Juliana stared into the abyss.
And the blank white canvas stared back at her.
Before she left for her exciting new exchange student life in Unova, Juliana used to spend several days a week inside Uva Academy's art club. Already indued with a lifelong interest in drawing and decorating cute things, attending Hassel's classes and learning new techniques and art forms from his lessons often inspired Juliana to put brush to canvas or pencil to paper and create images based on her wonderous adventures in Paldea.
And even when she didn't have inspiration to turn into brushstrokes, Juliana often found that just soaking in the vibes of all her classmates' creativity filled her with good feelings and made it fun to hang out in the gathering of young and talented minds like hers.
But now, back home from Blueberry, something had changed in Juliana.
She sat at one of the tables, now clad in her Uva Academy uniform and school hat once more. But now Juliana had applied the autumn-themed yellow vest to her ensemble, reflecting on the colder winter months Paldea was now in.
Rejoining Uva's art club was one of the things she was most eagerly looking forward to upon her return. And yet, no matter how often she went into the art room, and sat herself down in front of one of the easels… Juliana did nothing.
She felt nothing.
She felt none of her old enthusiasm springing to mind, no passion for creativity. She watched and observed what the rest of her classmates were creating on canvases or sculpting with clay… Apparently, some of them were engaging in wood carving now! Which should make Juliana excited. but none of it filled her with any strong feelings. It was very strange.
Juliana just felt so… empty.
Rather than these extracurricular Uva activities lifting her aspirations like before, Juliana felt more aimless than ever before. She couldn't muster any clear motivations, desires, or ambitions in her mind.
In fact, that's all that she could get herself to keep thinking about was, the same thing that concerned her out that one morning:
What is my purpose now?
She had left Blueberry Academy because it felt like there was no purpose left for her to serve there. But Uva Academy didn't seem to be offering any solace either. Juliana was feeling less like a person with active goals and interests and more like…
A hollow puppet. Waiting for somebody to push her in the right direction.
Hence… no brush would be picked up. The canvas stayed blank.
Juliana's recent habit of going to the art club just to sit and stare at a canvas board for half an hour didn't seem to bother most of the students. But to those who knew of Juliana and saw her like that, it was… very concerning.
"Man. Does Juliana just have all the free time in the world to come to this club every day just so she can… sit there, looking like a freaking zombie?"
Mela rested her chin over her hands as she watched the girl who defeated her Starmobile with a sour, puzzled face.
In a far cry from how everyone knew the hotheaded leader of Team Star's Schedar Squad with her flamboyant ensemble, Mela had started presenting herself more conservatively since she started attending classes at Uva.
Gone was the wild fiery hair and burning eyebrows, replaced by a much gentler bob cut. And rather than parading around school in her long, thick red boots handmade by Atticus, Mela joined her squad-mates in agreeing to testfire Uva Academy's brand-new school uniforms for Director Clavell.
"Such a waste too," she gruffed. "When I heard Juliana was coming back, I thought we were gonna get to do some fun art stuff together!"
"Like what?" Florian asked curiously.
"I dunno, like… building a cool sculpture together, or sharin' some of our own ideas back and forth to draw an awesome battle scene! Y'know, something fun like that!"
The boy sitting next to Mela nodded. Having come from the same town as Juliana, and bearing a rather striking appearance to her, with similar heights, hair, and even eye colors, Florian had gotten used to people joking that he and Juliana were like twins separated at birth.
It got much weirder as they both grew up and their neighbors in Cabo Poco started gushing about how cute the two of them looked together. Florian had finally caved in and agreed to their parents setting them up on a date… which ended with Juliana confessing to Florian that she believed she might be more into girls than boys and had been hiding those feelings from everyone.
Rather than being upset, Florian completely supported Juliana and encouraged her to be herself.
"I get what you mean. I was really excited to get to know her again since we're finally attending school together!" Florian frowned. "But Juliana's so… distant now. Nothing like how I remembered her…"
"Oh yeah! I forgot you said you two used to be pals. And now she doesn't even recognize ya. That's gotta be rough!"
Florian chuckled. Not everyone in Uva was used to Mela's unfiltered tongue, but it was the reason why when given a choice to train at one of Team Star's new STC facilities Florian immediately chose Schedar Squad's Base. He found Mela's biting demeanor… oddly charming, and soon the two of them ended up hitting it off in a tight bond nobody could really explain.
"Well, we both got older… And she seems to have a lot on her mind these days." He tilted his head. "…I think?"
Then Florian edged up as he suddenly heard voices behind him. It was two of Mela's fellow Team Star bosses who had suddenly come up from behind and were whispering along with Mela.
Team Star still has their own secret conversations from time to time, I guess…
Mela nodded and whispered back while pointing to Juliana. Adopting concerned faces, the two of them decided to walk over towards Juliana. When Mela turned back to see Florian's frazzled face, she giggled.
"Say, what's your problem?" Then her eyebrows suddenly furrowed. "You got a bone to pick with my squadmates or somethin'!?"
"No, no!" he defended. "They just… startled me, that's all!"
"Relax, Florian, I was just pullin' your leg that time!" Mela gave him a playful smack on the shoulder.
Florian scoffed. "You're the worst sometimes!" He nudged her arm in return.
"Hey, I'm the BEST all the time and don't you forget it!" she giggled, pushing Florian so hard he almost fell out of his chair.
Meanwhile, seas apart at Blueberry Academy, Juliana's newfound absence only made the atmosphere around the League Club feel even more awkward.
Kieran had chosen to keep to himself and focus on trying to catch up on his studies after Juliana bore goodbye, which Lacey understood and encouraged.
…But now she was seeing even less of Carmine, who had withdrawn from the BB League challenge completely and kept her head down ever since Juliana left without saying goodbye.
So it was a bright spot that day—a momentary one-while Lacey and Amarys were chatting in the League Club Room, a surprising face walked in.
"Kieran!" Lacey gasped.
The pink-haired girl didn't even wait for Kieran to say anything, she ran over and immediately hugged him. Gently of course, since he was still wearing his sling.
"Glad to see the cast is off!" she noted.
"Yeah," he said. "Thanks to all those aloe baths Carmine gave me, the skin on my arm's healing up quite nicely, the nurse said."
