"Yawwwwwwn."
Kieran woke up bright and early in his dorm room.
The beauty of not taking any morning classes was that he didn't need to be woken up by Jazzy's loud greeting on an alarm clock every day.
Even though it is a school, in many ways Kieran liked to think of Blueberry Academy as his second home, the kind of academy experience he was always jealous of when his big sister was the first to leave home for Unova and wrote letters home raving about her newfound independence.
He could wake up whenever he wanted to. He could make his own schedules. He can eat whatever he wants to, and he doesn't even have to pay money for it. He can just run around and play with Pokémon in the Terrarium to earn points!
What a sweet deal! All the freedom Kieran had while living on school grounds certainly made all the homework, testing, and essay writing easier to stomach.
A little bit easier, anyway. He still hates schoolwork, and it's Carmine wringing his neck that motivates him to complete it more than anything else.
Lacey pitching in to help him get caught up on all the studying Kieran had been taken for granted helped a little. The whole fact that people like her and Juliana were still willing to be friends with Kieran even after how nasty he'd been to them was actually what kept him going the most.
Especially Lacey, who almost seemed to see herself as like a guardian angel towards helping the boy adjust to school life again. But that didn't mean he was still caught up in some of his own regrets.
Kieran made his way to the bathroom in his PJ's as he got ready to start his day. He faced the mirror for a few seconds, his eyes hidden somewhere beneath the black curtain over his head.
"…'d be nice if I could actually see myself."
Kieran was still sticking with the pulled-up hairstyle he'd been sporting since he came back to Blueberry and was motivated to join the BB League. It was less a statement on his current tastes and more… a look of convenience, to get his hair out from under his eyes so he could focus better. Or try to, anyway.
He grabbed his uniform clothes and put them on. As he pulled his jacket over his arms, Kieran looked at his reflection and wondered if he wanted to zip it up or let his shirt out like he had been.
It's not really me… But, I also don't know what I am right now. So, guess I might as well go with what makes me feel more confident.
Fully dressed, Kieran flicked a part of his hair back, letting his purple roots and red undershirt shine, as he stepped out and took a look around his room.
His bed felt… rather empty, without his one constant companion.
"Well, I got another Pokémon I used to cherish a lot but…" Kieran remembered telling Arven. "I left it back at home. 'Cause I thought it was too weak for a Champion's team."
Kieran reluctantly opened his closet door, which housed one of his most prized possessions: a giant, fluffy reminder of that Pokémon.
He could feel his lips tinging with regret.
"I'm so sorry I abandoned you…" he whispered. "When I come back to you someday… will you even forgive me?"
Realizing that he was on the verge of tears, Kieran pushed the door until he couldn't see that symbol of his perceived betrayal, and desperately tried to remember if he had something in his room that could cheer him up.
"Oh!"
With a renewed smile, he popped open his nightstand drawer and sifted until he found something else he treasured:
A copy of the photo Carmine had taken of the two of them together with Juliana, at the Festival of Masks.
All three of them looked so happy back then… Especially Kieran. He wasn't used to seeing himself smiling so naturally in a picture. He remembered how Carmine made that happen.
"Alright, ready? Now, everyone say… PINEAPPLES!"
"What!?" Kieran burst out laughing, which made Juliana chuckle too. "Pineapples!?"
-SNAP!-
Carmine…
Kieran and his sister still hadn't interacted much since their mutual cry-fest down at the bottom of Area Zero. Carmine seemed to be more focused on Juliana… as per usual.
But Kieran didn't want to fault her for that anymore… especially now that he had been made aware just how deeply his sister's feelings for Juliana ran.
Besides, once I try getting close with Sis again… She'll probably go back to treating me like a baby, and bossing me around again. Maybe it's a good thing she's obsessed with Juliana… At least she's finally letting the two of us hang out with each other.
Having Carmine finally off his back for once, Kieran reasoned, would be just the thing he needed to truly grow out of his shell and become more independent just like Carmine, without needing some worthless charm.
He looked over at the little arrangement he had set up on his desk last night and pondered, wondering if today was the right day for him to present his little gift.
"No…" he shook his head. "Not today. I'll do it another day… as like a big celebration present or something."
But that all led Kieran to thinking about Juliana again… which led him to look over at his wall, where he had tried to cover up his little "shrine" with as many pictures of his favorite Pokémon as he could.
But even buried underneath all those poses and stat sheets of Pokémon, Kieran could still see those terrible words he had written about his friend, like an X-ray…
I really should just… take it all down and scrub that stuff off my wall.
Especially if I ever want to Juliana to come to my room. If she saw all that stuff underneath… I can't even imagine what she'll think. She probably wouldn't wanna be friends anymore… I—I'd feel horrible…
But he wasn't going to let that get to him today.
In fact, thinking about Juliana allowed Kieran to think more positively.
"That's right…!" he remembered. "We're gonna be hanging out, like the whole day together! Trading our Pokémon, playing games! Maybe we'll even finally get to have a real battle with each other!"
One second ago he was somber, now Kieran had trouble keeping himself from shaking with excitement.
"Yeah! It's gonna be awesome!" He smiled wide. "I think today's going to be the best day ever!"
After having his sort-of-breakfast-more-of-an-early-lunch-really in the food court, Kieran eagerly made his way to the hallway where he and Juliana agreed to meet up that day, and then they walked together to their hangout destination.
The walk itself was kind of weird, Kieran felt. Even though Juliana seemed her usual upbeat self when they met up, her demeanor kind of shifted when Kieran asked if they were still trading Pokémon, even though it was her suggestion.
