(Or, "Another Brick Break in the Wall")
"And these are the ones I've taken in Alola, during one of their Maintine Surfing contests. I actually remember this trip really fondly. Not only was it a nice holiday for me, but it was also my first time experimenting with waterproof action cams."
Jacq sifted through the photos in the binder. "These are really nice, Perrin! Really captures the scene. It almost makes me want to hop on one of those Mantine!"
"Right!? That's the kind of immersion I was hoping to capture!"
"Rowww!" her Growlithe barked.
Perrin glanced up and saw someone approaching them. "Oh. Hey look. It's that kid I met yesterday."
"Hmm?" Jacq looked up and gasped. "Hey, Juliana! Over here!"
Juliana wasn't surprised to see her homeroom and biology teacher Jacq still set up at the same picnic table where she had met him yesterday, off the path in Reveler's Road.
She was however surprised to see her teacher talking to Perrin, the photographer who she had chatted briefly with yesterday as well, leaning against the tree next to the table with one of her funny-looking Growlithe accompanying her.
"Heeeeey, kiddo!" she called out to Juliana. "Looking swell with that get-up! So you're the Juliana my pal's been talking about, huh? What are the odds?"
"Yeah. It's… Perrin, right?"
"Well, how marvelous!" said Jacq. "I had no idea you two had met each other here in Kitakami! Small world indeed!"
"How do you two know each other?" Juliana asked.
"I took on freelance assignments for Mr. Jacq here back in the day when he was compiling that Pokédex of his," Perrin explained.
"Perrin's photography work was very instrumental in helping me put together the Paldean Pokédex with such wonderful visual aids that capture every Pokémon at their core essence. Oh! Speaking of Pokédexes, how's your Kitakami one coming along, Juliana? And how's the Egg I left you?"
"Umm, Egg hasn't hatched yet," Juliana noted. "…You're still not going to tell me what it is until it hatches, are you?"
"That is the fun of a surprise, after all!"
"Worth a shot. Well, in terms of my Pokédex… here."
Juliana showed Jacq her Pokédex app on her Rotom Phone… and Jacq flew back so hard his hexagonal glasses nearly flew off his face.
"You're already caught… how many Pokémon in Kitakami!? After just two days of being here? Juliana, I'm lost for words! That's—that's amazing!"
Juliana stood sheepishly and blushed.
"She's being quite the overachiever, huh?" said Pieran. "Might be my fault, to be honest. I… kind of regaled her with tales of that Bloodmoon Beast I was telling you about, and told her I might let her join in if she had 150 species in Kitakami registered."
"Well, any motivation is good motivation!" Jacq chuckled.
Perrin took a look at her camera and stood up. "I should probably get going and have these photos developed. Great catching up with you, Jacq. And wonderful meeting you for real, Juliana!"
"Bye!" Juliana waved.
"Take care of yourself!" Jacq called.
Now that they were alone, Juliana took a seat across from Jacq.
"You do look great in that jinbei!" Jacq complimented. "It's wonderful to see you taking part in Kitakami's culture! So apart from catching lots of Pokémon and trying on the local apparel, how else are you holding up during your visit to Kitakami?"
"Oh… pretty well, I think!" Juliana nodded.
"Yeah? Seen any cool sights so far? Made some new friends?"
"Actually…" Juliana scratched her head awkwardly. "I met this pair of siblings, they're both from Blueberry Academy!"
Jacq grinned. "Briar will be glad to hear you kids are mingling with each other."
"Mm-hm. But umm…" Juliana looked a bit glum. "I've been having… some difficulties."
"What's wrong?" asked Jacq.
"Well, so there's this boy, Kieran. He's a year younger than me. He's super chill and super friendly, and we've had fun battling each other."
"That's fantastic!"
