AUTHOR'S NOTE: FINALS WEEK IS STILL A THING FOR ME RIGHT NOW, NEXT CHAPTER MAY BE LATE.

Chapter 17

"Looks like this fool's trying to challenge us!" The announcer cried out from a loudspeaker as Kai walked on with Quaxly by his side as the trainer's human companions, Nemona and Clive stood back. Kai activated his invoker bracelet from his wrist, and his armor came to him with a surge of light. As soon as his armor appeared, Quaxly leapt onto Kai's shoulder as Kai pulled a Tera orb from his hand and put it in front of crowd of Team star members came all at once, most of them cracked their knuckles and grinned in eagerness- each of them activated their invokers and threw their pokeballs- which effectively doubled their numbers which was already approaching the hundreds.

"You think you can take all of us!?" The announcer cried.

"I can do this…" Kai mumbled to himself the same words again and again as he closed his eyes. "I can do this. I can do this… I can do this..!" Kai's eyes opened wide before he crushed the ball. The eruption that came below the boy's feet was massive. The teratalization sigil appeared before the explosion before it disappeared.

Kai's armor was shining blue and he had a water-katana in his hand.

"All right guys! Chaaaarge!" The announcer cried.

As Kai raised his Katana toward his several enemies, he could feel the ground tremble from the amount of people and Fire type Pokémon stampeding his way. Kai's arm began to shake with fear.

Kai's weapon started to shake as well.

"Ah- Quaxly-..." Kai said. He looked at his weapon and nodded. "Yeah. You're scared too, right? We have to be brave, though... let's do this together!"

Kai cried a battle roar and rushed to battle. He swung his weapon at the first one who came his way and took them down with one strike, then swung at the next- taking him down as well. He swung wildly for a moment as the crowd created a circle around the boy as he tore and slashed through the opposition. Suddenly, a Team Star member came from behind Kai and grabbed him, holding him down as another Team star member closed in and punched the challenger's gut, sending a wave of pain through his body.

The pummeling began from there, as other team star members joined in, and started beating Kai as he was unable to push off the one holding him down. Kai cried out in agonizing pain as every punch and kick thrown that came his way, he himself could feel a bit, the crowd of team star members took steps back, watching as Kai fell to the ground.

It had only been five seconds, and Kai was already down.

"Had enough yet?!" A team star member cried as Kai groaned loudly, clutching his chest with one hand as he looked up.

"I…" Kai coughed as he slowly stood up, stabbing his Katana onto the ground to use it as a crutch.

"You what?" A female Team star member asked. "You thought you had a chance when you decided to mess with us?"

"What was your plan!?" A male Team star member asked. "Were you even thinking?!"

"I.."

"Just give up!" Another Team star member.

"I…"

Kai suddenly grinned. "...Didn't think you guys would fall for this so easily..! Water gun!"

Kai slammed his open hand onto his katana and suddenly it dipped into the ground, creating a small puddle below the boy that caused the group of Team star members and their Pokémon to step back in fear. A geyser of water exploded from where Kai stood, sending a few Team Star members flying, and the rest stood back in shock.

As the water geyser flew and exploded outward like fireworks before disappearing, it revealed Kai, who was no longer alone. Standing in front of him was Quaxly himself, Terastalized with a crown that looked like a water sprinkler. Kai was no longer glowing himself nor did he wield a katana- all of the tereastilization power Kai had transferred to the water type Pokémon.

Kai, who still had his invoker armor on, glared furiously as Quaxly bellowed a war cry and sparkles of light flew from his body.

"See," Kai said. "When I got hit there, I just realized it- if I get hurt when I merge with Quaxly, I get hurt for real- Quaxly's pain becomes my pain. And Since I'm not as tough as Quaxly… in a battle like this… fusing with him would be a terrible idea! But because you guys aren't going to beat me to a pulp or break all of my bones or worse, I knew you guys would stop eventually..!"

That was a complete lie- he only wanted to sound cool. Well, it was mostly a lie. His first two sentences were the truth: If he were to get hurt even once in the crowd, he himself would feel the attack due to Tera fusion's effects. One hit, and he'd stumble back, and then the others would just beat him down. He used the moment of the geyser raising to the sky like that to restrategize and undo his tera-fusion.

