[attr="class","juliaw"]

That confirmed it: They were taking more damage from each other's attacks than from Julia and Shalin's! Why? Julia didn't know, and she wasn't gonna think about it! "You got it!" Unfortunately, none of the Pokémon she had with her had any reflective moves. If she could trick her opponents into accidentally hitting each other again...

[break][break]Oh, the ground was shaking again! That was actually perfect! She had Chester jump to one of the rising ice pillars, then took another Ball from her belt. "Lazuli, Confuse Ray!"

[break][break]The Lapras materialized on one of the ice pillars. She sang out a warbling note, summoning several orbs of colorful light from her mouth. They drifted toward the king and his mount and danced around them in disorienting swirls. Once they'd faded, Julia could see the confusion in both their eyes.

[break][break]"Yes!" she whispered. Then, louder: "Hey! Over here, kingy!"

[break][break]The Zoroark looked up with a soft growl as Julia steered Chester so that the other Zoroark-Ninetales pair was between them. The Ninetales aimed a Mystical Fire, and the Zoroark launched another Night Daze, but in their confusion, they'd fallen right into Julia's trap and hit their companions, instead. The Alolan Ninetales whined in pain, and the Hisuian Zoroark hissed angrily.

[break][break]"Now, Lazuli, Water Pulse!"

[break][break]The pulsing rings of water may not have done as much damage as they normally would have done to the Fire-type, but they were still clearly wearing it down and, more importantly, disorienting it even further.

[break][break]"I think we've almost got them!"

[attr="class","juliaw"]

Hellion whined in alarm when his attack failed to take down his opponent, freeing her to strike back. The powered-up Counter tossed him to the ground, too dazed to move.

[break][break]The male thug silently agreed and recalled his own Pokémon. He, too, turned to run, but came to a dead stop when Ettie sprang out of the undergrowth and tackled his partner. The woman, not expecting such an onslaught from this small child, fell to the ground. After seeing what Ettie had done to her partner, her first instinct was to cover her face with both arms. "Argh, get off me, you little—!"

[break][break]"Oh my god, they're all crazy," the other thug muttered, starting to sweat. It seemed there truly was no honor among thieves; he turned tailed and started to run from this madness.

[break][break]"Spot, Ribbon, stop him!" Julia called.

[break][break]Surprisingly, Ribbon was the first to act, buzzing angrily as she raced toward the retreating ruffian. She darted around his head, slowing him down a bit as he swatted ineffectively at her.

[break][break]"Get off me, you little pest!"

[break][break]That was Spot's cue. He gathered what remained of his strength in his legs and ran after the thief. The man saw him coming just a moment too late and was knocked to the ground by Spot's tackle, not hard enough to do any real damage but just rough enough to smart. Spot grabbed the man's wrist and held them behind his back like he'd seen arresting officers do many times before.

[break][break]"Good job!" Julia cheered before running over toward where the woman and Ettie struggled on the ground. "Hold her arms, Ettie." She took some rope from her pack and tied the woman's wrists together with a tight, well-practiced knot. Then, she did the same with the man.

[break][break]"In the name of Hoenn's Rangers, I'm placing you three under arrest!"

[break][break]They'd have to call some officers to collect them, but man, it felt good to say that after such a tough battle!

[attr="class","juliaw"]

Julia hadn't seen much of Josh Devlin since that fateful day in Mauville when they'd discovered the secret identity of their mutual friend, Isaac Merlo. Things had gotten heated between the Rangers themselves, and although it had ultimately ended well, Julia found it hard to forget Josh's reckless anger that day.

[break][break]She shook those thoughts from her head. Today wasn't about that, though. Today was about doing Ranger work with a friend and coworker, and she was gonna focus on that. If only it wasn't such grim work. Nobody had survived the crash they were diving down to investigate. Instead, they were recovering the two black boxes with data on the crash so that investigators could determine the cause of the crash and, hopefully, prevent it from happening again. Julia honed in on the latter thought. If she could prevent any more lives from being lost like this, then she'd be happy.

[break][break]Her sleek new prosthetic leg was covered by underwater gear, making her even more secure in its underwater durability. After her old one had been damaged during the Littleroot battle, she'd gotten this replacement from Benoit Armaments built specifically for Ranger work. It was sturdy without being heavy and, most importantly for this mission, waterproof. This would be a good stress test for it, and if something happened to it, Julia had her and Josh's Pokémon to help with her mobility.

[break][break]"I don't think you told me that, no," she said to Josh. She followed him down to the ship's lower scaffolding, where Snacker waited eagerly for Julia to mount up. "Hey, buddy. Ready to ride?" She grinned, excited to finally experience the Sharpedo's speed.

