[attr="class","juliaw"]

Julia's heart pounded as the finish line approached. Beneath her legs, she could feel Chester's hearts doing the same, though that was likely more out of exertion than just nerves. Blinky was right on their tail and gaining fast. Soon, the two Pokémon were racing nearly side by side. The goal was in sight. Julia leaned forward in Chester's saddle and watched the talons and paws of the racers hit the ground. When they crossed the finish line, it was nearly simultaneous. Even Julia couldn't tell who had touched the line first.

[break][break]Chester slowed to a stop, taking deep, slow breaths with all three heads. Julia petted and nuzzled each of them. "You did so, so good out there," she said. "No matter what, I'm so proud of you." The middle head nuzzled her back, making a low, appreciative sound.

[break][break]They all watched the monitor with bated breath as it played back the race's final moments frame by frame. Julia gasped in a rush of emotions when she saw that, indeed, Chester's talon had crossed before Blinky's paw. But just barely: the timer showed that the difference between the two racers was a mere nine-hundredths of a second. Julia's jaw dropped. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw that one of Chester's beaks did, too.

[break][break]She turned to Josh, beaming, when he patted her on the shoulder. She couldn't help but practically swell with pride at his compliments, especially when he mentioned how these skills would also serve her well as a Ranger. She took the Quick Badge with both hands and looked down at it for a moment.

[break][break]"My first Badge," she said with surprisingly quiet enthusiasm. The accident in her childhood had stolen this dream from her once, but now, she was taking it back. Josh's statement that records were meant to be broken brought a more characteristic fire to her eyes. "If someone manages to break our record, I'd love to meet them. And then we'll take it right back! Right, Chester?"

[break][break]Chester's right and middle heads cawed in agreement, though they were quieter than usual. The left one looked pleadingly at Julia. "Oh, jeez, you must be tired. Come on back and rest up. You did great out there." The red beam recalled Chester back into his Poké Ball, where he could begin to rest and recuperate from his efforts.

[break][break]She followed Josh inside to sign the paperwork to make her Badge official. "I'll give you a call when I get a good lead," she said. "There's probably gonna be a lot to do after the meteor's dealt with."

[break][break]With her badge in tow and a promise to work together made (because there would be work—a whole life—after the meteor), Julia left the Gym with a spring in her step. After she and Chester had gotten a nice rest, it'd be time to celebrate!

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Chester was able to clear the gap, but that didn't stop kyle lopez and his Arcanine from catching up to them with blinding speeds. Still in 9th place, but she and the Champion were neck and neck (or necks, given Chester's unique anatomy). Now, they faced a unique obstacle carved out by the huge snake Pokémon on the track. What was once an obstacle that Chester could leap with ease had broken apart into an obstacle course. Julia had to pick fast: Did she try to play to Chester's strengths despite the greater precision needed, or did she take the lower path and contend with the debris below?

[break][break]With not enough time to judge just where she should approach the ramp from, Julia opted to steer Chester down the slope. If all went well, they could make up some time by jumping over the debris.

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Julia's face grew worried when Josh groaned in pain. Her eyes fell on his partially exposed back and the wounds that marred it, but she snapped her gaze back to his face when he spoke again. She couldn't ease the concern out of her smile at first, but then Josh complained about the game on TV like nothing was wrong, and that got Julia to giggle and finally relax.

[break][break]"Well, then I'm giving you all the virtual hugs right now," Julia said, miming an air hug. "And once you're better, I'll make up for them with real hugs."

[break][break]The conversation turned serious after that. Julia nodded and knelt by the bed so her head was level with Josh's. "I won't whisper a peep of this," she said softly. "Swear on my life."

[break][break]With that, Josh began to explain. "A bit," Julia replied. "I know that Avatars are chosen by certain Legendary Pokémon, and AQUA is basically the League division for them." That was definitely simplifying things, but this wasn't a pop quiz that required in-depth answers or anything. Her brow furrowed worriedly when she realized what this implied. "Does that mean this was about your chase...?" She'd heard of certain groups going after Avatars, but would they also target someone aiming to become one...?

