Wiggle. Wiggle. Wiggle.
Click.
"Yes!" Juliana cried, her affirmative yell echoing out through the caverns.
Illuminated by all the blue crystals around her, the new Blueberry student eagerly pulled out her Pokédex app to confirm her new catch's typing.
"Come on… Be Electric, be Electric. You gotta be an electric Pokémon skittering around in such a big, electrifying cave like this! Who else made all those shocky webs?"
The Rotom Phone's screen lit up as Joltik's full Pokédex info came up.
"YES!" Juliana pumped her fist. "Bug/Electric! Awww, that's such a cool typing for a tiny cutie!"
"Pjoo! Pjoo!" Her Sandshrew clapped its little white paws together.
The Paldean Trainer and her Pokémon were stood inside the vast catacombs of the mysterious Chargestone Cavern, a cave Juliana discovered while roaming the Canyon Biome for BBQ's, where all sorts of tiny, exotic little Pokémon made their homes along the electricity-charged blue crystals and strange yellow spider webs.
A loud ping from Juliana's Blueberry app confirmed the completion of her mission.
"One Electric-type Pokémon caught! Awesome!" she celebrated, watching her BP wallet go up. "See, Sandshrew? The 'yellow equals Electric' rule always works—half the time, anyway!"
"Shreww?"
Just then, Juliana received a different ping through the app.
"Huh? … An email?" She looked confused. "We have… our own emails through this thing? Why didn't Director Cyrano mention that?" Then she thought about the eccentric director and quickly realized. "He 'forgot to mention', didn't he?"
She opened the email and was surprised to see it was from Drayton.
" heeeeeey~
They're doing the BB league signups this morning. If you decided you want to take part in our aeswome battles, you'd better come to the school entrance.
Your chill bro-berry at Blueberry,
Drayton"
She gasped. "Oh no! I didn't know signups were happening today! Come on Sandshrew!" she motioned, searching her bag for Miraidon's Poké Ball. "We've gotta book it!"
Juliana hopped on her Miraidon and rushed to the other side of the Terrarium so she could get to the entrance lobby as fast as she could.
She dashed all the way to the front desk outside, only to stop and look hesitant upon seeing that Drayton was already standing there, seemingly waiting for her.
He stood up from the wall he was leaning on.
"Hey there, J-girl!" he waved casually. "I was starting to get worried you'd gotten cold feet about the whole League thing. Glad to see you've made the right choice a—"
Juliana brashly cut him off. "How did you get my email."
"Huh? Did they not tell you how our student messaging system works?" Drayton asked, stumped. "You can send an email to any student just by finding their name on the directory. But you can totally set up privacy settings and all that if you really don't want the Drayster's pleasant reminders!"
He chortled at his remark, but it pattered out when he saw Juliana still in a defensive position. Her eyes narrowed to him, her arms crossed, and her lip pouting.
"Right, um…" Drayton's quiff drooped down. "Listen… I'm really sorry about the other day. I really don't want you thinking I'm some type of creepy stalker dude."
Juliana's eyes still leered at him in a way that she seemed to be gesturing "Go on…"
He sighed. "And… I'm sorry for putting you in that whole situation. I want you to know, it was nothing to do with you personally. In fact, it was more about Kieran. I just really wanted to see what he would do."
She made clear from her expression that this still wasn't good enough.
"But in doing that, I totally ignored your feelings and how uncomfortable you were. So that's 100% my bad, and won't ever happen again. This is the Drayster's promise, for real!" He pounded his chest with his fist and flashed it as a peace sign.
Juliana still looked at him silently and unsure.
"Do you want me to… pinky swear on it or something?" asked Drayton, feeling a bit desperate now. "Look, I'm not… very good at being all sentimental, so I'm trying as best I can."
Juliana finally sighed and looked at him with an expression akin to "What am I going to do with you?"
"It's okay... I know Lacey was the one who put you up to this."
"Whaaat? No she didn't!" he replied indignantly. Then he looked sheepish. "…Okay, yeah. She did. But… I was already going to apologize to you on my own because I felt bad anyway! For real!"
Juliana smiled at him, still a little disbelievingly.
"Just… no more tricks, okay? I don't like it when people aren't straightforward."
She held her hand out, and Drayton shook it with an embarrassed smile.
"It's a deal! From now on, you get the complete Drayton package. No holdouts!"
"I don't know what that means, but okay!" Juliana sheepishly chuckled.
She made her way to the desk and told the receptionist she wanted to join the BB League.
"Ahh, the BB League. Lucky you, looks like there's only a few slots left!" She typed on her computer, but frowned upon pulling up Juliana's information. "…Ah. It says here you're an exchange student, right?"
"Right…" Juliana replied apprehensively.
"Mmm. That means you're technically not enrolled here at our academy…"
Juliana frowned.
"I'm sorry Miss Juliana, but I'm afraid that—"
"Oh, don't mind that!" said Drayton, stepping in. "We Elite Four talked it over already. My friend here's good to join." He gave a thumbs-up to Juliana, who grinned in appreciation.
