"All right, my League Club assistants," Drayton clapped. "Retreat! On the double!"
Drayton's three assistants, worn out from their battle against the very tenacious Juliana, had no issue scattering.
"Good-bye!" "See ya!" "Good battle!" they shouted as they took off.
"Aren't they great?" said Drayton as he did a big stretch. "No grumbling or nothing. Buncha sweethearts."
A harsh chill blew through the Polar Plaza at that exact moment, causing Juliana to shiver to her spine. Even dressed in the full Blueberry Academy winter uniform, she bunched up her arms and felt the frost nipping at her body.
"Or maybe they just want to get out of this c-cold…" she shivered.
"Hmm? Did it get colder?" Drayton felt the air with his hand, his body perfectly still and calm despite his lighter attire. "It's hard for me to tell. I'm almost breaking a sweat out here! Refereeing is hard work!"
Juliana grumbled. "Right, you looked so b-busy just standing there watching…"
"Ouch. Girl's starting to get a mouth on her." Drayton grinned knowingly. "Don't need to guess who you've been spending all your downtime with."
Juliana's cheeks flushed a little. "What do you mean by that?"
"Oh, nothing." He flashed a wink and a pointed finger at her. "But feeling warmer now?"
"…Something's wrong with you."
"Hey, that's the longest we've gone before someone I meet says that to me! I call that a new record!"
"Can we please battle already!?" Juliana burst out, wanting to get out of the cold as soon as possible.
"Geez, is the cold getting to you that badly?"
"I can't feel my fingers or toes…" she murmured.
"Hmmmm…" Drayton looked around. "To tell you the truth, our grand leader himself was supposed to be making an appearance here."
"Kieran? That's right…" Juliana sighed bigly, watching the white breath expelling from her mouth. "How long are we planning on waiting for him?"
"Ehhh. Who knows with him these days." Drayton shrugged. "I'm about as eager as you are to just start this battle already, and he's dragging his feet! Y'know, maybe we can just bust this match out now and send Kieran the livefeed later!"
"Hold your horses," came an annoyed voice from afar. "I'm coming."
Drayton looked ahead and was pleased to see Kieran's unique shape emerging from the snowy mist.
"Ahhh, there's my compadre!" Drayton clapped. "Was starting to think you wouldn't show up."
"Of course I did. I always keep my promises. Unlike you…"
Juliana wasn't exactly sure whether Kieran was addressing that to Drayton or… her.
"Took you a while to get all the way here, didn't it?" He was addressing her now. "Kind of slow for you, isn't it?"
"Slow and steady wins the race, I guess!" Juliana replied, hoping a joke would liven things up.
"There was nothing slow and steady about how long it took you to ditch me in favor of my sis …" Kieran mumbled quietly to himself.
"…What?"
"Nice, Kieran." Drayton crossed his arms. "You've really got Juliana on the brain, huh? … Oh." His eyebrows jumped up. "You, uh… you brought your sis. Cool."
"Carmine?"
Another shape crept out of the tundra air… Kieran's tall sister and her unmistakably sassy grin. She walked up to greet Juliana as Kieran and Drayton talked with each other.
"Surprised?" she smiled. She looked at Juliana's attire and began to gush. "Wow! Look at you, fully winter-ing it up! We're practically twinsies!"
"Does this mean I'm finally prettier than you?" Juliana smirked.
Carmine scoffed. "That'll happen when Tepig flies. I'd say you're about… a tenth of the way there, though. Maybe a ninth if you weren't wearing such a silly hat."
"I'll take it."
"Are you guys done schmoozing with each other?" Kieran glared at the two of them.
"…Schmoozing?"
"Schmoozing!? You're really asking for it, you know!" Carmine seethed.
Juliana cleared her throat and decided to offer her hand out, numbed by the cold as it was.
"I'm really happy you came to watch my match today, Kieran."
Kieran stared blankly at her open hand. Then… he put a green mitten on it.
