Author's Note: WELCOME ONE AND ALL TO THE FINAL STRETCH! You are almost done, dear trainer! Stand strong and prevail in this final chapter!

Enjoy!

"Ahahahaha!" Juliana's energetic laughter filled the air as Arven begun tickling her. He just couldn't resist the temptation anymore, so he prodded lightly at her torso. When she started to laugh, he pounced atop her, making her squeal.

"Gotcha, my little champion~!" He teased, then dug his face into her neck to kiss her. This made Juliana laugh more, "Ahaha! Arven that tickles!"

"That's the idea!" He whispered into her ear. In a moment of ingenuity, she rolled out from under him which caught him off guard. She then tackled him and dished out some tickling herself. He softly fell backwards with a shocked expression.

"Oh, you!" Arven sputtered out while laughing, "Oh, now you're really gonna get it!" He retaliated with much more intensity.

Juliana sprang to her feet and ran out the door. By that time, the rain had stopped but it was still cloudy. Arven rushed out the door after her and scooped her up off her feet into his arms. Juliana laughed out loud, holding onto him tightly. Arven took this opportunity to place another gentle kiss on her mouth. With no embarrassing disruptions the kiss went a lot smoother. He pulled away from her, looking at her blushing face.

"That was better." Juliana noted shyly.

Arven chuckled, "Good to know, plus no interruptions." He briefly got an annoyed look on his face, "Especially from that little brat…"

Choosing to ignore that last sentence, Juliana nodded in agreement. She continued holding onto her boyfriend and gazed up at the sky. She looked at the lighthouse tower contrasting the dark clouds, her nose caught whiff of the wet grass surrounding them.

"I can't wait for tomorrow." She expressed.

"I feel the same way." He replied, holding her tight, "I wonder what kind of vegetables she has."

"It will be a lot. She's real big on gardening, so much so that she's gotten me into it too. It'll be fun!"

"I know it will be. Say Juliana? Let's climb the ladder."

"Okay!" Juliana answered, Arven set her down and they both went to the lighthouse ladder to climb it. The air inside the tunnel was a bit damp, from the rain. When Juliana reached the top, her eyes went to the direction of the Academy. It looked so small from where they were at. Two Wingull that were resting on the railing flew off toward the ocean when she approached.

"This view is so pretty!" She beamed, at that moment Arven had joined beside her. Her eyes continued to scan the many grassy plains and rolling hills surrounding them. In the far distance, she could barely see the peak of Glaseado Mountain.

Arven put his arm around her and spoke, "That day we met for the first time, in front of this lighthouse. Who would've thought that it would lead to this? Not me, that's for sure." He chuckled.

"Life is just that way." Juliana replied, "And I'm so happy it happened like this!" She turned to face Arven, "I got to meet you and…" She giggled, feeling a wave of colorful emotions. Arven smiled tenderly and kissed her forehead.

"Oh!" Juliana lit up, "Look over here!" She ran a few feet over and pointed, "Look! Do you see that battle court right there?"

Arven caught up beside her and focused his gaze on a tiny battle court on the beach, "Yeah?"

"That's where Nemona and I battled for the first time! That's her house right there."

Arven was amazed, "Whoa! So that's her house!? Sheesh, she really is like a pampered little princess huh?"

"Nuh-uh!" Juliana disagreed, "Come on Arven, you know she's not like that at all! Complete opposite!"

"Still, that's a huge house." Arven observed, "I wonder what they do with that many rooms?"

Juliana shrugged, then her eyes went to another very notable spot, "Oh, check that out Arven!" She pointed. "Huh?" Arven's eyes were directed to a sandy shore right below them with a cave opening.

"That's where I met Koraidon! It was at that spot!" Juliana excitedly explained.

"O-Oh! That's where it was?"

"Yeah, that's where I fell off the cliff. Koraidon was washed ashore, it looked so weak like it was on the verge of fainting. I was nervous because I had never seen a Pokémon like that before, but I didn't want to just leave it like that, so I fed it the sandwich my mom gave me."

