Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Seven… eight… nine… ten…”

Cooled by the spring breeze wafting through the open window, the boy eased his way down from his final pull-up, touching down softly on the matted floor. Aside from his labored breathing as he undid his weighted vest, the room was completely silent.

Across the room was a desk bathing in the sunlight, an open book, Uva Academy Student Handbook , sitting on top. A product from last night’s preparations, no doubt, as it contained all the information he would need for the upcoming few days.

“Julius! Time check! The director of the Academy should be here in thirty minutes or so!”

Wiping his sweaty hazelnut hair out of his light green eyes, he carefully placed the weighted vest on a rack that also held boxing gloves, hand wraps, and shin guards before calling back he was just about to take a shower.

Honestly, something about this is weird. The director of the Academy, coming to see us? If we were anyone important, sure, but we’re just a run of the mill family out here.

Showering and putting on the admittedly incredibly variable uniform, considering how he had been provided both shorts and slacks (of course, opting for the slacks), Julius adjusted the blue tie that capped off the uniform as he headed down the stairs. Several portraits and pictures hung along the wall, depicting a family, a boy and man holding guitars respective to their sizes, a young boy standing at center stage, and other simpler times. Happier times, even.

The sound of glass lightly touching down on a granite countertop greeted him as he entered the living room as well as the smile of his mother, dressed in a loose long-sleeved blue shirt, light brown khakis, and topped off with a bright yellow apron that contrasted with her muted blonde hair tied back in a ponytail.

“Well, you certainly took your time. Already in your uniform?”

Julius nodded as he shuffled through the drawers, pulling out a fork and getting to work on the prepared sausages and eggs. “Hey, mom.”

“Yes, Julius?”

“What’s the deal with the director visiting us?”

“Hmm?”

“We’re not super rich or anything, right? So it’s not like we’re exactly donating a decent chunk of their operating budget. It just feels a bit weird he’d be showing up to deliver whatever this ‘very important’ thing you mentioned yesterday was.”

He let out a “Mghgmghgm” as his mother ruffled his hair, slightly ruining the side part he had styled it into.

She leaned in close to his face and put a finger up as if to admonish him. “So young and yet so worldweary already. You’ll get wrinkles like that, you know.”

“I’m just saying it’s weird.”

“I’m sure he has his reasons. Now come on, you need to finish eating. You’ve got a big day ahead of you. Even if we do have to wait for whatever this ‘very important’ thing is.”

“Yes, yes…”

After waiting a while once breakfast was finished, the doorbell rang.

“It’s unlocked!” Julius said, getting up from the sofa and turning off the TV. Turning to face the foyer as the door opened, he found a dignified older man with a briefcase stepping inside. His matching off-gray slacks and shoes paired with his hair and glasses, contrasted sleekly by a black button shirt and dark blue blazer and topped off with a white fluffed collar.

“You are… Master Merida, I presume?”

“That’s my dad. It’s just Julius.”

There was a brief pause before a nod of acknowledgement. “Of course. I do apologize for the late arrival of your enrollment documents. It seems there was a mix-up as your forms said you were coming from the Galar region.”

“Oh. Never been. Grew up in Kanto, but we had a school field trip one time to Johto.”

“You should go sometime. Ah, I do apologize for the lateness of my introduction.”

“Clavell, is that you ?”

Julius’ mom, emerging from the storage room, had leaned over and saw the man standing in the foyer.

“Helena, it’s been a very long time.”

“Oh, yes! Last time we saw each other, you were still aiding Professor Turo. If I had known, I would have prepared a little something. Ah, Julius, this is Clavell. He was one of your father’s friends.”

Julius blanked for a second before slowly nodding. 

“Are you really the director of the Academy now?” Helena asked as she dusted herself off.

“Somehow.” Clavell replied with a chuckle. “It was all very sudden. But Master Julius, do feel free to call me just Mister Clavell. I don’t do very well being called ‘Director’ or anything like that. It’s far too stuffy for me.”

“Ah… right.”

“Still!” Helena smiled brightly, looking at her son with a bit of a mischievous expression. “It’s a little bit of a stretch to imagine they’d have the Academy send the director out for us. Was there a special occasion?”

Clavell looked back at Julius, who just glanced away. “I’m here to fulfill a request, first of all. Second, I thought it would be best to personally see this through. I am ultimately responsible for everything that happens in the Academy, including its failures. And there is no better way to ensure that Master Julius is ready for his first day there than making sure of it myself.”

“Goodness, you’ve certainly become much more responsible.”

If Clavell balked at the insinuation, he hid it well as he presented the briefcase to Julius. “Feel free to keep the briefcase, consider it a gift. It should have your corrected enrollment documents.”

“Oh… thanks. What about the ‘very important’ thing?”

“Ah. It’s best to handle that outside. Why don’t you go and get your things and meet me out there?”

“Right. See you in a bit. And it’s just Julius, I’m not important enough to be called anything but.”

As Julius headed back up to his room, Clavell and Helena watched, the former frowning ever so slightly.

“Clavell?”

“I promised Dario that I would look after him. I’m sorry for being a little late to that promise.”

“It’s fine. I just hope the Academy is a good change of pace for him. It took about… three months of convincing for him to consider it. But there’s only so much I can do for him.”

“Were you hoping he’d pick up the Paldean guitar again?”

Helena smiled, shaking her head. “I don’t need anything like that. As long as he’s smiling again, that’s what matters to me.”

Meanwhile, upstairs, Julius slotted the admittedly small briefcase into his waterproof backpack he took on camping trips. Attached on one of its many loops was a checkered newsboy hat that had an adjustable strap with a faded Skitty patch sewn on it that shook and wavered as he put the backpack on before putting on a plain gray newsboy hat. As he left his room, he looked back at some of the portraits hanging on the walls, nodding once and mumbling a “See you later” to the guitar that hung on the wall as he closed the door behind him.

Outside, the morning sun was shining on a cloudless day. Helena was already trimming some of the plants in the garden as Julius closed the door behind him, finding Clavell waiting.

“Right. Julius, you may not know, but our Academy provides all new students with a Pokemon of their own. However, I must ask if you already have a Pokemon of your own.”

Julius shook his head. “No, sir. It just… wasn’t my thing.”

“I see. Well, that makes it all the more easier, then.”

Clavell reached into his pocket, producing Pokeballs that he threw into the air, each of them expanding to be roughly palm-sized before opening up and releasing what was inside.

Six feet ahead of Julius now sat a green cat that appeared to be wearing a mask with how its fur was colored, some kind of red reptilian creature with an expression that made it look like it wasn’t even mentally present, and a blue bipedal duck with a hell of a hairdo.

Though, Clavell didn’t even get through introducing each one to him before they all slowly waddled forward, looking up at Julius who towered above them.

“Ha, isn’t that something? Normally they—that is to say, Sprigatito, Fuecoco, and Quaxly—don’t want to leave my side, but they seem naturally drawn to you. Unfortunately, you can only pick one.” Clavell turned away, pointing to the house down the street. “I have another house call to make, though. So take your time to decide who your partner will be and meet me there.”

“Uh, no one lives there, though.”

“Hm?”

“Yeah, we’ve knocked a few times and while there’s some people maintaining the house, apparently whoever actually lives there isn’t uh, there.” Julius explained, though he didn’t get a chance to expand further as Sprigatito bolted up his pants leg and began climbing his side. Before he could coax the cat off of him, Quaxly had leapt up and planted itself on his shoulder, throwing his sense of balance off. “W-whoa!”

“Well, I’ll see if anyone happens to be present today.”

Leaving Julius to his fate, Clavell left, an air of poise still around him despite his mischievous exit. Julius let out an exasperated sigh as he tried to regain his balance and upon finally doing so, found Fuecoco looking up at him with expectant eyes.

“Haaaa…”

Letting out another long sigh, he slowly stooped down and held out both of his hands.

“Need a lift?”

It let out a cry as it walked onto his hands, with Julius standing up and cradling the red reptile in his hands. From the side, his mother giggled.

“It seems you’ve got your hands full.”

“Tell me about it.”

“Hehehe. Well, allow me to put a little bit more on your shoulders then, Julius. I got you something for your big day.”

Julius gently moved Fuecoco to his left hand to receive what his mom handed him, blinking in surprise as he held the red box in his hands.

“Mom.” He said flatly, looking down into her eyes.

“Yes, Julius?” She asked back with a smile.

“This is… not a Poryphone, right?”

“No, it isn’t.”

“...are we secretly super wealthy or something? Mom, I’ve seen the cost of a PokeTech. This is several steps up.”

“Off you go, Julius.”

“Mom!”

She lightly pushed him down the path, waving him off.

This is the weirdest day ever . He mentally grumbled as he carefully walked along the downhill path, making sure not to lose his balance. However, such a goal was constantly thwarted by Sprigatito continuing to climb all over him or Quaxly saying something before flipping its hair and nudging his cheek with its elbow as if asking him to respond. At the very least, Fuecoco seemed to just be enjoying the ride… though the occasional spew of fire from its mouth made him anxious about his uniform catching fire.

While the walk to the neighboring house should have taken five minutes, he was sure fifteen minutes had passed by the time he made it through the open gates. All the weight suddenly left his body as each of the Pokemon leapt into action. Quaxly dove straight into the fountain to stylize its hair, Sprigatito began to play in the flowerbed, and Fuecoco rammed a tree with its head to knock down some fruit before flambeing it.

Oh come on already…!

Before he could let out another long sigh, a female voice laughed, its owner reaching down and petting Fuecoco on the head, her back turned to Julius.

The owner of the female voice stood up and turned her torso around, her hands on her hips with an amused look on her face. She was dressed in the Uva Academy uniform, but the customization of a dark red bracer on her right arm was readily apparent, contrasting with the dark green highlights in her hair. A light breeze blew her ponytail and tie around as Julius shook his head.

“Not quite. Master Julius has yet to make his choice, you see.” Clavell said, exiting the house. 

“Sorry about your garden. And I just said like half an hour ago that I don’t need to be called that.”

“My apologies, Master Julius, but this is how I professionally address all of my students.”

The girl looked at him and blinked twice before laughing. “Don’t worry about it. And trust me, that’s not a battle either of us are winning any time soon.”

The two watched as Fuecoco began rolling the charred fruit down the stairs, where it audibly bounced due to the hardened char shell, all the way up to Julius’ foot where it then looked up at him.

“...thanks, buddy.”

Feeling like it might cry if he didn’t take it, Julius picked up the fruit, holding the ball of char in his hands.

“We haven’t met yet, have we?” The girl asked as he stood back up straight.

“I tried once, but you weren’t home. Sorry for taking so long, Mister Clavell.”

“Haha, it’s fine. They seem to be more troublesome than usual as I was watching from the window. But congratulations on making it.”

“Gee, thanks. I could’ve used the help.”

“Think of it as a valuable learning experience.”

“Wait, Director… is this who I think it is?” The girl asked, crossing her arms and tilting her head.

Julius swallowed any remarks he was going to make, instinctively already feeling trouble looming at that sentence.

“Yes, he is a new student to our Academy. Master Julius will be attending as of today. Well, the opening ceremony for the year isn’t for a few days, but those are minor details.”

“Oh, so you’re the one who moved up the road!” The girl said, excitement already beginning to radiate from her. “I’ve been dying to learn more about you, but I haven’t been home in a while!”

She put a hand on her hip and flashed a smile. “I’m Nemona! Normally I’m in the school dorms, but I had to drop home for something. But what do you say, neighbor, wanna be friends?”

Somehow, I don’t feel as if I have a choice in the matter. What a day.

“...sure.”

“Heh. You don’t seem like the excitable type, but I think we’ll get along just fine.”

“Miss Nemona is the president of our student council and the first and only Champion-ranked trainer in Paldea ever since the system was introduced.”

“Mhm! I absolutely love Pokemon battling!” There was a brief pause as she locked eyes with Julius. “In fact, we should battle right now—you and me!”

“Easy now, Miss Nemona. You two may not be direct classmates due to the experience gap, but you’ll both be attending the Academy together. There will be plenty of time for battling.”

“So we get to be neighbors, friends, and classmates? Nice! We’ll be able to battle all we want!”

Julius could feel his precious free time already slipping away. Somehow, he hoped for mountains of homework like that one teacher in Kanto, if only to have something to deflect her with.

“On that note… Master Julius, have you decided on which one of these three will be your partner?”

The three of them had long since moved to stand in front of him, each looking up with expecting eyes. He looked down at the charred piece of fruit that he had yet to take a bite out of when out of the corner of his eye he saw Fuecoco looking down at the ground, its expression falling.

That’s not a face I want to see. 

He knelt down, lightly tapping Fuecoco on the head with the charred fruit. 

“Not bad for a first flambe attempt. Let’s practice a lot, yeah?”

He looked up, hearing some chuckling from Nemona. 

“What’s so funny?”

She lowered the hand covering her mouth that stifled her laughter. “You’re pretty grumpy, but you’re all right.”

He pocketed the charred fruit before Clavell handed him the Pokeball for Fuecoco.

“Pokemon like to walk around a lot, but you can also safely store him inside a Pokeball. I would say raise him with love and care, but it seems that won’t be a problem.”

Julius shrugged, with Nemona’s eyes lighting up. “Hey, Director! Can I choose one of these Pokemon, too!?”

“Hm? Did you not receive a Pokemon when you entered the Academy?”

“No, I was focused on raising other Pokemon at the time. But, now I want to raise a new Pokemon—no, a new team, alongside Julius while he raises his new partner!”

Clavell thought for a second, looking between the two as if he was calculating something before nodding. “I don’t see why not. No one should be able to complain, anyways.”

“Hmmm… well, since Julius chose Fuecoco, I’ll choose… you!”

She knelt down in front of Sprigatito who happily pounced onto her side, clinging to her shirt.

“I’ll be waiting for you down at the beach! Come join me when you’re ready to battle!”

Oh. So it was already decided.

An idle thought crossed the already exhausted Julius’ mind. He could already foresee the trouble he was going to find himself in if he just continued to be swept away by the flow like this. Not that it was a particularly bad sort of trouble like getting involved in something criminal, but if he didn’t put a stop to it now, then it would only get harder and harder to get out of the situation as it developed.

If he turned around and walked away, made an excuse that he forgot something at home, then stood up Nemona, it would smother the flames of his involvement with her. She was clearly in a whole other league compared to him; their classes would likely never intersect, so the awkwardness would be kept to a minimum. Besides, she probably already had plenty of friends at her level, it would just be weird to be hanging around a complete newbie like him.

Internally nodding to himself as this conclusion, he steeled himself to take a step back and make an excuse.

—but something gripped his right hand, pulling his arm up.

“The beach is this way, and it’s got a great view.”

Her grip was relatively strong, stronger than he would have expected for someone of her stature. But he was probably far stronger than her, with this grip being easy to break out of.

He looked up from their joined hands into her eyes, readying to tell her to let go of him. If he could just do that, then all of this would come to an end.

But there was a gleam in her eyes. It wasn’t pure excitement or a raging battlelust, as a tiny ember of anxiety seemed to be laced in with sincerity. She wanted this battle and surely, she loved battling as much as she claimed, but there was something more.

Julius swallowed. Whatever he did now would surely change how his Academy experience would be forever. All he had to do was walk away and this would be all behind him.

Clavell’s voice snapped him back to reality. “The tradition has been a little muddied in Paldea, but did you know in other regions when two Trainers lock eyes, they are supposedly obligated to battle?”

After about five seconds of contemplative silence, Julius slowly, but surely nodded. “...lead the way.”

Nemona removed her hand and his arm fell back to his side. The two silently looked at each other, as if continuing to process the events before Nemona nodded vigorously, snapping out of whatever funk she was in.

“This way! Oh, and make sure to return your Pokemon back to its ball. It’s no good if your opponent already knows what you’re about to send out, right?”

“Wait, but if we each only have one—”

It was already too late, as Nemona took off.

“Well, Master Julius, it’s no good to keep a lady waiting. If you’d like to return Fuecoco to its ball, just press down on it to fire the return laser while pointed at him.”

“Right, thanks for the tip.”

“Miss Nemona is a little overly fond of battling, but it is perhaps the fastest way to get to know your Pokemon. Might I also add a suggestion that when you have a moment, do give your Fuecoco a nickname. Pokemon under a Trainer seem to enjoy that.”

“Got it… well, wish me luck.”

“Good luck, Master Julius.”

Following the path Nemona had sprinted down, Julius found her waiting on a solid raised blue platform in the middle of the sand. It looked similar to a tennis court, saved for the ubiquitous Pokeball symbol in the middle that cleanly divided it in half.

“Over here!”

“I’m coming, I’m coming.”

She asked “Ready to battle me?!” the moment he stepped onto the platform. Even with the mental toll so far, Julius couldn’t suppress one snicker. 

“Sure thing.”

“Perfect! Then, I think I’ll use…!”

Clavell cleared his throat before calling out from the sides. “Miss Nemona, please do consider that Master Julius is wholly inexperienced with Pokemon battling.”

Nemona blinked twice, looking at Julius, then Clavell, and then back to Julius. Something seemed to be racing through her mind, a momentary flinch of foreseen pain flashing across her face. But she put on a smile, the kind of smile he knew he had forced on before, and Julius felt a frown starting to form on his face. It was evident to him now that there was something more to her, but despite the trouble it would bring, his conscience rested easy in knowing he probably made the right choice.

“Ahahaha! Whoops, I was going to send out one of my usual partners right off the bat.”

Reading the mood, Julius opted not to go for the easy remark of having no mercy.

“Well! I guess it’s a good time to try out my new buddy instead! C’mon, Julius, let’s have a good battle! Sprigatito, I choose you!”

Nemona turned her hips, then raised her left leg and right arm before bringing her foot down, throwing the Pokeball in her right, kicking up her back leg as a counterweight and extending her left arm for balance. The Pokeball hit the ground, sending out Sprigatito on her side of the field, before bouncing back into Nemona’s right hand.

Julius closed his eyes, mentally processing the movements as if he was about to try and perform a new exercise or martial art technique for the first time. Barely raising his left leg and preparing to swing it forward to he could throw it back to the ground with a good amount of momentum—

“Master Julius, each Trainer has their own way of sending their Pokemon out. You can send out Fuecoco however you’d like.”

Julius tried not to flinch as he reflexively dropped his foot back down to the ground. He took a deep breath, unsure of how hard to throw the Pokeball, and settled on a toss that swung his arm from left to right, looking almost like he was running a guitar pick across all the strings of a guitar with a bit of flourish.

“Let’s do this, Fuecoco.”

“Looking good, Julius! It’s your first Pokemon battle, so just cut loose and have fun!”

I have zero idea what I’m doing, though!

Fuecoco looked back at Julius and nodded with its full body before whipping around to face Sprigatito. While seemingly absentminded, as soon as it was time for a fight, it seemed to snap to attention, already keeping a stance to move left or right at a moment’s notice.

Uh, well, I guess it spits fire?

“Fuecoco, uh, do what you did with the orange!”

“Sprigatito, get ready to dodge!”

An orb of fire was spat out from Fuecoco’s mouth straight for the stationary Sprigatito, who sprung out of the way, leaving the spritz of flame to explode on the ground. Julius’ eyes narrowed as he looked at the distance between where Nemona’s green cat was versus where the fire burned before swiftly petering out, instincts quickly building another mental picture.

How intelligent is this thing? No, I can’t make assumptions. Julius thought, watching Sprigatito circle Fuecoco before it leapt in, scratching it with its claws while darting past it so that had Fuecoco tried to turn around its opponent would have already been gone.

“Hey, Mister Clavell. Do I have to stay in this box?”

“Yes, during official matches you won’t be allowed to go on the pitch.”

“I see.” Julius replied, heading to the left side of the space he was allowed. “Fuecoco, turn your back towards my voice.”

“Oh, come up with a plan, Julius?” Nemona asked as the small fire Pokemon turned slightly, with Sprigatito walking to remain directly in front of it.

“It’s just a plan.”

He had already gotten a rough idea of Sprigatito’s movement ability. They had maybe one shot at this; otherwise Sprigatito would just run circles around them. Fuecoco wasn’t fast by any means, so he had to hope that his new partner would hit hard enough to settle this in one strike.

“Fire again!”

“Dodge it, Sprigatito!”

Fuecoco let out a light grunt after taking a second attack, with Sprigatito passing by it—

“Fire at the corner to your left!”

—right into the second fireball.

“Don’t let up!”

He didn’t really know what else his Pokemon was capable of, but maybe that command would be enough. With a loud war cry of “Fueeee!”, Fuecoco charged the still reeling Sprigatito, ramming it with its body mass.

The green cat let out a cry before sliding along the pitch. At the corner that Fuecoco had fired at, it tried to remain standing, but its legs gave out as it closed its eyes.

“Sprigatito is unable to battle! The winner is Master Julius!”

“Wow! Not bad, neighbor!”

Julius let out a relieved sigh, somehow feeling pent up despite the fact he wasn’t the one in the ring. Returning Sprigatito, Nemona started to walk across the field, with Julius mirroring her.

“Look at you, winning your first battle ever! You’ve got more potential than I thought! You’re going to be a strong Trainer for sure!”

They shook hands in the center and Julius thought that the storm had passed until Nemona’s eyes lit up and she ran back to her side of the field.

“But I want to try a different strategy! Let’s go again—just one more battle!”

She needs to cut back on the caffeine. Julius thought as he saw Clavell step onto the field, clearing his throat.

“Master Julius and his Fuecoco are surely weary already from the battle, Miss Nemona.”

“Ah, sorry! I got kind of caught up in the excitement…”

Julius fought the urge to raise an eyebrow as an unusually serious look settled on Nemona’s face as she turned her whole body to face him, looking straight into his eyes.

“I’m really sorry, Julius. Same to Fuecoco, too.”

He paused, weighing his next words carefully before nodding nonchalantly. “Don’t worry about it too much. We all get excited over something, yeah?”

Her smile back was a bit subdued, but was a genuine smile nonetheless.

“Hmm. You two seem to be getting along just fine, despite having just met. Can I count on you to take him under your wing and safely escort him to the Academy, Miss Nemona?”

“Yes, sir! Oh, and if Julius is new to training Pokemon, there’s an app he’ll definitely need! Julius, do you have a smartphone?”

“Uh… I guess I do now.” He muttered, taking out his newly given Rotomphone.

“Whoa, a Rotomphone!?”

“Yeah, I’m just as surprised, too. Mom sprung it on me out of nowhere. What’s the app I’m looking for?”

“Let me share it with you!”

“I’ll leave you two to it. I still have a few matters to discuss with your parents if they are present, Miss Nemona, but I trust I’ll see you two at the entrance ceremony. Try not to dillydally too much on the way.”

“Of course, sir.” The two chimed together, Clavell taking his leave with Quaxly in tow.

After being introduced to the Pokedex app and importing his old settings to his new Rotomphone, Julius followed Nemona back the way they came and past the gates of her house. Not exactly one for a lot of talking, he simply listened to her parrot some words Clavell supposedly said about the wonder of meeting new Pokemon and how each of these meetings makes one grow and change.

“Come on though, I’ll show you the ropes of catching Pokemon on Poco Path.”

“Julius!”

Just before making the right to go down Poco Path, his mom’s voice called out to him. Approaching with a small basket in hand, she smiled at the two while waving.

“Oh, hey mom.”

“I almost forgot to give you these. I just had them in the wash.”

She handed over two small dark red handwraps, carefully wrapped into a roll for easy storage.

“And oh my, who’s this?”

“Oh, I’m Nemona! Sorry for not introducing myself earlier, but this is the first time I’ve been home in a while. I’ll be helping bring Julius to the Academy.”

“Oh my.”

Helena turned a bigger smile to her son who simply shrugged.

“Now, before I turn you two teenagers loose: Julius, I know you’ll be staying at the dorms, but I want you to promise me you’ll eat proper meals. You can’t just have a protein shake and call it dinner.”

He let out a soft sigh before nodding. “Yes, mom.”

“Anyways, I’ve transferred a little spending money for you and I packed your lunch for the first day. You do a lot of exercise, so I made three sandwiches that should last you more than just one day. But share one with Nemona later, okay?”

“The Rotomphone wasn’t enough?”

Julius let out a huff as his mom ruffled his hair. “Let me spoil my son every now and then, okay?”

He didn’t bother fighting back before taking the sandwiches that were encased in a plastic bag, placing them in his backpack.

“I know every day at the Academy is going to be full of exciting experiences, both good and bad. Make sure to savor all of them, Julius. And if it ever gets really tough, mom is always here to listen, and your bed back home will always be ready for you.”

She let out a light “Wah!” as Julius reached around and pulled his mother in close for a hug. With their height difference, she had to stand on her tiptoes as her son tucked his head into her neck.

“Hehehe. You’ve grown very big, Julius.” She whispered, patting him on the back.

“Thanks for taking care of me all this time, mom. I know I’ve been… kinda rough on the edges.”

“You say it like you’re not coming back.”

“Sorry.”

She gave her son a final squeeze before he pulled away. “Have fun,both of you. And don’t forget to call home every now and then!”

“I won’t.”

Waving one last time, Helena returned back to their home.

“Your mom’s really nice, huh?” Nemona said, a sliver of disbelief in her voice.

“If you ask her, she’ll give you a goodbye hug, too.”

Nemona blinked twice before looking at Julius, then the direction of his house, and Julius again.

“Considering it?”

There was a momentary pause before she swiftly changed the topic. “Oh right, I was going to teach you how to catch wild Pokemon! C’mon, this way!”

“Don’t worry, Julius, you’ll get the hang of it. It’s a real art to weaken a Pokemon just enough so it’s easier to capture.”

A very dry “Thanks for the encouragement” was thrown back as Julius finished inspecting the now fainted Hoppip.

“I guess I shouldn’t underestimate that whole Type advantage thing you were mentioning, either.”

“Some Pokemon also just aren’t naturally inclined to taking hits, either. Sprigatito’s not that sturdy, but uh… Hoppips are kind of made out of paper. If you want to catch one, you should probably just have Fuecoco Tackle it instead of using Ember.”

“Oh, is that what the fireball attack is called?” He asked. Thank goodness, I don’t have to come up with a weird nickname for it.

“There’s a whole system for what Pokemon moves are called. If you check the Pokedex app, you can log which moves you’ve seen any Pokemon you own have used and identify new ones that you encounter.”

“Handy. Hoorah!”

He reached up, planting the fainted Hoppip back on a branch. As he pulled his hand away, the rest of its cohort slowly peeked out from behind the other branches.

“Hold him back next time, yeah?”

“Still, that was one punk Hoppip!” Nemona said with a laugh as they resumed walking down Poco Path. “I can’t believe it leapt from the tree to fight you!”

“For a moment I thought that it might be fate. You know, so I could finally catch a Pokemon like you’ve been trying to teach.” Julius grumbled back, earning another laugh from Nemona, who put her hands behind her head as the breeze blew by to feel the wind rushing past her. “That was the tenth Pokemon I’ve failed to catch.”

“Like I said, it’s a real art. You’ll get it eventually. Oh, you could also have a Pokemon learn the move False Swipe, too.”

He just let out a sigh in return, earning another chuckle from Nemona. 

Poco Path wasn’t particularly long, but then again, he had always made the trek out to the town by bike when it was time for groceries. Checking the time, about an hour had gone by.

“Let’s take a break once we get to the lighthouse.”

“Sounds like a good idea. There’s usually some Pokemon hanging around there, so maybe you’ll be able to catch one!”

“Gee, thanks.”

He wasn’t particularly enthused by the idea, but at the very least, he could humor Nemona for now. Had it been up to him, he probably would’ve just powered through to Los Platos without any detours or breaks, then after eating, gone straight to Mesagoza. But he had a feeling that Nemona wouldn’t let up until he caught at least one .

In between where they were and the lighthouse, he certainly tried to catch another two Hoppips, but it seemed that Fuecoco was rapidly gaining strength and even a light “love tap” was knocking them out.

“Oh?”

Both Julius and Nemona let out a curious sound as the “yellow-orange crawling-mouse thing” Julius had found was still raring to go after a hit from Fuecoco. Not that the hit had come easy, as it was fairly nimble, resulting in a few counterattacks after Fuecoco had leapt down, trying to tackle it head on.

“Guh-GYAOOOOOH!”

Feeling the air and ground rumble, the entire battle came to a stop as everyone tried to regain their footing.

“Whoa, what was that!?” Nemona quickly turned her head to the sky, looking around as a flock of Flying-type Pokemon made themselves scarce. “I’ve never heard a cry like that before! It could be some kinda strong Pokemon or something!”

“I’m still a little preoccupied, so take a look around.”

He was starting to get the hang of commanding Fuecoco, at the very least, but the idea of finding a very strong Pokemon that would obviously wipe the floor with him wasn’t exactly top of mind.

“I think I see something on the inlet there… it’s hard to make out from here. I’ll go in for a closer look.”

“Don’t lean too hard off of the cliffside. Last thing I want is for you to—”

That loud cry pierced the air again, causing even the pebbles along the ground to rumble. Julius looked around, noticing the ground looking a little looser, perhaps from the pounding it had taken and the general footstomping of the battle.

“Julius—?!”

That was as far as Nemona got out before she heard the return laser as the ground crumbled beneath Julius. With his reflexes, he managed to grab onto the rope railings, but the ground underneath him hit the water with a loud splash, leaving him dangling in the air. Taking a glance at the two stakes in the ground holding the rope, he quickly deduced they wouldn’t hold for much longer either.

“Gotcha!” He yelled out, managing to snag the yellow-orange rat before it plummeted into the waters.

“Julius!”

“Don’t do anything rash, Nemona!”

She made an expression of exasperation. “I should be the one saying that! Hold on, let me see—”

“Don’t get any closer! The stakes are about to get yanked out of the ground and if they take out any more ground, then we’ll both be deep in it! Hmgh… this guy’s pretty light. I could probably toss him to you.”

However, the yellow-orange rat in his hands quickly shook its head. Clearly, it had some hesitancy about being flung through the air where a bad toss would send it hurtling into the waters below.

“Okay, that’s out of the question. Right. Nemona! Head a little further along the cliff! I can see that inlet you were talking about.”

“What am I going to do there?”

“Just keep shouting for me. Once I resurface, I’ll swim towards your voice. Look, I know we’re in a tough spot, but we don’t have a lot of time and it’s the best I have.”

She looked down at him, Julius returning her gaze with a nod. “I thought I had you figured out, but clearly not. Okay, we’ll do things your way.”

“Let me know when you’re ready. I’ll drop… at least, hopefully this rope holds out.”

She pulled away from his view, with Julius taking a few calming breaths as he looked at the ocean below. He tried to gauge how deep it was, estimating his likely thirty foot fall. With a good entry feet-first, he had a good chance of not injuring himself. They were close enough to land that the riptide shouldn’t tear him away, either.

Man, what a day. Wish I had stayed in bed.

And yet, despite the voice of lethargy regretting ever having woken up this morning, a small spark had formed into an steadily burning ember in his mind.

“Julius! I’m ready!”

“Got it!” He held the yellow-orange rat close to his chest. “Close your eyes.”

It tucked its head into his chest, signaling it was ready.

“Nemona, I’m dropping in three! Two! One!”

Nemona started shouting the instant she heard the large splash. She didn’t quite know what to shout, so anything that came to mind would do. “Over here!”, “Julius!”, “This way!” all were thrown out to the wind.

Julius heard her call as soon as his head broke through the water, though he could barely see through his squinted eyes. But his ears were working just fine, so he began his slow, one handed crawl towards her voice.

Soon enough, he felt his fingers dig into the sand and his knees scrape the ground. Shaking, but steadily, he managed to stand up, finally able to rub his eyes.

“You’re crazy, Julius!”

“I’m all right, Nemona.”

“Here, I have a towel! Dry yourself off!”

A crumpled green towel was thrown down the cliff, with Julius catching it and using it to dry his face and hair, though he noted that his hat had washed away. Considering everything that just happened in the last five minutes, it was a small price to pay.

“What’s that big guy, though?”

Finally able to take a breather, he looked around and saw a large purple mass washed up on the beach. Two smaller black and gray dogs with red tints—Houndours, he recognized, from some occasional transfer students from Johto—to them were harassing it, but the purple mass let out a roar that caused them to scamper off. It held out just long enough before collapsing.

Julius carefully approached, taking a good look around from many angles, the yellow-orange rat staying close to his heels. If he had to hazard a guess, it looked like someone from one of Kanto’s Cycling Road biker gangs really had a thing for science fiction and dragons couldn’t decide which one they liked more so they put them together and it ended up coming alive. It certainly had the wheel of one in its chest, almost like those Cyclizars he saw some kids have at Los Platos. This one definitely had a more sci-fi spin to it though, with its sleeker angles.

“I think he’s out of juice.” Julius called back, taking off his backpack. “...think it’s friendly?”

“Only one way to find out, right? But it doesn’t seem so bad.”

“Well, if you’re out of energy, only one thing to do.”

Taking his still soaked backpack off, he looked through it and dug up the sealed bag of sandwiches. Fortunately, the bag had kept them dry, so he opened it up and unwrapped a sandwich.

“Hey. Need a pick me u—whoa!”

He reflexively let go of the sandwich and pulled his hand back as the purple creature lunged forward and ate it almost in one go.

“Someone’s hungry.”

Letting out a cry, the purple creature sat up on all fours, letting Julius get a better look. It definitely looked like a Cyclizar now, but its head looked like it had radio antennas and its eyes looked less like eyes and more LED lights lit up to look like eyes. 

And were those thrusters on its rear legs? Julius idly wondered as it walked towards the entrance of the cave. His thoughts were interrupted by it suddenly radiating a blinding blue light, which after subsiding revealed the washed up creature to be in some kind of battle form, the antennas replaced by yellow and purple lightning, claws extended, its tail crackling with electricity, and— oh shit, they are!  

He held his left arm up as sand kicked up from the creature as it slowly floated over the sand back, steadily advancing towards the cave. I guess it doesn’t have enough power to go straight back up, huh?

“I think it wants you to follow it, Julius! That cave leads back up here, so I’ll wait by the other entrance!”

“Got it!”

Scooping up the yellow-orange rat in his arms, Julius took a brief moment to think about how insane this day was getting. Praying that every day would not be like this at the Academy, he followed the floating purple Pokemon—was it even a Pokemon? It definitely didn’t look like anything he had seen on TV aside from a Magnezone. It probably was, though—into the cavern.

Still, whatever it was, it exuded power. The Houndours that were harassing it before kept their distance in the shadows, illuminated only slightly by the purple and golden-white glow of electricity. In his arms, Pawmi was clearly tense, its hair standing up on edge. Julius held it a little closer as if it were a child, causing it to calm down ever so slightly.

At one point, they ran into a seeming dead end. Julius could see the Houndours crowding behind them, only for the purple Pokemon to smash the wall and create an opening. The shaking caused the pack to scatter, giving them more time to move forward.

“—lius!”

“Nemona, is that you!?”

“This way!”

Julius looked over at his godsend bodyguard which nodded back. Thankfully, it seemed smart enough to understand what was going on.

As they passed through one more open area, the purple Pokemon kept its eyes locked with a Houndoom that stood high atop the rock formation. Julius didn’t want to think about fighting that thing right now and just kept close to his guard, since if worse came to worst, he'd just have to run. He wasn’t too confident he could outrun a full pack of Houndours let alone one led by a Houndoom, but the cave was complex enough in formation he might be able to lose them. Fortunately, though, the Houndoom seemed content to watch… at least, for now.

Following Nemona’s voice, they eventually came to another clearing, with sunlight filtering in from above.

“Whoa, am I glad to see you!”

“I should be saying that!” Julius yelled back, his voice echoing, looking up. “How am I going to get up there? You got a rope or something?”

“Uh… we’ll figure something out? Maybe if you keep going you’ll find a way up?”

The yapping that was coming down from the tunnel they emerged from told Julius that they weren’t going to get the time. 

Five, ten, fifteen, twenty… and the pack leader, too. Julius mentally counted as they quickly found themselves surrounded. There’s no way Fuecoco can win against this many. Might be able to take down one, two, three max. But that Houndoom basically seals the deal.

As he looked around, evaluating the situation, the purple creature looked around and saw the metaphorical walls closing in. Its eyes traced the path up, but it just needed an opening.

“Tauros, bail ‘em out!”

The formation of Houndours was thrown into disarray by the raging black bull that suddenly emerged and then charged straight for the leader of the pack.

Before Julius’ thoughts processed the idea that he was thankful Nemona didn’t sic that thing on him as it made short work of the pack, the purple Pokemon leapt, one of its arms wrapping around Julius who only managed to make sure he was still gripping onto the yellow-orange rat in his own arms before letting out a heave as he was carried off into the air. The purple Pokemon dug its free claw into the stone, using it to slow its descent before pushing off the wall and using its thruster legs to leap up again, making it to the exit.

“Julius!”

Pulled from his guard’s arm, Julius found himself dragged along by Nemona to safer ground, where he simply collapsed and looked up at the sky.

“Are you hurt? If you had gotten hurt because I said we should go looking for whatever made that cry, I…”

“No, don’t worry about that, just… what a day.”

His left cheek was nuzzled by the yellow-orange rat he had rescued, at the very least bringing a soft smile to his otherwise normally neutral face.

“...at least this guy’s okay.”

“I still think you’re crazy for doing that. I mean, it was the right thing to do, but you seriously took a risk.”

“Well, I don’t think I could sleep easy at night, knowing I just left him there like that.”

“Her, actually.”

“Eh?”

“Yeah, this Pawmi’s female. You can tell from some of the markings.”

“Ooooh. Pawmi, huh?”

Nemona snickered as she sat down next to his head. “You really should get used to using that Pokedex app.”

“It’s my first day, cut me some slack.”

“Not too much, though! Otherwise you’ll never learn.”

“Great, you sound like my mom.” Julius huffed, turning his head over to face Pawmi. “Anyways little guy, er, little girl, you’re good to go. Try not to go cliffjumping again, I might not be there next time.”

The Pawmi paused for a moment before leaping upwards, settling itself on Julius’ chest.

“I think she’s taken a liking to you.”

“Huh. Well… is it fine like this, too?”

“Only one way to find out, right?”

Julius sat up, Pawmi falling into his lap, so he could reach over to his bag and take out a Pokeball. He held it close to Pawmi, who looked up at him with wide, sparkling eyes. After a moment, he lightly tapped it on Pawmi’s head, with Pawmi vanishing. The Pokeball shook once, twice, and then came to a stop.

“Congrats on your first capture.”

Julius let out an amused huff as he stood up. “Gee, thanks. Where’s our purple friend?”

A weak cry came from the side, with Julius and Nemona shuffling over to take a look just in time to see it lose its glorious form and instead returning to its appearance from when it was washed up on the beach. Julius knelt down and put a hand on its head.

“Hey, thanks for getting me out of there. Need another pick me up?”

It slowly nodded, with Julius feeding the purple creature another sandwich as well as taking out a water bottle and what appeared to be a small box of plastic packets.

“What’s that?” Nemona asked as he tore one open after opening the water bottle.

“Electrolyte powder. Useful to have after a workout, plus it’ll probably cover everything that sandwich doesn’t have. Here, wash it down with this.”

After feeding it the entire contents of his water bottle, Julius opened up to the Pokedex app and finding its user interface quite intuitive, tried scanning their purple companion.

“...error, likely unidentified Pokemon, no contents found. Closest match: Cyclizar. Gee, so much for that, Nemona.”

“Hey, I didn’t say it was a catch-all. Still, running into a completely undiscovered Pokemon on your first day? And it saved you? I think you two were meant to run into each other.”

“Ha, as if. What should we do with him, then?”

“We can’t just leave him. You could try catching him, but I think the safer thing to do would be to bring him over to the Academy and talk to the Director. He’d probably know what to do.”

“Then I guess we better get going.”

Sensing that the duo were about to get a move on, the purple Pokemon hopped up onto its feet, clearly ready for action. Whatever exhaustion it had seemed to have been completely wiped away by the meal, though it seemed to also have smelled the third sandwich in Julius’ backpack as its head veered closer.

“Oi, you just ate. We’re gonna starve too if you eat everything.” Julius muttered, lightly pressing a palm to its forehead and giving a gentle push. “Just wait until we get to town, okay? I like my mom’s cooking, so I’ll get you something nice.”

That seemed to placate it as they walked along the path, continuing towards the lighthouse.

“Though, hey, if you do become its Trainer, you’ve gotta let me battle it sometimes!”

Ah, five minutes. That’s a new record. Julius thought as he quietly waved her request away. Though, the noise attracted attention from the person he noticed standing by the lighthouse.

“Hey! What are you doing out here!?”

Based on what he was facing, the young man who came running at them before taking up an aggressive stance was talking to their purple companion. He was taller than Julius and fairly well-built, carrying a large yellow rectangular backpack that somehow managed to not match his also yellow vest. His wavy light brown hair with the occasional darker brown highlight was unkempt, matching up with how his tie was worn loose over a long-sleeved version of the Academy’s uniform.

“I’m not talking to you two. You can shove off.”

“Now that’s just rude.” Julius muttered, earning him an annoyed stare.

“Hey, I know you. You’re Arven, right? Enrolled in the humanities track.” Nemona paused, crossing her arms. “Oh, and you’re the son of that Pokemon researcher—Professor Turo?”

The young man named Arven whipped around, teeth clenched and fists balled. Instinctively, Julius took a half step in front of Nemona, left foot forward before quickly shifting his weight to be on his back foot. “Doesn’t matter who my dad is!”

“Let’s calm down.” Julius said, a hint of frost in his voice. “That’s not what Nemona said.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. The real issue is what this Pokemon is doing out here! And what’s with this form that it’s in!?”

“Well for one, if you’re the one watching over it, you’ve got a ways to go. He was crashed down on the beach.”

“Let’s not forget the part where the cliff edge collapsed and you fell from said cliff.”

“I was getting to that. But he ended up saving me. If it’s a he, anyways. Looks like he got worn out in the process. We were taking him to Los Platos to get him something to eat.”

“Yeah, he looked unbelievably strong after eating a sandwich! Whatever your mom put in there was awesome, Julius!”

It was just a normal turkey and ham sandwich… He thought to himself.

“It can’t fight while it’s like this, though.” Arven grumbled, turning back around. “The form Miraidon takes in battle is its true form.”

“Miraidon? That’s this Pokemon’s name? How’d you know it?”

As if to answer her question, the creature called Miraidon gestured with its head towards the lab.

“No, you can’t go in the lab.” Arven said, crossing his arms. “It’s locked.”

Julius wanted to open his mouth about how Miraidon was probably strong enough to just break down the door, but decided Arven was not in a joking mood.

“I don’t remember seeing you around, though.”

Julius tensed up as Arven turned to face him as Arven squared off his feet and raised both of his fists.

“But given the uniform, you go to the Academy too.”

“I’m enrolling this year, yes.”

“Ha! Miraidon isn’t the sort of Pokemon any old sort of Trainer can hope to command. It’s special.”

“Huh? How do you know that?”

Arven completely ignored Nemona, focusing on Julius who was directly in front of him. “So you think you’re up to ordering Miraidon around, huh? How about I test your worthiness!?”

“Can it wait?” Julius asked, exasperated.

“I’m saying I want to test you, you can’t leave me hanging here!”

Julius grit his teeth, losing his patience. “I just fell off a cliff and nearly got mauled by Houndours ten minutes ago, it can wait. ”

However, Arven seemed to be on autopilot, shaking his head and stretching his arms. “Don’t try to make me laugh. Falling off a cliff and then getting rescued by Miraidon, that heap of trouble? Try to at least come up with a better lie! Anyways, I’ve been feeling all out of lately, so I’m going to use this battle to blow it all away!”

Nemona looked down, seeing Julius clenching his own fist as Arven patted his cheeks with both hands as if to psyche himself up. “Julius, I…”

“...there’s a good ice cream place in Los Platos. Tulera’s, you ever been?”

Nemona put a hand on her hip, chuckling. “Heh. Sure, my treat. I owe you for the loss earlier, after all. Go out there and win.”

“Mhm. Fine, Arven, I’ll take your stupid challenge. I don’t particularly care about being considered worthy of anything if it’s you judging, but if it’ll shut you up.” Julius muttered, hand over his ball to send Fuecoco out.

But before he could, the ball containing Pawmi burst open in a flash of white light, the yellow-orange mouse taking to the field just as Arven sent out a gray squirrel-like creature.

“Let’s do this, Skwovet!”

“MIIIII!”

Julius didn’t even have to command Pawmi, which had popped out in an already aggressive stance, as it lunged for its opponent and delivered a scratch to the squirrel’s face. Noting it looked like a right hook, his instincts kicked in.

“Tch, just get ‘em, Skwovet!”

“Pawmi, step back, arms up!”

Following his explicit commands, Pawmi was able to guard its face against the ramming tackle from Skwovet. As Skowvet pulled away after its attack, Pawmi let out a burst of electricity.

“Nice, it’s got Static!” Nemona yelled from the side. 

“Ugh, that’s not fair!”

“Hit ‘em hard, Pawmi! Right hand, uppercut!”

Pawmi heard the command and followed, delivering another scratch to Skwovet.

“Come on, hit him back just as hard!” Arven yelled back, frustration evident as he had been the one to pick the fight in the first place.

However, as Skwovet tried to move, electricity visibly ran across its body and froze it in its tracks.

“Come on already…!”

“Pawmi, knock ‘em out! Swing high and then down!”

While there might be some room to correct its form, Pawmi swung its right paw back as it stood up on its back legs, leaping in while delivering an overhand scratch that sent Skwovet’s head straight into the dirt.

“Got any more for us?”

Arven grit his teeth, looking away and covering his face with his left hand while tightly clenching a Pokeball in his right hand.

Pawmi was already running back to Julius’ ankle, looking up at him as Nemona put a hand on his shoulder. “Wow, that was awesome!”

“Ugh, I guess I was never going to stand a chance using some Pokemon I just caught…” Arven grumbled. “Fine, here. Seems like you can handle Miraidon, so you can take it off my hands. It’s a real brute, anyways.”

Julius reflexively moved his hands, catching the Pokeball that was whipped at him. Sore loser, huh?

“So why do you have it?” Nemona asked.

“...whatever. That thing’s your problem, not mine. Good luck, you’ll need it.”

With that, he immediately took off.

“What?! Oi, can you not hear me or something!?” Nemona shouted, taking a few steps to give chase but stopping. “Agggh! Fine, be that way! But you better actually show up for class!”

Julius only let out another sigh, but Miraidon came running up to him. “Looks like you’re coming along with me, then.”

After it nodded, he returned Miraidon to its ball, but noted that his Rotom phone wasn’t registering it as one of his team members. If the display was right, it seemed it was registered to Professor Turo.

“I guess that solves that.”

“That Arven guy definitely knows more than he’s letting on. I’m going to wring some answers from him next time!” Nemona declared, raising a clenched fist to the sky. But after a brief moment, she frowned. “Hey, are you okay, though? He kind of forced you into that battle, so…”

“I guess I’m okay. I could use some time to just simmer down, though.”

Nemona turned her head, looking towards the lighthouse. “There’s a good view up top. Come on, this way.”

Deciding not to let her know he had been up on the lighthouse multiple times at this point, Julius quietly came along with her, climbing up the ladder to the top.

It wasn’t an unfamiliar view, to say the least. Everyone knew what Uva Academy was, even if he hadn’t been intending on going at first. However, with a little push from his mom, he ended up deciding to take the plunge. Admittedly, part of him always wondered what it would be like. School in Kanto had been fairly mundane and up until the move back to Paldea, he had been working as an eclectic mix of a personal trainer, martial art instructor, and lifeguard. For Uva Academy that hosted students from all walks of life and almost all ages, maybe he’d find something…

…let’s not get hasty. That’s expecting too much . Wait a second, is that Director Clavell on a motorcycle? That’s not a Cyclizar. That is an honest to goodness motorcycle I’d see in Kanto on Cycling Road.

“Not over there, Julius.”

“Hm?”

Nemona laughed, her voice causing him to turn around from the unusual sight. “You can see Mesagoza from the hill, too, and everyone can see Uva Academy from Los Platos. It’s going to be a blast being classmates, but over here.”

Directing him over to the other side, he looked out at the long outstretch of ocean. Just barely, he could see his house from here. His mind wandered to what his mom was doing right now, what might be for lunch, and how she’d probably never let him out of her sight again if she knew what happened on the cliff. Somehow, all of his worries slid away.

“You know, something about what Arven said I do agree with.”

Julius turned his head, an eyebrow raised to Nemona.

“That when I’m feeling down, a battle really can just blow it all away!”

He tried his best to hold back the snort of amusement, but it came out anyways.

“I love battling, Julius.”

He paused, the otherwise easy-to-follow-up-with-a-punchline phrase coming out oddly serious. “...nothing wrong with that. Gotta have something to love doing, right?”

There wasn’t an audible reply, so he didn’t bother following up. But it seems the point had gotten across.

Under a soft, partly cloudy sky, the two of them rested against the railings, listening to the ocean below and Hoppips flying above.

Chapter Text

“You are not taking Language.”

Julius blinked twice at Nemona’s forcefulness. Looking up from his elective selection form, he raised an eyebrow at the girl who was currently sitting on his bed. Despite the fact she was playing with Pawmi, holding one of its paws in each of her hands and lifting them up and down like Pawmi was a grade schooler (something that Pawmi clearly was enjoying), the fact a girl was on his bed was also forcing him to internally fight his hormones. He decided to look back at his electives form to distract himself.

“I took it last year out of curiosity. You really don’t need it.”

The Academy’s course selection was an interesting ordeal to say the least. As Uva Academy accepted a wide range of ages, there were “core” courses depending on the age to cover basic skills and a curriculum that would be found in a more normal school and then electives which were focused around Pokemon. Everything from breeding to becoming a professional trainer to participating in contests that he remembered were all the rage in Hoenn, as well as general electives that had tangential relation to Pokemon such as Pokemon mythology.

“Uh, right.”

“You did put a battling elective, right?”

Her tone was so full of expectation that even though he had already done so (or more accurately, Nemona had found it on his form and marked it out for him), he couldn’t help but double-check.

“Do we need a class on battling, though? Feels like something to do in your free time.”

“The more chances to battle, the better, right? Besides, the teacher, Miss Dendra, who's in charge of battling electives used to be a Gym Leader, so there’s no better place to get help than from a pro.”

“...checks out.”

The world was a lot wider than he thought of, though. There were even classes for fitness with your Pokemon and apparently there were trainers who practiced martial arts with their Pokemon, too. Considering Pawmi’s natural instincts, it was tempting as a pick. Doubly so since due to his age, he didn’t have to worry so much about core curriculum classes due to his advanced curriculum in Kanto, which let him test out of a majority of his otherwise required classes. If he didn’t fill the slots with electives, he would have a surprising amount of free time.

Selecting some fitness classes to get a good spread of exercise as well as a martial arts elective, a camping and survival elective, and a cooking class even if he felt comfortable enough in a kitchen, he found Nemona hopping off the bed, Pawmi in her arms.

“What’s up?”

“You looked like you were done. So, let’s turn those forms in! We should be able to explore a little bit outside the city and maybe catch a new Pokemon! Plus, after playing with Pawmi for a while I kind of want one on my team, too. They’re really strong when they evolve, but I already had Tauros back then so I never picked one up.”

While part of him was curious about what Pawmi would become considering how Nemona equated its future self to that raging black bull as he returned Pawmi to her ball, he also felt it would be opening up a can of worms that he didn’t want to touch right now.

But, he did agree on potentially expanding his team, since if he was committing to the battling elective and Nemona had her eye on him, he couldn’t afford to slack off. Doubly so considering how on the way to school, just outside of Mesagoza, Nemona had shown him a technique called Terastallize which changed the type of a Pokemon in a battle. It had allowed her to completely negate his natural type advantage as Sprigatito suddenly became a Dark type. Even with the two on one, Nemona had the upper hand in commanding effectively, allowing her to match Pawmi’s aggression and secure a victory, if seemingly close. With a new element of strategy in play, even if he was exhausted, his mind occasionally wandered to the topic of a new team, like solving an odd puzzle he was given. He didn’t know when he would get bored of said puzzle and put it down, but for now, he would work on it.

Still, after that battle, she had decided to also “handle that” for him in regards to Terastallizing, but didn’t reveal what that meant.

As expected of the student council president and the only Champion-rank trainer, whatever that means. If Nemona’s the only one, then what gives? Julius thought as he shrugged. Why is she even bothering with me this far, though? This goes far beyond just being neighbors. It’s not like we’re long lost childhood friends.

“Sure. Hopefully we don’t end up just beating out every wild Pokemon we come across.”

“Hey, it’s an art. You just need to practice.”

“Ha, fine. Let’s get going, then.”

“...hey, Julius?”

His hand, reaching out for the doorknob, froze at how Nemona’s voice suddenly took on a more subdued tone. “Nemona?”

“I’m not… being a bother, am I? And you’re not… that upset about losing?”

“Well, if I had to be honest I’d very much like to go for a nap as those were some extremely long stairs. But no,” He said, turning around and looking at her. “You’re not being a bother. And losing’s just part of it, right? Can’t win ‘em all. Besides, you’ve been doing this for longer and are more skilled than me. It’s only natural I lose, yeah? No rookie fighter is going to get a knockout punch on a veteran boxer, you know?”

Nemona hung her head before nodding and looking back up at him with a more subdued smile. “...yeah.”

“Anyways, let’s get going. It’ll get dark otherwise and I go to bed pretty early.”

The days ticked by after that, with Julius adding a Nymble and a Wooper to his team. On the other hand, he noticed Nemona was much pickier about her captures, but he assumed that she had an eye for stronger types that she knew could withstand her expectations. Still, she hadn’t had any luck when it came to finding another Pawmi.

Her student council duties also kept her busy as despite her battle-hungry nature, they hadn’t had a chance to battle again. Then again, he had just arrived early to the dorms, so school hadn’t started proper. Plus, she probably had some other friends that could sate her in the meantime.

Soon enough, it was two days before classes would begin. Julius was browsing the restaurants in Mesagoza as while it was only an extended bike ride away from home, he usually didn’t go unless he had a targeted reason. So, since he foresaw being in the city for a while, he could at least peruse the local eats and find places he passed up in the interest of time. While he didn’t want to wear the uniform while walking around, it seemed to be the social etiquette as many others already were, so to not stand out, he went in it.

Despite his fit lifestyle, he did have the occasional craving for sweets, and so he was snacking on an ice cream cone from a local stall when he passed by the stairs leading back up to the Academy.

“Look—we’ve got a quota we’re supposed to fill for new members, so just sign up already!”

His eyes naturally found themselves drifting to the scene playing out. A girl with incredibly pale skin that looked like it would burn with just five minutes under Paldea’s sun was being harassed by a boy and girl that were wearing their Uva Academy uniforms in the sloppiest way possible. The girl in the pair had modified her skirt to be well shorter than length requirements and the boy had rolled up his slacks. Both of them wore their ties so loosely it might have not been worn at all.

Not to mention, what is with those tacky star-goggles over their helmets…? Do those even work if you’re riding a Cyclizar at top speed? 