"…Ehh?" Juliana looked at her new hand cozy in confusion.
"Put these on."
Kieran handed her another mitten, and started wrapping a scarf around her too. Juliana was… very surprised by this gesture, and Kieran even seemed to be blushing a bit as he wrapped it around her.
Juliana was now decked out in green knit gloves with brown Kitakami letters on them, and a red scarf.
She felt how thick and velvety the scarf was as she instantly began to feel a lot cozier.
"Gosh, Kieran… thank you. I, I really appreciate you looking out for—"
"It's just to make sure you stay focused on the match," Kieran bluntly interjected. "I want you to win this battle so you can see how strong I've become. Plus, I don't trust Drayton because of how he's been acting lately, and taking advantage of the weather to catch you off-guard is the kind of dirty tactic he would pull."
"Wow, accusatory much?" Drayton put his arms behind his back. "Is it a crime to consider a tundra mountain so inviting just because I grew up exploring Twist Mountain a lot as a kid?"
"Just spare the excuses, you dweeb," said Carmine. "You're definitely up to something, and I decided Kiki and I should come together to make sure you don't try anything funny!" she declared, shaking her fist.
Drayton's arms dropped. "Whaaat? You think I— We're pals, right, Carmine? You know I'm… a nice guy! I always play my battles honest!"
Juliana was intrigued by how much Drayton seemed to lose his cool upon being confronted by Carmine.
Is he… backing up a little?
Carmine, for her part, just narrowed her eyes and said, "Well, I've got my eye on you."
Juliana swore she heard him gulp.
Carmine and Kieran took their seats on the nearby block walls as Juliana and Drayton prepared for battle.
Juliana waited for Drayton to initiate battle, but found him staring at her rather curiously.
"...What?"
"Sorry. It's just, y'know, I was thinking about the look you get when you're in battle… and I realized I've only ever seen you like that from the sidelines. Watching all your other battles. Guess now I know what it's like to face you across the court!"
"Did those battles make you feel nervous?" Juliana asked with a confident smirk.
"Oh, totally! I'm shaking in my boots over here!" Drayton said with a smile.
"Mine are definitely shaking too... And freezing..."
"Are they now?"
Drayton walked over to Juliana's spot. Carmine, rattled by this, began to squirm in her seat.
"Let me show you a little trick."
Then, to Juliana's surprise and confusion, he hopped sideways with a loud "Ha!" And then again. "Ha!"
"Ummm..."
"Hop around a little bit while you're giving your Pokémon orders! It helps build up friction in your legs!"
"Okay." Juliana still thought it looked odd, but did a few short hops herself to give it a try. "Huh! I do feel a little warmer!"
"There you go," he said, getting face-to-face with her now. "Just keep that up the whole time and you'll be golden. And you'd better stay golden because, uh..." He put his arm around her and really leaned his face in. "Just between you and me..."
Now Carmine stood up indignantly from her seat, incensed at Drayton getting his face so close to Juliana. She got even madder as she heard a "Tch." from her brother.
"Lemme be real—I'm counting on you to beat the whole BB Elite Four, bud," Drayton whispered.
"Really?" Juliana whispered back, confused.
He nodded vigorously. "I mean it. I need you to pull this off, okay? You've gotta come through for me!"
Juliana was dumbfounded, but Drayton leaned back and patted her on the shoulder.
"That said… I'm not just gonna roll over and miss out on the fun. Here's the 100% Drayster truth: I'm so psyched, I'm practically tingling!"
"Tingling?" She smirked again. "Are you sure you're not getting cold?"
"Oh... you're going to see just how hot my blood can boil, Juliana. So why don't we get this rolling, nice and easy?"
A hot battle indeed.
Drayton came at Juliana with all his best Dragon-type powerhouses, while Juliana and her team fought through all his team's surprises, which included Dragonite using Thunder Punch to knock out Palafin, his Kingdra making use of its Expert Belt to deal a devastating Hurricane against Juliana's Mienshao, and just the mere presence of Sceptile, which turned out to not even be a Dragon-type.