"And then… there's his sister. Carmine. She's… she's…" Juliana gazed at her own hands as she tried to find the words to describe her. "She's really cool, and pretty, and… and a great battler and… and so confident and cool. I've—I've been bonding with Kieran really well, but, but…"
"…But you're having trouble connecting with this Carmine girl," Jacq sympathized.
Juliana crossed her arms and slumped. "She's so… complicated. Like, she's very cheerful and determined one minute. And then the next, she's hurling insults, trying to act all mad, and she does this thing with her hands that…" She imitated Carmine's seething motions. "It's a little weird, but it's, also kind of adorable."
Jacq looked troubled. "She's not… mean to you or the other students, is she? It kind of, sounds like you're describing those troublemaker kids that the lead caretaker mentioned to me."
Juliana shook her head indignantly.
"I don't think they're troublemakers at all. I've spent time with them for two days now and… I think the adults of this town misjudge them. They both care about each other, and love Pokémon, and… and I don't think they go out of their way to cause trouble. They're just… very excitable."
Jacq nodded thoughtfully. "I do know Mossui is a pretty old and sleepy town. There's more elders here now than younger folks, and… I guess sometimes kids know themselves and each other better than us cranky adults do!"
She sighed sadly. "I just… I just wish I could figure out how to break through Carmine's shell. I've been trying to match her level of energy, and—and I keep feeling like I'm making progress. But then, just as she starts acting friendlier, it's like… it's like the more I try to reach for her, the more she pulls away. Just, completely shuts herself off. Not like Kieran, who eventually opened himself up after I was patient with him. But… but by being friends with Kieran, it almost seems like I'm causing Carmine to become angry towards him! It'd be so much easier to just be friends with both of them! But… I just, I don't know what to do."
Juliana's usual happy demeanor had fallen. As she sat across from her teacher, she looked glum and despondent, staring down at the polka-dot tablecloth. Jacq was crestfallen to see his student like this, having been used to the cheerful smile she always brought to his classes back at Uva.
"Gosh… that does sound like a pickle, Juliana," he agreed. "Making friends can be surprisingly hard sometimes, especially trying to connect with people with different life experiences. I… I wish I had some advice to offer you. Truth be told, I've always been a lot better at solving Pokémon problems than people ones. That's… really the sort of thing someone like Miriam would be better equipped to handle than me."
"Mm." Juliana lifted her head up a bit. "I guess I wasn't, so much looking for advice. Just… kind of needed someone to vent all this too, I guess."
"Well… I'll sit here and listen for as long as you need, okay?"
Juliana cracked a bit of a smile at Jacq, which pleased him. In his experiences with students, Jacq had often found that just being there for a student facing difficulties went a long way, at the very least in helping them realize they're not alone in their problems.
He tried to pick his brain for something, anything he could think of to relate to Juliana's problem. Then, he had a thought.
"Oh! Well here's something to think about that, maybe could help you." Juliana perked up to listen to what Jacq had to say. "You know how Pokémon put up walls in the middle of battle, right? Using moves like Light Screen, or Reflect?"
"Sure."
"Well… if you think about it, people put up walls just like Pokémon do, they try to protect themselves against anything that could be, 'super effective', if you will!" he snickered. "Like your friend, Carmine for instance. It sounds like when she's feeling vulnerable, she tries to put up more walls around herself, the way a Pokémon does."
"Okay…?" Juliana nodded along, even though she wasn't quite sure whether this analogy made sense.
"So, in that sense, it's really just about finding the right thing that works like a swift Brick Break!" He did a faux chop motion on the table to illustrate, which made him wince and shake his hand a bit.
"Brick Break?" Juliana repeated, puzzled.
"Yeah! Did you know that in battle, Brick Break is a really good move at crushing a Pokémon's psychic walls like when they use Light Screen?"
Juliana's eyes lit up. "No I didn't!"
"Heh-heh, yeah. It's uh… it's something I learned watching one of Dendra's advanced battle classes. Anyway, the point is, if you feel like someone's trying to put up a barrier between you and themselves… try figuring out what's something you can say or do that will cut through that barrier. And make them feel more relaxed, at east. Like they can be themselves around you. Does that… make enough sense to you?"
