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Chapter Text

It had been only two days since that trip to Kitakami, and Florian already felt like he had enough. Nemona got on his back the first moment she could, asking him if he got any cool Pokémon while he was there, asking if he met any strong Trainers there, the usual Nemona things. But given what happened between the two siblings, he just couldn't be bothered to deal with her at the moment. Nemona surprisingly understood his plea to be left alone for a bit, but to her, a bit was just one day. Just when Florian decided he wanted to start training more to finish the rest of the gyms, Nemona spotted him and immediately started asking questions. Given that they weren't battle requests, he decided to humor her and told her about the Pokémon he found there (leaving Ogerpon out of the conversation due to not knowing how she would handle being around Nemona), the many different sights he saw, and, of course, the friend he made in Kieran.

Florian felt himself start trusting Nemona more and more as he talked about his field trip there, so he eventually cracked and decided to introduce her to Ogerpon. Needless to say, Nemona immediately started fawning over the Mask Pokémon, but of course, given how scared of humans she was, Ogerpon immediately jumped behind Florian, where she felt the most comfortable, donning her Teal Mask to hide. Florian explained Ogerpon's backstory, and how horribly she had been abused by the village of Kitakami. Nemona was very saddened to hear about this; and understandably became more cautious around Ogerpon, afraid of scaring the timid Grass-type. When she asked if she could battle Ogerpon, Florian was about to roll his eyes and tell her no, but thought about it longer. Ogerpon enjoyed the occasional friendly battle, and if Nemona battled Ogerpon, it could get her to open up more. He turned around and asked Ogerpon if she wanted to battle Nemona, and after giving her a quick glance, she nodded and pulled out her cudgel, drawing in the power of the Teal Mask. Florian Terastallized Ogerpon in that battle, of course; such a strange way of utilizing Terastallization just couldn't not be used in front of the battle queen herself. Understandably, Ogerpon lost against Nemona but didn't seem to mind the loss much. Nemona was just happy to have battled this new Pokémon of Florian's. It began to remind Florian of his true feelings, his inferiority complex spurred by multiple years' worth of bullying from people his age in Galar, and how Nemona only made that feeling worse, something he hid from her for fear of upsetting one of the only real friends he has. But after meeting Kieran, and feeling more confident in himself and his abilities, he decided it was time to open up to Nemona, too.

"Hey, Nemona?" Florian said calmly, looking Nemona in the eyes.

"What's up, Florian?" Nemona responded, looking back at him and smiling.

"C-Can I, um... can I talk with you about something?" he asked her, politely and quietly. Nemona's eyes widened a bit, probably seeing the almost upset look in her rival's eyes.

"Florian? What's wrong?" Nemona asked back, noticing his mood dampening a bit. Florian just sighed and sat down on the grass, motioning for her to do the same. Looking Nemona in the eyes, he started to vent his feelings.

"I... I can't keep this hidden from you forever," he started, getting her attention. Before she could ask what that meant, he continued. "Don't get me wrong, I definitely don't dislike you, you're still a great friend to me, but..." He paused, unsure of how he should word his feelings. "It's hard to explain, but... you make me feel things that... that I don't want to feel. N-Not good things, either." Nemona looked a blend of confused and shocked.

"W-What things? Did I do something to you?!" she asked, worried she might have said something that upset him. Florian shook his head and chuckled quietly.

"Not at all," he answered. "You didn't do anything to me, but... well, I guess it would be easier to explain if I just started from the beginning." He took a deep breath and began collecting his thoughts. "I'm not sure if I ever told you this, but I trained Pokémon back in my hometown of Galar," he started, catching Nemona's attention.

"That's cool and all, but what does that have to do with this?" Nemona asked him, genuinely curious.

"A lot, really," Florian answered. "I was actually really bad at battling, like really, REALLY bad. It was something people would pick on me for all the time, and no one really stood up for me. No one wanted to associate themselves with the loser who had only gotten one win in his entire life. It was like that for about four years before my mom finally found out about it and decided to move to Paldea, in hopes of getting me away from all that." Nemona felt upset hearing this, hearing how harshly her rival was treated before all this, and learning at least part of the reason why he always sounded so mopey about battling and Pokémon in general. But she nodded and listened attentively, wanting to let Florian get it off his chest. Seeing Nemona giving him a sign to continue, he sighed, not sure how she would be taking this next part. "But then I met you in front of your house, and after reluctantly picking my starter Pokémon, you immediately challenged me to a battle. When I beat you, it didn't feel like I won, it just felt like you were letting me win because you picked the starter Pokémon with a type disadvantage against mine. And then we met again, and battled again, and it always felt like you were exactly on my level those two times, like you just started out alongside me. I felt like I could relate to you in that sense; two people barely starting out, growing up together. But then I get to Uva Academy, and I find out that you're one of the only Champion-ranked Trainers in the entire academy. And while I'm happy for you... it felt almost crushing, to know that. To know that you were just holding back against me the entire time. It made every time I won against you feel sour, because I never felt like I earned that win. It felt like I was being humiliated again, thinking that you were just pitying me and letting me win every battle we fought because of how strong you really are." Nemona felt a sense of guilt start to show up, feeling awful that she made her coveted rival and friend feel this way, even though she never intended to make him feel that way.

"Florian, I... I'm so sorry..." Nemona apologized. "I-I wish you would've told me this sooner, I-I could've done something-"

"No, Nemona," Florian cut her off, shaking his head with a frustrated sigh. "If I had told you this sooner, you probably might've thought that I would be asking you not to hold back against me, and you would just completely destroy me, and make me feel even more humiliated. I just needed to keep these feelings to myself because I didn't want to upset you." Florian stopped for a bit to take a breath before thoughts of Kitakami came back, and he decided to open up about that, too. "But then there was also something that happened in Kitakami, something I left out for a reason. Remember that Kieran kid I told you about?" he asked rhetorically. "Well, there was one person I forgot to mention that was important to that story. He had a sister, named Carmine. She was rash, she was cocky, and she was a bit mean to Kieran... but she really cared about him. The first time I saw Ogerpon, it was with Carmine. When Kieran came over and asked what was going on, she immediately shut down my attempt to tell him and told him to buzz off, basically. And even when she explained why she didn't want me to tell him and made me promise not to tell him, I told him anyway. I lied to her in favor of Kieran, and everything went downhill from there. She started lashing out more and more, she started calling me really mean things; she called me a filthy outsider, and she even called me a manipulator who brainwashed Kieran into siding with me." Nemona looked absolutely appalled to hear this, she was probably wondering why anyone would say such terrible things to Florian. "She wanted to catch Ogerpon for herself, and after I thought we had reconciled, Ogerpon decided to go with me. But even when Kieran told me he was happy for me and Ogerpon, Carmine was furious. She tried to battle me to decide who got Ogerpon, outright ignoring Ogerpon's decision in favor of taking her for herself. I won, and caught Ogerpon, of course, but Carmine took things way worse than either me or Kieran thought." Florian was starting to get sad thinking about what happened. He started to cry a bit talking about things, although he tried to hold his tears back so Nemona wouldn't worry about him. "She... she had locked herself in her room the entire day and night after that happened; Kieran told me she wouldn't even come out for dinner. And when I had to leave back for Paldea, she didn't even come out to say goodbye to me. I-I hurt someone so much that they hate me now. I-I didn't mean to hurt her! I just wanted to look out for Kieran, but... but I took things too far!" he whimpered, on the verge of bursting into tears. Nemona, empathetic towards her friend, put her hands on Florian's shoulders gently.

"Florian, look at me," Nemona said, softly but firmly. Florian did as he was asked to, looking up into Nemona's eyes, or at least what he could see of them through his tears muddying his vision. Having Florian's full attention, she sighed softly and smiled. "I get it, you messed up, OK? And I know you think you messed up really badly, that it's all your fault. But you said it yourself, you were trying to look out for Kieran. You couldn't have known how Carmine would react. You can't be blamed for that, and you especially can't be blamed for catching Ogerpon, she wanted to go with you." Florian looked very unconvinced, but before he could open his mouth to speak, Nemona continued. "What happened happened, and as much as we want to go back and change what we did in the past, you can't change that," she said wisely. "There's no point in crying over spilled milk, you just have to know what you did wrong, and learn from it. I know it sounds hard to believe, given how hard you're taking this and especially coming from me of all people, but that was one of the things my parents taught me when I was younger, and that mentality has really helped me out in life. Instead of letting those thoughts consume you and bring you down, it's best if you use them as motivation; instead of wallowing in self-pity because of them, think of them as lessons to learn from. Don't take everything as a negative, try to make a positive out of them, OK? Can you do that for me?" Florian paused a bit, still looking into Nemona's eyes, thinking about what she said. Of course, it would be easy for her to say things like this, she didn't have to go through what he did. But she did have a good point: he really didn't have any cruel intentions, what happened was all a series of unfortunate coincidences taken the wrong way. He couldn't be faulted for what happened. "Hey," she said after a small pause. "If you want, Florian... after all of our classes, perhaps you might want to... take some private lessons with me? You know, just me tutoring you in battling. It might make you more confident in yourself, and will really help you no matter what path you decide to take later down the road." Florian felt his heart warm up. He never realized how much he missed Nemona until he heard those kind, reassuring words from her. And to offer him private tutoring lessons? He really didn't deserve someone as sweet as her. Nemona gasped in surprise as she suddenly felt a pair of warm arms wrap around her, seeing Florian snuggling up against her with a big smile on his face.

"Thank you so much, Nemona," Florian said, his voice shaking. "Thank you so much." Nemona grinned and returned Florian's embrace, feeling fuzzy. She felt warm seeing Florian like this, a side of him she never expected to see, one that was soft and vulnerable, but still very happy and capable of expressing himself instead of staying reclused and mostly silent.

"No problem, amiga," Nemona replied softly. The two sat there embracing each other, feeling like better friends than ever before. Florian couldn't wait to share this joy with Kieran the next time he saw him.

Chapter Text

The plane ride back to BB Academy was one of the longest of Carmine's entire life. Every passing moment felt slower and slower as time continued to flow. Even when she and Kieran got back to BB Academy, it still felt like minutes became as long as hours. The only thing comforting her was her need for more power and an unquenchable desire for revenge. Already, upon getting back, Carmine had gotten herself in trouble with the teachers many times for shouting, snapping back, and sometimes outright being verbally abusive toward students. Not even Kiki was spared from her ranting at times, something that caught the attention of many students all across the academy. Before, the only time she would ever get close to this aggressive was when she was protective of Kieran, whenever he would run to her asking for help, or running over to him to fend off the occasional bully. But now it was like he didn't even exist to her anymore.

Carmine never cared about anyone's criticisms of her. After all, they never went through what she did, how would they be able to understand her? No one would, and that was OK with her. The only thing that mattered right now was getting stronger. She needed to be much stronger. So strong, that the next time she ran into Florian, she would win.

Florian. That name filled her with a fiery vengeance, unlike anything she had ever faced before. How he lied to her, and went behind her back to endanger Kieran's life, all because he thought he knew him better than her. How he took advantage of her brother's meek demeanor to get whatever he wanted out of him, even if it was something as important to him as his lifelong dream. His manipulation had gone as far as turning Kieran against her, calling her efforts to keep him safe worthless and a waste of her time. And it worked because Florian was strong. He could do whatever he wanted to anyone he wanted because he was strong. All she had to do, then, was become stronger. She couldn't help but imagine the look of horror and defeat plastered onto his face as he watched his Pokémon collapse to the ground; the thought of watching him suffer made her all the more excited to keep training, to be able to prove her superiority. The first thing she had to do, was change her team.