He got lucky, this time, and everyone whom he knocked down was due to luck. But this time, his victory over everyone who was still standing wouldn't be due to luck.

"Let's get him!" The crowd cried.

"Quaxly! Water gun!" Kai shot his finger and Quaxly's water gun sent the Team star members that were in front of him flying like bowling pins. Kai quickly picked up the small duck Pokémon and started twirling around, carrying Quaxly's water gun torrent around with it and sending the crowd around him flying like dominos. Kai stopped spinning around once he saw no one around to fight him. He turned his head left and right, and all he saw were groaning Pokémon and Team Star Grunts alike.

"Did-... Did I just win?" Kai said.

Nemona grinned. "There you go!" She cried. "I'm so proud of you!"

Clive nodded in approval.

"Huh-" Kai said, scratching the top of his head. "I- uh… I didn't think I'd win this easily, not going to lie… I should have just done that from the start."

"B-Boss!" The announcer sounded completely terrified. "B-Boss! We need you!"

Suddenly, the sound of a car engine roaring startled Kai enough for him to turn to the source of the noise: A large, truck-shaped Revavroom decorated with fancy lights and disco balls came driving in. Immediately, the Team Star grunts that were on the ground went to their feet and made way for the massive truck that came by. On top of the truck was the boss of the Team Star Fire Crew, Mela, standing with her back turned- she faced a flag that flew with the Team Star insignia along with a flaming decoration on it. Slowly, Mela slowly turned around. Mela had short red hair with a splotch of yellow dye on top of her hair like a paintbrush with a bit of paint on it. Her eyes were emerald green, and she wore heavy makeup and had a piece of a Uvo academy shirt that looked ripped over her jet-black fullsuit that was ripped and made to look like flames. The most notable thing Kai noticed was her flame-inspired boots, which were huge and looked like, well, flames. Rock music started blaring from the loudspeakers around the base. Drums kept playing in anticipation of the battle that was to come.

"You're the one who's messing with Team star?" Mela asked.

Kai gulped.

She pulled her wrist to her chest, and pressed the invoker bracelet on it- her body shined red before she became clad in armor. She was nearly covered head to-toe with armor- her flame boots, however, remained. Mela leapt off of the giant truck-Pokémon and landed in front of Kai with a crouch.

"GET EM, BOSS!" One team member cried.

"TAKE HIM DOWN! SHOW HIM THE MIGHT OF TEAM STAR!" Another cried.

"You know," Mela said as she slowly stood up. "Messing with us- that's the stupidest thing you could have ever thought of doing. But it's too late to run away," She started walking and circling Kai and Quaxly, sizing the two of them up as she did. "Whoever gets in our way will get burned. I'll personally make sure of it...!"

Mela stopped walking, pulled out a Pokéball, and dropped it behind her without breaking eye-contact with Kai. What came out of the leader's Pokéball was a Torkoal, which roared as soon as it was unleashed. She took steps back, and pulled a Tera orb from her pocket, to then crush it.

Kai and Quaxly watched as the eruption of tera energy rose to the sky, and soon disappeared- revealing Mela- who didn't have a weapon in her , instead- her large flame boots were shining with Teratilization energy.

"What?!" Kai cried. "Torkal's a Firetype, that means you're supposed to have a Great sword- not…"

"My invoker's modified," Mela said. "Boss made it so that no matter what- as long as I tera-fuse with a Fire type, I won't get a Greatsword, Instead, I'll get these boots."

Wait, speaking of modified invokers, Kai thought. There was something that Cassiopeia said about Mela's Invoker… What was it? He couldn't remember. There was no time to think. Intense rock music started to sound from the speakers around them loud enough for Kai to be unable to hear his own thoughts. The Team Star members started chanting Mela's name over and over again. Mela grunted, and a flaming aura erupted around her.

"Everyone's chanting my name," Mela said. "I'm the star of this show, and you're done for!"

With a single kick Mela sent a wave of flame after Quaxly and Kai, who leapt into the air to avoid it. Mela crouched before leaping after the two of them.

"Quaxly! Water gun!" Kai shot his finger at the approaching flame-girl and Quaxly fired a tera-empowered Water gun. Mela didn't even dodge- the water torrent vaporized before even touching the girl as she closed the distance and smacked Quaxly away with a roundhouse kick.

