Author's note: Sorry that I was late- new years and all. Hope you guys enjoy!

Chapter 51: Unexpected circumstance

–Flashback–

Atticus was sighing to himself while sitting in front of his base. It had been two hours since he had given Kai's friend the badge he had earned.

"Boss?" A team Star member walked through the entrance Atticus sat in front of. Atticus didn't turn around.

"I'm not your boss anymore." Atticus said.

"Um-... you haven't been around for about…two hours. Everyone's confused as to what's gonna happen next. You're the second boss to go down, so… we're kind of afraid that Team Star's gonna…"

"It's not going to fall," Atticus said. He stood up. "The other bosses, the founding members, are a lot stronger than I am. They'll maintain their titles. I know they will. But as for me… my time as your boss… has ended."

Atticus suddenly stood up. "I need to clear my mind. I'll be off. I may not come back until tomorrow. Take care of the base while I'm gone."

Atticus crouched before moving so fast that to the grunt she looked like he teleported away. The team Star member gasped lightly upon seeing what was left in his place: A pokeball.

"Wait!" The team member cried, "You- You forgot this Pokeball!"

Atticus didn't respond.

The team star member walked up to the ball and stared at it. She tilted her head, wondering to herself what she could do with it. She should probably just hold it, she thought. She grabbed it, and then walked back inside of the base.

"Whatcha got there?" A male team star grunt came up to her with a grin.

"It's Atticus's Pokeball. It's probably Muk's,"

"Whoa, really!?" Another team star member cried.

"Lemme see!" A third team star member said. Other team star members approached the girl and crowded around her.

"What're you going to do with it?" Another team star member said.

"Don't tell me Atticus quit and made you leader!" yet another team star member cried.

"No! He didn't do anything like that! He dropped it, so I was just going to hold onto it until-"

Suddenly, the Pokeball burst open without warning. Everyone in the crowd gasped in unison upon the realization that this Pokeball wasn't Muk's. It was Tinkatuff's.

The hammer wielding Pokémon looked rather confused, turning her head about as though she were searching for something, or rather, someone: Her trainer.

Once she realized that he was nowhere to be found, she shrugged to herself and started walking off. The crowd that was around her moved out of her way, as though she were a goddess parting the ocean waves in front of her without trying.

Intense fear washed over every single grunt there.

"I-Is that… a Tin-Tinkatuff?!" A grunt cried.

"It can't be the boss's…" Another said.

"It has to belong to that kid who beat him!" A third grunt said. "Wait- what is it doing?"

Tinkatuff was wandering over to the barricade that the team star members used to mark their territory, raised her hammer, and started smacking it.

"It's destroying the base!" One team star member cried.

"We have to stop it!"

"We can't! All of our Pokémon are poison type, that thing is half Steel type! Nothing we do will work!"

"I'll call Atticus!" a male team star member said. "In the meantime, distract that thing!" He pulled out his phone and hurried off.

The grunt girl who had brought the Pokémon in to begin with rushed over to Tinkatuff who was starting to make a considerable dent in their barricaded walls.

"H-Hey! Tinkatuff- y-you need to stop! Please!"

Tinkatuff kept whacking away, ignoring the team star grunt. She was even starting to whack it even faster now.

"Please, Tinkatuff, we'll do anything! Just stop!"

Tinkatuff kept whacking away, and the girl went on her knees.

"Wh-When I say anything, I mean, anything! We'll- We'll- we'll become your servants or something-!"

Tinkatuff stopped whacking and turned to the team star grunt with interest.

"Hey- wait-!"A team star grunt cried. "We didn't agree to any of this."

"Yeah!" Another team star grunt said.

Tinkatuff went back to whacking.

"GUYS!" The team star grunt who brought her in cried out to the rest. "We have to pick right now- what matters more, our dignity, or the base!?"

"Uh…" One dignified team star grunt said. "I think my dignity's really important."

"Besides, that one guy's calling Atticus. Once Atticus comes he'll probably find a way to contact Kai."

"Yeah- but think about the damage that's going to happen in the mean-"

The part of the barricade that Tinkatuff was whacking down eventually fell apart- and she moved onto the next section right next to her.

"Okay- yeah, my dignity can go into the garbage this once." The previously dignified grunt said.

The rest of the team grunts agreed and nodded in unison, then they all turned to Tinktauff.

"Empress Tinkatuff!" They all cried at the same time. "We are at your service!"

Tinkatuff grinned, liking the sound of that title she had.

"Guys?!" The team star member that went to call Atticus came back running. "Atticus won't pick up...! I think his phone's off!"

"No way!"

"Try again! Go go go!"

"Okay! Keep Tinkatuff busy!"

"And uh… yeah-" The team star grunt said, "we uh- had to be her servants." The team star member explaining the story had just finished, and Atticus's hand was on his face the entire time.

"We managed to keep her satisfied for a whole day, and you didn't pick up- I bet it was because-"

"My phone was off," Atticus answered. "I wanted peace and quiet..." He sighed heavily.

"Everything woulda went well if someone didn't try to sharpen Tinkatuff's hammer and broke it. It's the whole reason why it got all angry to begin with."

"What!?" Atticus cried.

"That shuriken sharpener you used came in handy...until it was broken in half... by uh... me." A team star member said.

"Why did you try and sharpen it anyway!?"

"I thought it was a good idea!"

