Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon, or any other property in this work that I did not make myself.
Pokémon: Pokédex no Isekai
Chapter Forty-three: A school girl's yearning, part two
Juliana, a girl who attends school at Naranja Academy located in Mesagoza, Paldea, was not having the easiest time right now. She was trying to confess to the boy she has a crush on, Arven, but she has not had the best of luck at that task. Aside from fellow student Nemona getting in the way, a rather... crass incident took place because Juliana's Mabosstiff and Arven's Mabosstiff had decided to... get busy, as it were.
But Juliana was determined to not give up. She wouldn't give up until she was able to tell her senpai how she feels about him. Hopefully he'll agree to go out with her; Juliana would really like that. But she had to be careful with how she approached this, she doesn't want to drive Arven away by being weird or anything. As such, Juliana, with renewed hope, got up out of bed with a jump, eager to take on the day and its challenges.
Juliana did, however, stop short when she saw her Tatsugiri get her attention. "Hmm? What's up, Tatsugiri?" Juliana asked as she allowed the little dragon to lead her over to something. It turned out to be Juliana's Mabosstiff, who laid on the floor in Juliana's dorm room, laying curled up around something. Juliana walked over and leaned to her side a bit to see what it was that her Mabosstiff had curled up around.
When Juliana saw what it was, she screamed in alarm.
...
"So you found your Mabosstiff with a Pokémon Egg earlier this morning?" Penny asked as she and Juliana talked.
Nodding once, Juliana said, "I had to turn it over to the school because I can't care for more than six Pokémon. I'm pretty sure that the egg resulted from the... relations... that my Mabosstiff had with Arven-senpai's Mabosstiff yesterday."
Penny let out a sigh. "At least Nemona ain't here right now. She'd probably say something stupid and blunt about the whole situation."
"Stupid and blunt? Are you girls talking about Nemona?" Juliana and Penny both turned to look and saw Arven come walking up to the scene.
Penny had to hold back some laughter. "Sharp as always, Arven. What's up?"
Hands on his hips, Arven said, "I just heard the latest news out of Sinnoh concerning Team Heart's attempt to invade it. Apparently, despite Team Heart going in with troops and special trainers from every region and other territory under the Empire's banner, Sinnoh is able to keep up no problem."
Hearing that surprised Juliana and Penny. "Did you hear specifically how Rimu is doing?" Penny asked, a look of worry on her face.
"No, nothing on my bud specifically," Arven replied with a gentle shake of his head, "Man, the forces of Sinnoh must REALLY be something else if Sinnoh on its own is strong enough to keep up with all of what Team Heart came at it with." Looking to the girls, Arven said, "Well anyway, is there anything that I had missed?"
"The frisky business that your Mabosstiff got up to with Juliana's Mabosstiff resulted in a Pokémon Egg that had to be turned over to the school," Penny said, her expression and tone equally dry.
If Arven had been drinking something at that moment, he'd have spat out a mouthful of drink in surprise. "Ah, ah, ah," Arven said, clearly embarrassed and trying to regain his sense of being able to think clearly, "Juliana, I am SO sorry again about what my Mabosstiff did with yours when we were in Medali with Nemona!"
"Yeah, Nemona really needs to stop bothering you guys," Penny remarked, her tone and expression both still dry.
"But how will we keep her occupied?" Juliana asked.
Thinking about it for a moment, Penny said, "...I think that I have an idea."
...
Juliana and Arven followed Penny over to where some students were talking. A few students stood in front of a male student who had with him a shiny Annihilape, a shiny three segment Dudunsparce, and a shiny Kingambit. That boy's expression, the air that he was giving off, made it clear that he was showing off. "Oh, that's one of the rich legacy kids who attends school here," Arven said, "He's one of the few who's NOT a bully or a jerk, but he does come off as annoying to some."
"Yes, but that's only due to his incredible luck," Penny went on, "He's finds shiny Pokémon in the wild like it's not hard in the least."