And all through the match, Juliana was dancing around the field like her shoes were on fire.
She thought she had the upper hand when she sent out her Glimmora, hoping for it to lay down the venomous smack on Sceptile while shooting out some Toxic Spikes to poison whatever Drayton's last two Pokémon were.
The first drawback came when Drayton sent out... a huge behemoth of a metal beast!
"GURRRAAAAHHHHH!" Archaludon roared as it entered the field.
Drayton even went one better and Terastallized the Alloy Pokémon on the spot; its Steel Tera Jewel bore down on Juliana and her Pokémon like an executioner's axe.
"That's... not going to be affected by our barbs..."
"Glimmo?"
Then Sceptile turned out to feature a surprise within a surprise: the minute Glimmora hit it with Acid Spray once, Sceptile used its Weakness Policy to immediately retreat, throwing Juliana off completely, especially as Haxorus entered the field and Drayton instantly commanded...
"Show 'em who's in control, Haxorus! Earthquake!"
Haxorus laid out a very powerful Earthquake, which hit all sides of the field. The move severely wounded Tinkaton, sent Glimmora packing in one go (finally sending out its now useless Toxic Spikes in the process), and only seemed to moderately damage its iron alloy partner. In fact, being hit by such a physical move somehow seemed to increase Archaludon's defense!
"How is it that he can be such a lazy butt in pretty much all aspects of his life, but is so gung-ho when it comes to being one of the school's best battlers..." Carmine said quietly.
"If he wasn't so lazy, maybe he wouldn't be second to me," Kieran boasted. This made Carmine snicker, which caused him to sneer and turn away.
"Ha-ha-ha! Can't have all that blood all boiled up for nothin'. Let's take advantage of that Stamina boost! Get ready for an onslaught—cause this won't be pretty!" said Drayton, relishing the chaos. "Archaludon, charge up an Electro Shot so we can fry that pink menace!"
Archaludon, taking a folding stance that made it appear almost exactly like that really tall bridge Juliana had seen near Castelia City, began charging itself up with rods of power-packed lightning.
"This can't be good... but we're not out yet! Right, Tinkaton?" Juliana encouraged.
"TINK!"
"Time to use OUR ultimate power too! Terastallize, and use your SUPER Gigaton Hammer to take out that bully Haxorus!"
Juliana charged up her own Tera Orb and threw it over Tinkaton, who now bore her own imposing axe of a Tera Jewel.
"Tinka..."
Charged with steely energy, Tinkaton brought her huge, crystallized hammer up into the air, and slammed it hard onto Haxorus.
"TOOOOOOOOOONNN!"
The Axe Jaw Pokémon might as well have been a flattened pancake.
"Wowzers..." Kieran breathed out.
Carmine's eyes shot up in surprise.
Did he just say 'wowzers'…!?
Drayton recalled his Haxorus with a frustrated sigh.
Juliana meanwhile, couldn't resist flashing a smile for Carmine as she continued to hop around to keep that friction going.
Carmine giggled back at her… until her eyes grew wide.
"JULIANA!" she shot out. "Watch where you're hopping!"
"Huh!?"
At that moment, Archaludon had fired its Electro Shot, sending shocks to Tinkaton… but Juliana had barely turned around enough to notice she had gotten too close to the action…
BOOOOOOM!
…and the blast radius sent her flying.
"AGGHHH!"
Carmine and Kieran both stood up and gasped. Even Drayton looked shocked as he watched it unfold.
Juliana flew in the air for a solid few seconds before hitting the ground a couple feet away, landing hard on her ankle with a thud and a loud grunt.
"Owwww…" she groaned.
Carmine instantly began sprinting like the wind, while Kieran couldn't pick his jaw up from the ground.
Drayton hustled over as fast as he could to where she'd fallen.
