Well... after the heavy subject matter of the previous chapter, let's go onto something a bit lighter now! I wanted this chapter to go up much earlier in the year, but issues with school and my mental/emotional health put a pretty big delay on everything.

The news of the previous night continued to remain in Styles' mind as he sat up in his bed and stretched. As he got dressed, all of his encounters with Team Dark Star replayed in his mind. There weren't many, and most of them involved finding and battling some of their field agents. The only exception was one time where he had seen Meridia and Typhoon talking to a group of grunts not too far off from Pewter City. At the time he saw that they appeared to be leaving the area, he remained cautious but they didn't appear to be causing any problems at the time. The only thing he managed to hear from them was that they couldn't find 'it'. Whatever 'it' was couldn't have been a good thing if they were looking for it.

However, Styles tried to shake those thoughts out of his head as best as he could. He had a battle coming up that he had to focus on after all. The tournament was now in the Top Sixteen trainers and by nightfall it would be the quarterfinal round. As he readied the pokeballs on his belt, Styles checked the current bracket on his PokeGear.

On one hand it surprised him to see so many of his friends still in the tournament, but on the other hand he should have figured as much. The education they all received and the experience some of them already had to begin with made them serious threats. Speaking of which, his next opponent would be Snow.

After what was discussed, he wouldn't be surprised if she wasn't exactly in a battling mood. Nonetheless, that wouldn't deter him as Styles made his final preparations and began to head for the arena. Perhaps battling would get take his mind off of everything and brighten his mood a bit, it's what usually helped trainers when they were feeling down after all.

"Welcome back to the Indigo League Tournament!" Mauro greeted. "We're down to the top sixteen trainers in all of Kanto, the numbers are quickly thinning and by the end of the day, we'll have our quarter-finalists!"

"Graciously, this long tournament is nearing it's end." Corey added. "I mean more action is always fun to see but having one this long can be a mess! Also, these may be the top sixteen, but they're still not the best of the best!"

"Can't you act professional for at least one day?" Mauro groaned. "But I suppose you're correct. Technically, the winner of the Indigo Tournament would be ranked the sixth strongest trainer in Kanto, right behind the Elite Four and the Champion himself, Blue! Speaking of which; our illustrious colleague, Juanita, will have the honor of meeting with the Champ himself in a sit-down interview tonight to hear his thoughts on the tournament thus far!"

"That's right, we'll hear what he has to say about potential winners, strategies, and moves that have impressed him. But for now, we have a battle for us to start the day as Styles Kaizu battles his former classmate, Weiss! Or 'Snow', as she prefers to be called."

The two trainers took their places on the battlefield, Styles was able to see that he was at least partially correct in his initial assumption: Snow looked a bit out of it when she stepped onto the field. The look on her face was deep in thought and there was a noticeable shade under her eyes, Styles furrowed his brows at the thought of her losing sleep. For as stoic and serious as he could be at times he did care for the rest of his class. A bit of the apprehension he felt faded when Snow looked up at him though, the contemplation on her face and tiredness in her eyes seemed to vanish when the two locked eyes as she flashed him an exuberant smile. As he returned the smile, the two trainers wasted no time in sending out their first pokemon as Styles sent out an Arcanine up against Snow's Leavanny.

"Oohhh, definitely a rough start for Snow!" Corey cringed.

"It definitely is, even ignoring the type disadvantage this field does not work well for a pokemon like Leavanny..."

Styles scanned the field itself to see if it somehow benefited Snow but opening with Leavanny was truly a baffling choice with this field. It resembled the inside of a volcano as hot magma seeped through the field's cavernous walls and several pools of it dotted the field. The walls themselves were tinted red from the heat which billowed out into the very air itself. Styles looked back over to Snow, who remained confident judging by the smile on her face.

'Crud, crud, CRUD!' Snow thought to herself in a panic, despite the facial expression she wore. 'I meant to send out Ninetales, she can probably use her Snow Warning ability along with Blizzard to cool this cave down! But I grabbed Leavanny's pokeball by mistake! Okay, okay... this is fine. Even if Leavanny is in a bad spot right now there is still one thing I can do!'

"Leavanny, Sticky Web!"

"Flare Blitz!"

With a mighty stomp of its front paws, the fire type pokemon ignited and dashed at the insect, who only managed to just barely managed to spit out a glob of tan colored silk out of its mouth before Arcanine crashed into it, causing a burst of flame to explode outward as Leavanny was sent flying into the volcanic walls with a thud. The silk landed onto Styles' side of the field and exploded into a spider web shape that bubbled just a little bit from the heat.

"And we start off with an absolutely blistering Flare Blitz from Styles and his Arcanine!" Corey exclaimed, fanning himself as the hear from the field almost seemed to be reaching the announcers.

"Yes and on this Volcanic Cave field that attack was definitely amplified by the heat. But Snow and her Leavanny did manage to set up a hazard on the field, this begs the question of how much this will affect this battle."

"That's one down already." Styles called out. "The only damage we've taken is from recoil and slowing us down won't help you."

"It was just an accident on my end." Snow scoffed, sending the older teen a pout. "But we're not out either! Leavanny, use-"

Before Snow could finish, the floor of the cave began to glow a brighter shade of red as smoke billowed out ot the cracks within the walls and floor. The intense heat burned both combating pokemon, causing Leavanny to scream in sheer pain. On the other hand, Arcanine appeared to enjoy the increasing heat as it wagged its tail.

