Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It felt… cold. No, not that, it felt damp. Dorian pulled himself from his slumped position on the ground as he waved his hands around in the blackness engulfing him as he touched his hands on the craggy ground for purchase.

Wait, wasn’t he on the train? He remembered having sat down on the rather stiff leather seats, slinging his travel bag above him on the appropriate luggage holder as he readied himself for the trip. He had gazed out of his window on the left to see whoever was getting on, observing a rather lively group of young adults waving off who he presumed to be their friends, one with chestnut brown hair and the other two tones of plum and navy black, who proceeded to get on his train. He was pleasantly amused by their antics, though despite his younger age to them he couldn’t help but feel that lingering isolation, the feeling of exclusion, as he turned his sight away from the window.

The window, he thought, as he glanced to his left. Yet, the window wasn’t there. In fact, where was he? It had occurred to him that he was sat on what he believed to be the cold marble floor of a shopping mall, a dirtied, dusted shade of white, no, alabas-

His veins gripped his head with icy hands as his own hands did the same, the knuckles stretched white, his eyes widened, a growing horror echoing in his heart as he turned to properly observe the rest of his surroundings. There were shattered pillars pointing to the heavens, crumpled remains of where great statues once stood, he wasn’t on the train, he was on- on-

A garbled sound began to emanate from the cloudy darkness, swirling and coagulating into a shape that struck Dorian’s heart dead as he attempted to back away, his retreat hampered by the mocking realisation that he was trapped on the blasted peak of the mount. He almost felt himself having to physically drag his eyes towards the presence behind him, to glance back at the manic figure laughing at him, a chaotic and sadistic grin plastered across his crazed expression as he gestured for his scarlet-eyed, monstrous ally to attack.

Its claws writhed with an energy both dastardly and furious, its coiling form twisting like a spring, ready to pounce on its target.

He closed his eyes, and let out a shaken breath, as the shadowy renegade faded in a mist of black, only to reappear in front of him, inches in front of him, and strike.

Juliana sprawled herself across the seats, Kieran’s eyes softening even more as he viewed her relaxation as similar to a Spirigatito, the amusing thought dancing across his head as he settled into the neighbouring seat.

“What was Drayton talking to you about before we left off anyway?” Juliana inquired, a grin playing off her face as Kieran flushed in response, stuttering along his words as he haphazardly recalled the events of their day, leading up to this moment;

“Oh, you look. Ahem… wowzers,” was all the Kitakamian boy could mumble as he caught sight of Juliana heading towards him. The girl had dressed summerly, with an open-shouldered cream-yellow open cardigan with a white undershirt that reminded Kieran to a degree of a Ribombee, his girlfriend’s dark chocolate leggings adding to her similarity to the Bug Fairy. It didn’t help that the shirt was short, exposing just enough of her midriff that Kieran had to immediately soldier down any… risque thoughts that were beginning to ebb into his head.

He himself had dressed appropriately, or at least Carmine asserted so. Especial time had been saved in order to sort his hair, which Carmine fretted over being ‘too edgelord’, though she also wished to avoid his ‘soggy Zorua cut’ that he had before they had met Juliana.

“Personally for me, the Drayster cut should be a ladies’ charme-“ Drayton had attempted to give his opinion, only to be shot down with double Quick Attacks of verbal onslaught comprising of ‘FUCK OFF COLGATE’ and ‘Leave Dray!’. I’ll leave you to guess who said what. Kieran was exasperated by the fact his sister had allowed the parasite to dwell in her room, dating be damned, especially after he had made the unfortunate mistake of glancing into his sister’s clothing drawers after she had ordered him to fetch her some clothes to pack for herself, only to inadvertently open the wrong one and come upon some lingerie with the words ‘Dragon Tamer’s Property’ drawled across them in what seemed to be marker.

“How’s this?” Carmine spun her little brother around in the makeshift hairdresser that was her room as he caught a glance of himself in the mirror, his hair in an odd hybrid of his past styles as his front bang trailed across his head, framing the left side of his cheek, while the ends of his slowly-growing hair frayed at the ends, covering the back of his neck. His tied-back aspect stayed the same, with an extra piece of hair joining his previous two.

“At this rate you’re gonna look like a Hydreigon’s nesting on your head!” Drayton had snickered, his long-suffering lover promptly launching out of their dorm and into the halls, where several Naranja students glanced with second-hand embarrassment.

Naranja had taken the siblings in for their own exchange program as a ‘sign of good faith’, as Geeta had shrewdly put it, between Blueberry and the Paldean school after the Terapagos fiasco. Somehow Briar had evaded getting a complete whooping from the Unovan and Paldean Leagues, providing Juliana her notes on Heath’s journal before she disappeared off to Hoenn for some ‘reflection’. Though the gang had viewed her with great suspicion in the two years since then, she seemed to have regained some degree of her respect from the Pokemon scientific community, though Penny had told them from ‘discreetly checking’ League documents she was still under supervision. Now it was summer holiday after their graduation, several sniffing tears and faces seen as even Ortega broke down a little, Team Star’s captains rushing to console him.

Back to Juliana. Now the girl had also almost tripped over herself, Arven, Penny and Nemona having to grab her by the shirt in order to prevent an untimely faceplant onto the station’s floor.

“Pull yourself together girl!” Nemona had instructed her, as she dusted herself off and continued her approach to the lovestruck boy in front of her.

“Yeah Juliana, can’t have you fallin’ over yourself for loverboy before you even get to Lumiose,” Penny helpfully added, her Galarian accent leaking through as she shook her head with affection. After much deliberation, she had decided to head back to Galar to reconcile with her family properly, and seemed to be much more happy in her final year at Naranja, though she had humorously redeveloped her accent in the time away.

“Right, now c’mon little buddy, remember; you’re gonna have a week alone with my man here,” Arven briefly gestured to Kieran, who had waved bashfully, “and you’re gonna meet all those new people, eat plenty of great food, relax-“

“BATTLE! Don’t forget battling Arv!”

“Yes, battling too, mi hermosa,” Arven added, a bemused look on his face as he grinned to his own girlfriend, “and after that, me, Penny, Nem, Carmine, Drayton, and the rest of the BB Club are gonna come over and join you guys in all the fun!” he finished off, a tone of relish savoured in his voice like one of his now famed Herba Mystica sandwiches, which had grown popular with the student body for their shiny-hunting capabilities.

Oh yeah, and he was dating Nemona. Our only hope for restraining her battle-mania from incinerating the entire planet.

The BB Club had been excited by the prospect of heading to Lumiose, punctuated by the fact that Crispin’s extended family hailed from there.

“He doesn’t like talking about it though,” Lacey waived off, when they had attempted to ask her about it after Crispin avoided their curiosity. “Something ‘bout it being to do with those Flare people five years ago.”

Aside from that slightly ominous leave-off, Lacey was especially excited to meet Tarragon, apparently one of her father’s friends and the main head of the building companies present in the city. He also had an Excadrill, and was looking forward to running into his friend’s daughter.

“Well, we can’t wait to join you all in Lumiose in a week! That Z-A Royale won’t know what hit ‘em!” !” Nemona cheered, her enthusiasm drawing the attention of the other station-goers.

Penny, however, had shaken her head at such notions, voicing her excitement for meeting Canari, another electric streamer who was apparently based in the city.

“She’s doing a quiz, and in return I can grab a special BTS meet-up with her!” the girl gushed, her earlier qualms of shyness having mostly melted away by this point. “I’m getting her autograph, no doubt.”

“Well, here you go,” Drayton handed over the premium tickets his grandfather had given him to the duo. Now that his grandson had been more taken with his studies, Drayden had decided to snag two tickets to Lumiose for a month-long stay. However, Drayton had opted to give them to Kieran and Juliana, the generosity being enough for Drayden to immediately buy up another eight for the rest of their friends to join, although they opted to come later for the two to have some quality couple time. As Drayton handed the tickets over, he muttered in Kieran’s ear.

“Oh, and since you two are sharing a room again, um, make sure to use protec-” was all he could get out before Carmine, having an acute sense of Drayton-Tauros-shit being let out, slammed her fist onto the poor man’s floof of a hairdo, crumpling him beneath her feet. Kieran, rightly vilified, was livid with scarlet not unlike Koraidon, who had been stowed in Juliana’s suitcase for the meantime. It didn’t help that he had, in fact, kept Drayton’s little ‘present’ in his own suitcase, buried helpfully beneath candy bars and acquired after a dorm night dare which Kieran absolutely regretted ever even considering, a few notes on the city’s layout, and mounds of clothes and toiletries. Just because the two were now eighteen didn’t give Colgate-head any right to say that shit. Nope. No way.

“You alright Kiki?” Juliana had tilted her head in what seemed to be confusion, as Kieran approached, mumbling, “Yeah, I’m alright Juli. Just Drayton being an imbecile again.”

“A correct imbecile!” he called out, being hauled out of the area with indignation. Despite her drilling into her brother and likely future sister-in-law about her unwillingness to become an aunt, she was not in the mood for Drayton’s innuendo. One expert judo flip later, Drayton’s ass was planted firmly on the ground as he grinned up at his pissed girlfriend, though he did wince slightly at the sting present in his back.

“Yikes, think I deserved that,” Drayton resignedly said, as he pulled himself up with some effort, Kieran and Juliana swearing his back cracked with a sound not unlike an Annihilape’s cry.

Juliana turned to her friends and tightly squeezed them; Penny squeaking out a ‘Damn Jules, Arven’s rubbed off on you too much’ as they got the squeeze, as she said, “I’m gonna miss you guys!”

Kieran similarly embraced his sister, and promised they’d stay safe. “Don’t worry sis, how bad can it be? We’ve been to Nimbasa before, it’ll be alright.”

“Alright Kiki, just make sure to have fun!” Carmine waved, as the two siblings separated, Kieran joining Juliana as they walked off to board the train.

 “Alright, we’ll see you guys in a week! Stay safe, and try not to upset the fabric of time and space!” Penny added to Nemona’s farewell, as the BB Elite Four similarly waved off their friends, who had entered the carriage and were now waving out the window.

“We’ll call you guys once we get there! Byeeee!” Juliana called out to her friends as the train sped off, as she turned to the plum-haired boy beside her who hadn’t entirely recovered from his blushing experience.

“Bets on whose gonna break first?” Penny had already asked Carmine, who was gazing with a hint of forlorn to where her brother once stood.

“Oh, my brother, deffo.”

“Wanna bet some LP on it?”

“You’re on.”

“So? I’m curious what he was telling you about, Must’ve been more of his coy jokes I’m guessing,” Juliana guessed, Kieran mumbling in reply that it was nothing serious. Woo, his sweater sure was warm. He could feel the carriage’s temperature rising significantly as Juliana began to snuggle up to him.

“Don’t worry about whatever he says,” Juliana smiled up to her blushing lover, who gazed back down at her. “It’ll just be you, me, and whatever Pokémon we’ve got on our person for a week! I’ve heard the food there is great for both us and our partners! Though apparently there’s one hotel serving croissant curry. Might hafta pass on that,” Juliana sweatdropped, as Kieran winced in solidarity at the extremely peculiar combo.

“Yeah! Just us two, alone,” Kieran replied, holding Juliana just that little bit tighter as she gave him a small peck on the cheek.

“Yep. Now, wanna have a nap? It’ll be an hour to Lumiose, so might as well get some shut-eye in the meantime.”

“Alright then.” Kieran was planning to do quite a lot on the trip, especially with what was in the suitcase, his brain supplied helpfully, as he flushed red at the thought, so he did want to make sure he wasn’t sauntering about like Drayton after the umpteenth assignment of homework on a Monday. The two made themselves comfortable, and cuddled as they let Cresselia whisk them off to a land of dreams.

A little too well, Dorian presumed, as he stood in front of the slumbering couple, the train blaring as it was minutes away from ditching Lumiose, with them all on it.

Chapter Text

If it hadn’t been for the fact that the train’s horn overshadowed his shrill scream, Dorian would’ve had quite a few stares come his way as he struck out at the empty space in front of him in a panic. It felt so, so real, like he could feel the claws boring into his skull, his head, his guts and his legs. He shook his head vigorously, a sudden hangover of exhaustion hitting him as he gazed about his surroundings, desperate to see something bright for once. Fortunately, his wish was granted, as he saw the outside of the train carriage, pulling into a station populated by quite a few people and their following Pokémon, Staryu and Fletchling, and even a Skiddo darting out of the gateway. He felt for his travel bag, grabbing it and pulling it over his shoulder as he got up to leave. He could, however, sense someone’s anticipation in the seat in front of him.

“Not yet, buddy,” he whispered to his invisible accomplice. “Just gotta wait for everyone else to deboard, then we can get off too, alright? This is what that nice Ingo man used to do for a job, or something like that,” he baby-talked to what seemed to be thin air. He hoped no one in the neighbouring seats would notice, lest they question his sanity. Fortunately they all seemed to be filtering out.

After a while, it was just him in the train, and he signalled for the invisible presence to get up and follow him. After a few steps, however, Dorian thought he could hear… snoring. No, it was snoring. Did someone oversleep? He quietly snuck over to the seats where he thought he could hear the noise coming from, and was met with a diabetically-inducing sight that made him deadpan. There was those two people from the station, the chestnut-haired girl and Two-Tone guy, haplessly snuggled up in such a way he was convinced pulling them apart would be impossible. Had they not heard the alarm to get off? Dorian wondered in indignation. The train announcer was loud enough to separate him from the nightmare, so how did this lovesick couple not even move an inch? Rolling his eyes, he took a gamble and flicked at the guy’s forehead. It wouldn’t be much harm in helping a couple get off their train before it sped off with them in tow, would it?

Not that he was gonna, anyway. He had just observed a rapidly-growing puddle of spit forming on the guy’s arm where his presumed girlfriend was drooling upon it, and he knew if he was reckless in his approach that would go flying into the general vicinity, preferably not all over him.

“Excuse me, sir? Sir?” he spoke in a hushed tone to the two, but he seemed to be drowned out by their collective snoring. The guy was more calm, a steady breathing in his chest, but the girl was letting out wheezing snores that sounded like they were coming from a toddler’s toy squeaker.

He let out a hefty sigh, before cracking his index finger with his thumb to signal to his partner. “Hey, sorry kiddo, but can ya do a little scream for me? Nothing too loud, just need to startle Romeo and Juliet out of their stupor,” he gestured to the snoring duo. Seemingly assenting, the carriage was filled with a bloodcurdling cry, a rattling of the bones that immediately made the two shoot up, yelling “I’m awake mum!” and “Oh shit! Sis, I’m sorry! I’m awake!” as the two searched about for their collective belongings.

“Finally. You two must get off now, unless you want to get shipped off to good ol’ Galar,” Dorian grumbled to the blinking duo, the woman flushing as she hopped out of her lover’s lap and reached above for her suitcase, grabbing what Dorian presumed to be the guy’s as well.

“ThankyousomuchcomeonKikiwegottagothankyouagaingoodbye!” was the jumbled mess of words he heard from the woman as she grabbed ‘Kiki’ and darted out of the exit, a mass of bags and people launching from the side door. Fetching his own bag, and snapping his fingers to the seeming nothing again, he hopped off the carriage.

It had felt odd, having to stroll into the brightness of the day after his prior nightmare. He briefly covered his eyes in order to defend himself from the sun, adjusting to see the rather busy plaza he had just found himself in. There were people trundling through the streets, either on their Rotom Phones or seemingly wandering where their next destination would be.

He had just been staring around for a few minutes, taking in the massiveness of the city, when he was suddenly approached by two girls. One of them was blond, reddish hues tipping her hair, with blue eyes and a rather casual outfit. The other had dark brown hair, tied up in a small tuft on her head while wearing a large blue hoodie.

“Heya there!” the blond one called out, “Just came from Gare de Lumiose I’m guessing? And from that large travel bag,” she gestured to Dorian’s luggage, “I’m guessing you’re a tourist here?”

“Now c’mon Taunie,” the blue hoodie girl ran up to join the two, a seemingly blasé expression decorating her features as she talked with her friend. “You can’t just assume that every person strolling about Gare de Lumiose is a tourist!”

“I mean, it worked for you, didn’t it Lida?” Taunie snickered, as Lida lowered her eyes in an unimpressed opinion, though a minor blush formed on her cheeks. “Yeah, well… I mean, you saw me come off the train!” she hurriedly spoke to justify her argument, before turning to Dorian, who until this point had been looking at the two in some confusion. “But anyways! Are you a tourist?”

“Um, sorry to give Taunie points here,” Dorian began, “but yeah. I am a tourist. Was it really that obvious,” he scratched the back of his head, a slightly worn expression on his eyes as he grinned with a hint of pity for Lida, who threw her hands to the floor and stared down, mumbling  “Really? How do you keep getting away with this Tauns?”

“It’s alright, thanks for, ah, the sentiment,” Dorian assured her. “Any reason for asking me about?”

Taunie replied with enthusiasm, informing him about the hotel Z she was trying to advertise, and had brought Lida along for visual supervision, though she couldn’t actually feature in the ad due to being quote on quote, “A little taller than me. Can’t reach her hands for the little act Imma do.” Apparently he was chosen due to being Taunie’s height. There were also a Totodile, Tepig and Chikorita with the three, to add some ‘charm’ to the video. Dorian was about to agree to the ad, but their attention was dragged to the side, as they saw two figures rapidly heading towards them.

Juliana and Kieran had rushed off in embarrassment for what seemed like the thousandth time as they headed to the turnstiles to hand over their tickets. If it weren’t for the mystery boy from the photo who seemed to take pity on them and wake them up, they would’ve been left on the train! She’d need to thank him later, but she caught sight of him vanishing off into what seemed to be the Aether as he took a separate exit and disappeared. Kieran was now holding their luggage as she’d hurriedly brandished the tickets to the ticket-taker in the booth. Despite being evidently done with herself and under-energized, she immediately shot up at the sight of the Unovan League-stamped tickets and let them through without so much as a luggage check. Kieran followed through as a blinding light took over their view, before they moved ahead and caught sight of Lumiose itself.

“Well, that was a rollercoaster, wasn’t it?” Juliana laughed, letting any stress disperse from her as she took in the view. The welcome party wasn’t that shabby either; billboards crowded the buildings not unlike Levincia’s center while a scenic green took up the center plaza they were in. Peering further down, she could see Prism Tower itself, dominating the skyline of what was otherwise rows of buildings dotted with windows and balconies that looked strangely flat. Compared to Mesagoza, which was dominated by Naranja Academy, and Levincia, which was more so a modern, blooming city, this was quite the unique experience.

“Wowzers!” Kieran muttered, gazing around the place in awe. Sure, he had visited Nimbasa with the others before, but he was still a Kitakamian and was bowled over by the massiveness of the thing, especially with how Prism Tower was practically erupting from the centre of the city.

“Hey look! There’s that kid!” Juliana gestured to the boy who seemed to have bumped into a girl with blondish hair ending in red tips, as well as a ravenette girl in a large blue hoodie and were accompanied by a Totodile, Tepig and Chikorita. Before she could even ask about the boy and his seemingly newfound company, one of the billboards morphed to show an advertisement of a woman. Juliana recognized her from the pamphlet she and Kieran had read on the train; she was-

“..Jett, head of Quasartico Inc.” Yeah, that sounded right. Jett then went on to talk about how her company was planning to integrate wild zones into more areas of the city, to some audible groans from the populace, before signing off.

“Huh, so they really are planning to bring wild Pokémon into the zones,” Kieran contemplated. He was curious about the notion; not even his village out in the country allowed wild Pokémon to actively venture within the grounds, and after his competitive phase, he had done some research on Mega Evolution, having heard about some newly discovered ones found after Team Flare’s machinations. Maybe he could catch one...

“Hey kid!” Juliana waved towards the boy, who by now had noticed the two and was looking at them with some disconcertion.

“Ah, you’re the sleeping couple from the train!” the boy spoke with some easy familiarity, though Kieran could sense his eyes trained on the two. He had no time to contemplate it however, as the blonde girl grinned and raised her hand in greetings.

“Hey there stranger? Also coming to visit Lumiose?” she inquired, Juliana peppily replying in agreement.

“Yep! Me and Kieran are just going out to see the sights, eat the food, and overall just relax! Hold on, I think I recognise you-“ she closed in on Taunie, the girl looking rather nervous all of a sudden, especially when she took a glance to Kieran, her eyes flashing with a degree of fear shared by the blue hoodie girl that had Kieran befuddled.

“Um, you do?” she asked, her tone of voice shaky, as Dorian raised an eyebrow to the scene unfolding in front of him.

“Yeah, I’ve got it,” Juliana making a ‘Eureka’ sign, as Taunie and Lida stared sweatily at the chestnut-haired woman in front of them. “You’re the one who made that croissant curry! I’ve got to try it.”

Taunie visibly deflated at the sound of that, Lida matching as well. “Oh, oh thank goodness! Thought you might have- it doesn’t matter. Anyways, what was that about croissant curry?” Taunie answered the curious lady’s inquiry, developing into conversation as the two chatted over Taunie’s, um, eccentric tastes.

“So, any reason I look so scary?” Kieran asked Lida, having slid over to chat with her and Dorian.

“Oh! Sorry, it’s not about you. Just thought you looked like someone familiar, that’s all,” Lida shyly answered, playing with one of the strands of hair covering her forehead, resembling an upside-down pitchfork. She seemed to be deep in thought, briefly turning to Juliana to scan her face more. She seemed to be brimming on the edge of an epiphany, and eventually, she realised.

“Holy Magikarp!” she pointed to Juliana, who had turned to look at her. “You’re one of mum’s students! You’re Champion Juliana!”

Taunie briefly opened her mouth agape in surprise, before realising she was standing right next to a regional champion. “Shit! You’re a Champion?” she looked in awe to the young woman, who quickly answered with a “Yes, that I am,”, her eyes glimmering in surprise; ; she knew she was well-known in Paldea, but other regions? Geez, Geeta wasn’t lying when she said that she’d grown famous. She turned to study Lida’s face.

“Are you… Dendra’s daughter, per chance?” she smiled at the thought of her enthusiastic battle teacher, as Lida nodded. “Yeah, that’s me!” she grinned. “I’ve been away for a while, since I’ve been attending dance school here in Lumiose, but it’s been going well. Has she ever told you about me,” her voice became notably softer, as if expectant about her mother’s words.

“Lately, yeah,” Juliana said, now recalling a few conversations she had with Dendra in the past few months at the academy. “She said that her daughter was in another region, and that she was a talented dancer like her brother. She said you guys got it from her Poke-training exercises.”

“Oh, you mean Tierno?” Kieran jumped in. He had been shown a few videos from Crispin about a visiting dance instructor who was practicing in Unova, and come to think of it, he did look like Lida, at least form the videos he had seen. Same hair. Like, sure, it was just hair, but anyone could guess he and Carmine were related the same way. Right?

“Yeah! Hope he’s been doing well for himself.”

“Oh my goodness, and you’re Champion Kieran! Your battle with Ex-Champion Drayton was quite the watch!” At that, Kieran bristled in half pride, half surprise, as he felt an odd revelry in Drayton being called ‘ex-champ’. It felt like vindication, somewhat. Didn’t know why though. His attention turned to Dorian, and he must’ve given something away in his eyes, as he said, “The name’s Dorian. So, Kieran, huh? You seem, a good sort,” the boy seeming not much of a talker. Kieran could relate to that.

However before the boy could say anything further one of the Pokeballs Kieran had noticed on his waist began to twitch, and in an instant it burst in a small torrent of energy,  revealing a red apple with two beady green eyes chirping away and rolling about.

“You have an Applin?” Kieran exclaimed with some surprise. Sure, the boy had said he was from Galar, but he thought it rude and unlikely he’d assume Dorian just happened to have an Applin on his person.

“Yeah, I do like Dragon types quite a bit, and Berrylisk wanted to come, so...”

“Berrylisk?” Kieran questioned. He personally never gave any of his Pokemon names; in fact, he seldom heard of it, only hearing from the occasional trainer back in Blueberry about people who did some kind of challenge called a... what was it? ‘Nuzzy’? A ‘Lock’?

“Nuzlocke,” Dorian replied, Kieran’s eyes boggling out of his head as the boy seemed to read his mind. “And no, I’m not one. I just thought it was funny wordplay, like, ‘basilisk’ and ‘berry’? Heh.” Kieran guessed he couldn’t argue with his logic. “I could show you some other ones I have, just- Hey, Taunie,” Dorian called to the blond girl.

“Where’s my bag?” Dorian continued, a hint of confusion in his voice. Kieran realized he was glaring pointedly at the now blank spot of ground next to Taunie.

“It was just here, I-” Taunie replied, but she was interrupted by a cry. A Pokémon cry. The four turned to look, and saw a Pancham of all things, practically twirling a brown leather bag like some kind of trophy, before it gave the group a snide look before darting away, bag in tow.

“That panda has my bag!” Dorian yelled with some indignation, before he speedily recalled his Applin with an air that gave Kieran an air of a battler, before he heard Dorian say, “C’mon Taunie! That bear’s mine!” and darted off.

“Oh boy. Ah well, great to run into you guys! See ya!” Taunie waved at the two, before speeding off after Dorian with Lida, the three starters accompanying her following her in various gaits.

“Well, didn’t realise how lively Lumiose could be!” Juliana giggled, sneaking a glance to see Kieran was also belatedly amused by the introductory antics of the city. With a sudden urgency, her Rotom phone flew out of her pocket, shrilling the notification ‘Your Registration with Ritz-Lumiose is within half-the-hour!’ before diving back into her trousers.

“Guess we should head off then,” Kieran said, quickly scrolling through his maps for a route to the hotel. It wouldn’t be long, but on account of Geeta’s strict orders to ‘not pull out Koraidon for trivial use’, they couldn’t use him for transport and had to hail a flying taxi. “Ya’ got all your stuff?” Kieran asked Juliana, who had just picked back up their bags, after a minor double take as she thought for a second their bags had been taken as well.

“’Course! Right, let’s get going!” she grinned back at him, before he led the way, phone in hand, to the taxi bays.

He had the feeling this holiday would be great.

Oh, how right - yet wrong -  he would be.

Chapter Text

Following the Pancham, in all respects, had been a huge pain in the ass. Dorian had pursued it through the streets, catching the attention of several city goers as they caught sight of the boy’s avid pursuit. He had just managed to reach it when it dived into a corner, and he came upon the bear’s two owners.

“Gee, even I wouldn’t be caught with a backpack this tacky! Were you trying to clean it off the streets Pancham?” one of its owners spoke, glancing with disdain at the leather rucksack. “What an eyesore! Let’s take it to the cops for some credit,” his partner, a woman with her own travelling bag suggested.

“No need!” Taunie spoke, walking up to the pair, “I’ve got the bag’s owner right here,” she gestured to Dorian, who had been accompanied by Lida.

“Your Pancham seems to have ran off with my stuff,” Dorian was rather miffed at the audacity; first they roast his bag sense, then they want to take his bag for some brown-nosing with the police? Unfortunately, the two surly trainers seemed not in the mood to hand over his possession.

“Wait wait wait,” the guy started, “how do we know its yours? For all we know you might be trying to steal someone’s prized possessions.” Ah, so that was the trick. They were just grabbing unattended bags outside the station and turning them in for payments from the cops, eh? Hell no.

“Hey! You can check inside his bag for his name! I’m sure it’s labelled,” Lida suggested hopefully. She wasn’t in the mood for a battle: she’d already had her team get fainted by one of the Victreebels wandering around, and she couldn’t get enough money to revive the rest of her team.

“Naw, who knows what filthiness is in that ugly eyesore of a bag, and ‘sides, consider this repayment for all the money we lost when you beat us in the ZA Royale last night! ” the woman rebutted, clearly intending to not have the bag leave their clutches.

What was all this about a ZA Royale? Dorian had taken the first ticket to a region out of Galar in a hurry, but maybe he should have taken more care in figuring out what he was potentially getting himself into. He’d have to ask Taunie later. Right now, the Pancham was on a trip to getting sent to Beat-town, as Taunie offered him a choice of one of the starters to battle with. He had been itching to just order a Shadow Ball hit on the diminutive robber currently sizing him up with the smuggest look on his face, but that would draw too much attention.

He glanced at his options. There was the Chikorita, who seemed rather eager to get into a fight, as well as her Tepig companion, who was gazing at the Pancham with a small ember of energy. However, as he glanced at the Totodile, its derpy gaze fixed at its surroundings and glancing around, arguably debating whether or not to just chomp on the bag-stealers and flee, he was chamred. He made his choice.

“Totodile huh? Good choice. I’m sure Lida would like that, considering she loves Water Types,” Taunie looked to Lida, who grinned in assent.

