Chapter Text
Juliana, still nursing the burns from Incineroar’s attempted attack earlier, threw her hand towards Hydrapple palm open, shouting as loud as she could over the crowd’s noise. “Hit ‘em with Ivy Cudgel, Ogerpon! Let’s end this!”
“Pon!” the ogre replied with vigor, returning to its feet despite her shaking. She slammed her cudgel against the ground before lifting it into the air, the vine-covered club erupting into an aura of flames. The heat coming off it could be felt by those who sat in the stands closest to the battlefield, and the Terastallized Heartflame mask glowed like the sun as Ogerpon charged her attack. This was going to be the final attack she was going to be able to perform, and it needed to count.
“Hydrapple, counter the oger’s attack with Fickle Beam!” Kieran screamed out, his eyes manic and posture crazed. “Seal the fate of this battle and destroy them both!!!”
Hydrapple’s seven heads all popped out of the apple core with determined roars, the crystal fist crown on its head glowing brightly as they all began to breathe in and charged up the attack, hoping to use their full might to end the battle. Ogerpon ran forward and leaped into the air, using the momentum to swing their cudgel down toward her opponent to deal maximum damage. As she swung her club down, Hydrapple fired Fickle Beam at the club, hoping to either cancel out the attack or take out the legendary Pokémon.
As the two attacks collided, sparks of Infinity Energy flew out from the sides of the collision, both trying to break through the other. Ivy Cudgel was making headway, but it was slowed due to the effort of Fickle Beam, with both Pokémon straining from the prolonged usage of their attacks. The battle had taken a lot out of both, and having to use so much energy on their last legs was pushing them past their limits, which concerned their trainers, with Juliana worried for both Pokémon. The arena filled with a spectacle of flaming red and raging yellow lights, the audience stunned to silence by the display.
Realizing the dire stakes, Kieran shouted toward Hydrapple in desperation. “COME ON, HYDRAPPLE! WE’RE SO CLOSE! PUSH THROUGH AND SHOW HER WE’RE HER EQUAL!”
“DON’T GIVE UP, OGERPON! YOU CAN DO IT!” Juliana cried out to her partner, hoping her words would encourage the legendary to keep pushing. They both knew this may be their old chance to get Kieran to start acting like his old self again, and the teen wanted her friend back.
Both Pokemon cried out with raging determination, with both giving one final push to finish the fight. With an explosion of aura, Fickle Beam grew in size and shot out towards the sky like a beacon of yellow light and Ivy Cudgel’s flames grew triple in size. Ogerpon’s attack finally seemed to break through the beam and the cudgel slammed down onto its foe, causing and massive explosion of blinding light to fill the courtyard.
Everyone screamed out in surprise as they all got blinded by the collision’s makeshift flashback, with Juliana covering her eyes with her forearm. The heat from the attacks was intense due to her being so close to it, and she was pushed back slightly from the wind blowing heavily. The courtyard shook violently from the impact, and it sounded like debris fell on the ground as well, nearly knocking her off her feet.
Slowly, the shaking stilled, and Juliana was able to see again, lowering her arm to see what had happened. Smoke and mist filled the courtyard, covering both Pokémon from view. Her brows furrowed as she waited to see any kind of movement, any shadows within the smoke, but she couldn’t spot any, and her stomach began to drop as the audience noticed as well.
“What’s going on?”
“Is the battle over?”
“Who won? I can’t see who’s still standing?”
“How are their Pokémon so powerful?”
“I’m surprised they didn’t sick the entrance!”
Juliana’s fist clenched as she gritted her teeth, praying that Ogerpon was okay, and hoped Hydrapple wasn’t too badly injured. Her eyes widened slightly as the smoke and mist began to clear out, however, the audience and she gasped in horror at the sight that was before them once the dust had settled.
Ogerpon and Hydrapple were heaped on the ground, covered in dirt, cuts, and burns. Neither seemed to be moving besides breathing, thankfully, but they just lay there as if they were unconscious. Kieran was shocked at the sight at first, clearly worried for his partner, but it faded to a look of relief, Juliana wasn’t sure if was because Hydrapple was fine or because he hadn’t lost technically. The murmurs of the crowd grew louder at the scene.
“Wow! Are they both knocked out?”
“That’s insane! It’s like a photo-finish ending!”
“Who fainted first?”
“How do we decide who won?”
“Is the battle a draw?”
