Author's Note: WHEW! So this is a LOOONG chapter. So get comfortable, grab drinks, snacks, and anything else you want! I wasn't planning on continuing this until I had finished Set you Free, but eh, I got absorbed into this! Haha!

See you at the end!

Juliana held tightly to Koraidon while they rocketed through the Savannah Biome. A group of Rhydon they rocketed past were stunned at the scarlet creature they caught a blurred glimpse of. She then gave Koraidon a gentle tug, the signal for it to jump. It leapt high in the air and spread his wings, making use of its new flying ability.

"Koraidon, you've really gotten the hang of flying!" Juliana complimented, leaning into it close. She looked down and laughed gleefully, "This will never get old! Everything looks so tiny from up here!"

Koraidon nodded with a smile, "Agias!"

They began to circle around the Biome with Juliana enjoying the view. Soon, she caught sight of two students. She squinted her eyes, and to her delight, she could see that it was Arven and Kieran. They were walking together, chatting away.

Juliana giggled, "Hey Koraidon, do you see them? Fly just a bit lower!"

Feeding off the playfulness of it's trainer, Koraidon complied. Juliana positioned herself to where she could get a really good view of the boys and yelled out, "ARVEN! KIERAN!" Laughing in the process.
On the ground, she could see them looking around in all different directions. This made her laugh even more. She yelled out again, "LOOK UP!"

Both boys looked up, and Juliana saw Arven's arms fling up in shock. She could've sworn she faintly heard him shouting, "What the!?"

After giving them one more wave, she directed Koraidon to head for the Coastal Biome. Koraidon turned to her, "Agias?"

Juliana shook her head, "Nah, I'm gonna let them enjoy their 'guy' time a bit more. Come on, let's see what's over here!"

They landed in the Coastal Biome right next to the outdoor classroom. Which just happened to be close to the entrance of the cave known as Torchlit Labyrinth. Juliana hopped off Koraidon and stretched, "Wow, that was so much fun! I bet they got a real shock outta that! Tee hee!"

Koraidon nodded, "Agais!"

Juliana turned her attention to the entrance of the cave, "You know, being in there wasn't so bad. We should check it out again sometime!"

Koraidon instantly expressed disapproval. This made Juliana laugh, "Ahaha! Koraidon, you prefer being out in the open, do you? Also, we were not lost! Just got a little sideways, that's all!"

Koraidon rolled it's eyes. Juliana insisted, "It's true!"

Laughter from behind surprised the two. Juliana turned around and was pleasantly surprised to see Rika.

"Rika! Hi!" Juliana greeted.

Rika was smiling warmly, "What's up kiddo? I thought that was your voice talking! So, I came over to investigate. Sure enough, here you are!"

"I was wanting to explore the Torchlit Labyrnith with Koraidon here!"

Koraidon immediately shoved Juliana with it's head, which made her laugh, "Haha! I'm just joking bud! Just joking!"

Rika chuckled, "You're such a goofy girl. Honestly, I'm not surprised anymore. I'm happy to see you."

Juliana grinned, "It's good you were able to come here! I thought you'd be too busy with the Elite Four stuff back in Paldea."

Rika assured, "Don't worry about that, kiddo. We're just kind of going with the flow. So, how've you been? I've been hearing from the others that you have new team?"

Juliana lit up, "Oh, absolutely! You wanna see? I can show you if you want!"

Rika gave an impish look, "All right, how about you show me in a battle?"

"Wait… really!?" Juliana gasped lightly, "Oh, that sounds so fun! Let's do that!"

"Let's head to the battle court then! Hope you're ready for a pummeling! Cause I'm gonna go all out!"

Juliana was elated, "I haven't battled you in so long! This'll be great!"

"You better do the same now!"

At the Battle Court, both trainers took their positions. An excited audience had already gathered to watch. Rika took her first choice, her Dugtrio, and sent him out into battle. Juliana took a deep breath, before grabbing the Friend Ball, "Ogerpon, you can do it!" She sent out the cheerful ogre Pokemon, who was donning her Wellspring Mask. The battle was now ready to begin.

"Ogerpon, use Ivy Cudgel!" Juliana commanded. Ogerpon readied her ivy wrapped cudgel, harnessing the power of water, and ran in for the hit.

Rika was ready for this, "Sucker Punch, Dugtrio!"

Dugtrio ducked to avoid the water attack before striking back, knocking Ogerpon backwards.

Juliana was unfazed, thinking to herself, "Okay, at least we know she can't do that again."

Ogerpon hopped out her feet, ready for more. Juliana gave another command, "Use Horn Leech, Ogerpon!"

