Our challengers are almost done with the first day of their journey, and what a journey it has been! But the days are not over, and they're still challenges left to face! What will happen next?

Team Katsuya

Kendra stopped running, she'd been doing so for a while now. She looked around, it was too dark to see anything. She had no idea where Katsuya was either, at least she had the backpack.

Beedrills had given up the chase when she ran too far from their home, but she'd lost Katsuya along the way. She looked over to one of the Rotom Drones and saw a yellow light was flashing on the top. It turned around and started flying away.

"H-hey!" shouted Kendra. "Where are you going?"

She turned and followed the drone, her legs screaming out as she walked. She kept very quiet as she moved around rocks and tree roots, trying not to stumble this time.

"How did I get caught up in all this?" asked Kendra to herself. "I just wanted to have a quiet adventure. Now I'm stuck with Katsuya and everyone's going to see me make a fool out of myself because I don't know the first thing in battling. How great."

Nearby, Katsuya was still walking to the gym. The Rotom Drone had signaled for him to stop multiple times, but he hadn't cared. He only had one focus, and that was to get to the gym. Friends, team members, he didn't need them.

He looked to the sky, it was getting very dark. He pulled out a flashlight from his bag and waved it around. He brought his own sleeping bag, and was perfectly fine with sleeping without a tent. He was perfectly prepared to do the entire Island of Challenge on his own, if need be.

"Katsuya!" called Kendra from behind him.

Katsuya turned around and saw Kendra walking up to him.

"Where were you going without me?" asked Kendra.

"I was going to the bug type gym of course."

"Aren't you going to stop and rest?"

"Of course I'm going to stop and rest. I was just going to see if I could go a bit farther before I call it a night. That is pretty obvious."

"But I'm the one with the tent, and the sleeping bags."

"I brought my own sleeping bag. But you raise a good point, I'll take both bags."

"Wait what?"

"I don't think you heard me, I'll take both bags. I realize now that if I'm going to do this, then I can't have you holding me back. I can do this alone."

"Why are you like this?" asked Kendra. "Y-You act as if you're better than everyone and you don't care less about how others feel!"

Katusya looked at her, his eyes reflecting nothing. "It's not that I think myself better than everyone else, simply put, I'm independent. I rely on no one else but myself. Because if I learned anything from the past, it's that people will abandon you when you need them most."

Team Distant Past

"All right Jax, ready for this?" asked Diego, Snivy standing ready in front of him.

"I could be more ready," said Jax. "But let's do this."

The two Eevees faced down their Pokémon. The female one stood in front of the male one protectively, only for the male Eevee to brush past her and charge straight for Snivy.

"Let's start this battle off with Ember!" shouted Diego.

Snivy took a deep breath and lept into the air, blasting a fireball at the rushing Eevee. The Eevee dodged the attack and turned towards Valdez before using Quick Attack.

"Use Scratch!"

Valdez leapt forward and struck the Eevee as it attacked. It was sent flying backwards as the other Eevee rushed to its side.

"Looks like they care about each other," said Diego. "I'd hate to separate them."

"True, but you said you wanted to catch an Eevee."

"Yes, I think you catch the other Eevee, it'd be better that way."

"I hear you, but let's finish the battle first. Watch out!"

The female Eevee's tail glowed as it launched star shaped rays at the two Pokémon. Valdez and Snivy countered with a dual Ember, countering the attack. Snivy used Quick Attack and rushed at the Eevees, only for the male one to leap in and block his attack.

"Valdez, use Ember and protect Snivy!"

Valdez leapt in front of Snivy and used Ember on the Eevee, Snivy came around Valdez and attacked the other Eevee with Tackle. The male Eevee ignored Valdez and rushed over to the other Eevee.

"Smokescreen!" shouted Diego.

"Valdez, can you try Fury Swipes?"

Valdez nodded and leapt after his target, slashing his claws wildly. Snivy created a thick cloud of smoke that prevented the two Eevee from finding each other.

"Can't see?" asked Diego. "Then Snivy shall help with that! Ember!"

In the darkness of the cloud, a spark of fire ignited as Snivy's back flared. He expelled a huge fireball that blasted the female backwards. The male Eevee gave a cry and tried to get to her side, but Valdez didn't let up his attack.

"Valdez, Ember!"

