Work Text:
Kieran gazed at the amazing new item he got after arriving in Pasio.
A ‘Poryphone’ that every trainer who was summoned here to the artificial island got for free. He supposed it made sense since they had no idea where Pasio was located and that Lear guy he met before seemed to be rich beyond relief to finance and distribute those devices. Kieran couldn’t help but be amazed by the technological wonder he currently held in his hand. In fact, Pasio itself was a technological marvel. He thought Blueberry Academy was impressive when he enrolled there, but the island was of a whole other level in its terrain and scenery.
And the power of these sync stones that Pasio was famous for was even more incredible. Kieran had always been interested in learning more about the world, along with different types of items that unlocked the true potential of Pokemon. Though, getting sucked up by a Hoopa's ring and being thrown here all of a sudden was still a shock he needed time to recover from.
At least he wasn’t alone in having this experience. He knew Lacey and Carmine had undergone the same ordeal, but he was surprised to learn that Juliana, Nemona, Arven, and Penny had too.
Just thinking about Juliana’s name made him feel all warm and tingly inside. The way she smiled at him once they reunited, the support she gave him when he was questioning himself, and the days spent together to reconnect after they agreed to start over from zero were ones he would never forget. But while Kieran was happy to be here with his friends, he had a major issue on his hands. From what he gathered, Poryphones were pretty much essential to navigate daily life here in Pasio.
Not only could it allow you to communicate with other trainers here, but it even had a sync stone in it that allowed them to use Sync moves to your heart’s content. It was a miracle he and Carmine were able to master Sync Terastallization with the amount of effort they put into perfecting it. Not even someone as incredible as Juliana was able to do it, making it an art that was currently theirs and theirs alone.
Hold on. He was getting off topic. He still needed a solution to his current Poryphone problem.
The fact was Kieran had no idea to how use it.
At all.
All the apps and messages felt foreign when he looked at them. When he got the device for free, he initially was super excited to try it out. Now, it was getting to be overwhelming.
Sigh, he should’ve expected that to be honest. He never had a Rotom Phone to begin with while Carmine had gotten hers a few years ago. But while she let him use hers at times, it wasn’t like she ever showed him how to use all those apps she had. And Kieran wasn’t very technologically savvy based on how difficult it was for him to understand how to even use their home computer or the computer at the League Clubroom. Not to mention, Kieran was very old-fashioned when it came to methods of communicating with people, relying on writing letters and the like.
Maybe he could get some help from one of his friends. Ask them to teach him how to use the basics at the very least.
But who should he ask? Preferably someone he knew well.
He could ask Carmine to help him out. Considering how much she cared about his well-being despite her constant nagging and superior attitude towards him, she’d probably be willing to teach him at a heartbeat.
Although, Kieran figured she would either constantly scold him whenever he made the slightest mistake or lord her knowledge on how to use a Poryphone to prove how smarter she was as his older sister. Either that, or she’d be extremely snarky the entire time they were together.
Yeah…that would be a total nightmare, Kieran thought.
Maybe he could ask Lacey? She’d be happy to assist him like she did when they were at the academy. Although, Lacey was already helping him so much with catching him up with his studies when he took leave after resigning from the League Club. He’d feel bad for adding more to her plate.
Nemona, then?
Hmm. If he asked her, they’d probably battle non-stop all day. Even when he was in his ‘edgy’ phase, Nemona was on a whole other level in being dedicated to Pokemon battling. And Kieran was honestly afraid of having to deal with another dozen non-stop battles from the overenergetic girl.
He shuddered in fear just thinking about it.
Penny might be a good choice to teach him. She was good with technology, and she seemed like a decent instructor from learning about her experiences at Pasio Academy. But she must be really busy with her role as a substitute teacher, along with helping Lear with maintaining the artificial island’s functions.