Ogerpon lowered her head and charged at Dugtrio, striking him with her horns and draining energy. Despite the super-effective hit, the ground type remained standing.

Rika remained calm, "Dugtrio, Rock Slide!"

Dugtrio summoned rocks and hurled them toward Ogerpon. Juliana quickly responded, "Use your Ivy Cudgel again, Ogerpon!"

With the rocks incoming, Ogerpon readied her cudgel and summoned the power of water. She rushed toward the earthly projectiles, using them to gain air by bouncing off them. Everyone watched in amazement as Ogerpon effortlessly pin-balled between the rocks. Once reaching the end of the trail, she brought down her attack on Dugtrio from above. She fainted, unable to battle further. The crowd applauded in amazement.

Ogerpon landed gracefully in front of Juliana, giving a little twirl in the process. Juliana knelt to give her a hug, "Great job, Ogerpon! You did it!"

Rika returned Dugtrio and assured him, "You did good, friend. Now… what to do next? Hm… she's a lot more confident now. I like seeing that. Okay, here goes…" She grabbed her next choice, "Donphan, go!"

She introduced the grey Pokemon to the field, it greeted their opponents with a confident roar. Ogerpon eagerly rushed back to the field.

"Ready to keep going?" Juliana stated, "All right, let's go! Ogerpon, Horn Leech!"

Ogerpon was ready to attack with her horns once more, but Rika had another trick up her sleeve, "Donphan, Poison Jab!"

Juliana gasped lightly. Donphan saturated her trunk with poison and countered Ogerpon with a strike. Ogerpon cried out from pain and tumbled across the ground.

"Oh no! Are you okay?" Juliana called to Ogerpon. She managed to get up, but bent forward with a scrunched face, "Pon… Pon…!"

Juliana realized what was happening, "She's been poisoned! Okay, I'll take her out of battle!" Juliana held the Friend ball out, "Return, Ogrepon!"

Rika pushed her bangs to the side, "Good move, Juliana. You always have been wary of status conditions, huh?"

Juliana smiled confidently, "You bet, Rika! And I'm just getting started!" She grabbed her Cinccino, contained in a Love Ball, "Cinccino, it's your turn now!" She twirled while tossing the ball onto the field.

Cinccino popped onto the field, "Cinccino!"

Rika pondered quietly to herself, "What's Juliana's planning now?" Before commanding, "Donphan, Stone Edge!"

Donphan prepared to summon sharp rocks below Cinccino. Juliana was quick to react, "Use Triple Axel Cinccino!"

Cinccino hastily turned her feet to ice and slid over to Donphan just as the rocks jutted out, barely missing her. The crowd gasped at this. She landed three consecutive kicks that became more powerful with each hit. This was powerful enough to knock Donphan out.

Cinccino rushed back to Juliana and stood proudly, "Cinccino!" She chirped.

Juliana knelt to pat her, "That was great, Cinccino! You really made use of your Technician ability, huh?"

Rika overheard that while recalling Donphan, "Huh! That's how she seemed so powerful! Not only that but you have her holding a Loaded Dice! Dang! I can't believe I didn't notice that until now!"

Juliana grinned, "I've been studying a lot!"

Rika had a fierce gaze, "That's what I like to hear! But I'm far from done." She held another pokeball, "Torterra, time for a battle!"

Cinccino was met with the Pokemon resembling a large moving forest. Despite the size difference, she showed no fear. Torterra tilted his head downward to view her opponent.

Rika started, "Torterra, give her a Seed Bomb!"

Torterra launched a flurry of hard-shelled seeds at Cinccino.

"Tail Slap, Cinccino!" Juliana commanded.

Cinccino nimbly hopped between the popping seeds, reaching Torterra to deliver multiple slaps with her tail. After landing four hits, Torterra shook her off.

Rika sharpened her gaze, "Torterra, Body Press!"

The larger Pokemon attacked by slamming her body into Cinccino, who didn't have the energy to leap out of the way from dodging Seed Bomb from before. And ended up taking the full brunt of the hit. The crowd gasped.

Once the move was over, Cinccino fainted, falling over.

Juliana quickly recalled Cinccino.

"That was great Cinccino!" Juliana whispered to the Love Ball, "Take a good rest, okay?" She looked at her available Pokemon, calmly considering her options. It didn't take her long to decide. She grabbed Delphox, contained in an Ultra Ball.

"Go on Delphox! I know you can do it!" She encouraged, sending her out into battle. Delphox entered the field with a focused scowl, holding her wand tightly.

