Several more weeks passed by at Uva Academy. With Juliana and her friends having just about completed all their goals, each of them was stepping forward into new horizons, figuring out where their own personal futures were going to take them.
Juliana's proposed hunt for the Treasures of Ruin turned out a fun and very fruitful quest. The four students each combed one of Paldea's provinces and were able to find all the stakes needed to open the creatures' seals and with their powerful teams, each of them successfully felled the Legendary Pokémon they found slumbering in the Shrines and caught it for themselves.
They all gathered to show their new companions to Raifort, who was impressed and extremely enamored to get a chance to see the Treasures of Ruin in the flesh. She awarded all of them special TM's and… also made a rather sinister offer.
"If any of you ever find that those beings are too much for you to handle…" Raifort pushed up her glasses, opaquing them. "I will gladly take them off your hands."
Penny later admitted, "I think she irks me out more than any of those beasts."
Luckily, the four of them also didn't face too much trouble for venturing into Area Zero against the League's permission, with Geeta and Director Clavell both recognizing the urgency of the situation. Arven was finally offered proper condolences for his father's death, with the promise that official matters would be taken care of very soon.
So that just left the group to figure out what they wanted to do for the rest of their Treasure Hunt.
Figuring that knowing more about where he came from would help him discover where he's moving forward, Arven decided to channel his grief into curiosity and dove into his father's history. This empowered him to realize his new dream of wanting to be a cook making healthy foods to heal people's problems the way he used the power of the Herba Mystica to heal Mabosstiff.
Newly resolved to attend classes and try to catch up on all his wayward credits, he begrudgingly accepted Nemona's offer for tutorship.
With Clavell's expulsion order nulled and Team Star encouraged to attend classes again, Penny worried about her friends and how they were adjusting to returning to school life. She and Juliana spied on each of the bosses as they made new friends, reunited with old ones, joined school clubs, and Atticus was even inspired to start his own larping club.
Pleased that they were all fitting in better than she thought, the Galarian girl settled into her new habit of juggling classes, work for the League, and making time for friends.
And catching up on all her favorite streamers like Iono and Nidothing, of course.
Nemona meanwhile, was still energized by the Academy Ace Tournament, a special event match-up the school had held shortly after her own exhibition match with Juliana spread fervor among the student body.
The Academy Ace Tournament had quickly become a regular event in the school grounds now, with Nemona participating frequently, and finding new opponents in the process who were actually eager to match her level now.
She had never been happier, feeling like she finally had the freedom to battle to her heart's content without holding back. She wasn't so dependent on Juliana to scratch that itch for her like before!
But that didn't mean that their bond had weakened any, or that Juliana wasn't still willing to give Nemona the kind of day she craved, like today.
"Ahhh, good stuff!"
The two friends stood in the middle of the schoolyard, having just finished up several hours of non-stop battling, with Nemona testing out different team members, and Juliana using the opportunity to try to discover her own Pokémon's ultimate strengths.
A light snowfall—now, determinedly a natural one—decorated the yard, and the girls' change in attire reflected the passing of the seasons. Well, Nemona's blue scarf did anyway.
"Yeah, that was fun! A real workout!"
Juliana had on the proper winter academy uniform, with black snow boots she'd purchased from one of the clothing stores in Levincia, and a hat to protect her head.
She had added a little of her personal flair back to her hairstyle, now incorporating both her Kitakami ponytail, with black ends sticking out of it, and the return of her front braid, tied with a small Iono Zone-themed hairclip in it.
The black ends had been Nemona's suggestion, while Arven personally told her he liked her hair with the braid when they first met, and the Iono hairclip was a gift from Penny.
Nemona punched the air eagerly with her hands.
"Gotta step up my game so I'll be ready anytime for that Academy Ace Tournament!"
"You mean the School Battle Brawl?" Juliana giggled.
Nemona's eyebrows furrowed. "I am still not calling it that. I don't care if even the registration forms are calling it that now! Freaking Arven…" she mumbled.
This only made Juliana chuckle more.
"I know I sprang my battle fever on you out of nowhere. Thanks for being up for it, JuJu!"
"It was no problem at all!" Then Juliana winced. "Also… no."
"Awwwww!" Nemona's arms flopped forward in disappointment. "Arven was so lucky scoring Jules so quickly. I AM going to find a cute nickname that meets your approval!"
She kept thinking hard about nicknames as the two headed towards the entrance.
"How about… Cool Jul!"
"Definitely not."
"Or… Liana!"
"…Mmm. I don't know."
"Ohh, come on, sister!" Then she gasped. "Ooh! We should call each other 'sis'!"
Juliana stopped in her tracks.
"N-no…" she stammered. "Not sis."
"Oh… sorry," Nemona apologized, not having expected to hit a nerve.
They walked on further.
"I got it! You could be just… J!"
Juliana chuckled. "…Maybe."
"I could even call you Miss J!"
"Nope, you lost me again."
The two of them laughed and chatted as they made their way down the halls.
"I'm still thinking about what electives I want to pick next semester," said Nemona. "The temptation to take even more battle arts classes is high, but… I do want to try out new things."
"Mmm," Juliana nodded.
"What about you, Jul…iana?" she asked, almost nicknaming her again. "What are you thinking about doing?"
"Ohh… I don't know," Juliana shrugged.
Nemona craned forward so Juliana could see her face.
"Well, you must have some idea of what you want to do next! You're clearly restless for more adventures!"
"How do you know that?"
"Your left foot is literally twitching right now!"
Juliana looked down at her foot. "Oh."
Nemona giggled.
"Well… I don't know," Juliana admitted. "It's just that going all over Paldea for the Treasure Hunt was so fun that—I don't know what else can compare. It's not like they would just let me challenge the Gym Leaders and take the League assessment over again, is it?"
"Heh! You wouldn't see me anywhere else if you could do that as many times as you wanted!" Nemona snarked. "Don't worry. I'm sure you'll figure it out. Just remember, opportunity doesn't always come knocking right at the door. Sometimes, we have to make our own adventures!"
"Heh heh, yeah. I guess I got so used to bumping into you and so many other people with quests for me that I just keep expecting to bump into someone else all over again! But what are the odds that—Hmm? Something wrong?"
Nemona was making an odd face as she looked ahead.
"That's Penny over there, right? … What's she doing?"
The Champion Rank Trainer looked forward and spotted Penny. She was hunched under the railing that overlooked the academy's main lobby from that second floor, and appeared to be sticking her head between the rails.
Juliana was used to the sight of Penny snooping around a few times now, and knew how to delicately approach. She quietly Krabby-walked over to the girl until she was right up behind her and then uttered…
"Whisper, whisper."
Penny was only slightly startled by the appearance of her friend and quietly huffed.
"You're way too good at finding me when I'm trying to be incognito."