"I remember you telling me about that." Arven crossed his arms, tilting his head slightly.

"If you think about it that way… aren't we where we all are today because Nemona and I went to investigate a strange cry and fed Koraidon a sandwich?"

Arven thought about it, his eyes lighting up when he realized she was right, "Hey… you've got a point there!"

"It seemed so insignificant at the time, but it ended up being… well, significant!" Juliana enthused, "Isn't this what they call the 'Beautifly Effect'?"

Arven laughed, "Yeah, that's exactly what it's called!"

"Okay, okay. So, let's put this together." Juliana clapped her hands together, "If Nemona and I chose to ignore that cry instead of investigating… we wouldn't have met Koraidon, which means I wouldn't have given it my sandwich, which means you and I probably wouldn't have met, which means you probably wouldn't have asked me to help you find the Herba Mystica, which means we wouldn't have gone on a journey together, which means… we wouldn't have… fallen in love…"

Arven shook his head while smiling, "It's unbelievable, isn't it? How something so small could turn into something like this."

"Does that mean Koraidon is technically our matchmaker?" Juliana blushed, squeezing her eyes shut in excitement.

"Heh, yeah, you're right. Suppose that's something I can thank it for."

Juliana smiled, "Maybe you could make it a sandwich as thanks?"

"How did I know you were gonna say that? Agh… I guess there's no harm in that now."

Juliana laughed before she realized something, "You know what else? That time machine your mother created would've destroyed all of Paldea too! If I hadn't met Koraidon…"

Arven's eyes widened in apprehension, "That… that's true… who knows what exactly would've happened."

"That's scary to think about… one sandwich saved the world."

Arven chuckled at that idea, "I like the sound of that. Sounds like the beginning of a novel!"

They stood quietly as the wind howled around them for a few moments, Juliana took note of their surroundings and realized it was getting really dark. She looked at the time on her rotom phone, it was just after 7 pm. "Oh wow, this day flew by fast!" She noted, "Time really flies when you're having fun right?"

"Heheh… yeah, I know right?"

"Should we head back?" She asked.

Arven thought about it, then answered with a small grin, "Nah, I want to stay here with you just a bit longer. If you're okay with that." His face reddened.

Juliana blushed again, "I'm okay with that. I have an idea, let's build a fort!"

"A…what?" A baffled Arven asked.

"Oh, that sounds so fun! Come on let's do it!" Juliana hurried to the ladder to climb down, Arven, while puzzled, followed her, "Wait, Juliana!?"

An hour later, the couple had finished constructing a fort made from sheets inside the lab. Using the four chairs from the table with several large, dark colored sheets draped over them, securing it with some of Professor Sada's heavier books. On the inside, they were sitting on a full-sized floor futon that they had found in the late Professor's closet.

"Okay, this is kinda fun." Arven commented.

"Right!? But um… it's actually a little dark." Juliana mentioned.

"I gotcha." Arven replied, he dug around in his backpack and took out a small LED lantern, clicking it on. The bright light illuminated the cozy space.

Juliana was dazzled, "Wow, I hadn't done this in so long! I would do this with other kids during my childhood!"

"Hehe… really?"

"Yeah, it's something that always made me happy no matter what." Juliana reminisced, "I would do this with my mom and dad too. It was always fun."

Arven smiled warmly, "That sounds amazing Juliana, you really are such a cutie."

"I hope your mother doesn't mind us doing this in her old lab…" Juliana giggled timidly.

Arven assured her, "Heh! I'm sure she won't."

Sure enough, outside the lab, standing next to the window but out of view, the spirit of Sada chuckled at what was going on, "Nope, I don't mind at all sweetie." She snickered. Right after she said that, Liam showed up, "What are those crazy kids doing now?"

Sada began walking away from the lab, leading Liam away with her, "They've built a fort out of sheets in there. Your daughter thought of the idea."

