A new explosion was present along with a cloud of dust that forced the students to cover their faces from the shock wave.

Everyone held their breath as the dust settled. What had happened?

The cloud of dust settled, showing both sides of the field with Pokémon still standing.

Hydrapple and Incineroar on the one hand, belonging to the champion of the academy, on the other hand, Gardevoir and Meowscarada, on the side of the well-known champion of Paldea.

Both coaches had had a fierce battle practically from the beginning of the fight.

Juliana narrowed her eyes in an expression of concentration. Things weren't going well at all, and she knew this was starting to get out of control from the moment she saw Kieran's expression rot when she brought Ogerpon out to fight. She had done it in a desperate attempt to make Kieran remember the good times they had together talking about the sweet ogre and helping her regain the affection of the inhabitants of Mossui Town. She may not have been the best of her ideas, not after having seen throughout her stay at Blueberry Academy how much Kieran had changed .

Seeing Ogerpon in the combat arena drove Kieran crazy in a way that Juliana found unnatural. And from then on, any glimmer of pity or consideration that the boy may have had disappeared.

Where was that boy who was her partner in the camp task? Where was that boy that she followed everywhere with that excessive curiosity? How could everything have gotten so out of control when it seemed like they both understood each other so well?

She didn't know it, she tried by every means to reconnect with him, to follow Drayton's advice to open Kieran's eyes, to make him understand that the path he had chosen was not good for him as a coach or as a person. .

Juliana froze in place as soon as she heard a new roar, and within seconds she felt her Gardevoir's body rush past her until it crashed against the wall behind her. .

She turned around, seeing her poor friend torn apart with a pained expression and making moans.

"Jabari..." she whispered her Gardevoir's name, seeing that he definitely couldn't continue fighting.

Turning her attention back to the battlefield, she could see Kieran's Incineroar still in position having employed what Juliana could identify as the Darkest Lariat. Right behind him she could see Kieran, with that deranged smile that seemed to widen with every blow his Pokémon dealt to hers, his posture was even haughty and arrogant.

Juliana looked at her last Pokemon, Askari, the poor Meowscarada had withstood every hit since the start of the fight and had become the last one standing. He was holding his right arm with his left paw, his body full of wounds and dust from all the times he was knocked to the ground and hit, he even kept his green aura visible from the activation of his ability.

The manifestation of his ability was indicative in itself of how his poor friend was about to collapse. And now that Jabari was out of combat, Askari was left alone against two Pokémon that, in comparison, still had more than enough strength to continue the fight.

What could she do...?

Kieran, for his part, life couldn't be sweeter the moment he could see victory at his fingertips. A shudder ran through him as soon as Incineroar knocked out the Gardevoir, and now only that mess of a Meowscarade was left standing. Kieran recognized it, that cat had managed to give him more problems throughout the fight to the point of frustrating him for not being able to finish him off. He was like a stone in his shoe.

But now, he was savoring his victory at finally seeing him alone and with both of his Pokémon still standing. It was impossible for Meowscarada to continue fighting, even with his ability activated. A manic laugh escaped his lips in excitement.

Finally he was going to achieve it, finally he was going to be able to defeat once and for all that girl who had become his nemesis!

Admiring her for her skill, her strength and her knowledge, longing to be like her and wanting to learn everything from her to be as strong and worthy of her!

That shy and insecure boy who was dazzled only by the presence of the foreign girl who came to his town, and a warm admiration settled in his chest as he witnessed the combat she fought against his sister and emerged victorious! The foreigner had won to the arrogant Carmine! His liking for her was inevitable from that point on, feeling a kind of justice that someone had given Carmine what her deserved.

Also his excitement when he was paired with her for the ogre story assignment. Him, along with that older girl? They were only two years apart, but Kieran felt that difference was abysmal. What could he talk to her about? Would she even take him seriously or would she just think that she was taking care of a little boy in his sister's absence? Fortunately, Juliana seemed genuinely interested in the ogre, that creature that Kieran had loved so much since he was little when the rest of the world had always described her as the most infamous of creatures, and of which he was an expert. The ogre was key to having a theme. Juliana asked him hundreds of questions about it and Kieran was happy to answer each and every one of them. Kieran was overjoyed, he had gotten a cool friend on his own!

On a few occasions, Kieran could almost swear that Juliana had even flirted with him but that would have been impossible, right? Some harmless jokes for fun. Kieran even attempted to return her flirtation, trying to get on her level, only to end up red-faced and hiding from her behind a tree.

But as their budding friendship grew, something also began to warp between them.

Within Kieran it awoke the desire to be as good as Juliana, for her to look at him as an equal, for her to look at him the same way he looked at her. Have her respect and admiration.

But Kieran learned the hard way what a huge difference there was between them. Juliana had more experience, more knowledge and better strategies than him. She was the champion of Paldea! How had it even occurred to him that he would have the slightest chance against her? A village boy, who only fought for fun, without ambition or purpose...