Kieran supposed he could go to Arven for help. But he had some uncomfortable feelings about the boy. He was super close with Juliana, and even though they got along well during their trip to Kitakami, there were times when he felt threatened by his presence when it concerned the radiant girl.
That just left one person. Kieran wanted her to be his first choice, but could he really muster up the confidence to ask her for more after she’s helped him so much in his life?
Juliana was always so amazing and selfless. Always willing to help people out without a second thought. And she was extremely kind too. That kindness and her skills as a Pokemon trainer were the reasons why Kieran admired her in the first place.
And look what happened after. He considered her a traitor when Ogerpon chose her to be her trainer. Then, he decided he needed to surpass Juliana after his constant losses against her, forgoing his time and health to become the strongest. It was only when Juliana came to Blueberry Academy that he was able to snap out of his tyrannical self. She showed him that he didn’t need to rely on extremes to truly be ‘strong’, along with caring for him so much that she went to such lengths to reach him during the League Club challenge.
How could Kieran in good conscience keep asking her for help when she’s already been willing to help him even when he didn’t ask for it? Even when he treated her so coldly despite her treating him with such warmth.
Yet in his heart, Kieran yearned to be with Juliana. To bask in her presence like a flower that could fully bloom from the brilliant light she shined upon him. In the end, his struggling thoughts were shattered when the girl she was thinking about noticed him while she casually walking along the coastline.
Juliana gave him a cheerful smile. “Hey, Kieran! I didn’t think I’d see you here.”
“O-Oh. H-Hey, Juliana. I…didn’t think you’d be here either.” He managed to stutter out.
Oh, Arceus, he sounded so lame right now. That bright smile she was giving him was going to overwhelm him if she kept it up. But now that she was here, he might as well invoke the courage to ask her about his problem.
"I was just going for a walk around the island ehehe. Reminds me of when I travelled all over Paldea for the Treasure Hunt. Speaking of which, what are you doing here?" She cheerfully asked.
“I was just thinkin' about stuff. A problem I'm havin'. Actually u-um, Juliana? Could you…help me out with something?”
Don’t look nervous, Kieran. Just keep yourself together so Juliana doesn’t get freaked out.
“Sure! I’d love to help with whatever you need, Kieran!” She replied in a bubbly tone.
Wowzers! She really was like a Togekiss with how kind and quick she was to accept. His heart flared with even more warmth. Kieran mustered even more confidence to get his request through.
“It’s just that I’m tryin’ to learn how to use this Poryphone I got, but I’ve got no experience with smartphones in general…”
He hoped he didn’t sound stupid for struggling with something so simple.
But Juliana didn’t mock him or think his words were weird at all. She just kept up her cheerful smile as she gently put a hand on his shoulder.
“I totally get it. You never had a smartphone, so it makes sense that you’d find it hard to use your Poryphone. Honestly, it took some time to get used to using mine too.”
“Really?”
“Yeah! It’s so different from how Rotom Phones work with its different system and how they function that I had to put in a lot of effort to adapt to using a Poryphone.”
That was surprising. So even Juliana struggled with this kind of stuff too.
“Wowzers. Seems like this is gonna be a lot harder than I thought. Now I’m glad I asked you to help me out, Juliana. I’m lookin’ forward to learning from ya!”
“Leave it to me! I’ll do my best to teach you everything you need to know!” Juliana grinned.
The two trainers found a secluded spot by the shore to begin their lesson, making sure no trainer or Pokemon came along to distract them while they focused on the fundamentals of effective smartphone use.
It was just him and Juliana.
All alone.
Just the two of them in this quiet space where no one would bother them.
“Kieran, is something wrong?”
“Huh? N-No, it’s nothin’. I-I’m fine.”
Kieran was obviously not fine after thinking about being alone with the girl who brought so much light in his life. But he didn’t want to act awkward. Or even worse, seem like a creep while she was doing her best to support him.
Argh! Why did she have to be so dang cute and nice?! Those moments Carmine forced him to watch when she was enjoying her romance dramas were beginning to rise to the forefront of his currently love-muddled mind. He needed to get a grip.
