Author's Note:

Hey guys! Sorry this took so long. I've been taking a break from writing. Hopefully you enjoy this chapter anyway.

See you later!


"Ladies and Gentlemen, we have now arrived in Paldea. You may now exit the aircraft. Please remember to take your belongings and once again, thank you for choosing Dragon Airlines."

Perrin smiled and quickly gathered her bags and made her way down the narrow aisle. This was unknown to everybody, but during the night while everyone was asleep, she booked a flight to Paldea.
Once she stepped into the airport and looked around, the excitement grew even more, "Wow, I'm in Paldea! It's great to finally make it here!" She whispered to herself. At that moment, she realized she didn't have much of a game plan beyond getting here.

She began to walk through the terminal, "Now… I need a plan on how to get in. No doubt the place will be guarded in some way. Hm… I'll have to scope the place out from afar to see what I'm up against."

Her heart raced with anticipation; the photos of a lifetime were nearly in her grasp.


Juliana spent that morning at the front entrance of the school. She had woken up early despite not having a class just to see how the sunrise would look above the ocean, and she was not disappointed. The pale gold rays of light shooting out from behind the clouds combined with the blue ocean and sky was an amazing sight. Juliana sipped her caramel iced coffee with a smile and considered that time well spent.

As she stood from the bleachers and prepared to walk, her mind went to Perrin and the photographs that she had. Although she would like to think that they were fake, she couldn't help but think otherwise. But where did such Pokemon come from? The only answer she could think of was through the Time Machine that the late Professor Sada created.

"Professor Sada… if only I could talk to you face to face…" Juliana thought to herself, "There's so much I would like to ask you…"

Noticing the increasing number of people, Juliana decided to head to the Terarium. Once there, she called a flying taxi and requested a lift to the Canyon Biome rest area. Once she got there, she could see a few students were present, but Juliana paid no mind to them and walked out to a spot where she was able to overlook a vast expanse of rocky hills, grassy knolls, and the calm river. She found a spot to comfortably rest her arms.

Juliana kept watching the view until she heard footsteps and felt a presence behind her. She turned and saw it was Amarys, looking at her with the same neutral expression she always had.

Juliana smiled at her, "Hi Amarys!"

"Hello Juliana." Amarys greeted her, "I wasn't expecting to see you here."

"I decided to go for a walk." Juliana informed her.

Amarys hesitated before responding, "I see. Is everything okay?"

Juliana was a bit caught off-guard by her question, but she answered, "Yes, I'm okay." She allowed a pause before she inquired, "Why do you ask?"

Amarys kept her signature monotone voice, "You usually have others with you. It's strange to see you alone."

Juliana couldn't help but chuckle, "Aha… I do like being with people."

"Indeed. You are an extrovert." Amarys stated matter-of-factly, "I may not relate to that, but I'm glad to know you."

This made Juilana happy, "Aw, I'm glad that I met you too Amarys! In fact, I'm happy I met everyone here! Everyone here adds a bit of sparkle to my life!"

Amarys managed a small smile, "You're so kind, Juliana. It's no mystery as to why Kieran speaks so fondly of you."

Juliana looked toward the horizon, "I hope he'll keep being okay."

"With you in his life. There's no doubt he will be."

After some silence, Amarys also turned to watch the horizon. Juliana didn't want to admit this, but she would still feel a bit awkward whenever someone brought up Kieran to her. Simply because of how turbulent their friendship was before. Although there are no hard feelings between them anymore, she never thought in a million years that she would be caught up in a conflict like that. It was something she never wanted to go through again.

Putting that out of her mind, Juliana glanced at Amarys, and unintentionally began to stare at her. She didn't realize what she was doing until Amarys suddenly looked at her. This made Juliana jump.

"Yes? What is it, Juliana?" Amarys questioned politely, "Has my fine taste in eyeglasses caught your attention?"

An embarrassed Juliana frantically spoke, "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to…! I was… Uh… okay, this is awkward…"

Amarys was amused, "Your apology is unnecessary. I've heard from others your opinion of me. You think I'm cool and interesting? Thank you, I'm quite honored."

Juliana could feel her face redden; she wanted the ground to swallow her.

Amarys took out her watch, "Time for me to go. There is a Gym Battle I must attend to."

"O-Okay! I'll see you around!" Juliana smiled, fully realizing her face was still red but trying to act cool.

"So long then." Amarys bid. As she left, Juliana knew that she heard the steel-type expert snorting. Despite how flustered she felt, she was happy that she made the normally stoic Amarys laugh.
For her, she considered that another accomplishment.

