[attr="class","juliaw"]

"Momo!"

[break][break]Julia's cry was desperate as, despite Momo and Roland's best efforts, the Mega Lucario pushed through and struck with its Bone Rush. Yet thanks to the Lucario's Burn, the attack lost its lethal edge. In fact, for a moment, it looked like Momo hadn't fainted at all. Julia's face shone with relief as he pulled himself to his paws, but it was soon clouded over by the miasma that was spreading across the battlefield.

[break][break]Momo turned to face his trainer.

[break][break]And then he attacked.

[break][break]Julia froze, eyes wide, as the Rock Tomb he'd aimed at their foes came flying toward her. Her brain screamed at her to move, but her muscles refused. Why? Why was this happening? Why did it have to be this? Why did it have to be Momo?! No, it wasn't Momo, not really, but seeing him look so coldly at her as the Rock Tomb flew at her in slow motion...

[break][break]Her vision was blocked by metallic silver. The attack meant for her, combined with another Copied Moonblast from the Lucario, brought Roland down in a sparking, stuttering mess. The world snapped back into focus. Her unexpected ally had brought out a Tyranitar at some point to block a hit from the Kabutops. This wasn't the time to be freezing up. Heck, freezing up was never a good idea, but here, it was even worse. She reached down to her Poké Ball belt, but a flash of light burst from under her hovering fingers.

[break][break]The moment Snaily formed, she let out a high, gooey roar and jumped up and down like a child throwing a Stomping Tantrum. How dare these horrible people hurt her precious trainer?! Rocks flew from the ground to strike the Lucario. She turned her angered gaze to Momo next.

[break][break]Snap out of it, you idiot! her glare seemed to say.

[break][break]"Snaily, don't!" Julia shouted. "He's being controlled! It's not Momo!"

[break][break]Snaily growled. She didn't care. She'd do whatever it took to protect her best friend.

[attr="class","juliaw"]

Julia caught sight of the way her arm morphed in the mist. Strangely, she laughed at the sight. "Whoa, that's weird!" Her injuries hadn't been that bad!

[break][break]... Had they?

[break][break]Isaac had a camp. He'd been slipping people out of this alien realm to rest and recover. He was offering that same respite to Julia. Despite her insistence that she'd be fine, a weary part of her wanted to accept that offer. She couldn't just leave, not yet, not when there was still so much to be done and so many people left to protect from Rocket's monsters. But maybe she could rest, just for a little while...

[break][break]The stone above snapped clean in half. Julia's tugging became more desperate, but suddenly, she was flying back. Slowly, as if gravity had been weakened, she fell, watching an avalanche of stone fall in slow motion toward where Isaac stood. He opened his mouth to shout something, but the relentless rumbling of rocks drowned out his words.

[break][break]All at once, it happened. Julia hit the ground. Isaac was buried. The rumbling and crackling of rocks made way for silence.

[break][break]"Isaac...?"

[break][break]There was no answer. Julia's thoughts were nothing but fog for several long seconds. Then, panic pushed it aside to create horrifying clarity.

[break][break]"Isaac!"

[break][break]Ignoring the pain that still weighed on her, she pulled herself to her feet and ran to the pile of stones where Isaac once stood. "Isaac! Speak to me! Isaac!" Her strength enhanced by sheer desperation, she pulled on one of the large rocks, attempting to dislodge it. In the back of her mind, she thought that if her Pokémon weren't in such bad shape, they could help clear this, but most of them were still fainted in their Poké Balls. Julia would have to do this herself.

[break][break]She had to. She couldn't let someone she cared about so much be hurt like she had... or worse.

[attr="class","juliaw"]

Julia tried not to let it show, but the two sharp turns ahead made her nervous. She and Drake had practiced a lot, but he was still inexperienced, and those turns would be tough on both of them.

