Nemona looked up just in time to see a Trumbeak flying in the direction of the Coastal Biome. It made her heart race with excitement knowing that there were still several Pokemon here that she had yet to see. Strangely, it reminded her of the adventure she and her pals from Paldea experienced when they were turned into Pokemon. The fact that they had met Arceus still makes her tremble to this day, she couldn't believe she could be so lucky.

It was an experience she wouldn't mind having again, although she knew that Arven and Penny would most definitely not be up for it.

Putting her focus back on the present, her and Kieran were now resting in the Central Plaza. They had taken a bench that was near the entrance to the Canyon Biome. It had gotten late, but there were still several trainers hanging out. And they were no exception.

Kieran returned with sodas. He handed her one, "Here you go, Nemona."

Nemona happily accepted it, "Thanks Kieran! I'll make sure to pay you back!"

Kieran objected, "Oh, no! It's okay! You don't have to worry about that. We're now even from the shaved ice in Kitakami!"

Nemona smiled, popped open her drink, and looked around, "So, this is the Central Plaza? It's cool!"

"Yeah." Kieran replied, "This is where all the biomes meet. A lot of people come here to hang out after studying."

"I like it!" Nemona enthused, "I like everything about this place! It's my dream come true!"

Kieran smiled, "I'm so glad you're happy here. Sometimes it's tough to be far away from home. But you seem to be doing great!"

Nemona hesitated before answering, "That's… I don't mind! I like traveling! I've loved it ever since I moved to Paldea when I was seven!"

This piqued Kieran's interest, "Oh? You uh… moved to Paldea?"

"Yup! But I didn't start attending the academy until years later." Her face fell, and her fists slightly clenched. A memory that she had kept blocked out was threatening to re-surface.
Something Kieran noticed, "Nemona? You okay?"

Nemona put on a smile, "Yeah! I'm fine! I was just… thinking about things is all."

Kieran wasn't convinced, "Are… are you sure?"

Nemona froze, before letting out a soft sigh, "Say Kieran, you remember what I told you about Juliana? About how I didn't have anyone I could call a friend until I met her?"

"Y-Yeah?"

Nemona had sadness in her eyes, "Well, I was telling the truth then. But… only kind of."

This confused Kieran, "What does that mean?"

Nemona wasn't sure how to continue. She had never told this to anyone, not even Juliana. And she wasn't even sure why she brought it up, it just came to mind. Just thinking about this made her tense. Nonetheless, Kieran was now interested, and she didn't want to let him down.

"There was a girl I knew. We hung out a lot and she was always up for a battle. She kept up with me and my battle fevers. I thought she was my friend, but…"

Kieran took notice of her pause, "What… happened?"

Nemona took another sip of soda to calm her nerves before explaining, "All through the time I'd known her, she had been saying really terrible things about me to other people without me knowing. She would be so kind to me, and always was happy whenever I was around. But I… guess that wasn't how she really felt…"

Kieran was stunned, he couldn't believe someone could be so cruel, "O…oh… Aw man, that's so awful…"

Nemona tried to smile, "I… no one would listen to her most of the time. But people would still be uncomfortable around me anyway. Then again, it had been like that before…"

"How did you find out? About what she did I mean…" Kieran asked gently.

Nemona answered, "I overheard her talking about me to some others. She was saying things that weren't true. Like, how I was bribing teachers for good grades or… something. She did say worse things though, according to others."

"What happened to her?"

"She moved from Paldea shortly before Juliana came along. The day we met, I was more eager than ever to meet someone new. I'm still surprised she seemed happy to meet me, even though I did come off really strong."

Kieran smiled softly, "I'm glad things worked out in the end."

Nemona grinned, "Same! I try not to think about her too much anymore.

Kieran was curious, "Did you ever… confront that other girl about what she was saying about you?"

Nemona sighed before answering, "No, not really. To be honest, I was just so lonely I tried to pretend like it wasn't happening. But it really broke my heart."

Kieran not only felt hurt for her, but he empathized with her. At that moment, he decided to let her know, "I… I used to go to a school in the Kalos region. But… I got bullied a lot there."

"Oh no, that's terrible!" Nemona replied, "Why would they do that? I don't understand. You're such a cool guy!"

Kieran shook his head, "It… was about a couple of things. My height, the way I would talk, and… because I wasn't really good at being around other people… It got really tough. I felt so bad about it for a long time because my grandparents had to spend a bit of money to get me out before the end of the semester… I felt like I was nothing but a burden on my family. Especially after my parents had…." He stopped himself with a shaky sigh.

Nemona couldn't put into words how terrible she felt hearing his struggles. She thought she had it rough by dealing with a fake friend, but for a bunch of people to openly hate you to your face was a different story. She wasn't sure which one was worse. But, could one really be considered worse than the other?

Nemona stood up and took a deep breath. Kieran looked at her, "Nemona? Is something wrong?"