"You know… in a weird way, it kinda does," Juliana answered, her face contemplative. "So, I just gotta figure out what will make Carmine want to open up more. I need to find…" She did a swift chopping motion in the air. "…the right Brick Break for myself!"
She and Jacq both laughed.
"Y'know… I actually do a feel bit better now. In fact I—Oh, wowww!"
Juliana's thoughts were interrupted by a sudden and impressive show of lights. Fireworks went off in the night sky of Kitakami, dazzling in images of red, green, blue, and white.
"Sure is quite a sight! Those fireworks mean the Festival of Masks has just started over in Kitakami Hall. Were you planning to attend, Juliana?"
"Oh! Yeah I was, actually! I need to get going, I agreed to meet up with Kieran there!" Juliana quickly gathered up the bag she had set down and fit her sandals back on to begin running. "Thanks for everything, Jacq! This really helped me a lot!"
"I'm glad to hear it! Always ready to lend an ear to your problems!"
Jacq waved as Juliana began to run off.
"OH! Hey, Juliana!"
"Yeah?" Juliana whipped her head back to him.
"You know… you're a real great kid. I bet that if you put your heart into it, that you could find a way to make friends with anybody."
Juliana smiled sweetly and blushed.
"Thanks, Mr. Jacq."
The fireworks in the sky signaled the official start of Kitakami's Festival of Masks. The people of this land have traditionally held this event annually as a celebration of their culture and the legends passed down of the Loyal Three and their heroic plights.
Since then however, the festival has changed. The attractions have grown more plentiful and colorful, and Kitakami Hall decorates itself much more vibrantly now. The fireworks were a brand new addition this year, with Nao apparently stoking talks among the elders to hold the festival a few more times each year instead of just once.
This was a way to better ensure Kitakami hold onto their traditions and be an exciting place for everyone to visit, he insisted, and absolutely not a ploy to rope in more tourists and their money to the region.
Whatever the agendas were behind sprucing up the festival, the people attending the Festival of Masks couldn't be any more thrilled to visit the bright and colorful grounds to eat candy apples and delicious fried foods, walk around with their masks on like it was a masquerade ball, and earn sweet mochi by partaking in the exciting Ogre Oustin' game.
The Festival of Masks attracted a lot of visitors of all shapes and sizes, Pokémon and people alike.
Down the steps from Oni Mountain, a small being clad in a green cloak strode jauntily towards the festival grounds, wearing a teal and green mask with sparkling crystal shapes on it.
It knocked its small feet together, with green leaves between its toes that made them look like fancy sandals, in some sort of cautious excitement.
Juliana had just barely made it past the archway at the top of the stairs into town when she found herself immediately accosted.
"There you are!"
To her surprise, Carmine spotted her from within the crowd and dashed over to her.
"And just where have you been!?" she seethed. "Out there stealing—I mean catching more Pokémon for your precious little collection?"
Juliana didn't know if Carmine was really needling her, or if this was a mask for her being worried about what had happened to her. But she decided to focus on what Jacq had told her.
Find a way to break her walls down…
Juliana went for a sassy approach and flicked the hairs in her ponytail.
"Aww, what's wrong, Carmine? Were you worried about me?" Juliana asked with a pestering smile.
Carmine rolled her eyes in disgust. "Ugh, as if! I couldn't care less about what you do on your own, but you made a promise to Kiki!"
She gestured to where Kieran was standing a little ways behind her. Juliana waved to him. Kieran started to wave back, but Carmine thrust out her left arm to shield him from Juliana's eyesight.
"Hey, don't look at him, look at me! He was expecting you to show up here and have fun with him during the opening ceremony, but you left him high and dry! You were supposed to protect my little brother and instead you had him all scared and confused!"
Kieran hopped up and tried to lower Carmine's arm.
