[attr="class","juliaw"]

"Ooh, that would be cool," Julia said after imagining those big Eeveelutions all in a row. "I wonder what other kinds of Pokémon would be rideable if they were bigger." Julia didn't have any like that, at least not that she could think of; all the potential candidates already seemed big enough to ride on in their respective terrain.

[break][break]According to Josh, it'd be easier to explain the Gym while actually at the Gym. "Maybe I could swing by some time! If you're okay with that."

[break][break]She grinned at Josh's assurance that the medicine would be fine, even at high speeds. "Then let's do it!"

[break][break]Once the road straightened out, Josh called for Aslan to go faster. Julia held tight to Chester's reins and leaned forward a bit. "Let's go!" She tapped Chester's sides with her feet for emphasis, and the Dodrio began to accelerate, his left and right heads alternately bobbing up and down for balance. Julia pushed herself down in the saddle to avoid bouncing with the longer, more powerful strides. The force of this new speed pressed back against her until it had leveled out, and even then, she could feel the rush all around her.

[break][break]Chester's right head turned to Aslan, competitive determination flashing in its eyes. It seemed these two were equally matched when it came to speed. Julia, oblivious to or uncaring of Chester's attempt to compete with Aslan, let out a whoop of her own, the speed shooting adrenaline through her veins. When was the last time she had gone this fast on Chester? It was so much fun!

[break][break]As the shelter came into view, Julia squeezed the reins as a signal for Chester to slow down. "Whoa!" she exclaimed at the faltering in Chester's legs. His middle and left heads gave the right one a disapproving look before his strides grew even again. It seemed the right had wanted to keep this little "competition" going a bit longer but had been overruled by the other two. Julia sighed lightheartedly and shook her head. It was times like these that she wondered if she should give each head its own name.

[break][break]She needed a moment to steady herself when she got back down. Chester lowered his left head in concern as Julia leaned against him. "I'm okay," she said, petting him. "Just gimme a sec to catch my breath." She hadn't been the one doing the running, but the rush had sapped a bit of energy from her. How did Josh do this so often?

[attr="class","juliaw"]

Julia relaxed the nervous tension she didn't even realize she'd been holding, relieved that the Arbok trusted her. "Yeah, thank goodness," she said quietly. She had the same thought as Talia: Why were these snakes so restless? Julia had seen plenty of parent Pokémon protecting their progeny, but this Arbok seemed even warier than that. Talia was in the middle of making a guess when a sandstorm suddenly kicked up. Julia, too, shielded her face from the sand being flung around.

[break][break]There was a voice behind them, and Julia immediately felt bad vibes. From the way the mother Arbok reacted, this was probably the source of her temper. Julia rose back up to her full height and spun around, glaring. Okay, it was mostly squinting because of the sand, but there was a lot of anger behind it, especially when a purple hide caught the sun. Another Arbok. Was it dead or just fainted? She hoped it was the latter.

[break][break]"So it was you!" Julia shouted above the storm. "Leave these Pokémon alone!" Argh, gross, all this yelling was getting sand in her mouth. She fumbled through her pack for her Go-Goggles. They wouldn't cover her mouth, but at least now she could see a bit better.

[break][break]"Well, jee, when ya put it that way, I guess we've gotta let 'em go," the second Rocket said with so much sarcasm that Julia could practically see it dripping from his mouth. "Toxicroak, take care of these two!" The Toxicroak that was sent out croaked in challenge, making its poison sac inflate for a moment.

[break][break]Unlike with the innocent wild Pokémon, Julia didn't hesitate to use force against these poachers. "Let's go, Moony!" She tossed the Lunatone's Poké Ball out, and Moony emerged silently, staring down their opponent.

[attr="class","juliaw"]

"That was above Fortree?" Julia asked about the Braviary's Nest. "Whoa..." No wonder Julia had never heard of it, based on the descriptions Shalin was giving.

[break][break]She and Momo hesitated before the wavering path connecting the palace to the solid ground they stood on. Shalin had the courage to go first, coaxing Treble onto the illusion-like bridge. The Kommo-o's footsteps didn't make a sound as he crossed. Julia took a breath and quite literally put her best foot forward. Her footsteps, too, were silent, but other than that, it was like walking on a glass walkway: It looked scary, but it was nice and solid. Not looking down would probably be her best bet here.

[break][break]"Don't worry, Momo, it's safe," she said with a smile. "Come on."