"That's wonderful, Kieran," said Amarys.
"So what's up?"
Lacey asked that with a cheerful smile, but when she saw Kieran's head slump down, she quickly sensed something grave.
"What's… up?" she repeated, a bit more worried.
He sighed.
"I'm sorry. I know you said you were hoping there wasn't gonna be any more drama in here after Juliana left, but… I got something to tell ya."
Juliana was still staring hard at the empty canvas, like she was waiting for it to give her ideas. Then she felt a tap on her shoulder.
She swiveled around to see a tall black-haired classmate and an even taller girl with tanned skin, both wearing those brand new Uva uniforms.
"Hi!" she said cheerfully. "Can I help you guys?"
The girl giggled. "Juliana, it's us! Eri and Giacomo!"
"Geez, maybe I gotta find a more memorable look for me," Giacomo fretted.
"Oh! Right!" Juliana blushed. "Hi, guys! I'm sorry, I'm just still not used to seeing you guys… like that."
"It's no problem," Eri smiled. "We're still not used to be dressed like this either!"
"Yeah, no biggie!" Giacomo gave Juliana a thumbs-up. "Maybe when I start actually putting out some tunes as DJ Vice, then everyone at Uva will recognize this mug from a mile away!"
"I'll be the first one to buy your album!" Juliana giggled. "So, what's up? Did you guys need something? Oh! More tutoring help, maybe? That big study session we had was a lot of fun!"
"Hell yeah—I mean, heck yeah!" Giacomo agreed, trying to remember Uva's rule about cursing. "But no, we don't need more tutorin' right now. …Well, maybe we do a little bit… especially good old Ortega, but that's not the big story right now."
"That's right," said Eri. "Penny asked us to check up on you and… ask if you're doing alright."
Juliana seemed confused.
"Penny? Well, yeah of course I'm fine! She knows that, doesn't she? I saw her at the study group!"
"Yeah…" Eri said hesitantly. "It's just, well…" She twiddled her fingers nervously, which Giacomo took as a sign to take over.
"See, I guess that was a pretty awkward situation for our big boss because like, she didn't even know you were BACK at our school and all that jazz! Heh, so you… totally got to go to a whole 'nother school, huh? We were really wonderin' why we never ran into you in any classes!"
"Oh…" Now Juliana looked embarrassed. "Shoot. I guess that explains why she looked so surprised to see me there… Guess I really screwed up."
"Don't worry about it," Eri said encouragingly. "You got too busy to catch up right away! It happens. No harm, no fowl. Penny's super chill, I know she won't be mad."
"Yeah. I should still apologize to her next time I see her around, though," Juliana figured.
"Yes, you should," Eri said matter-of-factly. "Good friends should always square away their differences as soon as possible instead of avoiding each other and letting them fester."
Juliana nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, that's good advice…"
I got to remember that next time I can apply it to something…
"Is that one of them inspirational quotes they like to post on the school website, or did you make it up all on your own?" Giacomo wondered. "Anyway, didn't Penny say something else we gotta tell Juliana?"
"Oh, right! Hey Juliana, one more thing. Penny said that right before you left for that other place, that you two had made a promise to have something called anime nights together?"
Juliana searched her memory cells a bit. "Yeah, that—that sounds familiar."
There was a silence afterwards that Giacomo found awkward.
"So… I guess she wants to know if you two are still golden on that!"
"Yeah, absolutely!" she said with a smile. "Let Penny know that whenever she wants to do that, I'm game!"
"Okie-dokey…" Giacomo responded.
Another silence followed. Eri looked a bit frustrated.
"…Oh, I'm sorry!" said Juliana. "Was there something else you guys needed?"
Giacomo and Eri looked at each other, a bit puzzled.
He shook his head. "I—I guess not…" Eri gave him a scolding look. "What? That was all we had to report, right? I don't want to take up too much of your time doing this whole painting junk, especially if you take it as seriously as Mela does. Now there's someone who hates being interrupted!"
"Well, I—I guess we'll go now…" Eri said a bit hesitantly. "But… please keep tabs on Penny as well as the rest of us, okay?"
"Sure!" Juliana waved. "See you guys around!"
"Yeah…"
Once they had both walked out of the art room, Eri couldn't help but keep glancing back at Juliana a bit flustered.
"I'm sorry, I know Juliana's a good person and all but… what's up with her? I was trying to nudge her in the right direction by talking about friends squaring away their differences, but she still won't make an effort to talk to Penny herself?" She looked at Giacomo with an expression fraught with anger and worry. "Penny doesn't seem to be very good with opening up to people."
"Well, of course not!" he agreed. "Why else would she hide her face from us for a whole year and a half?"
"Or sneak around watching us thinking we don't notice her there…" Eri's face kept twisting harder. "If Juliana's such a good friend of hers, she should know that as well as anybody!"
Eri's fists started shaking about, and before long she'd boiled herself into a rage.
"That's it! I'm going back there and telling Juliana to go spend time with Penny right now, even if I have to drag her myself!"
She got all worked up and ready to charge forward, but luckily Giacomo reacted quickly and grabbed Eri's waist to halt her in her tracks.
"Whoaaa! Take it easy there, friendship express!" he urged her. "Remember, you said we can't rush Penny coming out of her shell too hard! The same's gotta be true for whatever weird funk Juliana's in right now, dig?"
"But I—I—Ohhh. You're right. I'm glad people like you and Carmen are there to stop me when I get too excited… But I'm still worried about her."
"Yeah, I hear ya. Glad to know I'm the only one who felt like Juliana's whole vibe is… off-key today. I remember when she challenged me at my big old base, she was like a Sir Talks-a-lot! She even spent time chatting me up about my music and our cool Starmobiles! But… now look at her."
"Yeah… She was extremely friendly when she came to storm my base too," Eri fondly remembered. "But she also looked really nervous every time I was face-to-face with her. I think she was really intimidated by me…"
Giacomo raised an eyebrow. While Eri's professional wrestler-inspired look as the Caph Squad boss was rather striking to many… he was also aware of a rumor spreading around school that Juliana gets easily flustered by any girl who's taller than her.
