TEEN: Penny Saves Paldea, an S/V fic where glitches are canon

[KatrinaSForest]

I've posted this on other platforms, but it's still one of my favorite fics I've written, so I figured if I'm going to dip my toes in sharing fanfics, I might as well start with this one. Hope you guys enjoy it!

Summary:
Scarlet & Violet's glitches are all canon. The "anomalies" affect some people more than others, but no one's sure why. Our main quartet, along with the Team Star bosses, is off to discover what's wrong with their home. Well, when they aren't butting heads or bickering with each other, that is. Sometimes you don't want the answers even when you find them.

Rating:
T for some creepy images in later chapters

Audiobook:
An audio version of this chapter is available for anyone who wants/needs it. (Quick note: the audio version is in present tense and may look like it's starting at the halfway point--it's not, I'm just skipping the intro/glitch explanations, which are not included in the story text.)

Spoilers:
Chapter 1 is spoiler free. Chapters 2 and up will contain spoilers for both Starfall Street and Path of Legends. There are no spoilers for The Way Home until much later in the story.

#

~~Chapter 1: Penny's Treasure Hunt~~​

Penny leaned back in her desk chair, the dorm-issued one that felt like it had been designed for kindergartners--inefficient and clunky, its remaining shelf life painfully uncertain.

It was the perfect metaphor for everything in Paldea right now. Everything she could see.

Penny pushed her glasses higher up the bridge of her nose and scrolled through the photos on her computer screen. The anomalies had started as little things. A child swinging his legs under his desk, his movements slowing to a crawl while his voice remained as quick as chipper as ever. A wild Pokémon seeming to blink out of existence, only for the witness to be told by fellow students that she probably just saw a Kecleon or something.

Who's ever seen a Kecleon in Paldea anyway? Penny thought, rolling her eyes as she scrolled faster. Of course, with the way things were going, maybe she shouldn't shrug off the possibility so quickly. That was one nice thing about computers. They reported things exactly as they were, whether those observations made sense or not. Penny had documented as much of the strange phenomenon on her own as she could, but her sources had sent her even more, which made her grateful. If nothing else, it would good to have at least a couple people who didn't think she was straight-up losing her mind.

Beneath the desk, Sprigatito mewed and nuzzled her ankle with its grassy, blanket-soft fur. Penny gave a rare smile and patted the little Pokémon on the head. She didn't realize how dark it had gotten in the room. That was what happened when she got absorbed in work. Did she even eat dinner yet?

Penny leaned over and switched the desk lamp on, to which Sprigatito gave a satisfied nod before it curled itself back into a ball at her feet. The little Pokémon wasn't hers. She didn't actually know who it belonged to. The poor thing had phased through a wall and found itself next to Penny in the library, lost and disoriented. Penny had asked a few students nearby if this was their Pokémon, but they had all waved her off and said not to bother them. The treasure hunt was about to begin, and they had to prepare.

Penny had her own ideas for the treasure hunt. Much bigger and more important than any other student's. I'm going to find out what's causing all these strange occurrences in Paldea, she promised herself. If any humans are at fault, I'll make them sorry. And if any Pokémon are at fault...

She swallowed hard. Pokémon were such amazing creatures--capable of flooding entire regions, creating new land out of nowhere, treating even the fabric of time like their personal plaything. If one of them decided on a whim to distort and erase Paldea piece by piece, what hope did she have of stopping them? At best, she might be able to help people evacuate the region and find somewhere safe. If there was anywhere safe.

Penny shook her head and stood up from the desk. Her stomach growled, a sure sign that she had, in fact, skipped dinner. She walked over to the mini fridge and pulled out a leftover sandwich. Chorizo, cucumber, and wasabi. The only correct way to make a sandwich. Then she retook the spot in her clunky preschooler-sized chair, breaking off bits of the spicy sausage and passing them to Sprigatito under the desk. Stay nourished, stay healthy, stay focused, she reminded herself.

If anyone had asked Penny a few months ago what it would look like, practically speaking, for Paldea's existence to deteriorate before her, she would have been clueless. She'd never been the creative type and didn't care to speculate on theoretical disasters. But all the strange events she had seen--Pokémon walking through objects, appearing and disappearing, humans and Pokémon moving like they were in some messed-up, stop-motioned animated film--if that didn't add up to a crumbling reality, she wasn't sure what did. Why, the other day, she'd even spotted the academy's newest student, tucked up in a seated position as if riding a large bike and gliding through midair on absolutely nothing. No one responded. No one noticed. Everyone acted like this was a completely normal and acceptable event. Even among the few students who admitted they'd seen "a few strange things lately," most of them passed it off. Pokémon were Pokémon. A few odd occurrences here and there didn't equal cause for alarm. And wasn't life at the academy all so wonderful? Who wanted to get bogged down with worry when badges and treasures and adventure all waited at their metaphorical doorsteps?

I'll put a stop to this, Penny thought, taking an extra large bite of the sandwich and chewing with uncharacteristic gusto. I'll put a stop to all of it. No matter what.

 

[KatrinaSForest]

~~Chapter 2: Fall of the Schedar Squad~~​

A/N: As before, an audio version is available here. Hope you enjoy!

#

The next morning, Penny was awoken earlier than she would have preferred. Much earlier, in fact. An alert on her phone. It was generally set not to disturb her at night, but she had programmed exceptions for certain circumstances. Some more disastrous than others.

She yawned and fumbled for her glasses, squinting at the screen's eerie glow, the only source of light in the room.

Defeat Alert: Mela

Her heart sank a bit at seeing the notice. Reading how her close friend had lost her status as a Team Star boss ...well, it was preferable to getting alerts that reality was deteriorating much quicker than she initially thought. But even so, it wasn't easy news to take. She checked the time on the alert: 4:21am.

Seriously? That weird student she'd recruited for Operation Starfall, Juliana, apparently had nothing better to do right before dawn than go running around attacking Team Star's bases. But Penny had made a promise, after all, so she dutifully sent the promised funds to Juliana's account. She took a moment to gather herself before calling Juliana directly, however.

With Mela's leadership overturned, the Schedar Squad would disband. The students would return to class. And more time in class meant less time they were sending Penny the data she needed. If they still sent it at all.

All perfectly natural consequences of the code Penny herself encouraged Giacomo to write. Her grip on the phone tightened. If only she could go back in time to before she had this stupid idea for Operation Starfall at all. Keeping her friends from getting expelled was the only thing on her mind back then, because...well, because of course it was. How was she supposed to know reality would start deteriorating a few weeks later and the school might need Team Star after all?

Her first hope had been that Juliana would flake out and never touch the Team Star bases. But now that possibility had been well and truly torched to ash. She needed a backup plan and quick.