The girl who they were harassing was dressed somewhat inappropriate for the weather, with a baggy dark gray hoodie with matching gray shorts that went under a translucent skirt. Her light gray stockings must have been clinging due to the humidity, though the fact she wore boots probably didn’t help. The most distinguishing features to her though, was her blue and red hair, circular glasses that looked like they belonged on a librarian, and last but certainly not least, the fluffy Eevee bag on her back.

“......so this is how they operate now, huh……”

Julius saw her mumbling something, but couldn’t hear it. He glanced around, seeing other students acting as if they hadn’t seen anything, trying to just go about their business as usual. Others were clearly averting their eyes, doing their best to pretend things weren’t happening as they were.

He felt the girl’s eyes slowly move to him. Compared to everyone else, he was the only one looking directly at the situation.

I guess this ice cream was pretty mediocre, all things considered. Guess I should be glad it was only a hundred fifty Poke.

He dropped the half-finished cone in the trashcan, taking a step towards the trio.

“I-I’d rather not…” The girl audibly said, though Julius felt it was a little forced as he came into hearing range. Somehow, he felt like he was being manipulated into taking her side, but frankly with the display of the two helmeted students, he didn’t need that much convincing.

“Oi.” He called out, stepping in front of the Eevee-bag carrying girl.

The single sound got the attention of the boy-girl pair, with the boy springing into action.

“Huh? You want in on this, too? If you’re here to sign up, we’ll get to you next! We’ve nearly got this one in the bag!”

The girl of the pair threw her hands up in the air as some kind of cheering motion. “We’re Team Star! We burn so bright, it hurts to look at us! But you knew that,right?”

“It hurts to look at you, but not for the reason you think. Take a good look in a mirror sometime.”

Julius exerted as much effort as he could to not turn around as he heard a violent mixture of an aborted wheeze, suppressed snicker, and surprised cough come from the girl behind him.

“Geh…! Why you ignorant little…! I’m finally a member of Team Star, and I still get no respect!? I gotta work my way up in the ranks…”

“You can start by respecting something called sensible fashion choices. Maybe try people’s boundaries, next.”

“Hey, we can’t let that insult slide!” The boy declared. “The pride of our team is on the line, so we have no choice but to battle, yeah?”

“That’s true! You keep watch on that four-eyes over there!” The girl of the pair then turned towards him, taking an aggressive stance with her hands on her hips. “I’ll make sure this fresh-faced nobody ends up seeing stars!”

“Hey.”

Julius turned his head slightly, looking at the girl behind him.

“You have somewhere to be, right? Not like these morons can hold you here.”

Despite her meek appearance, her eyes were cold like steel as she narrowed her eyes and looked ahead at the pair who identified themselves as Team Star. “...no. I don’t… leave messes behind.”

The helmeted girl backed up, giving enough space for a battle. Rather than immediately throw out her Pokemon, she—

I’m sorry, am I hallucinating? That looks like she made a contest entrance like in the televised ones from Hoenn. Julius thought as the girl made an honest to goodness star outline appear in front of her as she used both of her hands to draw out the halves of a single star.

Though, with the perhaps not so intentional training Nemona had put him through with the battle in front of Mesagoza as well as the previous week spent hunting for his team with her, the girl’s single Shroodle was taken out with one Ember from Fuecoco.

The girl blinked twice, not realizing the battle had been over as soon as it started. “W-wha…!? How did I lose that fast…!? Why is a nobody like you so good at battling, that’s just not right…”

I guess I owe Nemona a cookie. Actually, she’d probably just ask for a battle.

“No way, he beat you!? Crap, do I have to battle him now since I’m your superior!?”

“Hey, just what do you think you’re all doing!? There’s dedicated spots for battling and you’re all blocking the way!”

Oh, the cavalry's here , Julius thought to himself as he heard a familiar voice cut through the air. Looking over, he found Nemona sliding down the railings of the steep stairs to the Academy’s entrance before smoothly dismounting, an uncharacteristically serious and annoyed look on her face.

“Ugh, it’s the student council president…!”

“We should get outta here—” The boy started.

“We’re not done here.” Julius flatly said, rooting him in place with the cold delivery. “Hey, Nemona.”

“...wait, Julius? What are you doing!?”

“Uh, I was…”

She suddenly closed the distance, her face a few mere inches away from his as she leaned forward to look into his eyes. 

“I know we haven’t gotten the chance to have a battle in a while, but you shouldn’t go breaking the rules like this!”

“That isn’t what happened.” He said, lightly putting a hand on her shoulder and pushing her to make some space between them while gesturing with his head. “These Team Star punks were trying to pressure this girl into joining them. They’re the ones who challenged me.”

Nemona leaned over, seeing the girl behind Julius before nodding. “Hmm, is that so?”

“Ask them.”

After taking a look at the two Julius gestured to, her eyes narrowed. “You two certainly follow the Team Star dress code. Is what he’s saying correct?”

“Uh…” 

The duo withered under Nemona’s gaze, unable to muster even a token denial.

“You’ve got a lot of nerve trying to pressure people to join right here. After all, Team Star kept me plenty busy with having to stop your antics all last year.”

She crossed her arms before smiling.

“Well Julius, as the student council president, stopping this type of nonsense would normally be my job, but… this is a great chance to try it out.”

Taking something out from her belt pouch, Nemona handed Julius something that looked closer to a crystal ball with a shining light in the center.

“It’s a Tera Orb! It’ll let you Terastallize your Pokemon in a battle and moves of their Tera type are enhanced! If Fuecoco’s has Fire as their Tera type, their Fire moves will be a lot stronger. Oh, but you can only use it about once a battle, it needs some time to recharge.”

“...are you sure I can have this?”

“Normally you’ve gotta take special classes to be able to get one of these Tera Orbs, but I put in a good word for you! You owe me a battle, Julius! We couldn’t because I had to do so much paperwork for you!”

“I was wondering when you were going to ask.” He said with his usual sardonic tone.

Nemona, who seemed used to this kind of behavior from him now, just chuckled as she took a few steps back. “Now, time to give it a try! You’re a fast learner, aren’t you?”

“W-wait, hold on! You want this kid to practice smacking us around with his Tera Pokemon!?”

“...you wanna fight me instead?”

Julius frowned as he heard Nemona make the threat. While it was clear she was some part serious, he could see a flash of pain on her face. It was evident to him she didn’t like the idea of using this as a threat, adding another piece of the puzzle to just what her deal was to his mental collection. But on the other hand, he found it strangely touching that she’d go so far for him? He was glad that he was of the realistic sort and was certainly not prone to the usual thoughts of boys his age, otherwise he might get the wrong idea about what she thought of him.

“N-never mind! Let’s battle, new kid!”

And so the fight commenced, with Fuecoco taking to the field once again. Grasping the Tera Orb in his hand, Julius gave it a squeeze like it was a Pokeball, but quickly found himself suddenly strongly gripping it and reaching upward as the Tera Orb shook violently, almost like it was alive and trying to break free from his grasp. After a few seconds, its shaking became more like a pleasant vibration and the light in the middle formed into a more hexagonal, crystalline shape like the one he saw when fighting Nemona.

“Let’s do it…!” He grit out, managing to pull the Tera Orb back down to chest level.

Throwing the Tera Orb at Fuecoco, it burst into light and let out a wave of power before bouncing back into his hand. Just like Sprigatito, Fuecoco was encased in a beautiful crystal structure before emerging from it, adorned with a crown signifying its Tera type and Fuecoco itself taking on a more crystal-like look. Its crown, made of a crystal that looked like a flame, shimmered as Fuecoco charged the fireball in its mouth, causing it to become larger than usual before it burst out to the Team Star member’s Yungoos.

Compared to Shroodle simply going down, the blast from Ember sent Yungoos skidding along the ground as it lost its footing, going into a roll and landing at its Trainer’s feet. Its trainer sheepishly returned it and didn’t send out anything else, instead just slumping over at how easily he had been defeated.

“Whoa, nice one, Julius! You pulled it off no problem!” Nemona shouted, running over to Julius.

“W-well, I’ll just be on my merry way, then, yeah?” The boy said. “Hasta la vistaaaar—”

Nemona crossed her arms, turning towards the duo. “Don’t you move ! I was lax on you guys last year, but if you’re going to be pressuring students like this before the school year even begins, I’ve got no choice but to take you to the teacher’s office and make sure you’re disciplined accordingly. Julius, I’ll handle this one. You already did my work, so can you make sure that the girl they were harassing is okay?”

Julius nodded, turning back towards the red and blue haired girl as Nemona advanced on the two Team Star members. “You alright?”

“Yeah, I uh… I just… Well, thanks. I’m not… very good at battling.”

“Glad I could help.” 

While he felt the girl was feigning weakness before, she sounded a little more genuine this time around. He supposed he couldn’t judge her, it wasn’t like he was exactly a very talkative person either. 

“You’ve got somewhere to be, right?”

“Yeah… see you around.” She walked away, taking a few steps up the stairs. “Your name…”

“Julius.”

“...right.”

She shuffled away after that, leaving Julius to wonder why she didn’t give him her name, but decided that maybe she was still processing what had happened. Leaving it be, he turned back and helped Nemona escort the two to the teacher’s office.

“Something wrong?” Julius asked as they left the office, Nemona having given a deep sigh.

Nemona put her hands behind her head as they walked along. “They’ll probably just get a slap on the wrist, all things considered. Apparently even the teachers don’t know what to do with ‘em, from what I hear. But punishing students is outside the realm of my responsibility, so this is the best I can do. Last year I just encouraged them to come back to class and stop with their business, but it seems that isn’t working.”

“Oh. So that’s Team Star?”

“Yeah. They’ve been raising trouble like that for a while. It’s actually getting wild, though. I don’t know if the rumors are true, but supposedly they’ve taken over large parts of Paldea, setting up their own little communes out there and everything.” She crossed her arms as she shook her head. “Director Clavell’s given them an ultimatum to cease their activities or he will be forced to expel them. With how big Uva Academy is, having that show up on your record is pretty brutal, especially if you’re still a kid…”

“Geez. And the Paldean League’s just fine with it?”

Nemona shrugged. “You can probably ask Director Clavell about it. I don’t know too much since my Student Council activities and battling keep me pretty busy and this seems like something the adults are supposed to handle.”

“True enough.”

“Still! Look at you, Julius!” Nemona said, elbowing him in the ribs. “Already becoming a big hero around campus!”

“I just couldn’t leave it alone. Besides, she saw me looking at them, so it’s not like it was easy to walk away.”

“Heh. Though, I don’t think I’ve seen that girl around. Maybe she’s enrolling this year, like you? It’s close to the start of the year, but I’ve heard some people get here the day class starts, too. That Eevee bag was really cute, though!”

Julius shrugged back, not really having an opinion on if it was cute or not.

“Anyways, you must be pretty tired after dealing with all that, especially with all the stuff we had to fill out in the teacher’s office. But don’t forget you still owe me a battle!”

“I won’t forget. And I doubt you’ll let me.”

“You got that right! Go get some rest, you did part of my job for me, after all.”

“Master Julius, this is Clavell. Do you have a moment?”

After getting up from his bed where he had just been idly staring at the ceiling, Julius opened the door, inviting Clavell inside. “Is this about the incident earlier?”

“Oh, very quick on the draw, I see.” He said as Julius closed the door behind him. “I do apologize that you had to deal with Team Star so early.”

“I think the apology is better directed at the girl they were trying to pressure earlier.”

“Indeed. There might be something wrong with the computers, as we’re having difficulty locating what room she’s actually in. Strangely enough, her records are indicating she’s in your room.”

“Oh… that’s weird.”

Clavell adjusted his glasses as he inspected Julius’ room. “Quite. But I mostly came to check that you were okay. Of course, it is a fine thing to try and help a fellow student, Master Julius, but do keep yourself in mind. Exercising restraint is important, especially as you find your place here in the Academy.”

Julius raised an eyebrow. “Uh, no offense, Mister Clavell, that sounds almost like a threat.”

“Oh, I mean no such thing, Master Julius. As it is right now, I believe you are only acquainted with Miss Nemona. Should you begin picking fights with Team Star without support, I believe you may find yourself targeted by their leaders without people to rely on, is all.”

“Huh… alright, makes sense. I don’t plan to go out and fight them, but if I stumble on a situation like I did before, I don’t think I could walk away.”

“Mhm. Well, is there anything you’d like to ask about them in particular? I imagine it was a bizarre scene to witness.”

“Ah… well, I mean, sometimes clubs at school in Kanto were pretty aggressive in recruiting.” Julius said with a shrug. “I just want to know more about Team Star. I heard there’s rumors they’ve taken over parts of Paldea? What’s going on?”

Clavell let out a small sigh. “Unfortunately, there isn’t much I can tell you. Team Star’s goals are ever elusive. They have a wide reach, but their inner circle is very insulated and doesn’t let a lot of the newcomers know much. It is true they’ve claimed areas of Paldea for their own, though.”

“Then, why hasn’t the League done anything?”

“That would be my fault, I suppose, at least in part. The League has asked me to handle the situation rather than them, so I suspect a resourcing issue on their part. Considering some of the recent shakeups regarding Elite Four positions and Gym Leaders, it’s not surprising. I’ve issued an ultimatum to them regarding returning to class or facing expulsion which has scared a few of them into returning but… I do not want to unilaterally take action, if possible.”

“What do you mean, Mister Clavell?”

“Like I said, Master Julius, I don’t know enough about Team Star. Before taking action, I want to know more about them—what drives them, why they decided to go this far. Regardless of their actions, a majority of their members are students of Uva Academy and I feel responsible for them. If possible, I would like to guide them back to the right path before they do something even more drastic. Or if they are being misguided, to intervene before they are manipulated further.”

“Oh… I see. Huh, you’re a pretty good guy, Mister Clavell.”

“Ha, thank you, Master Julius. But it’s nothing more than the duty required of my position. Was there anything else I could address?”

“There was the matter of this guy?”

Clavell turned to face Julius as he dug around in his backpack before letting something out of a Pokeball. His eyes widened at Miraidon, who obediently sat down while looking expectedly as Julius. The boy sighed before reaching into his backpack again and taking out an opened box of cookies from the Cortondo Bakery, shaking two cookies into his hand before lobbing them into the air, Miraidon snatching them out of midair.

“Uh, this guy used to be with Arven, but he kind of shoved him onto me.”

Clavell frowned before letting out a soft sigh. “I see. What’s its name?”

“Arven called it Miraidon.”

“Hmm.” Clavell inspected Miraidon from afar. “It seems fairly domicile. Has it expressed any aggression?”

“I wouldn’t call it aggression, but he did bail me out from a swarm of Houndours. Didn’t fight them directly, but he did pull me out.”

“Interesting…” Clavell adjusted his glasses. “It seems to like you, so please continue to take care of Miraidon. However, if it does begin to express sudden aggression, do let me know.”

Julius turned his gaze over at Miraidon, who lowered its head. Even with its LED-like eyes supposedly being lifeless, the dimmed brightness gave the feeling of sadness. “Right. I don’t think you have to worry about that, but I’ll keep it in mind. Can I at least have him out and about? He really likes to come out when we have food.”

At the mere mention of the word “food”, Miraidon’s head perked up.

“No, not right now. Dinner isn’t for a few hours and you already had two cookies just now.”

Somehow, the futuristic-motorcycle-looking Pokemon managed to pout or at least Julius thought it did, as it slumped over.

Clavell let out a short huff. “I suppose there’s no harm in it for now.”

“Alright, thanks. Outside of that, I don’t think I have anything else on my mind.”

Clavell nodded. “I see. If there is truly nothing else, I shall take my leave. I do remember that at your age, I too, did not enjoy the idea of adults being in my room and overstaying their welcome.”

Julius suppressed a huff as Clavell opened the door to his room to exit. “Oh, uh… it’s unrelated, but do you ride a motorcycle?”

Clavell chuckled. “I shall leave that to your imagination, Master Julius.”

With that, the door closed. An idle thought crossed Julius’ mind about how Clavell referred to Miraidon as an “it” despite how he had called Miraidon “he”, making him wonder if there was something he wasn’t aware about. But for now, it didn’t change how he was going to treat Miraidon, and so he decided he would remain alert, but not worry about it.

The days continued to tick by after that, fortunately without much incident. On the first day of class, it began with an entrance ceremony that Julius struggled not to sleep through. Nemona gave a small speech that fired up a lot of the new students, but he couldn’t help but feel like there was a noticeable divide in the enthusiasm displayed. At the very least he hadn’t fallen asleep, sparing him from the humiliation of having to be nudged awake, and so went with the rest of the student body to homeroom.

“No way!”

In all honesty, I should have seen this coming. Julius thought to himself as Nemona basically leapt up from her desk by the window in the back corner. But I thought she would have claimed a seat up front and center?

“Uh, I didn’t get my classrooms mixed up, did I?” Julius asked as Nemona basically bounced in her steps on her way to him. “Maybe I got off on the wrong floor?”

“Nope!” Nemona said, a bright smile on her face as she put a hand on her hip. “Homeroom mixes together both returning and new students, so you’re in the right spot! 

Julius noted that several students were already whispering about him. With the amount of others keeping to themselves, he assumed they were returning students as they already had their own cliques formed. As his narrowed eyes drifted over to them, he suddenly found Nemona hopping to place herself between them and him, filling his sight with only her.

“Come on, you have to claim your seat!”

“Right. I uh, I guess I’ll be in your care for a little while longer, Nemona.”

He ended up taking a seat in the back next to Nemona. He was planning to take a seat in the back anyways considering how he was older and taller than a majority of his homeroom classmates. 

No adults, though. They’re probably in a separate homeroom? I know I’d feel awkward if I was a fully grown adult and everyone else in homeroom was like, fourteen. Actually, if you’re an adult at Uva Academy do you even need to come to homeroom? Julius idly thought as they were dismissed for their classes.

He and Nemona ended up not sharing a majority of their classes outside of a required personal finance class for those who were seventeen to nineteen years old. Despite that, he noticed some anomalies regarding Nemona. Surely, she was elected by the student body—something he confirmed by asking some other students about “the current student council president” and questioning if it was something you battled for. 

Since that was the case, though, he thought she should be more popular or at the very least, ingrained with the student body. But as classes ticked on and the two passed each other in the hallways, he noted she always seemed so oddly alone . Back in Kanto, the student council president was always in high demand, being both a bridge that connected the teachers and faculty of the school to the students and also just being generally well-known by the student body due to the high publicity of the position.

So the fact people seemed to ignore her in the halls and that she never was breaking away from a conversation when she greeted him just seemed outright strange . Maybe it was a Paldean thing, he thought.

He eventually discarded that theory at lunchtime, as she had been outright alone at her table. It wasn’t as if she was sitting in the corner all alone; no, she had been near one of the center tables. With it being about halfway through the day, he knew most of the new students probably already formed cliques with each other so somehow Nemona had managed not to join up with any of them. 

But Nemona seemed easy enough to get along with, plus if they knew she was a returning student let alone the student council president, wouldn’t that have been nice to pull her into a friend group if you were completely new to the school? Then at graduation, Nemona would go off into the wider world and her juniors would cry over her departure just like the books some of his classmates always talked about in Kanto. Or maybe they were too intimidated to reach out to her?

If I didn’t know any better, I’d be tempted to say someone’s trying to purposely isolate Nemona.

Sure, her battle frenzy was a little weird to him, but it’s not like it was that off-putting. And with battling classes being in the afternoon, she shouldn’t have had a chance to weird anyone out yet.

He tried not to let his curiosity show as Nemona spotted him and waved him over during lunch. Even so, he could feel several eyes on him. A lot of people certainly were taking interest in what his relation to Nemona was. However, he wasn’t sure if it was actively malicious; no one had told him to stay away from Nemona. Not that he would even if it was said to his face, anyways. But he couldn’t help but wonder what was driving this wedge between her and others.

Battling classes were simple enough, run by Dendra. His Battling Studies teacher, dressed in a black workout sweater despite the Paldean heat, had several assistants under her, all wearing jerseys with yellow outlines. For new students, their jerseys were outlined in red and returning students in blue, as to prevent mix-ups as the Battling Studies class was really just a big hodgepodge of all types of students during the period.

The Battling Studies field itself was impressive, hosting four sets of six battle pitches like the one he had faced Nemona at on the beach, with each set separated by some walkways, allowing for four class sections to be run at once. For each six battle pitches, they were split half and half for newer students and advanced students.

But while she was on a pitch very far away, Julius noticed it. Just like the rest of the day, Nemona was clearly being left alone. For the entire class period, whenever he looked, she was never battling.

He had tried to get closer to investigate, but Dendra had caught him walking away from the half of the field dedicated for the newer students and stopped him. 

“It’s great to push yourself, new kid, but don’t be too hasty!” She had said, so he played it off as wanting to just observe the more advanced students.

The second day of classes, he had Battling Studies again. Even with the alternating A-B schedule where he had some classes on A-Days and others on B-Days, Battling Studies were double-blocked so he had it every day. During Battling Studies, with everyone more relaxed on the second day with friendships solidifying, students were crossing lines and pitches as their battles began to last a little longer. Dendra and her assistant students seemed to have a good eye on which students had compatible styles, so occasionally advanced students would be asked to watch a battle between newer students to give pointers or newer students would be asked to watch a battle between advanced students to learn something. Additionally, in order to get a more holistic experience, class sections would shuffle around, so he wouldn’t always be fighting students from his class section of newbies.

They’re pretty good at their jobs. Julius thought, but noticed Nemona was still by herself.

On the third day of class, he noticed that their sections were sharing a set of six fields. He did a quick mental count as he wrapped up a battle with Wooper. Thirty blue jerseys, so there was no reason Nemona shouldn’t have a partner. After shaking hands with his opponent, he moved to a pitch closer to Nemona’s to eavesdrop.

“I-I wouldn’t be a challenge for you! You’re way too strong, Nemona…”

“I, um… I have a new team, so—”

“S-someone else would be a better match!”

He could feel Nemona’s gaze on his back as he sent out Pawmi to fight his opponent’s Azurill.

Perhaps it had been the small amount of coaching he got from Nemona on their way to Mesagoza, but he hadn’t lost a battle in class yet. Already he was cementing himself as a leader in his class, something his opponent, a young woman who was likely in her early twenties, seemed to be aware of.

“Don’t worry, Azurill, we’ll try and pull off a victory here… maybe!”

“Let’s do this, Pawmi.”

“Miii!”

The battle itself hadn’t taken very long, as Pawmi had learned Nuzzle recently, making its opponents easy targets when it connected. Pawmi hadn’t even taken a single hit and was still raring to go after the battle, much like a child who had finished a cookie and wanted one more.

“Nice work.” He said after the battle, shaking the young woman’s hand. She smiled back and said something about if he had some time later to give her some tips as he was really strong in the beginners section, something he played off, saying he’d have to think about if he was doing anything special.

He then took a glance over his shoulder, finding Nemona still alone on her side of the pitch, just staring at the center of her field. He found his fist subconsciously clenching, memories flooding through his mind.

Nemona was driven, that much was clear. But that drive itself was a fickle thing. He knew that personally. And like hell he was just going to let things continue on like this.

…what would mom say if she knew I just walked away, anyways? Plus… I guess I do owe Nemona a battle.

Taking a breath, he confirmed that Nemona was still there and raised his voice as he spun on his heel.

“Nemona!”

Her head snapped up and she looked over her shoulder as he crossed the space between the advanced and beginner classes. Dendra, who had originally stopped him before, froze up for some reason. Her assistants all glanced at each other before looking towards Dendra herself for guidance, but without anything immediately happening, Julius knew he had free reign.

“Seems like you’ve got an odd number of classmates today. Someone skip? Well, either way. Want a battle? I think I remember owing you one.”

All eyes and ears were suddenly on him, with battles being forgotten. On the pitch next to them, an advanced student forgot to command his Rhyperior to dodge, with it eating a Gyarados’ Hydro Pump and subsequently fainting.

Nemona’s face changed from shock to absolute elation as a smile grew wider and wider on her face, hiding a tinge of melancholy behind it.

“...you’re on, Julius!”

Julius continued to walk over to the advanced side of the field unopposed, passing Nemona on his way to his side of the pitch. “Say, Nemona. A lot of our previous battles have been one to one and that’s been the focus of the beginner classes so far, but why not use our whole team?”

This was pushing it, he knew, but seeing as how he wasn’t being stopped, he might as well push his luck as hard as he could. 

“Huh…? Sure!”

At least it seemed to make Nemona happy, as her eyes suddenly blazed with excitement. The two took their positions just like on the beach, locked eyes and nodded.

“Let’s go, Sprigatito!”

“Get ready, Fuecoco.”

It was obvious that many of the experienced students were pretending not to be paying attention. As for the newer students, their excitement was proudly evident as the ones not currently in a battle were rushing over to watch.

“You’ve gotten a lot stronger, huh? I can tell just by how Fuecoco’s standing.”

“Got no choice if I’m going to catch up, yeah?”

Nemona let out a small smile, closing her eyes. Mhm. This is par for course for Julius, huh?

He was grumpy, sure. But he was good-natured, too. A little bit of showboating and dramatic lines in front of some students that he could pretend to have never said later wasn’t a huge lift for him.

“Then, I’m going all out. Sprigatito, Mud Slap!”

In an instant, Sprigatito had generated some wet dirt in its paws and launched a glob of it into Fuecoco’s eyes. Judging by Julius’ expression, he hadn’t been expecting her to have coverage against a Fire type on her Grass type Pokemon. Not exactly a rookie mistake, but since he was a beginner student, Dendra probably wouldn’t have covered it yet.

“Shake it off, Fuecoco! Turn left—hold and… fire, to your right!”

Even while blinded, Fuecoco could still follow commands. managing to nick Sprigatito with an Ember that dealt plenty of damage even if it wasn’t a clean hit.

“Fuecoco’s a lot faster, too!”

“Thanks, but sheesh. I wasn’t expecting that!”

Fuecoco had been trained as a counter fighter, sure, due to its slower movements, but this put a whole new element up for consideration. But as Nemona looked across at Julius, his eyes were narrowed like he was thinking hard on it. 

Maybe he’s already thinking of a way past it…? No, let’s not get ahead of myself.

“Even if you’ve got a Type advantage, you can’t get complacent. Especially since Fuecoco’s slower, you might end up getting hit with a move that covers its elemental weaknesses and be unable to hit back.”

“So, it’s like if I taught him to use an Electric type move to counter Water?”

“Yep, you learn fast! But don’t think I’ll take it easy now—Sprigatito, Mud Slap again!”

“Try and dodge it, Fuecoco!”

However, despite his best efforts, after eating another slap of mud that caused Ember to miss more spectacularly this time, Fuecoco was wide open and went down to a finishing tackle.

Nemona watched Julius look at his belt, likely processing his team, before nodding and sending out his next. “Let’s go, Wooper!”

“Mutually assured destruction, huh?”

“I still find it kind of weird that Wooper's weak to his own type. Well, for something that isn’t Ghost type.”

“Yep, it catches people off guard sometimes. But…!”

However, he didn’t have a chance to press with its elemental advantage as Nemona Terastallized Sprigatito, the familiar crown representing Dark type adorning it.

“Heh, you don’t let up. Wooper, Poison Tail!”

“Sprigatito, Mud Slap again!”

With Wooper not as bulky as Fuecoco, the single Mud Slap looked to deal more damage as it recklessly charged through it to deliver the blow. But the Poison Tail had done its work, despite the fact it was no longer super-effective, with Sprigatito looking dazed after it retreated from the exchange of blows.

Nemona gave Sprigatito a look-over, quickly determining what had happened. “Already using Status Conditions, aren’t you? You really do learn fast!”

“It pays to be quick on the draw. Let’s go again, Wooper.”

However, Sprigatito was still faster than it, and even while weakened with the poison Wooper inflicted on it, it was just a tackle away from downing Wooper.

“Foe’s weak. Knock ‘em out, Nymble!”

Compared to the previous two, the tiny bug sprung left and right, easily dodging a slowed down Mud Slap. And despite its size, it hit hard, with a surprisingly powerful Double Kick audibly planting itself right on Sprigatito’s face and downing it.

“Geez, that cat is fast .” Julius grumbled. “I thought Nymble was faster, but I guess you learn something new every day. At least I don’t have to worry about a shutout anymore.”

“Not bad, Julius. Let’s see how you handle being on the backfoot, though!”

“Like I haven’t been there the whole time.”

While he seemed to be complaining, he sounded fairly nonchalant, maybe even a little jovial, about it. It was like he was enjoying the fact she never let up as she sent out Rockruff. While the brown dog clearly outsized the tiny bug, Nymble didn’t even seem twitchy, instead calmly standing in the middle of the arena, watching for the first sign of movement.

Though on the contrary, Julius didn’t conceal how he seemed legitimately annoyed that Rockruff was faster than Nymble.

It might be getting ahead of myself, but… I know he’ll train them to be faster next time around.

Nemona shook off those thoughts as she commanded Rockruff to use Rock Throw, with Julius calling for another Double Kick. Nymble was naturally evasive, managing to dart between the launched rocks Rockruff created, but Rockruff was just as fast if not slightly faster than Nymble, allowing it to angle against the strikes to prevent a direct impact.

Her heart raced as she realized defeat was a real possibility. If she couldn’t land a clean hit on Nymble, it might really be over.

“Rockruff, Sand Attack!”

The dust and sand moved far faster than Rock Throw, which Nymble seemed to be anticipating with its rhythm—and so, it ended up taking the attack head on. With Nymble temporarily blinded, its Double Kick missed completely.

“Now, Rock Throw!”

The rocks that once missed now found their mark as Nymble’s momentum kept it moving in a more predictable pattern due to whiffing on the kick. Its defenses weren’t even comparable to Wooper or Fuecoco’s, with a single hit taking it out.

“Up to you, Pawmi.”

“Miiii!”

With his back to the wall, it was only natural that Julius Terastallized Pawmi, who was now adorned with a lightbulb shaped crystal crown on its head.

It was anyone’s match to take.

“Pawmi, Nuzzle!”

“Rockruff, Mud Slap!”

The two were evenly matched in speed, with Pawmi charging through the hail of mud to try and slam into Rockruff. With both attacks connecting, both Pokemon retreated to a safer distance as they circled one another. Rockruff was clearly slowed, though, as occasionally sparks of electricity would run across its body.

“Thundershock!”

“Mud Slap!”

Pawmi moved first, but with the mud still left in her eyes from the previous exchange, there wasn’t a clean hit. Neither side was sure who had dealt more damage in the exchange, but it was clear that without any better options to each side, it was a simple race and a matter of whether or not the paralysis on Rockruff would hold.

The crowd held its breath, wincing as Pawmi launched a Thundershock that was a clear miss, taking another Mud Slap in return. But before Rockruff could finish the job, it was held back by its paralysis, giving Pawmi just enough time to wipe the mud from her eyes and fire off a Thundershock in retaliation. However, the gap was becoming more readily apparent. 

Rockruff was simply tougher in nature, taking far less damage per hit. Even with Terastallizing improving Pawmi’s attacks, without a decisive blow from a super-effective move, Pawmi would lose the damage race. Plus, it seemed like Nemona’s team was naturally tougher; perhaps it had been because Julius spread his training out across four while Nemona had focused on just two. In any case…

“Rockruff, go for Rock Throw!”

With the toll of an extended battle taking its toll on her, Pawmi was unable to dodge. Its naturally lower toughness meant the attack hit hard, and as she fainted and fell to the ground, the lightbulb crown atop her head disappeared.

“And that’s all she wrote, huh?” Julius said, returning Pawmi. “Good effort, Pawmi. I’m out of Pokemon, so it looks like your win. You’re seriously amazing.”

He walked onto the pitch, a hand extended. Nemona returned Rockruff, meeting him in the middle. She put on a bit of a forced smile as Julius shook her hand.

She had a good idea about the kind of person he was. Grumpy and sour, sure, but also kind, even if he wouldn’t admit it. He probably saw what was going on and decided to do something about it, much like the girl that Team Star had been harassing. It sort of touched her that he’d actually go out of his way to call out to her rather than just silently come over considering how they didn’t know each other very well. But with how things would go, she couldn’t expect anything further.

That, and she could see it on his face. The bitterness at having victory snatched away at the last moment, especially with such a big audience. That was sure to put a damper on things. And there was no doubt in her mind that he had heard the rumors by now, too. In fact, now that the advanced students had their eyes on him, they’d probably privately tell him that he couldn’t expect to win because “Nemona is just too strong” and that he was better off spending his time training with someone else. He’d leave just like everyone else. But at the very least, she was expecting it this time around. 

It’s just how it always was. Though… it might hurt a little more than usual, since she had actually gotten to befriend him, even for just a bit. At least this time, they seemed to have some fun, just once.

“Same time, same pitch tomorrow? Battling Classes are double-blocked, right?”

The world around them froze once again. In the adjacent battle pitch, the Gyarados’ trainer forgot to call out for his Pokemon to dodge, with Gyarados eating a full Thunder and going down.

Ah, I guess he’s the thorough type, too.

It made sense, Nemona thought. All eyes might be on them for a while, so one more rematch couldn’t hurt. Maybe he just wanted to even the score next time, as it had been pretty close.

“Sure thing, Julius.” She managed to force out, having been caught a little off guard.

“Alright. Well, I have to dash for now.” He turned around, waving without looking back at her. “Hey Miss Dendra! I have to heal my team, where do we go for that again?”

Nemona could only watch his back as he was swarmed by the other newer students, no doubt interested in how he held his own against an advanced student.

You really are too kind, Julius.

Which only surprised her even more the next day when, true to his word, Nemona saw Julius standing at the same pitch, arms crossed. She looked around for where his class was, finding them in another set of fields.

Did Miss Dendra actually let him do this? She thought as she began to approach, feet moving with trepidation. As she walked by, she could hear the whispers that were wondering how long it would be before “he’d learn how strong she was soon enough” and other assorted similar items. It cut deep into her heart, seeing her fellow advanced students still refuse to have a match with her even with her newly displayed brand new team, as if they had already given up against her. Like she was some sort of monster that radically empowered her Pokemon.

The battle went almost the same as the day before, aside from Julius opening up with Wooper to try and land Poisoned early and forcing her to commit to Terastallizing Sprigatito. It caught her temporarily off guard, but she still managed to pull a victory.

“Same time tomorrow?”

The rest of the week flew by. Every day, he’d be at the pitch. Every time, he lost, but every time, he’d say those three words. Admittedly, on Friday, she was on autopilot and said yes, thinking he meant Monday.

That Saturday, she ended up sprinting out to the field, completely disregarding whatever student council work she had left to do when she heard some students offhandedly mention “that weird boy” was waiting alone on a field as she was getting something from a vending machine.

“You’re late” was all he had to say, in that usual sardonic tone of his.

There’s a limit to how kind someone can be!

Then, on Wednesday, a week after their first battle—

Nemona blinked as Fuecoco suddenly landed a clean strike with Ember. That wouldn’t have been strange, but the fact Fuecoco had attacked before Sprigatito had caught her off guard. She took a second glance at the field, finding a small claw on Fuecoco’s left hand.

“...huh, it actually worked this time.”

Before she knew it, genuine laughter was rising from her throat.

“Oi, what’s got you in a laughing fit?”

“Is… is that a Quick Claw!?”

“Yeah? What’s so funny about that?”

“They’re… they’re terrible, Julius!” Nemona said in between laughter. “They’re unreliable and generally battles don’t last long enough for them to activate more than once!”

“Oh.” Somehow, that managed to earn a single chuckle from him. “I want those ten hours I spent doing errands for LP back. Still, it might not work all the time, but hey, it worked this time.”

“Mhm! But you haven’t won yet!”

“Let’s not get complacent, Fuecoco.”

On that day, Nemona had never felt so happy yet so frustrated as she watched Julius’ Nymble dart between her Rockruff’s thrown stones and land a clean Double Kick on it for the KO. Reflexively, her hand reached for another Pokeball, but she found it slipping through air.

Oh. Oh…!

“Same time tomorrow? You’ve got to even the score now, right?”

…Oh. He… he really gave everything for this fight.

Nemona’s thoughts were racing so fast she could barely muster a response. Her feelings were going to overflow at this rate. He endured loss after loss, steadily learning, coming up with his own strategy to beat her—sure, it had been a little due to luck with how the Quick Claw gave him the win, but that was part of his strategy and a risk he took. A win was a win and he was clearly planning to have it be less up to chance. Then, on top of that, telling her she needed to win, like the past week of losses hadn’t happened?

I… I have to go. I might say something that will completely put him off to this if I don’t…! If I lose this, then I…!

“Nemona?”

“Y… you bet, Julius! I’m taking the crown back from you next time for sure!”

A week blasted by since that fateful battle. Julius had an uptick of popularity among the new students as word quickly spread about his victory over Nemona. By now, the population of newer students knew who she was, so the fact he had some favor with the student council president who was quite diligent in her student council duties and was also known as the only Champion-rank trainer in Paldea made him an icon and ideal to strive for. Certainly, it helped that he was a fit young man as many his age group found out during physical electives, though since Nemona didn’t take any, the two never crossed paths there. 

The same couldn't be said for the advanced students, who either shied away from him or seemed to regard him with a level of disdain.

A few other things had changed in the past week, too. Namely, Nemona basically kidnapping Julius whenever possible. Their homeroom classroom became a de facto “Nemona Tutelage Center” after classes were over as she and Julius used the whiteboards to come up with move combinations, held item strategies, and ways to combat hypothetical enemies such as “a very fast special attack focused Grass and Flying type”.

While other students would stick around for perhaps an hour or two, it became frequent to see the two going until eight or nine at night.

“ Ahem .”

Julius and Nemona looked away from the whiteboard on a Friday evening, finding Clavell clearing his throat while standing in the doorway.

“Mister Clavell?” The duo asked together.

“The ah, main school building will be closing in about thirty minutes.”

Julius blinked before checking his Rotomphone. “Oh, crap. It’s already nine-thirty?”

“Whoops, sorry Mister Clavell. We’ll be right on out.”

“Also…” Clavell said as the two gathered their things. “...might I just say that, especially with you being our Student Council President, Nemona, that the two of you ought to consider the optics of a young man and young woman being alone together so late at night.”

The two looked at each other before looking back at Clavell.

“Optics?” They chimed together.

Clavell let out a sigh as he pushed on the bridge of his glasses. “It seems I had nothing to be concerned about. I’ll walk the two of you out.”

The three made some small talk, with Clavell taking an interest in their school life so far. Though, he did let Julius off with a warning that Dendra had her hands more full than usual as her letting Julius battle Nemona everyday had set precedent and now other sections of Battling Studies had some newer students trying to battle advanced students. So, if she asked him to help out after class, to at least consider it paying back the favor.

“Uh, sorry…? And I will, yeah.”

Nemona crossed her arms, thinking as they walked through the halls. “Hmmm. While in the spirit of fairness we usually split students up by returning and new students, why not have a big Academy tournament where we hide someone’s experience until after a battle?”

“An interesting proposition.”

Nemona pumped a fist. “I’ll start writing the proposal, then!”

“Tomorrow, you mean. Sleep is important and health is wealth.” Julius added.

“Indeed, Master Julius.”

“Right.” Nemona said with a nod, the three of them exiting the building.

“My dorm’s the opposite way.” Julius said, pointing which way he was going. “The usual time, Nemona?”

“Mhm! See you then!”

Nemona saw him off, waving until he was firmly out of sight. Clavell raised an eyebrow as her hand slowly fell to her side.

“Is something on your mind, Miss Nemona?”

“I…” Nemona swallowed as she looked at the school gates. “I’m worried, Mister Clavell.”

“About Master Julius, I assume?”

Nemona nodded. “He’s really nice, doing all of this. I was just so happy that he committed to battling me every single day for just a week. No one’s ever done that for me, not even before I was Champion Rank. They would lose once, maybe twice, and then conclude I was too strong for them. Even with a brand new team, they thought somehow I’d manage to pull a victory out from underneath them. So… I never realize it until I'm back alone in my room, but I've been indulging in his kindness these past weeks. I just get caught up in the heat of the moment, that there's someone willing to... you know, but I'm worried I'm going to push it too far someday and not even see it coming."

“Miss Nemona.”

“Mister Clavell?”

“It appears,” Clavell said, taking a few steps as he gathered his thoughts. “that you are under the impression that Master Julius is doing this purely out of a sense of pity.”

“Well…”

“Have you asked him?”

“No, but—”

“Then it is entirely possible that Master Julius is enjoying this, yes?”

“But this is Julius we’re talking about. That’s not…”

“Like him”, were the unsaid words. It was at this moment Nemona realized she knew far less about Julius than she would have liked to when making this claim. Certainly, she understood the “grumpy but good-natured” part of him that she occasionally teased him about when he would take the time to help his other classmates and he was a little bit reckless like when he grabbed Pawmi out of the air or dropped off into the ocean. And she did know he was very routine-oriented and heavily invested in his personal fitness, but she didn’t know him.

“Miss Nemona?”

“Er… how would I know, then? Even if I asked him, it’s not like Julius has to tell me the truth. He might hate it for all I know and would just tell me he doesn’t.”

“That is always a possibility. Such is the nature of relationships, Miss Nemona. It is difficult to truly tell what a person is thinking. We must take risks, whether in friendship, in love, or in purely professional affairs. But it is not a risk we have to take blindly.” Clavell brought his feet together, heels tapping together to create a loud click that demanded Nemona’s attention in the otherwise silent evening. “The Treasure Hunt will officially open in two weeks. As I seem to remember, a certain someone who really enjoyed battling became the first person to conquer the League Challenge and become a Champion-rank trainer in Paldea during the Treasure Hunt. Perhaps, if Master Julius has actually taken a liking to battles, if he is informed about the League Challenge, he may pursue it of his own accord. You may find your answer then.”

“I… thanks, Mister Clavell.”

“I value the wellbeing of all of my students, Miss Nemona. It’s simply my job.”

“Heh. Um, good night then, Mister Clavell.”

“Good night, Miss Nemona.”

Nemona’s steps were light, echoing softly under the moonlight as she sprinted away.

Meanwhile, Julius had just finished his evening routine, drying his hair with a hairdryer before lying down on his bed. He turned over, looking at the four Pokeballs that sat on his bedside table and Miraidon who was sleeping against the wall on the floor.

The hell am I doing…?

Calling out to Nemona had been one thing. He owed her, after all. Fighting her multiple times had been another. It kept her fired up and she seemed to be happier, as every time she rolled into Battling Studies, she was practically bouncing up and down. Even during homeroom, she seemed ready to rocket out of her chair like she couldn’t wait for Battling Studies class.

Nemona suddenly having impromptu strategy sessions after class and the late nights meant his efforts had worked; he had managed to guard her drive and prevent her from burning out in frustration. Sure, he was a little deep in it now, but…

…it shouldn’t be me.

A memory flashed through his mind.

“It’s eleven at night, Julius!”

“I… I’m sorry, mom…”

“Hahaha, oh let him off easy, Helena. He’s just really excited with the guitar we got him. But Julius, there’s a time and place for everything, okay?”

His parents had admonished him, gently, of course, for trying to quietly practice the guitar well past his bedtime where he had woken the two of them up by mistake, having underestimated just how loud the guitar was.

This and that are different.

He tried to mentally assert that, but it was a losing battle.

After all, if they were really so different, then what the hell was he doing entertaining her by going this far? It wasn’t like he couldn’t say no. He had every right to cut sessions off early. He could set an alarm for two hours and make an excuse like he wanted to go work out again or that he had prior commitments with other students. It wasn’t as if there weren’t other students that did want to hang out with him. Nemona seemed fairly understanding of his priorities, too, when he would end their strategy sessions so he could go to sleep as he would be working out the next morning.

This went well beyond what he owed her. But if he admitted that much, then he’d have to admit…

It has to be different. He tried to tell himself as he forced his eyes closed.

Chapter Text

“Do you know what you’re doing for the Treasure Hunt?”

It had become the main topic of conversation between students as soon as he had rolled in on Monday morning. Julius really couldn’t believe the pamphlet was real; he had thought it was over glorified when he first read it, if he had to be honest. Almost all of Uva Academy’s students had a basically free license to wander Paldea, seeking their treasure—whatever the hell that meant.

Well, granted there were some stipulations. Students younger than sixteen had to get waivers signed by their parents and also submitted a report on what they were planning to seek. For the adults, it was a mixed bag as those that were working had to balance their work-life while others who were retirees or not working at the moment could wander at their own pace.

For those around Julius’ age, he was given carte blanche. He didn’t even have to physically attend class anymore; all lessons were recorded so he just had to watch them later, where his watching of the lesson would be recorded and he would be all good to go.

“Wouldn’t it be fun to go as a group?”

Julius shrugged as one of his classmates, a girl around his age, asked while batting her eyes at him as she sat on his desk.

“Uh, maybe? But that would mean searching for the same thing, right?”

The girl pouted, with her friends whispering (rather loudly) that “I told you that you didn’t have a chance!”, but before she could press further, a loud voice rang out while the door to the classroom slid open.

“Julius!”

The girl who was sitting on Julius’ desk jumped away as Nemona entered the classroom.

“I’m here, Nemona.”

She ran up to his desk, skidding to a stop. “Did you already decide what you’re doing for the Treasure Hunt!?”

“Seems like everyone wants to know. Not really, though.”

Nemona let out a breath of seeming relief. “Then… why not take on the League Challenge?”

Even for Julius, who wasn’t all too familiar with Pokemon battling, understood what that meant. In basically every region save for a few oddities, there were eight gyms, then the Elite Four, and then the Champion. The League Challenge was fighting your way to the top, though it was really only an extraordinary few that made it that far.

From what he heard during his childhood in Kanto, having all eight was a mystical feat in and of itself. Most only got their hometown badge or one from the city closest to them. Maybe they’d go a town over for two. The first major hurdle was the third badge. Anyone who got their third badge would get it by their fourth try—because there was never a fifth attempt. It was usually around that point a Trainer figured out if they had the “magic touch” or not. The order didn’t really matter, either, as the gym leaders adjusted their teams to match a Trainer’s progress.

It would only get harder from there, to the point someone getting their eighth gym badge was on the level of national news. After all, it meant a new Champion for the region might be on the horizon. Assuming of course, they took on the Elite Four and the Champion. But someone who had the drive to make it that far was basically assumed to be making a bid for championship. 

Out of his childhood years in Kanto, he could remember… at most three people making it that far, but he never saw news that they had a new Champion.

Though, it only made his curiosity about Nemona being a “Champion rank” Trainer rather than the Champion proper increase. Just… where was Paldea’s champion then, and why had they not turned over the title?

Julius realized his thoughts were idling as he noticed Nemona’s expression begin to falter. “I’ll think about it. I mean, you have helped a lot when it comes to battles. It’s like someone finally stepping into the ring to see if the training paid off.”

Nemona put on a subdued smile. “I’ll send you details on the traditional order later, then. Also, I can’t stay after school for a while. I got saddled with a lot of work for the Treasure Hunt…”

“Understandable, really. Don’t overwork yourself.” Julius paused. “...gives me a bit of time to train up for our rematch, right?”

Julius noted that the fire once ignited in Nemona’s eyes didn’t seem nearly as strong as she gave him another softer smile. “Mhm! Mister Jacq already knows I won’t be at homeroom, but just remind him that I’ve got some Treasure Hunt Student Council business.”

“Sure thing.”

Julius watched her leave, Nemona’s steps seemingly light. Though, he noticed some students—namely, the ones he knew were returning students—looking just a little worried. However, he still had some distance with them, so he looked to the beginner students.

“You guys know what’s going on?”

They shook their heads, deferring to the advanced students who finally spoke to him.

“Uh, well… last year, none of us even made it past the fifth gym if you go by the traditional order.” One of the students explained. “A few of us tried to get other badges first and loop back around to it without going in the traditional order, but the Medali City gym put a stop to everyone regardless.”

“Yeah, no one got more than six badges last year. I know Nemona’s got her eye on you, Julius, but you’re better off trying something else.”

Hm. That means Nemona is pretty high up there considering how she’s beaten all of them and made it all the way to Champion-rank… whatever that means.

“I see. Well, I just said I’d give it some thought.”

He told himself this was just for Nemona. It would definitely hurt her to not even make an attempt. He didn’t have a particular goal in mind for the Treasure Hunt anyways, so a little bit of direction was appreciated.

With Nemona preoccupied during the week, he actually had a chance to go out into the city and explore some more restaurants. But over the past few weeks, he had already tried out a majority of the family restaurants or local joints, so he settled for a deli place before hoofing it back to his room.

Maybe I’ll make this Treasure Hunt about food? Paldea’s Top Ten Student Friendly Restaurants, or something like that . He joked to himself as he prepared for bed. Halfway through drying his hair, he could hear his Rotomphone ringing.

An unknown number. So he ignored it. After it finished ringing, it rang again. He continued to ignore it… at least, until it became apparent the caller had no intent of letting him go.

“What the hell, fine. I’ll bite.” He grumbled, answering the call. “Hello?”

“It took you long enough, Julius Merida.”

“Who is this ?”

“...you can call me Cassiopeia.”

Julius bit his lip, thinking about how he wanted to handle this considering how whoever this was knew who he was and he didn’t know them. “Alright, Cassiopeia, what do you want from me?”

“I need your assistance, Julius Merida, in stopping Team Star.”

“Why?” Julius asked, completely baffled as he sat down on his bed. While he wasn’t exactly obligated to do anything, considering how intrusive Team Star had been, this was a good chance to at least learn more about what was going on to make an informed decision.

“I need someone who isn’t afraid of what others think.”

“Hmph. What, you telling me Team Star has control over what people think?”

“Point your Rotomphone at a wall. I am putting your Rotomphone in presentation mode.”

“Wait, wh—”

He pulled his phone away from his ear, seeing his phone start projecting an image onto the ceiling. He moved his Rotomphone to instead point at the wall, finding it was showing a map of the Paldea region.

The hell? I’m supposed to enable that. Did they force it to do that? And how the hell did they know I had a Rotomphone?

An overlay was then put on the map. Highlighted in yellow were zones labeled “Team Star Control”.

“This is a time lapse of territory controlled by Team Star starting approximately two years ago.” Cassiopeia explained as the yellow areas began to grow. “And this is the current day… and this is projected growth within a year.”

Julius narrowed his eyes as he watched one of the yellow zones grow closer to his house.

“Team Star at the moment has taken control of multiple roads from one town to another or will be projected to do so in the current year. At its current rate, Paldea will be strangled from the inside out.”

“They won’t get stamped down by the authorities?”

“If they had any interest in doing so, they would have done it already. Someone is pulling the strings. The situation has deteriorated to the point that Team Star is already attempting to recruit students on the Uva Academy grounds whereas they were previously unwelcome anywhere even within Mesagoza.”

“I don’t get what this has to do with me not being afraid of what others think, though.”

“It’s a matter of doing what’s right versus what’s easy. It’s easy to do right when no one is watching. But when everyone has eyes on you and is judging you, will you do the same?”

“I don’t get what you’re talking about.”

“That girl you saved from Team Star’s recruitment attempts. I saw it. Plenty of other people were looking the other way. More experienced Trainers, stronger Trainers, or even those that could have defused the situation without forcing a fight. But they just looked the other way. You and you alone came to her aid. I believe… you can be trusted to do the right thing.”

“...alright. But you’re putting way too much stock on me. I don’t even have a single Pokemon Gym badge or anything like that.”

“I know. But it’s better that someone who isn’t well known does this. They won’t see it coming. And whoever is pulling the strings won’t either.”

“Uh-huh… still doesn’t change the fact you’re asking me to basically go to war.”

“That is why I am prepared to fund you with 100,000 LP to begin with. That should be enough to purchase Pokemon materials to craft TMs, purchase held items, battle items, berries, or outright buy TMs. If you truly need them, I can also import TRs from Galar.”

He almost choked on air. “The hell!?”

“Do I have your cooperation, Julius Merida?”

“...That’s a lot to take in. Can I get some time to think, at least? You’re putting me on the spot, otherwise, and this is a big commitment considering how I don’t know you.”

“...I see. I will contact you again in twenty-four hours. I hope we can work together. Additionally, I believe you already understand that you should not tell anyone about this.”

With that, the call ended, the projection ending. Julius bit his lips as he thought about the spread of Team Star.

He checked his call records, but it seems Cassiopeia had been thorough, managing to even wipe away traces of the fact they called.

His first instinct was to go to Clavell. But there was a chance that Clavell was lying to him, but that sounded wild. His mother trusted Clavell, so he felt he could, too. If anything, Clavell was trying to save Team Star… but that could all just be a front. But in the end, there was no one else he could turn to.

Deciding to trust in his mom’s trust, he decided to go talk to Clavell the next day.

“Hm.”

Clavell put a hand to his chin after Julius reported what had happened. Though for now, he decided to omit the part about the 100,000 LP as that seemed way too ridiculous to be true.

“An interesting choice of name, Cassiopeia.”

“Uh… why, sir?”

“Few things are known about what we refer to as the Team Star Incident that occurred between two and three years ago. For whatever reason, the electronic records are basically missing and all of the staff here are new, so I can’t ask any of them for context. I only know that some thing happened. But one of the few surviving details is that Team Star’s leader was named Cassiopeia.”

“Huh…”

“It seems odd that someone would claim that name while also looking to destroy them. But if this Cassiopeia knows about their inner workings and understands how to take Team Star down, they may be the real deal.” Clavell paused, letting out a sigh. “Are you thinking of helping?”

“I’m not sure. On one hand, I’d like to stop them from getting too close to home. On the other hand, I’m…” Julius huffed. “That’s not me.”

Clavell had to suppress a chuckle as he watched Julius try to deny himself. The details of him interfering with Team Star, the fact he was caring for Miraidon, and the story of him calling out to Nemona had all reached his ears. Even if Julius didn’t want to admit it, he was already beginning to change.

“Hoh, I see. Well, if you are worried about whether or not you’ll be allowed to do it… as it so happens, I have a lot of flexibility in how I deal with Team Star. I can’t officially condone you playing vigilante, but on the other hand… I have no grounds to punish you if you do such a thing as part of your Treasure Hunt, so long as you don’t violate any actual laws.”

“I never asked about that.”

Clavell chuckled. “Quite. However, if you do choose to help, I have a request. Please record your interactions with Team Star. We may be able to get to the bottom of what caused the Team Star issue to begin with.”

“Huh…”

“It’s whatever you want to do, Master Julius.”

Whatever I want to do, huh…

The young man closed his eyes, thinking on that statement. Just what did he want? If he wanted anything, it was to at least keep his mother safe. And he thought about what she’d want.

…well, she’d probably want him to be safe, for one. But she’d also probably tell him to do what he felt he should do.

He thought about calling out to Nemona. Sure, he owed her—but everything afterwards…

He wasn’t the hero type, he knew that much. He was just a guy trying to get by. But that didn’t mean he was the type to ignore problems in front of him, either. Besides, it’s not like he had to commit to defeating Team Star. There was a non-zero chance Cassiopeia was manipulating him and if he found out the truth, then he could take action. He might not be the hero type, but he didn’t like being played like a fiddle, either, and well, he’d want to settle the score. That meant needing more information. And the only way to do that was ironically to walk in and fight Team Star.

