The story will be put on hiatus for a while. New chapters probably won't be released anytime soon as I need to plan out future plot points and stuff in order to make the story more interesting for you, the readers. Thank you for reading to this point, if you want to be updated once a new chapter finally drops make sure to follow the story, favorite it, whatever you want to do so you don't miss the inevitable next chapter. I plan on releasing a decent batch of chapters all at once when my hiatus ends so stay tuned for that, if you want to.

Chapter 4: Akari Shiratori, The Battle Demon

[Helios Academy - Social Hall]

The Social Hall is a place where students can mingle and the entrance to both dormitories. A perfect place to build connections with people.

"Are you excited?" Yutaka asks me.

"About what?"

"The Entrance Tournament obviously. It starts in 2 hours," Yutaka answered. "You think you can win?"

"No idea but I really want that Dratini," I shrug my shoulders. "I'll do my best."

Yutaka starts to laugh, "Good luck with that."

More students gather in the Social Hall, and many form a crowd around someone.

"Who're they gathering around?" I asked.

"They're gathering around that battle demon," a brown-haired girl answered.

'It's her!'

Ricarda Sigurd, the enchanting battle warrior.

"You're Ricarda Sigurd right?" Yutaka asked her.

"I sure am," Ricarda smiled. "You're Yutaka Hoshizora, and the other guy is Flake Jiiro?"

'How the hell did she get that so wrong.'

"I'm Blake Hiiro, it's not that hard to remember that."

"Flake Jiiro, Blake Hiiro, same thing," Ricarda shrugged. "Why do I have to remember your name when I know you're going to lose the first round."

"Huh, how can you be so sure?" I asked.

"Have you seen the matchups yet?" Ricarda asked.

"Uh no, we haven't," Yutaka answered.

"They're on that board over there," Ricarda pointed at the bulletin board which was also surrounded by a crowd of students.

Walking up to the bulletin board, my eyes widen as I read the matchups.

Round 1 Matchups:

Match 1 - [Rank 8 Blake Hiiro vs Rank 1 Akari Shiratori]

Match 2 - [Rank 5 Ricarda Sigurd vs Rank 4 Akuma Dearil]

Match 3 - [Rank 7 Yutaka Hoshizora vs Rank 2 Alonzo Alberici]

Match 4 - [Rank 6 Lux Helios vs Rank 3 Haiiro Shiima]

I'm going against the strongest in the first round.

"I'm fucked, aren't I?" I asked, still in shock at the matchups.

"Definitely," Ricarda answered bluntly.

'I guess this is where my luck ends.'

"So, I get to battle Alonzo right out the gate," Yutaka said. "That's awesome!"

"You're definitely a lot more optimistic than Flake about this," Ricarda sighed. "You do realize how outclassed you are, right?"

"Of course I do, but you never know until you try," Yutaka replied energetically.

"Well, I got things to do, good luck with your matches," Ricarda said as she walked away.

"How can you be so enthusiastic about this?" I asked Yutaka.

"I love fighting strong opponents," Yutaka answered. "Gives me a chance to test out my current limits."

'I guess that's one way to view this situation.'

I never even considered the possibility of me fighting Akari, I can't believe I ever thought I could win this.

…..

[Helios Academy - Homeroom]

Since I'm a student at the academy now, I have to attend morning homeroom.

"Thank you all for getting to homeroom on time," A black-haired man with a well-groomed beard said. "For the new students here, my name is Bellinor Dragonbrood, your homeroom teacher for the foreseeable future."

Bellinor Dragonbrood, a homeroom teacher for students the age of 16-18, and the person I've been looking for.

'He doesn't look like a secret member of a dangerous organization at all.'

"You're in this homeroom too?" Yutaka sat down next to me. "Now we'll have more chances to chat."

"Looks like it," I said, as I turned towards Bellinor.

'He's been at Helios for a while, what has he been planning all this time?'