"Uhhh, yeah. I'm sure that was it…"
Eri looked downtrodden. "I hope you're right, Giacomo. that if we just let her be for a while… she'll bounce back on her own…"
She begrudgingly followed Giacomo down the hall after one last glance at Juliana, who had gone back to staring at her canvas…
Across the oceans, a certain someone else was in a creative slump too.
"Dear Grandma and Grandpa, how are you doing? I'm doing well" She scribbled that word out. "I'm doing fine."
After another thought, she scribbled out the whole thing, crumpled up the paper, tossed it into the bin, and started on a new sheet.
"Dear Grandma and Grandpa, I wish I was writing you this letter from a happier place."
"Nope. Makes me sound like a total wuss."
Crumpled. New paper.
"Dear Grandma and Grandpa, I know you haven't heard from me in a while. A lot's been going on"
A huge sigh. "No, no, no!"
This time, the paper was slammed onto the desk.
"Hey Gramm and Gramps! Your granddaughter's a freaking idiot who made everyone mad at her and
-SNAP!-
"Wh—!?"
Carmine stared in disbelief at the pen that had just snapped in half in her crushing grip.
"GrrRRAAHH! STUPID PEN!" she shouted. "You think you're better than me!?"
In a burst of anger, Carmine chucked the broken pen at her wall, leaving a black splotch on it.
"GREAT! Now there's ink all over my wall!" She fiddled with her fingers. "…AND ON MY HAND! This day just keeps getting better and better!" she laughed sarcastically. "How do you break a PEN anyway!?"
Carmine's red face was heating up with anger. If someone were around the hotheaded girl right now, they might express concern for how much she's letting her emotions boil, but the sad truth was, Carmine was on some level making a conscious choice to stay this angry.
It's what kept her from crying all the time.
And thinking more deeply about how much she contributed to Juliana's departure, the probability of Kieran's mental state taking a downturn again and blaming her for it, or the worst part: which she hadn't even realized until a day later.
She didn't even let me say goodbye to Ogerpon…
These thoughts were all festering in Carmine's mind again, and she could already feel her tear ducts welling. She shook her head, needing something, anything to distract herself.
There was a knock at her door.
"Yeah, WHAT!?" she craned her neck.
"Umm, it's me, sis."
"Oh…" Carmine's red face quickly softened. She cleared her throat. "Yeah, you—you can come in."
Kieran stepped into Carmine's room.
"…Oh."
"What?" she said, giving him a look. "That black spot's always been there, just ignore it."
"Huh? What black spot?"
"…Forget I said anything."
"No, sorry, it's just—I don't think I've ever gotten to see your room before, sis, that's all."
Kieran gazed around a bit at his sister's room decorations. Her favorite Dunsparce plush lay on the bed over black sheets. He saw the giant Whiscash poster hanging on the wall that he remembered Carmine winning in one of the art showcases in Kitakami she used to take him to.
There were several photos on Carmine's desk of herself and Kieran. Pictures he didn't even remember her taking. And a bunch of scaled-down toy figures of Pokémon on her shelves.
Huh. I remember giving her that Morgrem one for Christmas. I remember how much she made a face when she saw it but… did that really make her start collecting those?
"Umm…" he turned back around to Carmine. "Do you have a minute?"
Carmine did her best to smile for her brother.
"Kiki… for you, I have all the time in the world. You know that."
"Great," he smiled back. "Because umm… I've just made a pretty huge decision, and I wanted you to be—well, actually, I already told everyone else first, but I wanted you to know too."
Carmine looked at him, genuinely curious now.
"Of course, Kiki. I'll support you in anything you do!"
It felt to Kieran like Carmine was making an extra effort to try to be nicer to him, which he silently appreciated.
"That's awesome. So, umm, the thing is…"
He stumbled on his words a bit, until finally he sighed.
"Alright. I'm just gonna come out and say it. I've made the decision that… I'm going to take a break from school and go back home for a little while."
Carmine's smile dropped and her eyes widened.
"…Home?"
He nodded.
"Like… home, home?"
"Yeah. Back to Mossui Town." Kieran scratched his head. "I've been thinking about it a lot… The thing is, even though I stepped down from the BB League, a lot of people are still real mad at me and haven't—forgiven me for everything I did."
Carmine scoffed. "Is that all?" She rolled up one of her sleeves. "Just tell me who's still giving you beef Kiki, and I'll send them packing all the way to the meat factory!"
He shook his head.
"It's not just that. I really haven't been able to focus on my studies as much as I really need to. Especially after—"
He paused. His instinct told him it would be best not to mention Juliana's name.
"—after everything went all crazy. And… well. Really, I guess the biggest problem is that I just feel so… lost."
"How do you mean?"
"Like… I made it my whole dream all these months to become the BB League Champion, and it was all just—based on being angry at everyone. So now that it's over, I… I don't really know what I want to do now. So I decided being back in a cozy place will help me breathe again and figure that whole thing out."
Kieran gestured at his sling.
"Plus… Lacey says it'll probably be real good for my arm to have all that fresh air to heal."
Carmine had listened quietly and patiently, and some of what Kieran said had stunned her. She started to ponder now that for all the times she'd gone to visit Kieran in his room and help him with his arm, she'd never… talked with him about intimate stuff like this.
That feeling of realizing she wasn't as involved in Kieran's life as she wanted to be, to be that caring shoulder that he needs whenever he wants to cry on something, slowly emboldened her, and a proud smile began to appear on her face.
"Wow, Kiki… That's… I'm so proud of you." To Kieran's surprise, but not protest, Carmine actually went in to hug him. "You really have grown up a lot. To hear such a mature decision from you, why… I couldn't be prouder as your big sister."
"Awww…" Kieran found himself blushing at this sudden tenderness from her. "Thanks, Sis. It—it means a lot to hear you say that."
Carmine flicked back her hair from her ear with a newfound sense of resolve.
"So, I guess that's it, then. When are we leaving?"
Kieran's smile quickly evaporated.
"…Huh?"
"I mean… I'm definitely going to need at least a day or two to pack. Plus, I should find Lacey and Amarys and let them know, and I guess I'll have to give the school my notice of absence too—"
"Wait, hang on!" Kieran interjected. "Why are you talking like you're coming with me?"
Carmine's eyebrows furrowed.
"Why would I not? I'm not just letting you hoof it alone out there in Kitakami. What kind of sister would that make me?"