He didn’t know who was lying. Clavell might be lying to him right now for all he knew. But doing nothing was definitely the wrong option. Cassiopeia might be lying about a lot of things, but something was clearly happening behind the scenes.

“Take your time, Master Julius. Though it is worrying that they were able to get your phone number. I will have to ask our security team to make sure there hasn’t been any issues.”

“Thanks, Mister Clavell.”

“Though, may I take up a little bit more of your time?”

Julius tilted his head. “What’s going on?”

“There’s someone who wants to speak with you. Give me a moment.”

After a few seconds of waiting, the TV in Clavell’s office turned on, revealing an older man with dark brown hair that had a figure that looked more than muscular underneath his white labcoat. His shirt seemed to exude a futuristic aura, having almost purple glowing lines on it.

“Professor Turo, can you hear us?”

“Yes, I can. I assume this is Julius?”

“That’s me, sir.”

“It is nice to meet you, even if virtually, Julius.” The man said, waving. Julius looked behind him and noticed whiteboards that were more than used, though if he looked harder, the room that this Professor Turo was in looked almost… dilapidated.

Wait, wasn’t Arven this guy’s son…?

“I’ll have to keep this brief as I don’t have a lot of time. As Director Clavell said, my name is Professor Turo. I carry out Pokemon research within the Great Crater of Paldea—also known as Area Zero.”

“Professor Turo is in fact, a graduate of our academy, and a splendid researcher.”

“Ha. Let me get to the point. Julius, student ID number… 805C393. Recently you’ve been entrusted with and are caring for a rather unique Pokemon named Miraidon, is that correct?”

“Uh, yes it is, sir. Is that a problem?”

“No, it isn’t.”

Before he could continue, the sound of a Pokeball opening up could be heard. Miraidon had let itself out and happily moved up closer to the TV, leaning its head in close. “Agia?”

“Oh. How good to see that you are well. It has been quite a while since we last met, Miraidon.” Professor Turo continued, with Miraidon letting out a “Gias!” sound as it sat back, looking like a trained dog. “Miraidon was once in my care, you see. Its Pokeball was also originally mine. I assume you received it from a young man called Arven.”

…that’s a weird way to refer to your son. Julius thought, but nodded. 

“I am no longer in any position to be able to manage that Pokemon myself. So, I’d like for you to continue to look after it. While it’s no longer in any condition to battle, a condition that might take a very long time to heal from, Miraidon does possess a form that is more optimized for mobility. I believe it might aid you, as if my calendar date is correctly set, the Treasure Hunt of Uva Academy will begin shortly.”

“That’s correct, Turo.” Clavell chimed in.

“Good. Julius, I will provide you with my contact information. I would like to keep in touch with you to keep tabs on your status as well as Miraidon’s.”

After exchanging numbers and confirming that both of them got each other’s texts, Professor Turo nodded. “That will have to be all for now. There’s things to attend to down here. Thank you for allowing me to speak with Julius, Clavell.”

With that, the call ended, but Miraidon seemed to protest even if it was too late. Julius noticed Clavell frowning, but as soon as Clavell noticed, the director of Uva Academy shook his head as if to dismiss any concerns.

After a few more moments of Miraidon’s anguished cries, Julius very slowly put a hand on Miraidon’s head which seemed to make it relax.

“Anything else, Mister Clavell?”

“No, Master Julius. That should be all.”

“Right. Miraidon, let’s go for a jog. It helps as a pick me up, but also in clearing your head.”

“Agia…”

With Nemona busy after class, rather than go for a battle, there was a good window of time to go for a mind-clearing jog. Pawmi, Nymble, and Miraidon seemed to like accompanying him during his morning runs, being faster than the others, so they joined him again even if it was an afternoon run—though in this case, Miraidon was probably also just trying to clear its head. While at first during his runs Miraidon attracted a lot of attention, it seemed to have been written off as “of course the guy who hangs around with Nemona would have some unique Pokemon” and so there were less stares today. 

After about an hour of an easy jog, he took a break on one of the bleachers by the wall of the outdoor training area, resting in the shade. He was in the middle of stretching his legs when he heard Pawmi make a sound as if to alert him to something.

“Hey.”

Julius paused, turning his head to find Arven standing a few feet away.

“Well, long time no see. You picking another fight today?” 

As soon as he said this, Pawmi assumed an aggressive stance, ready to go. Julius put a hand on her head, lightly pushing down on her.

“Easy, girl.”

“Miiii…”

“It’s fine. Anyways, don’t just stand there. Why are you here?”

Arven grit his teeth. “I need… hey, what gives?!”

Julius stopped his stretches. “I’m listening?”

“Haven’t you ever heard of giving someone your full attention?”

“Do you deserve my full attention? Besides, I’m just stretching.”

“You…!”

“You need me for something, so out with it.”

Arven bit down even harder before looking away. “...I need your help.”

Julius blinked a few times before raising an eyebrow. “With that?”

“I found this book the other day and it had a section about these things called Herba Mystica. They’re some kind of special herb that heal up any Pokemon as soon as it eats them, with five types. Just taking even a little lick of them once they’ve been powdered is said to have all sorts of health benefits—some people think it’ll even prevent aging. But that book also said they’re all guarded by Titan Pokemon, meaning that it’s going to be tough to try and grab even a few sprigs.”

He showed off the pages of the book, with a sketch of a four-legged elephant-like beast displayed and a journal entry indicating that whatever it was, actually killed a researcher and forced the research team to retreat.

“I really want to get those herbs for myself, but… I’m not very good at Pokemon battles.”

Julius slowly nodded before rubbing his temples. “And so, why me?”

“You’re crazy enough to fight Nemona for a week straight. You won against Nemona.”

“First, stop talking like she’s invincible. Second, there’s plenty of people who could help you. Probably stronger than me, too. Why not ask Nemona?”

“Are you kidding me!? I’d never hear the end of it if I went crawling back to her. Besides, you really think she’d help?”

Julius frowned, seeing just how far the stigma surrounding Nemona went before sighing and starting to walk away. “Knock that off. Besides, I won because she’s using a new team. Like I said, there’s people stronger than me here. So go ask a friend of yours—”

“I don’t have anyone else!”

Julius stopped walking as he heard Arven’s outburst. When he turned around, Arven sharply looked down at the ground to evade eye contact, but his hands were still tightly clenched around his backpack straps. His torso was quaking, even if only slightly, and the way his legs wobbled radiated desperation.

Julius swallowed his next words, thinking about tougher times. It might have been nice to have someone else during the most trying of times. Mom had been there, sure, but his mom wasn’t the same as a friend like a classmate.

He thought about what he should do. What his mom and dad would want him to do. What mom would think if he told her that he walked away from this, knowing all he knew and experiencing everything he had so far in his life. While mom would probably tell him he always had that right, he knew deep in his heart that they would both know he didn’t make the right choice.

“...on one condition.”

Arven snapped his head up.

“I want an apology. One to me, one to Miraidon.” Julius said, beckoning the purple Pokemon over.

“An apology for… what?”

“For one, you forced me to battle you when we met, even though I told you I had just fallen off a cliff.”

“Wait, you were seri—”

“Of course I was serious! Who the hell lies about falling off a cliff!?” Julius complained, rubbing his temples. “You were a real ass back there, so I want an apology. Then, I want an apology to Miraidon. Seeing as he’s now in my care, thanks to you, despite always wanting a snack—” He paused, putting a hand on Miraidon’s head and pushing down as if to cut it off from saying anything. “—he’s not the brute you keep insisting he is. If we’re going to work together, then we need to clear the air. So I want you to apologize.”

Arven’s hands tightened, weighing the situation before bowing his head, even if he was biting down hard. A few moments passed before he spoke.

“I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

“For my actions towards you and Miraidon.” Arven forced out.

“And those actions are?”

Arven looked up. “Seriously!?”

Julius crossed his arms. “Do you want my help or not?”

Arven let out a grumbling sigh through his grit teeth before bowing his head again. “...for forcing you into a battle and belittling Miraidon.”

“Okay, apology accepted. At least, for me. How about you, Miraidon?”

A happy “Ah-giya!” was let out, with Julius nodding his head as Arven came out of his bow. 

“I’m not going to drop everything just for you. I’ve got my own things to be doing, but just call me if you need help.” Julius said, offering his Rotomphone.

“...just like that?” Arven asked, taking it to put his contact info.

“What do you mean just like that?”

“That’s all you want?”

“If your apology was sincere, yeah.” Julius said, taking his Rotomphone back from Arven.

“That’s all it takes for you to forgive me?”

“That’s all it takes to not be an asshole, yes. It’s not like you betrayed me or tried to screw me over. Just don’t be a dick anymore and we can work together at least. Anyways, I reek, so I’m going to take a shower.”

Arven could only stare with his mouth open as he watched Julius walk away, his Pokemon in tow. He hadn’t expected it to be that easy, but to hear it like that from Julius was weird .

“...hold on for just a little longer, Mabosstiff…”

Julius let out a long sigh as he stared up at the ceiling over his head. Sometimes, he really disliked this part of himself, being unable to just leave it alone. Especially if it hit too close to home.

First Nemona, now Arven… he couldn’t deny there was a small spark of kinship with both of them. It might have been presumptuous to think about it, but there was a real chance that had he not taken the leap of faith at the encouragement of his mother to attend Uva Academy, the three might have just continued to drift alone.

The ringing of his Rotomphone reminded him there was a third person that was demanding his time. 

“Cassiopeia, huh?”

With that, he answered the phone.

“Julius Merida, do you have an answer?”

“Yeah.” He paused. “I thought about it. I’ll throw my hat in with you. But I’m doing things my way, alright? I’m not taking orders from you or anything.”

“As it should be. I’m the one requesting your assistance. And I don’t make a habit of issuing orders to others. It goes against what I believe in.”

“Is that so? Well, it’s appreciated.”

“If you take too long to engage Team Star, I’ll check in with you. I’ll give you a map that marks the coordinates of each Team Star base and where the entrance is.”

“Nothing sneaky?”

“Team Star has a code. A code we can exploit. If you challenge the boss of a Team Star base, their squad leader, they have no choice but to accept. And should they lose, they must forfeit their role as the leader altogether, as well as surrendering what is called a Star Badge Fragment.”

“I’m sensing a catch here.”

“The leaders of the base have grown… prideful. They won’t make a showing unless you make enough noise. And by make enough noise, I mean cut down all of the grunts.”

“You’re seriously overestimating my abilities here.”

“That’s why I said I was willing to fund you. Any garden variety trainer would get overwhelmed by the sheer numbers. However, within a week, you were capable of coming up with a strategy to defeat Nemona. I tracked the funds coming into your account and also saw the purchase of the Quick Claw used in your strategy. Quick Claws are relatively cheap, so if you have more flexibility in your purchasing, I believe you can come up with a strategy.”

“Haaaaa… right.”

“Don’t worry. You won’t have to fight them alone. I can’t fight them in the open, but I can provide backup from a distance. Additionally, it seems that girl you rescued wants to join in what I am calling Operation Starfall. She might not be very good at battling, but she can support you.”

“Huh. So basically, storm the gates, defeat every grunt I can find to get the boss agitated enough to come out, and win?”

“Put simply, yes.”

Julius furrowed his eyebrows. “What’s this about the Star Badge Fragment, though?”

“It’s proof of legitimacy as a Team Star leader. The squad leaders are just that: squad leaders. However, there is the leader of Team Star who issued them those fragments. The fragments can be put together like puzzle pieces and when combined with the leader’s fragment, can be verified.”

Julius paused, wondering if this ‘Cassiopeia’ he was talking to was the real deal, like Clavell had stated. They clearly knew a lot about the inner workings of Team Star, but if that was the case, why was the leader now attempting to destroy them?

“I see. I’ll remember to ask for it, then.”

“Good. Each Team Star base focuses on a particular Type of Pokemon. I will send you the locations of each one as well as their specialty. Plan accordingly.”

“Right.”

“Do you have any other questions?”

“Just one. You’ve talked a lot about why I should fight Team Star. But I want to hear it from you about why you want them gone.”

There was a long period of silence, lasting about ten seconds before Cassiopeia replied.

“...call it a sense of justice. While Team Star needs to be stopped, that also holds for whoever is backing them, doubly so. Messes shouldn’t be left behind.”

“Right.”

“The funds I promised you will come over the next few days. They’ll look like legitimate tutoring payments. Also, don’t spend it all at once. It’ll look suspicious otherwise.”

“I wouldn’t even know how to spend a hundred thousand LP.”

“Just warning you.”

“Got it. Well… talk to you later, then.”

“Don’t delay for too long.”

With that, the call ended. Julius put his Rotomphone on his desk, letting out another sigh. He was committed now, if only to get to the bottom of this situation that he had been thrown in and to protect his mom.

Speaking of mom, this is all her fault. He mentally grumbled, even if he wasn’t serious. It had been his mom that had convinced him to enroll into Uva Academy and it had also been his mom who was on his mind when it came to dealing with Nemona, Arven, and now Cassiopeia. But it wasn’t like he could really lay any serious blame on his mom for giving him a conscience of all things.

It seems like it’s going to be a pretty busy time. 

His Rotomphone buzzed again. After checking it, he found Cassiopeia had sent the data on where to find the Team Star bases, as well as pictures of their leaders and a rough approximation on the power ranking of each one. Cassiopeia was certainly knowledgeable, to say the least.

“Dark, Fairy, Poison, Fire, and Fighting, huh?” He closed his eyes and thought about it. Nymble could take on Dark and Wooper could take on Fairy, but he didn’t have a good answer to the others at the moment. If he ended up committing to this fight, then he’d need to expand his team or teach them a lot more moves to cover the weaknesses.

Seems like everything Nemona’s taught me is going to see more use than I thought. He thought to himself, slightly amused. Right. If these guys are willing to take over turf here in Paldea, they’re definitely willing to cross a few lines. I’ll have to spend a little less time hitting the gym and more time hitting the punching bag and ring if things go… less than civilized.

The days continued to go on after that. Every student that was going on the Treasure Hunt were slowly—some perhaps, too slowly—making their preparations.

Soon enough, the fateful day arrived, with a speech from Director Clavell being scheduled first thing in the morning. Some advanced students, who had likely heard a variation of this speech, decided to skip out on it, already heading to their destinations for their own Treasure Hunt.

Looking around when he arrived, Julius couldn’t spot neither Arven nor Nemona even as Director Clavell took to the stage.

“Good morning, everyone. I see you are all ready to go on your Treasure Hunt. For some of you, this will be the first time you undertake this tradition at Uva Academy. For others, it’s a continuation of a great journey. Regardless of which it is, I ask each of you to set out and travel the world in search of your own treasure.” Clavell paused, chuckling. “First, a few administrative items. Remember, the Great Crater of Paldea is exceedingly dangerous! Entering it is a violation of school rules. Additionally, when traversing the Asado Desert on the western side of Paldea, the path from Cascarrafa to Porto Marinada is marked by large beacons. There are reports of a more vicious and dangerous Pokemon that is being investigated, however it does not seem to travel by the path laid out by the beacons. Please do not take unnecessary risks.”

At this time, having already headed out the eastern gate of Mesagoza, Arven was walking the dusty trail, walking stick in hand as he clambered up and down the slopes. He didn’t have time for speeches or pleasantries; not when every second counted. There was no guarantee that Julius would come rushing to his side either, but he was the only backup he could count on. At the very least, he could do most of the legwork and reduce the risk of him walking out. 

Maybe, just maybe, the one thing he considered his treasure would have a fighting chance in this world.

“Still… you have all learned much within the walls of our fine academy. But now it is time to turn your eyes upon the wider world and deepen your understanding. Explore Paldea’s abundant nature, soak in its rich culture… discover the Pokemon that live here and get to know the people too.”

With most of the students listening to the speech being given in the school courtyard, the PCs for Pokemon storage were almost all available. Nemona looked at the screen, seeing the pictures and stats of her old team. Kilowattrel, Armarouge, Scizor, Tyranitar, and Goodra. She gently placed her ever-faithful Aqua Breed Tauros’ ball in the deposit slot,  seeing him pop up on the storage screen. This team had been good to her, having been the foundation her meteoric rise was built on. But now they were almost a crushing weight on her, as this was the team deemed far too strong for everyone else. As her heart wavered for a moment, she recalled the words “Same time tomorrow?” that Julius had said as well as Clavell’s advice, giving her calm. She hoped that he’d soar high in the League Challenge and come to enjoy battling as much as she did. 

Maybe, just maybe, she’d finally have someone she could walk side by side with.

“Where will you travel? Who will you meet? And what will you achieve? Of course, your Pokemon partners will be there to help you. You’ll journey together, learn new things together, share each other’s thoughts and feelings… and perhaps you will find something you will always treasure. Or, forgive me for the cliche, find what you treasured has always been by your side.”

Since on paper, Cassiopeia was supposed to not be anywhere near Uva Academy, they had put on a generic medium length brown wig with an androgynous hairstyle and a disguise. If you could call khakis and a polo shirt a disguise, anyways. They carried a black laptop bag as they approached the front desk area while flashing their fake ID badge, with it being empty due to a majority of students listening to Director Clavell’s speech, informing them they had arrived to deal with the network being degraded again—not mentioning the fact they had been the cause of the denial of service attack that crippled Uva Academy’s network. The root cause this time was apparently a pipe had burst somewhere nearby and may have short circuited some of the equipment and their ID badge supposedly “wasn’t working” to get them in. Of course, no one would ever suspect a Vaporeon had slipped into the pipes and caused some damage from the inside. And as for the actual IT staff of Uva Academy, suffice to say in a few days there would be rumors of a Jigglypuff outbreak as they would all report they heard singing before passing out for a few hours. Unfortunately though, playing dirty was all they could do; if it came to an actual fight or confrontation, they’d have no choice but to flee, having no skill in battle. However, they needed to take these kinds of risks, if it meant tipping the scales in their favor. 

Maybe, just maybe, the hammer of justice would finally fall upon not just Team Star, but to whoever was manipulating them.

“I look forward to welcoming you all back after your independent study… when you return to us grown in body, mind, and spirit! Let the Treasure Hunt begin!

With a dramatic finishing clap, the students were dismissed. Julius took his time, being in no rush and also wanting to avoid the rush of students eager to make their way out. After giving it an hour, he gathered his things and left through the main entrance of Uva Academy, Miraidon in tow as the mysterious purple Pokemon was in charge of carrying the cooler and bags with his supplies.

The noon sun blazed overhead, but for a late Paldean spring it wasn’t too hot. He adjusted his newly bought checkered newsboy hat, meant to replace the one he lost when he fell into the ocean with Pawmi, blocking the rays from his eyes.

No longer half-blinded, his eyes refocused. Standing a few yards away was Nemona. It seemed she was waiting for him, as she pushed off against the guardrails as they locked eyes.

“Ah, you really want to have a battle out here with everyone around us?”

Nemona laughed at Julius’ sarcastic question.

“Battling can wait for later. But since we did lock eyes…”

Julius huffed, rolling his eyes. “Yeah, I know.”

“You’re planning on traveling alone, right?”

“You coming with?”

Nemona shook her head. “My traveling schedule is going to be a lot slower since I still have to do student council work even while I’m on the Treasure Hunt. It wouldn’t be fair for me to drag you along. Besides, it would ruin the surprise of what we bring to our battles.”

“I guess I should bring a second Quick Claw next time.”

Nemona cracked a smile at that. “You know how to get to Cortondo from here, right?”

“It’s just a straight shot down the road. Best to do things in the traditional order, right?”

“Yep! Best of luck, Julius. I’ll try and watch if I can.”

“Thanks. See you around, Nemona.”

With that, he walked past her, waving with right hand while not turning around. Her heart felt a little lighter, hearing that he was going to at least try the League Challenge.

As a flock of Staravia’s flew overhead, the winds of change slowly swept over Paldea…

“Good morning, Geeta.” Clavell said after opening the door to the conference room.

The dark-skinned, raven-haired woman with a matching black suit that had dark purple highlights on the cuffs only silently nodded in response as she was currently sipping from a straw that was stuck into a plastic cup as tall as her forearm was long and about as wide as a computer mouse. The symbol of the Pikaffeine brand was prominently displayed on it, giving zero subtlety to what was in the cup.

“I say this every week, but that isn’t healthy for you.”

Geeta slowly put the cup down. “It’s not Red Tauros, at least.”

Clavell rolled his eyes as he sat down across from Geeta at the rectangular table which could seat ten. “You say that like that was more than a marginal difference at best.”

“There’s a lot of work to be done and you can only spend so many hours sleeping.” She flatly replied. Clavell simply let out the usual sigh, electing not to make a comment about the eyebags that were showing despite the makeup. “I’m a little ahead of the others that are attending. That was a good speech.”

“Thank you.”

“I just wish you didn’t have to give the warning about the Asado Desert.”

“It isn’t your fault that whatever that thing is became active again. It’s been dormant all these years, so I can’t imagine what caused it to start becoming active. But it worries me…”

“The presence of Miraidon, yes? I read your report. Something coming out of Area Zero… if it wasn’t for its special circumstances, I would have already given the go ahead for its secure containment.”

“Mhm. I have no proof they are related, but Miraidon’s appearance and the being in the Asado Desert becoming active again happening too close to each other makes it seem connected.”

“We’ll just have to be diligent. Still, before the others arrive. Are you making any progress on Team Star? It’s becoming harder to assuage the worries of Paldea’s residents.”

Clavell read into the statement as he frowned. “Harrington again?”

“Amongst others.”

The ever-polite Clavell’s face betrayed a hint of irritation. “For someone who resigned as director at the height of the Team Star incident, he certainly keeps his nose in the Academy’s business.”

“It can’t be helped. He’s well known among the majority of Uva Academy’s biggest donors, so he’s become their representative.”

Clavell sighed. “It would help if he was more forthcoming with details, but he insists the records exist and it would ‘be better to consult official record’ than his recounting years after the matter. Regardless, I’ve issued my ultimatum to Team Star and have no reason to change it yet. But…”

Geeta raised an eyebrow. “But?”

“I might have a lead to more details on Team Star. Forgive me for keeping my cards close to my chest, but you are the one who gave me essentially a pass to deal with them as I see fit. It will work better if I don’t reveal too much yet, as whether or not things pan out remains to be seen.”

Geeta narrowed her eyes, staring Clavell down. Almost everyone withered under this gaze. The amount of people who didn’t could be counted on one hand, numbering at Clavell, Nemona, and Professor Turo… for whenever the last of those actually bothered calling. Nemona was excusable, the girl had been such a blazing meteor of energy that her cold gaze didn’t even make her flinch during their final battle.

However, the ever mild-mannered Clavell not even missing a beat when faced with her piercing eyes felt odd. She knew basically everything about him. After all, as Chairwoman of the Paldean League, she had read his full profile when working with the Uva Academy Executive Board to elect him as Director of Uva Academy. Perhaps he had just been used to dealing with children and was desensitized? But he certainly didn’t act like it. Doubly so because he had only been at this for less than three years, having been hired in the stressful time after the Team Star Incident really came to a head.

“...don’t make me regret it, Clavell.”

“Come now, Geeta. When have I ever done that?” He chuckled, shrugging. “Incidentally, I’m sure it hasn’t escaped your ears, but did you know there’s a student that caught Nemona’s attention?”

“Oh, so one of the advanced students is finally catching up to her?” Geeta asked, reaching for her drink and lifting it to her mouth.

“Interestingly enough, no. He’s a brand new student who actually won a match against Nemona’s new team and he just started training Pokemon this year, too. Actually, even less than that, he started just a few days before the first day of school.”

The color drained from Geeta’s face as she shakily placed her drink back down.

She swallowed. “Clavell.”

“Yes, Geeta?”

“Would you happen to know… if he is thinking of taking on the League Challenge?”

“Hmmm, he might. I suggested Nemona tell him about it, as he seems to possess some skills and he doesn’t seem like the type to have known much about it otherwise. While it may be out of line for me to say this, he does seem to value her input about these sorts of things.”

Geeta narrowed her eyes again, staring down at the empty pages of her notebook. “...so he will probably do it in the traditional order. Do you think he’ll go far?”

“It’s hard to say. There’s no telling how far he’ll go, but if you’re wondering about if he’ll go the full distance, you could at least wait until he claims his third badge. You know what the urban legends are.”

“Yes, yes. There’s almost never a fifth attempt at the third gym badge.” Geeta let out a low hum. “Clavell, do you think he’s left by now?”

“Are you thinking of meeting him?”

“Just for five minutes.”

“The Treasure Hunt just began, Geeta. He’s probably making his final preparations for leaving if he hasn’t already left. Leave him to his youth. If he’s following the traditional order, he’ll have to pass through Mesagoza again anyways.” Clavell said, waving her concerns away. “At the very least, do have the decency to talk to him in private. He’s already attracted attention due to his relationship with Nemona. It seems some of the advanced students are expressing resentment and jealousy with how it could have been them in the spotlight, if only they had a little courage to face Nemona.”

“I’ve heard some whispers, but I’ve been… preoccupied.”

“You don’t need to make excuses, Geeta. I know you have your hands full with the League and even moreso Area Zero.”

Geeta let out another sigh. “Mhgm. Still, I want to know in advance how far you think he’ll go. It would be rather messy to have two Ch…”

She realized she was musing out loud and shook her head.

“Never mind. Can you show me his profile?”

Clavell raised an eyebrow, but pulled out his tablet and pulled up Julius’ record.

Geeta looked at his profile picture and couldn’t help but wonder just how this one ended up beating Nemona. Compared to the raging fire that had once opposed her, the eyes of Julius’ pictured looked… muted, empty even. Sure, there was something to be said about stoicism and an overall lack of expression, but the eyes of Julius’ picture seemed to lack life in them.

He would be someone she needed to keep an eye on, at the very least. If he was anything like his picture indicated, then Nemona was a far more preferable candidate in her eyes.

“Ah, it seems Director Cyrano and Professor Briar are dialing in. Good morning, Cyrano, Briar.” Clavell said, Geeta handing him back his tablet. “I hope we’re able to make some progress regarding that fellowship program in Kitakami and the exchange program for Blueberry Academy…”

Chapter Text

Julius let out a sigh of satisfaction as he finished setting up his campsite underneath a tree. The trip to Cortondo was about three days on foot, of which he was on his second. Overhead, Corviknights soared through the air, quickly ferrying travelers to their destination. On the roads separated by thick concrete barriers and fences were Copperajahs ferrying goods towards and away from Mesagoza.

Since the Treasure Hunt was well known in Paldea, there were outdoor rest stops for trainers setup along the way, maintained throughout the year. Also, some trainers traveled in groups and frequently documented their travels on social media, naturally giving rise to more touristic focused rest stops.

Julius had eschewed either one, preferring to be on his lonesome as he moved faster. His athleticism as well as the fact Miraidon had happily trodded along beside him, a cooler and travel pack strapped to the purple Pokemon rather than being carried by Julius himself.

“Giya…”

“Yeah, yeah. I’m working on it.”

Miraidon nudged him as soon as Julius took the cooler off of Miraidon, setting it down. At the very least, Miraidon seemed more than happy to leave the individual ingredients alone. It would (im)patiently wait for him to make sandwiches, so at least he didn’t have to discipline Miraidon that much.

With spring leading into summer, he didn’t feel a need for a campfire. That, and he feared if Miraidon were to experience toasted sandwiches on the road, it would become the new norm.

After his dinner, he packed his things and laid down, Miraidon curling up next to him. Fuecoco and Pawmi also released themselves, taking shelter around them. It doubled as a good night watch, as Fuecoco’s fire and smoke would rouse him and Pawmi was… loud, when she got into a fight. 

The following day, he passed by another rest stop. Having seen the money from Cassiopeia flooding in, he took the time to buy some held items for Pokemon. Nothing major, as their selection hadn’t been amazing, and the Pokemon Centers proper in Cortondo would have a bigger catalog he could order from.

He was making good time, he thought, passed only by those riding on Cyclizars.

Eventually the rolling brown grasses turned into fertile, fenced off fields full of life. Vineyards as far as he could see, with rustic wooden signs pointing him towards the town of Cortondo. The vineyards gave way to more developed areas, but not like the paved roads of Mesagoza. He stuck to the sidewalks that bordered the dirt roads where small trucks or larger Pokemon helped heave the ongoing harvest and bikers on old pedaling bikes rode in from the residential areas he could spy in the distance. Some simple waist-high stone walls separated a few battle courts and public gathering areas. It only served to make the sleek, white modern walls and floor to ceiling glass panes of the gym building all the more uncanny.

At least it wasn’t hard to find. He thought, but the building looked more like an office rather than a gym like in Kanto. And based on its size, there was no way they could have a battle inside of it. But with plenty of other travelers coming in behind him, he decided to get organizing the Gym Battle out of the way first.

The inside was just as modernized as the outside, where he found out there was a “gym trial” of sorts. Nemona hadn’t told him about it, probably for a good reason, but they told him to come back the following day as he might need the rest. Since he was already tired from the three days of travel, he retired to the Pokemon Center. There, the nurses asked if he was going to be staying in Cortondo for some time and if he was here as part of his Treasure Hunt, and after he told them he was as well as providing his student ID, checked him into one of the hostels in the area. The League had it down to a science, offering subsidies and incentives for locals to take in students, preventing the need for massive hoteling structures to go up that wouldn’t be filled up to capacity a majority of the time.

Utilizing his time wisely, he used even more of Cassiopeia’s funds to buy a handful of TMs. While they had warned him not to spend all of it at once, he had barely spent forty thousand over two days. That didn’t qualify as ‘all at once’, he thought.

Either way, the moves he taught his Pokemon would help close the gap. While traveling alone got him there faster, since he didn’t run into many others along the way, he hadn’t had the chance to train aside from the wild Pokemon that would venture too close. And most of them had been scared off by the mere appearance of Miraidon, so he wasn’t getting in as much training as he should. Plus, he had his own reasons for not expanding his team.

The next morning, as instructed, he reported to the gym office.

The trial had been… strange, as it was explained to him. Take an olive—a single olive, at that—up the mountain slope, towards the historical district of Cortondo.

An olive? Seriously? Just one olive? They come in jars, don’t they? Julius thought as he was led outside. Just how hard could transporting an olive be?

“HaaaAAAAH!”

Julius let out a long groan after confirming the olive would no longer roll down the slope.

The olive he had to push easily stood at five meters tall, towering over him. In the Paldean heat, he was drenched in sweat, having taken off his school uniform’s shirt. At the moment, he was rocking just his white undershirt.

Having to fend off the bug Pokemon that seemingly were attracted to the olive’s scent didn’t help either. Fuecoco was getting plenty of work setting them all ablaze, becoming better at tracking moving targets. At the same time, it had put Pawmi’s endurance to the test as well as Nymble’s as they dealt with the crowds. On the other hand, Wooper had an easier time, as he was testing out his secret weapon from a TM he stumbled on in the shops.

“Giya!”

Miraidon walked over, cooler on its back. Opening it, Julius downed yet another water bottle, bringing him to four left. Based on his estimation when he got to the bottom of the winding mountain slope, he was about sixty percent of the way there. However, it seemed to only get steeper from here on out.

Unfortunately, with his team being as small as they were, they couldn’t help much in pushing the olive up. Miraidon probably could, but in his head, it felt like cheating to use Miraidon as he was only watching over him rather than properly being his trainer. At the very least, Miraidon did alert him about potholes and bumps in the road.

“......still, it’s a gorgeous view.”

He looked down from the mountains, seeing the vineyards of Cortondo sprawling out, an oasis of green in the otherwise brown landscape. He could see farmers in the field, toiling away under the sun and the heat. Kids running in the pathways between vineyards, too. And while lots of kids in Mesagoza had Cyclizars, there were plenty of children out and about in Cortondo using physical bikes, pedaling up and down the hills. A bit of him was mildly jealous, since physical bikes were something of a luxury item in Kanto with how expensive they were.

There was also some standalone building that had a crowd or some kind of line outside of it. He hadn’t quite gotten the chance to explore the city, but he did hear about a popular restaurant, so that might be what the locals were talking about. If that was the restaurant, it was surprisingly packed for noon on a weekday.

Looking further, he saw in the battle pitches that three Pokemon battles were going on. Each one had a handful of observers, likely locals intermingling with the travelers of the Academy. It was an idyllic farming life, the kind one might want to retire to, or for the kid who grew up in it, would look to escape as they dreamed of the big city. With Mesagoza being close enough to easily visit, but far enough away where you couldn’t do so on a whim, there had to be kids out here who longed for the hustle and bustle of the city.

He wasn’t sure if mom had ever been here, but if he caught some time, he’d charter a Flying Taxi to fly them here. He was sure she’d like it.

“Man though, I’m going to be so tanned by the time this is all over……”

Speaking of tan, he thought about Nemona, who certainly would have gone through this trial, too. What was the weather like that day? Maybe it was cloudy for her. But even so, if she had to push an olive this big, even with her surprising strength it would have been quite the ordeal and she surely would have been sweating as much as he was right now.

Come to think of it, she does always wear a white shirt…

His thoughts strayed to Nemona pushing the olive up, covered in sweat, with her white shirt clinging to her skin, obviously transpa—

“Miii!?”

Pawmi shouted as the sound of Julius slapping himself echoed out.

“I’m fine.”

Steady now. Don’t… think those thoughts.

Mentally chiding himself, he decided the easiest way to banish such… impure thoughts was to sweat them away.

Still, what an ordeal this ended up being. Nemona owed him a milkshake for convincing him to take on the League Challenge. If this was the trial for the first one, what were the others going to be?

Regardless, he pushed on. Occasionally he had to check behind him as Miraidon seemed to be zoning out, watching Julius from behind. It seemed transfixed by his effort, as he held up the olive while commanding Fuecoco and his other team members when they were engaged by swarms of Bug types.

“Haa…”

“Giyayo.”

“Hm?”

Julius paused, seeing Miraidon push up on the olive. It wasn’t pushing upward, but it was helping keep it steady. Moving onward would still be up to him.

“Oh… thanks, Miraidon.”

He wondered where the sudden gesture had come from, but maybe Miraidon could see he was starting to feel like he was at the end of his rope. It did make him wonder why Clavell asked him to keep an eye on Miraidon’s aggression. He seemed like such a caring and gentle soul. Here Miraidon was, cooperating and helping. Even if he had just been watching from behind for the past hour or so.

Eventually, he reached another flat area. He walked the rest of the path, finding it to be the last slope. However, that didn’t mean it was any easier. A solid ten minute brisk walk at about a fifteen degree slope.

“Wish I had brought some preworkout.” Julius complained before taking a few breaths to mentally center himself.

“Giya?”
“Fue?”

“I got this. I guess man’s gotta do things himself sometimes.”

His team watched from the side, giving emotional cheers as he began the odyssey.

The part of him that questioned why the hell he was doing this only grew louder as his arms burned, his core ached, and the soreness of his legs grew. Every step begged the question about why he was going so far. After all, this wasn’t him. Julius Merida was fine coasting in life. He’d stick his neck out on occasion if it personally dealt with him, maybe. But even if he recently had a few changes in his life, was it worth this? Did he need to clear the League Challenge for Nemona? It wasn’t like he couldn’t train and get stronger to keep fighting her. Besides, wasn’t it getting stale lately, too? The same old four against the same old two, the same strategies, and the same outcomes.

“Giya!”
“Miii!”

Miraidon and Pawmi let out a yell as Julius’ footing slipped. The olive rolled to the side ever so slightly, but Julius moved in time and pushed back, grinding its movement to a halt.

“...I’m fine.”

That’s right, it sure as hell is stale.  

But so was training. Pumping iron on the free weights, doing exercises like walking lunges, not doing his favorite exercise every day to avoid straining the muscle, and practicing single strikes like a jab or a cross, was plenty tedious. There were always days it wasn’t fun or days it was outright mindnumbingly boring.

But that doesn’t mean I’m going to stop .

Besides, who the hell gave up just because things were boring or hard? He would’ve failed school with that mindset.

Or, more doubtfully so, did what lay ahead of the boring and tedious part excite him?

Maybe I… haven’t given up on that kind of life just yet.

“Ahhh, geez!”

Forced to make that mental concession, Julius let out a cry of frustration even as he kept pushing.

“That girl has gotten me in so much damn trouble!”

Giving up was a choice he could make, but when he thought about that day she took his hand, somehow he felt like it really wasn’t a choice. But even if he complained…

…he was still walking forward, wasn’t he?

With a loud war cry, he found his resolve to push onwards. The green olive turned and turned and turned, slowly being rolled up the hill. One step at a time.

At the very top, dirt paths gave way to flat paved roads. Confirming it wouldn’t roll down, Julius slowly collapsed onto his knees, adrenaline flushing from his system. His entire team came to check on him, but he slowly waved them off as he forced himself to stand. “It took everything we had, but we came out on top”, was the kind of smile he had on.

A low whistle caught his attention and when he looked over for the source, an older man in his sixties dressed in a short-sleeved plaid shirt and cargo pants was giving the olive an up and down look.

“That’s an impressive olive, sonny. I haven’t seen someone tasked to roll one up this big since two years ago!”

Guess that was Nemona.

“So, is this a pass?”

The older man laughed. “Of course. But are you… alone?”

“Yeah?”

He chuckled. “Well, it isn’t against the rules, but usually for this size you could get help.”

The older man tossed out two Pokeballs, sending out a Breloom and an Ursaring that began to push the olive.

“Follow me for a little while, lad.”

Julius nodded, walking with the older man through the town. It was a smaller version of Cortondo, with only a handful of families compared to the hustle and bustle of down below. There were larger houses, almost like mansions, even, but he could tell some of these buildings were for processing something .

“How was the climb?”

“Painful.”

“Hoh! I bet it was. But the burden can be lightened with many hands and Pokemon, like a swarm. You must’ve gone past them without seeing them or perhaps they were fine letting you try by yourself, but Miss Katy has trainers there that if you defeat them, they’ll help push the olive with you, just as we used to do.”

“Used to, sir?”

“Oh, sir, that’s quite formal, hohhoh. In Cortondo’s founding, the fertile land and the processing of olives were done in two separate places to make use of as much of its limited fertile land. The mountain area here was deemed better as a site for construction as its goods natively flow outbound to the ports of Porto Marinada through Cascarrafa for export and the pollution would be less likely to affect the fields below due to the lack of proximity. Granted, with many advances in technology, this old olive run isn’t necessary anymore. Not unless you want traditional, family made Cristal Olive Oil.”

The old man continued to walk him through the area, where an old stone building that looked like a factory stood. It was clearly well maintained, as despite the apparent age and rustic appearance, there was no sign of decay. Told to wait outside, Julius looked around, thinking about how even a simple town had such a complex history to it. With Mesagoza as sprawling as it was, with its own historical district, he couldn’t help but wonder how it fit into Paldea’s history.

Huh. I kind of regret skipping the history elective.

“Here, lad.” The old man said, returning. “This should be presented to Miss Katy as proof of your conquering the gym trial.”

Julius looked down, though he didn’t need to as he recognized the pale green bottle as being signature of the Cristal Olive Oil brand. Though this one in particular had a light green ribbon wrapped around it in a bow, likely used as a differentiator.

“...do I get to keep it after I show it to her?”

“Haha, it’s all yours, yes.”

“Hm. Do you guys take orders from here? I’d give it to my mom afterwards, but it’s a long way back unless I get a Flying Taxi.”

The old man chuckled. “Haha, I see. Well, with the olive you rolled up, I don’t see why not. A full crate, free of charge, lad.”

“Oh. A single bottle’s just fine.”

“Don’t worry about it!”

“Thank you, sir.”

After exchanging information, Julius tucked the bottle into his cooler and prepared for the walk down.

“Giya!”

“Hm?”

Miraidon closed its eyes, seemingly thinking hard on something. After nodding to itself, it visibly shut it eyes to the point Julius could tell it was forcing them shut before—

What the hell?

He couldn't admit he was all that surprised as Miraidon did look like a Cyclizar. However, the fact Miraidon only transformed, but his horns were like handlebars and the wheels were made of purple and yellow energy was something he was not expecting.

“Giyayo!”

“O-oh… well, uh… don’t mind if I do?” He forced out, clearly understanding that Miraidon wanted him to ride him, but still only halfway through processing what he just saw.

Crap, I got my license in case I did want to rent out a Cyclizar for travel, but does this even count? …whatever, I’m sure Director Clavell can get me a pass.

…right?

“It was how big!?”

Katy put her hands on her hips and gave Nemona a stern, motherly look of disapproval from across the bar counter as Nemona ate a pancake.

“Nemona, a young lady should not be yelling such things out loud.”

There was an audible pause as Nemona swallowed.

“Huh? Why not?”

Katy let out a long sigh as she placed a glass of orange juice in front of Nemona.

“It was larger than the olive you were given.”

“Wait, really? I thought the one you gave me was huge…”

“We adjust them for the challenger, taking into account things like age, physical condition, and whatnot, so the trial is best for them.” Katy giggled. “Like the young ones, sometimes we just give them a single olive in a jar and send them on their way. You and Julius are the odd ones out.”

After a brief pause, Nemona hung her head slightly. “...um, does Julius know about getting help?”

Katy raised an eyebrow as Nemona’s disposition suddenly became subdued, and if she was willing to go out on a limb, just a bit scared.

“It’s just… I was able to rely on Tauros. I know Julius’ team and he doesn’t have anything like that on his team. So with such an impossible task…”

Would he give up , was the unasked question as Nemona fell silent.

Katy put on a smile as she waved to another group of customers that entered the restaurant. But before she could reply, the phone rang.

“...Hello, hello? Oh… already? Really ? Oh my. And you say that was about thirty minutes ago? I see… no, no, thank you for letting me know.”

Katy’s smile widened as she hung up. “Oh, Nemona.”

“Hm?”

“If you’re so worried, why don’t you go wait outside by the start of the trial? It seems your friend is coming back down the mountain. I’ll save your seat.”

Nemona blinked a few times before Katy shooed her out of her seat. Shrugging, she got up and went outside, heading to the outskirts of town.

Narrowing her eyes to look further in the distance, she found a familiar purple Pokemon fast approaching, seemingly carrying Julius on its back. He came to a hard stop by the bike stop, stretching his arms and opening a cooler, where a familiar light green bottle was taken out. At seeing the bottle, her lips naturally turned up a smile, and she was so focused on it she didn’t even notice that Miraidon transformed back into its usual legged form, with Julius muttering a “wow, you are full of surprises” as they walked towards the town.

“Juli……!”

Her eyes and brain caught up as she realized Julius was absolutely drenched in sweat. In fact, he wasn’t even wearing a shirt; instead, a white undershirt—likely the one he wore underneath his uniform, was draped around his neck like a towel.

All of the comments from her female classmates about Julius’ physique rushed through her head. They certainly hadn’t been wrong . And with his… robust constitution , it was no wonder he was so confident about the stunt he pulled on the cliffs the day they met.

Wait, is this why the swimming club girls kept bugging me to ask Julius to at least try swimming club when I told them that story? The loose sleeves of his uniform hide it pretty well, but he’s… well, he’s—

“It’s rude to stare.”

Katy’s voice being whispered in her ear caused Nemona to jump. At her reaction, Katy giggled before straightening up as Julius approached.

“I believe you have something for me, Challenger Julius?”

He held out the green bottle of olive oil with the ribbon on it. “This should be it, right?”

“Mhm. Now, I imagine you must be exhausted. So, we will have our battle in three days. Will ten in the morning work for you?”

“Fine with me, ma’am.”

“Oh, so polite.” She reached into her waist pouch and pulled out a small bag of cookies. “Also, she was embarrassed to hand them over, but this is a bag of cookies that Nemona made for you while you were doing the trial.”

Nemona blinked twice before tilting her head in confusion. “Huh? No, I didn’t make those. What are you talking about, Miss Katy?”

Julius looked to Nemona before shrugging. “Well, whoever made them, it’s appreciated, Miss Katy, but I think right now I would use some cold water and electrolyte powder.”

Katy let out an audibly disappointed sign, but pushed the cookies onto Julius anyways. “I see. Well, I will see you then, or perhaps earlier if you decide to visit the Patisserie Soapberry. Come now, Nemona, your friend certainly would like a shower, and your food is going to get cold otherwise. But again, congratulations, Julius, and best of luck in our battle.”

“You’re here pretty fast. Thought you were going to have Student Council work, but I do appreciate the company.” Julius commented as they ate dinner at one of the smaller family restaurants of Cortondo.

“Uh, I definitely wasn’t putting off my work and closely following to make sure you came here?”

Julius’ fork stopped twirling in his spaghetti. He looked up at Nemona with a bewildered expression.

“I really hope you’re joking because if so, you really need to work on your delivery.”

Nemona cleared her throat, quickly backpedaling. “I mean, ah, I did come to check on your progress! And you know, cheer you on! It’s your first Gym Battle and gym trial ever, right!?”

Julius paused before nodding. “Oh. Well… thanks. Though hey, if you knew I was coming here, you couldn't have told me about the trial?”

Putting her hands together, she offered an apologetic smile. “Sorry, but it’s sort of an honor code thing with trainers not to spoil what the trials are. I’m still not sure what the purpose of them is sometimes, though.”

Nemona's expression suddenly fell, with Julius frowning.

“It wasn’t… too bad, was it?”

“Hm? Well, it wasn’t a fun surprise, I can say that much. But it’s not like I’ll stop just because of it.” He paused for a second before asking what was on his mind. “Did you push it by yourself?”

Her expression suddenly shifted into one of shock. “Huh? No way, I’m not crazy like you! I can’t believe Miss Katy gave you an olive that big, too!”

“Then how’d you do it?”

“Tauros pushed it up for me and we just ran up the whole way.”

Julius thought about it for a few moments, wondering if Nemona had seen the landscape of Cortondo from the mountains. If she had talked to the old man. If she even really knew how expensive Cristal Olive Oil was. Even if it had been only for a moment, he felt at peace up there, and despite being away from Paldea for years, he felt like he understood his homeland a little more.

“Huh. Well, I guess that checks out.”

“Still… are you feeling ready?”

“I guess? I’ve done training, I tried some of those strategies we talked about, thought about held items and moves and uh… I guess we’ll see. It’s like stepping into the ring for the first time for a fight. I’ve done everything I can to prepare, so it’s just a matter of finding out if it was enough.”

Nemona let out a chuckle. “Not nervous at all?”

“It’d be a lie to say I’m not at least a bit nervous. I guess maybe anxious is a better word? It’d be nice to write home about a victory, so I keep trying to envision one. What’s the policy on rematches?”

“If you don’t, they usually give you about three days or so for the next. It depends on how busy they are. Katy is the first gym leader, so she might be pretty busy and you might need to wait a week. But if that happens, we’ll do an intense training camp and then a rest day.”

Julius managed to suppress a chuckle. “Let me guess: if I win, it’ll be a reward training boot camp?”

Nemona smiled in reply, causing Julius to roll his eyes. “Oh, but don’t forget to use your Pokedex app if you need to find a typing, in case Katy brings something with a dual type.”

“That’s allowed?”

“Yep. But Bug types move pretty fast, so getting a window to do so is harder.”

“Hmm. Right, thanks for letting me know.”

With dinner wrapping up, Julius returned to his room and began finalizing his plans. Even if he had an easier time due to Cassiopeia funding him, as he didn’t know how difficult a first badge battle was supposed to be and Nemona wasn’t exactly an accurate measurement, he was taking it fairly seriously. With everything Nemona taught him, he should have a fighting chance.

Soon enough, it was the morning of the battle. He woke up earlier than usual, doing his usual workout for the day. With his battle scheduled for ten in the morning, he had enough time to eat a lighter breakfast and have some time for his stomach to process it, making sure nerves and anxiety wouldn’t induce a feeling of nausea.

Nemona had come down to get him and brought him to the gym building, where she went on ahead to the arena even if she didn’t tell him where it was. Once it was confirmed he was all set, the aides escorted him out to the building which was incredibly busy from up on high. It seemed to be a cafe—that is, Patisserie Soapberry, that Katy had mentioned. He hadn’t visited yet as he was preparing for the gym battle, and with brunch time in full swing, it was packed to the brim. 

Brought upstairs, which had its own seating arrangements, he found what seemed to be an arena with metal waist high rails around a circular perimeter. One of the aides opened up a gate, allowing Julius to step in, taking his place on his side of the pitch to face Katy, who was already on her side of the pitch, and a referee seated on the sidelines.

“What an interesting Trainer you are.” Katy said as the gate closed behind him, resting her right elbow on her left hand. “It’s not often we have someone do the historic olive roll by themselves like that. It was quite impressive.”

Julius forced a smile. “Would’ve been nice to know the rules beforehand.”

She chuckled, putting her hands together at chest level. “It never hurts to ask around. Still, while we met before, we haven’t been formally introduced. I’m Katy, the owner here of Patisserie Soapberry. But you know me better as the Gym Leader of Cortondo Town, or as some call me, The Lovebug.”

“Julius Merida, just a normal kid.”

“Hehehe, is that so? Bug-type Pokemon, Normal-type Pokemon… both can be very unassuming. But despite their size, Bug-type Pokemon can still be very powerful. So, Julius, don’t let your guard down unless you’d like to find yourself knocked off your feet~ And so, hold on tight!”

Julius winced as the arena began to descend. He found himself surrounded by a miniature yet lush forest and as he looked up, the circular parts of the platform that surrounded the rectangular arena slid away like a sunroof, causing the morning sun to shine down on them. As he looked around, he found himself surrounded by cafe-goers eating on the other side of some glass.

That glass must be made of sturdy stuff. Julius thought before turning his attention back to Katy.

The referee stood up from his chair and spoke. Based on the volume and the slight echo, he had a wireless microphone clipped onto his shirt somewhere.

“This is a gym battle between Gym Leader Katy Cortondo and Gym Challenger Julius Merida! Substitutions are allowed for the challenger! Items are unrestricted for the challenger and are limited to two items per Pokemon for the gym leader! Are both sides ready?”

Katy clapped once with a smile. “Ready!”

Julius nodded once, expression neutral. “I’m ready.”

“Then, take your marks. Release your first Pokemon in three, two, one… release!”

Katy’s eyes narrowed as she observed the Wooper in front of her. Most Trainers would have opened up with a Flying, Rock, or Fire type. Her first Pokemon, Nymble, was supposed to be a warm-up as while it was fast, it really only countered Rock types if a trainer brought one. Really, she was supposed to just test the basics, with her position as first gym leader per the traditional order.

Not to mention Flying types were plenty in Paldea. By this point he would have run into Fletchlings, Hoppips, Starlys, and maybe if he was lucky, a Rookidee. If this were a more advanced battle, she would have anticipated a Flying type to set up Tailwind, too. But maybe he was just testing the waters. As much as she didn’t want to judge, Nemona seemingly had high hopes for him, so she assumed that he had “the potential” as others might call it.

“Well then… let’s see how you deal with our speed!”

Though, the other way her Nymble would test opponents was opening up with Sucker Punch, as most would immediately start firing off. But knowing the speed difference between them, she could wait for a faster Pokemon to be used. And with the typing of Wooper, it would be best to attack with Assurance—

“Wooper, set it up!”

A white glint shone from Wooper’s chest, where a small claw had been worn on a cord necklace.

Several stones shot out in all directions from Wooper, but none of them struck her Nymble. But in the next moment, the rocks sank into the area, hiding themselves.

…excuse me? This is his first gym battle, correct? I was expecting Peck or the usual Rock Slide trap due to how evasize Bug types are. Do I need to schedule an eye exam or did this zero-badge Trainer just set up Stealth Rock ? With a Quick Claw of all things to make sure it went first?

It didn’t stop her Nymble from landing a good blow, in any case. His team seemed undertrained as it should have taken hits more elegantly with how bulky those Woopers could be, but was it all part of the strategy?

It took one more Assurance, eating a Poison Tail, and then an Astonish, but her Nymble eventually took Wooper down.

“Nymble!”

During the brief time of the switch, her own Nymble had leapt back, where Katy used a Potion to heal him back to tip top shape. Seeing as his Nymble might be faster, she already knew that Sucker Punch would easily catch a newer trainer off guard.

What will you do then, Julius? Nemona seems to think you’ve got something to you.

Purple and black energy condensed around her own Nymble before—disappearing…? So her opponent wasn’t attacking yet.

Her opponent’s Nymble shone bright white and red for a moment as the… sun suddenly turned quite harsh?

Sunny Day? But Nymbles shouldn’t be able to learn any Fire type moves. It was a good way to bait out Sucker Punch, though… Katy thought, narrowing her eyes. We’ll try again. Whatever move he has planned will cause some damage, and if he switches to a Fire type, Assurance should do a lot of damage.

Just like before, her own Nymble lit up with purple energy, managing to outspeed Julius’ Nymble, but—

“Now, U-Turn!”

The sound of a dropped plastic cup hitting the table before tipping over and releasing the remainder of its contents all over the wooden table caused absolutely no distress to two of the spectators in the conference room.

“Rika.”

“It’s not so bad, Geeta?”

Geeta turned just her head, cold eyes piercing through Rika. The ponytailed, green haired woman in suspenders withered under her gaze, slowly holding her black gloved hands into a surrender position.

Meanwhile, Clavell was just quietly cleaning up Geeta’s spilled drink. Not that she would miss it, as there were three empty Pikaffeine cups and two more ready for consumption.

“He’s using a Quick Claw, Geeta! No one sensible uses a Quick Claw! They’re a huge newbie trap, there’s still hope.”

“Look into my eyes, Rika. Look into them and tell me that again. This completely new challenger just used Sunny Day into U-Turn to switch into a Fire type.”

“It’s… creative?” Rika offered as on the screen, Julius’ Fuecoco successfully guarded against the known Sucker Punch that was coming before completely annihilating Nymble in one strike with an empowered Ember. It was obvious that it was using a Charcoal as well to boost its power, meaning this was completely intentional.

Clavell just seemed to be amused as he watched the battle. Katy switched into Tarountula, a small green spider with a ball of thread on its back, only to have it get shredded by the Stealth Rock Julius had set up with Wooper. “It seems he pays attention in battling classes. During times he’s physically here for class, Dendra might move him up to the advanced students.”

Geeta let out a long sigh. “Clavell.”

“Geeta?”

“After this display, do you want to revise your answer on how far do you think he’ll go?”

Clavell just shook his head. “I told you, you need to wait until the third gym. We don’t know how much preparation Julius made for this battle. Perhaps he overestimated the first gym, so he’ll get shattered by the second, and then wisen up for the third. That’s usually how it goes for the average person who makes it past the third gym badge.”

“I’m well aware of the urban legends regarding the third gym battle. Iono and her management company constantly submit requests to change up the advertised order because it can be bad for her image. But there’s a reason it’s the traditional order and we aren’t changing that without good cause.”

“Mhm. I still don’t understand why you’re so stressed about it. Even if Julius is aiming to rise through the gyms and go after also reaching Champion rank, why is there a problem?”

Rika bit her lip as she looked towards Geeta. The latter of the two only closed her eyes, shaking her head. “There’s no need to concern yourself with this League matter, Clavell. We’ll focus on handling it, just as you need to focus on handling Team Star.”