"And you two think that he can help us keep Nemona occupied?" Juliana asked, "How?"
Penny, a hint of knowing amusement in her smirk, said, "Follow me." Penny then led Juliana and Arven over to where the rich boy was showing off his shiny Pokémon. Penny made a coughing sound to get the attention of the rich legacy kid with the shiny Pokémon, as well as the students he was showing off to, and the shiny Pokémon themselves. "Wow, your Pokémon all look really cool," Penny remarked to the rich legacy kid.
"Yeah, it's not everyday one meets a person with multiple shiny Pokémon," said the rich legacy kid.
Nodding in agreement, Penny said, "Oh yeah! Not only do all of your Pokémon look cool, but they also all look like they're really strong!"
*BANG*
Everyone suddenly stopped short when a door nearby was thrown open by Nemona who walked through the door. "Did someone say STRONG?" Nemona asked, looking excited.
The rich legacy kid, looking nervous, said, "Uhh..."
"How strong are his Pokémon?" Nemona asked as she looked to Juliana, Penny, and Arven while pointing at the rich legacy kid.
"Oh, I'd say that his Pokémon all look really strong," Penny replied.
Turning to look at the rich legacy kid, Nemona said, "Hey kid, let's battle! Here and now!"
"Umm, we can't battle here," one girl in the group looking at the rich legacy kid's shiny Pokémon said, "This is the front reception area."
"Then let's go outside to the battle fields behind the school building!" Nemona declared.
As the rich legacy kid and the other students all looked confused also the rich legacy kid looked a bit scared because he more or less was being dragged into a battle with Nemona, Penny said, "That ought to keep Nemona occupied for a bit."
"I feel bad for the rich legacy kid we had just sicced Nemona on," Arven said, "He's one of the few rich legacy kids here at Naranja Academy who isn't a jerk or bully."
"Well we have to make sacrifices here and there sometimes," Penny remarked, before she ushered Juliana and Arven out of the area. With Nemona distracted by her battle lust, Juliana now had some free time with Arven. Granted Penny will be there as well, but she's on Juliana's side in helping to get her together with Arven.
Later, Juliana along with Penny and Arven were in Cortondo. While the three of them were having lunch together, with Juliana and Arven making sure to keep their respective Mabosstiffs contained, Juliana asked, "Hey Arven-senpai, have you heard from Rimu ever since he got to Sinnoh to help with the Team Heart invasion of the region?"
Arven gently shook his head in the negative. "No, not really. All I got is that he's part of the forces trying to get in through Canalave City. But according to Team Heart news on the matter, the adopted brother of Dawn Berlitz, Trip, is stationed in Canalave City to help defend it. Trip Berlitz has multiple legendary Pokémon, with notable ones such as his Dialga. I doubt that even Rimu, without sufficient backup at least, can stand up to a trainer like Trip."
"You know, I'm surprised that Team Heart didn't draft Nemona into the efforts against Sinnoh," said Juliana, "You'd figure that she'd love it battle such fierce opponents, or have as many battles as she can manage."
"I got it from the Team Heart liaison at Naranja Academy that Nemona's battle lust that you speak of right now is actually the reason why Nemona wasn't drafted," Penny said, "Team Heart thinks that said battle lust will make Nemona make a stupid mistake in the invasion of Sinnoh. That's why she had been benched for things here."
"According to Rimu who says he got it from a Sinnoh region friend of his," Arven spoke up, "Nemona suffers from something called 'Saiyan Syndrome', and that's the reason Nemona's a battle junkie."
As Juliana listened on to whatever Arven was saying, the two of them and Penny were met up by Cortondo gym leader Katy. "You three are Naranja Academy students, aren't you?" Katy asked, "What brings you all here?"
"Oh, we're discussing our friends Rimu and Nemona," Arven said.