"Cinccino!"
The gray Pokemon surprised her by hopping up on the ledge. Juliana yelped in shock, "Oh, Cinccino! You scared me!"

Cinccino allowed Juliana to pet her gently. Her fur felt amazing to the touch, which helped Juliana feel more at ease.

"What should we do next, Cinccino?" Juliana asked.

Cinccino glanced around, as if considering their options. Juliana suggested, "You know, Amarys said she had a Gym Battle. How about we go watch?"

Cinccino nodded in agreement, Juliana smiled, "All right! Let's go then!" And they headed off for the battle area, hoping that it wasn't over yet.


Over in the League Club room, Arven had struck up a conversation with Crispin.

"So, seriously, why do you always carry that frying pan around?" Arven asked the cooking enthusiast, crossing his arms inquisitively.

Crispin froze for a second with a mystified expression, "Huh? Well, isn't it obvious? So I can cook up a meal anytime I want to! I even hug it as I go to sleep every night!" He declared that last sentence with a wide grin.

Arven was baffled at that unnecessary part, "It's… not like you can cook while you're sleeping but… sure?"

"What about you?" Crispin asked, "You're always carrying around a big ol' rucksack too! It's full of camping gear, yeah?!"

"Aha! You noticed? Looks like you're quite the bright little spark yourself!" Arven complimented, "With this handy bag of mine, I can do more than just whip up a meal anytime I want. I'm ready to camp out under the stars whenever!"

A wide-eyed Crispin took a step back, "Under the stars?! So you just sleep outside? Wow, no way! That's so cool!"

"That's right! I've grown to prefer that over sleeping in a bed to be honest! Hahaha!" Arven laughed.

"Maybe I should give it a try sometime!" Crispin suggested, "Got any tips?"

Arven was eager to give, "Of course! First, you have to choose the right tent. One that'll protect you from the elements. Then you gotta choose the right sleeping bag! The last thing you want is to freeze to death."

"Right, right!" Crispin nodded, "I understand that! What about food?"

"Usually, you would bring dried food or something in a can. You know, something you can heat up over a fire."

Crispin was confused, "Well… camping means Barbeque, right? So, how would you do that without a grill?"

Arven almost burst out a chortle, but he kept it in, "Are you nuts!? It would be impractical to carry around a big old grill when you're out in the wilderness!"

Crispin put a hand on the back of his neck, "Heheh… I guess I didn't think about that. Still, I'd be happy to try camping! By the way, how'd you recover from that super hot sandwich? Does your tongue have holes in them? Hahaha!"

Arven rolled his eyes, "Oh geez, you had to bring that up? To be honest, that sandwich was tasty! Right up until the part where it started to kill me."

Crispin laughed, "I live for spicy food like that! Even if it's straight up pain, I can't help but enjoy it!"

"I'm… honestly starting to worry about you." Arven shook his head.
Professor Saguaro was right, Juliana had made some interesting friends while here.

"For the last time, I'm NOT letting you cook anything!"
Carmine's annoyed voice caught them both off-guard. They turned to see her accompanied by Drayton.

"Aw, come oooonnnn." The dragon trainer whined with a playful smile, "I promise not to throw everything onto you this time, I swear!

"That's the point!" Carmine objected forcefully, "You'd totally screw something up!"

"Even if I do!" Drayton smiled devilishly and muttered under his breath, "Would you still eat it anyway? For me?"

"UUUGGGHHH!" Carmine groaned, "I swear one of these days…!" She stopped when she noticed Crispin and Arven, "You two! Please talk some sense into him! As a matter of fact, Crispin! You should use that frying pan to give him a whack upside the head!"

Crispin freaked out, "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Look Carmine, I've got nothing against you, but I am NOT about to use my precious frying pan as a weapon!"

"Then I'll do it myself! Give it to me!" She began stomping toward him.

"Stay away!" Crispin panicked and took off running. Carmine immediately pursued, "Hey, come back here!"

Arven watched the two take off in bewilderment before looking at Drayton, "Uh… everything good?"

Drayton laughed, "Haha! Yeah, everything's fine. I just wanted to make something nice for Carmine, that's all. I thought she'd be happy, I usually don't bother with complicated things like cooking."

"Hey, I can teach you a few things!" Arven eagerly offered.

Drayton seemed hesitant, "As long as it doesn't have too many steps…"

"Oh, come on now!" Arven objected as Drayton stretched his arms above his head.
Perhaps letting Drayton cook would be too risky.