Chapter Text
Life at Blueberry Academy was the same as ever. After spending a few months as an exchange student here, Juliana had come to see this school as a second home. And she had grown to love the awesome friends she had made during her stay here.
Well, she had already met two of them back during the school trip between Blueberry Academy and Uva Academy. There had been some memories she would have liked to forget, but overall, she had a fun time with them overall. Especially with a certain boy who she felt certain feelings for the first day they met.
That was why she wanted to help him so badly when they met again here at the academy. She cared about him too much to let him go down the dark path he was willing to sacrifice so much to achieve.
All because he wanted to be like her.
But in the end, he and Juliana were able to grow closer and stronger together. And all it took was a crystal turtle going berserk to do it, allowing them to team up to stop its rampage and have a special moment within the beautiful sunrise that Juliana would treasure for the rest of her life.
She was grateful that they were able to start over from zero. Perhaps even more than that from everything that had happened between them. Not to mention, the other crazy stuff that happened after they reunited. Juliana did not want to think about that right now, lest she had to deal with a certain peach’s whims. Even if she could understand its intentions.
Although, she really wished that he could keep her company right now…
Juliana was starting to wish she could’ve passed her club president duties to someone else right about now. Maybe she shouldn’t have won if it got her out of doing all of this.
For what she would give to have some Ember Roast right about now and just drink the day away doing nothing.
Good Arceus, she was starting to sound like Drayton…
Normally, she would’ve been happy to handle the League Club’s affairs with her fellow club members. Well, mainly with Amarys and Lacey considering Crispin wasn’t the best with administrative business, and Drayton was well…Drayton.
Though, the girls were busy with their matches, and they had their own duties to attend to, so Juliana wouldn’t complain about that. But the sheer amount of paperwork and challenges she had to deal with these past few days were seriously getting to her. Especially, when Director Cyrano had pushed some extra bit of work for her for some reason.
Seriously, why would he suddenly tell her to organize some big tournament without telling her all the details and keeping it so secretive?
Not that she could fully blame him when Juliana accepted at the time, never shying away from helping others when they needed it. Sometimes, she wondered if she were too spineless in saying ‘no’ like Carmine and Penny had told her in the past. That might have been a good lesson for her to learn before she risked her life down in Area Zero…twice.
Curse her bleeding heart that yearned to be a nice and caring person to everyone.
“Are you alright, Juliana? You’re lookin’ really stressed out.”
Juliana turned her eyes to see Kieran staring at her with a worried expression. His hair was put up like usual, exposing his violet highlights while that long strand of hair rested on his right side. Her heart felt calmer just looking at him as she gave him a bright grin.
“Sorry, I didn’t see you there. I was busy looking at all these documents that Director Cyrano had given me earlier. It’s honestly too much with how much he’s given me on a whim.”
“Yeah, I noticed when you didn’t answer all three times I called out to ya.” Kieran chuckled.
Juliana couldn’t help but give a sheepish grin as she scratched her head in embarrassment.
“Guess I’m working myself too hard like usual. I really have to work on breaking that habit.”
“I don’t think that’s a bad thing. If anything, that’s one of the things I love about ya, Juliana. It shows that you’re headstrong and willing to help out anyone in need. But I can go if you need space to work alone.” He remarked.
Juliana shook her head. “No, it’s fine. You can stay. In fact, you being here would make things easier. I could use the company after handling all this paperwork for the last few hours. Especially with everyone else being too busy today to stop by.”
“I’m always happy to keep you company, Juliana. Besides, I’m really hopin’ you’re gonna be okay. Last thing you want is to be like me and lose sleep from doin’ all this. It just made me really grouchy and a pain to talk to.”
Kieran kept pulling his hair with one hand while tapping his thigh in worry with his other hand. A trait that Juliana noticed early on when they met that made him look even more adorable. He was probably still guilty about what he had done back when he was Champion. But Juliana knew his intentions were pure deep down, and he was trying his best to make up for it.
Still, Carmine was right that it made him both edgy and cute, but Juliana was focused more than just the cute aspect of his look. It made Kieran look so gallant and confident, especially when his eyes sparkled during his battles. Challenging him was always one of the biggest highlights in her life for how he could always push her to her limits as a trainer, along with the burning passion they both exerted while their Pokemon clashed.
She was glad they could finally enjoy their time together just like those first few days.
“I’ll be okay. The League Club’s stuff has just been a lot recently. Some big tournament I’ve got to organize by my lonesome.” She answered back with fake tears to lighten the mood.
“I get it. When I was the BB League Champion, I had to deal with all that stuff too. Even when I was focused entirely on getting stronger, Lacey and Amarys still helped me out with handling club matters. Didn’t help that Drayton was an absolute Slakoth with his work no matter how much I yelled at him.”