“Yup! Even got them all in Dive Balls!” That was pretty neat. On-brand for a water-type trainer as well, Dorian thought, as he positioned himself to face the Pancham. Before he engaged, however, Taunie yelled out some instructions.

“The way battling here works is different than normal, by the way! You need to lead your Pokemon around to battle, and you can fire off as many attacks as you want, but you need to wait for them to cool off so they don’t over-exert themselves!” Alright, so it wasn’t turn-based. Not like back then.

“Alright, Totodile, use Leer!” he had first called out, aiming to drop the thing’s stats to rub in whatever attack he’d launch at it next. A Tackle was the way to go, the thing attempting to counter it with a Tackle of its own, though the drop to its defences rendered its own attack incomparable in damage. Instinctively, Dorian used another Leer, which actually paid off as the Pancham had actually timed out its defence drop, only to be paid back another Leer.

Huh, so they’re using these tricks, hmm? Shame I already had to deal with that back then. Timing out your stat drops and boosts ain’t nothing new to me. Choosing to go sicko mode, aiming to humiliate the petulant black-and-white robber in front of his owners, he decided to run towards the wall. Confusion briefly washed over Pancham’s face, wondering what incredulous being must have possessed the person it was fighting to do such a thing, before it pursued the Totodile loyally following his trainer. Before it even could register what was going on, Dorian kicked himself against the wall, using his momentum to roll back over the ‘dile and the Pancham, the momentary surprise stunning it as it attempted to charge towards where the Totodile was, only to collide with the wall. The speed of the roll had caused the Water starter to recall back to his trainer, leaving the Pancham with a wall as its opponent.

Checkmate. Dorian  responded with a Water Gun, striking the Pancham in the chest and sending it rolling into another wall, where it fainted with no fanfare to its efforts.

“Shoot, I lost again!” the bear’s backpacking owner grumbled, with his companion jokingly stating with a hint of defeat, “I guess that’s why you and I get along so well.”

“We always lose!” he responded to his fellow backpacker in a flourish, who had wrung her hands at the Pancham’s swift defeat. The two then retreated, but not before recalling Pancham and surrendering his travel bag back to him.

“Damn!” Taunie began, her impressed tone clearly showing her view of the fight, “Didn’t know you could battle.” She just took Dorian to be another tourist, (hey, don’t judge. He was blankly staring about the city gates, like how could you not?” but she underestimated his adeptness at taking advantage of the battle system. She also didn’t expect him to roll so naturally.

“Have you done acrobatics or something?” Lida voiced her curiosity. The girl was pleasantly surprised by Dorian being so spritely, though she was curious as to where he could have learned such tricks.

“I mean, I guess most people can. Wouldn’t guess it from a first glance though, huh? Guess it's part of my ‘tourist-illusion’”, he giggled at his little joke, before he suddenly heard a massive alarm, almost mechanical in nature, sound from somewhere, instinctively grabbing for Totodile’s ball.

“Oh dear, guess we took too long,” Taunie grumbled, Dorian whipping his head round in surprise as he questioned, “The hell’s this?”

“Woah, easy there bud, it’s just a battle zo- ohhhh, right, haven’t told you yet, sorry, my mistake.” Dorian raised an eyebrow in curiosity as Taunie continued, “Apparently Jett’s company is searching for strong trainers, so they’ve created a Z-A Battle Royale where you can enter battle zones in night; they’re those red gates over there,” she gestured to said gates, which were holographically projected onto the buildings, “and if you get caught in one, well, best be ready to battle.”

Really? So at night, the city just became one big free-for-all? That had to be illegal in some regions, right? Dorian was going to continue this train of thought, but Lida gestured to another back alley, saying, “C’mon! You can take cover with us in the Hotel!” He was intending to follow her anyway, having perked up at the sound of a Hotel when she had first met him, but now? ‘Take cover?’ The actual fuck? Were the people of the city literal psychopaths or something? His thoughts had to wait, however, as Lida and Taunie were already running at full sprint to where he guessed the hotel was located. They darted through the alleys, travelling around corners, though Dorian couldn’t resist the urge to pick up all the dropped items lying around. He wondered if they belonged to any unfortunate victims of these battle zones who had dropped them in their haste.

His concerns were soon manifested, however, as he bumped into the two girls, who had frozen at the gateway out of the battle zone, its vermillion glow obscured by the figures in front of the three.

“Oh ho! Look what we have here,” one of them, a woman with a blue tracksuit, probably a Fighting-type trainer, grinned as she beckoned with a Pokeball in hand, clearly intending to cause a fight.

Great, Dorian thought, as he gritted his teeth in exasperation at the motley group of trainers in front of them. Gatekeeping? Literally? That was a low move.

“Sorry, could you let us through? Me and my friend stayed a bit up too late, and-” Taunie tried to negotiate a way out, but was speedily shut down by one of the other trainers, a guy, presumably a waiter.

“No can do bud. You stayed out too late? Your loss. Now c’mere and give us a fight!” a waiter-type man replied, his Honedge itching to strike. Dorian could only frown at the lack of tact. Was everyone in this city, subtracting Juliana, Kieran, Lida and Taunie, massive jerks? Now he was really itching to call out his ace, or rather, signal him to attack. It would be quick and easy, an Icy Wind could easily slow them down and buy the group time to escape, or perhaps a Flamethrower... nah, he wasn’t in the mood to get caught by whatever police authority was operating here. He was still debating his options when a fae-like Pokémon suddenly descended upon the group, Taunie evidently being acquainted with it by her sudden change of expression.

“Floette!” she called out. “Can you help us with this?” She touched the flower bearer, holding an odd flower that Dorian couldn’t say he had seen before, all black with red accents and pointed tips, on the finger, and the fairy tinkled a response in reply.

“A Floette with a black flower? Not something you see every day. Let’s see how it battles!” a blonde woman wearing sunglasses and running attire bared a grin as she readied to oppose the small flower Pokemon, flaunting her hair with presumed arrogance. The Floette seemed to frown at this, however, as it took its flower into its hands, and began charging it up, a pinkish light rapidly pulsating and flaring from its stamen as the entire plant began to illuminate in a violent purplish glow.

“Wait Floette! Don’t aim it at them!” Taunie reached her hand out in fear, as the Floette turned in moderate confusion, before assenting and aiming the flower to the sky. What followed next gave Dorian another shock to add to the number that had occurred in his short life as a massive beam, undoubtedly composed of Fairy energy, blasted into the air, cutting through the night and almost blinding him as he covered his eyes to shield them from its ruinous light.

Holy shit, was all he could think, as his attention was diverted back to the trainers. They stared at the sky where the beam had just been, now dissipated into glittery sparkles, mouths agape, before they hurriedly scampered off like rats, yells of “Okay, geez!” and “What in Arceus’ name!” as they turned a corner and fled to find someone actually capable of being defeated. Taunie burst out laughing, saying “That Light of Ruin you had there was spectacular, Floette! Thank goodness you have that on you!” before beckoning to Dorian, “C’mon, the hotel’s close by!” before speeding off with Floette in tow.

Lida took in Dorian’s flabbergasted expression, before grinning and saying, “Welcome to Lumiose!” light-heartedly, before following suite with Taunie.

“What have I gotten myself into?” Dorian mumbled, a degree of resignation clear in his voice as he muttered to himself about the amount of insane things he had fallen into within the span of a day.

Cragglahk, a pitying cry crackled from the air, as Dorian turned to view the creature in front of him. “Yeah, I guess you’re right boy. Just gotta take it in stride,” he responded, a yawn creeping out of him as he realized he hadn’t yet gotten a good night’s sleep.  “Gotta follow Taunie and Lida now, ‘kay? Stay low and keep yourself hidden.” The creature bowed in reply, before leaping over the buildings and vanishing into the air. “There’s a good boy,” he bid the Pokémon goodbye, before he turned to follow Taunie to the hotel.

Walking into the hotel lobby, Dorian felt rather homely within the well-maintained, rustic feeling building.  The carpet was soft under his feet, and he almost immediately felt guilty over having trodden on its articulate patterns. As his gazed turned to the hotel reception, he was almost bowled over by the tower of a man standing in its stead. Though he certainly wasn’t muscular by any means, and he seemed to lack as many muscles on his bones as Dorian did, his snow white hair falling around his shoulders, he seemed rather sturdy for his old age. Tall, however? Absolutely. He almost had to bend down to ensure he could fit inside the lobby, giving him a more elderly and grandfatherly persona.

“And here’s our new guest AZ!” Taunie finished off, having been chatting to AZ while Dorian had taken his time heading into the building. “He’s the one who has Totodile.”

“Ah, so this is the young man with the travel bag you texted me about,” he spoke in a sombre, deep, yet worn tone. He must’ve caught Dorian’s raised eyebrow, as he smiled a small smile and spoke, “Floette manages the phone messages for me. My hands,” he paused, to raise a hand off his large walking stick to show his gargantuan digits, which were at least as large as Dorian’s face, “are too big for usage of a phone.”

“That’s right! Dorian here got picked up by Taunie and me,” Lida explained, an excited tone present in her voice, “Should’ve seen him! Gave me a shock when he jumped off a wall and beat that Pancham with Totodile!” she raised her right arm in a sign of victory.

AZ glanced to the Totodile which was eagerly waddling about its new owner, Dorian watching on bemusedly as it stumbled about, no thoughts behind its wide eyes.

“A wise choice,” he beamed, his eyes glad at the sight of the content water starter. A moment passed where he paused, his eyes having drifted to Dorian’s travel bag. Though he turned his sight to view his belongings, he guessed he failed to sight whatever AZ had noticed.

Az continued, “Dorian.” The boy turned at the mention of his name, listening to the man who had seemed rather curious to his nature. “People and Pokemon are by design, supposed to belong together in harmony. They place their faith in you, and you in them.” He then took the time to stand more upright, a resolute expression on his face as he spoke further. “Never betray that faith.”

Betray? He thought he’d already done enough of that, suffered enough of that. He quickly nodded in agreement, though perhaps a little too quickly, he worried, as the man looked at him a few seconds more, Lida and Taunie not fully grasping the tension in the room. AZ, however, seemed to sense something, as he smiled, and looked again to Dorian.

“Welcome to Hotel Z, Dorian. Would you like your key now? I’m sure you’ve had a long day.”

“Didya see that Julie?!” Kieran called to his girlfriend, who had been unpacking their suitcases with him in their hotel room until now. “What Kiki?” she went up to him, taking a glance outside their big-ass window; Gramps would throw a fit if he saw our hotel room. Bigger than our house he’d say!

“There was some giant laser launching out of the buildings!” he told her, regaling her with the absurdity. “It was huge, it was pink, and then I heard some people running away yelling!”

“Maybe it’s that Z-A Royale they were talking about. They did say you could use Pokémon moves in the open.” Kieran guessed her observation to be correct; like, why else would people be hurling literal death beams at one another?

“Maybe we just need to take a nap,” she said, her own tiredness evident. Getting into the hotel room was a cinch; upon observing the details of their reservation, the hotel manager had gone ass-over for them, personally bringing them to their room and even handing them free refreshments. Juliana and Kieran never really drank, but they obliged for the guy’s sake (they were legal to drink, after all), and found themselves a little tipsy once he left, though it wore off. Eventually.

“Yeah, been a bit of a day, huh? Almost missed our stop, then met that Dorian boy? Wonder if we’ll see him again,” Kieran muttered, instinctively climbing into bed. It was only when he sunk into the covers he realized that the bed was for two; not to mention it was the only one in the room. He seemed to recall another comment Drayton had made the day prior.

“Don’t worry my precocious bro-in-law,” Drayton had slung his arm around Kieran’s shoulder, the usual laid-back grin plastered on his face. “I managed to get my gramps a premium suite for you and Jules, and I changed the arrangements a bit to suit your... preferences.”

He really should have listened to him more. Ugggh, can’t believe I even thought of that. Kieran winced at stooping so low as to intentionally follow Drayton’s words. Did he really advertise the two as requiring one massive single bed? The guy was good as dead once he and the others went over to visit. He could just envision it, grabbing his tuft of hair and spinning him around like a demented Alolan Marowak with its bone club, on fire preferred. Any resenting thoughts he had, however, were extinguished with extreme speed as Juliana hopped in with him, the bed lightly bouncing from their combined weight as the two collapsed together into the covers.

“Julie?” Kieran blurted, but was interrupted by a soft, light, breathy snore, as his head turned to see that his beloved had fallen asleep. “Guess you really needed a nap, eh?” he smiled to himself, before repositioning his awkward position as he gently laid her properly into the bed, pulling the covers over the two as he mumbled a final ‘goodnight’, before he too fell to the clutches of sleep.

The moon seemed to shine beautifully, that night.

Chapter Text

Starting up, Dorian could feel the matted, dew-dressed texture of the grass beneath him, as he sat up and looked around. He saw the huge rocky cliffs, the bridge leading the way, the quaint light of the lanterns glowing dimly in the dark. Pulling himself up further, he realised he wasn’t at the encampment. He wasn’t anywhere near the exit at all, in fact. Where was he? He stood up, and walked a while, glancing for any discerning features in the fieldlands. Where had everyone gone? He swore-

Wait.

This wasn’t right.

Where was the Hotel?

Where was Taunie and Lida?

Where was, where was...

.

.

.

“Al?” he called out to the darkness, the black mist slowly descending upon him like a accursed funeral shroud. Though he waited for an answer, all he received was a droning roar, not Al’s, a ‘bishaaan’, calling to him.

Dorian stretched himself primly as he awoke from last night’s nap, though a little haphazardly as he dodged the dream of the night. After AZ’s little introduction, he had been guided to his room by Taunie, with Lida retiring to bed. It had been a while since he had stayed at a residence that wasn’t hiding out in Galar’s streets, but even then, the hotel was an extremely comforting and homely place.

Don’t let your guard down, somewhere deep in his mind, something whispered. You’ve been cast out before, and you can be cast out again. That was true. However, he was willing to extend a branch of confidence to his new acquaintances. Taunie seemed very welcoming, though more leader-like between her and Lida, who seemed to be a bit more skittish around battling and Kieran, especially. What was up with that? Even Taunie seemed rather surprised by his appearance, even a little cowed.

Venturing down the building’s lift, he had strolled out to meet back up with Taunie, who had been waiting in the hotel lobby. “Hey Dorian!” she grinned, having been sat on a well-furnished chair sat in the lobby’s corner. “So, I was gonna give you a rundown of the basics, but colour me surprised when I saw you do that epic roll over that Pancham!” This felt familiar, he thought, as it seemed she had been planning on giving him a rolling tutorial. Just like back then. “But since we’re already past that step, I’m gonna bring you up to speed.” Space seemed to zoom in on the girl, as she paused for dramatic effect, something he had the thought of as emulating AZ.

“I want to request your help in the Z-A Royale.” Okay, didn’t see any issue with that.

“What is the deal with this Z-A Royale anyways? I mean, I’m not opposed to joining, just like, why is everyone so big on it?” Dorian asked, some curiosity ebbing in his tone. From the sounds of it practically the entire city was in on the challenge, to the point they were willing to hound down random teens in the street for easy pickings. Once again, that felt like something that would be extremely illegal. Sure, he knew that the regions did let kids go on unsupervised adventures and handle massive creatures of uncontrolled power and elements, but those were Pokémon. The adults here seemed positively deranged. Taunie, fortunately, seemed responsive, though she was of course ecstatic that he had accepted the invitation.

“Ohmygosh, thanks! We did need some more help with battling ‘round here, thank you so much! Also, to answer your question, Quasartico said that if you reach Rank A, with you climbing through the ranks by beating people in promotion matches after you get a certain amount of points, you get a wish!” Taunie explained, her peppy tone giving Dorian pause. A wish? Like, in money, or something else? And how was Quasartico expecting to provide it? Whatever the case, any rational track of thought was promptly sent to the Distortion Realm when he heard a ring from the lift, and saw Lida strolling out.

She was dressed in her signature blue hoodie, her hair messily tied up in such a way that it seemed she was in the throes of sleep when she had done so, her features, though obviously bed-worn, were so stunningly attractive Dorian felt his pale face heat up considerably as he attempted to turn his sight away for a second so to avoid raising suspicion.

The hell was that? Was I poisoned? No, Beni’s not serving me food, I’m clear, what was that? Was what surged through the boy’s mind as he quickly turned to greet Lida, though his reply was stuttered and honestly foolish in its delivery.

“E- enchante,” he greeted in his broken Kalosian, giving a nervous wave he wasn’t even sure qualified as a wave; more so a shy raising of the hand. That was how it was pronounced, right? He had taken a quick glance at some Kalosian words before heading to the city; even he knew it would be foolish to travel to any region without knowing some of its language, despite Galarian being widespread.

Lida beamed, making his stomach flip into who-knows-where as he played with one of his strands of hair to calm himself.

“Know some Kalosian, hm? Maybe you could pass as being a resident, ay Taunie?” Lida grinned, as Taunie rolled her eyes good-naturedly at her friend.

“C’mon, I promise I won’t grab every single person who comes out of Gare de Lumiose and looks moderately tourist-esque for our hotel, deal?” she smirked. “Anyways, to business. Dorian’s agreed to do the ZA Royale.”

“Oh thank goodness!” Lida deflated, seemingly having a large amount of weight brought off her shoulders. She flushed as she realised how rude she sounded, clearing up, “I didn’t mean that I’m glad you’re doing our job for us!” she shook her hands in a panic as she clenched her teeth in embarrassment. “It’s just, I’m not the best battler, and Naveen’s always cooped up doing his sewing, so Taunie’s been the only one handling trainers.” Dorian did recall her saying that her team had for the most part been fainted in recent time, and she had been unable to gain money to revive them on the fly. Guess she couldn’t beat enough trainers to get some revives. Wait, he did have some spare change.

“Oh yeah, about your team situation,” Dorian began, Lida freezing up as she suddenly remembered the fact she had to head to a Pokecenter soon to revive Staryu and the others, “I have 10,000 Pokedollars on my person. Think it’s in my pockets,”  he continued, as he rummaged through his bottoms and fished out several 100 Pokedollar notes. “Think this is enough?” he handed a large portion of his money to the girl, who gingerly took it. She didn’t want to just snap it up! That would make her seem desperate. “That should buy you some revives and potions,” he offered, Lida surprised at the generosity.

“Gee, I, thanks!” she stumbled her words, but managed to successfully get her gratitude out as Dorian beamed.

“No problem,” he poked his cheek with his finger likely, “it’s not much money lost on me either, so don’t worry about my finances.” Taunie let out a nervous giggle at that. Weird.

“Ughhh, what’s the ruckus? Taunie, how many- wait, Lida? Wouldn’t expect you to be so noisy at this hour in the morning. Usually it’s Taunie we have to reign in,” a new voice appeared. It was a guy, no doubt, and as Dorian looked to its direction he got a good look at this new individual. “Naveen, I’m guessing?” Dorian put his hand out for a shake, with Naveen seeming to assess whether his hand was riddled with pests in his glare before he assented to the handshake.

“Guess you’ve been hearing about me,” the boy warily said. He had a baggy white jacket on, with what seemed to be adornments resembling Aegislash upon the tie strung onto his collar. Funny enough, he had a bang on his left side similar in style to Kieran, albeit it was more reminiscent of a thunderbolt with its crooked appearance.

“Oh, sorry to wake you Naveen,” Lida sweat dropped, scratching the back of her head as Taunie turned to reply, explaining the new arrival.

“Just chatting with Dorian here. Come to think of it, if he’s gonna join Team MZ, best give him one of your neat jackets Nav!”

“C’mon, told you not to call me that, I can’t afford to be seen as casual with you guys,” he grumbled, Taunie playfully asking why as he began taking a glance at Dorian and (to his assumption) checking his size for fitting. “Good,” he glimmered, a shine momentarily taking residence in his eyes as he led Dorian to a studio.

“Emma gave a few suggestions on the colour code. You’d be surprised how good her sense of colour coordination is, considering she wears that sweaty, skin-tight bodysuit 24/7” Naveen muttered, Dorian visibly raising a brow at the odd description of this ‘Emma’ character. Never did he hear of such risque clothing being worn on the daily.

 “Just the thought of such an odd fashion choice makes me feel ill,” he added, as he led Dorian to what he presumed to be a dresser.  It had just occurred to him that he had been wearing just his white shirt and black-to-grey trousers.

With a hint of excitement brimming in his action, Naveen swept the dresser’s door open, rewarding Dorian with a line of green jackets with deep black sleeves, a massive embroidery of a stylised ‘MZ’ on each one’s back.

“Pretty sweet work you’ve done there,” Dorian grinned, as he reached out to feel one of the jackets Naveen had selected.

“Well, that’s Naveen for you,” Lida grinned, her and Taunie having followed the two to Naveen’s studio. “May be one crazy hermit in desperate need of sunlight, but boy can he make good fashion.”

“I am conflicted on whether to take that as a compliment or a massive diss,” Naveen shook his head in severe un-impressment, with Taunie giggling.

Dorian had in the meantime slipped the jacket on. Not one to criticise a comfortable item of clothing, especially one which had been handed to him as a gift, he turned to Navee.

“Fits like a glove!” he emphasised the fact by tugging slightly at the jacket’s neck, opting to leave it unzipped considering Lumiose weather. Taking it off to inspect the logo closer, he was rather fond of the gradient sown into the lettering, a bright neon green progressing into a harsher pink.

“What does the MZ stand for again?” he tilted his head in curiosity, his mind failing to provide any possible answer to the peculiar choice of letters.

“Mega Evolution Hotel Z!” Lida grinned. “Taunie came up with it.” Dorian nodded, figuring the inclusion of Mega Evolution was pretty on brand for the city. Before the group could finish admiring Naveen’s handiwork, however, a shrill bell rang through the lobby as AZ called from his post at the desk.

“Taunie, we have visitors! ‘Think its Mister Tarragon and his workers again,” AZ called, the group quickly hurrying into the courtyard to welcome the construction man and his troupe. Dorian was welcomed by the sight of three burly men, decked out in building contractor gear, wearing very noticeable electric yellow hardhats, with the lead man, a sturdy individual despite the long white beard giving away his age, noticeably having a keystone embedded into his hat.

“Ahh, if it isn’t young Taunie ‘gain,” the lead man, Dorian presuming it was Tarragon, gave a mighty grin as he stretched out his calloused hand for the girl to shake. “And who’s this dark-haired boy you’ve got with you? Managed to get another guest” he asked, looking towards Dorian, who had popped up behind Lida and Naveen.

“Oh, this is Dorian! He’s new around here, and he’s our newest resident of the Hotel! Great battler too,” Taunie explained, as Tarragon looked to the whimsical boy with his arms half-crossed behind him, curious to the conversation. “Actually managed to convince him to join the ZA Royale just now! Might be expecting to run into him some time down the road.”

“Heh, we’ll have to see if you’d manage against me and Canari!” he smiled to the boy, a hearty look crossing his features. “Perhaps you can bring in even more publicity for this hotel of yours,” he glimpsed at Taunie. “Not many have gotten past her Quiz Whiz, let alone battle her Eelektross. Now come on boys, let’s install a few more scaffolding to draw some people about this fine establishment, then we move for the center!” he beckoned his hardy workers, as Taunie turned to the three.

“Tarragon said he’s gonna place up some more scaffolding, you know, bring in more people with this ‘Colorful Screw’ hunt he’s got set up,” she pointed to the man, who despite his seemingly grizzled age, had leapt onto the scaffolds with an almost agile flair, and was currently searching on where to place the glinting screw Dorian could see held in his hand.

“Screws?” Dorian asked, interest painting his expression.

“Yeah! Tarragon’s got this little treasure hunt set up where if you find these screws and deliver them to his crew, they’ll give you exclusive plushies of his granddaughter! Her fans swear that  they bring you good luck, and Naveen promised to Arceus he was getting more money than normal after getting one.”

“It’s true!” he protested, clearly dutiful to his idol.

 “In the meantime we’re gonna get Dorian some ‘mons for a team!” Taunie ended her instructions, Lida and Naveen nodding in agreement. “If you guys are free that is.”

“My dance club’s been canceled again, y’know, Corbeau an’ all,” Lida briefly despaired, (again with this Corbeau guy) her head shaking, “so my schedule's free. You Naveen?” she looked at the fashion designer, who had been deep in thought until now.

“Well...” he started, the group listening intently for his response. “I’ve gotten the first jacket done, and considering the positive feedback,” he gestured round to the three, “I think I can manage a few hours of catching.”

“Alright!” Taunie grinned, raising her fist into the air as Dorian looked to the courtyard’s exit. “Guess it’s off to the Wild Zones we go! Let’s get you stocked up on items, Dorian, then we’re off!”

The group were currently positioned in a café, hanging inside and sipping their preferred choices; Naveen had ordered his usual ‘Super Lumiose Galette’, while Lida and Taunie were sharing a platter of croissants. After scanning the food on display, Dorian seemed to have his heart set on the steaming cinnamon bun at the front. After giving Dorian a rundown of the first zone, he seemed to take quickly to catching, even sneaking behind the roaming Pokémon and striking them in the back, which seemed to almost guarantee a catch. Impressed with how quickly he seemed to learn, the group had ventured with him to the other zones, his little Applin rolling along with them, and they managed to secure a rather standard starting team of a Flabebe, Fletchling and a Gastly from Zones 3 and 4. Rather fortunately, however, Dorian had managed to grab several EXP candies on the way, and he had levelled up his team enough that they had all reached their  second stages. The four were currently resting in the cafe’s play-area for such beings, Dorian’s Croconaw getting a jibe from the rather plucky Fletchinder as it jokingly tried to snap at it for landing on his nose.

Naveen did feel rather sceptical about Dorian initially, however he had begun to warm up to his chances in the Royale, though he did feel the need to implore the group to let him get his bearings first.

“You absolutely sure that he can handle it?” he inquired Taunie, who had been deep in thought, her chin resting on her raised first.

“Definitely!” Taunie spoke optimistically, nodding with enthusiasm. “We can help guide him on his way, and if at least one of us reaches Rank A, we can all help Lumiose with our wish!”

“But how about the Rusties and the SBC? Not to mention the Fists getting wind of us,” Lida noted what felt to be the Copperajah in the room as she rushed her hand through the long stretch of hair sitting on her left shoulder.

“Who are these people anyway?” Dorian raised an eyebrow at the mention of these organizations. Whoever they were, they seemed to be causing quite the ruckus in the city if they were apparently hampering Team MZ’s efforts.

“They’re all gunning for Rank A as well.” Taunie said, shaking her head in some melancholy. “There’s DYN4MO, with Canari as Rank F; they want to elevate her to be the greatest streamer in the city,” Naveen added to Taunie’s explanation, a touch of awe in his voice. “Then there’s the SBC, ran by Jacinthe.” Lida deadpanned at the mention of the woman’s name, and Dorian asked to her identity.

“She’s some big-name socialite who is obsessed with battling, to the point she’s create her own independent ‘Jacinthe’ Battle Zone where she can hold you hostage until you satisfy her battling needs.” Welp, looks like his theories of psychopathic battle-maniacs were true, Dorian thought in exasperation, as he opened his mouth to question further on the other groups. Before he could get a word out, however, a taxi of all things pulled up in a screeching halt to the premises.

“Hey Taunie!” a brown-haired man yelled from the driver’s window, which was hastily being lowered to reveal the rest of his face. “You gotta get in and see what’s going down!” He seemed exhilarated, but also rather fearful, his pupils constricted.

“What’s happened now Zach? Got swayed by a Malamar again?” Taunie placed her hands on her hips, sceptical to the man’s instruction.

“What- no! Don't remind me of that! Took me a day to remove all the Malamar merch form my taxi!” he yelled back with some indignation. “No, what I wanted to tell you was that Jacinthe, Ivor and Corbeau are fighting in front of Zone 3! Yvonne said that they might start a brawl!”

Taunie’s eyes widened at the notion. Ivor’s strength, Corbeau’s goons, and Jacinthe? The city was gonna look like a complete zoo if this escalated! Rapidly turning to her friends, she told them, “But, we were just th- guys, we gotta go! Now!”. Lida and Naveen nodded in agreement, and as if they had done this every day of their lives, they barrelled into Zach’s vehicle, Taunie diving in shotgun as Lida beckoned Dorian to join.

“Shouldn’t we pay?” Dorian said with some worry, concerned about nabbing a free ride from the guy, but Zach shook his head, assuring, “Don’t worry kiddo. I can do this for free. Just get in quick!” Seeing no reason as to the contrary, Dorian leapt into the taxi, quickly shutting the door as the five sped off to city center.

Chapter Text

Kieran had enjoyed his morning; to be exact, any morning with Juliana was an enjoyable one. He had awoken alone in his bed, briefly brushing the absent blankets next to him for any sign Julie was there, but eventually could track a pleasant aroma wafting from the kitchen, sauntering over to meet his girlfriend, who was currently busy making breakfast.