She would need to think carefully about what team members she would use; she needed to make sure she countered Florian perfectly, to make sure he had no chance of ever winning. The first Pokémon she needed to worry about was Ogerpon, for sure. Watching Florian go toe-to-toe with Ogerpon at her full strength made her realize just how outclassed she really was. She needed to have at least one Pokémon that could shut Ogerpon down. She started considering her choices, but the amount of Pokémon in the Terarium that could do something meaningful was unfortunately rather limited. That was until she found a particular Pokémon being mentioned in passing. Supposedly, only the current Champion of the BB League Club, Drayton, had one. That Pokémon's name was Archaludon, and from what she heard, it had a fairly high Defense stat, perfect for dealing with Ogerpon's high Attack stat. Its type combination of Dragon/Steel almost perfectly dealt with all four of Ogerpon's masks, making it priority number one to add to her team.

After exploring around the Terarium for a bit, she came across a strange, metallic, tower-like Pokémon in the Polar Biome. According to her Pokédex, this was Duraludon, a Pokémon only found in the Galar region. The appearance matched that of a lesser Archaludon, so she knew for a fact she had the right Pokémon. All it would take now was to figure out how to get Archaludon for herself from there. It wouldn't be long before she heard about a Metal Alloy floating around somewhere, and that was when everything clicked. All it took was some cash and she was eventually able to obtain a Metal Alloy herself. Upon forcing it near Duraludon, it immediately evolved, becoming the second known Archaludon in years. She wondered how only that sleazeball Drayton had acquired one of these in all the years of BB Academy's existence, but eventually decided not to waste brainpower thinking about such useless things. The only thing that mattered to her now was training.

The only Pokémon on her original team she kept was her Sinistcha; even in her new, battle-focused state, Sinistcha was still special to her. It would also make for a great support Pokémon with its Hospitality Ability providing free healing for her injured teammates. As for the rest of her teammates, she searched the entirety of the Terarium high and low to find the perfect team, even going back to some of the Pokémon she caught in Kitakami to find anything that would help her win. She even wasted her time providing funds to expand the Terarium so that new Pokémon could start roaming around. Eventually, one species new to the Terarium caught her eye: Litten. A starter Pokémon from Alola, but what really caught her eye was one of its Abilities: Intimidate. In Double battles, Intimidate was really good, due to its effect working on both Pokémon on the opponent's side of the field. A free Attack drop, in combination with great support moves like Fake Out and Parting Shot, made Incineroar a no-brainer to add to her team. Next, she figured that she should take advantage of the Double battle format by using a form of weather. Given its natural synergy with Archaludon's Electro Shot, rain was a natural choice. Given that she had one from Kitakami, she evolved one of the many Poliwag she caught in Kitakami into a Politoed, who had the Hidden Ability Drizzle to set up the rain instantly. After Politoed was added, she decided to add a Pokémon that could take advantage of the rain set up by Politoed, and one that had natural strength. After thinking about it, she decided upon Dragonite, as it could learn Hurricane, which became even stronger thanks to its Flying typing boosting Hurricane to scary levels. But it also learned Thunder to hit most Rock and Steel types for neutral damage, which also never missed when rain was active. But Dragonite was ultimately chosen over a powerful Water-type for one reason: Extreme Speed. Being able to attack first regardless of Speed was crucial, which was only bolstered further by Dragonite's naturally high Attack stat. Ideally, her last Pokémon shouldn't be reliant on rain like Dragonite, but still be able to function while it was raining. After thinking over it, she decided on a rather hard-hitting Pokémon that would work no matter the circumstance: Porygon-Z, a Pokémon with a decent Speed stat, an enormous Special Attack stat, and a devastating Hyper Beam thanks to its Adaptability Ability making Normal-type moves on it even stronger. It could also boost its Special Attack even further with Nasty Plot should it be necessary, and given Sinistcha's support, it was likely that she would at least get one chance to use the move. With a strong team fully assembled, it was time to start becoming the top dog.

Her training regiments started off strong and became more intense as time progressed. Her Pokémon were starting to look unreasonably tired, barely capable of keeping themselves standing, only continuing to move out of fear of retaliation from their Trainer. It wouldn't be long before the luxuries of meals and sleeping would soon be stripped from them, too. She would constantly start shouting at them for not doing everything perfectly. She was starting to cut eating and sleeping from her day-to-day routine, all in an effort to get stronger. She started skipping classes altogether, threatening any teacher who tried to punish her with violence. Even when people tried to be nice to her, she quickly made it clear she wanted nothing to do with anyone. People started to be afraid of her, and she enjoyed that. She loved watching people cower underneath her, something that she would otherwise only take pleasure in if they really hurt Kieran before. People who passed by her started to wonder when she would start treating Kieran the same way.

Unfortunately for poor Kiki, his efforts to talk some sense into his older sister were always met with failure and rejection. She started seeing him as a burden, a waste of time and space, and although she never said that to his face, she would always tell him to leave her alone, lest she send her Pokémon out on him, which would always get him to back off. Spineless cowards like him shouldn't be allowed in BB Academy, as they do nothing but take up space that could otherwise be reserved for actually strong Trainers who deserve a spot.

Three weeks later, all of her training had started to pay off, as she was officially recognized as being able to challenge the BB League Elite Four and Champion. Within minutes, she had gotten registered and started to challenge every member of the Elite Four. Her first challenge would be the most recent addition to the Elite Four, a young boy named Cameron, a Normal-type Trainer. His trial was pathetically easy, just a run around a track, with the goal being to beat a certain time. Her body had gotten so used to being awake for unnatural periods of time that it seemed like her stamina was endless, although the more likely explanation was all the energy drinks she chugged to keep herself awake. Cameron himself was downright pathetic; it didn't even take more than two of her Pokémon to utterly crush him. She refused to take a commemorative photo with him and refused to even acknowledge the existence of such a waste of air. She decided to take on Crispin next, whose trial was basically just making him a sandwich. She would rip the ingredients out of the other Trainer's hands if it wouldn't cause Crispin to fail her immediately. Passing without much trouble, she extinguished Crispin's Fire-types with ease, although nowhere near as much ease as Cameron. She was still surprised how they let someone like him on the Elite Four. After shooting him a snide remark about his cooking being awful, she left, ready to get the rest of these stupid trials over with.

The next one she chose belonged to an old friend of hers: Amarys, a Steel-type user. Given the trial was based around flying through rings in the sky, she had to put the trial on hold to go out and catch a Pokémon that could carry her through the air. She eventually settled on a Skarmory she ended up catching and fighting it to obey her as she made it fly through the rings at speeds faster than it could deal with while carrying a passenger. The battle against Amarys was tougher than she would've thought, and that concerned her. If she was having trouble beating a member of the Elite Four, then there was no way she would ever be able to defeat Florian. With a bit of perseverance and a lot of brute force, she muscled her way through Amarys' Steel-types. But before she could leave, Amarys began to speak to her about her behavior, and how worried she was by this sudden change. Carmine almost laughed at her worry.

"You, worried about me? You emotionless android, what do you know about worry? You don't even know what emotions are, what would you know about me? Leave me alone and run off to your classes, maybe you'll be useful to someone there." Carmine turned around and walked away without so much as a second thought. That was the first day since coming to BB Academy that Amarys had ever cried.

Carmine had been saving Lacey for last, likely due to her weird fascination with "cute" things. Her trial was just as embarrassing, taking some quiz about some useless Pokémon that served no purpose in BB Academy. She was hardly able to keep herself from going off on her about her trial. After enduring the second-hand embarrassment from her trial, the battle against Lacey was a complete joke in comparison. Her team of Fairy-types was absolute cannon fodder for her Archaludon, who benefitted from her Pokémon's weak attacks by getting a constant stream of Defense boosts thanks to Archaludon's Stamina Ability. That, in combination with its Electro Shot move making it stronger and stronger with every use made quick work of her team; even Excadrill stood no chance after all the Defense boosts it gained. Before Lacey could send her off with a photo, Carmine finally decided to let her have it.

"This again? When will you idiots learn not to waste my time with stupid things like photos?!" she spat. "I can't believe you of all people are a member of the Elite Four! You're an embarrassment! Not just to your ragtag group of mess-ups, but especially to your family! Your father, Clay, would be embarrassed if he could see you right now! The daughter of the world-famous miner is a childish excuse of a teenager! What a joke!" Carmine walked off, hearing Lacey sobbing heavily behind her. Mere words would cause her to start crying like that? Pathetic. She really was pathetic. Whatever. Only one target left before her complete domination started. It was time to take on Drayton. It was time for her to take her rightful place on the top.

Drayton was the first time Carmine really experienced a challenge from any Trainer since coming back from Kitakami. Despite her new team and her new strategies, Dragon-types were still very strong, with most Pokémon on his team being fairly fast, and the ones who weren't that fast being sped up by his Flygon's Tailwind. It took a while, but eventually Carmine was able to best Drayton's team of dragons, earning her spot as Champion of the BB League Club. Despite being the first to topple a Champion in the many years since the League Club's creation, she felt no form of satisfaction from it. It was like any enjoyment she might have found battling before all but disappeared overnight. To her, a victory this big was just another Tuesday. Her thoughts (or lack thereof) were interrupted by Drayton walking up to her, a lazy smile and his hands behind his head.

"Well, well, well," he said, using his typical, happy-sounding voice. "Congratulations on becoming Champion, Carmine." Despite being complimented directly by Drayton himself, as well as the many audience members cheering her on, Carmine couldn't find it in her to care.

"Sure, sure, hope you enjoyed it while it lasted..." she started to walk away before turning her head to face him again.

"...ex-Champion."

Drayton's smile immediately faded, and the cheering stopped completely. No one could believe the kinds of things coming from her mouth. Carmine went from the girl who acted tough to hide a nicer side of her that she rarely let fully slip to becoming harsh and aggressive. As Carmine turned to face the audience, she swore she saw Kieran looking at her with fear in his eyes, scared to see the person that his older sister had become. She just gave Kieran a deranged grin, her eyes wide with a form of sadistic glee at the fear she could enact into people with her expressions alone.

The next few days that she was Champion were absolutely miserable for all the League Club members. Almost overnight, a club that was once a friendly, inviting place for people who loved Pokémon battles was turned into a toxic environment where only the strongest were accepted, and those she deemed weak were treated like outcasts, all while enjoying the control she had over these people. She couldn't wait to enact this kind of control over Florian, too.

Unbeknownst to her, someone was watching her from the shadows, planning on doing what needed to be done.

Chapter Text

Kieran couldn't help but worry about his sister after what happened in Kitakami. Ever since Florian caught Ogerpon, Carmine had become reclusive and harsh. He knew that his sister had anger issues, but this was ridiculous. Almost overnight, she had gone from aggressive towards people she didn't like or people who hurt him to almost verbally abusive towards anyone who happened to look at her. She also dedicated just about all of her time to training, only stopping to do homework or eat and sleep. It wouldn't be long until she stopped doing those as well. He began to worry himself sick about her, he was scared that eventually, she would end up working herself into an early grave. He tried encouraging her to take breaks, to get some sleep, and would also use some of his pocket money to buy her meals to eat, but she ignored him or told him to buzz off every time he tried to reason with her.

Kieran found training and studying Pokémon battling as an escape from the eternal worry that haunted him. There was a certain comfort he found in becoming stronger and forming a stronger bond with his Pokémon than ever before. But unlike Carmine, he also knew his limits. He would still remember to take breaks between training periods, work on homework, eat his daily meals, and get a good night's sleep. During his training periods, he would always remember his adventures with Florian across Kitakami, how his perspective on the Paldean boy had been flipped upside down with one simple conversation. Florian was kind, and a bit timid and non-confrontational, but also strong and willing to help whenever he felt like it was needed. He wanted to be that kind of person. He wanted to be someone people could rely on for help; he wanted to be able to protect the people who protected him for so long. He wanted Florian to be proud of him the next time he saw him.

