoulders and trying to force a smile. "No need to sugarcoat it, darling, stop dancing around it! ..I was raped and no one cared, no one listened, no one understood; and the guy who attacked me told everyone that I was exaggerating, that I consented and then everyone believed him, only cause he was the nephew of the former Director, then everyone in the school was just making fun of me. 'It's all part of growing up', 'You should be thankful that someome as important as him even looked at you', 'Now you only have to become her girlfriend and everything's going to be perfect', 'I bet you even begged him to do it'." She kept talking and tears began to flow out of her eyes mixing with her forced smile. "He had been harassing me for weeks! I told the teachers but they never listened and when it finally happened, guess what? I was the one at fault! 'I bet you looked so beautiful that he just couldn't help it', it wasn't the same nonsense day after day and as if it wasn't enough, everyone I loved turned their backs on me when I needed them the most, my parents didn't do anything about it, my boyfriend left me, the only ones that stayed with me were my friends, the Anti-Terrorism Squad was all I had, and even then, I had to see them all abandon me one by one, first Penny, then Charlos, and now Atticus and Eri too? And all beacuse of you, Ketchum ... And I tried to go back to a normal life, ok?... but now everything I love is leaving and everything I hate is coming back to haunt me and I don't know what else I'm supposed to do! ...Just how unhappy does this world wants me to be, huh? ... Welp, it doesn't matter much, that's all perfect, everyone here can leave me alone. I don't care! I'll do this on my own! So well, there's my little horror story, Ketchum, hope you enjoyed it, now, if you don't mind me..." Mela looked at the Horizon and saw the morning sun starting to rise. "I've got rules to break!" She shouted pulling out a Heat Rock that reflected the first rays of the sunrise and showered Slither Wing with orange light.
Slither Wing then stood on its hind legs and roared as loud as ever while the orange light got brighter, his wings then began to grow larger and Slither Wing stood on four legs again to then start flapping his wings and take flight, letting Mela jump on his back.
"Mela, stop!" Penny shouted with tears in her eyes." This isn't going to change what happened!"
"Yeah... I don't much care..." Mela answered cleaning her own tears. "As long as I can make sure it doesn't happen to anyone again."
Slither Wing then started to fly away and burning scales fell off his wings setting on fire the land they landed on.
"I'm taking the lead, I have to stop her!" Penny shouted to then release her Bombirdier. "Eri, Atticus, tell your Grunts to put down the fire." She ordered to jump on her bird and take flight with her.
"Penny, wait!" Ash called her to no avail. "Tsk, Nemona, Iono!"
"We're ready, captain!" Iono replied.
"We can't let Penny do this alone." Nemona replied.
"Koraidon, we need a flight!" Ash called him, but the dragon stared at Slither Wing flying in the distance and then took flight on his own, chasing after Penny and Mela. "Koraidon!"
"Oh, come on!" Iono complained.
"Come with us in the Starmobiles." Eri suggested.
"We'll take you there with no issue." Atticus added and the two guided Ash, Iono, Penny and Nemona to the garage, while Ortega and Giacomo looked at each other and then followed them.
"How could something like this happen in our school?" Dendra asked to Clive who was simply staring at the sunrise.
"Here they are!" Eri said as they made it to the garage, but they found Ortega and Giacomo blocking the entrance. "Uh, guys?"
"El duelo comenzó, la fé ya se perdió, el bien se fragmentó ¿Quién tiene la razón?" Giacomo sung with a weak tone.
"Not the moment." Ortega smacked him with his staff and then sighed to look at Eri and Atticus. "We won't let you stand on Mela's way!"
"Yeah, she's the Big Boss now!" Giacomo added. "And she just reminded you all why she's doing this!"
"But this isn't going to fix anything!" Eri shouted.
"And the consequences would be far too large." Atticus said. "We can not allow this to go on, for the well-being of everyone in Team Star."
"How can you talk like that?" Ortega asked. "How could you turn your back on her as well?
"Ortega and I are everything Mela has now." Giacomo said. "We're not going to abandon her too."
"We're not gonna fight you, guys!" Eri said.
"That's a shame." Ortega replied pulling out a Luxury Ball. "Cause we're not gonna let those bullies return and harm more students."
"This is enough!" Clive shouted walking into the scene along Dendra. "It's about time I intervene."
"You again? Seriously?" Ortega asked.
"Uh, who are you supposed to be?" Giacomo asked.
"I am know by many names and take many forms." Clive answered. "But right now, there's only one person who I must be!" He exclaimed to then take off his student outfit and reveal himself. "My name is Director Clavell! The current head of the Naranja Academy! It's always been me and you never knew!"
"I always knew. Everyone knew." Dendra sighed. "And how did you hide those pants inside the shorts?"
"Sweet children, I had no idea that you all suffered so much." Clavell said approaching the bosses. "I truly had no clue of everything that had happened before I was appointed as the Director of the Academy, those informs I recieved were clearly wrong, but it was also my fault for not investigating further; and I'll have you know that that letter you all found is completely false and it wasn't written by me. I promise I'll investigate this whole situation and you're all welcome to return to your studies if that's what you want, but please, stop this madness."
"Oh, sure, you want to investigate now." Ortega said. "But you had no interest in us before, did you?"
"I'm afraid that's true, but that's exactly the reason why I came here incognito, I always felt like there was more to Team Star's history, and just like the young Penny said, I can't change the things that happened in the Academy before me nor can I speak for the mistakes of its old staff, but we can all try right now and forge a better future together, now please, we have to stop poor Mela before she does something she will regret, or worse, something she might enjoy."
"...Ruchbah Squad, we're going to the Academy!" Ortega shouted oepning the garage and turning on the Starmobiles.
"Segin Squad too!" Giacomo added.
"Heh, thank you, Children." Clavell said.
Meanwhile with Penny.
"Mela!" Penny shouted chasing her on her Bombirdier while Mela was still on Slither Wing.
"You just don't know when to give up, do you?" Mela asked.
"That's something I learned from you, guys!" Penny answered. "Brave Bird!" She shouted and Bombirdier sped up surrounded in light blue energy.
"Get down!" Mela ordered and Slither Wing took a dive to avoid the attack.
"Stone Edge!" Penny continued and Bombirdier was surrounded by sharp rocks that she flapped away towards Slither Wing.
"Close Combat!" Still mid-flight, Slither Wing quickly reacted and countered with a quick barrage of punches and kicks that sent all the rocks back to Bombirdier, who opened her wings to protect Penny from the impact, but was knocked out by the attack and began to fall down.
"Bombirdier, you have to wake up!" Mela told the bird who was unable to hear her. "No, no, no-"
"Gias!" Penny prepared herself for the impact, but they were suddenly caught by Koraidon who then landed them safely.
"Huff... thanks a lot, Koraidon." Penny said while she returned Bombirdier. "But where's the team?" She asked and Koraidon simply looked back. "Well, they're surely on their way, but we still have to stop Mela before she reaches the Academy." She said and then Koraidon lowered his head. "Fine then." Penny jumped to Koraidon's back and the dragon took flight with her.
A few minutes later.
"This is it." Mela said while Slither Wing landed in front of the Naranja Academy. "It's time to end this."
