Welcome back to another episode of Pokéstars: Island of Challenge! In our last episode, we saw Team Distant Past claim victory over the flying type gym after a high stakes and stunning battle! Meanwhile, Kendra and Team Regional have found themselves lost in an expansive cave, with the way out seeming less and less of a reality. Team One enjoyed some last minute training with their new Pokémon as night set in, marking an end to their journey for the rest of the night. As for Katsuya, who knows what's going on with him. Find out next!

Team Regional + Kendra

"The tunnel is descending," said Zeke, putting a hand on a wall as he carefully moved through a sloping tunnel.

"There's no way this is the way out," moaned Kendra, fidgeting nervously. "Doesn't the level of oxygen drop the deeper you go into a cave?"

"At these levels we should be safe," explained Zeke. "And we'll typically be able to tell if there's less oxygen before it's too late."

Claire took Kendra's hand, squeezing it reassuringly. "With all three of us here, nothing can go wrong."

Kendra gave her a weak smile. She wanted to tell Claire the truth of her being a terrible Pokémon trainer with zero lack of experience. That's what real friends would do, right? She couldn't help but feel like a fake.

"Where'd you go?" asked a voice from a side tunnel.

All three of them jumped backwards, Kendra letting out a shriek and falling over, taking Claire down with her.

When all the confusion cleared, they all realized it was Katsuya who'd spoken. He was standing in the shadows of the dark tunnel, his Togepi in his arms.

Kendra jumped to her feet, too angry to lose back down.

"What do you mean where did I go?" she asked, her voice echoing through the cave. "You're the one who headed down the cave, not saying a word!"

"I had important things to be doing," said Katusya dryly. "I had full expectations you'd be able to easily catch up. Instead you somehow disappeared and ended up here."

"I don't mean to be rude here," said Zeke, stepping forward. "But nothing you can say here will rectify the situation. A common rule of thumb for cave exploration is to never go in alone. RUnning of in a cave alone is unsafe not only for Kendra, but you as well."

"Actually," said Katsuya, pulling out a pokéball. "I have my Combusken with me. The Pokémon in this cave are typically weak to fighting."

At that statement, Claire raised an eyebrow. It pretty much had only been four days. For his Pokémon to evolve so soon.

Zeke shook his head. "You're missing the point."

Katsuya, having been long bored with the conversation, rolled his eyes. "Okay, I'm sorry for abandoning Kendra in a cave, I'll do my best to move at a pace that's beneficial for everyone. Can we go now? I have stuff to do."

Zeke looked over Kendra, wanting to make sure she was okay with his apology. Kendra shrugged, nodding her head. It was the best apology she'd ever heard from him.

"Now that that's settled," said Claire, brushing herself off. "Do you know the exit?"

Katsuya looked behind him, "Yeah, I do. But I'm not finished here."

Kendra looked at him. "Come on! It's probably night already!"

"A few more minutes in a cave won't kill you," said Katsuya, marching off down their tunnel. "I'm going ahead. Follow if you want."

Zeke sighed, shaking his head. "He's stubborn, that's for sure. I don't really see any other option but to go with him."

"Why don't we just let him go by himself and teach him a lesson?" asked Claire. "Kind of deserves it in my opinion."

"That wouldn't help," said Kendra. "He doesn't care whether we go along with him or not, which is why he ditched me in the first place. He doesn't care about a lot of things actually."

"Exactly!" argued Claire, throwing her hands up in exasperation. "So he shouldn't care if we left him!"

"Well, I already stressed the importance of not exploring a cave by yourself," said Zeke gently. "So I wouldn't want to go back on what I said myself. Besides, it'll be faster if we go along with him since he knows where he's going."

"I suppose," said Claire with a pout. "You're just like that one anime character who refuses to give up on anybody."

"Isn't that a good trait?"

"Debatable."

Zeke laughed, setting off after Kazuma and motioning the others to follow. Claire sighed and followed along, Kendra following.

"So what was the point of coming down this tunnel?" asked Claire.
They were currently walking down an extremely long tunnel. So far, there had been no wild Pokémon and nothing worth looking at.

