Juliana noticed the stares of passing students as her and Arven walked the Savannah Biome together while holding hands. Some would even start whispering among themselves. She thought to herself, "I guess the kids like to gossip here too. Makes sense…"

"By the way, you look great in the Blueberry uniform, Juliana." Arven praised.

Juliana briefly glanced at the autumn uniform she was wearing, "Oh, thanks Arvie! I like it a lot too. When is yours going to come in?"

"Director Cyrano told me that it should be here within a day or two. He also told me not to worry too much about it. He seems like a really cool guy."

Juliana smiled, "Oh, yes. He's super kind. He's the type of adult that wants to be friends with his students!"

"Ha! But isn't Director Clavell like that too?"

Juliana shrugged, "Kind of. Director Cyrano is a lot more casual. It was so funny seeing those two talk to each other."

Arven chuckled, "Heh! I bet it was! I would've liked to see that."

"So… other than the whole sandwich fiasco. How are you liking it here, Arven?"

"Well, like I said. I'm still adjusting… I'm doing fine. I'm just not so quick to warm up, you know?"

"I know, Arvie."

"I've had a lot of other kids actually come and talk to me." Arven admitted, "I'm not so used to that because… I mean… you know me. I'm not exactly the friendliest guy, and I guess I am a little intimidating."

Juliana lit up, "Oh, that's great that people are talking to you! See? Everyone is nice, even if they get a little battle crazy!"

Arven smiled, "To be honest, I think they're only talking to me because everyone knows you and I are dating. If we weren't, they probably would be too scared. Heheh!"

Juliana giggled, "Arvie…"

Arven decided to address something that had been on his mind, "I'm glad you and Kieran have patched things up."

"Hm? Oh! Right! Yeah, I am too."

"I uh… couldn't help but notice he seems a little afraid of me."

"He's just really shy, that's all." Juliana explained.

"You think he might still feel bad about what happened?" Arven inquired.

"I hope not. I don't want him to feel bad anymore. Now that everything's all done and over with. I don't hold anything against him. I've told him that."

"That's good Juliana. I'm glad. I still can't believe you had to go back to Area Zero again. Seriously, enough is enough."

"Shh…" Juliana shushed, "Not so loud…"

"Ah, sorry cutie. Don't worry, I won't say anything else about it." He whispered.

The two exchanged a hug. After a moment, Arven realized something, "Ah shoot. I need to start heading to class. I'll see you later okay, cutie?"

Juliana smiled up at him, "Okay Arvie, I'll see you once it's over."

After waving goodbye, Arven headed off in the direction of the Savannah outdoor classroom. Juliana watched him leave before turning to head in the opposite direction. She rushed up the top of a hill and watched as several Doduo ran past in the fields below.

After sitting on the grass, Juliana took out the friend ball containing Ogrepon, and the poke ball containing Koraidon and let them both out. Ogrepon gazed around with wide eyes, while Koraidon smiled and greeted Juliana with a nod.

"Hey you two." Juliana spoke, "How do you like it here?"

Ogrepon had a baffled expression before smiling, "Pon, pon!" She cheered.

Koraidon replied, "Agias!"

Juliana giggled, "That's great! I love the view here, I can see forever!"

After a few moments of enjoying the scenery, a voice startled them.

"Aha! There you are!"

Juliana whirled around to see Carmine approaching, "Oh, hi!" Juliana smiled and waved.

"You think you can just chill up here without me? Not so fast little girl!" Carmine sassed with an impish smile. She then acknowledged Ogrepon, "Hey Ogrepon! Good to see you again!" She turned to Koraidon, "What's up big guy? Keeping these two company while waiting for me? Good job!"

Koraidon smiled devilishly and rolled his eyes, "Agias…"

Carmine took a seat and made herself comfortable next to Juliana, "All right! Time to relax for a bit!"

Juliana asked, "I guess you have some free time then?"

"Yup!" Carmine declared proudly, "I'm all done with classes for now. Time for some fun!"

Juliana felt a twinge of nervousness hearing Carmine say that last sentence. She tried to distract her, "Hey, I heard Nemona was with you. Where is she?"

"Nemona? Eh, she's probably still running around in the Canyon Biome somewhere. Seriously, after spending some time with her, I can see why you two are best friends."

Juliana took note of her sour tone and decided to tease her a bit, "Did she beat you in a battle again?"

"Hey, I let her win!" Carmine retorted, "Ugh, I totally would've won if I'd picked a different move earlier…"

Juliana snickered, "If you say so."