"Gias!" Koraidon roared and landed in front of Slither Wing along with Penny.
"Everybody out!" Penny shouted tossing her Poke Balls.
"Garganacl!"
"Floragato!"
"Plusle!"
"Minun!"
Penny's Pokemon all ran towards Slither Wing along with Koraidon, Garganacl used Rock Polish and he took the lead to attack, landing a Zen Headbutt on Slither Wing, but the bug responded by nailing his claws onto Garganacl and absorbing his energy with a Giga Drain, leaving him on the floor, Plusle and Minun both jumped on Slither Wing's back and used Discharge, but Slither Wing them flapped them off with his wings and left them burned to then use Close Combat on the duo and defeated them as well, Koraidon was the next one to attack, but still in his low-power form he was unable to use any moves and Slither Wing tossed him aside without much effort, making the dragon fall on top of Floragato.
"Guys!" Penny shouted to then recall her defeated Pokemon and run to aid Koraidon and Floragato.
"To think it all had to end this way..." Mela sighed. "It's just not fair, I was the one who got it the worst, and even though you were the one who turned your back on eveyrhting we had... you were still the only one who got back to 'normal'... what about me? Where's my happy ending?"
"Mela, you can still get your happy ending, but you have to stop this!" Penny replied.
"How many times are you going to repeat the same thing?" Mela scoffed. "Slither Wing, destroy this place."
Slither Wing then flapped his wings and summoned a strong burning wind, Koraidon quickly protected Penny, but the wind still pushed Floragato away, leaving him to crash onto a tree that was set on fire by the same wind while Floragato fell down to the grass under the tree which started catching fire as well.
"Floragato!" Penny shouted and ran to aid the cat. "Are you okay? Argh, I'm so sorry, just return, I'll find another way to solve this."
"Flo?" The cat looked up at Penny until he noticed the top of the burning tree giving in and breaking to then fall. "Gato!" The starter made a quick jump and safely pushed Penny away out of danger with a double kick, but the tree ended up falling on top of Floragato instead.
"No, no, no!" Penny was about to run to aid her again, but she was suddenly tackled down by Slither Wing and the impact caused her to lose her glasses. "Oh, come on." Penny complained as she tried to look around, but all she could see was blurs, while Koraidon tried to run to her, but Slither Wing's attacks left him too weak to do so.
"Heh, don't worry about it, even when you're wearing those glasses you're totally blind." Mela said. "Just give it up!"
"I'm not going to!" Penny shouted. "I'm not letting you do this!"
"Why not?! Why do you suddenly care so much about this school?!" Mela asked.
"This isn't about the school! It's about you! Because I know that everything that's happening it's my fault!" Penny answered. "I abandoned you and our friends when you needed me the most, and all this time, I heard those bad rumors about you, but I never tried to do anything about it, I never tried to go with you and fix our friendship, Eri herself said that maybe I could've intervened when you guys decided to do this... but I thought you'd better off without me; and even then, I still wanted you to disband Team Star, without thinking for a second of what you guys wanted, and once I met Ash... t-that changed everything, I... I love him, I've grown too attached to him, I couldn't afford to lose what I had with him... but it wasn't worth losing you all... I'm sorry."
As tears began flooding Penny's eyes, Mela stared at her in silence, she was about to give a step forwards, but she suddenly stopped herself. "...I don't want your apologies." She answered with a broken voice to then snap her fingers, Slither Wing then raised one of his claws, but a green silhouette suddenly appeared in front of him and pushed it away with a double kick right on his face.
"What?!" Mela shouted.
"What what?! What's going on?!" Penny asked in fear still unable to see anything, until she saw a green blur approaching her and then place her glasses back in her face and give her vision back.
"F-Floragato?"
"Nyan!" A Meowscarada smiled at her.
"Y-You... look out!" Penny shouted as Slither Wing tried to attack them, but Meowscarada hugged her trainer and jumped away. "Wow, that's, uh, give me a sec..." Penny quickly looked for her Rotom Phone and scanned the starter with the Pokedex App.
'Meowscarada, the Magician Pokemon, with skillful misdirection, it rigs foes with pollen-packed flower bombs. Meowscarada sets off the bombs before its foes realize what's going on. Her ability has changed to Protean, her moveset has been updated: Flower Trick, Night Slash, Chilling Water, Acrobatics.'
"Got it." Penny nodded to herself. "Acrobatics!" Meowscarada's eyes turned light blue as she was surrounded in a streak of wind and quickly attacked Slither Wing with a series of punches and kicks, causing Slither Wing to finally back down. "Now Night Slash!" Meowscarada's eyes turned pitch black and several shadows surrounded her, taking the form of a rapier sword in her right hand, a cavalier's hat in her head and a long black cape down her back, she then jumped forward and landed several slashes on Slither Wing, who tried to attack her with his claws, but Meowscarada avoided each hit and landed a huge slash right on Slither Wing's face, Slither Wing then smacked her away with her tail, but Meowscarada nailed her sword in the ground and landed safely.
"Argh! We don't have time for this!" Mela shouted. "Take flight and burn this whole place!" She ordered and Slither Wing roared to then take off and fly in circles around the Academy, letting his scales fall over the building and start to set it on fire.
"Let's go after him!" Penny said and Meowscarad hugged her again to then use Acrobatics and dash on the outsides of the walls of the Academy to then run all the way up until they made it to the roof.
"I'm getting tired of this nonsense!" Mela shouted with a stomp to then get inside the Academy and take the inner stairs to the roof.
"Let's try something else." Penny said as she activated her Tera Orb to then toss it above Meowscarada as the crystals took the shape of a chandelier in her head. "Tera Blast!" Meowscarada's eyes turned bright red and her cape suddenly turned into long pink flames that elongated into the form of two whip-like tails. "Here we go!" Penny shouted and Meowscarada made a high jump in the air and spun around to then use the whips and strike down Slither Wing, forcing him to fall on top of the roof. "Acrobatics!" Meoscarada's eyes changed to light blue again and at the same time, her Tera crystals changed color and took the shape of three balloons on top of her heard, her cape then turned into two angelic wings and she used them to slash down Slither Wing, leaving it laying on the roof. "Huff, great job." Penny smiled relieved, but Meowscarada remained on guard, Slither Wing then started to growl until he let out a big roar and started surrounding itself in Tera Crystals that formed a Chandelier as well.
"He terastalized on his own mid-battle. Just like Miraidon." Penny said. "Fine then, Chilling Water!" Meowscarada's eyes changed to blue put her paws together and formed an orb of water between them while her Tera Crystals changed to water, but before she could make the attack, Slither Wing roared again and a fiery shockwave burst came from him, knocking Penny and Meowscarada out of the roof and expanding the fire further on the Academy, Mewscarada quickly reacted and took Penny in her arms, the cat tried to use Acrobatics to land safely, but she didn't have enough time and both crashed roughly on the ground, with Meowscarada losing her Terastalize and both of them falling unconscious after the impact.
"Just where are the damn stairs to the roof?!" Mela shouted inside the burning Academy as debris fell all over the place, she was running from side to side to avoid it and as the smoke kept rising she eventually had to hide inside a classroom. "Damn it all..." She said to then look around and feel a pain in her chest. "…Out of all the classrooms..." Mela walked slowly to a corner and sat there while looking down at the floor as the room around her continued to burn. "...I know that nothing is eternal, oh, nothing at all..." She sung softly between coughs and weeps. "Everything that I know will burn away, will turn to dust..."
