Author's note: I was late this time, I know. had a TOOOOOOOOONN of homework to do. But hey- I managed to get this chapter done! Go me!

Anyway, enjoy.

Chapter 85: Remembering to forget the odds

Every Team Star boss had Tera fused with their Pokémon- their bodies were shining like crystals glistening in the sun.

Mela's boots shone brightly as she glared furiously at her opponent- they burned brightly with fire type energy.

Atticus crouched, placing one hand on the ground as he held his sheathed Kodachi on his back.

Oretega grinned wide as his clothing shone like crystals- his cane shone with fairy type energy.

Giacomo's crystalline, dark type powered guitar had a flame-like black aura radiating around it. Through the visor of his helmet, he was smiling wide.

All the while, Clavell watched from the sidelines, putting his hands behind his back, and suddenly adjusting his glasses.

Penny took off her hoodie. She cupped both of her hands and put them close to her heart before taking in a breath and lowering her head. Then, summoning all of her determination all at once, she raised her head quickly, showing her now glaring face as her hoodie's sleeve fell and reveal her invoker bracelet. Pressing her finger onto it summoned armor- but it wasn't the normal silver color, like everyone else's. It was gold.

"What the?" Giacomo said,

"Why's her armor gold?" Mela asked.

"Hey- That's not fair!" Ortega cried. "Why does she get to choose what color her armor is!?"

Ortega spun around to Clavell, who stared directly at Penny with a surprised look.

"Hey- Director Clavell-" Ortega roared, pointing at Penny and stomping one foot on the ground. "Why does she get to have a pretty gold color on her armor!? Do you know how awesome I could have made everyone's invoker armors look if I could choose different colors!? I could have asked our leader to give us special colors for our armor instead of making a few of ours transparent! Man..!"

The entire time, Ortega complained to him, Clavell was muttering to himself, ignoring the boy due to being lost in thought.

"Have you gone senile!?" Ortega cried, "I'm talking to you, old man!"

"Stay sharp, my ally," Atticus said, getting Ortega's attention. "Our foe has yet to reveal the Pokémon they will fuse with."

"Jeez…" Ortega said. "Fine. But after this I'm giving the director a piece of my mind."

"Uh…guys?" Giacomo said. "Is it just me…or… is she…" He pointed at Penny, who had three Pokeballs in each hand. "Why is she pulling out all six of her Pokémon?" Giacomo asked.

Umbreon.

Vaporeon.

Jolteon.

Sylveon.

Leafeon.

Flareon.

Those were the six Pokémon that Penny let out all at once, the eevee-lutions all circled their trainer, mirroring their trainer's look of determination.

"Okay…anyone else feeling a chill right now, or is it just me…?" Giacomo said as sweat fell down his cheek. "Mayyybee….we should have brought our Starmobiles."

"It's fine," Mela said- she looked calm, but her nervous sweat on her face said otherwise. "She might just be...thinking about what Pokémon to use, that's all," She said. The tone of her voice told Giacomo that she was trying to convince him of what she had just said- but Giacomo could sense that she was really trying to convince herself. He gulped.

Meanwhile, Atticus remained quiet, watching keenly and thinking to himself.

Penny took in another deep breath, instinctively putting a hand over her chest. She could feel her rapidly beating heart pounding in her ears.

All of Penny's Eevee's suddenly turned into white orbs. They rose up as they began orbiting Penny's body like satellites. Penny pulled her Tera orb from her hoodie's pocket and clenched it tight. The orb began vibrating with the immense power that it was gathering.

"Tha- That's not normal..!" Ortega cried. "Why are all six of her Pokémon turning into-..."

"Who is this girl!?" Giacomo cried.

A rainbow flame-like aura erupted around the girl as intense winds blew against her body. All six of the orbs that floated around her all collided with her body the moment she crushed the tera orb.

Instead of a terastialization sigil appearing in front of the pillar of light- A star reminiscent of Team Star's logo appeared instead.

Atticus's eyes widened as everyone else shut their eyes from the blinding light that assaulted their eyes- coupled with the intense wind that blew against everyone.