"You really don't have to, though… Grandma and Grandpa are going to be there, and… and…" He trailed off, twiddling his fingers, but Carmine took this as an affront.
"Hang on! Why are you acting like me coming is a BAD thing?" She began seething. "What, were you looking to get away from me or something!?"
"No! No! It's not that at all. It's just…" Kieran hung his head down. "Aww, man!"
"I don't get what the big deal is. You and I have done everything together since we were kids, Kiki! I look out for you, you look out for me, we've got a great thing going here!"
"I know, but… I just…" He sighed. "When are you ever going to just… let me walk my own path?"
"Walk your own path?"
"Yeah…" Kieran looked up at her a bit more sternly now. "I'm not a baby anymore, you know!"
"I—I know you're not—"
"Then why do you keep TREATING me like one?" he raised his voice. "I was so happy… I thought you were finally startin' to see that I'm all grown up now and can take care of myself."
"Kiki, I never said that you can't take care of—"
"But you never let me do my own thing! Even now, it's still what it's always been, where you yell at me and expect me to obey everything you say! And if I ever try talking back or making my own decisions, you get all mad and do your shake-y thing!"
"WHAT SHAKE-Y THING!?" Carmine seethed with her fists even harder.
"I just want you to stop… smotherin' me all the time, that's all. I wish you weren't so overprotective of me and—"
He was interrupted when Carmine suddenly grabbed him by his jacket.
"I'm sorry, you wish I wasn't WHAT!?" Carmine screamed at a loud octave, startling Kieran. She raised her fist up. "I am NOT overprotective, and I am NOT smothering you! You'd better take that back RIGHT NOW before I beat some sense back into you!"
"AHHH!"
Kieran shrieked, and raised his hands up defensively.
"I'M SORRY! I didn't mean to make you upset, Sis! Don't—don't hurt me!"
"…!"
Carmine, in shock, brought her fist down.
"…What did you say?"
"I said… I'm sorry. I—I wasn't tryin' to get you mad at me…"
"Yeah, no, but—after that."
"Don't… hit me?" Kieran repeated, wincing his face a bit.
Carmine let go of him, her face all twisted up.
"Kiki… we fight with each other all the time, but when have I ever, ever hit you, you dummy?"
"Well… I guess, never but…" Kieran was still having trouble standing straight, his knees buckling a little. "But you threaten to do it all the time, and… I guess this time, I—I thought maybe I pushed you too far and… I'm sorry!"
He closed his eyes, as if waiting for an impact. But Carmine just looked at him… and watched as the poor boy cowered and brought his hands over his face…
He's all shaking like a leaf like he used to do all the time in Kitakami. I thought Kiki had gotten over acting like this but… why is he so afraid of me all of a sudden?
He should know I wasn't actually going to hit him!
…
Carmine glanced down at her red-gloved hand… she didn't realize it was still clenched into a fist.
…was I?
Kieran slowly opened his eyes, wondering why Carmine wasn't saying or doing anything… and was confused to see her looking at him with a thousand-year stare on her face.
"Carmine… you—you okay?"
"Yeah…" She blinked a few times, readjusting to reality. "Umm… I'm sorry."
"Huh? Why are you sorry?"
"Well—for making you think I was going to hit you, of course! You know I love you, and would never do that to you."
"…"
Carmine looked troubled again. "…You know I love you, right Kiki?"
"Yeah, I do…" Kieran begrudgingly admitted. "It's my fault. I shouldn't have spoken up to you like that. Sorry. You can—you can come home with me if you want. Just try not to…" He paused. "No, forget that. You can do whatever you want, sis. Sorry for botherin' ya."
He turned to leave. Carmine watched him go. There were things she wanted to say like, that she would let Kieran talk more about why he wanted to be alone, and that she would promise not to raise her voice or snap at him again.
…But that's the problem. She knew she couldn't promise that.
So instead, she just meekly said "We can talk more about this later" and let him leave. Kieran nodded meekly before he did.
But Carmine stood there, staring at her doorway for another minute.
Her mind was in turmoil now. She hadn't meant to let herself get that wound up, Kieran didn't even really say anything wrong.
And yet Carmine was still… possibly ready to lay the smackdown on him? Just for having the guts to talk back to her?
Juliana's harsh words from their last, tumultuous argument suddenly started to echo in Carmine's head.
"Kieran's never gonna get a chance to grow up if you don't stop treating him like a baby all the time!"
"No…" She shook her head at the words, in desperate denial, but the look of terror still grew on her face.
"You're the one who keeps holding your brother down, Carmine!"
"It's not true… right? I'm not holding him back… Everything that happened to Kiki, it wasn't really all my fault, right?" Her voice started to strain.
Carmine held her hands out in front of her, and watched them tremble.
"These aren't—these aren't the hands of a bully…"
She watched as, almost by instinct, they closed into fists again. A tear fell down her eye.
"…are they?"
Meanwhile across lands… Juliana was still gazing at that canvas, like she was locked in the world's most intense staring match with it.
The only thing that broke her out of this stance was when she suddenly heard a familiar voice groaning loudly next to her. Juliana glanced over to the table where there was a coffee pot set up, and pouring some fresh brew into his was mug was none other than her art teacher.
"Mr. Hassel?"
"Oh! Juliana! Hello!" Hassel greeted her pleasantly, tipping his coffee mug. "It's very refreshing to see your bright face in the art club again. How has the mighty return to your old stomping grounds been faring for you, young dragon?"
She giggled. "It's been pretty okay!"
"Okay? I won't settle for mere okay!" Hassel took on a fierce visage. "Our duty as instructors here at Uva is to make sure every student's experience rises above 'okay' and lands at 'supremely excellent' instead!"
He crossed his arms like a mighty warrior, making Juliana break out of her stoic mood and giggle.
"Well, then I feel 'supremely excellent' right now! Honest!" she insisted, still giggling.
"As to be expected!" Hassel said confidently. He glanced at her empty board. "Any burning visions in your sharp mind being transmitted to paper today?"
She shook her head. "No… I've been sitting here for a while. But… nothing's come to me."