"We're too late..." Ash said arriving at the burning Academy along his group and Team Star, with Charlos being his only Pokemon left standing.
"Gias!" Koraidon called him with difficulty.
"Koraidon! Where's Penny?" Ash asked him and Koraidon managed to stand up to then run away.
"You go help her, we'll try to put down the fire!" Nemona said along with Iono, Dendra and Clavell. Ash and Charlos then followed Koraidon who guided them to the still knocked out Penny and Meowscarada.
"Penny! Hey, Penny! Wake up!" Ash shook her softly until the girl finally returned to herself.
"Ash?" She asked looking at him and began crying again. "I-I'm sorry, I couldn't stop her., this is all my fault."
"Don't worry about that, I'm just glad you're safe." Ash said taking her into a soft hug. "But where's Mela?"
"I'm not sure, Slither Wing went to the roof, Meowscarada and I followed him, but Mela stayed down."
"Then she could be inside the Academy." Ash said.
"Oh, no." Penny whispered.
"ASH!" A feminine voice called him.
"Wha- Liko?" Ash said seeing her arrive along Ann and Roy.
"It's not too late yet!" Liko shouted. "You can still save her!"
"Who? Mela?" Ash asked.
"Yes, there's still time, but not much." Liko continued. "Ann will help you."
"Follow me, Mister." Ann said releasing a Dewott.
"She's in the Classroom 7-9, but you have to be fast!" Liko continued.
"Wait, how do you know that?" Ash asked.
"There's no time to explain." Liko said suddenly grabbed Ash's hands. "Please, you have to trust me."
"...Alright then." Ash nodded.
"I'm going too." Penny said trying to stand up.
"No, you're not, you're injured." Ash said.
"I won't abandon her again!" Penny shouted to then stand up only to fall on her kness due to the pain and the burns.
"Liko, Roy, please take her with the rest." Ash said.
"ASH!" Penny tried to stand up again to no avail and the moment before she could fall, Ash caught her with a hug.
"...You've done enough, ok?" Ash told her brushing her hair. "You did all you could and I'm proud of you, now let me do all I can, I promise I'll bring her back with you safe and sound; and then you two will have that talk you need."
"You... You better return safely too." Penny said with a sigh to then recieve a forehead kiss from Ash, leaving them both blushing.
"That's a promise." Ash said to then leave Penny with Liko and Roy and look at Ann. "We're counting on you." Ash said while Charlos prepared himself to go in too.
"Here we go, we only have once chance with this..." She said taking a deep breath. "Without hesitation, in the face of fear and doubt." Ann cracked her fingers along her Dewott. "We're all in!" She shouted and Dewott took down a wall with a double Razor Shell, letting them go inside the building.
While the group ran the halls of the Academy, Ann was guiding the way, with her Dewott cutting down any debris that fell over, being assited by a Terastalized Charlos using his Steel-Type fists.
"Ann, how do you know where Mela is?" Ash asked.
"W-Well..." Ann thought for a moment. "I'm sorry, but that's something only Liko can tell you."
"What exactly are Liko, Roy and you?" Ash asked again.
"Let's say we're an uneven combination." Ann said with a short laugh. "Here we are." She said once they arrived to the 7-9 Classroom. Ash hesitated a moment while he prepared himself for what could happen until he finally opened the door and found Mela crying in the floor.
"W-What?" Mela stuttered to then look at Ash and Ann. "Oh, great, just what I needed." She said cleaning her teras while still in the floor.
"Mela! Listen, the latter was false!" Ann shouted.
"The... What?" She asked.
"Yeah, we heard it from the Director Clavell." Ann continued.
"Nice... that's very nice." Mela simply dropped her head on the floor. "So, you're basically telling me I did all this for nothing."
"No, you didn't!" Ann said. "You were raising your voice against what you thought was an injustice, this may not have been the best way to do it, but your heart was somewhat in the right place."
"...I'm tired of hearing lies." Mela answered with a dry voice to then roll on the floor and face the wall, giving her back to Ash and Ann.
"I... It's gonna be okay, Mela, we'll take you out of here." Ash said approaching her.
"I don't want your help!" Mela shouted suddenly standing up and then trying to push Ash away, but she didn't have enough strength left to do it. "J-Just... just leave me here! If it has to end... then I'm fine with it being in this place."
"What do you mean?" Ann asked.
"This place..." Ash looked around for a moment and then looked back at Mela. "...This is where it happened, right?"
"You... You don't know what it's like... the thoughts and the images that won't go away." Mela replied sitting on the floor again. "...It felt like it lasted hours... I cried for help, but nobody heard me, it was already late... and when it was over, he simply left me here and I was... frozen, unable to move a milimiter... Penny found me later that night, the Squad was looking for me after they noticed I didn't make it home... Penny was my first friend ever... and she was the one who saw me like that, laying so helpless in the floor, she was the one who comforted me and hugged me while I cried all my tears that night... even if the letter was really false, I thought she would understand why I'm doing this... I thought you would understand." She said looking at Charlos. "I raised you from an egg and look at you, turning your back on me and fighting against me."
"Maybe that's exactly the reason why they don't want you to do this." Ann said. "Maybe it's because Penny and Charlos were the closest to you that they don't want you to do something like this, y-you're trying to answer all the pain you've been through with more pain, but that isn't going to make you feel any better, it'll only make you hurt even more."
"Then what I'm supposed to do?!" Mela shouted. "Don't tell me, you're going to say I just need love, kindness, forgiveness and all that cheesy shit!"
"W-Well, I mean." Ann stuttered. "Yeah, why not?"
"No, it won't be as easy as that." Ash answered and both girls looked at him. "Mela... right now is the part where I'm supposed to lie to you."
"What?" Mela and Ann asked.
"Yeah, this is the part when I'm supposed to tell you that everything's gonna be ok and that I can somehow help you, but the truth is... I don't know if I can, I've never met someone who's been through the things you've been through, so I'm not sure of how I can help, there might not be any form of therapy that ever takes the pain you're feeling away."
"A-Ash, what are you doing?" Ann asked.
"But that doesn't mean I won't do anything." Ash continued surprising both girls. "Mela, even if nothing's for sure, I promise I'll try all I can to help you, even if it doesn't work, even if you can't move on in the end, I won't let you throw yourself away like this, I'll keep trying over and over, but I need you to keep trying as well, for Penny, for Charlos and for everyone else in Team Star, I know this might not be what you want to hear, but at least it's the truth, so let me help you take back your life, let me show you that the things that we did and that happened to us in the past... don't have to define what we are now."
After Ash's speech, Mela suddenly bursted in tears, Ann tried to calm her down, but Mela suddenly ran to Ash and hugged him with all the strength she had left.
"Th...Thank you." She whispered while Ash answered the hug.
"Ann, let's get out of here." Ash said.
"On it..." Ann said surprised by the outcome. "Uh, Hydro Pump!" She ordered her Dewott who used the move to destroy a wall of the classroom they were in.