“Ehehe. That sounds like Drayton all right. I’m surprised Carmine managed to put up with his attitude for so long without doing something to him that could get her suspended.” She playfully remarked.
Kieran chuckled with the same enthusiasm. “Knowin’ Sis, she’d probably thrash him or worse if she got the chance. Her hotheadedness helped me out at times, but it can be a major pain at times too. I wish she could just take a chill pill at times.”
“This probably isn’t the best time to say she’s right behind you.” Juliana said while pointing near the League Club’s door.
Kieran slowly turned back in absolute fear as shivers ran down his spine. “W-What?! I-I was just kiddin’! It’s not what it sounds like Sis, I swear!”
His fear amplified with each second trying to see if his sister had overheard his last comment, but there was no one. All he heard was Juliana’s snickers as she tried her best not to laugh with that cheshire grin she had going on.
“Aw man. Did you trick me, Juliana?”
She kept trying to stifle her giggles while she responded. “Sorry. I couldn’t help it ehehe. Your dorky reactions can be so cute.”
“You can be as mean as Sis sometimes, you know that? Made me forgot she was busy helpin’ Ms. Briar track some weird Terestal energy level spikes near Area Zero.” Kieran huffed with the most adorable pout Juliana had ever seen from him.
Hopefully Juliana wouldn’t have to do another excursion in that death trap. She had had enough of Area Zero’s wonders for one lifetime, thank you very much. She bet the whole Terapagos incident was a part of those spikes appearing now, despite having been resolved months ago.
Still, those expressions Kieran was making were ones she had missed seeing for a long time. Kieran looked so radiant now that they were able to see each other again on a more constant basis.
Ever since the whole battle with Terapagos had ended and Kieran had recovered enough of himself mentally to return to the academy, they had been making sure that they could as much alone time together. From relaxing at the Coastal Biome to having lunch dates at the cafeteria, and their rare outings at Castelia City, things were finally looking up between them in terms of their relationship.
And of course, the Pokemon battles they engaged in were even sweeter with the way they were both able to go all-out and have fun with each other’s company. The way his eyes sparkled whenever he brought out his Pokemon, and the way he took command with full confidence always brought a smile to Juliana’s face whenever they clashed.
That was all Juliana ever wanted when they decided to start over from ‘zero’ that day that she and Kieran talked during that brilliant sunset moment.
“You mean a lot to me, Kieran.”
“H-Huh? Where did that come from? N-Not that I’m sayin’ it’s bad, but I just wanna know why you’re… Aw man, I’m gettin’ my words mixed up.”
Ehehe. He was so easy to tease with how much he was blushing up a storm. But his kindness and dorky side was one of the many things that Juliana found charming about him.
“I mean, you’re helping me now while I was struggling with all this League Club work without me asking you to. I didn’t want you to burden yourself with my troubles, but you’re still supporting me even now.”
Kieran felt himself flush further as his body heated up. “I-It’s nothin’ really. You’ve been helpin’ me so much since we first met, so this is the least I can do for you. I owe you everythin’, Juliana. Because of the kindness and love you’ve given me, even when I was actin’ like I was when I was Champion, you still tried to reach for my hand. You never gave up on me until the very end.”
Juliana flashed him a starry smile. “Of course I did. I did everything I could to fix the bond between us after we met again. And we were able to persevere through all the challenges we faced to be together again. That’s why I want to keep spending time with you as much as I can. That’s why you mean so much to me!”
She softly brushed his hand. Kieran happily reciprocated in appreciation, their touch a reminder of the trials they overcame to reach to this point in their relationship.
One that they internally vowed would never let go for as long as they lived.
“By the way, what exactly is all this work?” Kieran asked. “You said Cyrano asked you to organize some tournament. But the data and materials are a lot different from the stuff I had to handle when I was Champion. Even the IDs I’m seein’ are unfamiliar to me.”
Juliana shrugged. “I’ve got no idea either. All I know is Director Cyrano asked me to handle this task to the best of my ability after pushing it to me at the last second. It’s…honestly kinda annoying how carefree he can be asking his students to act on him whims like this. No wonder Lacey crosses her arms a lot when talking to him.”
All she knew was that there was some sort of setup that was needed in a few weeks that were different from the League Club and Elite Four battles. That was literally it.
“Don’t worry. I’ll be here to keep helpin’ ya out for as long as you need it, Juliana!” Kieran cheerfully declared.
The extra pep in his step and fired-up attitude of his was extremely adorable. She couldn’t help but blush a little as she continued smiling warmly in gratitude.
