[attr="class","juliaw"]

Julia was partially forced to look down due to Soot's head tilting that way. A Lunatone popped out of the ground, and Pluto tossed a Poké Ball at it.

[break][break]"Awesome, now we both have one," Julia said. "It's perfect for you, too."

[break][break]Julia hummed thoughtfully and looked back up at the sky. "I don't think they're mad at all the stars," she said, giving Pluto a reassuring smile. "Besides, the meteoroid isn't really a star, is it?" Of course, even she knew the answer to that one. Shooting stars weren't really stars; they just looked like them from a distance.

[break][break]A high-pitched squeak down on the ground caught her attention. Oh, it was a Marill! And it looked like it wanted to play! Chester was quick to comply. It was too cute; Julia just had to try to catch the little Aqua Mouse.

[break][break]"So what kind of stuff can the stars tell you, anyway?" Julia asked Pluto.

[attr="class","juliaw"]

Julia briefly stuck her tongue out at Isaac Merlo's mock salute, only to realize he probably couldn't see it through the visor of her racing helmet. He'd already turned around, though, so it was too late to do something else to tease him.

[break][break]Taking the outer part of the track definitely cost her some time, but it was the best option, especially since Buffaloman was charging through the eggs and making most of them explode! The Tauros was unharmed thanks to his Zen Headbutt, but Julia didn't have such tools on her side, and getting caught in all of those explosions would have been bad news. She and Chester were in 10th place now, just behind Josh Devlin, but that was better than being knocked into last because she was careless.

[break][break]As she approached the starting arch, she saw the words that would change the trajectory of the race:

[break][break]

[break][break]Maybe now, it was time to get a little more daring. The U-turn ahead would require Chester to have strong momentum to stay on the banked curves. And if they wanted good momentum, they'd need a good running start.

[break][break]"Chester, Agility," Julia said.

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[break]

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Julia sat at the table in her family home in Fortree, eating breakfast with her parents while they all watched the morning news, someone occasionally commenting on a story. During a commercial break, Julia grabbed her phone and went to PSPN's site. She had always been a sporty kind of gal, but ever since meeting Josh, she'd gotten more interested in Pokémon racing in particular. She assumed it would be a lot more work for the Pokémon than the human, but the rider was surprisingly active in the process! You had to be in good shape to control a Pokémon going at those kinds of speeds and intensities, after all.

[break][break]"Mauville Law Enforcement thwarted an assassination attempt on the life of Gym Leader Josh Devlin"

[break][break]Julia dropped her phone and nearly choked on her food.

[break][break]"Julia?" her father asked as she chugged down water. "What's wrong?"

[break][break]"I've gotta go." She nearly knocked over her chair as she scrambled up and started collecting her things. "My friend—someone tried to kill him!"

[break][break]"What?!" Her father rose, too, and followed Julia as she hurried around the house. "Julia, hang on, what's going on?"

[break][break]"Here." Julia gave her dad her phone and sat down to put on her shoes and make sure her prosthesis was on correctly. Her hands shook as she struggled with something as simple as tying the laces. This couldn't be happening. Julia had just been at the Mauville Gym, palling around with Josh, Isaac Merlo, and Matt Vice. Sure, things had gotten a bit awkward, but this... this was too much. Julia's head spun. How could this have happened? Could she have protected him if she'd just stayed a bit longer? Was he going to be okay?

[break][break]"Julia, Jack."

[break][break]Julia didn't realize how heavily she'd been breathing until her mother said her and her father's names. She stopped and took some deep, slow breaths to even it out. It sounded like her father was doing the same.

[break][break]"Let me see." Theresa took the phone from her husband and read over the article. Her brows knitted in concern, but she remained otherwise calm. "It says he's in stable condition and is expected to make a full recovery, so that's good. Your friend's going to be okay." She smiled at Julia.

[break][break]"Good..." Julia sighed out. "I just... I don't understand. I was just there yesterday with our other friends. And then someone tried to kill him? Why? Who would do something like that?"

[break][break]"I wish I knew," Theresa said. "The article says it's still under investigation. But the important thing is that Josh is okay."

[break][break]Julia nodded. "Yeah. You're right. I can't dwell on the what-ifs or worry about what might have happened. He's okay, and that's what matters." She looked down at her half-tied shoes. "I still wanna go see him, though."

