Arashi was still grinning as the three of them set foot in Astrid's dorm room, Astrid looking hapless as she set her backpack down on her desk and Raijin uncertainly tapping his fingers together. "That felt like our first dungeon run all over again!" Arashi declared, clearly not bothered at all. "The chomping dragons, the frantic running, the heroes coming to save us… I had totally forgotten that feeling, aha! This is such a good day!"

"…Maybe I should travel with you," the Xurkitree mused, studying him.

"Just explain what you were trying to do," Astrid said, leaving her shoes by the door.

"Okay, so, I was in West Province riding Axel, my Cyclizar, around-" Arashi started, but was cut off by a sudden banging at the door.

"Astrid!" came a rather forceful but familiar shout from the other side of the door. "It's Ashton! Open this door or I'll tear it down!"

"Oye! It's us!" came another call from the exuberant voice of Nemona.

"Do you even know the meaning of the word 'chill?'" came another, a flat tone belonging to Penny. Who precisely she addressed with her remark was unclear.

A much less aggressive voice on the other side, the borderline flirtatious tone of Delphi, piped up to say, "Aggression is not likely to win this one over, dearie.~"

…They had heard voices and there was no escaping it, it seemed. Astrid awkwardly looked to the door and haplessly started shuffling over, but Arashi was quicker and darted over with zero hesitation. Raijin retreated to his ball right as the blue-haired lad threw the door open, and Astrid froze slightly at the entourage awaiting her- seemingly all of their friends and comrades were standing right outside. Ashton still had one fist poised against the door as if she would've gone right back to furiously knocking, Dylan and Arven both looked hapless next to her, Delphi grinned and gave a friendly wink, Penny looked completely unamused, and Nemona bubbled with excitement. The shy lass wished she, like her Ultra Beast friend, had a ball to retreat inside, and stared at Raijin's wistfully whilst cursing her human body's inability to meld into the shadows.

"Hey, guys-!" Arashi started but was quickly ambushed.

"Arashi!" Ashton exclaimed, barging in and grabbing him by the shoulders. "Is it true?! Delphi told us!"

"Delphi told me and three of you just happened to overhear," Dylan noted, giving Ashton and Nemona both hapless looks. "So much for quiet research in the theater room…"

"At least you didn't get dragged out of the lunchroom by a crazy little buddy like I did," Arven remarked.

"You had a battle with a powerful Garchomp!" Nemona exclaimed without a care, likewise strolling right in and getting uncannily close with starry eyes. "Tell us everything!"

Arashi, however, didn't mind in the slightest. "I sure did, aha! I was just about to tell Astrid!"

Astrid, on the other hand, was huddled as far into the corner of her bed's headboard and the wall as she could get, clutching a pillow in front of her as if trying to hide herself behind it somehow. "C-come on in, g-guys," she practically squeaked out.

Shortly they were squeezed into her room- Arashi perched himself next to her, Ashton and Arven perched on the other end of her bed, Penny claimed a rolling chair, Dylan sprawled on a beanbag, and Delphi and Nemona both claimed some big cushions to perch on the rug with.

"Dígame!" Nemona exclaimed, her starry eyes practically staring holes through Arashi. "I wanna know all about your awesome win!"

"I have to know how he pulled this off," Penny mused quietly to herself, not quite so thrilled.

Arashi was certainly happy to tell them. "Well, I was exploring West Province! I was running through some fields with Pyre, and I ran into a Cyclizar that I named Axel, and we spent some time on the beach where I met a Palafin that I named Lapis!"

Astrid cast him a somewhat incredulous glance. "You got lost and didn't check your map, didn't you?" she asked softly.

"I didn't get lost," Arashi brushed her off. "I just took a detour and decided to do things the old-fashioned way, aha!"

"You got lost," Penny said flatly.

"You're lucky you didn't wander near the last Titan we faced," Arven added. "That giant Bombirdier was out in West Province too."

"We could've had fun taking it on together," Ashton mused with a grin, her Titan-hunting partner not looking keen on the idea at all.

"Anyways," Arashi kept on, not bothered, "I came across this cave off in South Province, I think! I figured it looked like a place that someone could use as a base, so I went looking inside!"

Penny looked at him in exasperation. "Did Cassiopeia not give you directions?!" she inquired. "You really just wandered into a musty cave?!"

"I didn't wander in, I was checking it out," Arashi replied, giving her a glance. "And yes, Cassiopeia did! But I'm just not used to these fancy phone maps yet, so I figured I'd get familiar with the terrain by exploring everything! You know, like expedition parties that use expedition logs and make their own way-finding charts!"

Penny only gave a deep sigh, and Ashton had to stifle laughter. Astrid could feel Raijin's ball wiggle slightly on her belt and she clutched it- they didn't need to exchange words, for they could both tell the other was flustered with their friend. Maybe it made sense on their world for getting the feel for unexplored or largely uncharted terrain… but here, they had phone maps that had already been charted in great detail, and most importantly, they didn't have an entire expedition team backing them up.

