Author's Note: Haha! Yes! Hello everyone! I am back with a new story! First let me say, Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Yes, I have rested well and I am okay for now. I am a bit sick, but hopefully I shall bounce back soon! For now, please enjoy this first chapter!

Also, if you read the summary, you will know that this is a SEQUEL to Pokémon Scarlet: An Unexpected Treasure. If you haven't read that one, I strongly suggest you go do that first. That way, certain things in this story will make sense. It's only 22 chapters, you'll be fine! :)

If you've done that, then venture on, dear trainer! For those who haven't, this'll be waiting right here for you!

Enjoy!


Juliana finished the last question of her history final exam just as the bell rang. Director Clavell announced, "All right, time's up everyone. Please put your pencils down and turn in your tests up here." Juliana waited for the other students to file ahead before jumping up herself and placing her test on the desk.

"See you later, Director Clavell!" Juliana called as she left the classroom, Clavell waved at her as she left, "Have a good rest of your day Juliana!"

Juliana hurried to the entrance hall and out the front door, she was eager to meet with someone at the central Mesagoza stadium. That someone had challenged her to a battle. Knowing she had a final out of the way made her all the more excited.
Rushing down the long flight of stairs, she could see her challenger from a far distance, Mela from Team Star. She was quite easy to spot from a distance what with her eye-catching attire. Slowing her pace, she began approaching her.

Mela turned to see her, "Well, if it ain't Juliana! I was worried you were gonna bail on me! Ready to have a match with yours truly?"

Juliana smiled confidently, "Isn't that what we decided?"

"You'd better believe it! All right, you'd better bring it on because I'm gonna blow everythin' sky high! Right here, in front of everyone!"
She had a point to that, they were already attracting a crowd. Among the crowd, was Team Star leader Eri, unbeknownst to Juliana and Mela.

It was on, Juliana readied the Pokeball of her water-type, Palafin, and tossed it forward to reveal the playful fish. Palafin chirped happily after emerging from the light.

Mela demonstrated her signature battle pose before sending out a Torkoal, the fire-type had caused the sun to glow more intensely due to its drought ability. Torkoal had stomped its feet a few times, showing its eagerness to battle.

"You know Juliana? You're a weird one too, aren't you?"

Juliana smiled impishly, "You think so?"

Mela paused before replying, "But you know what…? Never mind, let's do this!"

Juliana gave a command, "Palafin, use jet punch!" Palafin rushed forward and executed a quick strike with her fins. It was super-effective against Torkoal, however the damage wasn't as great due to the intensity of the sun.

"Torkoal, yawn!" Mela commanded. Torkoal let out a huge yawn, making Palafin drowsy.

"Oh no… she'll fall asleep." Juliana acknowledged before commanding, "Palafin, use flip turn!" Palafin lunged forward and made its attack before returning to her trainer. Juliana sorted through her other Pokémon before deciding on the one she knew Mela would remember.

"All right Dachsbun, let's go!" Juliana sent out the fairy-type, who happily barked out of her pokeball. Mela's eyes widened realizing she was now facing the Dachsbun that had defeated her the very first time her and Juliana battled.

"Ah, I remember you…" Mela muttered before commanding, "Torkoal, use stone edge now!"

Sharpened stones emerged from below Dachsbun and stabbed her, Juliana had to shield her eyes from the dust this kicked up. Dachsbun had stumbled a bit but kept standing.

"Dachsbun, use play rough!"

Mela countered, "Use body press Torkoal!"

Torkoal rushed forward to hit Dachsbun, the fairy-type responded by jumping out of the way and then playing rough with Torkoal. This was enough to make Torkoal faint.
Mela showed a look of surprise before recalling her fainted Pokémon. Juliana cheered for Dachsbun, "All right Dachsbun, way to go!" Dachsbun turned and ran to her trainer, Juliana laughed when she leapt up to lick her face. Her nose catching the pleasant fragrance emitting from her canine Pokémon.