[break][break]"I bet he'd appreciate that."

[break][break]Jack, meanwhile, looked like he was chewing on something unpleasant. After a few seconds, with only the droning of the TV in the background to break the silence, he sighed. "Just please be careful. I'm sure security is tighter now, but... God, what is this region coming to?"

[break][break]"I'll be careful. I promise." She beamed at him, that signature Julia optimism quickly returning.[break][break]

---

[break]He'd been taken to Grace Hospital, according to the article. The press had gathered outside, trying to catch even the tiniest inkling of the story, but security was being firm about keeping the doors clear. Looked like her dad was right. Julia walked past a stern-looking security guard, who eyed Julia for a few seconds but didn't stop her from entering. What a great time to not look like a member of the press!

[break][break]When she asked if she could see Josh Devlin at the reception, the woman behind the desk gave her a suspicious look. "I'm a friend of his," Julia clarified.

[break][break]"Can I see some ID?"

[break][break]"Sure!" Julia fished out her Ranger identification, which seemed to wash the tension right off the woman's shoulders.

[break][break]"Sorry about that, Miss," she said, handing the card back. "I'm sure you saw all the press outside."

[break][break]"Yeah. It must be hard on you guys."

[break][break]The woman gave Julia a grateful smile, then called for a nurse to make sure Josh wasn't undergoing any tests or procedures or anything. Luckily, it seemed that he wasn't for now, so the nurse led Julia to Josh's room and knocked on the door.

[break][break]"Mr. Devlin?" he said after opening the door. "You have a visitor."

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Julia's eyes rounded at Blackjack's declaration of jurisdiction. "What?" That... That couldn't be right. The League wouldn't just give up legal control, would they? Yet his tone was so stoic and matter-of-fact that Julia doubted herself.

[break][break]She had some serious questions for the higher-ups when she got back to the mainland.

[break][break]She couldn't stomach the thought of letting Rocket get away with torture again, even if their victims were poachers. So even though the question of jurisdiction was a lot murkier now, she still had to try. Honestly, she didn't expect him to agree after what he'd told her, but she refused to help seal these poachers' cruel fates. Blackjack was strangely silent as they surfed across the waters. It kind of made Julia nervous. This was usually the part where the bad guy laughed at her foolish demands or something. But no; instead, he surprised her with his simple "Alright."

[break][break]She whipped her head toward him. Wait, seriously? Had she heard that right? He explained that it would be simpler that way, that the poachers weren't "needed for anything," whatever the heck that meant. His last reason surprised her the most, though. "Wha—?"

[break][break]But her bewilderment would have to wait. Ahead, their other two targets sat on their Pokémon, spreading more of that dangerous miasma into the waters around them. "Ugh. So gross." At least they could agree on that much. She wasn't sure just what Blackjack and his Blastoise were doing, but there was a quiet rush of bubbles that indicated that something was happening.

[break][break]Okay, time for some quick planning. Calling out to them would probably just make them run like the first guy had, so a direct engagement before they were spotted was her best bet. She whispered to Lazuli, "Ice Beam the water's surface. Try to freeze at least one of them in place."

[break][break]Lazuli nodded and lowered her head toward the water. She took aim at the Dragalge and blew out her Ice Beam over the water's surface toward it.

[attr="class","juliaw"]



[break]Julia hummed along to an upbeat song in her head as she trekked through the desert to keep her spirits up in this oppressive, dry atmosphere. She wondered what kinds of ancient secrets lay beneath the sand, what sorts of artifacts or ancient ruins one might find if they dared to dig downward. Sure, there were the Desert Ruins in the south, but as far as she knew, there wasn't much there. No, Julia wanted to see the remnants of heroic sword fights and the crumbling stones of once-great castles from where kings and queens ruled over the land.

[break][break]Maybe such things weren't in the desert, whether eroded away by time or never there in the first place. But it was still fun to imagine. Besides, if you didn't let yourself believe things like that were out there, what would give you the drive to even look? If you thought you'd just find sand, sand, and more sand, you'd never even try.