"Sis, why are you wording it like that? I was not scared! I literally just started asking where Juliana was. I thought something might've happened to her or she got lost. But…" he sighed and put his head down. "…I don't need anyone protecting me, okay!?"
He forcefully shoved Carmine's hand down, earning a nasty glare from her. But he ignored it to address Juliana.
"Juliana don't let her get to you. She was actually panickin' about where you went much more than I was."
"YOU—don't try to deflect!" Carmine snarled. "I'm getting real sick of you always taking her side over your big sister's!"
Juliana giggled, feeling like their sibling banter had gotten back to being fun again. She knew by this point Carmine was going to snap even more hearing her chortle, so when Carmine did even cast an angry stare, she just kept her smile up.
Carmine shook her fist and sneered.
I don't like how bold you're getting, kid.
Kieran, sensing some tension, cleared his throat.
"A-anyway, today's just the first day of the festival. It'll keep going for a while…"
He stepped to the side to let Juliana see the festival for herself. Juliana stood in awe at the sight of so many colorful stalls, so many people walking around in different masks, and the smells of sweet, syrupy treats and steamy fried snacks. It was like being at a carnival.
"Wow…"
"I bet you don't have any festivals this big over in Paldea or whatever, right?" Carmine boasted.
"We sure don't!" Juliana laughed. "My mom's taken me to some small carnivals when I was little, but nothing like this."
"Heh... knew it! See, Kitakami's just as good as any of your big, shiny cities."
"It's okay Juliana, just ignore her…"
Juliana grinned at him. "Thanks Kieran, but I can take the heat just fine."
"See? You and I might get along after all!" said Carmine. Juliana beamed in response. "…Never mind. You still smile too much."
"Ugh. Sis, aren't ya gonna do the thing? You promised!" Kieran whined.
"What? The picture thing? I only said that to get you to stop yapping so much."
"Picture, huh? What's that about?"
Carmine groaned. "Kiki wants me to take a photo of you two on your phone to commemorate this occasion or… whatever."
"That sounds fun! Let's do it!"
"Yay!" said Kieran.
"I was afraid you'd say that." Carmine sighed. "Fine, fine."
Juliana eagerly handed her Rotom Phone to Carmine.
Another Paldean trusting a stranger way too much with their phone…
"Get into position, you two."
Kieran just stood where he already was, while Juliana ran over and put her arm around his shoulder, making a V-pose. Kieran put on his best smile, trying not to look nervous.
"Come on Kiki, this was your idea, at least try not to look like she's holding you against your will," Carmine teased.
As they posed waiting for Carmine to snap, the gears in Juliana's head turned, and she had an idea.
"Hey, Carmine!"
"Hmm?"
"Why don't you get in the picture with us?"
"Huh!?" both siblings said at once.
"Y-you want Carmine to be in the picture?"
"What a dumb request. Who's going to hold the camera if I'm there with you, genius?"
"We just use this Roto-Stick thingy the caretaker gave us!" Juliana answered, fishing the extending Roto-Stick out from her bag.
"I forgot Nao-san gave you one of those stupid… err, quirky looking things."
"Come on, Carmine!" Juliana urged. "You talk so much about your amazing beauty, right?"
Urk!
"Surely you'd take any opportunity to capture it on film."
Kieran gave Juliana a weird look. He wasn't the only one surprised at this side of her.
What's with you? You're definitely acting different from before. Now I think you're definitely flirting with me.
"Well, alright then. I guess you two could use someone to show you how not to smile like a pair of Aipom. Gimme that Roto-Stick."
Juliana grinned with delight as Carmine scooched in between the two of them. Carmine extended the Roto-Stick and attached it to Juliana's phone.
"C'mon, you two. Scooch in closer!"
"Ow! You're steppin' on my toe, sis!"
Juliana resumed her pose, while Carmine scooched between the two of them smiling. Kieran was next to them, still trying to smile non-awkwardly but not really pulling it off. Carmine had a smirk like she was up to something.