[break][break]The Simisear poked the shimmering surface a few times before following his trainer across, both at a brisk pace to catch up with Shalin... and, perhaps, to spend as little time as possible on the nearly invisible bridge.

[break][break]A "Whoa" hopped out of Julia's mouth when the entrance doors disappeared. The inside, at least, looked more solid thanks to its red carpet and stone floors. Statues encircled the room, staring down at them from within flickering flames. Their robes and rods reminded Julia of wizards or witches, and the presence of Pokémon carvings like Ninetales and a bipedal fox wielding a branch like a wand reinforced that image. The way they wavered in the fire made them look like they'd spring to life at any moment.

[break][break]Shalin's story of the medallions continued. It all sounded like something out of a fairy tale or a video game, but Shalin had apparently been to this place and obtained half of the medallions needed to unseal it. But Julia could feel drops of anxiety fizzing in her heart. "Don't they usually lock away forbidden knowledge like that because it's dangerous?" she asked. "How's it gonna stop the war?"

[break][break]Regardless, there were two paths set before them. "Yeah, we should stick together. Let's try that way," Julia said, pointing to the western door. "If we're gonna explore this place, we might as well start from the bottom, right?"

[attr="class","juliaw"]

"Ohhhh." Wow, who would have thought that Julia's silly mental image would turn out to be the right answer! She listened attentively as Josh described the ideal size of mount Pokémon and the dangers of choosing one that was too large or too small. "You have a Flareon big enough to ride?! Oh, man, I've gotta see that."

[break][break]"How many would I need to challenge it?" she asked. "How many courses are there, anyway?" Would it be better to get more badges first, or should she just try one of the lower-level courses? Decisions, decisions...

[break][break]She helped unload some of the medicine to leave at the front porches. "Oh, looks like some of them have those doorbell cams, too!" She smiled and waved at one of them.

[break][break]Oddly enough, going to the shelter was the part Julia was most looking forward to. The people in this community had been affected by the past disasters, yes, but they were lucky enough to still have homes—and nice ones, at that. But some people had been so devastated that they'd had to hunker down in a shelter. Being able to bring even a little bit of hope and joy to them made this job even more worth it.

[break][break]Julia giggled at Josh's muttering about speed limits. Her eyes fell on the remaining medication. "Think we can do it without jostling the medicine too much? If not, we can always take them on the way back!" She wanted to see what kinds of speeds she and Josh could pull off, but not if it would affect their job.

[attr="class","juliaw"]

Mauville City was so weird to Julia. It was basically the opposite of her hometown, Fortree: Where Fortree was a community built to coexist with nature, Mauville was almost entirely inside a large building that reminded Julia of a super-mall. Sure, the exterior was topped with grass, shrubs, and trees, but the structures (solar panels, maybe?) towering above those were distinctly manmade. Most of the interior was dedicated to shops and facilities, leaving little room for people to actually live. The whole thing left a sour taste sitting in Julia's mouth.

[break][break]But she wasn't here to criticize Greater Mauville Holdings' redevelopment of the city; she was here to see her friend's awesome new Gym! She'd missed out on the chance to take his challenge when he was still in the Minor League, and now his Major League Gym was booked out for at least another month, so she was ecstatic when he offered to show her and a few of his other friends around after closing.

[break][break]And what a Gym it was! Unlike the city itself, most of the Gym was an outdoor racing facility with three distinct tracks and a grass field for traditional battles. Already, she could imagine herself sitting astride Chester as they raced across the land-based course with Josh and his Pokémon, the wind rushing through her hair as they both pushed themselves to their limits to achieve victory.

[break][break]Unlike Matt, she made the trek by foot, meaning it took her a little longer to enter. He was already chatting with the Leader himself when Julia entered. Was that a shiny Pidgeot at his side? The colors looked different, but Julia couldn't quite tell.

[break][break]"Hey, guys!" she greeted in her usual friendly and chipper voice. "I know, right? This place is so cool! I can't wait to race here."

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Almost reflexively, Julia showed a big, genuine smile to Isaac's wince. "I'm okay, honest! It looks pretty bad, but I'll walk it right off." Hopefully, using Isaac's words would drive the point home.

[break][break]Before she was put back in her Poké Ball, Marina stared up at Isaac. Her head was bruised and scratched up, and she looked tired, but she seemed satisfied with what she had done. Lazuli cooed softly when Isaac scratched behind her ear, a combination of gratitude and concern.