"Color your hair differently if you're trying not to stand out," Juliana lightly teased. "Are we spying on more of your friends?"
"No. No, I don't feel like I need to keep following my buds around anymore. They seem to be taking to school life pretty well, I guess."
Nemona quietly came up behind them and scolded, "You girls have been eavesdropping on your friends? That's not very friend-like behavior!"
"I know, but… look!" Penny pointed.
Nemona peered over the railing and her eyes widened.
"That's… Arven!"
"With Director Clavell!" said Juliana.
"And… La Primera!?"
Arven was standing in the middle of the big lobby area with the two most important authorities of the academy alongside him. Director Clavell seemed to be eyeing his phone, and making a slightly sour face as he did so.
But Geeta was pacing restlessly, only stopping every few seconds to tap her foot all antsy. A bit like Nemona had just observed in Juliana, but more intensely. And her face read like she was trying not to appear irritated.
"Why does La Primera look so grumpy?" Nemona was bobbing her head all around, with a very worried look on her face. "You don't think Arven's… in trouble, do you?"
"I don't… think so?" Penny answered. "Surely if he was in hot water with Geeta of all people, they'd be talking about it someplace private. Geeta doesn't usually like to be where anyone else can see her having trouble keeping a lid on her emotions. For… as much as I've been around her, anyway. And Arven doesn't look upset or anything."
Geeta, whose fingers were moving about in wild ways, stopped pacing to address the two.
"I feel like I must apologize for all this trouble. Rika is usually very punctual. I would've expected her to take care of this matter before we'd arrived to Mesagoza. I feel terrible for both of you having your time wasted like this."
Clavell shook his head.
"It's quite alright, Ms. Geeta. Young Poppy's well-being is always important, and I know how closely Rika looks after her. I don't fault her for putting the child's needs first."
"Yeah, and…" Arven spoke up. "I don't have any more classes until the evening, so it's-it's alright."
Juliana thought Arven's voice sounded a little shaky.
"Yes, but… what of your other appointment, Director?"
Clavell took another look at his phone and grimaced.
"Well… as it is, he's running very late," he sighed. "I imagine we have an extra hour or so at our disposal until he arrives."
"I see." Geeta put her finger to her face. "You're surprisingly calm about this."
Clavell just sighed. "When you've known him for as long as I have, these things are just to be expected. In all sincerity, I'd be more surprised if he had made that first flight."
"Yes, well. With the new arrangements being set in place, I imagine I'll have to learn to deal with the man's erratic schedule as well, but it's important for both our schools to—"
Geeta was interrupted by the doors being thrust open, as the League's loyal chief receptionist Rika sprinted her way in. She was starkly out of breath like she had been running all the way up the stairs.
"Hey, everybody…! Sorry… about the wait." She took a second to collect herself. "But Poppy's cab is on the way to Medali now. I just saw her off. We're all good."
"Very well," Geeta nodded. "Perhaps we shall proceed now."
"Indeed. Master Arven?"
"Yes sir!"
Arven followed the three adults as they started walking up the stairs towards the left wing of the second floor.
Nemona started heading down the stairs from the right wing.
"Come on, let's see where they're going!"
Juliana and Penny started following her lead.
"I thought you just said you were against eavesdropping," said Penny.
"Well, yeah! But… but Arven's our friend! It's different. We have to make sure he's okay."
Penny looked bemused and quietly said to Juliana, "How is that any different from when we were spying on my friends to make sure they were okay?"
Juliana just smiled and shrugged.
The three friends stayed a distance behind until they watched Arven and his entourage make themselves at home inside an empty meeting room and close the doors.
For the next hour, they tried leaning against the walls in different ways to see if they could make out the conversation happening inside.
"Can you hear anything?" Juliana whispered to Penny, who had an ear up to the line between the doors.
She shook her head. "I can hear people talking, but I can't make out any words. How's come people always hear perfectly like this in the movies?"
"Well, they're thick doors, Penny," said Nemona.
Juliana decided to lean all the way down to the floor and try listening through the slit underneath the doors.
"I can… make out their voices a little bit," she whispered. "It sounds like they're each taking turns talking."
"Yeah, and I can hear papers shuffling around," Penny was pretty sure.
Nemona glued her head to the wall, still fretting.
"I just… really hope Arven's okay. I know he gets on my nerves all the time, but that doesn't mean I want to see anything bad happen to him."
"I mean… nobody's raising their voice, or sounds like they're upset…"
Juliana sat up with a worried look on her face.
"But that doesn't mean there's nothing to worry about. Arven's been trying real hard to scrounge up enough credits to graduate, right? What if… he has to repeat a year? Or, or worse. … Maybe they're just kicking him out."
Nemona gulped. "C'mon, girls, be… be more optimistic than that. … Please, for my sake."
Penny started contemplating something risky.
"Hey… I know I made a promise to the school not to go hacking into their networks again… but… if we really wanted answers, I could—go through their emails or look at Arven's record to see what's up."
Juliana and Nemona both frowned in response.
"That's a really bad idea, Penny," Juliana warned. "If they caught you doing that, then it'd be you getting kicked out of here."
"Yeah, but—I—I wouldn't get caught…" she mumbled.
"That's still a hard no!" Nemona sternly responded. "That's a major invasion of privacy—and I know this sort of is too—but I draw the line at digital espionage."
Penny leaned in again. "Wait… they're done talking, I think."
Nemona put her head to the door as Juliana put her ear over the slit again.
"Yeah, now I'm hearing footsteps. Wait, I think they're getting closer to the—"
Suddenly, all three of them were pushed to the ground as the doors swung open.
As they all picked themselves up from the floor, their blurred sight could make out a thin figure leering over them. Eventually, their vision cleared and they realized it was…
"Yup! Just as I thought!" Rika declared, glaring at all three of them. "We've got a bunch of eavesdroppers over here!"
"Uh oh…" Nemona mumbled.
Geeta stepped over and sighed disappointedly.
"From two Champion Rank Trainers no less… Not the sort of uncouth behavior the League endorses."
"Yeah, that's right!" Rika agreed. "At least with the hacker girl, I would expect something like this!" She waved her finger between Juliana and Nemona. "But you two are supposed to be role models! What if other students saw what you were just doing?"
"We're sorry," an ashamed Juliana murmured.
"Ummm, I'm sorry too, but… why am I being singled out?" said a slightly annoyed Penny.
Nemona stood up and bowed in disgrace.
"Please forgive them both, La Primera…" she said. "I—I was the one who said we should follow you to see what was going on. We were all just, just…"
"Worried about your friend?" Clavell stepped out to address them. "It's perfectly understandable, of course. Ordinarily yes, we do frown upon our students spying on each other instead of more direct communication but…"
He turned to Geeta. "We were standing out in the open with Master Arven for some time, so it makes sense that they feared the worst. And as it is, they bare the same secret that Master Arven did, having been down in Area Zero with him, so it's not as if they overheard anything that would be news to them."
