Brassius is so annoying, and we love him. Hassel and Juliana think the same way we do, but the jury's out on the others.
Juliana was accompanied by her friends when she approached the Gym clerk, but once the woman gave her the test the others were forced to stay behind. Expecting her to take a week finding a mere ten Sunflora, Florian and Nemona went out to a coffee shop.
"Soup ladles?" Florian repeated, looking surprised. "I knew he was a sculptor, but what could he be making with ladles?"
"A giant ladle?" Nemona suggested.
"He wants to make a ladle out of a bunch of smaller ladles? That doesn't sound fun."
"Artists." Nemona shrugged. "I didn't ask. I didn't want an explanation, I just wanted a battle."
"Makes sense," Florian agreed. "I'm not one for art, that's Juliana's thing."
"Did someone call me?" said a familiar voice, and they turned to see the Champion-to-be standing there, already having four Sunflora tagging along behind her.
"How did you find all of them so fast?" Nemona asked, having done the test twice now.
Juliana shrugged and pointed two of them out. "That one was by the stadium," she said, "and that one was by the public pool, looking at the ice cream vendor. The other two were in the middle of the street, staring at vending machines." The two that were not pointed out shuffled nervously. Juliana grinned. "And with that history, I decided to check out places that have food first. And there's number five!"
She pointed again. The other kids turned, seeing a Sunflora behind the counter, acting as barista.
"How did we miss that?" asked Nemona.
Florian looked down at his cup. "I did think it was weird when they got my name right," he said to himself.
Juliana tagged the barista, and it tossed its hat back onto the counter to follow. The human barista reappeared seconds later.
"I have a cookie for a Mr. Flora!"
Five Sunflora later, Juliana could feel her Focusyn wearing off - never a good sign, as all the suppressed ADHD tended to come out at once when she could feel it. Still, she and her friends approached the stadium, Juliana not wanting to get stuck avoiding Artazon again. There was a crowd gathered to watch, but no Gym Leader in sight.
"I thought he knew I was coming," she said to herself.
"Avant-garde, Miss Juliana!" was all the warning she received. She looked up to see a man standing on the blade of the windmill, half a second before he jumped off and landed like a superhero.
The crowd went nuts. Brassius smiled slightly and stood up, looking over at his challenger as if expecting her to be impressed. His face fell when he noticed that she wasn't reacting the way other challengers had.
"Oh, no," Florian mumbled. "I captured Edelgard and now Hubert's out for revenge."
Juliana and Brassius didn't hear. Juliana was still processing what she'd just witnessed, and Brassius was waiting for the moment it clicked.
She blinked, then looked up at the windmill. "How did you stand on the blade like that?"
Brassius made an offended noise. "That's what you notice about it?" he complained. "Not that I made an entrance? Not that I managed a difficult landing and nearly snapped my legs in half? You notice that I managed to stand on the blade?"
Juliana shrugged. "I've never tried parkour. It's on my bucket list, though."
Brassius stared at her in dead silence, trying to make his brain work properly. He'd known this girl was going to be important. He still didn't know how - he was either going to like her or have her banished from Artazon forever - but he'd been told about a Miss Juliana being a promising artist on the path to the League and he was determined to give her a real battle.
So, without even a sigh of disappointment, he took his whip and slapped it against the ground. A much louder boom echoed through the arena, and Brassius wondered for a second if he'd caused it.
Then the rain started, and it made sense.
Juliana didn't mind, or maybe she didn't notice. It was the time for him to make his speech.
"Avant-garde," he said again. "It was magnificent, how you handled the Sunflora - I've never seen them challenge anyone to battle before."
"What does 'avant-garde' even mean?" she interrupted.
Brassius ignored her and pulled out a ball. "I hear you're an artist. Our collaboration is sure to be a masterpiece!"
"You want me to collaborate?" Juliana bounced in excitement. "That's awesome! Who told you I was an artist? I was..." her face fell. "Oh, you were talking about battle..."
There was another moment of silence. Then, without another word, Brassius walked off the field, muttering to himself.
"If you rage-quit, that means she wins!" Nemona called after him.
There was a moment where they all stood there, wondering if the Gym Leader was coming back. Then he returned, still irritated but followed by a cheerful Mr. Hassel.