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Julia looked around at all the shouting faces, desperately trying to sort out who was saying what or even what was being said, but all their words blended together into a tsunami of hate and vitriol. "We don't want anyone else to get hurt!" she shouted. "I don't know why the first shot was fired, but surely there's been some kind of misunderstanding!"

[break][break]One of the officers backed her up on that last point by saying there wasn't any order to fire. Julia fully believed him, of course, but why did it happen, anyway? Why did—?

[break][break]Jack Pile. One of the protestors shouted that Jack Pile had died before even hitting the ground, and another pointed an accusing finger at Julia, demanding that she tell them that yes, she'd seen Jack Pile die. Jack Pile. His name became an echoing chant, a symbol for these protestors to lean on. Jack Pile.

[break][break]Why did Jack Pile have to die?

[break][break]On the stage, Julia jumped off Chester and answered Josh in a wavering, uncertain voice: "I was headed into town when I saw the protest. I went to see if I could help, but... but then someone shot Jack Pile! I don't know why! I didn't hear any order, and they weren't even being violent! But it came from where the officers were, so they think it was them!"

[break][break]When Josh said he was going to call law enforcement, Julia wanted to stop him. "I don't..." she started, but she couldn't finish. Was it a bad idea to give the rioters more to get angry about? Or was it more important to get this broken up before anyone else got hurt... or killed? Arceus, Julia had watched someone get killed today. The realization made her stomach roil and her chest clench. The shouts of the crowd pounded against her skull, demanding justice and retribution. But they'd already trampled one of the officers to death. Wasn't that enough? Would anything ever be enough?

[break][break]Josh spoke to her again, making her inhale sharply as her focus was slammed back down to the present. Right. She needed to calm down. Nothing would come of just standing there thinking and nearly panicking. After a deep breath, she spoke:

[break][break]"I don't want to rile them up any more than they already are. I'll try to keep you and anyone else from getting hurt, but I don't wanna attack them if I don't have to." She furrowed her brow in thought, then looked at where Josh had been speaking to the crowd from. "I wanna say something to them. I dunno if it'll help, but I feel like I have to."

[break][break]She couldn't stop seeing these people as just that: people. People who were scared and hurt and felt betrayed and letting all that out in the wrong ways. If they had just been destroying property and attacking people for the sake of it, it would have been a different story. But one of their own had been shot first. That didn't justify their violence, but it did make Julia want to reach out to their more sensible sides.

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Despite the sloped terrain and his boosted speed, Chester's landings were smooth, allowing him to keep up the pace so that Binky couldn't overtake him. Still, the two Pokémon were just a split second apart. Another Agility might have done the trick, but even with his three sets of lungs, Chester was breathing heavily from the exertion. If he boosted again, he might have collapsed, and Julia didn't want that. Not only would it cost them the race, but far, far more importantly, it'd be bad for Chester's health.

[break][break]"We're almost there," she said to the Dodrio. "You're doing great, and once we're done, I'll give you all the treats and rest and anything else you could ever want. Just hang in there a little longer. One last stretch. You've got this."

[break][break]Chester's middle head rose straight up, strengthened by his trainer's encouragement. The right head continued stoking his competitive spirit despite his exhaustion, while the left worked out how to ration out what was left of their energy for the final stretch. They didn't need to do any fancy tricks. They just needed to keep running.

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Julia winced as several attacks clashed dangerously close to the Primal Point, then gasped when Dialga's roar devolved three Pokémon to their previous stages. It roared again and again, seemingly sending Littleroot through time as buildings shifted in shape and plants shriveled and regrew in continuous cycles. More Pokémon devolved, including Shalin Nariya's Kiara.

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[break]"That doesn't mean we're giving up!" Julia shouted back. "Time marches forward, but so do we!"