Geeta pondered.
"Mm. I do see your point. Perhaps… it would've been better to include all of you in this conversation from the beginning. But, I was also concerned for young Arven's privacy."
"Wait, we're seriously letting them off the hook for this?" Rika said in surprise. "Because you all have even more things to answer for!" She turned crossly to the three of them. "You went into the Great Crater without the League's permission, didn't you?!"
The three of them all winced.
"Busted…" Penny moaned.
"That's right, you didn't think your ol' pal Rika was going to let that fly, did you!? Don't think you're not gonna get a scolding for that!"
"We're really sorry," said Nemona.
Rika grumbled. "Ohhhhh, sure! NOW you're sorry! I practically fell out of my seat when I heard about where you'd been! What do you have to say for yourselves?"
Geeta, herself feeling a little bit of the heat, gently placed her hands on Rika's shoulders.
"Rika… perhaps it was time you caught a cab to Medali and fetched Poppy."
"What!?" Rika sharply turned to her, flabbergasted that Geeta wasn't sharing her anger. "But—but…"
"I think Larry is probably tired of looking after her by now, don't you think?"
Rika groaned. She knew Geeta was right, but she also knew what her boss was doing.
"Alright, yeah, fine. I'll take my leave." She gave one more side eye to Juliana and her friends. "But don't think I'm letting this go! We're gonna have a serious talk one of these days!"
She made one last gesture of pointing her fingers from her eyes to the kids before heading off.
"…Please forgive Rika for that outburst," Geeta apologized on her behalf. "She won't say as much, but she was worried sick about you all when she'd heard what happened."
"Worry is really at the heart of where all of this is stemming from, isn't it?" Clavell concurred. "I think… as long as you all can promise that you'll never engage in this sort of behavior again, we can let bygones by bygones."
All three girls stood up and thanked Director Clavell for his merciful gesture. This drew the attention of a voice from inside.
"Guys?"
Juliana, Penny, and Nemona all peered into the room to see Arven looking at them all in surprise, still sitting down at the conference desk.
Clavell smiled softly. "…I think it would be in our best interest to let them be alone with their friend now, Ms. Geeta."
"…Are you sure?"
"I think we're just about done here, anyway."
"Well, yes. But…"
Geeta turned to face them with a concerned face. Juliana couldn't know for sure, but she thought La Primera was looking right at her.
Clavell whispered something into her ear. She considered it and nodded.
"Very well. You may all have this room to yourselves for as long as you need." She bowed. "My good graces to all of you."
With that, she and Clavell took their leave.
Juliana, Penny, and Nemona all filed in. Arven was very bemused to see them all.
"What are you guys doing here?"
"We were… worried about you," said Juliana.
"We saw you standing with the Director and La Primera in the lobby," Nemona explained.
"…We were afraid it was bad news or something," said Penny.
"Ohhh. Well, I'm glad to know you guys are concerned for me."
"Ruff-ruff!"
Juliana was a bit startled by that barking. It wasn't until Mabosstiff sat up and started ruffing that she even knew he was in the room.
Arven affectionately rubbed his buddy's head.
"But no, I'm fine… Everything's fine. Umm…" He swallowed a bit. "Actually, it's, it's good news. For you guys, especially."
"Huh? Why us?" asked Nemona.
Arven gave a small, almost somber smile as he gazed at all the papers and books left on the desk. Juliana took a look at them and realized they were Professor Turo's research papers.
Some of them spoke of things like the A.I. double and the time machine, as well as describing the Paradox Pokémon in greater detail than Heath's documentations did, which seemed to suggest they were materials recovered from his lab in Area Zero.
"Ummm, so sometime in the next week…" He closed his eyes and sighed for a second. "My dad's death is going to be announced officially to everyone. There will be an obituary for him in the papers and everything. None of us will have to pretend he's still alive."
Everyone gave mixed noises in response, partially relief and partly compassionate for Arven.
"Wow…" said Juliana.
"So they're just going to… tell the whole world? About what happened down there?" asked Penny.
"Well… yes and no." Arven gave Mabosstiff more affectionate rubs as he talked. "They're not going to say anything about us going down there, and everything like the time machine and the Paradoxes will still be a secret. It's just… They're going to have him declared dead. That's all."
"What are they going to say happened?" asked Nemona. She caught herself saying something she felt might be inconsiderate. "If… you're okay with that."
Arven shrugged. "More or less the truth, really. That… he was mortally wounded taking a…" He choked on his words a bit. "Taking a hit from one of the aggressive Pokémon down there."
"I see." Nemona folded her arms.
"At least they're not making up an excuse," said Juliana.
"Yeah… and I guess it makes sense," Penny reasoned. "Telling everyone the truth about that part will make more people want to stay out of Area Zero, even if they don't know what kind of Pokémon it was."
"Yeah, yeah," Arven nodded. "That's the exact same thing Ms. Rika said. That… it's going to help, keep people out."
Juliana looked at him with soft, sympathetic eyes.
"What about you, Arven? How are you feeling right now?"
"Me? I'm—I'm fine, of course! As always…"
Arven laid his hands on the desk and realized it wasn't worth trying to be tough.
"I guess it just… just…"
They all grew concerned when they saw a tear fall from his eye.
"I don't know why, but… somehow, it feels a bit more real now."
They were originally sitting across from him, but upon hearing this, the three girls got up and decided to surround Arven to comfort him. Juliana sat next to him and Mabosstiff while Penny was on the other side, and Nemona wrapped her arms around him.
"I'm sorry, Arven…" said Juliana.
"Me too," Penny agreed.
"It's going to be okay," Nemona said sweetly.
"I know it is. I just…" He wiped his eyes with his sleeve. "I just don't know how I'm supposed to keep a brave face around everybody. I mean, everyone in school is going to know the truth now, and they're all going to feed bad for me and I… I'm going to have to pretend that I just found out too when I've been dealing with this and holding it all in for weeks…"
Juliana and Penny looked at each other sadly, while Nemona began gently massaging his shoulders. Mabosstiff whined compassionately for him.
Nobody said anything for a bit, commiserating in Arven's grief.
Until finally, Juliana spoke up.
"The truth is… you're not pretending anything."
"What do you mean?"
"All of that pain you feel… It's real. It's all completely real in you. You're not faking how upset you are right now, right?"
"I guess not…" Arven smirked.
"And you're still not alone!" Nemona reminded him. "We'll always be there to support you, Arven. No matter what."
"I know…"
Just then, Mabosstiff perked up and nuzzled his head up against Arven, barking enthusiastically.