"J-girl! J-girl! Are you okay!?" He kneeled over, panting. "Kyurem spare me! Please tell me you're no—"
"GET AWAY FROM HER!"
Like a ninja, Carmine swooped in out of nowhere and violently tossed Drayton away.
"Waaaagh!"
She then hunched over the groaning, wincing Juliana, looking like a panicking, concerned mother. Her hands hovered over the injured girl.
"Juliana! Juliana! Are you hurt!?"
"Errgghh…" Juliana shut her eyes as she groaned. "No, that just… that just hurt a little."
She braced herself and tried to sit up, wincing all the while.
"EUGH! Okay, a lot."
"Oh my gosh… Don't get up! You're definitely hurt!" Carmine cautioned. "Thank goodness though, your leg doesn't look twisted… We need to get you a doctor or something!"
"What? No…" Juliana whined. "I'm fine! I can just walk this off…"
She tried to stand herself up, only to start straining and saying, "Ow! Ow! Ow!"
"STOP TRYING TO GET UP!"
Carmine gently but assertively pressed down on her with her shoulders.
"You're clearly in a lot of pain and yet you're still being stubborn!"
Juliana finally couldn't hide the pain anymore, and clutched her throbbing ankle as she tried to hold back tears.
"Holy crap, holy crap, holy crap…" Carmine pulled down on her ends. "We gotta get the nurse down here or something! PRONTO!"
It was difficult for Juliana to focus on anything in that moment when her leg felt like pins and needles jabbing into it, but as she looked around breathing heavily, she locked eyes with Kieran.
He was still stood up from the wall, his face looking like it was in a twisted bind between being concerned and just… shocked.
"Owww… can you make that a double pronto?" Drayton groaned from the floor nearby. His face was extremely pale. "I'm pretty sure I just landed on one of those Glimmora's spikes…"
"Owwwww…"
"I know it probably hurts, Juliana, but I just need you to stretch it out for me, okay?"
Juliana winced, but kept her right leg as still as she could. Carmine, with a sputtering Kieran's help, had managed to get her all the way over to the Central Plaza, and set her down on the nearest bench they could find.
Now she sat there, right pant leg drawn up, and her sock and shoe removed, as the male student from Blueberry's nursing program who answered their call leaned down, and eyed the bruises on her ankle.
Carmine stood there with worry, so distressed that she grasped Kieran's hand. Kieran frowned at this, but seeing the kind of state she was in, decided to let it go… for now.
The rest of the BB Elite Four had arrived too, all rushing down to the Central Plaza as soon as Carmine told them what happened. Crispin, Amarys, and Lacey all stood on one side, with Amarys and Lacey holding onto each other's hands.
"Alright, Luxio. Do your thing."
The nursing student motioned to his partner. This Luxio wore a red vest to indicate it as a Pokémon training to assist in the medical field.
"Lux!"
Luxio stepped up to Juliana's outstretched leg. Its eyes glowed a clear white as it activated its unique powers of X-ray vision to see into Juliana's limb, right down to the bone.
After a few seconds of close gazing, it deactivated its vision and held up its paw to a certain height while softly meowing two times to its partner.
"Hmmm."
"What's it saying?" Crispin asked.
"Well, if Luxio is using the signals it learned correctly, then it's saying that you've got a mild sprained ankle. It didn't see any major bone damage."
"That's… a good thing, right?" said Lacey.
"It certainly could be a lot worse," he said, chuckling. He stood at Juliana's side and raised his arm out. "I'm going to need you to use my arm to try to stand up now. Not all the way. But just tell me what your level of pain is from 1 to 10, okay?"
"Okay…" Juliana gulped.
Taking a deep breath, she gathered all her strength in trying to stand up a bit from the bench, using the boy's arm as a tree. As she did, she began to wince in pain again.
"6. No, 7! …Ow! Ow! Okay, definitely an 8 or a 9!"
"Alright, please sit down."