The receptionist still looked unsure. "I don't mean to sound rude, but I'm not sure if I can take what you say at face value, Drayton…"
"Man, everyone's got it out for me, huh?" Drayton shook his head. "Does this face really not scream trustworthy?"
"No, he's telling the truth."
A chill ran up through Juliana's spine. That was Kieran's voice for sure. She was hesitant to turn around, until…
"And it's not just your face that's the problem, bozo."
…Carmine?
Juliana turned around and was in for a great surprise.
Carmine and Kieran were walking up to the entrance together. The two siblings stood side by side, and just like that, Juliana began to feel like it was Kitakami again.
Kieran's face was mostly still. He definitely didn't appear as enraged as he did the other day, even when he made eye contact with her.
Carmine however, had a bit of a proud smirk on her face, one that grew even wider as she locked eyes with Juliana.
"I'm allowing Juliana to join the BB League." Kieran spoke with a bit of bite in his voice.
"Erm, this is highly irregular," said the flustered receptionist. "I might need the Director's final approval on thi—"
A nasty leer from the boy quickly changed her attitude.
"Y-yes, Champion! One moment, please…" And she started hastily typing on her keyboard.
Kieran eased his sight as he next gazed Juliana's way.
"Juliana."
"…Kieran."
Juliana gulped, not sure of what side of Kieran she was about to get. His eyes scanned her up and down, similarly to what Lacey had done. His eyes seemed to drift the way of Juliana's braid, and she wondered if he was looking at her Iono hairclip… before realizing her hands had been frenetically stroking her braid out of nervousness.
"So. You decided to join the BB League after all…"
"Mm-hm…"
He nodded. "Good. I was worried you'd become a coward since we last met, like how I used to be."
Carmine's smile turned back into a worried frown.
"Kiki! You shouldn't talk to Juliana like that…" she fretted.
Kieran just looked away and muttered, "Shut it, sis…"
"Excuse me!?" she seethed. "It doesn't matter what your rank is, you still don't get to talk back to me! What about everything you wanted to tell her?"
Kieran just silently looked off to the side.
"…I don't remember sayin' anything."
"YOU LITTLE—"
"Hey hey, Champion!" Drayton interjected. "Didn't expect you to ride up in shining armor and save the day."
Juliana wondered if he'd decided to cut in to squash the bickering that was about to ensure.
Either way, Kieran just eyed him, looking annoyed.
"I've got a feeling you're trying to play puppet master…"
"Who, me?"
"Yes, you. You're almost as obsessed with her as Carmine is…"
"H-hey." Carmine blushed in embarrassment.
For some reason, Julina felt particularly affronted to see Kieran laying barbs on his own sister, and was about to speak up, but he continued.
"But it doesn't matter what you're up to. As long as I get a shot at battling Juliana, then that's fine with me."
"Heh heh. That's just peachy."
"What'd you say!?" Kieran suddenly yelled.
All three of them looked at him in confusion, unsure why that remark seemed to ruffle his feathers.
Kieran realized how strange he looked, and cleared his throat.
"Juliana… You'd better not go losing to anyone until our battle."
Juliana was about to reply with a timid "I'll try my best", but after a quick glance at Carmine, decided to shoot him a playful smile to see how he'd react.
"Like I'd lose!" she said confidently.
Carmine giggled in response. Kieran closed his eyes and turned his head, but he made a noise that Juliana thought sounded like a chuckle.
"Good…" he said in a strangely gravelly voice. When he perked up again, Juliana felt a little creeped out by his strange, toothy grin.
Maybe that was the wrong move…
Meanwhile, the receptionist spoke up. "Thank you for waiting! Your entry to the BB League is complete and you're cleared to enter!"
"That's wonderful!" Juliana beamed.
"Usually, you'd start by battling regular students and climbing the ranks…" she noted. "But seeing as how you've got recommendations from several Elite Four members and Director Cyrano, you'll start from a higher rank."
"Director Cyrano vouched for me…?" Juliana said in awe.
"I'm not surprised you made a great impression on the Director himself," said Drayton. "You two are a lot alike, actually."
"…No, they're not," Carmine mumbled, trying to figure out what Juliana possibly had in common with a kooky old man.
"You'll automatically start on Elite Rank thanks to those high recommendations," said the receptionist. "That means you'll skip straight to challenging the Elite Four at their respective bases in the Terrarium! Once you clear their trails, that is."
"Oooh," said Juliana.
"Wow, look at you getting to skip all the peons!" Carmine marveled. "My friends had better watch out for you!"
Kieran gave her an aside look. "Yeah… imagine that," he said a bit bitterly.
Carmine huffed and played with her hair.
"I—I didn't endorse her either, y'know." I didn't even want her to get involved in this BB League nonsense…
Kieran hmphed defiantly and faced Juliana head-on.
"At least I won't have to wait around for long. It's time you finally saw for yourself, Juliana. I'm not a little kid anymore." He held his chin up. "And you'll know it when I show you how the best of the best battle. The days of playin' around in Kitakami are long over, 'friend'."