"Ha-ha! Gosh… I really am lucky to have all you guys. Seriously. You're all the best."
They all embraced in a hug.
"Awww, you're the best too, Arven!" said Juliana.
"We should do something to help Arven take his mind off!" Nemona decided after they split off.
"Ugh…" Arven groaned. "If you're seriously about to suggest a battle now of all times…"
"Hey! I'm not all about battling, you know!"
"Just mostly…" Penny muttered.
"How about we play some games?" Nemona suggested.
"You mean like… board games?"
"Yeah!"
Arven thought about it. "Yeah… Yeah, I could go for some good, light games to take my mind off, actually."
"Count me in too!" Juliana said excitedly.
"Great! I've got some up in my room! Be back in a flash!"
Nemona went up to her dorm room and quickly came back with several board games and party games for everyone to take their pick on.
Then the four friends all spent the next hour or so playing various games, laughing, and having fun with each other.
Penny looked at all the cards in her hands. She and Arven were now locked in the final round of a game that involved finding clues to guess a Pokémon in the other player's hand.
"Does it… have a horn?" Penny guessed.
"Yes. It does."
Penny placed down a card.
"Rhydon!"
"Nope, sorry!"
Penny placed her card in the center, and it was Arven's turn to guess now.
"Is your Pokémon… red?"
"It is."
"Ledyba!"
"Uhhh…" Penny looked at her cards. "He has to guess… the exact Pokémon, right?" she asked, looking to Nemona.
"Hmmm, well… He can use one of his Evo tokens there to—"
Arven gasped. "That's right! I forgot about those!" He excitedly pushed forward one of the two yellow hexagonal trinkets on his side. "Then it must be Ledian! Right?"
"… … …It's not," Penny finally said with a smug face.
"Wh—"
"I'm sorry," she giggled. "I just wanted to mess with you a bit."
Juliana couldn't help but bust out laughing.
Arven balked at the audacity. "That's not fair! She's doing psycho-whatzit warfare on me! You're the ref, Nemo! Throw her a red card or something!"
"This isn't a sports game, you knucklehead!" Nemona chortled.
Penny decided to make her move.
"Does your Pokémon… live in the Kanto region?"
"Urk! … It—it does."
"Ha!" She slapped a card down. "Nidoqueen!"
With an eyebrow cocked, Arven shook his head.
"Really!? Darn it!"
Arven put a finger to his chin and asked, "Does your Pokémon… have pincers for hands?"
Penny winced. "It… yeah, it does."
Arven coolly and silently slid a card across the table.
"Scizor."
Penny reluctantly nodded.
"Yeah. Yeah, that's it."
WOO-HOO!" Arven cheered, raising his hands in the air. "I'm the winner!"
"Darn it, I almost had you," Penny whined. "What was it anyway?"
"Ohhh… Pen, you're going to hate this."
He showed her the card that was face-down in front of him.
"NIDOKING!?" Penny exclaimed. "Ohhhh! That really isn't fair! I should get at least half points for guessing Nidoqueen!"
They all laughed at Penny's misfortune.
"If anything, I should be the one getting half points!" Juliana chuckled. "I don't know enough about Nidoking that I would've ever been able to guess that! I didn't even know what it looked like before this game!"
"But that's the fun of Who's That Pokémon!" Nemona proclaimed. "You get to learn so many cool new things about Pokémon just by playing it over and over!"
As the friends all laughed at the fun of playing games together, Arven sat back and took a deep sigh. For another moment, he allowed himself to reflect.
"You want to know something weird?"
They all turned to him.
"Is it strange that I feel… relieved?"
"Relieved?" Juliana repeated.
"Yeah. Like…" Arven folded his arms on the table. "Like I finally got the closure I needed."
Now they were looking at him curiously.
"I mean… you guys know I've had problems with my dad my whole life. Never feeling like he was there for me, never played with me or anything. I thought he was just obsessed with his research and never thought about me."
He gazed around at all the research papers and photographs on the desk, many of them now buried under game boards and card piles.
"But now I see what he was really doing… why he never came back… and how much he did think about me. And, I don't know." Arven's head slumped onto his arms. "I can't even make myself feel angry towards him anymore. I don't feel like there's any reason to."
"I guess that means you're healing," Juliana shrugged.
"That, or you miraculously just jumped to the fifth stage of grief, acceptance," Penny snarked.
Arven chuckled. He caught sight of another picture on the desk… and this time, he scowled a little.
"I mean, really, what's there to blame him for? At least he actually stayed in my life in some kind of way… unlike mom."
He placed a hand over this picture, and everyone leaned over to look at it.
Nemona was shocked.
"Arven, is… is that your mom?"
"Yeah…"
The picture, which seemed to be taken in the Great Crater, showed Professor Turo, smiling with a woman by his side. This woman was wearing a scientist's coat like him, but unlike his futuristic mesh suit, she had on a strange outfit that made her look like a cavewoman. She had striking cyan eyes and light auburn hair that she wore long and combed back.
"Awwww, she's beautiful!"
"She looks… more like you than your dad does," Juliana noticed.
"She is extremely pretty…" Penny commented. "You've never talked about your mom. … In fact, come to think about it, nobody has. But… she was a scientist too?"
"Yeah. She and my dad actually got their doctorates at the same time, and she was working as his assistant in the Great Crater. That's how they met, and I guess how they fell in love."
"But… then what happened?"
Arven just threw up his hands.
"She left. Nothing more to it than that. Like, just a couple years after I was born, I think. She just up and abandoned both me and dad, and neither of us ever heard from her again. The only thing my dad ever told me is that they disagreed over his research, and she couldn't handle it anymore. So yeah, bye-bye, mom. Thanks for nothing."
Everyone looked forlorn with this information. Nemona softly put her hand on his arm.
"I'm… sorry, Arven. I never knew any of this stuff. That's awful what she did. No wonder you've always been such a gloomy pepper."
Arven wanted to bristle at her using that nickname again, but instead it brought a strange laugh of levity from him.
"It's fine. It's really fine. Maybe someday, like many years from now, I'll track her down and have the chance to ask why she walked out on us when I needed her. But…" He took one last look at the picture and just tossed it back down. "Right now, she doesn't want to be a part of my life. So… I'm not going to waste any of my anger on her. I'm just going to write my own story from here on out!"
He said that with a newfound sense of resolve, pumping his fist out as Mabosstiff barked eagerly for him.
"Wuff! Wuff!"
"Awww! There's our Pepper!" Nemona clammed.
He groaned. "Clam up already, Nemo."
"Hmph," Nemona grumbled. "Throw the book at me for trying to lift you up."
Juliana and Penny laughed. The pair's seemingly endless barbs for each other had brought everyone back down to earth again.