Juliana let herself fall back onto the bench with a huge huff, while the student watched her movements, looking a bit puzzled.
"Well!?" Carmine demanded to know.
"Hmmm. It does seem to just be a mild sprain. But that's an awfully high pain response for just a sprain," he said, scratching his head. "Have you been… putting your body under a lot of stress lately, Juliana?"
"Uhhh…" Juliana grit her teeth. "No more than usual…?"
Carmine huffed loudly.
"Usual for you being, YES ABSOLUTELY." She growled in frustration. "I told you you push yourself too far sometimes! Now you're reaping the consequences! I should've blocked you from getting on that treadmill," she seethed.
"Carmine, please," Lacey tried to calm her down.
The nursing student sighed as he took another close look at Juliana's ankle, and placed a heat pack on it.
"Well… given your pain and the severity of the bruising, I am going to be having you wear a leg brace, and—" He sighed. "Unfortunately…"
"Oh dear," Amarys said quietly. "I was fearing this."
"…I am going to have to recommend a Level-2 resting order. Four days of as little movement on your legs as you can muster."
"What!? You can't be serious!" Carmine balked.
"Is a Level-2 resting order… bad?" asked Juliana, worried.
"Is it bad!? It basically means—You can't—You have to…"
Carmine got tongue-tied on her words, leading Lacey to step in.
"A Level-2 resting order means… by the rules of the school, you'll have to step down from your BB League challenge," she said solemnly.
"What!?"
"Figures…"Kieran grumbled.
"I'm really, really sorry to have to say it." The student apologized as he finished fitting Juliana's ankle brace. "I was rooting for you in your matches, Juliana! You and your Pokémon were SO WILD to watch! Especially that little ogre thing! But… I'll also get in trouble with the head nurses if I don't give you my unreserved opinion as a practitioner-in-training!"
"I understand…" Juliana said glumly. "Umm, thanks for the compliments."
He gathered everything in his medical bag as he got ready to depart.
"Once again, really sorry. Luckily for you, you've got some cool friends here to support you! Here's a piece of advice: put both of your feet under a hot bath tonight. Soak 'em for about half an hour at least. That'll help dull the immediate pain, and probably relieve some of the bruising."
"Thanks," she said appreciatively.
"Ugggh… hey doc? What about me?"
Drayton feebly reached his hand out, sitting on one of the blocks from afar, an ice pack pressed to his red face.
He sighed. "Drayton, I already gave you the antitoxin. You barely even scraped the barb as is. Just eat some hot soup and don't walk around too much and you'll be fine."
"No, no but I'm feeling woozy…" he said melodramatically. "I think it's getting to my brain, I won't be able to concentrate in classes for at least a week…"
"Not a chance in hell, Drayton."
After the nursing student left, everyone gathered around Juliana to lend their support and sympathies. Juliana kept her gaze fixed on her wrapped-up ankle sullenly, while Carmine sat next to her and rubbed her back. Kieran had his back turned to all of them.
"Soooo, what happens now?" asked Crispin.
"You heard what he said," Amarys answered. "A Level-2 is a definite."
"Do I… really have to quit the League Challenge?"
Lacey nodded. "I'm sorry, but rules are rules."
"So stupid…" Kieran muttered.
"I believe the intent of such imposing restrictions is to protect the academy from potential lawsuits," Amarys explained, adjusting her glasses.
"No, not that…" Kieran turned bitterly to Juliana. "I was talking about you."
"Huh?"
"Kiki—"
"All you had to do was beat Drayton with zero problems, and you and I would be having the battle of the century right now!" he complained. "Do you know how long I've been waiting for this!? I wanted to finally show you and the ogre that I've become an amazing Trainer. And then you go and injure yourself like this! All you do is disappoint me with your failed promises, Juliana!"
Kieran ran up to the dirt square nearby and kicked a rock on the ground.
"You're seriously unbelievable!"
Everyone looked at him tensely. Lacey held her hands out.
"Kieran, please, s-stop… This isn't like you."