"And it was really cool!" Arashi kept on, getting an even bigger grin. "It was dark and lit up by torches! There was a Houndoom sprawled on a rock howling, and Sableyes running around gathering rocks, and a Salazzle running around with her group of Salandits!" He turned to Astrid. "It was definitely more your kind of terrain!"

At that, Nemona perked up, giving Astrid a big grin. "I knew it! You know your stuff!"

"Sounds like I'd be right at home too," Ashton remarked, likewise grinning. "Maybe I can go lounge on rocks and growl at everyone passing by too."

Astrid only buried herself further behind the pillow, and Arven and Dylan both shot Ashton an exasperated look.

"But there was this one part," Arashi kept on, "Where you could tell some fights had happened! Like, busted rocks, and claw marks on the wall, all of that!" He still grinned, but his expression turned awkward and he chuckled haplessly. "But when I noticed, well…~"

"GAAAAAAAR!"

Thud!

Immediately Arashi was whirling around, eyes shooting slightly wide, where a Garchomp with flashing claws stared holes through him. From the look on its face, it wasn't a roar of greeting or a roar to merely announce its presence… No, the dragon meant it as a challenge to an intruder. Judging by the claw marks on the rocks, the clear breaks in the ground and cracks in the wall, it probably didn't look too kindly upon intruders. Maybe in his home world, Arashi would've formed some shuriken of water between his fingers, but on this world… that wasn't much of an option, and seeing as a fully-grown Garchomp was staring him in the face, his own Pokémon probably didn't fare particularly well in a battle.

But maybe, just maybe, unlike the feral dungeon-dwellers on his homeworld, this one wouldn't be quite so hostile. "Hey!" he said, standing his ground and returning its gaze as if that might have somehow convinced it to leave him alone, "I'm leaving! You are clearly not who I was looking for!"

The Garchomp tilted its head to the side slightly, eyeing him, and for a moment, it appeared that the roaring beast may have been bluffing. It wasn't trying to rip into him with its claws, its fanged maw was shut, and it stood still save for its chest moving slightly as it breathed and its tail giving a slight wag. Arashi started to grin and took a step forward, towards the way he'd come, but the moment he did so, he was rethinking things as the Garchomp took a leap and flattened itself out for lightning-fast gliding.

"Whoa, what-!" he started to exclaim, jumping aside as it flew at him.

His eyes went slightly wide as the Garchomp flew past, one claw narrowly missing his face and instead slicing off a few locks of his hair. The roaring one had obviously meant to Dragon Rush him, but instead, it rushed a chunk of rock behind him and shattered it to bits. Had the attack hit, he would've been in bad shape.

"On second thought…" he mused to himself, reaching into his pocket and taking a few steps backwards as the Garchomp picked itself up, "… we are running!"

"GAAAAAAR!" came a furious shout as his quick footsteps echoed off the walls.

He reached into his pocket, grabbing his phone and messing with some buttons as he sprinted away. "There's something I gotta do here…! I just gotta figure it out!"

The Garchomp, however, was running too, the ground thumping behind him as it started after him.

"Well, at least you ran away," Astrid said haplessly.

"And that was when I called you!"Arashi noted, giving the shy lass a glance. "That Garchomp was not happy to see me! It kept trying to Crunch me and Dragon Rush me!"

Penny's face was an odd mix of shocked and downtrodden, as if she were disappointed and horrified at the same time. Ashton and Nemona, on the other hand, appeared completely enthralled, as if absolutely were wrong, while the others were varying mixes of surprised and hapless. Astrid was shaking her head, the least surprised of anyone, and her friend gave her a playful nudge as if to tell her there was absolutely nothing worth getting worked up over.

"Oh, come on!" Ashton, however, had other thoughts, making some wild gestures with her arms. "What was stopping you from throwing hands with it?! Just ball up one fist and hyah!" A punching gesture followed that made Arven and Astrid both flinch slightly.

Arashi only giggled. "I don't think I could pull that off, aha! Not in this state, anyway!"

"Please don't," Arven said hesitantly.

"Please," Astrid concurred.

The blue-haired lad, though, kept right on, saying, "So anyway! I was running around, dodging its attacks, when it hit me with a Bulldoze and made me stumble and fall! And I thought for sure I was a goner!"

The ground rumbling and splitting apart certainly made it difficult to keep running, Arashi losing grip of his phone and dropping it as he tripped and fell in a heap. The busted rocks didn't do much to break his fall, and a grunt of discomfort escaped him as he tried to pick himself up again. It wasn't quite so easy to get up either, seeing as the ground was much less unified than it had been seconds before, but he scrambled to his feet after a few moments… only to feel the ground shake with a whump again as the Garchomp landed right in front of him. He looked up into the fangs of a snarling maw, and if looks could kill, the look in the Garchomp's eyes probably would have. It stared at him as if debating for just a moment what to do, and in those few moments, Arashi backed away while glancing for a way out.

