There's going to be a scene in this chapter that may seem out of place. That is because it was supposed to be in the last one, but I completely forgot about it, so I'm putting it here instead *cue frustrated screaming*. But anyway, other than that little not I don't have much more to say here, so just enjoy.

Chapter 3:

Good and Bad

Whether they could believe it or not, the group was now in their 6th and finally year at Uva academy. In just 2 months, they would be graduating, and moving on to greater things. Some of them already knew what they were going to do when they left school. Giacomo was going to become a musician, Atticus was going to become a fashion designer, Eri was going to become a professional wrestler, Penny was considering working for the League full time, and Nemona was going to train under La Primera. As for Florian, he was thinking about becoming a teacher at the academy, which Director Clavell agreed with heavily. "You'd be a great teacher," he told him when Florian approached the Director with the idea. "I can set a few things up for you this Autumn, so you can start learning the ropes." As for the others, they weren't so sure yet. Certainly, Ortega was just planning on coasting through the school year with help from his boyfriend, then see what happens from there.

Out of everyone in the group, Juliana was the most worried about the end of the year. Not because she hadn't thought about what she'll be doing in the future, it was something else, as Florian and Arven liked to remind her. "We have 2 months left until we graduate," Arven told her. "After that, who knows how often we'll get to meet up with each other. you mightn't get another chance to say something to her!" Juliana went bright red at this. "Wh-wh-what the Distortion Realm are you talking about?" she stuttered. "I-I'm not in love with Nemona!" Arven chuckled at that. "I never said you were," he pointed out. "But thanks for the conformation." Juliana looked furious with herself. Florian put a hand on her shoulder. "If I could do it, you can" he told her. Juliana pushed her brother away. "Why would I go telling my rival about feelings I don't even have!" she argued. Florian chuckled. "Pictures on your wall say otherwise" he countered. Juliana went scarlet. "Th-th-those are just pictures I took of my travels around Paldea!" she tried to argue. "I just liked the sceneries and wanted to hang them on my wall!" Arven chuckled and looked around at all of the pictures. "Then why is Nemona in almost every single one of them?" he asked her.

Juliana went scarlet again, and looked around her room. Sure enough, almost every single one of her pictures of the "Paldean scenery" had Nemona in it in some way. Juliana quickly grabbed her pillow and screamed into it. Florian chuckled at his sister. "Gay mess" he commented. Juliana chucked her pillow at him for that. "What do I do?" she pondered, laying down on her bed. Florian and Arven looked at each other, before saying "TELL HER!" at the exact same time. "It's not that simple," Juliana replied. "What if she doesn't like me back? What if it ruins our friendship? What if she never wants to see me again?" Florian pulled her up to a seating position. "That won't happen," Arven told her. "I've known Nemona for 6-7 years now. Trust me, she's head-over-heels for you." Juliana went red at that. "Then why doesn't she say anything?" Juliana asked them. Arven laughed at that. "Probably because I don't think even she knows she is," he said. "As much as her body looks like it's chiselled out of granite, trust me when I say, her head is denser. Meaning if you want to be in a relationship with her, you need to do the asking out."

Arven was right about Nemona's body. She'd had a huge growth spurt over the past few years, especially in certain areas in particular. As such, it was very common to see many boys practically drooling over her as she passed them by. Not that she noticed of course. Juliana could remember the first time she saw Nemona after summer break in 5th year. Her curves had gotten so big they almost made Juliana pass out when she looked at them. Then, when Nemona pulled her into a hug, Juliana felt several blood vessels in her nose pop. Snapping out of her gay trance, she looked at her brother and her friend. "You really think I should do it?" she asked. The pair nodded vigorously, then began discussing ways to do it with her.

Meanwhile, a similar conversation was being had over in Nemona's room. She'd called Penny, Eri, and Mela over to discuss something that was bothering her. She was going to invite Giacomo, Ortega and Atticus over, but the couple had date plans already, and Atticus had a flash of inspiration for new attires and he just couldn't be interrupted. As for Carmine and Kieran, the pair were back in Unova, since Carmine only had two months left of school as well. Once the other girls had gathered, Nemona launched into an explanation. "I think I'm in love with Juliana!" she told them. Whatever reaction she was expecting, it certainly wasn't blank stares. "We already knew that" Penny told her, not looking up from her phone. "It was very obvious" Mela agreed. Nemona went beet red at this. "So, what should I do about it?" she asked them. More blank stares. "Isn't it obvious?" Eri asked her. "Tell her how you feel!" Nemona went red at the thought. "I can't do that!" she almost shrieked. "What if she says no and stops wanting to be my friend!? Or what if Florian finds out and threatens me like Team Star did to him!" Both Eri and Mela went red at that and glared at Nemona, while Penny rounded on them. "You did what?" she asked them. The two girls looked at each other, then sighed and explained to Penny what had happened.