And as they walked down the halls, the small Terapagos was riding on Juliana's left shoulder, gazing all around his surroundings with a curious face. Kieran had seen Juliana letting the Tera Pokémon perch next to her head like that lately, and figured that must mean they were bonding.
"Pa-goo…" Terapagos would quietly mumble whenever they passed by other students, like he was timidly saying hello. Kieran thought that was cute of him.
Juliana herself seemed strangely quiet and distracted, however. Kieran wasn't really sure if she was thinking about something or just, having an off day.
He had noticed however, that although he saw her and Carmine around school pretty often… he hadn't been seeing them around each other, which was unusual. Ever since Juliana came to Blueberry, it's like they'd been joined at the hip.
Obviously, Juliana was hanging out with Kieran a lot more now, which was probably part of it.
…Is Carmine angry that we're hanging out?
Kieran discarded this as a stupid thought almost immediately, not wanting to let himself get consumed by things like jealousy again. Then he thought about it harder, and wondered if he'd seen the two of them hanging out with each other since the day of the party…
Wait, that's right.
The party.
He gazed at Juliana's still face.
…What did you two talk about?
Juliana noticed him staring, and turned to him with an earnest face.
"Something wrong, Kieran?"
"Huh… Oh, uhh, no. Not really. Just—you're pretty today, I guess."
"Oh, really?" Juliana blushed in surprise, and twirled her braid. "Gosh… thanks! You are too! I MEAN, you're not pretty—you're, you know… You look nice too."
He chuckled. "I get what you meant."
"Good," she giggled embarrassedly.
Juliana was still just as pretty as Kieran remembered she was when they first met.
I guess I had a bit of a crush on her back then, didn't I? Carmine teased me to no end about it… Then I got so mad at Juliana, I kinda forgot all about that…
Kieran considered giving Juliana's face another gaze, to test if those feelings towards her were still there inside him. But she was starting to look a bit nervous at his constant glances, so he decided to leave it alone, and be more casual.
"How are you today?"
"Huh?" Juliana really did seem distracted.
"I said, how are you today?"
"Oh, I'm fine!" she said with a smile. "Just been a lot going on, I guess."
"Tera," Terapagos chimed.
"That's good. You done anything super cool lately? Maybe something with my sis?"
The smile faded again. Juliana's face made a different expression, as if… that question bothered her?
"Ummm. Not lately, no. We've just both been—busy with school, I guess."
"Oh. Okay."
Kieran couldn't quite tell, but something seemed off about the way she was answering. Like she was hiding something.
He remembered what it was like when Juliana hid something from him before…
But she also wasn't anywhere near as nervous so… it probably have anything to do with Kieran? But he sure was getting curious now.
At least I know there's no more secrets to keep about the ogre…
I mean, Ogerpon.
It was once they got themselves set up at a trading station in one of the student lounges that things got weird.
Kieran set his Great Ball on the slot in front of him first, which displayed an image on Juliana's screen.
"A Rhydon? Hmmm. Alright then."
"This one's gonna be special! Trust me!"
He knew what Juliana was probably thinking. Since Rhyhorn like to run close to the Terrarium's entrance, he assumed it was one of the first things Juliana caught there and she was being polite about telling him she already had one.
But then she noticed what Rhydon's held item was.
"A Protector? I've never heard of that item before. What does it do?"
"Ohh, you'll see…" Kieran said with a crafty smile. "So what are ya trading me?"
"Well, umm…" Juliana seemed to noticeably fidget a bit. "It's… a surprise. You won't know 'till you get it."
"Okay… Well, I do like surprises."
Juliana nodded, and set her Ball down. Right as she did, she seemed to have a sudden look of panic. "Wait! Isn't it going to show—"
An image flashed on Kieran's screen. But it wasn't a picture of a Pokémon.
It was a giant question mark. And text that read "SPECIES UNKNOWN".
"Huh? Species unknown…?" Kieran read aloud, puzzled. "Wow. You must have some big surprise for me if it's not even in any of the Pokédexes!"
"Uhh… yeah!"
He chuckled. "Maybe it would've been Terapagos, if it wasn't on your shoulder like that!"
"Ter-paaa?"
Juliana giggled back a little. As Kieran looked over at them, he did notice something peculiar about the Ball on her slot.
A Friend Ball…?
…
He stared at it for a bit. Then he chuckled out loud again.
"What?"
"Oh, nothing…" Kieran said. "I just saw your Poké Ball, and for a second I thought you were about to trade me Ogerpon! But then I remembered you probably gave it back to my sis by now."
He decided to lean his finger in towards the button to indicate he was ready to start the trade and was even about to say "Alright, let's trade!"
But he stopped.
It was strange, Kieran realized, that Juliana didn't laugh or say anything in response.
He had a weird feeling, so he leaned over.
"Hey Juliana?"
"Yeah?"
"Uhhh, you did give the ogre back to Carmine?"
Juliana's mouth hung open.
"Uhh… I…"
…Why isn't she answering?
Now he looked at the Friend Ball Juliana placed on the table again. His eyebrows furrowed.
"Juliana…? What are you about to trade me?"
"…"
"That's not the ogre—I mean Ogerpon in there… right?"
"…"
Juliana bore an extremely abashed, nervous toothy grin.
Alarmed, Kieran immediately went over to his station and declined the trade. Both of their screens shut off.
"Huh? What are you doing?"
"What are YOU doing!?" Kieran retorted. "I—I'm confused, Juliana! Ogerpon, that's—that's Carmine's! Why do you still have it? And—and why were you about to give it AWAY!?"