"Ahh, of course. That dreaded artist's block. I hate it so. And my good friend Brassius, he suffers from it more than anyone else. It is a mighty demon to be sure, but not one that we can't always overcome with time and patience, until that burst of creativity rises out of us like a raging volcano!"
Juliana nodded at him, then frowned. "Did something change while I was gone? I feel like I didn't usually see you around school this early in the day."
"Oh, no, you're right about that," he said. "I split my duties between here and the Pokémon League every day. Usually in the mornings, I'm up there on the mountain."
"So what happened today?"
"Bit of an ugly morning in the League today, I'm afraid," Hassel grumbled. "Two of my fellow Elite Four just got into a huge fight in the office, and now they're both in trouble with the big boss." He scratched his head. "So… I've decided to make my den here for the time being until the heat dies down."
"Oh no!" Juliana frowned. "That isn't good. You guys were all so nice during my League Challenge, I don't want to hear that you're getting in trouble. Is there anything I can do to help?"
Hassel chuckled. "Your concern is very touching, Juliana! A selfless attitude like yours is an admirable trait for a youthful soul, indeed. But these are adult problems, best sorted by adults."
"What happened?"
"Oh… who's to say? The stress has been running a bit high in that building lately with all the work we've been doing. Rika, noble knight that she is, tried to supplement some of Larry's tall workload without his say-so, and he took it… rather personally, it seems. They both said some things they didn't mean at each other and—"
Hassel shook his head and took a sip of his coffee.
"I'm sorry! Kids like you have your own issues to deal with, you don't need to hear the woes of a dodding old man and his eccentric colleagues!"
"Oh, it's okay. I don't mind at all," Juliana assured him. "If it helps you feel better to talk about it, then I'm willing to listen!"
Hassel smiled bigly at her.
"Thank you, Juliana. I value your honesty a lot. I suppose that's why I've always found you one of my most approachable students… You don't have a single, self-serving bone in your body. Always making others smile!"
"Thanks, Mr. Hassel…"
Juliana beamed, Hassel's compliments helping to boost her self-worth. He put his hand to his chin and recalled.
"That's right, how could I forget? You were even there to witness that rather unfortunate run-in with my family's disciple…"
"Oh yeah!" Juliana remembered. "How did that go anyway?"
Hassel's smile began to fade.
"Well… actually—"
"Master Hassel," a sharp voice cut in.
Hassel grumbled again. "Speak of the devil… and thy shall appear."
Juliana turned around and gasped when she saw a familiar woman standing in the doorway of the art room.
She whispered to Hassel, "Isn't that… her? The woman from your family's clan?"
"I'm afraid it is…" he whispered back solemnly. "Quite sooner than I had expected, too…"
"You were… expecting her?"
But she couldn't say more, as at that moment, the young lady wearing Dragon Tamer's attire marched up to them.
"Master Hassel, I am here to collect you."
"Yes, so I see," Hassel said in a low voice. "Quite the prompt one, aren't we?"
She shook her head. "I feel as if you've diverted me on purpose, breaking from your usual routine and holing up in this building instead! We're already behind schedule as it is, and we must get moving ASAP."
"Right…" Hassel answered.
"I'm glad that you've made up your mind about taking your place as leader of the family."
Juliana's eyes widened. Hassel hung his head down, which made her even more anxious. She tugged on his coat to get his attention.
"Mr. Hassel, what's… going on?"
He faced Juliana with a sad expression, and sighed.
"You see, Wynn here has only stepped up her frequent visits since your departure to Blueberry Academy." Hassel scanned his family's impatient ward with a curt expression. "She continues to badger me about returning to lead my family, the long line of Dragon Trainers I told you about."
"Right…"
"According to her, my father's health has taken a turn for the worse, and so it is supposedly imperative that I return to lead my family in his stead." He turned to Wynn. "And if you'll remember, on your last gracious visit five days ago, I told you that I was merely considering my position."
"I don't know what more there is to consider!" Wynn stubbornly insisted. "I gave you the time you needed hoping that was enough for you to come to your senses."
Hassel crossed his arms, but this only served to make her more petulant.
"We have no more time. Your family needs you to lead it to greatness, now more than ever. Will you accept your destiny or not, Master Hassel?"
"Hmmmm…"
Hassel swirled his head around, grumbling. Juliana, her eyes widening even further, tugged on his coast again.
"Ummm, Mr. Hassel? I'm sorry to interrupt but—I actually have an art question. It's about one of my pieces in the storage room."
Hassel's eyes lit up. "Oh! Do you now? Hmm." He turned to Wynn. "I hope you won't mind if I take a minute out of my time to see to one of my student's ills."
Wynn sneered at Juliana, but crossed her arms and sighed. "Make it very quick."
"We shall! Most obliged. Come, Juliana, this way!"
Hassel led Juliana to the storage room, an area tucked away from the main classroom where many students' art pieces, including paintings, clay sculptures, and wood carvings, were put up on racks and shelves waiting to either be graded or taken home.
Juliana walked in first, and Hassel was sure to close the door behind them.
"Phew… Well I don't know if this was your intention, Juliana, but I'm grateful you gave me the opportunity to stall that woman out. Asking me to make a 'final decision' on the fly like that…"
Juliana looked at him with big, pleading eyes.
"Mr. Hassel… are you really going to leave your job at Uva Academy? A-and the Pokémon League?"
Hassel sighed. "I haven't made up my mind yet… It's true, I would leave a lot behind by turning my back on this school, on all of you students. And Geeta, of course." He leaned in close to whisper. "And… just between you and me, I have a snaking suspicion that Wynn lady is exaggerating about my father's condition."
He put his hands on his hips and gazed upwards.
"My family may have all but disowned me, but their loyalty knows no chains, and I'm certain if my father's health was truly so grave, they would seek me out on their own instead of sending a novice clansman like Wynn to deliver such an ultimatum to me…"
"Then… why?"
He closed his eyes. "I don't know my family's true intentions. Wynn might even be a lone agent for all I know. But… to be trying such elaborate methods to convince me to return now, after so many years of zero correspondence with them, they must have an agenda of some sort. And I can't help but admit a spark of curiosity as to what that is. And besides…"
Hassel gazed around at all the works of different students around him in this closed-off room.