"Never mind that! Juliana, I had something I wanted to speak with you about."

"Hm? What's up?"

Unnoticed by the girls, Ogrepon and Koraidon began to converse with one another off to the side. Ogrepon was joyfully bouncing while waving her hooded arms. Koraidon was smiling back and nodding.

"But I gotta get this out there first… So, um… how're things with Kiki these days?"

Juliana answered, "We get along great!"

Carmine seemed relieved, "Oh? Well, that's good. He's… working hard now. Trying to make things right with the school, the club. Just about everything. I'd like it if you could support… actually no, forget I said anything. Just be his friend, okay?"

"I will!"

A hint of wistfulness washed over her face, "Maybe I'm a bit overprotective… eh?"

"I can get that." Juliana assured, "I don't have any siblings, so I can't say for sure. But I understand."

Carmine widened her eyes in curiosity, "Oh? You're an only child? I see… So, what is your family like Juliana? I remember you told me you live in a small settlement by the ocean. You live there with your parents?"

Juliana hesitated, "My mom. It's just me and her. My dad passed away when I was eight."

Carmine blinked from surprise before reacting, "Oh…! I didn't know that. If you don't mind me asking… how?"

"He fell extremely ill and wasn't able to get better."

Carmine felt a surge of sadness, "I'm… I'm so sorry…" She thought about all the times she treated Juliana so harshly when they first met. It was like her conscious had become a separate entity and was now hitting her over and over again.

"Are you okay, Carmine?" Juliana inquired.

Carmine snapped out of it, "I'm fine! I was just… well… Ah, it's nothing! Come on, let's walk around!"

She hopped to her feet and quickly began an energetic stride. Juliana scurried to her feet and rushed to catch up. She called over her shoulder, "Ogrepon! Koraidon! Let's go!" The two Pokemon hurried to follow.

While traversing through the Savannah Biome, several Pokemon, including Rhyhorn and Charmander crossed their paths. Juliana remained fascinated by the variety of Pokemon. This was one of those things that would never get old. Then she heard Carmine sigh heavily. She turned to her, "Carmine? Is something wrong?"

Carmine hesitated before explaining, "I haven't… really talked about this with anyone that wasn't my family… but… I feel like I should tell you.
Juliana could tell from the heaviness in her voice that she was about to talk deep. So she listened carefully.

Carmine spoke, "Kiki and I… when we were growing up. We lived with both our parents and our grandparents. That was until… our parents passed away…"

Juliana's eyes widened slightly, "Oh no… What happened to them?"

Carmine sighed with sad eyes, "They were… on a plane. Traveling for something work-related. They got caught in a storm that nobody saw coming… and… that was it…"

Juliana felt her eyes welling up, "I'm… I'm sorry…"

"Kiki was only nine, I was twelve. I'll never forget that day our grandparents had to tell us that mom and dad wouldn't be coming home anymore…"

It was something Juliana could relate to, and it tore her up.

"We carried on as best we could, though it wasn't easy." Carmine spoke, "Being the older sibling I felt like I had to be the strong one and carry the weight of it all on me. It made me resent Kiki a little, because it was hard to fill in for our parents when I missed them so much myself."

Juliana nodded, "I understand."

"A year later, Kiki ended up catching his first Pokemon. It was a Sentret."

Juliana recalled, "Ah! I remember he used that Pokemon in our very first battle!"

This made Carmine smile a little, "I was so proud of him. I remember how happy he was catching it. Not only that but he showed incredible talent in battling. He hardly needed any instruction at all! It was like it just came naturally to him!"

Juliana giggled lightly.

"He caught another one, a Yanma, the same day. At that moment, I had seen a light in him come back. The light that had disappeared when our parents died had returned. It made me so happy."

Juliana smiled, "That's awesome!"

"Eventually, he enrolled in a trainer's school. It wasn't the Blueberry. It was… some school near the Kalos region."

This got Juliana intrigued, "Oh? I didn't know that. So he went there before coming here?"

Carmine's face dropped, "Yeah… the whole going to that school in Kalos? It didn't go well…"

"What happened?" Juliana could feel her stomach start to turn.

Carmine hesitated, took a deep breath, then answered, "He got picked on… like… MAJORLY picked on."