Juliana's art teacher had come to watch her battle? Sure, he was her favorite teacher, but was this him silently saying that she was his favorite student?
Hassel caught her confused look and gave her a thumbs-up. That explained nothing.
And neither did Brassius, as he chose to skip the speech and send out a Petilil.
Despite the rain, Fletchinder had managed to take out Petilil and the Smoliv that had followed with repeated uses of Flame Charge. But despite Brassius Terastallizing a Sudowoodo into a Grass-type, the Rock Throw was still enough to take down Fletchinder in one hit.
Not that Juliana expected otherwise. She'd seen it coming, but had hoped that Fletchinder's increased speed would let her take Sudowoodo down in one shot like with Smoliv.
"I'm sending in my Quaxwell!" she announced, tossing Webby's ball. Technically at a disadvantage, but she knew Wing Attack and wasn't weak to Rock Throw.
Brassius actually laughed, keeping the wide grin even when the sound stopped. "Avant-garde, Juliana! I've never seen someone deliberately put themselves at a disadvantage before!"
"You're freaking everybody out with that face, Brassie!" Hassel shouted, having been heckling the Gym Leader from the start.
The smile was gone quickly. "Duly noted, Hass."
"What does avant-garde even mean?" Juliana asked again, but Brassius called for a Trailblaze. Juliana clenched her teeth and ordered a Wing Attack. She was really starting to hate that term.
"Kick his butt, kid!" Hassel called.
Brassius whipped the ground, glaring in Hassel's direction. "How dare you," he hissed, to the teacher's laughter. "I thought we were friends."
It was a joke, of course. He was starting to like the girl, too. Perhaps they could collaborate on actual art, once he saw her work.
Webby made it through the first Trailblaze, but the second took her down - two Wing Attacks and Fletchinder's Flame Charge, and the Grass-type Sudowoodo was still standing.
Attempt number three. "Staravia! Wing Attack!"
That managed to do it.
Sudowoodo fell, leaving Brassius to hand Juliana the badge. He even asked for a photo before she could.
"I was talking about a photo of your artwork," he admitted, but posed with her when she asked.
"Did anyone tell you that you look like Hubert from Fire Emblem Three Houses?" she asked once the photo was taken.
"I have heard it, yes," he admitted. "Unfortunately, any resemblance is coincidental. I haven't played Fire Emblem since Awakening."
Juliana turned back to her phone. "Rotom, show him a picture of Hubert von Vestra."
Rotom did as she was told. Brassius suppressed a smile.
"Perhaps I should play this game myself," he said. "When I have the time. I'm much more interested in your art, Juliana."
Juliana managed to corner Hassel as she and her friends left the Gym. Florian told her not to, but she barely heard him.
"You came to watch me battle?" she asked, and Hassel laughed.
"I'm friends with the Gym Leader," he corrected, "but yes, I came to cheer for you."
"Because Brassius needs to have his avant-garde butt handed to him?"
"Because my second job is as a member of the Elite Four."
Juliana stopped thinking. "Oh," she said quietly. "That makes a lot more sense."
He kept his smile, but there was a warning now. "Champion Nemona told me you were taking on the Pokémon League. I hope you know that this means facing me, eventually."
"I do now," Juliana said, lightly touching Webby's ball. "I only did the League thing because Nemona asked me to. I wanted to ask Brassius if I could be his art apprentice, but..."
Hassel nodded. "Your friendship with Miss Nemona won out over your obvious love for art - and he's on a deadline for whatever it is he's doing with those ladles. Have you been keeping up with your studies?"
"I've been going to class. I'm sure you've seen me."
"And heard of a flying Tarountula, yes." Juliana turned red, but Hassel didn't seem to care. "I'll see you in class, Miss Juliana."
And he left. Juliana watched him go, and realized what type he must have chosen as his specialty if he wore something resembling a cape.
She decided to have Tinkatink's final form with her when she made it to the League.
Juliana: Webby (Quaxwell, female) Lechonk (male) Tarountula (male) Fletchinder (female) Tinkatink (female) Hoppip (male)
Juliana's reserves: Fidough (female) Pawmi (male) Igglybuff (female) Minecraft (Nacli, male) Spoink (female) Azurill (female) Staravia (female)
Florian: Lloyd (Floragato, male) Kirlia (female) Edelgard (Baile style Orocorio, female)