Katsuya ignored her, briefly looking at the cave walls while waving his flashlight around lazily.

"Or you can just not respond," said Claire, crossing her arms. "That's cool."

Zeke didn't add his own thoughts on the matter, instead choosing to examine the wall as well. That's when he noticed something odd, something that Katsuya was already on the verge of realizing.

"These aren't natural walls," said Zeke aloud, half to himself.

"You just realized that now?" asked Katsuya, facing down the tunnel.

"What do you mean?" asked Kendra. "They all look the same to me."

Zeke shook his head, reaching out and tracing his hand across the wall. "These walls are unnaturally smooth, as if someone shaped them out into a purposeful tunnel."

"Maybe it's part of the show," offered Claire, reaching out and touching the wall herself.

Zeke was silent for a moment, looking around and contemplating. "I don't know," he said after a while. "I feel as though they would've marked it had the place been purposely dug out."

"But then if not Pokéstars," said Kendra. "Then who?"

"That's a good question," said Zeke, turning his head to face her. "It'll be cool if-"

He was cut short as he walked right into Katsuya, who'd stopped out of nowhere.

"Is something wrong?" asked Zeke, pointing his flashlight in the direction of Katsuya.

The beam of his flashlight landed on the statue of a giant Krookodile, its mouth frozen in an angry roar as its claws were poised to strike. Everyone shrunk back, intimidated by it.

"Ancient civilization?" asked Claire, her voice unsteady.

Zeke moved his flashlight around, examining the statue from afar. "Who knows? This is amazing!"

Cautiously, he moved towards the statue, waving his flashlight around as it realized what looked to be some sort of underground temple. Everyone else except Kendra also relaxed a bit and entered the place.

A bright flash from beneath the statue caught Katsuya's eye as his flashlight passed over it. Ducking down, he found what looked to be a short pedestal carrying a Z-Crystal beneath it. Upon closer inspection, it didn't look like a Z-Crystal.

Rather than having a multifaceted shape, mostly like a diamond with a flat shape, it was instead shaped as a four pointed star. The material matched the same as a Z-Crystal, and the pattern and coloring matched that of Groundium Z.

Nonetheless, it looked ancient. He reached down and removed it from the pedestal, pocketing it without a word.

"Are we done here?" asked Katsuya, rising up from the statue and turning around. "You guys can stand here, gawking at this place while I find the exit."

"Almost ready," said Zeke, snapping a few photos on his phone. Claire and Kendra were also doing the same; the Rotom Drones recorded the scene as well.

"You guys done?" asked Zeke, pocketing his phone.

Both Kendra and Claire nodded. They joined up with Zeke as they all followed Katsuya back down the tunnel, leaving the ancient temple behind.

They hadn't gotten far when a tremor sounded throughout the cave. Everybody but Katsuya paused and turned around.

"Hold on," said Zeke, catching Katsuya's arm. "We don't know if-"

A piercing roar filled the cavern and beyond, shaking the tunnel with a great ferocity. Another tremor filled the cavern, dislodging rocks and splitting the ground.

"I-If I'm n-not mistaken," sturred Kendra, fear filling her voice.

"Doesn't matter!" shouted Claire, pulling her forward. "Run!"

All four of them sprinted down the tunnel, trying to ignore the loud roars and snarls that were coming from behind them. Katsuya darted down a tunnel, everyone else following his lead.

Part of the cave crumbled as Kendra tripped, almost falling if it wasn't for Claire, who pulled her forward. Zeke was keeping pace with Katsuya easily, being the most fit out of all of them.

Katsuya led them up a sloping path that opened up into a wide cave area. There was an underground lake far below them, housing many hiding Pokémon. The tremors continued even at this altitude, causing a widespread panic among the inhabitants.

Suddenly, the wall below them exploded, flinging all sorts of debris everywhere. With an ear splitting roar, a gigantic Krookidile appeared. Its gaze locked onto Katsuya, another roar escaping its mouth. It raised one of its claws, one that was as large as Katsuya himself, and slammed it on the ground, using Earthquake.