Behind him was a rocky, albeit cracked, wall. Darting to the sides was an option, but with the ground in shambles, he probably wasn't going to move fast enough to not be hit. Maybe an Ice Beam to the face would've been an easy bet, or a Water Shuriken to its eyes, or maybe a Dark Pulse then a Quick Attack to outmaneuver it… but those weren't options here. He felt the balls on his belt wiggling a bit, but Pyre would've just been a snack to a snarling beast so big, and though nothing beat a dragon quite like a dragon, Axel wasn't going to measure up to something so formidable. His newest member, Lapis the Palafin, had quite a bit of strength to his moves, but this wasn't his preferred terrain, and the Garchomp's Dragon-type attributes nullified any advantage that Lapis had over its Ground-type side.

"GAR!" the Garchomp snarled, going right for Arashi's neck with its fangs.

"Gods above-!" Arashi exclaimed, ducking and holding his hands over his head in a hapless bid to stave the dragon off.

"FIN!"

WHAM!

Maybe the Garchomp tried to splatter him across the wall with a Dragon Rush, but its attack simply didn't connect with him. What it did connect with was a fist… or maybe, a fin, belonging to a flashy figure that effortlessly parried the blow and sent the dragon smashing into the rocks with enough force to make the whole cave rattle. Quickly it was buried in rubble, which shook slightly as it tried to get back up, but shortly, the rampaging dragon (and the cave too) was quiet.

Arashi blinked a few times, studying the figure in front of him. The split tail it stood on certainly gave away that it wasn't human, but all the same, it wasn't the figure of a Pokémon he recognized. The watery cape hanging around its shoulders certainly wasn't something a human would be capable of making either- he himself would know how impossible it was to channel those sorts of abilities in a human body.

"Who are-" he started. Before he could finish the sentence, the figure disappeared. "… -you…?" He looked around as if he might have seen the figure around somewhere. "Hey! You can't just save me and disappear!" The only response he got was his own voice echoing through the cave. Whoever had saved him, they were gone.

"What a dashing encounter~" Delphi chirped. "I'd never say no to a powerful hero swooping in to save me.~"

"A superhero saved you?!" Penny exclaimed, looking at him as if he'd lost his mind. "You… You can't be serious, Arashi! A superhero?!"

Dylan eyed him. "Are you sure you didn't recognize that form?"

Arashi shook his head, giving an exasperated shrug. "Guys, I'm serious! Don't look at me like I'm crazy!"

Astrid, however, shot her friend (and a certain wiggling ball belonging to a Palafin on his belt) a glance and said, "Oh, I believe you."

He grinned, sticking an arm around her shoulder. "I knew you would, aha!"

"That is awesome!" Nemona cried, pumping both fists in the air. "I need to meet this hero!"

"I bet I could take them on myself," Ashton remarked, getting a horrified look from Arven.

Penny, however, stood up and strolled over to Arashi, saying in intent exasperation, "Arashi, how about I… take you to the base? I know how to get there. Just… let me ride Axel with you."

Arashi was perfectly content with that idea and jumped off the bed, strolling straight for the door. "Let's go! This'll be fun!"

"B-be careful!" Astrid called as Arashi strode out and Penny haplessly darted after him.

Nemona, though, had some ideas herself. "Ashton!" she cried, bouncing up. "While we're all in the same place, do you wanna have a battle?!"

The feral blonde woman certainly wasn't going to protest, leaping up herself. "Let's go!" she exclaimed, strolling for the door too. "Are we doing this Champion-ranked or not? I'm good either way!"

"Show me your new team!"

"You're gonna lose!"

Nemona only laughed, the two of them bantering as they too vanished out the door. The ones left glanced around, Astrid easing up slightly but still staying hidden behind her pillow.

"Well," Arven piped up, glancing around, "I have a new Arven-original recipe I've been wanting to try, and it's a lot easier to cook without Ashton's brute of a Hydreigon breathing down my neck for a bite. Do you guys wanna go have a picnic?" He glanced to Delphi. "Ms. Delphi, are you busy?"

Delphi giggled. "Not at all, darling.~ I can make time whenever you need.~"

Arven and Astrid both blushed at Delphi's tone, while Dylan simply rolled his eyes.

"Well, if your cooking is as legendary as Ashton makes it sound, I won't turn it down," Dylan replied.

"S-sure," Astrid answered, unfurling herself a bit.

Arven perked up a bit and jumped up, getting a grin as he declared, "I promise it'll be out of this world!"

Shortly, the rest of them were trailing out, Astrid clutching Raijin's ball carefully as she turned the lights off.

[***]

Once they reached the location of the Team Star Dark base, Arashi was already hopping off of Axel to go and confront the boss of the place, while Penny stood up on shaky legs from the rough ride over. "Please… Give me a minute… Arashi…" Penny groaned, trying to steady herself. "Driving a bike looks so much easier in video games…"

"There's no time to waste, Penny! Operation Starfall has to show Team Star who's boss, aha!" Arashi declared.

"Hold on a second!" an older male voice asked. The two looked over to see… well, it was easily described as Director Clavell in a bad wig, the biggest pompadour either of them had ever seen. "Does this "Operation Starfall" of yours have room for one more member?"

"Wha- Who are you!?" Arashi questioned.

The man wiped a hand through his hair. "The name's Clive."

