"Thanks for bringing them over so quickly, Barry. You're a lifesaver." Juliana smiled warmly at her cousin, taking a trio of pokeballs from him.
"Anything to get out of training with my pops." The blonde nudged her playfully, leaning against his Dragonite.
The previous night, after her spat with Kieran, Juliana had called Professor Rowan from her home region. Despite only getting into real battling once she'd enrolled in Naranja Academy, back in Sinnoh she was well known in the contest circuit. All the women in her family had been in contests as children, so it'd started as a rite of passage of sorts and blossomed from there. Unfortunately, she became so absorbed that she had been forced to quit. When she had to move for her father's work, her cousin Barry had offered to keep her Pokémon at the professor's lab so that she wouldn't face any troubles in Paldea. In Unova, however, they had a full passport.
"So, why the sudden need for a reunion?"
"I need time to get them back in shape before I take on the champion here."
"But why those three? Why not your Garchomp? Or, heck, I'll let you borrow my Empoleon."
"Because he needs to be humbled by some so-called weaker Pokémon."
Practically bouncing in place with excitement, she tossed the balls in the air.
"Come on out everyone!"
The first out was a blue Gastrodon whom she'd named Sticky, the first Pokémon she'd ever caught. She laughed in delight and hugged the giant slug, not caring as she was covered in slime. A chill filled the air and she looked up to see her Abomasnow, Avalanche, gazing down at her tearfully. Juliana reached up to scratch the side of its face, smiling tenderly.
"I missed you too, big guy."
Her vision was interrupted by two ribbons covering her eyes and she beamed.
"And there's your sister. Hello Flurry."
The Frosslass giggled mischievously and fluttered to the Abomasnow's side. Juliana looked at her three Pokémon with tearful joy in her eyes. It'd been too long since they'd all been together. Despite the guilt she felt for leaving them, none of the creatures before her held a minutiae of blame in their eyes. They were just happy to see her again.
"Do you need me to stay or will you just do a PC transfer once you get back to Paldea."
"Probably the latter. Thank you for coming so fast, Barry."
"Anything for you, Jules."
She gave him a hug and a peck on the cheek, grinning. He was such a sweetheart, even if he was a little bit of an airhead sometimes.
"Lemme know how the fight goes."
"I'll make sure it's recorded. Thanks again."
"Yup, see ya." Barry nodded and hopped on his Dragonite, taking off the way he came.
Once he left her sight, Juliana turned to her Pokémon.
"You all must be hungry. We don't have Poffin here, but we do have sandwiches. Let me set up a picnic and whip something up-" She paused to check her ingredients, frowning. "Looks like I'll need to restock a few things. No big deal, I can just run back in before we go."
She recalled her Pokémon and set off to pick up supplies from the school store. A bright smile lit up her face, the pure bliss of having her Pokémon back radiating through her. Juliana was so elated that she didn't even notice a hand reaching out to grab her elbow. Without warning, her back was suddenly pressed against a wall; Kieran stood before her with a menacing expression. His hand pinned beside her head, keeping her from moving. He spoke in a low, even tone so that only she could hear.
"I saw you out there with that guy."
"So? I- I can't have a package delivered?"
"You don't hug and kiss a delivery boy."
Juliana lifted her chin in defiance, setting her expression to neutral. He seemed to take it as an admission of some sort of guilt.
"You never mentioned that you have a boyfriend…"
"If I do, so what? What would it matter to you?" Her tone was shaky, but sharp.
"I don't like it."
His eyes met hers, dark amber and filled with jealousy. His hand slid to cup her cheek, thumb running over her lower lip. Juliana couldn't help the flush that dusted her cheeks. The memory of a chaste kiss under festival lights, interrupted too soon by Carmine calling their names, flitted through both their heads. Despite the want to relive it, she turned her head away from Kieran's gaze.
"He's my cousin. Our moms are sisters." Her voice was quiet and subdued.
"O-Oh."
Kieran looked at what he was doing and blanched a little, stepping back. He fixed his ponytail and looked away from her. Juliana quickly gathered her wits and marched down the hall, continuing toward the school store. As much as she wanted to cry, she couldn't let him get to her. He'd made his choice yesterday and now it was something they were going to live with. She stood taller, drawing confidence from deep inside. If he wanted a challenge, she'd give it right back. Mercy was no longer on the table.