Rika smiled, "You've got a pretty solid team so far Juliana!"

Juliana replied, "Thanks, Rika! I'm ready to show you how strong we are!"

"You better be!" Rika retorted, "Torterra, use Earthquake!"

Torterra let out a roar and began to stomp around, causing the ground to shake. Delphox fought hard to keep her footing.

Juliana commanded, "Delphox, use Mystical Fire!"

Delphox concentrated, then used her wand to create a fire circle in front of her. Then she exhaled a magical, hot fire through that circle. The attack engulfed Torterra, draining all her HP, rendering her unable to battle further.

Rika recalled her Pokemon, and wasted no time deciding her next one, "Whiscash, go!" sending out the water/ground type into battle.

Juliana recalled Delphox, "Come back, Delphox!"
Delphox was a bit disappointed but went back into the ball without hesitation. Juliana whispered, "You did amazing. Those moves were so cool!"

Rika inquired with a bit of playfulness, "So, what are you gonna do now, Juliana?"

Juliana grinned, "I'm gonna go with my starter, "Meowscarada, it's your turn now!" Tossing the Poke Ball to reveal the grass type.

"Myah!" Meowscarada greeted his opponent.

Rika's face lit up, "Oh hey, Meowscarada! Good to see you again after all this time! This'll be good! Let's go!"

Juliana commanded, "Meowscarada, hit it with Flower Trick!"

Meowscarada winked, took a few showy steps forward and tossed a booming bouquet of flowers at Whiscash.

"Whiscash, use Ice Beam!"

Whiscash inhaled deeply, before shooting a ray of ice at Meowscarada. It fired through the tossed bouquet and struck the grass type.

"Reeoow!" Meowscarada yowled in pain, while still managing to hang on.

"Meowscarada, use Giga Drain!" Juliana countered.

Meowscarada hit Whiscash with an attack that absorbed energy. The attack was a massive hit, and Whiscash was knocked out. This also allowed Meowscarada to regain some vigor. He rushed over to Juliana, who rewarded him with head scratches.

"Great job, pal!" She praised, "Even after all this time, you still grow so strong!"

"Meowwww…" Meowscarada mewled, clearly enjoying the scratches.

Rika recalled Whiscash, "That starter of yours is still as strong as ever I see! But we aren't finished yet! Camerupt, go!" She sent out the fire/ground type.

Juliana decided to recall Meowscarada to his Poke Ball, "Come back, Meowscarada. I'm gonna have to think about this one… let's see. The best choice would be Ogrepon. But she's affected by poison…hm…"

Juliana thought about it intently, "I… I have faith in her. I know she can do it!" She took the Friend Ball once more, "Ogrepon, let's go!"

Ogrepon leapt out of the ball and, to the surprise of both trainers, and the audience, Ogrepon appeared highly energetic.

"Ogrepon?" Juliana inquired. Ogrepon looked back at her with a wide smile. She had managed to expel the poison so Juliana wouldn't worry. Juliana realized this, and her confidence was re-ignited.

"All right Ogrepon!" She cheered.

Rika was impressed, "Well, look at that. They really do have a strong bond."

The battle commenced with Ogrepon took her stance and faced her opponent. Rika commanded, "Lava Plume, Camerupt, go!"

Camerupt let loose an inferno of scarlet flames. Juliana retaliated, "Ivy Cudgel, Ogrepon!"

Ogrepon used her cudgel to harness the power of water. With it, she was able to splash away the attack, much to Rika's shock. She then rushed over to Camerupt to land the attack dealing incredible damage. Camerupt didn't last long after that, fainting.

Ogrepon bounced happily, "Pon, pon!"

Juliana cheered, "Woo hoo! Go Ogrepon!"

Ogrepon rushed back to her, where Juliana gave her another hug.

Now Rika was down to her last Pokemon, but she was enjoying herself. She applauded, "I like battling you kiddo! I can go all out without worrying about breakin' you!" She sent out Clodsire, her signature Pokemon. Ogrepon rushed back into battle.

With both opponents on the field, Rika declared, "Let's have a little more fun! Go on, Clodsire, shake things up a bit!"
She wielded her Tera orb and activated it. Light swirled around her until it was ready with a sparkle. She then tossed it over Clodsire, encasing the Pokemon in a pile of crystals. After a second, the crystals shattered, revealing Clodsire in Tera form. The crystal resembling a landscape.