Valdez shot a ball of fire that launched the opposing Eevee. It tried to get up, but it collapsed down again.

Jax pulled out two pokéballs and tossed one to Diego. Diego threw his at the Eevee he took out, and Jax did the same.

"You know," said Diego. "I'm glad we made this choice. By the looks of it, the Eevees really cared about each other in different ways. Separating them would've been wrong."

Jax nodded before sending out his Eevee. The Pokémon appeared and looked around frantically before spotting the other Eevee as Diego sent her out. He ran over to her and nuzzled against her.

"I think the reason your Eevee stole the berries was because he wanted to show off to her," said Diego.

"Pokémon aren't that different from us people if you think about it," said Jax.

"I suppose you're right, " said Diego. "But let's eat. Philosophy makes me hungry."

Team One

Alicia and Seth were setting up camp in the forest. Alicia had found the perfect camping spot, so Seth set up the tent. Alicia was a bit adverse to doing the task, but relented when Seth pointed out it took two people to set it up.

They now were setting up the campfire so they could cook food. Having no fire type Pokémon on hand, they used matches to light the fire.

"I'll cook," said Seth, pulling ingredients out of the bag. "Just sit back and wait like you always do."

Alicia looked at him. "I said that I was sorry. I don't know why you're still mad at me."

Seth pulled out the board and chopped the berries quickly. He put the pan on the fire and threw the berries. He added some vegetables as everything cooked.

Alicia watched him cook, silent. He added more ingredients as he rhythmically chopped other ingredients. It was perfectly clear he knew what he was doing which surprised her.

"You know how to cook."

"It's pretty easy to learn when you're the only one doing it," said Seth bitterly.

"What do you mean?"

Seth sighed. "How would you understand? My mother doesn't cook often, she barely knows how to. It was always dad who cooked."

"Earlier, you said your late father. Does that mean-"

"Yes, he's gone," said Seth, his voice quieting.

Alici sat in silence for a moment as Seth mildly stirred around potatoes. Alicia looked up again and had another question.

"How does your mother act around you?"

It was a surprising question, one that caused Seth to pause. "She misses him sometimes, but she accepts his loss and does her best for us. It's been three years since the event so she had time to heal. Why do you ask all of a sudden?"

Alicia looked away. "Just wondering."

"You're hiding something," said Seth, a smile creeping onto his face.

"No I'm not."

"Yes you are."

"No I'm not!"

"No you're not."

"Yes I-"

Alicia paused, then glared at Seth.

"You're an immature child with jokes pulled from sources for children. You are not funny at all."

"Are you saying my head is a source for children?"

"Yes."

"Dearest Alicia, why do you act in such a condescending and superior way? Surely you've tastested the salty yet opportunistic feeling of defeat."

"Yes," said Alicia sharply. "I have. But that doesn't matter to you."

"I'm sure it doesn't." said Seth, sending out his Pokémon. He ladled food into four different bowls and passed two to Alicia, who sent out her Piplup.

"It's berry soup, a mild version," said Seth. "Hope you like it."

"Thanks," said Alicia. Taking her bowl and a spoon.

She tasted the food and paused, looking over at Seth. Seth didn't notice her slight hesitation at eating the food. Normally, it would be decent, but considering what she was used to, it was abysmal. Thinking back to their earlier conversation, she decided to leave it be.

Day 2 - Team Regional

Claire woke up in the tent, feeling refreshed from sleeping in the wild. She sat up and looked to her side, pulling up the divider curtain.

In the light streaming through the tent's air holes, she noticed Zeke was gone. Slightly confused, she crawled out of the tent and stood in the fresh morning air.

She stretched and blinked away what little sleepiness she had. Looking around, she noticed that there were two plates on top of a small folding stool, covered. Opening the cover of the bigger, she saw a hot breakfast pizza with mushrooms and tomato berries.

She silently thanked Zeke as she opened Natsu's pokéball and began to eat. She looked around, wondering where Zeke had gone off to.

She finished her food in about five minutes and stood up. Looking off into the distance, she turned around and saw Zeke jogging towards her, his Pokémon at his side.

She headed over to him as he and his Pokémon continued jogging. Ga'hoole was running as fast as he could, but his short little legs didn't make it easy.

"Good morning Zeke," said Claire when the two of them reached each other. "You had me worried for a moment."