Kieran stood there and simmered in rage. He turned back to everyone with slightly teary eyes, huffing.
A small tear welled up on Juliana's eyelid.
He scrunched his tight and turned away again.
"…Whatever. I guess you were never cut out for this. See you in class, I guess… And get well soon."
Then Kieran ran off, leaving everyone behind.
"Kieran… wait." Lacey reached her hand out feebly, letting it go numb once she couldn't see him anymore. "I guess I finally got to see his temper in action… Poor guy. What made him so angry?"
"The real question is, what's your dark magic?" Carmine complained. "Every time I've told him this isn't like him, he just gets even madder."
Drayton stepped forward. "Well, maybe it's just—"
"You are so naïve if you think you even have the RIGHT to say anything right now!" Carmine laughed mirthlessly at him. "It's partially your fault this happened to her!"
"My fault?"
"Forcing her to battle in that cold! And that stupid hopping advice… Probably all a part of your slimy little plan, I bet!"
"You think I wanted my pal to get hurt!?" Drayton replied, genuinely offended. "Not in a million years, princess!"
"It's still a damn good thing I was there in case things went wrong! Cause I just knew they would with you! I should've never let you talk Juliana into joining the BB League and following along with whatever it is you're scheming!"
"Carmine, hey! Don't blame Drayton!" Juliana instinctively began to stand up to try to placate her. "He didn't do anythi—OWW! Oww…"
"For crying out loud, sit DOWN already!" Carmine barked, grabbing her shoulders and forcing her back down. "What is wrong with you!? This is your fault too, y'know! Always being so reckless! You gotta take care of yourself and stop being such an IDIOT!"
Juliana reared back with a startled gasp. Carmine's eyes widened as she quickly realized her outburst.
"Carmine, stop! Please!" Lacey fretted. "It's nobody's fault! It was just an accident, and slinging blame around isn't going to help anything!"
"You're right, I'm… I'm sorry," Carmine breathed. "Especially to you, Juliana. It's just— I'm…"
"You're upset. I know. It's okay."
Juliana said that, but the truth was, she was still in a bit of shock and fighting back tears a bit.
The rest of them all stood there feeling a bit awkward. Drayton had stepped away from the rest of the group, appearing to be in deep thought.
"We'll figure this out, okay…?" Juliana tried to reassure Carmine. "It's not the end of the world."
"Just the end of your big League challenge!" Crispin remarked. Everyone but Juliana gave him dirty looks. "…Uhh, sorry."
"Once this heals up, I can just… try again, right?" asked Juliana. Carmine and Lacey both winced. "…No?"
"She'd have to start all the way over from the beginning rank, wouldn't she?" Carmine asked Lacey.
Lacey glumly nodded.
"Alright… fine," said Juliana. "I guess I'll start over, then."
"What!? Seriously? You'd have to rank up through the entire League to get back to where you were!" Carmine said in disbelief. "It'll probably take you the rest of your time as an exchange student to get all the way back up! …And that's if you don't lose a single battle!"
"Then that's how it'll be," said Juliana determined. "I'll battle as much as I need to… to get back to the top. So I can fight Kieran for real."
"Juliana, this isn't about him anymore—"
"You're right, Carmine. It's not just about him anymore. I also need to do this… for myself." She clenched her hand into a fist.
Carmine's head slumped on the top of the bench.
"Why are you liiiiike this?" she whined. "Come on, just let the dream die already! It's over."
"Look, Juliana," said Lacey. "This was fun and all, you've become a really good friend to all of us by doing this but… Now that you are my friend, I can't stand here as a friend and tell you I'm going to vouch for you to keep pushing when you should be taking it easy and just enjoying student life here now."
"Unfortunately, I must side with Carmine and Lacey," said Amarys. "I have come to care deeply for you as a friend, Juliana. Thus I am compelled to say, there's no sensible reason for you to continue attempting this endeavor."