Liam reacted happily, "Really now!? Oh, that brings back memories! She, my wife, and I would do that all the time when Juliana was little! She would do the same with the other kids too."

Sada smiled, "Oh, I overheard her saying that. She's an inquisitive one, isn't she? Inquisitive and playful."

"That's my girl." Liam nodded proudly, after that, Sada sported a mischievous grin on her face.

Liam chuckled, "What are you thinking about Professor?"

She only replied with, "I'll be right back." Her voice laced with trouble. The Professor disappeared for a moment and re-appeared in front of the door. She looked at Liam and winked, then used some energy to bang on the door roughly. Liam began to laugh like a teenager watching their friend pull a prank as Professor Sada ran back to him, the two then disappeared together.

Inside the lab, Juliana's heartrate had picked up, "What's that!? Who's banging on the door like that?"

Arven's awareness was heightened, "I have no idea, I locked the door when we came in so they can't come in, don't worry."

Juliana humorously mentioned, "Well, it's not Koraidon or Mabosstiff."

Arven chuckled, "Heh, yeah. Let me go see." He grabbed the Pokeball containing his signature Pokémon and crawled out of the fort to walk to the door. Juliana grabbed Meowscarda's Pokeball just in case. Arven lifted the curtain that was covering the door window and saw no one. Being cautious, he peered the door open just a crack and poked his head around. There was no one in sight, not a person, nor a Pokémon.

Juliana had crawled out of the fort and approached, "Is there someone there?"

Arven closed the door, locked it again, and shook his head, "No, there's no one there." He shrugged, "Eh, probably just some youngsters goofing around. Let's just hope they don't come back."

"Okay." Juliana replied, then returned to the fort with Arven behind her.

In the open field that was behind the lab, Professor Sada and Liam were having a good chuckle over what Sada had done.

"Oh, that'll shake 'em up just a bit." Sada smirked.

"Hopefully you didn't scare them too bad, Sada." Liam replied.

"I'm sure they're fine. As parents we gotta keep our kids on our toes." She sighed, "I do regret not being more of a parent like this when I was alive but… I want to do the best I can now. Even if I have to do so from the other side."

Liam nodded, "Just remember what we talked about before, about making peace with your regrets."

Sada gave him a smile, "I do remember, that was honestly the most deep conversation I had ever had with anyone in a very long while. I'm so glad I met you Liam."

"I'm glad to have met you as well Professor Sada. It's a shame we're both passed and separated from our loved ones, but it's a good thing we can still see them now."

"Indeed." Sada turned to face the sky as a thought crossed her mind that shouldn't have, she sputtered out a chortle.

"What's so funny Professor?" Liam smiled.

Instead of directly answering him, she muttered quietly to herself, "I hope they don't get too foolish in there."

"What was that?" Liam asked.

"Nothing!" Sada quickly responded while laughing out loud, "Say, let's go hang out at the beach! The view's amazing there!" She turned into an orb and whisked away before Liam could respond. Liam called out teasingly, "Hey, don't leave so fast!" before he morphed into an orb and chased after.

A few more hours had passed, Juliana and Arven were asleep, cuddled up to one another in their safe haven. The rain had started up again, though this time it was much lighter. Juliana had her head rested on her boyfriend's chest, with her arm across him. Arven was on his back with one arm around Juliana.

He suddenly found himself atop the lighthouse roof again, this time alone. He was puzzled, he didn't recall climbing the ladder after going back down. Especially not when it was raining again. He looked around, even gazing at his arms and hands, trying to re-trace his steps. When suddenly…

"Arven…"

He turned around to the direction of the voice to see his late mother standing there with a reserved smile.

Arven couldn't believe it, "M…Mom!?"

She approached him, "It's… been a while, hasn't it?"

Arven stood silently, not knowing not to say. Sada's smile never faltered, "I'm so happy to see you, you've grown so much."

Arven hesitated, but he realized quickly it was okay. This wasn't an AI, a time machine, a robotic copy… this was the real her, her spirit. He was almost the same height as her now, but he knows she wasn't referring to height.