"Oh! Those are both Champion ranked trainers of Paldea," Katy said, "And I heard that Champion Rimu was drafted by Team Heart to help fight in the invasion of Sinnoh. Although I don't know why exactly the Empire is trying to invade Sinnoh."
"Several persons who are terrorists wanted by the authority of the Team Heart Empire were found to have somehow gotten into Sinnoh," Penny explained, "Sinnoh's refused to hand over any of those persons, so Team Heart is invading Sinnoh to take those persons by force. Team Heart will probably take over Sinnoh as well if they can, but that's besides the point."
"I did hear in the news that there were several incidents that involved terrorists carrying out acts in regions part of the Team Heart Empire," Katy remarked, "Including an attack in Hoenn that left a Team Heart Officer plus several civilians and two Pokémon dead. That same terrorist who led said attack later broke out several people from a labor camp, killing even more in the process."
"I actually remember seeing something in the news over in Unova," Arven remarked, "The sister of Rimu's friend from Kitakami was involved in a scandal where she forced someone to lose to her in the final round of a major tournament, and she eventually went on the run. Rimu's Kitakami friend is still very upset with his sister."
Katy let out a troubled, resigned sigh before she went on. "Stuff like that makes me worry about things going on in the world. I'm hoping that those terrorists are all rounded up and captured, the world can't afford to let troublesome persons like them run around unchecked. They could cause a good bit of serious damage, if not worse."
Penny gave off a small smile. "That's why my boyfriend Rimu is helping the Paldean Team Heart forces with Team Heart's invasion of Sinnoh. He doesn't want anything happen to us here in Paldea."
Katy perked up a bit. "Oh, you're Champion Rimu's girlfriend?" Katy asked, "Huh, well isn't that just the strangest thing. I'm actually entertaining a group at my bakery slash restaurant right now, and the one person in the group mentioned that Champion Rimu used to crush on his little sister back when said little sister was still alive."
Penny perked up at that. "...Rimu did mention to me that before he met me, he had a crush on a girl named Sayaka," Penny said, "But she sadly committed suicide due to being excessively bullied at school by the jerk wealthy elite kids. Those kids, from what I heard, were all sentenced to death by the Team Heart authority here in Paldea shortly after Team Heart rose to power here."
"Considering that the persons in group I'm entertaining right now are all members of Team Heart, that makes sense," Katy remarked, "And mind you, I feel that sentencing kids to death, no matter how bad they had been, is a shade excessive. But it's Team Heart, so I don't think that anyone can change their minds. And hey, the remaining rich spoiled brat kids are now acting right, although i wish it wasn't due to the threat of Team Heart looming over the heads of everyone in Paldea."
"Sometimes the more excessive methods are the only methods that will work," Penny said, "At least in terms of getting the desired results." Juliana was surprised to hear Penny say that, especially as she sounds as if she's speaking from a place of personal experience. Just... just what kind of a life did Penny live before she met other people who helped her?
"Sounds like you guys are willing to talk philosophy with the Team Heart group here," Katy remarked, "They're in that direction if you wanna talk to them. You can't miss them, the one guy in the group is wearing a pink long sleeved men's kimono with a high collar." Juliana and the others were all a little bit curious, so they decided to go check out the table where the Team Heart group sat.
Juliana was also wanting to know a bit more about Rimu's past, and apparently the name Sayaka is connected to it. Rimu, the strongest Champion ranked trainer that Paldea has to offer, a trainer who not even Nemona has ever beaten. Very few people know much about Rimu's past, so this might be a good chance to peer into what kind of a person Rimu really is.
Juliana, Arven, and Penny soon got to where the Team Heart group sat at a table. There where five guys dressed in standard male Team Heart grunt outfits, although the sixth man in the group stood out due to his unique outfit. The guy in question had fair skin, red chin length hair that was sort of spiky, and he wore that pink long sleeved men's kimono with a high collar.