"Uhhh…" Juliana's eyes were darting around anxiously now. "I—I…"
"My sis, she loves the ogre! Doesn't she? I don't get it! What are you thinking, Juliana!?"
Juliana was breathing heavily now, her eyes seeming to dot everywhere in the room. Terapagos seemed to notice his partner's concern and leaned his head close to hers.
"Goo?"
Kieran suddenly remembered where he'd seen Juliana like this before. The day he'd taken the ogre—Ogerpon's mask… and Juliana couldn't answer when Kieran asked why she lied to him.
"You acted like you didn't know anything Juliana, but you were laughing at me behind my back all along! … You're a LIAR! You do nothing but LIE!"
The Kitakamite boy felt pulses of guilt welling up inside of him, remembering the nasty things he used to say to Juliana. Realizing he still needed to apologize for all of that at some point, he decided to soften up.
"Juliana…? Did something happen with my sis?"
Juliana crossed her arms over the trading station and let her body slump downward, a morose expression on her face. She recalled Terapagos into his Ball.
Kieran decided to try to be patient with her and wait for her to formulate a response. After a minute or so, she threw her face down, sighed, and lifted it back up.
"A lot of things happened, Kieran… I tried to give Ogerpon back to Carmine, but she told me to keep it."
"Why?"
"I don't know… She said that she was, that she was a terrible partner to Ogerpon, and that Ogerpon would be a lot happier with me."
"What? Why would she say that!?" Kieran balked. "Ogerpon loved my sis like… right away! And every time I've seen them together, they always looked really happy. And Ogerpon's gotten so much stronger with Carmine!"
"That's what I said! But—but she wouldn't hear any of it. She basically shoved Ogerpon's Ball into my hands, and then… and then…" she trailed off.
Kieran was surprised to hear Juliana sniffling.
"She told me I would be better off without her too… That I should just be friends with you…"
"Huh!?" Kieran shouted. "That doesn't make any sense!"
Juliana's eyes gazed downwards at the floor.
"Everything's changed ever since that night at the party…"
"Oh! Right! The party!" Kieran recalled. "What happened when you two were alone? Did she finally confe—I mean… say what, she wanted to say to you?"
Juliana stopped moping and sharply looked up at him.
"…Wait. You mean, you knew?"
"Knew… what?" said Kieran, trying to evade saying something she might not already know.
"That—that, she was in love with me?"
Kieran scratched his head, feeling embarrassed now.
"I mean, yeah? Uhh… see that was, that was actually why she wanted to help set up the party. When I told her the BB League wanted to celebrate you becomin' Champion, she told me that she wanted to use the party to tell you how she felt and—and she even asked me if it was only for her to tell ya she loved you."
Juliana folded her arms up and started to rock in her seat, looking increasingly troubled.
"But I also… I don't know. I could tell she was into you for a like, a really long time before that."
Juliana's face fell. "…H-how long?"
Kieran hunched his shoulders up. "Well… she was already acting kinda lovey-dovey towards you when we were doing the trip in Kitakami." I guess that's why I was feelin' really jealous… "But, by the time you came to our school, I knew that she was uhh… what's that thing they say? Head over… Heelys?"
Juliana seemed to look very surprised, and then adopted a face, possibly of regret, as she fought against collapsing right there on the station.
Her lips trembled. "Was it… was it really, obvious to everyone… except me?"
Then she threw her head down all the way, and to Kieran's greater surprise, heard the sniffles grow louder.
"H-hey… umm, calm down!"
Kieran was flustered. He had never seen Juliana this raw and vulnerable before, and wasn't sure how to react to it.
He got even more antsy when he realized that they were beginning to attract attention from the other students in the clubroom, who were beginning to look over.
Ohhh… I really don't want to do this.
But, wanting to spare his friend from prying eyes, Kieran puffed up his chest and tried to give his best Champion's glare.
It seemed to work, as they all quickly averted their eyes and looked elsewhere. Kieran breathed a sigh of relief. Then he turned back to Juliana, trying to figure out what to say.
Kieran was no stranger to other people needing to comfort him when he gets emotional, but… he'd never had to try to do that for somebody else before.
"Umm, what did—what did you say to my sis after she… told you?"
Juliana slowly picked her head up. Her eyes were glossy.
"I told her—that I thought of her as being like my sister, and that I still wanted to be friends. But, but she kissed me…"
"…She kissed you!?"
Juliana nodded glumly, and then became silent again. She squeezed her own arms like she was frigid.
"I'm sorry, Kieran… You don't need to hear about my silly problems…"
"No, really, it's okay," he shook his head. "So then, if all that happened between you and my sis…" Kieran glanced at Ogerpon's Ball still placed in the slot. "I still don't get why… you were going to trade me Ogerpon…"
Juliana gazed sorrowfully at the Ball.
"I just… I haven't been able to get myself to let her out of the Ball ever since Carmine gave her to me. It just… it doesn't feel right for me to have Ogerpon at all."
"But… me?"
Juliana nodded. "You've loved Ogerpon since forever. You were the only one who understood her, realized she was never the villain of the story even before you knew her… You trusted her before any of us did."
She took a deep sigh and leaned back.
"I don't—I don't feel like I could do right by Ogerpon either… But you, you were the one who said you would treat her right… Wanted to be her friend since the beginning… And I'm still trying to make things right with you."
Her eyes started glistening again. "So this felt like the best way to start… by giving you what you've always wanted."