Kieran tried to console himself at first, trying to remind himself that Juliana had been a trainer longer than him, that she was the champion of her region, that it was natural that there was such a difference in power between them. But that consolation did not last long.

Every time he fought her and lost it was like a new blow to his fragile ego. As if they were rubbing into him how weak he was, how much he was inferior to that girl he admired so much and that no matter how hard he tried he was not going to change the result. He would always lose to her.

Then came the lies, that strange friendship that she began to make with Carmine. Why had Carmine now become interested in becoming friends with Juliana when she couldn't stand her from the beginning?! Why now that he finally had a friend did his sister have to come, take her away from him and convince her to lie him to his face? Why did Juliana play along with Carmine? Weren't they friends? So why do this to him?

But definitely, what finally broke him was Ogerpon...that made something inside Kieran die. The Pokémon that he loved so much, that he always defended, she chose the girl that he admired. Ogerpon didn't even look at him but with Juliana she didn't doubt for a second, further proof of how much she was and how little and nothing he was, he wasn't even worthy of the attention of the Pokémon he always longed to have as a friend.

He was so little that not even the Pokémon would choose him, not while Juliana was still stronger than him.

But now everything was different, there was nothing left of that pathetic and sad child, now he was someone, now he was strong. Enough to challenge Paldea's champion in his domain, to finally show her that she was up to the task, that she was even better even if she didn't have Ogerpon!

His shoulders shook with emotion, nothing compared to that feeling of joy, the joy he felt when he defeated the academy's Elite Four and took the title of champion seemed to be something so far away now and what this fight was giving him was not. It was nothing like what he was experiencing right now.

Because his entire path was always for her.

"She was always my destiny."

And he was now to collect the much deserved reward from her and then...

"I give up!"

...

Ah?

Kieran froze in place as his heart sank. He looked up at his opponent, thinking that he had heard wrong, only to find Juliana raising her fist in the air, with her gaze fixed on him, making the universal sign of surrender.

The murmurs from the stands did not wait, students and teachers looked at each other, surprised that the Paldea champion had declared surrender instead of following the fight to the end.

Juliana lowered her arm and gave a sigh, trying to accept the blow of having made her first surrender in a fight, she had never done it before, but this fight had definitely lost all meaning at this point, it was not worth continuing to fight just so that would do more damage to her Pokémon. Her eyes met Askari's, which reflected the same surprise as the others. Juliana gave him an apologetic smile and shook her head. Askari nodded and sighed, allowing himself to collapse and sit on the ground as his ability deactivated, it was finally over!

Juliana looked behind her, seeing that Jabari was leaning on Koraidon, who had offered himself as a crutch to help him up. That relieved her, especially when she saw the approving smile that the Gardevoir gave her. None of her Pokémon were angry at her decision.

"What does this mean...?" She heard then and when she looked forward again, a shiver ran through her entire spine when she saw Kieran's dark but at the same time brilliant gaze, reflecting a rage that was boiling from deep within of his being.

"Kieran..."

"What does this mean?!" he roared, so powerful that his voice seemed to echo throughout the combat arena, sounding even above the voices of the audience.

"It means that is enough, Kieran" Juliana answered in a calm voice. "There is no need to continue fighting, I have seen that I will not be able to defeat you. You've left Jabari out and I'm left with only Askari, he doesn't stand a chance against your Incineroar and Hydrapple so I give up. You won, Kieran. The victory is all yours."

Kieran stood rigid, his eyes open and trembling.

No...

No...

"Kieran...?"

NONONONONONONONONONO

Was this a joke?! What the FUCK was all this?!

Kieran ruffled his hair aggressively, as rage and anger surged through his gut. Juliana had taken victory from him when he had it at his fingertips. She had just deprived him of the satisfaction of being able to defeat her to the fullest extent of the law. Everything he had worked so hard for had been revealed with that surrender! This was not a victory! This was rubbish!

Juliana, seeing that Kieran seemed to have gone crazy, took out her pokeball, pointing it at Askari to make return with her, for his safety.

Then a sharp pain in her wrist became noticeable and the pokeball shot somewhere. Juliana held her wrist and looked at Kieran, seeing him with his hand raised and Incineroar with his paw glowing from using Brick Break. Had he just ordered him to stop him from bringing her Meowscarade back?

"This is not over..." Kieran hissed, a growl coming from his throat before he gestured with his arm again and then Hydrapple launched himself fully with his Gyro Ball, dealing a blow to Askari, who was defenseless on the ground and send it flying.

Next, Incineroar intervened to do a series of hits with Brick Break, hitting poor Askari incessantly and he could barely react to the beating.

"Askari!" Juliana shouted horrified."Kieran, what are you doing?! Stop it!"

A maniacal laugh erupted from Kieran, shaking his shoulders as if the whole thing were nothing more than exciting entertainment.

"The fight is not over until one of the contestants loses each and every one of their Pokémon," he hissed.