"How do I get into these messes?" she muttered to the Poké Balls lined up on her dresser, then shook her head. Sometimes it improved her plans when she spoke them aloud to her Pokémon, but there was no need to wake any of them now. She created this disaster, and now she had to deal with it.

Penny took a deep breath, turned on her phone's voice filter, and tapped Juliana's name in her address book. Signal strength came and went in the dorms, a problem that existed long before the students and Pokémon had followed suit. As Penny waited for a good connection (and for Juliana to actually pick up), she mulled over her potential approach to this little chat.

I'd first like to know why Juliana went after Mela before Giacomo. Just a bit of asking around would have revealed that he's the least experienced trainer. Of course, Penny had some hand in his inexperience. Once Team Star secured its place in the school's hierarchy, letting anyone know that messing with members would no longer be tolerated, Giacomo had wanted to "start all over" with new Pokémon he'd never trained before. He'd avoided Dark-types in the past--they had a reputation, after all. Every criminal organization loved them, even the ones who specialized in completely different typings. Team Magma was infamous for its hordes of Houndour and Houndoom, as was Team Aqua for its Carvanha and Sharpedo. The list went on. But Giacomo had changed since Team Star, no longer adjusting his team to what he thought would impress others. It was wonderful progress for him.

Then Penny had contacted him, asking for his base's take on the strange happenings around Paldea...

#

"So you're tellin' me, you've seen Pokémon and people, moving all funny then vanishing?"

Giacomo had kept his tone flat and serious during that first call, leaving Penny clueless on how to respond. "You...haven't noticed anything like that?"

Giacomo gave way too long a pause before he let loose with a loud cheer. "Of course we have! Are you kidding me? But no one believed us! We all thought we were losing our minds over here! Man, am I happy we have you, Big Boss!"

#

The ring tone ended, and Penny heard a click as Juliana picked up and greeted her. Then came some scuffling as it sounded like someone took the phone away. The call ended. Penny grit her teeth. Bad signal again? But if Juliana just defeated Mela, she should still be outside the Schedar Squad's base. It shouldn't have been an issue. Penny dialed again, breathing deeply and falling back to her memories of her last chat with Giacomo...

#

"So what exactly have you seen?"

"Well, for starters, it was training time the other day, and somebody's Murkrow walked right through my Pawniard! Then part of its body vanished, and we just saw a floating Murkrow face for a second, then it went back to normal. Everyone was so freaked out, no one wanted to train the rest of the week. Especially the poor Murkrow!"

"I...I see..."

"Most members thought the base was haunted or something," Giacomo went on, "And we almost abandoned it. You know what's up, then, B.B.?"

Penny had cringed inside. If she would have told Giacomo the place really was haunted, maybe the Segin Squad would have disbanded on its own. No Operation Starfall needed to save them from expulsion. But somehow after all the hiding and deception she'd brought to the friendship so far, she couldn't bring herself to pile on another lie. Not about something as big as this.

She told him everything. Well, everything she had information on, which turned out to not be much. But Giacomo promised he and his crew would dedicate all their time to documenting the strange events and send her what they found. Which had left the crew very little time for Pokémon training. If she let Operation Starfall continue, she'd pretty much made him and the Segin Squad a bunch of sitting Duckletts.

#

I need to call off Operation Starfall, she thought, as Juliana picked up again. Any excuse will do. Tell her Team Star is too strong. Or maybe say they're not as bad as everyone thinks? Ugh, like she would believe that when the school is set to expel all the members.

"Hello?" she said. "Juliana?"

"Is this Cassiopeia?" said a voice that definitely did not belong to a school-aged girl. The voice came from an older male, mid-forties at her youngest possible guess. And it sounded a tad familiar, too.

"Who's asking?" she demanded.

"My name is Clive," the man replied. "I would like to help with Operation Starfall. I'm a student at the academy, you see."

And I'm Mega Diancie, Penny thought with a roll of her eyes. She hadn't attended many classes at the academy, but she did pay attention to all the announcements the school made. And Director Clavell was almost always the one who made them. With the video feed to Juliana's phone turned off, just listening to this "Clive's" voice...yes, there was no doubt as to who he was. Perhaps the man should have tried to disguise his tone a bit better.

"I will need some time to consider this," Penny said, trying to keep her answer as vague as possible. "In the meantime, I'm assuming the person I actually recruited for this operation would like her phone back."

"Y-yes. Of course she would. I mean, uh, yeah. Whatever and such."

More scuffling, and finally Juliana came through. "Sorry. I have no idea who that guy is, but he seems to be following me around. Should I get rid of this phone and maybe get a new one?"

"No need," Penny said. "I'm pretty sure he's harmless. He might even be useful, though that remains to be seen. About the next stage of the operation, though--"

Juliana cut Penny off with a monumental yawn. The poor girl sounded like a Snorlax after battle. "I need to get some rest in the dorms first, but I'll be out again as soon as I can to take down the next base. I promise."

"There's really no rush--" Penny began, only to be cut off again.

"Well, there's benefits to me, too," said Juliana, tacking on an awkwardly long giggle. Penny tapped her foot. Most new students were like her--not much for talking, mostly letting the more aggressive seniors like Arven and Nemona tell them where to go and what to do. Why did she have to recruit the one new student who actually liked chatting?

"I guess what I really mean is, thanks so much for the LP," Juliana said.

Penny's stomach twisted. "Oh, um...of course. I mean, you earned it." Another bonus to ending this whole charade. No more stealing. "Listen, Juliana, there's something I need to--"

"I mean, I don't know what I would have done out in the wild without those extra potions and revives," Juliana went on. "I didn't think I could afford them before, but since I knew you'd be paying me, I was able to spend more. My Pokémon are growing so much better and faster, and it's all thanks to you!"

"Oh, um...my pleasure," Penny said. "Your training helps too, I'm sure. Keep up the good work." It was poor phrasing, which she realized the second the words left her mouth. She'd meant Juliana should keep up the good work of training her partners. Not the work she was doing with Operation Starfall. There Paldea depended on Juliana doing atrocious work.

"Thanks!" Juliana said. "And good night!" The call dropped again. Penny took a few calming breaths (or maybe more than a few--she sort of lost track) and tried to call back. Only Juliana's voicemail responded. Penny hung up without leaving a message, which seemed like the Cassiopeia thing to do. No doubt Juliana would have turned the phone off so she could get back to the dorms and get some sleep. Penny's hacking could do a lot of things, but it couldn't remotely power on a phone.

So now in addition to figuring out what on Earth was going wrong with Paldea, she had to keep Juliana from completing Operation Starfall. Without revealing herself or getting Team Star in more trouble if possible. But if push came to shove...

