Sorry for the long hiatus. I haven't been able to access fanfiction for some time. This meant no commenter responses and chapter updates. I'll try my best next time to get chapters out on time. On another note, Pokemon Shadows of Unova has officially (been) here! I hope (as a Pokemon Society fan or otherwise) you'll take the time to read it!

Welcome to Episode 15 of Pokéstars: Island of Challenge! In our last episode, Jax and Diego finally made their way to the bottom of the mountain. How many episodes has it been since they started? Kendra has teamed up with Team Regional in order to safely explore a mysterious cave. Katsuya on the other hand, is off doing whatever he cares for. Finally, Team One gets more and more practice with their new Pokémon as they prepare for what's up ahead. Now, we'll see what happens next in this evening episode!

Team Distant Past

"Virgil, I choose you!" shouted Jax, throwing a pokéball.

"Out, Glacey!" shouted Diego.

The gym battle had begun. Jax and Diego's Eevee were up against Winona's Wingull and Jo's Emolga. All four Pokémon were currently on the ground, awaiting instructions.

"Emolga, use Shock Wave!"

"Glacey, Swift!" shouted Diego.

Jo's Emolga leapt into the air, charging up electricity. Glacey swung her tail and fired star shaped rays that directed themselves towards the Emolga. A seemingly invisible wave of electricity shot forward, destroying the stars and hitting Glacey.

"Shock Wave is a move that doesn't miss!" shouted Jo, extending her hand. "Now use Air Cutter!"

"Virgil, use Quick Attack!" shouted Jax.

"Cut it off with Water!" commanded Winona, speaking to her Wingull.

Diego watched as Virgil charged at the Emolga, dodging flying blades of air. The Wingull flew upwards and fired a blast of water as Virgil leapt for it instead. Knowing Virgil wasn't going to overpower it, he turned to Glacey.

"Use Helping Hand!"

Two hands appeared above Virgil and clapped together, boosting his strength. Virgil plowed through the attack, surrounded with a glowing aura. He smashed into the WIngull and knocked it from the sky, leaping straight for the Emolga.

"Take Down!"

"Spread your wings and dodge it!"

The Emolga righted itself in the air and twisted, causing Virgil to fly past it. The air created from the force allowed the Emolga to sail upwards, out of reach.

"Thunder Shock!"

"Glacey, use Swift!"

Glacey ran forward and fired more star-shaped rays at the Emolga. Reaiming its attack, it fired at Glacey's attack, shooting them down one by one.

"Wingull, Quick Attack!"

The Wingull, having recovered from Virgil's attack, now flew directly at Glacey. Virgil dashed for the Wingull, using his own Quick Attack.

"Fly upwards and use Water Gun!"

Avoiding Virgil entirely, Winona's Wingull flew upwards and spiraled down, blasting Virgil in the back with Water Gun. It pulled back as Glacey fired another Swift, the Emolga blasting away the stars before they could hit.

"Their teamwork is solid," said Diego, analyzing the battle before turning to Jax. "Glacey is more suited for support. You have Virgil do the main attack. Our opponents are fast, but we can hit harder with Helping Hand."

"Gotcha," said Jax with a nod. "Let's take out the Emolga first. Virgil, Quick Attack!"

Virgil charged forward, running straight for the Emolga. Glacey on the other hand, darted to the side, heading for the Emolga from the other side.

Considering the fact Emolga couldn't actually fly; it was much closer to the ground than it was before. Virgil rushed forward, passing the Wingull as he targeted the Emolga.

"Glacey, use Swift!"

The Emolga flew away from the stars, using Shock Wave to destroy them. At the same time however, Virgil leapt into the air with Quick Attack, heading straight for the Emolga.

"Helping Hand!"

Two hands appeared over Virgil and he slammed into the Emolga, tackling it out of the sky. Both Pokémon fell and hit the ground hard, rolling away from each other.

"Wingull, use Water Gun!"

"Thunder Shock!"

The Wingull flew overhead and fired a jet of water at Virgil. At the same time, the Emolga got to its feet and charged up electricity.

"Glacey, Tackle!"

"Virgil, Take Down!"

Glacey threw herself at the Emolga, knocking it away before it could do the chain attack on Virgil. Virgil on the other hand, leapt at the WIngull, only for it to soar away before he could strike.