"Uhh, well… I loved battling with you a lot, Juliana!" Crispin said sheepishly. "I mean, I'd totally be down for you to douse more gas on that fire but… heh-heh, I guess I don't want to go against the group here."
Juliana looked down glumly. "Maybe you're all right…"
"Woah, woah, hang on now!" Drayton stepped in. "Why are we all throwing in the towel so easily here? There's still another way!"
"Grrrr, just face the facts already, bozo. Whatever your big master plan involving Juliana has gone down in flames, just like you're going to when I'm through with you!" Carmine threated, raising her fist.
"Relax, chill. I'm just saying, we haven't considered every option here, and there's one more chance for Juliana to succeed…"
They all looked at him oddly.
"What, seriously? Am I the only one who remembers the substitute clause?"
"The… substitute clause?" Juliana repeated.
"Now it just sounds like you're making things up to save face!" Carmine said angrily.
"Ugh!" Lacey groaned. "He's actually not. But… seriously!? The substitute clause!? Is that even still part of the rules? How would that even work, Drayton!?"
"As of the latest updated rulesets… it is still a viable play," Amarys clarified. "But I don't believe we've ever had reason to enforce it before."
"Of course we've never acted on it before! It's way too impractical!"
"Oh… right! The substitute clause!" Crispin chimed in. "I totally remember what that is! …Uhh. I might need a refresher, though."
"Just forget it!" Lacey made an 'X' with her arms. "No way!"
"What is this substitute clause nonsense anyway!?" Carmine asked, getting fed up.
Lacey cleared her throat. She then looked to Amarys for a thorough explanation, who nodded.
"The substitute clause… dictates that should a member of the BB League become incapacitated for whatever reason, they may call upon another registered League Club member to take their place in the ranks, and continue battling. The stipulation is that this understudy would be acting with the full understanding that any victories they attain in the League will still count as the original member's achievements and not their own."
"Huh." Juliana processed this. "So… basically. It'd be—kinda like calling in an understudy."
Lacey grumbled. "It's really not as simple as it sounds! It's so much pressure, and comes with so many caveats that there's no way anyone in the League Club would agree to something like that. Especially when you're still so new barely anyone here knows you!"
"Oh yeah! Now I'm remembering!" Crispin piped up. "There's like… this whole thing where, the person who subs in is only allowed to use their friend's Pokémon that they were using in their battles through the League, right?"
"Correct," said Amarys. "To maintain fairness and consistency."
"Yeah, so… they gotta know your Pokémon and your own strategies as well as you do! And since it's gotta be someone else who's already in the League, you can't just call up one of your buddies from Paldea."
Amarys added, "They would also have to take the challenge starting at whatever the original member's own starting position was… which for Juliana's case, means facing us BB Elite Four from the onset."
"Exactly!" said Lacey. "So you'd have to find someone who you not only trust with your own Pokémon, but who would be confident enough to take on the whole BB Elite Four and the Champion in your place! See why it doesn't work?"
"Oh yeah…" Crispin realized. "I guess nobody in our ranks right now would be brave enough to go all out against our big strong buddy Kieran. …Especially with Pokémon they don't know! Now I see what the problem is…"
"You're telling me!" said Carmine. "Who would be stupid enough to agree to all of that just for Juliana!?"
"Wait a minute…"
Juliana was thinking over everything she'd been told.
"So, the rules about this whole substitute thing are… They have to be someone else who's in the League Club already. They have to have spent so much time with me that they know all of my Pokémon and their moves…"
"Yes, yes…" Drayton motioned with his hand, egging her on.
Juliana's head began to turn in slow realization.
"And… somebody who… is totally sure she could beat the entire BB Elite Four… … …and her own brother."
Lacey gasped.
"Woaahhh! I didn't think about THAT!" Crispin raved. "Now that'd be totally fire!"
"Huh?" Carmine was confused. Then her eyes widened in realization. "…Wait! You're—you're talking about… ME?!"