Part 2.
Set months after graduation and follows Julie and Midnight's life at Castelia University, how she manages more or less on her own, and hardships along the path of finding her way.
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Julie was on her stomach wearing a tee in bed early one evening, typing an informative essay on her laptop for one of three classes she was currently taking with Midnight curled up beside her, his paw on her arm. She'd chosen to write about the poaching of pokémon worldwide and its dire consequences. She'd researched for hours now, reading almost a dozen articles and studies.
Julie knew people hunted pokémon like stantler and lapras to near extinction long ago; it always disheartened her to read. Stantler was due to its antlers being in high demand to be sold as expensive art, and lapras because of global oil development and its passive nature toward humanity.
She couldn't understand how sinister people could take advantage of a beautiful and friendly pokémon. Fortunately, conservation groups enacted preservation methods decades ago and saved both species.
Julie had taken a couple of tours at rescue and conservation centers in the past that dedicated their business to saving various species and educating the public about the pokémon and the consequences of mistreating, hunting them, and destroying their habitats. There was one on the outskirts of Goldenrod and another in Kanto that she'd been to, and she loved both experiences.
Julie had learned a lot that stuck with her to this day. The beautiful pokémon she'd seen living in those enclosures, such as kangaskahn, mudbray, mudsdsle, lapras, and more, didn't belong in them, but they needed to be for their safety. Some lived there under constant care for detrimental injuries or genetic faults that rendered them unable to live in the wild.
The only regions mudbray and mudsdsle were allowed to thrive in the wild are Alola, Almia, and Oblivia. They were gentler regions that had strict laws against hunting and abusing wildlife and their habitats.
She took one hand from her keyboard after finishing a paragraph to run her fingers over Midnight's ear with its ring aglow, causing him to twitch it and lift his head slightly to look at her.
Julie was as happy as could be nowadays. She found out through a call from her mother while out with Alyssa one day after returning from Unova that she got accepted into Castelia University, so her hard work paid off.
Julie remembered when she and her mother applied for her to transfer a week after her trip. They had to gather several teacher referrals, documents, and a copy of her diploma. She also wrote a compelling personal statement to the college with the help of her mother.
She told them about the events pertaining to her father and how deeply it affected her mental health throughout high school, alongside how many students treated her during her four years attending and how it was the reason her GPA had dropped by .2 toward the end of her senior year, which her mother wasn't happy to know. In fact, she'd been deeply hurt and had no idea why Julie never told her she was being mistreated and bullied, but it likely played a role in her acceptance because she persevered.
Julie was just glad her mindless teenage behavior at the tail-end of her high school career didn't get her in trouble. Getting caught would have ruined her life and soiled any chance to transfer to a university, especially one as notable as Castelia's.
Julie was a freshman nearing the end of her first term and majored in regional history, here on a six-month visa that she had to renew in a few more, or else she was on the first ferry back to Johto.
Julie lived on campus located at Castelia's suburbs in dorms with Midnight since the school allowed up to two pokémon to live with a student and had a small room on the third level with tan carpeting and a mini fridge she'd paid for. It also had a restroom, desk and chair she rarely used for anything but a snack and water holder since she'd rather study in bed, a medium-sized white trash bin by the door that she emptied when full and put the bag in the dumpster behind the dorm, and a white curtained window and closet.
Her mother always felt somewhat uneasy that Julie was staying in Unova and feared that tension would rise between it and other regions soon, but Julie hadn't noticed any red flags or restrictive laws so far. If anything big started brewing, her mother wanted Julie on the first ferry back to Johto, which Julie assented to.
Midnight shifted and nuzzled her arm.
Midnight was just as happy being with Julie while she journeyed through life. He was a spoiled umbreon, not only by having a human mate, but he couldn't recall the last time he had eaten PokéChow under her care other than on their first week together.
He had a few acquaintances he'd met on campus and in the communal areas of the dorms, such as the kitchen and laundry rooms he hung out with from time to time when Julie needed to use them, but Midnight didn't need to socialize constantly and could do without them. His years spent at Ecruteak High and the principal's home may have developed that, and he now had his beautiful mate on top of it. Julie was all he needed, and she was always around when she wasn't out attending classes.
Julie glanced at the time on her screen and looked at him. "You want to get something to eat on campus in a bit? I should finish this essay by 7:30, so we'll make it way before closing time."
"Umb."
"We can also leave the grounds and go to the market for snacks since we're running low." The immediate area surrounding the university was safe, with small marts and a few restaurants, so she had no concerns about leaving campus during the evening as long as it wasn't too late.
Her mother supplied Julie money for living expenses and didn't have to rely on financial aid or loans. She may not be eligible for financial aid anyway because of her mother's line of work, but she was a single mother at the same time. Julie still did have to budget wisely and save, which she was still getting the hang of with her mother's help.
She'd gotten her right ear pierced last week to match the bracelet on her right wrist. It was a small blue water stone piece she'd fallen in love with at first sight, and it wasn't cheap.
Julie put most of her money aside for necessities and calculated it often so she didn't have to end up calling her mom for more money that she went and collected from the telegram on campus. It was east by the security building. She had to once or twice during her first couple weeks, and she felt embarrassed even though her mother laughed it off and knew Julie was learning.