The fate of Paldea has to take precedence, she reminded herself. That's what Team Star would do. She smiled just the tiniest bit at the thought of her friends banding together once again against an overwhelming thread. Her first plan had been to go back to sleep if she could. But adrenaline had taken over. She needed to call Mela. Even if the Schedar Squad had to publicly disband, the crew might still be able to set some sparks in the shadows.

Metaphorically speaking, of course. Penny really did need to watch her wording from now on.

 

[KatrinaSForest]

~~Chapter 3: How Arven Really Reached the Sky Titan~~​

A/N: The audio version is available here. Hope you enjoy!
#

Arven had been watching Juliana from a distance for the better part of hour.

And no, he reassured himself, he was not being creepy. She'd said this morning she was taking this road through the Area One West Province, and so of course, he assumed she was doing that to help him take down the Open Sky Titan. What else would she do out here? Fight random trainer battles? Chat it up with the Team Star knuckleheads down the road? No way.

If she was going to be nice enough to help him collect the Herba Mystica, the least he could do was wait here until she arrived. He leaned against the mountainside, his large pack resting on the ground beside him, and perked up when her silhouette appeared in the distance. The girl wasn't hard to miss. A fluffy yellow hat sat atop her layered black hair. She also sported pink glasses, matching blue gloves and hiking boots, along with neon green leggings. All of which contrasted horribly with the school's standard orange uniform. It was like the uniform was the only article of clothing she would ever be allowed to wear, and she was determined to make it look as wacky as possible on principle.

The path was long and curved, but easy to follow, and Juliana should have reached him within ten minutes, tops. Instead, she had spent the last--Arven glanced at his watch--forty minutes trying to get Koraidon to jump the river. Koraidon failed over and over again, leaving Juliana to pull herself out of the water and ride the brute to where the water looked narrower. It did not help, and Arven was getting cold and shivery just by watching her.

She knows there's a bridge here, right? he thought as he stroked Mabosstiff's Poké Ball. Doubt crept into his mind about his choice of ally. Then again, there was that whole thing about beggars and choosers. No one else at school would give him the time of day. An attitude he was sadly used to, but that didn't mean he liked it. If Juliana's antics seemed like they would put Mabosstiff in more danger than help him...

Arven glanced down at his hand, opening and closing it experimentally, etching the sensation in his mind. Juliana's a kind person. I've seen that so far. And I need a back-up plan. Like it or not, she might be Mabosstiff's only chance. With that thought, he took a deep, slow breath of the crisp morning air and returned Mabosstiff's ball to his belt.

About five minutes later, Juliana finally decided to cross the bridge, and Arven waved wildly to get her attention. His eyes widened when she got close enough to return the greeting--her clothes and even her long dark hair were completely dry.

Another weird event? he thought. Or is this just a thing she does? Then he realized he still had his hand up in the air and dropped it quickly.

Juliana giggled. "You look like you're trying to answer one of Professor Tyme's class questions."

"I-I...I was just glad to see you," Arven said, his face growing hot. He pulled the heavy pack up high on his shoulders. "You ready for this next titan? It's been tossing rocks down the hillside here, so you need to be care--"

"Actually..." Juliana was already looking down the flat path, the one that definitely did not lead to the sky titan. "...I kind of had, um, other plans? See, I promised this Cassiopeia person I would help her take down Team Star..."

"But--this is important!" Arven said. More like shouted.

Which Juliana clearly didn't appreciate. A scowl replaced her usual friendly smile, and her uncertain tone grew pointed. "I think I get to choose what's important to me. The world is my Cloyster, remember?"

"I'm sorry," Arven sputtered, lowering his head in a deep bow. He didn't have great footing, and with the heavy, kitchenware-stuffed bag, he almost toppled forward. Probably not the best way to apologize. He straightened to regain his balance, letting a loose rock under his feet tumble down to the path.

Juliana, in spite of herself, covered a smirk with her hand.

Arven took a deep breath and made a polite, less dramatic bow this time. "Please. This isn't just about cooking research. I'm really worried about..." His hand went instinctively to his side. Can I trust her yet? And if so, with how much?

"About...?" Juliana pressed.

Arven lowered his hand and shook his head. "Help me get through this next titan, and I promise, I'll tell you everything."

She didn't agree, but she didn't turn away, either. Arven watched with building tension as she glanced between him and the road leading to Team Star's next base. With a sigh, she relented and took a step up the hill. A pushover for a half-told story. Arven grinned and began to lay out his plan. The ground beneath their feet rumbled slightly as the massive Bombardier rolled boulder after boulder from its perch above. For now, the rocks fell harmlessly to the side. Once they got moving up the rocky slope, it would be a different story. Still, Arven was optimistic they'd get through to the next herb without much difficulty. He glanced down at his hand one more time as Juliana began to run up the path ahead of him.

#

Arven waited until Juliana was almost at the peak of the hill before he started to run up himself. Looking back, it wasn't his best idea. While she and Koraidon were bumped and jostled and knocked down by one huge rolling rock after another, Arven scaled the whole thing in a fraction of the time. He didn't think Juliana would pay much attention. After all, she had a Titan Pokémon to deal with. Arven crested the peak of the hill just as Juliana's Tinkatuff took a wild swing at the titan with its hammer. Shards of ice crystalized on Bombardier's wingtips, and it struggled to keep itself aloft.

Yep, Juliana's Tinkatuff knew Ice Hammer. Because of course it did. Arven shivered, thinking of the terror this pink puffball's evolution would cause, when Juliana snapped him back to reality. Hard.

"Okay, how did you get up here?" she demanded.

"I, uh, ran," he said, hoping it would satisfy her. It didn't.

"Tinkatuff, use Ice Hammer again," she commanded, barely watching the battle. Her eyes were locked on him, and she wasn't stepping down without an answer. Meanwhile, her pink wrecking machine of a Pokémon squealed with delight and took another swing. The direct hit sent a cool chill across the wind, and Bombardier was forced to flee. It landed not far away, near a cave opening Arven hadn't seen a moment ago, and began munching on something. A plant that glowed and glimmered with powerful healing light.

Adrenaline pumped though Arven's veins. Herba Mystica!

He took a step forward, only for Juliana to block his path. "There's no way you could run up here that quick. You had a giant bag on your shoulders, and up until a minute ago, that stupid bird was throwing boulders left and right," she said. "What did you do? Run through them?"

If I say 'yes,' will you believe me? "I...can't explain it right now," he said.

Juliana stomped her foot. It might have looked childish if anyone else had done it, but with Tinkatuff at her side, it was downright intimidating. "You literally just said at the bottom of this mountain you'd tell me everything."

If Arven had an attack stat, it would have dropped six levels on the spot. "I-I meant everything about the Herba Mystica, not--"

A screech echoed across the rocky ground, and Bombardier flapped its now ice-free wings. Its beady black eyes fixated on the two humans who had been foolish enough to enter its territory. Juliana crossed her arms. "Well?"