Kieran looked thoughtfully at the Friend Ball containing Ogerpon, contemplating everything Juliana said. There was indeed still a part of him that agreed with her, that having Ogerpon as his partner… had always been his biggest dream since he was little. He used to imagine the kinds of adventures they'd go on together, all the Pokémon and bad people they'd fight to protect others…
To go down in the legends himself, as a hero.
But of course, this was all based on his perception of the ogre from those legends. He fantasized all of these things, and took ownership of the ogre, without ever getting to know Ogerpon as an individual. And when he had the opportunity to do that for real… he completely blew it.
"Juliana…" he finally said. "I really appreciate that you want to give me Ogerpon. But… I can't."
"What do you mean?" It was Juliana's turn to be surprised now. "It's… literally what you wanted all along!"
"Yeah, I know it is. But I—I, I let my big obsession with Ogerpon turn me all mean and nasty. You and Carmine were right all along, when I was demandin' that Ogerpon go with me and love me the same way I love her, I wasn't thinking about Ogerpon's feelings at all. I was just bein' selfish and thinking about myself."
He looked at Juliana with a regretful face of his own.
"I already screwed up any chance I had of being friends with the ogre. I scared her real bad… She's probably still scared of me. If I took Ogerpon off your hands, told her I'm her new partner—I don't think she happy. She's really happy… with you guys, and I'm okay with that. I was—I was never worthy enough to be her partner. I barely even know how to handle the two Legendaries that I have now!"
Slowly but surely, Kieran's face began to look more certain, his words feeling just as reassuring to himself.
"So… I don't want you to give me Ogerpon. If Carmine told you she wants you to have it—to have her I mean, then you just hold onto her for me. Show her what true love and friendship was. In fact, it—kind of sounds like maybe you could use Ogerpon as a friend right now. Thinkin' about the ogre used to make me feel a lot happier whenever I was down. Maybe… maybe having her there by your side will do that for you too!"
"Kieran…" Juliana was silently impressed by this newfound show of maturity. "I don't know what to say…"
"Don't say anything. It's seriously okay. And—and stop being all obsessed with trying to make things even between us! I already told you I forgive you for everything. And… just hanging out with me, still being my friend after everything I did to ya, all those horrible things I said… That means a lot to me. Like, a whole lot. As long as ya keep doing that, then we're cool!"
He saw a little bit of a smirk on Juliana's face. Just a tiny one, but to Kieran it was a huge sigh of relief.
"And about my sis… I'm real sorry for everything she's puttin' you through right now." Kieran sighed heavily. "She's… always been like that, just… every time she gets too close with somebody, she just ends up—pushing them away, getting all mean to them on purpose. I don't know why. it's like—why is she so scared of openin' up to people?"
"What could I have said differently that wouldn't have led to this?" Juliana wanted to know. "I didn't want to hurt her… I just wanted us to be friends! Is there anything I can say to her now?"
"I don't think so… I'm sorry," he shook his head. "When Carmine gets like this—it's like she completely shuts down. She gets all up in her own head… even Gramm and Gramps can't get through to her. The only thing you can do is just… leave her alone until she knocks it off."
Kieran wanted these to be the words that would help her. But instead, Juliana still looked very uncertain.
"You can't blame yourself for not being in love with my sister."
…
"…but what if I am?" she mumbled quietly.
"Huh?"
"I was so focused on just trying to be friends with you and Carmine that—that maybe I didn't realize how much she was tearing my walls down… I never thought about it in any other way but imagining her as my sister. But, but…"
Juliana's lips started to quiver as they remembered the cherry-flavored lipstick that had collided into them.
"Ever since she kissed me, I—I don't know how I feel anymore. I didn't even hate it when she kissed me, so maybe, maybe I've had a crush on her too this whole time, but…" A tear fell down her cheek. "…But now I'll never know for sure."
Juliana retreated into herself, looking very depressed. Watching her leaving her emotions bare was making Kieran feel very introspective about his initial judgments of her.
I can't believe I ever thought Juliana was selfish… She really cares about her friends a whole lot… Like, probably way more than herself. If this is how she always gets when someone else is sad. It's like she doesn't wanna stop until everyone is happy.
I really wish there was something I could do to help…
Then he had an idea.
"Hey, Juliana!"
"Yeah?"
"How about… we trade our Pokémon another time, and instead you and I could… have a battle?" He flashed up one of his Poké Balls. "Y'know… to clear our heads?"
Juliana actually looked up at him a little more eagerly.
"Yeah… yeah actually! A battle would help a lot right now."
Kieran smiled, glad to have finally said something that helped.
Once they found an open spot in the middle of the Savannah Biome, Kieran was smiling a little less at being told what exactly Juliana had in mind.
"This sounds crazy, Juliana!" he said. "Both of us using our Pokémon we caught in the Great Crater!? Isn't that super dangerous?"
"That's why I think it'd be a terrific idea to do it out here in an empty spot like this!" said a substantially peppier Juliana, holding her arms out. "We don't have to worry about causing damage to an arena or hurting someone on the sides. Plenty of free room to figure out the scope of our new buddies' powers!"
"I guess this would be the best way to figure out how to make Koraidon and Iron Valiant listen to me better…"
"And I really want to crack the mysteries of Terapagos and how to use his Stellar power!"
"Tera-gos!"
Terapagos agreed, standing on the ground in front of Juliana. He leapt into the air and transformed into his thicker-shelled Terastal Form in a burst of light.