“Yes, yes, of course…”

“Tarountula is unable to battle!”

The second Pokemon had gone down in a single hit. Stealth Rock had dealt plenty of damage and with how souped up Ember was, it didn’t stand a chance.

“I’m still not done yet~ One more.”

“Then, release your next Pokemon within five, four, three…”

Julius raised an eyebrow as a small, orange teddy bear-like creature entered the field. It wasn’t a Bug type, at least by appearances, nor by typing considering how Stealth Rock didn’t seem as effective.

“Oh my, you’re quite good, aren’t you? How should I roll things out from here?” Katy said with a smile, as if ready to answer her own question. A small ball, one familiar to Julius, came into her right hand, with Katy holding on to her hat as it charged with power. “Sometimes, you have to add your own special ingredient into the mix!”

Before Ember could connect, the orange bear in front of him was encased by crystal as Katy sent her Tera Orb in. Within the next moments, it emerged with a green crystal crown that looked like bug antennae. At the very least, it afforded him a moment to use his Pokedex app to confirm its name—Teddiursa, as well as its former typing.

“This one might not be so sweet for you!”

It looked similar enough to Rock Throw, but Julius was plenty familiar with the Rock Tomb move, which absolutely crushed Fuecoco in one go.

“Fuecoco is unable to battle! Does the challenger still have Pokemon remaining?”

“I do.”

“Then, release your next Pokemon within five, four, three…”

I see. So it’s just like a test. Even if you rely on natural type advantages against the Bug type, you have to deal with something that naturally counters it in return. Let’s set things up a little more before we commit.

His own Nymble returned to the field. It was faster than Teddiursa, managing to only get off a Screech before it went down to a Fury Cutter.

I can’t stall this one out, either. I remember that move from class, it’ll only get stronger every time it’s used. Screech should have set us up nicely, though.

It was going to be a battle of who could deal more damage first, as his final Pokemon, Pawmi, came out of the ball with a battle cry of “MIIIIII!”. Around its neck was white and black striped scarf with a red target in the center.

A Choice Band? Katy thought, looking at her opponent’s Pokemon. Interesting. Fury Cutter takes time to ramp up, so you’re betting that you can take me down before then. Let’s see if your strategy pays off.

Then, on top of that, Julius immediately Terastallized Pawmi, with a lightbulb crown now adorning her before she charged in. Even if she was only using Nuzzle, which didn’t hit very hard, all of the various boosts given to her made it almost stagger Teddiursa, along with paralyzing it.

Paralysis wasn’t reliable, though, and Teddiursa managed to overcome it just once and scored a hit with Fury Cutter. The next hit, and the ones after that, would be at full power. There was no way Pawmi would survive that one, but at the same time, it looked like Teddiursa was just one strike away from completely going down.

“Mii?”

Julius nodded at Pawmi, who looked over her shoulder for just a moment.

“The first one to hesitate loses.” He muttered. He could retreat back and heal Pawmi up, but that would give Katy time to do the same. That would reset Fury Cutter’s power, but Katy also probably knew that. There was no guarantee that Pawmi, even after being healed with a Potion, wouldn’t go down in a single hit. And even if Pawmi survived one, the next one would definitely get her. Stalling out with Potions would only result in a loss.

There was only one way to go.

“Go!”

Pawmi braced—then charged.

Teddiursa, with electricity flowing down its body, saw the tiny orange-yellow ball of fluff closing the distance. It tried moving its arms, its legs, it tried twisting around, but the electricity only surged at the critical moment, rendering its struggle moot.

With one final strike and blast of electricity as Pawmi came in close, its strength left it, the antennae crown on its head fading into nothingness.

“Teddiursa is unable to battle! The winner is… Gym Challenger Julius Merida!”

“Good job, Pawmi.”

Julius squatted down as Pawmi sprinted over to his feet, gently putting a hand on her head as the crystal crown dissolved away.

“Good job.” He repeated, Pawmi nuzzling up close.

“Julius, that was awesome!”

He silently gave a thumbs up to Nemona, who up until this point had remained oddly, if respectfully, silent during the whole battle. Perhaps she had been paying so much attention she forgot to shout, or maybe she thought it wouldn’t be sporting to break his focus.

Katy put her hands together, smiling. “My, my, what an interesting one you turned out to be. Ah, hold tight.”

The platform shifted again, bringing them back up to the second floor. Once the platform had locked in place and the rooftop looked like how it had before they descended, a suited aide handed Katy a black velvet box.

Another aide waved Julius over. “Challenger Julius, if you would step forward to the center of the arena.”

“Oh, sure.”

He moved, matching Katy’s pace as she approached.

“Congratulations, Julius. You’ve certainly earned the Swarm Badge.” Katy said, opening the box. Inside was a metallic badge depicting a green oval surrounded by six pairs of small wings. “With this, you’ve accomplished your first step towards a successful League Challenge.”

Julius accepted it, nodding. “Thank you.”

There were a few photos taken with the two of them afterwards, likely to be used for publicity, but Julius was also told he would also be sent the photos.

“And, a little gift from me.”

“Hm?”

Katy waved Julius over, the two of them exiting the pitch together. She led him to a small table that already had a bag of cookies, a cookbook with Katy’s name on the cover, and a light green TM disc in a plastic case. Likely, it had been prepared in case he had won or while they were taking their photos.

“I like to prepare something for those who win my Gym challenge. And it’s always nice to have a memento of your time here.” Katy said with a smile, pulling out one of two chairs by the table. “Now, if you aren’t in a hurry, might you stay for brunch?”

“Oh. I wasn’t expecting that, but uh… thanks, Miss Katy.”

“Hehehe. A server will be with you shortly~”

Katy passed by Nemona, her smile widening. “Oh, and Nemona.”

“Huh? What is it, Miss Katy?”

“Victory is something best shared, isn’t it?”

Without elaborating any further, Katy left to go downstairs, leaving a puzzled Nemona behind. Her eyes naturally drifted over to Julius, wondering if Katy meant something by that.

“Table’s a little big. Had lunch yet?”

Nemona blinked a few times before she ended up smiling. “Nope! Mind if I sit with you?”

“Not at all.”

“What a battle, though!” Nemona said as she sat down across from him. “You really pulled out all of the stops, I didn’t even think you’d do half the things you did!”

“I had some time to think on the road, I guess.”

“Our next battle is going to be great, then! Using arena hazards this early, I’ll have to be more careful.”

“Heh. Well, I had to get a little creative due to not having a big pool of Pokemon to select from.”

Nemona laughed. “Are you practicing catching them, at least?”

Julius leaned back in his seat before looking out at Cortondo’s landscape. “It’s not that. It’s just… I thought about how much it would kind of suck, if I caught a Pokemon purely for this gym battle, trained it, and then ended up never really using them again afterwards and so they’d go into the Box system. So with the money I had, I came up with this kind of strategy. Honestly it would have been smoother if I caught that Fletchling I saw, but also Fuecoco covers Fire already.”

“Huh.” Nemona tilted her head. “Oh, I know!”

“What’s up?”

“I only remembered about it since some student council work came up regarding a group of students looking to become Pokemon breeders, but your mom could apply for the Pokemon Daycare license? While Trainers are limited to only carrying six, if she has the license, she can basically host all the ones she wants to.”

“Wow, that’s… that works out really well. I’ll have to phone home about it.”

Julius thought that his mom probably could use the company. That, and he hadn’t phoned home in a while, too. It would give him a good excuse to visit home.

He must’ve been thinking very hard about it, as Nemona started to suppress some laughter from across the table. Unbeknownst to him, she was laughing at how on point her impression of Julius being grumpy, but good natured was, especially with how the distant and at times unnaturally calm Julius was a complete mama’s boy.

“Something funny?”

Before Nemona could follow up, the waiter came by and took their orders.

Contrary to her expectations of Julius ordering something health focused or at the very least, full of protein, he skipped past the leaner options and ordered some sort of seasonal item, a Rawst Berry Tres Leches French Toast along with a side of bacon and fried eggs. It caught her so off guard she almost forgot what she was going to order.

“It’s worth celebrating, I guess.” Julius said (perhaps a little defensively) as if reading her mind, looking at the case containing his newly earned Gym badge. “As long as it’s not splurging out every day.”

The two continued to make small talk, with topics mostly staying around the Daycare license and Julius making some occasional comments that his mom would probably be thrilled, though Nemona could feel the topic she really wanted to ask edging up on the back of her mind. With how easygoing the conversation was, her heart couldn’t take bringing it up, as if it was forbidden. And even with the lulls of silence when the topic of discussion had run its course, even if she wanted to fill in those gaps with something, she couldn’t muster up the courage to speak.

Though, she couldn’t help but notice how comfortable he seemed even in the midst of silence. Even as she occasionally struggled to come up with another topic that wasn’t battling, as she was somewhat on her toes about that as not to scare him off when they had come this far, she never felt any pressure from him to speak.

Brunch came and went, with the two exiting the cafe. The line had died down a little bit, so they were alone on the way back into the streets of Cortondo when her feet came to a stop.

Swallowing her fears, Nemona called out.

“Julius!”

He stopped walking, looked over his shoulder, and then seeing Nemona a few feet away from him, fully turned around to face her. “Forget something?”

She rapidly shook her head. Forcing herself to look up into his eyes, she asked what had been on her mind for the past hour or so.

“Are you… going to keep at the League Challenge?!”

It came out less like a question and more like a demand.

She was ready for a non-committal response. She did hear that Arven had asked him about something and with how he seemed to know Director Clavell already and how relatively gifted he was, it wasn’t out of the question that he might be asked to do something for the Academy. This was a trial run without any strings attached. But part of her just needed to know.

“Yes.”

Julius replied back, nodding once.

“Sure, the trial was kind of a pain, but I got a lot out of it. If they’re anything like this one, I think doing the League Challenge is something worth my time.” He continued, gaze never straying from Nemona’s eyes. “And if I get stuck, there’s someone here who’s done it all before, right?”

Her hand almost reflexively came to her mouth as she suddenly felt a sense of embarrassment from how those words made her want to break out into a big smile.

Taking a moment to compose herself, she clenched her fist in front of her. “...Yeah! I’ll be there anytime you need help, but with the way you’re going, it’ll probably be me asking you for help!”

Julius let out a huff of amusement as he turned back around. “Let’s not lay on the flattery too thick, there. Anyways, I’m sure you’re busy, but I’m going to try and see if I can’t find a place to rent me a bike.”

“Huh? Don’t you have Miraidon, though?”

“There’s something different about physical bikes. That, and it’s a sense of victory.”

Nemona could only tilt her head as he began walking. “I’ve got a bit of student council work, but let’s have a battle before you go!”

He raised his right hand in a thumbs up, not bothering with a vocal reply.

She almost let out a sigh of relief as her legs felt weak. Already, she could imagine the two of them fighting on the beach behind her house again. It wasn’t a dream, it wasn’t fantasy, it was a distinct possibility now. 

Nemona thought back to what she had realized when she spoke to Clavell that night in the Academy. That she didn’t really know Julius. Even if it was only just a little bit more, she felt she had a better understanding of Julius now. The way he thought about his team building, how he seemed to have a really good relationship with his mother, the fact he wasn’t above having some decadent desserts despite appearances, the fact he was dedicated and patient enough to push the olive, and maybe even the physique necessary to—

N-no, there’s no need to make a note about that. Nemona thought, mentally chiding herself as she felt another rush of embarrassment. A-anyways, maybe I should go buy a notebook. It’d be good to keep track of these things.

Meanwhile, from up above, Katy—who was taking a break between her battles, couldn’t help but giggle to herself as she watched the exchange and fallout play out. She couldn’t hear everything that was said between them, but well… she could gather enough. While she wasn’t a Flying type specialist—far from it—somehow she felt the winds of change were coming to Paldea.

“Right! Well, I’m still a little sore about getting hit by Stealth Rock of all things this morning,” She said to her Vivillion as it fluttered around her shoulder, “but I suppose it can be the inspiration for a new little treat~”

Chapter Text

“Where is he!?”

Clavell glanced up from his desk, where he was reviewing the summary given to him by the technical staff about the outage during the commencement of the Treasure Hunt.

“Who?”

“Julius Merida.”

Clavell chuckled, shaking his head. “I’m afraid you’re too late. He left for what I can only assume is his second Gym challenge about an hour ago, although he mentioned a pit stop out in the wilds in Area Three. Perhaps he’s also investigating the Herba Mystica?”

Geeta let out a long sigh before clicking her tongue.

“Patience, Geeta. I already told you to wait for the third gym. He’ll be there soon enough.”

The chairwoman of the Pokemon League didn’t even bother using her usual icy glare as it had no effect on Clavell as she crossed her arms. “I suppose I’ll have to let Iono know to give me a phone call when he arrives. There’s no way they can say no if I ask to be looped into her antics for the gym trial, it’ll be a big ratings boost for her.”

“That’s true. Was there anything else I could do for you then, Geeta?”

“No. Although remember, we have another meeting in two weeks with the board of the Academy. I hope you’ll have an update on Team Star by then.”

Clavell’s eyes looked over at his laptop’s screen, where a log of messages between him and Brassius, Artazon’s Gym Leader, was only visible to him. While he couldn’t officially condone Julius fighting Team Star, the very least he could do was let the Gym Leader, a somewhat local authority, know that there was… a student who might be looking to push back against their antics and to ensure they had as much information as possible to make an informed decision that fighting Team Star alone should be considered an… unwise decision. 

If Julius did in fact decide to take on Team Star, anything he dug up would make it back in time for that meeting.

“Don’t worry, Geeta. If my gambit plays out right, I’ll have something soon.”

“Hm. Don’t take too long. Good day, Clavell.”

Well then, Julius, I can only hope everything is going fine on your end.

“Plehugh! Eughgh!” 

Julius hacked out the dirt and sand from his throat before rubbing his eyes, restoring his vision.

“What the hell was that?!”

His Rotomphone buzzed, apparently having opened up the Pokedex app where a movelist was stored.

“ Mud Slap ? Seriously? That move doesn’t hit hard but that was not…” He grumbled.

“Belgguh!”

Near him, Arven also finished clearing his throat before rubbing his eyes looking around, slumping over.

“...well, it did the trick. Mud Slap reduces accuracy, and now there’s no way for us to hit that thing, because it’s gone. ”

Things had been going a little too easily, Julius thought. For a supposed hunt for these mystical titans and herbs, it was hard to miss the giant crab-like creature hanging out on the cliff-side. If you were tired or drunk, maybe you’d think it was part of the cliff, but even from his dead-on approach he could tell something was wrong.

The Pokedex app registered it as a Klawf, though advised caution due to being “of abnormal size, far outside normal parameters”. Arven, coincidentally, was close by. So, Julius ended up keeping watch until Arven arrived, apparently having caught a Shelder—some sort of seashell-like Pokemon—while on his travels. It was a Water type, which should have made this very easy. And with Nymble timing a hit with Shelder’s Water Gun, the battle wasn’t looking to take very long.

However, a problem quickly arose. Namely, due to its massively increased size, its attacks were similarly sized. And unlike a League battle, there was no safety zone. A fact that he was anticipating, but the reality hadn’t fully caught up with him up until Lokix easily dodged a Vise Grip from the massive Klawf’s pincers and he realized that he needed to hit the ground or be grabbed instead.

Julius unconsciously ran a hand across the back of his head, remembering the sensation of Klawf’s pincers probably shaving off a few of his hairs.

Still, it checked out that Mud Slap had turned into a miniature sandstorm. With that much dirt in the air, all of them were basically blinded.

“Nym, nym!”

“I’m fine, Nymble. Good work out there. You see where that thing went?”

Julius’ Nymble slouched in posture in response.

“That’s a no, huh? It’s fine, none of us were expecting for it to hit us with that, anyways. Get some rest.” Julius said before returning his Pokemon.

Arven put both of his hands behind his head, looking up to the sky in annoyance. “Aghhh! We were so close, too!” He then stomped the ground, storming off. “Come on, let’s go looking for it!”

“Hey. It’s getting late, Arven. We’re not going to find crap out here once it gets dark. That, and we’re caked up in mud. Let’s just get to the river and set up camp, we can go to the Pokemon Center tomorrow morning. Once we’re there, we can rethink the strategy and buy what we need.”

Arven raised a clenched fist to his chest as he prepared to argue, but Julius just crossed his arms, shaking his head.

“What are you going to do if we do find it again?”

“I’m gonna…! Agh, I don’t know! But we have to do something!”

“That’s what I thought. Let’s not go in without a plan, Arven, or we’re just going to end up like we are right now.”

Arven let out a long, pained sigh as he slumped over. Without a further argument, he followed Julius as the sun rapidly set, with Arven taking out a flashlight to help navigate. Meanwhile, Fuecoco, Pawmi, and Miraidon put their collective luminescence together to light the way for Julius, with Pawmi in the front, Fuecoco in the middle, and Miraidon in the back, carrying the usual cargo.

The duo eventually made it to the river, where to Arven’s surprise, Julius had zero qualms about discarding all of his clothing and hopping into the water.

“You know, I was going to ask if you wanted some privacy, but I guess that’s a moot point.” Arven muttered as he took off his backpack. “And you weren’t even going to set up a campfire, first?”

“Fuecoco can handle it.” Julius said before dipping his head beneath the water and popping back up. “Do… you need privacy?”

Arven just let out another sigh, shaking his head. “No, but you’re even weirder than I thought. Most people would hesitate before stripping down completely naked and jumping in a river around others.”

“We’re both guys, there’s nothing to worry about. And you act like you’ve never changed in a locker room before.” Julius said as he wiped his eyes, Arven discarding his mud-soaked shirt. “Which I kind of doubt, considering your build.”

“Wha—?!”

Arven let out something of a strangled, surprised yelp at the sudden comment about his body.

“You’re not bodybuilder material, but I could tell you were at least a little jacked just from how wide your shoulders are and your arms are clearly testing the seams of your shirt.” 

“Can you not talk about my body like that?!”

“Alright, alright.” Julius said, waving it off as he floated on his back. “You seriously don’t go to the gym, though?”

“I do , but I have a sense of shame. Always feels like someone’s looking at me, anyways.”

Julius let his legs down to touch the bottom of the shallows. “There’s a name for that, isn’t there? Spotlight syndrome or something?”

“I don’t care what it is, but it's always just like someone is looking, judging, whatever.” Arven muttered, looking away.

Julius tilted his head, thinking for a moment. He remembered the sort of anger Arven displayed when being asked about being Professor Turo’s son, plus how Turo didn’t seem very connected with Arven when they spoke briefly. The sensation might be connected, but he decided there wasn’t much he could do to act on it. Besides, this whole expedition was helping Arven find this Herba Mystica out because no one else could help him. He wasn’t here to help Arven solve whatever deep-rooted problems he had. There was a distance the two should keep.

Eventually Arven entered the river and washed the mud off of himself, with both of them washing out the mud in their clothes before changing out into spare outfits. Fuecoco lit a fire to dry their clothing, the two of them trying to relax under the night sky.

“...Miraidon seems to like you.”

It came off less as small talk and more a pointed observation as Julius leaned back against the purple Pokemon.

“He’s not so bad. But, my food budget has tripled because he really likes sandwiches.”

“Giya?”

“No, we already ate.”

“Giyaaaaaa…”

“You’re not eating another one. You can wait for breakfast tomorrow.”

Arven just narrowed his eyes. He didn’t like Miraidon, for a variety of reasons, but he wasn’t in a position to complain. Julius seemed particularly defensive of the purple beast and as it was, he still needed Julius’ help.

“Whatever. I’m going to bed.”

It wasn’t worth fighting this for now, Arven thought.

“Right. Get a good sleep, then.”

When morning broke, the two immediately headed off to the Pokemon Center. Its purchasable supplies were limited, but they were more tailored for the area. The most important items included some extra food as well as a set of Go Goggles, which would help in keeping eyes on the Klawf.

“Whoa, whoa, what are you doing with that?” Julius asked as Arven picked up a pack of rock climbing gear, inspecting it.

“I didn’t bring my rock climbing gear from home.”

“You can put it down. Look, I’ve gone rock climbing, but with the auto-belays and stuff. I don’t have any of the training on how to help you with that stuff, so put it down before we get ourselves killed.”

“We might need it and I can teach you! And it’ll be faster if we’re able to get on top to search for that thing rather than combing through the canyons!”

“Yeah, faster if we want to fall to our deaths.” Julius grumbled, pushing the box down back onto the shelf. “We’ll find that Klawf. But we’re doing it right .”

“We don’t have time !”

Julius paused before sighing. “Alright. I get you’re in a rush. I don’t know why you’re so desperate because you won’t tell me, but if you’re pushing the accelerator this hard you’re willing to risk climbing a cliffside, fine. Buy a helmet and meet me outside. But no complaining.”

“Cyclizars can only hold one person, though.”

“I’ll be waiting outside.”

Since Julius wasn’t bugging him anymore, Arven went ahead and bought the rock climbing gear kit as well as a motorcycle helmet. Exiting the Pokemon Center, he found what was certainly not a Cyclizar.

“Gigigigigiyaaaaaaa!”

Did… did Miraidon just sputter like a motorcycle? Arven thought to himself as he approached. Only after seeing this apparent motorcycle-like form of Miraidon did he vaguely recall it was supposed to have a more transportation focused form.

Julius patted the area behind him, helmet already on. “Put your helmet on and get on the back. You wanted to find this thing today, right?”

The words “is this safe” were about to come out of Arven’s mouth, but then he remembered he was also about to suggest climbing the cliffs and decided to shut up before Julius would inevitably point it out.

“Where am I supposed to hold onto?”

“Me, duh.” Julius said, holding his hands up. “Arms around me, but don’t pull back too tight. I need to be able to hold onto Miraidon’s handlebars.”

After Arven wrapped his arms around Julius, the brown haired boy leaned forward and patted Miraidon’s head. “Alright Miraidon, we’re ready to go. Arven, while you were shopping, I found a map of Area Three. Since we have the speed, we’re going to zigzag through the pathways to find it. Once we do find it, we’ll dismount, put the Go Goggles on, and devise a plan of action.”

“We can’t just stay on this thing?”

“Miraidon doesn’t seem to like fighting, so I’m not putting him close to the combat area. Found that out during my first gym trial.” Julius said, with Miraidon giving an affirmative “Giya!”. “Ready?”

“I guess.”

“Miraidon, let’s get going.”

It wasn’t that much faster than walking, but the rush of wind was keeping Arven cool and at least his feet weren’t aching from more walking. An hour had passed by before he knew it—

“Hold on.”

“Miraidon, stop.”

The purple Pokemon slowed down, coming to a smooth halt. Arven dismounted, gesturing Julius over.

While the Pokedex didn’t have a good entry for Klawf’s footprints, Arven had noticed a set of six massive holes in the ground that as his eyes traced them, spotted more.

“These one are more recent than…” He paused, moving over and tracing the path to more indents. “...these ones. Okay, so it went that way, northward.”

“Alright. Miraidon, good work.”

“Giya!”

“Let’s follow the tracks, Julius.”

“Fine by me.”

After fifteen minutes of tracking, the duo encountered the Klawf again. However, even with a plan, it went similarly to their first attempt. At the very least, the Go Goggles made it so the dirt and sand didn’t get in their eyes, but they were still caked in mud.

However, the duo had been prepared for this, and switched out their clothes before continuing the hunt. The strategy remained mostly the same—namely, relying on Pawmi to open up with Nuzzle, paralyzing the Klawf to hopefully buy them some time to finish the job. Due to not needing to go completely all-in on a strategy, Julius had also removed the Choice Scarf from Pawmi, opening up some flexibility in their plans.

It was after the Klawf had fled for the fourth time that the two started up a slope, continuing to track its movements, and at the top of the plateau, found the Klawf wide awake, looking very defensive. Before it could notice them, the two ducked behind a small rock formation.

“I think this is its den.” Arven noted. “Maybe it set up shop where this Herba Mystica is.”

“Maybe. At the very least, I don’t think this guy is going to be keen on running. Must’ve worn it down.” Julius paused, checking his Rotomphone for the time. “It’s about five in the afternoon. If what you’re looking for is in there, it’s not going to matter whether or not it runs away, at least.”

“Mhm.”

“Same strategy as last time?” Julius asked as he adjusted his Go Goggles.

“Got it. Wait until Pawmi lands Nuzzle before moving in, then.”

Arven nodded, waiting for Julius to get into position. The hatted boy counted down silently with his fingers, raising three, then two, then one—

The massive Klawf snapped to attention as soon as the sound of a Pokemon being released was heard. However, Julius had let out Wooper first, attracting its attention before sending Pawmi out. She landed Nuzzle easily, electricity running over the Klawf’s body.

“Alright, good work—wh, Pawmi!” Julius shouted as he kept moving, making sure to keep some distance between him and Arven as well as his Pokemon to avoid a repeat episode of Mud Slap.

“Miiii!”

For whatever reason, Pawmi had dodged the return laser, instead remaining focused on Klawf.

“Haaa… right, well, I guess you do you. Let’s go to work.”

Commanding two Pokemon at a time was a lot harder than it seemed, as Julius found his attention flying all over the place. In single fights, it was easy to watch for counterattacks when his side was attacking. But now he had to keep an eye on both Pawmi and Wooper’s positions, as well as attacks coming their way, and whenever they would attack, he couldn’t just take his attention off of them. Such was the lesson he learned when Wooper, in the middle of a Mud Slap, was grabbed by one of Klawf’s pincers before getting crushed and then thrown into the ground, as he was making sure Pawmi wasn’t in range of a Rock Throw. At the very least, the paralysis was holding every now and then, giving him much more breathing room.

On the other hand, Arven was holding his own. With Julius having two Pokemon out, his Shelder had taken a comfortable position behind some rocks and continuously fired off Water Gun, chipping away.

“This guy just won’t go down…!”

“KLAAAAAAAW!”

The Klawf let out a loud war cry, causing even pebbles on the ground to be blown away.

“Looks like he’s just getting warmed up. Pawmi, duck!”

Even as low to the ground as she was, Pawmi flattened herself on the ground, dodging another Vice Grip from its pincers.

Arven’s Shelder fired off another Water Gun, but Klawf turned to face it before suddenly pouncing, its pincers taking on a light green hue.

“Wha—geez, Trailblaze!? Shelder!”

There was no response as Klawf returned to trying to snatch Pawmi, who continued to navigate the barrage of pincers. Fortunately, Wooper had managed to land Mud Slap at least once, no doubt giving Pawmi some wiggle room.

“Hope you’ve got something else! Fuecoco, get out there! Need you to try and land a burn!”

Arven grit his teeth as he looked at the two Pokeballs on his belt. Realistically, he only had one left. And Skovet was a Normal type, there wasn’t much it could do, even if he had enough time to fully take advantage of Stockpile.

“Fue!” Fuecoco cried out as it faced down the massive Klawf, but to Arven, the cry faded away, sounding fuzzy to him.

Arven wanted this. But as it was right now, he wasn’t sure they could pull it off. Maybe it would be better to go back for now. This den wasn’t going anywhere, but at the same time if this Klawf had fed on the Herba Mystica, there was no guarantee it wouldn’t consume whatever was left.

Part of him loathed it, how unprepared he had been. There was no way he could have fought this thing on his own. But what could he have done? He wasn’t strong as a Trainer and battling wasn’t something he did on the regular, only doing the bare minimum to not rouse any suspicion at the Academy. Yet, that had all come back to bite him now, as no one forced him not to battle, and because of his own weakness, it would be all his fault if he ran out of time—

“Got anything left, Arven?”

—Julius’ voice snapped him out of his thoughts. Before he had realized it, Julius had stepped in front of him—and more importantly, Miraidon had seemingly gotten into the combat zone. He must’ve zoned out, not noticing Miraidon standing in front of Arven. But now that it was there, Arven could see the shaking of Miraidon’s legs. It absolutely did not want to be there, but it was there all the same, shielding him with its body.

“...just a Skovet.”

“It isn’t over yet. We don’t have to run. Besides, looks like Pawmi’s still got some juice left in her.”

Arven could only blink silently in shock, seeing Julius clench his fist. Did he want to win or was Julius frustrated at him being dead weight to the point he had to shield him? No, it couldn’t have been the latter. Julius was a hardass in his eyes, but Arven had to admit that he was a decent guy, deep down. Though this certainly couldn’t have been for him, then, there was no way it was just about pulling a victory. Was it this stubbornness that caused him to keep fighting Nemona until he could eke out a victory?

“Skovet only has Normal type moves, though.”

“Anything defensive?”

“Stockpile, Stuff Cheeks… well, I guess Tail Whip can lower its defenses?”

“Then go for it. This guy seems really tough on the physical side of things, so we’re going to need everything we can get. I’ll try and buy you some time.”

The way Julius spoke was as if he had already seen a path to victory. Gritting his teeth, Arven slapped his cheeks with both of his hands before sending Skovet out.

“Good work, Fuecoco! Nymble, buy us a few more seconds!”

Exchanging one of the active frontliners, Julius sent out Nymble, which had an easier time dodging Klawf’s movements, even if they were faster than before. The small bug had even managed to leap up into the air, landing on top of one of Klawf’s pincers when it tried the same attack that had taken out Shelder after fighting through its paralysis. And due to having learned from multiple encounters, purposely kept away from the two Trainers to prevent them from being caught in the crossfire.

“KLAAAAW!”

However, a Mud Slap managed to cake Nymble in enough mud to slow it down, leaving the bug wide open for a Rock Throw that caused it to faint in one strike.

But in its place, Skovet hopped in. With what time Julius had bought, Skovet had not only managed to eat a berry with Stuff Cheeks to augment its defenses, but also Stockpiled enough times to max out. Klawf struck it with its pincers, but Skovet didn’t just stay up—in fact, it looked like it had barely been phased before it used Tail Whip.

Perhaps it recognized what was happening, as its attention shifted to Skovet. If it was allowed to keep going, then even its mighty shell would be punctured.

Yet, its paralysis would act up at the worst times, giving Skovet just a few more seconds to evade and also land another Tail Whip.

But it wouldn’t last forever, as with another Trailblaze, Klawf suddenly leapt in and hit Skovet right in a critical point, sending the squirrel Pokemon sliding along the ground.

“Skovet!”

“Fuecoco, I’m relying on you!”

It was all down to Julius, now. Klawf was clearly far faster with each Trailblaze, with enough power that it would no doubt one-tap Fuecoco. The only real hope was for paralysis to stick, as a pincer opened wide and shot forward to grab Fuecoco.

“MiiiiiiiiIIII!”

“Fue!?

And yet somehow, Pawmi had zoomed into the middle, barely standing up on its stubby rear legs, using its forward paws to prevent the pincer from fully closing in.

“Ngh!”

Julius flinched, turning away as Pawmi began to glow with a bright white light. As it began to die down, the white light seemed to grow ever so slightly. And as it completely faded away, where Pawmi had once been on all fours, was now a new Pokemon standing on two feet and longer, more defined arms. She had lost her more defined orange tint, becoming a more faded out yellow-orange, but the fierceness in her eyes remained.

He didn’t waste a second checking his Pokedex.

“Pawmo, a Fighting type, huh?”

“Fue?”

“Paw, paw-mo!”

Fuecoco nodded, hopping backwards out of the range of the pincers. Pawmi—now Pawmo—pushed on the pincers enough before jumping, Klawf’s pincers crashing together on empty air. As Pawmo came down, she launched a punch right on the pincer’s joint, adding some extra power before striking two more times, each of her punches infused with a bit of electricity. Klawf let out a loud cry of pain, with each punch not only being supereffective, but also piercing through its lowered defenses.

“One more, right between the eyes! Load up your punch like a cross!”

Pawmo leapt up, her right arm cocked back as Klawf reeled back. It tried to move to defend itself, but familiar yellow electricity ran across its body—and all it could do was watch the incoming punch.

“Paw—MO! MO! MO! MO!”

The first hit had already caused Klawf to slip in its coordination, no longer able to support itself and falling on its belly. The next four hits seemed to be Pawmo making sure the job was complete, as Klawf fainted, its pincers falling to the ground, limp.

Arven heard Julius let out a long sigh of relief, like all the tension was leaving the brown-haired boy’s body.

“Moooo!”

Pawmo ran up to Julius, looking absolutely ecstatic.

“Good work out there, Pawmi. Oops, that’s Pawmo now, right? And good work, Fuecoco. Shame we couldn’t land a burn on it, but this guy had the advantage on you, anyways.”

“Fue.”

“The upcoming gym is Grass type, so you’ll definitely get your time to shine.” Julius said, kneeling down to look Fuecoco in the eyes. “And it was because of you we could execute our strategy during the gym battle.”

Pawmo also put her hand on Fuecoco’s head, saying something. After a few seconds, Fuecoco nodded, clearly comforted.

“Back to your balls, you two.”

Returning both of them, Julius looked over to Miraidon, who was now slinking back after having retreated when Arven took to the field. “Thanks.”

“Giyaaaa…”

“That wasn’t easy. But… I’m sure he appreciates it. And we’ll get something special at the Pokemon Center. I think I saw something like a calzone over there, it’s like a pizza in sandwich form.”

“Giya!”

He put a hand to Miraidon’s head, knowing it had a more gentle nature. Everyone always seemed to insist that Miraidon was going to cause a massive incident or something, as if it was a weapon of mass destruction. Yet it hated battling and seemed to recoil from even being near one.

“The puzzle pieces just keep coming, don’t they…” He muttered, looking over to Arven, who had finished making sure the Klawf was down for the count. “How is it?”

“Looks like he’s out cold. I don’t know how long it’ll be before he wakes up, but let’s check the cave he was protecting before he does.” Arven said, getting up from one knee. “Also, you should photograph and document this Klawf. The Titans are regarded more like myths and you did take it out, so you should get the credit for proving it’s real.”

“Let’s both put our names on it. It’s not something to fight over.”

With Julius’ tone that said he wasn’t bothering to argue over this, Arven didn’t even bother before taking out his flashlight and entering the cave.

It wasn’t particularly deep, but it was more like a large cavity in the mountain that was large enough to be a den for the Klawf. However, in the back was a single red, leafy plant that shone with its own radiance, as if it had been implanted with red LED lights.

Around it were stems and leaves that looked similar to it, but they had lost their luster. There were also a few sprouts in the ground, but they hadn’t taken on a red glow yet, either.

“It… this is it!”

Arven ran ahead, book in hand as he came to a stop, kneeling down next to the plant. After opening the book, he combed through its pages before nodding to himself.

“This really is it…!”

“I know roughly what we’re searching for, but could you be more specific?” Julius asked, inspecting the plants nearby. “Also it looks like we were just in the nick of time. It’s apparently been eating these things for a while, based on how much scraps are left.”

“This should be the Sweet Herba Mystica. It’s good for gut health and aids digestion. Helps stomach aches, too, and stimulating appetite.”

Don’t we have medication for that? Julius thought to himself, but realized there was probably a reason Arven was searching for it rather than using normal medication.

“Okay, I’ll just harvest it and… then hopefully I can get him to eat some.”

“Let’s harvest it and then retreat to a safer spot. I don’t want us to be here when that thing wakes up.”

After watching Arven harvest the sole red herb like he was removing a famous painting from a wall, Julius left the cave with Arven in tow. With it rapidly becoming dark and the Pokemon Center a fair bit away, the two hoofed it back to the river to set up camp.

“And… there!”

Julius raised an eyebrow as Arven puffed his chest out, hands on his hips.

“I made sandwiches with the Sweet Herba Mystica!”

The word “sandwich” immediately piqued Miraidon’s attention. Julius raised a hand to stop the purple Pokemon, but it was clear Miraidon was listening closely.

He headed over to Arven’s picnic spread, and…

“...Arven.”

“Yeah?”

Julius narrowed his eyes. “...you just put… hold on.”

The brown-haired boy carefully lifted the top half of the bread—not that he had to, as what he found underneath horrified him. Doubly so after he ran a finger across the herb and found it had a similar texture to leafy lettuce.

“There’s not even any mayonaise. Where… where’s the lubricant? And did you just put only the—Arven, who eats a sandwich with just plain lettuce!?”

“It’s sweet, isn’t that enough!?”

“Wha—” Julius let out a long, long groan. “You ever have a BLT? Tomatoes are sweet, but you don’t just have a sandwich with only tomato, at least add a bit of melted cheese! And there’s no liquid, this sandwich is going to be dry as hell!”

“Giya?”

“No!”

“Giyaaaaa?”

“No, not right now!”

“Yaaa…”

“Actually, wait, do you want it?”

“Giya~!”

“Wha, come on! I made that for you, not Miraidon!” Arven protested as Julius held up his sandwich for the purple Pokemon, which promptly ate the whole thing in one go.

“It’s fine, I’ve got my own—”

“Agiiiiiia!”

Julius was interrupted by a rainbow shine emanating from Miraidon as it let out a lively roar. After it subsided, Miraidon leapt towards Julius, turning into its motorcycle form before yelping and gesturing backwards with its head.

“Uh, you want me to get on?”

“Giyaaa!”

“Right…”

Deciding not to forsake safety, he still put on his helmet before mounting Miraidon. After he had a thorough grip on Miraidon’s handlebars, Miraidon moved forward.

“Okay, I don’t see what’s— WHOOOOOOA!”

Julius let out an uncharacteristic cry of surprise as Miraidon suddenly boosted forward. From Arven’s side of things, it looked like Miraidon had some kind of nitrous you’d see in a video game, with bluish-purple light streaming from what looked like thrusters.

After making a short lap, Miraidon came to a full stop, letting out happy croons.

“A little warning next time!” Julius grumbled as he dismounted. “Damn, that was fast. I could probably get from Mesagoza to Cortondo in half a day if Miraidon can keep that speed up for an extended period of time.”

Arven blinked a few times in surprise, with the events that took place in front of him finally processing. “If the Herba Mystica can do that much, then…”

Julius crossed his arms. “Oh, right. What was the big rush about, anyways? I get not wanting to waste time, but you were about to get yourself killed trying to climb the cliffsides.”

“It’s…” Arven grit his teeth, looking away and down towards the ground. 

Julius furrowed an eyebrow, looking at Arven trembling in front of him. Prying wasn’t something he liked to do and it was clearly personal for Arven. If he didn’t want to say, then that should be that.

And yet.

“It’s something personal, right?”

The words were out of his mouth before he could even think to stop. Maybe the time spent with Nemona really had rubbed off too much on him, or maybe he had reflected too much about when he stepped in to fight Team Star, or maybe he saw too much of himself in Arven at this very moment. The young man clearly was suffering the weight of the world. But that didn’t mean he had to suffer it alone.

“We’re going to be working together for the rest, especially since it seems like they’re helping Miraidon, too. So, it’d be nice to know why you’ve got your hat in the ring. In for one Poke, in for a hundred Poke, or something like that.”

Arven was silent for a few seconds. The sound of cloth shuffling—as one of the Pokeballs on Arven’s belt shook—broke the silence.

“...alright, you two win.” Arven muttered, taking off the shaking Pokeball and gently placing it on the ground. “Come on out, bud.”

A large, dog-like Pokemon with a dark gray coat and black highlights appeared. Julius wasn’t sure if the grey fur running down its center was a product of aging or if this Pokemon naturally appeared this way. Its face was droopy, with its orange, bead-like eyes barely visible as the Pokemon in question seemed to be exerting a lot of effort to even keep them open. He could see legs on the Pokemon, too, but whatever this Pokemon was, it seemed content to just lie down… or perhaps it couldn’t muster the effort.

“Ah, gia!?”

Miraidon immediately straightened up. Before it could approach, Julius held out an arm to block Miraidon’s path. 

“Gia…”

Julius shook his head, with Miraidon understanding, if sadly so as it slouched in posture.

“This is Mabosstiff. My partner.” Arven said, kneeling down with a sandwich in hand. Julius watched Arven rip part of his sandwich off into a smaller, more digestible portion. “Here you go, bud. This sandwich should help you feel better. It worked for Miraidon, anyways.”

Mabosstiff slowly shifted its weight forward, opening its mouth slightly and chewing for a long time in between swallows.

“He was hurt… pretty bad, a while ago. Really bad. It was so bad that not even the Pokemon Center can fully cure him. They think whatever damage happened, it’s also internal. It’s pretty rare that this happens, but considering what happened that day… I guess it’s not surprising.”

“Mmm.”

“Mabosstiff is the only thing in the world I care about.” Arven muttered, clenching his fists. “So, I promised I’d make him better—whatever it takes. I poured through books, forums, magazines—everything, looking for some kind of cure. But nothing really worked. I was so close to giving up, but then I found out about the Herba Mystica.”

“That book you found it in, just what is it? I thought this kind of thing would be pretty well documented.”

“I found it in my dad’s lab. It details the effects of the Herba Mystica. Apparently those who went in Area Zero before brought them back and tried to grow them. But other Pokemon ate them first, turning into the Titans. It’s the only copy as far as I know, so as far as anyone’s concerned it’s just a bunch of myths and legends.” Arven shook his head. “But it’s real. Or at least, this part was. And if the rest of the book is anything to go by, eating all five can cure anything that ails you. Case in point, Mabosstiff’s paws were cold as ice before he ate that herb. But they’re warmer now!”

Cold…? Julius thought, gritting his teeth. “Arven, it sounds like he’s…”

“I know.”

Julius crossed his arms, looking away. “How much time?”

“Huh?”

“How much time do you think he has, then?”

Arven’s expression visibly fell. “...I don’t know.”

“I see.” Julius relaxed his stance. “Right. Well, I guess that explains your rush into things. And I guess I’m throwing my hat in the ring fully. But I want to say just one thing.”

“What is it?”

“You’re not going to like what I say, just as a warning.”

“That doesn’t seem like you. What is it?”

Julius let out a long sigh. “We don’t know how much time he has left, so… two things, really. One, I want you to really treasure what time you have right now with Mabosstiff. And second, it’s the worst case scenario, but… it would be good if you at least mentally prepare yourself for if we’re not fast enough.”

“You—!”

Arven turned to yell at Julius, but the otherwise unflappable boy who oozed a silent confidence was strangely subdued as he looked westward towards the setting sun. Arven couldn’t put it into words, but this wasn’t just an empty platitude from Julius.

“...okay.”

“That got kind of heavy, huh? Sorry to spoil the mood.”

“No, it’s… uh…” Arven paused, letting the words die out in his mouth. Maybe it was a little too early to be thanking Julius, but he couldn’t help but admit to himself it almost felt like his burden was just a bit lighter now that he had a peer to share it with. “Never mind.”

“Suit yourself. Anyways, I’m going to go wash up.”

It was a few hours later, when the stars had come out and the campfire had long been extinguished, that Arven came to.

“Can’t sleep?”

Julius was leaning back on Miraidon and talking to Arven, but his gaze was up at the sky. In his lap was a checkered newsboy hat—the one that Arven noticed usually hung off of Julius’ backpack, with a faded Skitty patch.

“I guess not. I still feel wide awake.”

“Same here.”

“What time is it?”

“It’s about three o’clock in the morning. You wanna get moving to the Pokemon Center?”

Arven thought about it for a bit before shrugging. “I think they have beds at the one close by, too. I could go for an actual bed.”

Julius nodded, reaching over and giving Miraidon a light tap. The purple Pokemon jolted to attention, looking around as Julius stood up.

“Come on, we’re heading out a little early.”

“Giya!”

Arven watched Julius carefully put the Skitty-patch adorned newsboy hat back on one of the loops of his backpack, using the adjustable strap to help fasten it. He then watched Julius put on his usual newsboy hat before returning Miraidon and the rest of his team. He figured it was something personal, but Arven had a feeling Julius would be more cagey about it. And unlike the situation with Mabosstiff, he didn’t have any way to really leverage Julius into telling him. Maybe he could return the favor by tipping Nemona off, if they ran into each other. She seemed to be the only person who kind of understood him, anyways.

Whatever the case was, Julius seemed oddly pensive on the way back. The thought of Mabosstiff’s mortality probably had put a lot of his mind, Arven thought. Still, it wasn’t enough that the boy was distracted, as he remained vigilant to the Ghost types lurking around in the night.

It was a solid two hours of slow walking on the way to the Pokemon Center, but eventually they reached it just as the sun started to come up.

“Julius.”

“What is it?”

“Before we go back to bed, I have one last thing to ask.”

“Go for it.”

“Battle me!”

“...huh?”

Arven clenched his fists in front of him. “Fighting that Klawf taught me that I’ve got a long way to go. I don’t want to be dead weight the whole time. You beat Nemona once, right!? So I figure that if I battle you, I’ll be able to learn something!”

Julius stood there, bewildered for a bit before nodding. “Right. I don’t know what I can teach you that we wouldn’t learn in class, but alright.”

To call the battle anything but one-sided would’ve been inaccurate, as even if Julius didn’t use Pawmi (who he noted would’ve completely destroyed Arven’s team), Nymble was able to go toe to toe with Shelder after using Screech enough times to lower its defenses for a Double Kick, and Skovet went down to a Charcoal-empowered Fuecoco.

Huh. I guess Nemona was right. Battling does clear the mind. Julius thought, already feeling the cloudiness of his mind subside.

“Geez, you don’t let up at all…” Arven muttered, shaking his head before pumping a fist. “Still, I think I’ve got a better idea about battling now.”

“You could do a lot better if you attended class.”

“Eurgh, don’t say it like that… you make it sound like I’m purposely skipping them.”

“Are you?”

Arven elected not to answer that as he turned back towards the Pokemon Center. “I’m going to heal up my team and then go to bed. I’ve got a blindfold if they don’t have blackout curtains.”

Julius avoided letting out a loud snort, but a quieter one still passed through his nostrils as he watched Arven walk away.

Well… I hope we’re able to save Mabosstiff, at least. Julius thought, looking towards the sunrise. I know what it’s like to want just one more second or for someone to pull through. Let’s hope it ends up a lot happier than how it’s shaping up to be.

Shaking his head to himself, he tried to return Fuecoco, but the little red Pokemon dodged the return beam before waddling up to Julius, looking up at him. The boy knelt down, scooping up his starter Pokemon into his arms.

“Let’s get some good rest, Fuecoco.” He muttered, looking down as he noticed his Rotomphone was buzzing. Checking it, there was a single message from Professor Turo, asking him to keep taking care of Miraidon and he detected it gained more of its original power. “This next town might be a little hectic, but hopefully for once it’ll be calm.”

Chapter Text

“You certainly took your time.”

“I had some other business.” Julius fired back as he set down his cooler on the floor.

Normally he would have checked into a hostel from the League, but when he approached Artazon, Cassiopeia had called him and directed him to a hotel.

“So, you got a plan?”

“The additional help I have for you should be in Artazon as well. She can share some of the data she’s gathered.”

“If the base is close by, why not go to the Gym Leader?”

“They would have done something about it by now if they had any intention of doing so.”

Julius furrowed his eyebrow. That couldn’t be all there was to it, but it seemed like Cassiopeia had no intention of working with anyone that could be considered remotely an authority figure.

“I’ll need some time to come up with a plan anyways, so I’m going to at least schedule my Gym Trial first.”

“Haaaa… very well. It seems the Fire specialized squad isn’t doing much of anything, anyways. I doubt they’ll act unless you provoke them.”

“Right. I’ll call you later, then.”

Leaving his hotel room, Julius passed through the lobby, where a familiar red-and-blue head of hair was at one of the couches.

“Been a while. You been doing alright?” He asked, with the blue and red haired girl perking her head up.

“Could be better.”

“Not exactly a good answer. Oh, I don’t think I ever got your name.”

“It’s Penny.”

“Julius. Heard that you’ve got something for me?”

The girl looked left and right before getting up. “Not here. We’ll be overheard.”

“Oh. Uh, I’ll be back in a bit. I’m going to schedule my gym trial first.”

“...I’ll come with you. I needed to get something, anyways.”

As she turned to fully face Julius, he raised an eyebrow. He could see past her rounded glasses, noticing she had some deep bags under her eyes like she hadn’t been sleeping very well. He then noticed the two cans of Red Tauros on the table, which Penny picked up before throwing out.

“Suit yourself.”

He was expecting her to try and make conversation like Nemona, but the walk through the flowery town of Artazon was almost eerily devoid of any discussion between the two of them. In fact, Julius felt like he was being put under a microscope as he walked along. He could tell Penny’s eyes were on him, and he was thankful he was of the realistic sort as despite the nerd-aesthetic-like-in-a-movie glasses she had on, she was a little bit cute. And as much as he didn’t want to admit it, his young boyish heart still felt excitement at an attractive girl seemingly noticing him.

She even moved slightly behind him when three Team Star members were walking through the streets, loudly conversing without a care in the world. However, they quickly shut up when the three noticed Julius, giving him a wide berth.

“...seems like I’ve got a reputation, huh?” Julius muttered, looking over his shoulder to make sure the Team Star goons didn’t double back to catch them from behind.

“That was my fault.”

“Don’t worry about it. If they hadn’t been so stupidly brazen, it wouldn’t have ever happened in the first place. Think they’ll try anything?”

Penny shook her head. “I don’t think so. Cassiopeia said they won’t act unless provoked. It wouldn’t be good PR for them.”

“Not like they’ve got good PR, but I guess no reason to worsen it.” Julius said, shrugging.

When they arrived at the gym office, after signing up for the gym trial, Julius was asked to wait. Considering how his trial would be held in two days, he wasn’t sure what this was all about.

“Ah, the man of the hour himself!”

Julius turned around, finding a pale, slender man with green hair that almost looked like roots with the spikes in it. His maroon turtleneck was almost a walking stereotype of an art student, having green flaps that looked like Carnivine leaves on it. But woe to anyone who would think to make fun of it, as his hairstyle cast a shadow over his eyes, making him look more dour and terrifying than his build would normally suggest. It didn’t help that his pants and dress shoes were pitch black, striking a deep contrast to the light green flaps on his turtleneck.

“Brassius Artazon, it’s a pleasure to meet you. I’ve heard quite a lot about you, the illustrious Julius Merida.”

“I think that’s a little strong.” Julius said, taking the offered hand of Brassius and giving it a shake. “Um, did you need something from me?”

“Ah, yes. Come to the office with me. Director Clavell himself asked me to talk to you, regarding the Team Star presence in the area.”

Julius noticed Penny’s eyes perk up at the mention of Team Star. “Do you… mind if I bring someone along?”

“Hm?”

Julius tilted his head towards Penny. “She’s uh… she was the victim of an attempted forced recruitment by Team Star.”

“Oh my, I was told about it, but I didn’t know who had been involved. Quite avant-garde, Julius. It isn’t so often you see such a chivalrous escort these days.”

Is that even what avant-garde means? Julius thought before shaking his head. 

“She can come along. I think it will help put her mind at ease.”

Penny silently nodded, following the two into the back areas of the Pokemon Gym office space. The actual gym would have all of the accouterments that Julius was expecting considering how Katy’s gym was the bakery, so he wasn’t surprised to find a rather sterile environment outside of a few potted plants in Brassius’ office.

After being seated, Brassius thumbed through a file cabinet before taking out a manila envelope and laying it on the table.

“Now then, Mister Julius, Director Clavell asked me to go over a few things with you. Now, you see, I’ve been informed of what we’ll call the incident with Team Star and you. I also have been made aware of your, let’s call it, style of doing things at the Academy. I understand that you may be looking to push back against Team Star. You’re an upstanding young man with what I can only assume to be a good heart and a belief in justice. So, Director Clavell has asked me to ensure you had all of the information you needed to make an informed decision.”

“An… informed decision, sir?”

“Yes, an informed decision. An informed decision that fighting Team Star alone should be considered an unwise decision.”

Penny narrowed her eyes, but tried not to show any agitation.

“As you can tell, here is the exact number of Team Star trainers within their compound, which has these coordinates. I’m not the biggest fan of math, as you might imagine, but if you put the location in a GPS, it’s about a day’s worth of walking from here. Ah, and you can see the amount of Fire types they wield and their exact team compositions they tend to favor.”

Wait a second. Julius thought to himself as Brassius turned the page.

“Now, I’m sure if you thought about taking them on, you would logically want to face them at night. However, this document over here shows they have quite a deal of patrols at night that take these overlapping routes. Even at dawn though, where their patrols are their thinnest, they are quite formidable. And that takes us to their leader, who is noted to have this team composition.”

Julius and Penny could only stay in stunned silence.

“...sir.” Julius eventually forced out after about ten seconds.

“Yes, Julius?”

“Is it… reasonable to ask why you haven’t taken them on, with this much knowledge? I thought you would certainly have something to beat Fire types, even if you’re the Grass type gym leader.”

Brassius leaned back in his seat, shaking his head. “I’m already at a disadvantage, unfortunately. And it’s true, yes, I would be expected to have my own way to fight a Fire type, as a Trainer would be likely to bring one to my Gym. It’s a numbers game. I can only take on so many and I lack the means to prevent them from ganging up on me. At least, not without also hurting the Trainers. They are still students of the Academy and I am one of the teachers there, when I am not performing my official duties here.”

“I see. That does… check out, I suppose.” Julius said, thinking about Miraidon’s newly unlocked turbo function.

“Anyways, that’s a quick summary. You can keep this file, Julius. I’ve got my own copy and I hope it will help you make an informed decision.”

“R… right, sir.”

“And best of luck on the gym trial.”

Julius had to fight the idea that Penny looked like she was pouting as they stopped by a convenience store.

“Those things are going to kill you, you know.”

Penny held her hand over another can of Red Tauros before picking up a Pinap flavored one. “It could be worse. I could be pounding eight Mega-Cups of Pikaffeine a day.”

Julius looked over at the Mega-Cup sizes, finding them to be roughly a fourth of a gallon in size. “I don’t think either one is good, anyways.”

“Just get whatever you want, I’m paying.”

She’s definitely upset. Julius thought as he picked up a protein shake and put it in the basket with the rest of the items. Either that or she’s consuming all of this to pull another all-nighter.

The very least he could do then was to carry the basket, which was harder than it seemed because Penny seemed content with stuffing as many sweets in there as possible. He ended up adding a protein bar to the mix as while it wasn’t the healthiest option, it beat out her binge by a wide mile.

As they left, Julius was carrying three bags full of sweets. It was almost impressive how much they spent, as he had never seen anyone casually drop over twenty-thousand LP at a convenience store.

Penny’s distant nature was actually a breath of fresh air, as the two simply exchanged a simple “See you around” when they got to her hotel room. Compared to Nemona who would have gladly dragged him around with a smile or Arven’s boisterous, if not occasionally bordering on jerk, nature, she gave him a silence he didn’t know he had missed for some time.

It’s surprisingly calm. He thought, deciding to take a walk around Artazon.

There wasn’t a whole lot to do, even compared to Cortondo’s standards. Sure, there were a few playgrounds and even a small pool for lounging around rather than a proper swim, but outside of that it was mostly walking amongst the art exhibits.

They were even somewhat comparable in the environment, as both were massive farming areas. But while there were vineyards as far as the eye could see, as he wandered about Artazon’s outer limits, there was far more variety. Wheat and corn made up a majority of the fields, but there were plenty of other vegetables as well.

