Author's Note: Wowee! This chapter basically wrote itself if I'm being honest!

I hope you all enjoy! Here goes! Brace yourself, this is a long chapter!


Juliana and Arven stood in front of the opening where they faced off that titan Klawf. The cavern now stood silent aside from a gust of wind causing a deep howl to echo from within. Regardless, the teens still had the sense of mind to be aware of their surroundings. As it is never ideal to be caught off-guard.

Juliana noted, "It's just like how it was when we left it."

"I'd say that's a good thing." Arven replied, crossing his arms, "But I can't help but wonder where that thing could've gone off to."

"As long as it doesn't attack us again, I'll be okay with that."

"If it does, it won't stand a chance against us now." Arven stated confidently.

Juliana smiled, "You're right about that. We're both pretty strong, we could face anything!"

Arven shook his head, "You? Absolutely. Me? Eh, I could use some work."

"Don't say that, Arven!" Juliana countered fervently, "You are honestly like a beef gate!"

Arven's face twisted in confusion, "A… beef gate? What do you mean by that?"

"Arven, when you asked to battle before we went down to Area Zero… you were a challenge, and I'm not just saying that! I would go so far as to say you were just as strong as Nemona! Maybe a little bit more…"

Arven opened his mouth to disagree, only to realize he couldn't. Because what Juliana was saying was the truth, and he knew it deep down, he was just too self-deprecating. Instead, he took a deep breath and put a hand on the back of his neck, "Yeah, you're right Juliana. I've gotten pretty good at this whole battling thing."

Feeling accomplished, Juliana winked, "See? You can recognize your own skill!"

This made Arven chuckle, "Thank you, Juliana."

In response, she hopped directly in front of him and flung her arms around him, standing on her tip-toes. Arven put his arms around her and held her tight. Not only that, he decided to lift her just enough to get her feet off the ground. She responded by holding him tighter.

"Also Juliana, I've got some good news to share." Arven spoke, setting her down gently.

"What is it?" Juliana looked into his eyes. He looked back into hers and smiled softly, "Director Clavell let me know that I'm catching up with my grades in record time. He says if I keep up the pace, I'll be able to graduate, no problem."

Juliana leapt with joy, "Ahh! Arven that's so wonderful!" She clapped her hands together, "I knew you could it! That's my amazing prince! Teehee!" A glowing blush appeared on her face after she said that last part.

Arven attempted to hide his own blushing face using a hand, "Oh you…"

Juliana wrapped her arms around Arven once more, her head was against his chest, allowing her to hear his heartbeat. He returned the hug without hesitation, she felt him stroking her hair.

"I love you, Juliana." He whispered in her ear.

She squeezed him a little tighter, "I love you too Arven."

They held onto one another for what seemed like an eternity. Arven took the opportunity to place a loving kiss on Juliana's head. Juliana responded by looking up at her boyfriend's face and giving him quick cheek kiss. Arven grinned and used a finger to lightly poke her in the nose, which made Juliana laugh.

"Whoa, is that a Mabosstiff!?" A voice from the distance caught their attention.

Another voice chimed in, "It sure is pal, and he doesn't look like he has any intention of moving."

"Come on big guy, we just wanna get by!"

Arven had a gut feeling, and that feeling was affirmed when he realized that Mabosstiff's Poke ball was empty.

"Ah, shoot!" He whispered, "Juliana, come on!"

Juliana quickly nodded, and the two rushed off in the direction of the voices. As they expected, Arven's Mabosstiff had planted himself in the middle of the path and was refusing to move. Two male students from the academy stood in front of him. Trying to persuade him to move,

"Come on big guy, I don't wanna fight you."

"He sure is healthy looking, I gotta say."

"That doesn't explain why he's blocking our way."

Arven spoke up, "That's my Mabosstiff, I'm sorry!"

The male students looked up. Mabosstiff turned around to face Arven, "Ruff!" The dark type grinned and rushed to his side. Arven kneeled in front of him, "What you were doing bud?"

"Oh hey, it's Juliana and Arven!" One of the students realized, "Funny meeting you guys out here!"

Juliana waved, "Hey guys!"

Arven stood as the students approached them, "I apologize for my Mabosstiff." He stated, "He's never done that before. I'm not sure what he was doing."