[break][break]In this case, though, time was marching backward. The Dialga roared again.

[break][break]"Chester, watch out!" she called.

[break][break]There wasn't much Chester could do, though. Although he was able to strike Cade Atreides's Sableye and hopefully prevent it from going through the opening the other Rockets had created in the Precipice Blades, he shrunk down into a Doduo a moment later. Both heads squawked and looked at each other in confusion.

[break][break]Dialga began to charge an intense spear of energy in front of the gem in his chest. It looked like it was winding up for its largest attack yet. Time itself seemed to shiver; for a moment, Julia felt smaller, like she was a child caught in the middle of this war. Even when she confirmed that she was still her same height, that feeling sat heavy at the bottom of her heart.

[break][break]She grabbed Chester's Poké Ball to protect him from the oncoming attack, but a Monolithic Punch smashed into Dialga's jaw, disrupting the roar. With that opening, Tapu Lele's guardian-shaped energy was able to strike the Primal Point, allowing it to fire. Julia smiled with relieved awe as she watched the beam shoot toward the meteoroid. Despite the setbacks and hardships, they'd done it. Their conviction, their will, was shooting for the sky. It hit the meteoroid, which vanished in a pulse of light so bright that Julia had to avert her gaze.

[break][break]High above, she thought she heard the sound of something shattering. When she squinted upward again, she saw the Primal Point's beam ricocheting back toward its source. She didn't even have a moment to be shocked before the Point exploded, sending her and Chester flying back with screams. Pain blossomed over her body when she hit the ground, and her ears rang, drowning out any other sound around her. Her vision blurred as she was forced to stare at the sky while her body processed what had just happened. Vaguely, she saw the dome shatter and the dimensions flicker and shift, but she barely understood what any of it meant.

[break][break]Chester's weak caw was what finally brought her back to reality. The now-Doduo had landed near her, battered and bruised from being closer to the explosion. Only one set of his eyes was half-open. Julia reached a trembling arm out to him, breathing heavily just from this exertion. Her hand rested on his conscious head and slowly, softly petted it.

[break][break]"You did great," she whispered. With her other hand, she reached for his Poké Ball and pressed the button to recall him. He deserved to rest after that. Julia wished she could rest in a Poké Ball right about now, too.

[break][break]She winced again when Dialga let out another Roar of Time and gasped when she saw several people, League, Rocket, and Megalopolan alike, vanish as if erased from the timeline. She started to sit up, but a wave of pain shot through her, making her groan and clutch her head halfway up. A few deep breaths returned focus to her vision, and she saw Quanto's Unown strangling Dialga's neck. A rift was opening behind the Triad assassin, as well.

[break][break]Julia's heart sank at the implications of what she saw. Dialga had caused a lot of damage, including to Julia's own Pokémon, but now she just wanted to help it. It seemed to be on Quanto's side against its will, and now this horrible man was repaying the favor by dragging it out by the neck. Righteous adrenaline coursed through Julia, helping her push through the pain. She had to do something. She had to stop him.

[break][break]She tossed out Spot's Poké Ball. "Shadow Ball those Unown!"

[break][break]Once he'd materialized, Spot immediately put his paws together to charge up the attack, then fired it at the Unown encircling Dialga. He glanced back at his trainer, then did a double-take on seeing her battered form still half-lying on the ground. He ran over to her side.

[break][break]"I'll be okay," Julia said, smiling weakly. "Make sure—ngh—he doesn't... get away."

[break][break]But Spot's attention was focused on his precious trainer. Even if she ordered him to keep fighting that strange man and his even stranger Pokémon, his first priority was protecting Julia.