[break][break]But Julia was no archeologist, as cool as that might have been. She was here for a much more recent discovery: a swarm of Aegislash from the old ruins. Had they been awoken by the strife in the region? Or did they have their own grudges and regrets that drove them? Thinking about it either way made Julia want to help them, to show them a happy life where they didn't have to be haunted by such things.

[break][break]And right on cue, something glinted in the harsh desert sun. Julia grabbed a Poké Ball from her belt.

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[attr="class","juliaw"]

Julia was surprised to see Shalin Nariya here; as far as she knew, the girl was an adventurer, not an Officer or even a Ranger. But when she said "conscripted," Julia understood. It left a bad taste sitting heavy on her tongue, but she didn't have the time to dwell on that now, not when the battle had already begun.

[break][break]"Choice," Julia said, unusually serious and succinct. "When I heard about the planned attack, I knew I had to help. Good luck to you, too. Call me if you need any help." Shalin was strong and capable, but she was still a civilian. She shouldn't have to bear any of the burdens of war.

[break][break](Neither should Julia, honestly. Nobody should. But those were more thoughts that would have to be shut away until later.)

[break][break]John Sullivan's response was not at all what Julia had expected. "Eh?" She tilted her body to get a better look at the man's face. His eyes did not reflect Littleroot. Instead, it reflected something in a past unknown to Julia. To her, it was an empty pool. To him, it must have been an entirely different world. She knew that look. She'd worn it plenty of times in the early days of her recovery. She didn't know what this man had been through—heck, she didn't even know his name—but if he was calling this horrific scene "nostalgic," it must have been terrible.

[break][break]Unfortunately, letting yourself get stuck in the past didn't do one any favors, especially in a dire situation like this. "Sir?" she asked, trying to get his attention. She wasn't sure if it was that or something else that finally snapped him out of it, but she was glad for it, nonetheless.

[break][break]Suddenly, there was a mighty roar that instinctively made Julia flinch. The light of an artificial sun burned down on the battlefield, illuminating a massive red Pokémon that Julia had only heard legends of before: Groudon. MATIAS SILPH spoke over the comms then. Was he the one commanding the very Pokémon said to have created the ground they now stood on? Whoa.

[break][break]But this was no time to gawk, not with a Rocket (Alexandra Briarwood) charging toward the Primal Point on an eerie spectral mount. Others (jayden cross, Elisabeth Fiorelli, and Felix Gallagher) appeared soon after, one of them setting a nearby house ablaze with a Molotov. Julia gasped in disgusted horror. She should have expected Rocket to try to hurt civilians like this, but she hadn't been prepared to see it firsthand. It was okay, though, right? The citizens had evacuated, so the house was empty, right?

[break][break]Before she could check, a piercing shriek cut through her ears, and everything stopped.

[break][break]What... What was this? Julia couldn't move. Just a moment ago, her heart had been racing. Now, it felt like it had gone still. Everything had gone still. It was an unnervingly familiar feeling of powerlessness and helplessness, only amplified up to levels Julia could have never imagined.

[break][break]And then, in that same fleeting moment, there was a bang. With a yelp, Julia was knocked onto her back, almost like she'd been shoved. Above, the dome that had been trapping them for all these months flickered. Julia finally remembered to breathe.

[break][break]What the hell had that been?!

[break][break]Spot was swiftly at her side, helping her to her feet. "I'm okay," she said automatically.

[break][break]

[break][break]Captain Sullivan's commanding voice boomed over the comms. "On it!" she shouted, glad for something concrete to do. She ran up the east side of the encirclement and ended up behind Groudon, where she skidded to a stop at the sight of Cade Atreides and his Dragapault about to attack the Land Titan.

[break][break]"Hey!" Julia shouted. "Spot, get 'em!"

[break][break]Maybe Groudon could have handled itself. But given that it was going to be a huge target—literally and metaphorically—Julia figured having some of the pressure taken off of it would help.

[attr="class","juliaw"]

"Wow, I never would have guessed," Julia said to Shalin's Arcanine story. "Then again, a lot of your Pokémon are more... I guess intense is the right word? Instead of just being really fast." Raw speed was more Josh Devlin's speciality.

