Tae was panting after defeating a Houndoom with Ceruledge, seeing as the Dark typing nearly gave him a run for his money.

Koraidon, despite its new battle form, merely pestered Tae for food during the battle.

Trudging through the cave that luckily went upward, Tae spotted several other surprisingly strong Pokémon.

A Zweilous caught his eye, but he knew he didn't have time for that.

"Ugh. There's no way I'm gonna make it. Maybe I should have caught a Cyclizar like the school told me too..." Tae groaned.

Koraidon tilted its head in confusion, before nudging Tae's back. Tae ignored it and looked at the light coming from the exit up above. And above it was. About sixty feet.

"Gotta be kidding me. I may as well skip school..."

"Hello?!" He suddenly heard from the same exit.

"Yeah?!" Tae shouted back.

"Hey, uh, are you the guy that fell off?!"

Tae grimaced at how stupid he looked, but replied, "Yeah, unfortunately! Making my way up now!" He shouted.

"You go to Naruva Academy, right?! Classes starts in twenty minutes and we're like three miles away!" She acknowledged.

"Yup...! We're screwed!" Tae shouted.

"I'm not the one in a cave...!" He heard her try to say softly.

"You want that to change?!" Tae shouted in annoyance.

Koraidon lost its patience, and Mystic and Ceruledge watched it scoop him up over its shoulder, before leaping away with a gust. The two speedsters followed, disappearing with silence.

Koraidon suddenly landed in front of the girl he was conversing with, making her shout in fear. She stumbled back and on her ass as Koraidon dropped Tae and pointed at his bag for a reward.

Tae quickly opened it up and tossed him a bag of chips, making Koraidon confused.

Tae left it to its dilemma and turned to the girl who watched his Meowscarada and Ceruledge appear behind him.

"Woah! What kinda kid are you?! You've got some power behind you!" The girl awed.

"I guess you could call me a fixer? I mainly help the professors with stuff they can't get done from Area Zero." Tae revealed.

"What's that thing, though?! I've never seen it before! It looks so powerful let me battle it! Let me battle you!" The girl stood up and flocked towards him slowly.

"Uh, class, remember?" Tae instinctively held up his hands so she wouldn't get any closer, but that didn't stop her from grabbing his hands and staring into his eyes.

"Meet me in the Schoolyard after classes are over." The girl ordered.

"Is... that a threat?" Tae asked, feeling her grip become firm around his wrists.

"An order." She smiled, making Taemin gulp.

"I can't tell if you want to battle in the schoolyard or in the bed the way you're holding my hands." Tae joked with a nervous chuckle.

"My name's Nemona. I'll let you figure that out." The girl smirked, before remembering their dilemma. Finally.

"Oh, god classes start in twenty minutes!" Nemona shouted, retracting her hands and scrambling for her Pokéballs.

Meowscarada tapped Tae's shoulder, and pointed at Koraidon, who was back in its previous form pointing its tail at its back for him to hop on.

"Woah, buddy! Nice save— Nemona," Tae grabbed her hand and threw her towards Koraidon, who crouched low so she stumbled on its back, before Tae hopped on too.

"Mystic, Wisp, try and keep up!" Tae shouted, right before Koraidon planted its feet, and took off in a blur, earning a scream of fright from Nemona.

Those screams turned into the laughs as she squeezed Tae's waist for security. She watched as Koraidon cleared the three mile distance in seconds, the dragon expertly jumping over people and Pokémon, and using its winged head to glide over ponds.

Koraidon grabbed a bit of air under its wings, before swooping down to gain momentum, using a burst of speed to soar over the large gate leading to Mesagoza.

A boy walking along the bridge caught sight of the two, and scoffed.

'Seems he's got the package. Glad that's out of my hands now...' The boy thought, relieved of his original duty of taking care of Koraidon.

•

Tae hopped off Koraidon, and dashed up the stairs, hearing light footsteps behind him. He smirked knowing that despite the gate, Mystic and Wisp caught up since Koraidon had to glide down to land.

Mystic slapped the back of his head as she passed him, making Tae groan before Nemona and Koraidon passed him as well.

"Are you ALL track stars?!" Tae shouted, looking down and pushing himself further.

Nemona laughed as Tae fell behind despite the lead, making a dash for the massive school doors. The entrance was empty since everyone had made their way to class.

With two minutes left, the two entered the school and went their separate ways.

~•~

Tae was waiting in the Schoolyard, sipping a can of lemonade and holding a box of spicy potato wedges for his Pokémon to eat.

Wisp and Koraidon favored them, but Mystic nibbled on Alfajores.

Tae had been waiting for a few minutes, and didn't mind the fresh air, so he wouldn't complain if he got stood up.

However, Nemona quickly rushed over and stole a spicy potato wedge.

Tae squinted his eyes, but Koraidon was more upset, growling and nudging Tae to do something about it.

"It's outta my hands now, bud." Tae shrugged and set down the fries for Koraidon to enjoy, calling Wisp over with a blank stare.

Nemona gasped at his serious posture and crossed her arms, walking over to the battlefield parallel with Tae.

Many of the students still hanging around caught sight of the standoff between who they knew as Student Council... of Champion, and the Professors' apprentice.

