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The rhythmic falling of the raindrops around them soothed Juliana and Kieran’s very souls as they went. Going out for walks in the Paldea wilderness was an activity that the couple partook in quite often. Even though they’re well off, sometimes taking a step back and doing something simple like a nighttime walk is all it takes to keep things fresh.
The two of them just held each other’s hand. Neither of them had to say anything, nor did they want to. It would spoil the moment. All they had to focus on was the song of the rain, the sound of their own footsteps, and the sights of Paldea that were illuminated by the faint glow of Juliana’s Lampent—a Pokémon she had caught during her most recent outing to Kitakami.
It felt as though they had been going for miles; despite that, they barely felt an ache in their legs. They were moving at a slower pace than their usual to ensure they didn’t slip on any slick mud the rain had created. Despite their leisure, they both felt fatigue begin to creep up on them steadily.
Upon cresting a particular hill, the two spotted various lights in the distance. Juliana squinted to get a better view of what lay in front of them, and when her brain caught up with what she saw, she exclaimed: “Oh hey, that’s Artazon! We’re almost home!”
“Awesome…” Kieran yawned and rubbed his eyes, unable to hold back a drowsy grin. “I’m ready for bed.”
“Same…” Juliana agreed, attempting to stifle a yawn of her own.
After only a couple more minutes of walking, Juliana stopped abruptly and went completely still. Both Kieran and Lampent turned around confusedly to look at her.
“Did you hear that?” she whispered.
“Uh…I don’t think so?” Kieran replied, straining his ears in an attempt to pick up on what Juliana was.
“I thought I heard footsteps… I think someone’s following us.”
Kieran tensed up, head now on a swivel as his eyes stung from his attempts to make out anything at all along the edge of Lampent’s light. Juliana clung to his arm, and—to his surprise—she was shaking…
Suddenly, Kieran took notice of a figure that seemed to look humanoid dashing in the distance. Immediately, his fight-or-flight instincts kicked into gear…
And he chose fight.
He whipped his hand down to his belt, white-knuckle clutching Dragonite’s Pokéball as he shouted into the night: “Show yourself!”
To the surprise of all three of them, whoever it was complied. Kieran clocked a human silhouette stalk from out of the shadows and begin to make its way towards them. Juliana’s trembles only grew stronger as the unknown person drew nearer. Kieran raised the Pokéball closer to his chest habitually. Finally, the figure breached Lampent’s luminescence, and when Juliana caught sight of their face, she fled behind Kieran with a yelp like a frightened, newborn Lillipup.
“Florian?” Juliana could barely get the words out.
“I thought I recognized that face,” Florian chuckled disdainfully. “Been a long time, hasn’t it? I’m guessing you’ve been keeping well?”
“You know this guy, Julie?” Kieran asked, sizing Florian up with an eyebrow raised.
“In so many words…yeah,” Juliana whimpered.
“I should hope she does!” Florian laughed disingenuously. “After all, I’m her brother.”
“Woah, that’s your brother?!” Kieran gasped.
Juliana flinched. “Yeah…”
“So, I see you’ve evolved from raging out and fighting pointless battles to cowering behind someone else and letting them fight for you? I should’ve expected nothing less…”
“Watch your tone,” Kieran warned, his grip on his partner’s Pokéball only tightening.
“Or what, huh?” Florian taunted, taking a step closer. “You gonna prove me right and knock me around until I can’t see straight? Who even are you, anyway?”
Kieran’s eye twitched uncontrollably at that last comment, and after taking a deep breath to steady his nerves, he answered: “The former champion, and now head battle professor, at the Unova region’s top school: Blueberry Academy.”
“Oh, so we got a big shot on our hands, huh?” Florian flashed a wicked grin and inched closer. Kieran’s core was practically vibrating with how hard Juliana was shaking. He wasn’t sure if he’d ever seen her this scared before. “Typical of Juliana to go after another champion… Never one to settle, are you?”
“Him being tough isn’t the only good thing about him!” Juliana objected, her voice choked and barely above a whisper. “He’s…he’s the perfect guy for me. He’s everything I could ever ask for…”
Kieran felt a sudden rush of blood hit his head as his cheeks flushed, but before he could dwell too much on his girlfriend’s praise, his attention was snatched back to the pest in front of him.