Leavanny's pained wails ceased when it fainted onto the cavern floor in a heap with a light mist of steam forming around it.

"And that right there is a very special quirk of this field." Mauro explained. "As the name implies, the Volcanic Cave field simulated the inside of an actual volcano, so every pokemon that touches the ground on this field will inevitably get burned!"

"And what a tricky little quirk it is! The only way to avoid that extra damage is to either by flying, levitating, or have the abilities that prevent burns or are related to fire in some way. Snow is definitely learning that the hard way as Styles easily takes the lead five to four!"

"You were saying?" Styles said, raising an eyebrow.

"Ugh, that's definitely annoying but nothing we can't handle! If this field wants to burn us, we'll just have to snuff it out! Go, Nidoqueen!"

With a mighty roar and a whip of its tail the Drill pokemon stood tall on its side of the field, facing down Arcanine with neither of the two looking intimidated in the slightest.

"And a much better choice by Snow this time around, can she even up this battle?" Mauro pondered with his fellow announcer still looking skeptical.

"She's going to have a tough time doing that even with the type advantage." Corey observed as the man leaned back into his seat. "From the looks f it, Styles' Arcanine has the Flash Fire ability. Normally it would power up a pokemok if it gets hit with a fire type attack but with a terrain that's naturally blazing hot, its ability activates pretty much every turn!"

"There are many other effects that this field has but lets let our two competitors find out!"

"If we're powered up we might as well take advantage of that!" Styles smirked. "Use Flare Blitz again!"

As the Legendary pokemon enflamed itself again and began charging, Snow furrowed her brows with a more confident look in her eyes.

"Oh no you don't! You won't even get close this time, Nidoqueen but their flame out with Blizzard!"

The Drill pokemon inhaled deeply before roaring, its breath now infused with a barrage of snow and ice blowing with a mighty force that spread throughout the arena. The sudden shift in temperature snuffed out some of the flames that had sprouted on the field and cooled down the lava enough for it to harden, but the excess heat weakened the attack as it struck Arcanine, barely even slowing it down as it tackled Nidoqueen with enough force to push it back considerably.

With its attack finished Arcanine leaped backwards and expected another charge from the field but was caught off guard when nothing happened. The pokemon looked around the field and saw the afrermath of the blizzard. The lava had cooled completely and the walls were no longer red, but rather a more natural looking brown.

"Now that's what I call adapting as Snow has changed the field from a Volcanic Cave to a normal one! But neither of the two should get comfortable, the change in terrain brings with it a whole new set field effects. Plus there's always the possibility that the field may change even more!"

"Yeah." Corey sighed. "I liked the Volcanic Cave though. What can I say, lava's cool to look at."

"Think you'll be able to beat us now that the field won't power you up anymore?" Snow asked. Arcanine looked back at its trainer with what looked like a bit of unease, but the hardened look on Styles' face and the scoff he sent as a response quelled the pokemon's doubts.

"We don't need it." The young man proclaimed. "Use Extreme Speed!"

Faster than anyone could blink, Arcanine zipped towards Nidoqueen fast enough that even its afterimage was barely visible. The next thing everyone knew, Nidoqueen was getting bombarded from seemingly every angle. The overwhelming speed and power of the assault forced the Drill pokemon to take cautious and labored steps back in an attempt to regain some semblance of control.

"Stay calm Nidoqueen!" Snow assured. "Shut them down with Earth Power!"

With a deep breath, the ground type slammed its tail onto the floor of the cavern, barely missing Arcanine's front paw as it did so. The shockwave formed from the slam was enough to blast the fire type upwards and into an upper portion of the cavern walls. With their foe visible and temporarily stunned from the attack, Snow did not hesitate to make her next move.

"There it is, now let's finish it off with Body Slam!"

"Use Morning Sun!" Styles called.

With a focused stride in her step, Nidoqueen charged at Arcanine, who was struggling to get back onto its feet. The canine tried to howl and begin its recovery, though it was quickly thwarted by its opponent, who leaped forward with its back facing Arcanine. Nidoqueen's momentum and position caused it to smash right into Arcanine and slam it into the cavern wall. Rolling away and getting back onto it's feet, Nidoqueen caught its breath for a moment and to recover for just a moment as it looked at Arcanine, who lay knocked out and whimpering.

"Wow!" Mauro exclaimed. "What amazing form!"

"That cannonball was certainly a ten out of ten, and it was just enough for Styles' Arcanine to go down. The numbers are even again but how much does Snow's Nidoqueen have left in the tank?"

Snow smirked to herself as she looked over at Styles, who was recalling his fainted pokemon, he almost seemed to be contemplating something as he looked at one of his pokeballs but shook his head and reached for a different one. When he sent out his second pokemon, Snow couldn't help but be a bit surprised, she knew Styles would bring this pokemon but she was not expecting to see it this early. Nonetheless, Styles sent out his Glaceon, his ace pokemon, out next as the two wasted no time in getting back into the action.

"Fire Blast!" "Snowscape."

The burst of flame that Nidoqueen let out seared through the air as Glaceon let out a soft howl, its ice cold body glowing with a soft white color. The air within the cavern quickly began to cool down as snow began to fall from seemingly nowhere. Just as the Fire Blast was about to hit its mark, Glaceon vanished into thin air as the snow created a dense mist around the field that rose to the level of Nidoqueen's waist.