[break][break]"Yeah, I saw them right before I went in to pick Sparkie up! I was surprised since she's usually so timid, but she looked like she had fun." She smiled and reached over to give Kiara a quick scratch behind the ear. "Sometimes, you've just gotta be a little persistent to help someone out of their shell."

[break][break]"You're right; let's hurry." She squeezed Momo's hand encouragingly and followed the explorer westward.

[break][break]"Whoa!" Julia shouted as her stomach seemed to rise from the force of her sudden fall. Momo shrieked in surprise as he was pulled down with her, and together, they slid down the slippery tunnel of ice. Julia dragged her feet against the floor once it evened out, trying to slow down, but she could barely get a foothold, especially with her prosthesis. She only just avoided outright slamming into Kiara and Shalin, instead bumping into them.

[break][break]"Oof... Everyone okay?" Shalin and her Pyroar had definitely taken the brunt of the impact. Momo chittered quietly, dizzy from the unexpected ride down. Luckily, nobody seemed to be seriously hurt. Using her good foot for leverage, Julia pulled herself back up and looked around. She, too, noticed the two treasure chests in the back corners. Shalin got to them first and told Julia to come take a look.

[break][break]"What is it?" She peered down into the treasure chest and spotted the spyglass nestled inside. Something about the lens was strange, though. Slowly, worried it might be booby-trapped or something, she picked it up and took a closer look. The lens wasn't uncolored glass like she'd expect from a telescope; instead, waves of cerulean, cream, and dark blue ran across it like a translucent cat's-eye marble.

[break][break]You got the LAZULI LENS! Looking through this lens made of pure LAPRASITE will let you see the truth. Mysterious secrets are hidden everywhere!

[break][break]Wait a second... She knew these colors. "No way! This looks like Laprasite! Only more glassy? I dunno, but it's like I can feel something coming off of it. Like some kind of power." That'd be worth testing out with Lazuli, but there was another thing Julia was curious about. She flipped the spyglass around so she could look through the eyepiece, only to immediately almost drop it in shock. "Whoa! What the—?" She looked through it again.

[break][break]Nope, she wasn't just imagining things. Through the sea-tinted lens, she saw one, two, three Froslass phase through the walls and into the room. She briefly lowered the spyglass to confirm her suspicions.

[break][break]"Guys, look out!" she shouted. "There's three Froslass in here, but they're invisible!"

[break][break]The Froslass did not look too pleased about being discovered. One raised her hands to summon an Ominous Wind that blew across the room. "Get down!" Julia shouted, grabbing Momo with her free hand and ducking. Momo squeaked in startled confusion. "Momo, quick, use Flame Burst right there!" She pointed at the Froslass that had just attacked. To Momo, it looked like she was just pointing at thin air, but it was where the attack had come from... With a determined cry, he pointed his head tuft at the spot Julia was pointing to and shot a Flame Burst from it.

[attr="class","juliaw"]

Julia smiled at Soot's growling purrs. She wanted to call them cute, but she didn't know if Soot would be too pleased with that.

[break][break]"Oh!" she exclaimed when something appeared in front of them. "Aww, hey, little cutie!" Pluto acted fast, picking up the Togepi and putting him in a Poké Ball for safekeeping.

[break][break]"Seems so, yeah! I didn't know Togepi could do that."

[break][break]With that settled, Julia and Pluto were free to watch the stars again... at least until Julia heard what sounded like fighting down below. She looked around for the source, but all she managed to see was a poor Shelgon tumbling toward them, its shell scratched and scuffed. With an angered squawk, Chester ran off to chase away whatever had been attacking it.

[break][break]"Poor thing..." Julia muttered as it struggled to get back to its feet. It only took her a moment to decide to throw a Poké Ball at it, determined to get it somewhere safer.

[attr="class","juliaw"]

Well, at least he admitted it: There was no such thing as a good Rocket. Yet there was a shadow cast over his eyes as he said it. That... had to be the sun, yeah. The way he continued couldn't be attributed to sunlight, though. "I dunno about 'jurisdiction,' but..." But what? She thought back to when they'd first met, when his Pokémon had nearly run her over with his motorcycle. Didn't wanna cause needless harm, Julia's right foot... but he'd also explained that Kurze had acted on his own and even helped calm Julia down. Heck, he tossed her a firework from his stolen stash, which still shouldn't have been stolen in the first place, but it hadn't been to hurt anybody, so...