“I’ll be counting on you! Thank goodness I can rely on you instead of Drayton. Seriously, I like him, but he is so flaky when it comes to responsibility. Four out of five trainers will not recommend him if he keeps this up.”
“You guys talkin’ about little ol’ me? Aww, glad to hear the Drayster’s always in your pretty little heads.”
Well, look what the Purrloin dragged in.
Juliana softly chuckled. “And what brings the Drayster here to grace us in the League Clubroom today? Everyone else is busy, but I thought you’d be too busy eating or napping to come here.”
“I swung by to take me daily nap after eating some delish food from the cafeteria.” Drayton answered back with his trademark smirk. “And to see how our tireless League Champion’s been doing after working so hard these past few hours.”
Kieran narrowed his eyes in exasperation. “Y’know, you could lessen Juliana’s burden by actually doing some work for the club.”
“But she’s already got Lacey and Amarys to help her out. All I’d do is get in the way if I actually tried bein’ responsible for all that stuff. I’m pretty much doing her a favour, ex-Champ.”
“Would you please stop callin’ me ‘ex-Champ’?!” Kieran shouted in growing anger. “It got old the first fifty times.”
“Aww, but it’s always fun getting under the skin, ex-Champ!” Drayton snickered. “You and Carmine always have the best reactions whenever you get mad haha!”
Juliana swore Kieran’s eyes became hollow with the sole intention of strangling Drayton then and there. Honestly, the dragon-type trainer could be a bit much with his interactions with the siblings that it was a miracle they hadn’t done anything to send him to the infirmary yet.
She might as well step in to prevent Kieran from getting any trouble, even if Drayton deserved every bit of his ire.
“Why don’t we get back on track?” She suggested. “I get the feeling there’s something else you want to talk to me about besides your usual lazy routine.”
Drayton's smile widened. “Oho. What makes you think that?”
“Because you’re always schemin’ about somethin’ or being all sketchy whenever you get the chance.” Kieran snarked.
“You wound me, ex-Champ! To think you’d think so lowly of me after everything we’ve been together.” Drayton remarked with the most flaky and exaggerated gestures Juliana had ever seen that caused Kieran to grit his teeth to keep himself from lunging at him.
If not for the fact that Drayton would probably pursue a career in Pokemon battling, he’d make a semi-decent actor at Pokestar Studios.
Drayton eventually got serious again after he was satisfied with stirring Kieran once more, turning to Juliana with another smirk.
“You wanted to know about the tournament you’re helping set up, right? Welp, I’m here to tell you that it’s a new battle tournament that’s happening in two weeks. It’s gonna be a special tourney sponsored by directors of Uva and Blueberry Academy where the best trainers selected duke it out to reach the top!”
New battle tournament? That was news to her. Maybe Drayton can be useful beyond scheming against people’s backs, as well-intentioned as they were.
She was definitely curious now.
“If it’s a joint tournament between both academies, how come I haven’t heard about this? I’m the League Club president, and I’m a student at Uva and Blueberry.” Juliana questioned.
“Because no one was supposed to know about it anyways. Not even you, dearest Jules.” Drayton shrugged. “I overheard Cyrano talking about it with your academy’s director. I’ve even got some special tea that’ll be delicious to spill if I feel like it. And I’m betting from the looks on your faces that you definitely do.”
“I feel like you’re going to tell us anyway, whether we asked or not.” Juliana snarked back.
Drayton retained his trademark smirk that Kieran so desperately wanted to punch out. “Hehe, maybeee? Well, I can tell you a little about what I know. Supposedly, it’s a large roster tournament where you get specially selected by the directors to participate. Students who’ve earned high achievements during their time here get an invite letter before it starts. I even heard that they agreed to grant the winner one wish if it’s within their power.”
Juliana’s eyes immediately sparkled. “Sounds like a lot of fun! I can’t wait to see what sorts of trainers will battle!”
Nemona’s battle-frenzy was getting to her, but Juliana didn’t care. Drayton merely looked at her attitude change with amusement before he continued.
“It’s not just students from our academies either. Take it from the Drayster, but I even heard there’ll be some big-shot trainers from another region participating. Apparently, they were ranked high in their own tournament, and some of them are even super famous. They even got the name for the tournament set up because of those guys. They’re callin’ it the Zen-Apex Indigo Royale.”
Weird name, but Juliana wouldn’t complain. It sounded pretty big and epic. Having the chance to battle trainers from other regions sounded even more exciting. Juliana was already getting pumped just hearing about it.
That begged the question.
“You said the people who get into the tournament are gonna get some sort of invite, right? Students who’ve gotten big achievements as trainers included?” Kieran questioned.