[break][break]Julia followed Isaac's gaze to his own team, who were engrossed in a game of beach volleyball. His Totodile turned and waved without a care in the world. Julia's smile curled in a mixture of pity and amusement.

[break][break]"At least you know Knuckles did," she said, looking at the tsundere Riolu. "I guess the others just didn't get the memo."

[break][break]Julia finally got some space to breathe once her Pokémon had gotten their fair share of affection. She smiled back at Isaac. "I'm really glad I could help. You don't 'owe' me anything, though; that's just what friends do. But I'm glad I have friends like you to be there for me." Maybe the situation had been more extreme than what friends usually did for each other, but Julia still meant every bit of it. Heck, even if Isaac had been a total stranger, she knew without a doubt that she would have tried to save him. That was why she became a Ranger, after all.

[break][break]"Stay safe out there!" she called to him, waving. And with that, the last of her energy drained from her, leaving her running on reserves. "What do you say we go home and rest, guys? It's been a heck of a day." There weren't any protests aside from Snuffles wandering off toward what smelled like food. Julia's upper body shook with a tired chuckle before she sucked the Swinub back into her Poké Ball. She followed suit with the rest but stopped at Spot, who was staring at the distant Isaac.

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

[break][break]No answer, of course. The Lucario stared steadily at Isaac, eyes faintly shining with the blue of his aura powers. Julia watched Isaac for a few moments but didn't see anything out of the ordinary.

[break][break]"He'll be okay, don't worry," she said, patting Spot on the head. "Come on, let's go back to the room."

[break][break]After a few more seconds of silence, Spot nodded and allowed himself to be sucked back into his Poké Ball. Something had been off about Isaac's aura. There was something darker lurking within it, yet his heart didn't seem filled with evil intentions. Spot trusted Julia and knew that Isaac was her friend, but this would be bothering him for a while. He just hoped nothing bad would come of it.

[attr="class","juliaw"]

Julia took a moment to imagine what riding on a truly giant Pokémon would be like. "Where would you even put your legs?" she asked, mostly to herself. It was more fun to think about something like that than the horrors of the distortions.

[break][break]Chester's right head turned and squawked indignantly at Josh's teasing. Julia took it more lightheartedly, shooting Josh a challenging grin. "Hey, don't underestimate us! Chester's got three hearts and three sets of lungs, so he can keep going a long time." The middle and right heads rose up and cawed proudly. The left, meanwhile, actually kept an eye on the road. When it noticed the light turning red, it conveyed this to the other two, who snapped forward before their shared body skidded to a stop, jostling Julia in the saddle. "See? He goes so hard that he almost forgot to stop!" His embarrassed warble had Julia giggling and giving consoling head pats.

[break][break]Once they were past the gate, Julia looked around at all the fancy houses occupying the rather small area. "Yeah, but the houses are a lot bigger than I thought they'd be." Was this what retirement was like? Not that Julia was anywhere close to retirement age.

[break][break]"I guess we just go in order," she said as she began digging through the saddlebags. "Let's see, looks like the first house is... Chikako Tanaka. They've just got a few small items, so this shouldn't take long."

[break][break]She dismounted Chester, walked up the porch steps to the front double doors, and rang the doorbell. She could hear its clear, bell-like chime coming from inside. The glass, decorated with curled wrought iron, was frosted, but Julia could vaguely see a figure moving inside before the door cracked open, revealing a short old woman accompanied by a Kabuki-trim Furfrou.

[break][break]"Yes?" the woman asked, voice wary. Her Furfrou stared steadily at Julia.

[break][break]"Miss Chikako Tanaka? I have a medicine delivery for you."

[break][break]"Oh!" Chikako opened the door fully, a relieved smile washing over her. She was holding herself up on a silver-handled walking cane. "Of course, you're with the Rangers, aren't you? Thank you so much for this; my old bones aren't what they used to be, so it's hard for me to get out sometimes. I'm sure you know how it is." A not-so-surreptitious glance was aimed at Julia's prosthesis.

[break][break]Julia's smile tightened. "I actually don't have any problem walking on this anymore; it'd be tough to be a Ranger if I did. Do you need any help with these?" she asked, trying to shepherd the subject elsewhere.

[break][break]"Oh, of course you don't, sweetie; how silly of me. Just set them in the kitchen there." She stepped aside and gestured toward the kitchen. Julia walked in, suddenly feeling way too aware of her bad leg, and set them on the kitchen's island counter.

[break][break]"There you go!" Julia said. "Have a great rest of your day!"