The BB Elite Four all looked a variety of shocked, Crispin being the most concerned of the four and liked he wanted to run in and check if the Pokémon were okay, but Drayton’s was one of worried, afraid his and Juliana’s plan had failed. Lacey looked conflicted, unsure of how to proceed, torn between being professional and seeking to aid her friends.
Amarys was the one who took control of the situation, collecting herself enough to wash her face of concern and clear her throat, getting the attention of the audience. “It appears that both Pokémon are unable to battle,” she stated clearly, making the murmurs grow louder. “Since we are unable to determine who was first to faint, this battle unfortunately has to be considered-”
“WAIT!” Crispin shouted before Amarys could announce the draw, pointing at the center of the battlefield with bewilderment. “Look!”
Everyone turned to look at the battlefield again, Juliana’s eyes widening as she noticed the Ogerpon shifted. As the crowd slowly realized this as well and gasps began to rise, Ogerpon slowly planted the blunt of her cudgel against the floor and pushed herself onto her knees, the Heartflame mask remaining on the ground and allowing the crowd to see her damaged face. One of the ogre’s eyes was bruised and blood ran down her face from a small cut on her forehead, nearly coating her face with her blood. Her breath was slow and strained, panting as she attempted to collect herself, much to the crowd’s shock.
“Wha… Huh?” Kieran mumbled out from the other side of the courtyard, going pale as he stared at the legendary Pokémon, body stiff as a wooden board as Ogerpon slowly, with great effort, turned to look at Juliana with a faint smile as if to ask if her efforts were enough.
Juliana couldn’t help but sigh out a choked giggle at her ally’s expression, feeling tears come to her eyes as she ran over to the legendary. “Ogerpon! You’re okay!” she cried out, embracing the oger in a tight hug, although was careful not to aggravate any injuries she may have.
“Pon pon…” she replied, patting Juliana on the shoulder. The teen was quick to pull out a Full Restore from her bag once she had had her fill of hugs, spraying the medicine on Ogerpon’s injuries as the crowd began to cheer.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” Amarys bean once again, “Hydrapple appears to be unable to continue the battle. The victor of the battle is Juliana Gedal!”
The crowd began to cheer loudly at the announcement while others seemed to sigh in relief, probably due to not having to worry about the battle sinking the entrance to the school. The only one who seemed displeased by the news was Kieran, who looked devastated as he slowly took a few steps back, his legs shaking as the murmurs of the crowd began to reach his ears.
“That was insane!”
“Did he lose? I didn’t think it was possible.”
“So much for being the unbeatable champion…”
“That was pretty close though.”
“Let’s go, guys…”
“Can’t believe he lost to some foreigner…”
Kieran looked around the arena in a daze, his body trembling as the other students began to leave and head back into the school. He could see the looks on their face, ranging from disappointment to satisfaction, and even disgust. The atmosphere of the crowd was shifting, and he knew, he KNEW, that they no longer had respect for him. How could they when they knew he was capable of being defeated? That was all he had to show he was their equal.
“No… why?! This wasn’t supposed to happen!” Kieran shouted, grabbing the side of his head before falling to his knees and trembling in place. “Urgh! No… no, no, no!”
Juliana frowned as she watched this, not understanding what was happening as she finished applying the Full Restore to Ogerpon. This… wasn’t how he was supposed to react. He was supposed to be shaken from his superior mindset, sure, but that wasn’t what this was. Seeing someone she considered a friend look so defeated, so destroyed, made her heart ache in a way that made her think she just made a massive mistake.
“Way to go---both of you!” Crispin complimented from the sidelines, “That was awesome!”
Juliana looked over at the Elite Four again, watching their reactions to the way Kieran was behaving. Amarys had the normal neutral expression on her face she usually had, not reacting to what was going on besides what could be assumed as analysis. Crispin seemed to be oblivious to what was going on with his friend, being hyped from the battle that had just happened to realize the turmoil Kieran was going through. Lacey seemed to be most aware of Kieran’s state of mind, shaking Crispin on the chest as she scolded him. “Oh, honestly, Crispin! Read the room, would you!”
Then there was Drayton, staring directly at Kieran with his hands on his hip, a smirk on his lips. His eyes filled with smug satisfaction that made Juliana freeze in place, skin paling as she watched the older boy. She… knew that look. The kind of look that one made when they got back at someone. Slowly, he began to walk onto the courtyard, and Juliana’s stomach dropped, unable to shake the feeling that something bad was about to happen.