Florian took another bound towards the couple, causing Juliana to backpedal. “You know,” he began, shaking his head disappointedly, “it’s been a real pain trying to find you again, Juliana. I guess both you and I have a talent for being slippery.”
“Back up,” Kieran hissed, eyes locked on Florian like a rabid Pyroar ready to tear into its unsuspecting, helpless prey.
“I don’t think I will,” Florian maintained, continuing his steady approach. “Besides, this doesn’t involve you, tough guy. I’ve only got business with Juliana and getting her to explain where in the DISTORTION WORLD she gets off at up and abandoning me for the past decade!”
Without thinking, Kieran shook Juliana off and took a threatening stomp up to Florian, getting right in his face. “Listen to me, and listen to me well, Florian. I don’t give a Rattata’s ass about whatever you think Julie did to you. I’m telling you now that you’re NOT going to hurt her. If you try, I’m not against driving you off with my team, or by my own hands, if it comes to it. The choice is yours.”
Florian paused for a second, momentarily stunned by Kieran’s display. Juliana joined him in that sentiment. Sure, she knew Kieran could be combative and harsh from his time as Blueberry’s champion a decade ago, but this aggression was on a whole new level for him. Why did it make her heart flutter?
“Well, if it’s a fight you want…” Florian mused, unsheathing a knife from his belt, “then I suppose I can give that to you.”
“Woah, woah!—” Kieran stepped backwards. “What are you, psycho!?”
“Kiki! Be careful!” Juliana shrieked, panic overtaking her like one of Kyogre’s nastier tsunamis.
Florian chuckled, placing the blade back into its sheath and shaking his head. “Psycho? Really?! That’s the best you can think of? Man, I sure hope your battling skills hold up as well as they’re implied to be because that was…weak. If I had a Pokédollar for every time I’ve heard that or anything similar…I’d have enough to buy out that little school of yours.”
Kieran gritted his teeth. “Enough talkin’. I’m not interested in your lousy sob stories.”
Florian shrugged, producing a Pokéball of his own from his bag. “Fine then, be that way. If this is really what you want, I won’t say no.”
“You got this,” Juliana faintly assured Kieran from behind him, “I know you can win this, no problem!”
“So, how do you wanna play this one?” Florian asked with a smirk.
“Doubles,” Kieran growled.
“Oh, fancy! Alright, I can work with that.”
Florian reached into his bag and fetched a second Pokéball. Kieran did the same, producing Politoed’s ball from his belt.
“May the best man win,” Florian quipped.
“I plan to,” Kieran nodded.
You are challenged by Pokémon Trainer Florian!
“Alright, Corviknight, Cacturne, let’s turn this hotshot’s dial back to cold!” Florian yelled, digging a heel into the dirt and tossing both Pokéballs out in unison. A blinding flash of red light erupted and mingled from both of the handheld spheres. When vision returned, there stood a Cacturne looking smug with its thorny arms crossed, and a Corviknight flapping its wings in anticipation above it.
Juliana watched from behind Kieran as he tossed his two Pokéballs as well: “Dragonite, Politoed, let’s chase him off!” Dragonite and Politoed were standing side-by-side, looking more fierce than they were even during his showdown with Juliana a decade ago. He found himself puzzled at that memory—he could hardly believe the girl cowering behind him was the same one who stood up directly to him and fought with everything she had until he was left crumbling on his knees. Different circumstances, he guessed.
The rain from before, that had begun to calm down, started up again in a harsher cascade around them as the battle flared to life. “Corviknight, set up an Iron Defense! Cacturne, Energy Ball!” Florian commanded. Both of his Pokémon sprung into action at once. Corviknight’s feathers seemed to harden as its body grew more rigid. Cacturne didn’t waste a minute charging up a glowing green orb between its stubby arms.
“Dragonite, use Thunder! Politoed, Ice Beam, quick!” Kieran commanded. The clouds that hung above them suddenly darkened and began to rumble with a sense of foreboding. In a flash, a colossal bolt of lightning hurled down and struck directly into and throughout Corviknight’s metallic body. Direct hit, deadly accurate. It let out a shrill shriek that was quickly silenced as it fell to the ground, unconscious. Perfection.