"Sorry," said Zeke. "I have a habit of waking up really early. The jet lag isn't really affecting me either, but that might be because the Insulae Region is closer to Hoenn than the Calzei Region. So I went from four hours ahead to two hours ahead, after just starting to get used to it."

Claire shrugged. His words didn't really make much sense to her. "So, you were training with your Pokémon?"

"Yup! I really love training alongside my Pokémon. I was never a trainer, but I raised my Pokémon like this back when I used to live in Johto. It really helps them. It also strengthens our bond together."

Claire smiled. "You're right. Pokémon are equals to use. Which is why I asked Natsu aout something last night."

"What is it?"

She stepped one foot back and pointed straight at Zeke. "We want to see how powerful your new Pokémon is! Which is why we challenge you and your Pokémon to a battle!"

Natsu roared his approval. Zeke was somewhat surprised by their outgoingness. His Oricorio mimicked his surprised expression, throwing her pom poms to her face.

"Already? We just started being partners yesterday."

"Yeah, but you've had plenty of time to make yourselves familiar, which I've bet you've already done. After all, you'll be touring an entire island together."

"What do say Abba?" asked Zeke, looking at his Oricorio.

Abba cocked her head as if she was deep in thought. She jumped around and pointed at Natsu, planting one talon backwards.

"I take that as a yes," said Zeke. "Let's do our best Abba, I'll direct you in battle, ok?

Abba gave a nod. Claire was surprised by how many human expressions and gestures the little dancing Pokémon had picked up. But that didn't matter to her right now, what mattered was winning.

"Get ready Natsu!" said Claire as they took their places for battle. "Start off with a Flame Burst!"

"Air Cutter!"

Abba twirled around and fired blades of air that cut through the fire, diminishing its size. She sidestepped the weak attack and leapt forward towards Natsu.

"Use Peck!"

"Smokescreen!"

Abba was already prepared for this. As Natsu spread the smoke around the field, she charged up her pom poms, creating a bright light that allowed her to see through the smoke, but Natsu expected that.

He opened his mouth and used Flame Burst, too close for Abba to dodge. She was thrown out of the cloud of smoke as Natsu leapt at her.

"Use Scratch!"

"Retaliate with Pound!"

The two physical moves collide, throwing both Pokémon back. Natsu took the opportunity and rushed forward, slashing at Abba with his claws.

"Get back and use Air Cutter!"

Abba leapt backwards, avoiding Natsu as she threw blades of air continuously at her pursuer.

"Flame Burst!"

"Dodge it!"

Natsu launched a blast of fire, so Abba leapt swiftly to the side to avoid being scorched. The moment she landed, Natsu was already poised to attack her.

"Get ready with Pound!"

Unexpected to both trainers and Abba, Natsu didn't go for Scratch. He instead used Ember and blasted Abba point blank with the fireball, throwing both of them backwards.

"I see," said Zeke, closing his eyes. "You truly have a fiery passion burning within you! But I'm sorry, you're in for a shock! Revelation Dance!"

Abba released her signature move, the power of the electric attack already stored within her pom poms. Natsu was thrown backwards as electricity crackled in the air.

Claire ran over and checked on her Charmander. Natsu got up and shook his head, showing that he was fine.

"I'm not sure which one was worse," said Claire, straightening up with Natsu. "The attack, or the pun. Go get em Natsu!"

Natsu leapt forward, fire blazing on his tail. He swung his claw at Abba, hitting her on the side as she tried to dodge. She used Air Cutter, striking the ground and causing dirt to explode in his face.

"Now, Revelation Dance!"

Abba spun around, waving and swishing her pom poms. She kicked a leg out and blasted a shot of electricity, blasting Natsu once again.

The attacks proved too much as Natsu fell over, weakened. He slumped over and fainted.

Claire returned her Pokémon with mild disappointment, but it faded quicker than it had come.

"That was a great battle, Abba sure is strong. But don't worry, I'm going to catch a second Pokémon and then we'll have another battle to see who comes out on top! You hear me?"

"I hear you loud and clear, now let's pack our stuff up. We won't find any Pokémon sitting around here."

As he worked to pack the cooking gear, he couldn't help but think to himself, voicing his thoughts out loud like he sometimes did.