Once the violent wind and pillar of light finally faded, it revealed Penny's transformation. She had a golden, star-shaped halo above her head, and a bigger gold halo behind her back, which had a large star shaped sigil in the middle of it.

Her armor was shining brightly like a diamond, like any terastalized Pokémon would. Her body was flashing multiple colors in quick succession, like it was a light show.

Black.

Blue.

Yellow.

Pink.

Green.

Red.

Those were the colors that Penny's armor was flashing- all of those colors represented each and every type of the Pokémon she had fused with.

"Now…" Penny's voice had an echo carried behind it that sounded almost robotic. "I'm Super Star Penny!"

An intense wind blew against the Team Star members once again.

"I-... I don't know if we can do this, guys…" Giacomo said. "I-... think we should…think about running."

"I-... I think we should have brought our Starmobiles.." Mela said.

"I thought this was going to be an easy fight..?" Ortega said.

Atticus clenched his fists and lowered his head. "What…do we do This power...I believe her armor may have more than one type... our chances of winning... are they slim to none?"

Penny glared- intense emotion rose within her at that moment. "Grr..! Is that really what Team Star's supposed to be about!?" Penny roared. "I thought you guys had a code- that you had to fight against any threat to your team with all of your strength! Fight like your lives depend on it! Even if it's your last battle as Team Star Bosses- you have to stand and fight!"

Penny wouldn't accept it if they surrendered. That wasn't in their code. She expected- no, she needed them to fight back.

Otherwise…this battle…everything she'd worked for as Team Star's boss…would have been for nothing.

"I can't believe I'm saying this- but she's right." Mela said. "We can't back down. That's not in our code."

"Yeah…" Giacomo said, smiling. " I can't believe that I even thought about surrendering. Who cares about the odds- we'll kick her butt regardless! Ortega- why didn't you snap me out of it sooner?!"

"You were the one who suggested it!" Ortega cried.

"Well, you didn't stop me!" Giacomo cried.

"That's because I was distracted by our enemy!" Ortega roared.

Atticus looked up at Penny, who continued looking down at them.

"Who…are you?" Atticus spoke, getting everyone's attention. "You wear our sigil on your back, and you've brought back our resolve…"

Penny sighed.

"...I'll tell you what…If you manage to beat me… I'll tell you who I am." Penny said. "But using the word 'if'... is me being nice."

The Team Star bosses entered their battle stances.

"Mela. Atticus. Ortega, Giacomo! You have no choice but to bow down to the might of Team Star's Annihilator...!"

Kai couldn't sleep.

He had been staring at the ceiling for what felt like an hour while sitting on the edge of his hospital bed. He couldn't stop thinking about what happened when he fought Eri. He was obsessively thinking about it at this point.

The moment when Kai couldn't access the second level of flow due to the temporary loss of belief in himself was relaying in his mind over and over again. The fact that he was close to surrendering to Eri still scared him.

it was just that... the moment he saw Eri's power- his confidence crumbled. He couldn't just get psyched out like that again... no matter what. If he did, especially when he eventually fights against Aeon...He would lose.

Maybe even die.

That thought really reeled him in- anxiety rushed into his mind immediately as he put his hands on his face.

Why did this problem have to come so soon?! Just as he awakened to the second level of flow, he was on a high note. He had finally beaten Nemona in a sparring match. Then Geeta had to show up…and show just how much further he still had to go.

It was like fate was laughing at his progress. And it was frustrating. Why couldn't he just erase all of his problems the moment he became stronger? Why did this have to keep happening? He was starting to lose patience with himself, as though he were a spectator watching from above who was having a harder time rooting for him as time went on.

He was lucky Pawmo was there to help him… but he couldn't help but beat himself up. Problem...After problem, after problem. Why couldn't it just stop?

"Who's there..?"

Kai's hands flew off from his face. He raised his body up, sitting on the edge of his bed. He noticed on his left that there was a shadow of someone laying on the hospital bed behind the curtains. Kai stood up and walked over to the certains before moving them away, raising his eyebrows upon seeing Eri, who was laying down on her own hospital bed.

"Eri?" Kai asked.

"Oh- it's you," Eri said. "Hi."