It was just after Florian gave Penny the Applin. Team Star had requested to meet with him outside in the courtyard, and made sure that no one else was there when they did. When Florian showed up, he waved at them in greeting. They waved back and launched right into their explanation, since they knew Florian wasn't one for small-talk. "Hey Florian," Giacomo started. "We heard that you recently started going out with Penny?" Florian nodded happily at that. "That's good," Ortega continued. "We were hoping it would happen eventually. Truth is, we think you're perfect for her, and we greatly respect you for managing to beat us all." "However," Mela continued. "As much as we respect you, we love Penny a lot more." "Now, we know you wouldn't," Eri went on. "But if you do anything..." "And we mean, anything," Atticus finished. "To hurt our Boss in any way whatsoever..." He trailed off and looked behind him. Florian looked over and saw the giant Revavrooms parked there. The message was perfectly clear. "Do you understand?" they asked him together. Florian nodded nervously. "Good," said Giacomo, patting him on the back. "Then, welcome to Team Star Florian."

When the two finished talking, Penny looked ready to strangle them. "As much as I appreciate you looking out for me," she told them, "I would also appreciate it if you didn't threaten my boyfriend with running him over in the future." The two apologised, then refocused on the topic at hand. Namely, convincing Nemona to ask Juliana out. "Trust us Nemona," Eri told her. "Juliana is so mad for you she practically has hearts in her eyes whenever you walk into a room." The other two nodded. "Florian told me that she simply doesn't stop talking about you," Penny added. "If that's not a sign that she loves you, I don't know what is!" Nemona pondered all of this, then nodded. "Alright," she said. "I'll do it!" The other 3 girls cheered, then helped her make a plan.

2 days later, everyone made themselves busy so that Juliana and Nemona would have the afternoon to themselves. Atticus was working on designs, Giacomo and Ortega were mixing music, Eri and Mela were doing their own thing, Arven was helping in the school kitchens, and Florian and Penny had gone out on a romantic stroll. This left Nemona and Juliana alone for the day, so the two agreed to meet up in Mezagoza, get something to eat, then have a battle. Unbeknownst to either of them, they had both requested the battle to calm their nerves for when they'd ask the other out. Nemona had decided to take a leaf out of Florian's book and give Juliana an Applin, while Juliana planned to just tell her right out. Once the pair had finished eating, they walked to the square. Thankfully, since it was the evening, there weren't many people there to watch this. Especially since it was going to be a boring one-on-one battle.

The two chose their pokémon and sent them out, Juliana choosing her ace Quaquavel, and Nemona sending out her ace Lycanroc. The pair started off with a close combat versus drill run. Lycanroc managed to avoid Quaquavel's attack and hit him with drill run, but wasn't quick enough to avoid him using water pulse. Lycanroc was struck in the back, but managed to shake it off and use rock tomb. Despite the type disadvantage, Quaquavel was still hurt by the attack pretty badly, and was taken by surprise by Lycanroc coming in with a bite. However, Quaquavel was able to shake it off and strike back with close combat, finishing Lycanroc off. Nemona returned Lycanroc and thanked it, and Juliana did the same with her Quaquavel.

Now that the battle was over, Nemona had grown nervous again. Seeing her rival and crush standing there made her very nervous. Puberty had been very kind to Juliana as well, expanding her chest and butt out in a way that made her look so hot. "Ay, Dios Mio, soy un desastre lésbico!" she thought to herself. Then, she pulled out Applin's pokéball, hid it behind her back, and approached her crush, who was also walking towards her. The pair took a deep breath, then said simultaneously, "I have something to give/tell you!" They both laughed, then said, "No you first!" After laughing again, Juliana sighed. "I'll go first I guess," she said, before taking another breath. "Nemona, you are an amazing rival and a great friend. But I've realised something recently..."

But before she could get another word out, they heard a cry of distress coming from over their heads. Looking up, they saw Miraidon charging towards them, carrying someone on his back. Upon closer inspection, they realised that it was Penny, and for some reason she was crying her eyes out. Miraidon crashed to the ground beside the two girls, knocking them backwards. Applin's pokéball flew out of Nemona's hand during the blast. Juliana was the first to her feet. "Are you alright Penny?" she asked as she began to make her way over. "Why are you crying? And where's Florian? Oh if he did something to hurt you I'm gonna- Holy Shit! Miraidon!" Forgetting about the Applin, Nemona ran over to the futuristic pokémon and saw why Juliana had reacted the way she did. Miraidon was hurt. He had several cuts along his body, and it seemed like his wing had broken, which is why he'd crashed.

Penny looked much better than Miraidon did, but they could see a small headwound on her left temple. But it was clear that that wasn't the reason she was crying. "Penny, what happened?" Juliana asked again, more gently this time. Penny sniffed, and the pair could see that she was fighting to stay awake. "We were walking by the Great Crater, when we were attacked," she choked. "Miraidon tried to get us away, but the thing was too strong. And Florian... Florian..." She started to cry again. Juliana grabbed both of Penny's shoulders. "What happened to my brother?" she demanded. "He was thrown off Miraidon, and fell into Area Zero!" Penny sobbed some more, before finally losing consciousness thanks to her wound.

Sorry if that Spanish was wrong, I used Google Translate for it. As for the thing I had to put in here instead of the previous chapter, that was the scene between Florian and Team Star was supposed to be at the end of the last chapter, but I forgot. Also, sorry that I left Nemona's and Juliana's descriptions rather vague, but I don't really like describing women's breast and butt sizes, makes me feel like I'm sexualising them a bit, but that's just me being an ace disaster lol. But yeah, shit just went down, and it went down hard. And of course, if you read quite literally anything else I've written on this site (except for the One-Shot), then you know that things are only going to go downhill from here! See you all in two days time to find out what happened to Florian.