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Despite Julia and Chester's best efforts to gain a lead, Alexei Ivanov skillfully weaved his Rapidash around them so that he remained in front when the track narrowed. Fragments of the previously exploded Egg Bombs littered the track, forcing Chester to pay more attention to his footwork, as well. They still held onto their 9th place spot, but the front of the pack was so far ahead that they'd have to pull off some crazy moves to even hope to catch up. And just ahead was her chance. Chester wasn't really good at weaving through those shallow turns, but what he was really good at was jumping. It was risky, though. It was a long jump, longer than anything else on the course, and messing it up would send them flying off the track and into the net below, disqualifying them. But if she wanted a chance at pulling ahead, this was a risk she had to take.

[break][break]"Agility again. Let's jump that gap!"

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"Whoops," Julia said when she saw Kiara also fall asleep. "Sorry!"

[break][break]Shalin and Prance quickly took out the sleeping Froslass. Unlike with the Mr. Rime, though, nothing changed in the room once they were defeated. Fortunately, that wasn't an issue; Julia could see through one of the false walls now that she had this scope.

[break][break]"This thing is so cool," Julia said. "It looks like those Mr. Rime we fought were using those false walls, too. That giant ice block is definitely real, though... Hmm..." She didn't want to spend too much longer up here with Shalin's heat source momentarily incapacitated. They'd have to figure out the ice block later. "Here, stay close to me and Momo." With that, she recalled Lazuli and led the way past the false walls of the upper floor's west wing.

[break][break]She paused to consider the etchings of the strange Pokémon on the walls. "I don't think so," she concluded. "It's been in both parts of the palace, too. Is there a Pokémon that's both Fire- and Ice-type?" She felt like maybe there was, but it wasn't quite coming to her...

[break][break]Either way, she and Shalin split the Fire and Ice Gems the latter had found in one of the chests. In the other chest... "A compass?" Julia asked. "That's pretty helpful and all, but what's it doing in a chest?"

[break][break]More importantly, despite Julia and Momo's attempts to share the heat, Shalin's teeth were chattering with the cold. Julia was really starting to feel it, too. It was about time they went back to the warmer lower level.

[break][break]"Wait, that's not—!"

[break][break]Thud!

[break][break]Whoops, too late. Julia winced as Shalin steered Prance straight into a very real, very solid wall. "You okay? Here, I'll lead the way through these since I've got the Laprasite thing. The stairs back down should be just a couple of rooms that way." She did notice that their newly acquired compass seemed to be pointing to the south, but with no obvious way in that direction, Julia could only lead the group back from whence they'd come.

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In the shadows of the trees surrounding Littleroot, Julia tended to Spot's wounds with a Hyper Potion infused with Lazuli's Life Dew. The Lucario didn't even flinch at the sting of his injuries being disinfected, but Julia did notice the slight furrowing of his brow.

[break][break]"You did great out there, buddy," Julia said as she cleaned the wound. "That was such a dirty trick that guy pulled..."

[break][break]Spot watched his trainer as she tended to him, his eyes flashing a faint blue. He frowned. He'd seen Julia angry before, but this was different. He didn't like those dark edges creeping into her pure, bright aura. He put a paw on her shoulder, startling her into looking up at him.

[break][break]"Huh? What's wrong?"

[break][break]He couldn't fully convey his answer to that. Even if he could, he didn't want to. He didn't want to draw attention to that ugliness trying to manifest in her being. Instead, he just smiled. Julia watched him for a few moments before smiling back. Even without his aura sight active, he could feel that bright spirit still shining within his trainer.

[break][break]"Feeling better?" Julia asked. Spot nodded. "All right, let's get back out there. We've got a lot of work to do." As she stood, her communicator crackled with an incoming message.

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[break]"Sounds like help's on the way," Julia relayed to Spot. This was great! They just had to protect the Primal Point for a few more minutes, and they were getting backup!

[break][break]A pulse of energy from the Primal Point expanded outward, bending trees with its force. Weird... Was it supposed to do that? She couldn't quite see the first thing that appeared in the space cracking like glass, but the second... Oh, no.