"Fine!" Arven groaned. "I'll tell you. Everything everything. But only after we get in that cave and harvest the Herba Mystica. Agreed?"

She smiled in an oddly similar way to Tinkatuff. Her bright pink glasses only added to the spine-chilling effect. "Agreed."

#

Not even ancient magic-imbued herbs could give Bombardier an edge over Juliana. Arven wasn't quite sure why he brought his Nacli out, but he had to feel like he was contributing something. Once inside the cave, he approached the Herba Mystica with an entranced awe. Then Juliana elbowed him, and he quickly flipped through his notes. This was the bitter-flavored one. Not the best set-up for a tasty meal, but he could make do. He knew the way to prepare it so Mabosstiff would like it. He just had to remember to make extra this time. No doubt that brute of Juliana's would want more than its fair share again.

Juliana, for her part, didn't push him for answers immediately and instead began setting up the picnic table. Arven waved her attention.

"Hang on. Toedscool and Scovillain can handle that," he said. "I need you over here." He motioned towards his makeshift countertop, which really just amounted to a rock slab with an extra tablecloth thrown over it. He usually grabbed ingredients straight from his pack, knowing by feel how much he needed. But since he was aiming for a demonstration this time--or maybe a lesson was the better word for it--he set all the ingredients out so Juliana could easily see them. The horseradish jar and the jam jar looked oddly similar, and he rotated them so the labels were clear as she approached.

"What's all this?" Juliana asked. "Thought you were the sandwich expert. Now you need help all of a sudden?"

Arven fought back his first instinct, which was to snap that his sandwich skills would put even Katy's finest baked goods to shame. Then he remembered he actually did need help. "I just...want to make sure someone else besides me knows how to make these. My Pokémon needs them." He released Mabosstiff from its Poké Ball and told Juliana the whole story. About the injury no Pokémon Center could heal. He kept it quick and avoided her gaze as much as he could. He hated feeling so weak and vulnerable like this. He'd grown up taking care of himself. It felt like he could do better than relying on a near stranger, but life loved to prove how little it cared about his feelings. At least the atmosphere was nice for his confession. The soft glow of the herbs lit the place, and their sharp aroma overrode any damp or mossy smells the cave otherwise had.

When Arven finished his story, Juliana's eyes with shimmering with held back tears.

Great, Arven thought. I just told a literal sob story.

Juliana sucked in a deep breath and rubbed her eyes. "All this talk about your Pokémon, but...what's wrong with you?"

"Huh?"

"You said you wanna be sure someone else besides you can make these sandwiches Mabosstiff likes. What makes you think you won't be able to prep them yourself?"

Arven swallowed hard and looked down at his hand. Probably better to demonstrate this answer than explain it. There was no more stalling, no more excuses. He flexed his fingers, focused, and thrust his hand toward the rock slab. It glided harmlessly through like a ghost's.

"This," he said simply before pulling his hand back out again.

Juliana's eyes went wide, though she didn't freak out like he'd suspected. Maybe she'd witnessed something like this around school, too? Arven laid his hand on a bread roll, confirming he could touch solid objects again, and laid it sideways. "Now, the trick to slicing the bread is--"

"Don't change the subject like that!" Juliana snapped at him, her voice probably louder than she meant in the cave's close quarters. She lowered her head a bit, and her voice followed suit. "So you did get up the mountain by running through the boulders?"

"Yeah," he said. "It always happens when I get scared, so I figured I might as well use it to my advantage there. But sometimes it happens when I don't mean for it to at all. And those times have been getting more and more frequent." He sliced open the bread, not bothering to explain himself and began laying slices of cheese diagonally across the center. His voice cracked a bit as he continued, "Honestly, I'm kind of scared. I don't know why it's happening. Unlike Mabosstiff and that brute of yours, the first Herba Mystica didn't help me." He moved from the cheese to the proscuitto, folding each slice neatly before placing it. The awkward silence became intolerable, and he forced a pathetic-sounding laugh. "My worst fear is that it'll go off when I've challenged someone to a battle, only I won't notice, and I'll look like an idiot who can't even throw a Poké Ball."

"Is that why you slap your face before you send out your Pokémon?" Juliana asked. "To make sure you're not phasing through something again?"

His cheeks grew hot once more. "I thought it looked like I was getting pumped up."

"No," she giggled. "You looked kind of ridiculous."

He should have been insulted, but Juliana's blunt honesty had shattered the tension. Couldn't help but be grateful there. He talked her through the rest of the sandwich instructions, taking extra care to make sure she got the balance of horseradish correct. Mabosstiff loved spicy foods, but in its weakened state, it couldn't handle as much as it used to, so the measurement had to be perfect and the condiment spread evenly. Juliana listened and followed each step with focus and care. Her skills needed work, but there was time for her to learn. (And in the meantime, Koraidon would never refuse an extra goof-up sandwich.)

As Arven had predicted, the Herba Mystica worked its magic, and Mabosstiff's eyes lit up for the first time in months. Tears rolled down Arven's cheeks at the sight of it. As long as he existed in this world, he'd never give up hope. The trick for now was to just keep existing.

 

[KatrinaSForest]

~~Chapter 4: The Tragic Tale of Selfie Sal~~
​

A/N: Audio version is available here. Thanks for reading!

#

Mabosstiff was now happily stuffed. Arven repacked their supplies and led the way out of the cave into the sunlight. He felt pretty good about confiding in Juliana. His gut told him she'd soon prove out her reputation as the academy's most promising new student. Some people just had an air of significance about them. Usually it came with odd clothes. That girl Penny with the Poké Ball sweatshirt and Eevee backpack? She'd probably do something epic before she graduated. And Juliana with her neon, just-barely-regulation uniform? That was a save-the-world look if Arven ever saw one.

I'm carrying a giant bag, he thought. Maybe I'm important, too. He chuckled half-heartedly at the thought. Being the kid of someone in the news was enough stress and heartache for him. He'd take seeing Mabosstiff healthy again and leave the world-changing stuff to the people who cared about it. Probably all Mom ever did care about, he thought bitterly.

Then Arven noticed he wasn't hearing Juliana's footsteps anymore. In a panic, he whirled around, but she hadn't gone anywhere. She'd stopped walking and faced the cave they'd just left, staring intently.

"Everything okay?" Arven asked, not sure if he should approach and stand beside her or wait where he was.

"There were a bunch of Pokémon walking around while we were eating in there," she said. "But now I don't see any at all."