"What kind of instructor have I been? Not an exemplary one, surely…? When I look at someone like Brassius, sweet Brassy… He has this whole life as a wonderful artist figured out. People who need art-related inspiration in this region, surely they turn to someone as talented and handsome—err, handsomely creative, as him, our fair Gym Leader, instead of a silly old man like me."
Juliana shook her head in disbelief. "How can you say that? People turn to you too, Mr. Hassel!"
But Hassel's face seemed unconvinced.
"Remember when I shared with you my tales of a youngster, who broke away from his family believing his passion was to make music?" Juliana nodded. "And… when I came to the Paldea region, my search for a life's purpose having fallen wayward and aimless… When I met my friend Brassius, and he showed me the many beauties of art and inspired me to a brand-new passion…"
Hassel was smiling fondly in remembrance. But as he did, his face became steadily more uncertain again.
"But that was Brassius, bringing me into his world… I adopted his love for art. And even before this Wynn lady started harassing me, I've found myself occasionally wondering—what if this is all like my failed dream to be a musician? All for naught. Maybe I just haven't woken up and smelled the roses yet."
Juliana was distressed to be hearing all these clouds of doubt from her beloved instructor. Though she had been feeling stoic and empty all day long, the prospect of being needed to help someone suddenly filled Juliana's heart with resolve.
Her eyes darted around wildly as she tried to think of something that would bring Hassel out of his stupor. Then, realizing where she was, she had an epiphany immediately started skimming down the racks where painted pieces were lined up.
"What are you up to, Juliana?"
"I want to show you something…" She gasped. "Aha! This!"
Juliana pulled out a painting from Rack E7 and presented it to Hassel.
He took the painting in his hands and gazed at it studiously. As he did, his expression gradually lightened.
"Oh my… This is… yours, Juliana?"
She nodded eagerly.
"It's—it's… immaculate!"
"It's a painting I made to represent the bond I made with all my friends!" Juliana explained. "I made it before I went to Blueberry, and I put it on this rack because I was going to finish it later by adding Kieran and… … …and all the other friends I made at Blueberry."
The more Hassel studied Juliana's work, the more his eyes widened and he looked in awe.
"I can see the—the different techniques you applied from my lessons here, and—and I can feel all the emotions that were swimming in your head as you painted it, the mood! The companionship! Each stroke represents a treasured memory, I can sense it emanating so clearly like rings in a tree log detailing one's own history!"
"Thank you, Mr. Hassel! That's so wonderful for you to say that about my painting! See? You totally know how to express what you love about art!" Juliana insisted. "That's why you can't give up on being an art teacher! …Or part of the Elite Four! That battle that we had? Against your awesome Baxcalibur? It was one of the coolest battles I've had in Paldea! I don't want to see you go, Mr. Hassel! A lot of people would miss you!"
"…"
Hassel's mouth was agape. He was at a loss for words after such a speech.
"Juliana… Your impassionate plea… Your way with words, it's, it's…"
He threw his head back and...
"BWUUUH huh huh hoi hoi!"
Wynn sharply picked her nodding head up, startled at the sudden sound of what to her sounded like some booming Ursaring moaning.
"What the…?"
A minute later, Hassel confidently emerged from the storage room, with a smiling Juliana tailing behind her, carrying her painting. With a renewed bolster in his step, he marched back over to Wynn and faced her with a determined smile.
"Thank you very much for your patience, Wynn. I have now made up my mind."
"Most excellent," Wynn nodded. "Shall we depart, then?"
Hassel chuckled, and declared with bluster in his voice, "I have made up my mind to continue teaching here at the academy!"
Juliana put down the painting and clapped her hands. "Yay!"
Wynn was gobsmacked.
"H-how could you!? Are you saying you don't care what happens to our proud lineage!?" she balked.
"I am saying that I have other priorities! Have a look at young Juliana's drawing here, would you?"
He motioned to Juliana, who nodded and held her painting up for Wynn to see.
Juliana's drawing depicted three youths, with little traits that identified them as her friends Nemona, Penny, and Arven. Surrounding them was Nemona's feisty Pawmot, Penny's Terastallized Sylveon, and Arven's happily recovered Mabostiff with a Poké Ball in its mouth. A large purple creature meant to resemble Miraidon was smiling behind all of them.
Wynn tilted her head, not sure what she was supposed to glean from what just looked to her like a child's crude drawing.
"Do you see the finer details, how each of these figures represents not just one of her friends, but an encapsulation of their personality and the special meaning each of them has to her? It's all in her willingness to use expressionism and dynamic posing, all skills that she picked up while attending my class!"
Juliana nodded proudly. She gazed at her own painting, admiring it as if it was just drawn by someone else, passionate and inspired like she wanted to be right now.
"And it's not just the surface details that are pristine! Look at these, the finer brush strokes to denote fur, and hair… and glitter here to emulate that wonderous glow when a Pokémon Terastallizes! The use of alternate tones to set the mood, all these technical aspects that make it a true expression of my pupil's heart and feelings!"
Wynn just raised an eyebrow at him, still looking unimpressed as she glanced between her desired Master and this so-called wunderkind girl.
"If you're still not convinced, just take a look around the whole room!" Hassel gestured to all the other paintings by students that decorated the walls. "The children here are letting their senses—their perceptiveness—grow freely!"
Hassel faced Wynn again with a more earnest expression.
"I do not wish to say that protecting our family's ancient bloodline is of no importance, Wynn… I simply wish to see young talent like Juliana's blossom and grow into the future." He tussled Juliana's hat, which made her blush. "It just seems so much more fun to me, if I'm being honest!"
He grinned with pride at his beloved pupil, who beamed back at him. Wynn however, still looked annoyed and closed her eyes.
"What utter nonsense." She crossed her arms. "And yet…" Her purple eyes flashed open with grit. "Your fearless, unflinching commitment to that nonsensical vision proves you're worthy of carrying the will of the dragons, Master Hassel." Juliana just looked at this Wynn lady quizzically. "I will not give up," she declared. "I will come as many times as I need to in order to change your mind!"
Juliana looked at Hassel with worry, but to her surprise, he just started laughing boisterously.
"Oh, by all means, miss Wynn, my door is always open! I think you'll soon find you've met your match in stubbornness." His smile became a forth-bearing frown. "You thought I could be cowed by some story spun up about my father's deteriorating health? I am not so easily fooled!"