"Alright, ready? Now, everyone say… PINEAPPLES!"
"What!?" Kieran burst out laughing, which made Juliana chuckle too. "Pineapples!? Sis—"
-SNAP!-
They all took a look at the photo on Juliana's phone. Surprisingly, it came out with all three of them looking very naturally happy. Juliana was doing with a V-pose with a wide-mouthed smile, Carmine was giving the camera a confident wink… and Kieran was glancing in Juliana's direction, but with an absolutely beaming smile on his face.
"Now that's what I call a nice festival vibe!" said Carmine.
"This came out great!" Juliana agreed.
"Wowzers…" said Kieran, astonished. "We all look so cool."
"It's great to see you finally look so natural in a photo, isn't it?" Carmine explained to Juliana, "Kiki's always had a problem with not being able to make a good face on camera. You probably noticed that when you two were taking your pictures at the signposts, right?"
"Well…" Juliana didn't want to be mean to Kieran, but, she had indeed taken note of how awkward Kieran looked in both of the pictures they'd taken so far.
"Exactly! So I came up with that brilliant life hack to get him guffawing before I hit snap! Now you've got a picture to remember this amazing night and both of our incredible smiles forever!"
Kieran didn't say anything, but let out a small snicker. There was a sudden jolt of commotion from far in the crowd, which drew all their attention.
"Oh. They must have just opened the Ogre—uhh, the—the Berry gathering game," Kieran observed, not wanting to use the attraction's "offensive" name.
"The Festival of Masks is held so we can all honor the Loyal Three, the brave heroes of Kitakami who once protected this land from the evil ogre." Carmine explained.
She turned her head so Juliana could see her mask, a blue monkey-like face that represented Munkidori of the Loyal Three.
"Most of the kids in town wear masks of the Loyal Three, like me. Did I mention they're our heroes?"
"…A few times, yeah," said Juliana, sheepishly.
Kieran rolled his eyes and chuckled to himself.
"What? What're you laughing at?"
"N-nothin'! I was just thinkin' it was funny that, like… you don't know anything about the ogre…"
"What!?" Carmine seethed. "I know the legends of Kitakami better than anybody! Pretty gutsy of you to laugh at your big sis!"
"S-sorry…"
Carmine shook her head. "Kiki's still a little baby, so of course he thinks some kind of terrible monster's cool. He likes the ogre more than the Loyal Three!"
"Aw, but, but…" Kieran tried to protest, but he just hung his head in shame instead.
Juliana was saddened to see Kieran's interests discouraged and decided to shift gears from trying to win over Carmine to supporting him again.
She patted him on the back.
"Hey… the legends say that Ogerpon's fight with the Loyal Three happened hundreds of years ago, right?" Kieran meekly nodded. "Then I say, who cares about who was the hero and who was the villain! If you love the ogre and Carmine loves these Loyal Three, then neither of you's right or wrong!"
"You—you really think that?" asked Kieran, his face lighting up.
"Absolutely! That mask of yours…" She pointed to it. "It represents the ogre, doesn't it?"
"Y-yeah, that's right!" Kieran answered, feeling chipper again. "The ogre gives me strength! The way it so coolly defeated all those Loyal Three bullies and showed such bravery and courage… it's what—it's what keeps me going and makes me want to become stronger too!"
"Tch."
"That's great, Kieran," Juliana assured him. "I think that's really special. Anything that gives you a drive to want to be better and stronger is a wonderful thing. I don't think there's anything baby-ish about that."
She made a pointed glance at Carmine… who for her part, was staring at the floor looking guilty.
"I—I guess when you put it like that… Fine. Love the ogre if you want. But I still say the Loyal Three are cooler…" she muttered.
Juliana and Kieran both giggled in response. And Carmine, feeling oddly jovial, joined them in laughing too. For the first time, all three of them were united in joy.