"Maybe they ran off?" Arven said. Not the most sound of suggestions. Anyone who took a few steps outside the safety of the academy's gates knew some Pokémon would flee from you. But just as many would charge at you full-force until they knocked you down and liberated half your picnic supplies. Pokémon centers were kind enough to instantly replenish any lost food (while they conveniently vanished some of the students' pocket money.) But Arven had lost more than one bouncy ball by rolling it too far from his picnic site and into energetic wild Pokémon territory.

In summary, the odds of a cave-full of Pokémon being scared enough to bolt all at once without a trace were pretty low.

"I think they all vanished," Juliana said.

Staring at the vacant mouth of the cave, Arven couldn't argue. "Yeah, guess so," he muttered, listening for a moment longer. Nothing. Not even the sound of scampering feet. So whatever was happening to him was happening to nearby Pokémon as well? He opened and closed his hand again for reassurance. It was easy to keep his mind on Mabosstiff when the rest of the world acted normal. But it had been doing less and less of that lately. For all he knew, the Pokémon hadn't vanished at all but instead got absorbed by the cave walls. He shuddered and tried to block the mental image from his mind. "Guessing you've seen stuff like this before?" he asked Juliana. "Not that I'm complaining, but you're pretty calm now and didn't seem, um...particularly weirded out back in the cave, either."

Juliana shrugged. "Should I have been?"

"I stuck my hand through a rock, so yeah, seems weird enough!"

"Oh, right." Juliana rubbed the back of her head and hurried away from the cave, apparently anxious to put the creepy place behind her. "It's not the first time I've seen some strange stuff, but you're the first person who's acknowledged it to me. I guess I was too relieved to be weirded out." She motioned forward, beyond the sparse grass to the road proper. "Now come on, I wanna get moving."

Arven nodded and walked alongside her. When they'd defeated the first titan, he'd left her behind as soon as he could. Which was kind of rude, looking back on it. This time, he'd stick with her until it made sense to leave. "So, um, what do you think is causing all this?" he asked, trying for a casual tone. One that suggested he had his own completely valid theories for wall-dwelling Pokémon and ghost appendages and was simply looking to her for a second opinion.

Juliana avoided his gaze while she considered her reply, which couldn't be a good sign. "Hard to say. Though I suppose...I mean, do you think it has something to do with those herbs you're gathering?"

"The Herba Mystica? Of course not!" Arven huffed at the suggestion and widened his stride until they reached the road.

Juliana jogged to catch up with him, the silver slider on her bag zipper jingling like a tiny bell. "But...you're the only one investigating them, and whatever's happening seems like it's hitting you harder than most."

Arven slowed his pace. "How many other people is it, um, 'hitting'?" The quick burst of anger had morphed to genuine curiosity. He kept to himself so much nowadays, his only real gauge for these strange events was how often they happened to him personally.

"I've seen some strange stuff with other students at school," Juliana said, now taking the lead down the road. A few Rookidee cocked their heads as she passed them. "But it's always a one-time thing, and they keep insisting they imagined it or their Pokémon's abilities must have had some unusual side effects."

"Sounds frustrating."

"It is!" Juliana said. Her voice jumped in volume, and the Rookidee scattered. Juliana clamped her hand over her mouth. Her gaze shifted, moving past Arven to the looming haphazard fence with dark, star-embroidered flags. "Guess I just lost the element of surprise, huh?" she whispered.

"What element of surprise?" Arven whispered back. "Didn't you tell me you ring a bell to start one of these raids or whatever they are?"

She blushed and nodded. Then she dropped her hands and smoothed her shirt before marching towards the gate in search of said bell. Arven followed, keeping a healthy distance behind.

The guard at the gate gave Juliana little trouble, and Arven fully expected to go his own way once Juliana rang the bell and stepped inside. Instead, she motioned for him to follow her. The guard didn't like this and insisted it was one challenger at a time. Juliana replied that Arven wouldn't fight, and even if he did, how many grunts planned to attack her at the same time? The guard conceded and let them both through.

"You sure about this?" Arven said, nervously. "Erm, not that I can't take these guys, but..."

His eyes widened as they cleared the entrance. This place sure wasn't the highly defended fortress he imagined. In fact, fortress seemed like far too generous a word. It felt more like a large campsite, with some scaffolding-turned-bleachers and what looked like rental tents in Team Star white and yellow. A scoreboard sat in the center-not a fancy digital one, but the flimsy plastic kind you had to physically flip the numbers on. The only electronic items were a few vending machines, which Arven could only assume were being powered by some Pikachus hidden in the tents, because there were no running cables anywhere.

Arven had heard rumors that Team Star had some involvement in Paldea's ongoing strange occurrences. No one really knew what they did in their base camps all day, other than skip class and wait for people to challenge them. But even with his limited (or at least dated) knowledge of the group's inner workings, he couldn't quite picture them as capable of reality-alternating shenanigans now. Especially when they barely seemed capable of keeping the drinks in the vending machines cold.

"Welcome!" blared a voice from the static-clogged loudspeakers. It had a deep, feminine tone with a punch of confidence and authority. "Now, you might think you're a big deal coming here to challenge us, but you should know we think you're a pretty small deal! Don't we?"

A chorus of cheers rose up from the grunts around them-some who circled the center area of the camp, some who watched from the safety of the scaffolding. Several threw Poké Balls, which opened to reveal a variety of dark-types, all snarling and ready for battle.

Juliana released Tinkatuff, and several of the Pokémon backed away.

"A-anyway, you're so small a deal," the announcer's voice went on, "That even though our boss Giacomo is totally here right now, you won't even see him. Because we'll take you out first!"

Another cheer from the crowd rose up, though less confident than before. A pair of Cactune moved forward, but an Ice Hammer swing knocked them right back. The grunt by the scoreboard flipped the numbers from zero to two.

"Y-you should know Giacomo is very strong," the announcer cut in as Juliana began running the inside perimeter of the camp, ordering her Pokémon to charge in front of her. "And he would so destroy you in battle if he faced you. Which he won't, because you'd have to beat, like, thirty of us in a row for that to-"

Tinkatuff laughed maniacally as she sent no less than eight Zorua bolting from the next swing of her hammer. Visible sweat trickled down the face of the grunt tracking their score in the center of the base. The grunts lined up along the fences threw themselves into a ball-chucking frenzy, releasing one Pokémon after another, none of which had any hope of putting a dent in Juliana's team. Arven tried to stay out of the way as much as possible, but with the bulky bag on his shoulders, he wasn't as agile as he would've liked. As Juliana felled her twenty-ninth Pokémon, a grunt directly behind Arven threw one more ball at full force. He winced, anticipating from the whoosh of wind that he was about to receive a sizable clonk on the back of his head. Which was kind of a scary thought. Which meant the ball passed right through him.