Juliana felt horrified, "No…"

"Yeah… it got really bad. So of course, we had him removed from that place. I still feel a lot of guilt to be honest… At the time he enrolled, I wasn't too interested in battling much, so I didn't join him. If I had, I could've…"

"It wasn't your fault, Carmine." Juliana assured, "You had no way of knowing that would happen."

Carmine spoke softly, "I know… Anyway, I had started to show interest in battling. So, I got to enroll at Blueberry. Kiki eventually did too. And… after a few years passed, you and the rest of those Paldea kids came to Kitakami."

Juliana had to take a moment to process everything, "Wow… I had no idea. It… explains a lot though."

Carmine replied, "I didn't know if you still had some lingering bitterness toward Kiki. If you do… I… hope what I shared with you would… you know."

"I don't hold any grudges toward him. I promise I don't!" Juliana assured, "But… after what you just told me. I'm gonna have to do something extra nice now!"

This made Carmine happy, "Thanks… Juliana. You're so cool."

Juliana smiled brightly at Carmine, which made her flustered, "Just… don't let that get to your head that I said that to you or anything! Okay!?"

Juliana impishly grinned, "Sure thing."

In the meantime, Ogrepon had hopped on Koraidon's back and was enjoying being carried by the larger Pokemon. Koriadon didn't mind at all and was happy to make Ogrepon laugh.

Carmine stuttered a little, "A… Anyway! Let's talk about something less depressing!"

"Sure! What do you have in mind?" Juliana asked.

Without a moments hesitation, Carmine declared fervently, "Let's talk about you and Arven!"

Juliana became a little shy, "Sure…! Tee hee…"

Carmine grinned, "Why are you getting so red!? I haven't even said anything yet!"

Juliana felt her face burn even hotter, "Wha…?"

"Aww, you're blushing!" Carmine giggled, "I just love it when you get all nervous like that!"

"Carmine…!" Juliana exclaimed with her hands covering her face.

"Aha! Sorry! The face you made was great! Still, the fact that you snagged a hunk like him! Really impressive!"

Juliana giggled nervously, with a hand on her neck, "It just… happened like that. Hehe… We adventured together and we just… fell in love. I know that sounds so cheesy."

Carmine was just over the moon for this, "Awww, oh my gosh! That's so sweet! Tell me more! Tell me more right now! Who confessed first!? Was it him?"

"It… was me." Juliana bashfully admitted.

Carmine's eyes widened so wide, "YOU!? Oh my… I guess I haven't given you enough credit! You're brave!"

Juliana explained, "I took him to an area where you could overlook a really bright and colorful city. It was nighttime so the lights were extra beautiful. And I… told him I loved him." Her heart began to pound, remembering that moment.

Carmine began clapping, "Aah! SO ADORABLE! Sheesh… I need to hurry up and find my special someone! Where's my knight in shining armor!? Or my princess!?"

Juliana laughed, "I don't think you need a knight Carmine, you're pretty capable of handling yourself. And a princess? Have you tried looking in the highest room in the tallest tower? Tee hee!"

"Oh, very funny." Carmine scoffed, "Also, I don't need to be rescued! Whoever they are, they just need to have the amazing looks to match mine!" She winked while flipping her long hair.

This made Juliana think of something, "What about that guy you paired up with during our trip?"

Carmine rolled her eyes, "Eh, he was… kinda boring. Plus, he wasn't really my type."

"Hehe… I tried." Juliana shrugged, "I'm sure you'll find somebody."

"I will." Carmine stated, "And when I do, you won't be hogging the spotlight anymore. It'll be my turn to shine!"

Juliana grinned, "Of course."

Ogrepon had hopped off Koraidon's back and rushed to sniff at some muddy water nearby. She recoiled from how bad it smelled, which caused Koraidon to chortle.

"Uh… Juliana?" Carmine asked, "You didn't take any videos of me doing that mochi-mochi dance, right?"

Juliana let out a sputter before snorting with laughter at being reminded of that. Carmine took this as an affirmative answer. She freaked out, "WHAT!? DELETE IT! Delete everything, right now!"

Juliana fell to the ground from how hard she was laughing. This caught the attention of Ogrepon and Koraidon, they looked over with confused faces. An enraged Carmine tackled her while she was down and began shaking her by the shoulders, "I SAID DELETE EVERYTHING! DO IT!"

"Carmine! Don't!" Juliana pleaded amidst hysterical laughing. Ogrepon began to hop rapidly, excited by the sudden energy spike. Koraidon rushed over, preparing to intervene when it saw Kieran and Drayton appear from around the corner. Both were stunned at what they saw.