[break][break]Argh, why couldn't he just act like an evil Rocket? That would make this whole thing so much easier! For now, she focused on the returned stuck-out tongue. Oh, it was so on now!

[break][break]"Wait, no!" Julia shouted at Blackjack's command. But all that came from Toto's cannons was a sparkling stream of Life Dew that harmlessly showered his captive. Julia sighed in relief as Blackjack laughed at the poacher's response. "You scared me, too," she grumbled.

[break][break]Huh. Julia had planned on tying this guy up and making him ride along with her, but a cage made of Wishiwashi worked, too!

[break][break]Julia actually took a moment to think about Blackjack's offer to team up. Though the Rocket had done most—okay, basically all—of the interrogation work that actually got them somewhere, they had worked together to actually corner this guy. And if there were two more out there, then having someone else along with her would even the odds.

[break][break]"One condition," she finally said. "I want these three to face justice, not Rocket's torture." The memory of what Orion Lykos had said during the Ranger meeting a few months ago laced that last word with spite.

[attr="class","juliaw"]

"Woo-hooooo!"

[break][break]Julia was really getting into it now! The three Agility-boosted leaps felt like soaring through the air, and it was awesome! Briefly, she was glad she'd worn these goggles; she couldn't imagine what the wind in her eyes would have felt like at this speed. Heck, the way it whipped across her skin threatened to push her back if she hadn't been bracing herself. But it was exhilarating!

[break][break]Cheers from the gallery and an announcer-like sound bite from the loudspeakers echoed across the track. The latter was a little hard to understand; had it said "way out front"? Julia looked behind her, trusting Chester's three heads to keep them on course for the moment. It was true; Julia had a full second on Blinky alone and even more on the other racers! She grinned.

[break][break]"We got this, Chester," she said. "Let's keep it up!" Chester's center head cawed cheerfully.

[break][break]

[break][break]

[attr="class","juliaw"]

Just before the jump, she and Gwyar Wledig were neck and neck, both running at full speed. Chester jumped the gap with grace, almost like he really was flying for a moment, but Gwyar's Llamrei timed her jump just a bit better, allowing her to touch down on the other side first. As Chester made his way along the winding path, two more figures surged ahead: Toshiaki Macallan on his Arcanine and Isaac Merlo on Buffaloman. On the one hand, she was impressed by the Tauros's speed and control in his rampage and proud of her friend for doing so well. On the other hand, this was still a race, and Julia was going to do her best to win. With a determined grin, she leaned forward in the saddle. She was in fifth place now, but just barely. If she could just push past Alexei Ivanov...

[break][break]Chester's left head squawked in alarm, and Julia looked ahead to see several small Egg Bombs embedded in the track, reflecting the stadium's natural and artificial lights on their white shells. Shoot. Chester wasn't the best at cornering already; trying to make those turns while dodging the Egg Bombs would make it even worse. If not for the risk of an explosion, Julia might have gone for it. She'd done some pretty crazy stuff on the track in the past that had paid off, after all. But given the situation, she steered Chester toward the outside of the track. They'd lose any advantage from taking the shorter, tighter inside corners, but they also wouldn't get blown up.

[break][break]

[attr="class","juliaw"]

Julia turned her head at Blinky's cry. "Whoa!" she shouted in surprise at the Jolteon's graceful arc. Even Chester turned his left head to look, its beak letting out an awed, drawn-out squawk. When she landed, Blinky had caught up by a good stretch. Chester's left head, the most pessimistic part of his personality, made a dejected warking sound.

[break][break]"We've got this, buddy," Julia said. Based on their more determined cries, it seemed that two-thirds of Chester agreed, leaving the last third with no choice but to believe along with them and begin strategizing. The three straight jumps were coming up, and Julia knew just what to do.

[break][break]"Agility, Chester!"

[break][break]There was a brief delay while the three heads calculated just where to activate their boost. Then, Chester's body relaxed and lightened beneath Julia, allowing him to run even faster. Julia held on tight while she adjusted, her own body somehow feeling lighter with these increased speeds. With simultaneous squawks from each of Chester's three heads, the Dodrio flexed his legs and leapt.

[break][break]
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