Sunfloras bathing in the sun’s rays swayed in the breeze and Skiplooms along with Hoppips soared overhead. Occasionally a Deerling would be wandering along the paths, with the locals feeding it before it moved on. On the town’s outskirts, he even saw a Tauros chasing after a pack of fleeing Lechonks, though its coloration told him it wasn’t quite like Nemona’s. He even got jumped by a Steenee at one point, with Nymble proving its mettle and after defeating the much larger Grass type who continuously attempted to stomp it into the ground, evolved into Lokix.

“Geez, you’re going to bankrupt me with how many moves you supposedly can learn now…” Julius muttered, looking through his Pokedex app. 

Lokix let out something of an amused buzzing before returning to the Pokeball. He would no doubt be an important part to the strategy for the gym battle, but Julius did want Fuecoco to get a moment to shine. It would come naturally, considering the type match up.

On his way back to town, he found four Team Star members on the side of the road. As they noticed him, they moved to block his path.

Whatever they had to say barely registered in his mind. It was just something mindless about how they were going to put a stop to him before he could mess with their operation here.

But before they could even battle, one of them pointed out something. Looking to the side without taking his eyes off of his attackers, Julius found a three foot fall light brown dog with green highlights to it and curled fur that was shaped like leaves. In fact, its ears and tail looked like a sharp leaf as well, with the tail even appearing to have crinkles on it.

Whatever it was, it unsettled the Team Star members enough that they swore they’d get Julius next time before backing off and running for it. After that, the dog-like Pokemon slinked back into the cropline, disappearing from view.

After a quick search on his Pokedex application, he wondered if that Leafeon was Brassius’ as it was a Grass type. But then again, why would a single Pokemon inspire such panic in those Team Star members?

I’ll have to get my answers later. He thought, continuing to head back into town.

As he thought about future type match-ups, though, he did swing by the pond in the town. With plenty of Water types available, he picked up a Marill, even if he didn’t think it would stay for very long on his team.

That does remind me, I need to phone home.

Feeling energized the next day—not that he would admit the morning phone call with his mom elated his mood—Julius headed out to do some training. With how he spent some time helping Arven out, plenty of other trainers had also rolled into town. It was a good chance to see if his team’s power level was roughly on par with what others were bringing to this gym, as he already felt like he had barely squeaked by the first one.

He had planned to do so alone, but Penny had caught him in the hotel dining room as he was eating breakfast and vaguely made notions of wanting to come along.

At this point, he didn’t quite have a finger on her personality. She clearly had some sort of steel in her spine, considering how she stood her ground against Team Star. But on the other hand, she had no issues letting others fill in the blanks—perhaps incorrectly so—to her relationship with Team Star as a scared victim of theirs. If Team Star knew who he was, then certainly they would know who she was, too. The story would have spread by now, especially if those Team Star goons recognized him.

I feel like the only person I’ve met so far who isn’t hiding something is Nemona. Even Clavell might be hiding something from me regarding this Team Star business. Then again, I guess I’m not exactly guilt-free in that area, either.

Regardless, if she was planning on playing up this whole damsel in distress who needed an escort, Julius didn’t see any particular harm in it for now. Cassiopeia had said she was an ally. Considering the depth of Cassiopeia’s capabilities and planning, it was highly unlikely that Penny was able to hide a secret allegiance to Team Star from them. Doubly so because of what he had witnessed that day.

Though, would it kill her to have a more subtle bag?

This had been the sixth time they were stopped because some passerby wanted to get a picture of Penny’s Eevee bag. From fashionable gal types to children to even passing Ace Trainer tourists, the bag attracted considerable attention.

…then again, I guess I can’t really complain.

Miraidon also brought about attention, being incredibly unique. And because this town had wide and open streets as well as a variety of artsy cafes, the smell of food carried far. All Penny had to do was accidentally utter the word “sandwich” once, causing Miraidon to pop out, and after a whiff of the morning air with freshly baked bread and ground coffee, there was no putting him back in the ball.

“...well, I’m definitely eating instant noodles tonight.” Julius muttered after coming out of a pastry shop where the purple Pokemon had been waiting outside. “Hope you’re happy, Miraidon.”

“Giyaaaa~!”

Julius sighed as he opened the box of a dozen pastries, holding out a croissant that was stuffed with cream and Rawst berries out to Miraidon. At the very least, Miraidon had learned not to be so snappy with his mouth, so Julius didn’t have to worry about the purple Pokemon biting down on his hand anymore.

The single croissant wouldn’t be anywhere near enough to satiate Miraidon, but Julius gently pushed Miraidon’s head away as it leaned in closer to the box.

“ Later. We have to get back to Penny, first.”

“Giiiii…”

“No, no amount of pouting is going to help.”

It was only a five minute walk to one of several plazas within the town. Penny was seated at a park bench, Eevee bag sat upright on her lap— no, wait , Julius realized. That was an actual Eevee with a very fluffy collar. Behind the park bench she was sitting on was a standalone, long brick wall with a mural that ran around both sides of the wall. The mural depicted… all sorts of things. Pokemon, people, everyday objects… he even saw what looked like a very poorly painted and scaled version of the map of Kanto on there. There would be more if he walked around and checked the other side, but he decided to sate his curiosity later.

“Sorry for the wait.”

“I wasn’t going anywhere, anyways.”

“Wasn’t sure what you liked, so just take your pick.” Julius said, putting the box between them and opening it.

“Bui?” The Eevee crooned, pointing with its paw.

The smallest bit of a smile showed itself on Penny’s face. Or perhaps, Julius thought, she was just relaxing her permanent frown, as she nodded at the Eevee. After getting confirmation, it reached into the box and picked up a vanilla sprinkled doughnut with its mouth before settling back in Penny’s lap.

“Aaaagiya.”

“Oi!”

Julius was too late as Miraidon had leaned in close to Penny, almost like it was inspecting her.

“Ah!”

“Miraidon!” Julius admonished, but Miraidon had already licked Penny once on the cheek before pulling back, giving something that could only be thought of as an approving hum. “Ugh, sorry about that. Hold on, I’ve got a towel.”

He reached into his bag and pulled out a small handkerchief, though when he handed it to Penny, it was his turn to let out a cry of surprise when their hands touched as they both received a static shock.

“Ow…!”
“Ngh…!”

He let out an annoyed sigh before handing the cloth to Penny, who used it to wipe her face. “Miraidon, you can’t just go and lick people!”

“Giyaaaa…”

Julius crossed his arms and gave Miraidon a look, with the purple Pokemon bowing its head as if to apologize.

“Come on. You know what you’re supposed to do.” Julius followed on, gesturing with his head. “Arven does it when he messes up.”

Miraidon nodded twice, seating itself in front of Penny. It held its head high, as it sat on all fours, looking straight into Penny’s eyes before letting out a “Agiyaaagiya.”

“Is… is it apologizing?” Penny managed to force out.

“Yeah. I think.”

“Uh… right. Apology accepted?” Penny finished, still clearly bewildered at the situation. After Miraidon raised its head, the purple Pokemon happily trotted over to Julius, who fed it a cream-stuffed eclair. 

“Good job.”

“Giya~”

The attention-grabbing duo sat in silence for a while, just observing the town. Every now and then someone would want a picture of either Miraidon or Penny’s fluffy Eevee. Sometimes it would be an elderly couple, as the town’s quiet atmosphere seemed to make it a popular retirement area, who would make some passing remarks about wishing the two of them the best of luck. 

Occasionally a fellow student would pass by, saying hello to Julius, who had unfortunately underestimated just how much his name had spread due to his unorthodox tactics in the gym battle for a no-badgers. It had reignited talks about his budding friendship with Nemona as well as the stunt he pulled by battling her for a week straight,with a lot of students mentioning her by name. 

Are they trying to gauge something? Julius thought as he waved goodbye to another boy-girl pair of students, the girl of the pair chiding Julius for “cheating on Nemona” as they left. How would I even be cheating on Nemona, anyways? Held items are fair game.

“You seem popular.”

“I think it’s more infamy.” Julius mumbled, leaning back on the bench. “By the way, I’ve been meaning to ask, but is that your Eevee?”

“Why wouldn’t she be?”

“I mean, you could just be looking after it for someone else. I just thought to ask.”

“Yes, she’s mine.”

There goes any follow up questions. Julius thought, shrugging. “Seems like enough students are gathering, though. Do you mind if I go practice?”

“Oh. Sure, I’ll just stay here.”

“Miraidon, make some noise if something happens.”

“Agiya!”

Moving from the side of the bench next to Julius over to Penny, Miraidon then sat down on all fours, looking like an oversized guard dog next to Penny.

“Thanks. I’ll try not to take too long.”

From her position on the park bench, she could easily watch the battles taking place in the plaza. There were two battle pitches available, with Julius stepping onto one of them as soon as the other students noticed he was arriving.

His style of commanding was still somewhat clumsy, but it wasn’t particularly bad. Rather than micromanage his Pokemon’s movements, he seemed content to simply give general notions of what to do, only fully taking the reins at a critical juncture. It was no surprise to Penny that Cassiopeia chose him, with this battle only further cementing that Cassiopeia had made the right choice.

Partway through the battles, his Wooper evolved into a Clodsire. No doubt it would be helpful for the upcoming battle with the Fire type users of Team Star in the area.

After about forty minutes of battling, he returned to the park bench.

“All good?”

“...yeah.” Penny said, looking to the box of pastries. “There’s still some left if you want one.”

“Maybe after lunch. I think that’s enough fighting for today, though. I’m feeling pretty confident about everyone’s strength for this gym. Now it’s just a matter of this gym trial.”

“Haaaah, haaah…!”

Penny just watched as Julius sprinted past her, giving chase to a Sunflora before he managed to catch up to it, scooping the Pokemon into his arms. The flower-like Pokemon didn’t put up much resistance after that, happily cheering in his arms.

“...that’s four.”

Julius let out a wheeze in response.

The gym trial was seemingly simple, just like Cortondo’s. Help prepare some paint to support the local art scene.

Said paint, though, had to be crafted with the traditional methods. First, he had to harvest several herbs in the fields that were used as part of the dye which wasn’t that physically exhausting, but still took a hefty toll on his mental stamina. There, he had been jumped three separate times by Sudowoodos, two Steenes, and even a Tsareena. Not to mention the Scovillain that had a surprising Fire type moveset to it, which he found out when it crushed Lokix with a Fire Fang.

If only the dyes had been the end of it, though. Next came gathering enough Sunfloras to help provide seeds that would be made into oil. He was told to gather fifteen Sunfloras, also being told that “They were quite easy to see with the beautiful sunny day that’s out”.

Of course, after the first two had merrily ran away, he checked the Pokedex application, finding out several key notes. Namely, that in the daytime, Sunfloras rush about in a hectic manner, as well as converting sunlight into energy.

So while they were easy to spot, the otherwise beautiful calm, cloudless day was making his job exceptionally difficult.

He marched the one he just caught over to the Sunflora Pasture, passing it off to the staff there.

He had about five hours left, with it being around midday now. He was fairly confident he could do it, but he did need a rest.

“Giyaya!”

Miraidon did its best to cheer him up. While the purple Pokemon had offered a seat to Julius to chase the Sunfloras, he had declined it. Half because if he rammed a Sunflora, it might faint and that wouldn’t count, and half because he felt sort of a sense of honor about the trial.

Julius could only flash a thumbs up in reply as he chugged from one of his water bottles.

“...” 

Penny’s eyes looked to the right, where a group of other female students were waving to Julius. One of them even had the audacity to take a picture of him, as he was in dark purple shorts with a matching tank top that showcased his lean, but built, physique. She didn’t really care that much for it, but at the angle she was standing, she’d be visible in the photo.

Quietly, she pushed up her left sleeve and tapped a few times on her Poketech, with her glasses displaying some text on them. Her right hand’s fingers moved about, each of them having a small ring on them that read her hand’s movements as if she were typing on a keyboard made of air.

Hope you won’t miss those photos later. But he could be less defenseless, geez. She thought to herself as she wrapped up her work, glasses returning to normal.

“Okay, that’s enough of a break. I have to find eleven more. And probably chase them down, too.”

“Put on a shirt.” Penny blankly replied, with Julius shrugging as he walked off.

She spent her time sitting near the center of town, watching Julius chasing down Sunfloras. Occasionally she would dip into the convenience store to buy him a bottle of a sports drink when it became apparent he was running low.

Strangely enough, despite looking ragged two hours later, he seemed to be having the time of his life. Or at least, as much as it would show on his face.

“Two more.” He reported, loudly plopping down on the bench next to Penny before reaching into his bag and using a towel to wipe down his sweat. “Time… three hours left.”

“You’ve got leaves on you this time.”

“Well, I had to go further out this time to find them. Chased it through the fields.”

“I think there has to be something you’re overlooking.”

Julius shrugged. “It worked last time. Besides, I’m almost there.”

“Giya?”

“Just a little longer, Miraidon. You holding up okay?”

“Yaaaagi.”

“Oh, hungry? Okay, well, I guess I needed a break, too. I’ll go and get us a sandwich.”

“Agiya!?”

“Yeah, yeah. Oh right, I still owe you a calzone from helping out Arven. I guess I could use one, too.”

It was a choice Julius would live to regret, considering how Miraidon seemed enamored with the new food. Its crisp, crunchy shell and the melted interior would no doubt become part of its regular demands.

I’ll regret it when I’m on the road in a week. For now, I’ll just think about how this pepperoni stuffed calzone is really tasty.

Still, he was a teenager in school, meaning he had already mastered the art of procrastination. This much was no problem for him.

To Penny, who watched him as she gently fed the Eevee in her lap a breadstick, the boy next to her was quite the conundrum. During that brief meeting of theirs, he had been cold as ice. In the moment their eyes had met, she felt something from him. Like he was carrying some kind of weight as well, despite the almost glazed over look they had. It was the eyes of someone alive, but not living. It was a familiar feeling, one she was loath to say she understood.

And yet just like her, he moved nonetheless.

…it remains to be seen if he’s the right choice.

Regardless of the kind of person they were, what mattered was the results.

But an hour and a half later, with Julius having taken a rest after eating to digest, perhaps there wasn’t too much to worry about as he triumphantly carried the last Sunflora. Miraidon, having also been counting, moved to accompany him, and likewise Penny packed up the remaining food and followed.

“You know,” one of the pasture workers said, chuckling. “Sunfloras really do like the glow of a Sun Stone. They do like the warmth of the sun, but they’ll usually follow it. So if you have one, it’s pretty easy to draw them to you.”

“......interesting. So, the oil?”

“Ah, here you go. It takes a long time to make the oils from the seeds, so here’s the bottle of oil. If you have time tomorrow, you can watch us make them, though!”

“I’ll consider it.”

“Just head to the windmill after this, you’re almost done!”

Nodding, Julius walked away from the pasture, bottle in hand. He momentarily met Penny’s eyes before snorting in annoyance as he turned away. She didn’t even have to vocalize the words “I told you so” as it was written all over the smallest of smirks.

To his surprise, Brassius himself was waiting inside the windmill.

“Ah, you’ve got everything?”

“Yes, sir.”

“This way, then.”

As they walked their way through the windmill’s rooms, heading further up, Brassis began to talk.

“So then, Challenger Julius, what did you notice during your time chasing Sunfloras?”

He thought about it for a while as they continued to walk. “...the fields, I guess. It was different from Cortondo, which focused a lot on olives. Here there was a lot of wheat and vegetables.”

“Before the modernization of Paldea, Artazon was the breadbasket of Paldea. Fruits and vegetables of every kind dotted the landscape, painting it like a canvas.” Brassius said as they passed by an old black and white photo depicting what it would have looked like. “There used to be many, many of these windmills, all working to help grind wheat. Technology marches on, though, and soon all that’s been left is a singular windmill. The first windmill of Artazon, actually. These days, it doesn’t grind wheat, but with the flowers and materials you picked up, we’re going to turn them into the color that will dye the paint.”

Brassis paused, chuckling.

“It’s not particularly windy today. Now, you likely wouldn’t have any issues manually operating the grinders and crushers yourself, but that’s not very avant garde , is it?”

“...no, sir.”

As they reached the top, Brassius opened a window and released a Pokemon. Floating in the air was what could only be described as a happily flying palm-tree-giraffe like creature.

“If you’re ready, Challenger Julius, why don’t you go ahead and load up the materials?”

Directed to part of the uppermost room, he found several hoppers where he could drop the flowers and herbs, each one already pre-labeled for which one went where. Once he confirmed he was good to go, Brassius took the apparent thorn whip on his belt and twirled it around, non-verbally commanding the flying palm tree (a Tropius, his Pokedex app told him). With the flap of its wings, a strong wind blew. Part of the stream flowed through the room, with Julius gripping onto his hat to make sure it didn’t fly away.

Slowly, the windmill began to churn and the hoppers opened up, crushing and grinding the flowers.

“Shall we go down, then? We’re almost done.”

It didn’t take long to mix the paints, but even so, Brassius insisted there was one last part to the trial. Taking some of the paints they had just made, they walked back out to the mural wall that Penny and Julius had spent the day once before.

“Every challenger of mine leaves their mark on this wall. Over the years, marks left by challengers long ago have been overwritten, just as Artazon’s current role in Paldea has.” Brassius explained. “I have them do it before the battle, because it’s not whether or not that they won that decides their right to paint on this wall, but the fact that they witnessed the life and history of Artazon. Today, it is a thriving art heavy town, with statues, murals, paintings and sculptures, but it was not always this way. And so—”

Brassius held out several brushes to Julius.

“—it is time you make your mark on this town, Challenger Julius, just as you have no doubt made your mark on it.”

Julius nodded, accepting the brushes. “Are there any guidelines?”

“Not at all. To each their own, simply guided by their own hearts. Will you leave a small, unnoticeable mark? Or will you leave one so grand it paints over all others, standing out? Or perhaps, something in between?”

“I see…”

“You can leave the paperwork confirming the passing of your gym trial to me. Does three days from now sound fine?”

“No problems here.”

“Now then, do you prefer sunrise or sunset?” Brassius chuckled. “After all, with such an… illustrious student who is making a name for himself, the dramatic lighting will be quite avant garde, don’t you think?”

He keeps using that word. Julius thought. “Let’s make it sunrise. I’m somewhat of an early riser.”

“Magnificent. Then, I’ll leave the details of your painting to you. Oh, but if you’re so curious.” Brassius couldn’t help but put on a small smile which seemed at odds with his thug-like demeanor. “I’ll save you the trouble of searching for it, but if I remember right, Miss Nemona’s mark is on the other side of this wall, stowed away at the top.”

“......thanks?”

“And one last piece of parting advice, Challenger Julius. Quite many a man wishes for a flower on each arm, but do take care that the thorns do not prick you.”

Behind him, Penny let out a sputter as she coughed on the Red Tauros she was drinking. Julius decided just to shrug and give his thanks for the advice, even if he didn’t understand it.

Left to his own devices and his own curiosity, he ended up looking for what might be Nemona’s mark. It didn’t take very long, as he found—

She might be a good Trainer, but she’s a terrible artist. He thought, looking at what he was sure was her Tauros. Then again, I’m probably not any better.

He apparently took long enough that Penny eventually came around to see what was taking him so long.

“...a beach? Also that Tauros looks really bad. At least you made an attempt.”

Julius looked up at the Tauros that was now pictured on a sandy beach, an ocean at its side, as he climbed down the ladder he had found to reach up that high. Penny raised an eyebrow, expecting some kind of snark from him, but instead she was met by what she would describe as a ghost of a smile.

“All I can do, yeah? Anyways, I’m all wrapped up here. I could use some rest.”

“I’ll bet. I’ll take the three days to look into Team Star.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

On the morning of his gym battle, Julius headed out to the gym office at the directed time after wrapping his hands with the handwraps his mother had given him at the start of the journey. He was led to a battle pitch that didn’t seem to have any gimmicks, simply standing in front of the windmill.

The sun broke on the horizon. Around him, the flowers planted around him revealed themselves to be Sunfloras, opening up and turning towards the rising sun.

“So you’ve come.”

The hell? Wait, there’s no way that’s safe. Julius thought, looking up and finding a silhouette that could only belong to Brassius standing atop the windmill—no, rather, he was standing on one of the windmill’s blades.

“It’s only right to be on—” Julius paused, interrupted by a yawning Penny, who had lugged herself out of bed just in time to be here. “...be on time.”

“The responsible type, hm? Haaa!”

The half-awake Penny jolted awake when Brassius leapt from the windmill’s blades, executing a perfect three-point landing on the battle pitch. Even Julius’ mouth opened up slightly from shock, as a fall like that would have severely injured if not outright killed someone.

“You did well to come this far, Challenger! You already know who I am—Brassius, an artist specializing in Grass-type Pokemon, and Gym Leader of Artazon.”

“Julius, just an ordinary kid.”

“Hoh. The extraordinary often pretend to be ordinary, or at least, the wiser ones do. I trust then, that you are ready?”

“Just one question.”

“Yes?”

Julius’ expression put on a bit of a curious, if exasperated, grin. “What kind of fitness routine do you have to do to not injure yourself with that jump?”

“Ha! If you claim victory, perhaps I’ll share my secrets. For now though, let us both paint a wonderful masterpiece!”

Brassius took to his side of the arena and like Katy’s gym, a referee moved to the center.

“This is a gym battle between Gym Leader Brassius Artazon and Gym Challenger Julius Merida! Substitutions are allowed for the challenger! Items are unrestricted for the challenger and are limited to two items per Pokemon for the gym leader! Are both sides ready?”

Brassius unhooked the thorn whip as his side, letting flow in the breeze that picked up. “I am ready to begin.”

Julius nodded, adjusting his handwraps. “I’m ready.”

“Then, take your marks. Release your first Pokemon in three, two, one… release!”

It wasn’t surprising for Brassius to see that Julius opened up with Clodsire that had what was likely an Expert Belt wrapped around one of its paws. He wouldn’t be the first, nor would he be the last, to open up with the common Ground-Poison type. But he had heard quite a bit about the unorthodox strategies he used against Katy, especially for someone with no badges at the time.

He could have claimed the first hit at any time as Clodsires were slower than the Sunflora he sent out—not to mention Julius had set up Toxic Spikes as his first move, but this was also a teaching point. Perhaps, if he hadn’t already had his reputation with Nemona, as an inexperienced challenger he likely shouldn’t be expecting Brassius’ opening move.

But the brown-haired boy in front of him didn’t so much as flinch when Sunflora opened up with Rain Dance. For Julius, who had used Sunny Day to bolster Fuecoco during his battle with Katy, this wasn’t too surprising. Still, with how he planned to have Fuecoco potentially shine in this battle, this was a bit of a buzzkill.

On the other hand, for Brassius, this was just a simple test. For many of his challengers that would arrive with a Fire type, this quickly put a damper on their spirits.

“You’re quite the studious one, starting off your career with area hazards! But battling, much like art, evolves over time!”

Julius grit his teeth, switching Clodsire out for Lokix in order to conserve the former’s strength, this time wielding a Life Orb. The black locust-like Pokemon stood on its rear legs, yellow eyes lighting up on its mask-like face, ready to spring into action.

With Bug types being as fragile as they were, he had bought it with the intent of letting Lokix deal as much damage as possible before going down. However, this let Brassius’ Sunflora use Ingrain, rooting the plant in place but letting it keep healing.

It was all a wager, now. Would Lokix be able to break through in time, or would it go down from the Life Orb’s drain?

“No sense in holding back.”

Lokix seemed to agree, with another set of legs folding out from what looked to be wings. It suddenly cleared the distance, using the Pounce move that it had learned from the Technical Machine Katy had gifted Julius, striking Sunflora head on. But in its attempt to get away, the storm of leaves that Sunflora created and launched at Lokix in retaliation kept on tracking the bug no matter how much it bobbed and weaved, eventually finding its mark. And just after the exchange, the Sunflora glowed green, the roots it created lighting up similarly, seemingly healing it.

“Switch out to Lunge, Lokix!”

Rapidly searching on his Pokedex app as Lokix continued to press the assault, Julius confirmed that Sunflora was more suited as a special attacker—and more importantly, the move used against him was Magical Leaf, known for the ability to never miss.

“Don’t bother trying to dodge!”

With its Trainer confirming what Lokix felt instinctively, it charged through Magical Leaf, lunging through it to strike Sunflora dead on in the face. In any other case, it should have been a clean KO, but with Ingrain feeding Sunflora back its strength, the flower stood strong in the rain.

While it may have only taken one more Lunge—which turned into three because Brassius used a Super Potion to heal his Sunflora at one point—by the time Sunflora went down, Lokix was clearly running out of juice. Not to mention Julius hadn’t found a good timing to heal Lokix, as any time he spent healing would only keep Sunflora out for longer, meaning Lokix would really run out of energy. It was the right call too, as when Brassius was switching his Pokemon, Lokix folded up its extra pair of legs again, taking a brief moment of respite.

“Sunflora is unable to battle! Does the Gym Leader still have a Pokemon remaining?”

Brassius nodded. “An excellent foundation to a masterpiece. But allow me to get the second stroke in.”

“Then, release your next Pokemon within five, four, three…”

This man does not let up. Julius internally grumbled as the Tropius he saw the other day entered the field. It steadily floated above the air, not triggering Toxic Spikes, much to his chagrin.

“Lokix, Sunny Day!”

“Kiiix!”

Julius barely managed to grip his hat in time as Tropius let out a mighty gust of wind with its wings as the rain let up. It didn’t seem to damage Lokix, but a quick check of his Pokedex told him that it was just as dangerous.

Tailwind, huh? This is some serious escalation from the first gym. Weather effects and support effects… geez.

With the effects of Tailwind, though, Tropius managed to outspeed the otherwise much more nimble Lokix. Any attempts to dodge were swiftly cut short by an Aerial Ace.

That also deals with Pawmo. In a tough spot, huh…

“Lokix is unable to battle! Does the challenger have any Pokemon left!”

“I do.”

“Then, release your next Pokemon within five, four, three…”

Clodsire was definitely the better option. Poison Tail would probably make short work of it, and Tailwind didn’t matter considering how Clodsire as slower, anyways.

However, he felt a Pokeball on his belt shake. It was surely Fuecoco’s. 

He thought back to the first day, the expression Fuecoco made, hanging its head when he thought he wouldn’t be chosen. Clodsire could sweep here, with its bulk, and then switching out last would almost be like pity.

I didn’t want pity back then. What I wanted was…

“Two—”

“Fuecoco, let’s do it!”

Penny snapped her head up, having expected Clodsire to make a return to the battlefield. Not holding onto the Charcoal it had battled Katy with, but rather the Quick Claw, the small crocodile-like Pokemon let out a cry.

The Tropius beat its wings, wind rushing past the two as Julius prepared his Tera Orb.

“No sense in doing things halfway.”

Just like every battle he had unveiled it in with before, the crystals encased Fuecoco, who became adorned with a crown of flame.

There was no way that Tropius wasn’t faster. And with Aerial Ace, there was no dodging. But if there was no dodging, then—

“Brace!”

Fuecoco tensed up, eating the hit from Aerial Ace as it came in.

I’ll have to thank Cassiopeia for the cash.

“Now!”

There was no way for Tropius to dodge the point-blank Fire Blast. That Technical Machine had cost him a pretty penny, considering how he spent a sizeable portion of the money Cassiopeia had given him, but it was all worth it.

The blast knocked Fuecoco back, but since the explosion had been on his terms, the bipedal crocodile-like creature went into a roll before landing upright. On the other hand, Tropius had crashed into the ground.

Some people aren’t the type, but sometimes you have to kick someone while they’re down.

Tropius let out a croon as it managed to get back up, but the flames lingering on its body were taking their toll. While it managed to avoid an Ember from Fuecoco to get back to Brassius, the odds were still tipped in Fuecoco’s favor.

“It’s a beautiful day, isn’t it?”

Fuecoco tensed just as Julius did, already getting the feeling something was coming.

And just in time, as Fuecoco leapt to the side to avoid a white beam of light that erupted from Tropius’ mouth. Julius’ mind quickly remembered some of his lessons in battling classes, that weather affected certain moves. Solar Beam might be Grass Type and not effective on Fuecoco, but the raw power wasn’t something they could just ignore.

Switching to Clodsire now wasn’t an option, as Fuecoco’s ability to dodge compared to Clodsire’s was going to be invaluable.

“Yeah. Really pretty.” Julius grumbled out. “Is that how you teach people not to get complacent with Fire types?”

Brassius chuckled, if a bit darkly. “It’s just a happy little accident that it lines up well with Solar Beam.”

That is terrifying. Julius thought to himself, shaking his head. Can’t use raw power. Let’s try finesse. He can’t switch out, right?

He saw an opening as soon as Brassius elected to heal Tropius of its burn.

“Put him to rest, Fuecoco!”

As if understanding what was asked of him, Fuecoco let out a big yawn. A white mist settled over Tropius, who yawned in return. For Brassius, who realized what was going to happen, he found himself smiling at the turnabout.

Rather than a dodgeable Solar Beam, he elected to use Magical Leaf, if only to deal what damage he could before Tropius fell asleep—and was promptly taken out by another Fire Blast.

“Tropius is unable to battle! Does the Gym Leader have any Pokemon remaining?”

“One more.”

“Then, release your next Pokemon in five, four, three…”

Brassius let out his last Pokemon, one all too familiar to Julius, as what might be mistaken for a normal tree stood in front of him, where it was immediately pricked by Clodsire’s leftover Toxic Spikes. It was a Rock type, but he assumed it was going to be changed to Grass, just like Katy’s gym.

“You have promise! But, let us lead this back and forth endeavor to its conclusion at once, with a touch of my own color!”

Holding his shimmering Tera Orb in his hands, Brassius gave it a light underhand toss, encasing Sudowoodo in a crystal structure. Emerging like all the other Terastalized Pokemon, it was now adorned with a massive crystal bouquet of a yellow, red, and blue flower crown atop its head.

I just have to hold on long enough. Julius thought to himself. But as he looked to Fuecoco, who despite already being hit several times, was trying to stand tall, he knew that wasn’t the right way of doing things. 

“Fuecoco, retreat!”

“Not so fast!”

With the last vestiges of Tropius’ Tailwind, Sudowoodo leapt forward, slamming into Fuecoco as the smaller Pokemon retreated. It was clearly a Grass type move, but after Sudowoodo retreated to a safe distance, Julius felt something was off.

Fuecoco should be faster, at least. He thought, using up a Super Potion to heal Fuecoco to hopefully tip top shape.

That was true for the next attempt, which Fuecoco dodged, but on the third attempt that was just barely dodged, he realized that Sudowoodo had outsped Fuecoco.

That move’s making it faster each time, no wonder I haven’t found the timing to use Yawn. Even if it’s not supereffective—wait. Is he purposely just spending the time to boost up that thing’s speed? Julius thought. Not to mention that thing’s a truck.

He had been conserving uses of Fire Blast as Fuecoco could only muster it so many times in one sitting before running out of energy, so he had been throwing Ember, which while seemingly supereffective didn’t quite deal the damage he was looking for. It wasn’t anything that made Brassius urgently heal, either.

He was brought out of his thoughts by a suddenly speedy Rock Throw that smashed into Fuecoco head on.

That’s right, it was originally a Rock type, which counters… a lot of Grass’ weaknesses. This really is a test.

Even still, Fuecoco managed to land another Ember, but Sudowoodo just wasn’t going down. Its bulk was enough that Brassius had the time to use an Antidote to undo the Toxic Spikes, too.

Crap, I overlooked those X-items. Julius grumbled. Fuecoco didn’t have the power to punch through, no matter how many Embers it threw.

“Fueeee…!”

And perhaps Fuecoco was feeling the frustration, too. With a second Rock Throw that connected, Julius was forced to heal his Pokemon again.

It looked up at him as he sprayed on the Super Potion. As their eyes met, Fuecoco lowered its gaze, as if asking it wasn’t enough.

“It’s not over yet.” Julius said as he stood up. “It’s too early to give up.”

What the hell am I saying? I gave up a long time ago.

His fist clenched as he tried to drive away those thoughts. It was true, he had given up. Before this whole Uva Academy thing, he was just coasting by in life. The Julius from around a few weeks ago wouldn’t have lifted a finger to help Penny, wouldn’t have bothered fighting Nemona for a week straight, wouldn’t have helped Arven search for the Herba Mystica.

I didn’t want pity back then. What I wanted was…

“Challenger Julius, please return your Pokemon to the combat area within ten seconds or it will be taken as a forfeit!”

He remembered the sensation of Nemona strongly taking his hand. Maybe she was just desperate for a friend, in hindsight, but in that moment she didn’t seem to care. He was someone she could get along with. And that was all she needed.

She didn’t give up just because he tried to pull away. And because of that, he found out he hadn’t really given up, either.

…something to look forward to.

“It’s too early to give up.”

Maybe it was how something hitched in his throat, but Fuecoco seemed to pay attention this time around.

“That thing’s just like Nemona’s Sprigatito. We overcame it eventually.” Julius muttered, looking away as he felt a sense of embarrassment.

“Five, four…”

“Doesn’t matter how many tries it’s going to take. Because…”

“Three, two…”

“Fue!”

Julius didn’t get to finish as Fuecoco leapt back onto the battle arena. In a way, he was glad Fuecoco didn’t let him finish. 

Sometimes loss was permanent. To claim otherwise would have been a lie.

Turning his mind back to the battle to rid himself of the loathing thoughts in his mind, Julius thought quickly about it. Rock Throw was fast. Fast enough to where there was almost no way to dodge it.

A mutual exchange? I’d have to risk Fire Blast missing. But it’s the only thing we have with enough firepower.

Fuecoco seemed to have the same idea, dodging towards Sudowoodo. However, the tree was a lot faster now, but with the way Julius trained his Pokemon taking inspiration from his own martial arts, Fuecoco moved as if trying to trap a fighter in the corner of the ring.

“Fu…!”

Rock Throw hit Fuecoco hard, this time with a much more unpleasant sound. Even Penny jolted, understanding that a critical hit at this time would seal the deal.

As Fuecoco finished sliding back, its eyes closed, all on the field waited with baited breath.

“Fu… EEEEE!”

With a loud cry, Fuecoco became encased in white light that began to rapidly expand to three times Fuecoco’s size. When the light subsided, a more melon-shaped red crocodilian Pokemon stood in its place, with more identifiable arms that had three talons each. Its face was white, as if wearing a mask, and atop its head was a mass of fire energy that was shaped like a nest with an egg. And furthermore, the crystal crown it wore when it was Terastillized still shone true.

“Crooocaloooor!”

“I suppose they say to save the best for last. But will it let you have the last stroke of this exchange?”

“Only one way to find out.”

With the likely increased toughness, they didn’t have to worry so much about dodging. Yawn was used almost immediately, putting Sudowoodo on the clock. And with Brassius limited in item usage, the forced sleep from Yawn was going to put him away one way or another.

But not content to simply wither away, Sudowoodo landed one more Rock Throw.

After Sudowoodo was put to sleep, Crocalor fired off a Fire Blast. Somehow, it managed to hold on, giving Brassius just enough time to use an Awakening. But there wouldn’t be any more healing after that.

It all came to one hit each. While Julius would likely win, having Clodsire and Pawmo in reserve—

—Fuecoco, now Crocalor, wouldn’t give up.

It might have been a response to Crocalor’s determination, it might have just been sheer luck, but the Quick Claw around Crocalor’s neck suddenly shone with light, allowing the crocodilian Pokemon to suddenly close the distance before unleashing a point blank Fire Blast.

When the smoke settled, Sudowoodo didn’t move as Crocalor broke away. Five seconds passed, before…

“Sudowoodo is unable to battle! The winner is… Gym Challenger Julius Merida!”

The brown haired boy let out a sigh of relief, but knelt down as Crocalor ran up to him. 

“Thanks for not giving up.”

“Cro!”

“There’s a lot of fruit around here. Maybe we’ll make a second attempt at flambe?”

“Ca-calor!”

Crocalor seemed excited, with Julius nodding. “Alright. Get some rest for now.”

In the brief moments it took for him to take hold of Crocalor’s Pokeball, Julius found his left leg hugged by the crocodilian creature. He stifled a chuckle, lightly tapping the evolved Fuecoco with the Pokeball.

“Challenger Julius, if you would step forward to the center.” Brassius called out as Julius stood up.

He was sure it was going to be something similar to Katy’s gym, so he nodded before stepping forward.

“Congratulations. You’ve more than earned the Harvest Badge.” Brassius said, opening a box with a familiar design. Inside was a metallic badge depicting a sunflower pointed up directly at the sky, surrounded by smaller dots of various colors no doubt meant to be representative of other flowers. “Another step closer to a successful League Challenge.”

Julius nodded, accepting the badge. “Thank you.”

Just like before, there were some photos to be taken, and once the photo op was over, Brassius handed Julius a small, dark green Technical Machine disc.

“Trailblaze is an interesting move. The more you use it, the faster your Pokemon gets. Whether or not you use it to gain even more of an advantage or catch up to an opponent is in your hands. Quite avant garde , isn’t it?”

“...that’s not what avant garde means.”

“Oh?”

“I looked it up before the battle.”

Brassius simply smiled, which given his thug-like demeanor somewhat put Julius on guard. “And so now you know.”

Julius opened his mouth, having anticipated having to argue back. However, after half a second he realized what Brassius meant, instead closing his mouth and letting out an annoyed snort.

“Incidentally, if you wouldn’t mind, there was someone who wanted to see you at the gym office.”

“...I’ll be right over, sir .” Julius let out through grit teeth.

He distinctly got the feeling Brassius was, at least in his head, snickering as he walked away.

“...that was pretty good.” Penny said as he met up with her. “Why Fuecoco, though? I would have used your Clodsire there, but I guess I’m not that good of a trainer.”

Julius paused, thinking about how to word it. “...I guess it’s… that I believed in him. Most of the time we have to make logical decisions, but there’s times where you have to do what you feel is right. It’s hard to explain.”

“No, I… I understand what you mean. The right thing to do sometimes comes across as the illogical thing to do.”

Julius nodded. “Mhm. Thanks for coming out to watch, by the way.”

“It’ll help for our mission later.”

“Fair enough.”

When he arrived back at the gym office, he found an unfamiliar face seemingly waiting for him. The man in question that was there was dressed sharply—a white button shirt and crisp red tie, rounded off with a black and red patterned vest that contrasted with his blonde hair that was elegantly styled. Despite the heat of the spring, he was still wearing a drab green blazer with an attached half-cape that paired well with his darker gray slacks.

“Mister Julius, is that you?”

“Yes, it is, sir.”

He crossed his arms. “First, congratulations on your victory. Oh, but I do apologize for if I startled you by addressing you so suddenly. I am Hassel, a member of the Elite Four. And I know you’re not enrolled in any art classes as I also teach art classes at the Academy. I came simply to ask a question of you.”

Julius silently nodded, wondering just what an Elite Four member could want with him. He could feel Penny tense up and he slightly shifted himself to interpose himself between Hassel and her, in the event this dealt with Team Star.

“Do tell me, young Julius: What compels you to collect these Gym Badges and strive to be a Champion?”

“Er, be a Champion, or reach Champion rank?”

Hassel blinked twice, clearing his throat before nodding. “A-ah, yes of course. My apologies, I misspoke. Champion rank, yes.”

There’s something weird about this. Julius thought to himself. He had that time to think, after all, because his answer didn’t require much thought.

“There’s someone who wants me to.”

“Oh? Care to elaborate?”

Julius paused for a second before shaking his head. “No thanks, sir.”

“I see.” Hassel seemed to suppress a chuckle. “Naturally, there is no single correct answer. Of course, I’ve also heard about your friendship with Miss Nemona. It’s always nice to have a rival, someone who can push you, and you can push them, to greater heights. I can’t help but wonder if the potential that launched Nemona to be a Champion rank trainer also lies in you as well.”

“I guess we’ll have to see. The third gym is coming up, right?”

“Ahhh, so you are already familiar with the urban legends.” Hassel said, nodding. “Should you claim victory in the third gym battle and continue striving for Champion… Rank, you will one day have to battle me. May I give you a bit of advice?”

“Sure?”

“I do suggest you start training even harder than you have now. While strategy and quick thinking has been on your side, I’m sure you are more than aware that it will not be enough given a wide enough gap. If you wish to avoid the bitter regret of defeat, that is.” Hassel said, beginning to walk away. “Oh, and do come along to my art class sometime. I would be thrilled to have you attend. Your skills could use some work there, too.”

“Thanks for the offer, sir.”

“Until next time. Best of luck in future endeavors.”

After Hassel left, Julius looked to Penny, gesturing for them to leave the gym office. As they went outside into the morning sun, Penny let out a mixture of a wheeze and a sigh.

“What the hell is a member of Paldea’s Elite Four doing personally coming to ask you something!?”

Apparently this event was earth shattering enough that Penny dropped her usual air of gloominess and distance, with her tone even becoming, dare Julius think it, venomous . She even sounded a bit like Cassiopeia with how sharp her words were, though Cassiopeia was much more cordial than this. 

“I have no idea. That came out of nowhere.” Julius grumbled. “That’s it, though? One question?”

“It was…!” Penny took a breath, as if realizing she was letting her real thoughts show before snapping back to her usual demeanor. “...it was weird. Was he… egging you on?”

“Definitely did feel like he was talking smack at the end.” Julius mumbled. “But I guess he wasn’t wrong in some areas. If I really do commit to going the distance, then I’m going to need to train a lot harder.”

“We still have to deal with Team Star…but it can wait a day. You should rest. My plan isn’t that flimsy it would fall apart with one day’s worth of waiting.”

“Alright. Let’s go over it tomorrow, then.”

“So?”

Geeta didn’t even look up from the piles upon piles of paperwork strewn about the conference room as she continued to review them and sign where she needed to, but on the footsteps alone she knew that Hassel had entered.

At Geeta’s voice, Rika raised her head. Larry, on the other hand, continued to work. Poppy… well, she raised her head because Rika did, but she didn’t really understand what was going on.

“It’s not too hard to get a read on him.”

“Yes, and?”

Hassel put on a tired smile. “Geeta, you could at least play the part of leading into the conclusion.”

“Hassel, I literally cannot see you right now, because there is that much paperwork we’re getting caught up with. Be efficient.” Geeta said, sticking up her hand that wasn’t currently holding onto a pen. From where Hassel stood, he could barely see the tips of her fingers due to the stacks of papers around where Geeta’s voice was coming from.

That’s how it is with you, Geeta. Hassel thought to himself, shaking his head.

“Fine, fine, I’ll do it.” Rika said, putting down her pen. “What happened, Hassel?”

“I simply asked him why he felt compelled to complete the League Challenge.”

“Oh?” Rika asked, hearing Geeta’s pen come to a stop.

“What did he answer.” Geeta asked, but it felt more like a command.

“You’re not going to like it, Geeta.”

“ What did he answer, Hassel?”

“He simply stated that it was because there’s someone who wants him to. I am sure each of us here can fill in the blank about who that someone is.”

“...is it his mom?” Poppy asked with a big smile, being the only person who wasn’t seated behind stacks of paperwork. “It’s his mom, right?!”

Hassel simply reached over and patted the young girl on the head. “She might, but she’s not the person this Trainer is thinking of.”

Geeta let out a long, exasperated sigh.

“Larry.”

“Geeta?”

“It’s very likely he’s going to make it to your gym.”

“Geeta, we are not bending the rules.” Larry said, a definitive air in his voice. “If he follows the traditional order, I am obligated to—”

“I know. I would never ask you to. We run a tight ship here. However, it’s just a statement of fact. We’ve kept track of all of the trainers that may make it to your gym, since we need you pulling as many hours here as you reasonably can. Adjust accordingly.”

“Of course.”

“Hassel. Call Ryme.”

At the name “Ryme”, even Rika’s back straightened up. “Geeta, you can’t be serious.”

“Nemona is the only Champion rank trainer in Paldea. If she’s the one asking Julius to complete the League Challenge, it’s a possibility we face. Tell her she doesn’t need to prepare right now, but also inform her it’s possible she actually has a challenger this year.”

“He still hasn’t beaten the third gym, Geeta. He’s not even close to halfway, and to challenge Ryme, you need all other seven gym badges, regardless of the other you get them in. While here, our League is fairly flexible, that’s the sole rule we impose.” Hassel argued back.

“I’d rather not drop the surprise on her. None of us here like surprises either.”

“I do?” Poppy added on.

Geeta poked her head out from behind the walls of paperwork around her and gave a comforting smile. “Oh, I’m sorry for speaking for you, Poppy.”

“It’s okay, Miss Geeta!”

“Hassel. There’s no arguing about this. Also, call Iono and tell her to inform me when Julius arrives in Levincia. I anticipate it will be within the next week and am going to take an excursion there.”

“Alright, I’ll let her management know.” Hassel paused. “But Geeta, one last thing before I hop into the paperwork mines with you.”

“What is it, Hassel?”

“Next time, send Rika for this shakedown kind of business. I have a soft heart, and nearly was on the verge of tears after almost bullying him into answering. He’s still a teenager, Geeta, and we shouldn’t be pushing such adult things on him.”

“Heeeey! But I mean, he is right.” Rika added on. “Sorry you had to pick up the slack, Hassel, but I had too much work on my hands and you were going to be in the area anyways.”

“No, no. We all work together where we can. But just a request.”

“I’ll consider it.”

Knowing he wouldn’t get any further than that with Geeta, Hassel shrugged before taking his seat back at his part of the conference table, walled off from the others by stacks and stacks of paperwork.

Chapter Text

“Boss.”

Mela pushed herself away from working on the Starmobile, crossing her arms as she slid on the rolling shop chair to face the Team Star member who called out to her. “What is it?”

“You sure we can’t do anything about those Eevee evolutions that have been sniffing around the base? This is the third time someone saw a Leafeon and Umbreon within thirty minutes of each other. Plus, we keep finding Sudowoodos and Sunfloras encroaching on the base.”

“Do what you want with the Sudowoodos and Sunfloras, I don’t care. But we have a rule. You don’t hurt those Eevee evolutions.”

The Team Star member sighed, nodding. “Alright, Boss, you got it.”

Mela ran a hand through her short red hair before sliding over to where her large red boots were, stylized to look like there were roaring flames coming off the back of them.

Are you testing us, Cassiopeia? You’ve been gone for so long.

The enigmatic, faceless leader of Team Star had gone silent since the fallout of what was called the Team Star Incident—or for those who were in the know, Operation Star. Because nothing had ever happened to them, the squad leaders all came to the same conclusion. That Cassiopeia had given themselves up for them.

It wasn’t fair. It shouldn’t have been them.

Still though, if this Leafeon and Umbreon were potential signs of Cassiopeia’s return, why hadn’t they contacted them? Had they lost their Star Fragment and feared not being believed? Or did they fear that with how much more powerful Team Star had gotten, that they would no longer have the control they once did? Or had they already accomplished everything Cassiopeia wanted and they were just checking on them after the fact?

Uva Academy was falling apart, if slowly. The place that had sheltered those that looked down on them, that bullied them, couldn’t take much more—they were taking in more and more support from Uva Academy’s students, seemingly. A few interlopers had turned up, but they couldn’t stem the tide. It was as if all of Paldea had been left paralyzed by their actions. For all their vaunted reputation, the League and Uva Academy couldn’t even move to swiftly take them all down anymore.

But on the other hand, why do I…

While she would never vocalize it, lest her strength and conviction to the cause be doubted, Mela felt a slight unease.

Almost as if the winds of change were coming to Paldea, but not in her favor.

“Bleugghgh!”

Julius winced as Penny threw up on the side of the road. With the idea being to defeat all of the goons to draw out the boss, to prevent being ganged up on by too many people, Julius thought to use Miraidon’s boost ability.

However, if Penny was coming along, then she would need to get used to riding on Miraidon as well. While she planned to play support, Julius didn’t want to risk her getting caught out in the open. Team Star was unscrupulous enough to take over territory in Paldea, so he didn’t want to risk the chance they’d hold her hostage or something like that.

Penny didn’t seem to have any issues as long as Miraidon didn’t go too fast. But the boost speed seemed to trigger some kind of motion sickness in her.

So, rather than go and take on Team Star now, the two were simply getting Penny used to the sudden acceleration, deceleration, and hard turns. Not that it was going particularly well.

“I’m… I’m fine.” Penny grit out.

“You don’t sound fine.”

“I’m fine.” Penny insisted.

More and more throughout the day, Penny’s gloomy and distant persona had been slipping as she no doubt was losing her patience as well as her lunch with every time they pulled over onto the side of the road.

“I just won’t eat the day we go take on Team Star.” Penny hissed out, using her sleeve to wipe her mouth, determination in her eyes.

“That hardly seems like a solution.”

“Not if we go before breakfast. While you take care of their leader, I can eat.”

Julius opened his mouth to argue back, but found himself stunned at the sheer audacity of Penny’s declaration.

This is a far cry from that gloomy girl that seemingly needed rescuing all that time ago. Seriously, is Nemona the only person actually truthful with me? He thought, shaking his head.

“Just eat a protein bar or something. It’ll at least keep you filled up.”

Penny only let out sounds of a begrudging grumbling before she hoisted herself back onto Miraidon.

By the time they had finished, Penny went straight to her room, saying they would go two days from now so she could take the next day to recover. She was improving, to say the least.

Well, best case, she spews out on a Team Star goon. That might actually get them off of our backs. Julius thought, but decided against following this line of thinking any further.

When the arranged day came, after a very light breakfast consisting of a single protein bar for Penny, the two were off towards the Team Star base. 

“We’re almost there. Let’s go on foot to attract less attention.” Penny called out after about an hour of riding.

“Mhm.”

Julius slowly had Miraidon come to a stop before they dismounted.

“Giya?”

“We have to stay quiet for now.”

“Agiya.”

Miraidon returned itself to its ball, likely knowing it was very easy to spot due to its own bioluminescence. Afterwards, Penny and Julius continued on foot, eventually spotting the entrance to the base.

“What the hell…”

Julius had been expecting some makeshift markings or poorly created barriers like traffic cones. But even from this distance, he could spot the wall of what looked like cinder blocks that stretched across the natural geography to form a natural wall, with school desks and school chairs used to make it look like a castle wall on top.

Julius’ phone buzzed. When he went to answer it, he found it was Cassiopeia. He looked to Penny, who silently nodded.

“Hello?”

As he continued to look ahead at the base, he didn’t notice Penny tap on her Poketech again, still utilizing the rings on her right hand to type.

“I see you’ve made it to a Team Star base.”

“Yeah. This is crazy.”

“Do you understand why I believe someone is backing them?”

“Yep. This goes far beyond just a camp or something.”

“Penny gave me the data you received from the Gym Leader. If you move within the next thirty minutes, the gatekeeper should be the only person there. Once you defeat them, ring the bell on the gate. That will signify a challenger.”

“And then just keep beating people until the boss comes out?”

“Yes. If you want to really play with fire, you can make a beeline for what that Gym Leader described as being a large tent. That’s likely where the squad boss is. Encroach too close to there and you might provoke them.”

“Anything I should know to make sure that the duel is fair between us?”

“...they should keep it to one on one. However, I have some special backup if they decide to break the rules. Don’t worry, I’ll be watching.”

“Alright. I guess I’m ready. Penny?”

“Huh? Yeah. I can’t really fight, but…”

“It’s fine. Cassiopeia?”

“ ...Yes?”

“Anything else?”

“One last thing.” There was a brief pause. “I’ve taken the liberty of informing Team Star you’ve declared war on them. I believe with your reputation, it will prove beneficial in affecting their mental.”

“...their mental?”

Another pause, this time for about five seconds. “Their focus. Without it, they may make more mistakes or get tilted.”

“Tilted?”

“Never mind. Just think of it as a psychological attack to distract them.”

“Right. Uh, maybe next time, ask me before doing that.”

There was another, longer silence that lasted for about five seconds. “...understood. Best of luck.”

With that, the call disconnected.

“Haaa… well, guess they were going to know who I was, anyways.” Julius said, stretching his arms. “Let’s get going, Penny.”

Penny nodded, following his lead. As they approached the gate, a metal gate at that, only lending more credence to Cassiopeia’s claim that Team Star had a backer, there were two guards stationed there. It fit Brassius’ documents to the letter, so they had plenty of time until another patrol would come by and by then it would be too late.

“Whoa, hold it there, you two!” The female student of the guards said, holding up a hand to stop them. “Up ahead’s the base of operations for Team Star’s Fire crew.”

“You might know us as the Schedar Squad!” The other, a male student, chimed in. “But we don’t take too kindly to random kids sniffing around our turf.”

“So sorry, but if you don’t turn yourself around here, buddy , we’ll have to send you packing.” The female student said, an air of haughtiness to it as she gestured with her head.

Julius blinked twice as a Litleo, sleeping by the gate, was roused and calmly walked to the heels of the female student. He knew this kind of presence, this tone—it was the same kind of people who always claimed to be able to beat people up or kick someone’s ass, but when it came time to get in the ring, would never step in themselves. There was no presence to these goons, just empty air and bravado. The same lack of presence could be said for someone pretending to be weak, but Julius knew the difference. These two… certainly were not that.

Before he could speak, Penny chimed in. Her tone was deadpan at first, but she slowly worked it into what could only be called a mix of a shy schoolgirl act and obvious provocation. “...incidentally, this is no one’s turf. According to a search on the Paldean League’s website for construction permits, kept fully open to the public to prevent constructions that would disturb Pokemon habitats and searchable using GPS coordinates, no one owns this land. Julius, we were here to get some privacy for training, but we should go back to Artazon and report this to the authorities.” 

“Julius… wait, hold on a moment!” The male student suddenly yelled, back straightening. “Are you that Julius kid, the one that’s been making waves lately and declared war on Team Star!?”

“Who’s asking?”

“‘Who’s asking’, he says…” The male student repeated. “Damn, you’re as icy as the rumors say.”

“Doesn’t matter who he is! Buzz off or get thrashed by me in battle, kid. What’s it going to be!?”

That’s a bloodthirsty one. Julius thought to himself as the female student was clearly ready to go. “Fine. But remember, you asked for it.”

“Haaaah!? Sassy kids like you are the worst! That’s it, prepare to get stomped into the dirt!”

Calling me a kid… geez, someone wants to play grown-up that badly, huh?

The battle barely took ten seconds. In a show of force, Pawmo used Arm Thrust, completely rendering the Litleo knocked out in two hits with a simple jab-cross combo. In fact, Pawmo had hit so hard the Litleo was sent flying, impacting the wall behind them.

“Ah……”

“What was that, about getting stomped into the dirt?”

“I… we… we have to warn the others! Ha… hasta la vistaaaar!”

The boy of the pair didn’t even bother fighting, with Pawmo simply making the universal “Bring it” motion by extending its right paw, palm up, and curling it towards itself.

“...geez.” Penny muttered as the two fled through the gate, leaving it open behind them. “But then again, she got what was coming to her. If they’re all like that, this is going to be… a bit satisfying.”

“I guess you aren’t wrong.” Julius muttered.

He had seen how far Nemona and Arven were willing to go, the effort they put in, and yet they remained humble about it. He had gotten his own taste of the medicine he had just administered, too, back when he started in martial arts. It was one thing to train techniques—it was a whole other to go to a sparring session. He’d never forget the first time he had gotten knocked out, nor how fast it had happened.