The entire cave shook from the magnitude of the attack, breaking apart the path and everything around it. Fortunately, all four people had already escaped the area, not taking their chances with the Pokémon.

The Krookidile charged forward, the entire cave shaking with its mere movements. However, all the previous energy it expended to get to this point had worn it down, especially since it had spent the last century or two encased in t\stone. It collapsed on the spot, letting out a more pitiful roar.

All four Pokéstars were collapsed on the ground, some distance away from the cave. Now that the danger was over, they had an opportunity to think about what had just happened.

Claire sat up, breathing heavily with an excited look on her face. "Did that just really happen?" she asked with a winded laugh.

Kendra didn't share her exhilaration. "I don't think I can handle anything like that again."

"That was like- a Kaiju Pokémon!" shouted Claire. "It has to be an ancient guardian or something, no way a Krookidile naturally grows that large!"

"I would say it was a Totem Pokémon," said Zeke. "Or an Alpha Pokémon. But both of those phenomena are based in other regions, one of them being from ages old."

"Probably wanted this thing," said Katsuya, tossing the strange Z-Crystal.

Everyone looked at the Z-Crystal in silence, and then looked at him.

Zeke was the first to speak. "You weren't supposed to take that. Ancient relics shouldn't be removed by anyone who isn't an expert."

Claire rolled her eyes. "I'm sure it's fine, if anything, we can just hand it over to Pokéstar Studios or the plethora of scientists in this region."

She picked up the Z-Crystal, examining it closely. "It looks so cool, I've never held one of these before, much less seen one. This is a Z-Crystal, right?"

"It does look the part," said Zeke. "But it's shaped wrong. Z-Crystals are pieces of Necrozma that fell into Alola through Ultra Wormholes, I don't see any reason why this one would be strangely shaped."

"Maybe it's a rare artifact!" shouted Claire suddenly. "It all makes sense! An ancient temple, a guardian Pokémon-"

She then noticed Kendra, who was sprawled on the ground. She shook her a bit, not getting a response.

"I think she fainted from all the excitement."

"Or she just decided to sleep on the ground," said Katsuya. "It's pretty late. Can I have my thing back?"

Claire looked to Zeke, who shrugged. She handed Katsuya the Z-Crystal and stood up, stretching as she gave a yawn.

"You're right, it is pretty late. Let's set up camp."

Zeke nodded and took off his backpack, which he'd managed to carry while running surprisingly. That's when Katsuya realized that Kendra didn't have their backpack.

Zeke also realized that. He brow furrowed into a thoughtful frown as he recalled the events that happened today.

"Come to think of it, I didn't see Kendra carrying a backpack when we first met her in the cave."

Katsuya sighed. "And now she's asleep. I'll just go look for it."

Zeke stood up. "I'll go with you."

Katusya regarded him for a moment. Zeke fixed him with an equal look, not backing down.

"Suit yourself," said Katsuya. "Let's go."

Zeke smiled, following behind him. "I guess you learnt something today."

"About cave exploration? No. I'm just letting you tag along."

"Whatever you say buddy."

Unrecorded - The next day

Ariel pulled herself from a large sea, shaking her long brown hair free of water droplets as she stood on the shore, removing her scuba mask.

She'd been awake since daybreak, swimming deep in the water as she surveyed marked Barbaracle habitats. She flipped through her E-notes and photos on her waterproof tablet, filing them away.

She sighed and attached her tablet to the side of her scuba suit. She tugged off her flippers and gathered them with her oxygen tank, making the short trek to her campsite.

Entering the tent, she grabbed her phone from a crate on the ground and sat on the crate, dialing her brother's number.

The line rang once before her brother answered. She rolled her eyes as his enthusiastic and slightly annoying voice filled her ears.

"You finally called!" he cried. "Have you finally gotten around to your investigation?"

"Of course I have," she said, her patience already wearing thin. "But why should I share my observations if you're going to annoy me and ask pointless questions?"

"Fine, I'm sorry," said Ajax in a more serious voice. "What's your expert analysis?"

"For starters, everything seems to be normal. I conducted water tests before diving in and investigating the habitat myself. The environment is perfectly healthy, and all the Pokémon behave normally. The Barbaracle around here are even friendlier than most."