"I'm proud of you, Arven," said Juliana. "You're really grabbing your own life by the reins now. I want to be just like you."
"Awwww! Thanks, little buddy," Arven reciprocated, placing his arm on her hand. "But that's not a hard dream at all! Look at you, being Champion and everything. You basically are your own gal now!
"Yeah!" Nemona agreed. "Nobody's pulling your strings, Juliana!"
Juliana giggled. "Well gee, I don't know about that."
"You're the protagonist."
"What?"
"You're the protagonist… of your own story," Penny clarified. "Sorry, I was—I was thinking in manga terms."
Juliana started giggling again.
"Hey Penny, why haven't you ever invited me to your room to watch anime together?"
Penny looked shocked. "You'd—you'd be up for that?"
"Of course!"
"Nobody's ever wanted to sit and discuss anime with me! Well, now that I know that, I could show you all my favorite sho—"
They were interrupted by a knock at the open door.
All of them turned to see Director Clavell standing there.
"Please forgive my intrusion," he said. "How are you all holding up?"
"We're doing fine," Penny answered.
"I'm feeling great, actually!" Arven assured him.
"Me too!" Juliana agreed.
"Me three!" Nemona chimed in.
"Good, good," Clavell smiled. He cleared his throat. "Miss Juliana?"
"…Yes?"
"I'm very sorry to disturb while you're having an intimate session with your friends. But… I'd like to borrow you for just a moment of your time. We have a visitor to our academy. And he'd very much like to meet you, if you wouldn't mind stepping into my office."
"Me?" Juliana pointed to herself in surprise. "Really?"
"Yes. It would appear he has something very special to discuss with you."
"Ooooh, our Juliana's becoming famous!" Nemona gushed. "It might be a talent scout for some super elite battling competition or something!" Then her face fell. "…But if that's the case, why didn't they ask for me?"
Director Clavell lightly chuckled. "I'm afraid it is something only open to Juliana."
Juliana stood up, feeling flattered and excited for whatever was in store for her. But then she looked unsure as she gazed at her friends, wondering if it was okay to exit this moment.
Arven, seeming to sense her hesitation, shooed her with his arms as he smiled.
"Go on, go! We're fine here!"
"Yeah, go see what kind of surprise you've got!" Nemona encouraged her.
"Thanks, guys. I'll be right back!"
Juliana quickened her pace as she made her way through the lobby. She looked upwards, trying to remember which floor Director Clavell's office was on.
She was so distracted trying to remember the way that she wasn't looking in front of her, and…
"Oof!"
…immediately bumped into someone.
"Great galloping Rapidash! Are you okay, miss?"
Juliana picked herself up from stumbling over and shook her head to recompose herself.
"Yeah… I am so, so sorry, mister! I wasn't looking where I was going!"
She looked up at her inadvertent human obstacle and was astonished to see a well-dressed man, tan-skinned, wearing a fancy white jacket with blue lapels over a black shirt and a red tie with a unique but strangely familiar looking badge on it. He also donned a fancy scarf and an even fancier white fedora.
"Ha-ha! Well, I won't hold it against you, kid!" he replied in a jolly manner. "Perhaps I'm the one who shouldn't be standing in the middle of an open atrium in an academy full of such busy students!" He took a good look at Juliana and tilted his head. "Hmmm…"
"Is something wrong, sir?"
"It's just, I know I've seen your face somewhere before!" The interesting man closed his eyes and tried to recall. "…Who were you again?"
"Ummm, well I'm… pretty sure I've never met you before, sir. But…" She bowed politely and introduced herself. "My name's Juliana."
The man's eyes shot up.
"Oooh, that's right, you're Juliana! Yes, yes, I know you!"
"You do?" Juliana replied, looking confused.
"Of course I do!"
He took off his fancy hat and flipped it in his hands a few times before draping it back on.
"Well then! Now that you're here, let's get going!"
Juliana stepped back. "Uhh—what!? Go… go where?"
She started looking around, wondering if she had just gotten into a conversation with an… unsavory character, when—
"Wait! Wait just a moment, Director Cyrano!"
Juliana heard Director Clavell's voice, and sure enough, she watched him frantically run down the stairwell to meet the two of them in the center, with Geeta following behind.
"Oh-ho! Hello there, Velly!" the man waved over to him. "You're as lively as always! Didn't realize you were here!"
"Of course I'm here! As director of this academy, where else would I be?" Clavell sighed as he marched up to the pair. "And do address me more properly while students are present, would you?"
"I thought you told me we were going to meet the Director and Juliana inside your office," said Geeta.
"Yes, I thought I had made that abundantly clear too."
"Did we? Must've slipped my mind!"
Clavell's unknown associate chuckled nonchalantly like it was no big deal. This just earned an expression of pure exasperation that Juliana had never seen from the Director before. She watched this whole exchange, still very confused at what was going on.
"Anyway, what's it matter? This is the student, right?"
"Well… yes, she is, but… I haven't even had the chance to explain anything to her yet."
Clavell sighed and faced Juliana.
"I do apologize, Miss Juliana. You must be terribly confused."
"Uhhh, yeah, a little!" Juliana awkwardly chuckled.
"This man here is Director Cyrano," Clavell explained. "He runs everything over at Blueberry Academy, which as you may remember is our newly christened sister school."
"Yep! That's me, Director Cyrano!" he nodded. "Err… did I not mention that?"
Juliana smiled sheepishly.
"One look at our young friend here makes me suspect you indeed failed to clarify that point," Clavell observed, pushing up his glasses.
Juliana put her hand out. "It's nice to meet you, Mister—" Then her eyes widened. "Wait… did you say—Blueberry Academy!?"
"Ha-ha, that's right!" Cyrano joyfully replied, accepting her handshake with such force Juliana felt her arm jiggling around. "I see my fancy school's reputation precedes itself!"
"Juliana is one of the students who got attend our schools' joint field trip to Kitakami," Geeta informed him. "The one that your Ms. Briar chaperoned."
"Is that right? Well, that means you probably met a couple of my exceptionally trained students!"
"That's right, sir, I did!" Juliana replied excitedly. "They're friends of mine!"
Clavell laughed boisterously. "Well, isn't that just tootin'! Oh, they're going to be so excited to see you then!"
"Huh?" Now Juliana was really confused. "Wh— what do you mean by that?"
"Perhaps I should explain," said Clavell, deciding to step in. "You see Juliana, my long-time associate Cyrano here is interested in accepting you as an exchange student."
Now Juliana really stepped back. Her eyes went wide as saucers.
"Wait, WHAT!?" she exclaimed. "Yo—you want me, as a student at—at Blueberry!?"
"Hee-hee!" Cyrano grinned. "Wouldn't have flown all the way here from Unova if I didn't!"
