[attr="class","juliaw"]

Julia stopped in her tracks and held her hands up placatingly at the Tyrantrum's glare. Luckily, he backed down when his trainer waved back. Julia relaxed her shoulders and smiled again. Seemed this big guy was protective of his trainer!

[break][break]Julia's mouth formed an "o," and her eyes seemed to sparkle at the mention of Minior. "Yeah! I was actually just thinking, 'Wouldn't it be cool if one fell down here and I could save it?' Heh, maybe that's a bit selfish..." she added more bashfully. "But it'd be nice, you know? They don't usually last long down here and all.

[break][break]"Anyway, I'm Julia!" She stuck her hand out for a shake. "Me and Chester are setting up camp over there, if you... Hey!"

[break][break]Chester followed, his rightmost head squawking, as Julia ran back to her campsite, where a wild Slurpuff was digging through her supplies. She snatched her bag off the ground, causing the Slurpuff to let out a startled squeak.

[break][break]"That's not yours, buddy," Julia lightly scolded. The Slurpuff gave her puppy-dog eyes and placed its stubby paws on his belly. "Aww, are you hungry? You were just looking for food, huh? Here." She fished out a Pecha Berry and knelt down to offer it to the Slurpuff, who gleefully took it.

[break][break]Chester's left head looked back apologetically at Pluto.

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Julia hadn't been particularly excited about this meeting. There'd be food, sure, but she was expecting a lot of talk about budgets and resource allocation and such. Julia knew that was important, but it usually went over her head. Still, given everything that the region had been dealing with, she decided it'd be a good idea to attend. Her mom offered to help her make sausage balls, a classic at family gatherings. No dress code had been given, so she opted to wear her Ranger uniform.

[break][break]Any expectation that Julia had for a stuffy, business-like meeting dissolved in the relaxed atmosphere that greeted her when Captain ollie morales waved her in with a wide grin. "Hey!" she said, though she couldn't wave back with a plate in her hands. A medley of foods wafted under her nose: steak fries, chili, Pecha cobbler, casserole... nine boxes of pizza? That was unexpected, but who was Julia to say no to free food? And, of course, the promised carbonara sat in the center. Oh, man, Julia was going to be stuffed by the end of this.

[break][break]"Hello!" Julia greeted the room at large. "I'm not late, am I?" A lot of people had already arrived, some less social than others. She set her modest offering among the rest of the food and looked around for any familiar faces.

[break][break]Her eyes caught Orion Lykos's metallic arm, and she immediately felt a sense of solidarity. But that wasn't something you could just start a casual conversation with: "Hey, we've both got prostheses! What potentially traumatic event did you go through to get yours?" Yeah, no, Julia knew better than that. Even after all the therapy she'd undergone, thinking about the day she'd lost her leg still sent a shiver sprinting down her spine. She didn't want to inflict that on anyone else.

[break][break]She started piling her plate with food: some of Laurence Anderson's carbonara (of course), a few of Josh Devlin's steak fries, a spoonful of Matt Vice's chili, a slice of Elinor Anderson's salad pizza (so she could at least pretend to be healthy), a spoonful of Oliver Shrakes's casserole... Man, she wished she had a bigger plate. She also took one of the sodas that Kaida Adachi had brought. She didn't care if they were "childish," either; sodas were tasty, dang it!

[break][break]When she did another sweep of the room, she noticed a familiar face. "Josh?" she asked, approaching. He seemed to be conversing with the shy-looking Matt Vice. Hopefully Julia looked friendly enough to not scare him off.

[attr="class","juliaw"]

It was supposed to be a normal visit with her parents. The worst thing that was supposed to happen was her dad worrying too much about her, and even that had started subsiding after Julia's two-ish years of Ranger work. The sky suddenly darkening just brought confused curiosity at first. "Was it supposed to storm today?" Julia's mother, Theresa, asked as thunder rumbled close by.

