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Chapter Text

Paldea is very different compared to Galar.

Well, if she were to be honest with herself, no regions are any different from each other aside with having their own cultures that makes them unique. For instance, Galar's way with the Pokemon League is very different from what she had known according to fellow travelers from other regions. Heading to stadiums of each part of the region, wearing uniforms and even Dynamaxing their Pokémon as the grand finale of their battles with the Gym Leaders. There is no official Elite Fours there in Galar, it's basically facing the runner ups and gym leaders with tougher Pokémon with the chance to beat the former Champion, Leon.

That is the norm to her, growing up in her home region.

Until she decided to head to another region just for some adventuring to ease off the boredom that is plaguing her for some time now before it began to devour her whole. For what reason, maybe to find something to excite her like her journey to tackle on the Championship did and discovering new Pokémon that is never seen before.

How she came to know about Paldea was when she was with Sonia in her lab, Hop being there as well given he decided to be an assistant to the young Pokémon Professor after finding his niche since the incident with the brothers whom claimed to be descendants of the two Kings of Galar. This was no sooner after she managed to complete the Pokedex(took longer than she liked to admit), and Sonia had brought up something that is foreign to her ears. Something about the whole Terastal phenomenon thing from a region, which the name itself came up.

 ~

"Terastal Phenomenon?" she repeats the words in confusion, while eyeing the orange-haired professor.

She was a girl with light tan skin, owning natural silver-white hair that are currently styled within a romantic tuck with free sideburns. Previously she had always had her hair free and long, but until during her travels did she decided to get her hair styled. To avoid getting them all messed up from the shockwaves of Pokémon battling out seriously. Her eyes were a lovely shade of amber, and wearing a white shirt with a black blazer on and matching trousers with black leather shoes.

 "Yup, sounds about right. Now that I am a professor, I get dragged into having some meeting conferences with other professors from other regions." Sonia says, while having out her Rotom Phone and looking through the notes she had it jolted down. She mentioned about not being able to trust herself to write them down, and so she uses the Rotom Phone to record them instead. Turned out to be very convenient for her, and something that Iphigenia was somewhat annoyed to not think of that.

Not that she has a problem writing them down in her notebook, but it saves the trouble of being worried about the notebook being ruined like being splashed on, trampled on, or torn apart. She usually jolts down what she needed to buy to make different kinds of curry, listing items she is running low on such as potions and revives and even certain kinds of pokeballs, and strategizing with her Pokémon.

She's a bit of a scatterbrain, oft times forgetting what she needed to do or to get before making stops to anywhere.

 "So we know about Mega Evolution from the Kalos Region, from which Professor Sycamore was studying into. And of course there is the Dynamaxing from which my grandmother studied into as well. From the last meeting, there was a mention about this Terastal Phenomenon that a Professor from the Paldea Region was studying about, where a Pokémon temporarily changes looking all gem-like and sparkly with their type being changed too." Sonia tells her, while her Yamper is wandering by with a ball in its muzzle to chew on it.

 "Something like that exists?" Iphigenia blinks.

 "It's a norm over in Paldea. Even though it's not common in other regions like Dynamaxing is, but it's piquing interest."

 "So then.... it gives Pokémon gem-like appearance and changes their type?" the Galarian Champion asks her, feeling her curiosity growing as well as some excitement.

 "From what I heard, yes. Say for example...." Sonia looks around with a thoughtful look, before landing on her Yamper settling in its bed and munching on the toy ball. With a nod to herself, she then points at her friend and Iphigenia looks over seeing that Yamper is being used as a demonstration.

 "Yamper is an Electric-Type. So if you were to terastallize Yamper, it would have a gem crown atop of its head looking like an electric bulb. Still an Electric-type, but its moves are boosted with more strength behind it. But if, say, Yamper's Tera Type is different like being Steel type, then Yamper would become a Steel-type temporarily when terastallized." Sonia explains to her. Iphigenia's eyes seemed to shimmer upon imagining it from the explanation, before she looks at her with confusion.

 "Tera Type?"

 "It's like a third type to the Pokémon when they undergo Terastal, though they can only have one. Most of the time, they can stick to one of the types they truly are and be entirely that type. But from what I heard, there are cases where the Pokémon can have a different tera type that doesn't match like I said earlier." Sonia says, then leaning back in her chair and lets out a sigh from being almost breathless.

 "I'm no expert in explaining it in great detail, but I'm sure the Paldeans would do a much better job. Like the Professor himself studying it, Professor Turo." she continues, and Iphigenia simply nods to that while sipping on her bergamot tea. Her mind reeling in the new information and discovery of something she knew nothing about, for it only fueled her curiosity and excitement.

~

It took some time to be able to find the opportunity to travel over to Paldea. From saving up some funds for herself, and clearing up her schedule. She never knew upon becoming the new Champion of Galar, that she would be held up with duties such as meetings with the League and having to defend her title against the challengers. This also include dealing with problems like calming down wild Pokémon that may of gone on a rampage for Arceus knows what(usually they've gone berserk or for territorial reasons).

 She sometimes wondered if this was the one part that Leon himself certainly wouldn't miss, especially with him being terrible with directions.

 Her mother, Hop's mother, Hop himself along with Sonia and Leon had gone ahead to see her go at the airlines. Marnie even made time to see her rival go, along with her older brother Piers. Despite that he looks rather intimidating, looking like an anti-social at that, but he really respects Iphigenia and the fact she was friends with his sister. Even though it wasn't the fact she's moving to Paldea but more of adventuring it, the fact she won't see them until she was content with what Paldea had to offer crashed in upon departure.

 With how the Pokémon League would run without the young Champion, was something that dragged on for some time due to her wish to travel abroad. They came down to the conclusion that the former Champion Leon would cover for her since it was only natural.

With promises of phone calls to keep in touch, Iphigenia was off to meet the new region.

That was about two months ago, and currently she was having a blast here in Paldea.

First off, the arrival here was smooth.... aside with meeting fans overseas. Somehow her departure to arriving in Paldea spread like wildfire, and she was very surprised to see a large group of young adoring fans awaiting to meet h er and asking for pictures and autographs.

This was something Iphigenia has yet to get used to, but she certainly doesn't have it in her to turn away the fans. Almost an hour had passed by while she was signing autographs and taking pictures with them upon their request before she could leave the airport.

She didn't want her title of being Galarian Champion to be laid out there, hoping to go under the radar. But it seems that was tossed out of the window and she hoped that it wouldn't make her experience here in Paldea not any less exciting than she hoped. This was one of those times she was glad that she bought some shades, and packing extra clothes as well in hopes of making herself go undercover.

Finding a place to stay in wasn't a concern, because ahead of time she managed to get herself enrolled in the Uva Academy. Back at her home in Galar, she was looking into Paldea and stumbled upon the academy itself which was the Uva Academy that is nestled within a place called Mesagoza. It's an academy with academic courses that mostly involves Pokémon, and Iphigenia figured why not enroll into it for the heck of it. It could be a fun experience, she had figured to herself and a perfect starting point to see new Pokémon.

───※ ·❆· ※───

And she was definitely spot on.

 Upon arrival and within two days of staying at the hotel, she had meet the director of the academy there himself who is known as Clavell. The man instantly knew who she is right away, and she would have guessed it was due rumors flying about the Champion of Galar being spotted here. But that was half true, with the other being the fact he had recognized her through the whispers of the folks among Paldea's own Pokémon League. He had come by to not only give her the uniform himself, but also the fact he came by with the starters of Paldea.

 He did express some doubts if that would be an issue, but Iphigenia quickly reassures him that she doesn't mind having a new Pokémon. She even told him that since coming here, she wouldn't mind catching new Pokémon and raise them on her own. That made the director smile and nod in approval, seeing how enthusiastic she is despite already being a skilled trainer and willing to start from ground zero again.

So he presented her the three starters: Fuecoco the Fire Croc, Sprigatito the Grass Feline and Quaxly the Water Duckling.

 Obviously, the Galarian Champion marveled at them seeing how adorable they look. The sight of the starters took her back with the time she and Hop were presented Scorbunny, Grookey and Sobble from Leon. It was only just last year, even though it felt like a lifetime. At that time, Iphigenia had chosen Scorbunny, who right now became Cinderace, and she figured she should chose a different type.

So she settles with Sprigatito, who appears to take a great liking to her. Perhaps a homage to the fact Hop had chosen Grookey who is a Grass-type at the start of their journey, and that is part of the reason why she decides to choose a different type and not sticking with a Fire starter once more.

 With that settled, they were about to leave when suddenly this very energetic teenage girl in the Uva uniform came in. She owns black hair styled in a ponytail and her bangs being dark green, having black leggings and what looks like a magenta gauntlet on her right forearm. Apparently from the looks of it she must've caught wind of a new student enrolling in the academy who is rumored to be a Champion from another region, because when her orange eyes settled onto Iphigenia she immediately ran up to her and eagerly asks her for a Pokémon battle right away with a huge excited grin on her face.