Kieran briefly glanced up at the Terrarium Core hanging over the entire dome. Once green from all the Terastal-infused soil and water Briar filled it with, following her further addition of crystals from the Area Zero underdepths it now shimmered out in bright rainbow colors.
"I don't s'pose Ms. Briar's told you about all the Pokémon around here that are suddenly Terastallizing into that Stellar Type and dropping those special Tera Shards…"
"Yup!" Juliana nodded. "That's why I want to get a leg up on mastering the Stellar Tera thing before everyone else here starts using it!"
"Well… okay." Kieran drew a Ball from his bag, still looking unsure. "As long as you're sure no one will get hurt."
"Trust me!"
Juliana and Kieran started their Battle, with Juliana using Terapagos and Indeedee on her side and Kieran choosing to start with Iron Valiant and Gliscor, for a Double Battle.
The two Trainers stood confidently… unaware that they were being watched from above.
The binoculars focused in on Juliana first, zooming in on her facial features. Then, they pivoted, scrambling to focus on either of their Pokémon, or on Kieran.
"Wow… Guess today isn't a light battle. You guys really want to recapture our glory days of last week, huh?"
Up on a pointed rock high up above the field where Juliana and Kieran were starting their battle, Carmine laid herself out on the edge, staring at them through the same binoculars through which she first laid eyes upon Juliana in Kitakami.
"I wonder who's the hero and who's the villain in this scenario…"
And just like that fateful day, she couldn't help but constantly train her lens onto the Paldean girl, noting the differences in how she carried herself now versus that naïve girl who had just arrived in Kitakami, who was marveling at all the new Pokémon with her wide, idealistic eyes.
Carmine grumbled every time she caught herself doing that again. Focusing on Juliana when she convinced herself she just wanted to monitor what they were doing and make sure Kieran wasn't pushing himself too hard.
She was so lasered into her spying mission and grumbling to herself that she didn't hear the footsteps slowly approaching her.
"So what, are we just playing stalker now?"
Carmine bristled at the sound of that voice.
"Just… just go away, creep," she barked quietly, not taking her eyes off. "I am so not in the mood today. Just walk away. Right now. If you want that stupid jawline of yours to stay straight."
"All I'm saying is, for someone who wants to forget all about Juliana, you sure can't keep your eyes away from—"
"Oh, wowwww, you're so asking for it now," said Carmine, slamming down her binoculars as she started swiveling her body around. "How do you even know about that, you slimy cretin? Did you convince Lacey or Amarys to blab it ou—"
…
"Hi, Carmine," Amarys said calmly.
She was standing on the rock too, just a couple inches behind Drayton. Carmine sneered puzzlingly at the two of them.
"…What kind of double cross ambush is this, Mar-y?"
"Hey, don't knock your pal, alright? Lacey sent the both of us here 'cause she's worried about you!"
Carmine scoffed. "I don't believe that for a second."
"Why not?" said Drayton, throwing his arms out.
"Because if Lacey really wanted to cheer me up, she'd never send the likes out of you to do it! Just looking at your stupid face is making me ten times more miserable."
"Drayton, it's fine," Amarys said to him, which confused Carmine further. "Carmine… I'm the one who's worried about you most of all. But I don't know how to express these emotions of mine very well, as you know. So I asked Drayton to accompany me. He may be very blunt, self-aggrandizing to a fault, and prone to irritating us all…"
"Wow. Never expected that kind of profile from you of all people, Amarys…" Drayton mumbled.
Amarys sighed. "But… that is why I believe in this case, he can express our feelings into words more succinctly than I can. So, please hear him out. And exercise your best patience."
Carmine groaned. "Only because it's you, Mar-y… Alright, turd-for-brains. Start spewing your shit."
"Look, you love this girl right, Carmine?"
"What's it to you?"
"Like, you love her more than anything, right? I knew you had a crush on her like, pretty much instantly, but I also realized without anyone even having to tell me that it's gone way far beyond that now."
Carmine shook her head, trying her best to contain her rage for her friend's sake. "Why do you even care?"
"I don't," Drayton sighed in annoyance. "Is that what you wanna hear? That I don't give a flying Magikarp about who my pals are in love with? Petty gossip ain't my thing anyway."
"No, just all-around pettiness!" Carmine retorted. She then looked off to the side sadly. "Who cares at all how I feel about Juliana? I told her how I feel—I even kissed her, not that that's any of your business, but she doesn't love me back. She said so herself. So that's why none of this matters anymore."
"Well, she's a liar," Drayton shrugged. "And a terrible one at that."
"You're the only one talking out of your ass right now," said Carmine, getting annoyed with him. "What makes you think Juliana's so stupid she doesn't know what her heart says?"
"Because I just do! That whole time I was conducting my grand master scheme, getting Juliana to knock your bro off his high horse crown, she practically never shut up about you! Like, I had to work extra hard just to get her alone from you because she's always stuck on you harder than three Magnemite on a Magneton!"
Carmine wanted to retort with something snarky, but… couldn't bring herself to.
"And I mean, if only you could see this dumb look she has every time you two are together and you're not looking right at her. How do I describe it? It's like, like—"
"…like she's staring at me? With this… big, goofy smile on her face?"
"Umm, yeah! Exactly like that! Woah, are we finally mind-syncing right now or something?"
Carmine remembered that as being exactly what that punk Arven said to her at the bottom of Area Zero. She sat up and huddled over her knees, stewing over this.
"Well… now she has Kiki to stare at. I think the two of them would be perfect for each other…"
"Her and Kieran?" Drayton twisted his nose. "Are you kidding me right now with that?"