Bellinor notices my staring and walks up to me and Yutaka.

"You two are new here right, you both should come to the front and introduce yourselves," Bellinor suggested.

'We don't really have a choice.'

Bellinor walked off to talk with another new student.

After he finished talking to the other new student, Bellinor walked back up to the front of the class.

"Can the three students I've recently talked to come up to the front of the class please," Bellinor said.

I, along with Yutaka and one other girl walked up to the front of the class to introduce ourselves.

"I'll go first," Yutaka took a step forward. "The name's Yutaka Hoshizora, nice you meet you all."

I then step forward. "I'm Blake Hiiro, I hope we can get along well."

The girl took a step forward. "My name is Lux Helios," the girl said with a smile. "I hope you all will treat me well."

The class claps for the new students joining their homeroom.

I take a glance around the room, there aren't many people that I know but I do notice a couple of people.

'Kuraki and Marcheline happen to be in this homeroom.'

"These three students will be battling it out later today, I hope that you all will cheer for your classmates during their battles," Bellinor said.

Bellionor made us return to our seats and started his homeroom lesson.

"Today for homeroom we'll be talking about how Aura Bonding works, does any student want to try and answer this question?"

A pink-haired girl raised her hand.

"Yes, Rosaria?"

"Aura Bonding is a process where the trainer and Pokémon's aura begin to connect, allowing the trainer to send thoughts to their Pokemon," Rosaria explained.

"A good answer," Bellinor said rather impressed. "Aura Bonding is a very useful technique, however, it's not the only aura technique that we can use. Higher levels of aura techniques called advanced aura techniques can give the user enhanced abilities that almost feel like superpowers in a way."

I raised my hand. "What kind of superpowers?"

"Who knows, you may be able to gain super strength, the ability to use specific elements, flight, and many other things. This academy is a breeding ground for developing these kinds of abilities in students. All these things are examples of more advanced aura techniques."

'Advanced aura techniques, that must be whatever that power I used was.'

….

The lesson went on for a while, but I've got a decent understanding of this power of mine.

My ability to speed up my thoughts is a kind of advanced aura technique, although when I asked Bellinor about the possibility of being able to speed up my own thoughts to the point where time begins to slow, he just told me that it was not possible.

'Maybe it's some sort of super-secret technique that only I can use.'

Just the thought of that causes a wide grin to appear on my face. As I was thinking to myself, I felt somebody smack the back of my head hard.

"What're you thinking so hard about?" Kuraki asked me. "I've been saying your name for the past 2 minutes now."

"Ow!" I held the back of my head. "Did you have to hit me that hard?"

"How else would I get your attention? The tournament is about to start and that friend of yours already left in order to not be late."

"Right, the tournament," I said unenthusiastically.

Kuraki questioned me. "What has gotten you so sad? I thought you would be excited about this tournament."

"I have to go against your sister, I don't stand a chance at all."

"Don't be like that, can't you just try and have fun? This is supposed to be a fun event." Kuraki suggested.

'What's fun about losing in front of hundreds of people?'

"Whatever," I got up and started walking to the Battle Stadium.

"What's his problem?" someone with long blue hair tied into a ponytail asked Kuraki.

"No idea, Lucifer. He acts like that from time to time," Kuraki shrugged her shoulders. "Do you plan on watching any of the matches today?"

"I plan on watching Akari's and Alonzo's matches only," Lucifer answered. "I could care less about what goes on in the other matches."

"There you go only caring about absurd talent again," Kuraki remarked. "Can't you just watch matches for I don't know, fun?"

"Whatever," Lucifer walked off.

"They act the same," Kuraki commented.

…..

[Helios Academy - Battle Stadium]

I managed to reach the waiting room just in time.

"Look who finally decided to come, I thought you chickened out already," Ricarda remarked.

"I'm not that much of a bitch."

"Sure, you aren't," she replied sarcastically.