The opposing Corviknight fainted!
“Damn, already?!” Florian grimaced. “Corviknight, return!”
As Florian retrieved Corviknight, Politoed launched a frigid stream of pure ice directly at Cacturne, who had just finished charging its Energy Ball. When the attacks collided, Cacturne’s attack was split in half and rendered useless with ease, leaving nothing to prevent the Scarecrow Pokémon’s glacial fate. As soon as the ice touched Cacturne’s body, it was rendered frozen solid and out-of-commission with ease.
The opposing Cacturne fainted!
“Arceus above! Get your acts together!” Florian yelled as he returned Cacturne as well.
Try as he might, Kieran couldn’t stop the shit-eating grin from finding itself etched onto his face. “Not so cocky now, are ya?” he mused.
The scowl now present on Florian’s face was one that made Kieran pause for a moment. The scorn in those eyes, the precise way his mouth looks when scowling, it’s all so familiar… Those two really are related, aren’t they? he quipped internally.
“Drednaw, Pawmot, turn it around!” Florian bellowed, throwing out his next two Pokémon. Drednaw snapped its jaws at Kieran and his party, while Pawmot punched one paw to another like how a human challenging another would punch their palm.
Kieran squinted, tightening his focus. “Alright! Dragonite, Thunder again! Politoed, Psychic!” he commanded.
“Drednaw, hit ‘em with a Crunch! Pawmot, Thunder Punch, let’s go!” Florian ordered.
All four of their Pokémon sprung into action. The clouds rumbled again as a lightning bolt struck directly onto Drednaw. Unlike Corviknight, however, it didn’t go down. With surprising speed for a heavy Pokémon like itself, Drednaw took a galloping start and lunged at Dragonite, clamping down onto its next and thrashing around violently. The cry that the dragon emitted was one that pierced Kieran’s heart.
Dragonite fainted!
“Woah, woah, that’s enough! Dragonite, come back, buddy!” Dragonite was down for the count before Kieran even had its ball in his hand.
“One down, five to go,” Florian taunted. This prompted a glare from Kieran.
Pawmot launched itself at Politoed, its fist igniting with a blinding electric current. Politoed was able to hold it back for a moment with its Psychic, and while it managed to do some serious damage to Pawmot, it was still able to connect the attack with surprising strength. Much to Kieran’s horror, Politoed was launched backwards and knocked unconscious.
Politoed fainted!
“No!” Kieran yelled.
The shit-eating grin had been passed to Florian now. “Looks like I’ve evened the odds! Let’s see how you dig yourself out of this one.”
Kieran ignored his opponent’s taunting, clutching two more Pokéballs from his belt and vaulting them onto the battlefield. Before him now stood his proud Dark-type duo: Grimmsnarl and Incineroar. Florian eyed the two up and down, his expression surprisingly unreadable.
“Pawmot, Focus Punch! Drednaw, Liquidation!”
Pawmot shut its eyes, its expression tense and steeled. A light glinted in Kieran’s eyes. Now’s my chance! he thought. “Incineroar, duck out of the way and go for a Brick Break! Grimmsnarl, Spirit Break!”
Grimmsnarl leapt up and pounced on Pawmot in a second, lashing it with as much force as it could muster. Pawmot’s eyes flashed open as it tensed from the sudden attack. Focus broken. Before it had a chance to retaliate, Pawmot was launched backward and stayed down.
The opposing Pawmot fainted!
Florian cursed under his breath and returned his fallen fighter to its ball.
Drednaw retracted as far into its shell as it could and launched itself at Incineroar. All it took was one swipe to stun Drednaw and force its head and limbs back out of its shell. Perfect.
“Brick Break again!” Kieran yelled. Incineroar followed up with another strike to Drednaw’s head, and it was quickly forced out of consciousness.
The opposing Drednaw fainted!
Florian’s curses grew louder as he returned Drednaw as well.
“At this rate, I don’t think I’ll even be needin’ my Tera Orb,” Kieran provoked.