Then he brashly turned around before walking away on his own.
"Kieran…" Juliana tried to call out.
"Looking forward to seeing you climb the ranks," was the last thing he said before they saw the back of him.
Once he was gone, Carmine grumbled out loud.
"That little twerp…" She turned to Juliana. "I'm sorry, Juliana. I swear, he seemed much more sorry when I talked to him this morning. I thought maybe he was actually going to try being friends with you again."
"It's okay. At least he… didn't look like he wants to kill me this time," Juliana awkwardly laughed off. "I'm really glad to see you guys talking to each other again."
Carmine shrugged. "I figured I should give it another shot like you said… And I don't know. He wouldn't say much until I got him to talk about you… I think he's still a little upset with me. But even so, for a small moment there, it—it felt like Kiki was my brother again."
She smiled a bit, and Juliana saw her cheeks get rosy, which swelled up the joy in her own heart.
"That's awesome, Carmine!" she grinned. Did I say something about giving Kieran another shot? Huh. I don't remember. Well, whatever.
"Awww, it warms my cool heart to see you and Kieran burying the hatchet!" Drayton squeed. "You two were always so adorable together!"
"Nobody was talking to you, bozo," Carmine replied, looking annoyed again. "Why don't you take a break from being all nosey with my friend and go bother someone else?"
"Carmine," Juliana said sternly. "It's really no big deal—"
"Nah, the tea lady's right. Playing third wheel to you girls isn't really my scene anyway."
"Tea lady!? Third wheel!?" Carmine seethed.
"I should go and see if I can find my own tall glass of water to drink…" he said slyly as he walked away.
Carmine scoffed after him.
"Seriously? No guy or girl is going to want to give him a chance if he uses that as his pick-up line."
"Guy or girl?"
"Yeah, that's right… He's so desperate to find a Frillish who'll swim with him that he made himself colorblind."
Juliana snickered out loud at the unique simile.
"Drayton's still up to something fishy, I just know it…" Carmine signed resignedly. "But, whatever. Plenty of time to worry about that later. Can you and I talk somewhere private?"
"S-sure!"
"Wow, so this is your room, huh?"
Carmine stepped into the dorm room and looked around. It was still a fairly basic setup, Juliana clearly having dedicated more of her time to her new classes and tackling BBQ's than sprucing up her home base.
She had a big poster of Uva Academy on the wall, borrowed from her own dorm room back at said school, along with a big frame that encased all of Juliana's Badges.
All… eighteen of them?
Eight of Juliana's Badges had a distinct gold glimmer to them, which Carmine assumed meant they were the official Gym Badges of her region's League. There were five more Badges that were similar to the Gym Badges, but hand-painted silver. The other five Badges looked more crudely painted on with different color patterns and molded-in Type symbols.
And on the nightstand next to Juliana's bedside, was a photo of Juliana herself, posing with three other students and her Miraidon smiling behind all of them.
"Are these your friends from your letter?" she asked, picking it up.
Juliana nodded. "Yeah!" Carmine handed her the photo, where she pointed to each of them. "Nemona! Arven! And Penny!"
"Awww, how sweet! I'm glad you found your own squad of chumps."
"Yeah, my best friends in the whole world!" said Juliana, looking at the picture fondly. "Nemona's the really strong Champion Trainer I told you about who helped me get started on my journey, Arven's the one I fought those Titan Pokémon with so he co—"
"Oh, yikes."
At some point, Carmine had stopped paying attention so that she could keep sniffing around and was now holding the fridge and freezer doors open.
"Don't you have anything to make in here besides pre-cooked meals and stuff to nuke in the microwave?"
Juliana snickered a bit at her friend's skewed priorities. "Well… Food is food, right?"
"Food is supposed to be nutrition! Not… preheated lunch meat and boxes full of carbs!" She looked at Juliana with a grave face that reminded her of her mother. "You do know how to cook some things for yourself, right?"
Juliana's eyes darted around nervously.
"Umm… sandwiches?"
"Oh my gosh, Juliana." Carmine facepalmed. "That's it. At some point, we're making our own date here and I am going to show you how to cook proper meals so you can take care of yourself and your tummy."
"Fine, but… didn't you want to talk to me about something important?"
"Oh, right. Yeah. The BB League and stuff."
Carmine closed the fridge and made herself comfortable on Juliana's bed.
"Look… it's in my nature to be blunt, so I'm just going to say this outright… I was really hoping you wouldn't be dragged into all this nonsense between me, Kiki… Drayton… and the whole BB League."
"Why not?"
"You're such an innocent, naive little girl…" Carmine said. "Too precious for our miserable world. And definitely too pure for this tough old club of ours."
"I'm not all hugs and smiles, you know!" Juliana responded. "I know how to be tough too! When we have that little cooking date or whatever, I'm going to tell you all about my adventures in Paldea so that you can see I'm more than just… cute!"
Carmine chuckled and shook her head.