The first thing he decided on was what kind of team he was going to use. He considered many options, but while researching the different Pokémon he had access to at the moment, he came across something interesting from a particular Pokémon he had: Furret. Although Furret was most certainly a Pokémon that most Trainers would outright scoff at and dismiss at first glance, Kieran found potential in it. His reasoning? One move that no other Pokémon in the Terarium learned, one that, if utilized properly, would be a game changer for him: Follow Me. Given how most Trainers would likely choose to ignore Furret directly, instead choosing to target down the other, stronger, and more threatening Pokémon on his team, the ability to redirect damage toward Furret instead gave him a huge advantage. It was a big risk to take, as using Furret created a big opportunity cost; He was risking using Furret and avoiding using otherwise stronger, bulkier, or faster Pokémon in Furret's place, but he was willing to take that risk if it meant turning the tables using an otherwise near non-existent move. The next Pokémon he decided to add was his trusty Dipplin. Although it wasn't the best Pokémon battling-wise, lacking in just about every stat other than Defense, its Supersweet Syrup Ability lowering the evasiveness of both of his opponent's Pokémon made up for this, in his mind. Its signature move, Syrup Bomb, provided a Speed-lowering effect that could give his other stronger Pokémon a Speed advantage, and considering the effect was a lasting effect and not a single turn, the Speed drops would add up over time. Just like Furret, it was a risk to use Dipplin, but it was still a risk worth taking in his mind. Although he loved all of his other Pokémon, he figured that it would be better to rebuild his team and make new bonds with his new team members.

He decided that since his two current team members were fairly weak, he decided that he should use something much stronger. After some consideration, and a lot of searching and struggling in the Polar Biome, Kieran eventually got his third team member: Metagross. Not only had he seen Amarys use one, but Metagross also provided some benefits for his team that also took advantage of his first two team members: for starters, Metagross wasn't the fastest Pokémon out there, so having its opponents slowed down by Dipplin would provide a huge advantage, and Supersweet Syrup would make all of its attacks far more accurate and reliable. It also had access to the move Agility to boost its middling Speed without Dipplin's help, which would be even easier to set up with Furret's Follow Me. For his fourth team member, he decided to try and cover his team's type-based weaknesses. After studying and looking around the Terarium, he decided on one of the newer Pokémon to be added to the Terarium: Primarina. Although it was slow, it was fairly bulky and could take hits fairly well thanks to its Water/Fairy typing. It also provided something none of his other team members had: the ability to hit both opponents at once using Primarina's signature move, Sparkling Aria. Although it hit his ally Pokémon as well, Dipplin resisted Water-type attacks very well, and Furret and Metagross were capable of taking one or two. It helped that it also benefitted from Dipplin's Syrup Bomb like Metagross, although its lack of a Speed-boosting move meant it was more reliant on Dipplin. His next Pokémon would ideally synergize with his current team well, and after some more searching, he found one that would work, and one that he saw the current Champion using: Flygon. As a Ground-type, it could learn and benefit from Earthquake, which, just like Sparkling Aria, hit both opponents in a Double battle, as well as hitting his own Pokémon, But Flygon provided his team with one move that could easily turn a battle in his favor: Tailwind. Having all of his Pokémon's Speed doubled for four turns put him at a huge advantage, as it was a free Speed boost, without the need for Dipplin to be on the field. For his last member, he wanted something that could deal with a type that gave his team quite a bit of trouble, that being the Steel type. After some looking around, and watching some sparring matches between members of the Elite Four, he decided on something he saw Crispin using: Blaziken. Although it took a while to find a Torchic with its Hidden Ability, he eventually found one and added it to his team. Blaziken was not only strong, but naturally fast as well, and could get faster with its Hidden Ability Speed Boost. With the addition of Blaziken to his team, Kieran considered his new team complete. He decided to take a break to work on homework and go to sleep, then he would begin training tomorrow.

A few hours before nightfall that day, an announcement was made to let students know of a battle taking place for the title of Champion. Kieran was surprised, he had never seen the Champion fight outside of sparring matches with the rest of the Elite Four, so this would be a rare treat for sure. When he got outside into the bleachers, he was incredibly shocked to find that his sister was standing on the other side of the court. He felt a sense of pride in his sister; she had been training hard ever since coming back, so he hoped her training would pay off.

"Sure, sure, hope you enjoyed it while it lasted... ex-Champion." Almost instantly, Kieran's excitement and pride went out the window. His sister had become a completely different person. Her eyes were dull and nearly lifeless, her attitude became far worse than it ever had before, and it was like any enjoyment she might have found in battling before went out the window. Seeing her walking off with a deranged grin on her face scared him out of his mind, and he couldn't help but feel scared as he walked back to his dorm room. He couldn't sleep that night, the image of his sister's face and the cold, cruel voice she used to tell Drayton off made him unable to sleep. While he lay on his bed, trying to fall asleep, Kieran made a promise to himself: he would get stronger, stop his sister from getting her way, and hopefully get her to see the light again.

Over the next two weeks or so, Kieran was starting to see the fruits of his labor. He had gone from one of the bottom-ranked Trainers in the Academy to reaching the Top 10 of all the Trainers there. People were starting to congratulate him for his effort, and for the first time since Florian, he felt loved and cared for by people other than his sister. The difference was like night and day; people hated and feared his sister for her strength and attitude, while Kieran was appreciated and popular for being strong while still being the same goofy, lovable kid he was before. He felt like he was making Florian proud.

A few minutes after his rise into the Top 10, Kieran was approached by Lacey, one of the members of the Elite Four, and was offered the opportunity to challenge the Elite Four and potentially become the next Champion of the BB League Club. Seeing his sister running the club into the ground with her Champion title, he took the opportunity handed to him, determined to put a stop to her before she could cause irreparable damage. After getting him signed up, Kieran decided to wait until tomorrow to begin his challenge, using the time to think of a plan going forward and prepare himself mentally for his biggest challenge yet.

The first Elite Four member he decided to challenge was the newest member, the once Champion Drayton. His trial caught him off guard, as he wasn't expecting it to involve using only Pokémon from the Terarium, which meant he was going into the trial without Furret and Dipplin. Regardless of that, he made it through the trial while only two of his four Pokémon fainting. Fortunately for him, the battle against Drayton himself allowed challengers to use any of their Pokémon, not just ones caught in the Terarium. He expected to have some trouble given Drayton's previous position as Champion, but thanks to his training and planning, his team defeated Drayton's with 3 of his Pokémon left standing. Needless to say, Drayton was impressed.

"Look at you, buddy!" Drayton said happily. "It feels like just yesterday you went from one of the lowest to one of the highest ranking Trainers in the entire academy!"

"Ehehe... T-thanks, Drayton..." Kieran smiled, looking away with embarrassment and playing with one of his bangs with his right pointer finger, likely not expecting to be complimented like this. Drayton smiled even wider.

"You know something? You're actually the first person to win my TM that I just got! And thankfully, I have it on me this time!" Drayton handed him a dark blue TM, which he looked at with wonder. Despite it being as simple as a TM, it felt like a prize he earned. "It contains the move 'Dragon Cheer'," Drayton explained. "I'll leave you to find out what it does yourself," he chuckled. Kieran frowned in annoyance. Even while he was the Champion of the BB League Club, Drayton was very lazy, sometimes outright not doing any of the work he was required to do as Champion and leaving someone else to do it instead. Of course he would be too lazy to explain what a move did. Not like he expected much from him anyway. Kieran chuckled, laughing it off and thanking Drayton. "Hey, kid?" Drayton asked. "I'm really proud of you, you know that?" Kieran flinched, certainly not expecting that from Drayton. "I wish I could have battled you when I was still Champion. It would've been great to see you at the top, given how hard you worked, yet barely changed at all personality-wise. But, even if I can't do that now, I can still cheer you on. Go get 'em, champ." Drayton winked. Kieran felt a prickling feeling in his eyes as he nodded with a big grin, walking away, before crying tears of joy. It felt so wonderful to be loved, to be appreciated for who he was, instead of who he could have been. He internally promised Drayton he would make that wish become a reality. But first, it was time to experiment.

Kieran decided to teach Dragon Cheer to Dipplin. It didn't really have a lot of useful moves anyway, so the move was easy to fit onto Dipplin. He began experimenting with Dragon Cheer and discovered that it increased the critical hit ratio of his ally Pokémon on his side of the field. A boosted critical hit ratio was a terrifying thing to think about; any already hard hitter would be able to hit even harder than before, and critical hits ignored Defense and Special Defense boosts the opponent might have gained, or any Attack or Special Attack drops inflicted on the attacker. Pokémon who relied on Defense boosts, like users of the move Body Press, would be in for a big surprise when their Defense boosts were ignored by a critical hit. But as he was experimenting on the wild Pokémon in the Terarium, Dipplin started to glow white before a large burst of light started surrounding it.

"D-Dipplin... y-you..." Kieran started, unable to open his eyes from the blinding light. Eventually, the light settled down, and the white glow faded, revealing Dipplin... or rather, its changed appearance. The apple grew far larger than before, and the little dragon that was once used as the head that controlled seeing and attacking was replaced with a very long wyrm with a horn that had an apple pierced on top of it. Kieran ran up to the new, larger Dipplin, and the Pokémon turned to face him, its head reaching downward and sniffing him, before making a happy noise due to recognizing Kieran. Almost as if to show off, the new Pokémon let out a battle cry... before four more heads popped out of the apple, making Kieran yelp and jump back.

"Waaah! W-where did those c-come f-from?!" he shouted with fear before the Pokémon paused, realizing it scared its Trainer, slowly approaching Kieran with curiosity, before slowly withdrawing its four other heads and sniffing him again. All five heads let out a happy noise as the main head nuzzled against Kieran. Kieran couldn't help but grin at the sight of his partner's new form. Petting the Pokémon's main head, he looked it in the eyes with a wide grin that showed his happiness and pride in his Pokémon. "You're not Dipplin anymore, are you?" he said, knowing that this wasn't just a new form of Dipplin, but a new Pokémon entirely. "You need a new name; a name that fits you. How about... Hydrapple?" he asked the Pokémon. "Hydrapple" let out another happy cry with all five of its heads, before nuzzling Kieran with the main head again. "Ehehe... alright then! Hydrapple it is!" Kieran exclaimed with a closed-eyed grin. Nodding, he returned Hydrapple to its Poké Ball before nodding at it with pride and happiness, putting it away before walking back to his dorm room to take a well-deserved rest; he was going to need it before taking on the rest of the Elite Four and his sister. His confidence reached heights he could have only dreamed of before. He smiled as he went from a walk to a run to a full sprint, his excitement giving him more energy he needed to release.

Unbeknownst to him, someone had been watching that whole sequence from the shadows.

Chapter Text

The next day, Kieran prepared himself and his Pokémon to challenge the rest of the Elite Four. Kieran started with Crispin first, who, after he lost to Kieran, let him have the sandwich he made for the trial. Unfortunately, Kieran's mouth couldn't handle spice very well, but Crispin was very understanding, knowing that certain foods weren't for everyone. After taking the photo with Crispin, he thanked him for the sandwich and asked him if he could cook him a meal at some point, as there were parts of that sandwich he really enjoyed, and Crispin was a cook, after all. Crispin was very happy to oblige, feeling happy that someone like Kieran asked him to make something for him. Waving goodbye and smiling, Kieran held his head high as he proceeded to the next trial.