[break][break]"Is—Is that the Dark Triad?" Julia asked into the comms. She was pretty sure she already knew the answer, though. The tight-fitting black suit, including a fabric mask over the man's mouth, and what she now realized was an Unown matched what she knew of the Triad's description. The fractured air spidered violently until it burst with the sound of thousands of shattering glass windows. Julia and Spot both had to cover their ears.

[break][break]"What... is that?"

[break][break]The creature that appeared from the crevasse in reality was like a blue centauric dragon. Wait, no, it looked familiar...

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[break]So it was Dialga! But it looked different from what Julia had seen in artistic depictions. Regardless, it was an imposing, frightening presence on the battlefield, and it was on the Dark Triad's side. But Quanto made a mistake by telling everyone to give up. That just reignited the fire in Julia's heart.

[break][break]"Never." She didn't care if he didn't hear her from where he was. It was still a promise she was making to herself, to the world. She wasn't backing down now.

[break][break]As if in answer to her determination, a Tapu Koko cried out and descended from an emerald-and-gold aura. A Tapu Bulu charged in beside it, tail ringing like a bell. Finally, a Mega-Evolve Diancie appeared. Julia beamed, awestruck, as all three made their way toward the League trainers. No way, was this their backup? It was even better than Julia had hoped!

[break][break]But it seemed the League wasn't the only one getting backup. Julia gasped at the sight of the blue-skinned Megalopolans emerging from the woods and abandoned houses. Strange creatures—Ultra Beasts, she assumed—were with them, and they seemed ready to aid Team Rocket. Julia glowered at no one in particular. Of course Team Rocket would side with them.

[break][break]Julia had to cover her ears again at the Roar of Time the Dialga unleashed. It sounded just like the roar before time had stopped, which made sense with the ruler of time itself. At least that didn't happen again... but Julia did see the ground around Littleroot Theater tearing apart. Oh, that wasn't good.

[break][break]"Come back for now, Spot," Julia said before recalling him back into his Poké Ball. When she looked back up, she saw an unfortunately familiar face headed for the Primal Point. Seriously? Now, when the Dark Triad and Dialga itself had joined the fray?! Julia grit her teeth and tossed out Chester's Poké Ball, then hopped onto the Dodrio's back. The theater would have to wait. "After that guy!"

[break][break]Chester's right head cawed before he took off. As they drew closer, Julia saw that Cade Atreides was now accompanied by a grotesque Ultra Beast that was all mouths and teeth and spikes. She couldn't stop the shudder that ran up her spine at the sight; it looked like it'd devour her and her Pokémon whole without a second thought. It grappled with Groudon while a Mega Sableye tried to clear a path to the Primal Point through the field of Precipice Blades.

[break][break]"Chester, Lunge at that Sableye!"

[break][break]She had to hold on tight when Chester stuttered to a startled stop, his left head looking at her worriedly. "Okay, okay!" Julia jumped off Chester's back, nearly stumbling on her prosthetic leg from the clumsy landing. "Now go!"

[break][break]Now that his trainer wouldn't be throwing herself into the thick of it with him, Chester was free to focus on his opponent. Above, Tapu Bulu watched the Ranger and her Pokémon as they strove to protect the region—their home—from destruction however they could. His bell-like tail rang out again, and the ground beneath Chester shone pink. Fairy-type energy ran up his legs and engulfed him in an aura of power. The right head let out another mighty caw as Chester ran at the Sableye, his Lunge empowered by Nature's Madness.

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The good news: Chester had made it safely through the C-bend. The bad news: Between their careful handling of said C-bend and the reckless move during the U-turn, they had lost a lot of time. They were a full second behind eighth-place Elinor Anderson and what felt like leagues behind Isaac Merlo and his Tauros, who had stylishly charged into first place.

[break][break]Luckily, they were approaching a chance to catch up. The straight path ahead wasn't straightforward, but Julia already had a plan. Chester did best on long straightaways like this, too.

[break][break]"Agility, Chester! And get ready to jump!"