At the very least, if you’re going to talk smack, then walk the walk. Julius thought as he let Miraidon out, the purple Pokemon happily transforming into its more transportation focused mode.

Penny let out a low groan as she mounted Miraidon after Julius. 

“Also, I have one question.”

“Yeah?” Penny asked as she put on her helmet.

“That construction permit thing…”

“Doesn’t exist. I made it up.”

“...I figured.”

Confirming she was ready, Julius took the hanging mallet by the bell and hit it as hard as he could—

Damn, she’s got a strong grip!

Penny was holding on for dear life, very thankful she had not eaten much. On the other hand, Julius felt his core being squeezed to the point of pain. While they had practiced two days ago, as soon as they were in the heat of combat, any practice had gone out the window and Penny’s otherwise normal grip had turned much fiercer.

Perhaps it was out of a sense of desperation, but Team Star’s Fire squad had come out in droves. Not that they were particularly strong , but the sheer numbers made it apparent why Brassius could not deal with them.

It had been touch and go; Julius would send out three Pokemon to quickly sweep a group of Team Star’s goons, then quickly return them and speed away before they could be surrounded.

“Moooo!”

Pawmo, on the other hand, was having the time of her life. Considering how gungho she had been about battling the day they met, it wasn’t surprising that she sometimes didn’t return to her ball, but instead quickly ran back into Julius’ lap to feel the rush of wind on a boosted Miraidon.

Of course, this led to her using the momentum to get a good hit in, often leaping from the motorcycle-like Pokemon to deliver an overhand smash.

“Haaa… okay, we made some distance.” Julius muttered as they came to a stop by a vending machine. “It should take them some time to reach us.”

“Are you seriously getting a drink at a time like this!?”

“I remember reading somewhere that this stuff also can be like medicine for Pokemon, as long as it isn’t in excess.” Julius said back with a shrug, looking over the vending machine. “Crap, I didn’t bring any change with me.”

Penny rolled her eyes. “Why not just hit it, then? Or give it an electric shock?”

“Mo?”

“...you know what, sure. Go for it, Pawmo.”

“Moooo!”

With one decent, electricity infused punch, the vending machine whirred to life before dropping several bottles—and subsequently jamming up due to trying to output too many.

“Lemonade sound good to you?” Julius asked, holding up a bottle.

“I’m just going to throw it up later, so I’ll just hold onto it for now.”

The vandalism of Team Star’s vending machines continued about four more times as the duo were pursued across the compound.

“ENOUGH!”

Julius skidded to a halt as a female voice echoed across the compound, broadcasted from several speakers mounted atop poles.

“To our two invaders: if you think you can just come in here and push us around, you have another thing coming. If you’re not a coward, make your way to the big tent. Mela of Team Star will meet you there.”

The Team Star goons, who had been steadily losing morale due to the sheer amount of losses, suddenly seemed to rally even as they pulled away. They were confident in this Mela’s ability to win, Julius thought, as jeers and insults now freely flew as they rode their way towards the tent.

“They sure do talk a big game.” Julius muttered.

“...Nervous?”

“No, just an observation.”

“...it’s only natural. It isn’t their neck on the line. So they feel invincible.”

“Mhm.”

Julius set his Rotomphone to start recording audio, remembering Clavell’s request. As they came to a stop in front of the big tent, Julius dismounted, looking back and nodding towards Penny. If anything happened to him, he was sure Miraidon could get her out safely. He could fight his way out, if need be.

Julius then cleared his throat and let his voice carry across the hills. “I’m here. You questioned if I was a coward. What about you?”

The curtains covering the entrance of the big tent were blown away. What emerged was gaudy , to say the least. An oversized hotrod style car, complete with a very visible engine, only with some sort of canopy on the back that was mounted with speakers, lights— even two disco balls , as well billowing flags carrying Team Star’s symbol. The whole thing had been painted a dark red, with an orange flame pattern decal overlaid on top.

I heard some people think disco never dies, but then there’s this. Julius thought to himself as he looked at the young woman standing atop the vehicle.

She couldn’t have been much older than him, if she was older than him to begin with. The girl had short, bright red hair that came to her exposed shoulders, where she was wearing some kind of tight latex strapless top and matching pants that acted as leggings for her massive red boots that had decorations on the back to make it look like roaring flames were behind her. To cap it all off, what remained of an Uva Academy blazer had been cut into a vest, as well as a large purple collar.

Also, is it a requirement to have insane fashion sense to join Team Star?

He decided to stop getting distracted as she looked down on him, arms crossed.

“So you’re the dope who declared war on Team Star?”

“Is that what they’re saying?”

“Hmph. I don’t know why you’d do something so stupid and frankly, I don’t care. You challenged us, so we’ll beat you down. That’s all there is to it. Prepare to get messed up. You and your friend.”

“We keep this one on one.” Julius argued back as he noticed Team Star encroaching. “This is between you and me. Or are you not confident enough to win without playing dirty?”

Before she could reply, the goons of Team Star let out several cries of surprise. Racing to Penny and Miraidon’s side were a Leafeon, Umbreon, and now a Vaporeon, cutting a path through the mob. The three moved to form a blockade, fanning out to stop anyone from moving forward to encroach on Penny.

Julius saw Mela’s fist tighten.

“Why…” The redheaded girl hissed out. “...you’re going to tell me everything you know.”

“Funny, I should say the same to you. So let’s do this, one on one, like I said.”

With a loud war cry, Mela sent out her first Pokemon.

“So, he went?”

“Despite my warnings not to, yes, Clavell, young Julius went to go fight Team Star.” Brassius said, leaning back in his chair. 

“I see. Well, this wasn’t on the guidelines of things we said we would stop them for. Uva Academy does value student freedom a lot, and it’s with a heavy heart that we had to block off parts of the Asado Desert. Traversing its dunes has always been a source of adventure for students. I won’t hold it against you, either. You did your best.”

“Ha!”

Brassius couldn’t help but snort in amusement. It was very obvious to him that Clavell’s request had been hiding the true intent. Perhaps the Director didn’t trust everyone within the Academy and needed to keep cards close to the chest?

But if that were the case, then it stood to reason that Clavell suspected Uva Academy somehow being secretly tied to Team Star.

Somehow, I feel as if a masterpiece is being painted without me. Brassius thought to himself.

“While I’m sure you’re very busy, it can’t hurt to send some officers over there. They won’t be able to detain most of the Team Star members out there as many of them are just truant students, but the leaders are wanted. As much as that fact is kept under wraps.”

On the other side of the call, Clavell closed his eyes in thought. He had looked into it while Julius was traveling, but there were indeed records that indicated Team Star’s leaders had warrants out for their arrest. However, it seemed like someone had gone out of their way to bury this news and cover it up as much as possible. 

He hadn’t quite worked out the reasoning for such a move, but for now, he suspected that someone needed to have this arrest warrant on file for some point in the future.

“Are you telling me to keep it under wraps?”

“Heavens, no. In fact, I’m thinking of publicizing the matter shortly. For too long, Team Star has operated with obfuscation, and it doesn’t help there’s an opaqueness to what happened between them and Uva Academy two years and some change ago. Uva Academy may not be perfect, but it’s important as a pillar of the community we remain as transparent as possible.”

“Hmhm. I’d support that, Clavell. I’ll contact some of our local officers.”

“Thank you. And do have them prepare some medical supplies. Master Julius may not be the type to leap into dirtying his hands, but he’s also not above it, either.”

“Ohhh. I’ll make sure to tell them, then. He’s been escorting a girl who was a victim of Team Star and they apparently both went out together to the base.”

“Hm.”

“Clavell?”

“Never mind, it’s nothing. There’s something I’d like to look into, now that you mention it. Call me if the situation changes, but I should be down there later today for some business.”

Mela grit her teeth as her Torkoal was obliterated by a Bulldoze from Julius’ Clodsire, which easily endured a Flame Wheel and also basically ate her Carkol alive with the same move. It hadn’t helped that he also set up Stealth Rock that already crippled her Torkoal.

She should be better than this, she thought. Sure, she had caught her fellow team members whispering about this trainer. Something about how he apparently could match up to the only Champion rank trainer in all of Paldea or his way of pulling off a victory in the Gym. But if the rumors were also true, he had only picked up battling a few weeks ago while she had been at this for years .

But the thoughts of the message she received, from an unnamed sender with a throwaway address, sent directly to the leaders of Team Star’s various squads, kept distracting her. There were only two real possibilities she could imagine.

One, someone in Team Star had turned. But that was impossible, they were united in this front.

Which meant the only other option was that Cassiopeia themselves had sent that message. It would be one thing if Cassiopeia had guided Julius here to be crushed, eliminating a possible thorn in their side.

But with where those Eevee evolutions stood, clearly on Julius’ side…

Is… is Cassiopeia against us now? But why? Why…!?

“Tch!”

Mela clicked her tongue, rapidly shaking her head.

“I ain’t burnt to a crisp, yet! REVAROOOM! ”

Julius flinched as the engine of the car roared , the shockwave forcing him to hold onto his hat to prevent it from being blown away.

“Julius!” Penny shouted.

“What’s up!?”

“Think of it like it’s a Terastalized Pokemon!”

Without saying the type, Julius understood. And just in time, too, for the harsh sunlight originally brought about by Mela’s Torkoal to fade away.

Alright, Mister Clavell, time to get that information you wanted.

“You know, they’re going to put you away for a long time.” Julius started off, trying to provoke Mela. “That’s your last Pokemon, right? And you should know… that I know what happens if a squad leader of Team Star is beaten.”

Mela hissed as she commanded her Pokemon to charge ahead, simply holding onto one of the rails. “Just what’s your problem!? What did we ever do to you, for you to come here and try to send us all away!?”

“My problem? What’s your problem?” He continued to ask, keeping calm. “Who straight up takes over part of a region? This is the kind of stuff you would expect from Team Rocket.”

“What would you even know? Nothing, that’s what!” Mela yelled as Revaroom slammed into Clodsire, taking the Pokemon down. Julius immediately switched into Marril, who began to use Defense Curl to endure more hits. “Do you even know what Team Star is fighting for? Do you even know what we’ve all gone through!?”

“We all carry a lot of weight. It doesn’t excuse us from anything.”

“That’s so easy for you to say!”

It really isn’t. Julius mentally grumbled back. He thought of that moment when he left home with Nemona, thanking his mother for everything. That was just scratching the surface of it all, really. To say he put his mother through hell might be exaggerating, but he knew that she had put in a lot of effort over the years. Especially when it came to giving Uva Academy a chance. He had carried a lot of weight on his shoulders for years, but it didn’t change the facts, nor did it mean it was okay for him to force the weight of his choices onto his mother, even if she would have gladly accepted it.

“There’s no way you’d know it. How much we suffered!” Mela shouted as Revaroom fired a series of star-shaped projectiles that homed in on Marril. “How we almost gave up, too! But we were vindicated, as people began to rally around us! And now look where we are—look how many of your fellow students are here!”

“...if these kinds of people are my fellow students, I think I’m better off without them.” Julius coldly replied. “Your gatekeepers talked like they were invincible. This whole squad was full of people who cowered up until you got personally involved, then suddenly felt like they could do anything. That’s not the kind of people I’d want around me.”

He clenched his fist, thinking about the few in his life he had just started to get to know. Of his journey so far, and everything it had given him.

“Do any of them even have a badge?”

“What’s it to you?” Mela venomously spat back.

Julius knew he hadn’t seen much. But someone who had been humbled by the olive run that was the lifeblood of Cortondo or someone who had seen the evolving history of Artazon… a person like that wouldn’t have ever signed onto Team Star. Of course, someone who did the gym trials might just rush through them and not have learned from the experience. But it would be hard to do both of them and not come away with some idle thoughts on them, remaining completely unchanged. 

“Just understanding. Just like how you wanted me to.”

Mela flinched in the face of her opponent’s eyes. It was as if he received a second wind. Did he really understand things? No, there was no way he could. He hadn’t gone through the same isolation they had, he hadn’t endured the same things they had, he hadn’t …!

And yet, he moved as if he did. Not out of arrogance, but a strong determined will. As if they had both seen the same monster, but whereas Mela turned away, he took a step towards it.

Behind him, Penny unconsciously straightened up. She couldn’t tell exactly what Julius was thinking, but part of her wanted to know. Based on the discussion so far, it was obvious Mela hadn’t looked into Julius. Naturally, she had, and while the experiences didn’t line up one to one, well…

There was more than just the little skirmish in front of the Academy that had caused Cassiopeia to pick them, to say the least.

Time to learn a lesson in humility . Julius thought to himself as he had Marril keep firing away with Bubblebeam. No matter how much he beat the small fry, they’d all hide behind the shield that Mela could beat him. It was time to prove that wrong.

Sparks, followed by an explosion, then smoke, preceded the hotrod-like vehicle lurching to its left. Mela barely hung onto the rail in time to prevent being thrown off.

“Am I seriously losing…!?”

As Marill came in to finish the job with an Aqua Tail, the Revaroom burned through its energy reserves, causing the vehicle it supported to swing like it was doing a donut and knocking Marill away.

“Pawmo!”

“Mooo!”

While not particularly supereffective, Pawmo’s punches still hit like a freight train. Even more sparks flew as Revaroom lost more and more strength, and the vehicle it supported taking more and more damage.

Eventually, the engine-like Pokemon stopped sputtering entirely, collapsing as it fainted. But that didn’t stop the sparks and smoke—

“Julius, she’s…!”

He didn’t need to hear another word from Penny. For all her weirdness, I guess she’s a good person at heart.

With his athletic build, it was an easy leap, from putting his right foot on the bumper, to his left on the hood, and then pushing up the various speakers and lights to reach the top. Mela, who was still coughing from the sudden spurt of smoke in her face, didn’t have the chance to even try dodging Julius grabbing her before sending them flying into the dirt below, where Julius used his body to shield Mela from the impact.

As the speakers and lights exploded, reducing the vehicle to a wreck, Julius rolled them over so he had her pinned down to the ground.

“...it’s your loss. You know what that means.”

Turning her head to the side, Mela saw her Starmobile’s wreck burning and swallowed. It was her loss on every front.

“...I… forfeit my role as Schedar Squad’s leader.”

“Louder, so everyone can hear you.”

“I said, I forfeit my role as Schedar Squad’s leader to you!”

Her voice carried far and wide in the otherwise uneasy silence following the explosion. The tension from the mob of Team Star members suddenly dissipated, like an invisible hammer had shattered their resolve.

“There’s one more thing. The Star Badge Fragment, where is it?”

Mela’s eyes widened. It would have been one thing if he came here out of a sense of justice, like some vigilante. But to ask for that meant—

Her fists tightened and her vision became hazy. But her pride was on the line. She wouldn’t cry. At least, not here.

Around her, the other Team Star members whispered loudly amongst themselves, asking what a Star Badge Fragment was. As she looked back to Julius, she thought about trying to deceive him, but in his icy gaze she found no room for hesitation. 

“...my right boot.” She forced out.

With his free hand, Julius reached into the abnormally large boot that had way too much room for her legs to move in, finding something velcroed in. Pulling out a small, flat black case about the size of his palm, he opened it up.

Inside was a white metal fragment. Painted on it was part of Team Star’s logo. However, it clearly was only part of what likely was a full circular badge, with the edging having something like electronic components. Based on what Cassiopeia had told him, this would connect with other fragments and prove their legitimacy.

Before he could ask anything further, the wail of two sirens could be heard. Almost immediately, the members of Team Star scattered like the morning dew, running for hiding spots or otherwise trying to get out of the area.

“Don’t you dare run!” Julius harshly barked, still atop Mela. “Or does your loyalty to Team Star run only skin deep?”

That caused a few of them to freeze up, but it was clear a majority of them were in it only for themselves, continuing to flee. Arguments between Team Star’s fleeing members and those who followed Julius’ command could be heard all around as Julius stood up, looking down upon Mela who didn’t even bother trying to move. She simply lay there, looking up at the sky, as if lost in her thoughts.

“Thanks.” Penny said, as he returned to her, the two of them seemingly silently agreeing to wait for the officers to arrive.

“Didn’t expect to hear you say that.”

“...Mela was… I knew her.” Penny admitted after a few moments of silence. “Before this Team Star thing.”

“Oh. Uh… well, you’re welcome?”

“Would you have left her there if I didn’t say anything?”

“...I might have been tempted.” Julius said, shrugging. “But at the same time, it would’ve haunted me if she got seriously injured. Cassiopeia called it ‘declaring war’ on Team Star, but at the same time she was also uh… around my age. I’m not so far gone as to think I’m actually fight -fighting these people, if you understand what I mean.”

Penny remained quiet for a few moments before nodding. “I do.”

She opened her mouth to say something else before shaking her head, offering up one of many ill-gotten lemonades as they could see the officers approaching with their Arcanines in tow. “Breakfast?”

The questioning and giving reports didn’t take very long, though there was a delay caused by one of the staff noticing Penny’s student record as having been a transfer from Galar. Said staff member had apparently always wanted to visit Galar and had a lot of questions for Penny, which forced Julius to step in and not-so-gently stop the conversation short.

They left the police building afterwards, with the receptionist who had seen the scene play out wishing them “the best of luck” as they did.

“You look exhausted. Want to get lunch?”

“As long as it’s to go.” Penny then furrowed her eyebrows. “Also, you lectured me about needing to eat, but I could feel your bones.”

Julius paused, remembering Penny squeezing him. “Those weren’t my bones, though?”

Penny opened her mouth to argue, poking Julius right where she had grabbed him. As soon as her finger had impacted his core, she blinked twice before running her finger down as if making sure of something.

“That tickles.” Julius said, voice dripping with sarcasm.

A light blush formed on Penny’s face as she took a quick step back. Oh. Oh damn.

As if realizing she had fallen quiet, she huffed and crossed her arms. “Whatever! Let’s go get lunch, I’m starving!”

She stomped off, Julius snorted in amusement as he hastened his stride, falling into step next to Penny.

Lunch was a longer than desired affair, as they had arrived at peak hours at the deli place. After getting their food to go, the two began the walk back to the hotel.

“...so, what do you think?”

Julius raised an eyebrow at Penny’s question. “What do you mean?”

“Cassiopeia warned me that you might not commit to fighting Team Star all the way. Are you… still going with Operation Starfall?”

Julius hummed, thinking about it. The Team Star base near his house hadn’t been taken down yet. But after that, was there anything stopping him from walking away? Well, he supposed Cassiopeia had declared war on his behalf, there was that much.

“What about you?”

“Huh?”

“Are you sticking with Cassiopeia?”

Penny looked down at the ground. “I am.”

“Then I guess I am, too.”

Penny narrowed her eyes, looking at him with a mix of confusion and disbelief. “ Ha ?”

“I saw how dangerous those guys are today. And so I’m not about to let you go deal with them alone.” Julius said with a huff. “That, and I guess I need to find out the truth for myself. Plus, now that I’ve seen one of their bases… they need to be stopped. Between trying to coerce students and the way the trainers acted, the kind of environment someone would be in as a member of Team Star can’t possibly be good for anyone. What about you, why are you sticking with Cassiopeia?”

Penny thought about it for a few moments. “I… know some people who are in Team Star now. And they need to be stopped before they really go off the edge.”

I wonder if she means their leaders. Julius thought, with how Penny seemingly knew Mela. She probably won’t tell me, though.

“So, if we’re both in it together… there’s a Team Star base near Levincia, right?” Julius asked.

“Yes, but I wouldn’t recommend going there. That one might be too strong for you, even if you get your third gym badge.”

“Oh, huh.”

“That, and your only advantage would be your Clodsire, right? You’ll need to catch something else, if you want to deal with Poison. If you go east, you already have a lot of Pokemon for dealing with Dark types.”

“Fair enough.” Julius fell silent before a bit before continuing to talk. “Also, you don’t have to keep up airs around me.”

Penny unconsciously came to a stop. “...huh?”

Julius turned around to face her. “This whole gloomy and distant girl thing. I already know you’re not some fragile and shy girl. I saw enough of it today, with all of your sass. It’s just weird if I keep pretending to be fooled.”

He tilted his head as Penny narrowed her eyes, as if she was trying to gauge something. “...fine. I guess I already know the kind of person you are, anyways.”

He gave a snort of amusement as she continued walking, resuming her place beside him.

“I’ll stay in Cortondo and scope out the Dark squad’s base. Cassiopeia will let you know if I find anything urgent.”

“Makes sense. Stay safe out there.”

“Best of luck with the gym battle. It’s your third, right?”

“Yeah. And I already know about the urban legends.”

Penny just silently nodded, not needing to say anything else.

The rest of the walk was silent, with the two only giving their farewells as they went to their separate rooms.

The day had certainly given Julius a lot to think about, as he lay down in his bed after a shower. Just what was Team Star after? And what had they gone through? Whatever it was, it formed the catalyst for them to actively take over parts of Paldea. But how did they get away with that, too? He could understand if they had been organized criminals keeping a low profile or at least trying to maintain a good public image, but they were almost like a rebellion at this point.

Something didn’t add up here.

His Rotomphone beeped as it finished sending his recording to Clavell. Whenever he next visited Mesagoza, he would have to see about getting a talk with the director. But before he could put his Rotomphone away, it beeped again, indicating a new message.

“Oh. A message from Cassiopei— two hundred thousand LP!? ”

“You have a visitor.”

Mela sat up in her detention cell, wondering just who it could be. She was gently guided to an interrogation room, where she was made to wait for about two minutes before the door opened.

“You…!”

She tried to stand up, but she was still handcuffed to the table. Clavell didn’t so much as even flinch at the rattling of the chains.

“Good afternoon, Miss Mela. Based on your reaction, it seems you already know who I am.” Clavell said, not raising his voice as he took a seat across the table from her.

“Did you come here to gloat? Expel me yourself, maybe?”

Clavell just shook his head. “None of those, Miss Mela. I’m here to confirm a few extra details based on the testimony given by one Julius Merida. Before we begin, allow me to clarify that Julius was not sent as my agent. In fact, I informed Brassius, the gym leader, to personally warn Julius about such an endeavor. Any actions he took were purely on his own free will.”

Mela blinked twice as Clavell pulled out a manila folder, taking out a transcript of their battle. “You’re lying!”

“No. Rather, I simply informed Julius that if he did go after you, to record his interactions with Team Star. You see, Miss Mela, I know very little about Team Star and your motives. I was brought in following the mass resignation that occurred as part of the fallout of the Team Star Incident. However, there are barely any records of what happened.”

Mela flinched as Clavell suddenly leaned across the table, his aged eyes no longer hiding the shrewd and sharp steel behind them. What appeared to be a feeble old man simply beguiled a fierce beast underneath.

Clavell adjusted his glasses with one hand, still not pulling away.

“I am looking for the truth, Miss Mela. I believe that someone out there is looking to bury the truth of the Team Star Incident and how Uva Academy was involved. And so here is a very rare opportunity to ask someone who was at the epicenter.”

“What are you going to do about it, huh?” Mela asked, trying to stand up to Clavell.

Clavell leaned back. “It is very simple. I will expose the truth. I cannot make any promises, such as if it turns out the truth is that Team Star was innocent this whole time, to turn you all loose. After all, regardless of what happened at Uva Academy, the crimes you have all committed number far too many to simply look the other way. But I used to work as a researcher under Professor Turo, many years ago. And so I value the truth simply because it is the truth. And the world deserves to know it.”

Clavell paused, closing his eyes. “Team Star’s reputation is favorable at the moment, isn’t it? However, Julius Merida’s intervention here wasn’t an isolated incident. Team Star has been brazenly trying to recruit—and pressure —students into joining right on the grounds on Uva Academy. An incident he also helped stop. As news spreads of his victory over Team Star, I’m sure the story of that day will once again circulate among the populace—”

“Wait!”

Clavell only opened a single eye. “What is it, Miss Mela?”

“That’s against the rules. You’re not supposed to pressure anyone into joining Team Star. The code’s always been that no one takes orders. That extends to recruitment. It wouldn’t do us any favors if we’re bullying people into joining the ranks. Everything that Team Star stood for wouldn’t mean a thing otherwise!”

Clavell had to suppress a smile. He had found the in. “Miss Mela, this is hardly an isolated incident. Julius Merida’s skirmish with Team Star comes after a long string of similar incidents that Miss Nemona also stopped last year.”

“Doesn’t matter! That’s not how we’re supposed to be.” Mela huffed, looking away. “I didn’t keep good track of who joined. I just know that we were happy to have more and more of Uva Academy’s students joining our cause. Maybe there were a few bad apples.”

“Or maybe,” Clavell added on. “...Team Star was infiltrated.”

“That’s impossible. Cassiopeia would’ve known. Cassiopeia would’ve told us.”

“And what happened to Cassiopeia?”

“They—”

Mela suddenly fell silent. After thinking about it for a while longer, she hung her head.

“Miss Mela. I will reiterate my goal. I want to know the truth. Will you help me uncover the true history behind the Team Star Incident?”

“...Operation Star.”

“Oh?”

“What you all call the Team Star Incident, to us, was Operation Star…”

The time ticked on after that. It was well into the afternoon by the time Clavell had finished extracting every last detail he could from Mela’s side of the story. 

The start of the bullying, the meeting of the other members of Team Star—but not ever truly meeting the illusive Cassiopeia themselves in person, Operation Star and its fallout, and finally the retreat to the outer regions of Paldea to strengthen themselves and their cause.

It would hardly prove to be the final blow in a debate as it was only one side of the story, but this gave him far more of the puzzle than anyone could have known and plenty of leads to chase down.

“Well, Miss Mela, thank you for telling me all of that. I cannot guarantee you anything, but I will personally show up to your sentencing and personally make an appeal. To send you to Kanto.”

“What?!”

“There’s a more minimal security prison there, run by an old friend of mine. There are rumors he used to be part of the most brutal biker gang on Kanto’s Cycling Road back in the day, but nothing was ever conclusively proven.” Clavell said, an air of amusement in his voice. “But it’s hardly a selfless act. It seems that something is happening in the shadows of Paldea. As such, I believe it is more reasonable to stash you away in a distant place like Kanto under trusted eyes, should we ever have need of you for testimony. It is far more lenient than the punishment you would receive here in Paldea.”

“But… but why!?”

“Because you did the right thing, Miss Mela. You did not need to be incentivized or coerced into doing the right thing as well.” Clavell said, standing up. “And I believe that ought to be rewarded.”

Mela could only sit there, mouth agape.

“What about the others? Do you think they’ll cooperate?”

Mela thought about it before shaking her head. “They probably won’t. You told me that Julius didn’t act under your orders. But for the Team Star members who fled my squad, it won’t matter to them. The narrative on the Team Star side is going to be that Uva Academy is sending a student to crack down on them. That’ll only make them more defensive and hostile.”

“Then, may I ask why you believed me?”

“Something’s just… not right. I’m not like the others, I’m more direct. I can’t figure out what happened to Team Star, but I had to take a chance on it, when you brought up how they were pressuring people to join.” Mela answered, sinking her head down on the table. “...and that Julius guy is strong. So if you’re like all of the other adults that lied to our faces, I know he’ll take you down, too.”

Clavell raised an eyebrow, wondering what inspired such a statement, but chose to leave it at that. “I see. Let us hope that I never have to face his judgment, then, rightfully or otherwise.”

With this new information in hand, Clavell felt ready for the next meeting where he would be grilled about progress on Team Star. He laid out his plan to Geeta as well as his proof of some theories, who agreed so long as he did all of the work as the League itself was already far, far behind. A price he was already more than willing to pay.

“Clavell.”

“Harrington, what is it?” Clavell asked as the usual parts of the presentation to Uva Academy’s board and major donors was wrapping up.

“How goes things in regards to Team Star?”

Clavell looked at the former director of Uva Academy with a raised eyebrow. Harrington seemed oddly confident, his eyes hidden behind black square glasses already seemingly smelling blood in the water. Was he dressed extra sharp today, too, as he was actually bothering to wear a black necktie to round off his black suit that slightly mismatched with his greying hair, and perhaps he even had some light makeup on to give him a bit of extra glow up, as his aged but darker skin seemed to exude a bit more health than usual. Several others seemed to be more confident too—ones that Clavell recognized as some of Uva Academy’s largest donors.

Beforehand, he would always be on the backfoot. Harrington insisted the records existed and that rather than ask him for recollection, that Clavell just consult the record. And more and more, Harrington’s faction was pressing on him as if he was incompetent for not dealing with Team Star immediately. It was always an option, but the public fallout would be career-ending to say the least, but on the other hand, the longer he seemingly punted on the issue, the more support a potential vote of no confidence for Clavell as director would gain.

Before he could answer, the door opened. Just as planned, Geeta walked into the room, giving a small wave. Almost immediately, the air around Harrington and his seeming supporters deflated. No one told them Geeta, the chairwoman of the Paldea League, was going to be here. And why would she be here?

“My apologies for being late.”

“No, you’re just in time.” Clavell said, ever calm. “I’m sure everyone knows Miss Geeta, Chairwoman of the Paldean League.”

“I… forgive my rudeness, but why is she here?”

“Clavell has briefed me on several details regarding Team Star. I wished to make myself present to confirm what he has to say. If you would, Clavell, assuming you haven’t already told them.”

“Of course.”

Clavell sharply inhaled.

“I plan to keep the ultimatum I’ve issued to Team Star in play. That is to say, that they return to the Academy or face expulsion. But . After the fall of one of Team Star’s squads, many details that were formerly unknown, as they are not known to have entered the official record, have come to light. As such, I turned these findings over to the League as Team Star has broken much more than Uva Academy’s rules.”

Clavell noted that with each sentence, Harrington’s confident persona was beginning to fracture. It was hard not to smile; for all the grief Harrington gave him and all the grandstanding he used to do at these meetings, he was deathly quiet now.

“However, the League has many other priorities at the moment. But, they have accepted that there will be a commissioned Team Star Investigative Task Force.”

Geeta nodded. “With all of the details that have been uncovered so far, it’s clear that Team Star goes beyond just being an Uva Academy problem and is now a Paldean League problem—but, there are also details that need to be fully investigated before we make any sweeping decisions. However, with Director Clavell having been the one to do a majority of the legwork in uncovering these details, I’ve elected to appoint him as chief of this task force and am giving him full authority over it. He will report directly to me regarding matters of Team Star, and those details are to be shared only to members of that task force.”

It was as if Harrington took a one-two punch to the face with those words. “I… see.”

“As Miss Geeta stated, any further details will only be discussed with members of that task force, and so this topic is now outside the scope of this meeting. Miss Geeta, I know you’re a busy woman, so unless anyone has any further questions for you, that will be all I need you for.”

“Good. I’ll be waiting in your office, Clavell. We have a lot to discuss about other topics. And yes, I would like to confirm that Team Star is no longer to be treated as an Uva Academy problem anymore. If there are any complaints about how Team Star is being handled and the results of the task force, the appropriate venue will be to take it up with me directly.”

That sent shivers down the spines of just about everyone in the room.

As Geeta left, Clavell asked if there were any questions. With the whole room stunned by Geeta’s appearance let alone the news that the Paldean League was officially getting involved needed some time, so for now Clavell was able to get off without many questions.

In reality, not a lot had changed. He was still doing investigative work into Team Star. But the dynamics had changed: it was no longer in the hands of Uva Academy and was no longer a valid point of criticism against him. Not to mention that by removing it out of Uva Academy’s hands and making Clavell the lead of the task force, he had far tighter control over who information went to.

“Haaaa. Don’t make me regret this, Clavell.” Geeta said as he entered his office. “You implicitly  had carte blanche before, but now you officially have it. I was very hesitant at your proposal when you first brought it up, but even I couldn’t ignore the proof you brought up about their arrest warrants seemingly being suppressed.”

“I’m a little surprised that it slipped by you.”

“The Team Star Incident didn’t just cause setbacks to Uva Academy, let’s put it that way.”

“I see. Well, I’ll try not to make you regret trusting me. So, what did you want to discuss?”

“Amongst other things, I hear you’re going to Levincia?”

“Julius Merida is scheduled to arrive soon. He’s one of those I plan to put on the Task Force, considering how he was the one that brought down Team Star’s base and gave us some info.”

“Good. I’ll be going with you. You’re going to introduce me to him.”

Clavell held back an amused huff. “Must it be me, or do you mind if I have my Ditto pretending to be me show you to him.”

“ Clavell .”

“Sorry, I couldn’t help but need a bit of levity after that meeting. Very well, I’ll introduce him to you. Do you mind sharing why?”

“Just consider it a personal interest in someone Nemona seems to have chosen.”

“Ahhhh.”

I wonder… does Geeta believe he can go the distance that Nemona did?

“The winner is… Gym Challenger Nemona!”

Nemona high-fived her Pawmo that leapt up to meet her hand.

“That was a smoother clear than your first challenge at this gym.” Brassius noted after they had taken care of all the usual post-Gym challenge business.

“Aww, thanks. It was pretty tough back then, since I was still relying just on Tauros.”

“Oh yes, I remember it well.”

Nemona looked around as the two walked towards the Gym Office. “Though, do you know if Julius is still around? He beat your Gym a few days ago, right?”

“Oh, Julius. Yes, he did. He left for Levincia about two days ago.”

“Nice! I should be able to catch up to him there, then.”

Brassius raised an eyebrow. Nemona was of the energetic type, for sure, but her smile seemed rather brighter and her footsteps lighter than usual. He felt a mischievous thought sprout in his mind.

“Before you go, though, did you see what Julius left on the wall? You were in such a rush to get this badge that you asked not to paint something and get right to it.”

“Oh, not yet!” Nemona said, still smiling. "I just thought that if I took too long, he'd already beat Levincia's gym and it'd be a lot harder to catch up."

“I see. Well, follow me.”

He wondered what kind of reaction he would get, as they rounded the corner with Nemona happily bouncing along.

“Here it is.”

“Oh, let’s see, what did he—”

Any words she was going to say were cut off as she noticed the beach painted around her Tauros. That had not been there last time, that much was certain. Even without being told that Julius did that, she just knew , because of what they had shared there.

Her face suddenly felt heated and she felt her hands covering her mouth that was breaking out into a huge smile.

“Nemona, are you okay?”

“Y-yes!” She forced out, not sure why she felt so happy yet so embarrassed. “J-just, surprised, is all!”

“I see.” Brassius said, chuckling. “Well, again, congratulations on your victory. I have another challenger in about two hours, so if you’ll excuse me.”

“Yeah, no problem!”

After Brassius left, Nemona looked at the depiction of her Tauros running along the sandy beach. Suddenly, she really wanted to see Julius right now—and battle him, of course. Yes, battle him, that was all. 

Plus, she knew all of the rumors about the third gym battle. She had to be there to cheer him on, to make sure that he wouldn’t give up. Not that he was the type to give up, but every bit helped. And they hadn’t had a battle in what felt like ages, even if they had a light skirmish in Cortondo, their teams hadn’t really changed. With the addition of Pawmo to her team, she wanted to see what he had now.

“Right! It’s only a short stop by the Pokemon Center, and then off to Levincia!”

Chapter Text

“This is uh…”

“Kind of unexpected, huh?” 

Julius finished Nemona’s sentence as they looked over one of Levincia’s parks from the balcony of his hotel room.

The two had encountered each other at the Gym Office, where they both were registering for the Gym Challenge. Julius had an ominous feeling when they asked him to wait a few minutes, as after waiting, Iono, the Gym Leader, had come down and personally greeted him. Apparently someone from the League wanted to talk to him, so she wanted to warn him because it was one of her higher ups. That, and news apparently traveled fast—Iono also wanted to meet the guy who supposedly took down a Team Star base.

It was then Iono noticed Nemona and realized they were both here for the Gym Challenge. After about ten seconds of thought, her eyes suddenly lit up and she began asking questions.

“Are you two in a rush?”, followed by “Okay, can we have your gym trial in a week?”, because apparently Iono had a grand idea to turn this into a “hell of a livestream”. Between her popularity, a ‘special guest’, the rising star of this year of new students at Uva Academy who fought for justice against Team Star, and the ever famous Student Council President and only Champion-rank Trainer of Paldea, this was going to break records and so she would need the week to properly advertise and get everything ready. She’d take care of lodgings and everything, too, and make sure they were well taken care of.

Without much of a reason to decline, Julius decided to throw his hat in the ring. Besides, prices in Levincia seemed higher than usual, probably because it was a big, bustling tourist city, and the extra help would be nice—even if Cassiopeia had casually thrown them two hundred thousand LP, in preparation for the next Team Star base. Nemona seemed fine with it, too, always happy to lend a hand.

“Oh! Since it’ll be a big event that takes place in the city, is there anyone you want to invite? Obviously, they’ll have everything paid for!”

“Uh… is it too much trouble to invite my mom?”

“Whaaaat, no, of course not! That’s so sweet! What about you, Nemona? Do you want to invite your parents?”

Nemona tried to keep a smile as she turned her head away. “There’s no need to bother. They… probably wouldn’t show up, anyways.”

Iono visibly flinched. “Geh…! Erm, well, Julius! What about your dad?”

“You… don’t need to bother.”

“Aeguh…!” Iono made another strangled noise. Two for two on the landmines. Great job, Iono. “A-anyways, give me about fifteen minutes, I’ll set you guys up with the premium package!”

And that was how they ended up in the Magnamizer , one of the fanciest if not the fanciest hotel in the city. They were given separate rooms, but since they hadn’t talked in a while, Nemona basically invited herself into his room.

“Yeah.” Nemona laughed. “It was so shocking I almost forgot to ask if you wanted to battle!”

Julius snorted in amusement. “Now I know it was really surprising.”

Nemona smiled as she leaned against the railing. “We could go right now, if Iono hadn’t been super pushy about us not. At least, not until after we finish the gym trial together. What’s up with that, anyways?”

“I don’t know, but this next week is going to be really tough on you if that’s the case.”

“I know, right?! I’ll have to find someone else to battle, but it just doesn’t feel right if it isn’t you.”

Julius let out another amused huff at that as Nemona looked over her shoulder, smiling at him.

“You know, you feel a little different.”

“Do I?”

“In a good way, I mean!” Nemona said, turning around to fully face him. “You’re less, um… steel-ish?”

Julius got up from the bed, joining her on the balcony. “‘Steel-ish’? What do you mean?”

“It’s hard to describe, but you feel just a tiny bit friendlier.” Nemona said, starting to snicker. “Maybe a little less grumpy.”

“Oi.”

“Never mind.” She added on, clearly joking. “...thanks for sticking with the League challenge.”

Julius only nodded back, with the two of them falling silent after that. The hustle and bustle of the city filled in for conversation, with neither of them willing to break the comfortable silence.

A knocking on the hotel door room knocked them out of their reverie, with Julius going to answer the door.

“Good afternoon, Master Julius—oh, Miss Nemona. Hello as well.” Clavell said, standing in the doorway. “I don’t suppose I need to give you two another lecture about optics?”

Julius turned his head over his shoulder to look at Nemona, who shrugged with a genuinely confused look on her face before he looked over to Clavell. “Last time was late at night in the classroom, so what’s the difference this time?”

Clavell simply inhaled and then let out a long exhale. “Never mind. Master Julius, there’s someone who would like to meet you.”

“Oh, hi, Miss Geeta!” Nemona said as the tall, tanned raven haired woman stepped into view.

Her slacks were as pitch black as her hair and her black buttoned jacket with violet cuffs that matched her blouse and leather gloves gave her an ominous appearance. The only source of any “brightness” on her was the dark gold ribbon tied around her neck that stretched to her waist.

“Good afternoon, Mister Merida.”

Julius took a second to recover from her presence, slowly nodding. “Just Julius is fine. Mister Merida is my dad.”

“I see. You’ve made quite a number of waves this year, haven’t you?”

Julius opened the door fully, inviting the two of them in. “I wouldn’t call it that.”

Clavell and Geeta stepped inside, with Julius closing the door behind them. Geeta seemed to be watching his movements carefully, as if she were evaluating him.

“Hoh, I see.” Geeta said, a ghost of a smile on her face. “Still, you’ve made a name for yourself.”

Julius looked over at Clavell, who looked like he was trying not to chuckle, and asked with a tone of disbelief. “Really now?”

Geeta closed her eyes, tilting her head with a small smile. “Yes, after all, I came here to personally see you.”

“Miss Geeta,” Clavell said, trying not to look amused. “Is the chairwoman of the Paldean League and is the final person you will face if you want to become a Champion Rank trainer as the ‘Top Champion’.”

Julius blinked a few times before putting the pieces together. “...oh.”

The hell? A member of the Elite Four comes to ask me about why I want to complete the League Challenge, then the equivalent of the Champion comes to see me? I feel like this is some kind of intimidation ploy. Also, ‘Top Champion’? Why not just call her the Champion if Nemona’s the only Champion Rank trainer? Something feels wrong.

“It may be a long time from now, Mister Julius, but… let’s see if you can make it to the Elite Four, first.”

“He will.” Nemona shot back, sliding the door to the balcony shut behind her. “Julius definitely will.”

Geeta glanced back at Julius, who closed his eyes before nodding, feeling like he shouldn’t shy away if Nemona was backing him up.

“That’s a pretty high bar, but I’m going to try my best. And I’ve got a good resource if I get stuck.”

Out of his view, Nemona’s expression brightened, almost forming into a big smile before she flinched and tried to control herself.

“I see. Best of luck, then, Mister Julius.”

“There was one more thing.” Clavell said, raising a finger. “But, Miss Nemona, this is for Julius’ ears alone. It won’t take long.”

“Hmm… alright.”

Julius and Nemona nodded at each other before the latter left, leaving him all alone with Geeta and Clavell. “What can I do for you, Mister Clavell?”

“First, I would like to again thank you for your investigative work into Team Star. Additionally, taking down their base was no easy feat. Unfortunately, as I cannot officially condone your actions, I am unable to reward you for bringing a number of students back to Uva Academy.” Clavell said, pausing briefly. “However, things are changing. Team Star is now a Paldean League problem, as Miss Geeta here can confirm.”

“Yes, that would be the case.” Geeta said, nodding. “I have stood up a task force to investigate and deal with Team Star. However, the Paldean League is very busy, so I’ve named Clavell as its chief and given him full authority.”

Julius forced a smile. “So I’m guessing I’m being told to back off or that you’re looking to pull me in?”

“The second of the two, Master Julius.” Clavell clarified. “But only if you wish to.”

He had already committed this far to Penny, and he did want to find the truth. With everyone seemingly hiding something, there was no choice but to seek out the real story. That, and Cassiopeia’s declaration of war basically kept him in the fight whether he wanted to be in or not. If the rest of Team Star was as pompous as Mela’s crew had been, then there wasn’t any moral conundrums, either.

“...I’m in, sir.”

“Good. I’m glad to have you on board. Now, with that out of the way, your reputation is spreading a bit. News has also spread about your victory over Team Star and it’s likely to become a point of questioning. Iono has a massive audience, so all eyes and ears will be paying attention. So, Julius, what do you think of Team Star and why are you fighting them?”

Julius blinked twice, tilting his head slightly before answering. “Well, from my experiences with them so far, I don’t think highly of them. I encountered them trying to coerce a student into joining them and when confronted, acted really arrogantly up until Nemona came by. It was a similar experience over at that base. They acted like they were invincible but came out as a horde when it looked like they’d lose.” He paused, taking a breath. “As for why I’m fighting them, I… guess originally it was to defend my home, because they would eventually encroach on it.”

“And now?”

“Now that I’ve seen the full extent of one of their bases, I think they need to be stopped. Plus, with how they were coercing people into joining and how their ranks were mostly filled with smug snakes…”

He thought about the way Nemona had taken his hand on the beach that day. Firm, but not forceful. In a way, it was almost like she was pleading with him not to break away. But if he had chosen to walk, she wouldn’t have stopped him. And it was because of that grip, so many things happened.

However, Team Star’s methods were sure to break someone. Being forced to join, then being surrounded by those who thought of themselves as invincible and demanded respect rather than having earned it, it would take a toll on someone’s psyche.

“Master Julius?”

“Sorry, I got lost in thought. Basically, I don't like people being bullied into doing things. It’s better if they… choose to go along with someone taking their hand, rather than being dragged by force.”

…damn, that day with Nemona must have influenced me more than I thought. Shit. Clavell definitely knows why I said that.

Julius tried not to react as Clavell had a gentle smile on his face in response to his words.

“I see. Well, if you repeat those words when Iono asks you, there shouldn’t be any problems. Keep in mind, Master Julius, that you may end up influencing a lot about how Team Star is viewed.”

He nodded in return. “Understood.”

“Well, I believe that’s it from us. Do enjoy Levincia, but ah, try not to have too much fun.”

As Clavell and Geeta approached the door, Geeta suddenly turned around. “Mister Julius, one last question.”

“Er, yes?”

“I believe it is always appropriate to consider the possibility of defeat. What will you do, if you cannot overcome this gym?”

Julius crossed his arms, thinking about it. “If I lose, then I’ll just have to practice more. If I still can’t win, then something fundamental about my approach is off. It’s just like if I plateau in weight lifting or martial arts. I’m going to have to change.”

Geeta held her lips together as she processed his answer. In his words was an implicit denial of the premise. It was not a matter of if he stopped losing, but when. No wonder he and Nemona seemingly clicked together perfectly.

“I believe the more appropriate question, Geeta,” Clavell said as he put a hand on the doorknob. “Is if he would give up.”

Geeta looked at Julius, who shrugged.

“After a few losses, I’d be tempted to. But I think I’d stick with it, at least for now.”

Clavell gave Geeta a look as if to say “You see?” before opening the door.

“A fine answer. I apologize for the strange questions, Mister Julius. If you’ll excuse us.”

As they left, he felt a wave of exhaustion wash over him. He looked over at the sliding door to the balcony, seeing his reflection. Sometimes, it didn’t feel like he saw himself in the mirror. Things had changed so rapidly in these past few weeks, to the point the thought of just coasting along in life and not doing anything other than his normal workout routine felt alien, yet strangely familiar as a temptation.

“Whoa, what happened?” Nemona asked as she entered the room, seeing Julius flop on the bed. “Was Geeta that bad? I know she scares a lot of people.”

Julius huffed. “Not really. Just got asked some things that put a lot of mental strain on me.”

Nemona thought for a few seconds before waving a hand in front of his face, then holding her hand out for him to take. “I heard a bit of sugar always helps you think.”

He took her hand, being pulled up. “Know anywhere good?”

“Um… not really. But it helps in balancing out the calories if we have to walk around, right?”

Julius rolled his eyes as he picked up his hat from the table, putting it on. “I guess you have me figured out. Let’s go.”

“Juliuuuuus~”

It was two days later, with five more to go until the big event. His mom had texted him that the Flying Taxi Iono sent for her had arrived a few hours ago, so he went to the Levincia Airport, where various flying Pokemon were taking off and landing, some vertically taking off and others needing a more traditional airplane-like run.

“Moooom.” Julius complained, with Nemona suppressing some laughter behind him. Suddenly, he regretted letting Nemona come along. Since he figured his mom would ask how Nemona was doing, he thought it would be better for her just to show up with him. Plus, as much as he didn’t want to admit it, compared to Penny and Arven, Nemona was less exhausting to be around. Mentally, at least, as she was quite the athlete when it came to running and pulling him around.

Helena, his mother, just kept her arms stretched out wide, in full view not just of Nemona, but of all the other people passing by. “Hug~?”

“ Mooom .”

Still, he came in for the hug, wrapping his arms around his mother who stood on her tiptoes to try and match her son’s height as she embraced him.

“I was so surprised to get a phone call from a Gym Leader! You’ve been doing very well, haven’t you?” she asked as they let go of each other.

“Mhm.”

“Still as taciturn as always, hehehe.” Helena then peeked around Julius, looking at Nemona. “Are you two waiting for Nemona’s parents?”

Nemona bit her lip before putting on a smile. “No, just you, Miss Merida.”

There was a brief pause before Helena’s mouth made an O-shape, as if she put the pieces together without anyone realizing it.

“Oh, so polite!” She stepped around Julius before opening her arms wide while facing Nemona, a welcoming and warm smile on her face. “Thank you for taking care of my son, Nemona. I can’t imagine it has been very easy.”

Nemona blinked a few times before glancing at Julius, who shrugged, and so she awkwardly shuffled forward into Helena’s hug. “It’s, um… no problem. He’s helped me, too.”

“That’s good to hear. I’m happy the two of you are getting along.”

With one final squeeze, Helena let go of Nemona who looked unusually flustered. Helena then grabbed her suitcase with her left hand and used her right arm to hook around Julius’ left, as if she was being escorted. He let out an exasperated sigh, but didn’t put up any more resistance.

Nemona gave a wave as if to say goodbye. “I’m sure you two want some time alone together, so I’ll—”

“Hm? Oh no, no, what are you saying?” Helena said, shaking her head. “You’re Julius’ friend, of course I wouldn’t send you away. Besides, it’ll be too hard to talk to Julius, otherwise. You know how he can be. You want her here too, right, Julius?”

“Uh… yeah. Just come along, Nemona. If you don’t have anywhere else you need to be, at least.”

“Then… at least let me bring your suitcase for you!”

“Oh, thank you.”

Julius offered Nemona an apologetic look, as if to apologize for getting roped up into his mom’s shenanigans. She gave him a smile back to let him know there wasn’t any problems as they departed the airport.

“I don’t think Miraidon has room for three, so it’s going to be a long walk.” Nemona said as they began taking the sidewalk that would lead back to Levincia proper.

“I think he does, but definitely not four.”

Nemona rolled her eyes. “Let’s not break the rules, Enforcer of Justice .”

“Do not ever call me that again. Where the hell did you even get that name from!?”

Nemona snickered. “That’s what some of them are calling you, from my fellow student council members, after you took down that Team Star base.”

“I’m going to feel physically ill if another student calls me that to my face.”

Helena giggled, covering her mouth with her free hand to make sure she didn’t erupt into full laughter. 

“Mooom.”

“I’m sorry, honey, but you being called the Enforcer of Justice is just too funny. But!” She then strongly tightened her grip on Julius’ arm. “That was very dangerous. You didn’t tell me!”

“...you would’ve told me not to.”

“I would have said to be careful , honey.” She said back, poking him on the cheek. “I’ve seen them on the news. I know you can handle yourself, but it doesn’t mean I didn’t nearly have a heart attack when I heard the news you had charged in and defeated them! A little warning next time!”

“Alright, alright…” Julius paused, his eyes opening up wide for a second as he realized something. “Though, there was something on my mind.”

“Hm?”

“Team Star probably does know who I am now, so…”

Helena smiled, giving his arm a squeeze. “I’ll call Ryme and have her send our special friend. I’m sure she misses us.”

Nemona tilted her head in confusion but chose not to press on the topic. “Oh, and Miss Merida, you got the Pokemon Daycare license, right? I could leave some of my old team members with you. They could use the space to walk around and they could also protect you if something happened.”

“Awww, that’s very sweet of you, Nemona. I’ll think about it~”

“Still though, you’re crazy, Julius. Even if I would have thought twice before charging one of those bases.”

“I had to… get creative. Also, Miraidon helped.”

“What, did you have a Pokemon battle while riding Cyclizars?”

Julius paused, thinking about where he had to fight that Revaroom pulling along a hot-rod-bus. “...not quite.”

Nemona laughed, with Helena following along.

After depositing Helena’s suitcase in her hotel room, the three went out for a late lunch.

“Ah, bathroom.” Julius said, getting up and leaving after their drinks arrived.

“So, Nemona.” Helena said with a smile after she confirmed Julius was well out of earshot. “How are you and Julius getting along? Don’t feel a need to hide anything, either. If he’s been giving you a hard time, I’ll be sure to pull on his ear.”

“Oh no, no! He’s… helped me a lot, really. And he’s a really good trainer to fight against!” Nemona said, quickly nodding. “I can’t complain about him at all. Even if he is kind of grumpy at times.”

“Hehehe, that’s just how he is.” Helena’s smile turned less social and more demure as she looked at the rest of the restaurant. “But I think I have you to thank for how he is. He hasn’t changed much, but if you knew him as long and as well as I have, he’s a lot softer than how he used to be. The change is so much it’s almost frightening.”

“Oh…”

“Has he told you about how things were before we came back to Paldea?”

Nemona shook her head. “Julius doesn’t really like to talk about himself.”

“Hmhm, I see. Well, I won’t take that away from him, then. Just keep being his friend, okay, and a person he can look forward to seeing~”

Nemona clenched her fist in front of her chest. “Of course! I won’t let him get away!”

Helena only giggled, which caused Julius to frown as he returned. “I hope she hasn’t put any weird ideas in your head.”

“Oh, you’re so mean to your mother, Julius.” Helena teased as he sat back down. “I hope you haven’t gotten any more world weary during your travels.”

“I should try, maybe.”

Helena only suppressed more of her giggling as the server came around and took their orders, seemingly taking a shine to Nemona. After the meal, Nemona excused herself, pushing harder on the idea that Julius should have some time alone with his mom.

“She’s a nice girl, isn’t she?”

“Yeah.”

“Hmhmhm~”

“She’s just a friend, mom.”

“I didn’t say anything, Julius.”

“Yeah, but I know how this song and dance goes.”

“Hehehe. I won’t tease any further, but it is good that the thought crosses your mind.” Helena said, squeezing her son’s arm. “And it’s also good that your face is a lot softer.”

“Softer?”

Helena reached up, prodding Julius’ cheeks. “Nemona might not notice it, but I certainly do. Those cheeks of yours aren’t held stiff and you relax a little. In fact, you relax quite a lot when Nemona’s around.”

She giggled as Julius bit down on his lip, clearly trying to erase any emotion from his face.

“So what?” He pushed out, trying to recover his poise.

“Nothing, nothing~”

“When you say it like that, mom, I’m inclined to believe the opposite.”

With nothing more than amused giggling as a response, Julius found himself pulled along to the hotel.

The week leading up to the Gym Challenge had certainly been a spectacle. Julius found his face on massive electronic billboards and on TV screens with ostentatious titles like “Rising Ace of Uva Academy”, with the images clearly edited to make him look more dramatic, distant, and admittedly colder than he would have liked. It did fit his vigilante justice streak with Team Star, but he couldn’t help but feel like it would put some distance between him and most people.

On the other hand, Nemona was also getting similar treatment, with the marketing around her being focused on the fact this was round two of her League Challenge, and that she was proving the first time wasn’t just dumb luck or anything like that. However, the marketing was also focused on the fact they’d be doing the Gym Challenge together, painting a sort of black and white contrast between them.

Apparently Iono’s reach was so widespread she easily gathered up plenty of people for comments, speculation, and even interviews to talk about both him and Nemona. The story of his week-long journey to overcome Nemona that was once contained to the halls of Uva Academy suddenly became known to the entire Paldea region—and even beyond that, if the fact that Julius saw comments flying in that said people in Kanto, Johto, and even Unova were tuning into Iono’s stream.

“Didn’t know we had such a popular person in Paldea.” Julius muttered as he watched the stream on a screen nearby the outdoor studio. 

Over to the side, a rectangular table had been set up with comfortable seats, as well as microphones for live commentating. He assumed Iono would be taking one, but he didn’t know who the other two guests would be.