"There they are!" Iono said still in the floor with the rest of gang, seeing the trio on the seventh floor of the Academy. "Koraidon!" She called the dragon who then took flight to where they were. Ash, Mela, Ann, Dewott and Charlos then all jumped to Koraidon's back and he took flight again.
"We have to go the roof and stop Slither wing!" Mela shouted.
"You heard her, buddy!" Ash said to Koraidon and he ascended to then land in the roof, where Slither Wing was still Terastalized, roaring and tossing fire balls all around.
"Slither Wing, stop!" Mela shouted at him, but the bug just roared again and surrounded himself in flames to then rush towards them. "What?"
"Mela, watch out!" Ash and Ann shouted.
"Gi...RAIDON!" Koraidon suddenly roared and stood on his hind legs to then achieve his Apex Build form causing Slither Wing to stop his attack.
"DOWN!" Koraidon shouted with a roar as he was surrounded in orange energy and Slither Wing took a few step backs to then lower his head as it calmed down, Koraidon then returned to his limited form just as suddenly and fell unconcious afterwards, Ash ran to him, but Koraidon didn't seem to react so he just returned him to his Master Ball.
"Hey, buddy, it's me." Mela said slowly walking to Slither Wing with her Net Ball in hand. "Thanks a lot for helping, but we're done here, please return."
"Look out!" Ann shouted as a Corviknight descended from the skies aiming at Mela, Ash quickly took her out of the way, but this caused Mela to drop the Net Ball, the Corviknight then took the ball with his claws and flew to the opposite side of the roof to then land as a suited teen with black-and-white hair jumped off the bird.
"A-Amethio..." Mela whispered.
"My dear Mela..." He looked at her. "To think we met again after all this time."
"…YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE!" Mela suddenly shouted.
"UH, w-wait, wait a second." Ann stuttered. "D-D-Don't tell me this is the guy who-"
"What kind of person abandons her girlfriend in the hardest moment of her life?!" Mela shouted again.
"Huff, oh, thank God, he's just the boyfriend who abandoned her." Ann said relieved. "I was NOT ready to meet the other guy. But this guy looks fly with that suit and tie."
"Well, uh, thank you, I guess." Amethio answered adjusting his tie. "I don't like to mess around."
"Slither Wing!" Mela shouted and the bug ran to attack Amethio.
"Richardo!" Amethio shouted releasing a Ceruledge that blocked Slither Wing's Attack with his swords and then pushed it away. "Bitter Blade!" Richardo raised his right sword and this absorbed all the flames that were surrounding the Academy as it grew bigger and longer in size, the Ceruledge then jumped forward to Slither Wing and landed a huge slash that created a fiery explosion and broke the Tera Crystals that surrounded Slither Wing while the bug finally fell defeated.
"Simple as that." Amethio said to then return Slither Wing to its Net Ball while Ash, Mela and Ann walked to him.
"I'm happy to finally see you again." Amethio said to Mela with a small smile.
"Like I fucking care!" Mela shouted again and raised a fist but Charlos stopped her while he traded glares with Richardo. "I haven't seen you in over 3 years and you decided to show up just now and act like everything is okay?!"
"I'm sorry, I wish I'd been there to protect you, I understand how you feel." Amethio replied. "But after what happened I thought you need some time for yourself."
"I NEEDED YOU!" Mela shouted. "I needed you to be there and at least comfort me! But you simply abandonded me like I was some broken toy!"
"I guess that's not completely a lie." Amethio answered.
"YOU SON OF A-!" Mela was about to throw herself over Amethio, but she was stopped by Ash and Charlos.
"Mela, this isn't worth it." Ash said getting her to calm down a little. "So, Amethio, right?" Ash asked looking at him.
"Amethio Ta Jolokia. But you won't need to remember that." He answered to then return his Ceruledge and walk back to his Corviknight.
"H-Hey! Where do you think you're going with Slither Wing?!" Mela shouted.
"I'm afriad that's none of your business." Amethio answered while his Corviknight took flight and began using Hurricane towards Ash and the girls.
"Dewott!" Ann shouted and her starter dove down the roof with a double Razor Shell and made a hole for them to jump in, Ann quickly jumped inside the hole and Mela stared at Amethio in silence before doing the same, leaving only Ash and Charlos with him as the winds increased and the roof began to give in.
"That Pokemon is far too dangerous!" Ash said.
"I know, that why I'm taking it." Amethio answered.
"Sorry to tell you this, but you don't exactly look like someone to trust." Ash said.
"Yeah, you're not the first person to tell me that." Amethio replied. "Now I suggest you to leave before you get blown away."
"You know we'll meet again, right?" Ash asked.
"Pray that we don't." Amethio said to then jump on his Corviknight which used Hurricane again and forced Ash to jump inside the hole and fall onto a classroom where he found Mela crying again as Ann tried to comfort her, while the whole room shaked with the winds.
"Just stay low, it'll be over soon." Ash said.
"It's not fair!" Mela shouted. "Why am I always the one who has to lose everything?!"
"Mela, look at me." Ann told her. "Trust me when I say that you just made a decision that will change your life forever. You didn't lose this time."
"You think?" Mela asked.
"I'm sure of it. A 100 percent." Ann smiled while the winds subsided. "Now come on, let's get out of here."
Ash, Ann, Charlos and Mela walked the burned halls of the Academy, throught debris and cinders until they made it to the front door, which gave in and fell down the moment they pushed it to open, outside the Academy were waiting for them, Penny, Iono, Nemona, Liko, Roy, Team Star, all of the Academy staff, Director Clavell and none other than Top Champion Geeta accompanied by a group of police officers.
"MELA!" Penny and the bosses ran to her and trapped her in a hug.
"Are you okay?! Y-You got us so worried!" Penny shouted with tears in her eyes.
"I'm fine, thanks to these two." Mela said looking at Ann and Ash. "And I'm sorry, for everything, especially to you, I screwed up too hard this time, I don't know what I was thinking."
"Don't worry, ok? Eveyrthing's gonna be alright now." Penny said.
"Uh, I'm sorry to intervene, but I have to step in." Geeta said approaching the Team along the officers, but she told the Police to stand down with her hands. "In case you don't know it, my name is Geeta Omodaka, I'm the Top Champion of Paldea and the Chairwoman and President of the Paldea League, though I suppose the reason why Im here it's obvious... Mela Koton, you're conscious of what you did here, right?"
"... I am." Mela answered to then look back at the burned Academy. "And I'm conscious that I did all of this on my own." She answered to then stared at each one of her friends and then extend her arms to Geeta. "You can jail me, but please let my friends go."
"M-Mela..." Penny stuttered.
"W-Wait, that's not true!" Eri shouted. "W-We all-"
"No, you didn't." Mela interrupted her. "I came to the Academy alone and I burned it alone, wasn't that what happened?"
"Well, yes, but-"
"Then none of you are at fault." Mela smiled. "I'm sorry, guys, but somebody's gotta be the adult here."
"Well, thank you for cooperating at least." Geeta sighed and the one of the officers put a pair of handcuffs on Mela's wrists, while her friends looked at the situation unsure of what to say or do. "I... I'm sorry." Geeta said. "Clavell told me about what happened to you and... as much as I'd like to take that in consideration, rules are rules and you broke plenty of them."