[break][break]Julia suddenly gasped as she tasted static. She sprang up, nearly knocking over her chair, and pressed against the front window. Those weren't clouds; they were the purple paint-brush strokes of a break in reality. "It's a space-time distortion!" she shouted. "Get somewhere safe!" Without waiting for her parents' responses, she grabbed her belt of Poké Balls and ran outside, her father shouting after her. Any good parent would be worried about seeing their child run head-first into danger like that, but Julia couldn't let that stop her. She had to protect her parents. She had to protect her home.

[break][break]Already, panic was taking over. Luckily, John Sullivan was calling for the citizens to gather up to be taken to safety. Perfect! Julia turned to tell her parents, but then she saw the air flicker and bend in the corner of her eye. A Pokémon that reminded Julia of a larger, quadruped Ursaring appeared from this tear in space-time, and it didn't look pleased about its new location. Julia knew that it was just confused and upset, but that wouldn't stop it from hurting people in its agitated rampage. She had no choice but to drive it back.

[break][break]"Let's go, Spot!" she shouted as she threw out the Lucario's Poké Ball. He flinched as the various panicked auras hit him, blurring together in this place of mangled reality. Julia grimaced. She'd sent him out because he'd probably have the best chances against a Normal-type, but she hadn't realized just how much this area would affect him. Despite his discomfort, Spot stared his opponent down. Julia could feel his determination from where she stood.

[break][break]"We can do this! Aura Sphere!"

[break][break]Spot put his front paws together at the wrist, eyes glowing and appendages floating as he channeled his aura into a ball. He thrust his arms out and sent the sphere flying... only for it to dissipate against the Ursaluna's body. Julia's "Wha—?!" and Spot's confused howl came out at the same time. It seemed their opponent was Bulletproof... and even angrier now. With an enraged roar, it charged forward and slammed into Spot, sending the Lucario flying backwards.

[break][break]"Spot!" Julia called. The Lucario growled and tried to pull himself to his feet, but the attack had done a lot of damage. "Hang in there, buddy!" Her mind raced. What Pokémon would be best against this? She didn't even know what type it was—she'd just assumed it was a Normal-type because it looked like an Ursaring. Gah, this was just like the distortion at Splashfest! Why didn't Julia think of that?

[break][break]"Nana, pin it down with Leaf Tornado!"

[break][break]Julia gasped and looked at the familiar voice. "Dad?"

[break][break]Her father's Tropius rolled her long neck back and let out a high roar. As if carried by a twister, several sharp leaves rose up around the Ursaluna and began to circle it. The bear-like Pokémon roared in pain as some of these leaves slashed at its fur.

[break][break]"Now, Manny, Icicle Crash!"

[break][break]"Mom, too?!"

[break][break]Theresa's Mamoswine reared up on his hind legs, then slammed into the ground. The air above the Ursaluna froze into a trio of large icicles, which came crashing down on their target.

[break][break]"What are you guys doing?" Julia asked. "I told you to get somewhere safe!"

[break][break]"I'm pretty sure it's our job to keep you safe," her father quipped. His voice was light, but Julia could see the worry etched into his face.

[break][break]"Besides, you looked like you needed the help," Theresa said.

[break][break]A bashful smile crept up on Julia. "Yeah... Thanks." She scratched Spot behind his ear and recalled him back into his Poké Ball. "Come on, they're evacuating people over there."

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Spot suddenly sat bolt upright and stared out at the water. His eyes glowed blue and the four appendages hanging from his head rose as he tried to read his trainer's aura. There she was! And it seemed she wasn't alone, though this second party's aura radiated panic that Spot could feel all the way here. It seemed that Julia wasn't the one in danger; instead, she was trying to be the rescuer.