"And these two are wasting no time!" Corey laughed. "I'm liking this!"

"For once I agree, I very much appreciate Styles' clever strategy here. Using Snowscape to activate Glaceon's Snow Cloak ability will make things just that much more difficult for Snow."

"Now, Freeze-Dry!" Styles commanded. Glaceon leaped out of the mist right in front of Nidoqueen, shocking both the pokemon and her trainer.

"When did-?!" Snow tried to say before Glaceon's eyes began to glow a shade of blue almost matching its body. The air around Nidoqueen suddenly began to flash freeze at a pace that pained the Drill pokemon enough for it to cry out in pain for a short few seconds before the ice completely enveloped it. The ice shattered off of Nidoqueen almost as quickly as it enveloped it, Nidoqueen was now silent as she collapsed into the ground, no longer able to continue as she could only choke out pained breaths that were just barely visible in the frozen mist.

"I should have figured." Snow sighed. "Glaceon is your strongest pokemon after all. But that doesn't mean I'm done yet."

"I really hope you're not." Styles replied, garnering a smile from Snow who sent out a Miltank as her third pokemon.

"From a bad type matchup to a potentially favorable one for Snow. Her bringing it out now suggests that Miltank has Thick Fat for its ability, which will really help her out here." Mauro observed, scratching his rather robust chin in intrigue.

"Miltank can learn a ton of moves from different types too." Corey added. "But Styles has proven to be a really formidable trainer. This ought to be an interesting match."

"Smart move." Styles praised. "Miltank would be able to take most of Glaceon's attacks fairly easily and hit back just as hard. But that's only if you can manage to hit us at all! Glaceon, Water Pulse!"

"Oh, I think we'll be able to hit you just fine! Miltank, use Earthquake!"

Glaceon leaped out of the mist again and unleashed a sphere of water at Miltank, who shrugged off the attack and jumped into the air before slamming its hooves onto the ground. The ensuing shockwave rattled the cavern, cracking the walls and rattling Glaceon just enough for it to yelp out in discomfort.

"Hmm." Corey hummed as he leaned forward a bit. "Bit of a risky move there, using Earthquake like that."

The announcer's broadcast mate nodded as he adjusted his glasses. "Yes, a field like this can't handle too much damage from moves like that, it isn't as stable as the Volcanic Cave or other fields similar to it. Being too reckless would be bad for both trainers."

Styles observed the field curiously, Glaceon still hidden within the mist as small bits of stone fell from the cave among the snow.

'That Earthquake makes it easier to hit Glaceon but it messed up the field pretty badly, who knows what might happen if she does that again. I need to finish this quick before she does.' He thought before making his move. "Water Pulse, again!"

"If you're going to make the same move then so will we! Use Earthquake!"

Glaceon leaped out again, it's attack ready to fire just as the Milk Cow was just about to stomp its hoof down. Just as Milktank was blasted with another wave of cold water, the ground began to rattle and the cave began to crack apart again as the Earthquake activated. The fissures along the walls grew larger until the structure of the cave could take no more as a cave in began! Boulders came crashing down from above, slamming down onto various spots along the field, both pokemon tried avoiding the falling boulders but were ultimately unsuccessful as they were completely crushed. Once the tremors finally ceased, the boulders shattered into dust and various flying machines that appeared to be inhabited by Rotom swarmed the field, flashing a stream of light from some sort of lens they had on their mechanical bodies. The light changed the field back into how it was before the first Earthquake. With their job apparently done, the Rotom swarm flew out of the field and into the arena's walls. The snow that was falling throughout the field began to clear up ever so slightly, just enough to reveal Glaceon who had been knocked out completely from the cave in. Not too far away from it, the same fate had befallen Miltank, who lay flat on her belly and groaning in pain.

"Hahaha! And that's the biggest effect of this field!" Corey heartily laughed. "Overusing moves like Earthquake and Magnitude will cause a cave in that will wipe out nearly any pokemon that's caught in the mayhem! Only way to avoid the damage is if you have an ability like Rock Head or Sturdy!"

"While she did take out her opponent, who was certainly making moves by taking advantage of Glaceon's Snow Cloak ability, Ms. Snow definitely took a gamble and lost as she's still behind Styles. She's going to have to put in a lot of work if she wants to win."

Snow huffed to herself, half in frustration at what just occurred and the other half being just how unlucky this battle seemed to be for her. 'Man... This is going great!... Ok, calm down, it isn't over yet. If I want to catch up then I'll need to make sure I can take whatever he dishes out. The field may have gone against me here but maybe there's something I can do to turn this into an advantage...' She thought to herself as she looked around and noticed that the snow looked like it was on the verge of ending. 'That's it!'

Snow made sure she grabbed the correct pokeball this time as she and Styles sent out their next pokemon. The young lady sent out her Alolan Ninetales with a confident aura that quickly left her when she saw Styles' Scizor.

"Oh come on!" She groaned.

"Oooh, and just when things felt like they couldn't get worse for Snow, she's up against another double weakness!" Mauro cringed.

"Yup, looks like this'll be a quick one against three scenario in favor of Styles."

"Another accident?" Styles asked, an eyebrow raised and his arms crossed as he looked right at Snow, who had her head in her hands in frustration.

"No, no..." She sighed. "Just wasn't expecting a Scizor of all things. But at least I can still do this! Ninetales, Aurora Veil!"