"Wingull, Quick Attack!"

"Virgil, use Quick Attack against the Emolga!"

"Glacey, Helping Hand!"

"Emolga, Shock Wave!"

Virgil dashed forward, ignoring the Wingull that was pursuing it. Charging forward, he took the damage from the Shock Wave without breaking stride. The Emolga tried to dodge, but Virgil barreled into it and knocked back down.

"Glacey, use Swift!"

"Virgil, Take Down!"

Glacey fired the attack before the EMolga could take off again, using this opportunity, Virgil used Take Down and smashed into the Pokémon, defeating it.

The referee raised a flag, standing over the Pokémon. "Jo's Emolga has fainted, send in your last Pokémon."

"Alright then," said Jo, pulling out a Great Ball. "I choose you, Noibat!"

Out from the ball appeared a large Noibat, much larger than most. It gave a shriek as it flew about, its wings beating quickly.

"Wingull, use Quick Attack!"

Winona's Quick Attack dove for Virgil, but without the Emogla's previous support, a quick Swift from Glacey was able to knock it away.

"Noibat, use Air Cutter!"

The Noibat flew into a glide, spinning around and sending blades of air all over the battlefield. The erratic patterns and the speed of the attack made it hard to dodge, hitting Glacey and Virgil multiple times, as well as Winona's Wingull.

"Now, Razor Wind!"

Jo's Noibat surrounded itself with a powerful gale, powering up for a special attack.

"Glacey, hit it with Swift!"

"Wingull, Water Gun!"

Before Glacey could fire an attack, Winona's Wingull flew in and blasted Glacey with a powerful Water Gun. Virgil leapt into action with Take Down, but was too late. Glacey rolled across the ground as the Wingull went down, both of them fainting.

"Both Glacey and Wingull are unable to battle!" shouted the referee.

"I choose you, Snivy!" shouted Diego, flinging a new pokéball towards the field.

"Out, Swablu," said Winnona, calmly throwing in a new Pokémon.

With two flashes of light, both Diego's Cyndaquil and Winnona's Swablu appeared. The Swablu flew upwards, joining the Noibat in the sky.
"Virgil!" called Jax, pulling out his pokéball. "Return!"

Virgil was surrounded by a red beam before being pulled into the pokéball. THe referee made an announcement, signifying that Jax had used his only switch and could not do so again.

"Go, Valdez!"

Jax's Chimchar appeared onto the field and took his position next to Snivy. All four Pokémon faced each other, ready for battle.

"Noibat, Air Cutter!"

Both Pokémon leapt away from the Noibat's attack as it spun around, flinging blades of air. Valdez used Ember from his hand, getting a direct hit and sending it backwards, stopping its attack.

"You too Snivy, attack the Noibat with Ember!"

"Swablu, use Mist!"

The Swablu spun around, creating a cloud of mist that rapidly expanded throughout the battlefield. The fireball cut through the mist, leaving a clear trail in its wake, only to be swallowed by the white cloud again.

"Should Mist be this large?" asked Jax, looking around as the cloud moved to envelop his Pokémon as well.

"I bet the Swablu is flying around, creating more of it in a widespread area," said Diego. "Our Pokémon's fire type attacks are going to be weakened in this cloud."

"But the same fire attacks can also disperse it! Valdez, use Flame Wheel in a circle!"

Valdez spun around inside of the cloud, vaporizing the water droplets around him. That however, only served to make him a clear target. A fully charged Razor Wind came flying at him, knocking him backwards.

"Air Cutter!"

"Get ready to dodge Snivy!" shouted Diego.

Unfortunately, the mist made it hard to tell where the attack was coming from. Because of the properties of the attack and its high speeds, the mist didn't scatter, making it hard to predict where the attacks were coming from. The attacks struck dead on, throwing Snivy backwards.

"I see their plan now," said Diego, calling his Pokémon towards him. "The Swablu's main purpose here is to spread mist while the Noibat is the main attack. Our visibility is reduced and their attacks are harder to detect."

"But shouldn't the same go for them?" asked Jax.

"Not with Noibat's ability to detect foes through the use of sound. It doesn't need to use its eyes to attack. Staying quiet doesn't help either. I learned in a book that its ears emit ultrasonic sound waves it can use to detect foes."