"Tch!" Wynn scoffed defiantly. "I will return another day!"
The eccentric Dragon Tamer briefly gave Juliana a scornful look, before flipping her cape dramatically and marching out from the classroom.
"Wow, she really is stubborn to the end," Juliana noted.
"I must admit, I find her resolve very impressive. The heart of a dragon's burning in her for sure." Hassel's face softened. "Ahh, but I am sorry you had to see all of that, Juliana."
"It's fine!" she assured him. "I'm just glad you changed your mind on staying!"
"Yes, indeed I have… and it was all thanks to this."
Hassel picked up Juliana's painting and admired it some more.
"If you were quite alright with it, Juliana, I… would like to keep this painting."
"Really!?" Juliana beamed.
"Oh, but you said you had more to add to it…?"
Juliana shook her head. "I'll just make another painting to add my other friends! You can totally take that one as it is! It would be such an honor!"
Hassel chuckled. "Well, in that case, as Brassy would say, it's still missing a little something."
"What's that?"
He set the painting down on a table, and handed Juliana a black brush.
"The artist's valued signature, of course!"
Juliana smiled from cheek to cheek. Eagerly taking the brush, she painted a big, stylized "J" on the top-left corner of the art piece.
"Now it's a complete masterpiece!" Hassel gleamed. "I think I'll hang it up in my office in the Pokémon League. I'll look at it whenever I need a reminder of why I'm committed to this exhilarating life!"
"Thank you so much, Mr. Hassel. It means the world to me that my little drawing's going to inspire you like that."
Juliana could feel her heart being touched, although her eyes weren't managing the feat of tearing up. Maybe because just writing that signature made her hand cramp a little.
"To think now that I was so very close to resigning this post and returning to my home… but all the students here are what gave me the courage to say no! That includes you, Juliana." Hassel delicately puts his hands on her shoulders. "Your words truly brought me strength when I needed it, and I am indebted to you. You truly helped me remember my purpose here."
Juliana's eyebrows flared up at that word.
"Your… purpose."
"Yes! Indeed!"
Juliana's bright features softened, and her face became still again… as she started thinking very deeply about this.
"So, because I helped you discover your purpose… you feel a lot… happier now?"
"Yes!" Hassel replied enthusiastically. "As a matter of fact, I do."
He smiled at Juliana, but instead of smiling back, her eyes seemed to gaze onto the floor as her body sagged a little.
"So if I were to help… a lot of people to discover their purpose, then I could make a lot of people happy."
Hassel nodded. "Umm… yes. Yes, I suppose that would be a noble thing to do."
The tall blond teacher became a little bemused, when he heard Juliana start to chuckle lightly.
"Then I wouldn't be a bad influence anymore…" she mumbled to herself. Her face tilted up, and became hardened with a slowly burning realization. "By becoming the best part of everyone's life… I could, I could help everyone. And never be a screwup ever again."
Hassel couldn't quite hear what Juliana was saying, but he decided to brush it off as the sparks of a creative genius.
"I can tell you're finding new inspiration from this little adventure, Juliana. You can go back to having fun now! I need to get ahold of Geeta and let her know I've made up my mind!"
As Hassel walked away, he muttered to himself, "Hopefully some good news will help soften her anger, before she takes it out too hard on poor Larry, and Rika too…"
Juliana was left standing alone. The gears in her head were turning, and the girl stood stoically, but breathing harder and harder.
"Everyone… wants to be happy, right?" she said out loud, to no one in particular. "And I just want everyone else to be happy!"
Juliana's pupils dilated as a deep, throaty chuckle emerged from within her.
"So if I dedicate the rest of my life to making everyone else happy… heh-heh-heh… Then I'll be happy too! We'll ALL be happy!"
Her stoic chuckle evolved until she started cackling louder, an almost crazed expression appearing in her eyes. "Heh-heh-heh! Ha-ha-ha!"
Slowly, she took a seat back down on the chair she was sitting on before, the blank easel in front of her face once more, as her eye began to twitch a little.
Juliana reached into her pocket and took out the Pecha Berry, the good luck charm Kieran had bestowed onto her. She held it in her palm as staring at it seemed to help her stabilize her new thoughts.
"I've already done everything I wanted to do, so there's no more reason to keep thinking about myself. And I've helped out all my friends… Here, and at Blueberry. But there's still so many more people out there who need to be helped…"
As this was happening, the Pecha Berry slowly began to waft an enticing scent that captivated all of Juliana's senses. Inhaling this new smell sent strange new signals into her brain. She felt not just her head, but her whole body being enriched with pleasurable feelings from the Berry's sweetness.
Juliana's hand shook a little and moved outward, like it had a mind of its own. It picked up the red brush, and the blue brush. It grabbed a palette, started mixing the two colors together, and began painting an image at last onto the blank slate.
And in her head, Juliana began to hear a voice. Like a conscience speaking out to her.
Helping other people is the key to true happiness.
"Yes…" she croaked.
And people like being helped. When they have everything that they want in life, then they are happy forever.
"Yes…"
They are happy with you.
And will love you, and cherish you.
Forever.
"Yes… YES!" Juliana said louder and louder, with more confidence, as her brush splashed wildly onto the canvas. Her hand was moving so frenetically that she could feel the carpal tunnel building in her wrist, but she was so determined that she completely ignored it.
We have to make sure that the people we love are always happy, no matter what.
"YES!"
Juliana exclaimed so loudly that several heads in the art turned to her.
She didn't care. She didn't even notice them. Nothing in the entire world mattered as much as what was racing in Juliana's thoughts now.
She looked at her own hands, like they were the hands of a magician. A magician who could fix everyone's problems!
We have to make ourselves strong so we can help everyone!
"This is my new purpose… my greatest treasure! The ability to be a strong Champion who helps out everyone, so THEY can find their greatest treasure too!"
Juliana stood up, now brimming with confidence, and ran her fingers through her hair several times in a manic excitement.
"From now on, I won't stop! I won't even REST! Until I've helped out everyone! Nothing else matters until I've fulfilled my purpose! Ha-ha-ha! I feel great! I finally feel complete!"