"Claire, she really loves Pokémon battles, and it seems her Charmander does as well. It's nice they seem to be able to handle a loss," he looked over to Abba. The Oricorio was scrubbing the air, miming a dishwashing motion.

"It seems you're more powerful than we all thought. But there's no such thing as limited potential. With all of us together, we'll go far!"

Team Katsuya

Katsuya and Kendra trudged along the forest. The trees were still so thick overhead and showed no signs of letting up. Kendra sighed at the melancholy darkness, taking it as a sign that things were only to get worse.

Up ahead, Katsuya was still ahead. He'd barely stopped going forward since they packed up the tent. Kendra was slightly impressed by his determination. Or was it because he didn't care about anything else other than winning? His words from last night still rattled around in her brain.

He was being independent, which is why he didn't bother with her. But why was he like this?

She sighed again. There were so many questions about her partner, but one thing was certain, she was not going to have a fun time. There was only a matter of time before everything came crashing down on her, and this thought nagged the back of her mind.

She'd been secretly training with Amphithere the night before, trying to make sure she could at least pass for a decent trainer. She had desperately tried to remember all the times she watched her brother on TV.

She also desperately wished she could see Claire again. The girl was very nice and supportive towards her, much better than Katsuya for sure.

She sighed for the third time, it had started to grow into a habit. Fortunately, it was slight enough where the viewer of the show probably wouldn't notice, hopefully.

On the other hand, Katsuya listened to her sigh again. He paid no attention to her and instead looked around the forest. Every moving thing caught his attention, as if he was a predator stalking prey, or the other way around.

While he doubted there'd be any, he looked around for some decent Pokémon he could catch. He remembered Samson's warning and rolled his eyes. Why should he care about some losers who'd cry at an insult to their favorite however weak Pokémon. It's their problem if they want to lose with Pokémon like that.

He looked at his Torchic's pokéball and smiled. He'd made a good choice. His Torchic already proved to be strong and powerful, fit for a trainer like him.

In the background, he heard Kendra mumble something nervously to herself. He paid her no heed however, he never did for anyone.

Suddenly, something gray flashed in the trees, catching his attention. He looked around, trying to figure out what it was.

It was Kendra however, who figured what it was first when it flew at her face.

She shrieked and ducked as a Pidove flew over her head. She opened her pokéball and sent out Amphithere.

She then realized with a sinking feeling that her Snivy had a huge disadvantage when it came to type. She sighed and accepted the fact she couldn't win this fight head on, especially against an aerial foe.

She looked over to Katsuya, who looked back at her.

"Deal with the Pokémon yourself. My Torchic has battled enough and I'm not interested in catching pokétrash."

He then turned and walked away.

She looked up and scanned her surroundings as the Pidove circled around with a cry, heading straight for Amphithere with glowing wings.

"Use Razor Leaf and dive away!"

Amphithere crouched down with a hiss and fired Razor Leaf with her tail. She crouched down and leapt out of the way and crawled around the floor. The Pidove circled around and used Gust, creating a torrent of wind that blasted Amphithere aside. The Snivy flipped over and didn't get a chance to reorient herself when the Pidove flew at her with Wing Attack.

"Amphithere!" shouted Kendra, inwardly cursing herself for not being a legitimate trainer. She watched her Snivy get battered again, wanting to cry at how unfair the world was. She never wanted it to be like this, of course she'd have to fight a flying type with a grass type Pokémon.

The Poochyena fight was a lot more straightforward. She scanned the terrain, trying to find a way to use it to her advantage.

"Dodge the next attack, go over it!"

The Pidove used Quick Attack and scraped its belly on the ground as it spread its wings out. Amphithere leapt over the Pidove and fired Razor Leaf, hitting the Pidove on its head.

Kendra got a pokéball ready. She figured if she couldn't defeat it, she'd catch it instead.

"Get into the trees! Hide in the foliage!" shouted Kendra.

While her Snivy's scales didn't match the tree's leaves, it would at least make finding Amphithere a bit harder for her attacker. Razor Leaves' long range capabilities gave her the advantage, the only problem was getting up there. The Pidove's power of flight would allow it to catch up to Amphithere as she climbed.

"Hey!" shouted Kendra, waving her arms. Amphithere looked at her, slightly confused, but she only pointed at the tree canopy. The Pidove however, was distracted by Kendra, allowing Amphithere to make it the rest of the way.