"…Really?" Penny raised an eyebrow. "And how long have you been spying on us?"

"No need to get your hackles raised. I'm a pal of our mutual friend here. Isn't that right, Arashi?" Clive asked.

"Uh… I don't really know you, but you seem like a cool guy!" Arashi stated.

"Arashi, I don't think-" Penny started to say.

"Welcome to Team Starstorm, Clive!" Arashi cheered.

"H-Hold on! We're talking about going up against Team Star here. It's not something you can join in for fun," Penny said.

"I'm well aware. I just need to sort out some… unsettled business with Team Star, that's all," Clive replied. "Besides, I tend to get the job done well. Not that you can take my word for it, but it's true."

"… I suppose Cassiopeia is hardly in a position to decline help. Welcome to the team, "Clive"," Penny sighed.

"Ah, yes, Cassiopeia. I heard that name earlier. Who exactly are they?" Clive asked.

"I dunno, but I think she has a history with Team Star too. And if someone needs help, then Team Starstorm will come to the rescue!" Arashi declared.

"I see… I hope I'll be able to speak with this Cassiopeia in the future," Clive nodded.

"Let's get back to business, then," Penny said. "Simply put, we need to raid each one of the Team Star bases. Arashi will defeat the bosses of the team… and put an end to their rule!"

"You said there was five bosses, right? That means after we raid this base, we'll have four more left to find," Arashi noted. "The first boss is behind that gate over there, right?"

"Ah, yes, I can see it from here," Clive nodded.

"There's more to it than just taking out the squad boss, however," Penny warned. "The key to the whole operation is the code that the team has to follow. If someone challenges one of the squad bosses to a battle, they have no choice but to accept. And what's more, if they just so happen to lose that battle, they forfeit their role as a boss altogether!"

"Then they can join my team, Team Starstorm, instead!" Arashi added.

"…Sure they can, Arashi. Cassiopeia already issued a challenge under your name, Arashi, so you'll be the one that has to fight the squad bosses," Penny said. "It's basically a declaration of war, so all of the bosses will be looking for a fight."

"So let's say that we defeat all the bosses and they step down from their roles… What happens next?" Clive asked.

"Well, if no one is around to lead Team Star, then the team falls apart, right?" Arashi guessed. "It's like when me and my friends fought this evil Pokémon that was controlling other Pokémon. We took the leader out, and all the other Pokémon were freed!"

'What kind of Pokémon was that?' Penny wondered. "You're on the right track at least, Arashi. But each base has a bunch of Pokémon inside to fend off intruders, and the bases themselves are a considerable size. Your garden-variety Trainer would be overrun long before they'd get anywhere near the boss. That's why your skills are essential to this operation, Arashi."

"I'll take one all the Pokémon in the base and bring the boss out of hiding! It's kinda like a dungeon, aha!" Arashi grinned.

"It looks like we'll have to deal with the guards outside the base first," Clive noted. "And what will you be doing in the meantime, Penny?"

"I'll stay out here and give correspondence between us and Cassiopeia," Penny responded. "I have a history with Team Star as well, so I don't want them to recognize me."

"Oh yeah, you only came back to Paldea recently, right?" Arashi recalled. "Those Team Star meanies must have made you leave the academy the first time, but now you're back for revenge! Let's take these guys down!"

"And what will my role be?" Clive asked.

"You can act as my support! I'll do the battling, and you can provide support and healing," Arashi suggested.

"A good strategy," Clive nodded.

"I'll be waiting for you two out here for when the next part of the operation begins," Penny said. "Good luck, you two."

Arashi waved goodbye to Penny before racing up to the Team Star base, skidding on his heels when two Team Star members blocked the gate. "Whoa, whoa! Hold it, you!" one of the grunts exclaimed.

"Up ahead's the base of operations for Team Star's Dark crew. You may know us as Segin Squad!" the other grunt introduced.

The first grunt nodded. "Yup! And we don't take kindly to random kids sniffing around our turf."

"Sorry, but if you don't turn yourself around here, amigo, we'll have to send you packing!"

"Wait, hold up here. Just going on a hunch here, but… are you that Arashi kid?" the first grunt asked. "Y'know, that piece of work we're out to get for declaring war on Team Star?"

"Yep! Leader of Team Starstorm: Arashi!" Arashi exclaimed, striking a pose. If Raijin were here, he'd make a comment about how "inappropriate" it was for Arashi to use that pose in the Buzzwole language.

"Team Starstorm? Guess this kid is rolling up to take our turf," the second grunt scoffed. "Honesty's not always the best policy, you know…"

The first grunt groaned. "You know what? Doesn't matter who you are. You're not getting through. Buzz off or get thrashed by me in battle, kid. What'll it be?"

Arashi pulled out a Poké Ball and grinned. "I'll take you on!"

"Grah! Sassy kids like you are the worst! That's it- prepare to get stomped into the dirt! Murkrow, get 'em!" the grunt shouted, sending out her Pokémon.

"Pyre, let's go!" Arashi cheered as he sent out his Fuecoco.