"Ruff!" Mabosstiff barked.

"Hey, it's all right! I'm just glad we don't have to battle him! He looks real strong!"

Arven nodded, "Yeah, he is."

"Well thanks for helping us out! By the way, have you guys seen any Growlithe around here?"

Arven tilted his head, "Growlithe?"

"Yeah, that fire type canine Pokémon. We got notifications on our rotom phones that there was an outbreak in this area. Have you seen any?"

"Um…" Juliana thought about it, "No sorry, I haven't seen any."

Arven shook his head, "I haven't either."

"Ah, I see. Well, let's keep looking around! I'm sure we'll find some!" As the students began to walk away, they turned to wave at the couple, "Thanks, bye!"

Juliana and Arven waved back, "Bye!" Juliana called back. They waited until the students were out of sight, before looking at Mabosstiff.

"What were you up to, bud?" Arven questioned.

"Ruff, ruff! Ruff!" Mabosstiff replied, making Arven's eyes widen, "Really now? That's what you were doing?" To Juliana's surprise, he began to laugh, "Ahahahaha! Well, I appreciate that bud! Thanks!"

"What did he say?" Juliana inquired.

Arven explained while still laughing, "Aha! He had snuck out of his Poke ball to keep watch. He didn't want us getting interrupted. Heh…"

This made Juliana blush again, "Oh is that why? Mabosstiff you little wingman!" She pat his head, making Mabosstiff growl a little from joy.

"All right, back in your Poke ball." Mabosstiff continued to grin as he was being recalled. Arven took a deep breath, "So, what should we do now?"

Juliana thought about it, "Good question, I'm free for the rest of the day." As she finished that sentence, the town of Artazon crossed her line of sight. She grinned as an incredible idea crossed her mind, "Actually, I know exactly what we should do!" She took Arven's hand and began running, "Come on!"

"Juliana!" Arven yelped out as he almost got dragged.

Artazon was just as colorful and vibrant as Juliana had remembered it. The windmill stood proudly above the town, the arms rotating calmly with the wind. Juliana inhaled deeply through her nose, detecting the fresh blooms of honeysuckle, lily, and possibly some gardenia. She held her breath for a few seconds, then exhaled slowly out of her mouth.

"Wow, this place is really cheerful!" Arven noted while looking around.

"It is, right?" Juliana replied, "After we defeated the Klawf titan, I came here to take the gym challenge!"

"Huh! I see!" Arven nodded, "So that's what you got up to afterward. What made you want to come back here?"

"I don't want to spoil the surprise, but it's this way! Come on!" She cheerfully began leading Arven through the town. While they were walking, Arven took note of the various weird sculptures, particularly the Sunflora statues.

"Wow, someone in this town really likes Sunflora." He observed, "They're kinda cute looking!"

"Everyone in this town loves Sunflora, it's like the mascot Pokémon for this place! The gym leader, Brassius doesn't have one though. Which I thought was a little weird but, it's okay!"

"That's interesting. Huh? What's that up ahead?" His eyes focused on two Sunflora statues standing in front of a fenced off area.

Juliana replied, "That the Sunflora Lawn! That's where I'm taking you, let's go!"

"Sunflora Lawn?"

When they approached the entrance, a perky woman wearing a nice suit and lanyard noticed them, her face lit up upon recognizing Juliana, "Hello Juliana! Congratulations on defeating the Artazon Gym! And on becoming a champion-ranked trainer!"

Juliana grinned, "Thank you so much!"

"I must say, the gym badge suits you well. You did an amazing job finding the Sunflora all around town during your gym test. And it's not just me who thinks that, the Sunflora were very impressed as well!"

Arven was confused, "Wha…? What's going on…?"

Juliana giggled at this, then told the lady, "I came by because I wanted to ask if we could play hide and seek with the Sunflora again! It was so much fun, and I brought my boyfriend with me! So, is it okay?"

The woman answered excitedly, "Of course you can! We get people, especially couples, coming by here all the time to play with the Sunflora, even if they aren't doing the gym challenge! So, it's no problem at all!"

"Wait, wait, hold up." Arven interrupted, "I'm a bit lost, what's going on here?"

Juliana giggled, "I wanted to play hide and seek with the Sunflora, and I wanted you to join!" She pointed at the many Sunflora in the garden, skipping about happily.