"I know." Mela lowered her head and the officers began to take her away.
"Miss Geeta, wait!" Ash shouted getting everyone's attention. "Please, there has to be another way."
"Ash, I understand what you'll try to get at." Geeta interrupted him. "But... not everyone deserves a second chance. You should know that."
"But that's the thing! Team Star weren't even given a first chance to begin with!" Ash shouted. "Locking them away isn't going to make any good, how can we say they're hopeless, if they've never been given a chance? You'll just make everything worse!"
"Ash..." Geeta slowly approached him. "Listen... this is only because you're the one requesting it, someone has to repay you for the all the good you've done to the world and I'd gladly be that person, but the only other option I can think off is putting Mela under probation, that means finding someone who's willing to watch over her, but with all the bad reputation of Team Star that'd be hard to-"
"I'll do it!" Ash answered surprising everyone. "Let Mela travel with me, I'll watch over her, I'll take full responsibility of everything, but please, don't take her to jail."
"You just don't want to catch a break, do you?" Getta said with a small smile.
"If you allow me, Miss Geeta." Clavell stepped in. "I, as the Director of the Academy, would like to express my support to Ash's idea, Team Star deserves a real chance, not saying I condone their actions, but after learning what they all suffered... what happened to Mela... I always thought that the Naranja Academy was a safe place, an example of honesty and rightfulness, but I was clearly wrong, this Academy was built from tears, fear, violence, lies and sadness; and no one, I mean no one, ever did something about it until Team Star took a stand, they pushed out the bullies and it was because of them that the staff change happened, if the Academy is a safe place now, that's because of the actions of Team Star... but even then, I feel like something like this was necessary. a way to guide the Academy to a real brand new start and ascend from the ashes like a Moltres feather."
"As the leader of the Academy Staff, I think I can say the we all support this idea as well." Dendra said. "Just like Director Clavell said, this is a perfect chance, we'll rebuild it and we'll turn the Academy into what it was always meant to be... a true safe place where no student is going to suffer, that's what Team Star wanted, right?"
"We'll help rebuild the school." Eri said. "All of us."
"You're welcome to do so." Dendra smiled to her.
"And once we're done, you can all return to your studies if that's what you want." Clavell added.
"Well, Mela, we still need your opinion in all this." Geeta said looking at her. "But to be fair, your only two options are gong to jail or staying with Ash."
"I..." Mela stared at Ash in silence for a brief moment. "…Ok... I'll do it." She answered.
"Well, if everyone is really ok with this then I guess it's decided." Geeta said.
"B-But Miss Geeta!" One of the officers called her.
"This is my word." Geeta interrupted him with a glare. "And, as such, it is beyond contestation, Understood?"
"I...Y-Yes, of course, Miss." The officer answered.
"Very well then, I admit it'll be an interesting test." Geeta said to then walk to the girl in question. "Mela, you'll be under probation for one month in which you'll be traveling under Ash's care, if when that time is over we can tell your progress has been good enough, we'll free you of all charges."
"And… what if I don't meet your expectations?" Mela asked.
"Ash will be your guardian of all people, I really doubt that'll be the case." Geeta said placing her hand on Ash's shoulder. "I fully trust his capabilities, so let's not think of any possible bad ending."
"I still think she's evil." Penny whispered.
"The important thing now is that you're free." Geeta said and the officers then took the handcuffs off Mela.
"Ash, thank you!" Penny shouted grabbing him in a hug and pulling him away from Geeta. "Thank you so much!"
"Nothing to thank." Ash said answering the hug. "I just felt like it was the right thing to do, it also seems like a good chance for you two to fully make up."
"That's... if you accept me, of course." Mela said in a shy tone and Penny then ran to hug her as they both softly cried.
"So? Did it work?" Ann asked to Liko, who then held her pendant with both her hands and her eyes illuminated in green light for a brief moment.
"We did it." Liko smiled to then let go off her pendant. "We changed it."
"Great job, Ann!" Roy told her.
"Hey, Ann!" Ash called her as he approached the trio. "I didn't even have time to thank you, I probably wouldn't have saved Mela if it wasn't for your help."
"You surely wouldn't have." Roy whispered to then recieve an elbow strike from Liko right on his stomach.
"I'm glad I could help you save a life." Ann smiled t Ash.
"I still wonder, Liko, how did you know in which exact room Mela was in?" Ash asked and the girl started to get nervous.
"Uh, well, you see... my Dartrix flew around the Academy and saw her through a window." She answered. "But, uh, thank you for believing in me either way... and sorry about that awkward hug from the last time, I was just, well, really happy to meet you."
"I... I didn't mind at all, don't worry." Ash answered.
"Oh, please, that was nothing." Ann said. "I have something better than an awkward hug." She said to then pull Ash by his arm and plant a kiss on his right cheek, leaving Ash shocked and blushed. "There you have it."
"Oh, boy." Roy said.
"A-A-Ann!" Liko shouted blushing as well.
"What? Jealous?" Ann asked. "Well, you shoudn't be, I mean, you were the one who told me we'd end up becoming-"
"Ok, I think you talked enough." Liko said suddenly covering Ann's mouth and dragging her away." Until next time!" She said to Ash.
"See ya!" Ann smiled at him.
"Geez, I'm really starting to feel like a supporting character in my own life." Roy said to then follow the girls while Ash returned to himself.
"I... that was weird." Ash said. 'But more importantly... the room we were in didn't have any windows.' He thought to then stare at Liko for a moment, at the same time the girl looked him over her shoulder to then blush and look away again. 'This girl... is she hiding something?'
"Please tell me she didn't just kiss him." Iono said to Nemona after watching the scene.
"I'm sorry, but she just kissed him." Nemona answered with a sigh." As if it wasn't enough with Miss Dendra, this competition is getting a bit too crowded for my liking."
"We need to make the accord with Penny." Iono said. "We have to give Ash our offer."
"How can you be so sure Ash is going to accept such an idea?" Nemona asked.
"Nemo, what other option do we have?" Iono asked back. "Don't you want to be happy with Ash no matter what?"
"Of course I do." Nemona nodded.
"And even then, don't you want me and Penny to be happy with him as well?"
"...Of course I do." Nemona sighed again. "Argh, ese carajito de la flecha me cae mal, why is love so complicated."
"Excelent question there." Iono replied with a smile.
"Fine, we'll tell Penny." Nemona gave in. "But only after she makes up things with Mela, ok?"
"Perfect." Iono nodded.
Later that day, on the Schedar Squad's Base.
"Everything ready?" Ash asked Penny along with Nemona and Iono, with Pikachu being on the latter's shoulder, being angry at Ash for returning him to his Poke Ball after being defeated by Slither Wing.
"Yup, I got Mela's backpack right here." Penny answered carrying a yellow bag. "All that's left is waiting for her to get dressed."
"Don't make it sound like I take hours to do so." Mela walked out of her room wearing white shorts with the same red belt she had, she was also wearing a black crop top with long sleeves and quite smaller versions of her signature red boots. "Ok, I think I'm ready."
"You look great!" Penny told her.