"Quaxly!" Kai cried- reaching his hand for the Pokémon before being swiftly kicked in the gut and sent flying toward the ground.

Kai's body crash-landed onto the ground with enough force for him to bounce as Mela came crashing down- landing directly onto the boy's stomach and creating an explosion of fiery dust. As the dust settled, it revealed Mela standing on top of the boy. A water gun flew toward the back of Mela's head and vaporized before it touched her. The moment this happened, The flaming aura around Mela exploded- becoming more violent and powerful. Mela turned her head to see Quaxly, glaring with a huge bruise on its face. He shot another Water gun, but it vaporized before touching her, and once again, her flames grew larger. Mela raised one leg and started kicking at the air- sending more waves of flames at Quaxly. Quaxly dodged as much as he could, leaping and twirling mid air.

"Get..!" Kai shot his hand out at Mela and water type energy gathered to it. "OFF OF ME!"

A torrent of water shot out of the boy's palm and he watched in horror as the water that flew toward Mela vaporized- and made her flaming aura stronger.

"Idiot," Mela said. "Water attacks don't hurt me. Instead, they make me stronger." She stepped off of Kai's stomach, then backfliped high into the air- landing on top of the massive truck Pokémon. "I could finish you off with this level of power… but you might come back. I'll do something that'll scare you and make sure you'll never come back again!"

The guitar playing in the speakers started playing a guitar solo as Mela began shining with red fire-type energy. She backflipped, and then landed behind the Giant truck Pokemon. She placed her open hand onto the truck Pokémon's back. "Now Revavroom- CHANGE!"

Suddenly, the massive truck began to do just that. The truck started to change its form- the sounds of metal bending and drills drilling blared as the truck began morphing and taking a new shape. The giant Truck Pokémon slowly turned into a massive cannon- one that nearly rivaled the full-size of a train. The music playing in the loudspeakers became louder. The sound of the guitar solo began to overwhelm the other instruments playing in the song.

Kai took several steps back.

"You know what got our enemies to run in fear!?" Mela cried. "I'll tell you- it wasn't our outfits, it wasn't our numbers…it was this IT WAS THIS WEAPON! THIS was the weapon that had them all run away in fear! Our leader named it… the Star Cannon! And with this… I can use a move no fire type could ever use: Supernova!"

"S-Supernova?!" Kai cried.

"Th-That move doesn't even exist!" Clive said.

"Are you saying…!?" Nemona's eyes widened with sheer excitement. "That this move is so powerful that it's in its own category!?"

Fire type energy began to gather in front of the cannon. Wind powerful enough to send Kai's hair flying began to blow, and Quaxly had to hold onto the grass with its wings to stop the wind from carrying it off.

Kai fell to his knees. He put his hands on the floor.

"Do you give up!?" Mela cried.

"Yes...!" Kai said. "You win! I surrender…!"

"WHAT?!" Nemona cried. "K-Kai! You can't-"

The fire type energy that gathered to the cannon stopped as the music that played for Mela also stopped. Slowly, the cannon folded and slowly morphed back into its truck form. Mela hopped on top of the truck.

"Good answer." She said. All of the Team star members gave Kai looks as Mela crossed her arms and turned her back. "And stay out." Mela added. The truck slowly backed away along with the other Team star members, leaving Kai and Quaxly alone. Quaxly's teratalization crown shattered like glass before he turned to his trainer, who was beginning to tear up. Immediately, Quaxly approached his trainer, putting his wing on his arm. Kai ripped the grass from the ground and slammed his fists onto it.

Nemona approached Kai from behind and crouched down, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"It's okay- Kai," Nemona said, "You can come back stronger than before. M-Maybe you should fight a gym leader first, then come bac-!"

"I CAN'T DO THIS ANYMORE!" Kai cried. Nemona's eyes widened as Kai slammed his fists onto the ground. "I CAN'T! I'm not like you. Don't you see?!" Kai said. "No matter how much I pretend- I can't shake the fact that I'm always going to be a terrible trainer! I don't even know what you see in me!"

Nemona's eyes widened.