"Bullet Punch!" Styles ordered, his tone shifting to a more serious one that matched that of his opponent as the Ice Fox pokemon reared its head back and howled. The last of the falling snow swirled around the quadrupedal pokemon and glistened in the light of the the aurora that Ninetales created as Scizor sped towards the Ice type. Despite the barrier of light that the Fox pokemon made, the flurry of punches that the Pincer pokemon battered Ninetales and with one final uppercut, Scizor knocked the Ice pokemon away from it. With pained coughs and gasps, Ninetales slowly rose back up to its feet, the Veil surrounding it certainly absorbing just enough damage for it to continue.

"Not bad." Styles praised. "That attack would have definitely taken you down without that shield." He looked down at his side of the field with a grimace, the Sticky Web still laid out on the field and bits of it sticking to his Scizor even after the field collapsed. "You slowing us down is definitely causing us problems, but none that are serious right now. Especially since you won't have a chance to fight back! Scizor, finish them off with another Bullet Punch!"

"We might not be able to take you out in one hit, but we can still fight back! Ninetales, use Hidden Power!"

With another lunge forward, Scizor readied its fists for another barrage of punches while rapidly flapping its wings as much as it could for as much speed as it could get. Ninetales on the other hand began glowing a deep red color, its nine tails began waving like the aurora itself before it sent out a wave of flame with a howl. With no chance to dodge the attack at the speed it was moving, Scizor slammed right into the attack, which burst upon impact.

For a moment, time seemed to stand still as everyone waited to see what became of Scizor, though the wait quickly ended as Scizor continued to speed forward with noticeable scorch marks all over the front of its body. Without missing a beat, Scizor continued its barrage of punches, each hit stunning Ninetales and practically tearing through the Aurora Veil as if it wasn't even there at all.

With a swift jab to the jaw, Scizor easily knocked out Ninetales as the Fox pokemon collapsed into a heap like a sack of potatoes. Snow sighed again as she recalled her penultimate pokemon, she knew it would be an uphill fight to finish this battle but now it was truly all or nothing.

"Well we saw this coming." Corey remarked.

"Oh come on now, this-" "This battle isn't over yet and Weiss can still bring this back somehow, we know! I'm just saying what we're all thinking!"

"You can always call this off." Styles called out. "Or do you really want to go on with a three on one battle?"

"You know I can't and won't just give up here, now when we've made it this far. If we're going down, we're going down fighting!" Snow replied, activating a Key Stone she had on a necklace as she sent out her ace pokemon: Blastoise.

The Shellfish pokemon spun around in its shell before landing on the ground with a resounding thud and blasting water out of its three cannons in a vicious display of its power. Styles remained unfazed though he looked over to his Scizor and noticed that it appeared to be taking deeper breaths and sweating ever so slightly, whether it was from intimidation or from fatigue, he wasn't sure.

"This is it folks!" Mauro announced. "It's do or die time for Snow and her Blastoise!"

"Stay calm Scizor." Styles assured. "Use Trailblaze."

"Let him get close." Snow commanded. Styles raised his eyebrow in intrigue as he watched Scizor dash towards the Mega Evolved pokemon with a trail of what appeared to be green energy resembling grass following in its wake. As the Pincer pokemon drew in close, it suddenly leaped up and delivered a kick to Blastoise's chin.

"Now, Water Pulse!" Blastoise suddenly grabbed Scizor by the neck as it easily recovered from the kick and aimed the massive cannon on its back right at Scizor's head before delivering the cannon boosted attack point blank onto the bug pokemon. The attack catapulted Scizor right back to Styles with no energy left to battle and smoke still billowing off of its body from the sheer force of the attack.

"And with an emphatic attack, Snow shortens the lead! With a powerful pokemon like Mega Blastoise she just might have a chance!"

Styles grabbed at one of the pokeballs at his belt and looked at it for a moment, unsure if he should send it out next. Ultimately, he shook his head and reached for a Fast Ball instead. The sparkles of a shiny Electabuzz dazzled the field as it pounded on its chest and roared.

"Hey nice, a shiny!" Corey praised. "We've seen a few already but it's always cool to see another!"

Styles narrowed his eyes and kept them locked onto the Mega Evolved pokemon as he made his next move. "Keep your distance Electabuzz and use Thunder Wave!"

"It doesn't matter how far away you want to be, we'll still land our attacks! Blastoise, use Aura Sphere!"

The two cannons on Blastoise's arms began to charge up as a blue blast rocketed outwards, two blue blasts of energy sped towards Electabuzz before fusing together into one giant sphere. The right arm of the Electric pokemon began to charge up as sparks began to circulate all around it. As the Aura Sphere drew in close, Electabuzz began to run as quickly as it could, continuing to build up power as it did so, the Sphere following the path that Electabuzz was taking and slowly, but surely, catching up.

"Hmm, Aura Sphere is an attack that can't miss unless the target is either guarding itself using moves like Protect or in an environment with natural aura that obscures the target such as underwater or underground. What could Styles and his pokemon be planning to do by running?" Mauro pondered.

"Well they can run and run as much as they want, there's no way they can get out of this situation."

