The following day, Kieran found himself tailing Drayton to the Canyon Plaza. He had overheard Carmine discussing flight strategies with Juliana and put things together on his own. He was mildly interested in seeing how far she'd gotten with her progress and curious as to how well she'd fare against him in a double battle. Whether Drayton was there for the same reason or just to see her, he didn't really care. What she did wasn't any of his business after all. Him hitting the silver haired slacker had simply been due to constant agitation. These were all things he repeated in his head as he headed to the viewing area to watch. Drayton glanced his way, but Kieran paid him no mind as Juliana took the stage before them.

The champion would be lying if he said he wasn't impressed by the show before him. As always, her stance was one of power. It commanded respect from those around her; it was almost as if she herself had Intimidate. Despite this posture, however, her movements were fluid and her voice was soft. The way she threw her pokeballs was cautious and gentle, evoking an unwanted memory of when he used to do the same. Juliana faced Amarys head on, both girls radiating confidence. She sent out her first two Pokémon, a Krookodile she must've caught in the terrarium and a Skeledirge that he'd been defeated by before, and Kieran sat back to enjoy the show. Well, until her final play.

It was a close play. Amarys only had her Metagross, terastalized to Steel type of course, and Juliana had an almost fainted Rhyperior with one Pokémon left in her party. Kieran watched with thinly veiled intrigue as she took out a green ball with red gems inlaid; a friend ball. Her shoulders shifted visibly as she gave a heavy sigh. She turned to meet his gaze, green eyes locking with amber. The ball flew gracefully through the air and out came Ogrepon, wearing a red mask. He grit his teeth to keep back a cry of outrage. How dare she mock him like this. Of all her Pokémon, she just had to choose the Ogre.

"Like a slap in the face, huh Champ?" Drayton taunted lazily, a wolfish glimmer in his eyes.

"You would know."

He returned his attention to the battle, swallowing the bile that had risen over seeing his stolen prize once more. The Pokémon he'd coveted his whole life was right within reach, yet never to be his. It was a cruel, vicious joke that Juliana seemed to be playing on him. The only thing keeping him from spitting the venom he was holding back was Drayton's unwavering gaze. The older boy wanted him to snap and look like a fool. Well, he wasn't going to be his entertainment today. The battle ended with victory in favor of the challenger and the pair quickly headed down to the field. Drayton went ahead to greet her first, an easy smile on his face.

"Yo yo, Champ in the making!"

"Hey Drayton! Whoa, what happened to your face?" Juliana gasped quietly, reaching out to hold his chin so she could get a better look at the bruise on his face.

"I'm okay. Just walked into a door, that's all. So, you beat Amarys huh? She seems really serious and stuff, but she's a huge sweetie. Now all you gotta do is challenge the remaining Elite two!"

"I'll do my best. I don't know which of you I'll battle next."

"Depends on if you wanna save the best for last," Drayton flirted playfully, nudging her.

Kieran cleared his throat to alert them of his approach. His rival turned to look at him with cautious optimism, while the silverette seemed more wary than anything. Good. Maybe he'd learn not to run his big mouth.

"Seems like things are going well with the BB League…Right, Juliana?"

She opened her mouth to speak, but Drayton was quicker on the draw.

"Scoping out the competition, oh mighty Champion?" He drawled, staring down his nose at Kieran.

"I was getting worried watching that battle. It'd be so disappointing if Juliana had gotten weaker…" A twisted smile settled on his face, hands curling into fists. "Thankfully, it appears I don't have anything to worry about."

Juliana looked from his hand to the bruise on the other trainer's face. Her mouth turned down at the corners and her eyes narrowed a bit. She turned to study Kieran as if trying to read beneath his facade and it made him feel exposed. He brushed her off, not caring if she figured out what he had done or not.

"Seems like I had nothing to worry about. Just don't go losing before you have a chance to face me."

"Don't worry, I won't."

"Good. This will be fun." Kieran turned around to leave, his back facing her.

"Why are you waiting anyway? Why not just fight me now?"