Askari's screech echoed in Juliana's ears.

"Kieran, please! Stop this! You're going to kill him!" Juliana begged with flooded eyes, seeing her dear friend suffering from her.

The boy didn't listen, he sent orders over and over again, making sure Juliana felt the deepest humiliation, the desperation before defeat! And he couldn't stop the laugh from escaping between his teeth, his eyes focused on her. every hit like a show! He would win, he would win, he would win, he would finally win! Not only would he be on par with Juliana, Paldea's champion, he would be ahead of her—for once, he could look down on her from above!

Hydrapple would take the last hit, readying his Fickle Beam and firing it at the Meowscarada that was now lying on the ground.

The sound of the impact echoed in the combat arena

Everything began to go in slow motion, as if time had slowed down, no noise seemed to be perceived at that moment. The public's expressions of horror were immediate. The light from the attack illuminated everything when it reached.

Kieran's expression froze as soon as she saw a human body launch into the air.

Then the sound of the body hitting the wall echoed, falling shortly after to the ground like a rag doll, in an uncomfortable and almost twisted position.

A deafening silence was present, not a single person made the slightest noise, trying to understand what had happened, or rather how it had happened.

Everyone seemed to return to reality as soon as the shrill scream of the Meowscarada echoed everywhere and everyone realized what had happened. Juliana had gotten in the way and had just been shot by Hydrapple.

Then chaos broke out. People began to scream, asking for help, confusion and hysteria dominated everyone. How had this happened?!

Kieran was still paralyzed in the same position, perhaps weaker, when he gave his last order. His trembling eyes locked on Juliana's body from a distance away from him, her back to him, her hair loose and scattered on the floor as her Meowscarade reached out to her and tried to make her will rise from it. But she didn't move.

All the emotion and adrenaline that he had been feeling until then went down his body until it was lost beneath his feet. Instead, other sensations arose from his stomach, sensations that right now he was not able to identify other than the cold path that they left inside. He couldn't understand it. What had happened? Juliana, did she get into the middle of a fight? His shoulders began to shake, his cold became more stinging, and the pressure of his stomach made him want to vomit.

Sweat ran down his face, his jaw trembling. Slowly her arm rose, he extended his fingers towards that motionless body, unable to believe what was happening. He moved his lips, trying to call her, only a muffled sound barely able to be uttered.

Then a furious roar echoed near him, so loud that it made him fall to the ground. Kieran raised his head and could see the imposing Koraidon, in his battle form, looking at him with such rage in his eyes that it terrified him, the always friendly and playful Koraidon was now ready to finish him off, to take revenge on the one who had dared to harm his owner. Kieran realized it as soon as he saw the beast open his mouth ready to use a Flamethrower against him. For a second, flames reflected in Kieran's eyes until by some good fortune, the fire disappeared as soon as Koraidon was felled by a combined onslaught from a Mightyena and a Scrafty.

Kieran, confused, watched as those struggled on the ground before feeling hands grabbing his clothes. Yellow eyes identical to his made contact.

"Kiki, you idiot, don't you listen to me?!" Carmine shouted in his face "You have to get out of here now! They won't be able to hold Koraidon much longer, you have to run away! Now!

"What...? But... I... " the boy stammered with difficulty, barely being able to register the words of his sister, but then Mightyena's pitiful screech was heard and Carmine almost screamed when he saw the Pokémon fly out of the side of them.

Almost immediately, Scrafty followed his fate, being crushed by the enormous paw of the paradox monster, which stood on its hind legs looking even larger than usual. Carmine hugged her brother, in an attempt to protect him, leaving Kieran's head in the position of looking towards where Juliana was.

Just as he saw her being held by her Gardevoir's arms before disappearing in a teleport.

Where was he taking her...?! WHERE WAS HE TAKING HER?!

"Juliana..."

Then a shadow loomed over him and as he looked up, he saw Koraidon raise his claw, ready to attack the two with his Dragon Claw.

Koraidon stopped, his huge paw inches from Carmine's head, as soon as he heard Meowscarada scream. Koraidon looked at him while the cat gave his characteristic meows, Carmine and Kieran did not understand anything he was saying to Koraidon but, whatever it was, it was enough for him to give them one last death glare, taking for a moment for roaring Kieran in his face before rushing off with Meowscarada running at his side and, as soon as he reached the edge of the academy stadium, he spread his wings and took flight, this time with Meowscarada riding on his back and disappearing into the air some point in the distance.

The boy looked into the distance, even with the fear inside him, the confusion and shock of everything that had happened in the last few minutes. How... had all that happened?

"Kieran..."Carmine whispered, attracting Kieran's attention who, once again, upon connecting his eyes with hers, felt himself tremble."What have you done...?"

Those words were catalysts for Kieran to finally assimilate what had happened. Panic began to boil, he began to shake his head and tears came out of his eyes until they fell down his cheeks uncontrollably. What has he done...?

He had ruined everything.

TO BE CONTINUE...maybe