"Launch it and block the attack!" Styles commanded. With a wild battle cry, Electabuzz launched the electricity it had built up in the form of what looked like a cannonball of electricity. The Thunder Wave crackled as it sped right into Blastoise, who was caught off guard by the speed of the attack. With its target now stunned, Electabuzz crossed its arms over its face and allowed itself to finally take the brunt of the Aura Sphere. The attempt to guard was quickly broken up by the ensuing blast, but it appeared to help the Electric pokemon guard at least a bit of damage. With a wince, Electabuzz grabbed at its left arm in pain as it watched Blastoise struggle to move after being Paralyzed, it's body no doubt becoming numb.

"Hang on Electabuzz, I need you to get in close with Quick Attack."

"Do not let them get any closer Blastoise, use Water Pulse!"

With it's frustration continuing to grow, Blastoise fought through its paralysis as much as it could and loaded up another blast of water out of its rear cannon. Each blast missed its mark as Electabuzz hopped to its left to avoid one blast, rolled to the right to dodge another, jumped up to dodge a blast that created a wave in front of it and using its momentum to vault itself right in front of Blastoise.

"Now jump onto it!" Styles ordered.

"Huh?!" Snow gasped before regaining herself. "D-don't let them, use Hydro Pump!"

Blastoise aimed its three cannons at Electabuzz and fired at the Electric pokemon with full power, the ground where Electabuzz once stood was practically erased from the sheer pressure of the water that had erupted out of the cannons. Despite the damage that was caused, the attack missed its intended target as Electabuzz had jumped mere milliseconds before it would have certainly been eviscerated by the Hydro Pump. As it landed on Blastoise's shoulder, the Electric pokemon let out a roar as it clung onto the Water pokemon, who thrashed around to try getting it's enemy off of it, even attempting to blast water out of its wrist cannons but to no avail.

"Now end this battle with Thunder!"

"Focus Blastoise, hit them with a Water Pulse!"

Blastoise managed to shake itself in a manner that forced Electabuzz to be face to face with the large cannon on its back, which was already charging up water for an attack. Electabuzz could only watch helplessly as it awaited the oncoming blast, gulping in fear as it could practically feel the cannon vibrating with the attack. Suddenly, the attack stopped charging as a wave of sparks came over Blastoise, who cringed at the re-surging numbness. Taking the opportunity, Styles called out to his pokemon.

"Now, Electabuzz!"

With a shake of its head to get back to its senses, Electabuzz charged up its attack using its antenna and unleashed a massive blast of electricity from its body with a loud shout. The sparks danced around the two pokemon, the power surging through them was enough the form a large crater that the trainers could only see after the attack finally died down. Electabuzz jumped off Blastoise, the Shellfish pokemon groaning in pain with burn marks from the attack scattered around its body. Unable to bear the pain, Blastoise collapsed onto the field, allowing Electabuzz to let out a visual sigh of relief and Styles to let out a mental one.

"Wow, what a tragic time to be fully paralyzed!" Corey announced. "With an amazing Thunder attack Styles has won the battle and will advance to the quarter-finals!"

Snow looked stunned for a moment before her face sank and she recalled her Blastoise before walking away. As Styles watched her go, he couldn't help but feel a tad bit guilty as he recalled his own pokemon and headed back to the locker room.

Styles walked out of the arena with his head held high. He had solidified his position in the top eight and all he really needed to do now was watch the remaining matches on his side of the bracket.

"Styles!" A familiar voice called out, grabbing the young man's attention and prompting his smile to widen just a little more.

"Oh, hey Professor!" The teacher returned the smile as he addressed his former student.

"I'm glad I caught you." He began. "First off, I wanted to congratulate you on your victory, from what I saw it was a fine battle. I just wish I was able to watch the entire thing, but unfortunately some important business came up."

"Is it related to them?" Styles asked, his eyes darting around ever so slightly for anyone who might be listening in. His teacher nodded in affirmation as his look became more serious.

"It is. I feel a bit guilty asking you two for help, but you're the only ones I was able to get a hold of on such short notice. Most of the others are either still having their battles or are busy working with Looker and Anabel.

"Are things that bad right now?" Styles asked, his eyes widening in shock.

"Thankfully no, at least not here." Goff assured. "My superiors are simply doing some general surveillance on the area, making sure Team Dark Star doesn't try anything. However, our agent working from within their organization has informed us that they've located the Stone Plate deep within Mount Mortar in Johto. I'd like you to help me in locating the plate before Team Dark Star can get their hands on it."

"Of course." Styles replied. "But what do you mean when you wanted 'you two'? Who else is coming?"

"I've asked Snow to come with us as well. We may need strength in numbers in case we encounter any members of Team Dark Star, which we very likely will. If you're ready we can head there immediately, Snow is waiting for us."

"Right..." Styles nodded, unsure of what Snow would say to him so soon after their battle.

"Hey Professor!" A voice called out, which turned out to be Ryan eagerly running towards the two with a big smile on his face.

"Ah, Ryan, good to see you. I was just telling Styles here about a job I had to take care of and was asking for his help."

"Help? Well if you need an extra set of hands I'm here! Three heads are better than both one and two!" Goff couldn't help but laugh at that last comment and even Styles smirked.

"Oh, Ryan I appreciate your eagerness but I'm afraid you can't come with us. Don't get me wrong, I would love to get all the help I can, but this mission is rather urgent and you have a battle to prepare for." Goff replied, the excitement in Ryan's eyes quickly died down as soon as he heard that but he appeared to understand.

"Right... Well, at least fill me in on what happened."

A quick nod from both Goff and Styles reassured Ryan as the trainer headed to the arena for his battle.