"Speaking of which… Why did you request Miss Juliana specifically to take part in your exchange program?" Geeta wondered.
"If I'm understanding correctly, her name came up on one of your student surveys, yes?" said Clavell.
"Yes, yes, that's right! Now I remember!" Cyrano replied. "Indeed, one of our own students submitted Juliana's name here as a recommendation for the exchange program! Once I saw that, and got your glowing recommendation of her over the phone Velly, I was more than happy to accept her!"
Juliana gasped. "Wait, so… somebody at Blueberry asked for me to come?"
"What was this student's name?" Clavell opined.
"Excellent question, Velly! It's very simple. You see, it was none other than… than…" Cyrano took off his hat in that moment and tried to think. "…Uh, hm. Who WAS it that sent that in?"
"Don't tell me…"
"I'm sorry, Velly. I've plan forgotten what their name was." He turned to Juliana. "But you just said that you've got friends over at my Blueberry Academy, right? Then I'm sure we can assume it was one of them!"
"Y-yeah, must've been!"
Juliana immediately rattled through her brain, wondering who it could be that wanted her at Blueberry all of a sudden. She forced herself to remember her last encounters with both Carmine and Kieran.
Kieran… Well, to say that they had parted on bad terms would be the understatement of the century. The last time she saw him, he was so upset about Ogerpon choosing Carmine instead of him that he ran away crying.
Carmine's letter didn't mention him at all, which Juliana remembered she found surprising. She had no idea at all what he was up to now, or how he was feeling after all this time. Could he have asked her to come because he felt guilty and wanted to make amends for everything that happened?
But then there was Carmine.
Juliana remembered how upset Carmine had been that the two of them had to say goodbye. She was holding back from crying the whole time they were saying their farewells to each other. Juliana remembered how gut-wrenching it was…
And she had missed both of the siblings quite a lot since then, with the smallest things making her think about them. Especially Carmine.
That's right… Juliana remembered. Carmine wanted to tell me something, just before we both had to leave…
Remembering that moment, she also realized the key to everything: Carmine had also told Juliana she wanted her to visit Blueberry Academy as soon as possible!
"There's tons of strong Trainers! You'd fit right in! You won't regret it!"
And her brain danced around even more realizing that "soon" had just turned into right now!
"…You still with us, darling?"
She was brought out of her thoughts by Cyrano's voice.
"Uhh, yes sir! Sorry!"
"Well, as I was saying... Now that I've gotten to meet you for myself… yeah, I've got a good feeling about you."
"Oho! I'm glad to hear that, Director Cyrano!" Clavell was very pleased.
"I'd just love for you to visit my school, Juliana!" Cyrano addressed her. "You would be a breath of fresh air, so to speak!"
"You… you really mean it?" Juliana's heart was beating really fast now and she didn't know why.
"Well, if anything can be said about Director Cyrano, it's that he has a keen eye for talent!" Clavell vouched. "I would be thrilled if you went to Blueberry Academy and got to know the students there."
"As would I, very much so," Geeta chimed in. "Our partnership with Blueberry Academy is still in its junior stages, and having a Uva student, a Champion Rank one no less, join among the classes at Blueberry would be immensely helpful in strengthening the bond between our two schools."
Clavell cleared his throat. "But only if you're willing to, of course. Think of it as a chance to further expand upon your Treasure Hunt!"
"There's plenty to learn about battling over there, and plenty of students who'll want to battle ya!" Cyrano added. "We've even got our own little BB League, with an Elite Four and everything!"
"Oh my gosh…" Juliana was cupping her hands to her cheeks, struggling to contain all these feelings building up inside her. "I—I can't believe this is happening! This is the adventure I've been hoping for! More battles!? Another Elite Four!? Of course I'd love to go!" she said very enthusiastically.
"STUPENDOUS!" Cyrano exclaimed in delight, startling poor Clavell so much his glasses almost popped off his face.
Geeta stifled another soft giggle in the background.
She said quietly to Juliana, "I've only met Director Cyrano over video calls thus far, and heard stories about him from Director Clavell over the years. I must admit, watching the two of them interact is… unique and fascinating."
Juliana giggled back.
"Well, then…" Clavell cleared his throat yet again. "Now that we know this is happening for certain, it's time we start talking about the logistics of everything. We'll still have to contact Miss Juliana's mother for permission, which I have no doubt she'll give, and—"
As the adults conversed over all the boring matters of this exchange, Juliana stood there and couldn't help gushing to herself.
I'm going to Blueberry… I'm really, really going there… I'm going to have awesome battles, and see my friends again! I can't believe it!
Even this morning, the odds that she was ever going to get the chance to reunite with her Kitakami friends, especially this soon, seemed slim to none.
But just like that, it was suddenly a reality. She was going to see all those faces again!
She imagined Kieran, how shy and quiet he had been when she first met him, always hiding behind those thick black-and-purple bangs, and yet he eagerly wanted to become friends with her right away and they got to explore so many cool places together.
She remembered Ogerpon…
That's right! I get to see Ogerpon again!
Juliana remembered how Ogerpon was one of the cutest, most adorable little creatures she had ever met. The small Pokémon had been watching over her ever since she stepped foot into Kitakami, and it—no, that's right, she!—entrusted Juliana to return her beloved Teal Mask to her.
And together with Carmine, they had a grand quest to retrieve the other Masks, defeat those Lousy Three, and clear her wrongfully vilified name! It was one of the most thrilling experiences of her life, even rivalling the mission in Area Zero!
And then there was Carmine…
The tall. Pretty. Gorgeous. Gorgeous? Well, yeah… And so very unique girl. Kieran's extremely protective sister with an explosive temper.
She seemed so mysterious and stand-offish at first. But Juliana was so determined to break down her walls and become her friend, that Carmine revealed herself as someone actually filled with love and compassion for others. So much so even Ogerpon recognized it in her.
Her beautiful black-and-red hair. Those striking yellow eyes, still the most captivating eyes Juliana had ever known. That beauty mark Juliana only noticed right at the end of their trip.
And that one smile of hers…
It didn't happen often, but when it did, she would beam at Juliana in just the right way that Juliana remembered it made her heart feel all warm and fuzzy.
Her sweet, nurturing smile came into Juliana's head all the time, almost as if she was imagining it every time she started feeling down.
Just picturing it now was making those feelings rise up in her again. What was it about that girl, that made her feel so many wonderful things that even the rest of her friends didn't quite match up to?
The rest of my friends…
Then her heart began to slow down. The gushing stopped.
And Juliana's feet landed on earth again, as she remembered what she had just come out of.
Arven. Nemona. Penny.
Her friends, all dealing with their own issues… All dependent on her to cheer them up and help them out in their goals.
Carmine and Kieran hopefully still had each other, and Ogerpon too.
But my friends here… I even told them I'd be right back.