Focus on something else. Not the adorable braid Juliana has. Or her sparkling eyes. Or the lavender scent coming from her. Or…Stop it!
Get a hold of yourself, Kieran!!!
Juliana became increasingly concerned. “If you’re not feeling well, we can do this another time.”
“No!” Kieran shouted, perhaps too loudly with how surprised Juliana looked. “I’ll be okay. I’m ready whenever you are. Please teach me everything you know.”
Juliana stared at him silently for a few moments, worrying Kieran that he had just messed things up between them like usual.
But the girl merely smiled at him in content. “All right. I’m not very good with explaining stuff in detail, but here’s what you need to do. Why don’t we start with exploring these apps?”
And so, Juliana slowly went through how to use each app with Kieran. Things like the map and Pokedex apps that were standard in all smartphones, along with other basic things like taking pictures with the camera. Ones that would’ve made things a lot easier for Kieran when he and Juliana were paired up during their school trip in Kitakami. If only he could've known how to use them so Juliana wasn't always the one doing all the work back then.
The violet-haired boy gained more insight on how they work thanks to Juliana’s easy-to-understand instructions. For someone who says she’s not good at explaining things, Juliana was pretty clear with telling him what to do in the simplest manner.
Maybe she was just being modest. Just another quality that Kieran admired about her.
Eventually they got to using the messenger app on his Poryphone. Kieran had never texted before since he never had a phone to begin with. But even he knew that the language used was way different than writing on paper. Juliana made that clear when she struggled to contain her laughter over the message Kieran sent her.
“W-Why are ya laughin’?” He nervously asked.
Did he do something wrong already? Aw man, that would really suck.
“Haha…Sorry, it’s just…people our age don’t really text like that.” Juliana responded, still trying to stifle her giggles.
“Wha? But I didn’t make any spellin’ mistakes or anythin’ like that.”
He checked his message to make sure.
Kieran: Thank you again for helping me, Juliana. I really appreciate everything you’ve done for me so far. I’m glad you’re here too. I look forward to learning more from you.”
“Yeah, but your message is so formal and stiff. No abbreviations at all. Not even a single emoji. Makes you sound like you’re 40 and not 14, y’know? N-Not that it’s a bad thing. It’s just different from how Nemona and the others text. Even Arven uses emojis a lot. He especially likes the fire one for some reason. I don't really get why to be honest.”
Come to think of it, Carmine did tend to abbreviate some of her words and spam certain emojis whenever he saw her texting Amarys or Lacey. He didn’t want seem uncool like how Juliana described him before, especially when he didn’t want his dearest friend to think of him like that.
He wanted to be amazing in her eyes too.
“Aw man. I didn’t think writin’ to others on a smartphone would be this complicated. Could ya show a few examples to me?”
“Sure! I’ve got some all lined up just for you ehehe.” She playfully responded.
Kieran didn’t like the mischievous gleam in her eye when she said that. Suddenly, his phone got a new message. One that sent his thoughts into overdrive over what it said.
Juliana: I ❤️ you Kieran!
Kieran: Did you just say you loved me??????
He couldn’t mash the question mark button enough over this new revelation. Did Juliana think about Kieran that way?
Juliana said nothing, letting her texts do the talking.
Juliana: Yeppers 😁
Idk
Could’ve said ily too lol
Kieran: Huh? I got the lol part, but ily? What does that mean?
Juliana: It means I love you
Or I like you ig
☺️
Kieran: What????????
Juliana: Wow
You really put a lotta question marks when you text
🤣🤣🤣
But it's kinda adorable
Kieran: I’m feeling so embarrassed right now.
Juliana: You should use this to show that yk
🫠
Kieran: Is that smiley face melting?
But I gotta admit, I’m getting more comfortable seeing them.
I wanna try them out too!
