We finished so many chapters before we finished this song parody. This one is to "Are You In Or Out" from Aladdin and the King of Thieves.
Juliana lost this battle. That 'something really cool' blew her mind, and then blew away most of her team.
Terastallization, or as Juliana's simple brain reduced it to, magic crystal Pokémon. It had turned a simple Pawmi into a beast, increasing its electric powers even more.
"That was really cool," Juliana said as she handed her team over to the nearby nurse to heal. "I'd like to see what would happen if I had a Pokémon that resisted Electric-type attacks."
Nemona laughed. "I want to see, too," she said. "I can't wait until our next battle."
I can, Juliana thought, but responded to her new friend with a smile and a nod. Webby made a sound that voiced her trainer's thoughts, but Florian alone seemed to pick up on it.
"Well," he said, gesturing to the gate leading into Mesagoza, "why don't we introduce our friend to the school?"
Juliana let out a breath. She made a note to keep a close eye on this boy. He may just save her life.
Nemona quickly ran off to do things to "make sure Juliana can Terastallize, too." Florian, apparently, had his own Tera Orb, something from the previous year that helped him navigate the caves where he found the pyrite. Nemona assigned him to guide Juliana to the school, warning her that the stairs would make her want to push the inventor of stairs down them, and took off in one direction while the younger students headed down the center of the city.
"There are shops around here," Florian said, gesturing around, "but you have to wear your uniform at all times, at least when you're in class or out on your Treasure Hunt. Something about school pride."
Juliana nodded, his explanation making sense. "Where are the art supplies?"
"They sell those at the school. Mr. Hassel gives students who get good grades in his class a discount."
"Mr. Hassel is the art teacher, then?" She took a note of this, too. "What's he like?"
Florian stopped. "Um..." his face scrunched as he tried to think of the words. "Everyone likes him, but he's a little weird."
"A lot of us artists are," Juliana agreed. "Go on."
"He's a bit of a goofball, but he's really nice, kind of like everyone's second dad. Or first, if a student doesn't have a father already."
"What number dad is he to you?"
"Second, my real dad's a lawyer." He shrugged. "What about yours?"
It was Juliana's turn to stop. "My parents aren't together anymore, but Mom made sure he was still in my life. He's in another region." And hopefully he hadn't discovered the paintbrushes stuck to the ceiling yet. "What about the other teachers? Which one's your favorite?"
He immediately went on a speech about a Ms. Raifort, speaking so highly of her that Juliana suspected he might have a crush. Her drifting out of the conversation was interrupted, this time by a pair of students talking to a girl with short two-colored hair and an Eevee backpack.
Juliana noticed that the backpack had a Miss Eevee charm on the zipper, specifically the Sylveon mask. Florian understood the situation immediately, however.
"Leave her alone!"
The girl turned, shocked that somebody had come to her rescue. The students frowned and approached the boy.
"We weren't doing anything," the male student insisted. "We were just trying to recruit her."
"It's fine," said Eevee girl, her voice coming out in the familiar accent of a Galar native.
But Florian shook his head. "I know bullies," he said shortly. "Maybe you've heard of Florian Vasquez?"
"Who?"
Florian's face fell. "Florian Vasquez. The pyrite kid? The Jackpot Joke?"
"Oh, we've heard of the Jackpot Joke! That's you?"
"He's me and I'm him. Now back off the girl."
"We aren't bullying her," the female student cut in. "We were trying to recruit her! And if you can listen, you can join, too."
"Recruit her for what?" Juliana asked, only to immediately get concerned when the random music started playing.
At least this one was from their Rotom phones.
And, oddly, the Eevee girl sighed in what seemed to be disappointment. "Not this again..."
"You hear all the time
that being weird is a crime
in a world that just isn't fair.
While the popular cliques
deployed their nasty tricks
and no one around seems to care.
"Then our boss formed this team
with a marvelous dream
so that we'll never suffer again.
Team Star is uniting.
We're ready for fighting.
You are welcome to join us, our friends!"
More Team Star members came out of the shadows, snapping their fingers in time to the music. Juliana looked around but couldn't find where they were all coming from.
"Have they been here the whole time?" she asked.
"I honestly can't tell you," said Florian, right before the music picked up.
"Are you in or out?
We have to know without a doubt.
We think it's what you need
and we all agreed
that with you, success is guaranteed.
"Are you fools or wise?
You should at least take our advice.
If you desire freedom,
that's what we're about.
So come and hang with us.
are you in or out?"
"This doesn't strike me as a book club," said Juliana, and Galar girl smiled a little at the commentary.
"Definitely not," Florian agreed.
Then it was the female student's turn to lead the song.
"Since you seem pretty smart,
we want you to take part
in our team and become really tough.