Kai noticed that she had a few bandages on her face, which was free of makeup. 'She's really pretty,' Kai thought to himself.

"Hey.." Kai said. He went to sit back down on his hospital bed. "How're you?"

"Kinda banged up here and there, but… I'm doing good."

"That's good."

Silence hung between them.

"Eri…?" Kai asked.

"Yeah?"

"How were you able to…y'know, enter the final stage of Flow..?"

"Final stage of flow? Huh?" Eri said. "What do you mean?"

"Did you not…" Kai furrowed his brow. "Did you not realize it- when you entered the third state of Flow? You didn't feel anything at all?"

"Uh…" Eri shot her eyes back and forth. "No, not really. All that happened was that… I was able to control myself while being berserk for the first time…"

"Did you not notice your transformation? Did you even feel anything? Like- a tingle in your hair or something?"

"Uh…No." Eri said.

"So, it just happened."

"...Yeah."

Kai grumbled a bit with jealousy- and it sounded like a sigh, so Eri didn't question it.

"...Do you know how to control it?" Kai said. "Like, if you wanted to, could you transform right now?"

"Uh…. I mean," Eri began to stand up. "I can try-"

"Nonononono!" Kai said, raising a hand to Eri. "Don't. We're in a hospital."

"Yeah-" An awkward smile came to Eri's lips as she sat back down. "You're right…."

"Though… It's really good that you were able to control yourself." Kai said, smiling and then sighing. "Honestly…I'm kind of jealous."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Honestly, I thought you were much, much stronger than me. For a second, I…stopped actually believing that I could beat you. That's the…problem I'm dealing with right now. In my head, I mean."

"...Oh.." Eri said. "I'm sorry."

"No- no. It's not your fault. You did nothing wrong. I think I should be the one apologizing. I kinda broke into your base and did some bad things."

"But you did it for me. You didn't hurt anyone."

Kai chuckled a bit. "Yeah." He said. He sighed again. "Part of the reason why I wanted to help you…was because Team Star had done so much for me, y'know? I…was bullied in the past."

Eri had a slight look of shock which was quickly replaced with a look of sympathy.

"I had so little confidence in myself that I didn't think I could do anything. Then, my friend Nemona came, and she gave me a reason to start Pokémon battling. But you guys… you helped me so much. I owe so much to Team Star."

"I do too," Eri saidm nodding along. "I don't know what I would have done if Team Star never existed. I used to think that I didn't really have much to offer to the world. But…with Team star, I'm needed. The members there are thankful for me. That's why I'm willing to put anything on the line to protect them. They're my treasure."

"Treasure…" Kai said, faintly remembering that Clavell had told them to go forth and find a treasure. He hadn't even thought about that in such a long time.

"Well, I'm happy for you," Kai said.

"Thanks," Eri said.

Another silence hung between them. For a while, neither of them spoke, and Kai began to close his eyes as his thoughts wandered back to what he was so worried about. It was so annoying, having to deal with his feelings about being unable to access flow. He wished he could ignore his anxiety, but he knew if he didn't confront his feelings now…

Then it would do more than come back to bite him.

To move on, he had to become unstoppable like he was before- when he fought against Iono. He felt like he was on top of the world. Regardless of how powerful Iono was and how many power ups she had, Kai just had unshakable confidence that he could never lose. He needed that energy back.

"...Eri?" Kai said.

"Yeah?"

"Do you know how to just…remove all of your problems?"

"...What?"

"Sorry, that came out of nowhere, huh?" Kai said, letting out a short laugh. "That must have sounded really random. Let me give you some context. Remember that issue that I told you I had? I'm really frustrated and impatient about it. It's just been problem, after problem, after problem, after problem. Doubt after doubt. I just can't catch a break."

"I can understand that."

"I asked my friends for help, but it feels like nothing's working. I just want to get rid of all of my problems already and just…become the champion. Then live happily ever after, y'know? So yeah- that's my question. How do I get into that 'happily ever after' state, where I don't have to deal with my problems at all?"

Eri said nothing for a moment and just stared. Then, Kai scratched the back of his head in embaressment. "Sorry-" He said, "I shouldn't expect you to have the answer to that. Forget I said anyth-"

Eri chuckled a bit.