Pyre gave a cry before Leering at his opponent, running at the Murkrow even as it used Wing Attack. Pyre jumped up launched a Round at the dark bird, countering a Wing Attack before Rounding again and smacking the Murkrow in the face.

"Yeah, Pyre! Finish it with your Bite!" Arashi commanded.

"Fue-co-co!" Pyre cried, opening his jaw before clamping down on the Murkrow with a vicious Bite. The bird cried out in shock, trying to Wing Attack the Fuecoco off, which only made Pyre Bite harder. The Fuecoco spat out the Murkrow and hit it with one last Round, making his opponent faint.

"Why did such a sassy kid have to be so strong…" the grunt bemoaned as she withdrew her Pokémon. "Grah! How the heck could I lose!? Well, whatever it is, it's your problem now, B! Finish up here for me, would ya, bud? K, thanks, hasta la vistaaaaaar!"

"Hasta… la… vi… star…" the other grunt said nervously as his partner ran off. He looked to Arashi and shrugged. "She's new to the team, y'know. Might have to have a little chat with her about that attitude… Well, I'm gonna go into the base now and give the rest of the squad the heads-up. We'll come at you full force if you set foot inside, so you might wanna consider turning tail. Either way, best of luck, amigo! Hasta la vistaaaar!"

"See you inside!" Arashi waved before his phone went off, hopping out of his pocket. "Oh, hey there, Cassiopeia!"
"I see you took care of the guards. Nice work," Cassiopeia said.

"You saw all that? You must have eyes everywhere, aha!" Arashi grinned.

"…Sure. Now, holed up in that base in Team Star's Dark crew- the Segin Squad. Their boss, Giacomo, pretty much runs the whole of Team Star, and he also produced that wild soundtrack of theirs himself. He's a sharp guy. Even our declaration of war won't have ruffled him in the slightest. His plan is probably to wear you down with a wave of grunts, then finish you off himself. No use trying to outthink strategic types like him. Bring him down with a head-on attack."

"Head-on attacks are what I'm all about!" Arashi stated.

"Just keep on defeating as many Pokémon as you can until the big man himself shows up. Ring the bell on the gates once you're ready to kick off this phase of the operation. Time to wipe the Segin Squad off the map!" Cassiopeia finished.

As Arashi rang the bell, Clive put a warning hand on his shoulder. "Careful now, Arashi. Team Star has a unique way of doing battle. They call it a Star Barrage! To get through it, you'll have to send out multiple Pokémon and have them battle at the same time. If your Pokémon get low on health, come back here to the front gate and I'll heal them up for you. The grunts you'll be facing will heal up their Pokémon too, so stay sharp out there."

"We get to battle a bunch of Pokémon all at once? It's just like a mystery dungeon!" Arashi squeed, calling out Pyre, Axel, and Lapis to his side. "Time to show the Segin Squad who's boss!"

Just then, the loudspeakers around the base blared to life. "Head's up, gang! Some jumped-up kid has wandered in thinking he can raid our base! Clearly he doesn't know who he's messing with. Let's teach him a lesson he won't forget! To our unwanted guest- if you can defeat 30 Pokémon in the next 10 minutes, our boss might just honor you with an appearance!"

"Okay team… Let's show them our ninja power!" Arashi shouted as Pyre, Axel, and Lapis ran into the base.

Soon Team Star grunts were surrounding them, sending out their own Pokémon to try and beat back the intruder. Murkrow swooped down from above while Stunky, Pawniard, Sandile, and Zorua attacked from the ground. Axel took the lead and did a Rapid Spin to break up the group of enemies, sending them all flying in different directions before thudding on the ground, Lapis not far behind with a Jet Punch directed at a jumping Nymble. It too went flying, letting out a screech as it unceremoniously hit the ground.

"Fuecoco!" Pyre cried as he set a Sableye ablaze with Incinerate.

A Sneasel, however, took the chaos of its scattered comrades as an opportunity to get the jump on Axel, breathing an Icy Wind at the dragon. Pyre certainly noticed and raised his voice for a Round, dissipating the cold, ice crystal-filled stream with his song.

"Cyclizar!" Axel said with a smile, nodding at his smaller companion before rushing into another group of enemies with a Breaking Swipe.

The first group of enemies, however, weren't run down yet, and shortly were pouncing on Arashi's team as well. Axel didn't see them for the others he was occupied with, but Pyre and Lapis certainly did, the Palafin Jet Punching several in a row while Pyre breathed a stream of fire that caught several. Lapis sent multiple creatures flying, and the ones he didn't, Pyre fended off with flames and sound waves.

Team Star didn't anticipate such a resistance, and soon their numbers were quickly thinned by the challenger's team. "Incinerate!" Arashi called as Pyre knocked out a Sableye. "And that makes 30! Now come on, where's your boss at!?"

"He's way above our level! We gotta get the boss!" a grunt exclaimed.

"Yeah, bring Giacomo out! I wanna teach him a lesson," Arashi taunted. A rumbling shook the ground, making Arashi whip around to see a large vehicle driving his way. It was a monstrous machine powered by a Revavroom and two Varooms, decked out in music speakers, stage lights, and oversized exhaust pipes that spewed fire with every rev. "W-What the heck is that!?"