“Hey Julie,” he yawned, wiping the morning sand from his eyes as Juliana turned to smile at him.

“Hey Kiki, how’d ya sleep?” she replied, a sunny expression on her face as she took in the sight of her man. Ahhh, she could get used to this. Them, on their own, in their own apartment, it was some kind of dreamscape she indulged in her younger years, but now, it was reality.

“Any plans for today?” she grinned, as Kieran sleepily rested his head on her shoulders.

“Maybe we can go shopping, visit a few stores?” he lovingly replied. “I’d like to buy a little special something for ya.” Arceus, was he so sweet. As she turned her attention back to breakfast, she could feel soft nips peppering her neck. She flushed slightly at the interaction; ever since they graduated, they had been getting more… comfortable with one another, so to say, though they hadn’t done that yet.

“Kiki, staahp,” she whined, and she could feel said ‘Kiki’ smile into her neck.

“C’mon, just a minute,” he groaned, holding onto her waist as if it was the most precious thing in the world.

“Alright, just a minute,” she turned and cupped her lover’s face with her hands, beaming at his face as he suddenly blushed at the reciprocation.

“Have I ever told you how beautiful you are?” he breathed, taking in his girlfriend’s honey-brown eyes, her round and adorable face, her downy hair, a hand reaching out to fiddle with her braid.

Juliana smiled, using her free hand to bring Kieran’s other hand to meet hers on his cheek.

“You always have.”

As the two strolled outside, having dressed up for the day, (Juliana hoping her hastily tied-on scarf would hide the kiss-marks) , taking in the greenery and Juliana noticing a sign pointing to a clothing arcade down the road, they were taken aback by surprise as they saw a blue taxi, jauntily driving around and blaring its horn, blast past them, the two barely making out a familiar boy’s face as the vehicle zoomed past them.

“Was that?-” Juliana asked rhetorically, slowly turning to meet Kieran’s face.

“Yeah,” he replied. The two absolutely were not gonna miss out on this. An unspoken agreement between them, Juliana singled out a Pokeball, more worn than the others, and clicked on it.

“Hey, Koraidon?” she probed, the scarlet dragon panting its tongue like a puppy, tail wagging behind it. He was never beating the dog allegations. “Mind if we,” she gestured to his back, the good boy seeming to grin as it lowered itself from its sitting stance, Juliana hopping onto the beast as she stretched out a hand for Kieran to take. Grinning, the Kitakamian took his maiden’s hand, pulling him onto the lizard’s back behind her. Gripping Koraidon’s blue crests on his shoulders, Juliana lent forward, raring to go.

The taxi ride was rather chaotic, Dorian had gathered, as he and the others comically bundled themselves out of the car, almost landing on each other in a heap. Dusting himself off, Naveen letting out a pained “Geez, Zach, couldn’t you have eased up on the brakes a little?”, Taunie replying, “What? That was awesome!” and Lida ending with “Really Tauns?”. As the group gathered themselves and stood up, Dorian finally caught sight of a large crowd, gathered in front of another Wild Zone, its green glow obscured by three figures, accompanied by further individuals. As the team approached, Dorian began to gather what they were saying.

“As Head of the Fists of Justice Ivor, I demand this city remove these barriers! Our battles must be natural, earned! Not artificial!” a muscular man proclaimed, having crossed his powerful arms, his stature encompassing the four girls standing next to him, garbed in martial arts attire. His commanding presence was exhilarated by his unkempt and scattered hairdo, though Dorian couldn’t place whether that meant this man was wild or rather air-headed.

“As if you would not anything about battling, what was it you used to call him Lebanne? Ah yes, Muscles-brains" a posh accent countered, coming into view as a lilac-adorned woman, her pinkish hair contrasting with the deep hues of her dark skin, smiled lightly, seemingly indifferent to the insult she had just thrown.  Her gaze seemed to be unjudgmental, her mouth held in a seemingly perpetual beam, but her personality seemed chaotically rotten. She seemed to be waited on by a maid, quite tall, with rather risque costuming and a long viridian braid of green.

“Oh, do shut up fae,” the third of the trio, a short man, yes (compared to Ivor, he seemed diminutive in stature), but seemingly the most backed-up of the three, with a stout bodyguard dressed in metallic clips and a fine suit, as well as roughly ten suited up gangsters holding up the rear, arms tucked behind. His clothing was very Poison-themed, drooping blobs of magenta oozing off his glasses and coat-ends. Something abut his eyes made him seem... familiar, but Dorian couldn’t place a finger as to who. “All of Lumiose by now can mutter of your deranged ‘Jacinthe Zone’ and its affront to human nature.”

“That is simply due to the commonfolk needing a light to guide the masses!” Jacinthe replied, daintily waving the short man off, veins beginning to show on his head as his snake-like pupils narrowed in disgust for the cotton-candy nightmare in front of him.

“If you hold so much influence, why don’t you petition for the Wild Zone’s closure?” Ivor questioned, his frown deepening as he awaited the clearly Fairy-type specialist’s input.

Before she could offer an answer, one of the short man’s minions, Dorian inferring that the man before them was Corbeau due to matching the ‘mob boss’ description that Lida had explained to him on the way; He’s a scary man! All decked out in yakuza clothes, with his gangsters following, and he has that sneering look in his eye too!; had yelled out, “Well, if Little-Miss Princess can’t solve this, how about we settle this in a battle?”

“Yeah!” his comrades jeered, Corbeau and his bodyguard clearly annoyed by the sudden hostility. Before they could de-escalate the situation, however, one of Ivor’s students through her hat into the ring.

“Alright! I can take one of you Rust-punks on any day!” she assumed a battle stance, her fingers clearly itching to toss in a ball and let loose.

As if things couldn’t get any worse, the maid who had been with Jacinthe had assumed her own stance, an even more deranged look on her face as she seemed to be raring to go against the two. Jacinthe, however, put her hand out in apparent instruction, as the woman frowned, before huffing out a breath and acquiescing.

“Oh man, should we leave?” Naveen apprehensively asked, having stuck behind most of the group. “I don’t wanna be here to see these guys slug it out.” Taunie herself seemed raring to go; she wasn’t willing to let some street fight ruin the city’s image. Arguing over the Wild Zones? These three were some of the most influential people in the city! Who knows what arguments this would start with the people who already didn’t like the zones. Dorian, however, had his own plan.

Stepping out of the group, Lida calling ‘Dorian? Where you going’ as he marched up to the three parties. Something about warring factions was quite familiar to him.  

“Hey, I’ll battle both of you, but in return, you gotta do something for me,” he called, his own gaze narrowed to the two lackeys in front of him.

The three leaders were slightly taken by surprise of the boy’s offer, though none seemed to take him too seriously. The crowd themselves seemed in disbelief. After a silent moment, the gang members and the other students all began to laugh.

Hearty, mocking laughs. Even the maid seemed struggling to hold in a giggle. Ivor and Jacinthe, however, glimmered with interest. “And what is it you would like us to do?” Jacinthe asked preenly, like a Pidegot that had just cleaned its wings.

“Suck it up and leave. You lot are being a bother.” That made the socialite’s face almost shatter. It seemed she did not appreciate defiance. Catching herself, she nodded silently to Ivor, who called to the two would-be battlers.

“YOU TWO!” he began, his booming voice clearly too loud, starting even Team MZ, who had arrived to try and extract Dorian. As Ivor marched over to the two to give orders, Lida called Dorian to the side.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” she whispered furiously, her expression furrowed with annoyance as Naveen whispered further, “You’re gonna get yourself killed up there!”

“I’ll be fine, trust me,” Dorian mumbled, as Taunie reached into her pockets, having closed in on the trio.

“If you’re gonna go battle, might as well give you this,” she pulled out... a seed. It was colorful, streaks of cyan and red on its surface, But it still looked like a Sunflora seed. “Heard you can do pretty rad stuff with them if you have trained moves, but best be quick!” Thank goodness Dorian knew what he was looking at, otherwise he would have resigned himself to a beatdown by his two opponents.

“Thanks,” he gratefully said, as he took the seed from Taunie.

“Well, wish you luck!” she replied, her fist stretched out for a bump. Dorian obliged, Naveen muttering, “He’s so doomed”, as Lida shushed him.  As Dorian marched to his opponents, seed in hand, he checked his party. As he looked through their movepools, his eyes settled on his Croconaw’s Bubble Beam. That should do it.

“You took you sweet time getting here kiddo,” the Rust grunt called out, the crowd waiting expectantly as Ivor’s student took her stance.

“Yup, and now you’re gonna pay for thinking you can best the Fists of Justice!” she cried, pumping her own fist into the air. Ivor stood between the three, his hand raised.

“You all got your parties ready? I want this to be a clean fight,” he spoke, his gaze occasionally turning to Dorian. With all three nodding, he grinned. “Then, ready, set, match!” he thundered, striking his hand down as the student sent out a Machop, and the grunt a Trubbish. In response, Dorian summoned his Croconaw, the two a little caught unawares by the second stage.

The student immediately ordered her Machop to use Brick Break, striking Croconaw on the back as he held his ground. He responded with a Water Gun, dizzying the Machop as the student ran a distance in retreat. The grunt ordered his Trubbish to use Toxic, Dorian responding by throwing his partner an Antidote which he quickly drank up. Unafflicted by the venom, Croconaw used Bite, harming the Trubbish greatly as it staggered, tilting over as it fainted.

“A critical hit!” Lida exclaimed, as Corbeau bounced his leg and muttered.

“What luck is playing into this kid?”

The battle continued, Croconaw using Tackle to shove the Machop down, swiftly followed by another Water Gun that struck it out on the spot.  The two trainers muttered to themselves, before sending out their final ‘mons; another Pancham (Croconaw hissed at it) and a Skrelp, who snarled at Croconaw, its fangs raised and poised to strike.

He had to end this, quick. The two Pokemon together would be formidable, and it didn’t help that they now were on almost even level with his Croconaw, and the Skrelp was not going to fall easily to his Water-based moves. So he decided to bait them. He ran around the two trainers, who gave pursuit with their ‘mons as Croconaw recalled to him. He ordered him to Bite, flinching the Skrelp, sparing him some damage, but the Pancham used a Take Down and plowed himself into the Croconaw, but this left him prone.

This was his only shot. He looked to his partner, and ordered him to strike, with a-

“Strong Style!” he yelled, the Croconaw giving a mighty roar as it began to charge up. The attack may have made him a little slower, but it was no matter; the Skrelp had suffered some damage, and the Pancham was point-blank.

The Croconaw’s mouth momentarily glowed a pale blue, before it accelerated to a neon blue, his maw bursting white as a torrent of bubbles blasted from his mouth, the concentrated beam striking the exposed Pokemon with such great force that they collectively were washed away, and as the bubbles burst they were seen fainted on the ground.

The crowd was silent. They had never seen such prowess before. Sure, the boy had been on the ropes. But somehow, he managed to pull a win against two trainers armed with two Pokémon each, using only one of his. Some in the crowd bemoaned the likelihood of this boy entering the ZA Royale.

As the two trainers recalled their Pokemon, a look of shock adorning both their faces, their leaders watched on with intensity.

“So, you guys leaving?” Dorian turned, his gaze seemingly passive. When Ivor and Corbeau focused on his violet eyes, however, they swore his pupils were slits, like a cat’s. Taking it as their invitation to leave, the two gestured to their followers to leave, but not before they spared a quick glance at Dorian. Jacinthe did so too, though she seemed more avid to engage him in combat.

As Corbeau observed Dorian’s friends rush to him, he caught sight of the blue-hoodie girl. His frowned at her presence. If she was planning to do what he was thinking, he had to face this boy on his own terms. He then looked to the blonde girl next to her. She seemed familiar… ah yes. That was how he’d get them to his base. He just needed to get them comfortable.

He was so deep in thought, he didn’t notice Phillipe pause, his small eyes widening considerably, before attempting to gesture his attention, before resigning and hurrying on, as a brunette girl riding on a scarlet dragon flew past them, a familiar two-toned haired boy holding onto her waist.

Chapter Text

The two could see the crowd from quite a distance. Riding on Koraidon was a fortunate convenience, though Juliana hoped no one had taken the opportunity to snap a pic of her favourite sandwich-eating bike lizard. She saw a massive burst of bubbles, presumably someone using a Water move, then a bunch of collective gasps and groans as several oddly-dressed people left the scene. Perhaps they were gym leaders? she deliberated, noting one of them looked like your poster boy for a Fighting-specialist. As the crowd thinned, she spotted Dorian, who seemed to be occupied chatting with Lida, Taunie, and someone new she didn’t recognise.

“What move was that?” Taunie asked, clearly in surprise as she pressed Dorian on his little trick.

“Yeah, it was like you got a guaranteed crit or something!” Lida held her own look of shock on her face, as she questioned what just occurred. She had never seen such a powerful attack from a Croconaw before, that wave of bubbles almost sent those two Pokémon down the drain!

Naveen, however, managed to get warmer to what was going on. “Did it happen to have anything to do with that seed Taunie gave you? I saw you give it to Croconaw before the battle.”

 “Oh yeah!” Taunie was a little thunderstruck at the thought her little seed could do so much. She had heard that they could boost moves when the Pokémon was mega-evolved, but Croconaw wasn’t. Not to mention Dorian called it a ‘Strong Style’.

“Also what did you mean by ‘Strong Style’? Not gonna lie, it was cool as heck, but, I’ve never seen anyone do that before.” Lida questioned further. It seemed cool, and she was wondering if she could incorporate something similar into her Poke-dance routine. 

“Oh! Little secret of mine,” Dorian perked at their interest. He had kept the propensity of being able to use the seeds for the styles, though he felt a little solemn at the thought that he was the only one left who could teach them. “That seed Taunie gave me can be used to teach Pokémon ‘Strong’ or ‘Agile’ Styles,” he explained, gesturing his hands in correlation to the mentioned styles. “Strong Style means that your Pokémon does more damage for their next attack, but in return it drains them and they can’t move as fast for a while. Think of it as Focus Energy for a turn, but it also gives paralysis for a turn,” with Taunie ‘ohhing’ in interest.

“That seems like something helpful for the ZA Royale,” Naveen commented. “How about Agile Style?”

“That one’s more like Speed Boost, but in return it drops your attack for a turn as well,” Dorian continued. Naveen nodded in interest. He knew his Scraggy wasn’t the fastest of his team, being extremely hard to walk in his saggy skin-shorts, so he was curious in using Agility to his advantage.

“Hey, Dorian!” they heard a new voice call out, a woman’s, as a brunette woman with her hair tied up in a long side-braid approached, having just recalled what the four could barely make out as some kind of lizard, being followed by a guy with his hair tied up, curiously being two-toned in purple and black. “How you doing!”

“Oh, hey Miss Juliana!” Lida said, as the woman flushed briefly, mumbling, “C’mon now, I’m only a few years older than you. You’ll make me feel like Geeta!” she laughed, with Kieran greeting the four.

“We saw some fighting going down. That didn’t have anything to do with you guys now, did it?” he raised his eyebrow good-naturedly, having observed Dorian calling back a Croconaw just before they arrived.

“Just some troublemakers causing a ruckus in the center,” Taunie explained. “Dorian offered to fight them if they agreed to leave, and the Rusties and the Fists offered one of their trainers each to battle him. He won, somehow.”

“Yeah!” Lida cheered. “He used some crazy move and blasted their ‘mons away! He calls them ‘styles’,” she recalled the battle to Kieran and Juliana, who listened intently. Though their minds were collectively at work over the implications of such curious battle tactics, they did have questions over who their competitors were.

“And who are the Rusties and Fists? People with their weird on-the-nose names,” Kieran asked, muttering under his breath. He had met the Kitakami Ogre clan in his youth when he asked about Ogerpon, however he was weirded out by how avid they were, seeing them as bored teens who were just looking to get a rise out of the ogre-fearing adults, though they did help babysit Ogerpon whenever the two had to head off to meetings with Geeta or Clavell, promptly followed by voicemails begging them to return upon the ogre Pokémon getting a bit too feisty and smashing about any Lousy Three memorabilia in the village like the gremlin she was.

“Ugh, they’re super annoying, is who they are!” Lida groaned, shaking her head and pouting. “The Fists, well, they think with their fists and not their brains, especially Ivor, who always punches down any locked gates if he wants to walk through them.” Geez. Kieran uncharacteristically was thankful that Drayton was lazy enough that he did not follow in his grandfather’s footsteps of being built like a brickhouse; he dreaded the possibility of a muscular, even more foolish dragon tamer strolling about and messing with him.

“And the Rust Syndicate is the scariest of the bunch!” Naveen despaired, his sullen eyes even more unhappy as he seemed to even detest the mention of the organisation. “They’re stuck-up bullies in... what did he call it? Oh yeah, a yakuza that keep baiting people into doing deals, then raising the interest. Just last week Xavi told me that his mom’s friend had to pay back 200000 Pokedollars in interest after asking for a loan of 2000! Something about being ‘sloppy with his finances’.”

Kieran’s ears were attentive to the mention of yakuza. The worst he had heard of them was from Kanto, with Team Rocket. He had heard, however, they had keeled over into a harmless organisation after the Mewtwo fiasco, with Ash Ketchum and his friends having sorted that whole mess out. Still, it had worried his village a bit, and the Caretaker did some kind of vetting, tohugh it really was just him going house to house and making sure they had no, suspicious memorabilia, as he put it.

Juliana meanwhile, was intrigued by the grunt's behaviour. She did, comically, she thought, have experience in taking down an organisation, even if her friend had orchestrated it and it was nothing too serious. Maybe it was time to go for a round two... Either way, she suddenly felt a degree of concern for the kids; she had heard tales about the dangers of actual villainous teams, Plasma, Galactic, even Flare from Kalos, and she didn’t want these kids getting jumped wherever they were heading off to.

“Hey, would it be alright if we followed you guys? Just to make sure you all get home safe,” she offered, the four surprised by her generosity.

“Oh, no, it’s alright! Trust! I’m sure we can get to our hotel alright,” Taunie replied, shaking her hands in humbleness as she tried to assure her seniors that they would be fine.

“It’s no problem! Besides, I'm curious about your ‘croissant curry’ anyhow,” Juliana replied, a smile on her face as she felt a sense of kinship in the girl’s humility. Meanwhile the gears were turning in Taunie’s head. Sure, she didn’t want to take advantage of such nice people. But the publicity for the hotel... and more people could taste her croissant curry. Yeah.. It was more so about the curry. Not to mention Juliana was from Galar herself, and word on the street was that she was a good chef. She would be the perfect appraiser of her dish!

Back in Paldea, Arven felt a chill run down his back.

But how about Kieran? She had to be a good host for her guests, and it wouldn’t do to leave him hanging while she and Juliana conspired on the wonders of curry and pastries in her hybrid creation. Come to think of it, didn’t they say they were on a couple’s week out? She guessed 9it would be appreciate; after all, Lumiose was the City of Love, so it would be sensical for the two to travel here.

 Maybe she could sway the both of them to help the hotel. Her thoughts trailed off in what–ifs and potential adverts. Of course, she also wanted to give them a right Kalosian welcome and let them have a good time. Yes, she had her idea.

“Alright then,” she agreed, Juliana twinkling a grin at her as Kieran nodded. “I’ll bring you guys to the hotel, then we can chat there!” Taunie then beckoned to the others, as she whipped out her Rotom phone to call up Zach. Turning from the two, who themselves began to discuss in hushed voices, she brought the others up to speed.

“Alright guys, Juliana and Kieran want to escort us home, so I’ve allowed them to hang with us a bit at the hotel,” Taunie explained, Naveen and Lida curious to the inclusion of the champions as Dorian listened intently. “After that they’re gonna head out, but,” she turned to Naveen, “Champion Juliana is gonna try my croissant curry! We’ll see if she approves of my culinary skills!”

Naveen’s eyes widened in horror as he begged the girl to reconsider. “Taunie!” he hissed. “You trying to poison her or what? If she gets any stomach trouble, you can bet Arceus that I’m leaving the hotel before her scary-ass boyfriend decides to send us to the Distortion realm!” he shuddered as he now fully recalled Kieran’s name.  He remembered it from the words of his granduncle. Aside from him, his eccentric (though rather hair-brained) relation Cyrano was often well-spoken of the boy, regaling tales of his rather ruthless exploits in his academy’s own ‘BB  League’ every time he came to the family dinner. He did know his granduncle always spoke harmlessly, but still, it didn’t exactly help with his grandmother, who often an evening would scold him for not thinking as high as a boy like Kieran.

“Yeah, you sure Tauns?” Lida questioned. She felt a hint of nervousness around Kieran, though it was mostly assuaged by his seemingly docile demeanour, especially around Juliana.

“Totally! What do you think Dorian?” the three turned to look at the lavender-eyed boy, who had seemed rather contemplative as he appeared to study the couple behind them, Juliana grinning and laughing airily as Kieran gazed at her with such a besotted look that Dorian was convinced he would get a toothache.

“I think we can trust them.” Dorian decided, Lida cocking her head in slight confusion, one eyebrow raised as Naveen questioned his choice.

“You sure? I don’t want to inconvenience them in any way?” he said, his curly bang dancing on his brow as he shook his head.

“I’m sure. After all, the two have given us no reason not to trust them, and they’re competent battlers. If we get ambushed on he way home, I’m sure we’ll be fine. ‘Sides, I’m curious to see what my fellow Galarian has to say about your curry too Tauns,” he grinned at the blonde girl, who seemed not to take the hint, squeezing her fists as she smiled at the mutual agreement.

“Alright!” she spoke enthused, as Juliana and Kieran turned to face her. “So we’re all in agreement, Lida and Naveen?” she asked her friends one final time.

“Sure! I mean, if Dorian and you think they’re alright, I guess it can be fine. I’d like to ask them about tips on battling anyway.”

“Oh well, I guess I can’t stop you.”

“Perfect! I’ve called Zach over, he should be arriving now!” Taunie informed the others, tapping off her Rotom phone as Juliana and Kieran nodded.

“Good! We’ll follow you guys there.”

Taunie blinked in confusion, as Dorian tilted his head, asking, “You guys taking another taxi?”

“Nope!” Juliana grinned, as she released Koraidon from his waiting ball, the dragon hopping out with a puppylike disposition, wagging his tail and panting exictedly to the four.

Lida was rather stunned, questioning, “And who is this big fella?” reaching over to scritch him on the chin, the beast lifting his head up to allow further pampering.

“Oh, this big guy? He’s a Cyclizar with some extra-well tuned threads and a paintjob!” Juliana smiled through her teeth, as Naveen raised an eyebrow.

“It’s a Paldean thing,” she waved her hand, Naveen not bothering to comment as the creature now proceeded to crane its head near him and give a slobbering lick on his face.

“Ugggh, why me?” he groaned, backing off from the friendly lizard as he whipped out a handkerchief from, somewhere, wiping the dragon’s spittle from his face. “Is he always like this?”

“He does treat Penny like that back home, doesn’t he?” Kieran

“Never heard of that before.” Naveen dropped his face, unfamiliar with such practices. Oh well. At least he didn’t seem too suspicious of the Paradox Pokemon strutting its stuff as it readied itself for his owner to leap onto his back, Kieran following suite as Zach arrived in his taxi. He gaped at the beast rearing up to prepare for its run, gazing out of his window before beckoning the teens to hop in.

“Hey Tauns? What kinda people do you keep meeting?” he chuckled nervously, wondering how his ordinary life had become so twined with a girl simply trying to advertise a hotel now getting into scuffles with upper ranks.

“The good kind,” she replied, Dorian sticking his head out of the window to tell the couple where to go.

“Just follow us! It might be a bit narrower around where the Hotel is, so you may need to recall Koraidon and follow us on foot.”

“Alright then! We’ll follow your lead,” Kieran nodded, spurring Koraidon gently to signal him to begin moving. As he ran alongside the taxi, Zach marvelled at the creature’s speed. Thank goodness he didn’t seem to be a commercial transport, otherwise his taxi business would definitely be put on the ice.

Upon arriving at the hotel, Kieran was a little conflicted. Sure, the place did look rather picturesque, being strewn with ivy and vines and seeming rather one with nature, however, did it really have to be built within a bunch of alleys? He felt a comic sympathy for Taunie’s efforts; it was no wonder that no one was frequently joining the hotel, considering its isolated location in the city.

He and Juliana strolled to the door hand-in-hand, as Taunie pushed open the door, a little bell ringing as she called out.

“AZ! We have some visitors!” she walked into the building, the group following suit as the two were immediately taken aback by the giant of a man awaiting their arrival.

“Ah, we have some more newcomers? Lovely. I was starting to get a little concerned for your wellbeing, considering Floette told me about your plight at the Zone,” AZ replied, Taunie startling at his reconnaissance.

“We had it under control,” Taunie scratched the back of her head. She wasn’t annoyed, she couldn’t be annoyed with the old man, but she didn’t want to be seen as needing help. She had her team, and she thought that was enough.

“Of course, but I always want to make sure. Now, who is it you have brought to our humble hotel?” he craned his head to gaze at the young adults staring agape at his person. He smiled, amused.

“Haven’t seen a 3000 year-old man before, have we?” he smirked, one arm held behind his back as he spoke to the couple, his other hand delicately perched on his cane.

Juliana continued to stare in shock, before shaking herself free of her surprise. She had been only 13 when Team Flare had struck, and the Ketchum boy, Calem, and several other trainers grouped together to beat them. At the televised victory parade, she did recall a giant, weathered man arrive, before the broadcast cut out. ‘AZ’ they called him. She never in her life expected to see him in the flesh, however.

“Um, no, I haven’t,” Juliana grinned mildly, having to gather her bearings from meeting such an enigmatic figure. “Though I’m sure I can cross that one off my bucket list.”

AZ smiled accordingly, before nodding to Kieran, who had been also staring up at him.

“And your partner?” he questioned, the two immediately flustering as they hurriedly asked how he had guessed.

“Oh, child, I have lived this life long enough. I can guess when two people have joined hearts,” he stroked his chin, the two flushing even more. “Even the blind can see you two are halves of a whole.”

While the two were stuttering and stumbling in their converse with AZ, Taunie had went off to the kitchen to begin construction of her curry. Naveen had shuddered at the composition, hurriedly grabbing Lida and Dorian by the sleeves and tugging them into an adjacent room.

“C’mon Naveen,” Lida pouted, her eyebrows furrowed in comic annoyance. “You can’t be this adamant over her recipe. I mean, I’d eat her cooking any day!”

“Can’t tell if that means you have too big a heart to say her cooking is atrocious or too big a stomach to care,” he grumbled curtly, Lida frowning.

“Hey, don’t get too personal here! I’m just not a picky eater!”

Naveen paused for a second, and then retracted his words. “You’re right. That was rude of me,” he shook his head in apparent disdain of what he just insinuated.

Dorian had been just standing off to the side, listening into their converse. However, he could smell a suspiciously tangy scent wafting from the kitchens, though it was contrasted with a buttery aroma to it that he guessed was the croissants. He had been rather intrigued by Taunie’s mention of such a questionable dish; himself being Galarian, he winced slightly at the thought of curry being doused on pastries, but he was willing to give it a shot upon hearing Lida’s exaltation of the food. She seemed to be on the precipice of drooling just talking about it.

 “Oh boy,” Naveen crinkled his nose slightly, a deadpan expression on his face as he too caught a whiff of the curry, Lida’s eyes shining as she caught the smell also.

“OH BOY!” she grinned, racing into the kitchen to spot her friend readily placing the meals onto six plates. She guessed AZ was not coming to dinner again; he preferred to dine alone, as he himself said, retiring to his room often when the hotel was not occupied.

“Food almost ready Tauns?” she smiled widely, as Taunie turned to face her.

“Yup! Just gotta finish this last batch and then we’re good to go!”

Lida pranced back out of the kitchen, an ecstatic look on her face as she announced the meal’s readiness to the group.

“It’s almost ready! Tauns is just cooking up one more serving. In the meantime, let’s head to the dining room!” she skipped into another room sitting near the lobby seating area, the door having been flung open on her approach.

“Huh, didn't know that was there,” Dorian muttered, as he beckoned to Juliana and Kieran.

“Hey guys! Food’s almost ready, so we’re heading to the dining room to set up.”

“Great!” Juliana responded, though somewhat shakily, the traces of a blush still riddling her face as she and Kieran followed the three into the room.

The room was rather homely, a large mahogany table flanked by several chairs. There was another door to the end of the room, presumably to the kitchen, also evidenced by the familiar aroma of Galarian cuisine leaking through the sides, Juliana sniffing the air as she was reminded of memories of home.