"What?" Kai asked. "What's so funny?"

"Sorry-" Eri said. "It's just… I remembered asked my best friend the same thing," Eri said. "You know what she said?"

"What?"

"She said that 'happily ever afters,' the ones we see in story books… doesn't exist. Those are just… snapshots in time, of when the characters of the story are happiest. But in real life...time goes on, whether we like it or not."

Kai lowered his head. A frustrated breath escaped his lips.

"That's the thing though…" Kai said. "Ever since I fought Mela for the second time… I started tackling things in my life differently. I stopped caring about all of the doubts in my head- and I just kept going, kept pushing past my limits, no matter the challenge. I fought Titan Pokémon, Tough trainers, a lot of enemies that were miles stronger than me. I remembered looking at them with an honest-to-God smile on my face, knowing for a fact that even if I didn't win now, I'd win eventually. And now, that feeling is gone. It's like I lost that specialty my boyfriend said I had- I remembered the odds stacked against me, and I froze."

Kai paused, lowering his head and staring at his lap.

"I feel like…" Kai tightened his grip on his pants. "...I feel like I'm back to being that cowering mess of a boy who runs away from fights-..I'm back to being afraid…Back to being…doubtful. And I hate that. I'm so angry that my problems won't go away- and I feel like it's pathetic that I can't just get over things quickly. I-"

"Sorry to interrupt your dramatic speech…But I think you're beating yourself up too much for having another roadblock."

Kai turned to Eri with raised eyebrows and eyes blinking with disbelief. "...What?" He asked with genuine confusion. How could he be beating himself up too much? The mental beat down he was giving himself was normal and completely warranted- at least that's what he thought.

"This is coming from a person who beats herself up regularly," Eri said, placing a hand on her chest with an ernest smile. "Just because you grow as a person doesn't mean your problems just stop. They'll keep coming. No matter who or what you are- no matter how happy your life is, there's always going to be a problem lurking around the corner, ready to strike in the worst time. Some of them will be small, others will be so big that you'll break down. That won't change, no matter how strong you are."

Kai sighed.

"But you know what does change every time you face a problem..? You do."

The moment Eri said this, Kai felt emotion welling up within him. His eyes began to shine under the reflection of the light above his head as tears began welling up.

"The way you learn changes-" Eri continued. "The way you act changes- you become stronger, mentally, physically, even emotionally." Eri said she slowly began to stand up. Some of the bandages that were on her legs and arms fell to the floor, revealing that they were fully healed. Those words Eri said struck true to Kai. She was right- he had become stronger. This was an undeniable fact.

During his time as a trainer, he was able to finally believe in himself for the first time in a long time. That moment was…genuinely one of the happiest moments of his life. For the first time in what felt like forever- he was able to get himself on his own side.

It was undeniable: He had become a stronger person.

"I'll tell you another thing my best friend tells me when I'm down," Eri said. "Whenever we work out our bodies, our muscles are broken down and destroyed and come back stronger. Every problem that comes your way is an exercise for your heart- you break down, feel destroyed, but when you come back up…"

"You're stronger." Kai said- beginning to sniffle even more and nodding to what Eri said.

"When problems stop, that means you have no more room to grow. But you will always have room to grow."

Kai's rage in himself had begun to slowly disappear as his impatience faded. Eri was right- problems were going to keep coming his way, whether he liked it or not. But no matter what- he'd always come back stronger.

No matter what, he'd always be on his own side. Kai stood up, filled with emotion, and hugged Eri- much to her surprise.

"Whoa-" Eri said- "I was thinking about hugging you- but I thought twice about it because i thought it'd be awkward, and-"

"Thank you," Kai's voice began to crack with sobbing. "Thank you.." He said.

Eri began to sniffle herself. "D-Don't start crying-" Eri said. "You're gonna make me cry!"

The two of them started silently crying as they hugged each other. After a bit of time passed, Kai pulled himself away.

Kai sniffled and wiped his face a bit as he sat back down.

"I have to apologize again to my friends…" Kai said."I was so mean to them earlier..because I was so bent up about this problem. I was so frustrated that I let my rage out at them. Usually, I aim that rage at myself and just let myself…sit and brood."