Sitting on top of the machine was Giacomo, the Segin Squad boss grinning as looked up from his laptop. "You've done a real number on us, party crasher! Almost as much as that crazy Ice-type Pokémon that ran through here the other day," Giacomo stated. "Arashi, was it? I'm Giacomo! At the deck, I go by DJ Vice! Call me whichever- it's a vibe either way."

"I'm Arashi, leader of Team Starstorm!" Arashi posed.

"Nice to meet you and all… but how 'bout we skip straight to your outro? Don't worry, I'll play you a sick requiem as you crash and burn," Giacomo said as he pulled out a Timer Ball. "Let's get this party started, Pawniard!"

"Pyre, let's do this!" Arashi cheered as he sent out his fiery partner.

"You don't think things through, do ya? Declaring war on Team Star is a real bad move," Giacomo said. Pawniard attacked with a Metal Claw, making Pyre flinch at the strength of the attack. "Hah, how's that for an opening track!? I'll spin you up good, party crasher!"

"Pyre, lower its defense with Leer!" Arashi commanded.

"Coco!" Pyre nodded, giving the meanest look he could muster.

A creature made of metal had several reasons to be wary of a draconic fire-breathing one even without the Leer, but with it, Pawniard looked visibly unsettled. Nonetheless, it went for a Metal Claw, but Pyre too went for a Bite, his maw clamping down on the Pawniard's blade. The bladed Pokémon tried to yank his claw free, then went for it with his other, but Pyre had other ideas. He turned loose of its original slashing claw and breathed an Incinerate, hitting it right in the chest.

"Paaaaawn!" the Pawniard cried in protest, flailing a bit as the flames died down.

"Pawniard!" Giacomo cried. "Go for an Aerial Ace!"

There wasn't much of anything 'aerial' about a creature without wings, but Pawniard nonetheless possessed the acrobatics worthy of the name and turned into a blur with claws whizzing around as he did. Arashi and Pyre, though, still weren't quite so dissuaded.

"Incinerate, Pyre!" he called. "Aim all around you!"

"Fue!"

It was a much dirtier tactic when he'd seen it used before on his home world- douse the surroundings in flame, burn everything in sight, ensure virtually no one could draw near, and create as hostile of an environment to anything that couldn't resist fire… but it was worth using, even if not quite so horrendously dirty when the flames came from Pyre's mouth. The grass around caught fire and stifled Pawniard's quickness, and before it could land its attack, Pyre's flames had hit it once again to finish it off.

"That's right! We're doing good, Pyre, aha!" Arashi praised.

Giacomo shook his head as his Pokémon went down. "Time to up the tempo! This show ain't over yet!" His vehicle made a roar as it stared down Arashi.

"Wait… You want me to fight that thing!?" Arashi exclaimed.

"This is the Starmobile, our ultimate trump card! This is why Team Star is undefeated!" Giacomo taunted.

"Well, I'm not going to run away just because you guys are cheating. I'll take you down with or without the Starmobile!" Arashi declared. "Lapis, tag out Pyre so he can rest!"

The Palafin gave a cry as it was brought out, feeling a bit Intimidated by his opponent but standing strong. Lapis opened with a Jet Punch, slamming a fin into the vehicle with a loud whump as its frame found itself with a dent. The Starmobile, on the other hand, revved its engine before letting out a piercing Metal Sound that made the Palafin wince for its grating sound. Lapis nonetheless used another Jet Punch to dent its hood, but the Starmobile took it like a champ and rushed the Palafin, pulling off a sick drift to sideswipe the dolphin-like Pokémon.

"Fiiiin!" Lapis cried, getting flung away.

"Oh no, that look like it hurt!" Arashi winced.

"Do you like that? It's the Starmobile's trump card, Wicked Torque!" Giacomo laughed.

"Lapis, get out of there with Flip Turn and let Axel have a chance!" Arashi ordered, the Palafin bouncing off the Starmobile before returning to his ball, calling out Axel to the field.

The Cyclizar came onto the field running, attacking with Breaking Swipe before putting up a Protect to stop another Wicked Torque. Axel roared and slammed the Starmobile with Iron Tail, but when he tried to put up another Protect, the enemy used Snarl instead, surprising the Cyclizar before he could adequately shield himself and ramming into him with a Wicked Torque. The dragon too went flying, leaving a mark in the dirt as he slid through the grass.

"Geez! This is getting intense," Arashi cringed, recalling Axel for Pyre.

The Fuecoco launched a barrage of Incinerate and Rounds, but they did little to slow down the Starmobile as it fought back with Snarl and Metal Sound. The Varooms and Revavroom composing its body certainly weren't showing their Steel-type attributes even as Pyre attacked with flames. 'I know this thing is probably a Dark type, but my team doesn't have anything that can really put the hurt on it!' Arashi thought in a panic.

"What's the matter? Are you feeling out of the groove?" Giacomo taunted. "I think it's time to end this, Starmobile! Wicked Torque one last time!"