His next opponent was Lacey, who was more than happy to have Kieran as a challenger. Unlike Carmine, Kieran passed the trial with flying colors and felt himself enjoying the facts about the cute Pokémon that Lacey liked. Lacey was a decent challenge thanks to his team not being the best prepared for Fairy-types, and especially her Excadrill, who turned the tables on his Blaziken by Terastallizing into a Fairy type. Even with the disadvantage, Kieran managed to overcome Lacey through some clever thinking with the combination of Furret and Metagross, who alone were able to take out most of Lacey's team provided he positioned his Pokémon correctly. Kieran felt pride in himself for overcoming Lacey. She liked cute Pokémon, but her Pokémon were no joke, and could have very easily wiped Kieran's team were he not careful. Lacey felt happy to see Kieran not only becoming strong enough to challenge and defeat her but also staying the same lovable person he always was, a stark contrast to Carmine and her aggressive, near-violent temper. Taking a picture with Lacey, Kieran left with a very high morale. Only one more member to go, and he could challenge Carmine for her title.

The final member of the Elite Four was Amarys, a Steel-type user and one of Carmine's close friends. Her trial involved flying through some rings, something which his Yanmega was capable of flying through with ease. The problem was Kieran himself, who was not used to flying on a Pokémon and had a fear of heights. It took him three tries, but he was eventually able to pass Amarys' trial and challenge her. The battle against Amarys was his toughest yet. Steel-types were known for their defensive properties, and she was making good use of that, setting up Stealth Rock with her Skarmory and using Whirlwind to force his Pokémon to take damage from Stealth Rock. It was his closest battle yet, being forced to think and play around her Reuniclus' Trick Room, and positioning Blaziken to take down her more defensive Steel types that his other teammates couldn't cover. It took some planning, and clever thinking on the spot, but Kieran was able to overcome Amarys.

"Well done, Kieran," Amarys told him. "By defeating me, you have beaten all four of us and have earned the right to challenge the BB League Champion. If I may speak for a while," she said, pushing up her glasses. "I have been observing you since your arrival in the League Club. I've observed how you always saw yourself as an embarrassment, a disappointment to us all. But you still asked questions, you still asked us for help, and now, you've proven yourself to have earned your position in the Top 10. All of us in the Elite Four are very proud of you. You have clearly grown out of needing others to stand up for you, and you are capable of defending and standing up for yourself more often. Although your age, your appearance, and your demeanor have not changed, you have clearly grown." Kieran grinned widely, extremely happy to hear this from Amarys. He couldn't help but feel like the entire academy was on his side, that they were cheering him on, wanting him to be their Champion and not Carmine.

"I'll beat her, Amarys," he told her enthusiastically. "I promise I'll be your Champion, and I promise I'll make everyone proud!" For the first time since he had met her, he saw Amarys smile.

"I'll be cheering for you the whole time," she responded. "No matter what happens, you always have our support. I hope that, from the bottom of my heart, you know and understand that, Kieran." Kieran couldn't help but start crying tears of joy again. He waved goodbye to Amarys, running down the ramp and back to his dorm room, getting some sleep and preparing for the big day tomorrow.

Tomorrow was going to be a legendary moment for BB Academy. A Championship match was about to begin, and it was going to be one that would go down in history. A battle of the siblings, a showdown between Kieran and Carmine, once two siblings who stuck together like glue, now battling it out for the title of BB League Champion. Kieran was always known as a timid, meek boy who relied way too much on his sister due to his insecurity and lack of self-esteem. He was picked on for those issues, but most people stood up for him, not wanting him to be bullied. His sister might as well have been his bodyguard with how protective she was over him. But now Kieran felt like a totally different person, despite not changing his appearance or personality. He was able to stand up for himself more, he had slowly but surely risen the ranks as a Trainer and went from weak to strong, gaining the respect and love of many people for his combination of positive traits. There were rumors of him discovering a new species of Pokémon, which hadn't been done since Drayton discovered Archaludon a few years back. Some students were lucky enough to meet this new Pokémon of his, lovingly named Hydrapple. It made him even greater in the public eye, and it gave more people a reason to root for him. Carmine, on the other hand, was already a strong Trainer who took battling seriously and was already an Elite Four contender. To see her rise to the level of Champion was definitely expected at some point, but all of the issues people had with her, minus her overprotective qualities, were amplified to unseen levels in the past two weeks. She had gone from a hardhead who took a while to reveal her true self to others, to a downright bully who got her way through force and intimidation alone. To have her running the entire League Club was dangerous, and many people wanted her out. Now, there was someone people could root for, someone who had a chance to take down the big bad woman who had begun tormenting them all. As Kieran stood across from Carmine, who looked at him with those same, cold, dull, lifeless yellow eyes as she did everyone else, he couldn't help but feel afraid. But he shook it off. Now wasn't the time to be afraid. Now was the time to put all of his hard work to the test. It was time to finally overcome his sister. With everyone's support and encouragement, there was no way he could lose.

Kieran watched with horror as Hydrapple's crystalline, red, fist-shaped crown cracked, and then shattered as Hydrapple fainted, collapsing in defeat. Carmine's Archaludon's pink, heart-shaped crown fizzled out, returning the sky to its normal blue color. Kieran had lost. Carmine was just on a different level of strength; her Pokémon attacked hard and fast, unbelievably tired from excessive exercise, but driven forward through fear and adrenaline. Her Pokémon's attacks were brutal, commonly sending his Pokémon flying back, hitting the ground or the walls hard. Even his Hydrapple didn't make much of a difference, as it seemed like Carmine was really prepared for anything. Her brute strength and extremely aggressive Pokémon overcame him. Kieran fell to his knees, utterly defeated. He had let everyone down. No one was cheering for Carmine, though. They were in complete shock at the way she battled, so harsh and unforgiving toward the little brother she once cherished and protected. Kieran heard slow footsteps approaching him before a hand tilted his head upwards to face Carmine dead on.

"Look at you," Carmine sneered. "You pathetic, shriveling whelp. I raised you better than this, Kieran. I thought you wanted to be strong. I thought you wanted to rely on yourself more. Well, look where that got you," she spat, scaring Kieran. She seemed completely unfazed by his fear and continued. "Wasn't this the same boy who looked up to and worshipped that outsider? That liar, manipulator, thief? What was his name again? Oh... that's right... Florian." The way she said Florian's name was filled with disgust, contempt, vengeance, even. She said his name like he was truly the lowest scum in history. "You're a disappointment to him. You're a disappointment to Gran and Gramps. You're a disappointment to me. You're a disappointment to all of BB Academy." Kieran was hardly listening anymore, completely paralyzed with fear and sadness at the horrible words Carmine was saying to him. How could this be his sister? His sister, who once loved and cared for him, was saying all of these terrible things, treating him like an outcast. But what she said next shattered everyone in the arena.

"Someone like you shouldn't be called a BB League Club member. As my first real action as BB League Champion, I, Carmine, hereby banish you from the League Club."

Everyone's jaws dropped at what she said. She was actually kicking someone out of the League Club... for losing to her?! Her brother?! This had to be a joke, right? She wasn't serious, right?!

"That's more than enough, Carmine!" Lacey shouted, running up to her. "Kicking Kieran out like this, that's just not right!" she said angrily, crossing her arms in an X-position.

"What's the big deal, Carmine?!" Crispin shouted. "You can't just kick someone out of the League Club! Especially if all they did was lose to you!"

"You are making this a far bigger deal than it has any right to be, Carmine," Amarys spoke up, with a hint of anger in her usually monotone voice. "Kieran is still a League Club member; him losing to you does not give you the right to kick him out, and it is clearly against one of the rules of the League Club for a Champion to do so!"

"You're crazy, you know that?" Drayton spat. "You should be ashamed of yourself, for treating your brother like this. What did he do to deserve being beaten down on like that?! And now you're just rubbing salt in the wound by kicking him out?! We're not gonna let you do this!"

"Oh really?" Carmine told them, turning her head slowly to look at all four of the Elite Four's angry faces. "That's cute, thinking you can tell me what to do. I am your Champion, and you will follow my orders, no matter what they may be. None of you come close to being able to stop me from doing whatever I feel like doing, so suck it up and follow my rules. Or maybe I should replace all of you with more... suitable Trainers?" she said cruelly. The other Elite Four members were beyond appalled at Carmine's harsh words. The Champion couldn't just do whatever they wanted because they were the Champion. Just like the Champion of a region, the BB League Club Champion was meant to lead and protect the other members and make decisions that would benefit the club and its members. Carmine was spitting in the face of everything the club stood for, and everyone in the audience was utterly terrified at what Carmine had become. As she summoned and hopped on her Dragonite to fly back to the Terarium and train, Kieran stood up and sprinted back to his dorm room, sobbing heavily.

"Kieran, wait!" Lacey called to him, but he didn't listen.

Kieran spent the rest of the day and night sobbing over Carmine's harsh words. Many people attempted to knock on his door and tried to provide him with some comfort, as no one else wanted to see him suffering, but he just didn't answer them. They didn't deserve a disappointment like him. He had failed all of them. He failed Lacey, he failed Crispin, he failed Amarys, he failed Drayton, he failed the League Club, but most importantly, he failed Florian. All of his hard work, his training, hadn't paid off at all. He was still just too weak. He didn't have the energy or motivation to do anything else, so he just sobbed himself to sleep, wondering where everything went wrong.

The next morning, those horrible feelings were still there, still lingering in the back of his mind. He felt just a small amount of gratitude that he had many people supporting him, asking him if he was okay, telling him that they were there for him if he needed them. But he wanted to be there for them, not the other way around. He hated to admit it, after everything he went through, but he just couldn't save Carmine alone. He needed help. He needed someone capable of knocking some sense into her.

And that was when he had heard Director Cyrano himself talking to someone as he was walking down one of the hallways. He wouldn't care, normally, but what the Director said got his hopes back up completely. The Director mentioned something about an exchange program or something where one student from another academy would be sent to Blueberry to take part in there for about a month or so, while a student from BB Academy would be sent there to do the same thing. When he figured out that the other academy mentioned was Blueberry's sister academy, Uva, he immediately knew what he had to do. After his classes were over, he made his way down to the Director's office, knocking on the door to let him know of his presence.

"Hello? You can come in," the Director shouted. Kieran slowly opened the door, looking the Director in the eyes nervously and waving. "Ah, Kieran, my boy! What can I do for you today?"

"Hi, D-Director. I-I'd like to put in a good word for an exchange student from Uva."

Chapter Text

Florian had been through a lot ever since the trip to Kitakami. After having faced three murderous, giant beasts that hunted down his greatest ally, not much surprised him anymore. Ogerpon breezed through most of the Gyms with only some trouble, but Florian always made sure that the rest of his team got some action so that he didn't have to rely on Ogerpon entirely. That mentality would serve him greatly in what would be his biggest challenge yet: Area Zero. He was just grateful he had his team and the three friends he made along the way to help him during his adventure: he probably wouldn't have been able to leave his journey still sane if it weren't for them. He had almost died in Area Zero, alongside his three friends, when the Paradise Protection Protocol activated outside of the AI Professor's control. Miraidon, the Pokémon he had rescued on that beach in Cabo Poco, had gained its full power back and became a Pokémon Florian could use if he wanted to.

In hopes of taking the group's mind off the event and wanting everyone to have fun, Nemona had suggested the creation of a tournament run by the faculty and staff of Uva Academy, aptly named "Academy Ace Tournament" by Nemona, much to Arven's dismay. After being sent by Geeta to inspect the gyms at her request, she used the free time to assist the Academy in the creation of the tournament, so that by the time he was done, the tournament had been fully set up. Naturally, Florian entered the tournament, hoping to be able to think of Pokémon battling in a far more lighthearted manner, after the near-death experience in that cursed crater. He won, even battling Geeta again, and everyone had so much fun that the academy decided to make it a mainstay, hosting more tournaments weekly, with Nemona participating in each one. Florian only went to the next one at Nemona's request, but after everything, he just wanted to take a break. He spent the next week or so taking it easy, hosting picnics with his friends and Pokémon, and just using Miraidon's fully restored capabilities to explore Paldea to his heart's content.

