In which the final event of one path is done.
As Florian prepared for his final Titan battle, he had a special talk with his bird.
"I know I named you for your appearance," he said, getting a silent stare in response. "But this Titan lives in the middle of a lake, which means it's probably a Water-type. I can't use Scarlet or Mudsdale. I'll be relying on Lloyd for as long as I can, but that last Titan was a Fighting-type and took him out, so I want to be prepared." He held out a small tub of yellow nectar. "I need you to change to an Electric-type."
Edelgard looked at the nectar, then back at the boy. "I prefer the red stuff."
Florian groaned like he could understand it. "I know," he insisted. "But I promise, you'll change back as soon as this Titan is defeated, and you won't have to change again until I take the Gym challenge next year."
She tilted her head. "Promise?"
Florian pulled out a second container, filled with her preferred red nectar. Satisfied, she hesitated for just a moment before opening her beak and swallowing the yellow stuff.
The form change made her more irritated. Florian laughed out loud and got a little zap for it.
Casseroya Lake was filled with strong Pokémon. If he hadn't gone Titan hunting with Arven, Florian would have avoided the place. Now he stood in one spot, watching wild Pokémon come charging right at him, not bothering to notice that the previous one had gone off in defeat.
Or maybe they had, and it was a contest to see which Pokémon could chase the boy off their territory. Either way, Florian had a seemingly-endless supply of opponents without having to move.
Eventually, though, Arven called.
"Hey, little buddy," he said, and Florian looked away as Gardevoir Moonblasted a Sliggoo to focus on the phone. "So it's said that there's a Titan lurking around here, but no one's ever seen it."
"So how do they know it's a Titan?" Florian asked, and Arven laughed.
"Who knows? Maybe they just found a fossil." He certainly seemed to know how to get his friend's attention. "We're not necessarily looking for the Titans. We're looking for their Herba Mystica stash."
"We need them to break down stone walls for us to get to that stash," Florian reminded him.
"There's that." Arven didn't seem to mind. Maybe he knew Florian was going to do most of the work again. "Are you ready?"
"Nope." But Florian grinned. "Let me make a few sandwiches to get my team back in shape. Then we'll go Titan hunting."
Gardevoir made a happy sound. Florian picked up her request for something spicy.
Florian made a ham sandwich, because it wasn't like he was the world's greatest chef.
Florian stood at the edge of the lake, staring out at the islands in the distance. If there was a Titan, it would be around here.
The problem being, how would he get there?
He trusted Gardevoir with his life. He could easily get her to levitate them over the lake and onto the island. But what if she ran out of telekinesis stamina and they fell into the lake? They could probably fight whatever was in there, but fighting while swimming was difficult. And Edelgard couldn't fly him over.
There was a sudden splash in the corner of his eye. To Florian's complete lack of surprise, it was Juliana and Koraidon.
"Ok," Juliana said as Koraidon floated in the lake. "Training for the last Team Star boss should probably not include how far you can glide."
"Juliana!" Florian complained, and the girl looked around, startled at the sound of her name.
Luckily, she recognized him this time. "Hey, Florian! Looking for more Titans to fight?"
"There's supposed to be one around here," Florian admitted. "Want to join us?"
Juliana thought it over. Then she shrugged. "Might as well," she decided. She nudged Koraidon forward, oblivious to how he was lying sprawled on the water's surface. "Come on, Koraidon! Let's go fight some Titans!"
Koraidon didn't budge.
"I'll make you a sandwich," Juliana said, and Koraidon, pleased with the bribe, let Florian climb aboard and approached the shore of the smaller island, where a bunch of sushi-like creatures waited, chatting happily.
His Rotom had identified these weird sushi-things as Tatsugiri, a Dragon/Water type. The biggest one - a large orange one - was only as big as Florian's arm. The next biggest one was about an inch or two smaller. Unlike the Tatsugiri he'd encountered while training early in his lake adventures, none of them were running from him, but they weren't running at him, either.
"Do any of you know where to find a Titan?" he asked.
The large yellow one - the second-biggest - blinked at him. "Suu-shee," it said.
Florian looked at the biggest one. "What about you? You seen a Titan around?"
"Tai-tan," said the biggest Tatsugiri.
Still, he watched as these two kids challenged every Tatsugiri they encountered to battle. It was only after Florian stepped up to it that it spoke again.
"Tai-taaan!"
Florian stared down at it. "You're the Titan?" he asked, and Juliana nodded as if she'd expected it all along.
"The biggest one's the Titan after all? Who would have guessed?"
"Shut up, Juliana."
Florian pulled out a Pokeball.