“Yeppers! You catch on quick for someone who was so reckless and edgy once upon a time, ex-Champ.”
Kieran decided for Juliana’s sake to let that comment slide.
“That means you’re definitely gonna get picked, Juliana. I mean, you’re the Blueberry Academy’s Champion and one of Paldea’s Champions! There’s no way they’d skip out on inviting a superstar and awesome trainer like you!” Kieran noted with great pride.
It made Juliana giggle. “I guess that’s true. But that also means you’ll be getting an invite too, Kieran. You were the former Champion of the League Club, after all. And you’re one of the strongest trainers that I know!”
“I think you mean ex-Champ, Juliana. But let’s hope little Kiki avoids crashing and burning again from a training binge so we don’t get a repeat of his edgy persona.” Drayton smirked.
“Do you want me to tell Carmine that you’ve been teasing Kieran again?” Juliana threatened, eyes dulling in shine just like Kieran and Carmine’s did when they were angry.
That got Drayton to heel like a slightly scared puppy. Even though he enjoyed bantering with the siblings, if Carmine got any sense that her little brother was dealing with his nonsense, Drayton knew he was going to get pounced by her like a mother Ursaring.
Juliana pulled out her smartphone to make the threat more convincing, making Drayton fall for it hook, line, and sinker as he made an excuse to nap at his dorm room instead.
Kieran pressed his hand over his mouth to suppress his giggles, but that didn’t do him any good once Juliana started laughing along over how flustered Drayton had gotten.
Served that bozo right for his laziness and playful teasing.
But thanks to Drayton’s information, Juliana figured out Cyrano was getting her and the BB Elite Four to help in organizing this huge tournament between their academies. Along with trainers from another region participating for the chance to win it all.
One where the winner could have any wish grant if it was within their power.
Juliana was happy with her life, aside from wanting to forget some of insanity she and her friends dealt with. As long as her friends and Pokemon were by her side, she didn’t need a wish. Still, it seemed fun to think about what she would want if she won.
Though, one specific wish was at the forefront of her mind as she gazed tenderly at the violet-haired boy who came to become a precious treasure to her.
“If you won the tournament, what would you wish for, Kieran?”
Kieran thought about it for a few moments before she answered. “It’s a secret.”
Juliana pouted. “What? That’s no fun.”
“Ehehe. I promise I’ll tell you if I win. What about you, Juliana?”
“Well, if you’re going to keep your wish a secret, I’m not telling you either.” Juliana replied, sticking her tongue out for maximum effect that made Kieran laugh.
“That’s fair. Still, I’m really wonderin’ what you’d want now. Wowzers, my heart’s poundin’ just thinkin’ about it!”
Juliana had to join in on their laughing session while her eyes flared with determination.
“If we do get invited and get the chance to battle against each other, let’s make sure we fight our hardest without regrets.” Juliana remarked.
Kieran nodded. “Definitely! Against you Juliana, I’m not gonna hold anythin’ back!”
They pushed their arms out to give each other a fist bump, a symbol for their promise when the time came for them to clash. Then, they spent the rest of the day finishing up Juliana’s club work while happily chatting with each other.
All smiles and hope plastered on their faces as their bond became even stronger.
The Zen-Apex Indigo Royale was about to begin in earnest, one that was sure to be of epic proportions for one trainer to reach the top.
With both academies and special stars competing in this all-star tournament, Juliana and Kieran were looking forward to showing what they could do.
And they would do it together, side-by-side and hand-in-hand.
Everywhere he looked, there was only darkness.
The hollow chill permeated on his skin as he tried to look for any sort of light. Anything to escape the seemingly endless void around him.
He kept moving, running to search for that possibility until finally, he came across a miraculous light. A light filled with swaths of colour merged so radiantly that he feared he would’ve been blinded by it if he kept going.
Still, it was better than being stuck within the darkness.
He ran as fast as his leg muscles could muster, heading closer and closer towards the swirling light until he could finally see a tall cliff in front of him from the other side.
His eyes flitted left and right to get a feel for his surroundings, his heart feeling a sense of familiar dread from that time.
When he finally grasped where he was, he realized that he was alone. Things had been hectic before and they had narrowly avoided major injury from that attack. Still, he expected that they would be with him before he suddenly found his world warped around him. All that followed was the eternal darkness he had seen before reaching this place.
And through it all, only two questions lingered in his mind.
Why am I here?
And where did everyone go?
While he continued standing in that fantastical space, the objects around him continually glowing with power, a broken tower from a nearby region continued to pulse its energy from the shadows. Its grip and influence lingered within the air around it.
For those heroes who fought so bravely to stop its onslaught, their new adventure was just beginning. One where their fates would be connected that they can’t escape from.