Hearing the whispers and murmurs, more so regarding the curiosity of why the two would ever interact. Tae grew a bit nervous. He knew she was Champion rank, but from the way she acted, she assumed he didn't know her at all. Her excitement was off the charts seeing someone go all out against her immediately.

Nemona's grin was beaming with joy as she took out a Pokéball. She released a Dusk Form Lycanroc, making Tae click his tongue.

She may not have known, but Wisp was competitive. To an unhealthy degree. It faced type disadvantages head on in attempts to go beyond its limits.

"Alright then. Let's do this." Tae whispered to himself.

"Sucker Punch!" Nemona began, making Tae frown.

Ceruledge's eyes began to flare with passion, the hunger for battle becoming visible as Lycanroc lunged forward and feinted a slash.

Lycanroc awaited Wisp's move...

But there wasn't one.

Wisp looked down at Lycanroc, before punting it back and rushing in as it slid back.

"Close Combat." Tae ordered, having a countermeasure for Rock types.

Wisp dashed in a zig zag, slashing at Lycanroc's paws. Responding with Accelrock, Lycanroc held its own, but was continuously backed towards Nemona.

"Jump up and Rock Tomb!" Nemona responded, unwavering resolve despite the new disadvantage.

Lycanroc smacked away one of Wisp's swords, before leaping off its shoulders and summoning five large boulders around its tail. With a flip, the rocks flew at Ceruledge as it landed.

Wisp planted its right foot back, before it's blades gleamed purple.

Tae himself did the same thing, recalling previous battles and training with Ceruledge, and began holding his arms to his left.

Wisp and Tae suddenly spun on their heel, before a purple circular slash followed their twist, slicing the rocks in two as they crashed behind Wisp.

Tae had to dodge a bit of the debris and held his arms up from the gust that followed.

The crowd cheered from the synergy, and Koraidon rushed over with curiosity. It began staring intently at Wisp as the battle continued.

"Close Combat again." Tae continued.

Lycanroc and Wisp continued their onslaught of slashes at each other, their footwork elegant as a ballet as they danced around for openings. Tae stared with indifference, knowing neither had the edge, and all of Wisp's moved involved it's blades. None had added effects to change the tides.

All he could do was look for an opening alongside Wisp.

The clash went on for a few more seconds before Lycanroc and Wisp made it to the debris of rocks, where Ceruledge tripped on a chunk of boulder.

"Finally! Now use Accelrock!" Nemona shouted.

"Bitter Blade." Tae replied.

Lycanroc reeled it's jaw back as the rocks on its mane shined. Wisp dug one of her blades into the ground, before spinning on it.

With a rapid twirl, the second fire blade clashed with Lycanroc's head, before Wisp kicked it away, flipping back itself to regain its stance.

Lycanroc didn't take much damage, but Wisp used the leech like effects of Bitter Blade to regain some stamina.

The battle was at a standstill, and Nemona was quick to smile.

"I thought you'd be some number nerd— but you're a battle nerd! You knew Accelrock would do damage, so you used a health steal to gain back what you would've loss instead of using Close Combat which would've made you take even more damage." Nemona explained.

"Yeah. This seems like a long run fight. And I need Wisp in good condition for when we put you on your ass." Tae smirked.

"Oh, you're a cocky little shit. You sure you can handle a Champion?" Nemona asked with a glare, "revealing" her status.

"I have to." Tae replied, thinking about the vagueness of Professor Sada's situation. 'I've gotta get to Area Zero.'

"Heh. Love your confidence. Hope you keep it up when we get to the dorms." Nemona grinned, making Tae flinch.

Nemona smirked, "Rock Tomb!"

Tae clicked his tongue from her tease and held his hands out forward. Wisp and Tae rose their limbs, before slashing them across each other downward, creating sparks of blue flames as the boulders closed in.

Nemona gasped as Wisp's Flash Fire activated by itself, sending a pulse of flames to send the boulders back.

Before Nemona could react, Wisp was driving his blade across Lycanroc's chest before spinning it around and slamming it into the ground with Bitter Blade.

Lycanroc whimpered before passing out in pain, making Nemona confused.

Flash Fire was an ability that needed another Pokémon to use a Fire type move on the wielder. Nemona glared at Tae, making him smirk.

"With arms of fire, I wonder how that wouldn't work, honestly. Don't sweat the small stuff. Still wanna go?" Tae mocked.

Nemona crossed her arms, simultaneously calling back her Lycanroc.

"Yeah. To your dorm." Nemona smirked back.

"Huh?" Tae asked, ignorant to Koraidon's spark of inspiration.

~•~

Tae sat on the edge of his dorm bed in disbelief. He had no words for what transpired.

Nemona was cuddling with Koraidon, who hadn't had a Pokéball yet, the moonlight reflecting off of the Rotom Phone floating near his hands.

Professor Sada still hadn't been in contact with him since her distress call earlier in the day. He was distraught since he had been keeping her posted since. Koraidon's recovery of power, the notice of its increasing thirst for battle wasn't lost in him.

Professor Sada and Turo were like an Aunt and Uncle to him before they made their trek to Area Zero.

Tae sighed as he wondered what would get him access into Area Zero. Or simply, the power to overcome whatever stood in his way.

'I have to ask... the Pokémon League.' Tae thought.