“W-wait, Drayton!” Lacey cried out, trying to reach out to the Dragon-type trainer once she realized who he was heading towards, but he got out of her reach before she could make contact.
“Good match, you two,” Drayton exclaimed as he spread his arms out, each step he took slow and deliberate, making a show of his approach to the defeated boy on the ground. Juliana placed the empty Full Restore bottle on the ground as she watched, Ogerpon taking a step towards her as they watched the display. The teen suspected that Carmine was glaring at Drayton at the moment, eyes full of anger from the side of the courtyard.
Drayton finally stopped right beside Kieran, placing his hands on his hips again as he looked down at the boy with a smug look in his eyes. “Too bad about the outcome though, huh…” he started before leaning down towards the boy’s ear, a shit-eating grin on his face, “Ex-Champion?”
The rest of the world around Juliana faded into white noise as she watched the displace, eyes wide at Kieran seemed to freeze. No longer trembling, no more shaky breathing. Just… still. Juliana slowly rosed to her feet as Drayton leaned back and approached her, the same awful smug satisfaction on his face. Juliana could feel her heartbeat pounding in her ear, her arm trembling as the pieces of what was happening finally clicked into place.
“Look at you, buddy! Way to go!” Drayton exclaimed with praise, although his words didn’t fully reach her as he crossed his arms. “Guess we got a new BB League Champion! The academy’s got a prize for people like you who make it all the way to being Champion. Here- all yours.”
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a Master Ball, placing the purple ball into her palm. The girl stared at the ball, her face blank as she collected her thoughts, and went over the details again. Drayton had asked for her help and getting the old Kieran back, the sweet boy who wished to help others but was a bit shy to reach out. That was how it was proposed to her, anyway. How could she say no to that? She was partially responsible for making Kieran turn cold and aggressive, even if it wasn’t her intention.
But now, after it was all said and done and the results of the plan were laid out in front of her, Juliana saw that that couldn’t have possibly been the plan. The poor boy looked empty, like a husk without a spirit after his defeat. The only thing he had left was ripped out of his hands and torn to shreds in front of him. Again. Like back in Kitakami when she had beaten him to gain the “right” to battle Ogerpon. When Ogerpon chose her over him. When he overheard his family wanting to keep the truth about Ogerpon a secret from him. She had inadvertently taken everything from him again.
Drayton looked back to Kieran and spoke, but his words mixed into the white noise, the thumping, the wind of the void Juliana’s mind was in. She watched the white-haired man’s posture, the superiority he displaced like he didn’t need to prove how good he was. Like he was just naturally above everyone. She knew Kieran had beaten him to become the BB League Champion and the way he seemed to flinch whenever it was brought up. The smugness he had when Kieran was finally beaten wasn’t someone looking to help.
It was someone looking to get revenge for a slight made against them.
The realization made everything around the teen shatter, a massive tremor shooting through her body as she clenched the Master Ball in her hand tightly. Her eyes widened even more, and she glared daggers at Drayton, with one thought echoing, screaming in her head like it did whenever she thought about her time back in kindergarten when she learned people wouldn’t treat her like an equal before she moved to Paldea. The one thought that ruled her entire life before she became a Pokémon Trainer.
“… You used me.”
“Hm?” the man hummed, looking back at her with a confused look on his face.
“This wasn’t about getting Kieran to act like he used to. It never was,” she muttered, each word making her clench her fist tighter and her brow furrow more.
“Eh? What are you talking about?” Drayton asked, tilting his head to the side. “This was meant to just remind old Kiki over there his place-”
Anger shot through Juliana’s body as the words left Drayton’s mouth, and before she or anyone else could realize what was happening, the girl cocked her fist back and slammed it right into his nose, a resounding crack filling the courtyard as everyone gasped in horror.
“JULIANA!” someone shouted, the girl wasn’t sure, she only saw red as Drayton stumbled back with a hand over his nose. Blood leaked through his fingers as he groaned loudly, shocked by what had just happened. Juliana stared with a mix of anger and satisfaction, her hand aching from the punch.
“Don’t fucking spout your poppycock to me, you daft ass!” Juliana shouted, a growl in her voice that no one had heard before as her Galarian accent leaked through into her voice, her rage unable to prevent it. “You said this was to help Kieran, to make him stop acting like a cheeky tosspot! But that was rubbish, innit?! You just wanted to ‘humble’ him and push him down after he DARED to beat you in a battle!”