Her tone became more somber, "Arven… I'm so sorry… nothing can change the mistakes I made. I wasn't the mother you deserved, and I don't deserve to be forgiven… Just know that I couldn't be more proud of you. And that I love you so much."

Arven's eyes fogged up and his hands began to tremble at the emotions welling up. He took one hesitant step forward, then he ran straight into her arms. She returned the embrace, hugging him tightly. Arven's shoulders spasmed as tears fell from his eyes.

"Sorry I had to see you again like this…" Sada apologized.

Arven choked out, "Mom… I don't want you to leave."

"I'll be looking over you, my son." Sada comforted, "Even during times you don't see me, know that I'll always be rooting for you. I also want you to promise me something."

Arven stepped back to look at her, "What is it?"

She gave him an encouraging smile, "Be good to Juliana, she's an amazing girl."

He wiped his eyes, "Of course I will, and yes, she is. She's the best… I don't know where I'd be without her…"

Sada nodded positively, "You two will have a very happy future. I can sense it." Arven was confused by this sentence, but before he could ask he felt himself drifting off. Sada waved him goodbye with a smile, "Always remember what I told you just now."

"Mom!" Arven called out, before everything went black.

Juliana woke up the next morning snuggled up to Arven with her arm across his chest. Thankfully, the fort had stayed up quite nicely. She checked her rotom phone to see it was just after 7am. She sat up slowly, stretching her arms above her head. She then heard movement and a low groan behind her, Arven was gradually stirring awake.

"Morning sleepyhead." Juliana spoke in a low voice.

Arven sat up and replied groggily, "Hey, Juliana."

Juliana felt herself swoon, "That sleepy voice is seriously the cutest! Ugh… that's better than coffee!" She took the time to gaze at his bedhead messily covering half his face. Even in his imperfect state, she still found him the most adorable. He leaned forward and gave her an awkward hug, surprising her.

"Juliana…" He replied, "I need to tell you something, can we go outside?"

She was a bit confused, but she answered, "Yes Arven."

The couple were atop the roof of the lab again. The sky was mostly clear and dark blue, the tiny clouds present were dusted with flecks of light. Arven had just finished telling her about his dream.

Juliana felt the cool wind against her face, "Oh wow Arven… that's…" she found herself tongue-tied.
Arven had tears falling from his eyes, "Hearing that from her gave me so much solace… I'm so thankful she reached out to me…"

Juliana rushed into his arms without a word, Arven held onto her, "She thinks you're amazing, and you are…" he whispered. She hugged him closer, starting to get a bit emotional herself, "Arven…"

Arven kissed her head, "I'm sorry… you're the best, Juliana. I love you… I love you so much, don't ever leave my side!"

"I love you too Arven. You have nothing to be sorry for, and I'll always be here for you."

They held onto one another as the clouds parted, revealing the sun in its full glory. The couple was tinged with burnished gold light centering on them like the final act of a stage play. They basked in the summer warmth. Juliana felt her heart soaring like it had never done before. She held onto her beloved closely, thinking only of him.

"Arven… I don't know what the future holds, but what I do know is this… I love love loooove you!"

Koraidon and Mabosstiff were on the ground, watching their trainers from below. They had emerged from their Pokeballs still inside the lab, and had gotten out the door. They did not engage in some lighthearted tomfoolery to interrupt them this time, this moment was theirs and they were going to let them have it. The two Pokémon looked at each other with joy on their faces, both proud of their respective trainers.
The world went on around them. Wingull took to the skies, Hoppip were carried away in the wind, Lechonk pranced in and out of the grass.

At that moment, all was pure and right. As it should be.

"Come on, let's hurry! We're almost at the house!"
Juliana cheerfully encouraged as she skipped ahead of her boyfriend. It was late morning, the sky was bright blue and the sun was up higher. Arven smiled as he rushed to keep up with her, still feeling a little embarrassed about the emotional event they experienced together that morning.