"Good girl." Juliana patted her and sat her down, realizing Mela had sent out her next Pokémon and was waiting for her.

The Pokémon she had sent out next was a Coalossal, Juliana took Palafin's Pokeball and once more, sent the water-type out. Palafin emerged from the Pokeball in a completely different form; having undergone a heroic transformation, and to Juliana's relief she wasn't drowsy anymore.

"Rock blast Coalossal!" Mela commanded, and the Pokémon responded by shooting hard rocks at Palafin.

"Palafin, use wave crash!"

Palafin shrouded itself in water and lunged forward, blasting through all the rocks that Coalossal was shooting at it. Mela gasped lightly in shock as Palafin crashed into Coalossal using her whole body. After jumping back, Palafin was hit with heavy recoil damage. Coalossal stumbled back and fainted, unable to battle further. Mela sighed slightly from annoyance at the one-hit wonder before recalling it.

"Woo hoo! Go Palafin, that was amazing!" Juliana praised, Palafin responded by pumping her fist in the air. Mela quickly regained her excited grin and sent out her next one, "Houndoom, go!" The dark/fire type emerged from the light with a howl.

Juliana flinched slightly, "Ugh… a Houndoom…" She shook it off and recalled her tired Palafin. She reached into her bag and produced the one containing Maushold.

"Go Maushold!" The family Pokémon emerged from the light, her family of three checked on each other carefully before facing the larger Pokémon.

Mela snorted, "Seriously? That tiny thing? Is this some kinda trick or something?"

Juliana playfully rolled her eyes, "I guess you can say something like that. Don't underestimate them, they've won plenty of battles!"

Slightly amused, Mela retorted, "Oh yeah? Well, how about this? Houndoom, use dark pulse!"

Houndoom released a horrible aura imbued with ill intent, briefly causing the surrounding area to turn dark. Maushold took the hit but shook it off quickly. The two larger mice checking on the smaller one.

"Maushold, use play rough!"

The family of three rushed forward and played rough with Houndoom, it was a super-effective hit that Houndoom managed to pull through.

Mela commanded, "All right, Houndoom! Use fire blast!"

Houndoom took a strong stance and let loose a blast of all consuming fire, Maushold stared at the fire headed its way and avoided the move in time via Juliana's shout. Maushold leapt high in the air and flipped over the star of fire. The audience watched in awe as this happened. When Maushold landed again, Juliana gave a command, "Maushold, use hyper voice!"

Maushold paused for a moment before inhaling and shrieked a loud, resounding cry. Thankfully everyone had their ears covered. Houndoom was struck by the move and fainted. Mela recalled Houndoom.

Juliana bounced on her toes and applauded, "You did it Maushold!"

Maushold flounced over to Juliana with pinkened cheeks, excited over their win. Juliana patted each of the mice family on the head, "You all did great!" Maushold responded by bowing to Juliana, then carefully checking on one another, brushing each other with their delicate hands.

Mela was starting to get a little nervous, but she wasn't going to show it, "Ugh… she's definitely gotten stronger since the last time we met. Good to know she isn't neglecting her training!"

"Arcanine, go!" She sent out the large Pokémon, who let out a prideful roar. Once again, Juliana took Palafin's Pokeball.

"Palafin, go!"

Palafin emerged still in her hero form. She put an ambitious fist in the air, ready for action.

"Arcanine, use extreme speed!"

Arcanine charged Palafin and attacked with blinding speed. Juliana responded, "Palafin, use jet punch!"

Palafin surfed on some water and lunged, giving Arcanine a quick punch and making it stumble backward.

"Arcanine, close combat now!"

Arcanine rushed forward to attack Palafin at close range. Juliana commanded, "Palafin, flip turn!" Palafin rushed over coated in water and made her attack, then swung back to Juliana. This proved too much for Arcanine and it fainted.