"K-Kai…" She muttered. "Kai- I-"

"Kai, listen to me," Clive said. "Defeat is a normal part of any trainer's career. It is inevitable. Even Nemona has lost plenty of battles in her day- I never watched her, but I know it to be true. Do you know the difference between a normal trainer, and a champion trainer?" Clive didn't wait for Kai to answer. "It's how they respond to defeat. There are trainers that give in to their thoughts of despair, let their insecurities win, and prevent them from trying ever again. But there are others that stand up after a defeat, find out what they did wrong, and strategize. Standing back up requires the strongest of wills- and not everyone can do it, and there is no shame in that. If you truly want to give up, then that is okay. This loss doesn't have to be for nothing, unless you let it."

"But you can't give u-"

"Nemona," Clive said, giving a knowing look to Nemona. Nemona looked his way, frowned, and stood up, backing away from Kai.

"What do you want to do, Kai?" Clive asked, turning to Kai. "Any answer is fine."

"...I mean… I didn't really have a choice before," Kai said. "Before, to be honest, Nemona was pushing me to become better. I didn't really think I had it in me, but I kept going because she said I could… I'm only a trainer because Nemona pushed me to do it. I didn't really say or do anything about it, I just went with the flow."

Nemona sighed and lowered her head in shame.

"I'll ask you again," Clive said. "What is it that you want to do, Kai?"

Kai remembered the taunts that flew his way while he was fighting against Team Star.

'You thought you had a chance when you decided to mess with us?!' He remembered one saying.

'What was your plan!?' Another one cried.

Kai gritted his teeth. He slowly stood up.

"I wanna show them, all of them," Kai said. He sniffled, but his eyes were filled with determined rage as he stood up. "I wanna show…all of those guys… what I can do!"

"And how will you do it..?" Clive asked.

"I'm… I'm…!" Kai marched onward. "HEY! MELA!" Kai suddenly shouted at the top of his lungs. Both Nemona's and Clive's eyebrows rose in surprise.

"Ugh.." The sound of a grunt's voice came to the megaphones. "The boss doesn't have time to speak to weakli-"

"SHUT UP!" Kai cried. "MELA! MELA! I KNOW YOU CAN HEAR ME! MELAAAA!"

There was a bit of silence before someone spoke through the loudspeaker again.

"Ugh- What is it?" Mela's tired and irritated voice made Kai clench his fists.

"I'm not surrendering! Give me a rematch, right now!"

"Ugh… if you want a rematch, You'll have -"

"You already know what's going to happen if you make me go through whatever that star barrage thing is!"

"It's the rules."

"FINE!" Kai roared. "I'll get past all of them, then get to you! Then I'll show you exactly what I can do! Right now! I'm ready!"

"Why don't you give us a minute? You beat all of our members, and they need time to recover. Give us…maybe, about a day."

"A day!?"

"You beat 100 trainers all at once, and you expect us to be prepared to battle immediately? That's not how the real world works. You wait a day. And that's final." All the while Kai grit his teeth and glared furiously.

"Fine… You get a day to prepare- but know this, when I come back to beat you, you'd better not have any excuses, you hear me!?"

"I won't. I'm not a sore loser. But that's only if you beat me. And even if you come close, you won't be able to stop the Star Cannon."

"Tch..! Quaxly, let's go!" Kai motioned Quaxly to come with him. "We're going to get Tinkatuff, train… then come back!"

Nemona looked like she was in complete shock as she watched Kai leave the Team Star base.

"I've never seen him act like this before..."

"You've never given Kai a chance to make a decision on if he wanted to become strong or not. As he was before, he was doing it simply because you asked him to, and that you believed in him that he could." Clive placed a hand on Nemona's shoulder, and Nemona frowned, remembering what Kai said earlier about her pushing him without giving him a say. "He has to find his own reason to become strong, that way you don't have to always motivate him."

"Yeah..." Nemona said.

"Don't feel down about what you've done, Nemona." Clive said, "You were rash, but your heart was in the right place. You were pushing the boy, making him do what he thought he couldn't do. I believe in him. You and I know he has potential to become a great trainer. He could even become stronger than you."

A grin came to Nemona's face as the thought of Kai surpassing her went into her mind. "Yeah," She said, nodding. "I know so, too."

"Good. Let's see this through."