"Yeah, yeah, thanks..." Mela smiled. "Thanks, huh? ...Ketchum... I don't think I have properly thanked you for this, so, uh, thanks." She said looking at him. "But why are you willing to go through all this trouble for me? After the things I've done?"
"Your friends love you." Ash answered. "If I knew nothing else about you, that would be enough. But either way, I think I told you enough things in that classroom, didn't I?"
"...I'll keep trying, I promise." Mela said.
"Then I'll do so too." Ash smiled.
"So, uh, you two." Mela said looking at Nemona and Iono.
"Welcome to the Circus, don't feel nervous." Iono smiled. "Name's Iono, by the way."
"Pika Pi!" The mouse welcomed her as well.
"And I'm Nemona, just in case you haven't heard of me."
"Oh, I sure have." Mela said. "Giacomo loves to complain about you, both in english and spanish."
"Speaking of that, guess who's waiting outside for us." Penny said.
"Sure..." Mela sighed. "I guess I have to say goodbye."
"It's not a goodbye." Giacomo said walking into the room along Ortega, Atticus and Eri.
"It's just a see you later, my lady." Atticus said with bow.
"And we'll be in contact, you know?" Ortega said. "Rotom Phones exist, don't be so dramatic."
"I'm gonna miss you girls so much." Eri said hugging both Mela and Penny and started to cry again. "To think we're gonna be split up again... I feel like I should be used to this feeling by now, but I still don't know what to say... other than thanks, I think."
"Eri, we'll be back before you even notice." Mela said trying to calm her down.
"Until then, we'll start fixing some things." Giacomo said.
"Right, the reconstructions works for the Academy start tomorrow." Ortega said. "We'll update you each day about them."
"Speaking of updates, who's gonna lead the Schedar Squad now that you'll be away?" Penny asked Mela.
"I think we all know the perfect candidate." Mela said and the five bosses looked at each other to then smile. "Carmen!" They all called her.
"I'm here!" The Grunt shouted bursting into the room in less than a second. "What happened? What do you need?"
"Carmen, please take off your helmet and glasses." Mela said.
"W-What?!" She stuttered but quickly obeyed orders showing her pink eyes. "A-Am I being expulsed, did I do something wrong?"
"On contrary, girl." Eri laughed at her friend.
"Carmen, you probably already heard the news that I'm gonna be away for some time, right?" Mela asked.
"Uh, yes, of course I have, Boss." Carmen nodded." And I'm very sorry to hear that."
"Don't be, it really is for the best, at least that's what I hope." Mela said. "I'm still learning, but the important thing here is that I need someone to look over this base and my fellas."
"Y-You don't mean..." Carmen stuttered and then covered her mouth in shock.
"Carmen, would you like to be the new boss of the Schedar Squad?" Carmen asked and recieved a squeal in response.
"Y-Y-Yes! Of course! I'll be- It'd be the gretest honor in my life!" Carmen shouted. "I promise I won't disappoint you!"
"I know you won't." Mela giggled.
"Oh! Does this mean I'll get my own cool outfit?" Carmen asked.
"Of course, I'll gladly make something unique for you." Atticus said.
"Great! Like, I don't dislike this look, but the problem with being a Grunt is that we all look the same." She said. "You end up mistaking the coworkers, get it?"
"Well, Mela, I think there's another someone you could use a talk with." Ash said to then release Charlos who walked to Mela and simply looked at her.
"...Please, forgive me for everything." Mela said. "I promise everything will be different from now on, I... I have so many things to tell you, but... I think we'll have plenty of time for that later, right? ...I'm just glad to have you close to me again." She held her silence for a moment until Charlos approached her and took her in a hug as Mela cried to them hug him as well.
"There, enough tears for one day." Mela said giggling. "Lead the way, ketchum... no, lead the way, Ash." She told him with a sincere smile.
"Follow me then." Ash smiled as well.
"And the endless stream continues!" Iono cheered on.
"Siganme los buenos!" Nemona added.
"Oh, wait, one last thing!" Penny said to then look at the bosses. "Stars may fall from the sky..." Penny sung softly as she put a hand in the center of the group. "Even when they're burning bright."
"...Don't go quietly into the night." Giacomo joined her placing his hand over hers.
"Together, our hope will never die." Atticus followed them.
"On our own, we won't hold off our demons and devils." Eri was the next one.
"Which is why this world calls upon us..." Ortega joined them as well.
"...To assemble." Mela ended with an even bigger smile and tears of joy. "Our anthem... even after all this time, you didn't forget it."
"How could I?" Penny smiled again.
"Welp, what are we waiting for?!" Mela shouted to then quickly clean her tears and then run out the room, leading the way herself and being followed by Charlos. "Second chances are really hard to come by, and I'll make the most of this one!"
"Alright! Let's do it!" Penny shouted following her.
"Hey, girls, wait!" Ash followed them as well.
"Pasemos de una vez a la accion!" Nemona exclaimed joining them.
"Quieres accion? Entonces toma cinco tazas!" Iono souted as well as she started recording.
"Let fate smile upon you, my friends!" Atticus said as the bosses looked at Ash's group run.
"No conduzcan como mi hermana!" Giacomo added.
"D-Don't forget to do lots of exercise and eat well!" Eri shouted.
"Se the world aflame!" Carmen said. "Metaphorically, of course."
"Be safe!" Ortega said. '...Though I'm still not sure of how fine I am with this idea.' He thought.
Later that night.
"I'm sorry, Mela, no clue." Penny said to her with her computer in her lap showing an error message, both girls were wearing pajamas and sharing a tent to pass the night together. "Wherever Amethio took Slither Wing's Net Ball, I can't track its signal."
"I'm still worried about what Amethio could do to him." Mela said.
"Don't worry, we'll get him back." Penny said. "But after we do so, we'll probably have to hand Slither Wing over to Professor Sada and Turo."
"As long as they don't hurt him I guess that's fine." Mela replied. "But after hearing what you told me about him, this feels more like the Professors' fault for taking Slither Wing and his fellas out of their ecosystem in that island, that's why Slither Wing looked so lost when we first met him, he's only trying to find his place in a new food chain, you know?"
"Quite the intelligent observation." Penny said.
"Hey, I may be hot-headed, but I ain't dumb." Mela smirked. "But... it still surprised me to see Amethio of all people in this."
"Hmm, let me see something." Penny said as she started typing in her computer. "His name is Amethio Ta Jolokia, right?"
"Uh, yes." Mela nodded.
"Weird, there's absolutely nothing about him online, no social media, no profiles, not even a single picture."
"Well, he used to be pretty reserved." Mela said. "I think that's why got along so well."
"Maybe, but a lot of time has happened since then." Penny said. "What could he be up to now; and what does he want with Slither Wing? ...Hmm, speaking of that, another thing we should investigate is who made that false letter for the bullies, this all feels like it was a trap set for Team Star."
"And we fell right onto it." Mela sighed.
"Hey, at least the truth came out in the end." Penny said.
"Listen, if I ever find the one who made that letter, I swear I'm gonna make him taste the fires of hell."
"Mela..." Penny simply stared at her.
"...Or I'll just call the police and let them handle the situation, I guess." Mela added with a sigh.
"Good, now let's try to get some sleep." Penny said turning off her laptop. "It's been a long day after all; and remember we'll go to that Food Festival tomorrow."