The riled-up crowd went silent. Arven slowly opened one eye. Crap. Did anyone see that? The scene was blurry from squeezing his eyes shut so much, but he noticed two things right away: One last Zorua fainting at Tinkatuff's feet, and the entirety of the Team Star crowd staring at him. No one moved. No one said a word. There was a crack of static on the loudspeaker, followed by a lull of extremely awkward silence before the announcer grunt's voice returned with a simple, "Um, hold, please." Then the mic turned off. The grunts took that as a cue to start rapid-fire whispering amongst themselves. Except their "whispering" was even louder than Arven and Juliana's had been outside the base.

"Went straight through him."

"Did you see...?"

"'Course I saw. I was standing right next to you, wasn't I?"

"That's how it started with Selfie Sal."

Against his better judgment, Arven took the bait and stepped up to the nearest grunt in the crowd. "Excuse me, but who's Selfie Sal?"

"Who's-oh, right. Guess you wouldn't know." The grunt pulled a dirty handkerchief from his pocket and dabbed at his reddening eyes with the cleanest corner. "Selfie Sal loved selfies. Then one day, he noticed he could wave his hand, and it would go right through stuff. Thought this was pretty cool. Took even more selfies. That very afternoon, he waved at the camera, clicked the shutter, and-and-" The grunt blew loudly into the handkerchief, and Arven took a slow step away.

"Still think I'm being affected the worst by this?" he asked Juliana, who looked close to tears herself.

"I'm so sorry," she said to the grunt. "And you never saw Sal again?"

"Huh?" The grunt pocketed the handkerchief and raised an eyebrow at her. "Of course we did. Sal came right back. Hey, Sal!" The grunt waved his arm wildly, and a near-identical guy across the grassy field returned the gesture. "But his favorite camera did fall in a lake when he vanished for a second, and he can't afford a replacement. Hasn't been the same since."

"Does his hand still go through stuff?" Arven asked.

The grunt shook his head. "Nah. If it did, he'd have gone with Giacomo to visit the Ruchbah Squad this morning. That's where they're gathering everyone who's been affected by this weird stuff long-term."

"Would you say that describes you?" said a voice behind them.

Arven and Juliana both startled and turned to see another grunt, the one whose confident voice they recognized from the speakers. She was a bit taller than the others with bright orange hair roughly snipped into a pixie cut. "I mean, you didn't seem upset when one of our Poké Balls went through you-just worried we would notice. So I'm guessing you've had problems with this for a while now?"

Arven's grip on his backpack tightened. "I-that is...well, I guess it's been a few weeks but-"

The crowd broke into gasps and murmurs, these ones quiet enough for Arven to miss the exact words. The tone, however, was as clear as a thirty-minute day. Few other people had been dealing with these issues as long as he had.

"Would you mind coming with us to the Ruchbah Squad's base?" the announcer grunt asked, her voice rising in pitch as she clasped her hands together. "Pretty please with a star pick on top?"

"It's not far," Selfie Sal's buddy added. "Northern Province, area three. We might even be able to help you."

"Wait, so Giacomo's not here?" Juliana asked. "Did I defeat your squad or not?"

"Okay, technically, yes, but you've gotta admit, there's bigger problems right now," the announcer replied. "Don't be a bully and get all hung up on beating other people down."

You think we're the bullies? Arven thought, keeping his wits enough not to say it aloud. So far this Team Star crew wasn't forcing them to do anything. They'd been pretty friendly, all things considered. Which contradicted everything Arven knew about Team Star as a whole. Then again, maybe they've changed recently?

In either case, he felt obligated to follow along with them for now, which was a real inconvenience. Hopefully it paid off.

 

[KatrinaSForest]

~~Chapter 5: Unintended Gym Challenges~~
A/N: Audio version is available here. Thanks for reading!

#

Penny slipped the last of the supplies she would need into her Eevee backpack. She'd chosen her lighter-colored shiny edition this time, notable for its thicker, studier fabric. It wouldn't be a long trip. In fact, the flying taxi would take her most of the way to the Ruchbah Squad's base. But with the situation being what it was, she wanted some emergency travel gear at the ready.

She'd woken up this morning to three more alerts: one good and two bad. Neither of the latter were world-altering just yet. (She'd had the sense to upgrade her alert system, classifying the severity of the alert and playing a corresponding sound so she didn't panic without reason.)

The first bad news: Six disappearing walls had been reported since Monday-double the number seen last week.

The second bad news: Juliana and Professor Sada's son, Arven, had come into the Segin Squad's base and effectively taken it down without Giacomo there. The actual good news: Arven reported experiencing some long-term anomalies. In fact, he could even predict when they would appear. The grunts, by some miracle, had managed to convince both of them to meet up with Giacomo and Ortega. This was exactly the breakthrough the new Team Star needed; an anomaly with a known trigger could be studied. Perhaps the source could even be traced. Ortega had experienced some long-term effects himself, as had a few other citizens they'd managed to recruit, but so far, no one had any idea what set them off.

Yeah, this feels like it's going way too well, was Penny's first thought.

The Eevee's bag fluffy tummy doubled as an extra pocket, so Penny slipped a book inside to read on the trip. It was called "How to Show Your Face to Your Friends" by G.L. Allister, and so far, she'd found it enlightening. Apparently the author had quite a bit of social anxiety himself. But rather than hide behind a screen, he showed up to events in-person, wearing a mask. Penny couldn't picture herself doing that, but she did find a motorcycle helmet with a conveniently dark visor at the hat store. Why the dress code permitted students to completely obscure their faces but forbade fuzzy backpacks shaped like Pokémon was beyond her understanding.

She picked up the heavy bag (which now looked like a droopy, overstuffed shiny Eevee) as she recalled the passage she'd read before dozing off last night: Be warned that wearing a mask can cause people to not recognize you when the mask is removed. Especially if the outfit you wear with the mask is different from the one you wear without it. People are surprisingly bad at recognizing voices. See Chapter 8, "The Professor and the Masked Royal: a Case Study," for more details.