He also wore a pair of black kimono leggings for men, a pair of pink tabi socks, a pair of black sandals, and he had a black Team Heart 'H' on his kimono top over the left pectoral. It was the man in the unique outfit who saw Juliana and her group approach, and when he saw them approach he turned his attention to them, as if recognizing one of them in particular.
"You. girl with blue and red hair," the uniquely dressed Team Heart guy said, "You're Champion Rimu's girlfriend Penny, aren't you?"
Juliana and her friends, Penny especially so, all stopped short. "How did you know?" Penny asked.
"Rimu told me," replied the uniquely dressed Team Heart guy, "Back when the Champions of Paldea had to meet with the local Team Heart authority. I actually knew him personally, he used to have a crush on my late little sister Sayaka."
"Katy told us that Rimu apparently knew someone we aren't familiar with," Juliana said, "We know so little about Rimu, we were hoping you might be willing to share."
Arven folded his arms over his chest. "We also know that Rimu's former crush... is no longer around, and that when Team Heart rose to power here in Paldea, the persons responsible for it were given the ultimate punishment."
"Well it really helped that all of the spoiled brats who had driven my little sister Sayaka into committing suicide had all engaged in activities considered taboo by Team Heart creed," said the uniquely dressed Team Heart guy, "That helped to make sure that they were punished, and that my little sister was avenged. Oh, by the way, I'm First Captain Makoto of the Paldea Sector of Team Heart. The big guy in the group, Yanagita, is my Assistant."
Juliana and her friends all looked to the group of Team Heart grunts, saw the fair skinned guy who had scruffy blonde hair and was tall and had a notably bulky body. Looking to the now identified Makoto, Juliana asked, "You said that how the kids who bullied your little sister into committing suicide had done so in a way that went against Team Heart creed. What exactly did they do?"
"They had relentlessly bullied her over how she had a quote unquote 'geeky' appearance," Makoto said, "Not to mention how Sayaka just so happened to be rather on the heavy side."
"Oh, this Sayaka girl was fat," Arven said, "Yeah, I can see how that would help inspire Team Heart to punish the jerk rich kids who bullied Sayaka, the actions of those jerk rich kids can easily be viewed as fatphobic which is viewed by Team Heart as the ultimate taboo."
Makoto then took out a photo and showed it to Juliana and her friends. It showed a cute but geeky girl wearing a Naranja Academy school uniform. She was fair skinned, wore glasses, had long and frizzy pink hair, and she was very clearly very fat. "This here is," Makoto said, "Or rather was, my little sister Sayaka."
"...I actually remember seeing her a while ago," Penny said, "She was one of the few students at Naranja Academy able to keep up with me in terms of grades. But she got more attention due to being more stand out, I was quiet and kept to myself. Perhaps that's why Rimu sprung for her first, he didn't even properly meet me until I heard at school that some fat girl took her own life." Looking to Makoto, Penny asked, "That incident involved your little sister, huh?"
Makoto nodded once in the affirmative as he put the photo of the late Sayaka away. "Yeah, and it still beats me up every time I think about it," Makoto said, "How the school, and pretty much ALL of the Paldea region, allowed those bullies to get away with what they did more or less scot free. It had to take Team Heart taking over and rising to power in Paldea for those brats to FINALLY get some sort of punishment for what they had done."
Arven couldn't help but wear a grim look on his face as he thought about the whole situation. "But still, it's rather disheartening to know that the only way for those who deserve to be punished to get their punishment is for an outside force to come in, take over everything, and force those who have punishment coming to take it." Looking to Makoto, Arven went on, "It really get under my skin that the Paldean wealthy elite never answered to anyone before Team Heart came in and forced them to own up for their indifferent cruelty."
"Sometimes it's the only way to see to justice being done," Makoto replied, his tone and expression showing a degree of grimness that showed he agreed with Arven.
Without much else to do. Juliana and her friends took off, wishing Makoto and his fellows the best of luck as they went their separate ways.
...