"How does this work exactly?" Arven inquired.

The woman explained, "It's simple, the Sunflora in here will scatter and hide in various parts of town. All you have to do is find them and bring them back! Now if you were taking the gym test, you would only have to find ten. But we have twenty here if you'd like to have more of a challenge! If you can find all twenty, we'll give you a prize!"

Arven chuckled, "Heh! That sounds kind of fun actually! Sure thing, I'm in!"

"Yay!" Juliana cheered, "All right, we're ready to play!"

"Sunflo-radical!" The woman enthused, "Now the Sunflora will have even more reason to smile nice and bright! I'll go tell them to scatter now!"

Juliana watched eagerly as the woman entered the garden and announced, "All right you little rays of sunshine! Someone's here to play hide and seek! Get on! Scatter!" Clapping her hands as she did so.

The Sunflora made cheering noises as they all fled the garden, dispersing in different directions. The woman then returned to Juliana and Arven, "All right, they're all ready for you two! Remember, there's a prize if you can find them all!"

"Thanks a lot!" Juliana replied, "Come on, Arven! Let's go find them!" And they both rushed off together.

"Do you remember where you found them last?" Arven asked.

"I remember there was one behind the gym. Let's go look there!"

They headed to the gym, and when they rounded the corner they found a Sunflora resting in a flower pot.

Juliana giggled as they approached, "Gotcha!" She exclaimed, lightly poking the grass type. The Sunflora yelped in surprise, then proceeded to follow them with a smile on its face.

"Ahaha!" Arven laughed, "What a sweet little guy!"

"19 more to go, Arven!" Juliana winked.

"Bring it on!"

Juliana put a hand above her eyes, the gym was on an elevated concrete slab, giving her a wide view of the pool area, "Hey look, I see more!"

Arven stepped beside her, "Where?"

"Look, one's in the grass playing hop scotch! The other is… is it trying to order food from one of the vendors?" She was quite baffled seeing a Sunflora standing in front of a cart, inciting a very confused look from the merchant.

Finding the sight absolutely hilarious, Arven laughed out loud, "Ahahahaha! Come on, let's go get them!"

Juliana hopped off the concrete and headed to the grass to catch the one playing hop scotch. Once she reached the court, she decided to hop into the circles as if she were playing the game herself, before tagging the Sunflora.

"Gotcha!"

She turned to see Arven catching the other one, and then awkwardly smiling and waving at the vendor before catching up with Juliana.

"All right, we've got three so far!" Juliana noted.

"Let's go get the rest of them!" Arven enthused.

They rushed off the grass and followed the stone walkway. When they headed down a small flight of stairs leading into the west plaza, Juliana's ears faintly picked up the cry of a Sunflora from one of the alleyways.

"Hey Arven, I can hear one over here! Let's go!"

"Where?"

They entered the alleyway behind the café, at first, they saw nothing but tables and chairs. But when Juliana looked harder, she spotted it trying to make itself flat against the trunk of a skinny tree. She hurried to it and tapped it, "Gotcha!" This made the Sunflora yelp and smile, before it joined the group.

"Oh, this is so much fun!" Arven raved, "These little guys are so sweet, look at them!"

They were a lovely bunch of Sunflora, each of them adorning bright smiles on their faces, and not just because it was a hot summer day, but because someone was playing their favorite game with them.

Juliana grinned, ecstatic at seeing her beloved happy, "They're so precious! Let's keep going!"

This time, Arven was the first to spot a Sunflora resting in one of the flower beds in the center of the plaza.

"Aha! I see you!" Arven called out playfully before rushing over to tag it. The Sunflora however, had other plans. Instead of waiting, the Sunflora shot Arven a cheeky grin before taking off running.

"Oh, no you don't!" Arven teased and chased after it. Juliana giggled at the sight of her boyfriend chasing around a cute Sunflora, and got out her rotom phone to record a video of it.

"I'm gonna getcha, you little bugger!"

Just as it looked like he was about to catch it, it took a sharp turn, making Arven tumble to the ground. Juliana slapped her hand over her mouth trying not to bust out laughing as she continued to record. Thankfully, he wasn't hurt. And he got right back up and continued after it, "Why, you little… get back here!"