"So what do we do in this case?" asked Jax.

"We'll want to take out the Swablu first, but its wings make that task extremely hard, don't forget the Noibat will most likely be protecting it. Rollout isn't an effective option here either. Have Valdez use Flame Wheel to try and clear out the mist, which will also draw out the Noibat's attack. Snivy can use that opportunity to hit it with an Ember or two before the trainers figure out what's going on."

"All right. Valdez, Flame Wheel!"

Valdez leapt in, not hesitating at all. Spinning around with an intense ferocity, he created flames that swirled around him, cutting through the mist like a fiery blade.

"Wait for it, Snivy!" shouted Diego.

"Air Cutter!" shouted Jo, her voice drifting through the mist like a ghost.

The moment Snivy saw the blades of air in the clear area around Valdez, he launched a powerful Ember, his back flaring as he fueled power into the attack.

Valdez on the other hand, had anticipated the attack and leapt out of the way, still throwing fire around him as he did so. At the same time, the Ember hit the Noibat with an explosion of flames, throwing it backwards and clearing more mist around it.

"My Noibat is part dragon!" shouted Jo defiantly. "Fire attacks won't hurt it!"

"Maybe not," said Diego. "But what about this? Rollout!"

Snivy rolled into a ball, hurtling himself across the ground as he picked up speed for a stronger attack.

"Hide into the mist, Noibat!"

Diego smiled to himself, that was exactly what he and Jax were planning. What the two gym leaders didn't know however, was that he and Jax had another plan.

"Valdez!" called Jax. "To the right!"

Valdez leapt towards the right, using his energy to bolster his flames despite the surrounding moisture. Hitting a condense pocket of mist, his flames petered out, revealing the Swablu.

"Now Snivy!"

Winona didn't flinch. In fact, neither did Jo. Jo had a cunning smile on her face as if she just won, even though it clearly looked like Diego had the upper hand.

"Swablu, use Round!" commanded Winnona.

"Do the same Noibat!"

Both Pokémon used the sound based attack at the same time. Because they did it at the same time, the speed and power of their attack increased. The two sound waves merged and hit both Valdez and Snivy at the same time, causing both Pokémon to crash into the ground.

"Before the mist reforms," shouted Jax. "Ember!"

Valdez leapt to his feet and fired a ball of fire, narrowly hitting the Swablu's wing. At the same time, Snivy attacked as well, refusing to back down.

"Air Cutter!"

"Rollout!"

Barely having time to pick up speed, Snivy leapt in front of the slashes of air, blocking them for Valdez. Valdez responded by leaping forward and throwing Embers in revenge for his friend. The Noibat easily took the attacks, firing back its own.

"Swablu, use Round!"

Noibat joined in the attack, forcing both Pokémon to scatter before they sustained more heavy damage. The only good thing coming from this attack barrage was the fact that the Swablu couldn't keep up the mist barrier and attack at the same time. Because of this, the mist was quickly fading due to the heat of their fire attacks.

Diego closed his eyes, formulating a strategy in his head. "We'll take out the Swablu before it uses Mist. Then we'll force the Noibat down towards the ground and hit it with a dual Flame Wheel. With all the damage it sustained, a weak Rollout or a few more attacks should finish it."

"Sounds good, but how do we hit the Swablu fast enough? Right now, our Pokémon are just helplessly dodging its attacks. The moment we start to break through it'll retreat."

"Leave that to me. We just need to get a bit closer. I still have two moves that Snivy hasn't displayed yet."

"Alright, Valdez will drive them back and close the distance. You just be prepared."

Diego nodded. "We got this Jax, we just need to focus."

"Valdez, charge forward with Flame Wheel!"

Ignoring the opponents attacks, Valdez rushed forward in a fiery circle, heading straight for the Swablu. On the other side, Snivy ran around to the left, flanking the opponents from the other side.

"Noibat, Air Cutter!"

Stopping its Round attack, the Noibat flapped its wings and created faster moving blades of air. Valdez wasn't able to dodge fast enough and was knocked away as the attack hit.

The Noibat, detecting Snivy coming in from the left, whipped around and used Air Cutter again. Snivy leapt forward, narrowly dodging the attack as he rolled across the ground.