"You know, I've noticed a distinct lack of the jerk wealthy elite kids at school as of late," Juliana said, "I wonder why that is."
"That's because pretty much every jerk wealthy elite person in Paldea had been sent to the various labor camps around the region," Penny explained, "All for separate and unrelated offences."
"It still gets to me that it took Team Heart taking over everything and running the show for the jerk wealthy elite in Paldea to finally be made to answer for their cruelty towards those who are not a part of their circle," Arven remarked, "Why couldn't they all just be good people from the get go? Why did they have to lord over anyone and everyone that they could?"
"People, by and large, tend to not like having to share," Penny said, "The jerk wealthy elite in Paldea are no different. They just have more stuff that they don't wanna share."
"And then Team Heart came in and forced them to share," Arven went on, drawing an affirmative nod from Penny. Letting out a sigh, Arven said, "Well that would explain a lot." Looking to Penny, Arven asked, "So Penny, how do you feel knowing that Rimu's crush before you was rather fat?"
Shrugging, Penny said, "Rimu says he prefers his girls cute and smart. Both Sakaya and I qualify for that." Penny then had an idea, and she gave an amused smirk. "...Say Arven," Penny began, "While we are on the subject of what kind of girls boys like, what are YOUR preferences in girls? What kind of girls do you like?"
Arven, as he thought about it, failed to notice Juliana's face light up red with embarrassment, mostly due to how she walked ahead of the group and her back was to Arven and Penny. "...Well to start off," Arven began, "I do NOT like girls such as Nemona. Too blunt and oblivious, also she oftentimes has trouble reading the room, and she thinks of little else aside from Pokémon battling. If I were to get a girlfriend, she'd have to be a bit... no, a LOT more perceptive than Nemona."
"Yeah, Nemona can oftentimes be something of a handful," Penny said, "We had to distract her with a supposed strong trainer to fight in order to keep her occupied." Arching a wry eyebrow, Penny went on, "What would you like to see in a girl appeal wise?"
"What do you mean?" Arven asked.
Shrugging, Penny said, "Do you prefer more slender-bodied girls or are you okay with girls living larger? How about hair, do you prefer girls with long or short hair? Do you have a thing for girls who wear glasses or no?"
"What's with all of the questions about my preferences in what kind of girls I like?" Arven asked, "I feel like you're aiming to eventually set me up on a date with some girl you know."
Shrugging, Penny said, "I just figured that you might wanna show off to Rimu when he returns home to Paldea after helping out with the invasion of Sinnoh. Maybe you and your potential future girlfriend can do a double date with Rimu and me. Oh, we'll have to find someone else who we can claim is a strong trainer and sic Nemona on them so she won't interrupt the double date."
Folding his arms over his chest, Arven remarked, "...Yeah, distracting Nemona in that situation is a must, she'll pop in randomly unless she's contained." Looking at Penny with a more serious look, Arven went on, "But seriously, Penny. Why ask me about my preferences when it comes to what kind of girls I like? I really do feel like you're trying to set me up with a girl."
"Oh, let's just say that I know a thing or two," Penny said.
Arven looked at Penny with a dry, mildly unamused look. "...You had better not be trying to set me up on a date with Nemona."
"Oh hell no," Penny laughed, "I am nowhere near that cruel, Arven. I don't think anyone is. Besides, she only loves Pokémon battling, I don't think that romance will ever cross her mind."
"I'd be surprised if anything aside from Pokémon battling will ever cross her mind," Arven remarked dryly as he and the girls continued on their way. Little did Arven know that Penny was fishing for details to help Juliana hook up with him. And to Juliana's credit, she did have at least one big thing working in her favor when it came to getting with her beloved Arven-senpai.
Juliana isn't Nemona.
Later, Juliana and Penny were hanging out at the library at Naranja Academy. "Why did you ask him what kind of girl he likes?!" Juliana asked, "Were you trying to embarrass me?!"