Iphigenia was quite surprised by this, a little off-guard even. She was used to Hop being eager to have a battle with her time and time again, but not as overly hyper as this girl in front of her.

Clavell did lightly scold her for overwhelming the new student, to which the girl apologizes and introduces herself as Nemona. Iphigenia reassures her and introduces herself to her, before telling her that she doesn't mind having a battle with her. Nemona then notices the two starters and seeing Sprigatito beside Iphigenia which made her immediately guess that she has chosen as new Pokémon herself. She asks her to battle with her with one of the starters she choose herself, which she decides on Quaxly.

 Iphigenia was perplexed, but brushes it off and accepting it as Sprigatito needed some experience in battling.

 And so with a battlefield outside in the square, the Pokémon battle ensues. Iphigenia noticed right away with the way Nemona commands Quaxly is as though she is a veteran trainer, and she knew that she shouldn't hold back then. With the fact Sprigatito has an advantage over the Water Duckling, the battle ended within five minutes. Of course, seeing that Iphigenia was the real deal had Nemona very excited and wanted to have another battle with her but Clavell intervened stating that Sprigatito is too exhausted to have another battle.

 Nemona apologizes for getting carried away, but Iphigenia certainly likes her spunk and reassures her that they'll battle again next time which got her excited. Clavell then asked if Iphigenia would like to venture around in the southern area before coming to the academy, which Iphigenia says that she would like to and see if she can find some new Pokémon to catch. Nemona was quick to tag along since this was Iphigenia's first time around the area, and both of them venture to the Southern Province.

 They just happen to click though, becoming fast friends as Iphigenia looks for new Pokémon. She did catch a new variant of a Wooper, which is poison-ground duo type instead of being the standard water-ground and she caught a new Pokémon called a Pawmi. They had moved down to Poco Path when they both heard a bellow from elsewhere, which gave Iphigenia a major deja-vu at this. Nemona suggests they should investigate and they looked around for a bit before Iphigenia decides to head to the cliff that oversees the small beach.

 She looks down, and there was three Houndours all barking at something that looked washed ashore. Looking closely, it was a rather unusual looking Pokémon if Iphigenia had to admit, laying in the sands and looking very exhausted. It looks like a large lizard with metallic sheen of silver and purple, with some gray areas as well, giving it a futuristic aesthetic from the looks of it. The strange Pokémon then roared at the small Pokémon, which terrified them as they scrambled to the cave that was there. Whether it was because the shockwaves behind the roar or the fact she stepped too close on the edge, the ground beneath her broke down and she was falling.

 Luckily, she saved herself by using the Rotom Phone which was a first for her if she admits. And also a reminder of herself to bring along Kizuki, her Corviknight, should something like this ever happen again.

Now it was just herself and the strange Pokémon, and she approaches it with caution. Although it seems too tired to even care about her, making her wonder if it was exhausting from traveling wherever it came from or something. She thinks about helping it, and thought about giving it some food to recover its strength.

 Only that she didn't have any.... except a sandwich that Nemona made for her when they set up a picnic as a break earlier. She gave the sandwich to the Pokémon, and it looks at her for a moment before to the sandwich. And takes it into its mouth and scarfs it down. While it was eating, Iphigenia tried to scan it with the Pokedex that was updated by Clavell before departure of exploring around, but it comes out as unknown.

Fully energized, it stands on its four legs and wanders ahead of her. And then, before her very eyes, it transforms into what appears to be its battle form and appearing to levitate from the rockets that were once its hind legs. Alrighty, definitely the kind of Pokémon from the cybernetic future of sort. She notices that it wants her to follow her as though escorting her out of there, and so she does.

 It escorts her through the cave, and breaking down boulders in their way. It even scares off the pack of Houndour each time, and it makes her wonder where its pack leader from. Iphigenia got her answer when at one point, they were approached by a very powerful looking Houndoom from behind. Before Iphigenia thought about sending out one of her veteran Pokémon, the cybernetic one instead came between her and the wild Houndoom as though guarding her. Before the battle breaks out, a massive pack of Houndour came along to surround them.

 While surrounded, she did notice that the Pokémon seemed hesitant to attack and assumes it didn't want to risk hurting her. That was when Nemona called from above from another entryway, and so seeing the way the robotic Pokémon grabs Iphigenia and flew up to get her out of there. When they left the cave, leading to where there is a lighthouse there, the Pokémon reverts to its normal form out of exhaustion.

 Nemona was asking her what it is and where it come from. And most importantly, she had asked, if it's very strong.

 All Iphigenia could say was that she has no idea what it is, and that's when the Pokémon had moved ahead upon spotting something. Both of them followed after it, and they saw the reason why the Pokemon was moving towards the lighthouse. It was because there is a teenage boy there having a hiker's bag on his back, with long sandy hair with some black accents. He is wearing the Uva uniform as well, and that most of his bangs covers his right eye, revealing his left eye having light blue irises.

He was shocked upon the sight of the cybernetic Pokémon, before he starts scolding it for being out in the open. Nemona is familiar with him, addressing him as Arven and confronting him why he seem to know about the Pokémon. He curtly explains that he knows it because his father was looking after it, and that it was called a Miraidon. Iphigenia had asked him why Miraidon wasn't supposed to be seen, to which he responds that he just wasn't and that its unusual appearance would startle people. She supposes that is valid.

 Arven then notices that Miraidon seems to take a liking to Iphigenia, making him rather annoyed about this but then considers this situation for a bit. He then demands her that they should battle, that way to see if Iphigenia could handle the 'brute' as he lovingly puts it. Bemused, Iphigenia agrees and sends out Wooper to fight against his Skwovet. The battle didn't last long, and of course Iphigenia and her Wooper merged victorious.

 As a result, Arven handed her the pokeball that Miraidon goes into and tells her to look after it before taking off to likely head for the academy. Nemona comments her surprise about the fact he was looking after a rare Pokémon like Miraidon if it belonged to his father, who is a professor. Iphigenia asked her which professor she meant, and she responded that Arven is Professor Turo's son, much to her surprise and shock.

 Once all of this was said and done, they head back to Mesagoza for the academy. Not before Iphigenia went ahead to train her newly caught Pokémon for a while, and Nemona asks her for another battle right outside the Southern Mesagoza Gate but this time she had Terastallized Quaxly. Iphigenia was left in awe now seeing this in person.

But she still defeated Nemona despite using her supposed ace in her sleeve with Sprigatito.

 Nemona had gone ahead while Iphigenia takes her time heading to the academy. Upon climbing up the largest staircase she has ever see, she stops halfway seeing a teenage girl with short blue-red hair with glasses and an Eevee plush on her back being bothered by two students with white helmets and wearing star-shaped aviators. The pair calls themselves Team Star, making Iphigenia nearly want to roll her eyes now discovering a group of possibly delinquents she might have to deal with.

They were pressuring the girl to join them, and she appeared not wanting to so Iphigenia intervenes. They weren't happy, even when one of them asked if she knew who they are dealing with and she responds with a no, and so the female grunt challenges her with her Shroodle. Of course with Sprigatito despite the disadvantage, she won and that was when Nemona came by and asking what the commotion was about. Upon being informed, Nemona mentions she would normally take care of it but she would rather have her try out with Terastral on her first time, handing her the Tera Orb.

 When Iphigenia asked where she got it and if she was allowed to have it, Nemona simply said that she puts in the good word about her and managed to get one for her. And so Iphigenia tried it on the other Star Grunt, who sent out his Yungoos, and Sprigatito had a crown of crystallized flowers atop. And true to what they say, Grass cat's Leafage was powered up and it knocked out Yungoos in one shot.

 Defeated, the Star grunts ran off and the girl timidly gave her thanks to Iphigenia before running off as well. She assumed her as a very timid girl, and Nemona admits to never seeing her before. Especially commenting on how adorable her eevee plush was, and Iphigenia couldn't help but agree.

And at last, they both made their way for the Uva Academy as classes begin.

Her homeroom teacher is Jacq, who kindly introduces her to her class. And of course, there was some commotion from some students who recognizes her right away due to the fact she is the Champion of Galar. Some asked her for confirmation, to which she did and others asks if she loves Pokémon to which she responds with a hearty reply. The usual kind of what aspiring youngsters would ask to their idol. At one point, Nemona had asked her if she is planning to take on the Paldea League.

 After some thought, Iphigenia responds that perhaps she will. It wasn't a definite yes or a no, but Nemona seems very confident that in due time she would tackle on the Pokémon League. With questions aside, Iphigenia went into her seat and from there the classes began. As the days go by, news of the fact the new student was the Galarian Champion had already reached every single person within the enormous academy.

 When classes of the first day ended, Iphigenia had gone to the Cafeteria where she spotted Arven himself.

 ~

"Ah! It's you!" Arven says in surprised, as Iphigenia had approached him.