Realizing she was down to her last Pokémon, Mela complimented, "Heh! Looks like you've lit a red-hot fire under me! Well done pal! Go Armarouge!" Mela sent out the dual-type Fire/Psychic Pokémon, "You haven't gotten me yet! Armarouge, use energy ball!"

Juliana's eyebrows raised in surprise, Armarouge summoned power from nature and fired it at Palafin. The super-effective grass type move dealt so much damage to Palafin that she fainted.
"Oh no! Palafin return now!" Juliana recalled her.

Mela impishly smiled, "Bet you weren't expecting that were ya?"

Juliana smiled back, "You got me there Mela! But this is far from over!" She turned to her waiting Dachsbun, "All right, Dachsbun, it's your turn again!"

Dachsbun ran onto the field eagerly. Mela yelled out, "Agh! That Dachsbun again? Well, I'll be sure to come out on top here! Armarouge use Aura Sphere!" Armarouge summoned a pulse of aura power from deep within its body and hurled it at Dachsbun. There was no way for Dachsbun to avoid the attack, but it barely made a scratch on her.

"Dachsbun, use crunch!"

Dachsbun leapt forward with sharp fangs and bit down hard on Armarouge, the fire/psychic type stumbled backward and leaned forward with tiredness.

"We're not done yet!" Mela cried out, "Armarouge, use energy ball!"
Armarouge drew power from nature and hurled the energy at the fairy-type. Dachsbun hopped backwards after getting hit and panted lightly.

"Dachsbun, use cruch again!" Juliana commanded.
Dachsbun leapt forward once more and crunched hard on Armarouge. Armarouge tried to keep standing after that but was unable to and fainted.

Mela looked shocked for a moment before relaxing and looking to the side, "Ha! You're burnin' too bright! Even for me pal!"

Juliana cheered, "You did it Dachsbun! Great job!"

Mela looked toward Juliana doting on her Dachsbun and smiled in satisfaction, "She's honestly a real one. I can see why everyone's taken a liking to her."

Juliana and Dachsbun both approached happily, Mela responded by sticking her hand out, "Gotta give praise where it's due, girl. That was lit."

"Thank you Mela, I'm so glad you challenged me today." Juliana took Mela's hand for a shake, prompting the crowd to cheer. Dachsbun barked and jumped up to rest her front paws on Mela, who gave a slight yelp in surprise.

"Dachsbun, get down!" Juliana told her Pokémon.

"No, no it's okay!" Mela assured, "Yeah, I remember you." She patted Dachsbun, "We've battled before."

Juliana took the moment to inform Mela, "She wasn't able to learn flame charge, but she did appreciate the gift."

Mela nodded and replied, "Heh… that's good to know… Um… you know, I totally would've won that first battle we had if it weren't for this one." She looked at Dachsbun, "But I'm not angry."

Juliana nodded, "That's great Mela, I'm so glad everything worked out for everyone!"

The sound of someone clapping from behind caused both to turn, they saw Eri standing there, "That was quite a showstopper, congrats on the win Juliana." Eri applauded.

"Oh, Eri! I didn't know you were here!" Juliana replied, "Thank you so much! That was a fun battle."

Mela grinned, "I challenged her. When I overheard Ortega had a rematch with her I decided I couldn't let him have all the fun!"

Eri shook her head, "That's the Mela I know. I'm happy to see you warming up to Juliana."

Mela crossed her arms, "Don't get all 'motional on me now, this was just a battle for fun."

Juliana and Eri looked at each other with a smile, then Eri spoke, "I gotcha Mellie. But I assure you, there is no need to feel embarrassed."

Mela brushed her hair back, "Anyway, I gotta get to class. Juliana? I'll getcha next time, got it?"

Juliana nodded, "I'll be waiting."

"Hasta la vistar…" She bid before walking away from them. Eri and Juliana watched her go and disappear up the never ending stairs.

"Okay, how is she able to climb the stairs in those boots?" Juliana questioned.