"Now! Razor Leaf!"

The sharp leaves hailed down upon the Pidove, it looked wildly around as it hit the floor and got to its feet, trying to locate Amphithere. It spotted her pale underbelly and flew to intercept, only to be hit with another storm of leaves.

Katsuya was still walking away, but something compelled him to turn around and watch. It wasn't to see how well Kendra performed, but he figured it would be funny if she lost.

On the other hand, Amphithere was having a lot of fun. Peppering her enemy with Razor Leaf before ducking and leaping amongst the trees, using her tail to balance and stay among the branches was exhilarating. She already loved battling other Pokémon. So without a second thought, she positioned herself above the Pidove and leapt down, slamming into it with Tackle.

Kendra watched in disbelief as her Snivy pulled such a reckless and anime-esque style attack. Amphithere stood over her fallen opponent with glory, only to hop back as the Pidove got to her feet. She gave a wary hiss as the Pidove spread its wings.

It then started flapping its wings as it hopped away from Amphithere. He hurriedly preened himself before spreading his wings and making a show of himself. Both Kendra and Amphithere started at the peacocking Pidove before Kendra shrugged and threw a pokéball.

It was a light toss, one that missed the Pidove and rolled away. Amphithere gave her a look as the Pidove hopped away, threatened.

It took Kendra two more tries before she caught the Pidove. She sighed and slumped down, staring at the pokéball laying on the ground. She figured a flying type like Pidove would slightly palance out the weaknesses of her current team, so she was happy with her decision to catch the slightly odd Pidove.

She got up and went to pick up the pokéball, she noticed that her Snivy had a disapproving look on her face.

"Don't you get started with me," said Kendra. "You don't need good aim with a pokéball to be a trainer."

Amphithere only shook her head.

She returned her Snivy to her pokéball and ran to catch up with Katsuya, who, like always, continued walking ahead without a care in the world.

Unrecorded

Champion Ajax walked out of the cave. He pulled out his phone and clicked on the button to instantly call his sister, Ariel.

"You've taken care of the problem?" asked his twin sister.

"No hello?" asked Ajax. "I call you on this island after I set out to take care of a problem for five days and you don't say hello to your older brother."

"By fourteen minutes," said Ariel with a harsh tone to her voice. "Besides, I figured it was because you took down the Barbaracle, you never call me."

Ajax shrugged, only to realize doing so was pointless. "Why bother with you of all people?"

"You're just mad I'm better than you. I'm sure you struggled to defeat the Barbaracle with a Mega Gallade that knows Leaf Blade."

"That's the thing," said Ajax, his voice becoming serious. "It was surprisingly easy, too easy actually."

"What do you mean?"

"There's something wrong with the Barbaracle, which is probably why it packed up, left home, and decided to be a pain in the butt to every existing Pokémon in these caves."

"And why is that?"

"Something's wrong with its old home. I-"

"That much is obvious."

"Let me finish. I have the Barbaracle stored within an Ultra Ball. It has weird yellow splotches on its body. That indicates some sort of sickness or something that's messing with its head."

"Maybe something is polluting its habitat."

"Bingo, you check it out."

"Why me?"

"Because you're closer, and I want to investigate this cave. There are so many scattered around the region, and even though this is the biggest, it couldn't have known that before traveling here. Especially since Barbaracle don't live in caves. Something made it come to this cave, and I intend to figure out why."

"Alright, I'll do my part."

She hung up the phone without much of a goodbye. Irritated, he dialed her back.

"What now?"

"Goodbye, I love you."

Ajax smiled as he swore he could hear her rolling her eyes on the other end of the phone.

"Byeee."

"See ya!"

He hung up the phone before she could. He smiled and pumped a fist in the air at his victory. What was that now? Four hundred and seventy two to four hundred and sixty. A few more phone calls with him getting the last word and he'd win their thousand poké bet.

Jokes aside though, he had a job to do.

Now that people have been catching new Pokémon, how will the battles and match ups between people and other trainers change? Who'll get to the first gym? Will Alicia and Seth become friends? Will Katsuya stop being a bored and uncaring jerk anytime soon? Will I, the narrator, ever stop asking questions? No! Now I will not! Find out the answers to the other four questions in the next four days on Pokéstars: Island of Challenge!