Kieran's eyes flew wide, "Sis! What are you doing to Juliana!?"

Carmine sprung to her feet, "Kiki!? What are you doing here!?" Her eyes went to Drayton, "Oh no, not you too!"

Drayton grinned, "Whoa, what is happening here?"

Kieran rushed over to Juliana, "Juliana, are you okay?"

Juliana sat up, still experiencing some leftover snickers, "Hey Kieran. I'm fine."
Ogrepon and Koraidon were by her side as well.

Meanwhile, Drayton began to tease Carmine, "Okay, look. I know you're attracted to girls too, Carmine. But Juliana's got a guy already. I'm sure he wouldn't take too kindly to you trying to snatch his girl."

Carmine nearly exploded, "You idiot! You toothpaste head! It's not like that at all!"

"Oh really?" Drayton grinned devilishly, "Then what is it like?"

As the two went back and forth, Juliana got to her feet, "So, whatcha up to Kieran?"

"Uh… not much." He turned back to the arguing Drayton and Carmine, "What happened just now?"

Juliana smiled, "Carmine thought I took a video of her when she was possessed. She went a little crazy. Haha!"

Kieran sighed, "Ugh… sorry about that Juliana…"

"Kieran, I know your sister by now. It's okay." Juliana assured, "I wasn't expecting her to tackle me. But I'm not surprised either."

"Pon, pon!" Ogrepon's voice caught both their attention.

Juliana asked, "What is it, Ogrepon?"

Ogrepon faced Kieran and waved at him with a smile, "Pon!"

Kieran was caught off-guard, "Ah! Um… hi, Ogrepon. I hope you're doing okay."

Ogrepon replied with a nod and a smile. Juliana laughed, "Oh, Ogrepon! I think she's grown fond of you too, Kieran!"

"You think so?" Kieran smiled, "Wowzers… that makes me happy!"

Another voice came from the distance, "Juliana!"
It was Arven, approaching the group.

Juliana called to him, "Arvie! Over here!"

Koraidon rushed over to Arven and gave him a lick, to which Arven reacted, "Agh! Oh, you big goof! It's good to see you too!" He patted Koraidon. This made Juliana laugh.

"Hey Juliana!" Arven greeted, "Class got out a lot quicker than I expected!" He turned to Kieran, "Hey Kieran! What's up?"

Kieran appeared nervous, "H-Hi Arven…"

Arven noticed Carmine and Drayton still bickering off to the side. Carmine was red-faced and taking an aggressive stance while Drayton appeared smug with his arms crossed.
"What's up with them?" He asked.

"Don't worry about it." Juliana quickly answered, "So, how was class?"

Arven replied, "It was interesting. They had us actually go out and search for a specific Pokemon. Completely different from the Naranja Academy."

Kieran added, "Yeah… they do that here…"

Arven was a bit anxious about this, but he asked, "Hey Kieran, could I speak with you for a bit?"

Kieran was obviously startled from that, "Huh!? Uh, yeah! Sure…"

Juliana was curious, "Is everything okay, Arven?"

"Yeah, everything's fine! I just wanted to hang out with Kieran for a bit. If that's all right, of course."

Kieran looked at Juliana, who gave him an assuring smile. He then responded, "Okay."

"I'll see you guys later then!" Juliana nodded, "I'm excited to show you guys my new team, but I need to train them some more!"

"Sounds great!" Arven replied, "If you need any of us to help with with that, let us know!"

"I will!"

Arven then looked at Carmine and Drayton still arguing, "Uh… what do we do about them?"

"Just leave them be." Juliana answered, "They'll sort it out eventually."

"Uh… all right."

"See you guys later!" Juliana waved, "Just be safe out there!"

After that, Juliana went a different direction with Ogrepon and Koraidon behind her. After some walking, they crossed a block boundary leading to the Coastal Biome and found a quiet spot on the beach.

Before she started any training however, Juliana smiled mischievously and took out her rotom phone to search through her photo album. She searched for a video that nobody knew she took and had no intentions of showing anyone else.

Once she found it, she looked around to confirm again that no one else was present. Then she played it.

"Mochi mochi!" Carmine's voice came through the phone. And Juliana had a small giggle.

Once she was done, she put it away and turned her attention to her task.

"All right, let's get some training done!" She clapped her hands together.

It was a secret to everybody.

Author's Note: Oh Juliana, you sneaky little ball of sunshine!

See you all next time!