Penny nodded to herself, and before slipping the bag on, she grabbed her navy Ultra Ball sweatshirt instead of her gray Poké Ball one. Naturally she had to go meet Juliana and Arven. But like the emergency travel gear, she kept a healthy dose of skepticism on hand. Just in case.

~~~

"And...just to be clear, you want sixty-three servings of peanut butter?" the shop clerk asked Juliana, raising a thick, bushy eyebrow. He was a tall, muscular guy, and when he leaned on the little sill of the shop window, the wood creaked in protest. Juliana nodded and offered her phone to scan. Instead, the clerk eyed Arven, who broke eye contact immediately. Not my circus, not my Aipoms, he reminded himself, looking around the scenery. They'd stopped in Medali for some picnic supplies, which had taken a surprising long time to locate. Every time they asked people what kind of ingredients they recommended, the folks would answer in some weird, cryptic way and insist on a battle. Arven and Juliana took a lunch break at the Treasure Eatery for some grilled rice balls-Fire Blast style with lemon, naturally-and somehow this had ended in Juliana walking away with her fifth gym badge. At this point, Arven really just wanted to get their supplies and get moving.

"Do you even have space for sixty-three servings of peanut butter?" the clerk asked as he relented and took Juliana's payment.

"Give me one box for now and have the rest sent to my dorm room at Naranja Academy," Juliana said. The man shrugged and walked away from the window, presumably to fill out the shipping forms.

"Why so much?" Arven asked. "Are you stocking for the apocalypse or something?"

Juliana cocked her head. "You said spicy peanut butter is Mabosstiff's favorite, right?"

She actually remembered that? "I-I...yes, it is. But you've got to mix the wasabi and the peanut butter just right. A little goes a long way."

"Right," Juliana said. "So I figured we'll need a lot of peanut butter to practice with."

"You're sweet, but this is expensive." Arven rubbed the back of his head, chastising himself even as he said it. Juliana's financial situation wasn't any of his Combee's wax. For all he knew, her family could be loaded. But even so... "I don't feel right letting you buy it."

"I've got a side job," Juliana assured him, then took a glance at her phone. She frowned when she saw the screen. Arven didn't hear it ping with any sort of update, so maybe she was checking for something that hadn't come in yet? Still none of his business, he supposed, though he hated to see her upset after how much she'd been helping him.

"Everything's fine," she said as she shoved the phone in her pocket. Then, after a few impatient taps of her foot, she added on, "What's the hold up, anyway? It shouldn't take so long to get a few dozen jars of-"

"Oh, blast it!" yelled the clerk, right on cue. "My Machop is stuck in the floor again."

Arven and Juliana stared at one another. The way their dumbfounded expressions seemed to mirror each other told Arven they'd probably both heard the same thing.

"Um...excuse me?" Juliana asked. She tried to lean through the window to see what the man was talking about, but he rushed over and waved her off.

"Hey, hey!" he said. "You don't enter a person's store. It's rude. You read a list of our fine selection and order outside like dignified folk."

Juliana apologized, explaining how she'd moved in recently and was still learning the local culture. The clerk nodded in approval. "Now, then, as I was sayin', I got a Machop that does the heavy lifting for me, but she's got this quirk that's been showing up more often lately. Sinks right into the floor like it's a vat of mayo. Then halfway into sinking, she gets stuck like it's hardened cement. By the way, that first one makes a fine sandwich topping. Don't recommend the second."

"That sounds awful!" Juliana said. "Your Machop must be so scared!"

The clerk let out a chuckle and held up his hands in a what-can-you-do motion. "Scared? Nah. She probably got a new ability or something. Or changed abilities. I'll bet a customer fed her an Ability Capsule when I wasn't lookin'. Anyway, we just close up shop and play cards for a while, and eventually the floor spits her back out. But I'm afraid I can't get you your ingredients until that happens."

Arven eyed the man's large, muscular arms. "So...you can't hand us a box?"

"I could, but it might make Machop feel bad. I gotta be considerate. I'll get your purchase shipped out as soon as I can. Thanks for patronizing our shop, and have a great day." And with that, he lowered the security blinds down over the window, waving to Arven and Juliana all the while. Instead of a plain steel gray, the blinds had a warm wooden color with a large emblem that looked like the upper half of a door. A glance at the wall space below the window revealed a corresponding emblem. When the blinds finished moving into place, the image was complete, and the closed shop appeared to have a cute little wooden door that no one could actually open.

Arven shook his head, told Juliana there probably wasn't much they could do, and suggested they move on. He had enough picnic supplies in his stash if he made the sandwiches himself this time. They could practice more when the shipment came through. With a sad sigh, Juliana agreed.

On their way out of town, Arven scanned every corner for a gift shop or an ice cream stand or some kind of cheering-up place. He came up empty. A wide variety of stores lined the road, but the bulk of them were closed shut the same way as the sandwich shop had been, fake doors included. Were there always so few shops in town open? Now that he thought about it, he hadn't been able to buy a new T-shirt in forever. Or any groceries that weren't directly related to sandwiches.

"Was that guy's Machop really stuck in the floor?" Arven asked.

Juliana glanced at the grass, still frowning. "I didn't get a great look, but it seemed that way. He sure made it sound like it's normal, though." She turned to face Arven. "I feel silly for asking, but...is it normal?"

"No. The Terastallizing phenomenon has been around here forever, but whatever the guy was talking about...sounds a lot like what's been happening to me. And even Team Star agrees that's weird." Arven shook his head. He still wasn't sure how he felt about Team Star, but he was determined to spend this trip keeping as open a mind as possible.

"I guess you're right...oh, hang on. I need to send a text." Juliana lowered her bag to the ground and pulled out her phone once again. She typed lightning-fast, her eyebrows furrowed in concentration. Whatever it was about must have been important. Arven pulled out his own phone, where the Team Star grunts had sent the coordinates for their meeting place. If whatever was bothering Juliana was relevant to him, she'd share it when she was ready. Hopefully she was ready soon, though. Her frown was starting to look like it was permanently etched on her face.

 

[KatrinaSForest]

~~Chapter 6: Arrival at the Ruchbah Base~~​

A/N: Audio version is available here. Thanks for reading!

#

Penny was almost dozing off to the rhythmic flapping of a surprisingly airworthy mob of Squawkabilly when her phone buzzed with a new message. She adjusted her glasses from where she'd been slouching to read it clearly:

Not sure if you got the alert or not, but I did defeat the Segin Squad, so whenever you're able to send the LP for that, I'd appreciate it. -Juliana

"Seriously?" Penny hissed, then covered her mouth. Not that the taxi driver was paying her any attention. The winds were so loud up here, it was hard to understand each other even when they shouted. Penny slipped on the helmet she'd brought. It not only cut down on the wind, it sent a clear message of, "I do not want to speak to you." She liked it.

What she did not like was Juliana asking to be paid for actively undermining the mission. And she detested the fact that she'd told Juliana to do this in the first place. Couldn't people just figure out what they needed to do without the inconvenience of communication? It would make life so much simpler.

I did get the alert, but I'm traveling right now, and reception is spotty, she typed back to Juliana. The reception was fine, but with the number of lies she'd piled up so far, what was one more? Besides, she needed more time to work up the nerve for the message she'd send once the payment went out. It had to be one action, then the other, so she didn't have the chance to cower out this time.

Payment sent, she typed into the box, without hitting send yet. But I must tell you this is the last one you'll get. I'm cancelling Operation Starfall. Thank you for your help. Penny read it over several times with deep breaths. Simple and straightforward. It would go out with the final payment when she reached her destination. Juliana would have to figure out how to deal with the consequences.