"Juliana, relax," Penny replied, "I was just testing some waters. Besides, you're going to have to know some of Arven's preferences if you're to have any shot of getting with him."
Folding her arms over her chest, Juliana, still trying to get over some of her embarrassment, replied, "All that I know is that he doesn't like Nemona, or girls who are like Nemona."
"Yeah, she's the kind of girl who'd wear down on anyone's nerves really fast," Penny said dryly, "But that's besides the point. We at least have a place to start you on, and that's good. Going in blind can be rather reckless."
Looking to Penny, Juliana asked, "Well where do you think I should start?"
"Well Arven is an aspiring chef," Penny said, "Maybe picking up some culinary skills can get him to notice you. You do want to be noticed by your senpai, don't you?"
Nodding once, Juliana replied, "Very much so. I-"
*BANG*
Juliana was cut off when a door in the library area was thrown open by Nemona who then walked through the door. "That kid who I battled was okay," Nemona said, "Not as strong as I'd like, but he was okay. Although I will admit, his full team six Pokémon are all shinies, that was pretty cool."
Arching a wry eyebrow at Nemona, Penny said in a dry tone, "Hello, Nemona. How are you?"
"Still wishing that Rimu hadn't been drafted to help Team Heart with their invasion of Sinnoh," replied Nemona, "He's the only trainer of Paldea I can think of who can seriously push me. I need stronger opponents to fight, you know?" Nemona arched a curious eyebrow at Penny and Juliana. "What are you two girls talking about?" Nemona asked.
"The kinds of things any girl loves talking about," Penny replied dryly.
"...Pokémon battling?" Nemona guessed.
"Swing and a miss," Penny muttered under her breath as she shook her head. Speaking loud enough for Nemona to hear, Penny said, "No, Nemona. We aren't talking about Pokémon battling."
Looking curious, Nemona asked, "Well what could a girl love talking about aside from Pokémon battling?"
Shrugging, Penny said, "Oh, I don't know, there's all sorts of things girls are into aside from just Pokémon battling. There's fashion, seeing sights, trying out dining, the list is endless. There's more to life than just Pokémon battling, Nemona."
Shrugging helplessly, Nemona replied, "Well I have no idea what it could be, Penny."
"Look, Penny and I are talking about romance," Juliana snapped, "Alright?! You know, a boy and a girl who are in love with each other and being alone together! That's what we're talking about!"
"Oh, you mean like how Penny and Rimu are dating," Nemona said, "You know, when I first saw the two of them together, I thought that Penny was trying to make Rimu her rival, even though I was Rimu's rival already. I don't want anyone stealing my rival from ne, you know! But Penny wasn't stealing my rival, she was just dating him."
"I doubt that I can ever stand as a worthy rival to Rimu when it comes to being a trainer," Penny said, "I still remember the first full battle we had. All six of my Veevees were swept by Rimu's Skeledirge alone. I'm thankful he does not want me to be his rival, but he does want me to be his girlfriend."
"Rimu owns a Skeledirge?!" Juliana said, "Holy geez! How'd he get that?"
Shrugging, Nemona said, "Probably the same way he got his Meowscarada and Quaquaval." Turning to look at Penny, Nemona said, "But seriously, you got your entire team swept by just one of Rimu's Pokémon? He never swapped out at all? I'm able to make him switch occasionally, and I had even taken out one or two of his Pokémon on occasion. You seriously need to train your Pokémon, they shouldn't be losing so badly."
"I have been training my Veevees with Rimu, actually," Penny replied, her tone and expression towards Nemona a bit dry and unamused, "He pointed out how they all needed better moves and had advised me on which ones to spring for."
"You've been training with Rimu?!" Nemona exclaimed, "Aha! So you ARE trying to steal my rival from me! I should have known better than to trust you!"
"Rimu isn't my rival, he's only helping me train!" Penny snapped, "Is battling literally the only thing on your brain, Nemona?! Not everything is, or has to be, about Pokémon battling!"