[break][break]Sparkie was the first to notice Spot's strange behavior. She paused in her surfing practice and floated over to the Lucario with a curious squeak.[break][break]

---

[break]

Okay, so the reassuring nod hadn't worked. In fact, Isaac was panicking even harder now, and that was only making things worse: Not only was he draining his limited air, but he was probably agitating the salt and risking more damage to his arm. A shudder started skittering down Julia's spine, but she forced it to stop halfway. Even if this situation was eerily familiar, Julia wasn't the one in danger right now. She had to keep it together to save her friend. She didn't like the idea of getting in even closer, crowding Isaac's personal space, and possibly making him feel even more trapped, but she didn't have much choice. She directed Marina to swim closer to Flapjack so their Dive bubbles merged.

[break][break]"Isaac, it's okay, I'm here to help," she said. "But I need you to breathe for me, okay? In and out, nice and slow, just like this." She demonstrated by taking in a deep, steady breath through her nose and letting it out through her mouth.

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"Good to see you, too!" she said to Josh. "Not yet; I haven't had a lot of time to practice with Splashfest and everything." Being so busy made this little vacation all the more worth it, though.

[break][break]Luckily, Ashley's Starly was carrying the carton of cigarettes to the trash. What a smart bird! "Glad to be here!" Julia said to Ashley. Momo chittered and waved at his fellow primate while Sparkie watched Bongo with her shy curiosity.

[break][break]"Oh, you two were at the bonfire?" Julia asked Isaac and Josh. "I must have missed you; I ended up getting there pretty late." Though something about Isaac did seem familiar... Maybe they'd run into each other there and just didn't remember it? It had been dark, after all.

[break][break]"Oh, perfect!" she said about the river. "Lazuli'll love that."

[break][break]After Josh's introductions, Julia took her turn: "I'm Julia! I'm a Ranger, too, so I'll be happy to help if you need it. This is Chester, my very first Pokémon." The Dodrio warked a hello. "This is Sparkie. She's shy, but she's a real sweetie." Julia scratched her Pikachu behind the ears as she squeaked timidly. "That's Momo. He can help with starting a campfire if you need it, and he loves cooking." The Pansear chittered proudly. Julia walked over to the river and let out her Lapras. "This is Lazuli. She's pretty much the team mom. Then we've got Spot, my partner in crime-fighting." She sent out the Lucario, who bowed his head in greeting. "And I've got Snuffles the Swinub with me, but I don't wanna let her out just yet. She gets really excited when food's involved."

[break][break]With her introductions done, Julia joined Josh in picking a good spot and started setting up her tent. As she worked, she turned to him and asked, "So, how's the Gym going?"

[attr="class","juliaw"]

The sound of someone shouting had Julia standing straight up from where she was putting together her campsite. She wasn't surprised that someone else was out here. She was, however, surprised that said someone was a man being carried like a baby doll by his Tyrantrum and demanding to be let down. It was a relief that the shout wasn't one for help, but now Julia had to hold back her giggles at this sight.

[break][break]She was about to call out to the stranger when she felt something scuttle past her. "Oh!" she exclaimed with a start, stepping out of the way. She caught a flash of orange scampering behind a pile of rocks. With a squawk, Chester ran over to investigate, and Julia followed. They were met with angry chittering as a shell-less Dwebble waved her claws at them. She must have been startled by all the commotion.

[break][break]"Aww, poor thing," Julia said. "Did you lose your shell?" More chittering. Julia scanned the ground, picked up a sturdy-looking rock, and set it down by the Dwebble. "What about this one?"

[break][break]The Dwebble continued to stare at the trainer and her Pokémon suspiciously. Julia gestured for Chester to step back and did the same herself, holding her hands up innocently. After a few moments, the Dwebble began to inspect the rock, occasionally glancing up at the pair to make sure they hadn't moved. Finally, seemingly satisfied with Julia's pick, she secreted a liquid from her mouth that began to melt a hole in her new home.