Juliana, with a brand new look on life, gazed around this empty and devoid room. Sure, maybe a few minutes ago, she would've loved to stay in here just to watch people paint pictures and make things out of clay.
But that was the old Juliana. The selfish Juliana who wouldn't think about anyone else.
"I'm wasting my time in a place like this…!" she said with a hint of disdain. "I'll never get anything done here. I have to go out there. There's people that need my help!"
Juliana clenched her fist. With burning resolve, she sprinted out of the art room, giggling eccentrically, as she set out to start her new life's mission.
This rather… dramatic flair from a girl who'd been sitting calmly the whole period before, had drawn quite the attention of some bemused students.
Including Mela and Florian, who both decided to walk over and look at the interesting new piece Juliana had drawn.
Florian tilted his head looking at it. "Hmmm. That's… an interesting image." He put a finger to his chin, trying to look all thoughtful like Mr. Hassel would. "And what do you suppose it represents?"
"I dunno," Mela sneered. "Just looks like some dumb purple donut to me."
"Heh, actually…" Florian looked at it a bit more closely. "It kinda looks like the symbol for that one evil group from Hoenn you like so much, with that girl you said you have a crush on. Team Aqua, right?"
Mela gasped and huffed at Florian indignantly like he'd just insulted her grandmother.
"That's Team MAGMA, you dummy! And they're not bad guys, Team Aqua were the bad guys that Team Mamga was trying to STOP! And another thing!" Her voice was almost redder than the red in her hair. "I do NOT have a crush on Courtney! I just think she's one of the coolest people ever! So that's why I have her poster in my room, okay!?"
"Alright, geez," Florian laughed. A mischievous part of him delighted in setting Mela off like this.
"Anyway, I give it a… 7.8 out of 10." Mela sneered. "Too much watercolors."
Hassel came over and cleared his throat.
"Mela, I hope I don't have to tell you again not to yell in this room. And…" He sniffed the air. "Did one of you two bring food in here?"
Florian and Mela looked at each other.
"No sir," said Florian.
"Hmm, odd," he scratched his head. "I swore I smelled something extremely sweet a second ago. Maybe my nose is playing tricks on me… Hmm?"
He was drawn to the canvas Juliana had spread her newfound desire on in the form of brushstrokes, revealing…
A circular ring, with two nubs on its end. All in a deep, rich purple.
Hassel, ever the collector of old relics, gazed upon it in mystery.
"Now why do I feel like I've seen that symbol somewhere before…?"
While it was approaching noon in Paldea, the sun was setting over the horizon in Unova.
Carmine was holed up in her darkening dorm room, huddling on the bed all wrapped up in her black blanket.
She was spiraling hard.
Ever since she was alarmed to find herself raising a fist against her own brother, Carmine had been silently horrified at herself. What had started as just intrusive thoughts were now loud pangs, as the Kitakamite girl heard Juliana's harsh, criticizing voice in her head.
"You're the reason he's never been allowed to grow up! The reason he's so scared of everything!"
It couldn't possibly be true, could it?
Carmine had been wondering all this time why her brother was such a scaredy cat all the time, until suddenly, he was all bitter and jealous. She had been trying to figure out for so long what was responsible for this change in behavior.
But was she staring the answer in the mirror this whole time?
Carmine's breathing was getting more and more rapid. She remembered how Juliana had accused her of making up reasons to lie to Kieran about Ogerpon's mask, and was replaying those moments in her mind, trying to convince herself she had been in the right.
He'll feel left out.
He'll turn everyone about the ogre, and they'll descend on him like an angry mob.
Juliana's right. These were all just pathetic excuses. No shit the villagers didn't care once Kieran told them the truth! And no shit it was after I started pushing him away all the time that he felt left out!
I'm not dumb! Why didn't I see all that to begin with? Was I being that much of a meathead!?
A tear fell from her eye as Carmine came to the conclusion.
Of course I was… I was so stupid in love that I couldn't see reason.
All that reconnaissance duty on Juliana… Wanting to pair up with her to go on hikes and form a superhero team to recover all those Masks from the Lousy Three…
She was already falling in love with Juliana from the very beginning! Probably from the very first moment she watched Juliana and her school group landing at the bus station through her binoculars, the girl stole Carmine's heart and locked it away in hers forever.
And Carmine became mad with love. Selfish. She pushed Kieran away almost immediately, just to have Juliana all to herself exactly like he said.
"Kiki, go find someplace else to be! Juliana's got business with me!"
All Kiki wanted was a friend. All she wanted was Juliana's tongue in her mouth. She drove Kieran away to spend that time with a girl that didn't even reciprocate her feelings.
Of course not. Why would she? As soon as we started getting close, I took advantage of Juliana and made her do things that made her feel horrible about herself.
"You made me lie, and for NOTHING! Do you not realize HOW HORRIBLE I FELT!?" she remembered Juliana yelling. "l had literally just promised him I would never keep secrets from him and then I had to ruin that and ruin my friendship because of YOU!"
Carmine had never realized before then that Juliana was still bearing that guilt from lying to Kieran all this time. She had been hiding it so freaking well.
That's what I do, isn't it? I'm only good at making people feel horrible…
Memories of all the times she'd upset Juliana flashed at her like terrible memories.
"You gotta take care of yourself and stop being such an IDIOT!" "Carmine, stop! Please!" "You don't really think I'm reckless, do you?"
"Carmine! Please! I want to make this right! Just tell me how I can fix this!"
"I just think that you might not be the best influence on him, that's all."
Tears were falling down both her cheeks now, as Carmine sniffled hard.
"I—I drove Kiki away and made him turn against everyone…" she blubbered. "And then—and then I drove Juliana away from school… She left because of me…"
"You turned him against me, Carmine! All of that lying and betrayal was because of YOU! I'm not being the jerk here, Carmine! YOU ARE!"
"You were right, Juliana…" Carmine croaked. "And you too, Kiki… Everything you guys ever said about me was true… It was all my fault. I'm a horrible friend. I'm a terrible sister!"
Carmine shakily lifted her head up and saw her reflection in the TV monitor set up by her bed.
Her face was wrapped in a blanket, making her similar to Ogerpon. But there was no mask like Ogerpon's.
Just the face of a pathetic, evil girl with an ugly sobbing face.
"I was the monster all along…"