The students were still around the courtyard all gasped at the accusation, murmurs quickly spreading as Drayton’s eyes went wide. The rest of the BB Elite Four all looked stunned, and Carmine looked about ready to rip Drayton’s head off.
“What? Are you nuts?!” Drayton exclaimed, whipping his broken nose as blood continued to bleed. “Why would I do that? The fuck do I gain from doing that? I just wanted to help him!”
“Well, bloody excuse me for calling bollocks on that!” Juliana retorted as she pointed at Kieran. “Look at him! Does that look like ‘helping him’?! The poor lad is fucking gutted! You just made me nick something he was proud of, something he achieved from his effort, to help him?! Are you dim?! Do you honestly think I’d buy that now that the results are right here, wyrm boy?!”
“This was the only way to help!” Drayton shot back, stepping up to Juliana with an angry gleam in his eyes. Ogerpon stepped in front of Juliana, her cudgel ready to swing if things exclaimed, and the rest of the Elite Four began to move in closer to try to de-escalate the situation. “Kieran wasn’t listening to words! He needed to be shown that going on like this, pushing people away, and being an edgy bitch isn’t a good thing!”
“Oh, sod off with that preaching of yours! Did ya even try to sit him down with the rest of his bloody friends before resorting to this?” Juliana asked, crossing her arms as she glared Hyper Beams into his soul, a scowl on her face. “Or did you jump to this solution before any other? Went right for the heart without mercy, ‘cause your ego was tested and ye had someone available willing to help unknowingly hurt someone who you said is a friend?”
“What do you know about me, huh?” Drayton growled, getting right in her face, and making the others start rushing over to them. “You know nothing about me, so don’t act like you can read me like a book.”
“I know the type of people who use my kindness and willingness to help to their advantage and hurt others with it. Who take the piss with me and say what I am doing is good when it’s just making things worse and hurting people,” Juliana stated coldly, her eyes growing dark as she spoke with venom. “They’re called manipulators and bullies. I’d say that fits you smashingly, mate.”
The two of them stared each other down as the rest of the BB League tried to calm them down and back down. Drayton glared into her brown eyes as blood ran down their lips, and she stared back with new hatred for them that was birthed from the whole situation. The first one to back down ended up being Drayon, who tsked softly and looked off to the side. “Fine. C’mon, let’s get out here and-”
“…win…next time…” the soft voice of Kieran mumbled out, catching everyone’s attention. They all turned to look at him, unsure of what he was saying.
“Kiki?” Carmine asked, taking a step towards her brother before stopping as he slowly rose to his feet, the trembling from before returning.
“I won’t lose next time…” The boy muttered, stumbling on his feet as he looked at the group in a daze. His yellow eyes wandered across the faces of the group, not fully aware of his surroundings. “Next time, for sure, I’ll… I’ll win. Next time… I’ll win…”
Juliana’s rage began to dissipate as she watched the stupefied boy mutter to himself, caught up in his head about defeating her. Her heart ached for him, the boy who’d fallen so far from who he was just to be better than her, to be her equal. Pushing past the others, she took slow steps towards him, her brows furrowed with worry as she began to speak as softly as she could.
“K-Kieran? I-I’m so, so sorry. I never for this to happen. Any of this,” she apologized, stopping a few feet away from him despite the urge, the need, to hold him in her arms to comfort him. “I-I should’ve seen what Drayton was trying to do, should’ve known this wasn’t right.”
“Juliana, I… Aww… heh… heeheehehh…” Kieran mumbled, slouching and shaking in place as a tired, manic chuckle left his lips.
Juliana frowned at this, seeing her words weren’t reaching the boy as she hoped. Before she could speak again, Lacey cleared her throat to get everyone’s attention. “Ahem. If we might, um… interrupt?”
Getting the girl’s attention, Lacey fiddled with the end of her sleeve as she tried to formulate her words. “Well… first, of course, congratulations on becoming Champion Juliana. It really is an amazing achievement! Something that should be celebrated…”
“That being said, there are matters that are going to… cumbersome with Miss. Gedal as the Champion of the BB League,” Amarys continued, speaking matter-of-factly as she adjusted her glasses. “We’re going to need to thoroughly discuss how to proceed with the club with the current standing of the situation.”