[break][break]"There you go!" Julia exclaimed. Once settled in her new shell, the Dwebble chittered again, sounding much calmer now, and approached Julia. "Oh, you wanna come with us?" Julia didn't actually know what the Dwebble was trying to say, but her chittering sounded affirmative, at least. She crouched down, fished a Poké Ball from her pocket, and booped it against her new friend.

[break][break]With all that taken care of, Julia stood back up. Finally free of distractions, she waved at the stranger. "Hello!" she called. "Are you here to see the stars, too?"

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Oh, wow, Julia didn't think it'd be this easy to catch the thief. With how hard she'd been pondering on plans and not-plans a second ago, she thought she'd blown their cover by thinking too loud. But when she rounded the corner, she saw that Spot had a firm grasp on the Beheeyem. The Beheeyem that was wearing a coat. Julia blinked. That was two Beheeyem wearing some kind of clothing in one night. What were the odds?

[break][break]Luckily and surprisingly, it didn't try to strike or even struggle. Instead, it glared at Spot, who gave a reproachful look right back. "We got it," Julia said to Hideo as he approached. "Now let's figure out what it's up to."

[break][break]It wasn't like she could get the answer straight from the Cerebral Pokémon's mouth, though. It was a good thing Hideo had brought Elga along! The thief's hand buttons began to blink, and Elga's uncovered digits flashed in return. This was apparently the species' way of talking to one another.

[break][break]As Elga interrogated the other Beheeyem, Julia realized something about their little thief. "I think it's wearing Wooloo wool on its collar," she whispered to Hideo. "That might have something to do with why it's kidnapping Wooloo." But why would a Beheeyem be wearing a coat? Did it belong to someone who was ordering it to abduct these poor Wooloo? Or was it just trying to imitate humans? Julia knew that some Pokémon liked to do that.

[attr="class","juliaw"]

Julia had been excited for Clamperl diving from the get-go. It was treasure diving under the sea, a place Julia rarely got to explore in-depth! How could she not love it? It got even better when she found Marina and evolved her into a Huntail, who could Dive deeper underwater and explore places Julia couldn't on her own. Plus, Marina glowed, making it easier to see where the sun's rays couldn't quite delve deep enough.

[break][break]It had been so worth checking this out, and not just for the treasure. Julia had swum among schools of Water-types gliding effortlessly through their natural habitats and all kinds of underwater plants and coral that fluttered in the currents. She'd let the ocean embrace her and then pushed her way through it, floating from place to place before she had Marina to help her along. Here, she could leave her worries on the shore and just enjoy herself in this new environment.

[break][break]Lazuli always floated on the surface above wherever Julia dove down that day, and today was no different. Closer to the beach, where the water tumbled against the sand, Sparkie practiced riding on her tail above the waves. Chester and Snuffles dug around in the sand for shells, trinkets, and, in Snuffles's case, scraps of food discarded by careless beachgoers. Spot lounged in a commandeered chair and took in the sun; though he looked relaxed, he was silently supervising the other Pokémon's play.

[break][break]And, of course, the sixth member of Julia's party today was Marina, whom Julia held onto as she went deeper into the water. Huntail were naturally built to live deep, deep in the sea, and though Julia wasn't comfortable going quite that far, she let Marina carry her farther down than they'd been before. As long as Julia kept an eye on her air supply, she'd be fine. Plus, who knew what kinds of treasure waited for her ahead?

[break][break]Marina suddenly stopped, staring ahead at something. Julia tilted her head, then followed her Pokémon's gaze. She couldn't see very well at this depth, but she still caught sight of something moving in the distance. She tapped Marina a couple of times, and the Huntail swam ahead, the spots on her body beginning to glow.

[break][break]The figure—no, figures—became clearer as Julia drew closer. They were a Mantine carrying its trainer, who was probably also here for the treasure hunt. Julia was planning to just wave and then move on, not wanting to infringe on someone else's spot, but then she realized something that made a familiar stab of fear shoot through her: this person's arm was stuck in a salt cliff.