"I do the same thing," Eri said. "Sitting around and just brooding, I mean. That's why people like us have to stick together."

Kai smiled and nodded. "Yeah." He said. "That's why I like Team Star. It feels like I can talk to anyone that's part of the team…and tell them anything. It just feels like they'd get it, y'know?"

"If you ever want to become a member," Eri said. "Our doors are open."

"I honestly kind of already consider myself a member. Spiritually, I mean. I'm pretty sure if I became an official one, I wouldn't be able to battle you guys."

"I mean, member or not, you can always challenge us to a friendly battle."

Kai smirked.

"I mean, I could- yeah, but it's more fun to just challenge you guys as though I'm there to bring the whole HQ down," Kai said. "You'll fight a lot harder- and then boom- I'll have a better fight to enjoy. It's like thinking about a sandwich, would I like it with or without sauce? Of course I'd like it with more sauce!"

Eri chuckled. "That's one way of putting it," She said.

Kai laughed- and it felt good to laugh. He felt better now that his emotions were out of the way- he could properly face the issue that was in his head, which he was now beginning to realize was just a moment of shock and fear that would wash over him when he saw an opponent that looked very strong.

Kai needed to figure out how and why he was able to be unflinching against Iono- despite the amount of times she powered up. Maybe then, he could become even stronger.

Kai smiled at the thought.

"I… Am the strongest trainer… in the world…" Kai said to himself very quietly. "I… Am…the strongest…" A bit of hesitation followed his voice as he recited the mantra once again the moment Geeta's face flashed in his mind. He frowned.

"Geeta…I'll beat you…" Kai muttered to himself. "Then I'll show you…and the world… who's the stronges-"

A phone began to ring. Kai shot his head to the source of the noise- which was Eri, who quickly went into her pocket to pull out her phone. Kai could see the caller ID on Eri's phone: Mela.

The moment Eri's ear touched the phone and said 'hello?'- was the moment her eyes began to slowly widen in shock.

"Eri...we need your help..." Mela groaned as though she were severely beaten.

Nemona, Arven and Aeon were all sitting on chairs next to Kai's hospital room. Arven was playing games on his phone while Aeon, who sat next to him, watched his brother play while looking over his shoulder. Nemona was throwing her pokeball up in the air just to catch it again and again.

Suddenly, Nemona's phone began to ring. She pulled it out and raised it to her ear.

"Hello?" Nemona asked. She suddenly gasped as she beamed with joy. "Hi, Geeta! How are you? …Yeah? Uh-huh..?"

Suddenly, Nemona's look of joy became even brighter as she stood up. She then began to squeal at the very top of her lungs, catching the attention of Arven and Aeon, who both looked startled.

"IM SO HAPPY! YES- I'D LOVE TO BATTLE YOU!" Nemona cried. "YES YES YES YES YEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSS!"

Nemona started sprinting off so fast that a trail of dust followed in her wake. Aeon and Arven watched with confusion.

"...What?" Arven said.

Just then- Eri and Kai slammed open the door next to Aeon and Arven- which startled them again.

"GUYS-" Kai shouted. "We've gotta go to the Academy- now!"

"We can explain on the way!" Eri cried.

"...WHAT?" Arven shouted.

Turo and Sada watched the replay of Kai and Eri's fight again and again on a monitor while they stood in their lab.

"Eri had never tapped into this level of strength before in any other timeline..." Turo said.

"Why...?" Sada said. "What about this timeline is different than the others? What was it that changed everything? We need to go back to our notes."

"Agreed. I'll let you look into that as we see the events play out so that we may replicate this in the future... in case of failure. In the meantime, I'll look into what will happen next with Penny."

Sada and Turo nodded to each other as Sada left the room. Turo looked onto the monitor as it focused onto Penny...who was standing around her beaten and bruised underlings that lied on the ground around her.

Author's note: 85 chapters... Wow. As of this date, I haven't written anything this long before. I'm still just- really proud of how far I've come. And I'm really happy you guys are still reading!

Hope you look forward to seeing the next chapter! Catch you guys later.