 "Yeah, it's me. Uhhh, Arven right?" Iphigenia says, remembering him right away. Well, how could she forget someone who is supposedly the son of a professor and the fact he handed the ownership of a very impressionable Pokémon like Miraidon?

 "Oh, you remember me! That's quite a steel-trap mind you have there, bud!" Arven says with a smile, laughing a little. She was surprised to see him act like this, a total opposite when he was all sour with the whole situation with Miraidon. But as much as she wants to pry, she decides maybe now isn't the time.

 "Don't tell me, I know. You are Iphigenia Juliana Vanidestine, right?" he questions her, and she nods to that. He then gives her a serious look, as though she had something rather incriminating that she failed to tell him straight away. "I'm hearing those really interesting rumors since you got here.... is it true that you are a Champion of Galar?"

 Iphigenia laughs nervously, darting her amber eyes around.

 "I... tried to keep it under wraps but Meowth's out of the bag..." she admits to him.

 "Aargh, I knew it! I knew you were too good of a battler like that crazy Nemona! But at least you weren't like her, so that's a good thing." Arven says with a shake of his head, looking a bit annoyed by this.

 "Um, is she that bad?" Iphigenia tilts her head in confusion.

 "Try dealing with her asking for a battle almost around the clock! That girl doesn't know the definition of 'calm yourself down', not when she gets fired up about battling. Wait a second, how come she isn't onto you right now?!"

 "Um.... good question?" she smiles sheepishly, and he just shakes his head again with as sigh.

 "Well, never mind that! Listen, bud, I got a favor to ask of you now that I know you're just the kind of person I need!" Arven says with a determined look, and Iphigenia was all ears. While she is a good battler, the one thing she doesn't mind was helping people. She would be a poor excuse of a Champion if she ignores the pleas of the people.

 ~

 The favor Arven was asking was helping her find something that he learned about from a book he carries around with him. A book that belonged to his father, called the Violet Book. Within the book, there states the existence of rare herbs called the Herba Mystica that have healing properties. He wanted to look for them for the sake of making new recipes to help heal Pokémon, with the issue that it could be guarded by powerful Pokémon called the Titans.

 He admits to himself that he isn't a good battler, which is why he asked for Iphigenia to help him out. When she asked him why not having Nemona to help, he instantly reject that idea and said he wouldn't be able to hear the end of it if he did go to her for assistance. Plus, he doesn't know anyone else who are very good at battling which is why he asks for her instead.

 Just when she was about to respond that she will, Arven stops her stating that she should give it some thought first before when the certain time comes. She was confused about what he means by that, but would trust him about it and he went ahead to give her the locations on the map of Paldea through their Rotom Phones. With that being done, he runs off while telling her to give it some thought.

 This does leave her bewildered, wondering why not now but supposes to give her time and decide it on her own. But either way, it's still a yes to her.

 If finding those rare herbs could be very beneficial to help heal the Pokémon, then she is sold on the spot.

 Although right when she was about to leave the cafeteria, her phone suddenly rang and she answers it thinking it was her mother calling to check in. But that was not the case the instant she hears an unfamiliar voice.

~

"...This is Iphigenia Juliana Vanidestine, correct? I hacked into your smartphone so I could talk to you, hope you don't mind that."

 Now Iphigenia was left very spooked about this. This person somehow knew her full-name, and even hacked into her phone to speak with her? Well, it would be fair given that this unknown person is a hacker and thus managed to get some information on her, including knowing her name. But still, this wasn't something she can let her guard down over.

 "Who are you? Why did you hacked into my phone?" Iphigenia questions firmly.

 "My name is Cassiopeia." the hacker responds, and the Galarian Champion noted how odd the name sounded. But then again, her own surname was just as somewhat odd-sounding to some people. "But never mind about that. It's you that I want to talk about. I hear that you are a skilled trainer. One who just so happens to be the Champion of Galar, I presume?"

Okay, definitely from the hacking. Either that, or the rumors that already dominated the entire grounds.

 "And if I am?" Iphigenia questions.

 "Tell me, then.... do you know about Team Star?"

 Iphigenia hums, "Well I did battled two of them so, yes. Who are they exactly?"

 "Team Star is a group of troublemakers formed by some academy students a while back. They caused headaches for the school and try to bring other students down to their level. I refuse to sit idly by and let them get away with it, so I've come up with a plan to bring them down to disband forcibly for good. I call it... Operation Starfall!" Cassiopeia informs her.

 Iphigenia taps her leg in thought, while using her other hand to have her two fingers against her forehead.

 "Let me guess... for this Operation Starfall to happen, you want me to take them down?" she asks the hacker, since that is the only explanation why they came to her to talk to.

 "That's right. I'm going to need allies for this operation, and you are the one who fits the bill." Iphigenia was about to respond, but Cassiopeia immediately continues on before she could. "No need to respond just yet. We can discuss this another time, until then I'll let you decide. Bye."

 Geez, can't she get a say in this?

 ~

 The moment the call ended, Iphigenia heard Clavell approach her and asking her to keep her voice down the next time she answers a call. Iphigenia apologizes to him and promises that she won't disturb anyone again before she leaves to find Nemona. She failed to realize that Clavell had overheard her conversation with Cassiopeia earlier and seemed to be in deep thought about it.

 After exploring around the campus for some time, Iphigenia managed to find Nemona in the staff room. There were other teachers there that she recognizes, but there was one person that she doesn't recognize who is speaking with Nemona at the moment. From behind, she can see the person having long dark hair with blue highlights and wearing a dark-blue suit, the sleeves having hues of blue as well with blue gloves on and the skin being dark tanned. Whatever it was they're talking about, Iphigenia couldn't hear.

 At least, until she approaches and hears the woman addressing Nemona as 'Champion'.

 Ah, that explains it.

 ~

"I'll be taking my leave then." the woman says, turning around to leave while Iphigenia is approaching to Nemona. The woman's eyes lands on her as they were about to pass, her eyes being dark blue with some yellow specks within that almost reminds the Galarian Champion of the galaxy. In a way that is.

 "Oh... you wouldn't happen to be the rumored Champion of Galar, I presume?" the woman asks her.

 "Yes, that is me." Iphigenia nods, and the smile widens a little on her face.

 "I thought so. I hope you'll enjoy your stay here in Paldea." the woman says, before she went ahead to leave. Iphigenia could tell that she wanted to stay a little longer to chat with her, but she seems to be on a schedule. She gets the feeling that this wouldn't be the last time she has seen her.

 "Oh, Iphigenia!" Nemona beams at the sight of her, although surprised that she was here.

 "Hey. So, who was that lady?" Iphigenia says, looking over to her from watching the woman leave the room.

 "Oh, her? Piqued your interest, huh? That lady.... well, we call her La Primera!" Nemona says, smiling widely while also expressing admiration for the woman. "She's very strong, and she can pretty much do anything! Man, she's basically the kind of trainer I wanna be-or rather what any Trainer want to be!"

 "Oh." Iphigenia responds with understanding, gaining the faint idea. "So is she like... the Champion of this region?"

 "Oh, well yes! It's that obvious, isn't it! But she's also the chairwoman of the Pokémon League and being the Top Champion at that!" Nemona nods energetically. Now that was news to Iphigenia, given that the woman is both a chairwoman that basically is behind the operation of the Gym Leaders and the Champion.

 "Wait... I heard her call you the Champion?" she comments in confusion, and Nemona makes a quiet gasp.

 "Oh yeah! I forgot that you're not familiar with how it works here!" she says, making the Galarian Champion deadpan a little.

 "Here in Paldea, La Primera and the Elite Four will decide whether or not you get to pass to be a Champion ranked trainer. Simply put, you just have to beat them to prove yourself after you got all eight badges from the Gym Leaders. That is, if you pass the first part of the test." Nemona explains to her. Well, that is different from what Iphigenia was used to doing and from how the other regional Pokémon League work.

 "That's new." she comments.

 "Speaking of which, remember when I asked you if you plan on tackling the Pokémon League here?"

 "You want me to reach Champion rank like you?" Iphigenia guesses, and Nemona claps her hands while grinning widely.

 "Well OF COURSE!! I mean, I know that you're already a Champion but just think of how exciting it would be to be a Champion of a different region too!! You get to battle new and tough trainers here, and we can also have our battling too just to see how far you've progressed with your new teams! Sounds like fun, right?!" Nemona says to her.

 If she had to be honest, that idea does sound appealing to Iphigenia.

 "Well-"

 "I mean, right now won't be a good time. At least until the time for the Treasure Hunt comes of this year at least!"

 "Treasure Hunt?" Iphigenia blinks.

~

Nemona explains to her that the Treasure Hunt is basically something that happens once every year, usually around the beginning of the school year. If anything, the Treasure Hunt is a free-for-all journey that allows students to do whatever they want to go and explore around Paldea to find their treasure. When Iphigenia questions what sort of Treasure, Nemona says that the idea of treasure is finding something that is like a calling. Something that a person would enjoy greatly, such as becoming a strong trainer or learning something new or discover a never-seen-before Pokémon, anything in fact.