[break][break]They'd made great progress through that last stretch, already barely pulling ahead of vanessa rosiello for seventh place. It wouldn't hurt them to slow down just a little for these turns... as long as you didn't count Drake's pride. Julia felt him rumble with displeasure beneath her when she pulled on his reins to slow him down.

[break][break]"At least we're still flying!" she shouted, though she wasn't sure Drake would hear her over the cacophony of the race.

[break][break]

[attr="class","juliaw"]

Flashes from a League report raced through Julia's mind when she saw the miasma around Gavin. Something about a Shadowy patron to one of the Rockets...

[break][break]The word "love" coming from Gavin sounded so wrong, as did Temp's laugh and hip bump of his partner. How could there be love in anyone willing to send their Pokémon to attack a human? Julia had learned that not everyone in Rocket was a monster—heck, some were even good people driven into horrible circumstances—but these two? They seemed to represent everything vile and evil about the organization.

[break][break]The Flareon went down, fast asleep despite its injuries. That brought a smile to Julia's face. They could do this! It wasn't just about strength; it was about strategy, too. That may not have been Julia's forte, but she was willing to give it a shot here if it meant getting away from these two.

[break][break]Gavin offered to let them flee. "Perhaps" they'd spare Julia and Navy's lives then. Navy spoke up first, refusing to run away. That bolstered Julia's own courage, allowing her to retort with, "You attacked us first!" Not that she thought they'd actually care about that, but it gave her even more of a reason to stay and fight.

[break][break]Gavin's next two words made Julia's blood run cold.

[break][break]"No!" she cried. They were serious. Oh, Arceus, they were serious. "Momo, Flamethrower!"

[break][break]Momo took a deep, panicked breath and exhaled it as a Flamethrower aimed at the Lucario. Julia clutched his Poké Ball, hoping with all her might that Momo and Roland's combined attacks would be enough to stop it. If not, she'd have no choice but to recall him, leaving her wide open for a precious moment...

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Julia gritted her teeth at the Rocket's taunting. "I'm not a little girl!" she shot back. That was probably not the right thing to focus on, but Julia's priorities were more skewed than usual right now.

[break][break]Her own name caught her attention. Even if Jett's words were just platitudes, they still resonated within Julia's heart. Despite the sandstorm buffering them, Chester's middle head turned back to give her an encouraging squawk, and Lazuli sang out a reassuring note. That's right, Julia wasn't facing this alone. This wasn't going to be like last time.

[break][break]"Yeah. Yeah! Let's take these guys down!" There was still a slight tremor in her voice, but her fighting spirit was quickly returning. She would stoke it until it burned away any fear she still held. Powered by Julia's returning determination, the Key Stone in her Mega Anklet shone bright, resonating with Lazuli's Laprasite. Lazuli was cocooned in a bright light, which quickly broke apart to reveal her larger Mega form.

[break][break]"Resonance!" Julia called.

[break][break]Lazuli sang toward the ceiling, causing Ice-type energy to coalesce into a huge chunk of ice above the battlefield.

[break][break]"Don't just stand there!" the Tyranitar's trainer shouted. "Get that Lapras!"

[break][break]With a roar, the Tyranitar stomped on the ground, causing pointed rocks to erupt from the ground beneath Lazuli. She let out a cry of pain, but it didn't stop her own attack from crashing down on the Tyranitar. It didn't do nearly as much damage as the Stone Edge had done to Lazuli, but more importantly, rainbow light reflected off the ice, creating an Aurora Veil that surrounded Julia, Jett, and their teams.

[attr="class","juliaw"]

Julia, normally happy to give and receive physical affection and totally fine with being touched, actually flinched back a bit at Isaac's grip on her wrist. Then, she saw the mist swirling around her, revealing and then hiding her injuries. Oh, jeez, those really did look bad...

[break][break]"It's okay!" Julia said, voice climbing toward manic. "It looks way worse than it actually is! I just got caught in the crossfire a bit. Gotta be more careful around here, haha!"