"And yet, your cuteness is still your best asset." Carmine took a deep breath. "But, well... you seem to have made up your mind. So if you're gonna do this, you might as well do your best. I'll be cheering for you."
Juliana sat on the bed next to her and smiled.
"Thanks, Carmine. I'm glad to have your support."
"Y-yeah…"
Carmine began to blush a little, having Juliana sit so close to her.
And Juliana didn't notice, but she was blushing a bit too.
She'd come to realize over the past few days that being with Carmine elicited a really special feeling within her. At first, it was the same as the warmness she used to feel from Nemona, and eventually what she felt every time she spent time with all her Paldean friends.
But something about this was different. Spending time together with Carmine created a unique joy inside Juliana's heart that she found… almost incomparable to anything else.
She remembered how in Paldea, she'd been so focused on breaking down Carmine's walls and achieving ultimate friendship with her. Perhaps, she figured, Carmine was now doing the same thing back to her…
And it was working. Quite well. Ever since she'd come to Blueberry and reignited her friendship with Carmine… every moment they were apart, Juliana would find herself looking forward to the next time she met up with the tall Kitakamite girl again.
When Carmine wasn't right in front of her, Juliana kept imagining her smile. Her laugh. Everything about her beautiful face.
Is this what having a sister feels like?
"But if you're really going to do this, and you're starting facing off against the Elite Four…" Carmine paused and closed her eyes. "Well, you'd better make sure you know what you're in for."
"Of course I do," Juliana replied. "This isn't the first Elite Four I've been up against, you know."
Carmine shook her head stubbornly.
"Yeah, but… Look, I know beating the Champion in your region was a huge deal for you. And it is! But this is—well, it's like ten whole levels above that! Did Drayton show you about the system we use to run battle simulations in the League Club?"
"A little bit, yeah."
"Well, everyone in the League Club has probably run simulations on Geeta. They all know how to beat her. Hell, my friends probably know how to beat every Champion's team!"
"Oh… wow." The weight of the situation finally did begin to hit Juliana a bit.
"Finally getting the picture, right? Well here's my advice. You should spend the next couple of days doing everything you can to prepare."
"So I shouldn't… just go ahead and fight right now?"
"Absolutely not!" Carmine replied, her eyes widening in alarm. "You don't even know half of the Pokémon we use here in the Terrarium! You need to focus on familiarizing yourself not just with the local fauna here, but all the strategies we use! Even though you don't have to fight anyone for your rank, you should 100% look for club members to challenge so you can hone your strats well, especially for Double Battles!"
"Huh."
"And take some of Blueberry's advanced battling courses too. You really need to get a leg up on how to defeat my friends. Speaking of which…" Carmine smiled softly. "You're awfully lucky. You've got something powerful that nobody else who makes it to Elite has."
"What's that?"
Carmine pointed proudly to herself. "Me as your ultimate coach, of course! I know all my friends' teams and tricks inside and out, and can give you all the hot deets on how to get under Amarys's skin, or beat Lacey's terrifying Slowbro!"
"Wow!" said Juliana. Thinking about it though, she shook her head. "I don't know…. That doesn't seem honest."
"What do you mean?" she whined. "Think of it as the perk of having me as a friend! You certainly didn't buddy up with me in Kitakami knowing I was going to be your cheat code."
"Yeah, but… didn't you say that you refused to use your friends to give Kieran an advantage?"
Carmine was a little caught off-guard. "Well, I—that's true, but…"
"Thanks, Carmine. I'll take your advice, but… not your cheat codes. I want to go into this just as fairly as anyone else, including Kieran."
Carmine snarled. "Rrrr… I guess that's fair."
Carmine had to concede that point, but in her head, the comparison actually did start to trouble her.
That's a good point, though… Why am I so much more eager to provide help to Juliana than I was for Kieran? I mean, I know I have… a little bit of feelings for her. But, Kiki's my brother… Why didn't I want to support him just as strongly?
She decided to bury that thought for now and re-focus on Juliana.
"Well, if you won't accept my insider info… I still have something else to offer you."
She drew out Ogerpon's Ball and called out the Mask Pokémon.
"Ponio?" Ogerpon beamed upon seeing Juliana and saluted. "Pon-pon!"
"I think… you should use Ogerpon in your battles!"
"Huh!?"
Juliana looked down at Ogerpon in surprise. The little gremlin, for her part, unsheathed her ivy cudgel and waved it proudly around herself, as if telling Juliana she was more than ready for battle.
"Battle with… Ogerpon?"
"Ogerpon's grown so much tougher than you last saw her and would be the most valuable asset at your disposal!" Carmine showed her. "I can even show you all the cool new moves that she's learned!"
"Poyo-ponio!" Ogerpon agreed.
"I don't know… Wouldn't that, still be—"
"What? An unfair advantage?" Carmine shook her head. "Not at all. My friends have already seen Ogerpon and her whole gimmick up close. They know how she and all her different masks work. They might not be so prepared to counter her but… isn't the greatest fun of battling when you can think on the fly?"
"Sure, but… what about Kieran?"