“Would you SHUT UP already? Less talk, more fight! I may be down four Pokémon, but I’m not out! I can turn this around, just you wait!” Florian’s hands were shaking as much as his voice was. His throw was just as unsteady as he hurled his last two Pokémon out onto the field. Garchomp and Skeledirge stared daggers into Kieran, his party—and Skeledirge made sure to fire one at Juliana. When their eyes locked, she felt her heart sink.
“ Fuecoco… ” Juliana lamented, her voice barely above a whisper. “ You’ve grown so much… Why…why did you have to end up with him of all people? ”
By now, the rain had ceased.
“GARCHOMP, STOMPING TANTRUM! SKELEDIRGE, TORCH SONG!” Florian howled, both his tone and body language becoming more erratic and deranged as time passed.
“Grimmsnarl, use Reflect—keep Incineroar safe! Incineroar, Darkest Lariat!”
Grimmsnarl nodded and summoned a shield of light in front of both itself and Incineroar. Incineroar stuck its arms out to either side, winding up and revolving its body while vaulting itself at Skeledirge. Garchomp took turns smashing the ground by jumping and using the impact of its landing, and by lashing with its tail, sending waves of energy directly at the spinning cat in an attempt to stop its pursuit. The attack left Incineroar quite wounded, but thanks to the Reflect, it was able to hang on and collide with Skeledirge with sickening force. Before its infernal song could leave its maw, Skeledirge was sent lifelessly back to its ball.
The opposing Skeledirge fainted!
Florian roared with unbridled rage as he returned Skeledirge. He then whipped his attention to Garchomp. His last hope. “GARCHOMP, STOMPING TANTRUM AGAIN!”
“Incineroar, return!” Kieran called, bringing Incineroar back to the comfort of its ball and reaching for another. “Grimmsnarl, use Spirit Break! Keep Garchomp back!”
Grimmsnarl gave an affirming grunt and charged Garchomp as it lashed violently at the ground again. Grimmsnarl took the hits like a champ before finally reaching Garchomp and striking it as hard as it could. Garchomp sputtered back, its roar equal parts pained and furious. Florian’s attention was quickly shifted from Garchomp and Grimmsnarl to what was…above them?
“What the—” Florian blinked. Porygon-Z loomed above Grimmsnarl, its gaze somehow managing to be genuinely intimidating, even for an artificial Pokémon that should be cold and devoid of emotion; at least, that’s what Florian thought. “You switched?! You really are a coward, aren’t you?”
“Not really… I’m more of a strategist. You don’t get to be champion without being able to think on your feet,” Kieran deadpanned.
Florian gritted his teeth so hard he thought they might shatter. “You’re such an arrogant prick, you know that? You think you’re all high and mighty because you were the biggest nerd at some hoity-toity school A DECADE AGO!”
Kieran’s eye twitched, but his demeanor never faltered. “Maybe…but I’ve still got the skill to back me up—and hey, if we’re talkin’ about things the two of us are, you wanna know what you are?”
“What?” Florian barked indignantly.
“Defeated,” Kieran answered. In the blink of an eye, his posture was straight and his voice was clear. “Let’s finish this, Porygon: ICE BEAM!”
Florian’s face was overcome with despair as he was forced to watch this lab-created monster fire a direct hit at his wounded Garchomp who was too weak to move or defend itself. The attack made contact, and just like that, Garchomp was rendered unable to fight.
The opposing Garchomp fainted!
Battle decided.
Florian stood shell-shocked, the only movement he was able to muster was returning Garchomp. “Wha… Huh?”
Kieran eyed Florian cooly as he returned Porygon and Grimmsnarl, finding himself stuck in reminiscence once again. That expression he’s got on…I wonder if that’s what I looked like when Julie beat me all that time ago. No wonder she wouldn’t shut up about it. It’s exhilarating!
Juliana was about to pipe up, but her comment—and Kieran’s train of thought—was disrupted by an unexpected noise from the other side of the battlefield. It started as a low chuckle, but quickly grew more boisterous and disturbed.