Juliana decided to respond in kind, "Let's give you a bit of sparkle Ogrepon!" She held up her own Tera Orb and activated it. Swirls of light aborbed into the Tera orb until there was a bright twinkle. Juliana then tossed the orb over Ogrepon and she was encased in crystals. When the crystals broke, Ogrepon's mask was doubled in size and glowing spectacularly. There was a collective gasp among the audience. Now both Pokemon were in their Tera Forms, causing the environment around them to dim slightly.

"Show us your full power, Clodsire!" Rika stated proudly, "Give us a serious shake with Earthquake!"

Clodsire shined brightly and shifted the ground with several shakes. Ogrepon hopped among the shaky ground, doing her best to keep up.

Juliana commanded, "Once more Ogrepon, Ivy Cudgel!"

Ogrepon's mask glowed a captivating blue. The cudgel she used once again was enveloped in the power of water. She rushed over to attack, dodging several rock spikes that would pop up from earthquake. Once she reached her target, she leapt into the air and struck hard.

Ogrepon then leapt backward. A heavy cloud of dirt shrouded the battlefield making it impossible to see anything. When the dust cleared, the two Pokemon were staring at each other. Neither not daring to break away from the gaze of the other.

Clodsire let out a grunt, then a bright light emitted from it's body. The crystal resembling a landscape shattered into pieces above before Clodsire fainted.

"Pon, pon, PON!" Ogrepon leapt for joy, turning back to normal.

Juliana cheered, she had defeated Rika of the Paldea Elite Four once again. Rika recalled her fainted Pokemon with a somewhat pouty expression.
As the crowd erupted into cheers around them, Rika herself started clapping, "I guess you weren't gonna go easy on me, huh?"

Juliana broke into a run to Rika with Ogrepon following close behind, "That was so much fun, Rika! Thank you so much for the battle!"

Rika smiled proudly, "How'd you manage to get even BETTER at battling than before? Heh, I guess that's what it takes to catch the boss's attention like you have, eh Juliana?"

Juliana grinned, "I guess so!"

Ogrepon jumped, "Pon, pon!"

"Juliana!" A voice yelled from the crowd. Juliana turned to see Arven rushing to her.

"Arvie!" She yelled joyfully.

Arven immediately embraced his beloved upon reaching her, a gesture that Juliana promptly returned. After a moment, Arven spoke, "That was a great battle! You did so awesome! Just like always!"

Juliana blushed, "Thank you, Arven!"

Nemona bounced out of the audience, dragging Penny behind her.

"JULIANA! RIKA! THAT WAS THE MOST AMAZING BATTLE!" Nemona shouted.

Penny yanked free from Nemona, "Sheesh! Can you turn it down!?" She looked at Juliana with a smile, "That was cool though. Great job, Juliana."

Nemona squatted to look at Ogrepon, "You have such incredible power, Ogrepon! It's ironic because of how cute you are! Haha!"

Rika chuckled, "Indeed she is. It caught me completely off-guard."

"Pon…" Ogrepon reacted, bashful at the attention.

"H-Hey guys!"

Everyone turned to see Kieran approaching.

"Ha! There you are! I was wondering where you went!" Arven jested. By this time, the crowd had begun dispersing.

"That battle was so cool!" Kieran smiled, "I'm happy for you, Juliana!"

"Thank you, Kieran!" Juliana replied, "It was really fun!"

Kieran looked at Ogrepon, "You've… gotten even more powerful than before… Ogrepon. I'm glad to see you happy."

Ogrepon smiled, "Pon!"
This made Kieran chuckle.

Rika put a hand on Juliana's shoulder, catching the latter's attention. When Juliana faced her, she was met with Rika's determined eyes, "Just so you know, I'm not gonna stay down. You're in for a nasty surprise if you think I'll keep losing!"

Juliana giggled, "I'll battle you anytime, Rika!"

Nemona suddenly grabbed Juliana, "Hey, we have to battle too bestie!"

Juliana laughed, "Of course we will! I haven't forgotten about you Nemona!"

Everyone reacted with laughter, save for Penny and Arven who just sighed and shook their heads.

"Don't leave me out! You still have a battle with me!" Carmine declared, shocking everyone with her sudden appearance.
Arven flung his arms up in shock, "Whoa! Do you always have to sneak up on people like that!?"

"Hey sis!" Kieran greeted her.

Nemona staked her claim, "Hey, she battles me first! Besties privilege! Right Juliana!?"

Carmine was agitated, "H-Hey, what do you think you're doing!? Now YOU'RE the one asking for a whooping!"

Nemona's eyes widened, "You want to battle me too!? Yay! I accept!"

"Wait a minute!" Carmine objected, "You're so strong…"

"Say no more! I know exactly what you want!" Nemona interrupted, "Max power mode! The gloves are coming off!"