"Sure, sure... I just hope Slither Wing is doing fine." Mela said.
Somewhere else in Paldea.
"Here it is, just like you tasked us." Amethio said in the middle of a lab with Slither Wing's Net Ball in hand.
"I still wish you had called us to give that thing a beating." A green-haired man said to him.
"Oh, shut up, Zir." A green-haired woman replied. "He said he would handle it on his own and he did so, we should praise him."
"Thanks, Conia." Amethio said. "Now, our pay, Turo."
"Of course." the Professor answered while taking the Net ball. "Ash and company would have surely handed it over without asking for anything, but a deal's a deal." he said to then hand over a black case to the trio, Amethio was the one take the case and he opened it revealing a golden key adorned with a bright red fire symbol.
"I'll let you know if I find more of these." Turo said to then walk away and leave the lab. "We'll be in contact... Experiment #637-S, Codename: 'Reptalada' has been retrieved." He said apparently to himself.
"That guy is so weird." Zir said.
"Nevermind that, it was more than worth it." Amethio said taking the key in his hand. "That's six down." He added to then pull another golden key from his pocket, this one having a purple Ghost symbol, Conia also pulled out two golden keys, one with a green bettle symbol and the other with a pink eye, while Zir pulled out two more keys, one with a brown mountain symbol and the other with a black evil grinning face.
"We got Fire, Ghost, Bug, Psychic, Ground and Dark." Zir said.
"And as far as we know, the Tacklers still have only four: Water, Rock, Normal and Flying." Conia added. "So we still have the advantage."
"It also means there's still 8 keys left to be found." Amethio said. "Aside from those 4 keys that we have to take from the Tacklers and the central piece which we still haven't located."
"But once we find it and when we get the 18 keys this region will be in for a wild ride." Zir said.
"The Greatest Treasure of Paldea is right there waiting for us." Conia said.
"There's no time to lose then." Amethio replied.
"Yeah, but what about that Ketchum kid?" Zir asked.
"You think he could get in the way?" Conia asked.
"I'm just saying he has experience dealing with, well, people like us." Zir answered.
"Well, he didn't look impressive at all, I must say." Amethio answered. "And he doesn't even know anything about the Tera Keys or the Treasure; and even if he somehow finds out, we'll just have to wipe him out like we've done with the others that have tried to stop us."
"Oh, yeah, I'm going to make it as painful as possible for him." Zir said.
"AND his little girlfriends." Conia added. "His girlfriends are involved too. The girlfriends also, we got to get the girlfriends."
"His little girlfriends, huh?" Amethio asked. 'Mela, you just picked the wrong side.' He thought.
And that's it!
Team Star's mini-arc is done for now, but we'll return to them later.
And Mela is part of the crew now, which means part of the eventual harem of course, I'll admit I was a bit unsure of how I treated the subject, you know? I hope I did a decent job at least since is the first time I write such a thing, at first I wanted to write Amethio as the attacker, but I don't feel mentally ready to write that type of character, but I still wanted him to relate him to Mela and we ended up with this, I have some interesting plans for the two.
And we got a little cheek kiss from Ann… Am I really going to prioritize Ann just because the Oshawott line are my all-time favorite Pokemon? …OF COURSE I AM!
Either way, Ash will get a lip kiss next chapter, I wonder which girl is going to give it to him?
We'll find out next time in 'Osu-Osu! Cooking Lesson!'
References:
The title of this chapter 'A world of new solutions' is taken from the lyrics of 'This will be the day' from RWBY.
They got us outnumbered one to fifty at least." - Lyrics from 'Night Falls' from Descendants 3.
"Like five stars shining in the heavens!" - Gosei Sentai -pose- Dairanger!
"I'll be there for them because they were there for me when I needed them too!" - Lyrics from 'I'll be there for you' by The Rembrandts.
"¿Quieres que empiece? Vaya problema, no lucharé contra ti mientras temas." - Lyrics from 'Los Vengadores vs La Liga de la Justicia' by Keyblade, translates to "You want me to start? What a problem, I will not fight you while you fear."
"I don't know what you're saying, but I know you're lying!" - The Karate Kid (2010).
"You think Annie can't handle three Tauros? Come at us! One Tauros is for cowards!" - The Book of Life.
"You don't know the half of the abuse." - Lyrics from 'Heathens' by Twenty One Pilots.
"Rezando dos 'Arceus Nuestro' el asesino no revive a su muerto." - Lyrics from 'Jesus Verbo no Sustantivo' by Ricardo Arjona, translates to 'by praying two 'Our Arceus' the murderer won't revive his dead"
"My aim is true but my mind is conflicted." "My hand may not be steady, but I feel certain now. With this chaos will come honor, and with honor redemption." "But how can you even speak of honor?" "But spare me the talk, I am not deterred." - All of those are lyrics form 'Unleash the Dragon' by JT Music.
"There's only one chance left to take the right stand." -Lyrics from 'Power Rangers Dino Charge' by Cash Callaway.
"Ninpō shissō no jutsu!" - Ninja Sentai Kakuranger, translates to 'Ninpou Art of Disappearance', HA! You thought that was from Naruto, didn't you?
"Raging Bull! Horn Passing Horn!" - Reference to the 'Fang Passing Fang' technique from Naruto.
"Take the anger piercing your heart and turn it into strength." - Translated lyrics from 'Transformers Evo.' by Project Jam.
"I won't let you take this away from me!" - Spider-Man: No Way Home.
"Leave your face too mangled to identify." - Lyrics from 'Goodbye' from The Amazing World of Gumball.
"I bet you think you're immortal, don't you, little legend?" - Puss in Boots: The Last Wish.
"You made one fatal mistake: YOU MESSED WITH MY FAMILY!" - Gravity Falls.
"I'm done running from my past." - Black Widow.
"We were all consumed by vengeance." Captain America: Civil War.
"Team Star was never about destroying what we hated, but about protecting what we loved." - Star Wars: The Last Jedi.
"If we do this, then we'll become just like the people we hate so much." - Black Panther.
"We'll be just as bad, just as conniving, just as evil, and just as unforgivable as those bullies!" - The Owl House.
"And if we behave like bullies then what is the point in winning?!" - Terminator: Salvation.
"Don't you see? We are proud, and brave, and strong. We are good people, with good hearts, and we are all beautiful on the inside and the outside. We know this. So, why should we care about what those sad, pathetic and pitiful bullies think of us?! We're better than this!" - Wander Over Yonder.
"I've been thrown harder than that." - A little self-reference to my other story 'Fighting Dreamers', a line that Ash told Bea when they first met. Heh, good times.
Eri's last name 'Botree' is to complete the name of the plant her first is taken from 'Eri Botree' - 'Eriobotrya'.
"REVENGE?! That's what you call this?! After years of brutal subjugation?!" "I won't be done until I see them all on their knees begging for me to stop!" - Exodus: Gods and Kings.
"No one listened, no one understood." - Lyrics from 'I Got No Time' by The Living Tombstone.
"Everything I love is leaving." - Lyrics from 'Not Gonna Die' by Skillet.
"My little horror story." - Title of a song by Aviators.