Amarys looked confused. "I have never detected any sort of vibes between Juliana and Kieran I would describe as… romantic. Maybe I am misreading the interactions I've witnessed, but the way Juliana treats Kieran seems more akin to a sibling-like bond than how she interacts with you." She shook her head. "Come to think of it, I haven't seen any signs that she is attracted to males in the slightest."
"Well, she—she did say she's never liked guys…" Carmine admitted sheepishly. "But, y'know, I just think, maybe she just hasn't—"
"I think you're working overtime gaslighting yourself!" Drayton said sharply. "Face the reality, princess. Juliana ain't got the hots for Kieran! Her heart's only reserved for one person…" He pointed. "And that's you."
Carmine stood up now, getting angrier with all the psychoanalysis.
"Well… maybe I'm not just thinking about what our feelings are, but about what's best for everyone!" she declared. "I don't want to drive a wedge between us and Kieran anymore. I'm just—sick of people getting hurt because of me. I don't want it to happen again!"
"Now that's some bullshit."
Carmine flared her eyes at Drayton, shocked at his audacity.
"Drayton—" Amarys tried to interject.
"No, I'm serious! This is just more of you gaslighting yourself. You're not afraid of hurting anyone Carmine, you're afraid of being hurt!"
"Grrrr! What even gives you the RIGHT?" Carmine seethed.
"You think I don't know you, Carmine? Or that I don't care about you? Well, guess what? I do! I know what you're like. I've seen how you become all self-sabotaging whenever you're feeling pathetic about yourself. The truth is, you're afraid of your own feelings, Carmine. You have to stop letting yourself be consumed by what other people think about you!"
"How do you even know what's that—"
"Because I know that better than anyone, that's why."
Drayton's posture softened up considerably. His cool, swaggy demeanor started to deflate a bit.
"Look, you wanna know… what my biggest life mantra has always been? Like, the one quintessential Drayster truth?" He sighed. "There's nothing more important in life than being true to ourselves. The heart wants what it wants. And until you learn to accept that… you'll never be happy."
Drayton kicked his feet around a bit, and started gazing out over the savannah.
"Do you think… that my heart cared, that coming out to my family meant living with the fact that they would all be disappointed in me and never look at me the same way again?"
Amarys looked at him in surprise. Drayton had never shared his family history so intimately before, just… small hints here and there of discourse back at home.
"Like… yeah. It pains me a lot, that—that Grandpa has never once smiled at me behind that thick white beard of his ever since I told him. But you know what? It would've hurt a lot more if I couldn't let myself be who I really am around him, or anyone else."
Drayton turned towards Carmine again, with a face that seemed sad but also concrete. "That's why I don't need to make the grade for anyone, or care that some of you guys think I'm annoying. And it's definitely why I still smile my way through all the screams and insults you hurl at me! At least I know you're doing it out of love."
"I—I do not," Carmine grumbled, turning her face away. "Look, I'm sorry your family is stupid and thinks you're even more unsufferable than I do, but is there a point you're making to all this?"
"Uhh, yeah! The point is that I'm not afraid to be myself, and because I did all that and let go of other people's opinions, I'm so much happier! The people who really care about me… They're the only ones who matter. Anyone who doesn't love this face?" He pointed at his toothy grin. "That's their problem!"
Carmine just turned to Amarys with an unimpressed raised eyebrow. "Do you have anything to add to this, Amarys?"
Amarys adjusted her glasses. "The principle of what Drayton Is saying, I do agree with. I have noticed your tendency to resort to self-destructive behaviors whenever you feel insecure, Carmine. And that's what concerns me the most. I cannot forsee any outcome where continuing to isolate yourself like this will improve your emotional state."
"What she's trying to say is that we all hate seeing you kick yourself down for no reason, Carmine."
"…"
"And Juliana down there? I know she must hate that too."
"Of course. But she'll say anything just to try to make me feel better—"
"Yeah, no duh! Hello, Earth to Carmine? You there?"
Drayton started knocking on Carmine's forehead like a door, making her get really irritated and grab his hand away.
"It's because she LOVES you, you big dummy!"
"I—"
"I know I don't usually say things so irrational…" said Amarys. "But I also truly believe in the high probability that Juliana returns your feelings equivocally."
"…"
"Consider all the romance in the films we've watched, as well as all those tomes you gave me… my citation for this conclusion."
Carmine finally cracked a bit of a giggle at that.
"There she is, finally waking up! Just accept it, princess!" said Drayton. "You love her, and she loves you! So stop beating around the bush and just let your heart sing already!"
She marched over and faced the two of them head-on.
"You. I hate. A lot. More than anything."
"Because you know I'm right?" Drayton said smugly, crossing his arms.
"No, because you're just ANNOYING!" she seethed. "But Amarys…"
She reached over, and gave Amarys a big hug.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome."
"Heeeey, the Drayster doesn't get a hug for being the world's best mediator?"
"You're really pushing your luck right now," Carmine muttered angrily. "I'm just going to go before I give you a real big hug with my FIST!"
With that, Carmine sauntered off, now determined to join her friend.
"It's so good to see her finally using her brain and her heart!"
"Indeed," Amarys had to agree. "Your methods are… unorthodox as always, Drayton. But I am grateful for your assistance in making this heart-to-heart flourish."
"Awww! From the meanest thing you've ever said to me to the sweetest thing? You really are the complete package, Amarys!" he said, winking her way.
Amarys averted her gaze and instead looked downwards.
"…Hm."