That peace was interrupted by an unexpected phone call from Director Clavell himself, who had asked him to come to the academy entrance to talk. Upon arriving there, he met with Director Clavell, as well as a tall, hatted man who referred to Clavell as "Velly". Clavell introduced him as Director Cyrano of Blueberry Academy and explained the reason he summoned Florian there: to take part in a trial run of an exchange student program between Uva and Blueberry Academy. Upon hearing this, Florian was instantly reminded of Kieran and Carmine, given his conversations with Kieran about Blueberry Academy. Realizing he would get to see Kieran again and hoping there was a chance he could reconcile with Carmine after the two months since the trip, he accepted the offer. The plane trip was long and tearful; Florian really missed his friends, now that he actually had some who cared about him the same way he cared about them, and he was extremely nervous about how his reunion with Carmine would go. As Ogerpon sat next to him, patting his back with her hand, he could only hope that things would be okay.

His arrival at BB Academy went fairly smoothly, all things considered. The first person from the Academy he met, aside from Cyrano, was a young girl named Lacey. The Director left Lacey to show him around, which she expressed her disdain for by crossing her arms into an X-position and saying that it wasn't right. One thing that Lacey told him that really caught his interest was the style of battling that took place; Blueberry Academy focused entirely on Double battles, something that he had only seen at Ryme's gym before. Lacey introduced him to the style by battling him with two mice-looking Pokémon he had never seen before, one with red parts on its body and a plus symbol on its cheeks, and the other one with blue parts on its body and a minus symbol on its cheeks. Despite what looked to be intended synergy between the two, they were still fairly weak Pokémon and went down easily. Her next Pokémon, however, did not go down so easily. What appeared in front of him was a medium-sized mole Pokémon with a metal drill for a head and hands. It certainly unnerved Florian and his team at first sight, but the unknown was something he had spent practically his entire time in Paldea conquering, so he was able to get past the mole with little issue. After the battle, Lacey congratulated him before showing him around the cornerstone of the entire academy: the Terarium; a place that served as an entirely projected ecosystem, filled to the brim with Pokémon of all colors, shapes, and sizes, some he was familiar with, but most were entirely new to him. His thoughts were cut out by Lacey letting him know she had to go do something for the Director, before leaving him to explore on his own. Miraidon was more than capable of taking care of that, and eventually, he came across the centerpiece of the Terarium, the Central Plaza. There, he saw the first familiar face he had seen in a long time.

"Kieran?" Florian said to him, getting his attention. Kieran turned around and gasped with surprise.

"F-Florian?" Kieran responded. "I-Is that really you?" Florian responded by running up to him and bringing him into a hug, catching Kieran off guard, but he still returned it with tears in his eyes, only now processing that Florian was, in fact, in front of him and hugging him. His request to Cyrano had worked. His recommendation had brought Florian to Blueberry Academy; almost like his call for help had been answered. The two boys stayed there hugging for quite a while, not wanting to let the other go. It was Florian who finally broke the hug, stepping back before drying his eyes. They spent about a minute or so talking about things that have happened since Florian left back for Paldea, interestingly not mentioning Carmine at all. Florian didn't care, as long as he could delay the inevitable he was fine. He decided to shake off his worries by asking Kieran for a battle, to which Kieran agreed without hesitation. Getting into their positions, Florian started with Meowscarada and Ogerpon wearing her Hearthflame Mask, while Kieran started with Furret and Blaziken.

"Ogerpon!" Kieran gasped with glee upon seeing Ogerpon again. "Aww, did you miss me, too?" Kieran giggled, to which Ogerpon responded with a happy cry and a small hop. After the short moment, the battle began with Kieran revealing Furret's Follow Me and taking hits from both Meowscarada and Ogerpon thanks to its Focus Sash. Although Furret fainted, Kieran's Blaziken was able to get off a free U-turn, taking Meowscarada out with one hit while letting Kieran swap to another Pokémon. Because Furret fainted, Kieran was also able to send out a second Pokémon to take its place, and he chose the combination of Primarina and Flygon, two Pokémon that had a type advantage over Ogerpon's Fire typing.

It was a tough battle, but Florian had learned to be able to think while under pressure, and eventually defeated Kieran. He had to thank Nemona for her private lessons when he got back to Paldea. Florian was impressed with how much stronger Kieran had grown since their last meeting and was also awestruck by Dipplin's evolved form.

"That was a great battle, Florian!" Kieran congratulated. "You've really grown stronger, too, haven't you?"

"Y-Yeah, things have been, well... hectic, back in Paldea," Florian told him. Kieran nodded with understanding.

"Um, by the way," Kieran grabbed Florian's attention. "Have you run into Carmine yet?" he asked Florian.

"N-No, I haven't," Florian responded nervously.

"O-Oh, don't-don't worry about it, then. I was just asking-"

"Are you actually serious right now?! Are you really that dull that you can't do a simple assignment?! Pathetic!"

A loud, harsh voice rang out throughout the Central Plaza, making the two boys jump before turning to face the source of the noise.

"Wait, that's-," Kieran ran up ahead, Florian following not far behind. The two boys looked down to see Carmine, her hair pushed upwards to where only the red parts were visible, and still wearing that same BB Academy outfit Florian had always seen her with. Carmine was tapping her foot impatiently, her eyes dark and looking like she was about to snap at any moment. "I knew it! Carmine's here. Thank goodness she didn't see us!" Kieran said quietly.

"Wait, that's Carmine?!" Florian asked him, eyes wide and mouth agape in surprise. Kieran turned his head and held his pointer finger up to his mouth.

"Shhh!" he shushed Florian. "Keep your voice down!" Florian almost immediately covered his mouth and nose with his hands, trying to silence his breathing, as if he was in the presence of a predator hunting for its prey.

"I told you to train five Pokémon to battle with! Five! Where did they go?!" Carmine asked the kid she was speaking with harshly.

"S-Sorry...," the kid replied, scared out of his mind. "Things have been really hectic at home this month..."

"Oh. Got it," Carmine replied, in what was quite possibly the most terrifying low voice Florian had ever heard someone use before. She shook her head slightly like she didn't care at all what he had to say. Lifting her head up and staring at the boy dead on, Carmine continued. "So what I'm hearing is that you want to be this weak and useless forever, am I hearing things correctly?" she mocked him, with a glare that could paralyze anyone caught in its line of sight.

"N-No, not at all! I-" The boy was interrupted by Carmine walking up to the boy, eyes closed and expression uncaring, nodding.

"No, no, don't say anything else," she said. "Since you're so busy with your family problems, I'll just do you a small favor." Looking back up at him, her eyes opened. "I'll write your resignation from the club myself," she said darkly. "People like you only serve to be a waste of space in my club." With that, she walked away without so much as a second glance, leaving the boy running after her, begging her for a second chance.

Florian was horrified. He was too scared to even move. This is what Carmine had become?! He refused to believe what he was seeing and hearing. This couldn't be Carmine. She was mean-spirited and could lash out at times, sure, but she was never this harsh with anyone before, even the Loyal Three.

"N-Not what you were expecting, huh?" Kieran chuckled sadly, getting Florian's attention. "She looks different, acts different... She hasn't been the same since the school trip." Florian felt sick to his stomach. Kieran was indirectly blaming him for Carmine's drastic change. Any guilt he had toward his actions regarding her before disappeared completely, and became replaced with a lingering fear that wracked his brain and made him nauseous. There was no way anyone was actually trying to blame him for something this drastic, right? Kieran still liked him, right? Right?!

"Well, that was painful to watch," an unimpressed voice said from behind the two boys. Florian almost jumped at the sudden voice, looking around him rapidly in hopes that Carmine hadn't come back to hurt him. Eventually finding the source of the noise, his eyes settled on a white-haired, tall teenager, wearing a biker jacket, with his arms crossed. Kieran turned around to see Drayton standing there, acknowledging him with a wave, but remained sad and scared, after the display his sister put on. "If it isn't Kieran! And... Kieran's new mystery friend!" Drayton greeted the two, before turning his attention to Florian. "Think I might've heard of you, though... Are you the new kid with the wild backstory?" Florian nodded, still afraid and untrusting of this new person, hoping he wasn't one of Carmine's lackeys out to get people for her.

"Florian, this is Drayton," Kieran introduced Florian. "He's the strongest Trainer at Blueberry Academy. Well, he WAS, at least."

"Beautiful intro, Kieran. Thanks," Drayton replied nonchalantly. Florian felt very uneasy about that statement.

"This is Florian," Kieran introduced Drayton. "He's here on a foreign exchange program. He's my friend, and-"

"What about Carmine?" Drayton suddenly asked quietly, leaning in closer to Florian. "You friends with her, too?" Florian paused for a bit, before shaking his head.

"N-No," he replied, very nervously. Drayton just shrugged his shoulders.

"Interesting," he said to Florian, before putting on a much more cheerful expression. "All right, Florian! How about I show you our clubroom?"

"I mean, sounds nice, but... why?" Kieran asked Drayton, wanting Florian to avoid Carmine for as long as possible.

"Florian hasn't joined any clubs here, yet," Drayton argued. "Take it from me- you'll have a way better time here if you join one. We'd love to have such an interesting new member! In fact, we better call dibs now." Before anyone else could argue against him, Drayton walked away, back toward the clubroom.

"H-Hey, wait!" Kieran shouted after him. "Ugh, he's always been like this... I'm going with you, Florian," Kieran told Florian, who just nodded uncomfortably. Kieran could probably guess why he was so scared.

Drayton spent the next ten or so minutes showing Florian around the clubroom, which, he had to admit, was pretty cool looking. Then Drayton said something about inviting Florian for lunch that day, which, given Florian barely had anything to eat since the flight, he was more than happy to oblige to. After letting Florian explore the clubroom a bit, Florian met with Drayton in the cafeteria, who told him to choose a chair somewhere next to him. Florian chose the seat next to Drayton, listening as he told him about the food choices in the cafeteria before Drayton dropped the topic completely and got straight to the point.

"So listen- your Pokémon are pretty strong, yeah?" Florian nodded in response, not wanting to humble brag in front of Drayton. "With a team like that you've got a shot at becoming the BB League Champion. Wouldn't that be wild? An exchange student just rolling up here and snatching the crown?" Drayton paused for about a second before continuing. "I wanna see you join the BB League, Florian. You in?" Florian was very scared of running into Carmine again, to the point where he thought joining the club would be a terrible idea. There was no way she wouldn't leave him in pieces afterward.

"I don't kno-" he started, before Drayton suddenly interrupted him, looking toward the door to the cafeteria.

"Look who's decided to grace us with their presence," he said, as four people walked through the door, all looking at Drayton. Florian suddenly felt very small.

"Oh no, it's the Champion!" a student said quietly and nervously, trying not to attract the attention of the Champion.

"The rest of the Elite Four are here, too!" another student said happily, excited to see all four of them in one place, something which Florian thought must be a rare occurrence.

"...What did you need me here for this time?" Carmine said, unimpressed by Drayton.

"Nothing special. Just thought we could grab a bite," Drayton replied with a neutral expression. Florian could tell he was not very enthused to be near Carmine right now. "Where better to do that than the cafeteria?" The remaining Elite Four members turned their heads toward Carmine worriedly, as if they knew exactly what she was about to say and maybe even do.

"Seriously? This again? What a waste of time...," Carmine replied, closing her eyes and shaking her head. "You could be spending this time actually training instead of goofing off like a Slakoth. No wonder you lost to me," she snarked, clearly she enjoyed bragging about her achievement.

"I'll take that as a no," Drayton replied calmly, knowing Carmine was trying to get a reaction out of him. "So, you really can't swing a lunch date with me, even if I've got the new exchange student right here with me? I thought you would want to meet them, judge them for yourself," he said, turning his attention toward Florian. All four people standing there followed his gaze, and upon seeing Florian, Carmine was genuinely shocked.