Carmine glanced at Ogerpon, who smiled back at her.
"Yeah…. But, I was talking to her about battling with Kieran, and… she didn't seem to tense up the same way she usually does. I feel like—the excitement of a battle might end up overriding how scared she is of him. It might be even the best way for her to confront her fear!"
Juliana gazed into Ogerpon's starry eyes, still unsure.
"Look… to tell you the truth, Juliana, Ogerpon—also hasn't seen very many battles lately," Carmine said more softly. "Totally my fault. I haven't really had the drive for it… So, this would be really good for Ogerpon… and a great opportunity for you to bond again! T—the two of us still have a great rapport, of course! But… Ogerpon always really liked you too, Juliana. I think… I think this would mean the world to her."
The Paldean girl looked at Ogerpon for one more solitary stare. Then finally, she said, "Okay… yeah. Yeah, I'll admit, I kinda want to battle with Ogerpon too!"
"Pon?" Ogerpon said excitedly.
"Let's crush the BB League together!" Juliana said enthusiastically, holding out her hand.
Ogerpon leapt up and gave a mighty high-five as the two laughed with each other.
Carmine giggled too, although as she watched Juliana's immediate camaraderie with Ogerpon, a small part of her started to frown. But she shook it away to smile her best for Juliana.
"Well, there you have it! Ogerpon will be giving you amazing field support, and I'll be there on the sidelines cheering you on!" she giggled. "You couldn't ask for a hotter support base, right?"
"Aren't I lucky," Juliana giggled.
"Aren't you indeed!"
Juliana smiled to herself, feeling much more positive about something that she chose to confront.
"So… it really was you, right?"
"Hmm? Me what?"
"Wanting to get in touch again… Having me show Ogerpon all the battles she hasn't gotten to enjoy… Not knowing what to do about Kieran. These are all the reasons you decided to invite me to Blueberry Academy, aren't they?"
Carmine's eyebrows furrowed. She took another seat on the bed.
"I am way beyond thrilled to have you here at our school, Juliana. Ogerpon totally is, too. But…" she frowned. "I'm sorry to disappoint, but it really wasn't me who put you up for the exchange program."
"…Oh." Juliana deflated a bit.
"If you want my honest opinion, I think it was probably Kiki. It seems like he's—really been itching to have another battle with you and set things, well—what he thinks is right."
But Juliana stood up and shook her head.
"It wasn't Kieran, either. In fact, he thought it was you that did it!"
"What?" Now Carmine was really confused.
"Well… I guess it doesn't matter too much, right?" Juliana knelt down and smiled at Ogerpon again. "All that matters is I'm here now! And you and I are going to have so much fun training, Ogerpon!"
"Pon-pon-pon!"
Juliana and Ogerpon happily began playing patty cake with each other, while Carmine watched them, wanting to smile but still feeling troubled.
I don't understand. If Kiki didn't submit Juliana's name for the program… then who did?
She started fingering the crossed bangs in front of her face as it twisted in uncertainty.
Something's really fishy here…
A week passed after Juliana signed up for the BB League. She decided to take Carmine's advice and, rather than charge straight into the Elite Four's bases right away, took the slow path to studying up on all the different Pokémon used in Blueberry Academy, battling several students to get a feel for how to strategize against Carmine's tough friends, and looking for new additions to her team to diversify her Pokémon portfolio even greater.
After a solid week of this prep time, which much to Carmine's chagrin did not include that promised cooking lesson to improve her diet, Juliana made her way to the Savannah Plaza, a large structure within the heated desert-y biome where she would face the first of the BB Elite Four's terrifying trials.
"I've been waiting for a fiery challenger like you, Juliana!" Crispin informed her as she followed him to the site of his Elite Trial. "Taking on the Elite Four pretty much right after coming to our school? Now that's lit! No wonder Kieran and Drayton like you! And if I'm being honest, you've kindled my curiosity too!"
"The feeling's mutual!" Juliana replied. "You all seemed so cool when I met you in the cafeteria!"
"You mean… burnin' hot, right?" Crispin winked.
"Uhhh, sure, yeah."
"We're here!" he announced. "I should warn you, though—my trial is no cakewalk!" Crispin warned her in a menacing tone. He flashed up his prized cooking pan as he juggled a Poké Ball inside it. "Are you ready to turn up the heat, Juliana?"
Juliana gazed upon Crispin's pan and began to feel nervous.
Uh-oh… Crispin seems to be really obsessed with cooking… His trial isn't all about cooking, is it!? Is my Elite Four challenge about to end before it begins!?
Last time I've tried to cook using Mom's kitchenware, I almost burnt our house to the ground!
Oh man… I should've taken Carmine up on learning to cook after all!
I still can't make anything but sandwiches!
"My Elite Trial is...putting together a super-spicy SANDWICH!"
Juliana's jaw dropped… and she burst out laughing.
In fact, she laughed so hard she fell to the ground, guffawing more in relief than anything else.
Crispin just stood there confused, scratching his head with his frying pan.
"Ummm… did I sound funny, or something…?"