Juliana's gut began to sink.
…What kind of awful friend would I be if I said that and then headed off to a whole nother region?
"Wait!" she suddenly called out.
Cyrano, Clavell, and Geeta all turned to her, surprised by the sudden outburst.
"I… I can't go."
Their eyebrows all flared up.
"I… beg your pardon?" said Cyrano. "Are you sure? An opportunity like this won't present itself very often, y'know."
"Ummm…"
Juliana hated with every fiber of her being that she was about to say this. She knew what direction her heart wanted her to go in. But in her mind, she was completely torn up.
"Mr. Cyrano… Thank you so much for offering this opportunity to me. I'm really, really touched that you want me at your school. But… it's just—my friends…"
Her head sank down. Clavell perked up. In that moment, he seemed to understand.
"Of course. You'd be a whole world apart from your friends, who I know you've come to treasure dearly…"
"That's right." Juliana's eyes started to water as she forced herself to look up. "And they need me. I want to go. I want to really, really badly… but, I can't abandon my friends. I'm sorry, Mr. Cyrano. But I'm needed here. I hope you understand."
A huge part of her still felt like she was making the wrong choice, but Juliana stood firm. She knew there would be plenty of time to regret this later.
"My darling…"
Cyrano took off his hat again… and looked at her with a proud smile.
"Of course I understand. Nothing in this whole, wide world is more important than our friends and the bonds we make with them. Isn't that right, Velly?"
Clavell cleared his throat once again. "Yes. Quite."
Smiling at Juliana, Cyrano continued. "It's a real shame. I was over the moon and back to have you come join us at my Blueberry Academy, Juliana. But… it's your own life, and I just want everyone to do what makes them happy."
"Indeed," Geeta admitted. "It's always vital for each of us to take stock of what's important to us, and I'm glad you're doing that, and continuing being a role model, Champion Juliana."
"I hope you and your friends continue to have a bunch of AMAZING adventures here at this Academy!" said Cyrano.
Juliana smiled, glad to know Cyrano wasn't upset.
"Thank you, sir. Trust me, I will."
"HOLD UP A SECOND!"
All of them were startled by that sudden yell. Juliana was shocked even more to see Arven run up into the center of the lobby.
"I better not have just heard what I thought I did!" he barked, shaking his fists and seething.
"Huh? Arven?"
Then she noticed Penny and Nemona both run up behind Arven.
"Guys? What are you all doing here?"
"I'm sorry…" Penny uttered, out of breath. "I guess we're really bad at not spying on our friends…"
"But it's a great thing we did!" Nemona declared. "Our sweet friend Juliana is about to make the biggest mistake of her life! Aye-yi-yi, girl!"
"I'll say!" Arven was still simmering in disbelief. "Getting to go to a whole different school, learning a bunch of awesome new things and having wonderful new experiences for yourself! And you're going to turn all that down!? Are you out of your mind, Jules!?"
"Are uhh… are these the friends she's talking about?" Cyrano quietly asked the two Uva faculty heads. They both nodded to him.
Juliana was flustered at this unexpected reception from her friends.
"But—but… I can't leave you guys behind."
"I don't believe what I'm hearing right now!" Arven snapped back. "Don't you remember everything I told you when we were in that one Titan's den? About how I want you to stop moping and thinking you're being selfish for wanting to go on your own adventures? You've got your own life to live, little buddy! It's time for you to be the commander of your own ship!"
"And what an adventure!" Nemona raved. "I mean… Blueberry Academy!? I'm so jealous of you right now, Juliana! Remember, I told you the students there are on a whole different level when it comes to Pokémon battles? And there's so many amazing Pokémon over there, some of them are literally stronger than steel!"
She started shaking an overwhelmed Juliana by the shoulders. "You spend a whole semester over there, and come back, and I'm going to have an even STRONGER rival for life. I'm probably going to have to rise to meet your level!"
"Okay, student council girl. Maybe let the poor girl breathe for a minute there."
Juliana released herself from her excited friend's gasp and laughed, more so to regain herself than anything.
Yeah, I—I get it, Nemona! I get it! But… what about you guys?"
"Let me worry about myself for a change!" Arven responded. "I told you, I'm feeling great now! I'm going to put the past behind me and just focus on myself. I've got a bunch more classes that are going to take up my whole mind now and you know what? I'm… I'm actually excited for it!"
"Yeah! And I'm totally doing fine too!" said Nemona. "I know I told you about how starving I was for battles before you came around, but now that the Academy Ace Tournament is a thing—"
"You mean the School Battle Brawl?" Arven smiled like a troll.
"You, shut up. Now I'm getting all the battles I could ever want, and so many more students here are serious about levelling themselves up and having fun battles! I'll be just fine! In fact, I'll be spending all this time training myself up just to take you on again when you do come back!"
"And… you, Penny?" She turned to her last bespectacled friend. "What about our anime night?"
Penny just giggled. "My anime shows aren't going anywhere. We can do that as soon as you get back. I'll be fine. It'll just be me and my Veevees. Oh! And my friends at Team Star, of course!"
"Gee…"
Juliana really didn't know what to do now. Her heart was feeling heavy, and she felt very conflicted.
"I still, really have to think about this…"
Penny walked forward and decided to speak up more.
"Can I… say something, if it's alright?"
"Of course," Juliana nodded.
"That friend of yours," Penny recalled. "The one you talked about on the night that we battled. Isn't… she one of your friends over at Blueberry?"
Juliana had a big gulp in her throat as she nodded.
"That's right… she is."
"Oh, yeah! Carmine!" Nemona remembered. "See, I remembered her name this time!"
"You said that you guys lost contact after the trip in Kitakami ended," Penny reminded her. "And you said she's been through a lot of bullying herself and that you want to know she's okay. Right?"
"Yeah…"
"Well, isn't this the perfect opportunity for you guys to catch up?" Penny smiled softly. "Y'know, I don't know if it's obvious to anyone else, but… it's been pretty clear to me that you miss her a whole lot."
"Really?" Juliana replied. "That's… that obvious?"
"Well, you did gush about her a lot when you came back from Kitakami," Nemona recalled.
"Yeah and… you looked so happy when you were reading her letter," said Penny. "You were actually… kind of adorable about it! I almost thought you were in love or something."
Juliana reared back. "Whoa! I'm—not in love with her! I just… You're right. You're both right, she's probably as big a friend to me as you guys are. And I… I really have missed her a lot. Her, and Kieran… and Ogerpon too."
"Then no more buts!" said Arven. "You're going on that trip, Jules! I won't ever forgive you if you don't!"
"Yeah! Me neither!" Nemona chimed in.
"I mean… It's still your choice and all, but yeah…" Penny timidly replied.
Juliana stood there for quite a while, her mouth agape.