Finding actual treasure can be a bonus if a student wishes.

 Nemona went ahead to give Iphigenia the locations of the Gym Leaders just in case she wants to take on the League, and even expressing her to give it some thought before rushing off. Now this is when Iphigenia realizes that she is within a bind of deciding which of the three proposals she got from Nemona, Arven, and Cassiopeia.

───※ ·❆· ※───

 By the time the Treasure Hunt came, Iphigenia already decided one thing. She decides to do all three favors, and she started off with helping Arven first after getting some supplies stocked up as well as ingredients to make food.

The Cliff Titan was the closest, and she heads to the East Mesagoza Gate. While going on trail through the canyons, she went ahead to capture a female Shinx with the ability of Intimidation, which she nicknamed Azula. Seeing the flock of Rookidee made her almost catch one, but remembers that she already has one in the Box fully evolved. She stumbles upon one fiery little Pokémon called a Charcadet, so she catches that one.

 There was even what looks like a moving rock-like Pokémon when she was at the Pokémon Center, and notices among the other two nearby, the one closest to her is a different colored one. Instead of the white block atop and it's face being white, it was colored orange, almost like caramel to her.

A Shiny Nacli, from what the Pokedex informs her when she quickly scanned it and she wasted no time catching it and nicknamed it Caramel.

 Since she has no idea how strong the first Titan would be, Iphigenia trains her team to get stronger out of precaution. While getting them to level up, her Sprigatito evolved into a Floragato and soon after him was Azula the Shinx evolving into Luxio. Upon realizing that she cannot be having two Electric-types in her team for the sake of balancing, she went ahead on Miraidon's back to ride back to where she could find a flock of Fletchling and caught one, which has the ability of Flame body and swapped out Pawmi for the newly caught Fletching.

 Essentially got two flame types in her team now, but she's gonna need a flying type. She trains it, and it becomes a Fletchinder.

Oh yeah, Wooper became a Clodsire. And the way Clodsire looked had Iphigenia be reminded of a chocolate éclair.

Anyways, with her new Paldean team trained enough and strong enough after battling trainers around in the area and resting, she feels confident to tackle on the first Titan. Which.... turned out to be a very huge crab-like Pokémon which is called a Klawf, and Arven turned up to help alongside her upon finding the spot.

Even without him around and even if he were to act as support, the Stony Cliff Titan was defeated with ease thanks to Floragato, and they went into the cavern it had created in the cliff to find a pink glowing plant which Arven reveals it to be a Sweet Herba Mystica. Arven made some sandwiches with it, especially one for him and her to try only for Miraidon to come out and wanted one.

 Obviously without second thought and having no mean streak in her, Iphigenia gave her sandwich to her much to Arven's chagrin. But the result was Miraidon somehow gaining back a portion of its power just from eating it, which surprised the two trainers and with Arven more convinced that the Herba Mystica really does its job. Iphigenia was gonna help clean up, but reassures her that he'd do it himself and so she left.

 Iphigenia went ahead to go explore around the area before heading to the west side for the first gym leader there. Catch new Pokémon, training up her team, picking up dropped items from the ground, resting around and making sandwiches for her team, and make way to Cortondo's Gym. Kathy wasn't too hard to beat, practically because Iphigenia got two Pokémon on her that gave her big advantages and so the first Gym Badge was hers.

She flew back to the Canyon area for the second Gym which is the Artazon Grass-Type gym. And again, beating Brassius was easy as well with the help of Fletchinder and Clodsire, earning a second gym badge. And this was also the time that Caramel the Nacli evolved into Naclstack.

Around this time, she decides to tackle on the Star Base as the first one, Giacomo who uses Dark-Type which was an issue since she has no Pokémon on her team who can deal serious damage, but decides to rely on her best ones, which are Floragato and Clodsire which worked. Though the guy who joined the Operation Starfall with her and Cassiopeia, claiming to be Clive, she already has an idea that it's the director but decides not to bring it up seeing how he straight up denies.

 But she can tell that he wanted to get to the bottom of this under a disguise.

 She chose the Cascaraffa Gym being next which is near, though before she does she went decides to train up her Pokémon team some more and catching new Pokémon. She found and caught a female Gible in a cavern, nicknaming it Ryuhime and after some thought she flew over to the Poco Path again and caught a female Ralts, nicknaming it Mitsuri. She decides to switch out Charcadet for now in favor of Ryuhime and Clodsire for Mitsuri, and focuses on training them both up to catch up. So now, Ryuhime evolves into Gabite and Mitsuri being Kirlia.

Luckily, the next Open Sky Titan was near and she tackles on it next before the Gym. After defeating the Titan Bombridier, Arven reveals the reason why he was tracking down the Herba Mystica was because of his partner he has with him and revealed the large canine Pokémon who appeared injured and weak. He states that no potions could help Mabosstiff, nor even the Pokémon Center, so he tried every method that could help but neither worked. That was when he came across the Herba Mystica in the Violet Book.

 Obviously, Iphigenia feels bad for him and the Mabosstiff. She was touched that he was doing all he can to help him, and that he was counting on her to keep on helping him. And she could never turn him away like this, nor his partner who meant the entire world to him. Once that was done, they went separate ways and Iphigenia goes to train her Pokémon a little more before tackling on the Gym.

 Though a little mishap had her travel across the desert since the Gym Leader forgot his wallet, and along the way she caught a female Larvesta, nicknaming it Amaterasu. And so in favor of it, she decides to switch Caramel for Amaterasu. Little favor over with and trial out of the way, she challenged and defeated Kofu the Water-Type gym leader.

Once he was out of the way, she challenged the second Star Crew, Mela who uses Fire Type. And so, she was defeated and that was plenty of badges she got from all three sides.

───※ ·❆· ※───

 Six Gym leaders down, three Star Crew Bases down, and four Titans down. That was the progress she had made so far, but it is currently on hold for the moment.

 Earlier, she was contacted by her homeroom teacher Jacq that she was one of the few chosen students to participate in the field trip to a place called Kitakami. Naturally, Iphigenia was intrigued by this and she wasn't one to turn down an opportunity like this. It reminds her of the time she received passes to the Isle of Armor and the Crown Tundra. Arriving back to the Uva Academy to meet up, she spots a woman beside Jacq who owns blonde hair and in a purple blazer with crimson trousers, wearing earrings bearing the symbol of the Terastal.

 She introduces herself as Briar, who is one of the teachers from an academy called the Blueberry Academy, located within Unova. That was news to her, given that last she recalled there wasn't a Blueberry Academy before in Unova but she decides perhaps it was under construction at the time. Or maybe she didn't bother to check the current state of Unova.

And here she is, on the bus with the other few fellow Uva students with her and Briar heading to the village of Kitakami after arriving on airplane. Iphigenia is currently on her phone, having to send messages to the certain duo about the delay and for apologizing for the inconvenience because of the trip she was chosen to participate in.

Nemona reassures her that it's fine, but was pouty about it for not being able to come along as this meant new Pokémon to catch and new people to battle. Arven reassures her that it's fine, and that with the current state Mabosstiff is in, he'd be waiting patiently for her return and that neither are going nowhere. Cassiopeia, she wasn't sure how to contact her but hopefully the hacker doesn't mind and will wait.

 She feels the bus come to a stop.

 "Alright, everyone! We have arrived!" came the airy tone of Briar from the front, and the three students got up to get off the bus. Iphigenia's Rotom Phone flew into her pocket, as she gets up and follows them out.

'Let's see what Kitakami has to offer...' Iphigenia thought to herself.

Chapter Text

Kitakami was something that Iphigenia somewhat envisioned. A city seems highly unlikely from the way Ms. Briar describes it on the way here, so she pictures a quaint village. Simple houses and with limited technology, like only radios or maybe even a television. Streetlights as well, because that's more of an ideal countryside.

And the reality of it didn't disappoint. As far as she could see, there was only one settlement there that is far up ahead, untouched by modern advancement like she was familiar with. If any city folks were to come, like obviously the spoiled teens, they would obviously complain about not much things to do here.

But Iphigenia doesn't mind it from being too used to venture the outdoors and away from towns and cities, usually camping out in the wilds even. There's just something about the perfect blend of modern and rural that gives it a welcoming appeal to it. So she has no issues about this at all, and even the students with her seem to not mind.

Speaking of which, one of them was feeling unwell so sudden and Iphigenia deduces that it must be car sickness. So Ms. Briar sends Iphigenia off ahead to see if she can get someone to help out the poor kid, and so the Champion of Galar went ahead for the village.

 She took her time to admire the fields as the Yanma are zipping by peacefully under the sun along with the flock of Starly with a Staravia among them through the skies. She can even see a Spinarak just relaxing on the tree itself, which makes her giggle before moving her gaze ahead.