Even though she's acting kind of annoying right now, I can't really hate this.

"You ready?" Yutaka asked me.

"Hell no, not this time."

"May Akari Shiratori and Blake Hiiro make their way to the battlefield now." the speaker in the room said.

"Looks like you're going to have to be, good luck." Yutaka began encouraging me. "You don't have to win this, just try your best to have fun and learn from this."

"Thanks, Yutaka."

Walking down the hallway, my heart begins to beat fast.

'How am I supposed to have fun when I'm going to lose?'

'Stay calm, stay calm. Just try your best.'

"On one side is the enchanting battle demon, the rank 1 Akari Shiratori!"

The roars of the crowd reach my ears even when I'm not outside.

Walking out the announcer begins to talk again.

"On the other side is the underdog comeback machine, rank 8 Blake Hiiro! Will he be able to etch out another comeback, or will he be yet another victim of the battle demon?"

The cheers of the crowd for me are surprisingly loud, it's like they don't realize who I'm up against.

"Each trainer will be allowed to use 3 Pokémon, there are no limits on switching Pokémon. The battle will end once one side has no Pokémon able to battle," the ref explained.

"So, you're the man my sister always told me about. You don't really look like much, disappointing," Akari said with a sigh.

'I don't even have a comeback for that.'

"..."

"Let's just get this over with, go Rhyperior," Akari said unenthusiastically.

Emerging from her Poké ball was a giant rock monster with a drill on its head. Its dark brown body is covered with little portions of orange sticking out around its entire body.

"..."

I throw Blastoise out, I still haven't said a word since I entered the battlefield.

Blastoise roars in excitement, he never had the chance to battle yesterday.

"No words huh, seems like you've already accepted your fate."

"..."

"Battle begin!" the ref shouted.

Rhyperior launches a powerful Thunderbolt at Blastoise immediately, catching me off guard, and damaging Blastoise a lot.

'Shit.'

"Use Rapid Spin Blastoise!"

Blastoise tucks back into its shell and begins spinning towards the Rhyperior. Rhyperior sticks its two hands out and catches the incoming Blastoise.

"Dumbass," Akari commented as Rhyperior began to use a powerful Thunderbolt on the defenseless Blastoise.

Rhyperior then chucks the charred Blastoise away. Blastoise manages to stand back up.

'One more hit and it's over for Blastoise, and my chance of beating this thing.'

Time to use the technique.

I begin to try and accelerate my thoughts.

'Think more, think more, think more, think more!'

My eyes glow white for a second then return back to normal suddenly.

'Huh? What happened?'

"Wow, you can use an advanced aura technique. Maybe you are a little better than I thought," Akari commented. "Sadly those unreliable techniques won't work against me."

"What did you do to me?"

"Not much, I only canceled out your aura technique."

'How the hell?'

"Akari used her advanced aura technique just now right?" Lucifer asked.

"Yeah she did, so that means Blake is able to use Aura Bonding right?" Kuraki asked.

"He never used Aura Bonding in the first round. He tried to use an advanced aura technique just now," Aether explained.

"Woah, so that means Blake is even more talented than I thought," Kuraki said enthusiastically. "Sadly that means nothing when you go against Akari."

"How'd you cancel my technique?" I asked Akari.

"My super special aura technique is able to cancel out other people's aura technique. Basically, I can cancel out other people's special powers while getting to keep my own."

'That's the most overpowered bullshit I've ever seen.'

"Rhyperior, finish him off," Akari commanded.

Rhyperior's horn starts to spin viciously as it charges towards the weakened Blastoise, unable to react in time Blastoise gets hit by the vicious Horn Drill.

Blastoise falls on its back, it's unable to battle.

I return Blastoise back to its Poké ball. "I'm sorry Blastoise."

I used Rapid Spin to try and increase my speed, I was fully expecting the Rhyperior to dodge the attack or just take it, but I never expected it to grab hold of Blastoise. A fatal blunder.