Winnona looked around at the almost depleted mist cover. Now wasn't the time to invest everything into attack.

"Swablu, use Mist!"

"Snivy, use Quick Attack!"

All of a sudden, Snivy burst forward with an explosion of speed, surprising both gym leaders. He leapt into the air before the Swablu could get a decent amount of mist in the area, knocking it clear out of the sky.

"Stop the Cyndaquil!" shouted Jo. "Air Cutter!"

"Valdez, use Ember!"

Valdez was already up on his feet, flinging fireballs at the Noibat to disrupt its aim as Snivy fought the Swablu. Valdez leapt away from a Round as he dashed away, drawing its fire away.

On the other side, the Swablu weakly got to its feet as Snivy faced it down, the fire on his back flaring as he prepared to finish the battle.

"All right Snivy," said Diego, his voice filled with determination. "This is where we end this battle. Full power! Flame Wheel!"

Snivy gave a powerful cry, fire exploding on his back. The surrounding air was super heated as flames exploded around Snivy in all directions.

Diego could feel the power of his Pokémon within himself, the both of them fighting together as one. With a burst of intense heat and speed, Snivy threw himself forward. Winnona tried countering with a Round, but Snivy blasted through, slamming into it with a powerful explosion of heat.

"Finish it!"

With a final burst of flame, Snivy shot a massive plume of fire, defeating the Swablu in an inferno of fire.

Diego pulled off his cap, raising it as a salute to Snivy as the referee announced that Winona's Swablu had been defeated.

"Congratulations Team Distant Past!" announced the referee, raising up their flag. "You've successfully defeated the flying type gym."

Diego looked over at Jax, slightly confused. Jax saw the confusion on his face and pointed at Valdez, who stood triumphantly over the Noibat.

Winona walked up to the two of them, presenting two wing shaped badges. Jo stood in the back, crossing her arms with a slightly hurt look on her face.

"Splendid job," said Winnona with a smile. "You two are worthy of the Zephyr Badge. You've proved dominance over the sky. Spread your wings and head further into your journey. May you find success at every turn."

Unrecorded

Ariel turned off the engine of the ATV she'd been driving, stopping at the edge of the deep and murky waters making up a large sea.

Pulling out her phone, she quickly dialed her brother. Within a few seconds, he picked up.

"What's your status?" he asked in his annoyingly grand tone of voice, causing Ariel to roll her eyes.

"Stop acting like the King of Kalos, you're not that special. I've finally made it to the Barbaracle habitat, it's too dark to see anything however. Be-"

"To sea?"

Ariel recognized the implication of his question and huffed. "Be quiet. As I was saying before being so rudely interrupted. I'm going to launch the investigation tomorrow early in the morning."

Ajax gave a mock gasp over the phone. "Does this mean you're camping? Outside? To be so close to the ground," he paused for a moment. Ariel could feel his snarky smile through the end of the phone. "How will you ever bear that? Such a-"

"I'm going to stop you right there, have a good life."

With that, she hung up the phone and set it to silence, not wanting to bother with her annoying twin brother. Getting out her supplies from a pack on the side of the ATV, she shook her head.

She really did hate sleeping outside.

"Are they catching on?" asked a man over a radio, speaking to another man hidden near Ariel inside the leaves of a tree.

"They haven't thought of the possibility that this was purposeful. We're clear, for now."

"Keep an eye on them."

"Yes, sir."

Team One

Under the light of the moon, Seth and Alicia trained with their new Pokémon, sparring against one another.

"Takemikazuchi, use Thunder Shock!" commanded Alicia.

"Zigzag it Justice!" countered Seth.

The Nidoran male leapt from side to side, dodging repeated bursts of electricity with great dexterity.

"Horn Attack!"

"Leap backwards!"

Justice missed the Horn Attack as Takemikazuchi leapt backwards, countering with Quick Attack and ramming straight into Justice.

"How about this, Double Kick!"

"Get ready Takemikazuchi, just like we practiced!"

Having recovered from the attack, Justice leapt forward, aiming his feet at Takemikazuchi. Takemikazuchi took a deep breath and used Double Team, conjuring clones of himself while moving at high speeds.