 Along the pavement path, on either side were the paddy fields as the rice are growing nicely, with some Woopers hanging around either for a swim or sunbathing. With the usual blue coloration, that is most definitely the standard Wooper that many can easily recognize with the standard water-ground typing. It seems they do not mind the presence of some farmers tending the rice, possibly sensing they aren't to be worried about.

Unless maybe they tried to eat the plants.

 "Oh, I should focus." Iphigenia mutters to herself, and then picks up the pace a little to get to the building that is taller than the other structures. Ms. Briar mentions that the tall building is the community center, and to bring someone there to help the Uva student who is ill.

So that must be her destination.

───※ ·❆· ※───

 Though as she gets closer to Mossui Town, she noticed two individuals standing little close to the entry of the community center. Neither of them seemed to notice her yet as they were talking to each other, giving her time to observe them from afar. A girl who is taller and perhaps a little older than the boy who appears around Iphigenia's age, both of them owning dark hair and having yellow bands in their hair, although the girl has the red-orange undertones of her locks which are long while the boy has purple instead which his hair being short. This makes her wonder if they were either dyed, or they were just born with it.

The girl looks like she is wearing a navy blue outfit with a yellow pouch around her waist, and a singular red glove on her right hand that only leaves her thumb out. A white stripe on her left leg above the knees while the opposing stripe is blue, wearing white and red shoes. The teenage boy, on the other hand, is wearing a white jacket over the blue button-up shirt with a red tie, matching white shorts that is above his knees and the same shoes as the girl but with his blue socks barely peeking. He too is wearing the same red gloves on his right hand and the yellow pouch being slung over his shoulder.

 'They look like siblings, now that I look at them.' she thinks to herself.

 The resemblance is obvious, despite the difference in the undertones. She was quick to think between the two other pair of siblings that she personally knew, which are Leon and Hop and Piers and Marnie. Yup, despite some differences that sets them apart in appearance and in terms of age gap, the resemblance are still there.

 Iphigenia then blinks when the teenage boy suddenly looks in her way, and sees the orbs of yellow boring into her dark amber ones.

 Oh.

 He kinda looks cute.

A startled look appears on his face, "S-Sis, look! There's one of them now!"

Looks like she was right about them being siblings.

 The sister turns her head to Iphigenia's direction, and immediately her own yellow eyes narrowed dangerous. She then starts to march up to her hurried, well more like run towards her with that same menacing look that had Iphigenia feel a sweat form on her temple. The brother is following closely behind, just as they stop within five feet in front of the Galarian Champion.

 'Why is she looking at me like the same way Bede does when we first met?' Iphigenia internally thought with a sweatdrop, looking at the older of the two.

 "You're one of those students from the Paldea Region, huh?" the girl asks her straight away, cutting right to the chase.

 She blinks at her a bit dumbly.

 "Yes...?" Iphigenia responds, sounding and looking very confused by the question. Was she not told about it along the way, or was she just asking to be sure or something?

 That's when she noticed the boy peering around his sister from behind, looking at Iphigenia with wonder and curiosity in his yellow eyes. "Whoa.... Way cool...." he comments, his tone reflecting the emotions in his eyes. And honestly, that had Iphigenia smile a little because of how innocent he genuinely looks and his face turns a light shade of pink from it.

 "Hush, Kieran!" the girl hisses a little to her brother.

 Kieran, huh?

"I'm Carmine." the sister, introducing herself as Carmine now to Iphigenia with her eyes back onto her. She then smiles, almost in a bit of a snarky way if the Champion had to admit, while raising her hands up and waving them. "Sorry, but I can't let an outsider like you wander into Mossui Town."

 "Excuse me?" Iphigenia furrowed her dark brows at that.

 "Did you not hear me? I said, I cannot let an outsider like you come into Mossui Town. You'll just have to turn around, and go right back the way you came from. Otherwise if you insist on coming in, you'll have to battle me." Carmine tells her with that same smile, with some undertones of iciness. That's when her brother moves to the side from being behind her, looking at his sister with a look.

 "C-C'mon, sis... You just want to battle her. Making a big fuss over this for nothing..." Kieran says, basically calling out on her.

 "I told you to hush, Kiki! I need a warmup before the Champion arrives!" Carmine hisses towards him with a glare, her hands balled into fists and having them tremor form irritation. Then like a flip of a switch, she looks back to Iphigenia who is watching in bemuse with a smile on her face. "Just ignore my little brother."

 "Aw, man..." Kieran mumbles, slouching a little as his head dropped down.

 Wait a second...

 Did Carmine just said she needs a warm-up before the Champion arrives?

 "Champion, you say?" Iphigenia questions.

 "I heard there's gonna be a Champion from some other foreign region among the group of students from Paldea, and I need to battle him so he'll know his place! Besides, I could use a warm-up before he came by!" Carmine tells Iphigenia, looking very impatient by the second for not getting the battle she wants. Or rather, a warm-up battle to prepare herself or maybe even psych herself up.

 Iphigenia felt like laughing on the spot, barely able to trap in the automatic urge to snort.

 She has no idea that the foreign Champion Carmine is itching to battle is right in front of her.

 "What's so funny?" Carmine glares, and Iphigenia doesn't miss the fact Kieran was looking at her curiously. And maybe a little dumbfounded, because who wouldn't seeing her looking like she wants to laugh in his sister's face from what she just told her seconds ago.

 "Oh nothing." Iphigenia says, waving her hand in dismissal. The glare on the older sibling's face did not lessen, and probably thinking that she was likely making fun of her.

 "So you want a warm-up battle, then? What's the rules?" Iphigenia asks her.

  With a smirk of confidence on her face, Carmine already detached a pokeball in hand from the utility belt and having it enlarged in regular size. "All-out battle, three on three. We'll be battling here since there's plenty of space." Carmine tells her while tossing and catching the pokeball repeatedly in hand.

 "Oh, it's on." Iphigenia says, wearing a battle face which is her eyes being narrowed like she's glaring but boring a smirk of her own on her lips. After all, she is not one to turn down a Pokémon battle.

Arven once commented that she is a much more calmer version of Nemona. And she wasn't sure if that was a compliment from him, given that Nemona is a battle enthusiastic which would scare off casual Pokémon Trainers, but she'll take it as one.

 Both Carmine and Iphigenia distance themselves to give space for their Pokémon to battle in between. Naturally, her brother is off the side behind his sister, likely to cheer his sibling on. The smirk on Carmine's face grew a little more, as she gets into stance.

"Oh, I am going to have fun with you. Let's go, Mightyena!" she tosses the pokeball that was in hand, unleashing her first Pokémon in a flash of light blue revealing a dark-fur canine.

 "Raaargh!" Mightyena snarls, clearly ready for battle.

 'Huh, a Mightyena. I gotta keep my eyes peeled for this one and whatever Pokémon she has in her team.' Iphigenia thought, already having a certain pokeball in hand. Who knows what kind of battle system the Blueberry Academy has to teach to the students, which she knows these two are from that academy.

 "Mitsuri, to the battlefield!" Iphigenia tosses the pokeball, and within a flash Mitsuri the Gardevoir appears.

 "Voir." Mitsuri calmly gazes at her opponent.

 At this time, Iphigenia did not miss the way Carmine glowers knowing that she is already at a disadvantage due to Mitsuri being part Fairy type.

 "Doesn't matter, Mightyena use Crunch!" she commands, and instantly with a glow of its fangs Mightyena rushes towards Mitsuri. Right away, Iphigenia sees that it owns a remarkable speed which tells her that it's very well-trained. Something that only a very competitive battler would train their Pokémon that way. If it's that fast, then perhaps its power is just as impressive which she won't risk to find out how impressive.

 'Dodge it.'

 Mitsuri instantly avoided Mightyena's advancement with impressive speed, almost like she used Extreme Speed to avoid quicker.

 "Wha-?! It dodged without a command?!" Carmine widened her eyes in disbelief. She didn't even hear Iphigenia command her Gardevoir to avoid the attack, and this puts her in the corner since she cannot know whatever the Uva student of Paldea is planning her next move. "Grr, keep using Crunch!"

 'Keep dodging.' Iphigenia tells Mitsuri through her mind.

 Reading her trainer's thoughts perfectly, Mitsuri continues to dodge Mightyena each times it leaps towards the Embrace Pokémon with intent to land a direct hit with Crunch. At one point when Mightyena lunges towards Mitsuri, its opponent suddenly appeared right behind it making both Mightyena, Kieran and Carmine surprised.

 "Dazzling Gleam." Iphigenia says out loud.

 Mitsuri instantly bathed Mightyena in a blinding dazzling light before an explosion occurs. When the smoke and dust clears up, there reveals a fainted Mightyena on the ground with swirls within its eyes. Carmine growls beneath her breath, as she recalls her fallen comrade while Mitsuri stands tall.