"But seriously," Juliana said, "Rimu owns a Skeledirge?!"
Juliana was completely ignored by Penny and Nemona as they started to have a row. "It fails to surprise me that you notice nothing aside from Pokémon battling," Penny said, "It's to the point that you were completely oblivious to any and all bullying, the REAL bullying, that had been going on here at Naranja Academy! It took Team Heart taking over everything and spelling it out in clear, certain terms for you to notice what the hell had been going on! And that's just one issue with you!"
"What do you mean?" Nemona asked, looking like she was getting just as unamused as Penny.
"Are you able to tell it when someone isn't in the mood to battle?" Penny asked, "And I don't mean right after you beat them in a battle. I mean them not wanting to battle period. Are you able to tell when someone just doesn't want to battle period?"
"What kind of person would not want to battle at all?" Nemona asked.
"Oh, I don't know," Penny began, "How about most people busy with other things? Or how about a person who is grieving and isn't in the mood foe anything at all? Seriously Nemona, you have some of the worst timing of anyone-"
"Umm, sorry for cutting in like this," Juliana interrupted, getting both Penny and Nemona to turn to look at her, "But what were we talking about again?"
"Pokémon battling," Nemona replied.
"No, that's what YOU were talking about when you came in and hijacked the conversation," Penny scowled, "We were ORIGINALLY talking about romance!"
"Oh yeah, now I remember," Nemona remarked, "Yeah, I don't really understand that kind of stuff, but that doesn't mean I won't support any girl looking to get her guy." Looking to Penny specifically, Nemona said, "So who's the lucky girl you and Juliana here are aiming to help?"
"Respectfully, that is none of your business," Penny replied.
Looking a bit pouty, Nemona said, "Oh come on! Why can't you tell me?"
"Because you're a blunt, oblivious idiot who's bound to spill the secret without even thinking about it due to your utter lack of a filter," Penny replied dryly "Or need I remind you of that incident where your lack of a filter not only resulted in one of our teachers at school resigning out of complete and total embarrassment, but they left the school in tears?"
"Hey, I was so excited about how a foreign region's Champion visiting Naranja Academy that day that I couldn't think straight, alright?" Nemona said, getting a bit defensive, "Besides, why would that language arts teacher want to keep her secret a secret? There's no shame in what she was hiding!"
"You seriously need to get your act together, Nemona," Penny scowled, "Or need I remind you of the time your lack of a filter had also gotten you into trouble with Team Heart?"
Nemona looked a bit taken aback. "...Well that was a pretty scary experience," Nemona remarked, looking humbled.
Sighing, Penny said, "This is the reason why people tend to exclude you from conversations that cover sensitive subjects. You're bound to ruin things without even thinking about it." Giving Nemona a serious glare, Penny went on, "Because you don't think period." Penny then turned around and, wirh a gesture to Juliana, had her follow along.
Before the two girls got far enough away, Nemona ran around to cut their path off. "Wait!" Nemona said, "I'm... I'm sorry, girls. I... I'm just really sorry. I just have issues with not being part of something exciting, and I just... look, it's just really hard for me to explain properly, alright? I'm not meaning to be weird or crazy or anything, it just comes out that way, it just happens like that!"
Penny gently shook her head. "Sorry, but we just can't trust you. Not for now, at least." Penny then took Juliana with her and tried to leave again, this time succeeding in doing so. Juliana did feel a bit bad for Nemona, who was left behind to think about how badly she had screwed up, but Penny did have a point on how Nemona lacked a filter when it came to certain sensitive subjects that required one to have tact and keep things on a need to know basis.
Juliana can already imagine Nemona blurting out Juliana's crush on Arven, without even thinking about it, if Nemona were to find out about it.
...