–
After a visit to the school store, Juliana headed to the Canyon Biome for her picnic. The Polar Biome was two cold for half her team, but the Coastal Biome was too warm; The Savannah was right out. Once she got her table set up, the trainer called her Pokémon out. Sticky clung to her leg while the others mingled happily. She carefully moved the Gastrodon to her shoulders so she could make the sandwiches easier. Her nerves had taken some time to settle, but the fresh air and warm sun had done a bit to improve her mood.
"Juliana!"
So much for that…
Carmine came running from the east, eyes alight with worry. She grabbed her by the shoulders and looked her over quickly. Sighing in relief, the older girl stepped back.
"Thank goodness. I heard from Amarys that Kieran had grabbed you in the hallway."
"What? No!" She rubbed her arm, "I mean…he did grab me. But it was just to talk. He'd never hurt me…"
"I don't know about that. He hit Drayton the other day."
"Drayton isn't exactly innocent."
"I know, I know."
Carmine leaned against the bench, hugging herself. A bitter laugh escaped her lips.
"It's kinda twisted, isn't it? For once I'm not the one defending Kiki."
Juliana shrugged, not looking up while she fed Sticky. In her opinion, Carmine should feel guilty for hurting her brother. Her overprotective nature had been the whole reason everything went down so badly. If she had trusted Kieran more, maybe he wouldn't have gotten hurt. She seemed to get the hint, squeezing her hands into fists. Her eyes fixated on the ground beneath her feet.
"Hey, Juliana, can you do me a favor?"
"What is it?"
"Please, don't give up on my brother. I know I failed him and- and I suck. But you can still help him. You can save him. There's something wrong with my brother and I know it!"
"I'll do my best, Carmine, but sometimes people don't want to be saved."
"I know that. But if anyone can do it, it's you."
"Well, I very much appreciate your vote of confidence. I'm not going to lie: When I do fight Kieran, it's going to hurt. I hope you're ready for what might happen."
Carmine's eyes widened a little, mouth opening to protest. Despite this, no words came out. She ran her hands over her hair and gave a small nod of understanding.
"Anything to get Kiki back."
"Happy to hear it. Now, I just need to plan my strategy for Drayton."
"Why not use Abomasnow and Froslass?"
"Because they aren't from the terrarium?" Juliana cocked her head.
"Since when is that a rule? I was able to use my Morpeko."
The two girls thought for a moment before coming to the same conclusion.
"Kieran!"
"He must have thought Drayton was going to go easy on you and forced him to do a different challenge! He usually just makes challengers show him a Pokémon he knows they already own."
"I knew it sounded weird! Well, the joke is on him: I already have a team of Pokémon from the terrarium"
"Always one step ahead, huh? Well, I'll leave you to it. I'm glad you weren't hurt."
"Yeah, me too. See you later, Carmine."
The two girls waved and parted ways, Juliana settling in to strategize her next big battle. Despite his mild appearance, she could tell that Drayton was a force to be reckoned with. His near-draconian eyes were wise and calculating. Just bringing fairy Pokémon wouldn't do; he would expect that. So, the star this time would be an Alolan Sandslash she caught over in the Polar biome. From there she carefully assembled a team, doing her damnedest to ensure she didn't spoil her strategy for Kieran while also making sure she'd only have to face Drayton once. Speedbump watched with interest, a bit disappointed that he had to sit out.
After ensuring her chosen team was in top shape, Juliana checked the time and found she had just enough time to wash up before dinner. Humming, she rode Sparkplug back to the academy and headed up to her dorm room. She was so focused on grabbing her clean outfit that she didn't even notice a gift had been left on the table right inside the door. In fact, she probably wouldn't have seen it if it wasn't for Fuji escaping her ball and approaching the item.
"Hm? What's that Fu?"
The apple dragon screeched, perching on top of the red cellophane wrapper. Juliana carefully picked it up and unwrapped it, a smile touching her lips. Inside was a pristine caramel apple. It was the kind that they sold in the cafeteria at the school and she had a feeling she knew how it had gotten here. Unfortunately the gift giver had not left a note, so she couldn't be certain. Heck, it could've been Drayton trying to apologize for his challenge. Still, the sentiment was there. She rewrapped the apple and quickly showered. Once her tracksuit was on and her hair had been dried, she took her treat with her to the cafeteria to enjoy with dinner.
–
A/N: Sorry for the kinda filler. Mostly wanted to focus on the connections in this one. Thank you guys for the reviews, they are appreciated.