 "Wowzers...." Kieran mutters to himself in awe, completely awestruck at how skilled Iphigenia made herself to be.

 "Don't encourage her!" Carmine yells over to him, making him jump a little. She then takes out her second partner in her team and tosses it, "Come out, Sinistcha!"

 An unfamiliar yet somewhat familiar Pokémon appears to battle as it cackles. Right off the bat, Iphigenia sees that it's very similar to a Sinistea only except it does not occupy within a porcelain teacup she is familiar with but within a Japanese traditional teacup and it's body being made of what looks like green liquid with yellow swirls for eyes. There's even what looks like a bamboo whisk atop of its head.

Must be a regional variant to Kitakami since she is unfamiliar with this one. If it's anything like Sinistea, she should trust her judgement that it has to be a Ghost-type which is one of the three types Mitsuri is vulnerable against.

 "Good work, Mitsuri. Return." Iphigenia says.

 "Garde." Mitsuri nods to her before she was called back in her pokeball.

 "What's the matter, too afraid to keep your Pokémon out?" Carmine calls out with a smirk, likely to hide her bruised ego.

 "You said three on three, so I'm switching out my second Pokémon." Iphigenia tells her, unbothered by the snarky attitude. After all, she was used to being on the end of the stick under Bede's arrogant attitude towards her so this was nothing new to her. She switches Mitsuri's pokeball for a different one, this one being a Dusk Ball instead of a regular pokeball.

 "You're up next, Amaterasu!" Iphigenia calls, tossing the dusk ball and emerging from the shadows was a Volcarona who shrieks with her fiery moth wings stretched. "Start off with Quiver Dance!"

 "Vooolca!" the Sun Pokémon gives off a glow, dancing around lightly and raising some of her certain stats high.

 "Use Shadow Ball!" Carmine commands with swipe of her hand, and Sinistcha conjures an orb of shadow in its mouth before unleashing it swiftly towards the fiery moth who instead took the hit dead on before Iphigenia could have a chance to command her. From the smoke cloud from impact it caused, it was swiftly blown away when Amaterasu emerges out within a fiery wheel towards the duo-type Pokémon that trainers can easily recognize it as Flame Wheel.

 "Dodge it!" the older sibling says, and her partner barely moved out of the way from taking a super effective hit just barely given how swift the Sun Pokémon suddenly became. Amaterasu turns sharply as she is coming back towards Sinistcha. "Intercept with Shadow Ball!"

 "Siiiiiin!" Sinistcha unleashes another Shadow Ball towards its opponent, which clashed with Amaterasu's Flame Wheel before an explosion occurs. Iphigenia didn't bother to wait for it to settle, as though knowing the condition of her Pokémon out in battle.

 "Hurricane." Iphigenia calls out calmly, which stuns both of the Kitakami siblings.

 Amaterasu cleared off the smoke cloud and with powerful movements of her now glowing wings as she shrills, summons forth a powerful hurricane that surrounded Sinistcha who cries out in pain while being swirled around within before being brought down to the ground with a harsh thud. As the dust clears up with the attack died down, revealed Sinistcha laying on the ground with swirls within its eyes.

 "Siniii..."

 Carmine was getting really irritated by this, seeing that clearly she is losing badly against some outsider. With a low growl, she brought out Sinistcha's pokeball to recall it back in and went to reach for her third and final Pokémon. Meanwhile, Kieran was admiring how strong Iphigenia's Pokémon are so far as well as how skilled the trainer herself is. While there are strong and competitive trainers back in the Blueberry Academy, he hasn't seen anyone that could defeat his older sister the way the student of Paldea was defeating her now.

 He may be overexaggerating about this, but he feels like she could potentially beat everyone in the Blueberry Academy. Maybe even give the Elite 4 there a challenge.

 "It's up to you now, Ninetales!" Carmine calls out as she tosses the final pokeball, and out in the flash is the elegant Fox Pokémon.

 "Great job out there, Amaterasu." Iphigenia says, as she returns the Sun Pokémon back in her Dusk Ball. Overlooking Ninetales and being aware of the typing, she had a few seconds to think on her choice before she grabs another Dusk Ball from her utility belt.

 "Let's go, Ryuhime!" Iphigenia calls, hurling out the second Dusk Ball. From the shadows due to the effect of the Dusk Ball, comes forth a very powerful looking Garchomp as the final evolved form of Gible lands with a heavy thud. She roars fiercely towards Carmine's Ninetales who is glaring and growling defiantly at the pseudo-legendary Pokémon.

 Some Pokemon would be intimidated to go up against powerful ones like Garchomp or such, but Ninetales was holding up defiance. Either the majestic fox adopted the attitude of her trainer, or just refuses to back down in a battle. Might as well be the combination of both.

 "Wowzers, it looks very strong..." Kieran mutters while he looks between the Mach Pokémon and Iphigenia. With the way the Garchomp carries itself and the aura the Pokémon gives off, it's almost as though he is looking at a Garchomp that belongs to a certain Champion from the Sinnoh Region.

 "Kiki, you're suppose to cheer for me!" Carmine calls out to him in annoyance, and he jumps a little. He thought he was being quiet about it, but it turns out his sister can hear him still.

 "Aww, man..." he mutters dejectedly, and she focuses back to the battle.

 "Use Extrasensory!" Carmine commends her final Pokémon, knowing that Fire-type moves won't cut it. Especially since not only Ryuhime is part ground, but also part dragon type. With glowing eyes, the Fox Pokémon unleashes rays of yellow psychic powers that immediately surrounds the Mach Pokémon.

 'Bulldoze.' Iphigenia internally commands, and Ryuhime instantly stomps on the ground before she was lifted off completely to be airborne.

 "Ninetales, dodge it!" Carmine says quickly, seeing the attack performed at last minute. The Fox Pokémon disables her move in order to leap away from getting caught in the attack.

 "Dragon Claw." Iphigenia says, and with incredible speed Ryuhime was in front of Ninetales instantly catching it off guard before it was slashed in the face by the glowing right claw using Dragon Claw. Ninetales yelps while being pushed back from the force of the attack, nearly buckling to the ground.

 "Don't give in! Dark Pulse, now!" Carmine commands, and quickly her Pokémon recovers as it unleashes spirals of darkness towards Ryuhime who didn't bother dodging it but instead took the hit. The collision caused a small explosion to occur, with smoke covering up the upper part of the pseudo-legendary dragon.

 "Direct hit!" The older teenage girl says with a confident smirk. That'll leave a good impression on that overgrown lizard and that overconfident outsider!

 "Um.... Sis?" Kieran calls out, making Carmine look over to him. He was only looking at the visiting student, and so she looks over to her as well.

 Iphigenia wasn't worried in the slightest, only being very calm with her arms crossed beneath her chest. Then the smoke settles down from veiling her Garchomp temporarily, and the large dragon revealed herself to be completely harmless from the attack. The reason being was due to Ryuhime using her left arm, specifically the fin, to tank the attack Ninetales had unleashed at point-blank.

 "Dragon Rush." Iphigenia commands, and instantly Ryuhime is veiled in a mix of turquoise and purple energy and instantly slammed herself into Ninetales at point-blank before anyone else could react. This caused a large explosion to occur as well as a shockwave that had the siblings shield their eyes from getting dust in their eyes. Ninetales was pushed out from the dust and skidded to a stop at Carmine's feet completely defeated with swirly eyes as it dies down.

 Carmine could not believe this, as she was defeated like she were some amateur. Which was not okay in her book, given that she is very competitive in Pokémon Battling and considers herself a good one at that. To be defeated by an outsider who clearly humiliated her just like that was an insult.

 "You... Just who ARE you?!" Carmine glares at Iphigenia, her hands trembling from anger and frustration at her loss. Iphigenia simply wanders over while her Ryuhime moves closer to her trainer.

 "I'd worry about Ninetales more than interrogate me." Iphigenia tells her, and the girl just grumbles before she went ahead to check on her Ninetales.

 "W-Wowzers! You went and beat my sis!?" Kieran says with wide eyes, clearly in shock and also in awe. From the sound of it, Iphigenia could hazard a guess that Carmine wasn't the type to be beaten so easily from their academy.

 "Did no one back from your academy beat her or something?" Iphigenia questions him, and his face went pink while looking pleasantly surprised. Almost like he was not expecting her to engage in conversation with him, making her suspect that perhaps he isn't a people person.

 "U-Um, well..."

 "I can't believe it... There's no way you should've been able to beat me! Now I can't challenge that foreigner Champion when he comes here!" Carmine says angrily, after recalling her Ninetales seeing it was alright in the pokeball and glaring over to Iphigenia. The latter simply shrugs with her hands facing upwards towards the skies, completely unfazed by the menacing look the older sister is giving her.

 "Well, I beat you. That means you can't exactly bar me from this town." Iphigenia tells her, reminding her why they battled in the first place.

 Carmine glares at her for a moment, before calming down with a 'hmph!'.