It was as if she'd thrown something at him. He'd thought about just challenging her outright before. It's not like it was explicitly a rule that she had to fight the Elite Four before they could have a friendly match. But this wasn't a lighthearted match between friends. She was his rival, there needed to be stakes. He needed an audience there to witness the downfall of this hero they seemed to think they'd found. After all, she was the last stone he'd need to step on to finally prove that he was not only a champion here, but in her region too.

"Patience, Juliana. You'll get to face me soon enough."

"Fine. But I'm warning you now, I'm going to hit you if I win."

"W-What did you just say to me?" He turned around, stunned by her audacity. Nobody spoke to him with such disrespect…anymore.

"You heard me. If I win, I am going to slap you."

Drayton folded his arms behind his head with a smirk, looking at Kieran in amusement. It made his blood boil.

"You should watch who you're talking to, Juliana."

"Why? How I see it, you're still you even if you did let becoming Champion go to your head."

"I'm simply enjoying my rightful rank. You know all about it, don't you?"

"When I became Champ, I didn't treat everyone else like dirt. Vilify me as you like, but don't ever compare yourself to me."

Her words hit him like ice water, but he didn't even flinch. He'd gone beyond just comparing and she had no idea. While she was out completing the Elite trials, he was watching her fight. He'd studied her past battles too, using them to figure out the pattern of Pokémon she used. All of this to craft the perfect team to crush her. The only thing he had any trouble handling, however, was her use of legendaries. It was unfair, in his opinion, seeing as nobody else had such power on their side. However, he had even come up with a counter for those too. Kieran smiled at her cruelly, eyes dim.

"I don't need to compare us. Go all the way, don't stop. I can't show you how much stronger I've gotten if you don't make it to me."

Nodding to her, he left the field. He wasn't alone for long, however, as Drayton quickly joined him. The small, smug look on his face made him look so punchable; It took everything for him to hold back. Instead, Kieran took his Rotom Phone out to check his schedule. It was mostly official work, authorizations and such, but there were a couple battle requests. Just the thing to let out some steam…

"You know, the officials might start getting curious if you keep taking your anger out on the recruits."

"You don't know what you're talking about-"

"You really like to think I'm blind, don't you? I saw your face when you saw Ogrepon. You were jealous."

"Shut. Up." Kieran snapped bitterly, whipping around to face him. "Don't you know when to keep your nose out of other people's business?"

"Not when it affects all of us. You're running yourself and everyone around you into the ground."

"Seems like everyone else should learn to catch up. If you can't handle it, feel free to hand in your resignation."

"As if I would let you scare me off. Have fun with your little shit fit."

Drayton brushed past him, heading for the academy. Scowling at his cockiness, the champion hitched a ride on his Dragonite to the battlefield. As per usual, he had challengers lining up to face him so he had no shortage of willing sacrifices to his sadistic quest. The first student took the stage with trembling hands and he looked them over with boredom. A tiny voice in his head wondered why they didn't wear a little more color with their uniforms. Kieran made a soft sound of amusement at the thought of something so useless and the challenger backed up a little in fear. At least someone still had a sense of respect. He sent out his first two and crossed his arms.

"Are you going to send out your Pokémon out now?"

The kid jumped a little and quickly threw their pokeballs, sending out a Flygon and a Meowstic. So much for respect…his Politoed alone would probably be enough on its own. Without further delay, Kieran signaled the start of the battle and dove in without mercy.

After seven consecutive battles, Kieran finally decided to allow a break for dinner. He sent his Hydrapple out so he could heal it, carefully checking each of the heads for damage. In these rare moments of peace he was able to let his guard fall. The dragons looked up at him in concern, the main head making a soft sound.

"Don't worry about me. I'll be better soon." He put on a tight smile, not fooling his most trusted ally.

Hydrapple held still as he sprayed it gently with a potion. However, as he went to return it to its ball, it caught the scent of something and hopped out of the way. He frowned, trying and missing again.