Pyre's eyes shrunk in panic as the monster machine rushed at him… only for a flash of bright light to swap the Fuecoco out, replacing him with a completely different Pokémon. It was clearly a Water type, but one that radiated the presence of a hero with big muscles and a valiant look on its face. "FIIIIIIIN!" the newcomer shouted, putting out a hand to stop the Starmobile in its tracks. The screeching of brakes filled the air along with metal crunching, the hood of the Starmobile becoming even more dented as it collided with the heroic one's hand. The Pokémon, on the other hand, wasn't fazed at all, standing there as if swatting away an annoying Cutiefly.

"No way… it's you again!" Arashi exclaimed, stars in his eyes as the hero that had saved him from the Garchomp cave appeared once more.

The heroic Pokémon gave another cry of "FIIIIIN!" before its body pulsed with an orange glow. Focusing all of its energy, the hero delivered a brutal Counter punch to the Starmobile's front hood, sending the entire machine flipping into the air before landing in a heap of metal off to the side, the Varooms and Revavroom abandoning ship before they could do get caught up in the mess.

"…Hmph. Fin," the hero said before disappearing in a flash of light again.

Giacomo let out a cry of shock as he was flung from the Starmobile, only for Arashi to catch him. "Gotcha! Just because you're a bad guy, doesn't mean I'm going to let you get seriously hurt, aha!" Arashi said.

"Guess that's that…" Giacomo shook his head, looking over at his trashed machine. "You know, this reminds me of something that happened a year and a half ago…"

Giacomo remembered a time when all of Team Star was at the Segin Base. "What's up, Giacomo? Did something happen?" Ortega, leader of the Fairy Base, asked.

"The big boss just wanted my take on some stuff… so we had a chat and settled on a few plans," Giacomo explained.

"A few plans" …? Like, for what?" asked Meli, the Fire Base leader.

"Operation Star, first of all. And also… a new code of conduct for the team. You know how tons of new members have joined up recently? Well, we figured we gotta make some new team rules- like a code- so we'll all be on the same page," Giacomo answered.

"Nice! You'll come up with a great code for us, won't you, Giacomo?" Eri, the Fighting Base leader, guessed.

Giacomo laughed. "No thanks. Waaay too much pressure. I mean, yeah, I used to be president of the student council. But you know how everyone ended up hating me for that, right?"

Meili scoffed. "Course we know. You forced a ton of stuffy rules on everyone, and they wouldn't take it. We got some other nerd to replace you after, like, five minutes."

"I cannot help but concur…" nodded Atticus, the Poison Base leader. "Male students' hair must stray no further than 1.8 inches below the nape" and so forth… Your rules were vexation made manifest!"

My point exactly! So you'll all agree that I shouldn't be let anywhere near this new code," Giacomo said.

"But you always know what's best for the team, Giacomo! You look out for us!" Ortega argued.

"You've earned our trust many times over. Without you, Team Star just wouldn't work," Eri agreed.

"That stuck-up student council prez isn't who you are anymore, man," Meli nodded. "A code written by the Giacomo I'm looking at now… I'd follow that any day."

"As would I!" Atticus added.

"Okay, okay, thanks for the ego boost everyone," Giacomo laughed. "I'll do it… I'll write up the darn code."

"…I did the best I could… I wrote the code myself, and there's no going back on it now. My days as boss are over," Giacomo finished his story. He reached into his pocket and placed a badge in Arashi's palm. "So here- take my Star Badge, would ya?"

Arashi nodded, holding up the badge with a grin. "All right! We took down the Segin Squad!"

"Fuecoco!"

"Cyclizar!"

"Palafin!"

"Although I still don't know where that mysterious hero Pokémon came from…" Arashi hummed. "But it was still so cool how it flipped the Starmobile in one punch!"

Giacomo side-eyed Lapis, the Palafin humming a tune to itself as it flitted around in the are. "You sure you didn't recognize what Pokémon that was?"

"Nope! I've never seen a species like that before, and I think I would remember catching one," Arashi replied.

"…Whatevs. I'll give you this choice TM too. You earned it fair and square," Giacomo added, giving Arashi a Foul Play TM. "Haah, so this is how the party ends… But let's talk about those Pokémon of yours. They're crazy strong, huh. You learn those Trainer chops at the academy? Like, what moves you should use 'n' stuff?"

"A little bit there, and little bit from my parents and friends at home… But the academy has helped me get the hang of Pokémon battles here in Paldea for sure!" Arashi nodded.

"Huh, okay… You like it at the academy? Having fun?" Giacomo asked.

"Yeah! Me and my friends are having a great time trying to find our treasure," Arashi said.

"No kidding…" Giacomo smirked.

"Sorry to interrupt, but are you Giacomo?" Clive asked as he approached the two.

"Whoa-ho! Wasn't expecting a giant pompadour to make a guest appearance today. You got a Quaxwell to style that up for ya?" Giacomo laughed.

"I'm just after a quick word. Would you mind?" Clive questioned.

Giacomo nodded. "Sure. I can tell it's gonna be something annoying, but I guess I'm newly freed up for time."