The walk over to the helicopter they would use was short and Styles was actually rather surprised to see just how close the chopper was to the Indigo Plateau. He spotted Snow waiting patiently for them, sitting on the edge of the helicopter door. As she spotted the two, she gave them a friendly wave as she hurried over to them.

"Hey Professor, I got here as soon as I could!"

"Thank you Snow, I filled Styles here on the situation already. We'll be heading there immediately and I'll brief you both on the plan while we fly over there."

Immediately, the blades of the aircraft began to whirl and the three soon hurried inside, the helicopter taking off right as soon as the door closed. The pilot wore a uniform that the two young trainers could recognize from the suit that Anabel from the discussion from the previous night.

"Alright." Goff began, taking out a folder that had several papers detailing a general layout of Mt. Mortar on it with an artist's depiction of the Stone Plate and a list of some kind. He first showed the two trainers the map of the caverns. "What we have here is a map of the general area within the mountain, we didn't have very much time to do enough recon when we learned that the Plate was here but we know that it's hidden somewhere towards the top of the mountain. There is just under an acre's worth of caves on the level where the Plate itself is and while that is a rather sizeable set of caverns, our intel has informed us that all of the Plates seem to radiate a special type of energy that is detectable with a strong Dowsing signal, so we'll be able to find it easily. However this also means that Team Dark Star can also get to just as easily as we can. Speaking of which..."

Goff then directed their attention to the short list he had. "The group they've sent out is small, but should be considered as skilled as some of the trainers you've been facing in the tournament if the data our spy has been giving us is accurate. The team itself only consists of three of their basic grunts and two Fenrir and we suspect that the reason for this small group is simply to test the effectiveness of the Fenrir."

"Alright, so what's the plan?" Styles asked.

"We'll be landing on a ridge towards the top of the mountain and heading inside from there. The path towards the Plate should be fairly linear from that point and, while I don't condone taking a sacred artifact, we'll be taking it and placing it under the care of the International Police in order to keep it out of Dark Star's hands." Goff explained. "We should expect to encounter the two Fenrir fairly quickly, so we will need to be prepared to destroy them. As for the grunts, they'll likely run if we can fend them off as they wouldn't want to risk being detained. Most likely either for fear of the prison time they may receive or of what may happen if their leaders were to think that these grunts were giving up their secrets. As such, our objective is relatively simple: get the Stone Plate and defeat the members of Team Dark Star."

"Right!" Snow and Styles replied. The helicopter rattled a bit as it landed onto the ridge shortly after the two trainers gave their affirmations.

"Right on time." Goff stated before the three exited the vehicle, the pilot quickly calling out to them.

"I'll keep airborne and circle around the area to notify you if I see anything." He said.

"Right. We'll notify you when we're ready to head out, it shouldn't be long."

With a quick nod, the pilot flew off and left the three to head into the mountain. The ridge the three were left on was a small empty field of grass that overlooked a forest with the only land accessible being a rather narrow cave entrance. As the three entered the cave system, the two trainers were able to find that the interior thankfully wasn't as narrow as their entrance. The cave itself looked almost exactly like the field they battled on, though with wild pokemon like Zubat and Golbat either hanging from the ceiling of the cave or flying around, Geodude and Graveler either snoozing peacefully on the cavern floor, rolling around to their leisure or being lifted and carried by wild Machop and Machoke. Snow audibly hummed in confusion and curiosity at the sight of one species of pokemon that seemed out of place: Sigilyph.

"Is something wrong?" Goff asked.

"N-Nothing. I just didn't think I'd be seeing Sigilyph here, that's all." Snow replied as the two followed their old teacher down one of the paths laid out before them.

"Well Sigilyph are known to be the guardians of ancient cities. It's likely that they're drawn to the Stone Plate, and the others Plates for that matter, due to their connection to the ancient civilizations of the world. I wouldn't be surprised to see Unown in some of the shrines where these plates are either, due to the mystery surrounding them. The fact that we're seeing Sigilyph at all means we're close, hopefully closer than Team Dark Star."

On another side of the maze-like caves, a female voice groaned in frustration as they climbed a ladder and sat down on the wall of the cavern. She watched as two other people came up from the ladder she climbed and looked over at two robotic canines that stood completely still, an orange visor where their eyes should be seemed to be scanning something as a thin beam of light went along the visor. The Team Dark Star logo plastered on both the canines and the uniform all three people shared.

"How much longer do we have to go?" The woman moaned.

"Will you quit your griping?" one of the grunts replied. "Typhoon said these things'll be able to sniff out the Plate easily. Is it a shame they can't actually talk to let us know where this thing is? Sure. But it's better than running around this place like a Combusken with its head cut off." The third grunt walked over to the machines and crouched down next to one of them.

"Anything?" He asked. The machines scanned the area for another few seconds before stopping, one of the pointing their paw North while the other simply ran full speed in the target direction.

"Argh, damn thing..." The second grunt grumbled. "WAIT FOR US!"

"Great, more running..." The woman quickly rose to her feet as the four followed the Fenrir.

Snow, Styles, and Goff continued traveling through the caves in silence as they simply observed the environment and listened to the pokemon simply living. None of the wild pokemon were particularly violent or aggressive though some of the stronger looking ones watched the three carefully.

"Wait..." Snow suddenly said. "Do you hear something?"