"I swear, that girl is a mess sometimes," Penny said as she and Juliana talked alone in Penny's dorm room. Penny sat in her computer desk chair and Juliana sat on Penny's bed, with Penny's Sylveon nudging into Juliana wanting her to pet it, which Juliana eventually obliged as she scratched that evolved Eevee around the back of its ears.
"Hopefully she'll get her act together soon," Penny went on, "Because knowing our luck, she may very well chance upon what we're really up to, and it'll be bad if she doesn't understand that it HAS to remain secret, at least until you're ready to go forward about it."
"I hope so as well," Juliana remarked, still nervous about the idea of confessing her feelings to Arven. Juliana was nervous about it enough as it is, the last thing that she needed was for Nemona or someone else to find out about it and blurt it out before Juliana is ready to confess to Arven. It'd be a total disaster, as well as a nightmare, if someone told Arven about her crush on him before she's ready to do so herself.
Clapping her hands together, Penny said, "Alright, so the first thing we know about Arven is that he isn't romantically interested in Nemona or other girls like Nemona. That's one point in your favor that you have already. The next part is that we know he's into the culinary arts, so getting a little bit or practice there ought to help with the goal of getting Arven to notice you."
"How should I practice my cooking?" Juliana asked.
"I remember when me, Rimu, Arven, Nemona, and a bunch of other Naranja Academy students went on a yearly Treasure Hunt," Penny began, "Arven sought out rare ingredients for making sandwiches and fed said sandwiches to his Mabosstiff."
"Yeah," Juliana said dryly, "I remember Arven-senpai's Mabosstiff."
Penny realized what she reminded Juliana of. "Heh heh, sorry," Penny replied, "But seriously, I think that you ought to start on your path of learning and developing culinary skills by having picnics and making sandwiches at them. It's also a good way to bond with your Pokémon."
Juliana gave the idea some consideration. It did seem like a good way to get Arven's attention, not to mention that it really was a good way to bond with her Pokémon. "You think that Arven-senpai may come to the picnic?" Juliana asked.
Shrugging, Penny with a slyly amused look said in a likewise tone, "Oh, I may bring him over so he can help you with learning about culinary work. Why do you ask?"
"I'll need to call back my Mabosstiff if I see Arven-senpai come over," Juliana replied.
"...Oh," Penny remarked.
END, CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
Author's notes;
This chapter sees Juliana continue on her quest to appeal to her senpai, with said quest leading her to Cortondo where she meets a Team Heart Officer who is the older brother of a girl that Rimu used to have a crush on before tragic things took place. Juliana also learned of how certain spoiled brat rich legacy kids were punished for their roles in said tragic things, which normally would be a rather attention grabbing factoid, but Juliana here is too distracted by her feelings for Arven to linger on it.
Eventually, after Penny gives Nemona a dressing down, Penny and Juliana leave to go have a private conversation in Penny's dorm room. There, Penny suggests that Juliana learn and develop some culinary skills, given that Arven is all about the culinary life. Juliana decides to give it a go by doing some picnics, although if Arven shows up to one then Juliana will have to call her Mabosstiff back just to be on the safe side. Things will continue in the next chapter, so until then, take care.
Dawn's Pokémon: (on hand) Tsukune (Palkia), Fangfang (Yveltal), Kurumu (Groudon), Sif (Zacian), Veldora (Koraidon), Odin (Arceus)
Kenny's Pokémon: (on hand) Black (Giratina), Zamasu (Necrozma), Shenron (Rayquaza), Porunga (Zygarde), Armstrong (Regigigas), unknown legendary Pokémon
Trip's Pokémon: (on hand) Deelia (Dialga), Villetta (Miraidon), Cameron (Kyorge), Tetsu (Xerneas), Rogers (Zamazenta), Alucard (Lunala)
Mina's Pokémon: (on hand) Scar (male Eevee; scared over one eye), Gardevoir (male), Lucario (female), Umbreon (male; shiny), Espeon (male; shiny), Jolteon (male; shiny)