“Haha…hah. You’re idiots, both of you.” Florian plodded toward the two of them, each step calculated, yet primal. “You think I CARE about some pointless battle? You know EXACTLY what I’m here for. I thought I made that point crystal clear . It’s almost laughable…” He stopped his advance, looking past Kieran and locking eyes with Juliana.
“You didn’t ACTUALLY think I was leaving empty-handed, did you?”
Before either could react, Florian charged towards Juliana at breakneck speeds. Kieran tried to grab him—do anything in his power to stop him—but it was in vain. All hope seemed to be lost as Florian was agonizingly close to a petrified Juliana. Just before he could make contact and do whatever he was planning, a sudden burst of red light stopped all of them in their tracks.
“Ponyo!”
A deafening CRACK rang out followed by a primal roar of pure agony from Florian as he dropped to the ground, clutching his side like a gunshot victim, giving the couple a chance to back up and get within a safe distance. When the sudden light cleared, what was standing before them was a shock to them both,
There was Ogerpon, who had just released herself from her ball, looming over Florian with a level of abhorrence in her starry eyes that Juliana didn’t think was possible.
“Pon pon ponyo!” she hissed as if to say ‘stay down,’ a trace of blood barely visible on the spikes of her cudgel.
Florian’s gaze remained fixed on his injured side, his expression coated with disbelief as he watched the blood soaking through his clothes. “What…IS that thing?” he croaked, not understanding Ogerpon’s warning and attempting to get up. That was quickly foiled by another CRACK as she bludgeoned him over the head with her cudgel. He crumpled to the ground, unmoving, after that.
“Ponpon…” Juliana whispered in awe. Ogerpon put her cudgel away and ran up to her trainer. Juliana pulled her into a tight hug, tears pricking at her eyes. “You saved me…”
“Pon pon!” Ogerpon vocalized affectionately as she nuzzled her trainer.
“You really are an incredible little thing, aren’tcha, Ogerpon?” Kieran chuckled as he moseyed up to the two of them. He extended a hand to Juliana who quickly took it. He pulled her up with his occupied hand and used the other to pet Ogerpon gently, who cooed delightedly at the affection her humans were showing her.
Kieran pulled her into a tight embrace, of which she reciprocated immediately. He was racked harshly by both her returning shaking and each of her sobs that hit him like a wave. “Shhh, it’s okay, Julie,” he reassured, rubbing her back gently. “He ain’t gonna hurt you now. He’s done. You’re safe. I’m here…”
Juliana sniffled, fighting for control over herself. “That…was impressive,” she managed through sobs. “I always love watching you fight… Thank you…for everything, mi amor…”
Kieran pulled back slightly, tilted Juliana’s head up with one finger, and looked her right in her eyes: “No big deal at all. I’m not just gonna leave you for dead. You’re way too precious for me to be doin’ somethin’ like that…” He didn’t give her time to respond before he locked her in a gentle kiss. It seemed to have caught her off guard, but she leaned into it nonetheless. Unfortunately, this one had to be much shorter than what was usual for them.
When the two separated, Juliana glanced back at Florian dejectedly. “Is…is he breathing?”
Kieran squinted to get a better view of him amidst the darkness. He eventually could make out Florian’s chest rising and falling ever-so-slightly. “Yeah.”
Juliana sighed heavily. “Okay…good.”
“We shouldn’t stick around here, Julie—don’t want him wakin’ up on us.”
“You’re right, good idea…” Juliana returned Ogerpon before pulling out another Pokéball and releasing the creature inside. Miraidon appeared in front of them, sitting proudly in front of the two of them.
Juliana stepped up to it, gently stroking its frigid metallic cheek. “Hey buddy…think you could take us home?”
Miraidon grunted in affirmation and nodded. It stood up on four legs once more and crouched down so the couple could mount it. Climbing atop Miraidon’s back felt like a monumental chore for the two of them in their weary states. Eventually they managed, and once Miraidon knew they were secure, it took off for Mesagoza.
“Sweet sleep, here we come…” Juliana slurred, feeling her consciousness slipping away from her as both Kieran’s gentle but firm grip and the soft bumps of Miraidon traversing through South Province Area Three lulled her to sleep.