However, since Alicia taught him the move rather than having him learn it naturally, it wasn't perfect. Seth immediately detected the real Takemikazuchi and directed Justice towards it.

Takemikazuchi was thrown back a few meters, having not taken that much damage. Slightly annoyed, he aimed a Thunder Shock at Justice, hitting him dead on.

"Come on!" said Seth, checking on his Nidoran. "That was just a training session, no need to be so touchy!"

"Don't look at me," said Alicia, rubbing Takemikazuchi's head. "We'll get it next time buddy. We'll just have to work harder."

Seth looked at her with a questioning smile. "What happened to too much training?"

"I didn't say right now of course," said Alicia. "ONly you do something like that."

"Still as stubborn as ever," sighed Seth. "Well, if that's all."

He stood up and returned Justice to his pokéball, walking towards the tent. "Have a good night."

"Whatever," said Alicia. "Not like he could beat me again."

Team Regional + Kendra

"Sorry guys," said Zeke, looking down two identical tunnels. "We're lost."

"That's fine," said Claire, waving her flashlight around. "It's not your fault. I'm sure we'll find our way out eventually."

"I hope we do," muttered Kendra quietly.

"But for now," said Claire, oblivious to Kendra's statement. "Let's continue exploring!"

Zeke shrugged and nodded. "I suppose there isn't much else we can do. We could possibly find an exit, or maybe even Katsuya."

"Good idea," said Claire, turning to face Kendra. "What about you?"

"We can do that," said Kendra, hesitantly. "I guess."

"Then it's settled," said Zeke, pointing to the tunnel to the right. "We'll go down this tunnel over here."

Claire nodded, taking Kendra's arm and pulling her into the tunnel with her. Zeke moved to follow, but paused and looked at Kendra as she nervously entered the mouth of the tunnel.

"Is it the cave that's getting to her, or something else?" wondered Zeke aloud. Kendra definitely didn't seem like she wanted to be in the cave. In fact, she didn't seem to want to be in the show from the very beginning. Zeke had consistently noticed how apprehensive and shy she was. He figured she went along with them because she was too nervous to speak out.

Shaking his head, he quickly caught up to the others before he was left behind.

They didn't get very far in the tunnel when they heard a scratching sound. Kendra froze in place, looking around.

"What was that?" asked Kendra nervously.

"I have no idea," said Claire, pausing to listen.

The scratching sounds continued, but turned into a soft patter of footsteps as the noises drew closer. Kendra was about ready to run, but didn't want to make herself look like a fool in front of the two Rotom Drones as well as Team Regional.

As it turned out, there was nothing to worry about. A Sandile popped out from a small tunnel dug into the wall. It snapped its jaws in territorial anger, trying to prevent them from going any further. Amphithere could easily take care of a Sandile.

And then another one popped out, still no big deal. Then more started appearing. The three Island Challengers backed up as more and more Sandile appeared, totaling to almost twenty angry and territorial Sandile.

"Shouldn't we run by now?" asked Kendra.

"Nah," said Claire, pulling out a pokéball. "These guys are all weak to grass, we can take them easily. Has Amphithere learned Razor Leaf yet?"

"Y-yes."

"Then we got this! We have the type advantage and multi hitting moves. I choose you, Weiss!"

The small Ralts appeared by herself, facing the angry Sandile as she waited for support.

"Out, Ga'hoole!"

Not wanting to leave everyone hanging, Kendra took a deep breath and pulled out her own pokéball.

"I choose you, Amphithere!"

Zeke's Rowlet and Kendra's Snivy both appeared in flashes of light, taking their places next to Weiss.

"Ga'hoole, use Razor Leaf!"

"You too Amphithere!"

Ga'hoole and Amphithere leapt into the air, flinging leaves all throughout the cramped tunnel space. The Sandile paused in their assault, falling back as the sharp leaves slashed them and threw them back.

"Cover your ears and call your Pokémon behind you!" shouted Claire. "A sound based move like Disarming Voice is going to get really powerful in a space like this!"

Ensuring that her teammates were prepared, Claire shouted for Weiss to go for it. Wasting no time, Weiss let out a powerful cry that created pink waves of energy, bouncing around the cave at increasingly high speeds.