"It wasn't!" One grunt cried.

"It really wasn't!" Another cried.

"Hey! Listen, I was trying to-"

"All of you. Listen," Atticus said. "All of this wouldn't have happened if I had just remembered to give Tinkatuff back to Kai. I was too busy thinking of myself rather than the people around me. I'm a failure of a leader." Atticus said. "If I hadn't left and turned my phone off… I could have prevented the destruction of my base."

"You're not a failure of a leader, boss.." A team star member said.

"Yeah." Another team star member said.

"I thought I told all of you… Atticus muttered, I am not your boss as of today. That title was stripped from me the moment I lost to Kai. So-"

"No way- you're still the boss… at least to me." Another team star member said.

"And me..!" Another said.

More and more team star grunts said 'And me', making Atticus's eyes widen even more then they have already.

"Sure, you uh…" Another team star member said. "may have…completely and utterly..uh…screwed us by forgetting you had Tinkatuff in-"

"Wow. Really?" Another team star member said.

"Why'd you say, that, man?" Another cried.

"Let me continue!... But! But- no one's perfect! It's okay boss,"

"Yeah! It's okay!"

"Yeah- we're still part of your crew! The poison crew! C'mon!"

"But...the rules," Atticus said. "They-"

"Pfft- we don't call you leader just because we like the way it sounds. We're part of the poison crew, your crew! Whether you like it or not!"

"Yeah- I don't want this whole thing to end just because you lost one battle! That's dumb!"

"Yeah!"

Every single grunt cried out about how they didn't want anything to end, that they still wanted Atticus to be the Poison crew's leader.

Atticus wanted to correct them, and so he tried. But every time he did, he was met with resounding resistance. Atticus sighed, and then silently gave up.

This meant something to him. This meant that his crew, along with the entirety of team star, will never fall. Even if it was torn to shreds, just like his base, the members will scream and yell for it to come back.

The rules stated that he would be absolved of his role if he were to lose. However- they said nothing about building a new crew from the base up. Making loopholes wasn't something he wanted to encourage, but… he couldn't stop his team members from standing back up and rebuilding the base and declaring him their leader.

There are rules that state that they can't make anyone do anything. Atticus can't make them stop calling him leader.

All he could do is just accept…that this was his life now. That no matter what, Team Star… won't die.

"Fine then," Atticus said. "If that is what you all wish... I can remain your leader. We can rebuild the poison crew from the ground up." Atticus smiled, then turned to Quaxwell, who was watching everything unfold.

"Quaxwell, I thank you again for helping everyone," Atticus said. "If there is anything I can do to repay you, please, don't hesitate and let me know."

Quaxwell nodded, but then crossed his arms, wondering how he was going to explain to Atticus that he needed to see his trainer.

"Wait- I recognize you," Atticus said. "You're Kai's Quaxwell, aren't you?"

Well, that solved that problem. Quaxwell nodded quickly.

"Why aren't you with Kai? Hm. We should return you to your trainer."

Quaxwell nodded, then turned his head around.

Where was Tinkatuff and Pawmo? They should have been back by now.

Pawmo looked like he was in complete and utter shock, listening to Tinkatuff's story.

"You should have seen it!" Tinkatuff cried. "They gave me a folding chair, a fan, a tropical drink, it was like I was having a much, much needed vacation!"

"I…" Pawmo muttered, still looking extremely confused. "I still can't believe those humans actually did that."

"Of course, they did!" Tinkatuff said. "They knew that I was royalty, obviously! In case I haven't told you already, they called me Empress Tinkatuff." Tinkatuff sighed to herself like a schoolgirl talking about their crush.

"It's weird that you can't remember what happened while you were being taken care of." Pawmo said.

"Yeah. Anyway- this pile of rubble's annoying, so it's time to get rid of it!"

"Wow. You can get rid of it even though you don't have your hammer? That's impressive!" Pawmo cried.

The sound of glass breaking rang in the mind of Tinkatuff the moment she heard those words.

Her head swung around to her back, and immediately she realized that she didn't have her hammer.

"Wh-Where's my hammer..!?" Tinkatuff cried. "Where's my hammer?! WHERE'S MY HAMMER!?"

"How am I supposed to know!?" Pawmo cried. "You didn't have it!"

"My hammer's gone! Why is it gone!? My hammer- My hammer-" Tinkatuff started scurrying around, searching around the cave for her hammer. "Where's my hammer?! Where's my hammer?! WHERE IS IT!?"

"I don't know!" Pawmo cried.

"No- no- no-NO..!"

Pawmo felt immediately in danger as he put two and two together. He realized that the reason why Tinkatuff flew into an uncontrollable rage… must have been that her hammer was taken away somehow. Pawmo watched as Tinkatuff fell to her knees and put her hands on her face, screaming loudly.

If Tinkatuff flew into that rage again… with this pile of rubble blocking him from escape… this would be horrible for him.

"T-Tinkatuff…" Pawmo's voice was trembling. He took several steps back and raised his paws. "T-Tinkatuff- please- D-Don't-"

Tinkatuff's entire body began to shake as though she were a volcano about to burst. Pawmo braced himself for what was going to happen next.

Suddenly, Tinkatuff started breaking down sobbing. She cried so hard that her tears flew out of her eyes like fountains. All of the tension in Pawmo's body faded at that moment, and he was left speechless.