[break][break]"Oh, I brought my Kingdra, too! Her name's Inky." Clearly, Julia was a master of nicknames. She'd also brought along several more of her Water-types for the job, including Lazuli the Lapras, Marina the Huntail, and a newer addition to the team, Zuzu the Marill. The latter, with her deceptively Huge Power, would be an excellent asset to this mission if they needed to move around the wreckage.

[break][break]She double-checked her equipment, then hopped onto Snacker's back. "All right, let's go."

[attr="class","juliaw"]

Looked like most people had chosen to shake her awake gently. That was okay! That would have been Julia's second choice, anyway. That sleepy Dahlia is so cute, too! Way different from the stern and commanding voice she'd heard during...

[break][break]Okay, back to focusing on the cute dating game! She was preeeetty sure the last choice was wrong. But there wasn't a clear indication of what the right one was, so maybe it was just what was most popular? Julia thought the first one sounded more fun, so she picked Sapphire.

[attr="class","juliaw"]

Wow, who would have thought you could co-op a dating game?

[break][break]Okay, to be fair, Julia didn't know much about dating games beyond what was obvious from the name. But this one had been sweeping the region, for better or worse, and now they'd added the League Commissioner as a "route." That had been enough to pique Julia's interest, but then Ettie had asked to borrow her phone so she could play it, and that had sealed the deal. So now, looking down at Fortree from her treetop home with her dad's tablet in hand, she started up the game.

[break][break]Oh, wow, that was a lot of text. She wasn't particularly deterred by the warning, having seen enough movies to be used to it, but she hadn't expected there to be so much reading. Okay, so it looked like for this game, Julia was Commissioner Dahlia Goode's new personal assistant. The Commissioner was asleep at her desk, but she had a meeting soon and needed to be woken up. Julia thought for a moment, then decided to play a song from her RotomPhone. That always got Julia up and energized!

[attr="class","juliaw"]

As Julia watched the graceful movements of the Gardevoir swarm, she was reminded of just how much Pokémon had influenced people. Not just because they worked, played, and fought alongside each other, but because they had clearly taken inspiration from one another. The feelers of a Sylveon must have inspired people to create ribbons and bows. The Gothita line was surely responsible for the Gothic Lolita fashion popular in certain parts of the world. And, of course, the shape of the lovely Gardevoir had to have led to the creation of elegant ball gowns. Julia couldn't imagine herself wearing something so fancy, but it was still lovely to watch the flowing shapes of the Embrace Pokémon.

[break][break]All right, enough getting distracted by that. Isaac Merlo had mentioned that Ralts would be a good Pokémon for Julia, and she was inclined to agree. Their line was drawn to positive emotions, so all Julia had to do was be her usual self, and she had this in the bag!

[break][break]The Gardevoir, with their ability to sense emotions, must have known that Julia was watching them from afar, but they only paid her heed when she stepped out of hiding and into the open. She smiled warmly, channeling thoughts and feelings of friendship and companionship. One Gardevoir approached her, curious.

[break][break]

[attr="class","juliaw"]

"Whoa!" Julia shouted as the pillars of ice suddenly shot upward. She looked up to see that familiar white light from earlier in the palace, and when she touched it, bitter cold shot through her. She clung to Chester, shivering from the sudden change in temperature. The room itself was a mirror image of the one they'd just been in... and the ice pillars they stood on were sinking fast. Julia fought the cold to steer Chester onto one of the icy catwalks and return Shellie to her Ball.

[break][break]"This is nuts!"

[break][break]The insanity didn't end there, though. The riders weren't human at all; they were Zoroark! Now that their identities had been revealed, they joined the Ninetales' Mystical Fire and Frost Breath with Night Daze and Bitter Malice. Chester ran across the ice, digging in his talons so he wouldn't slip, but there wasn't nearly as much room to dodge in here. Chester squawked and Julia grunted, holding on tight, as one of the Night Daze shockwaves hit them. Darkness lingered to obstruct their vision, making their situation even more perilous.

[break][break]However, they weren't the only ones hit by the attack. Though she couldn't see it, she could hear the cries of the other Ninetales and Zoroark as they were struck by the wide wave of darkness. That definitely had the Hisuian Zoroark hurting, though only Shalin would really be able to see that. The "queen" snarled at her "king," displeased by his clumsiness.

[attr="class","juliaw"]

The word "war" had been floating in the air for a long time now when it came to the conflict between the League and Rocket, something just out of reach that Julia hadn't tried to grasp at because war was a scary concept. She'd just let it be, assuming that its harsh reality would never become her own. But now it had crashed down on her like a lead weight, and she'd just stood there because it seemed like the right thing to do.