Come with us, and you'll see
Team Star always lives free
because we're not afraid to get rough.
"But since we strayed from their path
we face Naranja's wrath.
Now everyone's out to get us.
But we'll tell you now, strangers,
if you are good trainers,
then we all have much to discuss.
"Are you in or out?
Numbers are what we're all about.
Total freedom rules,
so time to quit that school.
So be a teammate or a total tool.
Are you friend or foe?
It's about time that we know.
You want the path to treasure?
We have the fastest route.
What's it gonna be?
Are you in or out?"
"You've got to admit," said Juliana, "they have amazing choreography."
Another Team Star member took his turn singing. "We crush our enemies and leave no traces."
"There's nothing that can beat our team," a female grunt chimed in.
"We've fortified all of our bases," said another girl.
"Now everything's peaches and cream," a boy finished, only for his friend to smack him upside the head.
The original grunts joined forces for the grand finale, circling the trio like snakes.
"Are you in or out?
If you're with us, give a shout.
We'll lead you all the way
into the glory days.
We'll set the whole region ablaze.
Are you out or in?
Take Paldea for a spin.
You can stick with us
or stay behind and pout.
What's it gonna be?
Consider carefully.
Are you in
or
out?!"
They finished by coming together and forming a star with their hands.
"We're out," Florian and the Eevee girl said together.
Juliana nodded. "Couldn't you have just had a pamphlet?"
"According to the Dark boss, pamphlets are boring." The male student chuckled. "Since you refused to join us willingly, then we'll just crush you! Who would've thought we'd get turned down by the Jackpot Joke?"
"You've remembered who I was for two minutes!" Florian complained, but released his Sprigatito anyway.
He didn't even need to Terastallize to win the fight.
As the other student advanced on the Eevee girl, the girl shrunk back. "I'm not good at battles," she admitted, and Juliana shrugged.
"I am," she announced. "Let me try."
She mimed rolling up her sleeve, a reflex reaction brought on by years of joke-threatening her stepbrother, forgetting for a moment that they were two Pokémon trainers about to begin a battle and not siblings fighting over the last ice cream bar. Naturally, this was when Nemona chose to return.
"Juliana!" she gasped, eyes wide and mouth hanging open. "Don't you dare! Bullying is wrong!"
"I'm not bullying!" Juliana complained. "These people tried to pester Florian and this girl -"
"Penny," Eevee girl interrupted.
"Yeah, they tried to pester Florian and Penny to join some kind of weird group! They even sang about it! You missed the whole show! I should have recorded it."
Nemona looked over at the other students. "Is this true?" she demanded. "Were you the bullies here?"
"We weren't bullying," the male grunt objected. "We were just trying to, uh, let them into our club!"
"Violently?"
"It was not violent," the female grunt said quickly. "It was aggressive! We just put on a show. They're the ones who didn't like it!"
"Everyone's entitled to an opinion," Florian said defensively.
"But you didn't like something that our squad leader put a lot of effort into!"
"It's an opinion!"
Nemona stared at her friends, blinking slowly. Then she grinned.
"Then I'll let you take care of the bullies, Juliana! Here, catch!"
Juliana held out her hands, and a Tera Orb bounced off her fingertips. The orb rolled away, but she managed to pick it up before it reached Team Star.
"Ok, then," she said, and chose a familiar Pokeball. "Come on, Webby! Time to ruin someone's day!"
The big crystal above Webby's head was clearly made for Water-types, despite Florian mentioning that they could have Tera types that they didn't normally have. With it, she used a simple Water Gun to win the match, sending the grunts scampering away.
Penny sighed. "Thanks for defending me," she said, her accent reminding Juliana of her other home a bit too much. "Team Star is...well, they're not bad people, just..."
"Annoying," Juliana finished for her.
"Incredibly annoying, yes." It sounded like there was something else she wanted to say, but she backed out of saying it, instead thanking Florian for stepping in and then disappearing.
Florian watched her go. "And I was just going to ask her where she got her Miss Eevee clip," he complained quietly, and Lloyd made an irritated purring noise in what was either agreement or irritation that his contribution hadn't been rewarded with tummy rubs. Florian called him back to his ball and turned to the girls, smiling now. "Well, that's over with. Do either of you read the Miss Eevee comics? If so, do you know where I can find a Jolteon pin for my bag?"
"My comic books are at my dad's," Juliana admitted.
"What's Miss Eevee?" Nemona said at the same time.
Florian patted her on the back. "We have much to discuss."
TEAMS
Juliana: Webby (Quaxly, female) Lechonk (male) Hoppip (male) Tarountula (male) Fletchling (female)
Florian: Lloyd (Sprigatito, male) Ralts (female)