[break][break]"Oh, just a moment, sweetie! You deserve a little something for all your hard work." She walked to what looked like the living room, her Furfrou right behind her, and plucked something out of a little glass bowl. She returned and dropped it into Julia's hands. "There you go, sweetheart."

[break][break]"Thank you!" It was one of those strawberry candies that Julia had never seen sold in stores before but somehow always materialized in old ladies' houses.

[break][break]With one last round of farewells and well wishes, Julia stepped back outside, resisting the urge to sigh. Chikako was a nice old lady, but Julia could feel the patronizing sweetness behind her words the whole time. She hoped not every house would be like that. She jumped back onto Chester's back and looked around; if Josh needed some help with the bigger items, she'd be glad to pitch it, but otherwise, it was on to the next house!

[attr="class","juliaw"]

Julia gave Josh Devlin a gentle, encouraging smile. Now she fully understood why he'd been so worried about stating his goal. Not everyone seemed to think it was a good idea, and Julia could understand why; dealing with Legendaries was probably a whole different ball park from dealing with even the most powerful of regular Pokémon. Plus, like Callan Young said, Legendaries chose their trainers, not the other way around. What would happen if Raikou didn't choose Josh? And with the Avatar-hunting Drk Triad around (though apparently, their targets weren't limited to just Avatars), Josh's goal could put him in danger. But she could feel the conviction behind his words; she knew full well that little could stop him now. The best thing she could do for him was support him however she could.

[break][break]"Just be careful, okay?" she asked him. "I'm rooting for you, no matter what happens."

[break][break]She giggled when he brought up Speed as a non-type. If there was such a type, Josh would no doubt be a master. She didn't know what this Blackthorn Dragon Clan was, but she'd have to ask later.

[break][break]paxton concordas's proposal to cooperate with Team Rocket had Julia frowning. Luckily, ollie morales and Callan Young were quick to voice their disapproval. "Yeah, I don't trust them not to take advantage of this whole thing somehow," Julia added.

[break][break]Other than that ugly hanging thread, the meeting seemed to be drawing to a close. She stood up and approached Guillermo Marceliño, who looked less stressed than he did earlier. Whether he actually was, Julia didn't know for sure.

[break][break]"I don't think we've met before today," she said in her usual cheerful tone. "I'm Cadet Julia Davis, Fortree Ranger. I'm looking forward to working with you."

Once the introductions were done, Julia started collecting some of the leftovers to take home. She had a lot of feelings and thoughts to process later, and putting herself into a food coma would help with that. But that was later; for now, she planned to stick around a little while longer to mingle with some friends until they cleared out.

[attr="class","juliaw"]

Julia's mouth curled into a small, brief pout. Isaac was lucky he had swum away at all, treasure or not. If Julia hadn't been there... if her plan hadn't worked... She bit the inside of her cheek. Stop thinking about that. He's okay, and that's what matters. Isaac was taking the whole almost-dying thing with surprising ease and humor, so Julia should relax, too.

[break][break]"Yeah, it'll be good as new in no time," she said, summoning the smile back to her face.

[break][break]She looked a bit surprised to be asked if she was okay, too. The adrenaline she had been running on was beginning to seep out of her, making her aware of a stinging pain in her hands. She looked down at them and made a face. "Scraped up my hands pretty bad, but other than that I'm fine." It turned out holding back a rockslide wasn't good for your skin; Isaac wasn't the only one who'd need some proper first aid.

[break][break]She leaned over Lazuli's side. "You must be tired, too," she said to Marina. "You did such a good job out there. Come on back and rest; we'll get you checked out at a Pokémon Center." She reached down to pet the Huntail with the back of her hand, then recalled her back into her Poké Ball. "You did good, too, Lazuli." She gave the Lapras a few appreciative strokes on the neck, then slid off her shell and onto the shore. "Need some help getting down?" she asked Isaac.

[break][break]Julia gave the lifeguard and paramedics a quick rundown of what had happened. They still wanted to check the two over, just in case, which Julia was glad to let them do. The disinfectant they put on her bleeding hands stung, but once they were wrapped up, they were satisfied that she had no other injuries. All she had to do was be careful with her hands while they healed.

[break][break]When the medics moved away, the rest of her team pulled in. Julia burst into giggles as all of her Pokémon (including all three of Chester's heads) tried to nuzzle her all at once. "I'm okay, guys, honest!" she said, petting two of the group at a time. "Thanks for all the help."