Clive smiled. "Thanks. I'll get straight to it. It seems all of you in Team Star are headed for expulsion if you keep up your current activities. So why won't you break up the team and start attending class at the academy again?"

"That's what you wanna know? As it happens, we're actually waiting on a pal… though we don't know if they'll be coming back," Giacomo answered.

"A pal? Are they a close friend?" Arashi asked.

"They're only the strongest boss in all of Team Star! Like how there's a Top Champion who's the absolute number-one Trainer, y'know?" Giacomo boasted. "They're the one who invited us other bosses to form a team. We call 'em the "big boss."

"And where is this big boss of yours now?" Clive asked.

"Wouldn't we like to know. We haven't heard from them in, I dunno… must be a year and a half now. We thought that if we kept Team Star going, then they'd get back in touch one day," Giacomo explained. "But the teachers kept pressing us to call it quits, and then we get party crashers like you two… Maybe the big boss did ditch us… They were talking about breaking up the team before and all."

"So Team Star and this big boss… They're really that important to you?" Arashi asked.

Giacomo smirked with a thumbs up. "Heh, is the sky blue? Let me put in words you eggheads at the academy might understand… They're my greatest treasure."

[***]

As the sun set on the day, Arashi trapsed out of the Segin Base with a smile on his face. "All right, that's one base down and… One, two, three… Four more to go! Maybe I can even get Giacomo to make Team Starstorm and awesome battle theme when all of this is over with!"

Arashi's phone soon rang, with Cassiopeia being on the other end. "It seems that Giacomo no longer carries his Star Badge, the symbol of his status as a boss… With its boss out of the picture the Segin Squad is pretty much done for… Oh Giacomo…"

"Cassiopeia?" Arashi asked with worry.

"Sorry. Got caught up in my thoughts for a second. Now, about your reward. I'll transfer over some LP to your phone, as promised."

"LP, cool! …What's that?" Arashi asked.

Cassiopeia sighed… Well, as best as a distorted voice on the other side of a phone could. "You can use it at Pokémon Centers to buy things in the shop or trade it for TMs."

"Sweet!" Arashi grinned.

"I've also added new TMs to the TM machine, which should be useful to improve your Pokémon's battle capabilities going forward. In any case, you did some solid work out there. So much so that you deserve an extra reward. Just speak to Penny and she'll provide you with materials or making TMs."

It wasn't long before Arashi met back up with Penny as Cassiopeia hung up. "Penny, did you see that!? I took down the Segin Squad, even though they had this huge machine that was like a crazy vehicle-Pokémon hybrid!"

"It sounds crazy for sure," Penny nodded. "Here is your bonus reward from Cassiopeia, by the way. You should be able to make tons of TMs from those. And Cassiopeia said you'll get more rewards each time you take out one of Team Star's bases."

"These will be helping for sure… As soon as I figure out how to make TMs, aha!" Arashi grinned.

Penny facepalmed. "The fate of this mission really rides on this idiot's shoulders…?" she muttered. "Here, let's go to the nearest Pokémon Center and I'll show you how it's done…"

Author's Note

Azakael: Funny enough, speaking of Giacomo composing Team Starstorm a theme song… I doubt he'd actually craft something as heavy-sounding as what I've associated with them in my listen-to-whilst-writing playlist, hehehe ("Pathologic" by The Browning and Arch Enemy's cover of "Shout" for all zero people curious). However, I could certainly see him putting out something akin to what I had associated with dungeon boss battles, that being Lightning Spirit's arrange of "U.N. Owen was her?" because I honestly think a lot of early Windows-era Touhou songs would not be out of place in PMD. A'ight, there's Azakael's mostly unrelated two cents.

Writing Astrid's room get invaded by pretty much everyone and Arashi getting up to shenanigans was a fun scene to write. Oh, how I love to mess with my anxious, silent tactician and her well-meaning but over-the-top partner. My friend's scene with Arashi calling Giacomo out on the basis of 'HE'S USING HAX' also made me grin bwahaha, I couldn't help but to recall the memes of Rowlet with its head turned towards the screen, a legendary or some other way stronger Pokémon on the other side of the field, and a caption along the lines of "You want me to fight THAT?" that used to float around.

TheDragonSaver: When Azakael and I were planning out this story, we decided that I would be the one the writing the Starfall Street storyline, meaning I got to write Arashi for the first time. Luckily Azakael was pleased with what I sent her way, lol.

Giacomo is so cool, as is the rest of Team Star! Writing Penny and Clive is a lot of fun too, since neither of them are prepared for the chaotic force that is Arashi and his idiot hero persona. Originally I wasn't going to include the flashback scene, but Azakael convinced me to leave it in since it could be justified as Giacomo telling the story to Arashi.

As for my own little side-tangent, I'm a big player of the mobile game "Pokemon Masters EX" where they recently started doing a storyline involving Team Star around October. Giacomo was the first member of the team to come to the game, and I kid you not, I got THREE copies of him in my first pull on his gatcha banner. I guess DJ Vice really wanted to join my roster!