Finally he ended up catching it, and the grass type happily admitted defeat and followed Arven to join Juliana and the rest of them. Seeing this, Juliana ended the video and put her phone away.

Arven was panting, "Okay, I got it. This one didn't want to get caught! But I got it!"

"That was great!" Juliana beamed, "Most hilarious thing ever!"

Arven grinned and shook his head, knowing his girlfriend would be bringing this little chase game up at every opportunity from now on.

They found one more hiding in a different alley, and then another in another grassy area sitting in a flower pot near some benches. Juliana then spotted the hedge maze, "Oh, I bet there's a few hiding in the hedge maze!"

"Ah geez, a maze?" Arven exclaimed, "You gotta be kidding me! Eh, no matter. Let's go check it out!" He declared, clenching his fists in determination. The Sunflora group looked at Juliana curiously, to which she responded, "Don't worry, he's a kind guy. He just has a competitive side."

As she raced to catch up with Arven, her ears caught the sound of a Sunflora cry. Arven stopped in his tracks, having heard it as well.

"You heard that too?" Juliana asked.

"Yeah, I did. But where is it?"

The couple looked in all different directions but not a Sunflora in sight. This made Juliana confused, "I know I wasn't just hearing things, and it wasn't one of these guys we already found either."
The Sunflora all responded by shaking their heads.

Then they heard the cry again, this time, Juliana realized it was directly above them. She looked up and saw the hiding Sunflora resting on a high tree branch.

"Look Arven, it's up there!"

Arven walked up to the tree, "Don't worry, I got this!" To Juliana's surprise, he hopped on the trunk and began to carefully inch his way up.

"Arven, I don't think that's a good idea!" She cautioned.

He called back, "Don't worry, I used to climb trees like this a lot when I was a kid! I can still do this!"

To his credit, he made it up a few more branches, until he grabbed one that was a bit too small for his weight. It snapped off, sending him tumbling to the ground.

"Oh gosh! Are you okay, Arven?" Juliana rushed to him. The Sunflora all began to giggle.

Arven grunted as he got himself up, "Yeah, I'm fine! Agh… I guess I forgot I'm a lot heavier now."

The high up Sunflora grinned mischievously. Juliana wondered, "They didn't hide in trees last time, how are we going to get this one?"

A brief flash of light surprised the trainers, both surprised to see Juliana's Tinkaton standing there, eyeballing the tree.

"Tinkaton!" Juliana stated, "Whatcha doing you little firecracker?"

Tinkaton marched right up to the tree and sized it up, she set her hammer down to stretch her arms, once she did that she lifted her hammer again. Juliana's eyes widened, as she knew where this was going, "Tinkaton, be gentle!"

Tinkaton nodded, she reared her hammer back, and held it for a few seconds before swinging it and hitting the tree, causing the whole thing to shake. The Sunflora lost its balance in the tree and fell off the branch.

"I gotcha!" Arven rushed to catch it, and it fell harmlessly in his arms. Sunflora yelped joyfully and went to join the others.

"All right, that's eight!" Arven declared, he then turned to Tinkaton, "Hey, thanks for that."

Tinkaton hopped three times, smiling. She then rushed to her trainer and hopped around again. Juliana smiled at her, "Thank you Tinkaton. All right, let's put you back in your Pokeball." Once she recalled Tinkaton, Arven smiled, "She's still such a funny Pokémon, that Tinkaton of yours."

"I'm still trying to figure her out at times to be honest." Juliana admitted, "But she's a great asset to my team, like all my Pokémon."

"That's what counts." Arven nodded, "All right, let's keep going!"

When they got to the entrance to the hedge maze, they were greeted by an attendant. There were a few people still standing at the front, afraid to go in. Juliana and Arven however, joined hands and entered together. They travelled through the narrow passageways with hedge bushes on either side.

"Just a warning, I've never been in here before." Juliana mentioned, "I hope we don't get lost."

Arven chuckled, "To be honest, I would've mind if we did." He winked at her, making her blush.

"Oh Arven…"

They found one Sunflora at a dead end, and after a few more twists and turns they made it to the center. Where they found another Sunflora resting in the shade. The teens were able to make it back out of the maze relatively quickly, where the two Sunflora joined the others.

"That actually wasn't too hard at all." Arven observed, "It looks bad on the outside, but it's actually pretty easy."