 "Fine. I guess you pass, barely though." she says, making both Iphigenia and Ryuhime to look at her very amused. "But just because you beat me doesn't mean I won't challenge the foreigner Champion!" she adds while looking at her with irritation and shaking her curled up fists.

 "Um.... Actually, about that-" Iphigenia starts to say.

 "Oi! What're you doing, causing a ruckus outside?!" All of a sudden, an old man yells at them from behind the Kitakami siblings. He is wearing purple clothes with white tabi socks and wooden sandals as he was rushing out from the Community Center towards them.

 "Tch! Come on, Kiki, we're out of here." Carmine says as she runs off to the side.

 "B-But..!" Kieran hesitates, looking over to Iphigenia for a moment. Whatever he wanted to do instead, he decides to just forget about for now and runs after his sister. "Wait up, sis!"

 "....Interesting pair of siblings, huh?" Iphigenia comments towards Ryuhime.

 "Gaaar...." Ryuhime growls in agreement.

 At least she came what she was sent off for, and informing the caretaker about the situation that he offers her to settle down in the community center while he fetches the group. The Galarian Champion finds that the rooms are quite comfy, a good example of a hospitality from the countryside. It beats a little bit better than the hotels, not that she has anything against it and such.

───※ ·❆· ※───

 It was still the first day arriving in Kitakami, and it was now the late afternoon. From the vibrant blues to the beautiful gradience of orange and pink in the skies, with clouds being dusk and the sun itself lowering down the horizon to make room for the moon to take over for the incoming night. Although it was that time to stay within buildings, Iphigenia figures this would be a good time to find a spot to camp outside to have dinner with her Pokémon. She would eat with the rest, but she doesn't think anyone would want Amaterasu to warm up the building too much given the heat she gives off.

 With the equipment for camping ready, she heads out of the Community Center to find a spot outside of Mossui Town after informing Ms. Briar that she'll be out having dinner with her team. When Briar asked why she wants to head out, she simply replied that she wants to get familiar with the outside. Though warned that it's dangerous to wander off into the outskirts, the teacher of Blueberry Academy knew that Iphigenia will be fine given her feats back in Paldea and the fact she is a Galarian Champion.

 There wasn't much folks loitering the streets, only hearing the distinct sounds of Pokémon hanging out little out of proximity of town. There's even a Noctowl perched atop of one of the rooftops, preening its feathers. Iphigenia looks around for a moment, before she went ahead to take out her Master Ball, containing a certain someone within.

 With a simple toss, the pokeball opens to let out a Pokémon which grew in size somewhat larger than her. The light dies down, revealing a large wolf-like Pokémon that owns cyan fur with a tan underside and owning yellow eyes with black markings like a mask around its eyes. Its tail being pink, and it owns pink braids that extends from beneath the ears to the back. Battle scars are littered on its body, and a part of its left ear is missing.

 One of the Legendary Pokémon of Galar, Zacian.

 Zacian looks around, seeing the unfamiliar surroundings before turning its head to look at Iphigenia.

 "I know, I know. We're getting dinner in a moment, so I figured you'd want to stretch your legs before we do." The Galarian Champion giggles. The Legendary seems content with the response, and so it wanders beside its chosen trainer while Iphigenia is taking the road that leads to what she learns is Apple Hills.

While treading, the term Apple Hills made total sense to her, seeing an orchard of apple trees and she can spot either some Sewaddle or Spinarak or even the Applin. There's even the Ekans that slithers about peacefully through the grass. Some Pokémon would either ignore them, run off upon the sight of a very powerful Pokemon with her, or just watch them pass by for a moment before going back to their usual business.

 After some time, Iphigenia found a spot to set up the camping equipment first before noticing that Zacian is suddenly sniffing the air.

 "Zacian?" she calls it out curiously, though Zacian pays no mind and instead continues to sniff the air before lowering its head to sniff the ground and following where the out-of-place scent was coming from. Iphigenia watches, and Zacian wanders over to the set of bushes and pokes its head in.

A startled sounding yelp was heard from there, and she got surprised at the fact someone was there.

 "W-Wait, I-I'm not a bad guy, h-honest!"

 That voice...

 Iphigenia instantly wanders over to stand beside Zacian who is just staring intensely at its find. And true enough, behind the bushes was none other than Carmine's younger brother who is on his behind looking at Zacian with wide eyes. His attention instantly went to her, and his face turns pink.

 "I-I-It's not what it looks! I-I was just out here for a bit b-but then I saw you and-" the poor teenager was nervously rambling in attempt to clear up whatever ill-thought she had about him and before the unknown Pokémon even thinks about hurting him. Honestly she feels bad for putting him on the spot.

 Iphigenia just smiles and giggles, making him stop dead as she moves over to offer a hand to him. He looks at it, before shyly taking it and manages to get up on his feet with her help.

 "It's alright, I can tell you didn't mean to." she reassures him, and he just turns redder. His hands were quick to grab hold of the strap of his yellow satchel, fidgeting with it to ease off his nervousness.

 "H-Hey, um.... I'm sorry about my sis earlier. She can get, well... intense when it comes to people visiting town..." Kieran says to her, his eyes flickering between looking at her and then to the ground. Once or twice did she notice him take a glance towards Zacian who is still staring at him with its usual piercing gaze.

 Intense is a bit understatement, from what Iphigenia can tell based on the looks Carmine was giving her. But again, she was no stranger to them thanks to a certain trainer who is now a Fairy-type gym leader back in Galar.

 "It's not a problem. It isn't the first time I got that kind of end, trust me." Iphigenia tells him, still keeping on the friendly smile on her face. Whether it was because of how nice she is being to him so far or maybe it was how infectious her smile is, Kieran forms a tiny but shy smile on his face.

 "I-If you say so... um..."

 "Oh right. My name is Iphigenia, from Uva Academy." she introduces herself to him.

 "I-I'm Kieran... from Blueberry Academy. I-I know you heard my sis call me before, but I thought it would be better... if I introduce myself properly. That is, without her breathing down on my neck." Kieran tells her, while one of his hands starts to tap against the side of his leg. She can tell that is a personal nervous tick of his.

 "A-Are you setting up camp?" he asks, peering over and noticing the set up that she was almost done with. All it needs is the tablecloth to be set down to make the sitting comfortable on ground.

 She couldn't bring along the table and chairs for this trip, only making due with limited equipment such as the oil lanterns and cushions as seating and a portable stove. Again, Iphigenia has no problems with this, given her love for camping outdoors.

 "Yeah, I'm about to have dinner with my Pokémon." she nods to him.

 He tilts his head, blinking his eyes in confusion. "Not at the Community Center with your classmates?"

 "I don't think they'd like Amaterasu toasting up the building." Iphigenia sheepishly smiles. Kieran was quick to recall that she is referring to her Volcarona, and finds it understandable. From what he can remember, being in the academy located within Unova, the Volcarona specie was believed to be the holder of the sun which explains why it excludes unbearable heat.

 "If you want, you can join me. That is... if you didn't have dinner ye-"

 A growl can be heard among them, interrupting the Galarian Champion. Iphigenia blinks and notices that his face turned into beet red. It doesn't take a genius for her to find out why, and she laughs a little. That only made his face turn redder in response.

 "Y-Yeah, I don't mind if you're okay with that..." Kieran mutters shyly.

 "Okay." She smiles, and both of them wander to the site with Zacian following them closely. After getting the set up done and for Kieran to sit down comfortably, Iphigenia gathered the pokeballs in arms before tossing them up to bring out her team traveling with her. Those consisting Meowscarda, Mitsuri the Gardevoir, Ryuhime the Garchomp, Amaterasu the Volcarona, Azula the Luxray, and lastly a shiny Gyarados which she nicknamed her Tiamat.

 "W-Wowzers, I've never seen red Gyarados before!" the teenage boy says in awe, looking at Tiamat who is moving over to relax and patiently wait for the meal. Even though Kieran obviously knows about Shiny Pokémon and such, but they are still very rare to stumble across. "Did you catch it when it was a Magikarp?"

 "Um... funny story about that." Iphigenia says with a sheepish smile, getting out the bread and ingredients to make some sandwiches for them all. "Back in Paldea, I was traveling across this lake called Casseroya looking for Pokémon that I haven't caught yet and I came across Tiamat here. She was in a bad mood and looking for the first thing to vent, and I was the unlucky gal."

 "O-Oh." Kieran couldn't help but shudder in fright. Just thinking about the fact the shiny Gyarados, a Pokémon known to be very dangerous and vicious when set off, being in a foul mood and fighting whoever came into sight was enough to make him break out in cold sweat. "A-And you caught her when you beat her, right?"

 "Yup. She put up a good fight so I figured she'd be a good addition." Iphigenia nods with a giggle, done making the first sandwich which has butter that's been toasted to the bread. The fillings being cheese and ham, with herb sausages cut into pieces instead of it being whole.