Wonder how mum’s doing, she thought, as the door kicked open, Taunie humorously balancing several plates on her outstretched arms. Wait, is that? Juliana’s eyes widened as she stared at the... curry? What even was she looking at. She knew Kieran had spotted it too, as he was also staring in relative shock and amazement as they observed what Taunie had cooked up, getting a closer look as she set it down on the table, a look of pride and achievement dancing on her face as Dorian also stared blankly at it, Lida grinning in anticipation as Naveen placed a hand into his face, shaking his hand as if in some turmoil.

It did smell like curry, but it was solid, at least at first glance. But how would that have worked, since solid curry would be congealed and cold (something which often made Dorian retch to think about, the cold, slimy composition of such dishes making him queasy), which was clearly not the case here, as the thing was steaming hot. Upon closer inspection the two Galarians realised it was liquid, but it had been placed and doused onto a column of rice, the entirety somehow covered to such exact detail that the curry did not dribble onto the plate. As for the croissants... they were normal, at least. However, there were three of them, simply placed around the curry tower in some kind of circumference, completely untouched from the curry itself, their buttery goodness wafting in the two’s faces. Oh, and to finish it off, there was a paper flag on a toothpick stuck onto the top, ‘MZ’ written upon it in green marker.

“Like it? The curry’s meant to look like Prism Tower! Pretty neat huh?” Taunie smiled, her hands placed on her hips as she awaited her visitors trying out the food set in front of them.

It was... odd, to say the least. Fortunately, the two Galarians were not against trying new things, (their lifestyle choices were proof enough of that, to say the least).

Tentatively, they grabbed their spoons, and dipped them into the mixture. Naveen seemed to physically recoil at the sight, clenching his teeth and turning to Lida for support, only to immediately regret it as the girl had already begun consuming her portion, somehow with half the composition already put away in the girl’s stomach.

“I could eat your cooking forever Taunie,” the girl grinned heartily, some curry wiped across her cheek as she returned to eating. Yeah, Naveen would rather his simple sandwich.

Dorian glanced at Taunie, who seemed to be gesturing him to dip the croissants into the curry. He winced, but he wasn’t one to hurt feelings over a questionable dish he hadn’t even tried yet. Juliana seemed to get the memo, having already jammed a croissant into her mouth with the curry mixed in. She didn’t seem to be on the verge of losing her lunch, though, so he obliged.

It tasted odd, but at least it tasted good. He’d give it that. It was an odd mix of butteriness and tangy spice, but it wasn’t off-putting. It reminded him of that odd habit his brother used to do of dipping his fries into his Vanilite’s head to ‘make the taste better’. Though he doubted curry plus croissants were ever on that list.

“So! Whaddya think?” Taunie clasped her hands together in anticipation.

“It’s... good, don’t get me wrong. The pastries taste wonderful, my friend would definitely agree on that,” spoke, Kieran joining in the review.

“Yeah! The food tastes great individually, and together it’s... decently tasty. I mean, the taste is peculiar, but it is something to write home about” Juliana was careful with her words; she didn’t want to offend her hostess and honestly? The combo wasn’t actually that bad. Miles better than whatever she had been smoking when she made a sandwich with bitter and slaty Herba Mystica, along with Klawf sticks paired with strawberries of all things when she was testing meal powers. Arven still tacked his tongue at the memory.

As for Dorian, he simply nodded, before heading back in to eat his curry, Lida grinning with relish as she too continued her dining, Naveen resignedly rolling his eyes as he continued to eat his sandwich.

Taunie was elated. Thank goodness. However…

“I’m gonna cook some more portions then!” Taunie gave a thumbs up as she darted back to the cookery, the Champion couple staring at their plates as they contemplated what to do, opting to just rough it and eat, while Dorian’s food seemed to have just vanished into thin air. Wait… where was his plate?

“Oh goody!” Lida clapped her hands in glee, her appetite still going strong after her portion. Naveen silently thanked Arceus for his life choices.

“NO JULIANA, DON’T DO IT!” Arven darted up in his sleep, his chest heaving as he sat up in bead, some sweat beading off his forehead as he glance around his apartment, looking outside to glean it was midnight.

“Ugghh, you all right Arvie?” Nemona rubbed her eyes as she sat up in bed too, her usually tied up hair frizzed in a messy bundle, her signature green streak of hair lost in a wave of raven black.

“Yeah, sorry babe, just… had a bad dream,” Arven replied, his mind shuddering at the messed up reverie he had fallen into, of his sister’s curry blended with- with Kalosian croissants. What kind of crime against cooking was that?

“Awww, did my Arvie-barbie dream about Jules eating bad food again?”

“Yeaah, this time it was croissant curry.”

“Really? That’s a new one,” Nemona replied, having catalogued the various food abominations her lover’s sleeping mind had conjured, ranging from gummy Teddiursas in Farfetch’d  soup to churros mixed with mustard.

“Yeah, sorry, let’s go back to sleep,” Arven mumbled, pulling the covers over his head as he prepared to dose off.

“You know,” Nemona muttered sensually, perking Arven’s senses, as she danced her fingers across his bare chest, “We’re out of school. We can wake up whenever we want, hmm?”

Oh. Okay then.

“What did you have in mind?” Arven shook slightly, feeling her breath dance on his neck.

Nemona seemed to contemplate for a few seconds, before grinning.

“A Pokémon Battle!”

Arven was about to deadpan, but then his lover burst into laughter, shaking her head and hands.

“Just kidding, just kidding!” she belly-laughed, Arven rolling his eyes good-naturedly, only to be taken by surprise again as she threw herself onto him, straddling him at the waist and placing a hand on his core.

“I’ve got something… much better in mind.”

Who knew it would only take a boyfriend to give Nemona something to ‘do’ other than Pokémon battling?

Chapter Text

Having polished off the second serving of Taunie’s curry, they had moved to relax in the lobby, Naveen seemed apologetic to the group’s ordeal, Juliana and Dorian slightly full after having been ambushed with another plate of Taunie’s questionable tastes. Lida seemed pretty content though, grinning ear-to-ear as she took a seat in a particularly grandiose chair, all comfy with velvet threading and fine embroidery.  

“Another marvellous dish courtesy of Madame,” Lida cracked, Taunie smiling as she nodded. 

“Glad you can eat so much of my cooking!” Taunie appreciated her friend’s enthusiasm, the girl having requested a third serving, Taunie unable to help but oblige as she whipped up some more of her fanciful making. 

“Always! And ‘sides, it’s good calories at the end of the day! Gotta make sure I got something to keep me going during dance practice.”  

Naveen and Dorian had taken up residence on a side couch, Naveen sitting rather politely with his hands planted on his knees as he glanced to Dorian.  

“Heading to bed yet?” he asked, Dorian reclining in his spot as he replied.  

“Nah, just gonna stay up for a bit. Might head out and try some of this ‘Royale’ stuff once Taunie sets up my account. When is that happening Taunie?” he asked the girl, who broke off from her conversation with Lida to say ‘Just gotta sort a few things first, then we can start!’ before she returned to chatting with Lida. 

“Alright then. Not much of a battler myself, so I’m turning in for the night.” Naveen sauntered off, but as Dorian watched him head to the lift, he swore he could see his Rotom phone fly out of his pocket, a surprising look of glee on his face as he mumbled something about ‘Canari’s streaming!’ and went off to the lift.  

“Have a feeling Naveen’s gonna be real sleepy tomorrow,” Lida raised an eyebrow again as she watched the fashion designer vanish off to his room. He was probably gonna stay up all night watching streams. Like, even she appreciated the electric gamer’s dedication to her posts (she could confess to at least pulling one all-nighter to view her streams live) but Naveen was almost unmatched in his viewership, though he insisted upon remaining private for fear of being seen as some ‘poser’.  

“Oh! That reminds me!” Taunie spoke, Juliana and Kieran’s attention focused on her as she paused, her mind whirring as she attempted to recall her little plan. “Hey, uh, Juliana! Is it alright if I borrow Kieran for a bit? Just want to give him a little tip about the city,” she spoke rapidly, Juliana a little curious as to her intentions. 

“Alright with you Kiki?” she asked her boyfriend, who seemed a little confused, though he nodded in assent.  

“Sure! Think it is a good idea to get some more info from the locals, after all.” He still recalled Juliana’s rather awkward behaviour as she trundled about Kitakami during their trip, Kieran giving her translations of all the signs about the region.  

“Perfect!” Taunie clapped her hands together peppily, as she went over to the elevator to call it back down. Lida and Dorian were rather intrigued as to whatever Taunie had in mind, but decided not to intervene, watching as Kieran went over to the lift with her, before ascending off. 

“Anyhoo, what’s it like in Paldea?” Dorian asked its champion, who seemed to glimmer at the mention of her home. He could relate to her on account of them both being Galarian, but he hadn’t really ventured outside of his region. At least, not on his own accord. 

“Yeah, what is it like there?” Lida was pleasantly curious to the nature of the region, especially considering the fact her mum worked there as an instructor. Whenever she came to visit her back in Kalos, she would often talk about the atmosphere, certainly the fact the climate was much warmer than whatever they were used to back home, along with the massive crater from where all kinds of craziness had creeped out of. She also occasionally mumbled about a ‘Tulip’ and a ‘Miriam’, who she found out were the region’s Psychic Gym Leader and School Nurse respectively, though she always thought of Tulip as seeming Jacinthe’s sane sister (even their fashion sense looked the same. What even was that about?). 

“It’s great! The food is very good, especially with my brother out and about; excellent chef by the way, Lida, you would never leave his kitchen if you tasted his cooking,” she directed to the dancer, whose eyes practically sparkled with curiosity and excitement. “Also there’s Terastallisation for battling, we can change our Pokémon's types using Tera orbs in battle,” Dorian’s ears perking up at that. Changing types? Wasn’t that just a reminder. He had heard that some region had developed a way to ‘harness the power of Arceus’ and manipulate types, but he had rare focused on it, preferring to let that part of his life be buried.  

“Sounds like one nice place,” he mumbled, having been playing with a strand of his hair as he listened to Juliana become more animated, her mind awash with memories of home. She felt a little sentimental, now she thought over it. She couldn’t wait for when her friends would arrive to visit. 

“I’m guessing ya’ wanted to tell me something you want to keep secret,” Kieran deduced, as he walked out of the lift and observed the almost panoramic view he was greeted with. It almost took him aback, as he saw the expanse of Lumiose, its many buildings, dotting the landscape and vanishing off into the horizon, the dusking sun descending to greet the moon as it backdropped Prism Tower, the majority of it still visible despite being surrounded in scaffolding and hoarding. It was- 

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Taunie beamed, having been sat above the lift’s canopy as she slid off to talk with Kieran more directly. “Right, let’s cut to the chase- oh, would you like a seat?” she gestured to one of the several chairs littered on the rooftop, looking rather quaint against the city skyline.  

“I wouldn’t mind,” he pulled a chair out and sat in it, as Taunie remained standing. He was momentarily reminded of a certain chair-loving fool, but he shook off the thought. “So, what’s your little ‘tip’?” 

“Quite a few, actually,” Taunie grinned, pulling out a notepad that seemed to be brimming with various words and locations. “As part of Team MZ, it’s my duty, in  a way, to help any newcomers out, and you seem like nice people, so I’ll give you a rundown of the place. Perhaps... you would be interested in these?” she smirked, a knowing air to her voice as Kieran squinted at the notes she had taken. 

Now, she had his interest. Listed on her haphazardly written jottings were several prominent areas about the city, restaurants, landmarks, boutiques and the like, written under a large highlighted heading; ROMANTIC LUMIOSE SPOTS 

“How amusing,” Kieran smirked, as he took the notes from Taunie to read over them further, “How long have you had these?” he asked bemusedly.  

“Quite a while,” she grinned back. “First wrote them down after remembering all the couples that travel to Lumiose, and thought, ‘Hey? Why not write some of these down, so if any folks come down here for a couple’s holiday, I can help ‘em out?’ You get what I’m saying?”  

“Fair enough,” Kieran nodded, as he returned to looking at the notes. He had to give the girl credit, despite how chaotic her writing seemed, she had taken quite some time to document many of the city’s areas. There were, however, several notes in big red marker providing several warnings,  

“Uhhh, what’s this about, what does this say, ‘Avoid the Jacinthe Zone and other?’”  

“Oh! Remember what I said about that Jacinthe lady and those other scary people on the way?” Taunie spoke, Kieran nodding as she continued. “Well, Jacinthe operates her own custom battle zone around here,” she circled with her finger on a scrawled map she had drawn, pointing to the northeast of the city, “between the Rouge and Jaune Plazas. Since I’m guessing you two are heading out at night, you better avoid that spot, since if she catches you there...” she trailed off ominously, “Well, prepare to be jammed into a maid outfit.” 

“What?” Kieran sputtered, taken aback by the girl’s sudden wording. “Whaddya mean, ‘maid outfit’?”  

“Oh, just a running joke over here,” she mumbled. “You’ll figure it out sooner or later.” 

Okay, slightly concerning, but he would take the girl’s advice to heart. If that pink death laser the night before was any indication to go by, Lumiose at night was rather dangerous; unpredictable even. He was not in the mood for another date crashing, especially after Drayton’s little stunt when they had their first date. Boy, was that a trip down memory lane... 

“It was an accident!” Drayton hollered in dissent, as Carmine practically was pouring steam from her ears as she somehow managed to grab the fool by his toothpaste floof of hair, hauling him out with extreme prejudice. 

“Accident my ass,” Carmine blazed, her face blistered with angry veins as she was highly tempted to throw the guy around like a ragdoll. “Always have to deal with whatever shit you’ve gotten yourself into!” 

“A nice a- ahhh shite,” Drayton tried to crack a joke, only to be responded with pressure being applied to his shoulder. Viciously. 

“Hey, don’t blame me! How was I supposed to know that a freakin’ Paradox Pokemon was following me? You should actually be grateful I was there; you wouldn’t want your brother getting jumped by dino-Suicine of all things would ya?” Okay, he had a point there. She had received a call from her brother, who had been having a picnic with Juliana in the Terrarium, where a massive beast had happened upon them. It glowed with Terastal energy, and it superficially resembled the Suicine that she had heard spoken about by the elders as living in Johto, however it was huge, a violet man flowing from its neck, along with physically resembling a dragon rather than a dog, with two winding tails trailing from its back. It had immediately engaged the two in a fight, fortunately being taken down by Hydrapple and Meowscarada, though they were taken by surprise upon it attempting to fire off an Ice Beam. After it keeled over, Juliana managed to subdue it with a Pokeball, the thing writhing violently before subsiding and allowing its capture with the customary ‘ding’. The two had later realised it had followed Drayton after sniffing the Dragon Encounter sandwich he had concocted with Crispin almost half an hour prior, the guy having snuck up on the couple out of curiosity as to what they were getting up to. 
 

“Guess it must have come from that raid den over there,” Juliana had signalled to an extremely sporadic cave, its crystalline hues shimmering violently. “But what's it doing all the way in Unova?” 

“Perhaps Terapagos’s energy warped it over here. It does seem pretty powerful, so maybe it resonated with the energy in the den?” Kieran theorised. He had been doing some research on the turtle tyke slumbering in Juliana’s backpack, and he had a feeling that it was partially responsible for their little picnic ambush. Not to any fault of its own; the thing probably hadn't even stirred from its sleep. 
“Yeah, probably,” Juliana grumbled, before she gasped and searched her bag, rummaging through it hurriedly.  

“What is it?” Kieran had asked, staring pointedly as Juliana breathed a sigh of relief, before pulling out... a Pokeball. A Love Ball, to be precise. 

“Um...,” Juliana spoke, an increasingly flustered look awash over her face as a furious blush threatened to stain her cheeks. “I was going to give this to you, but then we got interrupted,” she took a moment to glare at Drayton, the sight almost paralysing him as he threw his hands up in embarrassment, Carmine shaking her head as she watched the two 

“But I’m going to give her to you now,” she gingerly spoke, as she put her hands out, the ball resting on them, for Kieran to gently take. 

Pressing on it, a beam of energy surged out, as a little wyrm in an apple gazed up at him, chirping happily. 

“An... an Applin?” he stuttered, heat rapidly crawling across his face too as Juliana shyly shoved her face unto her hands. 

“I, uh, I found her while I was roaming about Tagtree Thicket,” she spoke quietly. “I mean, you gave an Applin to me, so...” Juliana zoned out, Carmine grinning a little at her probably future-sister-in-law’s plight. 

There was an unspoken tension in the air. You could cut it with a Doublade. The two just stared at one another, the Applin still rolling about happily and chirping without so much as a care in the world. As the tension began to build, the two both blurted out the words that would change their lives forever.  

“WOULD YOU LIKE TO GO OUT WITH ME?” 

Drayton almost snickered at the mutual states of his friends; both of them were almost sweating with nerves, Kieran’s face was almost as tomato-red as Juliana’s, and he had a feeling something was going to explode should they be left an audience. Preferably not him. 

“Hey, Carms?” he turned to the engrossed girl next to him, who had until this point been gaping at her brother’s almost comical appearance. “I think this is our cue to leave.” 

“What, but you’re the one who snuck over here in the first place!” she hissed, but Drayton slunk away, Carmine taking one last chance to glance at the two before huffing and speeding after him, grumbling, “You better be compensating me for this toothpaste!”, her arms pumping up and down in annoyance. 

Meanwhile, the two were hurriedly through various half-words and mumblings, out of sync as they tried to gather their bearings. 

“Sorry, you go first-” 

“No, no, you go-” 

“Wait, did we just-” 

“Oh, so- you” the two blundered through several nervous ramblings, as they just stared at each other. Now Juliana thought about it, were his eyes always this golden? She felt like she could get lost in them forever. 

Forever, would it be? That was her intent when she had given him the Applin; anyone back home in Galar would know just how significant such a move was, heck, even the Champion had apparently done so when asking out Hop, the usually ditzy boy understanding immediately what she was asking of him. But for her to ask for such a committal? Despite having just heard Kieran's reply, she was suddenly awash with an eating fear as she mused over whether she could maintain such a relationship. 

Kieran had been watching from afar, having deliberated at the thoughts cascading through his head. She liked him? Like, liked him? One could only fathom the ecstatic Images coursing through his head as he thought of a life with his best friend. However, he could sense Juliana was feeling... off. As in, she felt zoned out. He had often seen her act as such, especially when she often mumbled under her breath about her champion duties after Geeta had assigned as such. She did seem a little too eager to head to Blueberry, now he thought about it. 

“Hey, you alright?” he went up to her, sucking up the courage to brush her on the arm as she jolted back to reality. 

“Yeah, yeah Kiki, just, just thinking.” 

“About being ‘The Light of Paldea’, huh,” he did an impression of Geeta’s steely voice, making Juliana laugh a little as she grinned up at him. He did sometimes forget how many inches he had on her since they first met. 

“Yeah, it’s just, do you think this would work?” She gestured between the two as Kieran felt a pang in his heart. “The two of us?” 

“Why would it not?” Kieran asked, a tone of innocence in bis words as Juliana shook her head with a hint of forlorn. 

“It’s just, we’re like 6,000 miles away from one another. I- I really want this to work, I really do, but, I’m not sure if the League will accept.” So he was right. He felt a little aggrieved, to be honest. However, if Juliana wasn’t ready, he’d would wait. He wasn’t going to push her into doing another thing she was reluctant into. Still, he felt a little sombre at the fact that she couldn’t pursue these feelings of hers. It almost extinguished their mutual joy at the fact that they did want it to work. That they did feel for one another.  

His thoughts were interrupted by a ringing phone as Jiliana’s Rotom phone flew out of her pocket. The two were immediately caught off guard, Juliana accepting the call haphazardly as Kieran tried his best to duck into a bush. If it was her mum- 

“Oh, hello there Miss Juliana!”, the warm, friendly voice of Director Clavell came through the screen, as Kieran righted himself, with some embarrassment, and entered the camera frame as the man grinned heartily. 

“Ahh, Master Kieran!”  He beamed, Kieran giving a wave as he continued. ”Pleasure to see you here. Fortunate, even.” 

“What do you mean, Sir?” Juliana asked, an eyebrow raised a she wondered what he had called them for. 

“Oh, I suppose you haven't yet received the news, have you? I really need to talk with Cy on accepting his emails,” the two students cringing at the mention of their scatter-brained Unovan Director. 

“What news?”  

“Why, Geeta has managed to arrange for Master Kieran and Miss Carmine to attend Naranja Academy on an exchange! How about that?” he regaled to the two gleefully as they looked open-mouthed in shock. ”Oh! That must be the staff,” he turned, presumably to face the coming chatter of teachers arriving at his room. “I shall send you two the details, and will catch you in a bit. Cheugy!” he waved, the call signing off. 

“Cheugy?” Kieran asked, raising an eyebrow at he just heard.  

“Oh, it’s just some slang I taught him, though I don’t actually know what it means myself.” 

Kieran was a little bemused by the Director’s attempt at being ‘cool’, but he was still reeling from the shock. Him and Carmine? Attending Juliana’s school? Juliana’s school? He’d get to stay with her? His mind flooded with possibilities beyond anything he had otherwise dreamt of. It was as if the stars had lined up for him. He could only thank Arceus for such good fortunes.  

The two were still glancing at one another, until Kieran realised that Juliana was slowly inching closer. 

“So, I guess we’ll be seeing more of each other then,” she played with her braid absentmindedly, looking rather shy of herself as she glanced up at him, a silly grin slowly creeping its way onto her features as she got just that bit closer. 

“Yeah, I guess so,” he mumbled, gazing down at her with such a smitten look that Juliana just couldn’t help herself anymore. So she got a little up on her tippy-toes, and kissed him. 

It was a rather quick one, a brush on his lips, but all the same, Kieran could feel fireworks blowing up in his head as his face became impossibly warm. He sputtered, staring longingly as Juliana broke away (standing up on her toes was quite the chore), and bashfully dipped her head. 

“That was a yes, if you’re wondering.” She could barely get the words out.  

“OH, uh, YES! I mean, I accept.”  Kieran had to take this chance. She had given him so much, and he only hoped he could give her something in return.  

“Lovely!” she perked a smile, though she was still twirling a strand of her hair around her finger as she looked back up at him.  

“Um, would you like to- uh, kiss me a-” was all she could get out, before Kieran dove in, cupping her face in his hands as he pressed his lips to hers.  

Stunned out of her mind for a second, Juliana began to reciprocate, her arms weaving around Kieran's back as she pulled him closer, deepening their connection as they tumbled onto the grass. The scent of slightly damp greenery filled their noses as they closed in on one another, the two feeling rather bold as Juliana pressed a hand on Kieran’s head, inadvertently untying his hair and sending it cascading around his shoulders. Funny enough, it made him look a little like his sister.  

After the two had worn themselves out on account of needing oxygen, they lied against one another on the grass. Fortunately there was no sign of any students wandering around; thank goodness that Drayton and Carmine had the courtesy to leave.  

“Hey, Jules,” Kieran turned to face Juliana, who was lying blissfully next to him.  

“Yeah, Kiki?” 

“I love you.” Arceus, just the words made her heart flutter and skip. Of course, she had to reply. 

“I love you too.” 

Wasn’t that just one memory? Kieran almost flushed in front of Taunie after remembering such a fluffy moment. The girl did look a little confused, nut she just passed it off as being a result of her notes. Gesturing to him to return her notes, he gave them back as she examined what she had written down. She had noted a plethora of locations: there was obviously Prism Tower, though it being covered in construction work did dampen some of the vibe; there was the numerous shopping arcades (though she seldom frequented them herself); the boat ride through Lumiose’s canals (thank goodness Jett had the sense to avoid allowing anything more than Magikarp in the waters); and Restaurant le Nah, which was serving their ‘Piece de Resistance’, which was some kind of Appli- 

“Applin? Show me!” Kieran suddenly broke into her thought process, the girl momentarily surprised as he eagerly noted the mention of Applins.  

“Um, here!” she offered her notes to him once more as he urgently zoomed in on the excerpt. “Rintaro started baking up these ‘Lumiose Applins’, they look like Applin, and there’s a Shiny variant for extra flair and cash, but they’re actually a pretty neat dessert!” she explained hurriedly.  

This, was exactly what he needed. Applins? These Kalosians really did know how to spin their food. He was rather curious how they looked himself, though he had a rather humorous thought to not allow his Hydrapples to see them, otherwise they’d think he was eating one of their own.  

“Thanks for the notes!” Kieran grinned, extremely grateful for the girl’s help. Seemed she really did just want to help people, though her curry was still... a little questionable.  

“You're welcome!” she smiled, as she stowed them back in her pocket. “Heading back to Juliana?” 

“Yep! Gotta get some stuff set up. Actually,” he paused, whipping out his own Rotom phone as it hovered next to him, “mind if I take a photo of them? Just so I don’t forget.” 

“Huh, they’ve been a while,” Dorian commented, gazing to where the lift was as Lida rolled her eyes.  

“Taunie’s probably asking him for a critique of her curry,” Lida smirked. “Be ready Juliana, she might call you next! Don’t know why though, her curry tastes immaculate!” 

Juliana nodded half-heartedly, though she wouldn’t question the girl’s enamorment with her friend’s cooking. As if on cue, the lift’s bell dinged as Kieran and Taunie strolled back into the lobby, Taunie having a notable pep in her step as she walked up to Juliana. 

“Hey Juliana! I finished up my little chat with Kieran!” she smiled, though she felt a little awkward. She didn’t want to rouse the young woman’s suspicion of anything of her interest having been discussed; she got the feeling that Kieran wanted this to be secret, so she opted to use her usual cover.  

“Was just asking him about how my curry tasted!” 

“See, called it!” Lida raised her hand in victory as Dorian tilted his head. His eyes seemed to narrow, though it seemed he was simply curious.  

“Really?” a coy smile played on his lips. “And your reply, Kieran?” 

“Oh, uh, good! Good,” he said, putting his thumbs up in an attempt to convince them. 

“Perfect!” Taunie said a little urgently, before seeming to stare at her wrist, before saying, “Yikes! It’s getting late! You two lovebirds should head back to your hotel now, or whatever,” she waved her hand, before continuing, “Besides, I need to help Dorian with his ZA Royale Profile anyways.” 

“Oh right, we do have to get that done, otherwise our little deal will be for nothing!” Dorian summoned his Rotom phone, the device hovering avidly around its owner as he scanned the screen. “Now where’s the app...” 

“Ah well, guess this is our invitation to leave,” Juliana called Kieran over, the guy’s hands curiously stuffed into his pockets. “Thanks for the curry Taunie!”  

“You’re best welcome Juliana!” Taunie grinned, waving them off as they left through the door. “Be sure to come again!” 

“I will appreciate the company!” AZ’s voice carried through the air, having returned to his post at the reception desk.  

“We’ll see!” she waved back, turning to see the group one last time before leaving, the group hearing her mutter, “C‘mon Kiki!” before they heard a Pokeball activate, a primal roar burst in turn, and the two hopping onto the draconian steed, before darting off.  

“Ookay, that’s all done with,” Taunie rubbed her hands together, before turning to Dorian. “Ready to upload your profile yet?”  

“Yup, just gotta get some authentication first...” 

“Oh, don’t worry, Vinnie’s sorted that out for ya,” she answered, taking a moment to check if he had showed up on the app’s database. “Ah! There you are! You’ve uploaded a photo already I see?”  

“Yeah, had a feeling I’d need one for one reason or another.” 

“Good!” she nodded, before yawning briefly, her hand darting to her mouth in slight mortification. “Gee, haven’t slept much. Welp, I’m off to bed! See you all in the morning!” she bid the two farewells as she darted into the lift. 

“Why were you being so curious about Kieran?” Lida asked, as Dorian got up to head to bed himself, the two walking side by side as they headed to their respective rooms. 

“No reason, it’s just,” Dorian wandered on his words, Lida raising an eyebrow as he progressed, “I have a feeling they were discussing something more... interesting, that’s all.” 

“Yeah, Taunie did seem a bit in a hurry to get them out. Maybe advertising her hotel, perchance?” 

“Maybe,” Dorian muttered, as he fished into his pockets for his keys. ”Anyhoo, goodnight to you, Lida.” 

“Goodnight to you too, Dorian!” she smiled brightly at him, before opening her door and exiting the corridor. He had to say, he appreciated the girl’s company. He wasn’t one to say no to Taunie’s curry either. And he could get used to Naveen, the guy did seem like a competent fashion whizz, maybe he could even get some custom clothes commissioned for himself. It made him feel just that bit less alone. 

“And me, fa- ther?” a voice crackled next to him suddenly, though Dorian felt no fear at the sound the familiar voice. 