[break][break]Julia sucked in a gasp of her limited air and widened her eyes. This wasn't just any stuck person, though that was bad enough on its own; it was Isaac, whom she'd met at the group camping session! Oh, boy. Okay, keep calm, Julia. This is why you joined the Rangers, remember? To help people like they helped you. Let's do this.

[break][break]She gathered the anxiety in her head, tossed it into a closet to be dealt with later, and put all her focus into the task ahead of her. Seeing a determined woman riding a Huntail into danger must have been quite the sight. She swam in close and nodded at Isaac. She couldn't actually talk down here, but this was the closest she could get to saying, "I'm here. You're gonna be okay."

[attr="class","juliaw"]

Julia beamed. If a Ranger Captain said her plan was good, then it must have been. Not that Julia thought her plan was bad or anything; she'd just half-expected Captain Vollans to find some kind of hole in it that she hadn't even considered. But he hadn't, so she was even better at this than she thought she was!

[break][break]When the two packs came into view, they were already fighting. The Primeape hooted and hollered angrily as they threw themselves at their opponents. The Passimian were more organized, taking orders from one in the higher branches that appeared to be their leader. Hard berries went flying with Fling, and any Primeape that got too close was treated to a Close Combat. Neither side seemed to have the upper hand here. Although the Passimian troop was well-organized, the Primeape were tenacious and literally too angry to give up.

[break][break]Time to put her plan into action.

[break][break]While the packs were absorbed in their fighting, Julia sent out Lazuli. "Quick, use Sing!" she ordered. Lazuli nodded, turned to the two fighting groups, and began her soothing song. The winds carried its notes to the combatants, who perked up at the strange new sound. The Passimian leader hissed out an order, which the rest of the troop rose to follow, but one by one, they grew sluggish as sleepiness seeped into their skin. The leader tried to get their attention, but she, too, was beginning to doze off.

[break][break]Perfect! Julia's plan was working! She turned to the Primeape, expecting to see similar results... but less than half of them had even grown sluggish. The rest just looked angrier, the veins on their heads twitching as blood rushed through them. Oh. Oh, that wasn't good.

[break][break]With a cacophony of enraged screeching, the remaining Primeape ran at Lazuli.

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Julia breathed out a relieved sigh once the Sharpedo had calmed down. "Don't worry," she said to them softly. "You'll be out of there soon."

Julia beamed at Josh's compliment. "Thanks! Yeah, you kinda have to think differently for Ranger movesets. Sometimes, you just run into a problem and think, 'Man, I could fix this if I had a different move.' And some Pokémon are just naturally supportive, like Lazuli here." She stroked the Lapras's neck, earning a soft coo for the affection.

[break][break]While Josh radioed dispatch, Julia circled the boat, keeping an extra eye on the poachers and searching for anything else out of place. She caught some snippets of Josh's communication as she passed by. For a trainee, he had a really good handle on radio communication and protocol. Even Julia still struggled with that sometimes!

[break][break]Julia did a quick survey of the situation. The Sharpedo were calmed and would be free soon, and the poachers weren't a threat anymore as long as they didn't let their guard down. "Yep, mission accomplished! You did great out there, Rookie Ranger Devlin." Julia generally wasn't the formal type, but she was technically Josh's senior, so she figured she'd try to be a good example. Either way, there wasn't much left to do now but wait for the authorities and enjoy the feeling of a job well done.

[attr="class","juliaw"]

It had been fun, but it was almost time for the festivities to come to an end. One last shot at the dunk tank! Could Julia dethrone Elisabeth Fiorelli, or would her final throw be a flop?

[break][break]

[attr="class","juliaw"]

The underwater world was really pretty during the day, but it was starting to get creepy now that the light was running low. Marina's bioluminescence helped, but Julia's eyes weren't meant for these darkening depths. It had been fun, but now it was time to go back to the surface. She snagged one last item on her way back up.

[break][break]