"Wha- F-Florian?!" she stuttered, stepping back in surprise. It was like she was incapable of processing the information she was just given. Florian forced a smile, trying to act kind toward Carmine, afraid of causing her to snap and start hurting people.

"Y-You look... different..." he said, his forced smile getting weaker and weaker the longer he held it.

"Wh-Why..?" she responded. Whether that was a genuine question or a complaint was up in the air.

"You didn't hear that he was coming to study abroad here?" Drayton replied.

"Is this true?" Carmine asked the club member to her right, who looked at her with worry. Florian recognized that girl as Lacey, and she did not look happy to be near Carmine.

"Yes, it's true," she answered. "Director Cyrano himself introduced him to me when we met at the school's entrance." Carmine said nothing, and just looked down at Florian with a neutral glare. He could definitely tell she was hiding some pent-up anger. Why she wasn't unleashing it now was beyond him.

"We're already tight, us two," Drayton said, looking at Florian happily. Florian looked at him with a shocked expression. Was he trying to use him as live bait?! "In fact, was just asking Florian to join the BB League!"

"Ooh, I'd like it! That'd be fire!" the boy with red hair to Carmine's left replied, swinging a frying pan over his left shoulder, smiling happily. Lacey turned to him, surprised at how quickly and positively he responded to Drayton's suggestion.

"A student from another school joining the BB League? Unprecedented," a black and gray-haired girl to Lacey's right added, pushing up her glasses.

"Th-That's right!" Lacey said shakily toward the red-haired boy like she was afraid of him saying something that might get him in trouble. "Florian may be wonderfully capable in battle, but that doesn't mean he belongs in the BB League..." Florian blushed at Lacey's compliment, happy that at least someone was thinking with their head on straight.

"Aw, c'mon," Drayton said. "Do you all hate fun and friendship or something?" Everyone in that room knew Carmine didn't, but chose to keep their mouths shut. "You wanna exclude someone who's taking our classes and living in our same dorms? How's he not one of us?!" Drayton argued. "And isn't this place supposed to be all about students having autonomy?" Drayton paused for a bit to catch his breath, then continued. "I think we should vote on it. I'm a yes, obviously. How 'bout you, Lacey?"

"I... I'm sorry, but considering the rules, it's a no from me," she answered. She was basically the only person in the room who noticed that Florian was clearly uncomfortable with the idea of joining the League Club, yet knew for a fact that once Drayton set his mind on something, sometimes not even Carmine herself could stop him. "What about you, Crispin?" she asked, turning her head to face the red-haired boy again.

"Huh? Yeah, why not! He's at our school. That makes him a student like us, right?" Florian had to admit that even if Crispin was going along with whatever plan Drayton was cooking, he still admired Crispin's contagious enthusiasm. "How 'bout you, Amarys? Whaddya say?" he asked, turning to the girl to Lacey's right.

"I abide by the rules of this institution," Amarys answered, shaking her head with her eyes closed. "Proposition declined." Drayton looked unimpressed.

"Two against two, huh," he said, taking in everyone's votes. He then turned to Carmine with a smirk. "All right, then! What says the reigning BB League Champion, our mighty Carmine?" he said to her, almost mocking in his tone, clearly he did not enjoy her that much. Everyone turned to face Carmine, who looked like she was deep in thought. Her eyes told a different story, though. Those dull, dark yellow orbs hid a burning hatred that stared directly into Florian's soul, and the poor boy already knew what Carmine's answer would be.

"It doesn't matter who I'm battling..." she said quietly, closing her eyes and lowering her head, before raising her head and glaring directly at Florian. "I don't lose." Her tone was icy, cold, and uncaring, yet her words had a fire to them that could melt even a Never-Melt Ice. Florian looked absolutely terrified at Carmine's words and expression, and the other three club members near her just felt bad for him; he pretty much had no say on whether he actually wanted to join the BB League Club or not. Drayton, on the other hand, looked very happy as he looked at Carmine.

"Heh. Guess we've got our answer," he said, sighing like he was waiting for that exact answer. Everyone looked at Carmine, nervous about her, before she closed her eyes and walked out of the cafeteria without so much as a glance back or goodbye.

"Ah! Carmine, wait-!" she grunted in frustration before turning to Drayton with a glare. "Drayton! Manipulating people to get what you want- it's just not right! Especially with someone like her!" Lacey told him, raising her arms up in an X-position. She left the room with a "Hmmph!" Amarys left without so much as a word, leaving Crispin flabbergasted, before he shook himself awake and walked out of the room as well, his expression not changing in the slightest.

Florian power-walked back to his dorm room, hyperventilating and panicking so hard he was getting cold sweats. He had just unintentionally gotten himself roped up into some kind of scheme concocted by Drayton. Was he really one of Carmine's lapdogs, after all? Did he force him into the club just so Carmine had an excuse to get rid of him? And the worst part was that he had no say in the matter himself. Drayton had tried to reassure him that things would be okay and helped him get signed up, but even then, Carmine had intimidated the person accepting signatures into letting Florian skip all the other ranks and go straight to challenging the Elite Four. He lay there on his bed, face planted firmly into one of the pillows there, not being able to control his breathing. This was the end for him. He wasn't going to be able to say goodbye to his friends, to his mother, to Director Clavell, to... Kieran. He began to panic even more at the thought of Carmine seriously harming Kieran, knowing how much Florian cared about him. He was in too much of a panic to do anything other than lay on his bed. He was so out of it that he didn't notice three knocks on his door, along with the sound of careful, slow footsteps walking away from his door.

Chapter Text

Florian woke up that day barely optimistic at all. He knew what was ahead of him now, and he didn't think he was ready for it. Regardless, he got dressed, and prepared to battle and defeat the Elite Four. Before any of that, his first order of business was to decide on what team he should use. Looking through the options in his box, he realized he would need to decide very carefully. It was likely Carmine would be watching his battles, and trying to counter him based on that information. He would need to consider his move options carefully, not wanting to reveal any unnecessary details that would be able to give him the upper hand against her. With that in mind, he started planning.

His first choice was obviously Ogerpon. She was practically his ace, and given the incredible bond they formed, there was no way he was going to leave Ogerpon out of the fight, especially on the off-chance that seeing Ogerpon again could maybe snap her out of it. All four of her masks were great options, having different Abilities, and different variations of Ivy Cudgel as well. Her naturally high Attack and Speed made her an effective brawler, something that might be necessary to overcome Carmine. Meowscarada was up next, given its great Attack and blazing Speed, on top of having an attack that would land a critical hit every time it was used, it was only a natural choice. Given he would ideally enjoy having some way to give his side a Speed advantage, he figured Tailwind was an effective strategy, especially seeing how Kieran used it to his advantage in their battle. After thinking for a bit, Florian decided to use Salamence as a user of Tailwind. Although Salamence's type was not as great as Flygon's, Salamence still had some advantages that made it a potent user of Tailwind. For one, Florian had realized how potent Intimidate was as an Ability. He figured that since Carmine would likely be using strong attacker after strong attacker, some way of mitigating their attacks would be useful. Salamence also had access to Roost, which sacrificed its Flying type for the turn it was used, letting it shrug off Ice-type attacks far better, as well as removing its Rock-type weakness and turning Electric-type moves into a resisted attack. That, plus the ability to restore HP without anything else was too good to pass up. He would decide what other moves to use later. For now, he needed to think of other teammates to use. Seeing an obvious Ice-type weakness, as well as not having much to hit Fire-types super effectively, either, he figured it would be a good idea to use a Water type, one that didn't rely on an item and usage of Terastallization to get the full benefits of a Water-type Pokémon. He figured he would give one particular Pokémon a shot: Araquanid. Although it wasn't the strongest Pokémon, having a fairly low Attack and Special Attack, its Water Bubble Ability doubled the power of Water-type moves it used. It also provided Araquanid with the benefit of a Fire-type resistance, despite its Bug typing, and was also immune to being burned. It was a risk, but a risk worth taking if it meant winning. Looking at his team so far, he noticed how much he would benefit from having a Steel type on his team. Thankfully, he had a particularly potent one, one that he had used on his team back in Paldea: Gholdengo. Old reliable, as Nemona would call it. It got the job done whenever it was needed, and Florian thought it would be nice to let Gholdengo out and explore the Terarium. Its signature move, Make It Rain, also hit both of his opponent's Pokémon in a Double battle, a particular asset that he learned while fighting against Ryme again on behalf of Geeta's gym inspection. After some consideration, and a lot of looking around, Florian added his last team member: Excadrill. Beyond being another Steel-type, which helped round out the rest of the team's weaknesses, it also had access to a very powerful Earthquake, and as Florian learned from Kieran's Flygon, moves that hit both Pokémon, especially Ground-type moves, were very useful. At first, he worried about hitting his other team members, but remembering that half of his team resisted or was immune to Ground-type moves made that concern go away quickly. Florian spent about an hour or two hunting for a Drilbur who had its Hidden Ability, Mold Breaker. Ignoring the effects of opposing Abilities was a very powerful asset, especially in combination with as potent of a move as Earthquake. After spending another hour training, Florian was too tired to continue. He decided to just rest up and hopefully be in a better mental state by tomorrow.

When tomorrow came, he definitely felt more confident in himself. Holding his head high, and making sure to avoid any route that Carmine might be taking, he walked out into the Terarium, and took a deep breath. He was finally going to take on the Elite Four. There was no more time to stall. He needed to do it, and he needed to do it now, lest Carmine get any ideas. His first choice was to battle Crispin, whose trial involved making a sandwich, something he was terrible at, and wanted to get it out of the way. Regardless of his terrible sandwich-making skills, he succeeded in making the proper sandwich. Battling Crispin was the easy part, and despite his sour mood, Florian beat Crispin without much trouble, much to Crispin's delight, surprisingly. As Crispin lamented about how all the fun and enjoyment had been sucked out of the League Club, Florian drooped. All of the confidence he had built throughout yesterday and that morning went away in an instant. That constant reminder of Carmine's current state hung over him like an anvil attached to a rope, threatening to crush him at any moment. One wrong move, and she would snap, and do something horrible. The weight of the responsibility placed on him with no say on his part reminded him of the last battle down in Area Zero, where the AI Professor told him he would be forced to attack him the instant the Violet Book was placed in the slot to stop the time machine. Even taking a photo with Crispin couldn't lighten him up, despite his natural happiness rolling off him and sticking to whatever happens to be near him. Well, except him and Carmine, of course. Walking down the ramp to his next trial, he couldn't help but shake from that nagging fear in the back of his mind. It felt like he was being watched from all directions. The only thing that snapped him out of it was taking on the trials, and battling. He slapped himself and shook his head. No need to worry so much. It's going to be okay! Carmine is just going through a phase right now, and a battle would snap her out of it! It's fine!

The rest of the Elite Four were definitely strong Trainers in their own right, and every time he battled them, he worried about how much he would struggle with Carmine if he was having trouble overcoming them. The only thing that took that thought away was his last battle with Drayton, whom he had saved for last given his previous title of Champion. His trial caught him off guard, having to build and train an entirely new team of Pokémon caught in the Terarium threw him for a loop. Regardless, he was able to pass Drayton's trial and felt a sense of relief at being able to use his regular team against him. Just as he thought, Drayton posed quite a bit of trouble. None of his team members had anything that could hit Dragon-types super effectively, so even though he had two Steel types, it wasn't an easy battle, especially his Archaludon. Regardless, Florian defeated Drayton, who looked very impressed with him. He wondered if it was genuine happiness or just acting that way to lift his spirits. He couldn't really tell anymore. By the time he snapped back to his thoughts, Drayton had returned to give him the TM for Dragon Cheer, a move that he figured he could put on Salamence to get some use out of; critical hits were very potent, and might give him the edge he needed to win. He stood there, staring off into space, lost in his thoughts until a soft hand on his head brought him back to attention. Looking up, he saw Drayton giving him a soft smile.