“Well, you always will be with me, won’t you, Alistair?” he gave a weak smile at the being next to him, who despite his piercing eyes gave a joyous smile, yipping gladly as he entered his room. “Right, off to bed,” he turned, the beast silently trudging behind him, no one in the hotel any the wiser to his existence.  

“Hey, Juliana?” Kieran whispered to her as they sped through the streets, the few cars that were out and about in the night taken by surprise due to the speed of which Koraidon flew by, a streak of scarlet blurring past their windows as they suffered minor frights at the lizard’s reptilian eyes shining faintly in the darkness of the night.  

“Yeah Kiki?” Juliana turned her head round, trusting Koraidon to not accidentally plow into a wall , her hands still firmly gripping his shoulder rests.  

“Is it alright if you drop me off for a bit? I'll come back to the hotel, I promise, I just need to stock up on some items first,” Kieran explained. 

“You sure? I can come with you if you want.” 

“No no, it’s alright,  I insist. I’ll even buy some stuff for you,” Kieran assured her, the brunette girl evidently contemplating her options in her head, before she nodded. 

“Why not I guess? If there are any available, try get some Dusk Balls. Hae a feeling that we might be doing some nighttime catching,” she stared pointedly at the red holograms nearby, the energy bursting from it being a clear indication of a Battle Zone. 

“Got it! Not to mention the prices are lower here,” Kieran spoke as he hopped off Koraidon, petting the dragon’s flank as he whispered to him, “Make sure she gets home safe, alright?” the beast replying with a curt nod as Juliana smiled.  

“See you at the hotel then Kiki!” Juliana waved goodbye as she prepared Koraidon to go. “make sure you get home safe!” 

“You can bet I will,” Kieran waved, the girl assured of his well-being as she sped off, a small cloud of dust left where she once was.  

“Alright, time to get some stuff set up,” Kieran spoke to himself quietly, almost secretive, as he pulled out his phone. He checked his Pokedollars account, and his BP. Thank goodness he was a good battler, he thought to himself, exchanging a multitude of his earnings into money, swapping to his library as he swiped through his photos to examine the notes Taunie had taken. Applin desserts, sightseeing, canals, he was gonna make sure it would be a night to remember. 

“Hey, another drink, will you?” a man called to a bartender, who slid him a shot of whiskey which he downed. “Oh, and put on the screen, will you? I do enjoy knowing what is happening in the world as of now.” He gave a slight smile, one side of his face shadowed in the weak light emanating from one of the bar’s lamplights.  

“Alright then sir,” the man nodded, switching on the power as an image of Prism Tower showed up on screen.  

The man stared quietly at the image for a second, before returning to drinking his liquor. Having finished it to the dregs, he walked out, leaving some money and a tip for his provider as he patted his pockets to see if he had any spare change.  

As he was about to leave, however, a voice struck out from the TV. Rushing back inside (to the bartender’s relative shock) he focused on the boy the TV had been focusing on. It seemed someone had gotten their phone out to film the boy, who had battled with such calibre it made the man grin. Yes, he was there.  

He pulled out his phone, and scanned it for the next plane to Lumiose. Seeing the amiable and cheap fee, he consented to payment. 

He had a flight to catch.  

Chapter Text

Griselle had been clearing up for the night. In all fairness, she felt rather pleased with herself. Her brother’s Charizard was helping him carry about the remaining crates holding their coffee supplies. Their quaint little van had been shut off in the meantime. Though she did understand her brother noting that the night was prime time for customers, the two hadn’t had a restock in a bit. Aside from the Taunie girl and her friends, business had been slim and waning for the siblings.  

The scares of Flare were still raw, sure, but she couldn’t help but feel a sense of annoyance at the disdain held by the city. They were young, after all, when Lysandre had gone through with his plan, however it still stung. She just wanted to be given a chance to show that they weren’t the danger, that they could be good, but it seemed that wasn’t in many other people’s best interests. 

At least that news reporter who always turned up for a coffee seemed to think otherwise. 

She had just been musing on a life free from such prejudice, when she spotted a guy wandering haplessly about the streets. He was rather lanky, funnily so, but his hair was rather striking; like her and her brother, it was two toned, however it seemed his hair was purple on one side, and black on the other. He was rather focused on his phone, though a little weary. Somewhat weary, she could hear him muttering under his breath as he squinted at his screen, appearing to ask for directions.  

“C’mon,” he groaned. “The signal’s all funny. Where is le Nah anyways?” Oh, she understood. The young man was probably using his phone to get directions to Rintaro’s place, however his phone had shorted out. 

“Yeah, that’s been happening recently,” Griselle grumbled. She had heard her brother mention in passing that the centre of the city was interfering with the internet, however the two failed to ascertain as to why. “Want directions?” 

“If that’s alright with you,” Kieran replied, preferring to head back to the hotel before Juliana got worried, or suspicious of where he had vanished off to. 

“Head through those buildings,” she pointed towards the restaurant’s location, obscured by several rows of homes and businesses. “It’s near the canal, so you should manage, just be careful about avoiding the Battle Zone.” 

“Thanks!” he grinned, waving her off as he jogged towards where she pointed, a little more relaxed in his step as he soon vanished out of sight. Feeling a little pleased with herself, she popped back into the van to see if there was any more coffee to treat herself with. Grabbing an Ember Roast, she relaxed on one of the crates.  

As she reclined comfortably against the van, her brother walking outside to check up on her, she failed to see the dark-haired boy leap across the rooftops, his violet eyes sharpened as he disappeared into the night.  

Strolling across the lamplights, Kieran had felt rather comfy with himself, Taking a glance at his watch, it was fortunately not too late, only being around past 9 in the evening. All he had to do was book a reservation, then he could fly back to the hotel in under an hour.  

Still, seems rather curious that you need to reserve a purchase for the Applin dessert., he thought. Either they were immensely popular and they couldn’t afford to be sold out, or they wanted to ensure whoever was buying it was worth their time.  

Pushing past the door into the building, he was greeted with a rather busy restaurant, even at this time of night, diners avidly feasting on their meals as the waiters went to-and-fro taking orders. There even seemed to be a battle court in the building’s centre, fenced away from the rest of the restaurant. It was very similar to the Treasure Eatery in Medali.  

“May I take your order sir?” the receptionist asked, snapping Kieran out of his thoughts. 

“Oh, I’m here to order the Shiny Applin Desserts. Two of them in fact.” 

“Then you’ll have to battle for it,” the receptionist replied nonchantantly. 

What. Was this entire city battle-mad? Nemona absolutely would love it here; in fact, he’d probably find it hilarious if Arven just left her on her own for a few hours. The destruction she would bring...  

“How come?” 

“One other dude came in ordering the last two. His boss apparently said he wanted to try some of the cuisine here to see if it was worth investing in.” Boss? Wait, the lady was saying more- “One of the Rust Syndicate’s goons. Crafty bunch. Anyways, our policy is that if two or more people want the same dessert, they need to battle; the victor gets to keep the food.” 

Ugggh, it was those ‘Rusties’ Taunie warned them about. He didn’t want to cause a ruckus, but he was getting those Applin.  

“Alright, I’ll bite,” Kieran told the receptionist, the lady nodding in agreement as she entered his request into the system. “Where is he?” he craned his head to look for the guy, who he spotted, his foot tapping ceaselessly on the floor as he appeared to be waiting to meet the manager, or chef. Whatever.  

“Think you can handle him?” she glanced pointedly at the guy, who now seemed agitated. Looks like he got the message that he had competition. 

“Definitely.” 

He walked up to the guy, done up in a black tux, purple bottoms, purple glasses and a rather delinquent hairdo, indignant with annoyance.  

“So you think you can just waltz up here and nab the last two Applins, huh?!” the guy rambled furiously. “The boss will not be pleased if he finds out I failed him. Like, ‘make you swallow a Koffnig’ angry!, or so he says himself” he groaned, Kieran a little surprised by such words coming from someone other than his sister’s mouth. This Corbeau seemed pretty unnerving to him. “So, ready to battle?” he aimed his Pokeball at him, clearly thinking he could get this over with in one fell swoop.  

“Yup,” Kieran curtly spoke. He could guess from his attire and what Taunie told him that the Syndicate used Poison types. He did want to put on a bit of show, though, so he reached into his satchel. Looks like she would have to do.  

The receptionist, having moved into position, was now awaiting their move. The two both gave a nod, signalling the battle could commence. With a ‘Ready, set, GO!’ she struck her hand down as the two prepared to battle. 

Pulling out a Love Ball, he sent forth his Hydrapple, the Apple Hydra taking a moment to crane all five of her heads out in dominance, though she only proceeded to retract two of them. She gave a sneering look to the gangster, who seemed a little staggered, his shades momentarily sliding off as he took a step back, before he pushed them back onto the bridge of his nose. Even the receptionist seemed a little stunned. Not to be cowed, the Synidcate goon tossed forth his partner, a Garbodor, high-leveled, which roared momentarily at the snakes before him.  

The syrupent twisted her head to look at her owner, a coy gaze in her eyes she drooped her lashes (how did she even get those?) in seeming boredom at the opponent before her., her eyes appearing to say really? One of these? Kieran gave a shrug, before she rolled her eyes and got into position.  

Simultaneously, both battlers called to their partners, ordering an Earth Power and Sludge Bomb respectively. The sludge struck Hydrapple, who was a little inept in movement, causing her to topple slightly, before she shook herself off in pride. Good, the poison had not set in. The Earth Power on the other hand had detonated the ground beneath the walking mountain of garbage, sending him a few inches into the air as he crumpled behind his trainer. However, he was not yet defeated. 

Kieran ordered a Syrup Bomb to slow the thing down, however the grunt yelled to his Garbodor to use Protect, the hexagonal collection of shields orbiting his ‘mon as the attack materialised, failing to deal any damage as the syrup harmlessly cascaded against the creature, though the supersweet scent did give the pile of trash some pause. Come to think of it, how had this guy not already sent the diners packing? If it weren’t for Hydrapple, the place would have smelt worser than a Skuntank .  

Good, he can’t use Protect for a while, Kieran realised, as he decided to use his most potent move in his arsenal. The Garbodor was still recovering from being awash with the scent of candy apples, and he wasn’t paying enough attention.  

“Hydrapple, use Fickle Beam!” he roared out, the five heads of the dragon worming out of their collective apple as they all cried in unison, a pulsating beam of golden yellow violently warping and contorting as their energies combined. A notification appeared on his Rotom phone, which had been audience to the fight, HYDRAPPLE IS GOING ALL OUT FOR THIS ATTACK!, the beam firing in a seamless laser of heat and chaos as it ripped into the Garbodor, smoke clouds trailing as it launched him across the room, the beleaguered Pokemon collapsing in a heap of rubbish.  

“Garbodor has fainted!” the receptionist announced, the diners having applauded after taking a break from eating to observe the fight. The grunt slunk his head in defeat, muttering, “Corbeau ain’t gonna be happy with this.” Kieran smirked; the satisfaction of a victory still felt as good as ever, when the grunt groused, “But this isn’t the last you've heard of the Rust Syndicate!” before fleeing, blubbering a little as he did. 

“Hm!” Kieran felt a pang of pity for the guy, but greater matters were at hand. “I suppose I’ve got the desserts then?”  

“Yes!” the receptionist clapped her hands as she nodded. “I’ll send the order now. When will you want it served?-” 

“In three days,” Kieran replied. “For the evening, to be precise.”  

“Oh, this for a couple’s outing I see?” the receptionist was rather pleased the Applins would go to such a good purpose. Better than being used for taste-testing.  

“Yep!” Kieran grinned rather eagerly, unable to hold back his excitement. “My girlfriend’s from Galar, and I thought they’d be perfect!” 

“Indeed! Oh, the order’s been sent. You’re good to go now.” 

“Perfect! I’ll be back in a few!” Kieran waved, the receptionist smiling as he dissipated through the front door.  

“Well, that was a successful night!” Kieran smiled to himself, gleeful as a Meowth that got the cream. “Now what’s the time...” he glanced at his watch. Good. It only just went past 9:30. He could make it back to the hotel by taxi then. “Alright Jules, here I come,” he spoke softly, before opening the taxi app to hail one for the ride home.  

A few feet away, a holo-gate glowed crimson red. 

It hadn’t been much of a hassle to sneak out of the hotel. Though he could give the place its merits, he had to note that it was... rather lacking in security. He tip-toed across the carpet, passing his friends’ rooms as he ducked into the elevator. AZ was also asleep, his massive frame nowhere to be seen as Dorian crept into the lobby. He recalled, fortunately, that Taunie had mentioned there being a back door to the place, which could help him sneak out without triggering the hotel doorbell. It was probably- ah yes, there it was, hidden in the dining room.  

Opening it an inch, he gently shoved it open, the door creaking a hair as he tapped his feet into the open. It luckily wasn’t very chilly, so he could manage in his current clothes. Spotting a ladder, he was about to climb it, when he realised it was overtaken by some funny pink crystal. Guess he had to break it. 

“Al?” he called to the air, replied by a booming Hyper Voice firing at the growth, smashing it into pieces as he collected the peculiar crystals left on the ground.  

“Mega Crystals?” he read, the app saying they were products of some kind of energy source. Perhaps he could sell them later. Scaling the ladder, feeling a bit topsy-turvy when he realised the height of the roof, he leapt across. However, he was not in the mood to use his Rotom phone to cushion his fall; his fear of heights made sure of that, so he beckoned his invisible accomplice to approach.  

“Is it alright?” he asked the bitten being for permission; his back was already crooked enough as is, to be met with a reply of “Ye- s, it’s f- -ine”, in that even more crooked Galarian. At least he was learning. Hopping onto his partner’s back, Alistair got on all fours, before pushing against the rood, tiles slightly cracking from his force as he jumped across the buildings.  

“Find the Battle Zone, ‘kay?” Dorian instructed, his teeth chattering a bit form the wind gusting about the two as he held onto his friend’s chest for dear life. “It’s got the glowing red gates.” 

“Glow- ing red ga- a- tes, got it,” Alistair rumbled, his raspy voice being unheard from the denizens of the night as they bounded about the skyline of the city, silhouetted in the moonlight.  

“Alright, this is it! Stay hidden for now Al, I’ll tell ya when to pop out,” he nodded to his friend, who trilled a howl before darting off. He stood before the vermillion glow of the battle zone, an air of intimidation coursing towards him as he entered. Calling out Croconaw, who he decided to name Sucho, he kept him close as the two snuck about.  

“Look, you see that Litleo there?” he pointed out the Fire Cub licking a paw next to one of his trainers as Sucho nodded in understanding. “Go over there and fire a Bubble Beam at it.” As if on an impossible spy mission, Sucho trudged towards the Litleo with almost comic sneakiness, occasionally ducking behind trash cans and flowerbeds so neither the Litleo nor its owner would spot them. Once he had gotten into range, the poor lion none the wiser, he launched his burst of bubbles, knocking out the cub as the owner gasped in shock.  

“Aw man,” he scratched the back of his head as turned to look at Dorian, who walked up to the guy. “Here’s my prize medals, I guess,” he reached into his pocket and scanned the coin tickets on Dorian’s phone.  

“Um, how do these work? Sorry, I’m a newcomer here,” Dorian was a little perplexed at the tickets; he only ever really received physical money after all.  

“Oh! You collect these,” he gestured to the several holograms of coins floating about, “and based on how many trainers you beat in the night, you can multiply your earnings!”  

“Sweet!” Dorian was rather thankful for the help, giving a thumbs up to the man as he walked off, his eyes now eagerly searching for any loose medals left strewn on the ground. However, after grabbing quite the generous amount of tickets, he heard a large commotion a few blocks down in the area.  

“Shelgon, use Flamethrower!” he heard someone yell, ducking behind the corner to see three battlers, some woman done up in purple and green clothing, another one of those Rust grunts, and who he presumed was another member of the Fists duking it out, a Shelgon, Machoke and Beedril respectively. The giant insect had buzzed out of the Shelgon’s blast, retaliating with a furious Fell Stinger that almost took out the Shelgon, who was subsequently healed via Potion back from the brink The Machoke was also on its last legs, barely able to stand as it appeared to have been poisoned.  

Seeing an opportunity, Dorian rolled out from his hiding spot, taking the entire group by surprise as he yelled to Sucho, the dopey croc rushing the three as he ordered him to use- 

“Bubble Beam, Agile Style!” The beam immediately fired, knocking out the Machoke and giving the two other ‘mons bare time to react. The Beedril, being stunned, felt its Attack drop as Dorian ordered Sucho to use- 

“Strong Style Bite, go!” he yelled, doing a crunching motion with his hands to accentuate the command to his croc, the sudden assault ruining the Beedril, whose defences were negligible to withstand such an attack, and flinching the Shelgon. 

In his excitement, Dorian failed to realise someone sneaking behind him, a Fairy type trainer, with his Aromatisse not far behind, who proceeded to disarm Sucho with a tone-deaf voice, the croc stunned out of his wits as he stumbled into some scaffoding. 

“Looks like I’ll be taking the jackpot home today!” the trainer, the logo ‘SBC’ written across his apparel, grinned, as Dorian’s eyes widened. No, no no no, this couldn’t go this way. The trainer was Rank H! His ‘mons were no match for the guy, who readied his Aromatisse to presumably launch the final blow. With Sucho down, the rest of his ‘mons were defenceless.   

“Aromatisse, use-” was all the guy could get out, before a heavy burst of flame launched into the area, throwing fire all over the Fairy as she cried out in surprise form the searing heat, fanning herself in shock before tilting and toppling all over the place in panic.   

“Wh- wha?” the guy was taken aback, shocked, as Aromatisse fainted over, Dorian shaking off his surprise as he ordered Sucho to use a Tackle, the croc obliging as he rammed into the Shelgon, the ball-shaped drake tottering as it collapsed.  

All four combatants were agape with shock, but Dorian was too. He almost got got. All the money would have been flushed down the drain. Ditching his stupor, he quickly spoke, a little nervousness evident in his shaky voice. 

“I- I suppose you guys should hand your medals now,” he put his hand out, the trainers all groaning as they handed him their coin tickets, the SBC guy fishing out a wealth of the things as Dorian’s eyes glimmered in excitement.  

“Um... thank you, for uh- your generosity,” he awkwardly signalled the group off, before he ran off, vanishing around the corner.  

“Another unsuccessful night, I guess,” the Rust guy palmed his forehead, as he rubbed his Beedril on its thorax, the bee buzzing happily as it shook of the rest of the bubbles sticking to its form after being given a Revive. 

“That kid was crazy! I think he’s the one who beat Josee,” the member of the Fist of Justice groaned, shaking her head before leaving the area. 

“Sacre bleu! Lady Jacinthe will be unhappy we return with another loss on our hands,” the SBC lady mumbled, a little fearful of what would transpire should the socialite discover their failures. 

“Or...” her fellow SBC member pondered, thinking of a way to salvage their repute. “We tell her we’ve found another opponent.” 

“Oh yes!” the lady clapped her hands together, evidently desperate for an option. “Wait, did you catch the boy’s name?” 

“Shoot.” 

“Hah!” Dorian laughed, Sucho clomping along in glee as the two skimmed through the numerous tickets they had gleaned. “Look at it Sucho! All this money, I can buy so much shit! Actually, we can help the hotel with this, couldn’t we?” he held the bills close to his chest, as he entered them into the app, converting into almost 30,000 further Pokedollars that entered his accounts. “Huh, seems like beating those higher ranks gave me plenty more dough.” 

“I’m impressed,” a mystery voice spoke, as Dorian turned to glance at the source, a young woman with a bobbed haircut, a short detective jacket, and... a rather futuristic, though questionably tight bodysuit. “I rarely see a trainer of such calibre around these parts.” 

“Emma I’m guessing?” he looked at her with a tilted head, the woman smiling with a bemused mouth. 

“That’s me! Lumiose’s famous detective! Say, you’re not a friend of Taunie’s, are you?”  

“How’d ya guess?” Dorian was a little surprised by how the woman had figured it out. Did Taunie tell her?- 

“The logo on the back of your jacket, ‘course!” the lady beamed, Dorian turning to spot the Team MZ logo on the back of his jacket.  

“Oh,” Dorian mumbled. “Guess ‘Detective’ really is valid for you.”  

“Why thank you!” Emma clasped her hands together in joy, as she continued. “But I’m glad Taunie managed to get some extra help for battling. Things have been getting a little rough around her lately,” she mumbled, playing with a lock of her hair as she appeared deep in thought. “But no matter. I’m sure AZ has it under control, at least for now.” Dorian was a little curious as to what AZ’s role was in... whatever the lady was talking about, however they were interrupted by a citywide notification.  

‘ALERT: Dawn is approaching soon!’ 

“Shoot!” Dorian cursed under his breath as he realised just how late he’d been out for. “Sorry! Gotta run!” he waved Emma goodbye as he recalled Sucho into his ball, before sprinting away with urgency. Emma shook her head, smiling to herself.  

“Oh, the joys of youth,” she muttered, as she looked to Prism Tower. “Wish you were here to see this, Looker.” She did miss the old man. Not like he was dead or anything, no, but she felt a sense of sentimentality, remembering her life those 5 years ago. However, she heard a howling screech that diverted her attention, the woman abruptly turning on her heel to see the boy grasping onto... what looked like a collar? Or a tendril? Whatever it was, it looked distinctly canine, and she swore its eyes glowed in the night as it sprinted on all fours, bounding over buildings and rooftops as it soon vanished out of sight, Dorian swinging onto its back and spurring him to run in the meantime.  

Canine... 

Glowing eyes... 

Collar... 

“Zygarde?” she said, her faint question lost in the quiet of the dawn.  

“Ah balls,” Dorian grumbled, as he stared at the several stupid, cracked rocks lying in a very inconvenient row in front of the hotel. “The actual heck is this? Why does this city have random piles of boulders lying around? I swear there’s some kind of clean-up crew for these kinds of situations,” he spoke to himself, looking to his invisible friend as he checked his learnset. “You learn Rock Smash, right Al?”  

“I bel- ieve s- o- o,” his partner grumbled, trying to recall the move. “Ah, yes!” he dinged, the option now available to him as he remembered the move. Delivering a swift blow to the boulders, he splintered the rock, the things being smashed into a thousand pieces. “Oh loo- ky! A berr- y!” he pawed in his hands a Pecha Berry. He guessed someone must’ve had it on their ’mon in case they were poisoned, though judging from the fact ot had been dropped near the rocks, poison was the least of their worries. “We always lo -ved to eat these ba- a -ck home, didn’t we?” 

“Yeah, they were rather nice, weren’t they?” Dorian responded, but in his absentminded nostalgia he pushed open the front door, (which wasn’t locked?) and waltzed into the main lobby,  

As he strolled through the homely place, he did not register the bell ringing lightly, but he did hear the surprised voices of Team MZ. 

“Told you it wasn't me!” Naveen whined, shaking his head defensively towards Taunie, who rolled her eyes.  

“Buh! Don’t blame me! You always make weird noises when watching Cannoli’s streams at night, don’t think we don’t know!” Taunie grumbled in reply. 

“Wu- whaddya mean? I’m just... a very enthusiastic viewer, that’s all!” Naveen raised his hands to defend himself, though it was a rather negligible attempt. 

“Yeah, yeah, Naveen, we get the idea, don’t give us an image,” Lida pouted, talking over Naveen’s weak defence as she placed her hand on her hip while playing with the lock of hair draped across her left shoulder.  

“So, what were you doing out so late, Dorian?” she frowned a little at his name as Dorian scratched the back of his head in embarrassment.  

“Ummmm-” he mumbled, before he decided to just send his Rotom phone out to greet the trio, and had it set to show his money balance.  

The team’s mouths were dropped onto the floor as they took in the massive sum of money, glancing back and forth between Dorian and the phone as they looked at him with a degree of amazement and concern, especially when they spotted one of the trainers he had trounced was a high-ranking SBC member.  

“The hell?!” Naveen blurted out, taking a stance backwards as Lida grabbed the phone, inching it closer to her face as if to see if the numbers on the screen were actually real. 

“How’d you get so much money?” she gawked, her mouth so wide open Dorian was concerned Bug Types would start flying in. 

“I just snuck up on some trainers. There was a bit of a squabble in the Battle Zone, so I just went over and took them out. It’s manageable when they’re not paying attention.” 

“True, me and Lida tried that trick out a few nights ago, but it was a little difficult as the area was too flat,” Taunie responded. She did often head out to battle in the Royale with Lida (or Naveen on rare occasion) however it was difficult to accumulate medals since they often suffered a few defeats along with their wins, harming their ability to gain a decent amount of money for the hotel.  

“Is that why you went out tonight?” Taunie asked, a sense of admiration for the boy, though she was a little miffed he had done so under the cover of the night. 

“Yeah,” Dorian was a little subdued in his response. “I couldn’t just let you guys have me stay here for free, so... I want to do my part,” he spoke more resolutely. Taunie did recall the boy asking Zach if they should pay for the taxi trip; seems he had a habit of wanting to pay for free services.  

“You didn’t have to do that,” Lida shook her head, feeling a little bowled over by Dorian’s generosity, though she did worry about his state; he was a little windswept, his hair was all over the place, and he looked frankly exhausted. The battlers must have given him a hard time; even with all his little tricks, the fact was that his team was a little low to already be battling the big names. She spoke as such to him. 

“Yeah, you’re probably right,” he assented, a hint of shyness in his voice. “But hey, at least I managed to get some more stuff for the hotel!” 

“That’s true,” Taunie smiled, balling her fists in good nature as she did so. “But for now, you should rest. Got a long day ahead of us later.” 

“Do we now?” Naveen threw his hands down. “I thought tomorrow was gonna be a lie-in day.” 

“Don’t worry Navi, we’ll still get our relaxing time,” Taunie assured him, though he gritted his teeth at the mention of his accursed nickname. “Now, off to bed!” she abruptly spoke, turning on her heel as she marched back towards the lift. “Might as well grab a few more hours of shuteye before we head to Quasartico for Vinnie’s instructions.” 

“Alright then, good night, fearless leader,” Naveen saluted her sarcastically, before he checked his Rotom phone for an alert. “Crap! Canari’s stream just ended! I gotta check the rest of her announcements for the next Quiz Whiz!” he darted off, hurriedly spamming the lift button as he grumbled under his breath. “C’mon Taunie, you can’t take this long getting to your room.” 

Lida put her hands out in yielding, a little lost for words at her friend’s insistence on viewing the electric streamer, before turning back to Dorian. “You heading to bed too?”  

“Yeah, need to get some degree of sleep,” Dorian spoke sincerely, before he also headed off to retire to his room.  

“And you better not sneak out again!” Lida suddenly became more serious, that soft scowl on her face once more as Dorian nodded avidly, though he was a little flushed at her expression.  

“Of- of course!” he grinned a little too wide for his face, before he darted into the lift, Lida hearing the thing ascend as she followed soon after. Walking through the upstairs corridor, she could hear Naveen’s vague sounds equating to excitement as he ‘ooed’ and ‘awwed’ over Canocky- no, Canari, why did she seem to always mix up her name? Taunie did too. Passing by Taunie’s room, she could hear her snoring lightly; she was a rather light sleeper, but also fell asleep the most out of the four, though she didn’t yet know Dorian sleeping habits well enough herself, as she passed his room, adjacent to her own on the opposite side of the corridor.  

Pushing open her own door, she strutted into her room. She had given it some tidbits of home, a photo of her mum and Tierno on her bedside table, her wardrobe to one corner of the room, a little Water-type themed calendar strung up on the back of the door. Of course there was also the large Staryu plushie she had nabbed while out on a shopping spree with Naveen and Taunie, who got a Scraggy and Chikorita respectively; though she overheard Naveen silently vowing to obtain a Canari plushie with the screws he had grabbed on the way to go with his purchase. She grabbed the large toy, the soft material of its orange felt comfy, and held it close as she sat on her bed.  

She was a little concerned about Dorian. Sure, she was massively appreciative about the boy’s helpfulness, having even spared his own money to help her revive her team rather than suffer the minor trouble of finding a Pokecenter, and had gone out (rather recklessly, she had to remined herself) into the night to go after trainers in the Battle Zone to grab some quick cash. She felt a little embarrassed at being unable to pull her own weight in a fight, to be honest. Of course, there was her, but she wanted to use her for something special. That was why she had evolved after all, like her mum said.  

Wait. 

She had an idea! Lida grinned to herself, pulling a ball from one of her shelves and activated it, the energy beaming from the object to materialise into a bipedal bunny, its cottony hands and ears held against its head as it squeaked in curiosity about its sudden summoning.  

“Hey, Beanie?” she peered at her partner, the Lopunny swishing her ears with glee as she squealed in an apparent ‘yes?’. “Is it okay if you can do something for me?” The rabbit pepped up at the notion of being active, hopping to and fro as she awaited her owner's next move.  