As the house came into view, they could see that Juliana's mother was already outside, ready to tend to her plants. Juliana called out to her, and she turned around, "Oh Juliana and Arven! I'm so glad you could make it!"

"Hi mom! I'm so excited to get started! What should we do first?"

"Well, first we need to harvest the bell peppers! They're just about ready to fall off!"

Looking into her garden it was easy to see what she was talking about. A variety of vegetables were all sprouted and full of life, thriving in the summer heat. Surely it was a small slice of paradise. Mother pointed the teens into the direction of the most ripened ones.

"These ones are the most ready." She guided, "Let's get them inside to wash them."

"All right mom!" Juliana enthused, "It's been a long time since we've done this together, hasn't it?"

Mother smiled, "Well, as the seasons cycle there is less harvesting days. Arven? Could you grab the garden hose around the corner for me, dear?"

"O-of course!" Arven fumbled with words slightly before going to find it. Mother turned to her daughter, "He's quite the sweet young man, isn't he? You've got yourself a good one darling."

"Mom…" Juliana mumbled.

"Oh, don't be bashful dear! It's nothing to be worried over! There's nothing wrong with being truly in love with someone! I know from experience of course." She giggled, starting to pick the bell peppers and placing them in her cart, "I love seeing you so happy Juliana, you look amazing!"

"Thanks mom." She returned the smile, "I'm really glad to have met him! But… how have things been here? Have you been okay?"

"Oh, I've been fine by myself sweetheart. I'm quite good at keeping busy! Plus, if I ever start to feel alone. I remind myself that I'm not."

Juliana smiled, "You know mom, that's something I've had to remind myself at times."

"Is that so dear? Well, the fruit doesn't fall very far from the tree as they say!"

Arven came back around with the hose, "I've got it. Sorry it took me a while, had to hook it up."

"Oh, thank you Arven!" Mom acknowledged, "I'm sorry, I knew there was something I forgot to set up."

"It's all right." Arven assured before his eyes went to fully grown bunches of broccoli, "Oh wow! Those look amazing!"

"Don't they?" Mom grinned, "Could you get started harvesting those for me Arven? I'll take that from you." She took the hose from him and began to water another bed where the plants were still growing. Arven began to harvest the broccoli, placing them in the cart.

"These would make great ingredients for sandwiches!" Arven enthused, "They look so incredible!"

"It took me a lot of practice dear, trust me." Mom explained, "But I believe gardening something that anyone can be good at if they take the time to learn it well! After all, mankind didn't always have grocery stores to buy veggies from!"

Arven replied, "That's true, I've always been into outdoor life. But I don't think I've dabbled in any gardening. Mostly just camping, picnics, and adventuring."

"Juliana has told me all about that, you know you're more than welcome to take some ingredients with you!"

"Thank you!" Arven expressed, "I would love to!"

As the three continued working in the garden, Koraidon and Mabosstiff had emerged from their Pokeballs from their trainers' backpacks that were left near the front of the house. They checked their surroundings before playing with one another. Koraidon would tap Mabosstiff with a front paw and bounce around, while Mabosstiff would tap back and do the same.

"Of course, I'll be right back!" Arven's voice could be heard from around the corner. The two playful Pokémon quickly retreated into their Pokeballs, just in time as Arven came around the corner with a cart full of fresh vegetables, entering the house with it.

Juliana was sitting on the grass nearby, taking a short rest. While her mother continued to water some plants. Juliana looked into the sky and thought about the moment her and Arven had that morning, the kaleidoscope of emotions they both experienced as the sun shone upon them, it was an experience that she would be more than happy to repeat.

She didn't realize she was smiling brightly with a blush, and then suddenly a shower of water fell upon her. Juliana sprung to her feet and whirled around to see her mother grinning devilishly with the hose, "Sorry dear! You were looking a little flushed over there! I thought I'd cool you off!"