'One last chance, if Daru can't beat this, I'll just forfiet.'

I throw Daru's Poké ball, emerging from it is a giant fiery gorilla-like creature. Daru hits his chest in excitement.

"Hammer Arm!"

Daru rushes at Rhyperior, its arms glowing red with energy. However, once Daru tries to throw a punch at the Rhyperior, the rock monster grabs its arm. Daru tries to throw a punch with its other arm, but it's blocked by Rhyperior's other arm. Rhyperior uses this opportunity to hit Darmanitan with a point-black Horn Drill, knocking Daru out.

'It's over." I thought as I returned Daru to its Poké ball.

"You don't seem to ever learn your lesson. Maybe your aura technique makes you smarter because you're not the same battler I saw yesterday," Akari stated. "You're a fraud that only relies on that one aura technique to win your battles."

Although it hurts to hear somebody call you a fraud, she was right. I only won those battles because of that aura technique, not with my own skills.

"I forfeit," I put both my hands up.

"Battler Blake Hiiro has forfeited the match which means that the winner of the first battle is Rank 1 Akari Shiratori!" the ref shouted.

"Smart choice," Akari commented. "I was getting bored anyway."

The crowd seemed very disappointed at the outcome, many people started to boo me as I stood there, contemplating running away from the academy altogether.

Akari began instigating the crowd against me even more to the point where people began throwing things and insults my way.

Insults like "You're a fraud." "Get out of you faker." "Trash like you should just die." "My little brother can battle better than you." "Dumbass." "Worthless." "Disgrace of Pallet Town." "Scum."

'What did I do?'

The insults started getting to me and I began to run out of the stadium, tearing up along the way. Avoiding anybody and everybody. In the span of a single battle, I became a laughingstock at the academy.

….

[Helios Academy - Male Dormitory]

I couldn't even bring myself to watch all the other matches, I spent the whole day crying and screaming while stuffing my face in my pillow.

This feeling of helplessness I'm feeling right now reminds me of that event. A classified case happened in the now-ruined Saffron City.

I was only around 12 years old when this event happened, I was like any normal kid in this world. I wanted to become the very best like no one ever was. My dream was to save the world from an evil organization, just like how Kaito did it.

I was so naive at the time.

The destruction of Saffron City was also the incident where Chubby lost his right arm, and also where my trauma began.

I tried fighting back, against this evil team. Thinking that I could be like Kaito was a stupid decision.

I lost a battle against a grunt; the battle was brutal. The grunt had sliced Chubby's arm clean off in the battle. The bloodcurdling screams of the traumatic incident still play in my head to this day. I was lucky that was all that grunt did, I can't imagine how much worse off I would've been if he did something like kill Chubby.

My dreams and ambitions were all crushed that day, and they remain crushed to this day.

'I want to quit; I knew this mission wasn't for me.'

I want to quit, but I know I can't. If I let Team Starlight continue their evil deed, even more people might suffer, including Seiichi.

'Seiichi is relying on me, I can't give up now.'

Full of emotion, I grabbed my journal and began writing down my cluster of thoughts.

/ September 6th: Today was hard, I managed to learn new things like how this mysterious power of mine is an advanced aura technique. Basically, it's a superpower. I also learned that there are people who can cancel out aura techniques. I also well, became a laughingstock at the academy now. I don't know what I did to Akari or anybody to deserve this. I could care less about this now, my only goal now is to find out Bellinor's secret and leave this damn academy now. I hope tomorrow won't get any worse than today. /

I start clenching my fists in anger.

'Akari Shiratori, I don't care how much stronger you are compared to me, I will defeat you.'

I'll beat any obstacle that comes in the way of my path to revenge, if it's my strength, I'll get stronger. If it's my intelligence, I'll get smarter. If it's my perseverance, I'll improve my willpower.

I'll do anything to achieve my one and only goal.

The death of Team Starlight.