“Heeeeeeh.” Iono said, swinging her arms as she walked.

…well, it’s not as bad as Team Star’s fashion choices. Julius thought as he watched the apparent Gym Leader approach them. He wasn’t sure if she was wearing shorts underneath that incredibly oversized jacket that went to… maybe halfway down her thighs ( Stop thinking about that, dammit, and get your shit together. What am I, a Mankey? ), with the lower half of the torso being black and the upper parts being yellow. The sleeves were almost comically oversized as they completely covered her swinging arms, matched only by teal and pink hair that was styled into a ribbon at the top and flared out with every step due to her hair being long enough to reach her knees, with a black ribbon being tied just over her left one. Above her floated what appeared to a pink and teal Magnemite to match her hair, but a closer look showed they were only accessories.

“It’s because we did all the advertising! If it was just me, we wouldn’t get nearly this much, but we’re having plenty of special surprise guests and you and Nemona are here. Everyone wants to know about the guy who took down a Team Star base and about the only Champion rank trainer in Paldea!” She added on, flashing her teeth that were surprisingly shark-like.

“How big is the stream, Iono?” Nemona asked.

“We broke a millioooon~”

“Wow!”

“It’s thanks to you guys, heeeh.” Iono clapped twice. “Alright, one last thing before we go live! You two both have Pawmos, right?”

Julius and Nemona exchanged a look before nodding.

“You gotta have them out while you do the challenge! They’re Electric types, so it’s good marketing.”

“Uh, sure thing?”

“Good, good. Anyways, let me do my thing and we’ll get started!”

With that, Iono swiftly retreated to the table where cameras were being set up. Meanwhile, Julius and Nemona let out their Pawmos.

“I don’t get what the deal is with this, but it’s the least we can do for her.” Julius said, kneeling down and letting his Pawmo climb up onto his shoulder.

“Fair enough!” Nemona said with a smile, carrying Pawmo in her arms.

“And we are… LIVE!”

Nemona and Julius snapped to attention, looking for Iono. She waved to the cameras while standing in the center of the table, a big smile on her face.

“Heeeeeello Paldea aaaand from what I see, more than just Paldea, and welcome to the Iono Zone! Have we got a show for you today! It’s Treasure Hunt season, so there’s been no shortage of newcomers and veterans pouring into Levincia to face off against me! And that also means there’s no shortage of content for us as we watch their gym trials!

“But this is a special occasion, you see! Let’s introduce our first two guests—today’s Gym Challengers who will be taking on Levincia’s Gym Trial! The first doesn’t need any introduction—you know her as the ace of Uva Academy, our one and only Champion-rank Trainer in Paldea! Nemona, come on over here!”

Julius stepped out of the way, letting Nemona walk over to Iono. She waved to the cameras before putting on a confident smile, a hand on her hip.

“This is your second time here, right?”

“Mhm!”

“Any reason you didn’t just ask for a rematch?”

“I want to do the League Challenge properly. It wouldn’t be right just to skip that.”

“Heeeh. That’s not the answer I expected from you.” Iono said, swinging her arms.

Nemona scratched her cheek. “It is what it is, Iono. I don’t want to get unfairly ahead of my friend who’s also doing the League Challenge.”

“Ooooooh. And speaking of that friend—he’s our other challenger for the day! The rising star of Uva Academy, our newest Enforcer of Justice, and the one who took down a Team Star base! Julius, come on in!”

Iono had to suppress a snicker as Julius walked in with a stony expression as she watched the stream chat flood with messages, with approximately ten percent or so thirsting over him.

“You told me there wouldn’t be any cameras.”

“And you told me you were going to wear something nice!” Iono fired back as he came to a stop next to Nemona, putting her between himself and Iono. “Oi, oi, over here!”

“Oh. Sorry.”

“Naturally going to Nemona’s side though, huh?”

“Is something wrong with that?”

“Heeeeeh, no, not at all. But it’s the Iono Zone, so come over here, here!” Iono said, patting her hip as if to indicate to move over to her side.

With a shrug, Julius walked over.

“So, so! Everyone wants to know though, why fight Team Star? Not a lot of people have that guts!”

“I have things I believe in.”

“Ooooh, what a cool answer! Still, what made you charge that base? The world’s dying to know!”

“...well, I guess it started out with the fact they’re too close to home. But I also didn’t like how they were trying to forcibly recruit students on Uva Academy’s campus. And when I saw the way they acted, all bravado and fleeing at the least inconvenience, but also talking like they were superior and talking down on strangers… it leaves a bad taste in the mouth.” Julius shrugged. “I guess rather than being forced into things, it’d be better if someone took their hand and firmly pulled them in the right direction, with both deciding to go that way?”

Nemona’s attention suddenly snapped over to him, but she tried to subdue any strong reaction—and failed as she turned her head away, trying not to look at Julius.

“Do you have anything you want to say to them?”

“...Hm. For anyone who’s been forced into Team Star and doesn’t want to be there, I guess… be brave and hang on? Or leave, if you’re feeling brave enough to break out. If not, just hang on, as I’m not stopping—not until we get to the bottom of why Team Star is doing this—and I’ll be there eventually. Don’t count on it being speedy. I’m just a guy who’s doing what he wants.”

“Heeeeh. I see, I see. And you’re also going to complete the League Challenge?”

Julius looked over at Nemona, who stole a glance back at him. “I’m going to go for it.”

“And just so I’m sure… you’re doing the League Challenge alongside Nemona, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Nemona?”

“M-mhm!”

“Hmm. So the real question is… who’s going to finish first? Or rather, what everyone wants to know is: who’s stronger ?”

“Been a while since we faced off against each other, huh?” Julius asked, with Nemona recovering her poise and nodding in return.

She put on a big smile. “You must be pretty strong though, beating Team Star and Brassius! I’m pretty excited to see how strong you are now.”

“You’re hot on my heels, if not already past ‘em.”

Iono cleared her throat, making a big X with her arms. “Ahem! This is the Iono Zone, you two!”

“Heh. Sorry, Iono.”

“You better be, Nemona! I know you two are eager to do a lot together, especially this gym trial, so let’s get moving! Normally, you would be hunting for five QR codes scattered across the city, with a special borrowed Rotomphone documenting your journey. But instead… you guys will be searching for someone instead! And that brings us to our third guest—she really needs no introduction though! The Chairwoman of the Paldea League and my boss , Geeeeeeeta!”

The raven haired woman stepped onto the scene, where she joined Iono along with Nemona and Julius before waving once to the camera. “I just happened to be in the area.”

“Still, thanks for working with us on this! Either way—Levincia’s a big city and you’ve got a whole day ahead of you! We’ll bring you to an area of the city and Geeta will be hiding, maybe in plain sight, and you have to find her! Seems simple enough, right?”

“Sounds like a lot of fun compared to the usual!” Nemona said, slamming down her right fist into her left hand.

“Sounds like a lot of walking.”

“That shouldn’t be a problem for you then, right, Julius?”

“Who spilled?”

“Nahahaha!”

Julius clicked his tongue at Iono’s laughter. 

“And to spice things up… there’s three donation goals! One for a hundred thousand LP raised, five hundred thousand, and a million! If we gain enough donations, there’ll be additional challenges involved! So work fast… or don’t~! Geeta, off you go! We’ll turn these two loose after we introduce our panel of guest commentators!”

Geeta nodded, slipping away.

“First, we have another famous guest! Welcome, Director Clavel, the head of Uva Academy!”

Were they really just in the area? Julius thought to himself as Clavell stepped onto the scene from a tent, likely where they were giving him a slight glow up with makeup for the cameras. Seems like a lot to do all of a sudden.

“Thank you for having me, Iono. It’s rare that I get the time to be so involved, but as the League is a big part of the Treasure Hunt, it’s nice to have a hand in a challenge.”

“Awww, no problem! I know you must be really busy. And our last surprise guest… she might not be famous herself, but I’m sure plenty of you out there know her name. I know Julius certainly does! Miss Merida, come on in!”

Julius blinked twice as his mother popped out of the tent. As they locked eyes, she waved, the wind picking up and tossing her apron very mildly.

“Hi, honey~”

“I thought you were just here to cheer me on.”

“I am! As a guest commentator, I’ll be cheering you on the whole time!”

Julius suppressed a sigh, causing Nemona to giggle as she waved with her full arm . 

“Hello, Miss Merida.”

“Hi, Nemona! Best of luck!”

“We’ll be alright, but I’m glad to have you and Mister Clavell cheering us on. Right, Julius?”

He let out a longer sigh, causing his mother to laugh. “...thanks for coming out, mom.”

“Awwwww!”

Julius huffed as Iono ruined the moment, turning away and crossing his arms.

“Well, let’s all get comfortable, let the Rotomphones start recording, and begin! Nemona, Julius, the first location Geeta will be hiding in is Mosaico District in the southern part of the city! Best of luck!”

“Yeah, thanks. Let’s go, Nemona.”

She covered her mouth, suppressing some laughter as they began walking side by side. “Do you want to run there, or are you fine walking?”

“I don’t think you can keep up.”

“Hey, flirt later, you two! Get going!” Iono heckled, with Julius rolling his eyes and gesturing with his head for them to start their walk.

It was about thirty minutes after the main event started, with Iono, Clavell, and and Helena making casual conversation when Iono suddenly shifted topics.

“Ah, they’ve finally arrived in Mosaico District!”

Julius and Nemona couldn’t hear Iono, as they weren’t also watching the stream as they walked, making it to the targeted district.

“Anyways, for our dear viewers who aren’t as familiar with Levincia: Mosaico District is the big commercial hub of the city, with it being home to some of the biggest names in fashion, clubs, food in Paldea and across the world!”

“Geez, what are these prices?”

“Oh come on, it can’t be that—whoa! Ouch!”

Nemona recoiled from the window when she saw the price on the menu in the window.

“It’s… not so bad, on second thought? Everything’s expensive on this street. Well, aside from the Pika’s we passed by. If you’re hungry, we can go back?”

“I’m not hungry, it just caught my eye. Thought someone had misplaced a zero.”

Nemona suppressed some laughter with her hand as they continued to walk along, searching for Geeta. “It’s really not so bad. We can stop by the Jubilee Square Cafe tomorrow if you want to see a few extra zeros.”

“They better be leading zeros.”

“Paw, pawpawmo.”

“Hm? What’s up, Pawmo?” Julius asked, lightly poking Pawmo, who sat on his right shoulder, with his left pointer finger.

“Mo, momo!”

His Pawmo pointed to Nemona’s, who was being carried in Nemona’s arms. Nemona’s Pawmo reached up, but couldn’t quite reach his.

“I think they want to play or something.”

“Oh. Here you go, Pawmo.” Nemona said, placing her Pawmo on her left shoulder. The two Pawmos clapped their stubby arms together, seemingly enjoying themselves. “Uh, you don’t mind, right? You gave me a few admonishings about ‘personal space’ back at the Academy.”

Julius huffed as Nemona took a half-step closer to him, their shoulders and arms almost touching as they walked side by side. “I don’t mind. Those lectures are more for when you suddenly shove your face towards mine.”

“It’s a bit hard to contain my excitement, that's all!”

Julius could only roll his eyes in return before he went back to searching for Geeta.

With the two of them so preoccupied by the search for the raven-haired woman, the duo missed all of the photos being taken of them. It looked almost picturesque, with two students of Uva Academy in matching uniforms walking side by side, a Pawmo on each shoulder. Really, it could only have been more fitting with a Plusle and Minun, all things considered.

Nemona’s been to a lot of these restaurants, huh? She doesn’t look wealthy, but what do you know… Julius thought to himself whenever he pointed out a restaurant that caught his eyes.

“So, which one’s your favorite, then?”

“Huh? Oh…”

Nemona suddenly trailed off, coming to a stop. Their Pawmos made some noise due to nearly losing their grip on each other, with Julius managing to stop himself before they were stretched too far.

He turned to face her, with their Pawmos letting go of each other so he could do so. “Nemona?”

“It’s a little too private, with how we’re on camera and all.” She said, putting up a small, if not forced, grin.

“Let’s go there for dinner after this, then. My treat.”

Nemona paused for a few seconds before turning up a bigger smile. “You sure? You don’t know how many zeros there’ll be.”

“I guess I walked into that one.”

“Hehehe. Thanks for the offer anyways, Julius. Let’s keep on trying to find Geeta, yeah?”

With a silent nod, he waited for Nemona to rejoin him at his side before the two walked side by side through the city streets.

It was another hour to find Geeta, who had been holed up at a cafe and enjoying coffee cake alongside some sort of iced coffee. Meanwhile on stream, Iono had been commenting the whole time about each restaurant, advertising on her end.

>You don’t usually see Iono this fired up.
>That’s ‘cause most of the challengers have no stage presence
>She should make pairs mandatory lol
>Are they going to have enough time though???
>hey are those two an item btw, friend is asking
>if you’re after Julius get in line. he’s been stupid popular since the start of the school year

“Hello?” Julius called out, answering his Rotomphone when he felt it buzzing. 

“Heeeeello you two! That’s one out of five, congrats so far!”

“Thanks. Where are we going next?” Julius asked as he switched to speaker.

“Next is Estilo District up north! While Mosaico District is home to all the flashy glitz and glamor as well as the night life, if you want things a little more subdued you can’t beat Estilo District! Plus, it’s the hub for all things fashion—from the most exotic to just looking stylish on your everyday wear, you can definitely find something there! Speaking of, we’ve got your first challenge since we had enough donations!”

“Oh boy.” Julius dryly remaked, Nemona stifling a chuckle.

“What is it, Iono?”

“You two have… to go into a store in Estilo District and buy something matching! Can be anything you want! And don’t worry, I’ll foot the bill!”

“Nemona, what’s the most expensive place in Estilo District?”

“Hey!”

“Let’s keep Iono guessing, yeah?”

Julius gave a snort of amusement. “Alright, sure thing.”

In Estilo District, the flashy glitz and glamor of Mosaico District was replaced by more humble storefronts. Skyscrapers still filled every street corner, but the amount of neon lights drastically decreased. Ostentatious restaurant advertisements gave way to large glass panes with mannequins behind them, some wearing the latest fashion trends while others sported dresses that wouldn’t be out of place at a formal ball.

“Something catch your eye?” Nemona asked as Julius was looking through the window while they waited for a crosswalk signal.

“Julius is definitely a legs guy, it seems. That green dress has an absolutely scandalous side cut for the leg.”

“Iono, please refrain from commenting on Master Julius’ potential fetishes on air. Especially around his mother. This was supposed to be a family friendly stream, per Geeta’s instructions.”

“Awww, just let me have this one. Wait, his mom has to know what her son’s into, then!”

“Oh my, I’m sorry to disappoint you, then. Julius is a very straight-laced boy, so even if he had such tastes, he would hardly ever show it. In fact, he might be thinking the same thing as you, Iono. That is a lot more leg than needs to be shown.”

“Boooo! You two are no fu—oh, oh! They’re going into Grani’s! That’s one of my favorite stores that’s local only to Levincia, and they—”

“It was surprisingly tough to find something matching for these two, huh?”

Julius let out a “Ha!” of agreement as he and Nemona came out of a store, the Pawmos on their shoulders now wearing matching red headbands. “I’m just more surprised that every store kept trying to offer us a discount if we let them take a picture of all of us.”

“I wonder if that was Iono’s doing.”

“Maybe?”

He looked down at his left wrist, which now had a very simple dark blue beaded bracelet with white highlights, with the centerpiece being a teal-aquamarine bead. Nemona had something similar, though hers was white with blue highlights and an orange-read bead as the centerpiece and was worn on her right wrist.

She kept fidgeting with it as they waited for another crosswalk, though.

“Do you need to get it adjusted?”

“Huh?!”

“You keep messing with it. Is it too tight?”

Nemona flinched before rapidly shaking her head. “N-no, it’s fine. Just… I don’t really get it, but it’s just nice to have something matching with you. It’s… the first time I have something like this, so it’s almost like checking that it’s still there.”

“Oh, I see.”

“Aaaaah! That’s unfair!” Iono shouted as the stream feed showed Julius’ otherwise impassive face cracking the smallest of smiles. “You’ll break a thousand hearts with that smile alone! And I can’t believe he hasn’t noticed they’re complimentary Meowstic themed bracelets!”

Meanwhile, the stream chat was flying by at ten-thousand miles an hour. Rather than have any coherent sentences, it was full of emotes and general screeching.

A single message cut through the noise, with Iono recovering from dramatically clutching her heart to read it. It had a sizeable donation attached, immediately bringing it up for Iono and the entire stream to see and garnering attention as the account was tagged with [Paldean League Gym Leader].

“From Lovebug—whoa, hey Katy! Long time no see! You don’t usually tune into my streams! Let’s see… Iono, you can’t go giving away the game this early. You have to let it simmer for just long enough! Well, Katy, you’re going to give it away like that! If they watch the VOD, they’ll totally see this moment and figure it out!”

A few seconds after she said that, a donation message from an account also tagged as a Gym Leader, this time from The Meaning of Avant Garde, flashed on the screen.

“Brassius, you’re watching the stream too!? Been a while! Let’s see what you have to say… They won’t notice even if they watch the stream. I can assure you of that. Brassius!”

Geeta was soon found in Estilo District, with Iono directing the duo to Harbor District afterwards.

“Despite its name, the harbor here in Levincia isn’t actually very large. If you’re looking for where cruise ships dock or where big shipments come in, you’ll have to go across Paldea to Port Marinada! The harbor here is more for smaller ships and recreational boating. Still, we’ve got a biiiiig lighthouse that isn’t just for show! Good luck, you two, and we’re almost there to the second challenge! So hurry up if you don’t want to do it… or do, hehehe!”

Fortunately for the duo, Geeta was at the lighthouse enjoying the view, which was the first place they looked. That left Playa District and Ring District, with the duo directed to Playa District.

“It’s the beach! It’s a real luxury that the citizens of Levincia can enjoy a beach trip without leaving the city limits, so we put in a lot of effort to make sure it’s clean! It would only be more complete with a boardwalk, but that’s what we have Harbor District for! By the way, we also hit the second challenge, and just in time for Playa District! For this district, you two need to ride a bike together!”

“As in, one bike, or that we ride two bikes together?” Julius asked.

“Nope, just one bike! There’s plenty of rental places around the city for that, as while there’s plenty of street room for cars, we pride ourselves on being a very bikeable city and the two-person bike is very popular with pairs!”

“I’ll do you one better.”

With a single tap of the Pokeball, Miraidon popped up, happily chirping. Patting Miraidon on the head, Julius then clambered up, swinging his leg over as Miraidon went into motorcycle form and using his left leg to support them from falling over.

“This work just fine, Iono?”

“Whoooooa what is that!?”

“Just a friend Nemona and I made. Come on, Nemona, get on back.”

“You know, I was planning on asking you about this so this saves me the trouble!” She happily cried out as she climbed up to sit behind Julius.

“Hold on tight.”

“Will do.”

“Well, this is a surprise, to be sure, but a welcome one! Best of luck in your search, Julius!”

As he felt Nemona’s arms snake around him and pull herself close, he realized a distinct difference between Nemona and Penny when it came to sensations on his back.

Focus, Julius .

Though, before he took off, he realized that Nemona’s grip had suddenly faltered, with the girl in question almost flinching away.

“Something wrong, Nemona?”

“N… no. Um, just ummm… maybe you should eat more! I can, um, feel your ribs?”

“...right.”

“Gigigigiyaaaa!” Miraidon cried out, giving the duo an easy out of continuing this conversation.

“...Let’s go, Miraidon.”

Their Pawmos hopped in Julius’ lap, holding on tight as he began to accelerate and follow the paths for Cyclizars and normal bikes. It was obvious people were taking pictures and videos as they drove by, but he didn’t pay it much attention as he focused on not crashing. Nemona, on the other hand, was on the lookout for Geeta, her hair flowing in the breeze as they rode along.

“Do you travel everywhere like this?”

“Not always. I like to walk to most places and take in the sights. It’s not like I’m in any rush to finish the League Challenge.”

“That’s fair. You know, I bet this beach looks really pretty at sunset.”

“Probably. You want to come back, then?”

Nemona laughed as a flock of Wingulls flew down, keeping pace with Miraidon. “Maybe. I didn’t bring a swimsuit, though.”

Julius fought very hard to keep his unfortunately straying mind away from the visualization of Nemona in a swimsuit. “Don’t need one, if we’re just riding along the paths.”

“Hm, that’s true!” She said, reaching out with her hand, able to pat a Wingull on the head as it matched Miraidon’s speed. “But then again, I wouldn’t want to keep you from getting to the next gym…”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence.”

“Well, you did manage to pull one over me. I know you can win on your first try.”

“I’ll have to try my best to keep to your expectations, then.” There was an amused huff from Julius after that. “I don’t really like losing.”

“Does anyone?”

“Fair enough.”

Caught up in their own world and enjoying the salty breeze of the sea as they rode down the path together while lost in their own thoughts, the two completely blew past Geeta who was enjoying a shaved ice treat while relaxing on a bench. She was very much trying not to think about the mountains of paperwork that were piling up while she wasn’t at her desk, with the shaved ice helping.

I should have asked for an extra large. And a second one. She thought, knowing that as soon as she finished eating, there would be no more shaved ice to stave off her straying thoughts. I still don’t know how Iono talked me into this, either.

It was supposed to have been one and done, where she simply came to evaluate Julius Merida. She knew she had a reputation and a presence to back it up, as most Trainers, let alone your average person, would wither and cower before her. She wanted to see how he reacted, considering how Nemona hadn’t been that afraid of her when they first met and how he also seemed to have been chosen by Nemona. Yet somehow, she had been talked into this game show of an idea, letting an entire day go by without working.

“Iono.” She said, answering the phone immediately after she felt it buzz.

“They just blew right past you, huh?”

“Yes. Yes they did.”

“Oh, relaaaax! Go buy yourself another two shaved ices, you might need it. The bicycle path goes on for a while longer, so if they go all the way down, it’ll be about half an hour until they make it back to you. Seriously, you’re at the beach in a suit!”

“Forgive me for not exactly knowing you were going to pull this stunt and not packing my swimwear.”

“Is that a Geeta swimsuit stream idea I hear?”

“No.”

“Snrkrkrk.” Iono snickered. “And you can skip the lecture about it being inappropriate, I know what the terms of service are for streaming.”

“Oh, good. You’ve saved me five whole minutes. Which I can use to lecture you about the third donation goal.”

“Hey hey, no spoilers! It’s family friendly , Geeta! Just like you said!”

“I still don’t know how you snuck it by me.”

“Come on, it’ll be adorable!”

“It’s going to cause those two a headache with the amount of eyes on them.”

“Oh please, that’s why we set the donation goal so high! Do you really think we’re going to reach a million LP or Poke in donations?”

“Do you really think we’re going to reach a million LP or Poke in donations?”

Penny stopped typing as she waited for her triple espresso order in the cafe to be called as she heard Iono say those words on stream.

…well, you can think of it as recycling. Now then, there’s about four hundred and seventy thousand LP to go for their goal. I can’t do it all at once, they’ll just track the accounts otherwise. I should still have plenty of alternatives that have a history of being used. Consider it a little payback for making me throw up, hmph.

Iono nervously laughed as Geeta stood over her with her arms crossed, trying to avoid direct eye contact and instead looking into the camera. What she thought of as impossible had been achieved in the time it took Geeta—discovered on the beach a few minutes ago—to get back to her final hiding place in Ring District.

“W-wow, look at that, we managed to hit the… one million, um, LP goal!” Iono choked out. Next to her, Helena and Clavell were suppressing their laughter, only putting on diplomatic smiles. “Let me, call uh, Julius and Nemona and let them know as soon as they arrive for the final leg of the challenge! Everyone, eyes on them!”

Switching views to the Rotomphone that was watching over Julius and Nemona, it showed Julius answering after Nemona called him.

“Hey, hey, Julius! Welcome to Ring District! There are plenty of attractions here, but the one that everyone’s interested in is my own arena where I take on Gym challengers! But this stage isn’t just for me, we also host many different acts throughout the year like idol shows, concerts, and the fountains here on event-less days are still very pretty! You can find a full calendar of all events as well as tickets to them on Levincia City’s official website, which is linked in the stream description!”

“More product placement as usual, huh.”

“A girl’s gotta make a living, Julius!”

“Rule’s the same as always, yeah? Any special surprises like the bike?”

“Mmmmm…”

Iono could feel Geeta’s stare of doom looming over her, but on the other hand her chat was going wild.

“Agh, geez!”

“Why do you sound more stressed about this than us?” Julius asked, with the feed from the Rotomphone showing that Nemona was politely trying not to laugh.

“Fine! It’s really busy out here in Ring District, so to make sure you two don’t lose each other, the final donation challenge is that you two have to hold hands while looking for Miss Geeta!”

On the screen, Julius and Nemona blinked in surprise, glancing at each other with a mutual “Did I hear that right” look on their faces.

“Um, Iono…” Nemona said after clearing her throat. “...could you repeat that?”

Iono sank her face into her hands. “I said, you two have to hold hands while walking around Ring District!”

“Looks like I heard her right the first time.”

“I mean, it isn’t much of a challenge, but then again the other ones weren’t really challenges either… Iono, you better not be going easy on us for this trial!”

“I’m not, I-ono promise!”

“I’m hanging up.”

“Wah! Wait, but, this is your final search for Miss Geeta, so… best of luck!”

The call ended immediately after that, Iono giving a long and hefty sigh as she continued to wither under Geeta’s immense pressure.

Thankfully, a stream notification popped up, giving her a chance to distract herself. It was from an account by the handle Snowstorm Snowboard, also tagged as a Gym Leader account.

“It’s refreshing to see this kind of stream again instead of the usual clickbait ones. Maybe I’ll have to tune in every now and then…” Iono read out, completely forgetting about Geeta’s presence as she subconsciously began smiling. “Gruusha…”

The chat messages immediately began pouring in, filling with a mix of “cute!”, “that smile is unfair”, and “THE SHIP IS REAL” amongst other things.

“I apologize for all of this, Miss Merida.” Geeta said with a sigh as Iono quickly made an attempt to quell the oncoming storm due to her slip-up. “I should have caught such a thing before approving this.”

Helena waved it off before clapping her hands together with a too-big-to-mean-anything-good smile. “It’s fine, Miss Geeta. They might complain right now, but I know they’ll be able to look upon this time as a fond memory.”

“Still…”

“Hehehe, don’t worry about it, Miss Geeta. This is what youth is all about, isn’t it?”

Geeta opened her mouth to protest, as she still found the idea of making this young man and woman hold hands—especially as they weren’t romantically involved, or at least open about it—rather intrusive. But as she thought about what her youth had been occupied with, and what some might say her youth was currently being occupied with, she realized she didn’t have much of a leg to stand on.

“If you so insist, Miss Merida.”

For the past three or so minutes, Nemona and Julius had been silently stewing in thought. Both could tell the other was deep in thought about the “challenge” presented to them and how to go about perhaps either doing it or dodging it. It was clear that Iono herself expressed hesitance over them doing it, so it was doubtful they’d come under that much fire for not doing it.

“...if you don’t want to do it, then we won’t.” Julius said, breaking the silence.

“It’s not… that bad.” Nemona said, crossing her arms. “It’s just…”

“It’s not the kind of challenge you thought it’d be, yeah? Like maybe a million LP would’ve been putting a series of tough trainers in our path or something.”

“...yeah! Something like that!”

It wasn’t only Nemona who was thankful for the quick pivot in reasoning, as Julius managed to hold back a sigh of relief. Nemona was one of the few people he had been relatively open with, so the lower the risk of creating a strange distance between them, the better. Besides, despite his young boyish heart, he knew better than to make assumptions about why Nemona might not exactly be gung ho about taking his hand.

Rather than… what some guys would be tempted to think, I’m sure she’s hesitating because I’m hesitating. I know she can be a little shy if it seems like she’s forcing me into something, especially because this directly relates to the trial.

“Iono did seem kind of scared, though.”

“Hm?” Nemona asked, tilting her head. “That’s right. I can’t think of anyone that would really make Iono that scared. Maybe Miss Geeta?”

“If that’s the case, then there’s only one place they could be, right?”

“Mmm!”

Julius nodded before offering his left hand to Nemona. “Then, let’s get going. Just uh, think of it like you’re leading me to a battle pitch or something.”

After two seconds of silence, he felt Nemona take his left hand in her right.

“Yeah. There’s going to be a battle soon enough, after all!”

He looked down, seeing their matching bracelets that they had been forced to buy earlier before snapping his head up and looking down the street.

“Paw-mo!”
“Pawpaw-mo!”

Their respective Pawmos climbed up on their Trainers’ shoulders, also stretching their stubby arms out to seemingly join hands, difficult as it was due to their rather short armspan compared to their Trainers’ shoulder width.

“Geez, you two…” Nemona mumbled, reaching up with her left hand to poke her Pawmo lightly on the forehead. “You’re going to fall at this rate.”

“Guess there’s no stopping them.” Julius said before sighing, taking a half-step closer to Nemona to give the Pawmos an easier time. “Let me know if I’m too close.”

“N-no, you’re fine. To a battle!”

“To a battle.”

Despite the fact the two felt this should be the shortest search and that the street would take them straight to the outdoor studio area, the walk down the street felt agonizingly long. Neither Julius nor Nemona said a word, perhaps not wanting to make the situation any more strange than it was already. The pair could also feel all eyes on them, as there was no doubt that as the day ticked on and the stream only seemed to keep growing more popular, that more and more people would recognize the two. Plus, their matching uniforms, bracelets, and Pawmos on their shoulders only served to make them stand out even more.

“I see Miss Geeta!” Nemona announced as they entered the ring that Ring District was named after.

“It seems I’ve been found yet again. That should conclude your Gym Trial and this challenge.” Geeta coolly said, turning her head towards Iono who nervously chuckled.

“Yep, yep! You two can stop holding hands now! Unless you don’t want to…?”

The duo immediately let go of each other, but couldn’t step away due to the—

“Gah!”
“Wah!”

Julius and Nemona flinched as their Pawmos lit up their vision, each of them unconsciously flinching and taking a step away from one another. Their respective Pawmos leapt down to the ground, where they grew larger and larger while still encased in white light, to about Nemona’s waist height.

When the light subsided, their Pawmos had evolved, taking on a more orange hue compared to the pale orange-yellow they used to have. Their tails had grown a bit bushier and they stood up taller, as well as having more defined and longer arms.

“There we go! I was wondering when these guys would evolve!” Iono said, crouching down and patting the pair of evolved Pawmos together. “It’s a little known thing about Pawmo, but to evolve one you don’t actually use a Thunder Stone like you might think to do. They need to walk a lot with their Trainer before they’ll evolve, which catches a lot of people off-guard. Oh! And you should use your Pokedex apps as I know you definitely have them to check on them later. If they had Static as a natural ability, it would’ve changed.”

Nemona shook her head. “Mine already has Natural Cure, so if that doesn’t change, then he should stay the same. Julius, yours had Static though, right?”

“Yeah. Why, what should she have now?”

“Volt Absorb! It makes it so Electric attacks come straight to Pawmo, deal no damage and actually end up healing them!”

“Handy.”

“Now then! Everyone, give your warm congratulations to Nemona and Julius for completing the Gym Trial!” Iono said, clapping loudly—to which the Pawmots joined in. “See, there’s just one thing, though. I can’t exactly change this much on the fly, so as cool as it would be to do your Gym Battles together, one of you is going to have to go first.”

Iono then put on a smile, as if everything had finally come together.

“Why not battle it out and see who gets to choose who goes first?”

Nemona and Julius exchanged a look, understanding why Iono had been pushy about them not battling during the week of preparation.

“You ready?” Julius asked with a shrug. “I guess we haven’t had any battles today, yeah?”

“I always am! I’ve been looking forward to this for a long time!”

Iono clapped twice. “Great, you two are ready to go! Ah, but let’s leave your Pawmots out of it. They’ll be your cheer squad!”

Julius put a hand to his chin, thinking about what his strategy would be then. Back at the Academy when Pawmot was just a Pawmi, she was somewhat crucial to dealing with Nemona’s Rockruff. But, on the other hand, it would be good practice for if she developed her team in such a way that Nemona would knock his Pawmot out early.

“I’m fine with it.”

“Are you sure, Julius?” Nemona asked, seeing his hesitance.

“I’ll just think of it that you managed to KO Pawmot early on and I’ve got to adapt on the fly. After all, I usually used her against your Rockruff, right? I can’t keep relying on the same strategy all the time.”

Nemona already felt the smile creeping up on her face, already covering it up with her right hand. Confused as to why she kept feeling so embarrassed—and perhaps this time, even more so than usual—that she kept naturally smiling whenever something Julius said or did came to her mind, she rapidly nodded. “I’m fine with it too, then.”

“Heeeeh. Then, take your positions, and to everyone watching, we’ll be back after this small break!”

After the cameras were confirmed to no longer be rolling, Iono clapped her hands over her bowed head. “I’m so sorry for making you two do thaaaaaat! I didn’t think we’d actually hit that donation goal so it was just kind of a throwaway thing but man it must have been super awkward and I didn’t even know if you two were a thing or if you two were seeing other people or—”

“Iono.” Nemona called out.

“—but you know it’s a guy and a girl doing the gym trial together in Levincia and obviously the kinds of photos and experiences on stream would be fantastic for promotional material for visiting the city because you never know if you’ll meet someone of your dreams and have those kinds of adventures and also doing things in the Uva Academy uniform is totally just advertising for the Academy but it’s also the perfect image of idyllic school life and the Treasure Hunt and—”

“Iono!”

“—so if Miss Geeta asks you to name what the punitive measure is please don’t be too harsh and—geh!”

“Julius!” Nemona admonished as the boy in question had flicked Iono between the eyes.

“She wasn’t stopping.”

“Ow ow ow ow… what kind of fitness routine do you do, it was just one flick, why did it hurt that much, geez…!” Iono complained, rubbing the top of her nose.

“Anyways…” Nemona took a breath. “It wasn’t… that bad, I guess. The challenge should have been something related to the gym or maybe extra Trainers to fight, but you don’t usually do this so I can let it slide. No one got hurt or anything. Um, as long as Julius, you don’t have a girlfriend or someone who would be upset watching this.”

Julius let out a longer sigh. “No, there’s no one like that. If you’re going to let it slide, I guess there’s not much I can do. I guess not knowing the challenges was part of it and this is the first time I’m doing something like this, so it’s hard to have any real basis for expectations.”

“Oh… oh, good! Then—”

Iono let out a strangled “Gyah!” sound as Geeta’s hand came down from behind her, clawing slightly around the top of her head.

“That doesn’t mean you won’t get off scot-free. It was still clearly somewhat of a slightly uncomfortable experience since we could all see you hesitate on the stream, so I’m sure Iono would be more than happy to personally pay for your dinner tonight.”

“Sure, sure! Yep, sounds good to me! I’ll make the reservation anywhere you want, they’ll make room!” She shrieked out before Geeta loosened her grip.

Nemona and Julius both paused briefly, having forgotten the whole adventure was streamed in the first place.

“Battle prep!” Nemona suddenly called out, turning away from the group. “Let’s make sure we’re all ready to go!”

Julius also turned on his heel, looking in the opposite direction of Nemona. “Sounds good to me.”

Iono had to suppress a snicker as Geeta was still watching over as the two took their positions on the battle pitch just as the break was ending.

Fittingly, the battle pitch was circular, with a Pokeball design overlayed in the middle, though the red of the Pokeball was replaced by a mishmash of yellow, blue and orange. Evenly spaced large vertical lights would have lit up the arena if it wasn’t already naturally lit by the sun, and the entire pitch was surrounded by what could only be called a moat, though it was filled with fountains that sprayed water into the air. A multi-story walkway, concentric to the battle pitch, allowed for safe viewing of the battles, with electronic billboards advertising sneakers, makeup, food, and anything one’s mind could think of forming the back walls of the walkway.

“This is a battle between Champion Rank Trainer Nemona and Uva Academy Student Julius!” Iono shouted as the two straightened up, getting into their battle mindsets.

Julius frowned when he noticed Nemona flinch at the title before making the connection. “Oi!”

“Hm? Is something wrong?”

“We’re both here just as Gym Challengers and students of Uva Academy today.”

Iono blinked twice before looking over at Nemona, who just remained silent. While it was a subtle motion, she did notice that Nemona’s left hand had moved to hold her right wrist, where her part of the Meowstic themed bracelets they now wore sat. She let out a small exhale of amusement before holding a hand to her mouth to clear her throat before throwing it up into the air like a cheer.

“Right! Sorry about that, Nemona! This is a battle between Gym Challenger Nemona, the Student Council President of Uva Academy and Gym Challenger Julius, the Enforcer of Justice of Uva Academy!”

“Hey!” Julius protested as he looked back at Nemona.

…well, guess it’s worth making sure Nemona’s laughing at that, at least. Julius thought before shaking his head.

“Substitutions are allowed for both sides! Items are not permitted for either side! The battle will continue until either side no longer has any Pokemon or wishes to forfeit early! On three, release your first Pokemon! One, two, three!”

“Let’s do this, Lycanroc!”
“Here we go, Clodsire.”

Compared to the simple blob form of Clodsire, the more wolf-like canine opposite to it looked much more refined. Having abandoned the tans and browns of Rockruff, the dog Clodsire faced had fur with a dark orange tint, colored much like a sunset, though the fur closer to the ends of its limbs and that formed its majestic mane was a bright white. The occasional dark brown, saved for the tips of its ears and for the spikes emanating from its mane, served to round off a more primal, yet refined look.

“I was wondering if you would’ve evolved Wooper by now. Looks like you would have passed Brassius’ gym without any problems.”

“Yeah, if by without any problems you mean eating a Solar Beam.”

Nemona laughed, shaking her head. “Oh come on, he only does it once or twice for the second badge challengers.”

“I don’t want to see what the later badge challenges look like, then. I’m guessing that Lycanroc evolved from Rockruff… and it’s just as fast if not faster?”

“Yep! I was pretty surprised to find out this isn’t how most Lycanrocs actually look, though! But—!” Nemona clenched her left hand into a fist as she held it out in front of her. “No sense in just talking about it!”

Julius’ strategy with Clodsire hadn’t really changed. Toxic Spikes was always a good starter especially since he didn’t know how many Pokemon Nemona brought with her and even though that Rockruff—well, now it was a Lycanroc—gave him trouble in the past, it didn’t hit hard enough for him to worry about it taking out Clodsire in a single strike considering Clodsire’s bulk.

—which is why it caught him so off guard when it suddenly let out a billowing roar, with Clodsire returning and Lokix suddenly taking its place.

Nemona smiled as Julius blinked twice in surprise, her left hand on her hip. “You’re not the only one who can use creative strategies, too.”

He huffed in amusement, rolling his eyes. “Mind explaining, for those of us not in the know?”

“Roar forces your opponent to switch out. It’s pretty useful when you can predict what your opponent is going to try. Plus, Lycanroc is a lot faster. Though, it is pretty taxing, so you can’t use it too frequently.”

“Tch, guess I didn’t get lucky with that Quick Claw, then.”

“You’re still using that thing?”

“What can I say, it’s gotten me this far. Lokix, it’s a bit early but ready up.”

The swift, locust-like Pokemon unfolded its rear legs, ready to go all out. While Rockruff was fast and Lycanroc likely faster, maybe Lokix could keep up now that it had evolved.

“Take it down, Lycanroc.”

“Get ready to dodge, then counter.”

However, Lycanroc moved faster than expected, taking on a rocky shell before becoming a blur that struck Lokix, downing it with a single strike.

“What was that .” 

“Accelrock! It’s Lycanroc’s signature move, apparently.” Nemona cheerfully replied. “It also happens almost as fast as a Quick Attack.”

“Geez.” Julius huffed as he returned Lokix. Damn, this is where Pawmo… t, right, Pawmot now, would have shined. Crocalor is just going to be flattened by this thing. Marill is my only real hope now, tch.

Switching out to his Marril, he knew that it at least had a bit of bulk due to fighting against Team Star with it. While it wouldn’t resist everything thrown at it, he at least had a fighting chance.

“Fire when he gets up close.”

With the speed difference, hitting Lycanroc at this distance would be close to impossible. At the same time, Julius made a mental note that he was going to have to start training his team to be faster, as it seemed he had recurring problems whenever the opponent was far faster. And unlike him with martial arts, defending wasn’t really an option when supereffective moves were available.

As Marill braced, Nemona held two Pokeballs in her left hand. “Lycanroc, return! Get in there, Floragato!”

Firing the return beam, she swapped out her Pokemon to what Julius assumed was Crocalor’s counterpart. The green cat-like creature now stood on its hind legs, with darkened fur around its face to look like a mask, in a ready position almost like it was ready to throw a punch or rake with its claws. As if to ready up for battle even more, a vine and bud sprouted from its left claw, almost like a weapon.

Sheesh. In an instant, she recognized the speed difference between us and knew that I’d have to wait for her to come to me, giving her a free tempo to switch out. I thought I was starting to get a grasp on things, but looks like I’ve got a ways to go.

“Marill, Bounce!”

“Don’t let it escape, Floragato!”

Julius recognized the use of Magical Leaf, guaranteeing a supereffective move on Marill before it bounced into the air.

“Keep your eye on it!”

But fortunately for Julius, the sun’s position was in his favor, as when Nemona and Floragato looked up, they had to each use a hand as a visor—buying Marill a few precious moments before crashing into Floragato. The grass type staggered back from the impact, but managed to recover its stance in time to launch a counter Magical Leaf before Marill could fly into the sky again.

“Your opponent’s weak! Finish this, Clodsire!”

Nemona paused for a second, weighing her options. She could try to fight at a disadvantage, knowing that Clodsire could take a beating and hit harder than her team could. Sure, she had Mud Slap, but even if she reduced Clodsire’s accuracy, there wasn’t any guarantee it wouldn’t be able to push through and hit regardless. She also knew that Clodsire had Mud Slap, which meant there was a possibility it could outlast Lycanroc.

We’ll just have to tough it out. If it comes down to a battle between his starter and mine, I’ll definitely lose out. She thought, shaking her head. Well, I was going to save it for an emergency, but now’s a good a time as any.

She took out her Tera Orb, Terastilizing Floragato into a Dark type. But, this gave Clodsire time to set up Toxic Spikes.

“Read me like a book, huh?” Nemona asked, a hand on her hip.

“Guess we might know each other a little too well.”

In an instant, Floragato closed the distance and struck with Bite, but Clodsire simply opened its mouth and let out a big yawn, with Floragato soon following it as it stepped back.

“One more time, Floragato!”

Despite its drowsiness, her starter managed to rouse itself and bite Clodsire one more time—just in time to get hit with its full body weight slamming down on it.

“Body Press?”

“Lokix would’ve been using Double Kick, but it’s kind of a moot point. But, it was a little annoying back at the Academy that you’d Terastilize Sprigatito and I couldn’t capitalize on it.”

“Heeeh. But, I’m not done yet! Get out there, Lycanroc!”

The canine hissed as it landed on the hidden poisoned spikes, putting her on a timer. However, it seemed victory was just around the corner as a single Accelrock took down Clodsire before it landed another Body Press.

Nemona watched Julius take out his last Pokeball. He looked at it before seemingly huffing to himself in amusement. This had to be his starter, you didn’t just replace your starter, she thought.

Unlike the other members of his team, he sent this Pokemon out with the flourish he displayed all the way back on the beach when they first had a match, swinging his arm almost like he was running his hands along guitar strings to play them.

“Take it home, Crocalor.”

Nemona couldn’t help but smile a bit. His confidence didn’t even seem shaken, despite naturally being at a disadvantage. She held her right hand over her chest, seeing the Meowstic themed bracelet she bought earlier today with Julius as she prepared to point straight at Crocalor to command Lycanroc to take it down in one fell swoop. Rock on Fire, plus the increased speed—this should be an easy win.

Iono loudly cheered as the battle entered the endgame. “Whooooa! This is it, everyone! The grand finale! Can Julius make a comeback!?”

—and then suddenly, Nemona froze up.

That’s right, there were over a million people watching, wasn’t there? She thought, starting to do the mental math. 

The battle had almost been completely lopsided in her favor. Four down, with only one of her team members going down. It was one thing to lose at the Academy. But the entirety of the region might be watching—there might even be plenty of people outside the region watching. Would he get discouraged after she trounced him so easily in front of potentially millions of people? What would people say about him? 

And… would he hold it against me?

Being isolated was something she was used to, ever since she achieved being the first Champion Rank trainer in Paldea. It shouldn’t have caused her to falter—and before, it never would have—but when she thought about how fun the day had been, that she had someone she might be able to call a friend, an equal, and how she might lose that here and now… it was only natural to hesitate.

A single Accelrock would win her the battle. But she could lose the one person that had been so kind to her. She could lose the grumpy but good-natured boy that followed along when she took his hand and dragged him along. And she could lose any chance at ever having a relaxing bike ride by the beach and a walk down the street, hands awkwardly locked together.

I could use Quick Attack? Maybe Howl, to give him a tempo? He might have something to take down Lycanroc in one go…

“Oi! What are you hesitating for!?”

Julius’ usual cutting tone sliced through the air. His usual cool and sardonic voice seemed genuinely annoyed for once.

“Isn’t this our first rematch in forever? So, this is just between you and me. Who cares if we’re in the Iono Zone or whatever she wants to call it?” He grumbled out, arms crossed. “I don’t give a sh—don’t care about who’s watching. There’ll always be another match. I won our first match, you won the next eight, and then I finally got one up on you. This is our thing, isn’t it? Forget about ‘em!”

Nemona swallowed hard, trying to find the words to say.

“Or what, am I not worth going all out for?”

“Absolutely not!”

He seemed to snort in amusement, Nemona realizing he had provoked her out of her silence. He didn’t truly mean that, she knew that much.

“I know, Nemona. Don’t hesitate, now.”

“I… Julius!”

“Yeah?”

“I…” Nemona looked down at the paired bracelet before clenching her right fist tightly. “There’s something I want to ask you!”

Iono’s back straightened, as did Helena’s. Clavell muttered something about “optics” before chuckling as he shook his head.

“Can… can we…”

I… I don’t want to lose you! So please…!

“Yeah?”

“Can we be rivals!?” Nemona blurted out, eyes closed as if she was afraid to see Julius’ reaction.

Iono let out a strangled, if strangely muffled, scream into her microphone as all the tension within her flooded out. Helena, on the other hand, let out an extended sigh as she sank her face into her left palm before shaking her head.

Unbeknownst to them, Penny had slumped back in her chair, head thrown back as she looked up at the ceiling with a Are you serious!? expression written all over her. Katy, who was listening to the stream with one earbud, happened to notice the stream on Penny’s laptop, and gently patted the girl twice on the shoulder before telling her to hold tight, she would get a stack of pancakes to help dull the pain.

Across the arena, Julius remained relatively nonplussed. However, internally, a fragment of his young boyish heart was screaming in agony, and another fragment of him was glad he did not misunderstand his relationship with Nemona and had expected something of the sort.

“...sure thing, Nemona.”

She let out a long sigh of relief before turning all smiles. “You said it, too! It’s just you and me! So that means you can’t have any other rivals!”

Heavy! was the thought that passed through Helena, Iono, and Clavell’s mind.

“I wasn’t planning on it. Now then, let’s finish this.”

“Mhm! Lycanroc, hit them hard!”

“You know what to do, Crocalor!”

The rocky blur smashed into Crocalor, but the fire crocodile wouldn’t go down so easily. Letting out an enormous blast of flame in retaliation, even Lycanroc who naturally resisted Fire retreated with a yelp.

“Fire Blast, and taking a full hit from Lycanroc?” Nemona asked, already having the time of her life. “There’s no one like you, Julius!”

Did I flip a switch or something in her…? Julius thought to himself. Well, doesn’t matter. All I know is that I don’t want her to lose that flame of hers. Saying these things… geez, I’m being a little more flashy than normal. In front of such a huge audience, too.

But it isn’t a lie to say I owe Nemona a lot. If she wasn’t so insistent on taking my hand that day… well, the less said, the better. Ultimately… I’ve got something to look forward to.

“It’s just how I do things. Crocalor, one more time!”

“Don’t let them even make a single move!”

A single more Accelrock was all it took to take Crocalor down.

“Crocalor is unable to battle! The winner is… Gym Challenge Nemona, the Student Council President of Uva Academy!”

“Good try, but looks like it just wasn’t our day.” Julius said as he returned Crocalor. “Looks like it’s a long way to the top. But I’ll win for sure, next time.”

“I’m counting on it, Julius!”

The two met in the middle to shake hands, Nemona beaming brightly the whole time.

“Heeeey!” Iono called out, shoving herself between them and using both of her hands to push them away from each other. “Don’t forget that you two are still in the Iono Zone! What a battle,  you two! But it looks like the right to decide who goes first is yours, Nemona!”

“I’ll go first, naturally. Julius can watch, right?”

“Hmmmm… well, there’s nothing in the rules about that, heh. It’ll ruin some of the surprise, but if he’s your rival, then it won’t matter, hehheh.” Iono then reached up and patted both of them on the shoulders. “I’ll see you two tomorrow, then! For now, go and enjoy the rest of your day! And everyone, let’s give it up for our special guests, one more time! And a special thanks to Miss Geeta for her time!”

With the show eventually wrapped up, Julius frowned as he crossed his arms. “Hey, Iono.”

“Yeah?”

“Why the hell is my mom on this show? The whole damn region knows I’m fighting Team Star and you bring her on?”

Iono, contrary to her usual ditzy appearance, suddenly had sharpness in her eyes as she obscured her no doubt smiling lips with her loose sleeves. “Oh, but I already took that into account? See, you might not have been watching the stream, but we talked about a lot of things—like how your mom got her Pokemon Daycare license, and how I’m going to give her one of my Magnezones to take care of. Surprisingly, she seemed to not mind, saying that she dealt with them all the time when it came to amps and music equipment. So any moron who wants to cause trouble for her is going to have to risk running into my full power Magnezone, hehhehheh. Add into the fact she seemed to hit it off with Miss Geeta, who brought up how Team Star has Paldea League resources directed to it now and that she is already viewed as a person of interest by the League… let’s just say we sent a very public message that they’d have to be very, verrrr rrrry stupid to try anything.”

Julius blinked twice as Iono lowered her sleeve before pumping her hand up into the air, a cheerful smile on her face.

“Anyways, I’m sure the office guys will take care of all the boring logistics stuff! Where do you guys wanna go for dinner?”

“Actually, can we take a rain check on it?” Nemona asked before Julius could respond. Iono raised an eyebrow and looked towards Julius, who shrugged.

“Sure! Just let me know before you leave town, though. Otherwise I’m never going to hear the end of it from Geeta. Let’s have some fun in the battle tomorrow!”

And just like a lightning strike, she was already gone. Their Pawmots were quick to replace her, running over and hopping excitedly.

“Goodness, these two are just so adorable, aren’t they?” Helena asked, kneeling down and patting the two Pawmots on the head. “Good job, both of you. I’m glad you two passed the trial. But it was a lot of fun to watch~”

“I just hope you didn’t tell any embarrassing stories of me while I wasn’t watching.” Julius grumbled, his mother laughing in response.

“Oh Julius, I wouldn’t tell those live on air like that. They deserve to be shared in small groups and with people close to you, like with Nemona here.”

“Mooom.”

She giggled before standing up straight and dusting herself off. “I’ll be cheering for both of you tomorrow, so do your best. Well, you two already were. Now, Nemona.”

“Yes, ma’am?”

“I’ve already told Julius plenty of times that he needs to take care of the people in his life, but since you’re his rival, that means you need to take care of him as well. It’s no good if things only go one way and you’re all take, no give.”

“Of course! I’ll do my best to take care of Julius!”

Helena covered her mouth with her right hand, suppressing a giggle as Julius let out a quiet sigh to the side.

“I’ll get out of your kids’ hair for now. Thanks for inviting me, Julius.”

She patted her son on the head, with Julius huffing as he turned away.

“...thanks for everything, mom.”

“Oh, you say that like I don’t have more to give you.” She said, stepping in and giving him a good squeeze of a hug that he eventually returned. “You can rely on me for anything, Julius. I might not be able to always help, but I can try.”

Julius opened his mouth to respond, but his mother put a finger to it, silencing him.

“Though, I know you won’t. After all, there’s other people in your life you can rely on too now, aren’t there? But if you don’t feel like you can go to them, I’ll always be on your side, even if it sometimes won’t seem like it.”

Helena let out a surprise “oooh!” as Julius suddenly tightened their hug, but warmly wrapped him in her arms.

“I’ll try not to put so much weight on your shoulders.”

“Then, you should call home more frequently!” She admonished as he broke their hug. “Give me a call next time you go storm a Team Star base and then a call afterwards! And don’t forget to give a call to Nemona, too!”

“Eh, me?” Nemona asked, pointing at herself.

“You’ll worry her otherwise! You two are rivals now, so it’s no good if you don’t know what the other is up to~!”

“I don’t think that’s how it works, mom.” Julius muttered, his mother giggling as she stepped away. “...but I’ll try and call home more often.”

“Just once a week is fine, honey.”

With a final wave, she returned to go talk with Clavell, leaving Julius and Nemona alone. Deciding that the day had tired them out equally, they went to the Pokemon Center before calling it a day at the hotel.

Fortunately, both of them realized it was good that the battle was scheduled for the afternoon as sleeping that night proved extraordinarily hard as they each recalled the day’s events. Finding it mysterious that such memories would be so distracting in trying to get to sleep, neither of them rolled out of bed until nine in the morning due to trying to catch up on missed sleep. To further pass the time and distract themselves, Nemona rented a bike and toured the city by herself while Julius went for a maximum effort day at the hotel gym, relying on the burning of his muscles to take his mind away from things. Though, due to the stream the other day, both of them were easily recognized and occasionally had to deal with someone wanting to talk with them.

In the mid-afternoon, the two of them finally met back up and headed to the gym area together.

“Nervous?” Nemona asked, trying to break the still silence.

“As much as I usually am. It wouldn’t be right if I wasn’t at least a little bit anxious about how it’ll go.”

“Heh, that’s right. But I know you’ll win.”

“Same goes to you.”

“Hey, hey, welcome you two! Hey, wait a second!” Iona shouted as she saw the duo approaching, waving at them. “You two aren’t holding hands!”

Nemona made an uncharacteristic yelp while Julius let out a sudden huff.

“That was just for the trial, wasn’t it?” Julius eventually forced out. “Knock that off.”

“Heh, I got an interesting reaction. Well, are you two ready? If so—Nemona, come with me, and Julius, it’s off to the spectator stands for you!”

He silently nodded once at Iono before meeting Nemona’s eyes. The two nodded without exchanging words, having already said everything they needed to.

The battle began with the usual flare, with Julius taking note of the various strategies. The Wattrel she opened with was no doubt to catch people thinking they’d sweep with just a single Ground type off-guard. The Electric-Flying type would make quick work of his Lokix as well as his Marill, but Crocalor would be able to take it directly. On the other hand, it would be easy for Clodsire to set up Toxic Spikes. Her other two Pokemon weren’t too troublesome either; Clodsire would be able to deal with them and if he needed to cycle out to keep Clodsire’s strength up, then Lokix could fight on even ground.