Juliana: 😮 😮 😮
Yay! ☺️
I wanna see
Kieran: Ok.
Give me one second.
They didn’t need to keep communicating this way, but Juliana looked like she was having a blast and Kieran admitted he was enjoying this too. Their lips continued to curl into enthusiastic smiles as they kept going.
Kieran: U r too cute Juliana ❤️❤️❤️
I want u to be mine.
Be mine forever
😍😍😍
Hehe. Two could play this game.
But instead of becoming flustered like Kieran thought Juliana would be, she merely gave a mischievous smile as she typed her response.
Uh oh.
Juliana: 😉😉😉
Sounds good to me 🎉🎉
Wanna have some fun?
I’ll show u a good time babe 😘
Kieran: Aw man. Seriously???
Kieran felt his cheeks burn bright red as he read those words. Not just his face, but his entire body was burning and tingling with excitement. He could see Juliana was amused with his reaction with how she tried stifling her giggles again.
Hmph! His friend could have a mean streak like his sister at times.
But even so, Kieran was happy Juliana was enjoying herself. Even if it was at his expense. It felt just like old times. And even though he was still getting the hang of it, Kieran was having a lot of fun messaging Juliana like this. It felt so casual that they could say whatever was on their minds while Kieran was learning more about the abbreviations and emojis Juliana was demonstrating to him.
She took the time and patience to make sure he was enjoying himself while they kept going, something Kieran was grateful for. She was still looking out for him. Still treating him like a friend even after everything that happened between them.
It made Kieran develop a yearning in his chest that just kept burning brighter with each passing second he was alone with the wonderful girl standing before him.
A feeling he wanted to keep experiencing forever as long as it was with her.
After learning a lot more about how his new smartphone worked thanks to Juliana’s unique tutelage, they decided to sit near the shore for a little break. His heart was still jumping for joy over how much the Paldean girl had done for him. Not just during today, but ever since they had first met.
Moments and memories between them that he would always treasure for as long as he lived.
Kieran turned to Juliana with a look of gratitude on his face. “Thanks for helpin’ me out today, Juliana. I’m really happy I got to spend this time with you. It was...a lotta fun.”
“Ehehe, I’m glad I could support you the best I could. I missed spending time with you like this. Being in completely different regions made things hard. But here we can hang out as much as we want!” Juliana happily replied.
“Yeah! You're right. This feels just like old times. Back when were paired up on the school trip, before I…”
Should he really be happy right now? After all the negative emotions he had towards Juliana, did he deserve her company?
But Juliana pressed her hand onto his with a serious expression. “That’s in the past. Didn’t you say we were going to start our friendship from zero?”
Kieran nodded, trying his best to reduce the blush growing from his cheeks because of Juliana’s soft hand caressing his with care.
“I don’t ever want to lose you again, Kieran. I want you to keep being a part of my life. As my friend, my rival, and someone I treasure deeply. So, let’s keep doing being together while we’re still here. Spending time with one another and having fun battles on this beautiful island.”
She was right. There was no need to keep clinging to the past. No need to focus on the guilt that’s gripped him ever since that day in Area Zero. Juliana had forgiven him and wished to move on with him by her side.
Kieran could press forward knowing he had a future to look forward to.
A future where he and Juliana could move foward together, side-by-side for as long as they continued living. Kieran pressed her other hand on top of hers, making her do the same. They leaned their heads towards each other’s, letting the calm breeze soothe the while they basked over their warmth they felt from the other’s touch.
“Thank you for bein’ my friend, Juliana.” Kieran chirped with joy.
Juliana couldn’t help but gaze at him with a loving smile. “Thank you for my being my friend too, Kieran. Let’s make sure we keep being friends forever and ever!”
No other words needed to be said while they continued enjoying each other’s company under the quiet calmness of Pasio’s shores.
Having walked onward from zero, Kieran had gained the ‘one’ to help him evolve and walk the path he wanted with her by his side.