"Mom!" Juliana squealed out and ran to her, mother responded by spraying her daughter again. Juliana laughed and grabbed at the hose, getting them both wet. The two laughed loudly as they wrestled over it, water going in all different directions.

At that moment, Arven had returned with the now empty cart. He stopped upon seeing the lively madness going on, "What…?" Was all he could think of to say. Juliana had full control of the hose now, and she called out to her boyfriend, "If you come over here, you're gonna get wet!" she teased. Without a moment of hesitation she sprayed him, he flinched slightly at the cool water and his eyes widened. Juliana sprayed him again while her mother howled.

Arven grinned mischievously, "Okay, you are so gonna get it now!" He beamed and ran after her. Juliana squealed and ran with the hose with Arven hot on her trail, "I'm gonna get ya!" He caught up to her quickly and grabbed the hose, prompting a jovial struggle over control.

Mother cheered for her daughter, "Get him Juliana! Get him!" She squeaked. The couple fought over the hose, jubilant laughter coming from both of them. Juliana felt the strength of their relationship growing stronger with each second of this, right now, they were living like they were in a dream they would never wake up from, one they shared, just the two of them. Eventually, they tumbled to the ground laughing, the water droplets forming a rainbow in the sky for only a second. Mother went to turn the hose off, allowing the teens to rest on the ground.

Eventually they relaxed, Arven got to his feet with a joyous smile and turned to help Juliana up. They were now both sopping wet, but that didn't matter to them. They exchanged a hug, reveling in the moment. Mother brought them towels.

"Oh, look at you two!" she enthused, "You guys are so adorable! Come to the front of the house, I've made you both sandwiches!"

Juliana reacted with surprise, "Already!? That was quick!"

Arven was excited, "All right! Let's go eat, I'm starving!"

The couple were sitting on the front step of mother's house with sandwiches in hand, each made with the freshy harvested and washed vegetables.

"This is the best!" Arven complimented after taking his first bite.

Juliana smiled, having taken a few bites already, "Sandwiches made with fresh vegetables on a warm summer day. It doesn't get any better than this!"

"I'm going to enjoy every bit of this!" Arven replied, "My childhood was pretty rough, and I don't have very good memories of it… but I want to make sure that my days going forward are filled with good times and amazing memories!"

"That's right!" Juliana cheered, "And like I said before, I'll be with you through it all."

Arven used an arm to hold her close, "I know I can always count on you for that cutie."

She whispered, "I love you, Arven."

He whispered back, "And I love you, Juliana."

And she wanted it to stay that way, as long as the skies were blue. She wanted to enjoy every moment she could, not just with Arven, but with all her friends. From now up until graduation, she was going to enjoy her life as a student. Despite not knowing what the future held, she would live life to the fullest without fear. She remembered what Director Clavell had said in the beginning, they will journey together, learn new things together, share each other's thoughts and feelings, and find something they might always treasure.

For Juliana and Arven? Both would conclude that they had found theirs, and it was something far beyond their wildest imaginations.

This was, without a doubt, an unexpected treasure.

THE END

Author's Note: Oh... my gosh... I did it... I ACTUALLY DID IT!

BEHOLD THE POWER OF SUNNY THE SUNLIGHT SHRINE! GRRRRRR! *grows a sunflower out the top of my head* Yay. XD

Okay, okay so what I'm gonna say now is, thank you all so much for following this wonderful journey of Juliana and Arven! All of you are amazing for sticking with me through this great adventure!
Big special 'thank you' to MegaSalamence64! You've helped me out a lot and I always enjoyed chatting with you and the Juliana X Arven pics you would send me! Plus I like your story as well!

This will not be the end for Juliana X Arven stories, there will be more to come. However, I will be taking a break because writing something like this is a bit of an undertaking and I need to relax my mind now. Although I've got some ideas swimming around in my noggin, I'm not gonna start anything just yet. But this adventure will continue, so rest assured!

All right, I think that's all I have to say. Goodbye for now! See you all next time!