"So we've come to a dead end. "

"I'm able to reach two theories. One, our Barbaracle wandered very far away into places it shouldn't be. A place I cannot think of with my limited amount of data. And two, this was done on purpose."

"By who?" asked Ajax doubtfully.

"Like I said, it's a theory. We can't be sure about anything until we have enough evidence. For now, I'll continue my research. Goodbye."

"Wait!" shouted Ajax over the phone. "I actually have something to share!"

Ariel sighed. "What is it?"

"Apparently, Team Katsuya and Team Regional discovered a powerful Pokémon inside of an ancient tomb of sorts."

"What kind of Pokémon?" asked Ariel, interested.

"It's a Krookidile, but an extremely large one at that."

"What's so special about that? Abnormally large Pokémon are rare, but they exist."

"This one's special. Its size surpasses the recorded max size of any Krookodile in history. Not only that, but it's abnormally powerful as well. The icing on the cake is the fact it was guarding an artifact reminiscent Z-Crystal."

Ariel considered all of this quietly. That's nice, but why does this matter to me?"

"I don't know, just wanted to tell you. Anyways, it's going around on a rampage and destroying stuff. SO I'm going to deal with it."

"Good luck with that," she said, hanging up.

She pulled out her computer, deep in thought. "An ancient guardian and Z-Crystals in a completely different region. With enough data- yeah, that would make sense."

Team One

Seth and Alicia were headed up the mountain, on their way to the flying type gym.

Seth for one, was excited to be on the mountain. He'd never climbed a mountain as tall as this one. As such, he was bubbly and excited, constantly pestering Alicia on how cool it was.

Alicia on the other hand, was her usual nonchalant self, having already experienced what Seth had and more.

"How can you not care at all?" asked Seth, slightly peeved. "Breathe the fresh mountain air! Look at the beautiful view! Stop acting like a fully fulfilled rich girl and actually appreciate your stay here!"

"You may not know this," said Alicia cooly, "but the Kalos Region has actual mountains."

Seth sighed and shoved his hands in his pockets. "You be you I guess."

They walked in silence again, until Seth broke said silence as usual.

"Kind of chilly up here don't you think?" he asked, slightly shivering in his hoodie. "Maybe it's because it's cloudy and not yet close to the afternoon, but it shouldn't be this cold."

"Not my problem," said Alicia dismissively, getting irritated at Seth's consistent talking.

"I should've figured," said Seth, rolling his eyes. Alicia had already zipped up her blue jacket while having her similarly colored coat draped over her back. "How could I forget the fact you dress up like a fashion model."

Alicia gave him a derisive laugh. "I am a fashion model. If you haven't figured that out by now then I don't know what to do with you. A rich and smart girl like me should never stoop down to the same level as the likes of you."

Seth gave her a glare. "I'm sorry I said anything."

Satisfied with the outcome of their conversation, Alicia moved on ahead, leaving Seth to try and catch up whilst carrying the hefty backpack uphill.

"Could we slow down a bit?" panted Seth after a few minutes.

"Can't keep up?" asked Alicia, pausing to look at him from above. "I thought I was a pampered rich girl who did nothing but enjoy her riches? Now you're saying that you're physically inferior?"

Seth gritted his teeth. He should've realized long ago that Alicia did not show basic human morals.

"Forget I said anything!" he shouted, hoisting the backpack and breaking into a light jog. "I don't need your sympathy!"

Ten minutes later

They soon came upon a wider and level road on the mountain path. This area surprisingly had multiple slash marks and damaged surfaces, almost as if a Pokemo battle took place. When they traveled farther, they met a man marking out the path with yellow tape.

The man was wearing a flying type gym uniform and had brown hair that half covered his friendly brown eyes. He looked at them and waved. Only to stop short and look at Seth's ragged and sweating figure with concern.

"You good buddy?" he asked, walking over to assist.

Seth was about ready to collapse to the floor. "Nope, not at all."

He shrugged off the backpack and sat down, placing his back against the wall face and stretching. "Don't worry about me, I just need to rest. What are you doing down here? I thought the flying gym was more towards the top of the mountain."