All the wild pokemon around the three suddenly ran in a panic, as if they were afraid of something. The three turned behind them to see the speeding Fenrir running right at them, using its tail to grab at a rather large chainsaw equipped on its back and bring it down onto the spot that Snow once stood before Styles pulled her out of the way.

"Woah, what is that thing?!" Snow screamed. "Is that one of those Fenrir things?"

"It most certainly is. The fact that one is here means the other and the human members of Team Dark Star are close." Goff answered as he sent out a Rotom in its Heat form. "I need you two to follow my lead. Rotom, use Overheat!"

The Plasma pokemon opened the oven door on its body and unleashed a blast of flames that consumed the Fenrir and lit up the cave in an intense crimson light. The teacher and his students ran as fast as their legs could take them, with the older man directing his students on where to go and looking back to make sure they weren't being pursued. The three eventually entered a chamber that had a short pedestal with the Stone Plate resting on it. Two Claydol statues stood tall at the sides of the pedestal, their eyes blank and lifeless.

"Alright, so do we just grab the Plate and go before Dark Star gets here?" Styles asked before Goff held him back.

"No, if we try then we'll likely be attacked by the wild Sigilyph and aside from them the ancient civilizations would often have some sort of defense mechanism in place in case their treasures were ever stolen."

"Isn't that just stuff you see in PokeStar Studios movies?" Snow asked.

"It sounds like it, but old tropes like that were put in place for a reason." Goff explained. "We'd best wait to stop Team Dark Star first before making our next move."

"Aww, I'm glad you want to wait for us!"

The three turned their heads and the sight of the three grunts and only one Fenrir was certainly one the young trainers were expecting, but not one they wanted to see so soon.

"Let's cut to the chase." One of the male grunts began. "You can either let us do this the easy way and stand aside, or we do this the hard way and thrash you!"

"Are you seriously asking us that question when we already know the answer?" Styles scoffed.

"You're just asking for this, aren't you!" The female grunt shouted, sending out a Dodrio while one of her male colleagues sent out a Druddigon. The second male in their group simply crossed his arms and watched as the second Fenrir joined the two grunts to battle.

"I'll take the robot." Goff told his students as he send out a Machamp. "You kids focus on the two grunts. Be careful."

"Don't worry about us, we'll send these clowns packing!" Snow assured as she sent out her Blastoise alongside Styles' Glaceon.

"Hey. Get up." A voice called out. "Most of your body's been either broken or burned off but your major internal parts are still intact."

The Fenrir that had been blasted in the cave earlier slowly rose back to its feet as it scanned the immediate area. Most of the cave was completely burned as soot and ash lined the cavern walls and some of it still floated around the air. As for the Fenrir itself, its visor was cracked and the chainsaw it once held was completely destroyed. Its right paw was burned off as sparks crackled out of it. As more of the Fenrir's systems came back online it was able to identify the voice as Typhoon.

"The others are battling a bunch of wannabe heroes. You're in no condition to fight, since your main weapons are gone. You probably won't even make it back but at least regroup with your squad in the meantime. Out."

With a grievous limp, the damaged Fenrir limped in the direction of its team with only one objective remaining within its computerized mind: Finish the mission.

As it continued limping to the shrine, it's audio receptors began to pick up the sounds of the battle. Despite falling over several times and its visor's damage completely cutting off its sense of sight, the Fenrir finally arrived at the entrance to the shrine, collapsing completely and being unable to get back up before it could enter. The only thing it could do was turn on a small red light right by its audio receptors...

"Now destroy that beast with Cross Chop!"

Goff's Machamp ran forward with its four arms crossed into an X shape, its arms glowing red as it gained speed and crashed right into the mechanical hound, smashing it into pieces and shocking the grunts, who had their pokemon beaten as well.

"Oh man come on!" The female grunt whined. "What are they feeding you kids?!"

"Hey, you just gonna stand there and let this happen to us?!" The other grunt asked his third teammate, who had sat back for the entirety of the battle. Snow and Styles prepared themselves for another battle while Goff seemed surprisingly calm, especially when this mysterious man seemed to look at him specifically.

"Alright." The man said, sending out an Electrode. "It's about time I ended this anyway. Just hope you're ready for this."

"W-Wait, ready for what?" The woman asked.

"Electrode, Discharge!"

"Machamp, use Wide Guard!" Goff commanded. Machamp spread its arms out wide and flexed its chest muscles, creating a barrier that guarded itself as well as the three trainers and their pokemon behind it. The members of Team Dark Star weren't so lucky however, as the two grunts were caught in a wave of electricity that enveloped nearly the entire shrine in a high-voltage blast. With a smirk, Electrode finished its attack. It's master continuing to stand silently as his two comrades stood there in a stunned silence before collapsing in an unconscious heap, sparks emanating from their masks and belts as well as some of the pieces of the destroyed Fenrir.

"Hmph, attacking your own partners, you really are scum!" Snow shouted.

"All you really did was leave yourself in a three-on-one disadvantage." Styles added. The two were quickly held back by their professor as they gave the man a puzzled look.

"Stand down you two." He said. "He's not a threat to us.

"What do you mean?" Snow asked, with her answer coming in the form of the grunt taking off his mask and revealing a man with a light brown buzz cut, hazel eyes and rather chiseled features. Despite his hardened look, he gave Goff a friendly smile.

"Looks like I scared the kids." The man laughed. "Sorry 'bout that."