Then Juliana screamed as a giant blue catfish appeared and ate the Titan in one bite. Florian was just too stunned to move.
Taking down the giant catfish - which Florian's Rotom pointed out was a Dondozo - was easy. Tracking it down again was much, much harder.
Juliana volunteered Koraidon to take them both to find the Dondozo, and went in the entirely wrong direction. It was only after turning around and seeing it in the distance that Florian realized exactly how bad an idea it was to let the girl who was notoriously bad with directions try to steer.
They climbed onto land to switch positions, and Florian got to direct the swimming dinosaur across Casseroya Lake. They arrived to see the tiny Titan returning from a cave.
"That must be where it keeps the Herba Mystica," Florian said, more to himself than the others. "But how did it get out of the Dondozo?"
"There's a few ways," said Juliana, barely aware of her surroundings as usual.
"I don't want to think of that, thank you."
Koraidon licked his lips at the thought of Herba Mystica and the sandwiches it had been eating.
"Or maybe it just used Dondozo to get a ride," Juliana suggested.
Dondozo snapped up Tatsugiri again.
"What?" Arven's voice was the first sign he was there, and they turned around to see him climbing out of the water, his pants soaked and his Cloyster exhausted.
"Hey, Arven," Florian and Juliana said together.
Arven took a few nervous steps forward. "Did that...did that sushi thing get eaten in one bite? I have to admit, I was not expecting to see the food chain in action today."
"It's actually a lot more complicated than that," Juliana admitted.
Florian nodded. "You'll get filled in on everything, Juliana," he promised. "The Titans, the dog, the sandwiches, all of it. But for now, we fight." He tossed his first Pokeball. "Let's show them what we've got, Lloyd!"
Lloyd jumped out of the ball with a half-meow, half-purr sound, facing the Dondozo's roar without flinching.
"Be strong, Greedent!" Arven called as he threw his own ball.
"Greedent? Out of all the Pokémon in Paldea, you...never mind." Florian took the first move. "Open strong! Flower Trick!"
Dondozo sunk down at the critical hit, but straightened itself out and retaliated with a move none of the trainers had seen before.
"That was Order Up!" Florian's Rotom announced. "The signature move of Dondozo! Be careful, it gets more powerful if there's a Tatsugiri in its mouth!"
"I can take it," said Lloyd as Arven's Greedent used Tail Whip.
Sure enough, another Flower Trick took down the giant. As Juliana attempted to sneak into the cave to take the Herba Mystica for her friends, she froze at the sound of a screech.
"You want to fight, too, huh?" Florian asked the furious Tatsugiri, and Lloyd and Greedent both turned on it. Florian nodded to his cat. "Play Rough."
Between that and Greedent's attack, Tatsugiri didn't stand a chance.
"Edelgard isn't going to like that she changed form for no reason," Florian told Juliana as they entered the cave.
"Why did you name her Edelgard, anyway?" Arven asked.
"She looks like Edelgard from Fire Emblem." At Arven's confused look, Florian backtracked. "Fire Emblem? The war strategy video game?"
"I've played Mario Kart," Arven said, as if that was similar. "And a few trainer simulators."
"Right," Florian said, disappointment clear. "You didn't have a fun childhood."
"I think Mario Kart is fun," Juliana mumbled, but Arven spotted the Herba Mystica at that moment, abandoning the conversation.
As Arven made sandwiches and went over the health benefits of Spicy Herba Mystica, Juliana looked to Florian.
"You mentioned filling me in," she reminded him.
Florian looked to Arven. Arven groaned but nodded, giving him permission. "Arven has a Mabosstiff," he told her. "With his mom caught up with her work and his dad...out of the picture...the nanny and Mabosstiff were the only ones who bothered to look after him. The nanny retired, and Mabosstiff got injured. No, I don't know the specifics," he said when Juliana opened her mouth to ask how. "That's why he got so involved in hunting these herbs. It's said that eating all five types can heal any ailment."
Juliana thought about it. She would do anything to heal Webby, too. "I get it."
The three were silent until Arven finished the sandwiches. As Juliana took one, Koraidon emerged from the ball, staring at her in clear anticipation. Arven released his Mabosstiff.
Juliana bit her lip. This Mabosstiff wasn't moving. Its breathing was heavy, but better than Florian remembered. It watched Arven with eyes so full of love and determination, and carefully ate the sandwich.
Nothing happened at first.
Mabosstiff licked its lips and rested its head on its front paws. It closed its eyes. Its breathing didn't change.
Arven was fighting back tears. "We did our best," he said, voice cracking. "We tried."