~~~

The moment the taxi landed, Penny did it. She even took her helmet off to show herself she could face this with her head high. With one app open, she sent the text, and then within a matter of seconds, she flipped to the banking app and sent Juliana's payment. Relief flooded her, even as the taxi took to the sky behind her, meaning she'd have to face Team Star for the first time in person. The lies were ending here and today. If she got through breaking the news to Juliana, she could get through the rest. And then she could save everybody. It all started with that first ste-

"What? Nooo!" Juliana's wail echoed across the green oasis of a field that surrounded the Ruchbah Squad's base.

Penny looked up to see Juliana cresting a grassy hill, which stood in sharp contrast to the icy mountains around it. A young man, most likely Arven, laid a sympathetic hand on her shoulder.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

Juliana collapsed into the grass, sobbing. "I just got fired from my job! I owe almost 20k for peanut butter jars!"

Where and why did she buy 20k worth of... Penny shoved her helmet back on before Juliana or Arven could see her. Facing everybody was a noble goal, but she needed it to be a feasible one, too. Right now, that wasn't happening. A sinking feeling in her stomach-not unlike eating several dozen jars of peanut butter-said not to get her hopes up for the future, either.

Ugh. I knew this day started too well.

~~~

If there was one thing Clavell prided himself on, it was his sense of subtlety. Unlike the ruffians of Team Star, he knew when a situation required a quieter approach. Take the present moment, for example. He could be marching into the Ruchbah Squad's base, demanding the full story behind why a wealthy business heir like Ortega would join a group like Team Star to begin with. But instead he'd chosen to follow Juliana from a distance and see what Team Star did when they thought she had one less ally. She'd proven herself quite capable against the Segin Squad. But it would be irresponsible to expect her to handle Ortega the same way. His formidable crew had already managed to demoralize her without so much as cracking open the gate. Clavell knew this because of the way she'd cried out in great alarm only a few moments ago. He could not tell what she'd said from this distance, but she'd been looking at her phone at the time. Had they perhaps sent her some photographic evidence of their sinister plot to destroy Paldea piece by piece? If so, Clavell needed to get hold of that phone as soon as possible. He bent low in the grass, the tall blades encompassing him up to his shoulders and poking him in the neck. He'd been bumped by several Capsakids on the way here and had a Gyarados ready to chase off any more that showed up. Of course, using Gyarados would no doubt give away his position, so he sincerely hoped it didn't come to that.

Up until recently, he'd thought the same of Team Star that everyone else did: They were troublemakers–hooligans who spent class time customizing their clothing and vehicles with the most flagrant disregard for dress codes and decency. But in the past few weeks, Clavell concluded this was all a cover-up for their truly heinous plot: pulling apart Paldea's reality at the seams.

A genius-level epiphany, to be sure, though Clavell hadn't made it in a vacuum. An anonymous source had sent the school a list of incidents shortly after the inception of Operation Starfall. Clavell didn't want to believe it at first, but the more he began to pay attention, the more he noticed the strange occurrences all around him. It was especially bad in the classrooms. Sometimes his feet were so sluggish, he could barely move in there. Then there was the time he'd been training up his Pokémon in the schoolyard only to have a ghostly image of a student's face float through the middle of battle. And to think all this time he'd blamed such effects on his questionable choice of morning coffee.

The source didn't name any culprits, but Clavell knew how to read between the lines. Something bad was happening, ergo an organization that began with "Team" and ended with some jazzy-sounding noun had to be responsible. How fortunate he had Cassiopeia and Juliana to help him bring these criminals to justice. He hoped to speak with her before she entered the base itself. He simply needed to watch and wait for the proper opportunity...

#

Juliana dried her eyes, feeling more than a little foolish as she scrolled through her account balance. She'd thought the funds from Operation Starfall were her only major income. Surely defeating gym leaders couldn't pay that much.

In fact, it paid quite well. In retrospect, the gym leaders did tell her what she won after her matches ended, but they always squeezed it in with a bunch of thematic congratulations, explanations about what this or that TM did, and weird photo ops. Juliana would admit, she tended to tune them out. Whatever kind of funding the Pokémon League got, if members could throw this much at challengers, it had to be astronomical. She'd never considered a career in the League before now, but the possibility had moved pretty high up her list.

After she helped keep her friend in a consistent corporeal state, of course.

"You okay there?" Arven asked. He stood awkwardly at her side, unsure what to make of her outburst. Maybe with luck, he'd forget the whole thing ever happened.

"Y-yes," Juliana answered sheepishly. "I, uh...thought my finances were, um, more of a problem than they actually are." She scrolled a little further. "Plus, it looks like the store didn't charge me for the peanut butter shipment, since they didn't send it out yet. Maybe I can return half for a partial refund?"

"Uh-huh," said Arven. He turned and surveyed the base in front of them. On the outside, it looked just like the others: a slapped-together fence, an old school bell on the gate, and billowing flags embroidered with the Team Star logo. In theory, the pastel pink on these flags should have made them look softer. But Juliana knew as well as anyone that fairy types were nothing to be trifled with. If anything, the color was more intimidating.

"Excuse me, but...are you two going inside?"

Juliana startled. The quiet voice sounded familiar, but when she turned, she didn't recognize the speaker at all. The words came from a shortish girl wearing a navy Great Ball sweatshirt, a shiny Eevee backpack, and a helmet that totally hid her face. She reminded Juliana of the shy girl from school. But the backpack and sweatshirt were different, and the shy girl didn't wear a helmet. So they couldn't be the same person. Could they?

"We're about to," Arven said, straightening his backpack. "And you are...?"

"I came to help with Team Star's research into the anomalies," the girl replied. "My name's...uh, Jenny."

"Jenny," Juliana repeated. "I can remember that. Nice to meet you, Jenny."

Jenny didn't answer directly, but she did mutter something that sounded like, "Huh. Guess G.L. Allister was right." She then turned and walked towards the gate with a slow but purposeful stride. The girl really did seem familiar. Just like Clive did when he first showed up.

Juliana started to follow, but as she did so, Arven pulled her back and leaned in close. "Don't turn around, but there's a creepy man with purple sunglasses watching us from the grass. Pretty sure he's been following since we left the Segin Squad's base."

Juliana lowered her hand from its ready position to slap Arven out of her personal bubble. "Oh?" she said, her gut sinking a bit. "Does he have a retro, gravity-defying haircut?"

"Yeah. You know him?"

"Sadly, yes," Juliana answered with a groan. "You go on ahead. I'll follow when I can."

Arven didn't look thrilled with her answer, though he took her at her word and followed Jenny up to the gate. It opened without either of them needing to ring the bell. Guess that's how it goes when you call ahead, she thought.