Meanwhile, down below, Juliana and Kieran were now fully in the heat of battle. Kieran's Gliscor was putting on a show, moving with great agility to glide through the air and deliver fast blows against its opponents. And Juliana's Indeedee was just as on the ball with her own gifts of trying to establish a good defense.
But it was their newly caught creatures from Area Zero that were putting in the most effort.
Terapagos was using its signature move Tera Starstorm to really put in the hurt against Kieran's team, constantly raining down small showers of stars that beat down on poor Gliscor, boosted even further by Indeedee using Follow Me to deny Kieran's Gliscor any chances for revenge against its assailant.
"Man, you've really started cooking up good Double Battle strategies…!" Kieran complimented her.
"Thanks! But your team is still amazing at being able to adapt to any strategy we throw at you, Kieran! You've come a long, long way since the first time I battled you!"
"Ha-ha, thanks!"
Iron Valiant however, was refusing to go down without a fight. It used its twin-bladed pink scythe to slash all the comets Terapagos sent shooting its way, and charged forward with unflinching bluster.
It seemed to care not for Indeedee's Follow Me trick, unleashing a vicious series of slashes against the Emotion Pokémon without any hesitation.
Indeedee was seriously rocked by the attack and on the verge of fainting.
"Deeee…"
"Whoa…" Juliana uttered.
"This is what I've been talking about…" Kieran fretted. "I don't feel like I have much control over Iron Valiant right now. It's so brutal… It's like it doesn't even care about battling as a sport, or who its opponent is. It just wants to destroy!"
"Well, I see what you mean now…" Juliana gulped. "I'm surprised its Ability isn't Merciless!" she chuckled lightly. "But… that's why I think having Double Battles with it is a good idea! By having a partner that it needs to look out for as much as itself, maybe that's how Iron Valiant can practice learning to be a lot kinder!"
"I don't know…"
"Hmmm…" Juliana began to think. "You know, maybe what Iron Valiant needs to become more humble is to face a worthy opponent again…"
Kieran gasped. "You mean you're gonna…!"
Juliana smiled wickedly as she pulled out her Tera Orb.
Ever since the adventure in Area Zero, Juliana's Tera Orb has been constantly pulsing with a brilliant glow. Kieran had told her his was doing the same thing.
Briar surmised from reading Professor Sada's notes that being exposed so heavily to Terapagos's power must've permanently super-charged the trio's Orbs. All Juliana knew was that ever since then, she'd been able to Terastallize all she wanted without having to take her Tera Orb back to a Pokémon Center to recharge!
"Let's see some of that awesome power again, Terapagos!"
Juliana proudly tossed her special Orb over the Pokémon from which all things Terastal had first sprung from.
"TERA-PA-GOOOOS!"
Terapagos encased himself in crystals, and then burst out of them in a wonderful glee. Just like back in Area Zero, Terapagos materialized a giant blue orb for himself to ride on, as 18 different colored hexagons of all the different types circled around the turtle Pokémon and his unique Tera Jewel, and his whole body glimmered in dazzling rainbow colors.
"Wowzers…" Kieran marveled. "Even though we already saw Terapagos at its full Terastallized power before, it's still so unbelievably awesome…"
"Now… TERA STARSTORM!"
Terapagos channeled the power of all types into his Tera Jewel, and charged up with great crystalline energy unlike anything else, until eventually releasing it into a huge meteor shower of stars.
And unlike when he normally used the move, this time Tera Starstorm hit both of Kieran's Pokémon, knocking out Gliscor and severely wounding Iron Valiant, despite its best attempts to shield itself from the damage.
"Wowzers…" Kieran uttered for a second time, having to send out Politoed now.
"Wow! I really feel like you're going to be full of surprises for a while to come, Terapagos!" Juliana complimented her unique partner. "And that's not the only move we have in my arsenal, is it? I can't wait to see what it looks like when you unleash a huge Stellar-powered TERA BLAST!"
"TERAAA!" Terapagos cried affirmatively… and began concentrating.
Juliana couldn't keep a huge smile from appearing on her face, which Kieran noticed.
"Ha-ha… you're really excited about that move, huh?"
"Hmm? Oh, umm…" Juliana scratched her head, embarrassed. "Actually, I was—I was thinking about something else. I was thinking about Carmine."
"…Oh?"
"Yeah."
Juliana cupped one of her Poké Balls in her hand, appearing very thoughtful.
"You know, I've still been trying to figure out my feelings towards Carmine this whole time. Even while we've been battling. I want to thank you a lot for this battle Kieran! This really was—just the thing I think needed to clear up my mind and helped me realize it."
Kieran was genuinely curious now. "What did you realize?"
"Well, I… I still don't know how I feel about her," she admitted. "But you know what? I think—I think the next time I get to see Carmine's face again, at that moment, I'll really know for sure."
Kieran smiled back at her. Then he looked behind her and noticed something.
"Hey, Juliana…"
"Yeah?"
"Don't look, but—I think that moment is right now," he grinned.
Juliana turned around and gasped.
"…C-Carmine!"
There Carmine was, walking up to the pair. She heard Juliana's enthusiastic call, and smiled at her. She even gave her signature two-handed wave to Juliana, seemingly beaming more than ever before.
Juliana didn't know why Carmine suddenly looked to be in a good mood now, but she didn't care one bit and took off running to greet her.
"Carmine…!" she kept breathing out. Her smile grew wider and wider.
This was it. Juliana could feel her heart racing. All the wires in her brain finally reaching a conclusion. Truly… this must be…
"Ummmm? Juliana!?" Kieran suddenly called out.