Carmine made her way into one of the student lounges, where she looked around nervously at all the students gathered in front of the big-screen TV.
She looked like a lost little Poochyena until she finally spotted her friends, much to her relief.
"Oh! Lacey! Amarys!"
She ran up to the couch up right in front of the big screen, where Lacey and Amarys were gathered. Lacey stood up to give Carmine a big hug.
"Awww, Carmine! I'm so glad you decided to come! Amarys and I were getting worried you were getting to stay in your room."
"Huh? After an invite to watch Juliana's opening match with you girls? Why would I miss something like that?"
"…I suppose it was an assumed reaction given your hesitance in watching any of Kieran's matches against our rank," said Amarys.
This gave Carmine pause.
"I—Well. Sure, but… Since then, I've—decided it'd be good to show my support and all that. Heh-heh."
Carmine felt troubled once more.
There it is again. I'm not treating Juliana differently from how I did Kiki… right?
"That was absolutely perfect, Juliana!" Crispin complimented his challenger. "Your sandwich brought the heat like nothing else!"
"Thanks, Crispin!" Juliana smiled.
The two were walking together back to the Plaza, into the big arena where the two of them were readying to do battle now that Crispin had given her Elite Trial a passing grade.
"I'm a bit surprised you didn't put the bread on top, though," he commented. "Is that a Paldean thing...?"
Juliana fidgeted a bit. "Umm! Uhhh… yeah, sure."
She figured telling him the real reason for instinctively not putting bread on her sandwiches would just make her look crazy to someone who doesn't know the secret art of Meal Powers.
"Well, no matter your quirky sandwich preparing ways, that wraps up the trial, so now it's time to face me in an elite battle!"
Crispin took his spot at one end of the arena while Juliana took hers.
"So… Juliana! I take it there's some messy history between you and Kieran, huh? He seemed kinda salty after that lunchroom meeting."
Juliana frowned a bit.
"Oh, snap, did I hit a sore point? Sorry."
"No, it's okay…" she said. "We fought a while ago, and I guess he never really got over it…"
"And it sure seems like Drayton's cookin' up something fishy, too..."
"I know."
"Gahhhh!" Crispin startled Juliana by throwing his hands in the air and yelling. "Everything's getting so complicated! Can't you all just get over yourselves!?"
"Wha-?" Juliana backed up a little, frightened by his outburst.
Crispin took a deep breath and eased up.
"Sorry to get a bit roasted there… I'm just so frustrated at everything that's been happening in this League." Crispin complained. "I was so excited to join this club because I thought it was gonna be a lot of fun…" He looked downtrodden. "But Kieran's going around pushing everyone, people are keeping secrets… That's not what being a club is supposed to be all about… right?"
Juliana gazed at him sympathetically. She realized now that Crispin was probably the Elite Four's purest ingredient, caught up in the fires of everyone else's rage.
"…I'm sorry, Crispin."
"Hey, it's alright," he replied, perking himself up again. "I just don't get what's wrong with being direct. If you wanna say something, just SAY it! If you wanna do something, just DO it!"
"Y-yeah! Totally! I feel the same way!" Juliana nodded. "Honesty is better than anything! And doing this Challenge… maybe, maybe it's how Kieran and I can start over and be more honest too."
Crispin nodded back. "I'm not the kinda guy who wastes time sweating the small stuff! I battle because I wanna battle! And you know what? That's how it should be!"
Juliana smiled. "You're so right, Crispin… You should be the spokesman for this whole club."
"Heh! Well, that's quite a compliment… Maybe you really are the kind of shakeup this club needs, Juliana. But we've got no more time for pleasantries!"
Crispin popped out one of his Quick Balls containing his team members and flipped it up and down on his frying pan.
"You all prepped and ready to take me on?"
"More than ready," Juliana said confidently. "Let's bring on the heat!"
"Hey, that was gonna be my line!" he laughed.
The battle commenced, and Carmine wasn't surprised to see Juliana on the big screen leading the fray with her sea-faring powerhouses.
Her now fully evolved Palafin, which at first glance looked completely identical to the Finizen Carmine fought back at home, was joined by Ogerpon, clad in her Wellspring Mask and ready to bring some aqua-soaked hurt onto Crispin's flaming hot Camerupt and Heat Rotom.
"Awww, she's starting with Ogerpon right away!" Lacey cooed.
"I bet that little cutie could take out all of Crispin's team just on her own!" Carmine smiled.
"It seems hardly in question where your allegiances lie…" Amarys dryly remarked.
"Hey, whoever wins wins, right?" Carmine replied.
"Well, I hate to be honest, but your bestie's playing a rather predictable card," Lacey observed. "Surely she realizes this is nowhere near Crispin's first time dealing with two back-to-back Water types."
"And it's only been a few days," Carmine was forced to agree. "I don't think she's had time to train up any brand new Water Pokémon here…"
"Palafin, use Flip Turn!" Juliana commanded through the screen.