"Oh come on. I'm hungry…"

Ignoring its master, the apple collective worked together to hop away towards the grass surrounding the battlefield. He followed reluctantly, the reason for the sudden disobedience coming into view quickly. Juliana had set up a picnic in the nearby field and her Pokémon were milling about. Among them was her Flapple, Fuji, whom his Hydrapple was quickly approaching. The tart apple Pokémon cried out and flew over clumsily to greet its compatriot. Kieran frowned at the sentimentality of it all, annoyed with his Pokémon's show of weakness. As the two dragons settled down to catch up, he could feel his patience thinning.

"Hurry up, Hydrapple. I'm starving…"

"You know, all you have to do is ask. I usually make extra." A soft, cautious voice spoke behind him.

Kieran didn't turn around, refusing to take charity from his rival- no- his enemy. He didn't even acknowledge her. She huffed, rolling her eyes no doubt, and he could hear her approaching. Something landed beside him, prompting him to snap at her, but he was halted when he discovered empty air. On the ground beside him was a sandwich on a plate. He could smell green apples and turkey, along with salty and sour Herba Mystica. The scent alone made his mouth water. His fingers lifted the sandwich, squeezing the bread with a bit of rebellious force. It would be so easy to throw the food. To ruin it.

"Be lucky you've got a roof over your head and food to put in your belly." His grandfather's words nagged him.

Jaw tensing, he peeked over his shoulder and found Juliana feeding the Pokémon without even a glance his way. He calmed a bit and quickly scarfed the sandwich down. Not a crumb was left behind. Kieran found that, with his full stomach, came a bit more confidence. Standing tall, he sauntered over to her camp with the empty plate in hand. She'd set up a little basin of water to wash it, so he cleaned it off to be civilized.

"I'll never understand why you chose a Flapple of all the things to turn your Applin into." He muttered, half expecting her not to hear.

"It was the loveliest form. I told you that before." She mumbled back, putting her food away.

"I'll never understand why you're so obsessed with something so trivial. Beauty doesn't win battles."

"My preferences are my own, not anybody else's. If you have a problem with that, that's on you."

"No problems at all. It just makes my job easier."

She scoffed softly, shaking her head. This only served to prod him; Nobody had treated him with such disregard since he'd become champion. He curled his hands to reign in his temper.

"You shouldn't look down on me just yet. I've changed-"

"I know you've changed!" Juliana snapped, turning quickly to meet his gaze.

Kieran blanched, her ivy green eyes leaving him feeling exposed. Her auburn hair had fallen free from her beanie, resting against her cheek. His mouth went dry and he couldn't think of anything to say back. Unfortunately, this meant she was able to continue.

"All I've heard since I arrived is that you've changed, Kieran. From you, from Carmine, even from people I just met!" She threw her hands up in exasperation, "What about the stuff that's the same, though?! Your Dipplin evolved, but it's still the same Pokémon. You still play with your hands when you're absorbed with watching a battle. Just because you're some star around here doesn't mean you aren't you."

Her words struck him like physical blows. His head throbbed a little and his stomach felt queasy. Gritting back the uncomfortable sensations, Kieran stood taller and met her gaze coolly.

"This is who I am now. I became this way so that one day I could face you again to prove that, once and for all, I am the strongest."

"Well good luck. After tonight, I'm done trying to be nice. If you want me to face you seriously, I will. But fair warning, you're going to get hurt."

"As if you could hurt me any more than you already have."

Juliana feigned a punch, stopping two inches from his face, and his foot moved back on reflex. She shook her head, chuckling, and set about cleaning up her picnic.

"I think I'll sleep in my dorm tonight. I have a call to make."

She whistled for her Pokémon to come back and returned all but Fuji to their balls. The Flapple rested on her shoulder, screeching its goodbyes to his Hydrapple. Kieran watched her silently, then returned his Pokémon to its ball and started back toward the academy. Her words had filled him with the heat of rivalry, but also a chill of fear. Her words had felt insidious to him; like she already knew he would lose. That wouldn't do at all…he had to prepare for every avenue. Every outcome. Juliana could not be allowed to win.