Eri shrugged, "She's just used to it. So,Juliana, are you busy right now?"

Juliana checked her rotom phone, and upon seeing she had nothing else to do for the day, she answered, "Well, I have to go to Home Economics class in a bit, but I still got some time to spare! Why?"

"I was wanting to go shopping, but I needed someone to go shopping WITH." Eri explained, "I thought you'd be the best person to ask."

"Oh, that sounds like fun! I would love to! Where would you like to go?"

Eri turned to look at all the shops surrounding them, then selected one at random, "Zapaldea Footwear."

"Sounds fun, let's go!" Juliana agreed.

The two girls browsed the many wares in the shop, Eri appeared a bit discontented with how 'plain' many of the choices were. She could admit to herself that she was open to trying new things, but they had to be unique.

"Are you finding anything you like Eri?" Juliana sked.

Eri shook her head, "Not really, everything in here is kind of boring to be honest."

Juliana laughed, "Haha! I was wondering what you were wanting to get here!"

Eri faced Juliana, "I gotta be real with you, I just wanted to hang out with you for a bit."

"O-Oh! I see!" Juliana reacted.

"I made up the shopping excuse to get you away from the crowd. I know you weren't doing so well when I saw you last." Eri recalled, "How is everything with you and Arven? Have you two made up?"

"Yes we have, we're really good now!" Juliana smiled bright, "We've worked out the issue and things are better now."

Eri smiled, "I'm happy to hear that! Things like that will happen from time to time unfortunately. You just have to work through them."

"You're right, Eri." Juliana replied, "We went gardening with my mother, that was fun."

"Ha! I bet that was." Eri nodded, "So he's met your mother? Have you met his yet? The famous Professor Sada?"

Juliana grew flustered at that question, "Uhh… kinda."

Eri raised a confused eyebrow, "Kinda? What does that mean?"

"It's… not something I can talk about with anyone." Juliana admitted, "I'm sorry, it's super private."

Eri respected that, "Ah, I see. It's all right, I was just asking. So, what else have you been up to?"

"Well, I…" Juliana trailed off upon seeing a pair of shoes behind Eri that caught her attention, "Oh wow!" She ran to the shoes, "Eri, look at these they are so adorable!"

Eri went for a closer look and saw a pair of white performance sneakers with Tandemaus graphics around the heels. Juliana grabbed them, "Oh, I have to try these one! Just a sec!"

Eri watched Juliana remove her blue high-top sneakers and slip on the performance sneakers. Once she had them on, she stood and faced a mirror.

"These are so cute!" She lifted her feet slightly off the ground to get a better look.

Eri gave an approving point, "Those actually suit you really well Juliana."

"Don't they!?" Juliana enthused, "I have to get these, they were MADE for me!"

She took them off, put them back in the box and immediately went to the male salesclerk at the counter. Eri followed behind embodying a proud older sister.

"Excellent choice ma'am!" He confirmed, "This design was just released recently, but it's so popular that this is our last pair!"

Juliana's eyes widened, "Wow! Today must be my lucky day! Of course, I'll take them!"

Eri watched with amusement as Juliana paid for them, and the clerk put them in a paper bag with handles for her, "Thank you for your patronage! Have a wonderful rest of your day ma'am!"

As the girls exited the store, Juliana clutched her shopping bag excitedly, "I'm gonna change into these right away!"

Eri laughed, "Hahaha! You've gotten so energetic over a pair of shoes! I bet Arven's gonna think you're super cute."

Juilana blushed, "I hope so… hehe…"

Her rotom phone beeped, a reminder that she had set up so she wouldn't be late for class, "Uh oh, I have to get to class soon! I'll see you later okay Eri?"

Eri waved as she ran off, "Hasta la vistar Juliana!"

As Juliana ran, she whispered to herself, "I gotta get back to my dorm room and change into these cute shoes!"

So far, this day was going quite well.