[break][break]She hated that worried look on Isaac's face. They were supposed to be goofing around together and lifting each other's spirits, not this! Already, she could feel the pain and weariness seeping back into her bones and weighing her down. She didn't want that. She couldn't let that happen, not when there was still so much to do and help with.

[break][break]"My Blissey's waiting for me at one of the medical tents," she said quickly. "I'll just pop in to see her, and I'll be as good as new in no time! Heck, I bet Lazuli could—"

[break][break]Crack.

[break][break]Julia's eyes widened. She knew that sound. It had haunted her nightmares for years and even been a threat today: the sound of rocks straining as they started to break. Slowly, she looked up to see the ceiling cracking.

[break][break]"Look out!" she cried. One trembling hand went to Lazuli's Dive Ball to recall her, and the other pulled against Isaac's grip on her wrist in an attempt to pull them both to their feet.

[attr="class","juliaw"]

An Aura Sphere came from seemingly nowhere toward the robotic creature, and only then did Julia realize there were two Rockets. It was really lucky she'd run into this other person, even if he wasn't exactly in the best shape...

[break][break]All the more reason to give it everything she had.

[break][break]She gave Temp her best glare when he stuck his tongue out at her, but it was an ill-fitting look for someone normally so cheerful. Both Rockets were focusing on the Pokémon nicknamed Roland, probably because it was a completely unknown threat they wanted to deal with ASAP.

[break][break]"Yeah," was all Julia could say to Navy. How else was she supposed to respond to realizing she was dealing with some of Rocket's best? She tried not to let that shake her. They'd already proven their brutality by aiming an attack right at her; if she showed any weakness here, they'd be on her like Sharpedo smelling blood.

[break][break]Ugh, not worth thinking about. Better to focus on the fight.

[break][break]"Got it! Momo, Rock Tomb that Flareon!"

[break][break]Momo screeched and raised his hands in the air, gathering Rock-type energy in the air above him. He threw his arms forward, sending the newly formed boulders at the Flareon, where they began to fall in a circle around it. Ideally, this would keep it in place long enough for Yawn to kick in and neutralize it.

[break][break]Man, that Trailblaze still smarted...

[attr="class","juliaw"]

Luckily, the ground didn't start shaking as Julia made her way toward the reported cave-in. As she got closer, she realized someone was already there. The woman wore a lab coat, meaning she was probably some sort of scientist, and watched as her Pokémon picked up rocks, unveiling deceased Zubat to place in a basket. Julia's sorrow for the fallen Zubat combined with her confusion over what she was seeing made her stop in her tracks.

[break][break]"Uh..." Julia started, announcing her presence. "What are you doing with those Zubat?"

[break][break]At least it looked like some of them were still alive, albeit unconscious. But why was this person collecting the dead ones? Shouldn't getting the living ones out of harm's way be a higher priority?

[break][break]All three of Chester's heads stared down the scene before him, the left looking mournful for the fallen Zubat, the middle seeming just as confused as Julia, and the right narrowing its eyes in suspicion.

[attr="class","juliaw"]

Oh, man, Julia could feel a story coming on. Too bad it had to wait until this Steelix had been taken care of.

[break][break]"No problem," Julia said. "Nice shot!"

[break][break]This was fine. No, it was more than fine; this was going great! There was no way this Steelix could take on the two of them at once. They'd take it down and be on their way with no more cave shaking.

[break][break]But then the Steelix was bathed in the light of Mega Evolution, and things suddenly looked a bit less great. With its confusion cleared, it easily burrowed back underground and... went away from them? Where was it going? It had just Mega Evolved, so there was no way it could be running away.

[break][break]"Whoa!" Julia shouted when the ground started shaking again. She clung tight to Chester's reins and hunched down closer to him, eyes squeezed shut. She barely heard Jett's command for Lucky to Ice Beam the ceiling; it was like cotton balls had been stuffed into her ears, amplifying the sound of her own racing heart.

[break][break]Chester's left head reached back to nuzzle his trainer, warbling in concern. Julia let the texture of his feathers ground her—oh, couldn't there be a better word for that?!