"I've got rules to break!" - Lyrics from 'Moon Girl Magic' by Diamond White.
"Yeah... I don't much care..." - Avengers: Endgame.
"El duelo comenzó, la fé ya se perdió, el bien se fragmentó ¿Quién tiene la razón?" - Lyrics from 'Civil war' by Keyblade, translates to "The duel began, faith has already been lost, goodness has been fragmented. Who is right?" ...yeah, sounds way less cool in english.
"I am know by many names and take many forms." - The Simpsons.
"It's always been me and you never knew!" "I always knew. Everyone knew." - Steven Universe: Future.
"...I don't want your apologies." - Kung Fu Panda.
The way Meowscarada uses Night Slash is based on Dreamwork's Puss in Boots.
Meowscarda's Fire Tera Blast is based on Tamaki Kotatsu from Fire Force.
"...I know that nothing is eternal, oh, nothing at all... Everything that I know will burn away, will turn to dust..." Adaption of the lyrics from 'Inferno' by Mrs. Green Apple.
The Classroom 7-9 is a reference to the date Mela was revealed, September 9.
"Without hesitation, in the face of fear and doubt. We're all in!" - Lyrics from 'All in' by Brad Paisley.
"Let's say we're an uneven combination." - Lyrics from 'Aozora no Rhapsody' by Fhana.
"You... You don't know what it's like... the thoughts and the images that won't go away." - Criminal Minds.
"Don't tell me, you're going to say I just need love, kindness, forgiveness and all that cheesy shit!" - The Owl House.
Ash's speech to Mela is also inspired by Criminal Minds
"But this guy looks fly with that suit and tie." "Well, uh, thank you, I guess. I don't like to mess around." - Lyrics from 'Your Time to Die' by JT Music.
"I'm sorry, I wish I'd been there to protect you." - Lyrics from 'It's been so long' by The Living Tombstone.
Amethio's full name, Amethio Ta Jolokia, is a reference to Basco Ta Jolokia, a villain from Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger, since my take on the Rising Volt Tacklers will be based on the Gokaigers, it's only fair that my take on the Explorers is based on the show's villains, the Zangyack.
"You know we'll meet again, right?" - Puss in Boots: The Last Wish.
Geeta's last name, Omodaka, is her japanese name.
"I'm sorry, guys, but somebody's gotta be the adult here." - Phineas and Ferb the Movie: Across the 2nd Dimension.
"Locking them away isn't going to make any good, how can we say they're hopeless, if they've never been given a chance?" - The Bad Guys.
"Ascend from the ashes like a Moltres feather." - Lyrics from 'Fireborn' by JT Music.
"This is my word. And, as such, is beyond contestation, Understood?" - A Knight's Tale.
"Geez, I'm really starting to feel like a supporting character in my own life." - The Amazing World of Gumball.
"Ese carajito de la flecha me cae mal." - Lyrics from 'Cancioncitas de Amor' by Romeo Santos, translates to "I don't like that little guy with the arrow (cupid)"
"Your friends love you. If I knew nothing else about you, that would be enough." - A Knight's Tale.
"Welcome to the Circus, don't feel nervous." - Lyrics from 'Below the Surface' by Griffinilla.
"To think we're gonna be split up again... I feel like I should be used to this feeling by now, but I still don't know what to say... other than thanks, I think." - The Owl House.
"The problem with being a Grunt is that we all look the same. You end up mistaking the coworkers, get it?" - Sendokai Champions.
"Siganme los buenos!" - El Chapulin Colorado, translates to "Follow me the good ones"
Team Star's Anthem is taken from the lyrics of 'Assemble' by JT Music.
"Second chances are really hard to come by, and I'll make the most of this one!" - The Tomorrow War.
"Pasemos de una vez a la accion!" - Lyrics from 'Por la Gorra' by Keyblade, translates to "Let's get into action at once!"
"Quieres accion? Entonces toma cinco tazas!" - Lyrics from 'Toma Dos Tazas' by Keyblade, translates to "You want action? Then Take 5 cups of it!"
"Let fate smile upon you, my friends!" - Overwatch.
"No conduzcan como mi hermana!" - From the Latin American dub of Cars, translates to 'Don't drive like my sister!', yes, Giacomo has a sister here, who could it be? Who could I possible relate to a Music-based Dark-Type specialist, huh? No clue at all.
"Se the world aflame!" - Lyrics from 'Rescue Girl' by Jake Kaufman.
"He's only trying to find his place in a new food chain." - Lyrics from 'Life Finds a Way' by Mattel Action.
"I swear I'm gonna make him taste the fires of hell." - Lyrics from 'Hellfire' from the Hunchback of Notre Dame.
The Tera Keys in posesion of the Explorers and the Tacklers are based on the Ranger Keys from Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger, which as I mentioned will inspire my take on both teams. On the same, the Greatest Treasure of Paldea will be inspired by the Greatest Treasure of the Universe, also from Gokaiger.
Experiment #637-S, Codename: 'Reptalada' - 637 is Volcarona's National Dex number, adding an S for Scarlet; and 'Reptalada' is Slither Wing's localized name in the Spanish Version of the games.
"Oh, yeah, I'm going to make it as painful as possible for him." "AND his little girlfriends." - Zavodilla with Lyrics by Juno Songs.
"His girlfriends are involved too. The girlfriends also, we got to get the girlfriends." - Despicable Me 2.
Now the reviews! Thank you all for leaving them! Glad you're all happy to have me back as well!
Lycanrouge
10 women? You underestimate me
Dragonkeeper10
Well, let's see if Mela learned her lesson.
Rezenov
Think twice before you count Regina out of Fighting Dreamers.
Glaxy
Maybe, Maybe
UltimateCCC
Yeah, why not?
Zarc4d
Dude's alive, I didn't want to put that kind of weight on Team Star, you know? But like I said, I don't feel prepared to write it in a more expanded way so he'll stay anonymous, we won't see him again.
KGBeastBoy
I think I have something interesting in mind for Mollie, she'll debut next chapter along with Orla so you'll get to see her soon.
I also like your battle date idea for Liko.
SilentXD7
Liko, Roy and Ann will appear more in the story, so look forward to it!
Guest
I haven't had the chance to see King-Ohger due to my little situation, so, aside from the cool designs and opening, I can't really say anything about the series.
Mighty Ranger 1
Of course we'll get to see more of Ash's relationship with each of the girls
WhyareUsernamesTakenAlready
Of course the Crater is there, we'll tackle it soon.
Rammacan
I've been thinking of crossposting to AO3 for quite some time, but I never got the time to do it since I was always focusing in getting more chapters out, maybe I'll try now.
.
As for everyone asking for Fighting Dreamers, let's say that story is in a complicated spot right now, you all know that Fighting Dreamers chapters have gotten quite long and have a lot of content, which is a bit complicated for me to write at the moment, especially since the next chapter is meant to have three major battles, and one major battle already takes quite a lot of my time as I really do all I can to organize them and make them flow smoothly, of course, Fighting Dreamers isn't going to get abandoned by any means, but until I can get back to my previous writing schedule I'll keep updating this story first since it's all around easier for me, but once I can get back to Fighting Dreamers I'll give my all on it.
I think that's all, see you next time.
Holdonlupin is out!