Speaking of money, she mainly carried Unova's currency now so she was never ripped off by the exchange rate. Every region used pokédollars, but all were distinct in appearance and buying power. Unova's currency was strong, but its strength wasn't anything close to the Accord's, which was the world's reserve currency. Unova accepted the Accord's currency but not vice versa.
Unova's bills were bigger and dark green. Instead of pokémon being on the face of the bills, it was various political figures of Unova in a rounded frame with numbers at the top two corners of the bill displaying its value. Coins functioned the same way, but the region's native flying types were carved into them by scale of power, from pidove to tornadus.
Julie looked back at her laptop upon hearing her video call app ring, seeing that it was Alyssa. She wore a perplexed expression while tracing the trackpad and accepting it, seeing her close friend pop up on the screen with a white wall and her bed's headboard behind her.
"Hey, college girl," Alyssa said with a grin. She was in a black sweater.
Julie rested her chin on her palm. "Alyssa, we agreed on calling after I finished my schoolwork."
She looked up for a second. "Oh… right, but I won't bother you for long, damn. I was just eager to see how things were going since we haven't talked in a while, and I'm getting sleepy. I'm four hours ahead, in case you forgot. Essays for that public speaking class, right?"
"Three months in and still not used to time zones." She grinned. "I'm doing great, actually. I've been nothing but happy here. Ecruteak really wore me down. I also met a few new people to hang out or study with occasionally, and yeah, I have to present it in front of the class tomorrow. My anxiety spikes whenever I think of it, but I feel it'll help raise my confidence by the end. You?"
"Nice, nice, and before I answer that, where's your boyfriend?" She smirked.
Julie rolled her eyes and tilted the laptop forward so the cam lowered and displayed Midnight.
"Cute as ever, you two… You two are still a thing, right?"
"What? Uh, yeah, of course. Why wouldn't we be?" Julie couldn't be offended by that question, but to this day, she had no urge to date any boy she saw or met.
Alyssa put her hand up. "I just haven't been in touch. Calm down. Your sass is off the charts tonight."
Julie grinned. "Sorry…" She tilted her laptop back and raised her foot, kicking it. "Now tell me what you've been up to."
She reached over and brought up a pokéball. "Guess what's in here."
"What?"
"Guess."
"Alyssa, jus–"
She sighed. "Julie, humor me for once."
"Ugh." She pondered. "Haunter?"
"Nope, but close. It's a gastly, and I have two, soon to be a haunter and gengar when I get one traded. I went to Kanto and caught them some days ago."
"No way… So, it begins?"
"It begins."
Julie tilted her head. "Wait, how'd you catch them without the help of a pokémon in the first place?"
"I had to borrow a cousin's that lived there." Alyssa shrugged. "But yeah, I'm gonna start training them and want to apply to the Academy soon. I told you it was happening. My parents aren't the happiest about my ambitious decision since they found out I was serious, but it'll grow on em', hopefully. I'll have to show them how well I train my party when I start making decent money off battles. It won't come easy, though."
"Hey, I never doubted it. Good luck. I know you'll prove it to them. You're tough." Julie could talk to her all night but still had a paper to finish and places to go. "Alright–"
"They want me to go to college and major in finance or something so I can work until I keel over... but yeah, go finish your essay. Good luck tomorrow. Pretend I'm sitting in one of the rows if you get a bad case of stage fright. Love ya. You pick up that Unova accent yet?"
"No." Julie grinned. "Quit asking... love you too, and we'll talk more soon. Happy training." She ended the call and pushed her laptop away, rolling onto her back. Alyssa's question made her think. Not the Unova one, but their accent (NY) sounded cool.
They shared the Accord's language, but Galar was the founder of currently the most important language on the world stage, as Unova and the Accord were extensions through colonization ages ago. Although they had a close allied relationship now, it may begin to dwindle with the direction Unova was headed, and no one had an idea how that would end. Unova and the Accord were integrated moderately through trade.
She looked over at Midnight, who had curled up during the call. Julie was still in love with him and actively avoided boys on campus, barely interacting with them unless she had to or if it was for a group project. She also distanced from most acquaintances she had made, but even more so when it came to boys.
It was rather extreme, but Julie didn't want there to be any chance she could fall in love with a person. She feared the idea and didn't want to go through having to reject anyone if it ever came to it. Ricky had been enough to last a lifetime. She'd even left her earphone back in her room not to bring that energy with her, so she'd been musicless for a while.
She and Midnight were perfect for each other. They went out together, ate, traversed campus, and, yes, they had sex often. Julie still had to be mindful of what others could hear in the halls, but the freedom was amazing, and their lovemaking freed her of a lot of stress she'd have otherwise. What more did one need in a relationship? Julie liked the silence too. She was more than satisfied with what she had.
Anyway, back to typing and preparing for this stupid mid-term speech that'd be responsible for half her grade. She'd completed her mid-term assignments for her other classes, so this was it. It wasn't getting earlier, and she was one to delve into her thoughts for hours.
At least she had been smart enough to choose a decent time for her first class to start. She'd registered for an 11 a.m. slot, so she could stay up late studying some nights and sleep in the following morning.
Julie didn't miss waking up at 4 a.m. for high school in a freezy climate. The temperature here stayed within the low seventies and mid-sixties, seeing mid-fifties during the winter, which she appreciated. Julie shifted back onto her stomach and pulled her laptop to her.