[break][break]"I'm okay," Julia said, more to herself than Chester. "I'm okay, I'm okay, I'm okay...!" She couldn't let herself freeze up here. She wouldn't let there be another tragedy like the one she'd faced before.

[break][break]Chester's right head squawked a warning before he jumped back. The ground burst open where the Dodrio had just been standing, and a Mega Tyranitar jumped out, bringing a Sand Stream with it. Something else burrowed toward Jett, likely the Mega Steelix.

[break][break]"What's wrong?" a mocking voice asked. "Does the shaking scare you, little girl?"

[break][break]A man and a woman, both in dark clothes and wearing cloth masks over their faces, emerged from the sandstorm. They didn't need a big "R" on their clothes for Julia to guess they were with Rocket.

[attr="class","juliaw"]

Julia snickered. "Jee, I wonder who that could have been?" she asked jokingly. She shoved the image of Isaac's brains all over the floor right out of her head. Nope, nuh-uh, not even gonna think about that.

[break][break]She hated how her voice sobered a bit when she said "Yeah..." to Isaac's explanation. Ups and downs really were the best way to describe this whole mess, huh? Sometimes, there were victories, even small ones like getting supplies to someone in need. Other times, though...

[break][break]Her embarrassed "Eh-heh-heh!" laugh sounded more forced than was typical of Julia. She hoped Isaac wouldn't notice behind her bashful smile. "Yeah, sorry about that! I thought you were someone chasing me. We got into a bit of a scrape earlier, and I wasn't sure if they were still after us. No biggie, though! We're okay now."

[break][break]If Isaac looked up at Lazuli, he'd be able to see the Lapras's face scrunched up in worry for her beloved trainer. Julia didn't seem to notice. Nor did she notice what seemed to be mist—where had that come from?—disappearing from around her right arm, showing the big, nasty bruise on it. It looked fresh, too.

[break][break]"What are you doing down here, anyway?" Julia asked, oblivious.

[attr="class","juliaw"]

"That's what a good Ranger does!" Julia chirped. That was what she thought, at least. Sure, there were rules and regulations and—ugh—apparently politics, but at their core, the Rangers were supposed to help people, Pokémon, and the world around them. Anyone with a genuine desire to do that was a good Ranger in Julia's books, regardless of anything else.

[break][break]She nodded as El explained what they'd been doing all day, looking proud of her junior. "I've heard it gets pretty crazy in the Ultra Deep Sea, so I'm glad there are people looking out for others."

[break][break]Julia, too, would be the type to lend her aid to a Rocket in need. Enemies or not, they were still people. A certain someone she knew was living proof of that. It was a shame she had to keep that a secret.

[break][break]"Yeah, that's a lot of what I've been doing, too. It's not just battles; someone's gotta make sure everyone's got food and medicine and stuff. And I guess that someone is us!" Of course, even simple supply runs could have their share of trouble. Julia's injured Pokémon, one of whom was getting a soothing Heal Pulse from Joy, were proof of that.

[break][break]She beamed at Behemoth's flex, and Chester's middle head let out an approving wark before he was recalled to make room for Lazuli. The Lapras took up a lot of room in the tent, but luckily, her injuries were minimal, so she just needed a quick look-over.

[break][break]"I think we're about done," Julia said, reaching up to stroke Lazuli's neck. "What about you guys? Ready to head out again?"

[attr="class","juliaw"]

"Ohhh, that kind of strange," Julia said. "I wonder if it was a wig..." She kind of wanted to search for this Jigglypuff now and see for herself.

[break][break]Spot tilted his head, looking like he had no idea how the heck to respond to that question. More importantly, though, his eyes flickered blue as he tried again to study Makoto's aura. It was still strangely muted, of course.

[break][break]"We did meet that one Beheeyem wearing a coat," Julia mused. "Oh, and Hideo's had those cool star sunglasses! Remember bundling up for the winter, too?"