Carmine looked ahead, and her smile suddenly turned into a panicked face, right as she was standing face to face with her crush.
"H-hey, Juliana!" she pointed. "YOUR POKÉMON!"
"Huh!?"
Unbeknownst to either Juliana or Kieran, Terapagos had started charging up a huge beam from the very moment Juliana had mentioned wanting to see him use Tera Blast.
All the differently colored hexagons spun around Terapagos, and his whole body bristled fiercely as a gigantic ball of pure Terastal energy grew huger and huger in front of him, even making the whole ground rumble.
Kieran watched the whole scene unfolding, becoming increasingly worried.
"It must've heard what you were saying… and got real excited to show off its full power!"
"Terapagos, STOP!" Juliana hastily tried to command him.
But nothing could be done now. Terapagos had charged up too much power, and it had to be released at once.
And so it was.
-SHOOOOOOOOOOOP-
A gigantic, blindingly bright beam of energy, more overwhelming than any Tera Blast anyone had witnessed before, exploded out of Terapagos's shell, razing the ground beneath it and charging straight towards Kieran's team.
"GALL-ROOH-boop!"
Iron Valiant quickly leapt away instead of trying to protect its allies, leaving Politoed standing there scared as an enormous wall of light descended upon it.
"Poleeeee!"
"NOOOOO!" Kieran shouted.
Without even thinking, Kieran heroically swooped in to push his Politoed out of the way—which caused him to take the full brunt of Terapagos's blast.
"AGGGGGHHHHHHH!"
"KIERAN!" Juliana gasped.
"KIKIIIIII!" Carmine screeched.
Kieran's body went flying through the air, and rolled over on the ground several times before coming to a dead stop several yards away in the savannah grass, a lot of which had been burnt to its tips by the blast.
His clothes were covered in small, materialized crystals… and Kieran himself lay motionless.
"TERAPAGOS!" Juliana angrily scolded her Pokémon. "I DIDN'T ORDER YOU TO USE TERA BLAST YET!"
"Tera-paaaaa…" Terapagos cried meekly.
"Just… r-return for now!" Juliana commanded, hastily recalling Terapagos back into his Ball.
She then sprinted over with the speed of an Espathra until she was kneeling over Kieran's body in full panic mode.
"Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, I'm so sorry, Kieran, I'm so sorry, please be okay…"
Juliana huddled over, unsure what to do, and her Indeedee rushed over too, trying to see if she could use one of her healing moves to help the boy.
But then Carmine dashed over and immediately thrust the both of them out of the way.
"GET AWAY!" she yelled.
"AHHH!" "INDEEE!"
Carmine then examined Kieran's body and turned him over, pulling up his arm.
"No no no no no no no! NO NO NO NO NO NO NO! PLEASE DON'T BE DEAD, KIKI! DON'T LEAVE ME!"
With huge heaving breaths and her eyes quickly watering over, Carmine squeezed her fingers along Kieran's wrist, trying desperately to find a pulse.
After a few seconds, she was able to breathe a light sigh of relief when she could finally feel it.
"OHHHH! Oh, thank goodness… Oh, thank goodness…" She huffed, her eyes like gushers now.
Just then, she also heard Kieran groaning quietly.
"Ugghhhh…"
"Stay with me Kiki, okay!?" she pleaded. "Just… just stay with me! I'm gonna get you some help RIGHT AWAY!"
Carmine lifted up her face, which was completely drenched with tears falling down so hard they were soaking her top, and screamed as loud as she could.
"AMARYS!"
Amarys and Drayton quickly ran back to the rock they met Carmine on, and both gasped as they looked down at the horrifying scene.
"DRAYTON! G-g-go get anyone you can from the nursing wing, NOW! HURRY!"
"I'm on it!" Drayton said with zero hesitation as he took off running.
"And Amarys, we're—we're probably gonna need your Flying Pokémon in order to take him there!"
"Ohhhhh…"
Kieran wasn't the only one groaning in pain.
When Carmine shoved Juliana to the ground, she landed hard on her bad ankle, the one that had gotten injured. And as she hobbled over to Kieran, it was acting up in pain all over again.
"Owww… owww… Owww—oh my goodness."
Juliana was immediately struck at Kieran's beaten state. Carmine had pulled up her brother's right sleeve to reveal his arm was red with blisters and deep bruises.
"Kieran… Oh my gosh, is he gonna be okay!? Carmine!? Do you, do you… do you t-think… that…"
Juliana trailed off as her eyeline drifted up from Kieran's to meet Carmine's…
…and she immediately wished it hadn't.
The huge, intense GLARE that Carmine was giving her was unlike anything else Juliana had ever experienced.
All those Titan Pokémon… The monsters in Area Zero… The fight against two echoes of crazed Professors seeking to destroy the world… None of that paled in comparison at all to such a look filled with malice.
Even the day Kieran had a scared Juliana pinned against the lockers with the bitterness in his eyes didn't measure close to being this terrifying.
Carmine's fists were shaking hard with rage.
She was baring down her teeth so hard they threatened to shatter.
And her eyes… her extremely terrifying yellow eyes. They pierced through Juliana's body, into the deepest core of her soul. They screamed an unclenching anger—no, they screamed out MURDER—in a way that made Juliana feel like she was already dead where she sat.
Carmine growled at her with all the deep cadence of a malicious Houndoom.
"WHAT… HAVE YOU… DONE!?"
Juliana, her entire body now trembling in fear and horror, fell backwards to the ground, wanting nothing more than for it all to come and swallow her up.