[break][break]All things considered, Julia had been lucky. The only Rocket she'd had a one-on-one confrontation with had deliberately held back to scare off and then given her a first-aid pouch. Even the Primal Point's explosion had left her with nothing more than cuts, bruises, and the need for a replacement prosthesis. How she had escaped a head injury, she may never know. But would she be so lucky next time?

[break][break]She really hoped there wasn't a next time. She didn't trust herself to not want to help if there was.

[break][break]"Yeah, that's a good point," Julia said about the bomb-in-the-hand thing. "I know I said I should work on thinking before I do something, but I guess sometimes, not thinking actually works out better." She sounded a bit too happy about that revelation. Snuffles oinked what sounded like agreement.

[break][break]That levity only lasted for a moment, though. She nodded seriously as Isaac finished. "Yeah." There wasn't much else she could add to that. An open heart, a sharp mind, and a safe body were all really important, especially when things got stressful. Julia knew she was good with at least one of those. She'd gotten better with the last one over the years since her accident, but the second? She wasn't so sure. That usually didn't bother her. Julia Davis pushed through life with determination and hope, and it had worked out so far. It had to keep working out. It was the only way she knew how to live.

[break][break]Despite her facetious chuckle, that gut punch looked like it pained Julia, too. Still, she managed a smile at Isaac's compliment. "Me, neither."

[break][break]Julia's eyes flickered wider open for a moment at Isaac's request. She didn't answer for just a second too long. "What position?" She had a feeling she knew, but she didn't want it to be true.

[attr="class","juliaw"]

Who were the soldiers of the Hoenn region? Sure, Hoenn had a proper army, but so many of the people that Julia knew at Littleroot hadn't been part of it. Nearly the whole Fortree Ranger family had been there, as had a bunch of other Rangers from other cities. Not to mention civilians like Shalin and who knew who else. Why? Julia had a bad feeling about following that train of thought.

[break][break]She focused instead on the positive part of Isaac's words. "I just wanted to help," she said with a soft smile. "I'd want others to do the same for me if Fortree got attacked or something." She didn't usually get humble like this, but what else was she supposed to say, especially when she still had such strong, mixed feelings about the whole thing?

[break][break]There was nothing positive about what Isaac said next, though. Her smile fell. It was like the reverse of what they had discussed back when he and Blackjack were still different people to her: Yeah, Rocket took advantage of people down on their luck and made them do terrible things, but some people in the organization were genuinely awful. Isaac thought they deserved whatever happened to them. Julia found it hard to disagree.

[break][break]"It's hard to tell which is which sometimes, though," Julia said. "'Cause now I'm thinking, did that person throw the Molotov because they wanted to or because they had to? It's not like I could just ask them."

[break][break]Isaac's pleas clutched Julia's heart. She looked down to Momo in her lap, who stared back up at her worriedly. Again, Julia focused on her Pokémon's fur as she tried to soothe over the hurt inside her. She forced out a chuckle. "I guess I didn't think that one through, either. We're still technically enemies, kind of. It's not like we can just share things like that."

[attr="class","juliaw"]

Ribbon squeaked in alarm when she saw the flame and smoke forming in the Zoroark's mouth. She darted to one side, but the Zoroark tracked her before shooting out a stream of fire that was too thick for Ribbon to fully dodge. Ribbon's buzzing grew weak as she sank toward the ground. The Zoroark, though panting from exertion, grinned toothily and raised her claws...

[break][break]Spot growled as the Seviper's long body constricted him. He couldn't move... but neither could his opponent if she stayed like this. He took the opportunity to gather light in his body, then unleashed it in a point-blank Flash Cannon. The Seviper let out a shrill, shrieking hiss and slackened just enough for Spot to pull himself free. But he couldn't do much more than that, exhausted as he was from the battles he'd fought tonight. The Seviper was blinded and bewildered for now, but that wouldn't last long, and there was no doubt she'd leap right back into the fray...

[break][break]Duchess, despite her current struggles against the Liepard, Howled. Anne threw Hellion off of her and joined in. Spot's eyes sparked with determination. Though he didn't know the move itself, he joined in with a howl of his own. The best Ribbon could do was buzz loudly, but it was enough to convey her feelings: She wasn't giving up, and she wouldn't let anyone else give up, either! The Zoroark's eyes widened in shock. How was this little bug still fighting?!

[break][break]The male Liepard seemed taken aback by this bold display, but he quickly snapped out of it and leapt at Duchess with a Night Slash, yowling. Hellion struggled to his feet, barely holding on after his tussle with the Lycanroc.

[break][break]"C'mon, don't let this pup beat ya!" the Houndoom's trainer shouted. "Show it your Reversal!"