"That's not what I want at all!" Carmine freaked out. This made everyone burst into laughter once more, this time with Arven and Penny doing the same. The sky had turned a bright pink overhead, as the day had drawn to a close.

Within an hour, Juliana and Penny were hanging out in Juliana's dorm room, watching some more anime from Penny's laptop with the lights off.

Juliana giggled at what was happening on screen, "Oh, she's got it so bad!"

Penny chuckled, "You have no idea."

"Speaking of, are you and Atticus still a thing?" Juliana inquired.

"Yeah, we are." Penny affirmed, "He's just a little sad over me being away."

Juliana smiled, "Yeah, I can see that. I actually have a question, does your dad know that you're dating someone?"

Penny's eyes went wide, "Oh heck no! How can I? He'd get way too excited and then he'd embarrass me!" She put her hand to her forehead, "Atticus is a sweetheart but even so…"

Juliana wasn't sure how to react, "It's… really that bad huh?"

"It's not like it's a total secret though. My sister knows." Penny replied.

Juliana was surprised, "Wait, what? You have a sister?"

Penny nodded, "Yeah, her name is Peonia. She gets annoyed with dad too, so she agreed to not tell him. But she's happy for me."

"Oh, that's good to know. So, where is your sister?" Juliana inquired.

"She's in Galar with dad." Penny answered, "Knowing her, she's probably on another adventure in one of those lairs in that cold place. She talks about it all the time."

Juliana became interested, "I would like to see one of those places myself!"

"I think you and Nemona would have a blast." Penny chuckled, "Oh, but Tinkaton are banned from entering the Galar region."

"What!? Why's that?" Juliana asked, shocked.

"Well, you know how the taxi service in Paldea uses Squawkabilly to ferry the cabs? In Galar, they use Corviknight."

After hesitating, Juliana responded with one word, "Oh…"

"Yeah… consequently, Tinkaton and the entire evolution line is banned from entering Galar. Can't have catastrophes happening, eh?"

Juliana laughed nervously, "Yeah, I guess you're right."

"So if you want to visit Galar someday. You'll have to leave Tinkaton behind. Sorry to say."

Juliana sighed, "Aww… Well, it can't be helped. Gotta keep people safe, right?"

Penny raised an eyebrow, "You didn't know that, Juliana? Arven told me once that you lived in Galar before. I thought you would know that."

Juliana admitted, "I didn't live there for very long. You see, I lived in Turffield. Most people would prefer to walk there. So, I never got the chance to see any taxis, heh…"

"Turffield! I remember that place, it was that farming community! Heh, that suits you so well." Penny chuckled.

"Hehe! Yeah, it does! I love nature…"

"If you don't mind me asking, where were you born Juliana?" Penny inquired.

Juliana answered, "I don't mind at all! I was born in the Kanto region, in Celadon City."

Penny was intrigued, "What was it like?"

"To start, it's the most populous city in the region. I remember I was checking out this ranking website and it said that it was the place in Kanto people spend most money in. Super believable since there's a department store and a game corner." Juliana giggled at this, "My mom and dad always hated that game corner. Since it would attract a lot of sketchy people."

"I bet…" Penny shuddered, "How did your parents meet?"

Juliana smiled, "My mom was a gym trainer for the Celadon Gym! She met my dad when he visited to challenge the leader."

Penny reacted, "Whoa! So not only is your mother super pretty, she's a tough trainer too!? That's awesome!"

Juliana couldn't help but laugh, "I remember Nemona was a bit jealous when I told her my mom's a former gym trainer. She wants to challenge my mom to a battle now… hehe…"

"Of course she does." Penny shook her head, "The Celadon Gym, what type did the gym specialize in?"

"Grass type!"

Penny was amused, "Wow, so you've had this strong connection to the grass type your whole life!? Even before you were born actually! Ha! That's so cool it sounds like an anime!"

Juliana also found the humor in this, "It's not hard to see where I got my love for gardening! I've been surrounded by it my whole life! Haha! Speaking of anime, we've missed the rest of the episode. Look, it's over!"

Penny looked at the idle screen glimmering back at them. Penny sighed, "Aw man, now we have to rewind it."

Juliana smiled, "That's all right! We've got time!"

Penny was relieved by this, "All right then, let's watch!"

She hit the play again button, and soon they were absorbed into the episode once more.

Author's Note: *flops on the bed* Author is now down! Initiate rest sequence!

So I hope you enjoyed this! I certainly had fun writing it. I almost continued writing, but I didn't want to overdo it!

See you next time!