"You're doing great, Florian," he said softly. "This must be really hard on you, having all of these expectations to take down our Champion being placed on you like this." Florian nearly scoffed at that. To say it was hard on him would be an understatement. How he hadn't gone crazy yet was a mystery no one could solve. "I'm sorry for putting you through this," Drayton apologized. Florian's eyes widened and he looked up at Drayton with shock. Did... Did Drayton just... apologize?! To him?! Drayton's expression and tone showed no signs of falsehood, however; he wasn't lying. "I... I really wish Carmine was back to her old self, too," he admitted sadly. "She used to be someone who would rarely ever show her true self to anyone, hiding behind some tough, cocky persona to make herself look intimidating. I guess she felt some sort of motherly instinct toward Kieran; the poor kid was picked on somewhat often, although it mostly stopped when Carmine started taking those bullies seriously. I cared about her because she cared, y'know? She was always... someone you could rely on, despite her outward appearance. But now? Now that persona is her true self. I don't know if Kiki told you this, but she's been outright ignoring eating and even sleeping just to train, and it seems like she wants everyone to do it, too." Florian felt sick to his stomach again. She... had stopped eating? And sleeping? All to train?! Did she really hate him that much? He could feel a burning sensation rising in his chest but tried his hardest to swallow it back down before it could come up fully. Drayton must have recognized this because he started ruffling through Florian's hair to get his attention again. "Florian?" Drayton asked. "You alright, kid?" Florian shook his head no, too scared to speak. "I understand. All I wanted was to have her, well, back to normal. I figured that the only way it could happen was if... she was dethroned. She was making things miserable for everyone, y'know? She can't be allowed to stay Champion, someone needs to stop her. So, as soon as I met you, standing next to Kiki... I figured that you might be the right one for the job. If I had known you and Carmine had history together, I would've... I would've tried to take care of things myself, and probably fail miserably trying." Drayton paused, seeing the look on Florian's face made his heart sink. "But look at you," he started, hoping to reassure him. "You've beaten all four of us! There's only one thing left to do, right? Defeat her. And once that happens, you can be our Champion! You'll be the first exchange student to become Champion of our club!" Drayton paused, his tone lowering. "I... I believe in you, Florian. Me, Lacey, Crispin, Amarys, Kieran... we all believe in you. We're all rooting for you. So hold that head high, okay?" Drayton told him. "You've got this." Florian smiled softly and was about to start tearing up when he heard slow clapping coming from behind him. The two turned around to see Carmine walking up the ramp, slow-clapping the whole way up. Florian's smile quickly faded, being replaced with an uncomfortable expression.

"Well isn't that sweet?" she said coldly. "Seems like all that pandering toward the outsider has been doing you wonders, Drayton." Drayton just looked at her coldly.

"I'm not allowed to show support to an exchange student?" he asked in response. "What, is saying nice things against the rules now?" Drayton teased her.

"You don't get to decide who makes the rules in my club," she spat back at him. "Remember your place, before I remove you from it," she threatened, before turning to Florian, looking at him with yet another cold, uncaring stare. "I had hoped you would get here," she told him, flashing him a wicked grin. "It would be so disappointing if you had gotten weaker over these past months." Florian was utterly paralyzed, incapable of so much as moving a muscle under her gaze. It was like an Arbok was staring directly at him. "Well, you heard the bozo. You know what's next," she said, walking away before turning her head to face Florian again. "And try to actually put up a fight. You better not be holding back when we fight again." Florian's heart sank. Just one conversation with Carmine was enough to remind him of the big event. Drayton told Florian to take a break beforehand; he deserved some rest before the big day. Florian walked back to his dorm room before running into Kieran, who looked at him with sadness.

"You r-really did it, d-didn't you?" he asked rhetorically. "You beat all four of 'em, and it's time to face Sis, huh?" he chuckled nervously, unsure of how to address this with Florian. Florian just nodded, not looking at him, likely hiding his fear. "Hey," he told him, putting a hand on his shoulder to get his attention. Once he saw Florian looking up at him, he continued. "It's not your fault," Kieran told him, no hesitancy or lack of confidence in his face and his tone of voice; a stark contrast from the Kieran he knew back in Kitakami. Unfortunately, his words meant little to Florian; Kieran had indirectly blamed him for all of this, after all. He forced a smile and nodded at Kieran, who was clearly unconvinced. "I really mean it," he clarified. "I don't want you to think that all of this was your fault, because it wasn't," Kieran reassured him. "Don't let this get to you, OK? Just focus on the battle, and I know you'll win. I-I believe in you, Florian." Florian became shocked when Kieran embraced him in a quick hug to show his support. It was a simple gesture, one that didn't give Florian enough time to respond in kind, but still sweet and caring. He missed that about Kieran, despite his lack of confidence he always knew what to say to lift his spirits. Florian smiled, for real this time, mouthing a quick "thank you" before power-walking back to his dorm room. He needed a good rest before the big event.

The next day, Florian arrived at the arena at the entrance of BB Academy, his team fully healed and ready for action. This was it. He just needed to defeat Carmine and all of this would end. The weight on his shoulders would finally be lifted, and he could get rid of this nagging fear once and for all. But as Carmine was called to the arena for the big battle, something in him told him to back out. To run away, before he can cause any more trouble than he already has. But something in him also told him to stay. His feet felt like they were stuck to the floor like magnets were attached to his shoes. The sight of Carmine caused him to snap out of it, and he approached his side of the arena, glaring at her.

"Kept me waiting," she spat, throwing a Poké Ball up in the air and catching it again. She looked very unimpressed that Florian was standing here in front of her now. She caught the Poké Ball in her hand and gripped it tightly, moving her attention towards it. "You don't know how hard I've worked to get where I am now; to show you just what exactly I'm capable of now, Florian." She shifted her attention away from the Poké Ball, looking down at the ground with her eyes closed. "I put so much time and effort into studying and training my Pokémon to become stronger..." Students gathered around the arena to watch Carmine recite her speech. Kieran ruffled his hair, extremely nervous about the outcome of this battle. Whether or not the club or even the academy prospered would be all up to Florian. "I devastated the Elite Four and crushed the Champion..." she continued, opening her eyes now. "Every last bit of effort that I put in, all of it..." She held the Poké Ball in her hand in front of Florian, her expression looking angrier than ever. "All of it was so that I could annihilate you in battle- right here, right now!!" she shouted, preparing herself to fight. Florian was already in his battle position before her speech even finished, on guard the entire time. He felt like he was one step away from Carmine siccing her Pokémon on him, and that fear started to overtake him again, but he crushed it down. He couldn't let it get to him. He had to win.

The battle was fairly even on both competitor's parts. Carmine was down three Pokémon, and Florian was too. As Carmine sent out her Porygon-Z, the stadium suddenly erupted with a loud screeching noise that hurt Florian's ears. This Pokémon was definitely unnatural, glitching about like it was an animated character in a video game and not a real-life Pokémon. Shaking off that worry, Florian sent out Ogerpon, donning her Hearthflame Mask once again. Upon seeing Ogerpon, Carmine's expression shifted to one of shock, before she started... laughing? Quiet, but definitely the laughter of someone gone insane. She suddenly started scratching her head again, her hands messing up the tie she had put in to keep her hair up.

"This is all some kind of joke to you, isn't it?" she told him darkly. "You... You've got some nerve, bringing out the ogre NOW OF ALL TIMES!!!" She got incredibly angry, and it was like a switch flipped in her brain, as she suddenly began directing her Pokémon's attacks toward poor Ogerpon. Thankfully Florian was able to tell Ogerpon to guard herself with Spiky Shield before she was destroyed by her Porygon-Z's Hyper Beam. Ogerpon was clearly unnerved by Carmine's behavior and felt a sudden protective instinct over Florian.

A few minutes later, Carmine watched with horror as her Archaludon's heart-shaped crown shattered into dust, and her Pokémon fainted, unable to keep itself up anymore. She reached for another Poké Ball, but she felt nothing. She looked down at her belt and saw that all of her Pokémon were defeated, while Florian's Ogerpon and Gholdengo stood on the field, winded and weary from battle. She had lost.

"Wha- Huh?" she stuttered, her brain still set into battle mode before the realization finally kicked in. Carmine, for the first time in her life, felt what defeat was truly like. The weight of her negative karma pushed her back, stunning her.

"She lost?" a student said, slightly relieved to see Carmine defeated.

"Let's go, guys..." another student said, standing up and walking away from the arena. Carmine had tormented them for so long that no one saw any satisfaction in her defeat. They were showing how little they actually cared for her, walking away instead of cheering for the winner. Carmine looked back and saw all the students were leaving, back to their classes, or otherwise having better things to do than sit around and watch the once-Champion mope around.

"No... Why? This-This wasn't supposed to happen! I-It should be him on the ground in defeat, not me! I was supposed to crush you! I was supposed to take my revenge!" Reality hit her like a freight train, and she clutched her head with her hands. "Urgh... No... No, no, no, NO!!!" Her knees buckled from underneath her, and she sat there, nearly hyperventilating.

Florian couldn't help but feel a twinge of sympathy. He certainly didn't want to see her on the ground like this; he wasn't her, after all, but he knew in his heart that she deserved this defeat. She had been too reckless, too rough on her clubmates, forcing them to live by her rules, otherwise being faced with punishment. That fear started coming back, and he just stood there, looking at her with a neutral expression, unsure of how he should be feeling and acting.

"Way to go- both of you! That was awesome!" Crispin cheered, totally unaware of what Carmine was doing right now. Florian appreciated his words anyway.

"Oh, honestly, Crispin, read the room, would you!" Lacey scolded him. Crispin looked confused, but before he could ask what was happening, Drayton started to walk toward Carmine, a small smirk on his face. "W-wait, Drayton!" Lacey called to him, but he didn't listen. It was time for a little payback.

"Good match, you two," Drayton said, a bit cheerfully as he stood at Carmine's right, right behind her. "Although... too bad about the outcome though, huh..." Drayton leaned down until his mouth was inches away from her right ear.

"...ex-Champion?"

Drayton hovered over her for a bit, letting his words sink in. But before he could stand up to leave, Carmine caught everyone off guard when she, without any hesitation... clocked Drayton in his nose, sending him to the ground, clutching his nose in pain. Drayton's muffled shouts could be heard as Carmine stood up, looking down at him, panting. Florian could only imagine the kind of monstrous face she was putting on right now. She turned around, glaring at Florian, a look that told him everything he needed to know at the moment. She slowly walked toward him, her face slowly creeping into a horrifying grin, reaching the sides of her face, before suddenly stopping about twice arm's length from him. He felt so small again, being looked down on by her.

"This-This isn't o-over," she told him in a manic voice. "I-I'll beat you, one day... You won't get away with this... I can promise you that!" and with that, she walked toward the Academy entrance, leaving Florian in a daze, completely and utterly stunned by what happened. He heard fast, loud footsteps approaching him, and he looked up to see that it was Kieran, looking at him with worry.

"F-Florian! A-Are you OK?!" he almost shouted. "I-I didn't think she would-" He was speechless. No one had expected Carmine to lash out like that, without holding back even the slightest. She was aiming to break his nose, and although she didn't succeed, Drayton's muffled shouts and position on the ground would make anyone think otherwise. Everything that happened hit him like an earthquake, and, almost all alone with Kieran, he finally broke down, burying his face in his hands and sobbing. Kieran jumped back a bit in shock, certainly not expecting this. But he quickly wrapped his arms around Florian, who slowly but shakily returned the embrace. The other Elite Four members were snapped out of their discussion by the sound of Florian's harsh sobbing, and one by one, they all slowly approached Florian. Lacey stood to Kieran's right, slowly wrapping her arms around them both, hoping to comfort the broken boy. Crispin ran up to Kieran's left and joined in as well, not wanting to see the exchange student suffering so much. The last person to join was Amarys, who slowly stood behind Florian and embraced him too, lamenting the current state her friend, Carmine, was in, and wishing she could have done something to prevent this.