[break][break]Hellion growled low in his chest as energy gathered around him. He howled, a dark sound meant to threaten rather than empower, and the energy burst and wrapped around him like an aura. He charged at Anne with everything he had left in him.

[break][break]"You've got this, you guys!" Julia called to her team. "Ribbon, Fairy Wind! Spot, Shadow Ball!"

[break][break]Ribbon buzzed again and beat her wings to stir up the Fairy Wind around her opponent. The Zoroark, still stunned, wasn't able to move out of the way in time and took the full force of the attack. She staggered, then fell to the ground, defeated by a Pokémon over fifteen times smaller than her.

[break][break]"Oh, come on!" the male thug groaned. "How'd you lose to that thing?!"

[break][break]His companion scowled. "Seviper, take that Lucario down!"

[break][break]The Seviper shook off the spots in her vision just in time to see Spot gathering shadowy energy between his paws. She hissed in alarm and heated up her fangs for another Fire Fang. When she sprang at Spot, he shot his Shadow Ball, knocking her to the ground. She raised her head and tried to hiss, but the sound sputtered out along with the fire in her mouth before she fell limp.

[attr="class","juliaw"]

Spot and Ribbon both sounded out their appreciation for Anne's interference, but there wasn't time to cheer on their comrade. The Zoroark, hurting from the dual attacks, stepped back and let loose another Night Daze right at Spot's face. Spot blinked hard, the darkness obscuring his vision for just a moment, but that moment was long enough for the Zoroark to act. When Spot could see again, Ribbon and the Zoroark had changed places. The Zoroark turned to Spot with a wicked grin and raised her claw, ready to strike, while Ribbon floated closer to the Lucario, looking alarmed.

[break][break]"Spot, watch out!" Julia shouted. "It's using its illusions!"

[break][break]Spot's ears perked up. He would not be tricked again. His eyes flashed blue, allowing him Detect the auras of the Pokémon in front of him. The false Ribbon may have looked concerned, but Spot could feel the malice radiating from its form. Just before the Brick Break struck, Spot jumped back out of reach. Ribbon, with the illusion around her shattered, cheered.

[break][break]"Attaboy!" Julia cheered. "Ribbon, Struggle Bug! Spot, stop that Seviper!"

[break][break]Spot barked, then turned toward the Seviper that was watching the battle between Duchess and the Liepard like a predator ready to strike. The Zoroark growled, frustrated, and tried to charge at him, but Ribbon flew between the two, wings buzzing faster and faster until they created a shockwave infused with Bug-type power. The Zoroark shuddered, the attack weakening her further.

[break][break]With the Illusion Fox Pokémon distracted, Spot ran for the Seviper, intent on stopping her before she could interfere. When the Seviper saw him coming, she hissed, cloaked her fangs in fire, and sprang at him. Spot wasn't fast enough to counter the Fire Fang, which sank, burning, into his fur. He growled, but it was a weak, shaky sound, like he was on his last leg. Light flickered off the metal protrusions on his hands and chest as he tried to use the last of his energy to summon a Flash Cannon, but would he be able to pull it off?

[attr="class","juliaw"]

Julia's smile took on a rare sardonic edge. "Nah, it totally was. I wasn't thinking. But it's okay. I've gotta get better about that."

[break][break]Isaac went quiet when Julia asked where he'd been that day. Her fingers ran through her Pokémon's fur as she waited for an answer, and her mouth fell into neutral. The silence was just getting uncomfortable when Isaac finally answered. So he'd been on Mt. Pyre because he hadn't wanted to be where people were. Julia nodded, mouth twitching into a momentary frown.

[break][break]

[break]"Yeah. Me, too." She remembered meeting Shalin Nariya on the battlefield and hearing that she, a civilian, had been conscripted into this war because of her adventuring experience. Shalin was strong and capable, no doubt about it. But she shouldn't have been forced to get involved with this. Nobody should have.

[break][break]"But I volunteered. I wanted to protect people, even if it meant having to fight Rocket head-on." She sucked in an unsteady breath, and Momo nestled into her, trying to comfort her. "Someone threw a Molotov at a house. A house, Isaac! If the citizens hadn't been evacuated, someone could have gotten hurt! All because of some energy source beneath the town? Was that worth endangering innocent lives to Rocket? And what was up with trying to stop the Primal Points from firing? The whole region was gonna be destroyed! Even Rocket had to know that meant them, too, right? So why? What was the point?"

[break][break]Momo chittered softly in Julia's lap, and Snuffles looked up with a concerned snort. Julia looked startled, then shook her head, as if trying to dislodge the anger and frustration stuck inside. She went back to petting her Pokémon, letting that calm her.

[break][break]"Sorry," she said with a feeble smile. "I guess I've been holding that one in for a while."