The Sandile's gave hisses of pain as they were thrown back, hit by the powerful super effective move. A bigger Sandile in the back was mostly unaffected however, due to the wider distance and Pokémon before it.

Before the attack could hit it, the Sandile countered with a powerful Bulldoze. The entire tunnel shook as mounds of earth went flying, blasting the Sandile in front of it out of the way.

"Stop it Ga'hoole!" shouted Zeke, pointing at the Sandile. "Razor Leaf!"

Ga'hoole flew forward, sending a flurry of leaves towards the Sandile. It was knocked backwards as the earth beneath it sank to the ground.

"Again Weiss, Disarming Voice!"

Weiss fired off another sound attack, pushing the Sandiles even further, preventing them from landing an attack. Amphithere, not wanting to be left out of the battle, leapt in immediately afterwards and fired off a Razor Leaf.

The biggest Sandile however, was clearly a stronger and smarter battler than the other Sandile. Right as Weiss used Disarming Voice, it used Rock Tomb, blocking the path in front of it. This also blocked the Razor Leaf, preventing any damage.

However, it was now a three versus one. Claire, having realized just how strong this Pokémon was, grew excited.

"That's my Pokémon," said Claire excitedly. "Let's do this Weiss, Magical Leaf!"

The Sandile used Bulldoze immediately after the first two attacks were blocked. This caused the Rock Tomb to explode forward, landing on the three battling Pokémon before they could react.

"Ga'hoole!" shouted Zeke, crouching down and examining his Rowlet. The rock-based attack had dealt some damage, but Ga'hoole was mostly fine.

Zeke was intrigued at this display of strategy. "To think this is a wild Pokémon," he said, half out loud. "Sandile's also aren't known to be the cleverest Pokémon. Being the biggest and strongest out of them, I would assume it to be a leader."

"Makes sense," said Claire, with a pose. "And that's what makes catching it even more rewarding. Try again Weiss, Disarming Voice!"

"Amphithere, use Leech Seed!" said Kendra, trying to discreetly mimic Claire's pose.

Amphithere fired a cluster of seeds that were blasted forward by Weiss' attack. Unprepared for its speed, the Sandile was surrounded by a growth of plants that latched onto it, holding it in place.

It quickly recovered however, using BIte to snap away at the plants. It didn't get very far when Ga'hoole swooped down, attacking with Wing Attack.

"That should be enough," said Claire, pulling out a pokéball. "You're mine!"

She threw her pokéball forward, hitting the Sandile perfectly on its back. It was pulled into the pokéball flawlessly, the ball hitting the ground.

It shook three times in succession before flashing yellow, signifying the capture. Kendra let out the breath she'd been holding as Claire walked up to her pokéball.

Suddenly, she felt a sharp tug on her pant leg. Whipping around, she saw a Sandile clamping onto her pants, narrowly missing her leg.

Letting out a shriek, she kicked her leg out, throwing the Sandile off. She pulled out Wyvern's pokéball and threw it at the Pokémon, hitting it with the pokéball.

Rather than the pokéball bursting open and Wyvern coming out, the Sandile was pulled into the empty pokéball. Realizing her mistake, Kendra silently prayed for the Sandile to break out of the pokéball.

Knowing her bad luck however, it didn't. The ball flashed with a yellow light as the Sandile stayed in the pokéball.

"You caught one as well?" asked Claire, looking over at Kendra.

Kendra stared at the pokéball, dumbfounded. "Yeah, to help with steel types."

"Well good for you!" said Claire excitedly. "We both have similar Pokémon from the same place, isn't that cool?"

"Yeah," said Kendra, picking up her pokéball and putting it away. "It really is."

Zeke noted how unenthusiastic she sounded. Not wanting to push it, he looked down the mouth of the tunnel the Sandile had been guarding.

"We should check out what's down there. Maybe it's the exit."

"Or fun adventures and strong Pokémon!" shouted Claire.

"Or danger," muttered Kendra.

"Our first priority should be finding an exit," said Zeke. "Finding Katsuya would also help. Let's go."

The three of them descended through the cave, untold adventures awaiting.

Thank you for staying with us until the end of this episode! Excitement will happen as the next episode comes out at who knows when? But what will happen next? Tales of adventure, fun, and battle await!