"You're right," said the man. "But I was sent down here on an assignment. Something about overly territorial Skarmory. That means I can't battle you if you were looking forward to one."

"We weren't," said Alicia.

"Well then," said the man with a shrug. "I guess you can head off now. Good luck with the flying type gym. Another team actually beat it yesterday, never got their names actually. I'm Aaron by the way."

"Nice to meet you," said Seth, getting up and extending his hand.

Alicia sighed and tapped her foot impatiently. "Are you done yet? I've got places to be."

"Good for you," said Seth. "However unlike-"

He then paused, tilting his head as he thought to have heard something. He pulled his headphones from around his neck and walked forward.

"Is it me or do you hear heavy footsteps?" he asked, puzzled.

No one got to respond when two men came flying in from around the corner, running in a full sprint. The first man was very tall and had messy black hair and was wearing a black and blue hoodie. The second man had a brownish black crew cut and was also very tall. Most strikingly, he had a sword scabbard worn around his navy blue vest.

The two men weren't the only ones to appear. A large Skarmory flew in from behind them, screeching angrily.

"Everyone, move!" shouted Diego.

Seth and Aaron responded immediately, diving down onto the hard rock as Jax and Diego did the same. Alicia however, was frozen at the sight of the charging Pokémon, seemingly lost in a sudden flashback.

"Alicia, move!"

Alicia gave a gasp and instinctively dove onto the ground, narrowly dodging a Steel Wing from the Skarmory. She scooted backwards as the Skarmory whirled around. Fixing its gaze on both Jax and Diego.

"Hi!" shouted Seth, pulling out a pokéball and rising to join the two men. "I completely forgot your names, I'm terrible with them!"

"Let's deal with the angry bird first!" shouted Jax, pulling out a pokéball. "Go, Valdez!"

Diego sent out both of his Pokémon before brandishing his sword, preparing himself as the Skarmory came back around. Seth glanced at the weapon in awe before sending out his Popplio, Empress.

Aaron on the other hand, ran over to Alicia, helping her to her feet.

"Are you okay?" he asked, picking up her fallen satchel. "What happened-"

"It's none of your concern," she said coldly, picking out a pokéball.

Aaron was slightly startled, especially since he noticed a wet shimmer in her eyes. Shaking himself to focus, he sent out his Noctowl to join the fray along with Alicia's Pikachu.

"We have power in numbers!" shouted Diego, turning to face everyone else. "We'll just have to overwhelm this thing with constant attacks until it's gone. Snivy, use Flame Wheel! Glacey, Helping Hand!"

With a surge of power from Glacey, Snivy leapt forward in a ball of flames and slammed into the side of the Skarmory as it flew by, causing it to tilt mid-flight. Valdez followed up on the attack, landing his own Flame Wheel feet first and off balancing it even more.

"Show them what real power is Takemikazuchi, Thunder Shock!"

Takemikazuchi ran forward and leapt into the air, cheeks sparking with electricity. The Skarmory couldn't right itself in time and ook the full brunt of the attack. It gave a pained screech and flew higher into the air, beating its wings hard and using Spikes to rain down a layer of hazards.

"Go for it Noctowl, Air Slash!"

Aaron's Noctowl flew upwards, throwing its wings outwards and blasting away the Spikes. Valdez and Takemikazuchi ran across the ground, firing off ranged attacks as the Noctowl engaged it in mid-air.

"Force it down Noctowl, Tackle!"

Aaron's Noctowl flew around the Skarmory, ramming into its back and knocking it down a few meters towards the ground. It struggled to regain height as Seth commanded Empress to Aqua Jet towards it, hitting its right wing.

"Glacey, use Swift!"

"Valdez, Flame Wheel!"

Glacey fired an array of stars from one side as Valdez leapt forward and attacked from another. Empress and Takemikazuchi followed up with a joint Bubble Beam and Thunder Shock, dealing extra damage with the combination of moves.

The Skarmory however, wasn't finished. Its wings glowed as it tried spinning around in mid-air, knocking Valdez to the ground as it fell into a stoop, descending quickly to the ground.