“You know, um, the boy,” she spoke in a hushed tone, her facing feeling a little warm as she thought over what she was asking, “the one who helped give me some money to heal Staryu and the others?”. Luckily for her, Beanie seemed to catch on quickly, clucking with a nod of the head. “Yes? Good!” Lida realised she was probably speaking a bit too loud. 

 “So,” she looked to one side, playing with her hair, “can I ask a favour of you? He really wants to help this hotel, but I’m worried he might get himself hurt doing it. I already must reign in Taunie and Naveen, so my hands are full. Is it okay if you keep watch about the hotel, and if you see him leave, keep an eye on him, would you? Mum gave you some TMs since you could learn some more moves, so I know you can manage alright in the Battle Zones. Just try not to disturb him, I don’t want him thinking someone’s tryna mess with him. Got it?” 

The lop-eared Pokemon seemed to contemplate for a while, but she eventually started nodding rapidly in agreement. 

“Perfect! At least I can rely on you, huh?” she reclined in her bed, as she began throwing the covers over herself so she could to sleep. Her partner, however, seemed to have one more thing in mind. She was moving her hands in some kind of circular motion, almost like- 

“Oh, you want to know if I can get you a Mega Stone?” she sat up in bed, Beanie bouncing in agreement as her ears bobbed with her motions. “Don’t worry. As soon as Quasartico can begin selling them, I’ll get one for you and Staryu. That good?” her assurances met with elation as the bunny hopped up and down.  

“Good! Want to go back to your ball now?” she reached for it on her desk, the bunny dipping her head to say ‘yes’ as she recalled her, the bunny dissipating into energy and being drawn into the item. Holding it close to her, she could feel her heart rest easy, and let herself fall sleep.  

Waving gratitude to the taxi driver, Kieran walked into the lobby, the hotel receptionist still awake, though he spotted a few helpings of coffee sat next to her desk. One could guess how the man had kept himself awake by this point in time. He raised his hand in small greeting, the receptionist giving a quick smile before returning to his resting face of seeming exhaustion. Heading to the lift, he proceeded through the corridor and went to his and Juliana’s suite, delicately opening the door to observe the room being shrouded in darkness.  

Guess Juliana’s asleep, he thought, as he crept towards the bed area to observe her, slumbering rather haphazardly, arms strewn about and the duvet all creased up. He smiled at it, however. She always moved around in her sleep, though she subsided once Kieran was next to her. She was endearing like that, her face all smushed up against the pillows, another spot of drool slowly leaking from her mouth as her hair lay in waves around her. 

Wandering to her side, he sat on the bed, cushioning him as he opened his phone to check for any messages he missed. He was given a rather unruly shock, however, when the phone began ringing. Fortunately he had neglected to raise the volume of the ringer, avoiding waking up his sleeping lover, however he was still a bit shaken by the sudden call, especially when he checked who it was and was greeted by an icon with a certain toothpaste-head's visage polluting the screen, ‘Status: Iconic’ captioning his face. 

Not this idiot, he groaned inwardly, as he accepted the call, the man himself grinning ear-to-ear as he greeted Kieran.  

“Well if it isn’t the man himself, how’s it going Kieran!“ the dragon tamer’s toothy grin shone through the screen as Kieran visibly winced. 

“Keep your trap shut dammit!” Kieran hissed. “You’re gonna wake Julie up!” 

“Oh crap, sorry man,” Drayton backpedalled. He was one of only a select few people who had been on the receiving end of waking Juliana up from her sleep on account of loud disruption; usually it was a combo of yelling, a spoon of ’screw off twat!’ and various slippers being launched towards anyone foolish enough to disturb the girl asleep. “But, like I asked before, how’s it going” he whispered, his raspy voice still creeping through the phone as Kieran breathed out a sigh. 

“I’m good Nee-san, Me and Jules are just at the hotel right now, had some unpacking, a nice breakfast, then met some new people. How ’bout you? And how’s sis while you’re at it?” 

“Oh, we’re doing fine, don’t worry about us. Subtracting your sis fretting a little over her packing,” he momentarily diverted the camera to view a few suitcases, one full of clothes and other accessories,” "We’re managing well. Crispin can’t wait.” 

It earned a chuckle from Kieran, who shook his head at his sister’s insistence of bringing extra luggage just for the clothes she was gonna grab. “Lumiose beware, I guess.” 

“Well, I wouldn’t have it any other way.” 

“Yeah, imagining sis without all her attitude feels... weird. Just like when she got the mochi treatment.” 

“Hah! Still have that vid on my phone,” Drayton giggled at the thought of his fiery girlfriend doing the chicken dance that Mythical Pokemon made her do while under its thrall. Thank goodness it didn’t do anything much more, malicious, with her. He still got the heebie-jeebies around the thing, though when he called a favour from Shauntal to evaluate it, it just acted like a good lil’ boy around her.  

“Soooo, done IT yet?” Drayton’s voice morphed into that furiously aggravating one that made Kieran grip his phone so violently it felt like it was going to snap in half. “I mean, no pressure, but just wondering-” 

“Fuck off, Dray,” Kieran’s voice dangerously teetering towards his old Champion levels, Drayton a little wracked with nerves as his ears stung at the nipping tone of his friend (and brother-in-law soon, though he had managed to hide his little gift for Carmine in his own suitcase). “And no, we haven’t,” he added in a small voice.  

Drayton smiled at Kieran’s shyness; deep beneath all that scariness, he was still that same small guy who he used to see head into club every day, though now he was the same height as him. Ah, kids grew up fast... Arceus, that made him sound like his grandad all of a sudden. 

“Don’t worry,” he grinned. “You gotta take things easy. Remember, you’re on vacay! Just take it all in stride, and you’ll be down in the sheets in no time.” 

“Ugh, don’t be gross Nee-san.” 

“Whatev.  Anyways, take care, and stay safe!” Drayton implored the boy. “And I mean that. Apparently someone from the Dragon clan went missing there. Might just be a rumour; she was a little rebellious anyways, she even said she wanted to go explore the world on her own, but you never know.” 

“Alright Dray, we’ll be careful. Goodnight,” Kieran waved off the young man, who gave one last smile before he hung up.  

Giving a small huff, he turned his attention to Juliana. He realised that in the process of the call, her hand had snuck over to hold his own, grasping it tightly, the gesture almost making his heart melt.  

“Oh Jules,” he fingered a lock of her hair between his fingers as he slid into her arms, trying to position his own gangly ones to embrace her. He couldn’t feel any happier than he could have in this moment. Well, for now, his brain helpfully supplied, as he flushed at the thought. He knew his sister and Drayton had, well, done the deed, his sister off-handedly making a joke about Drayton having two ‘Big Nuggets’ to the others in their friend circle, though no one got the joke, just believing he had gained some treasure after a Tera Raid. However, back in Kitakami, they called Big Nuggets ‘Kin o tama’, since they were well, kin o tama, or ‘golden balls’. However, remove the ‘o’, and they also meant- 

You know what, screw that train of thought. He was gonna sleep with Julie now, that could wait for later. Getting comfy, he snuggled into her, feeling her warm breath softly pepper his cheeks, as he got so close he could practically see each of her eyelashes.  

“Goodnight Jules,” he muttered, kissing her on the forehead as he let sleep drift him away. 

Beanie gave a good stretch as she stepped outside. It wasn’t super difficult to disentangle herself from her ball; it only took a few avid shakes of the thing to burst out and wander off. As she walked outside, she felt the cold air of the night touch her fur. Giving a good stretch, she sat down, gazing up at the moon. If she was gonna be on bodyguard duty for this boy, (from the way her trainer was behaving, she could guess he must’ve been a sweet guy, and cute, considering her constantly flushing), she might as well get ready for when he does leave.  

Her ears however twitched, and her nose sniffed the air avidly, as she turned around.  

Her senses were rather attuned for these kinds of things; Dendra had given her a few tricks to help her hold her own in a battle, though she was rather impatient for a Mega Stone.  

However, she was not prepared for the sight before her; a shadowed figure, shrouded in the dark, crouched near the roof’s rafters, seemingly exiting one of the windows. Upon a closer inspection, it seemed it was the window from 202.  

The, whatever it was, was seeming sniff the air, peering about for any possibility of a watcher alert to its presence. Beanie ducked behind the wall leading up to the courtyard, intent on observing this mystery creature more.  

Her wish was not to be granted, however, as the thing seemed to be satisfied with its surveillance, before launching itself high, higher than any Lopunny she ever knew could even jump, before vanishing off into the wilderness of the urban jungle, her hearing its trudging feet crash onto the tiles of the buildings as it bounded away, before all was silent once more. 

Beanie’s nose twitched, as she felt uneasily suspicious. The room was that boy Dorian’s, now she thought on it. But her trainer had never mentioned him possessing anything like that. Oh well. She wasn’t in the mood to meddle, and as long as that... thing did not harm her, Lida or Dorian, she supposed she would let it be.  

Still, she couldn't shake a sense of danger coming from that canine-like shadow.  

Chapter Text

It had been a few days since then. After quite a bit more pulling of favours (and some generous usage of monetary wealth), all was in place. Now he simply had to play casual, Kieran thought, as Juliana strolled next to him. He had brought her out for the evening, the sun slowly dipping in the sky. He had simply offered to her the opportunity to go around and view the city; of course, he didn’t let slip any of the romantic exploits he planned to do on their nighttime outing. Hearing a general ruckus nearby, he could see people making preparations for the coming Royale, trainers running towards Pokecenters to undoubtedly purchase fresh supplies. Unfortunately, Kieran could expect them to find their ambitions dashed, considering his date plans for tonight. 

“Soooo, what is this surprise you want to show me, Kiki?” Juliana asked cheekily, evidently curious as to whatever her boyfriend had cooked up for her. 

“Don’t worry Julie, won’t be much loner now,” he promised, though this only added to Juliana’s anticipation. She had a feeling it was something interesting, maybe even... romantic? The thought made her bashful, and she shook her head to rid her face of the staining red creeping onto her cheeks. Kieran often had a knack for making fluffy or wholesome dates. She could already recall one time where he had somehow managed to sneak the two out into the Terrarium during the night for what she expected to be the usual outing (make no mistake, she loved every minute she could spend with him) only to be wondrously amazed when a combination of an Archuladon’s Electro Shot, helpfully supplied by Drayton, launched into the air, colliding with a simultaneous Stellar Tera Blast from Kieran’s own Hydrapple to form a massive firework-esque blast, lighting up the sky in colour and glory. Luckily, Cyrano and the teacher staff didn’t seem to care, the director having apparently thought there were contractors in the area and dismissing any concerns. Kiki was simply like that; he always had to go all out, whether for good or bad, just like Hydrapple’s Fickle Beam! At least nowadays he certainly did it for the good. 

Caught up in her reveries, she failed to realise Kieran had stopped walking, almost tripping over her feet and falling headfirst into the watery canal they had come up to. How had she not even noticed- 

“And we’re here!” he grinned proudly, as a river boat pulled up to the two, decked out in comfortable seating and with an avid oarsman keeping it steady, the man’s Binacle seeming to scout the water while positioned on the stern . “Would you care to join me?” he added with a hint of chivalry, his hand stretched out for Juliana to grab. 

She grinned dizzily, even a little gleefully, as she took it, the two sitting into the rowboat as the oarsman looked to Kieran, who nodded, the man beginning to guide the boat through the canals. This is... really romantic, she thought, her face heating up as Kieran turned to look at her.  

“You alright?” he asked, his golden pupils shining earnestly as the two began to move on the water, the lights of the city reflecting off the water, dappling it in an almost lantern-like tone. It reminded Kieran of the paper lights he often saw around Kitakami, or one of the paintings he had seen Hassel produce during his time in Naranja; he had himself produced a few, though he often opted to do wood-carving, the makes of the dragons he did bringing the man to tears.  

“Yeah, yeah, more than alright, actually,” she spoke rapidly, her fingers reaching up to brush her hair behind her ear as she steadied herself, feeling a little off-balance as the boat skimmed gently along the water, only making a change in its orientation whenever they came up to a turn in the canals. As she gazed off towards the shine of the twilight city, the windows of buildings illuminated in a warm, homely glow, her heart skipped a few beats. “It’s just beautiful, that’s all. I think Perrin would love to take a photo of this place,” she mused, absorbed in Lumiose’s nighttime glamour. As the boat treaded past the city’s barriers and funnels, the two spotted Magikarp skipping across the water, their vermillion scales and agape mouths recognisable as ever as they stared at the couple.  

“Would you like to feed them?” the oarsman asked, looking to a crate draped in a blanket on one side of the canoe, the two pulling it off to see it was stuffed to the brim with berries. “Oran Berries, they’ll take to them like Carvanha,” the man beamed.  

Taking a handful each, the two dropped them into the water, the Magikarp swimming rapidly towards the indigo fruits and hastily engulfing them in their waiting mouths. Their vacant eyes stared up at the couple in the rippling water, mouths still open, as they flipped and kicked up the water, splashing Kieran and Juliana a little as they laughed in child-like surprise.  Seemingly content, they swam away, disappearing into a drainage hole in the canal.  

“Always liked them,” Kieran spoke softly, looking to where the fish had vanished downstream. “When me and Carmine went out to Oni Mountain, sometimes we’d wander to the Magikarp pool and say hi.” Juliana was adored by Kieran’s little tales, but the two were in for an even bigger surprise, they saw a flurry of splashes and water from the drain where the Magikarp had vanished off into.  

“Are they coming back?” Kieran peered over the canoe, his eyes squinting as he looked to the disturbance in the water.  

In a shower of water, a barrage of Magikarp appeared, all swimming up towards the boat as they each looked up with expectant mouths that made Juliana think of Wattrels in their nest. What was the biggest interest among them, however, was the sparkling sound accompanying them, as a golden-scaled fish stuck out among the aquatic crowd.  

“A Shiny!” Juliana cried, the oarsman almost collapsing into the water with the energy of which he had twisted his body to observe the rare find.  

Kieran was starstruck; back home he often heard stories about gleaming Magikarp, ‘Ryumon’, that were said to be the greatest of their kind, and the ones who turned into crimson Gyarados upon evolving with Waterfall. He hadn't been fortunate enough to see one yet, so his shock was palpable as he saw the aureate piscine, not a clue as to its precious disposition as it simply guzzled down a berry, chirping happily as it stared avidly to its feeders. 

Juliana gave a small wave, Kieran doing the same as the Magikarp swished its tail in delight, sparkles coming off of it as it began to retreat back to its apparent hide in the canals. Looking back one last time at the couple, its mouth closed to form a small smile as it chirruped, the rest of its shoal joining as they darted off into the darkness, the glimmering sheen of its scales slowly fading away.  

Watching the fish leave, Juliana and Kieran heard a robotic noise drone through the city, as scarlet holograms made themselves appear across the city.  

“The Battle Zones...” Juliana mumbled, as she slid over to Kieran more to whisper to him. “You’re planning us to go there next?” 

“Well, we haven’t had a good multi-battle in some time, and I thought we could try the trainers out, taste the ‘battle cuisine’ if you will,” Kieran joked. “In the very least, we’ll be doing them a favour by preparing them for Nemona.” 

Juliana guffawed at this, responding, “That’s true. Can’t wait for that though,” she grinned, bumping her hips against Kieran, causing him to flush. “Betcha you’re gonna crush it.” 

 “Nah, you’d destroy them first,” Kieran snarked, lightly elbowing her. Though he was Champion, he accepted Juliana was often the better battler between them. Their spars had seen to that, especially in the Singles format Paldea specialised, though Doubles made no effect on her skills. As the two flirted, they realised that they were beginning to be brought to a stop, their canoe ride pausing next to some market stalls as the oarsman looked to the two. 

“Here’s your stop; the Battle Zone!” he pointed out with a flourish, his hands outstretched and aimed towards the imposing ruby threshold, flanked by two amorphous Pokemon statues atop pillars, the Prism Tower’s visage displayed on the front. 

“Thank you sir!” Juliana spoke, the man smiling as he tipped a cap that had been strewn on his brow to them. 

“Thank you! I feel like a lucky man; I get to row two Champions and meet the famed Golden Magikarp all in one night! Hang on,” he paused, Kieran and Juliana instinctively glaring at the water, which seemed to be disturbed. Squinting, Kieran thought he could see... a dorsal fin. It was dark blue, approaching fast- but then it froze. The speed of its procced slowed abruptly, as a sudden scuffle broke out, the fin sifting to and fro as something seemed to grab it beneath the water’s surface. Before long it subsided, dipping under the water. He swore he could hear a groan of defeat, but it might have just been the canal’s drainage.  

“Huh, wonder what that was,” the oarsman dismissed the sight. Perhaps a stray branch or something fell in the water. “Anyways, farewell Champions!” he waved to the two, who began to embark off his humble boat, waving back. “’Twas a pleasure meeting you, and don’t worry,” he directed to Juliana, “your boyfriend already paid me ahead of time, so you can just hop right into the Zone!”  

“How nice!” Juliana beamed up at Kieran, the two a little coloured with red at the word, the Kitakamian boy scratching his head.  

“Wasn’t much trouble,” he spoke modestly. The oarsman gave them one last smile, before turning his canoe around, beginning to paddle his boat away. After a brief interval, Kieran turned to face down the gates of the Battle Zone. “You ready?” he asked Juliana, the girl grinning with that familiar battle-hungry resolution that made even Nemona shudder a little. 

“Definitely.” 

“That was lovely,” Juliana smiled at Kieran, as the two entered the Battle Zone, its red fluorescence shining onto the two as they walked past the holographic gates. He mind was still on the canoe ride. She felt immensely heartened by Kieran’s sentiment, and a little swept over her feet herself. The Magikarp showing up even felt like a little blessing from Arceus himself. Perhaps it was a sign? “Lumiose looks beautiful at night.” 

“Great! I heard from some locals about the guy; pretty chill dude, pays quite a good fee, for what he’s offering ,” Kieran replied. “To be fair though,” he paused as the two stood near the entrance, “even if the city looked wondrous, you looked breathtaking” he told Juliana, the girl feeling steam come off her cheeks as the words arrowed to her heart. 

Before she could retort with a snarky reply, the two’s leisured stroll into the area was broken by a yell of defeat, coupled with several sounds of Pokeballs recalling their fainted partners. 

“C’mon, let’s get outta here!” a few trainers came into view, evidently distressed and perhaps even a little terrified as they ran for the zone’s exit. 

“Whoa, whoa, you guys alright?” Kieran asked, the trainers taking a second to glance at him before violently shaking their heads in disagreement.  

“Hell no!” one of them cried. “Some kid’s just blown through the place! There’s some other trainers coming in, so best be ready, but steer clear of that guy!” 

“Yeah! Friggin’ came up behind me and smoked my Ivysaur with a damn Delphox! Almost scorched me while he was at it” another one yelled, before she added, “Let’s go! I need to heal these guys up before we lose any chance at getting more prize medals!” the collective group scampering off as Juliana and Kieran watched them flee in relative surprise.  

“What was that all about?” Kieran asked bemusedly, Juliana shrugging as she looked ahead. 

“Beats me. Guess we should be ready for a fight though, if there are people just sneaking about and surprise attacking others like ninjas.” 

“Right,” Kieran agreed, before reaching into his satchel to pull out his partner. “So, thinking what I’m thinking?” he asked, the Love ball he pulled out now raised to greet Juliana.  

“Oh yeah,” she grinned in reply, bringing out a Pokeball of her own, aiming it to Kieran before whispering to it. “Ready to go out again?” she spoke softly to her gifted ‘mon, before throwing it out simultaneously with Kieran, two bursts of energy being produced to reveal two Hydrapple, each adorned with a ribbon signalling their prior ownership. Kieran’s lead one, her eyes decorated with her oddly pronounced lashes, craned its neck in pride to assess the area, before being ambushed with a slew of canoodles from Juliana's, glancing with a hint of disdain at the more excitable Hydrapple’s behaviour, before one of her fellow snakes joined in, the dragon seeming to snort some steam from her nose before acquiescing to the hug.  

“Still looks like my Hydrapple’s still infatuated with yours,” Juliana giggled at the interaction, Kieran swearing to Arceus he could see his one flushing at her awkward behaviour, but he chose not to press it.  

“Yup. Now, let’s be careful. I think I already see some people,” he muttered, viewing the other side of the Battle Zone as he saw three people enter; they sent out their Pokemon, consisting of a Doublade, a Chesnaught, and a Whirlipede. The Chesnaught had been flexing its brawn to its fellow Pokemon, the Doublade spinning in intimidation while the Whirlipede sat off to one side. Considering all three had more balls stashed on their waists, they were probably going to be in for quite a fight.  

“Duck into the grass there,” Kieran gestured to the large patches of foliage littering the area. “Guess the upkeep of these places hasn’t been their main focus.” 

“But it does serve as a good hiding spot!” Juliana dived in, crouching as she pulled Kieran close along with her, the young man blushing at the proximity, even more so as Juliana put on her game face and glanced towards the three, who were steadily approaching. Searching her Hydrapple’s move pool, she asked Kieran something. 

“Hey, your Hydrapple’s got Earth Power, right?” 

“You got all your potions?” one of the trainers, a well-dressed, tidy man asked, contrasting with his hulking grass pangolin, who gave a small groan in reply, as his fellow trainers nodded.  

“Yup, and I even bought myself an Eviolite! Doublade’s definitely gonna be picking some wins up now!” a woman enthusiastically proposed, her ghostly sword partner giving a quick rotation in excitement as the last of their unit groaned. 

“Forgot to get myself one,” the Rust Syndicate grunt bemoaned. Money was a little lacking, and after Corbeau’s thunderous expression upon learning one of his comrades had failed spectacularly in acquiring him his Applin desserts, he supposed the boss wasn’t in the mood to provide any favours. “Now let’s be careful. I don’t wanna run into that kid here.” 

“What kid?” the Chesnaught trainer asked, a hint of mocking in his voice as he approached a building, craning his head around the corner to spot a lone construction worker with a Stunfisk. He was quite evidently not interested in whatever that lowly Rustie had to say; he was a Rank H, after all. He wasn’t in the mood to fear anything. 

“Seriously? You haven’t heard?” the Doublade trainer said in exasperation. “Word on the street has it some crazy-ass sprout is going around racking up wins. It was two days ago I heard he’d beaten Rintaro’s team of Simis', then I hear today he’s already approaching Rank F! Apparently, he got fast-tracked by that scary bodyguard character Chairwoman Jett has as her errand boy.” 

“You mean Vinnie?” the Chesnaught trainer paused, now a little invested in this mystery trainer. “Wonder what that’s all about. What’s this kid’s name?” 

“His name’s Dor-” the woman was about to explain, however the three heard the ground crack and splinter beneath them, boiling energy coursing through the pavement, as Chesnaught and Whirlipede darted off. Doublade, however, failed to register, as the woman clenched her teeth to brace for impact, a churning sound being made as the earth erupted, powering into the Doublade and throwing it immensely off balance.  

“Shit!” she cursed, taking cover as Doublade was sent careening through the air, one of its sheaths coming off, leading to the naked blade getting jammed into a pile of rocks, the other sword hurriedly attempting to disentangle itself from its inadvertent Rock Tomb.  

“Didn’t see that coming, didya?” a young woman’s voice came from the grass, as she rose, her brunette hair waving about her with intimidation, auburn-orange eyes blazing with a fiery determination as she marched towards them. Beside her, having risen from its hiding spot in the grass to reveal a snake-like head- no, heads, one crowned with two pointed horns, hopping along in an apple-like object, completely oozing with syrup, two tails trailing from its back.  

“Cha- Champion Juliana?” the Chesnaught trainer sweated profusely. He may have been confident in his abilities as a trainer, but even he knew not to trifle with the region-renowned girl closing in on the trio.  

“And Champion Kieran, if that accounts for anything,” another voice came from the bushes, as a rather tall guy, his hair tousled and tied up into three tails, standing up in an almost fierce posture, entered their view, his own Hydrapple, probably female from the noticeable lashes on her eyes, slithering along, the main head wearing a prideful look in her eye as she snorted, another head taking a moment to glance at the stuck Doublade, who was being attempted to be relieved from its ‘sword in the stone’ by its trainer, and trilling a cry. Blatantly, this was the culprit for its predicament.  

“You!” the Rustie exclaimed, almost fleeing immediately as he backed away, legs shaking. “You’re the guy who got the las-”  

“Shhhh,” Kieran put a finger to his mouth, the sneer of his yellow eyes, pupils almost thinning to slits, and his severe expression making the man shut up. For some reason, he uncannily looked a lot like Corbeau in that moment. “Less talking, more battling.” 

“Yeah!” Juliana felt exhilarated in the moment, and honestly? Seeing Kieran like that made her feel very warm, in places she wished not to divulge. “So you guys gonna battle or what?” Gosh, she sounded like Nemona of all things! She could already hear her Paldean friend egging her on in her head. Boy she would love it here. 

“Alright then,” the Chesnaught trainer gritted his teeth. He had a feeling he wasn't gonna be able to detach himself from this fight, and ‘sides, perhaps he could earn some clout if he managed to beat these two! “Chesnaught! Close Combat, go!” he yelled, hand out in command as the armoured Grass starter bolted towards the two, delivering a flurry of strikes from his hardened knuckles as the two syrupents were momentarily knocked back.  

Regaining his balance, Juliana’s Hydrapple’s eyes glimmered, before he tucked all his heads into his body, before charging up a roll, launching himself towards his target as Juliana yelled “Gyro Ball! Try pushing him into that corner!” she pointed towards the building backdropping their fight.  

The Chesnaught staggered, as the Doublade rushed back into the fight, successfully freed, however Juliana order a follow-up strike. “Hydro Pump!” the Doublade trainer’s eyes dilated as she tried to yell for her partner to use Iron Head; however nothing could stop the crashing blast of pressured water as it jettisoned out of the snakes’ mouths, the combined blast landing a critical hit on Chesnaught as he collapsed and fainted, followed swiftly by the Doublade, the possessed swords keeling over dramatically as they disappeared into their owner’s ball.  

“Grrrrr, there’s gonna be more where that came from!” the Doublade trainer shouted, whipping out the last of her party as she sent forward a Banette, the doll Pokemon chittering sinisterly as its zipped mouth seemed to chatter with a ghostly thrill. The Chesnaught trainer followed suit, tossing out a Victreebel, the flycatcher ‘mon glaring down its opponents.  

“Victreebel, Sludge Bomb, now!” the virulent acid building up in the pitcher plant as it inevitably exploded out, a large blob of poison landing onto the two dragons as Juliana’s one recoiled from the damage. Things seemed to get even better when an alert showed up on his hovering Rotom phone, informing him that Kieran’s Hydrapple had gotten poisoned. However, eagerness turned to shock as the Hydrapple hissed in joy, sparks coming off it as its health was restored.  

“Didn’t expect that, did you?” Kieran grinned, before nodding to his partner. “Fickle Beam, go!” he ordered, the Syrup Apple Pokemon’s heads all joined in unison once more as it went all out, that vicious golden-yellow beam firing at the Victreebel and even grazing the Banette, fainting it immediately and causing the Banette to roll over in fright.  

However, the Rust grunt saw a chance. Though he didn’t have any Eviolites, he did have a Scope Lens. Yelling out a command, Kieran tried to lead his Hydrapple to dodge as Pin Missiles fired at the syrupent, a few striking it and doing measurable damage. The grunt grinned in satisfaction, before signalling a command to his partner. 

“X-Scissor, now!” he cried, the rolling arthropod’s sharpened horns rushing towards the stunned dragon in an attempt to strike it cleanly across the apple. However, Juliana’s Hydrapple burst into view, the girl ordering ‘Protect!’, the avid beast conjuring hexagonal shields that diverted the damage completely, the main head turning around in an almost flirtatious way, batting his eyes, Kieran’s Hydrapple gaping in some amazement, before sneering in embarrassment and shaking her heads.  

Of her own accord, the blushing dragon opted to fire another Fickle Beam, the proximity of the Whirlipede leaving almost now option for it to retreat as it took the blast head on. Though it was only the main head that attacked, Whirlipedes aren’t exactly known for their defences.  

“Dammit!” the grunt fumed, stamping his leg into the ground as he reached into his satchel for his last ball. “Pinsir, come on outta here!” he threw forth a ball, the stag beetle-esque creature lurching out as its pincers reared menacingly, an almost-perpetually furious expression on its face paired with its nightmarish mouth. “Lunge!” he commanded, the Bug charging at the syrupents with intense ferocity, almost managing to barrel into them if it weren’t for a sudden burst of flame launching into the area. It barely missed the paired Hydrapples, who retreated to their owners in surprise as the posse of trainers watched in utter shock, as the Pinsir was scorched to pieces, fainting immediately.  