Her Palafin did a majestic backflip in the air before rushing Crispin's Camerupt, taking it out in one hit, and then retreating back into its Net Ball.
"Gah!" Crispin cried out. "I was just about to take that silly Finizen out too!"
…Does he not know? Carmine wondered.
"Go, Araquanid!"
Juliana tossed out another Net Ball, and a huge water spider Pokémon scampered out onto the field and made a bubbly cry.
Carmine's eyes lit up. "Or… never mind. She's already raised up a whole freaking Araquanid! Dang, you work fast…"
Then she took a look around her.
"Hey… is that dullard Drayton not showing up to watch?"
Lacey shook her head. "Usually he just watches these alone all up in his frozen palace."
"Drayton's high tolerance for excruciatingly cold temperatures is both commendable and mildly alarming…" said Amarys.
Lacey gave a dainty chuckle, but Carmine was deep in thought about something. Whatever was running through her head, it was enough to keep making her forehead ridges grow.
"…Can I ask you two something?" she asked.
"Sure, what's up, Carmie?" asked Lacey, still in-between giggles.
"In all those meetings you guys have had with Kieran… Did he ever, like, mention Juliana in front of you guys?"
Lacey and Amarys turned to each other, and thought about it.
"Mmm… not, more than once or twice, maybe?" said Lacey. "Although… now that I'm thinking of it, he really doesn't talk much about anything but the League."
"Although…"
Amarys spoke up, which made the two of them look at her.
"Searching through my memory banks, there was that one strange occasion at one of our meetings, about a month ago. Kieran raised his voice at us, and then he secluded himself into a corner where we could all hear him mumbling quietly about an unnamed girl he was incensed with." Amarys's eyes danced around for a bit. "By now, I'm speculating this mystery girl who seemed to trouble him so… may well have been referring to Juliana, if his grudge towards her is as intense as you claim."
Carmine was starting to feel more and more of a terrible suspicion creeping up.
"Oh yeah, that's right! I'd forgotten!" said Lacey. "That was a really weird week for everyone. Wasn't it like, the day after that Drayton kept bugging me with his weird psychological questions until he tricked me into talking about Juliana?"
"Then he made a bizarre declaration of his need to use the restroom."
"Yeah, yeah!" Lacey pouted. "That's when I caught him bothering you in the cafeteria, Carmine. Just what was going through Drayton's head any… way?"
When she turned back around to Carmine, Carmine had adopted a grave face. Her teeth showed more and more until she looked positively enraged.
"That… conniving… SNEASEL!"
Suddenly, and without warning, Carmine turned on her heel and booked it right out of the viewing room, even shoving a few students past.
"Huh!? Carmine!? CARMINE!?" Lacey tried to call out to her, but to no avail. "Oh dear… that's definitely her 'I'm-about-to-commit-murder' face."
"But who is the unfortunate target to Carmine's unbridled rage…?"
"GYAAHH!"
They heard a sudden cry from the TV screen and looked up to see Juliana's Palafin, now having taken on a much different more souped-up form from its usual dolphin shape, gave a pounding fist in the air as it cried a mighty dolphin cry.
Crispin's face looked flabbergasted.
"Wait, how di—Y—You mean the… the Mighty Hero Palafin is real!?"
Snowflakes danced in the air over the tall, glacial mountains overlooking the expansive arctic vibes of the Terrarium's Polar Biome.
Up on one of the cliffs in this tundra-like area, just on the outskirts of one of the outdoor classrooms, stood its diligent leader. Leaning on one of the blocky columns dotted throughout the biome, phone in hand.
Smiling to himself.
"Poor Crispin," Drayton chuckled. "You really shouldn't have let all those cooking classes take priority over studying every Pokémon's abilities. This battle is about to burn to a crisp."
"HEY!" came a sharp cry.
He looked up to see a certain angry-faced girl riding in from being carried by her Toucannon's talons.
"Oh, man. Guess she just can't get enough of me…"
Once Carmine touched the ground, she marched towards him with loud crunches of her feet hitting the snow in each step.
"Hey, you! Asshole!"
"Carmine!" Drayton welcomed with a smile and open arms. "What luck! I suspect Juliana is about to cinch a victory against our hotheaded little Crispin over there, and I was just about to be on my way to go congratulate her! Wanna come with-?"
He was barely able to get that sentence out before Carmine made her way over and immediately grabbed him by his coat.
"I'll… take that as a no?"
Carmine's face was red with anger. She was burning up so much right now she could barely even feel the stinging cold this high up in the Polar Biome. She was gritting her teeth hard, and her shrunken yellow eyes dug into Drayton's like twin laser beams as they danced around in her irises.
"I've got a bone to pick with you, knucklehead!" she said in a very aggressive tone. "How is it that so soon after that day you decided to be an annoying pest and ask me a whole bunch of questions about Juliana and how strong she is, that suddenly, not even a month later, somebody has 'anonymously' put her name in to come to Blueberry Academy as an exchange student. Wasn't me. And apparently wasn't Kiki either!"