She turned around and swiftly pulled him in for a hug, which caused him to let out a brief yelp. After being shocked for a moment, he relaxed and returned the embrace. This went on for another minute before Nemona suddenly grew flustered and let go, "I'm so sorry, chico! I just… I wanted to comfort you and… ah geez, I screwed up didn't i?"

An equally embarrassed Kieran replied, "It's… okay. I didn't mind…"

Both of them were freaking out in their heads, their hearts ready to explode from the sheer embarrassment of what just happened. Nemona felt like she was ready to squeal, and she had no idea why. Hugging someone wasn't new to her, but this time it felt… just odd.

As calmly as she could manage, she spoke, "Well, I better get back to my room and hit the sack! I gotta long day tomorrow!"

Kieran's eyes widened, "O-Okay! I'll see you later!"

"Bye!" Nemona waved before rushing off around a corner. Quickly calling a taxi, and asking to be taken back to the entrance of the Terarium. On her trek to her room, she felt like everyone was looking at her, despite knowing deep down it was probably in her head.

Finally she reached her room, after getting inside, she breathed a sigh of relief. She took off her shoes, walked to her bed, and flopped down. After staring at her ceiling for ten minutes, there was a knock at the door.

She slowly sat up, and stood silently to walk to the door, "Who is it?"

"Nemona! It's Juliana!"

Nemona felt joy hearing her bestie's voice, "Okay! Just a second!" She immediately opened the door for her, "Hey Juliana! Come on in!"

Juliana happily accepted the offer, "Sure thing!"

Once the door was closed, Nemona asked, "So, what's up?"
She was shocked to see her rotom phone in Juliana's hand. She took a surprised step back, "Whoa, that's my rotom phone! How did you get it?"

Juliana smiled, "Kieran said you left it on the bench, he asked me to give it back to you.

Nemona froze, once it registered what had happened, she just wanted to disappear into the floor. It must have been one of those days.

She took it with an awkward laugh, "Ahaha! Thanks Juliana! I owe you one…"

Juliana raised an eyebrow, "Are you okay Nemona? You don't seem yourself right now."

"Oh, I'm just having an off day is all!" Nemona answered quickly albeit with a bit more insistence than she had intended.

Juliana grew a little worried, "Okay Nemona, but… if you want to talk about it. I'm here for you."

Nemona smiled, "Thanks Juliana, you're the greatest. Really!"

This made Juliana grin, "You're gonna embarrass me again…"
Both girls shared a laugh, and Juliana decided to hang out for a bit. Not that Nemona minded, she was always happy to spend time with her favorite battle bestie.
For now, she wasn't going to say anything about her situation with Kieran.

Earlier in Cyrano's office…

"Miss Briar, after what happened in Area Zero. I don't think the Paldea League would allow another expedition." Director Cyrano's statement hung in the air for a moment before Briar replied uneasily, "I… I understand sir. Please forgive me. I couldn't help but hear about the strange happenings going on in Area Zero recently and I couldn't help but ask."

Director Clavell was there too, he responded, "You've already discovered quite a bit. More than any of us had bargained for. After clearing your ancestor's good name, why not take it easy?"

Briar averted her eyes, "I suppose you're correct. Exploration is in my blood I'm afraid…"

"I understand how you feel." Clavell replied, "But it was already gracious of them to allow you to explore. Especially with one of my most prized students…"

"I'm so terribly sorry about that sir." Briar apologized, "I got carried away and I do take full responsibility for that. And Director Cyrano, I hope this doesn't sour your view of me as a teacher…"

Cyrano, his compassion as wide as his smile, replied, "Don't worry, Briar. I don't think any less of you. After all, it was the opportunity of a lifetime!"

"Cyrano…" Clavell warned with a low voice. Which made the Blueberry Director recoil in fear.

Clavell cleared his throat, "Anyway, I need to go find Miss Raifort. Hopefully she hasn't gotten up to too much mischief in my absence…" He muttered that last part to himself as he walked out of the room. The sound of the door closing behind him left Briar and Cyrano silent.

That was until Briar got the courage to speak again, "Still, it was an honor… I hope my book is enough to convince the world that my ancestor, Heath, was no fool!"

Cyrano smiled, "Don't worry Briar, I'm sure it will! You've already made quite a splash close to home!"

Briar chuckled, "I certainly hope it's in a good way…"

"Miss Raifort! Why on earth do you have a towel on your head!? And why are you all wet!?"

Director Clavell's scolding voice from outside frightened Briar and Cyrano.

"Ah! Director! Funny to see you here!" They heard a woman's voice reply, unknown to them that it was the Miss Raifort in question.

"That doesn't answer my question." Clavell was heard saying, "What on earth are you up to!?"

"Ehh… funny story…"

Briar slowly turned to face Cyrano with fearful eyes, "He's a force to be reckoned with, isn't he?"

All Cyrano could do was smile and shrug," Heh, he sure is."