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This time, Julia sought out the distortion that had descended around Mossdeep's Space Center. She was no scientist, but she wanted to understand these strange distortions more, especially now that she had a Pokémon from one. Naturally, Snaily's Poké Ball was among those on her belt today. The metal-shelled Sliggoo had taken quite a liking to Julia and Sparkie after they'd saved her from a rampaging Infernape. Unfortunately, that had one big downside: her absentminded displays of affection usually ended with Julia and Sparkie having to avoid getting caustic slime on them so they wouldn't be digested. Julia had already gone through multiple pairs of heavy-duty gloves trying to pet her. Touching her shell didn't (usually) carry the same risks, at least.

[break][break]Outside the crackling purple dome, Julia let Snaily out of her Ball. The Sliggoo poked her head out of her shell and waved her feelers in the air. She looked confused and turned her blind eyes toward her trainer, letting out a slimy, warbly squeak.

[break][break]"We're at another space-time distortion," Julia explained. "Like the one we found you in."

[break][break]Snaily just stared blankly for several seconds before stretching her body out with a pleading warble. Julia smiled wearily and scratched her shell. That seemed to placate her.

[break][break]"Come on, let's check it out." She stepped through the purplish membrane separating Hoenn from this anomaly, skin tingling at the contact. A moment later, she heard the clatter of steel on pavement as Snaily rolled after her.

[break][break]Julia somewhat recognized the two Pokémon that immediately ran at her, barking furiously. They looked like two red Growlithe with long, shaggy white manes and tails. More importantly, even with those manes covering their eyes, they didn't look too happy to see her and Snaily.

[break][break]Snaily didn't even need a command to tuck into her shell for Shelter. The Growlithe both charged at her with Flare Blitz, but the attacks barely scuffed the metallic shell.

[break][break]"Now use Hydro Pump!"

[break][break]Only the crackling of the dome answered. Snaily stayed firmly in her shell, unmoving.

[break][break]"Uh, Snaily?" Julia asked, voice cracking on the last syllable. "You okay?"

[break][break]No response. The Growlithe, barely able to do any damage to the Pokémon in front of them, turned their attention to Julia, instead.

[break][break]"Uh-oh."

[break][break]They charged at her, mouths ablaze with Fire Fangs. Julia dove out of the way and landed on the hard ground with a grunt. She scrambled to grab another Poké Ball, gaze darting back and forth between her belt and her assailants. Lazuli should be able to handle this. Just gotta—

[break][break]A glow caught the edge of her vision. She turned to see that it was coming from the inside of Snaily's shell. The Growlithe, too, noticed it and whined their confusion. The light emerged from Snaily's shell, growing and changing shape, and Julia's eyes rounded when she realized the Sliggoo was evolving. When the light scattered, a Goodra stood there, her tail curled and hardened into her new shell. Her eyes were as droopy as her melancholic pre-evolution's, but she wore a gentle smile as she looked at her trainer.

[break][break]"Wow..." Julia whispered. "So that's what you look like now."

[break][break]The Growlithe growled at their newly evolved opponent, and Snaily's face hardened as she turned toward them. She took a deep breath, body straightened despite the weight on her back, and then shot a powerful Hydro Pump at them. The pups yelped in alarm before they were driven back by the force of the attack. They looked at each other, fur and manes dripping and soggy, before turning tail and running away.

[break][break]"Way to go, Snaily!" Julia cheered. Snaily squeaked happily and toddled toward her, arms open. "Wait, hang on, your slime—!" But there was no stopping this hug train. Julia struggled for a moment, only to realize that there wasn't any stinging or melting or anything. "Oh! I can touch you now!" The disappointed-looking Snaily perked up immediately when Julia hugged her back. When Julia was finally able to pull away, she was covered in harmless slime.

[break][break]"Heh. IIIII'm gonna need a shower after this."

[break][break]Harmless or not, it was still messy!