"Ellis, these are two of my former students. Snow, Styles, this is Agent Ellis of the International Police and our spy against Dark Star."

The two trainers relaxed a bit as they heard the revelation with Snow a bit more eager to accept the man thanks to his rather handsome look.

"So what's it like having to hang around those creeps?" Styles asked.

"A lot more stressful than you might think. Your average goons like these aren't much of a problem, though there aren't much of them anymore. They're mostly around for recon and missions like these with some of the more elite members are being trained for upcoming missions." Ellis explained.

"Speaking of upcoming missions, what do you have for us in terms of intel?" Goff asked.

"Hoo boy..." The spy sighed. Goff raised an eyebrow at the response while the two trainers' eyes widened. "Well for starters, they're basically done building some mecha for this next mission, its currently undergoing testing and maintenance but from what I hear it'll be ready in the coming days. As you've already seen, these Fenrir are basically already in mass production."

"How many have been made?" Snow pondered, gulping a bit in fear as she remembered the first that had nearly shredded her.

"If I had to guess, at least two hundred and fifty." The young girl's face went nearly as pale as her nickname upon hearing that. "But that's only the info that I can honestly stomach."

"What do you mean by that?" Goff asked in concern.

"Remember the last wave of intel I sent you? The one about Missingno. and the Chimera? Well, it turns out that they're not just some abominations that Singularity and his goons have made just to play God. That Chimera of his is undergoing testing for its genetic makeup. Some of the scientists believe that its genes are stable enough for it to grow and potentially evolve."

"Y-You mean that thing can evolve?!" Styles asked in a near shout.

"We're not sure yet. Research is still being done on it. I'll update you if I get any more info."

"What about Missingno.?" Goff questioned.

"That thing continued to freak me out." Ellis grumbled. "It was created using all of the leftover parts and genes of the pokemon used to make the Chimera, Singularity has placed a special genetic coding within that thing's bones to be used for something in the event of that thing getting destroyed."

"Wait, that misshapen lump of tv static has bones?!" Snow exclaimed, looking absolutely flabbergasted at the thought of what she heard.

"Somehow, yes. Singularity and the rest of the higher ups don't intend on Missingno. actually biting the dust, but those bones are apparently some sort of key. That's all I've been able to learn though."

"It's certainly more than any of us were anticipating." Goff responded. "Alright, we'll take the Stone Plate for now. We should have enough security to keep it safe for the time being."

"Understood." Ellis replied as he looked at the two unconscious grunts. "I do need one last thing though. If I go back to base looking like I didn't put up a fight they'll definitely suspect something."

"If you need us to battle your pokemon I'm sure we can do that." Snow assured. "No, that might take too long. This may sound drastic, but I need one of you to use your pokemon to attack me."

"What?!" Styles shouted.

"We can't do that!" Snow added.

"I know it sounds crazy but it's the safest option right now." Ellis urged.

"B-Bullet Punch..." Goff murmured. Machamp grimaced as its four fists gave off a metallic sheen before it pummeled the Police Agent. Styles grit his teeth while Snow turned away from the sight. With one last punch the man was flung away and hit the cavern wall, he gave a three a sorrowful grin before passing out.

"I'm... I'm sorry you two had to see that." Goff said solemnly.

"He... He'll be okay, right?" Snow asked, receiving a nod from her teacher.

"My Machamp is a smart pokemon and he knows Ellis personally. He would never use excessive force against him. As much as we'd want to go about this less recklessly, there was no other immediate option for us, Ellis knows the risk of this mission when he signed up for this job. He'll be alright in a few hours but we'd best get the Plate and go before any reinforcements arrive."

"Right." Styles agreed as he ran to grab the relic. The three ran out of the shrine and headed for the helicopter pickup point as fast as they could, failing to catch the collapsed form of the burned Fenrir outside of the shrine's entrance. The machine turned off its recording as soon as the three left, finally allowing its internal system to shut off...

The helicopter ride back to the Indigo Plateau was surprisingly short and by the time the three returned the sun was beginning to set, leaving the sky in a soft orange and pink glow.

"Well, that was certainly an experience." Styles said.

"Yes. We've managed to slow down Team Dark Star's plans for the time being and learned more about what they plan to do on their projects. I'll hand over the Stone Plate to Looker and Ms. Anabel. As for you two, I don't think I can thank you enough for helping me here today."

No problem." "Anytime!" The two responded. "But what will happen with Mr. Ellis?" Snow asked.

"Hmm, by now he's likely been picked up by some of their other members as they would have otherwise gotten back to their superiors by now. He didn't use it today but Ellis also owns a Hypno and Musharna that he can use to alter the memories of those two other grunts. He should be able to continue his work unimpeded."

"Good." Snow sighed as she began to go on her way. "I'm ready for dinner!"

"I should probably get ready for my battle tomorrow too." Styles added. "The quarter-finals are going to be difficult."

As the three went their separate ways, Styles couldn't help but continue thinking about what Ellis had informed them. The Chimera potentially being able to evolve, Missingno.'s bones being some sort of key.

'If their plans are to use Arceus to rewrite the universe, what do they need those two things for?' He thought. 'Just what is Team Dark Star?'

And so this chapter finally comes to a close.

Sorry that it's a little bit shorter than the previous ones but I don't want to make it too long. Next time we'll head back to the other side of the tournament bracket, as there are some major battles coming from that side.