[break][break]Spot's eyes dimmed back to their normal color as he looked at Julia with the most Please be serious for once look she'd seen on him in a while. It made Julia hesitate. She thought Spot was used to her antics by now; what had gotten into him?

[break][break]Julia looked just as wide-eyed in surprise when Makoto yanked their arm away. "Oh, sorry!" she said, smiling sheepishly. "I just didn't want you to get run over; I shouldn't have just grabbed you like that." Some people didn't like to be touched, especially by strangers, and that was completely understandable. There was something else that wasn't quite as understandable, but Julia remained silent on it for now.

[break][break]"Sure thing!" she said brightly. "Good luck, and be careful! C'mon, Spot."

[break][break]Once they were out of sight, Julia and Spot turned to each other at the same time. Spot's serious look was completely expected, but Julia's caught him a bit off guard. "Something's up with them, isn't there?" she whispered. "You've been staring at them the whole time with your aura sight, and there was something weird about their clothes, too."

[break][break]Spot tilted his head, beckoning for her to continue.

[break][break]"The uniforms are short-sleeved, right? But I could swear I felt fabric when I touched their arm, and it was heavier than the uniform usually feels."

[break][break]Spot's eyes narrowed a bit in thought. Muffled aura, different clothing texture than what was visible... It felt like the pieces of the puzzle were all there, but he couldn't quite fit them together.

[break][break]"Should we keep an eye on them?"

[break][break]Without hesitation, Spot nodded.

[break][break]"Okay. Let's hope it's not serious."

[break][break]The two snuck back toward the command tent, trying to blend in with the crowd until they were on the other side. Julia peeked out first, searching for any visible sign of Makoto. Usually, Spot would be tracking them by their aura, but he was already struggling in this chaotic crowd. He was getting so many treats and pets later for this.

[attr="class","juliaw"]

Julia should have known better than to travel through the Ultra Deep Sea alone. It didn't matter how short of a distance it was supposed to be or how uneventful the walk should have been. This was a war zone in a hostile realm; anything could happen for no reason whatsoever. She hadn't even been riding on Chester, wanting to give her precious partner a break after all the hard work he'd put in today.

[break][break]Julia had been putting in a lot of hard work, too, but she never had been good at judging her limits. Heck, ever since the accident that had taken part of her leg, she'd actively worked to push them. That had helped her get back on her feet—literally—but out here, it could well be her downfall.

[break][break]She turned her head toward some sort of sound approaching her. She didn't even have time to see what it was before it slammed into her at unnatural speeds, sending her flying back with a pained cry. She skidded across the cavern floor and landed with a grunt. What... What the heck had that been?

[break][break]Suddenly, there was something else in front of her, shining silver and holding a double-headed pink weapon. It reminded Julia of a metallic Gardevoir. Or maybe a Gallade? Both? Who cared; it was on her side, if its Spirit Break against the Flareon was any indication. She realized the Flareon was darker than normal, too, but she wasn't totally sure what that meant.

[break][break]"You'll have to do better than that," an unfamiliar voice said. Julia looked up to her blue-haired savior just in time to see him cough up blood. Her eyes widened.

[break][break]"You're hurt!" she exclaimed wisely. Part of her wanted to tell this stranger to flee to safety and get medical attention, but she knew damn well (wow, there was a phrase that rarely crossed her mind) that if someone had told her to do that, she would have stubbornly refused. So instead, she pulled herself to her feet, determination pushing through the pain.

[break][break]"Let's do it." She wasn't familiar with Rocket's upper echelons, so she didn't realize just how important the underboss and his partner were. All she knew was that she needed to win.

[break][break]She clicked open Momo's Poké Ball, releasing the Simisear onto the battlefield. "Momo, Yawn; try to put it to sleep."

[break][break]Not yet noticing his trainer's state, Momo opened his mouth in a dramatic yawn. Somehow, that caused puffs of white clouds to escape his mouth and float over to the Flareon.