“Arceus!” the grunt yelled, almost falling over in distress, as he recalled Pinsir, despairing over it having failed to do much. “What even was that?” he muttered to himself in terror, looking at the rooftops of the building they had been battling against to barely catch a glimpse of a cloaked figure, a glowering shadow beside them as the two hopped off, launching themselves across the various structures with haunting precision.  

Whilst this was going on, Juliana and Kieran were a little put out. In their momentary awe at the fiery intervention, they remembered there was still one target left. The woman’s Bannete had been attempting to spam Protect whilst this was all going on, having successfully evaded the couple’s attacks, however now it was on its own, and its tenure was up.  

Juliana looked at Kieran, and the two gave a snide grin to one another, as they turned their attention to the hapless ghost, who seemed to be terrified for such a creepy ‘mon, darting about trying to save itself from its coming doom.  

The two nodded, at pointed their hands out together, directing their Hydrapples towards their target.  

“Syrup Bomb, GO!” they roared in unison, their Hydrapples trilling in glee once more as they belted out a generous helping of caramelised goodness, the Banette freezing for a moment to marvel at the sweet scent before realising what was going on.  

“Ba- Ba-nette!” it yelped, its hands postured in front of its face as it futilely tried to save itself from the wave of stickiness that exploded onto it, showering its owner and allies in the confectionery goodness as they shrieked in surprise.  

All was still for a second, the chaos settling in, as the Hydrapple couple turned to their owners in pride, Juliana and Kieran receiving a joint notification for their victory, being rewarded some money. After a pause, the silence broke. 

“Good Arceus this was a mistake!” the Chesnaught trainer surrendered, as the three of them, him, the Ghost trainer, and the Rust grunt, all looked at one another in indignation, then back at Juliana and Kieran, the latter of whom were attempting to stifle a laugh, before squealing and running away, their Pokemon in tow, as they left behind numerous prize medals.  

With their audience gone, Kieran began to giggle. It snowballed from there, Juliana joining in as they broke into laughter, the two clutching their stomachs as their Hydrapples watched amusedly.  

“Didya see the look on that guy’s face?” he howled in hilarity, his tied-up hair bouncing with his movements as he recalled the drenched appearance of their opponents. 

“Hah! Yeah!” Juliana replied, unable to control herself as she continued to laugh. “That was actually so funny! Probably gonna have some questions when they get home though,” she snickered, a hint of her Galarian accent sneaking through as Kieran began to calm down.  

“Heh, probably.” Feeling content in the moment, he took a peek at his phone, checking the time. Perfect. All was going to plan. 

“Hey, Julie?” he asked the guffawing young woman, who wiped a tear from her eye as she answered. 

“Yeah Kiki?” 

“Whaddya think ‘bout going somewhere to eat?” 

Entering Restaurant Le Nah was quite the experience. Bustling, lively, and with a warm atmosphere, it made Juliana struck with a feeling of home. It was wistfully similar to Medali, with its battle court and busied customers. The reception was equally pleasing, the receptionist having quite the amiable atmosphere. 

“Well, if it isn’t Champion Kieran again,” she bowed lightly, sighting Juliana accompanying him. “And Champion Juliana too! Truly, it is an honour for our restaurant to host you two.” Juliana was still getting used to the ‘special treatment’ many Champions received as a subconscious result of their exploits, but it still made her a little giddy with authority.  

“Indeed it is,” a large, portly man arrived, his inviting grin and warm demeanour immensely welcoming. “Would you like to show me to your table?” he gestured to one of the larger ones, set in pride of place near the battle court.  

“If that’s alright,” Juliana spoke, their host nodding, as he led the two towards their table.  

“And remember, if there’s anything you two desire, Manager Rintaro is at your service,” he diverged to them, the two nodding before Rintaro left, heading towards the kitchen.  

Sat in their seats, Juliana played a little with a strand of her hair, illuminated by the table’s candlelight. Though she wasn’t ashamed of it, she did feel quite whimsical, even a little weak in the knees, by this whole outing. Kieran had done all this, for her? It truly made her feel special, more so than any fanciful treatment by anyone else could. 

On the other end of the table, Kieran sat patiently, though, as he gazed at Juliana, he couldn’t help but blush. In the luminescence of the tea-lights surrounding them, she seemed to glow with an almost enchanting aura, one that swept him off his feet and promised him to fly to the stars in everlasting bliss. Taking up a little more ambition, he leaned over the table, giving Juliana a chaste kiss on the cheek.  

It made her freeze up, blinking doe-eyed as she brought a hand to her cheek, where his lips had just left. Arceus, how the hell was she gonna resist him at this point? He was a charmer, when it came down to it (Kie-rizz, as Drayton oh-so lovingly put it, before receiving a heel from her shoe in the feet as punishment), but still! When put into action, she couldn’t help but adore him. 

Feeling a little courageous herself, she began to close in, her lips aimed at his, as he obliged, both their eyes closed so haplessly, they failed to realise their server was standing right next to them. 

“Apologies, am I interrupting?” Rintaro popped up, a coy tone in his voice as the two almost launched apart, Juliana whipping back into her chair hurriedly along with Kieran, a furious scarlet breaking out across their faces. “Your meals,” he offered out two dishes he held delicately on his large hands, the two reminded of what they were supposed to eat in a restaurant, readying themselves for dinner. Kieran had personally nabbed the sushi; he had to make sure it was at least up to standard, otherwise he’d risk Carmine bowling in upon discovering the heretical advertisement of the dish as not befitting ‘Kitakamian standards’, giving the attendees and earful, and crucifying what'd she’d call cultural appropriation. Thankfully, he had to admit the taste was delicious. There was some soy dip nearby which he added, the flavours of Magikarp and even imported Klawf cuts blooming on his tongue as he glanced back at Juliana. Fortunately, she had already dug into her meal with great relish, savouring the Galarian-style curry, filled with Slowpoke tails and even some Tamato berries, evidenced by the increasing gradient of red that was beginning to light up her face.  

“Wooh! Isn’t this a treat!” she gleamed, placing a hand on her cheek in appreciation for the food, starry-eyed as she spooned mouthfuls of the stuff into her waiting gob. “Maybe I can make some of my own...” she trailed off. She hadn’t had a good curry in some time; perhaps when Crispin and Arven came they could cook something up. “Perhaps I can give Taunie some tidbits on her cooking.” 

“Yeah, not gonna lie, the girl’s tastes need to be researched,” Kieran muttered with an almost veteran tone as he recalled her croissant curry. He wondered if anyone else outside the hotel was aware of it, much less having tried it. He winced at wondering who else possibly could have tried out her questionable invention. 

After an interval, their plates were almost licked clean, Juliana especially having enjoyed as she reclined in her seat, a content sigh leaving her mouth as she grinned at Kieran.  

Almost on cue, Rintaro returned, this time armed with two plates covered in cloches, balanced precariously on his hands as he placed them before the waiting couple.  

“And the piece ‘de resistance!” Rintaro spoke with a flourish, gesturing to the platters as Juliana peered towards them inquisitively.  

“And what are these?” she spoke a little flummoxed, tipping her head to the side as she tried to discern what possibly could be shrouded behind those metallic half-globes.  

“Only the best,” Rintaro said proudly, Kieran watching in anticipation as he slowly lifted off the domes, Juliana giving a soft gasp in surprise as her eyes fell onto the two desserts sitting between her and Kieran. 

They were two Applin, their lime green eyes peering out of an emerald-green apple each, a buff-coloured syrupy base rooting them to the spot. Their smushed little tails creeped out from the apples, keeping the form steady, as each of the Applin had one eye each winking towards their would-be-eaters. It was clear upon closer inspection that they were not real Applin, Arceus no, however they certainly could pass as some. The eyes were constructed from stiff lime icing, and the apple appeared to have been coated in a generous green sugar glaze. It smelt marvellous, a sweet and fruity aroma that perforated the air. She was stunned at how flawless the treat was. She also cherished how on-brand it was of Kieran to use Applin; they really were his love language.  

“I’m guessing you like it?” Rintaro inquired, Juliana looking up to him as she nodded avidly in fervour.  

“Of course! It looks so real, I almost whipped out a Pokeball to catch it with!” she joked, Rintaro laughing heartily as he began to withdraw. His work was done; it was quite the challenge to achieve such fine artistry of the dish, having to douse an apple in sweet syrup before glazing it once it was tender, but his work was clearly exemplary, if the Galarian’s reaction was anything to go by.  

“Excellent! I am glad Restaurant le Nah has been to your tastes,” he thanked, leaving the two to their course. However, just before heading back to the kitchen, he placed a heavy hand on Kieran’s shoulder, whispering in his ear. 

“She’s a keeper. Treat her well,” he spoke wisely, his voice oiled with a comfortableness that resonated with Kieran, as the chef drew back into the hubbub of diners and waiters. 

A little flushed in the face, he looked at Juliana, the girl gazing back with eagerness as they looked to their waiting Applin, oozing with invitation, before whipping out their cutlery and tucking in. Pleased sighs came from their mouths as the sugar-sweet confections fell in, the taste so exquisite they almost sparkled with satisfaction.  

“This- was so- worth it!” Juliana exclaimed between bites, spooning up the delectable mix, noting the inside of the apple was nice and creamy, all sugary from its marination in the syrup, the crisp skin opening like a little present.  

On Kieran’s end, he fared just as well, eagerly devouring the sugary nubs of the Applin’s eyes, his soft spot for pure sucrose sneaking out. Sis would be nagging him to remember brushing his teeth, but Nee-san wasn’t here! Screw any sense of restriction, he wouldn’t be stopped.  

The two Applins’ fractured shells sat on the plates; the inside gooey goodness having been cleaned out by the two’s excitable eating. Juliana wiped a few crumbs of glaze from her cheek, as Kieran grabbed one of the napkins lying about the table to do the same.  

“Goodness, these things are the bomb! Syrup Bomb even!” Juliana joked, Kieran smirking as he played along.  

“Mhm! Could say they... went all out, if you get what I mean?”  

“Hah! Definitely,” she smiled bemusedly, spooning the rest of the dessert into her mouth and grinning heartily. “Thank you, for all this. I’ll never forget tonight.” 

Her words made Kieran’s heart do a backflip, Butterfree pluming and fluttering in his stomach as he nodded. “Yeah, I wanted to make sure tonight would be perfect.” 

“Awwww, how sweet,” she said, Kieran simpering in his seat at her gratitude. 

“Heh,” Kieran giggled to himself, as Rintaro approached the two. “You two finished?” 

“Yup,” Juliana replied. “Have you brought us our bill?” she knew the protocol for such things. Nemona of all people  had offered the group to head to a fancy restaurant in Paldea as a treat, the girl waving off their concerns about payment. She always seemed to forget that the battle-mad girl was the child of wealth, though Nemona was of course humble enough to never bring it up unless absolutely necessary. She was rather taken by surprise, however, when Rintaro dissipated her question. 

“Oh don’t fret, I was simply asking if you enjoyed our meal. This is for free.” 

“Wha?! Free? Why, thats too generous of you!” Juliana blurted out, the older man amused by her words as Kieran also asked as to why. 

“How come? I have the cash here, if you w-” 

“Oh no no no. After you got rid of that Rust grunt, I had to offer my services to you. Free of charge!” 

“Alright then, uh- thank you!” Kieran bowed a little, or rather as much as he could in his seat, Rintaro chuckling as he shook his head. 

“Ah, the youth,” he spoke wistfully. “I’m simply glad two of this world’s champions decided to grace our restaurant!” As he began to leave, Juliana called out to him. 

“Rintaro!” she spoke, the man whipping around as Juliana pulled out copious bills of Pokedollars from her pocket. To be fair, it felt a little unsafe, but he doubted anyone was stupid enough to try pull something with the Champion of Paldea. “You never said we couldn’t give you a tip!”  

The manager seemed a little amazed by the girl, staring at the cash in her hands. “That, I didn’t,” he said matter-of-factly, taking the notes from her hand. “Thank you.” 

“You're welcome!” Juliana grinned, as Kieran looked down at her in wonder. Truly, how could he not fall in love with her any more than this? “Alright Kiki, I think our job here is done,” she stood up, taking Kieran by the hand as she walked to the exit. “Oh, and Rintaro?” 

“Yes, young lady,” he answered, still a little staggered from the money.  

“I’ll leave a recommendation for your restaurant for my friend Larry!” At that Rintaro was filled with pride and a hint of meekness. Larry? The Larry? His appearance would be an honour. He watched as the two left the restaurant in glee, the man shaking his head in accomplishment for having satisfied the two lovers as he returned to his dining customers.  

It was very dark out now. Pulling the curtains for some privacy, Juliana stretched as she left the bathroom, dressed in some simple nightwear, along with one of Kiki’s shirts, which generously draped over her body. Kieran was sitting next to the room’s table, gazing at her with such a lovesick look that one would be concerned for his health.  

Kieran, of course, wouldn’t care in the slightest, taking in the sight before him as she walked up to him. “So, whaddya think? I always know you like it when I wear one of your shirts,” she said a little flirtatiously, though she felt her sides. “Really though, you like baggy ones, don’t you?” she noted, Kieran wordlessly nodding along as she sat in the space between his legs on the chair.  

“Julie, wha-” he babbled, before feeling feather-soft lips melt into his neck. Grasping at her back for purchase, he blushed deeply as Juliana gazed up at him. “You’re, warm,” he said a little dumbly, Juliana struggling to stare up at him directly in her fickle shyness and boldness. 

“Well, we’re alone now, so...” she pursed her lips, batting her eyes down as she pawed at Kieran’s chest.  

This was his moment. His opportunity. Patting on Juliana’s chest for a second to signal her to get off (almost immediately regretting it upon feeling the two plush... things on them, his blush blazing with a vengeance as he came off the chair, heading towards his suitcase and opening it. What caught him off guard, however, was the fact that Juliana didn’t seem fazed. In fact, she seemed a little exhilarant. The next thing that came out of her mouth completely shattered him, however. 

“Is this about what’s in the suitcase?” 

. 

. 

. 

Kieran was broke. He was splintered glass, splintered porcelain, he was a Sinistcha that had destroyed its prized stirring chawan. What did she mean? Of course he knew what she meant. She knew what was in the bag.  

She knew what was in the bag. 

Oh Arceus. Oh Dialga. Oh Palkia. Stunlocked, he didn’t register Juliana walking up beside to him, half-frozen in his thunderstruck state as she held his hand, shaking his shoulder softly to snap him out of his daze. “Kiki? You alright?” 

“You, you knew?” he said in a meek, barely audible voice.  

“Oh, sorry, didn’t realise it was that much of a shock to you,” Juliana rubbed her forehead, not wanting to kill the, ahh, mood. She didn’t realise how much of a bombshell this was to her boyfriend; he really must have thought he kept things low-key. To be fair, if it weren’t for that night, she wouldn’t have known either. “But yeah, I know.” 

“How?” he asked gently yet desperately. He thought he kept it so well-hidden! He hadn’t even let her in his room when packing, despite it obviously raising a few eyebrows. Still, he doubted anyone on Arceus’ green earth could guess what lay in the bowels of his luggage.  

Juliana looked at him with her own lovelorn eyes, endeared by his fretting. However, if they were really gonna do this, she had to explain things on her end. 

Kieran gritted his teeth furiously, as the spinner landed on him. He did not know why or how Drayton had pulled the idea of a ‘boy’s night’ in the dorms out of his ass, however he had begrudgingly gotten a little competitive as he was unable to avoid the arrow. It was the classic game of truth or dare; there had been a few interesting orders, such as Crispin having to send a photo to Lacey of him in a Granbull filter (and almost fainting upon Lacey gushing over how cute he looked), Drayton being forced to go cold turkey on his club chair for a day (why Kieran, you’re evil) and Arven having to fake sucking at battles with Nemona (okay, that one was a little cruel, but as long as Nem never found out, the three could go about with their heads held high). However, Kieran was now victim to the spinning roulette, and judging from Drayton’s devious little grin, it appeared he was in for some suffering. 

“C’mon ex-champ, I don’t got all day,” Kieran groaned, some of his older attitude coming out as Drayton briefly winced at the name, before regaining his composure and gesturing for him to follow him to the bathroom.  

“Don’t worry, it’ll only be a bit,” he smirked, the two heading inside as he shut the door.  

“So, Kieran,” he put a hand on his shoulder. Arceus, if this was another one of his ‘man-to-man' talks, he was gonna- “I’ve heard you wanna, ‘get next’ with our dear old pal Juliana,” he spoke in a seeming goading manner, though he really didn’t mean to; Carmine did always say his tone of voice was oddly sarcastic at the worst time. Unfortunately, Kieran didn’t know this. 

With knee-jerk precision, he grabbed the full-grown senior by the shoulders, and somehow managed to flip him over, laying him low as the dragon tamer was caught by a painful muscle memory usually reserved for the elder of the Kitakamian siblings. “Okay, okay, dude! Chill!” he patted his arm, the sudden strength demonstrated by his junior too much for him to handle. He looked into golden eyes of his captor, who seemed to contemplate his fate, before letting him go, Drayton releasing a breath he didn’t know he’d been holding.  

“And what would you do to help?” Kieran spoke mockingly and coldly. “Give me any tips and I’ll tell Carmine. Let’s see what she thinks.” 

Some of his courage returning, Drayton shook his head. “Heck no! Your sister’s the bomb!” he finger-gunned, Kieran fake-retching at the insinuation. “Look, I know you should know by no about the Delibirds and the Combees,” he said in a more grave and mature voice then Kieran was used to from the guy, “and I just wanna give you this,” fishing out of his pocket... a condom. “Just if you do go all the way, of course.” 

Kieran didn’t know whether to smack the guy or be uncharacteristically heartened by the gesture. Though it felt extremely patronising; the thing was undoubtedly one of Drayton’s, Kieran shuddering at the thought of him and sis, it seemed his senior was just trying to be supportive. Without saying a word, he snatched the thing out of his hand, staring at it a little before muttering under his breath. “Don’t- don’t tell Julie about this, got it?” 

“Fingers crossed,” Drayton assured, the boy in front of him visibly relaxing as he stuffed the protection into his pockets. 

“Thank goodness Julie’s asleep, wouldn’t want her to hear this,” Kieran murmured, as he and Drayton went back to their friends on the outside, informing them the dare had been done, but only him and Dray were privy to it, to the chef duo’s profound disappointment.  

Behind the wall, Juliana’s eyes were shot and awake, the girl blushing fiercely as she struggled to get her raging heartbeat under control. She heard everything. 

“And, uh, that’s what happened,” Juliana finished bashfully, Kieran a little put out by the complete jeopardization of his secret before he could even begin hiding it. The young woman had managed to manoeuvre the two of them to sit on the bed, dipping slightly from their combined weight.  

“Wow, so you, heard all that?” Kieran began. 

“Yeah.” 

“Huh.” 

The room felt rather awkward. Seeking anything else to look at, the two glanced at the packet, strewn onto the waiting bed. It seemed to beckon them, like some kind of indecent magnet.  

“Wait, if you already knew, and you didn’t bring it up-” Kieran began to put things together, the thoughts clearly forming in his head as Juliana’s blush deepening as the climax of their talk was reached. 

“Yeaaah, I, I wanted it, too,” she spoke gingerly, her voice not reaching above a whisper, as she played with her braid. “I just, I wanted to wait for the right time, y’know? For you to be ready.” 

Kieran’s heart skipped a beat. Once again, this girl who had fallen into his life from an otherwise uninteresting school trip had taken his heart and feelings into her care once again. But if she wanted it, and he wanted it- 

He couldn’t exactly express what he wanted to say, but he hoped what he did would suffice. So he scooped Juliana in his arms, the young lady stiffening with surprise, before relaxing into putty in his hands as he laid her on the bed gently, leaning down to her to take her lips. Melting into it, Juliana palmed his jaw as her legs snuck around his waist, wrapping around and pulling him in closer as she began undoing her braid, Kieran following suit as they let their hair fall out around themselves, her hazel locks winding around the pillow her head lay on.  

Kieran looked down at Juliana, the latter gazing back up with sultry adoration, and let himself give in. Lying on top of her, he began to toss off his clothes, the brunette Champion beneath him (Arceus, that sounded so hot in his head) complying. Her skin was freckled around the neck, light spots that made his heart race. He wanted to feel her, and her him. The two now undressed, they looked at each other one final time. 

Now they were raring to go.  

---- 

Dorian monitored the duo’s apartment from an overhang, crouched almost animalistically at its edge. Of course, out of respect, he made sure he didn’t approach too close, lest his ears get scoured by who-knows what was going down in that room. Honestly, those two were some real magnets for ‘attention’, if one was generous enough to call all the danger they lured in that. Al had to wrestle that Sharpedo to an untimely respite in Dhelmise Jellicent’s locker (how the actual fuck did that shark sneak in anyways, that’s a public health hazard right there), along with the trainers in the area playing slimy tactics about the two. He was unfortunately a sucker for happy couples, and wasn’t in the mood to have their date dashed by random mishaps. And ‘sides, it was for the good of Lumiose! The press would eat up a story about two regional Champions getting unceremoniously devoured by a Sharpedo any day.  

“Sooooo, mission accomplished?” Alistair murmured, his slurred and rasped voice grating through the air. He was in all fairness, rather pleased with himself. He did so enjoy the nighttime exploits he and Dorian went on, and the thrill of helping others from behind the shadows always appealed to him.  

“Yep, mission accomplished Al,” Dorian replied, picking a little at his hair, though a single strand fell out, landing in his hand. Peering a little closer in the dark, Dorian realised it was white. 

“Hye, sorry bud, mind if you?” he asked, his invisible ally emitting a growl in understanding, as his hair returned to its stark black colour. Staring towards the sky, Dorian noted that the moon was making its move.  

“Might as well head home for now,” he mumbled. “Can’t have the others wondering where the heck I keep vanishing off to. Big day tomorrow after all.” 

“Yes. We must head for that electric yellow bird, correct?” Alistair proposed, having overheard that seamster’s discussion with Dorian at that outdoor cafe. Seemed quite supportive of whoever this ‘Canary’ was, though it was a little discerning when he had to be subject to his patronising rave about the bird. Couldn’t really complain though, when he managed to sow Father’s haori back together. It hurt his stomach a little when Dorian despaired over its torn state when they arrive home. Fortunately, the sewer proved his keep, having happily taken up Dorian’s request. 

“Of course!” Naveen nodded, his lidded lavender eyes lighting up as Dorian produced the rather mangled coat to him. Though it was a pain considering his sewing background to see an article of clothing in such a pitiful state, he was in awe of the embroidered design patterning the coat’s rims. The coat itself was a deep, almost Ghost-trainer purple, but the ends of the sleeves and body were trimmed with a light-yellow pattern, with the lower parts of the coat a turquoise coloration. Oddly, it appeared to resemble to a degree his own MZ jacket, however it was more Kantonian in appearance.  

“It’s... beautiful,” he brushed his fingers gently across the fabric, Dorian’s head raising in surprise.  

“You think so? I mean, it’s all torn-”  

“That can be fixed,” he assured the dark-haired boy. “Fortunately there’s only a few tears here and there, aside from the big one on the back,” he turned the clothing around to observe a deep gash in the haori’s behind, threads of string hanging miserably from the cut. “Nothing a Team MZ logo can’t fix!” he smiled, observing the sleeves. “I can fit these with some patches, like AZ. Would you think a nice deep cyan, to go with the trim?”  

“That would be great!” Dorian relaxed visibly. “It would go well with the rest of these clothes, though I’ll still keep your MZ jacket,” he motioned to a crimson pinstripe vest and white shirt, along with trousers that had an odd gradient from black to bluish-grey, neatly folded on his bed. 

Naveen hummed in agreement, as he examined the haori,  admiring the material. He did note, however, there appeared to be an odd quality to the fabric, almost pelt-like, blended and stitched into the textile. “What are these?” he felt with feather-gentleness, grazing his hand across the thin strands, only to pull his hand back as he felt an unearthly tinge breeze on his fingers, almost like... like the cold air of an icy winter’s night. 

“What’s what?” Dorian asked, seemingly uninterested in the conversation.  

“Oh, nothing,” Naveen dismissed himself, wiping his hands on his fingers to warm them. “Tt’s nothing, only a little chill I just got. I’ll start fixing it now,” he explained, picking up the coat to begin his work.  

“Alright. Thanks,” Dorian replied curtly, waving him off before he retreated to his room. Naveen didn’t know why, but he felt a little uneasy all of a sudden. Probably just nerves from having to work on such fine cloth. However, that didn’t explain why it felt as if thin, claw-like hands were working their way onto his shoulders. Giving a hefty shrug of his shoulders, he left for his studio to do some sewing. He was sure the others wouldn’t mind; Lida and Taunie were asleep by now anyways. Pulling out a chair, he set to work.  

Dorian fingered the sleeves of his haori, smirking a little at Al’s confusion. “She’s not a bird, that’s her real name. But yes, she is our next opponent, so we should prepare,” he humoured his friend, standing up from their spot on the roof. “C’mon, we should get some shut-eye.” 

“Got it,” Alistair nodded, allowing Dorian to climb on his back as they skipped off into the dark, the icy leaps of the two fluctuating into the night. 

Beanie watched from afar. Though her ears were tuned, she couldn’t pick up on whatever kind of Pokemon was accompanying Dorian. She did view the boy and his mystery ally with suspicion; they seemed like some kind of enigma that just fell out of the sky and into her trainer’s life. Whatever. In the very least he hadn’t gotten himself hurt yet by any of those creepy giant, red-eyed freaks of nature roaming the wild zones, although she did note he had somehow not encountered one at all in his entire time at Lumiose. As for his hidden friend, it seemed to not be aware of her midnight shadowing. Or so she hoped. The eyes of the thing made her uncomfortable. What in the name of Arceus could that thing be? A Gengar? No, but Gengar couldn’t speak. She hadn’t heard much of Pokemon that could talk, except for that Meowth a while back.  

All this thinking made her head ache. Shaking it in dissent, she just decided to hop off home, bounding towards Hotel Z.  

Chapter Text

Pulling herself out of bed was no easy task. Trawling her weary body and heavier bones towards her blaring alarm, the blasted thing rattling on the desk, she sluggishly tried to turn it off, only succeeding after she gave a little too harsh of a swipe at it, accidentally knocking it off as it disconnected from its cable, pitifully beeping out. Despite having graduated, she hadn’t yet obtained an apartment yet for herself; not that she intended to, or rather was able to, since as an obligatory employee of the school still, she was allowed residential stay on the school campus. Geeta and Rika saw to it. Still, felt weird being a grown adult yet sleeping in the same room as usual.  

“Ugggggh,” she groaned, pressing her hands on her back and stretching as she crept over to her curtains to open them. Surprise, surprise, after a little bit of an intervention of Team Star, she had followed their pleas to ‘at least let some light in here’. Otherwise she’d look like a Sabeleye, or whatever Giacomo said. Whatever. Reaching into a cooler placed next to her computer, she nabbed a quick energy drink to get herself moving, taking a swig as she checked her phone to see what was up. Oddly, it appeared she had quite a few notifications. 

Peering closer, she realised she hadn’t put her glasses on yet. Couldn’t see shite without them. Pulling open a drawer, she hastily grabbed her case, popping it open and grabbing her lenses to plop on her brow, gaining a clear view as she glared at her screen. 

After reading a bit, her eyes widened in horror, as she shrieked. 

“Oh shit! I overslept!” she shouted, darting her eyes around the room as she hurriedly searched her dreary cupboard for her clothes. If it weren’t for Arven insisting on helping her pack, she’d be absolutely doomed! The whole group was supposed to meet one another at the train station by 9:00, and her phone read 8-freaking 45! Her phone was rife with texts from the others, Nemona questioning where she was, having arrived extra early with intent to battle all the late comers, Arven snarking that she had overslept (damn it Arven, had to hit the nail on the head huh?) and Drayton lazily typing ‘respect’ only for Carmine to scold him through messages.  

Throwing together a quick outfit, consisting of her classic hoodie, Vee-Vee backpack, and some more fashionable jeans Carmine had picked out for her, she leapt out of her dorm room, suitcase in hand, hissing at the sudden light of the scarlet halls.  

Before she could huff a sigh of calm as she prepared to check for a taxi to the station, she remembered one last thing. Digging into her luggage, she made sure her plushie was at the ready. 

“Canari, here I come!” she spoke with resolution, marching herself out of the academy to the confused eyes of her juniors, the taxi landing in front of the school as she hopped in.  

“Where to?” the pilot asked, the numerous Squawkabilly perched on top chittering away.  

“To the station!” she gestured, the man nodding as he gave flight, the vehicle soaring through the air as they headed to her destination.  