"Guys…"
Then, she began huffing. And to her friends' distress, she balled up her hands over her face as tears began to stream down.
"Aye!?" Nemona shouted.
"Hey, we're sorry…" Arven immediately apologized. "We didn't mean to make you feel so pressured…"
"No, no, it's okay," Juliana blubbered, smiling through all the tears. "They're happy tears. I love you guys so much. You're the best friends I could ever, ever ask for."
Geeta thought quickly and dug a silk handkerchief out of her pocket for Juliana to blow her nose with.
"Thank you, La Primera."
"My pleasure."
"You guys… I helped you out so many times, with the Titans and with Team Star… and now you all just saved me." She burst out a crying giggle. "You're right, that would've been so stupid of me and I would've regretted it forever. I… I want to go to Blueberry Academy. Of course I do!"
"Finally! There's my best friend!" Nemona beamed. "Now say it again! With more gravitas!"
"I want to go to Blueberry Academy!"
"Not just want! You ARE going to Blueberry Academy!" Arven commanded. "And that's final!"
"I AM going to Blueberry Academy!"
"Again! LOUDER!" Nemona yelled out, so loud she was beginning to attract attention from the other students nearby.
Juliana, all bursting with energy like a bottle rocket about to explode, swiveled back around to Director Cyrano and proudly declared…
"I'M GOING TO BLUEBERRY ACADEMY!"
"YES!" Nemona screamed out.
"Wooo-hooo-hooo! What a show!" Cyrano gushed, ready to burst with energy too. "Now we're in business! I owe you kids a million!" he raved to Juliana's three pals. "Thanks for setting your friend on the right track! Why don't we keep this excitement train a-flowing and head over there right now!?"
"Wait, really!?" Juliana gasped out in excited surprise. "We can really leave right now!?"
She quickly turned back to her friends.
"I mean, as long as you're all cool with that…"
"Of course we are!" Arven said, beaming a wide smile.
"Now stop arguing and just go already!" said Nemona, pumping her fist in the air.
"Yeah, just… just go have fun," Penny smiled. "You're so incredibly lucky, Juliana."
Geeta and Clavell's faces however, flew up in alarm.
"Now—now wait just a minute!" Clavell jumped in. "You're talking about leaving THIS VERY MOMENT!? What about everything we just talked about, with getting her mom on the phone, and accommodations, and Juliana needing time to pack…"
"Not to mention all the paperwork that needs to be completed," said Geeta.
"We can take care of all that paperwork on the way!" said Cyrano. "That's what video calls are for, right? And I thought you just said her mom will be cool with it!"
"She will! My mom's awesome, I know she won't have a problem!" Juliana piped up, still energized. "A-and packing won't take me very long at all! I'll do it super quickly and be ready to go!"
"Ya see, folks!? I like you a lot, Juliana! Finally, someone who flows at my speed!"
Geeta put a finger to her face as she huffed indignantly.
"This is all so very unorthodox…" she grumbled. "But… if Juliana is insistent on it and serious about being ready to go, then… fine. I was hoping for at least a week to get all of the documentation sorted out with this exchange program and how crediting is going to work."
Taking a big sigh, she placed one hand on her hip and worked to maintain a calm face.
"It shouldn't be too much of an issue if I can put my top man on it. Larry is very diligent with tight deadlines. I'm sure he won't mind all the extra work. Very well."
"YAAAAY!"
Much to Geeta's surprise, Juliana embraced her in a huge hug while jumping up and down like a little girl.
"THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!"
All Geeta could do was chuckle and pat Juliana's head warmly. At this moment, the girl charmingly reminded her much of Poppy.
"Hey, how about some love for your pal Arven!?"
"Oh, guuuuys!"
"BRING IT HERE!" Nemona shouted, holding her arms out.
Juliana, gasping in excitement and bliss, let go of Geeta and ran over. She practically glomped all of her friends as they embraced her in a huge group hug.
Geeta tried to wipe off the excess from her coat as she turned to Clavell.
"I don't know about you, but I'm going to need more coffee."
Clavell chuckled with a light grin. "I did warn you about Cy and his eccentricities."
"This will be quite a partnership…"
Juliana had tears streaming down her face again as she found herself surrounded by all her happy, loyal friends.
"You guys are the best. I'm going to miss you so much."
"Friends to the end?" said Nemona.
"Friends to the end!" Juliana laughed. "I love you all to the moon and back."
"Just don't forget about us," said Penny.
"What, are you kidding? Never!"
"You should write back to us every once in a while," said Arven.
"Or just call us!" said Nemona. "You have all our numbers, right? I want to hear about all the super-strong Pokémon you meet over there!"
"Oooh! And let me know if you find any really super-duper cute ones," Penny chimed in.
"Forget about strong or cute, let me know about the strangest ones you find," said Arven. "I love Pokémon that are weird little dudes!"
"Of course, of course!" said Juliana.
Juliana's mind was a whole jumble of emotions now. On the one hand, she wouldn't be seeing any of her Paldea friends for who knows how long. She'd be in an unfamiliar new land, surrounded by students she doesn't know and Pokémon she's probably never met before.
But…
She was about to see all of her other friends again.
Kieran… Ogerpon… Carmine.
They were all waiting for her.
And Juliana smiled from cheek to cheek. She could hardly wait either.
Juliana's face was also smiling from cheek to cheek on the photo taped to the wall.
The headline on the cut-out article read "UP-AND-COMING UVA PRODIGY SETS NEW RECORD FOR YOUNGEST TRAINER TO ACHIEVE CHAMPION RANK IN PALDEA".
-BAM- -BAM- -BAM-
"Huff… huff… huff…"
There was a red circle drawn on the clipped article with marker, with red arrows pointing to Juliana's face.
These arrows also covered the photos taped around the article… the different pictures Juliana and Kieran had snapped together while standing in front of the signboards in Kitakami.
-BAM- -BAM- -BAM-
"Huff… huff… huff…"
And Kieran was in the center of the room, beating away on his punching bag again.
Between jabs, he would shoot another glance at his makeshift wall of Juliana over his desk. His face was sweating, and red. Not just from exhaustion… but from his anger.
"Huff… huff… You just keep on getting… everything you want…" he sneered. "While I'm… constantly… getting… NOTHING!"
With huge force, he slammed his knuckles hard into the bag. The bag finally couldn't take any more abuse, and ripped a hole, causing grits to spill out onto the floor.
Kieran groaned in frustration.
"Now look what you made me do."
He walked over to his desk and searched through his drawers for masking tape. This brought him face-to-"face" with Juliana, and his eyes pierced into her image.
He started snarling so hard he was gritting his teeth.
"I can't wait to see you again someday… just so I can wipe that smile off your face."
NEXT TIME… A NEW BEGINNING!