“Huh? What’s there to discuss?” Drayton snipped, placing a hand on his hip as he held his broken nose in the other.
“Think about it for a moment, would you?!” Lacey shouted in frustration, shocking both Juliana and Drayton. This was the first time either of them raised her voice, and it surprisingly carried weight neither expected from the soft-spoken girl. “If Juliana is our Champion, then that means she’s the head of the League Club! But she’s an exchange student! What is our long-term plan, if she doesn’t stick around?! There are so many particulars to sort out!”
“Oh… huh. Yeah,” Drayton muttered as if realizing the situation at hand. Juliana glared at him, almost not surprised he hadn’t thought this part of his plan that far ahead. But she was almost a bit stumped with how to handle it. This was the first time she had even thought about it.
“And of course, if Kieran wishes to rejoin the Elite Four after having lost the rank of Champion, that will push Crispin out of our ranks,” Lacey continued, placing a hand on her chin as she thought about the logistics of the situation.
“Wait, what?! Me?!” Crispin exclaimed in shock, holding his frying pan tightly at the revelation. “That’s bad, isn’t it?!”
Everyone just stared at him for a moment, dumbfounded by his obliviousness to the implications. Lacey let out a deep sigh as she shook her head slowly before turning her attention to the trembling, seeming manic Kieran. “I’d like to hear from Kieran himself what he would like to do next…”
“… … next… time… hehehehh…” Kieran chuckled, appearing not to be paying attention to what was going on.
“Mr. Curgan…” Amarys mumbled with a shake of her head, almost like she was trying to ease an answer from him.
Juliana took in the BB League Club members for a moment, trying to figure out how to proceed. What happens next would take a while to discuss, and a lot of it depended on Kieran. Looking over to Carmine, who looked extremely worried about her brother’s mental state, Juliana decided to take the reins and try to ease the situation into something that could be more easily handled.
“Uh, I think everyone has got their knickers in a twist at the moment, so how about we take a couple of minutes to settle ourselves and…”
Before she could continue, the PA system chimed from the speakers around the courtyard, making everyone stop to listen in.
“This is an announcement for the following students: BB League Champion Kieran Curgan. Elite Four member Drayton Hierax. Carmine Curgan of Class 3-2. Juliana Gedal, our exchange student. Ms. Briar and some guests would like to see you. Please proceed to classroom 1-4 as soon as possible.”
The PA system turned off with a beep, leaving the BB League Club confused, especially Juliana. What could Ms. Briar need that was of such importance? She was in the middle of handling a friend group fallout.
“What could that be about? Now’s really not the time…” Lacey mumbled to herself, seemingly agreeing with Juliana’s thoughts.
“’BB League Champion Kieran’, huh?” Drayton said, shaking his head with a smug look on his face as he chuckled. “They’re gonna need to update that that.”
Juliana clenched her fist, fighting the urge to sock him in the face again. Lacey beat her to the punch with a verbal assault though, her face red with anger as she was done with his Dragon-type trainer’s Tauros-shit. “Drayton! Could you seriously NOT right now? It’s just not right—and certainly not kind!”
Drayton ignored Lacey and looked at Juliana with a smug smirk, crossing his hands before his head. “Well, we shouldn’t leave Ms. Briar hanging, or we’ll never hear the end of it. Go on ahead, new Champ. We’ll meet you there. I’ll make sure Kieran comes, too, even if I gotta carry him.”
“Like hell, you’re gonna do that!” Juliana retorted, stepping closer to him with the full intention of punching him again. She was stopped by Carmine though, who grabbed her shoulder before she could even lift her fist. “Like I’m gonna leave you alone Kieran after shit you just pulled, you asshat!”
“Yeah! Get out of here, Drayton!” Carmine agreed, glaring at the man with venom. “We’ll walk Kieran there. Arceus knows that the last thing he needs is to be around your jerk of an attitude.”
Drayton just huffed a sigh and shrugged. “Alright, alright, I’m leaving,” he replied, turning on his heel and slowly walking away from the group, hands still behind his head.
Juliana watched the boy walk away from the group as Carmen went to help her brother, who appeared to be sobering up a bit from his mental breakdown. The teenage girl flicked her wrist softly a few times as her thoughts wandered back to Kieran, and as the trio began to head to classroom 1-4, she feared she may have just made things between Kieran and herself far worse than what they were before.