“Where is that girl?” Arven groaned to himself, tapping his foot on the ground as he checked his watch for the hundredth time in a row. It was now 9:02, with the train arriving in about another 8 minutes, and Penny still hadn’t shown. 

“C’mon Arvie, she’ll be here soon. I think,” Nemona helpfully added, Arven frowning a little but being dissuaded from any further annoyance as he simply huffed and threw his hands down in defeat. 

“She better be.” 

“Don’t sweat it Monsieur Chef-man!” a familiar voice broke into their conversation, as Drayton wandered over to the two, his toothpaste tuft of hair flitting about atop his head, his eyes lazy and relaxed. “’Sides, if push comes to shove, she can always take the next train on her own,” he added with a tone of comedy. “Of course that’ll be the, last case scenario.” 

“More like the most-likely scenario,” Arven despaired, as he shook his head and bounced his leg. 

Fortunately, the source of his distress was lifted, as the three overheard a taxi landing, the tell-tale sounds of Squawkabilly announcing its arrival, before a door swung open and a red-blue haired, spectacled girl hopped out, almost landing flat on her face in a panic.  

“I’m here, I’m here!” a hand rose from the mess, Penny’s Vee-Vee backpack swaddling her form as she stood up, the thing’s ears bouncing with her movements.  

“What the heck took you so long girlie?” Nemona asked, placing her hands on her hips as Penny frantically apologised. 

“I slept through my alarm, sorry!” she said, Arven muttering about having to install a speaker of something to get her to wake up next time. It was notorious among them that Penny was an awfully heavy sleeper; despite her late nights and (should be) early mornings, she often was impossible to wake short of human intervention.  

“Well at least you’re here now,” Arven replied, looking on his watch to see they still had time to head to the train. “You guys ready to go?” he yelled over to the BB Elite Four, Crispin twilirnig his frying pan that he refused to part without as Amarys answered. 

“Indeed. Fortunately, Penny’s belated arrival has not dampened our chances of arriving on time,” she checked her prized pocket watch for good measure, Penny gnashing her teeth in embarrassment. 

“Well what’re we waiting for?” Nemona cried, grabbing Arven’s hand as she pulled him in the train’s direction, Penny groaning as she followed. Drayton shrugged, as he wandered over to where Carmine was.  

“Ready Carms?” he asked, the tall Kitakamian girl nodding as she checked her phone.” 

“Yeah Dray, just checking if Kiki’s alright.” She glanced down at her phone, swiping through her calls. “Huh, he hasn’t picked up. Maybe he’s asleep?” 

“Probably,” Drayton spoke, though he had a feeling something... more interesting had happened. “Let’s go now,” he ended it off, running with the others to the train as Carmine huffed, before following. 

Juliana’s eyes winced as she felt the light of the day peek through the curtains. Sitting herself up in bed, she propped onto her elbows as she glanced around. Feeling rather funny (her nightgown felt quite thinner and light against her skin than she remembered) she pushed off her duvet, pawing at her forehead. 

It was then that she felt a little chilly around the chest area. When she glanced down, she flushed, and hurriedly pulled the bedsheets over her, as she realised... she wasn’t wearing anything. 

A little frantic, she peered over the edge of the bed, realising her nightgown had been lazily tossed onto the floor, her bra and underwear following as they lay in a little heap across the ground. Even more mortifying, was the boxer shorts and shirt accompanying them. 

Daring to look around, she spotted Kieran, also in a state of, well, lacking clothes, his head faced to hers. He was asleep, his cheek pressed up against the pillows, purple and black hair cascading on all sides as a small trail of drool left his mouth. One of his arms lay across Juliana’s waist, seemingly in the middle of an embrace, however it hung limply, the blushing woman carefully sliding it off her body as she sat up properly in her bed to process what was going on. 

What happened last night? Last night.  

Last night. The sheer madness and exhilaration of the situation caught up to her, as last night’s goings-on returned to her memory. Her, all sweaty, under Kieran as he- 

NOPE. Nope! Not gonna go there, she flushed violently as that empty feeling arose in her waist. However, it appears her post-night jostling may have been a bit too much, as the sleeping guy next to her began to move.  

“Julie, you up?” he mumbled contentedly, a coy grin creeping up on his features as Juliana blushed even more heavily, her shoulders themselves taking on a light pink as heat rose to her face. 

“Kieran! Um, hey,” she muttered, prodding her cheeks in an effort to diffuse her rapidly reddening face. Kieran seemed to grasp her situation, as he jointly rose up in bed, though he quickly pulled the covers over his lower section as he also registered his lack of clothing, before breaking the small silence. 

“You alright?” he asked gently, Juliana’s face burning as she spoke in a whisper. 

“Yes...” 

“Good,” Kieran answered, drawling the conversation along a little bit before continuing. “Look, I really enjoyed last night. Did you?” he questioned, Juliana avidly nodding her head. 

“Oh yes- I mean, yeah, I did,” Juliana flushed once more from her little slip of the tongue, dipping her head as to hide it from Kieran, who after a brief interval brought a hand to Juliana’s cheek, cupping it as he raised her face to meet his.  

“I’m glad,” he spoke sombrely but lightly, giving a sincere smile to his shy girlfriend. “Remember, all I want is the best for you and me,” he continued, bringing their foreheads together. “So don’t be embarrassed ‘bout what we did, you did so well,” his voice was lost in a murmur as Juliana dug her face into his neck, seeking comfort as her face burned. 

“Yeah, guess you’re right,” she smiled buoyantly, though the dopamine high from last night was clearly still tinging her inhibitions, as her next words made Kieran blush, and her once she realised what she had said, to her chagrin. 

“Felt good when you were so rough with me though.” Immediately realising her mistake, Juliana clapped her hands over her face. Great, now Penny really could accuse her of being ‘Freakiana’. Fortunately, it seemed Arceus had taken pity on them for their predicament, or had decided to make things worse, as a Rotom call sprung out of nowhere, an icon of Juliana’s mum showing up, as Juliana instinctively (and accidentally) kicked Kieran out of the bed, apologising profusely as the taller guy nodded sympathetically, before ducking into the bathroom as Juliana pulled the sheets over herself. 

“Hey Mum!” she greeted, the face of her mother showing up on screen as she waved to her daughter.  

“Hello Juliana!” she smiled, glad to see her girl’s face again. “You enjoying your holiday in Lumiose?”  

“Yeah! Totally! Me and Kiki have been having a great time, even went out for a date last night!” 

“Awww, glad you’re enjoying,” Susan spoke down the line, though her face furrowed, as she peered around. “Where is Kieran though?” 

“Oh! He’s just gone down to reception. Just have to sort a few things out,” she lied smoothly, Kieran flushing from the next room. 

“Okay then,” Susan nodded. “Just wanted to check in on you! Remember, your brother and friends are gonna be here today, make sure to meet them at where you guys agreed!” she instructed, Juliana remembering what was supposed to happen today. 

“Alright Mum!” she waved, smiling toothily as Susan beamed. 

“Good- hey, Jules?”  

“Yeah Mum?” Juliana asked, seemingly thinking she was in the clear. 

“There aren’t Joltiks there, are there?” she tilted her head in confusion, Juliana giggling nervously as she replied.  

“No.. Mum? Why?” 

“Then why are there bite marks on your beck, young lady? Is it the heat?” Juliana’s eyes widened in horror as she realised what her mum must have been looking at.  

“Yeah, yeah, it’s the heat Mum, don’t worry!” she spoke hurriedly, Susan deciding not to pursue it any longer as she nodded.  

“Bye then!” she bid farewell, Juliana trying to suppress the red burning onto her cheeks as she waved.  

“Byeeeeeee-” she said, hanging up the call as she thanked Arceus her mum hadn’t caught on. She couldn't ‘t live with that. Heck no! That would be so embarrassing!  

Kieran crept out of the shadows now the coast was clear, jumping back onto the bed as the two began discussing their day plans. 

“Alright, so we meet at... the construction site? That’s a funny place to hold a quiz,” Juliana inquired, though she just brushed it off. After all, Paldea had a rapping stage as a gym area after all.  

“Uh huh, how about I go shower first, and then after you go we get ready. You got a taxi booked?”  

“Yeah,” Kieran agreed, getting up from the bed though he was a little perplexed when Juliana flushed, and covered her eyes, shielding herself behind the blankets. “What’s wrong Julie?” 

All the flustered girl could do was creep a shaking hand from behind the sheets, and point to him. “You’re, um, naked, Kiki.” 

Looking down, the Kiakamian flushed as he realised he had forgotten his state of undress. “Sorry Julie!” he cried, covering himself futilely as he dove into the bathroom. “I’ll, uh, I’ll go shower now,” he muttered, shutting the door as Juliana was unsure whether to laugh or blush further.  

Glancing over to the clock on the wall, the time read 9:30am. Oh boy, today was gonna be long, wans’t it? 

Another day in the city. Dorian stretched out of bed as he glanced at the window, Fletchling flitting through the air as he yawned and put a hand to his mouth. Opening his door, he caught the buttery scent of pastries, and looking to his right, he spotted some croissants, left with a note. Picking it up, the little card said ‘Make sure you eat! From Lida <3’, the little heart at the end making his own stutter, as he retreated to his room and hastily ate the crisp delights. Heading back out, he took the lift down and mumbled a hello to AZ, the man standing guard in the lobby reception as he waved back. 

“Heading out so early Dorian? Have you had breakfast?” the giant man asked curiously, Dorian yawning again before nodding. 

“Yeah, Lida left some croissants outside my room. Tell her I said thanks, by the way,” he replied, AZ nodding as he ventured outside for some training. Pulling out two of his Pokeballs, he tossed out Sucho, now a large Feraligatr who grinned toothily at the purple-eyed boy, and his latest addition to the troupe. Standing next to the Big Jaw Pokemon was a bipedal fox, swishing the flared fur in her ears as her marron fur draped past her legs, appearing to resemble a dress.  

“Alright Fifi, let’s see what you got,” Dorian ordered, as Ferligatr followed their routine; he would use Protect and allow Fifi to strike him, to see how fast her reaction speed could be. The Delphox whipped out her branch, tipped with a searing flame, and launched a hefty burst of fire towards the croc, who crossed his arms to brace for the hit. However, some damaged managed to sneak through, even inflicting a Burn as Dorian clapped excitedly, before passing Sucho a Burn Heal to drink. 

“Good! Good!” he applauded, Fifi barking in glee as she gave a twirl of her branch. The fox Pokemon danced a little in place, Sucho leaping in joy after taking a swig of his Heal, though he didn’t get much air on account of his size. Dorian was frankly amazed by the fox’s growth; it had only been three days ago he had found her as a little kit hiding beneath the shade of a tree. The old woman attending to her had instructed him to obtain a special branch of some kind; Fennekin apparently loved to eat them as they fuelled their internal fire, and so he had gone off looking for some. Luckily there were quite a few lying around Wild Zone 5; though he couldn’t progress much further into the area as there were piles of sludge lying around that for some reason refused to be dispelled by Water moves, likely needing psychic suggestion to dissipate. After feeding the branch to her, the woman gave him permit to take in the little fox, Dorian happily agreeing as she came along with him.  

“She took a few lessons from me, of course she’d be a natural,” Alistair’s crackly voice emerged from the shrubbery, as Fifi turned to view the hidden beast standing nearby, shedding his invisibility. She seemed to reply, though Dorian couldn’t understand Pokemon. Only Al, and that was ‘cause he learnt to speak himself.  

“She says ‘thanks’, though she insists on calling me ‘brother’,” Alistair translated, rolling his eyes good-naturedly as he looked back to the taller Pokemon. “Well, I have no siblings, so maybe it would be a nice change,” the Delphox beaming at his words. However, a creak of the door made the group freeze, as they heard the heavy footsteps of AZ begin to step outside. 

“QUICK, HIDE!” Dorian hissed vehemently, as Alistair rapidly melted into the air, his elusive form dissipating as AZ fully revealed himself, Dorian whistling as his partners tried to look at anywhere except Al’s direction. Despite their inability to speak, Dorian still told them about Al, and the fact his existence was to remain a secret.  

“Dorian!” he raised his hand, the boy lifting his head to look at the man. “I have something for you.” It was then that Dorian realised the old man was holding a satchel that seemed to be stuffed and roped tight. “Lida accidentally left her belongings in her room, and I believe she might need them; she said she was heading out into the city for dance practice today, and it appears her dancing gear is in here.” 

Though a little amused that Lida had managed to stuff that many things inside her bag, he wasn’t going to pass up helping a friend for some training. “Want me to take them?” he asked, his hand outstretched to take the bag.  

“Why, that’s what I was going to suggest,” AZ smiled, handing the bag over. “Here you go. Taunie hasn’t gotten up yet, so I’ll ask her to text you where Lida hangs out.” 

“Alright,” Dorian nodded, beginning to depart with Fifi and Sucho as AZ watched.  

“What a dutiful young man,” he stroked his chin. As he watched Dorian leave, he saw the large MZ logo sewn into the back of his coat, though it was of a teal and white coloration, rather than the green and pink one he often saw. He wondered why he had chosen that for his clothes, but he wasn’t bothered to push. “Let’s head back inside Floette,” he told his fae companion, the tinkling voice of the Pokemon emitting as she floated with him. Feeling a chill down her back, she turned for a second, only to see there was nothing there. 

“Something wrong Flo?” he asked, the small Fairy shaking her head, as the two continued inside and closed the door.  

Heading towards where AZ had directed him, a back alley around Wild Zone 2, Dorian spotted who appeared to be Lida from a distance. Tilting his head to get a closer look, it appeared she was practicing her dance moves, teaching them to the Staryu in front of her, who attempted to do a cartwheel with its stubby legs. Dorian, however, flushed awfully as he realised Lida had relieved herself of her large blue hoodie, which was neatly placed on a nearby bench. Though he failed to notice it when he first met her, she was wearing a white shirt with the image of an orange Staryu decorating the front, with the top of the shirt that was supposed to cover her clavicle being see-through, just enough skin showing that it made Dorian’s blush worsen, and was that a choker- 

Dorian shook his head, dispelling whatever the hell his brain decided to land on, he couldn’t think of her like that, she was his friend! His. Friend! Remembering what he was here for, he headed over, the satchel in his pocket as the little Staryu cried upon seeing him, Lida turning around to see her friend. 

“Dorian? What’re you doing here?” she asked, Dorian’s blush having fortunately faded off as he pulled out the pouch. 

“Here, you forgot your things-” he handed the bag over, Lida gawping before grinning in appreciation. 

“Aww, you brought my things! I was wondering where I left them!” she took the satchel, Dorian letting slip a brief flash of red on his face as he twisted one of the little tufts of hair sticking off his head.  

“Well how could I refuse?” he spoke. “You and the rest of Team MZ have been nothing but nice to me.” 

“Guess I can’t argue with that,” Lida nodded. “You kinda remind me of Taunie! Like you two both always jump to help others.” 

“Wouldn’t go that far,” Dorian responded. “Just doing what needs to be done.” 

Lida opened her mouth, as if to speak once more, but closed it, turning back to her Staryu and kneeling to pet it. “Hey, you know what,” she spoke, “let’s have a battle, let Staryu kick back its legs a little,” she said, Dorian a little amused by the idea.  

“Okay then!” he nodded, though he peered at the short digits of the Starfish Pokemon, its red gem flickering as if to suggest blinking. “Don’t know about it kicking though. Aren’t Staryu more Special-Attack based?” 

“Oh! Did you know? Starmie was discovered to have a Mega with Pure Power, and it gets extra-long legs for fighting!” Dorian felt a little repulsed by the alien Pokemon walking. Perhaps he’d draw up one in his sketchbook later. He had been seeing an overload of posts online joking about ‘legs’, but he just assumed it was business as normal. 

“Alright,” Dorian spoke carefully, nervous as to when he’d inevitably encounter one. He had spotted Staryu roaming the Wild Zone 2 at night after all. “Let’s get ready then,” he distanced himself, deciding to bring out Fifi to train her on type weaknesses. He also felt a little bad; he was 10 levels over Lida, after all.  

“Alright Clauncher, let’s go!” Lida began, having recalled Staryu to save for later. The shrimp Pokemon belted out a squeal, before charging up its pincer as Lida called out. “Bubble Beam!” The familiar-by-now blast of bubbles fired towards the large fox, but thanks to her training with Sucho, the blast only grazed her. Still, it was an impressive amount of bubbles from such a small ‘mon.  

Ordering a Psyshock, the Delphox held its branch out like a wand and commanded a strike, psychic energy piercing the crustacean as it fainted. A little shocked from the damage, Lida shook her head, as she ordered her next ‘mon, a cute little Vanillite, to come out.  

Huh, that’s a pretty neat add, Dorian thought, as he kept Fifi in. Any people trying to spam Grass Types at her would be in for quite the shock. Deciding to use a Light Screen for the heck of it, Dorian called out the command, but was upended when Lida yelled out “Taunt!” the Vanillite baiting Fifi with its seemingly delicious ice cone, the fox forgetting she was in a battle and diving in for a lick, but the spritely Ice Cone Pokemon darted out, causing her to lick thin air and trip over her furry dress.  

Growling in annoyance, Fifi glared at the little Snow ‘mon. A flash of resolve in her eyes, she nodded to her owner as she decided to use the other move Alistair had taught her.  

“Shadow Ball!” Dorian fired, the Fire Fox Pokemon generating a massive accumulation of ghostly energy, the orb pulsing as it flew towards the Vanillite, who was half-struck by the attack and just managed to get out an Icy Wind, slowing Fifi’s movements as she attempted to shake off the rapidly forming ice crystals on her fur. Now was her time. Bringing the branch to her mouth, she blew, the fire from her own mouth merging with the branch’s and morphing into a massive Heat Wave, devouring the Vanillitie in its warmth as it fainted. It did put up a good fight, however.  

Doing her little jig as she warmed up for her last Pokemon, Lida tossed out Staryu, the Star Pokemon giving a little show of intimidation despite its diminutive stature. 

Dorian felt one of the other Pokeballs in his satchel shake. Looks like he wanted to come out.  

“Alright Applin, let’s go!” he yelled, throwing out the small wyrm from its ball as its lime-green eyes beadily stared at the enigma of a creature in front of it. The Staryu was rather curious to the disguised Dragon, which couldn’t seem to sit still, rolling about and retreating randomly into its apple shell. “Guess he’s excited to meet you,” Dorian grinned, Lida returning the sentiment as she motioned an order.  

The Staryu opted to use a Water Gun, the small blast of water launching at the small Pokemon, though it didn’t do much on account of being four-times resistant. Shaking it off, the Applin leapt forth. 

“Pounce, go!” Dorian commanded, Applin cloaked in a greenish energy before landing onto the Staryu, throwing it off balance as it struggled to regain its footing.  

Letting loose another attack, Dorian yelled, “Sucker Punch!” The egg move did help as a surprise attack, but it failed, Dorian looking to see Lida had told her ace to use Confuse Ray, the Ghostly orbs of the attack dazing the Applin as it spun around in confusion.  

“Little bit of utility I see!” Dorian smirked, Lida balling her hands into fists as she smiled back. 

“Taunie’s been giving me a few tips!” The girl gave a twirl, the Staryu following her movements as Applin struggled to keep up, its already dazed state not being helped by the revolving pattern of Lida’s movements. Dorian got a little too enamoured himself, gazing in wonder as the girl almost began to break out into a full dance routine.  

“Whaddya think of our style, huh Dor?” Lida’s mouth upturned as she got Applin right where she wanted it. “Tackle, go!” she gestured, the Staryu launching itself towards Applin as Dorian found himself in a shock panic, yelling for Applin to do a Rollout. 

Regaining some of its focus, the Applin charged up, throwing itself into the Staryu while kicking up the turf around it, the two ‘mons colliding as a small dust cloud went up. 

Covering their eyes to shield them from the attack, the two warily glanced to their partners, Applin and Staryu, now knocked out and laid bare on the pavement.  

“Huh, you put up quite the fight there!” Dorian beamed, a despondent Lida perking up at the praise. 

“Really? But I lost-” 

“What matters if you lost? You had quite the technique there, I’d say,” Dorian noted. “Your dance moves were amazing, not to mention they managed to trounce Berrylisk.” 

“You think so?” Lida asked, a hand on her hip. She did feel a little sour about her dance skills lately; ever since she lost her apartment and couldn’t get employed to an agency she did it more so in her spare time.  

“Heck yeah! Unfortunately for me I’ve got two left feet, so there’s something you can do that I can’t.” Lida felt a warm pride in that. “Hang on, let me just heal your Pokemon,” he pulled out some revives, handing them to Lida as her team was restored. 

Dorian felt a little uncharacteristically bold. Maybe it was the hype from the battle, or the fact that Lida was still not wearing her hoodie, but he decided to ask her something.  

“Hey, if you’re free later, um, would you like me to go out with you to buy some battle stuff?” he asked, a little meek as he looked down a little and twisted one of the locks of hair sticking out of his head. “Maybe just a few TMs and what-not.” However, before he could get an answer, Lida looking a little pink all of a sudden, though it was probably just from having just finished her dance, their Rotom phones flew out, Taunie’s face appearing on them as she waved. 

“Hey guys! I’m at Cafe Nouveau with Naveen right now,” she explained. “We’re gonna plan Dorian’s battle with Cannoli,” Naveen’s voice yelling from the background, ‘It’s Canari!’, Taunie looking behind her before continuing, “Meet us there!” before hanging up the call.  

“Does she always get this streamer’s name wrong?” Dorian inquired, Lida shaking her head in defeat. 

“Always; can’t figure out why though.” 

Dorian pursed his lips at that, however his and Lida’s Rotom phones dinged, indicating their destination of the food truck, and Lida seemed in quite the hurry to leave. 

“C’mon let’s go!” she cried, rushing off with haste, Staryu’s little legs carrying it as it cartwheeled after her. Dorian grinned and began to follow, but as the two headed over, he realised Lida hadn’t given him an answer. 

- 

“Who even is this Canari?” Arven whined, having been forced to hear his surprisingly enthusiastic friend’s ramblings about ‘meeting the famed streamer’ in Lumiose as the group departed from the station. Crispin holding his frying pan on his shoulder, though he flushed when Lacey gushed over the cuteness of the several Flabebe attending to the flowers in the area, while Drayton was strutting out of Gare de Lumiose with way-too laid-back of an attitude, Carmine gawping as she saw Prism Tower in the distance.  

Penny held a look of entire appalment on her face, before breaking into a tirade as she regaled the profile of the streamer to him. 

“She’s a keyboard sensation, a picture in her electric-themed streetwear, who slings cutting commentary as she crushes the latest games on the-” 

“Yeah we get it Pens, she’s your type, so what?” Arven groaned, Penny gritting her teeth as she flushed, before yelling defensively. 

“I'M NOT ONE OF THOSE ONLINE FREAKS ARV!” she cried, the dirty-blonde boy recoiling from her sudden outburst. Seldom did the Galarian ever yell, let alone at him, in public. “She’s just, inspiring! That’s all. Not to mention she’s getting more popular by the minute. Even Iono’s taken notice!” she spoke passionately, recalling one of the Paldean’s latest streams where she decided to react to whom she called ‘Iono-lite’, prompting a rather feisty exchange between the two on social media that was resolved with an agreement to collab. Unfortunately, they had arrived in Lumiose a few weeks before Iono was scheduled to arrive, but she still got the BTS tickets to her Quiz Whiz! The waiting plushie at the bottom of her travel bag was going to be signed, mark her words.  

“Well, what’re we waiting for amigos!” Nemona yelled gaily, drawing eyes to the rather large group as she charged through the plaza, catching more looks as the streets of the city were graced with another slew of region-famous individuals. Some were gaping, others sweating nervously as they just knew they were doomed to encounter the green-streaked woman some point in a Battle Zone. They could only pray they would be shown mercy. 

“Seems like Nemona’s gonna add some more fine additions to her ‘Survivor’s Club,” Carmine clenched her teeth in futility as she watched the girl run to and fro between shops, evidently searching for where the battle items were sold.  

“At least it’ll take the heat off us,” Drayton flashed a grin. They were here to relax, and even if he couldn’t bring over his beloved chair, he still would enjoy the several cafes dotting the landscape. Bringing out his phone, he checked the map for where Juliana and Kieran were supposed to meet up; their luggage had been picked up by chauffeurs and sent to the hotel to be placed in their rooms, so aside from their travel bags and Penny’s Canari merch, they could just skip having to head to the hotel. Carmine nodded with relief, as his phone dinged to indicate their rendevous at Racine Construction.  

“Alright Pen, looks like your meet up with your streamer idol is first on our list,” he reached into his satchel, pulling out a Pokeball, “so let’s head there now!” launching it forth to release the Dragonite inside, hopping onto his back and pulling Carmine up with him.  

Nemona in tandem sent forth a Corviknight she had nabbed from a trip in Galar, Arven hitching onto it as Penny carefully mounted its nape, the steel-feather bird twittering deeply as Lacey looked up.  

“And how are we gonna get there?” Lacey huffed, her Southern Unovan drawl sneaking out as Amarys sent out her Metagross, sitting neatly on its back as it hovered above the ground. Her question was answered, however, when a Charizard of all things showed up from above a building, flying towards the group before perching on the ground, seemingly waiting for Crispin and Lacey to hop on while it held a note in its mouth.  

Taking it out, the corners slightly singed, Crispin read the note. “Here’s a ride, nephew. Just tell him where you need to go,” Crispin waded through the note. Huh. Looks like his uncle was quite informed about his lack of a flyer on his team.  

“You have an uncle here?” Lacey pepped up, peering over to read the note, which also seemed to have a minor coffee stain on one end.  

“Yeah,” Crispin drew out his words, tucking the note into his pocket as he pulled himself onto the large lizard’s scaled back, wings folding so to help him up. “Care to join?” he added a little chivalrously, his hand out for Lacey to take as her face momentarily took on a tint similar to her hair. Grasping it, the two sat on the Charizard as it flapped its wings, a determined look on its face as the others readied to go.  

“Right then,” Drayton spoke, spurring his Dragonite to turn in the direction of where Juliana and Kieran were, “to the Electric Substation we go!” the Dragonite soaring into the air as it flew over the buildings, the viewers of the plaza watching in shock as the group took off, the silhouettes of the young adults vanishing over the horizon as they wondered what could possibly befall their city now.  

- 

“There you guys are!” Taunie smiled, having taken a seat in an open booth with Naveen as Dorian and Lida approached. Allowing the two to take a seat next to one another, Taunie nodded to Naveen, who began informing them about the deal with Canari. 

“Right, so she hosts her Quizzes here,” he pointed to a gated off enclosure on the map. “If you get all the answers right and you defeat anyone left in a battle you get the right to ask her for anything, as long as it’s not too creepy, and, oh yes! There’s a password you need if you want to enter.” 

“Okay, so I’m guessing the plan is I go in there, win, and ask her for a promotion match?” 

“Yup,” Taunie nodded. “Though Navi here says she does her meets remotely, so we’ll have to move out once we win.” And get through the slew of fans, no doubt. 

“Got any Ground Types there Dor?” Lida asked the boy, who furrowed his brow as he looked over his team. 

“No... I do have an Applin who would be 4 times resistant to her Electric attacks though. I’d need to evolve him for any use to come out of it though.”  

“Who knows? We might run into Kieran later. I’m sure he’s got something for you, considering he’s got a Hydrapple,” Taunie suggested, having been told by Dorian of the Champion’s usage of the syrup-laden Dragon tearing it up in the Battle Zone.  

“Sounds like a plan,” Dorian noted. Though he hadn’t told the others, he had overheard Juliana talking about one of her friends wanting to attend the Quiz Whiz; perhaps the others would be with her then.  

“You three ready to go then?” Naveen asked. 

“Oh, is the Quiz happening soon?” Lida asked, an eyebrow raised. 

“Soon? More like NOW,” Naveen spoke, “The Quiz begins in another 10 minutes.” 

“Then we have to go now!” Taunie bolted out of her seat, dialling a taxi for the construction area. “We have to get ahead of the crowd, else we get sabotaged by some Canatic, or whatever they’re called.” The others got out and joined her, Dorian flicking through his Pokemon’s move sets in the meantime. This Canari lady best be prepared, ‘cause he was gonna win. No doubt. 

As a taxi flew down to the group, Dorian bundling in with the rest as they took off, ascending into the air as Prism Tower shadowed the group in the distance, the boy swore he could see a flying armada of trainers, armed with an array of Pokemon, making their way to the substation as well. Peering closer, one of the trainers seemed to be riding a Dragonite, but what was stranger was the two-toned woman sitting next to him, though her hair was a mix of black and a foreboding bright scarlet.  

Looks like they were gonna have company.