Florian stood there, surrounded by Kieran and three people who he trusted and started to like, and let himself force all of those horrible feelings out; all of that bottled-up fear and anger that had plagued him for months since the trip to Kitakami. He had hoped the blame and fear would go away after defeating Carmine, but all it did was make the situation worse. He could only hope, sometime in the future, that Carmine would be capable of seeing reason and coming back to her senses, back to her brother who cared for her, her friends whom she rejected after coming back. But that was just a pipe dream now.

*bing-bong-bong-bing*

Chapter Text

As Florian stood there on the bridge leading to BB Academy's arena, he couldn't help but attempt to drown out Ms. Briar's exclamations as he tried to figure out where everything went so wrong. The meeting he was called to in Ms. Briar's classroom activated some sort of survival instinct in his brain that told him to get away from everyone, knowing exactly why Carmine was coming with them all. He refused to go back to Area Zero, not wanting to relive that horrible day down in the crystalline catacombs, locked in a room and forced to fight for his life against robotic versions of Pokémon he was familiar with. And this time, he wouldn't be capable of bringing his friends with him; he had to rely on himself to protect everyone and pray that Carmine wouldn't mess everything up. The plane ride there was one of the most stressful moments of his life; trapped on a plane with a teacher who seemed to lack the most basic of survival instincts, and a girl who hated his guts, and also had only self-preservation and growing stronger on her mind, especially if it meant making him suffer. He swore he could see Carmine's glare looking at him from all angles, even though she was three seats behind him and Kieran. He considered writing his final message to his mom and friends, fearing he would never see them again.

"Battle me, Florian," Carmine said as she held the Master Ball she had been saving for this very moment in front of her. Terapagos was just resting, maybe not even born yet, and Florian had imprinted on the little guy, but instead of being happy this small crystalline turtle was waddling toward him slowly, he was scared. Scared knowing exactly what Carmine was going to do. He was totally helpless to stop her from snatching Terapagos right in front of him. So when Carmine immediately tried to battle him with Terapagos, he nearly started lashing out in rage. He knew this would happen, and yet he couldn't stop it from happening. Even Kieran's constant pleading for her to think straight didn't matter. No one else mattered but her now. As Florian reluctantly prepared himself for a battle, he felt himself shaking rapidly. He could not lose now. If he did, it was game over for everyone there.

Terapagos' eyes closed as it drooped, weary from the sudden battle it was forced into, not having anywhere near enough energy to properly fight. Carmine looked terrified at the realization that Terapagos didn't win.

"But... I-I... I thought if I caught Terapagos... it would let me win... I thought I could finally beat you..." Carmine lamented, before dropping to her knees and clutching her head, in utter defeat. And yet, Florian couldn't find it in himself to care anymore. She had lured Ms. Briar into a false sense of security by making her think she was there to help her research the Tera Pokémon, but the truth was she only needed Ms. Briar to bring her down here so she could get Terapagos for herself, in some sick attempt at one-upping Florian.

"Sis, stop this!" Kieran scolded her. "You lost, now let Terapagos g-"

"No..." Carmine suddenly said, almost in a state of hysteria. "It's... It's not over yet... I... I can still win this!" she said, standing up and glaring at Florian and Kieran with a manic grin. "Haven't you remembered the first four letters of this thing's name?!" The two boys' eyes widened as they immediately knew what she was about to do. But before Kieran could beg her to reconsider, Carmine armed her Tera Orb, the light it gave off momentarily causing her to shut her eyes. Throwing the Orb at Terapagos, she watched with glee as crystals began to surround the Pokémon, before shattering, revealing a large, semisphere that Terapagos sat on top of, emblems representing the eighteen types circling it, a crown with the Pokémon's own body adorning the top. Before anyone could say anything, a huge burst of wind started rushing towards everyone, causing them to stumble back and cover their eyes from the force of the wind.

"What have you done..." Florian whispered, panicking.

"It's... amazing! It's incredible!" Ms. Briar shouted, in bliss at the majestic sight in front of her. "This is the true form of Terapagos! This is The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero!" Carmine stared in awe, that same evil grin adorning her face once again.

"I've won..." she thought aloud.

Before she could celebrate, Terapagos suddenly launched a beam of light that curved around... before homing in directly on Carmine. She couldn't do anything but stand there, shell-shocked, as her life flashed before her eyes.

Although a large explosion rang out in her ears, she was still standing. When her eyes opened, she saw a large, purple, metallic lizard had taken the attack for her. The strange Pokémon turned around and nodded before she looked behind her and saw Florian nodding back toward the Pokémon. He had saved her life. She was in total shock, only now realizing how badly she had messed up.

"Oh no, this is bad!" Ms. Briar began to panic. "Carmine! You must return Terapagos to its Poké Ball, now!" she ordered.

"Right!" Carmine shouted back without hesitation, holding the Master Ball in front of Terapagos. "Come back, Terapagos!" she ordered the Pokémon. Even if she couldn't control this new form, she could at least make sure it didn't hurt anyone else. But Terapagos just would not come back. A shield of light surrounded the Tera Pokémon, and with one nudge of its body, the Master Ball flew out of Carmine's hand, landing behind her, sliced in half. Terapagos broke the Master Ball. "Oh no..." she said softly, totally panicking.

Florian ran up in front of Carmine, still terrified out of his mind, but there was no way he was going to risk Paldea, and maybe even the world, being destroyed again. He sent out Meowscarada, praying that by some miracle, he could win. Florian was very happy to see Kieran running up to his side, sending out his Hydrapple to fight. Even though he had only one healthy Pokémon left, there was no way he was going to let Florian fight that thing alone. Unfortunately for Kieran, Hydrapple barely lasted enough time, managing to make a dent in the Pokémon's armor, but there wasn't much else he could do with only one Pokémon.

"That's all I have, Florian... I can't do anything else!" Kieran turned around, looking at his sister in panic. "Sis! Get over here! You have to help him!" he shouted toward her.

"N-No... I-I couldn't-" She was speechless, incapable of processing what could have gone wrong. Everything was going according to plan. She had caught Terapagos, she had Terastallized it and unleashed its full power; she was supposed to be able to crush Florian once and for all with it. Instead, the Pokémon violently rejected her, and now everyone was going to suffer because of her. She just wasn't good enough to protect or help anyone. "I couldn't stop it before, and I can't stop it now!"

Florian was barely managing to hold on as Terapagos kept deploying more and more barriers, draining his Tera Orb's energy to do so every time. Only Ogerpon was capable of fighting now, and she was struggling hard to make a dent. There was no way he could win this alone, not while in Terapagos' domain. Kieran and Ms. Briar kept begging Carmine for help, but she just refused to. She wasn't needed or useful to anyone, not anymore.

"I-I can't! I'm not strong enough! I'm not good enough for anything!" she lamented, tears filling her eyes.

"Yes, you are!" Florian shouted back to her, causing her to lift her head up, seeing his tear-filled, scared eyes looking into hers, begging for her help. "Please, Carmine! I can't do this alone! I need help! I need you!" he shouted, barely holding on to himself, scared of losing everything. It was like Florian's voice made something inside of her snap. Maybe she was good enough. Maybe, just this once, she could put aside their differences, if it meant making it out of this in one piece. Carmine looked like she was trying not to scream, but before long, she roared into the air, holding a Poké Ball in her hand, tears filling her eyes, the light returning to them. They were going to make it out alive. Throwing the Poké Ball forward, she summoned Archaludon to the battlefield, who let out a mighty roar, ready to fight the threat head-on.

"OK! I'll help you!" Carmine shouted, ordering Archaludon to use Electro Shot, hoping the Special Attack boost would be enough to wear down Terapagos' armor faster. Florian, realizing there was a chance, turned to his right, and looked Carmine directly in the eyes.

"Carmine! Terastallize Archaludon! Now!" he shouted. "Just one more push and we can win!" This time, Carmine did not object to being ordered around by Florian. If it meant making it out in one piece, so be it. Raising her Tera Orb once more, she threw it above Archaludon, watching as the familiar pink heart-shaped crown rested atop Archaludon's head, letting out another roar, its type changing.

"OK, Archaludon! Use Tera Blast!" she shouted, watching as the pink beam of light shot directly through Terapagos' armor, the Terastal energy surrounding it shattering into bits. The two watched as Terapagos turned back into its Terastal form before Carmine saw an opportunity.

"Hey! I think it'll go inside a ball now!" she shouted. Florian immediately took the opportunity presented to him, not wanting to risk Terapagos hurting anyone else, and certainly not trusting anyone to take care of it better, especially Carmine. Taking out a Poké Ball, Florian watched as Terastal energy surrounded it. With one solid throw, the Poké Ball went flying toward the Tera Pokémon, watching as it went inside, too tired to resist capture. With one satisfying click, it felt as if an enormous pressure just suddenly disappeared.

"Everyone, I- I'm so sorry!" Ms. Briar apologized. "I didn't think Terapagos would do that, I-" Kieran held a hand up to stop her.

"No. Don't apologize, Ms. Briar," he told her. "You didn't do anything; no one knew Terapagos would do that."

"I-" Carmine started, in too much shock, too grateful to still be standing to have anything to say. "I- We're- We're alive..." With that, she finally broke down, sobbing heavily, so grateful that Florian didn't get hurt, that Ms. Briar didn't get hurt, but most importantly, Kieran didn't get hurt.

"Sis..." Kieran said, voice shaky with tears in his eyes. "I'm so glad you're okay..." before he too, broke down sobbing, embracing her in a large hug, so thankful he still had his sister with him. Florian just stood there, not wanting to let himself be weak after what happened. He needed to be strong. But Ms. Briar wrapping an arm around him caused him to lose it, too. Wailing into the dark cavern, he finally let all of his bottled-up emotions out. He didn't resist at all when Ms. Briar started nudging him toward the exit. The sooner he could leave that place, the better.

"Florian?" a voice called to him from behind, snapping him out of his thoughts. Turning around, he saw Carmine standing behind him, looking at him with a bit of hesitancy. "I... I wanna say... t-thank you," she told him, looking down at the ground with what looked to be... gratitude. "Thank you so much for saving our lives down there. I... I really appreciate it." Her expression suddenly turned harsher, as expected of her. "T-There, I said it, OK?!" She calmed down quickly and looked him directly in the eyes. "So... can we... can we just- be on good terms with each other, from now on?" she asked, genuinely happy.

Florian felt a pit form in his stomach. After everything that happened, the fact that she wanted to go back now just seemed unrealistic, especially since she didn't seem sorry for what she did. But if he told her that, who's to say she wouldn't just go back to being the person she was just three days ago? What if she started lashing out in anger again, punching people like she did Drayton? He couldn't let Carmine go back to that. He didn't want to have to be responsible for looking after her and correcting her; that should be her grandparents' job more than anyone else. But another part of him couldn't deny that he really wanted this to be over. He wanted the horrible feelings to go away. In a brief, but resolute decision, he smiled, nodding his head, too scared to say anything. Carmine breathed a sigh of relief like she wasn't expecting him to be nice after what happened. Carmine slowly walked toward him again, this time, with a more friendly look, and took his left hand in her right.

"Come on," she said, grinning, before giving him a closed-eyed smile. "Let's go catch up with everyone before they start getting the wrong idea about us." Florian nodded again, not wanting any other student, especially Kieran, to think they were dating or something because they were holding hands on a bridge. As the two walked back, he looked up toward the school, averting his eyes away from the pink sunrise. He would definitely be taking a break for quite a long time after all this. After everything, it was the least the three of them deserved.