"Well, the whole point of it being 'anonymous' is that it really could have been anybody who's read up on Juliana's great exploits in—"
He was interrupted by Carmine furiously shaking him about.
"Yeah. Yeah-huh. Well, try to explain then how it is that not even ten seconds after Juliana has set foot in this school, you march right on up to her and you've already got this master plan to manipulate her into the League Club and getting her all signed up with the BB League on a big 'date' like you were expecting her!"
"I feel the wind of some wild accusations being thrown my way," he responded coolly. "Is it a crime to see an exchange student still feeling their way around this school and want to try to help them make frie—"
"JUST STOP PLAYING PUPPETMASTER FOR ONCE IN YOUR STINKIN' LIFE, BOZO!" Carmine shouted right in his face. "What was the big idea, huh!? Did you see that I had a pretty friend overseas and you decided to spit in my face by luring her all the way so you could STEAL HER FROM ME, YOU FREAK!?"
"Whoa, hey now. Steal her from you?" Drayton repeated. "I wasn't aware Juliana was yours for the taking. Does she even know about your little—"
"THAT'S IT!"
Now Drayton found himself being dragged across the snow, until Carmine was holding him right up to the edge of a cliff.
"Carmine, what's going on?" he said, unfazed. "Are you playing mafia or something? I didn't mean to touch a nerve, honest. It's all in good fun—"
"You'd better start talking, or you're going to have 'good fun' down there in the water!"
Drayton tensely looked down below the cliff, to see a pool of water at the bottom, where he could indeed glint with his eyes and spot several Seel and Horsea splashing around. …Thankfully, no Hisuian Qwilfish. At least that he could see.
He gulped smally, hoping for Carmine not to see.
"Hey, what if I told you that I actually don't know how to swim?"
Carmine's teeth just grit even harder, and she started holding him even closer to the edge, making him almost have to balance on his feet, much to his alarm.
"I'd say that's a really funny thing for someone to say who won the Unovan Youth Triathlon in Humilau City as a kid over three years in a row."
Drayton quickly began to lose his cool, finally beginning to feel that his life might genuinely be in danger.
"Oh, so you—you've done your homework on me, huh?" he stammered in a way that was unlike him. "Wow, you're—you're genuinely really mad this time. This is more than just a little crush, isn't it?"
Carmine growled furiously, and began to raise her fist in the air. Drayton was in full-on panic mode now. It wasn't the first time Carmine had threatened him with her fist, but this was the first time he realized there was a chance she was legitimately about to throttle him.
"Okay, wait, wait!" he found himself begging with his palms out. "Alright, hey! If you promise not to hurt this handsome face, I'll cooperate with you. Seriously."
"Grrrr!"
Still feeling the fury of a thousand suns, Carmine jerked Drayton away from the edge and let him get his bearings.
"Phew, thank you…" He exhaled. "Man, Juliana's damn lucky. I feel sorry for anybody who ever messes with her—"
"Enough of your guff, Drayton. Just start talking."
"Okay, well… first of all, I won't confirm nor deny anything. My ma's a big-time lawyer back in Lacunosa, so I know what 'admissible guilt' is. And if you think you're scary, by the way, you're nothing compared to my ma that one night she caught me out past curfew and—"
"For crying out loud!" Carmine gripped her forehead with her hands. "Do you ever just STOP babbling?"
Drayton sighed.
"Look, all I'm gonna say is… whoever it was, that did recommend Juliana? Still not an admission by the way! Whoever it was probably had nothing but good intentions."
"Oh, really?" she rolled her eyes.
"Totally. They must've seen how frustrated everyone in the League is. How much Kieran is still obsessed over beating her to the point that it's ruining everyone's fun and himself. He's not eating or sleeping, remember?"
Carmine just puckered in response.
"And, most of all… they saw how much you've clearly been missing her. This mystery hero, whoever they are… clearly just wants to see everyone be happy again. That's why they did it."
He put a hand over his heart.
"Because they care."
Carmine just eyed him for a while, trying to make sense of Drayton's confuddling rationale. Then, deciding she was fed up with all this, just groaned out loud.
"Forget it! If you're not even man enough to confess, then I'm just wasting time and freezing my butt off up here. I give in. Wallow up here all by yourself, you big freaking loser."
She swiftly turned around and started stomping away, making even more loud crunches with the snow.
"Hey, you know… I did you a favor!" Drayton called out to her.
Carmine's head craned back. "WHAT!?"
"That little 'date' that she and I had? If anything, all it did was prove her loyalty to you. She didn't show even the slightest bit of interest in me. Heck, I don't even think she likes guys at all."
Carmine just grumbled in annoyance.
"Boys like you are the reason I'm not into guys!" she seethed.
"I'll take that as a compliment!"
Carmine marched off into the thick snowy fog, calling up her Toucannon to get her the heck out of this frozen hell.
Drayton just chuckled after her. But once he knew for sure she was gone, he bristled quite a bit to himself and held the ends of his coat close.
"Phew. Almost flew too close to the sun for a minute there, Drayster… We'd better stay out of her way from now on."