A Mismagius, though… Oh right, it floats. Julius thought. Wait, that does change its type, and I remember Ghost types tend to be pretty fragile. Hm.

And just as it seemed to have started, the battle was already over in Nemona’s favor. Rather than exchange places with him in the spectator area, Nemona elected to stay off to the side of the arena, likely so she could watch as close as possible.

“Good luck, Julius.”

“Thanks, mom.”

With that, he confidently strode onto the arena, where Iono was exchanging her fainted Pokemon for a fresh set. Being a Gym Leader must be a lot of work if you’ve got to adjust your team strength and keep multiple teams like this.

“Are you ready, Julius?!” Iono shouted, throwing her right hand—still covered by her oversized yellow sleeves—into the air.

“As ready as I’ll ever be.”

“Then, referee! Take it away!”

“This is a gym battle between Gym Leader Iono Levincia and Gym Challenger Julius Merida! Substitutions are allowed for the challenger! Items are unrestricted for the challenger and are limited to three items per Pokemon for the gym leader! Are both sides ready?”

“Here we go, chat~! Keep your eyes on me—after all, they’ve been caught in my Electro—”

“I’m ready.” Julius said, slightly raising his voice to cut through Iono’s.

“Then, take your marks. Release your first Pokemon in three, two, one… release!”

Sticking to his strategy, he sent out Clodsire first.

“Heeeey, Julius, weren’t you paying any attention to Nemona’s battle? Or were you so fixated on her you didn’t? Oh! Or were your eyes caught in my Ele—”

“Toxic Spikes.”

Iono put her hands on her hips, giving Julius a look that promised pain as she commanded her Wattrel to attack. Due to Clodsire’s bulk, it easily survived two hits, laying down a double layer of Toxic Spikes before Julius switched into Crocalor, which hit the otherwise fragile bird with a point blank Fire Blast after it dove in, further empowered by the Charcoal it carried.

“Wattrell is unable to battle! Does the Gym Leader still have a Pokemon remaining?”

“Yeesh! No mercy, huh? But we’re just getting started!”

“Then, release your next Pokemon within five, four, three…”

Next was her Bellibolt that immediately was hit by the Toxic Spikes, which Julius knew had Water Gun due to it using it on Nemona’s Lycanroc. Lokix could fight effectively, but due to its fragile nature and the seeming bulk the rounded amphibian Pokemon had, it was probably better for Crocalor to fight to the end and have Lokix finish the job.

Still, with how slow it was, he had one move. And with the Toxic Spikes he laid out, maybe two.

Fire Blast connected, although not as dead on as he would have liked so the damage was reduced, but Iono also quickly used an Antidote that prevented any stalling strategies.

In sync with his thoughts, Crocalor used Yawn now that the poison was gone, but Iono likewise retaliated with a Thunder Wave, preventing him from immediately finishing the job and all but guaranteeing that Bellibolt would get another Water Gun off and potentially finish off Crocalor.

With his instincts guiding him, he switched out into Marill. He was a little surprised that Iono didn’t follow up with an Electric type move and instead hit his Water type with Water Gun, especially since she likely knew his team.

“It’d be too cheat-like if I did.”

Dammit, she’s one of those woman’s intuition types. Julius mentally grumbled as Iono snickered behind her sleeve. Read me like a damn book.

It was increasingly clear that her ditzy nature she played on camera hid a much more calculating side to her. The gym trial itself clearly played to advertising her city as a tourist destination, something she no doubt managed. Perhaps she wasn’t mayor of the city, but she was deeply embedded in its affairs to say the least.

With Bellibolt put to sleep, by the time that Iono had applied an Awakening to her Pokemon, Julius had already swapped out to Lokix. The small bug lunged in, delivering a punishing Low Kick that caused Bellibolt to fall over on its own weight. Iono flinched as the resounding thud of her Pokemon echoed out, though Bellibolt managed to roll over and fire a Water Gun in return—one that unfortunately managed to hit dead on, scoring a critical hit.

Hmm. Despite being a Dark type, it fights like a Fighting type. I should find a tutor and see if it can learn Detect. Would help in consistency. Julius thought as he saw Lokix shake off the Water Gun. 

“Unlucky for you~ But you’re only delaying the inevitable! Sooner or later I’ll catch you in my Elect—”

“Foe’s weak, get in there and finish it!”

“Kiiiiix!”

“Let me finish my catchphrase!”

With a burst of speed just like Lycanroc’s Accelrock, Lokix used Lunge and immediately closed the distance, not caring about the trajectory making it easy for a retaliatory strike. But, the small bug was fast enough that Bellibolt couldn’t react, Lunge connecting successfully.

“Bellibolt is unable to battle! Does the Gym Leader still have a Pokemon remaining?”

“Yep, yep!” Iono raised her arms up to the sky. “It’s getting pretty dicey for me, chat! Give me your energy!”

“Then, release your next Pokemon in five, four, three…”

Iono’s next Pokemon was Luxio, its shiny black coat accented only by dark blue giving it a menacing appearance, especially with its fierce expression. As soon as it entered the field, it hissed as the Toxic Spikes did their work, but let out a low growl that caused Lokix to falter.

“Lokix, Sunny Day!”

“Heeeeh, there it is! I was waiting to see that!”

Julius braced, not sure if Iono was waiting with some other move that took advantage of Sunny Day like Brassius’ Solar Beam. But the only thing that came down was another Thunder Wave that left Lokix paralyzed.

“It’s sorta your signature move? I heard you used it with both Katy and Brassius!”

“Oh, that’s true, I guess.”

“But, you know, the sun is so hard on a girl’s skin!”

With Lokix paralyzed, it couldn’t move as fast—but Luxio simply let out a cry to the sky as it scampered in a circle. The harsh sunlight faded, replaced by storm clouds and a light shower that fell upon the arena. In the middle of the admittedly tame storm, Iono’s hair accessories lit up like a dual lighthouse, spinning around.

I’ve got a bad feeling about this. Julius thought, eyes narrowing.

“Time for some payback! With nowhere to run, you’re caught in my Electroweb! Luxio, Thunder!”

Spinning about as she showboated, Iono raised a hand to the sky where electricity gathered in the clouds before falling down on Lokix.

“In the middle of rain, Thunder never misses, hehheh.”

“Lokix is unable to battle! Does the challenger still have a Pokemon remaining?”

“I do.”

“Then, send out your next Pokemon in five, four, three, two…”

“Clodsire, get in there.”

The brown blob of a Pokemon was released into the rain, staring down the Luxio. Luxio had to be faster, so if it could take down Clodsire in one go, then things would become immediately trickier.

His first instinct was to use a Super Potion, considering how Clodsire had taken damage before this and hadn’t been healed yet. This ended up being the right call, as Luxio lunged in with an Ice Fang. He was sure that move was there simply to check anyone who rolled in purely with Ground types and thought they could sweep. Without the heal, Clodsire would have gone down, so he estimated that he had one exchange to turn the tide.

The next exchange of blows was an Ice Fang for a Mud Shot. While Mud Shot would slow down Luxio, the difference in speed was far too great to make a difference. Still, Luxio seemed to be significantly weakened—something that Iono fixed by using her own Super Potion that was partially undone by another Mud Shot. It would only be a matter of time, though. The Toxic Spikes had done their work, eating away at Luxio’s stamina more and more. And while the Super Potions would keep Luxio in fighting form, the buildup of mud would only slow it down more and more. It was possible that Clodsire would move before it, too.

He still had his ace in the hole, anyways. He could afford a bit of risk—and was promptly rewarded when Clodsire suddenly surged in speed, its forming of a blob of mud that went straight into Luxio’s face happening about four times faster than normal.

Nemona’s laughter could be heard as she cheered Julius on as she immediately realized what had happened, having fallen victim to his antics before.

“Wh… wait, I thought that Quick Claw looking thing was a fakeout!?” Iono shouted, her own hair accessories spinning as if to visibly show her confusion. “L-Luxio, you’re still up! Finish this guy off!”

Still not too confused to give orders, Iono commanded her Luxio to use Ice Fang again, taking down Clodsire. But as it retreated, the poison that only intensified every second caused it to faint shortly after, with the rain clearing up at the same time.

“Both Clodsire and Luxio are unable to battle! Do both sides still have a Pokemon remaining?”

“Yes.”
“Yep, yep!”

“Then, release your next Pokemon in five, four, three…”

Knowing what was coming up, Julius held Pawmot’s ball in his hand.

“Pawmot, wanna punch a gho—”

He didn’t even get to finish as Pawmot burst out of the ball, taking to the field and putting up her fists like she had watched Julius practice. On the other side of the field, Iono sent out her Mismagius that floated over the Toxic Spikes, completely negating them.

“Oh no, is this it for me, chat!? Don’t look away or you’ll miss the grand finale!”

Producing a Tera Ball from inside her left sleeve, Iono threw it into her right hand (still covered by her oversized sleeves, Julius noted, meaning she had pretty good coordination and grip) as she activated it. Her hair decorations narrowed their eyes as if getting ready for a serious fight as light was absorbed into it.

“Let’s see if you’ve got what it takes to make it past this, Julius! Stream viewers of the world, lend me your poweeeeeeeeer!”

Much like when he Terastilized Pawmi, now Pawmot, in the past, Mismagius was crowned with a crystal lightbulb that shone with power.

Having Levitate with that… man, what a nasty combo. But if there’s one thing I know about Ghost types, they usually don’t take physical attacks too well. And now that it’s Electric…

“Time to crack some skulls, Pawmot!”

“Paaaaaaw!”

As if to test his theory, Pawmot immediately closed the distance with Quick Attack—scoring a hit immediately and more importantly staying close to Mismagius to put the pressure on. 

“You’ve got to be more original than that, Julius!”

Two orbs of purple fire flew out from Mismagius, hitting Pawmot directly. While she didn’t flinch and didn’t seem to directly take damage, purple flames continued to linger on her.

A burn… damn, that’s rough. I would disengage and heal the burn, but I wasn’t exactly expecting to get burned at the Electric type gym. Wish that rain stuck around a little longer, but guess it’s time to grit our teeth.

“Pawmot, we’re going in!”

“Paw-pawmot!”

Despite the burn, Pawmot charged in anyways, leaping up and dragging Mismagius down with her left hand. She only managed to get three good palm strikes in with Arm Thrust before the ghost slipped away, retaliating with a Hex that staggered Pawmot.

Geez… Will-o-Wisp into Hex on the third gym, too? It’s only going to get harder from here, huh?

“Come on, Julius! You and Pawmot can do it!”
“Mot, mot-pawmot!”

Nemona’s own Pawmot was cheering too, now. Julius’ Pawmot slammed the ground with her fist before getting up.

Hmm. I could have her use Revival Blessing to bring Lokix back up? We’d be susceptible to Paralysis, but then again, at least Hex wouldn’t hurt so much. Julius thought as he looked on. …on the other hand, Nemona’s Pawmot is cheering for her. It would mean not believing in her enough, just like I accused Nemona with to provoke her earlier. She can tough it out.

“One more time, Pawmot!”

One. Two. Three. Four. Four palm strikes from her Arm Thrust, with Mismagius hanging lower in the air after taking a beating. Two of them had been critical hits, severely tilting the balance of power in the fight. Even if Iono healed, it was more than likely that Pawmot could outpace the damage with enough strikes.

The next Hex was a critical hit, almost exploding and sending Pawmot flying back. As she hit the ground, she rolled over a few times.

“Pawmot, can you keep going?”

“Mot.”

Holding on for a variety of reasons—such as the fact another Pawmot was cheering for her and that her trainer, the one who had caught her from falling into the ocean and protected her the whole way through that cave when she was still so weak had put his faith in her to be the one to clench victory—Pawmot stood. One more hit would be enough.

“Then, let’s do it. Let’s land that five hit combo.”

Both Pawmot and Mismagius were just about holding on with what stamina they had left, having each exchanged several powerful blows. But ultimately, it was Pawmot who was still faster. Arm Thrust would have to hit five times, but it was more than possible.

“Jab!”

Pawmot followed along with Julius’ instructions, having watched him train while on the road at while at the Academy all that time ago. Knowing the motions, her body moved with instinct as she threw a palm strike forward with her left hand.

“Cross! Left hook, right hook!”

With the left hook, Pawmi swung her left hand and clocked Mismagius in the head while shifting her weight to her right side. With her right side loaded up with weight, she swung hard for the right hook, delivering a devastating blow.

“Uppercut!”

Weight loaded on her left side, Pawmi shifted and threw it forward into the finisher, launching herself upward and knocking the Ghost type away as she spiralled in the air before landing.

As Mismagius arced downwards, the lightbulb crown shattered and faded away, and eventually the Ghost type lay flat on the ground.

“Mismagius is unable to battle! The winner is… Julius Merida!”

He let out a long exhale, feeling the tension leaving his body.

“Good job, Pawm—”

Julius didn’t get to finish as his Pawmot ran past him, excitedly greeting Nemona’s Pawmot. A snort of amusement left him as Nemona walked forward onto the battle pitch.

“Great job, Julius!”

“It was closer than I’d like to admit. That’s a pretty nasty strategy you’ve got there, Iono.”

“Hehehehe, well, you gotta put a little scare into people! If you thought this was hard, the fourth badge is traditionally the first major difficulty spike. It’s going to be pretty rough for you since a lot of your team is already weak to Water.” Iono said as she walked over, Rotomphone recording over her shoulder.

She turned around, flashing a peace sign. “Alright chat, give it up for our two challengers today! They’ve seriously earned the Circuit Badge!”

Two aides came up to Iono, opening up a box much like the ones Brassius and Katy had presented Julius with before. On the circular badge within was a plain grey ring, but on the outer border were houses, skyscrapers, and even a harbor depicted.

“Ring Badge would rub up too much on Ring District, but this badge from Levicina is just like Levincia herself. Everything here is connected to Ring District and everything goes around in a circle, flowing from one to the other, just like an electrical circuit. And while I didn’t get to use it on these two because their team compositions made it too tricky, the Volt Switch Technical Machine.” Iono explained, seemingly less bouncy and more genuinely excited when talking about the city. “So before we end the stream here today—Julius, Nemona, how are you two feeling!?”

“I’m happy that my rival was able to also beat you, Iono.”

“Heeeh. So you were that confident in yourself?”

Nemona nodded twice in return. “It was only two years ago, but I didn’t think I had lost any of my touch that I wouldn’t be able to pull through again even with a brand new team.”

“I’m happy to hear that. Don’t let anyone tell you what you have to be, okay~?”

Julius and Nemona blinked in surprise at the unexpected serious advice from Iono.

“Hmm? Did I say something strange, Student Council Prez?”

Nemona paused for a brief moment before shaking her head. “Nope, not at all.”

“And you, Julius?”

“I’ve got a long way to catch up.”

“Already looking to the next fight, huh?” Iono asked with a laugh. “You’ve got a good rival then, Nemona! But remember Julius, you said it on air! It’s just you and her! So we’ll never forgive you if you cheat on Nemona with another rival, especially if it’s a girl!”

“Why would it being a girl make it any worse?”

Iono let out a long sigh. “Nemona, if he really does get another rival, make sure to come tell us, okay? We’ll all set him straight.”

“That’s a little…”

Iono laughed before turning back towards the Rotomphone. “Well, that should be everything for today! See you next time, chat!”

Once she received the signal the cameras had stopped rolling, Iono relaxed just a little bit before smiling gently at the two. 

“Thanks for making this a lot of fun, both of you. It’s been a while since I got to really show off Levincia like this, which is supposed to be the point of the trial. It helps expose people to all the sights and sounds of the city, plus if I get any good clips they’re also good content. Are you two going straight for the fourth gym?”

“I do have a bit of student council work to catch up on, but after that I should be heading straight to Cascarrafa.” Nemona said before looking to Julius. “What about you?”

“I have some things I need to handle before I go there, but I can take care of them along the way. Plus, if the fourth gym battle is even tougher, then I’ll need to do a lot more training.”

Iono’s eyes lit up for a moment. “Then, why don’t you two stay here for a week? There’s a lot of Pokemon to catch in the immediate area, plus you can really explore Levincia more. Consider it my treat for what’s sure to be my most viewed content in months!”

“What’s the catch?”

“Oh, no catch.” Iono said before humming. “But if you could send me a few pictures of you two doing stuff together in Levincia, then it’d go really well with the marketing~ Especially if you two also feature your adorable Pawmots.”

Nemona laughed, nodding. “Well, Julius?”

He thought about it for a moment before shrugging. “I don’t see a reason not to. It does help me with everything I was going to do, anyways.”

“Perfect! I’ll get in touch with the hotel staff and get your stays extended. Gimme your contact info so I can send you the details! For now though, you two should go get some rest.” She snickered. “Besides, you two are kinda gonna be mini-celebs for a bit, at least in the city, so it’ll be good to hide away for some time. Don’t be afraid to call for room service, it’s on me.”

“Haha, thanks Iono.”

Though, a bit after he got back to the hotel, Julius saw a text message from Iono asking him to come to the gym office. Slipping out and heading down there, he was directed to the back, finding Iono at a plain office desk.

“Hey, Julius! This shouldn’t take too long, but I wanted to talk a bit of details with you about something.”

“Sure thing. What can I help you with?” Julius asked as he closed the door.

“Are you planning on hitting the Team Star base that’s closest to Levincia soon?”

Julius shook his head before quickly measuring his response to make sure he didn’t tip Iono off about Penny. “Not at the moment. I’ve been told they use a lot of Poison types and so I’m going to need to shore up my team to counter them.”

“Mmm. That’s pretty consistent with what I’ve seen. We were keeping on them just out of interest in public safety, after all. Let me know when you go, I want in.”

He raised an eyebrow in response. “Why?”

Iono let out a killer smile, shark-like teeth on full display. “Isn’t it obvious? It’s going to be good content, for one. But second—you need help shaping the narrative. It’s going to be a he-said-she-said kind of situation for a while as you’ve shaken things up. Add someone in like me going incognito to see the truth… and well, with my audience size, you might have all of Paldea on your side in a matter of hours.”

“It could backfire spectacularly.”

“It could!” Iono cheerfully admitted. “But I’ve seen the footage from you fighting Team Star. Clavell roped me into his Team Star task force or whatever it’s called, letting me help with public relations.”

“How fitting.”

“Heeeh. But, I think you’re on the right side of things. Besides, something’s fishy with them, too. A majority of them don’t care to hide their face or even change out of their Academy uniforms when they were out and about recruiting in Levincia last year.” Iono narrowed her eyes. “...but a few of them were. Let’s call these ones managers. Team Star can be a little aggressive in their attempts at recruiting, but these manager types were just watching from the sidelines and would sometimes get in to ‘close the deal’, let’s say. Those types were careful not to let their identities slip. Hats with their hair completely tucked underneath them, all of them wearing identical black and white suits to blend in with the offices, use of prepaid phones rather than PokeNavs or PokeTechs or anything similar… it was pretty clear something was up.”

So it seems like there’s even more evidence that someone is backing Team Star. Julius thought, remembering the base he had taken on so far.

“Well, they stopped recruiting entirely shortly before you arrived.” Iono snickered. “I don’t know if you heard, but Clavell published the fact that the Team Star leaders actually all have arrest warrants that date all the way back to when they started taking over territory. Suddenly, trying to recruit for Team Star was a black mark and they left town faster than a lightning bolt. They got a bunch of new charges slapped on their warrants, too. Something about robbery of public property and destruction of public property?”

“Public property?”

“They had a ton of vending machines they had stolen from all around Paldea and even destroyed them, too! What a buncha animals, huh?”

“...yeah.”

Iono made a very exaggerated shrugging motion. “Anyways, that should be all I needed to tell you. Honestly, you did all of Paldea a favor with this Team Star business, since I’m sure you were the catalyst for all this and it means as a League representative I can finally directly take overt and proactive action. Even if you take away all their shadiness, they were bad for business and more importantly: super obnoxious to tourists, both from Paldea and from out of Paldea!” Julius flinched as Iono suddenly slammed the table. “And frankly, I won’t forgive anyone who makes a visitor of ours have a negative experience in this city that I love!”

Julius took a moment to collect himself before he nodded. “Well, it’s good this city has someone very passionate about it.”

Iono laughed, waving it off. “Hahahaaaaa, sorry for losing my cool like that. But that response is so canned I can smell the factory it came out of you, heeeh. Being polite’s good and all, but it’s okay to let loose everything now and then! I really do love Levincia, though. So I’ll do whatever I can to protect it.”

“I’ll try to make your job a little easier.” He paused before tilting his head. “Is there a reason why all the gym leaders have the last name of the city?”

“Oh, that little quirk? It’s some long-standing Paldean tradition, just like the traditional order of the gyms. But when I eventually retire from being Gym Leader, whoever’s my successor will take on the last name Levincia. Sometimes it goes down family lines which makes it pretty easy, sometimes it doesn’t. But it also helps to remind not just the challengers and citizens, but also us , the gym leaders, that we’re in charge of the area that we took the name of. And that ultimately, we’re responsible for what happens in it.”

“...I see. Thanks for answering. It’ll be good to think on.”

“Heeeeh, no problem! Anyways, go on, get outta here! Even if it’s for business, don’t hang out with a girl that isn’t Nemona one-on-one for so long, yeah?”

“Just what do—”

Julius was interrupted as Iono (futilely, due to the physical difference between them) tried to push him out the door. “Just go!”

Deciding to stop fighting it, he returned back to the hotel but knocked on Nemona’s door instead. After being invited inside, the two of them went out to the balcony to look over the city.

“You think Iono will let it slide if we order champagne? That’s what you spray when you win, right?”

Nemona laughed, giving him a playful shove. “Your mom would definitely not approve of you ordering alcohol!”

“I think I could convince her. You know, after I let her have some.”

“Julius!”

“Kidding, kidding. We should look at the menu, though, later.”

“Yeah. I woke up a little late, so I was relying on brunch to get me through the day. Still, we’re going to have a week to ourselves out here! There’s so many different Pokemon you could try adding to your team. We have the plains to the west, there’s the beach, and there’s the cliff sides up north! Plus we can battle everyday—no, multiple times a day—with all of that time!” Nemona suddenly paused. “If… you know, you want.”

“Hmm. Well, maybe if I push my exercise routine to midday, we could have a morning battle and an afternoon one. Ah, but then where would we squeeze in going around… hm. It’s been a while since I did late night workouts.” Julius mumbled, already thinking.

…ah. Ha, look at me. Normally I wouldn’t care all too much about exploring the city… well, maybe just a little, since it’s on Iono’s dime, but when you add Nemona into the mix, suddenly I keep thinking of things to look forward to.

“Julius?”

“Don’t worry about it.” He said, shaking his head. “I’ll figure something out. Should we make a plan?”

“If it’s… too much for you, then, you know…”

He gave her a light flick to the arm. “It’s not like my schedule isn’t always in flux while I’m on the road. Seriously, don’t worry about it.”

“Mhm!”

You really are too kind sometimes, Julius. 

Julius’ Rotomphone buzzed. After checking it, he found a message from his mom, who apparently was catching up with Clavell as well as somehow convincing Geeta and Iono to come along. Attached was a photo of the four of them at a private room in what he assumed to be a bar or restaurant.

“Well, looks like the adults are off to play, so we’re unsupervised for the moment.”

“You don’t have to word it like that.” Nemona fired back, rolling her eyes. “Oh, and, for dinner tomorrow.”

“What’s up?”

“There’s this small hole-in-the-wall place I want to go. It’s um, nothing really special, but um, let’s just say that the owner gave me a little encouragement when things were really tough.”

“Is it that ‘too private’ restaurant of yours?”

She nodded. “It’d probably be too annoying for her if tons of people went to go check it out, so I didn’t want to mention it on Iono’s stream.”

“Well, I guess I did say it was my treat.”

I guess whoever was there must’ve said a kind word to Nemona while she was struggling.

“Though, can I ask what they told you?”

Julius tried not to flinch as Nemona’s right wrist touched his left wrist, their bracelets clink ing together as Nemona looked out towards Levincia.

“She said someday I’d find someone who I could really go all out with. I just had to keep waiting and when I finally encountered that person, things wouldn’t get easier. In fact, they’d probably get a lot harder, but it would be worth it in the end..”

“I see.” Julius tried to push the natural young boyish thoughts from creeping into his mind. “Right. Well, are there any other places you want to go? We do have to make Iono pay.”

Nemona gave a hearty laugh. “I’ll go get some of the pamphlets Miss Geeta handed me. I guess you’re not alone in that thought.”

As she opened the door to head back inside, Julius turned to look back out towards the city of Levincia.

It really just gets harder from here, huh? But somehow, I can’t help but feel like part of me is looking forward to it. I really do wish I had someone like you all those years ago, Nemona. Maybe I wouldn’t have gotten into the kind of messes that I did. I guess it’s all a moot point, but… someday, I really am going to have to pay you back for how colorful this view looks.

Chapter Text

“Geez,” Julius grumbled as he held his left hand to act as a visor. “It’s never easy when it comes to you, huh?”

“I don’t want to hear that from you.” Arven fired back.

The two were looking up towards the top of the nearby mountain range. Having traveled a few days westward of Cortondo, he could have just kept going across the bridge to reach Cascarrafa.

Before he made it here, though, he had been stopped by Katy, telling him to be careful as if he kept going towards Cascarrafa, the Team Star base was basically just a hop and a skip away. Penny had been here too, when he asked about a girl who had her unique appearance, though he put it more in the context that she had been tasked to help with Team Star. It wasn’t a lie, but it’s not like she had been doing so in any official capacity, either. Apparently she had gone on ahead, having gathered enough information on the situation on this side of the path linking Cortondo and Cascarrafa.

It seemed that some of Cortondo’s shipments towards Cascarrafa had been delayed because Team Star was fond of making blockades. The larger trucks for bulk shipments were fine (and so Katy had helped Penny hitch a ride with them for safety), but for more personal deliveries like her own line of cookies that went out on a more ad hoc basis on smaller pickup trucks, they were prime targets for intimidation. If he did something about them, now that there was a Team Star task force, she could definitely reward him.

Sorry, Miss Katy. That’s going to have to wait.

Soaring high in the sky was what appeared to be a Bombirdier. However, with the other Bombirdiers flying near it, there was no way that was supposed to be the normal size of one. Something easily confirmed by checking the Pokedex application.

“So according to the maps, there should be a mountain path that leads up there.”

“Yeah.” Julius said, continuing to scroll through Bombirdier’s entry. “And they’re also highly territorial… and they also like to drop rocks on people.”

“...huh. There’s a lot of them.”

“How lucky are you feeling?”

“Not lucky enough, even with a helmet.” Arven muttered, slumping over with a long sigh. “Does it say what time of day they’re usually active?”

“They’re most active during the daytime. Which means we’re climbing a mountain at dusk and dawn.”

Arven opened his mouth to argue back that they could go at night, but it was clear that the idea of climbing a mountain at night was not his cup of tea. No matter how fast he wanted to go, even he realized trying was asking for trouble—and Julius was likely to immediately reject it.

“We’ll be really slow, if we can only climb during those hours.”

“You know what they say: slow is fast and fast is slow. Besides, I really don’t feel like falling to my death on a mountain, even if we’re just following the path. I’m not sure about your experience, but I’m not experienced enough in hiking to feel confident mucking around a mountain at midnight.”

Arven let out another sigh, shaking his head as he conceded. “Fine. Let’s go back to the Pokemon Center and figure out a plan. There should be some more records about how long the mountain path takes to go up.”

Retreating and taking full advantage of the comfortable seating, the two cross referenced various tourism and hiking pages to get an idea of how long it would take. Unfortunately, most of the pages were fairly dated.

“The hell… has this giant Bombidier been a problem for years?” Julius muttered as he scrolled down another page.

“I guess so. I don’t know why the League hasn’t taken care of it. Maybe they’re studying it?”

“Wouldn’t the mountain be closed off, then? Mister Clavell had a warning similar to that for the Asado Desert.”

“He did?”

“Did you not attend the send off ceremony for the Treasure Hunt?”

“I was already on the road.”

“Geez.” Julius muttered, shaking his head. “Well, whatever. It is strange the League hasn’t done anything about it. I guess it isn’t a natural disaster, so the Rangers wouldn’t be tasked with doing something about it.”

“What would the Rangers even do about this, anyways? The only way that thing is coming down is a battle, I would think, and while the Rangers are great at a lot of things, if they were good enough to fight that thing and the swarm of Bombidiers… well, they probably wouldn’t be a Ranger.”

Julius huffed, crossing his arms. “Don’t shittalk the Rangers, Arven. No one shittalks on the Rangers.”

“I’m not . I’m just telling it how it is. Think about it—could you imagine Nemona giving up battling to become a Ranger?”

“...point taken.”

“Anyways, it looks like the mountain path should take us three days… if we were going during the daylight hours. There’s multiple campsites available on the way up that should have indoors facilities. I don’t know how well they’re maintained at this point, though.”

“I don’t know if we’ll have enough time to make it to each one. If we get caught out in the open, it’ll be rough. And no, we can’t exactly just have Miraidon drive us. It’ll be even more unsafe.”

Arven groaned. “I figured you would say that. But I imagine the campsites should be more spread out. There’s no way that they’re separated by a day’s worth of travel and there have to be rest stops along the way we can shelter in.”

“That’s fair.”

Arven put a hand on his chin, thinking before his eyes lit up. “Why don’t we try and make it to the first rest stop tomorrow evening? That should give us a good idea of our pace and how fast it darkens. And since we’re only going so far, if we mess up at least the Pokemon Center is close by.”

“That’s the first good idea I’ve heard from you this whole time, even if we include the crab.” Julius muttered. “Sounds fine to me. I’ll make my own battle preparations.”

The week spent training with Nemona hadn’t been without reward. Marill was now Azumarill, Lokix had learned a variety of elemental moves giving it a ridiculous level of coverage, and he had picked up a Larvitar and Gothita when they explored the area north of Levincia and a Crabrawler from the beaches. While the last of the three wasn’t strictly necessary, Julius did want some extra firepower for when he went to take on Team Star, so it didn’t hurt to pick up.

Plus, with the LP given by Cassiopeia, he was able to buy several TMs to help across the board. For one, after Iono’s display, he went out and bought a Rain Dance TM to use on Marill, as well as Thunder for Pawmot—as well as an Electroweb TM just in case they needed to deal with swarms. And while it wasn’t necessary for any strategies of his, it didn’t hurt to shell out a bit for Earthquake on Clodsire.

When it came to held items (which were surprisingly expensive), he had picked up a Punching Glove for Pawmot, a Shell Bell for Lokix to stay in for longer, and after a bit of prodding by Nemona (who swore she was not just trying to get Julius off of using the Quick Claw), a Black Sludge for Clodsire. With all of his mainstays taken care of, he had also bought a few random held items that were good for general uses, like a Muscle Band which would probably be given to Larvitar or Crabrawler, depending on who he was using for a particular battle.

Still, we all definitely feel a lot stronger now. Hell, I feel a little more confident when it comes to dealing with Team Star. If I win, then I’ll really have to owe Nemona three straight days of battling. Well, let’s not offer her that much, at least. Three battles in a row will be good enough.

Guess we’ll just have to see how this goes tomorrow.

“Bir! Birbirbombbbbiiii!”

“You better hope that door is unlocked!” Julius yelled as the two ran under the rapidly setting sun towards the rest stop.

“It won’t b—” Arven stopped shouting as he leapt left, dodging another dropped rock. “It won’t be!”

“Then you better sprint really fast and put your left shoulder forward!”

“What!?”

“Like you’re gonna smash into someone through the door with that build of yours! You’ve got the mass!” Julius yelled back as he looked above, confirming the position of several Bombidiers and holding the cooler he carried above his head like a helmet.

“Are you calling me fa—”

“I know you’re jacked, dam—” Julius had to quickly zigzag, serpentining past three rocks that were dropped from above. “You can do it!”

“Aghhh!”

Julius slowed his pace, allowing Arven to take the lead. With a loud war cry as they sped through the empty rest area, Arven rammed into the door, busting it open. Julius was right on his heels, throwing his cooler down to free his hands before slamming the door shut in a Bombidier’s face.

A steady THOOONKOONKOONKOONK sound came from the door, with what was surely multiple larger-than-comfortable rocks slamming into it. Julius slumped down, with Arven groaning and sighing at the same time.

“Ow…! That hurt a lot less than I thought it would, but geez…” Arven grumbled, shrugging his shoulders and moving his left arm around. “It’s definitely not broken, but it’s going to need an ice pack.”

“Take one from the cooler.” Julius said as he stood up. “Well, lesson learned. Six thirty is not late enough for those stupid birds. We’ll have to wait for it to be darker than that, which means really hoofing it during the time we still have okay visibility.”

Arven flipped Julius’ thrown cooler right-side up and took an ice pack out before looking around. “Haaah… well, we’re in the thick of it now. So much for retreating back.”

“We got unlucky that a swarm was coming from that direction. Plus, we were way closer to this place than the Pokemon Center. I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t want to be dodging rocks for the next hour. Ten minutes was more than enough.”

“I’m not complaining about that .” Arven said before hissing as he put the ice pack on. “Oh, uh, hold on. You’ll need to put these up.”

Julius raised an eyebrow as Arven set down his massive backpack, fishing around in one of the pockets before pulling out a stack of papers. Each one was sized roughly about half of a napkin one would find at a restaurant or around the size of a grocery store receipt and had sigils written on them.

“What the hell are those?”

“Cleanse Tags. I don’t know how long this place has been abandoned, but I’m not risking a Haunter nibbling on my soul while we sleep.”

Julius huffed. “Arven, Haunters don’t eat people’s souls. They have a huge population over in Kanto, the Pokemon researchers over there would know.”

“I don’t want to hear this from the person always saying we shouldn’t take massive risks.”

Julius let out a long sigh as he took off his newsboy hat, putting it on one of the tables in the rest stop’s lounge area. “Fine, fine, we’ll play it your way. Hand me a few and I’ll hang them up while you rest your shoulder.”

Deciding arguing over this wasn’t worth the energy, Julius took the offered stack of paper slips and began hanging them up, spacing the tags out roughly every three feet.

Fortunately, it didn’t seem like they would have to sleep on a cold floor. The rest stop lounge, as he navigated around, still had tables, couches, and all sorts of other comforts for weary hikers to use. The electricity didn’t seem to be running, but he was sure if they wanted to use the vending machines that were still in one of the offshoots of the main room, he could just have Pawmot help out with that.

“This enough?”

“Perfect.”

“How many did you bring?”

“You could use double what you did and we’d have enough for the whole trip.”

“Sheesh.”

Julius plopped down on one of the couches before shifting to lie down on it, looking up at the unlit ceiling.

“So, you expand your team in the meantime? It’ll help in figuring out what our game plan is.”

“Uh, I caught a Nacli that evolved into a Naclstack.”

“...Naclstack?”

“Don’t look at me,” Arven said, feeling a bit defensive as Julius turned his head to look over at him. “I didn’t name them.”

“Right. It’s…”

“A Rock type. Also basically immune to Status Conditions, which you’re pretty fond of using.”

“Hah. Well, what about your Shelder?”

“Oh, I evolved him into a Cloyster.” Arven paused, thinking. “Huh. I guess I do have an okay team for this one since he knows some Ice type moves. Skwovet also evolved into Greedent, but I don’t think he’ll really be useful in this fight.”

“Still knows Tail Whip, right?”

“Yeah?”

“Then it’s something. Might as well open up by reducing that thing’s defenses as much as possible. While she probably won’t survive a direct hit, I did catch a Gothita who knows Charm. If I can get that off, it’ll help us in surviving the long haul.” Julius furrowed his eyebrow as he looked up at the ceiling. “Why don’t you start off with Skwovet and I’ll open with my Azumarill. I need to lay down Rain Dance anyways so Pawmot can really do the heavy lifting. That should establish Azumarill as a bigger threat and the Tail Whips can start to stack. Once Azumarill goes down, switch out to Cloyster and get its attention, which will give me an opening to land a few Charms from Gothita.”

Arven’s eyes widened a bit as he started at Julius. “That’s scary.”

“What?”

“You just came up with that on the fly, just like that?”

“What about it?”

Arven huffed, crossing his arms as he leaned back on the couch he was sitting on. “That was too quick.”

“You have to be quick when you fight someone in the ring. Pokemon Battles are pretty fast paced but they still aren’t as fast as when you’re in the ring.”

“Wait, so those rumors about you actually knowing how to fight and stuff were true?”

“Yeah? I mean, I’m not a prize fighter or anything and only have a few fights under my record. Maybe like, ten or so amateur fights on record? I’m proud to have two knockouts under my belt, but I guess I’ve been knocked out once in return. It’s nothing special.” Julius said, shrugging.

“That explains a lot about why you get along so well with Nemona, huh…”

“I don’t think the fact I used to punch and kick people is related to getting along with Nemona at all.”

“No, it’s… how do I put it…” Arven closed his eyes in thought. “You two are nutcases?”

“Gee, thanks.”

“Ugh, that’s not what I meant. Look, we’re all probably around the same age, I think. But Nemona’s the only champion rank trainer in all of Paldea. And while I don’t know the specifics, I’m pretty sure that only someone who trained a lot would want to get into an actual fight like that. You two go way farther than most people would think.”

“...that’s fair, I guess. Birds of a feather?”

“Something like that.”

Julius reached over and put his newsboy cap over his face, trying to darken his vision. No, that’s definitely not it. What we have is… weird. This all started because I wanted to make sure she didn’t lose that burning drive of hers and it’s morphed into whatever we have today. I don’t think it’s anything like what Arven’s thinking.

But on the other hand… I can’t say it wouldn’t be nice if that were the case. One of these days I really should come clean to Nemona. It’s going to eat away at me otherwise. Plus, mom and dad wouldn’t want me living a lie.

“What’s with the only champion rank thing, anyways?”

“I don’t really know, I didn’t pay attention to that stuff. You’d be better off asking the director about it.”

“Hm. I'll ask Clavell another day. Anyways, might as well go to sleep now. We’ll have to get up at just the right time so we don’t push our luck too much for the next leg.”

And so the twisted game of leapfrog continued, with the two advancing under cover of night. Eventually, they were one more trek away. At sundown later in the day, they would be able to reach the peak.

“Clear skies, at least.” Julius mumbled as he looked out the window. 

“Paldea’s weather is stable enough. It’s pretty rare that we get any massive rainstorms.”

“Still, it’ll help out in making it less dangerous to reach the top. Food still doing okay?”

“We’ll have enough for the trek down, at least. Besides, some of the vending machines were still working so we were able to decrease the amount of our own supplies we ate.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Julius said, closing the curtains. “Well, I guess we should rest for now. It’s going to be a long night.”

Once the sun was setting and the two confirmed the time, they headed out of the rest cabin with just their battle supplies as well as a few survival items in the event things went really haywire.

The Bombirdiers were silent, having gone to sleep for the night. Only the lone giant remained, soaring high in the air.

“With any luck, he stays up there.” Arven said as they continued up the path. 

“Yeah. With any luck.”

Taking advantage of the trees, rock formations, and other assorted terrain, the two darted from cover to cover, trying to keep their presence hidden. They had no idea if it was working, but judging by the lack of a giant rock falling on their head, perhaps it was. Moreover, based on their altitude, it was likely flying around at their height rather than way above it.

“Shhh!”

Julius quickly clapped a hand over Arven’s mouth and pulled him to the side, ducking down into some bushes.

Arven peeled the hand off before whispering, irritation in his voice. “What the hell?”

A loud thudding noise gave him his answer. The giant Bombirdier had landed, looking about as it sniffed the air. What was once a straight shot across an open plateau to the cavern that likely hosted the Herba Mystica now had an unavoidable fence in their way.

“Saw that thing moving in out of the corner of my eye.” Julius whispered back. “Looks like it can smell us. Not too precisely, but enough that it could tell we were here.”

“So… what now?”

“Now… I guess there’s only one way forward. I guess it was always going to end like this, eh?”

Arven scoffed as Julius reached for his Pokeball belt. “You have a new plan?”

“Unlike that Klawf, it’s likely that it’ll stand its ground. The only issue is Pawmot’s our only way to deal with the swarms if it somehow calls the others to it. At least, not unless you taught your Cloyster something special.”

“I didn’t think about that, no.”

“Well, all she’s got is Electroweb. Like we talked about before, your Skwo—oh right, evolved into Greedent, should just apply as many Tail Whips as possible. Azumarill can hit its Fairy weakness so that should draw the heat.”

Arven nodded, thinking back to their strategy session. “Then when Azumarill goes down, I’ll switch to Cloyster so you can switch to your Gothita, right?”

“Yep. If it brings its friends, I’ll switch out to Pawmot and start hitting the area with Electrowebs. You’ll have to hold your own in the meantime.”

Arven paused before nodding once in return, gritting his teeth. He remembered the feeling of being useless that had weighed on him during their fight with the titanic Klawf. This time, it had to be different.

The giant Bombirdier raised its head as the clear skies suddenly turned to rain. It scanned the immediate area, seeing a blue blur close the distance only as it was too late, Azumarill landing the first blow with a Play Rough. Arven’s Greedent soon followed, landing its first Tail Whip.

With a loud screech that caused the duo to flinch, the Bombirdier flapped its wings, taking to the skies to escape.

“Is it running!?” Arven shouted, hand held up over his eyes to cover them from the rain.

“Things are never that easy—it’s coming in for a strafing run! Azumarill, dodge it and then counter with Disarming Voice or a Play Rough if it’s close enough!”

“Azuuuu!”

“Greedent, the usual!”

Landing with a thunderous impact after a high speed approach, its beak didn’t make direct impact but still managed to deal a nasty blow to Azumarill, who retaliated with another Play Rough before Greedent hit with another Tail Whip. Regardless, the Bombirdier shrugged them off before taking to the skies again.

“Azu……”

“Looks like we won’t be able to take another hit like that. Azumarill, pull back for a se—”

Julius’ command was cut short by the sound of the Bombirdier crashing into the mountain… before flying up again, this time with boulders held in its claws.

“That thing means business!”

“Azumarill, evasive maneuvers! Arven, eyes up!”

“Yeah, I know!”

Watching the flight path of the Bombirdier, the two split up with their Pokemon, ensuring that they wouldn’t be caught up in one blast and more importantly, they wouldn’t run into each other while trying to evade.

“It’s heading straight for you, Julius!”

The boy in question grit his teeth as he sprinted perpendicular to the oncoming boulder-bearing Bombirdier, turning sharply and almost sliding as he reversed course the instant he saw the boulder leave its grasp. As soon as it touched the ground, he could feel the pebbles and dust from the impact wash across his back.

“Ngh… a little too close!”

“Azumaaaa!”

“BiiiiiIIIR!”

With the Bombirdier touching down after carrying the heavy weight, it was wide open to a counterattack from Azumarill. After Greedent landed its third Tail Whip, it seemed the Bombirdier had enough of the dynamic duo and with a swipe of its wings, struck Azumarill twice to take the Pokemon down.

“So far, so good…” Julius muttered as he swapped out to Gothita. “Soften him up for us!”

Rather than push his luck, Arven had Greedent use Swell Cheeks, consuming another Berry in the process. Considering how Greedent then barely managed to stay up following another dive-bombing Peck, it was well-timed—and allowed Gothita to land a Charm.

The momentary high of success was short-lived though, as just when Arven finished switching out to Cloyster, Bombirdier struck Gothita, a purple light shone from the impact that sounded just a bit more devastating than just being a super effective move.

“Hope you weren’t relying on held items, that was Thief!” Arven yelled, checking his Pokedex app.

“Damn. Well, Gothita didn’t have anything so that’s going to be a pain.” Julius grumbled, returning Gothita after a badly timed critical hit. “Gothita’s down, so it’s all in now!”

Despite the Aurora Beam from Cloyster causing ice shards to appear all over its wet wings, the Bombirdier wasn’t stopped from flying and grabbing yet another boulder. This time, it went for Pawmot, who clearly looked like an Electric type, but rather than cleanly dodge, Pawmot lessened the impact by shattering the boulder with a single punch.

Though, instead of touching down immediately, the Bombirdier let out a shrill cry that seemed to echo all throughout the mountain.

“I don’t like the sound of that…” Arven muttered.

The sound of frenzied flapping wings was his response.

“Oh hell no!” Julius grit out. “Arven! You’re going to have to go solo for a bit! Pawmot and I will keep the swarms off your back, but this one’s going to be on you! Pawmot, light ‘em up! Use Thunder for any strong looking ones and use Electroweb on the groups!”

“Moooot!”

“Wait!”

Julius looked over his shoulder as he was running towards the swarm. “What is it?!”

“I… you should fight this guy! I don’t think I can do it, but I’ve got two Pokemon versus just Pawmot alone! It’ll be easier for me to cover an area!”

Julius paused, looking over Arven with lightning speed as time was of the essence. They had a plan, but suddenly changing it up like this…

He glanced over at the giant Bombirdier, then back to Arven. He knew Arven wanted to take this thing down, if only for the Herba Mystica that lay beyond, to save his remaining family. And he knew how gung ho Arven was about it, to the point of recklessness. As he saw Arven clench his fists, frustration evident on his face, Julius slowly nodded.

In Arven’s mind, this was the way to make sure they would win. Last time, he had been relegated entirely to support—something that he was sure Arven loathed. To be that powerless… anyone would have hated it. So perhaps he was accepting he hadn’t grown all that much since that point.

There wasn’t a need to talk anymore. He understood Arven was trusting him to win.

“Pawmot, change of plans! Hammer that big guy!”

Running past Arven, Julius silently entrusted his back to him.

“Naclstack, get out here! Cloyster and you are going to be putting in a lot of work!”

As lightning rained from the skies, always finding its mark, the two Pokemon under Arven’s command fired off their attacks at the neverending swarm. A Rock Slide took out four or so Bombirdiers, only for five more to take their place—which would be thinned out by an Aurora Beam from Cloyster.

Not once did he dare look over his shoulder to check if Julius was winning.

Cloyster was the first to fall, as it moved in front to protect Naclstack who was capable of eliminating the Bombirdiers in droves.

“We’re not done yet…!”

But without Cloyster’s support, the swooping birds eventually got their hits in on Naclstack. While each one didn’t do that much damage, it was death by a thousand cuts.

One of the Bombirdiers managed to land a critical hit, knocking Naclstack off-balance. Three more came to swoop in at the pivotal moment—

—but never made it as a flash of lightning took them out.

Arven whipped his head around to see why Julius had stepped in, only to hear a crashing thud as the massive Bombirdier hit the ground after swaying for a few good seconds. At the sound of the impact, the swarm of the Bombirdiers suddenly halted in the air. Looking up, Pawmot cracked its knuckles before sparking with electricity, apparently not even winded. With their cries filling the air, the flock retreated into the woods down below.

“Ah, looks like the rain stopped, too. I guess picking up that Damp Rock was worth it.” Julius said as held his hand out, palm up. “Good thing, too. I’m just about soaked after that.”

Arven opened his mouth but closed it, shaking his head.

“Well, let’s go and see if that Herba Mystica of yours is there. It’d be really annoying if it wasn’t.”

“Don’t even make me think about that, geez. At least we don’t have to deal with any more birds trying to throw boulders at us, though. Seriously, I know some Pokemon are really dangerous, but this was excessive.”

Letting out a huff, Julius followed Arven into the cave. It was spacious enough for the Bombirdier to have made its nest here, but more importantly there was a green plant growing in the back of the cave, shining a bright green.

Arven slumped over, letting out a long sigh of relief. “Phew… I can’t imagine what it’d be like to come all this way for nothing.” 

“You’re telling me. So, what’s this one?”

“It should be…” Arven paused, taking out his reference book and flipping through it. “The Bitter Herba Mystica. It’s good for blood circulation and apparently augments your immune system. Uh, it also is good for warming up? Since it can raise your body temperature. Anyways, let’s harvest it and then get out of here. We probably don’t want to be here when that thing wakes up. Unless you’re up for another round. You’ve probably got the endurance, considering your whole thing with Nemona.”

“My whole thing with Nemona? Whatever, we can talk about that later. I agree with that.”

Cutting it similarly to the previous Herba Mystical, Arven and Julius then made themselves scarce, heading back down to the cabin they had been using and plopping down in exhaustion as all the tension faded.

“Anyways, it won’t be like the last sandwich, so just hold tight.”

Julius blinked a few times, not quite catching what Arven said but shrugging as he just tried to relax. After a few moments, he heard the sounds of two plates tapping on the table.

“There!”

Julius rubbed his eyes before inspecting the sandwich. Considering the first sandwich, it looked almost the exact same. If Arven had just put the herb between two slices of bread again…

“Arven.”

“Yeah?”

“What is this?”

“I put it with some mayo, since you complained last time.”

Julius opened his mouth, but the sheer shock of how terrible Arven’s sandwich making skills were prevented anything from coming out. How he had survived this long on his own, he had no idea.

No, wait—he probably just eats a lot of premade meals or something. Julius thought as he carefully took his sandwich. Taking a small bite—

“Beugh…!” 

Somehow, he managed to hold it in, but frankly he wished he had spit it out.

“The hell? Is it seriously just mayo? I thought you’d at least have put something else! Who the hell would eat bitter mayonnaise!? It’s not terrible like last time, but still!”

“Ugh, geez, you are such high maintenance!”

“It’s a deli sandwich, nothing about this is high maintenance!”

At the word ‘sandwich’, Miraidon suddenly popped out of its ball.

“Hey, that one wasn’t made—”

“Miraidon, catch.”

Julius threw the sandwich up into the air with an underhanded toss. With a complete lack of restraint, Miraidon leapt up and snatched it out of the air, downing it in one go. After triumphantly landing, Miraidon lit up the room with a rainbow glow as it let out an energy-filled roar.

Both boys waited for a few seconds, but Miraidon only tilted its head.

“No new form this time around?” Arven asked, breaking the silence.

“Seems s—”

Before Julius could finish, his phone rang. Checking who it was, he found it was Professor Turo, and answered it.

“Professor?”

“Good work. I can only make assumptions based on what I can detect from here, but I was able to detect that Miraidon regained more of its power. Based on the signature, Miraidon should have regained its ability to travel over water. Should you find yourself needing to cross large rivers, lakes, or even navigate over the ocean in your journey across Paldea, Miraidon should be able to assist you.”

“Handy.”

“Continue to seek out your own path. I am sure all you encounter will help you grow, in big and small ways. Please continue to take care of Miraidon for me.”

“I’ll do my best.”

The call terminated after that, with Julius putting his phone away.

“Looks like we can get across water now. I guess it’s handy with some of the larger rivers in Paldea, yeah?” Julius said, certain that Arven understood who was on the other end of the line. 

“...so he’s just watching for Miraidon, huh?”

“It looks like his ability to see things is limited. If we take him at his word, he was only able to find out Miraidon has that ability now due to… well, I’m sure that rainbow light emitted some kind of unique energy.” Julius paused. “What about Mabosstiff?”

Arven was about to speak, but with the abrupt change in topic, he nodded, remembering what they were here for.

As he fed Mabosstiff—who was visibly improving and even managed to stand up on his own feet, if only for a few seconds, Arven noticed Julius glancing over every now and then. It was clear he had some investment in how his partner would turn out, but he was trying not to be obvious about it. As much as he wanted the privacy though, Arven did have to admit that none of this would have been possible without involving him, so it was only fair Julius would at least want to know how his efforts had turned out.

Honestly, he was okay with this. Julius didn’t pry too much and kept a good distance. If he had somehow managed to convince that crazed student council president of theirs to help, he would never have heard the end of it.

But in the end, he felt something strange about it. Perhaps it was his inner researcher getting the best of him, but a part of him wanted to understand just what it was about Julius that made him… well, help the way he did. Move the way he did. Fight the way he did. While he didn’t have a taste for gossip, it wouldn’t have been easy to avoid all of the swirling rumors about him—whether they involved his alleged romantic involvement with Nemona, how he seemingly single handedly assaulted a Team Star base, or the kinds of training routines he had to be doing to be able to keep up with Nemona. Did he want the truth? Or perhaps…

Nah. We’re just working together. I don’t think either of us would even want to be friends. Arven thought to himself, dismissing a rogue thought that slipped into his mind.

The night ticked on by, with the two agreeing that they could finally sleep in the next day after having such a strange timetable for the past few ones. The adrenaline and shock of today’s events were keeping Arven up, but as he eventually decided that he had enough of trying to force his eyes shut, he looked around the room.

Sat on a comfy chair near one of the windows was Julius, moonlight filtering through the glass panes. In his lap was a newsboy hat with a faded Skitty patch on it, the same one he always saw attached to his bag. For some reason, he was never seen wearing it, but as far as Arven could remember he had always been sighted with it.

As Arven’s vision came into focus, he could see Julius was more than wide awake. His fingers were tapping along to some unknown rhythm, his head moving to an unheard beat.

“Oh. Sorry, did I wake you up?”

“Uh… no. I just couldn’t sleep, anyways.” Arven said, sitting up.

Silence fell upon them as Julius shrugged. 

“Can uh… can I ask what the deal is with that hat?”

“I guess you can.”

“...you’re not going to answer, though, huh.” Arven muttered back, sighing.

“We’re not exactly close enough for that.”

“That’s fair.”

Again, the conversation petered out. Sensing he wasn’t going to get anywhere, Arven rolled on the couch to face the other way so he wouldn’t have to look at Julius.

“......well, if you ever want to talk, I guess I can listen. It’s the least I can do considering all you’ve helped me with.”

“...Sure thing.”

The trek down the mountain was strangely uneventful considering the ordeal it had been to get up the mountain, although what awaited them at the bottom might have been more annoying to deal with—at least, in Julius’ eyes.

Clavell had been there along with Geeta, working with the local Rangers who now had their hands full considering the shift in ecosystem dynamics with the fall of the giant Bombirdier. Clavell, he could understand, but apparently Geeta has also turned up, in Clavell’s words, because Julius had been involved and she had his eye on him.

“...”

“...”

Clavell and Julius stared silently at one another in the Rangers’ office, which Clavell had politely asked to use to speak privately in after Julius and Arven had filled out their reports on what had happened.

“You are… aware how reckless this was, yes, Master Julius?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Can I ask what drove you to do this?”

“You should ask Arven, as it’s a private matter of his.”

Clavell couldn’t help but rub his temples. Based on his talks with Professor Turo, he had an idea of what Arven was after but he was hoping to get confirmation as Arven had also been cagey about it.

“Am I in trouble, sir?”

“No, Master Julius. This technically was not against the rules the Academy laid out as part of the Treasure Hunt. However, this is the second time you’ve fought against one of these Titans, isn’t it?”

Julius nodded.

“Then it stands to reason you would go after a third. Am I wrong in this assumption?”

“No, sir.”

“Then, you can understand why we may have to further restrict travel through the Asado Desert?”

Julius paused before offering his take. “...Considering Arven and I’s pursuit of these things, you’re worrying it will cause someone else to do something else just as rash.”

“I’m glad you understand that much. It was already reckless charging into a Team Star base, as I had warned Brassius to dissuade you.”