Mabosstiff barked in response. Arven turned away.
Koraidon didn't take his own sandwich. He was too focused on the giant dog. "So...what happens now?" he asked, as if anyone but Mabosstiff could understand.
The humans didn't answer. Mabosstiff looked up at the giant dragon. "Huh. You came back."
"I was sent to Arven. He didn't want me, so I went with Juliana."
Mabosstiff closed his eyes. "Poor kid."
He opened his eyes at the sound of something hitting the ground. It was his own Pokeball. Arven still wasn't looking. On stiff, sore legs, Mabosstiff got up and picked up the ball in his mouth, grumbling affectionately about making him work when he just wanted to sleep.
Juliana squealed as Mabosstiff approached his trainer. The sound made Arven turn around, and his whole face lit up at the sight.
"You're...you're ok!"
"I'm ok," Mabosstiff repeated. "I just want a nap and a trip to a Pokémon Center."
Arven started crying tears of joy, throwing his arms around Mabosstiff. Koraidon turned to Juliana.
Juliana held out the sandwich.
As always, Koraidon eating Herba Mystica triggered a call from Professor Sada. This time, though, there was someone else there.
"Greetings, Florian and Juliana!" Sada's voice brought Arven out of his happiness, and he clenched his teeth as his mother acknowledged random kids over him. "I see you've helped Koraidon regain most of its power. I suppose you'll be climbing higher cliffs to jump off, right, Juliana?"
Koraidon turned to the girl excitedly. "Can we?"
"Down, boy," Juliana said, gently pushing the dragon's snout down. "Later."
"I knew letting you have Koraidon was a good idea," Sada continued, to Arven's angry huff.
"Like you had anything to do with it."
There was silence on both ends of the phone.
"Arven?" Sada asked, and Arven fought the happiness and rage that his mother still remembered his name. "Arven, is that you? I have been searching for so long...for a way to reach you. No one can get into my lab but you, Arven."
The happiness faded. The rage remained. "Excuse me?"
"Take Juliana to my lab at the Poco Path lighthouse," Sada clarified.
"Why should I listen to you?"
"I can't explain here." There was a bit of sadness in Sada's voice. "Just trust me, Arven."
"Why?"
"Because it's what's best for Koraidon."
"But why should I trust you?"
"Honestly? I can't think of a single reason why you should."
"Arven, you're stalling," Florian pointed out.
Arven grunted. Sada took that as a yes and said goodbye.
"Well," Arven said once it had been silent for a while, focusing on Mabosstiff. "Now you guys know my mom."
"We've...kind of talked to her before," Juliana admitted. "I didn't want to bring it up."
Arven looked away from Mabosstiff to look at her. "What." It wasn't even a question.
"Your mom...she's been calling me with updates on Koraidon..." Juliana was staring at the floor. "Just, you know...science stuff..."
"Oh." Arven looked back at Mabosstiff. Mabostiff nudged his hand. "Did she ask about me?"
"Oh, yes!" Juliana jumped at the chance to lie her little head off. "She asked all sorts of questions, like how -"
"Don't lie to me!" Arven snapped, and Juliana leaned back.
"I'm sorry! I just wanted to make you feel better!"
"So she didn't ask about me?"
"I thought you knew!" It was Juliana's turn to cry. "What do you want me to say? I know your mom sucks! But you yelled at me! And now I'm upset! And I just want a bagel!"
She started sniffling and sobbing. Florian watched as Koraidon curled his tail around her. "Dude," Florian said, looking up at his taller friend in clear disappointment. "Not cool."
Koraidon was glaring at Arven, too, shaking his head slowly.
"So I was a little harsh!" Arven said. "So I haven't heard my mom's voice in years and might've taken it out on an innocent girl who had nothing to do with my family drama..." He looked at Mabosstiff again. "Come on, pal. You get it, right?"
Mabosstiff made eye contact with Arven, and slowly shook his head.
"Hey, I just traveled across the entire region to bring you back from the brink of death! You should be on my side! What, would you prefer if I took out my anger on you?" Mabsstiff smiled, fangs gleaming in the dim light. "Fine. If I get upset about family drama again, I'll take it out on Florian."
"That's fair," Juliana sniffled.
"How is that fair?" Florian complained, but Juliana started laughing, and he couldn't object any more.
He was too happy that his friends were happy. And when Juliana told Arven that she had other commitments, and Arven wasted no time in saying that he wanted to postpone seeing his mom, Florian decided that it was worth being the butt of a few jokes.
Still, if Arven takes his anger at family drama out on me, I'm telling Juliana where Turo is.