Juliana agreed, "Yeah, that's true. Hey look! We found ten Sunflora!"

Arven's eyes widened, "You serious! Oh wow, look at that! We're halfway done! All right, we're in the final stretch Juliana! Here we go!"

Juliana clapped, "Let's go!"

They managed to find nine more, in similar places that they found the others. In flower pots, behind buildings, alleyways, upon a raised wooden walkway, every nook and cranny was searched. Despite this, Sunflora number twenty was proving to be elusive.

"Geez, how many laps have we done around this city now?" Arven slumped forward, exhausted, "And we still can't find that last one! It's just one more…!" He agonized.

"Don't worry Arven, we'll get it eventually. We just have to keep looking!"

Arven replied, "I think we've looked over this entire city ten times over now. But that last one is nowhere to be found!"

Juliana thought about it, before her face lit up with an idea. She looked at the battle arena that rested in the center of town.

"Arven! We haven't looked up there, let's go!"

"Wha-!?"

Juliana took off running, and Arven hurried after her. She climbed up the steps of the battle field, and when they made it to the top. Sure enough, that Sunflora was waiting patiently in the center for them. Arven sighed, "There you are you little stinker! All right, we finally got the last one!" He walked up to the Sunflora and tagged it, it yelped and joined the others.

All twenty of the Sunflora had been found. They all began to cheer and jump for joy. Juliana clasped her hands together, "Aww, how sweet!"

Arven smiled, "They're so cute…"

They watched the sight for a little longer before deciding to bring them back to the Sunflora Lawn. The woman's eyes brightened upon seeing all twenty returned to them.

"All right, you found all twenty that's great!" She cheered, "Great job both of you! If I'm being honest, I wasn't sure you guys were gonna find that last tricky one!"

Juliana grinned, "Yeah, it almost got us for sure!"

Arven sighed, "I'm a little peeved it took us that long to realize the battle stage could've been a hiding spot…"

The woman replied, "Well, I and the Sunflora are all very happy you two decided to stick it out to the end! Right, everyone?"

The Sunflora all jumped for joy again and rushed back into the garden. The woman laughed, "All right, you two get the grand prize, here it is! A sun stone!" She revealed a sun shaped orange stone.

Juliana's eyes brightened, "Oh wow! Thanks a lot!" and she accepted it.

"Whoa, that's amazing. I've never seen a sun stone up close like this." Arven looked in awe.

"Once again, thank you very much for playing!" The woman stated, "Please come back anytime you want to play again, all right? The Sunflora will always be extra happy to see you!"

"We will!" Juliana answered. Arven took her by the hand, "For now, we need a break. Let's go rest somewhere!"

"Okay, Arven."

As the couple walked away, Juliana waved at the woman one last time before taking Arven's hand and walking alongside him.

"That was really fun." Arven commented, "Now of course it got tiring at the end. But… It was all worthwhile, heh!"

Juliana smiled, "It sure was. I definitely liked the extra challenge. We'll have to do this again sometime!"

Arven chuckled, "I'm worried it wouldn't be as fun next time, since we know all their hiding spots now!"

She shrugged, "Well, I guess we'll just have to wait a long time then!"

The two found an empty bench in the shade of a tree and sat down. Juliana rested her head on Arven's shoulder and looked up at the sky. All of a sudden, a wistful feeling overtook her,

"Dad… I hope you're seeing me. And I really hope you're proud of me now! I miss you so much dad… but know that I'm okay! And mom is too… So I hope you don't worry about us too much. I have the most amazing friends! And of course, my wonderful boyfriend is here too… I know you would've loved to meet them all!

She scooted as close as she could to Arven, and he put an arm around her.

Unbeknownst to both of them, the spirit of Liam was watching from a fair distance away, standing under a tree. He whispered, "I do see you darling, and I could not be a prouder father. But I wish I could tell you I'm always gonna worry no matter what, heheh… and yes, I would have loved to meet all your friends. Especially Arven."

Professor Sada stood silently behind him and put a comforting hand on his shoulder, knowing full well what he was feeling.

Meanwhile the teens continued to rest, feeling content. Wondering what to do next.


Author's Note: Hooray! You made it! Hope you all enjoyed this cute chapter! See you next time!