"Empress, Icy Wind!"

The Skarmory pulled out of its dive and avoided the Icy Wind, dodging a Thunder Shock as it landed a Drill Peck on Aaron's Noctowl as it intercepted it. Snivy slammed into it with another boosted Flame Wheel, but it was able to retaliate with a Steel Wing before another Pokémon could attack.

"Try this! Glacey, use Helping Hand on the Pikachu!"

Glowing with light, Gacey shared a power boost to Takemikazuchi, who fired off an extra powerful Thunder Shock. The Skarmory roared in pain, the move dealing lots of damage compared to everyone else. Driven with rage, the Skarmory flew upwards and dove for Takemikazuchi, shrugging off Valdez's multiple Embers and Arianna's Bubble Beams.

Alicia and her Pikachu both smiled, welcoming the Skarmory's charge.

"Are you ready for this Takemikazuchi?" she asked, her voice displaying more kindness than she'd shown throughout the entire show so far.

Her Pikachu nodded, preparing itself as the Skarmory closed in.

"Double Team!"

Executing the move perfectly, Takemikazuchi split off into multiple clones. The one the Skarmory hit turned into smoke, with another clone rubbing its tail in the Skarmory's face as an insult. Too enraged to pay attention, it slammed head first into a wall face, displacing showers of rocks on top of it.

"Empress, Icy Wind!" shouted Seth, intent on preventing the Skarmory from moving for an all out attack.

This time, the Skarmory couldn't dodge. Now frozen in place, all six Pokémon prepared ranged attacks. A barrage of stars, two combined fireballs, blades of air, a mass of bubbles, and a powerful Thunder Shock descended upon the Skarmory. It let out a screech as the attacks hit, finally defeating it.

"Alright!" shouted Seth, handing out high fives to anyone nearby. "We did it!"

Diego sheathed his sword. "You guys did great," he said, speaking to both Pokémon and people. "It's great seeing how strong everyone else is."

Alicia opened her mouth to say one of her usual condescending remarks, but then her mood clouded over as she thought back to the first encounter with the Skarmory. Her sudden freezing up. The memory of her- she closed her eyes. Not wanting to think about it.

Seth on the other hand, was chattering excitedly to the members of Team Distant Past and Aaron. Completely oblivious about Alicia. Alicia was fine with things being that way. The last thing she needed was to talk to Seth.

She smiled as Takemikazuchi ran over, crouching down and patting his head. "You did great today. You should be proud."

She looked back at Seth, who was now walking about how Jax and Diego were behind them in regards to beating gyms.

"Just you wait Seth," said Jax with a laugh. "You're going to be up all night trying to traverse to the flying type gym. Maybe by then we'll catch up."

"Or you just get lost in the cave and fall further behind," said Seth with a wink. "Great battling today, both of you. Also, Diego, pulling out your sword right there was epic."

Diego laughed. "On paper it would. But actually facing down a Pokémon with nothing but a sword would be borderline dumb. People are just built differently from Pokémon, you wouldn't expect people to be able to survive Pokémon moves."

"Good point," said Seth. His eyes suddenly widened as he formulated a thought. "The Rotom Drones… Finally! I do something cool and it actually gets caught on camera! Imagine what my family is thinking back home! I'm sure Maya fell out of her seat at the sight of her superstar older brother!" he declared, striking a power pose.

At the mention of family, Alicia decided it was time to ignore their conversation. Unfortunately, she couldn't ignore the pangs of jealousy in her heart.

Thank you for viewing another episode of Pokéstars! You viewing this work is supporting it, and leaving a comment, like, or whatever supports it even more. I hope you're on the edge of your seats with excitement at what comes next! Powerful Pokémon, secret temples (We need a better survey team), the fun never ends here on Pokéstars: Island of Challenge!

Sorry for the late chapter. I've been procrastinating and my computer broke. Fortunately because I've decided to get this done by Wednesday, I should have ample time to finish Episode 17 by next Saturday. Chapter 2 of Shadow's of Unova is chugging along fortunately, thanks to the brilliance of OneDrive. See you later!