"Hope you don't mind ham and cheese with bits of herb sausages." she continues, handing it over to him and he takes it.

 "Oh it's fine." he says, before taking the first bite while she went ahead to make another one. "Oh wowzers, the herb sausage made it taste better somehow!"

 "It's got spices in it, which is why I didn't bother adding more condiments." she smiles, already done making the other one and hands it over to Azula who happens to be waiting beside her trainer. Azula bites onto the other side opposite of where Iphigenia is holding it, and moves away with it to eat it.

 "It's better than how the cafeteria back in Blueberry Academy makes them." he comments, going for another bite. Iphigenia was sure that is a genuine compliment, and it makes her feel bashful. All she did was putting good use to the knowledge of culinary thanks to the tips Arven imparted to her.

 "Thanks."

 Which reminds her.

 "Speaking of which, what is Blueberry Academy like?" Iphigenia asks, handing the third made sandwich to Meowscarda who meows in thanks before making off with it.

 "Um..." Kieran thinks about it for a moment. There was a kind of expression where it tells he was having mixed feelings about his academy. "It's alright. Although the curriculum was all about Pokémon battles and strategies and stuff like that mainly. I think that's what made the trainers there very competitive and all, only caring about being the top besides having good grades."

 "That sounds rough." Iphigenia comments with her lips pursed a little.

 That is the complete opposite of Uva Academy; the environment there is very warm and welcoming if she were to ignore the incident about Team Star that happened one and a half year ago. Though not too long ago, Director Clavell was set on making sure Uva Academy doesn't incur bullying issues while also going under the guise as Clive to investigate about Team Star. Which she would know because he was not doing a great job of keeping up the act as a fellow student, and the wig is questionable.

 "Yeah. I do like it there but.... everyone there is just too competitive for me to handle. I can handle sis, but everyone else not really." Kieran slumps his shoulders a little. Iphigenia made two sandwiches at once, handing them over to Ryuhime and Tiamat as both of them took their meals and move away to eat in peace.

 "You don't battle?"

 "I do battle, but not as good as the others." He shakes his head with a dejected look. He gazes over to the visiting student curiously, "Is the Uva Academy like that too?"

 "Well, from what I can see, not everyone in the Uva Academy isn't too focused about being a better battler and such. I mean we have classes that does both, doing academics and studying about Pokémon in a good mix. Most students I interacted with are nice so far to me." she tells him. Or that could be because of the fact she was a Galarian Champion that students are just being nice to her to get on her good side, but some folks are genuinely nice to her for her.

 "Man... if only Blueberry Academy is like that..." he mumbles with envy.

 "I'm sure that'll change soon." she smiles over to him, causing him to turn pink in the face.

 "Y-Yeah. So um... I heard the Uva Academy does this thing about Treasure Hunting each year. What's it about?"

 "Oh, that? Well from what I can understand, it's basically like an independent study for every students. We can travel around Paldea to do things that we want to do to find our treasure like say we want to be a chef, or find newly discovered Pokemon, or be a better trainer or actually find treasures. Things like that." Iphigenia explains to him the best she can. She then thinks about it for a moment, and looks at him curiously.

 "The Blueberry Academy doesn't do that, huh?"

 "Not out in the middle of the ocean, no." Kieran laughs a little, having that shy smile on his face.

 "Oh, that's fair." Iphigenia turns a bit pink, while done with the remaining sandwiches for Mitsuri and Amaterasu to take and feast on it. With two more sandwiches left, one for her obviously, she takes the other in hand and holds it out for Zacian to take. The legendary Pokémon of Galar wanders over, and sniffs it for a moment before growling a little which spooked poor Kieran.

 Iphigenia, however, was not intimidated.

 "I know, I know. You prefer to have curry but this is what you're gonna have for now." Iphigenia says to the large lean wolf. Zacian just stares down at her, as though protesting which makes her almost want to shake her head in disbelief.

 For a legendary Pokémon that not only saved Galar not once but twice and is known to be very powerful, its acting like a brat for not getting its preferable meals.

 "How about this? For tomorrow, you'll be having curry for breakfast and for dinner. But you'll have to eat sandwiches for lunch. Does that sound fair?" she offers, and Zacian seems to think about it for a moment. Taking the sandwich from her hand tells her that the offer is reasonable and acceptable, and moves away to chow it down.

 "I swear..." she sighs, before grabbing her sandwich to eat it at last. She sees that Kieran is staring at Zacian, watching it eat the sandwich it was given calmly and slowly. She can already tell what is on his mind, as he continues to look at it.

 "Um, Iphigenia? What kind of Pokémon is that?"

 And there it is.

 "Its name is Zacian. Zacian is from the same region as I came from." Iphigenia responds, and that made the fellow teenager to look over to her with a confused look. "Although I came from Paldea, but truth to be told I'm from the Galar region. I happened to be in Paldea just to adventure it and even enroll into Uva Academy for academic reasons."

 "Y-You're from Galar?" Kieran says in surprise, and right away something hits him. "W-W-Wait a minute! T-There was a rumor that a foreigner Champion from another region was coming by for the joint school trip here. D-Does that mean that...!"

 Iphigenia grins, and nods to him. That blew his mind right away, realizing the entire time he was hanging out with the Champion of Galar. And most importantly, that his sister had battled and lost to the very one she wanted to challenge but mistook Iphigenia for just an ordinary trainer.

 Oh boy, Carmine is not gonna be happy about that when she finds out.

 "W-Wowzers! No wonder why you're so strong!" Kieran says with his mouth gaping open a little, his yellow eyes wide in awe and newfound admiration. She is the Champion of Galar, proving that she is the strongest trainer in that region. And she's the same age as him!

 "Heh, and here I hoped Paldea would be the only place that somehow finds out." Iphigenia says bashfully, using her free hand to rub the side of her neck.

 "T-There was rumors that a Champion from another region attends to the academy of Paldea. T-To be honest, I thought someone was just pulling our legs back in the academy but I didn't think it would be true! Oh gosh, I don't mean to sound rude about that!" Kieran rambles on, his face heating up from making a fool of himself just now. If this was like the anime of sorts, there would be smoke coming out from the top of his head.

 "You're alright. It's natural to think someone is just saying stuff to stir things up." she laughs, making him blush deeply.

From the rest of the remaining hours of the afternoon, they both keep talking just to get to know one another while occasionally one of Iphigenia's Pokemon would come over to relax beside them(usually either Azula or Meowscarda most of the time).

───※ ·❆· ※───

 With how darker the outside is getting, it was time to head back. Kieran shyly offers to help and she accepts it gratefully, and everything was packed up quicker than normal to get going. With her team back in the pokeball aside with Zacian who wants to be out a little more, they all make their way back to Mossui Town along the trails through the apple orchard.

 "Hey... um..."

 Iphigenia looks over Kieran, who is fiddling with his hands shyly.

 "Is it, um.... is it okay if I can have a Pokémon battle with you tomorrow?" Kieran asks her nervously.

 "Sure, I don't mind that." Iphigenia smiles.

 "Oh it's alright, I had a feeling that you'd say..." Kieran stops upon realizing that Iphigenia agreed his request, instead of turning it down flat. He looks at her with a pink blush dominating his face, his eyes nearly wide as saucers in surprise. "W-W-Wait, really?!"

 "Yes, really." she smiles even more.

 "E-Even though you're a Champion?" he asks, nearly sounding a bit squeaky. Honestly, he sounded adorable for a second there which she thought it was kinda illegal.

 "Kieran, I may be a Champion of Galar but that doesn't mean I judge who is worth to battle and who isn't. Pokémon battling is fun for me and I never turn down a battle, not because I wanted to prove I am better than everyone around me. That may sound confusing given that I am Galar's Champion but it's one part of the reason that got me the title." Iphigenia tells him.

 "Then... what was the other part?" Kieran asks curiously.

 Iphigenia thinks about it for a moment, carefully gathering her thoughts on the matter and finding the right words to respond to that. She thinks about the certain incidents that got her to where she is right now, a certain kind of pressure that continues to weigh on her shoulders.

 "I wanted to get stronger, so I can protect the people I care about." she responds to him, appearing somewhat stern about it. That made Kieran look at her in surprise, as though that response was the last thing he expected to hear from her. Zacian suddenly nudges its snout against her shoulder, as though offering comfort and reassurance.

 She then shakes her head, and looks back to him with a carefree grin.

 "Anyways, I accept your offer. Just be warned that I won't go easy on you, is that alright with you?" Iphigenia says to him.

 "O-Oh! No, that's fine with me! I'll do my best!" Kieran tells her, looking very excited to having a battle with her.

 Battling against the Champion of Galar sets the flames that he never knew he had within him. Most of the time, he battled because he was assigned to or was approached by students who just wanted to battle him for the heck of it. There was barely a flicker of flames that fuels his competitiveness, leaving it to be undesired.

 This time, though...

 The flames was born, like a simple torch.

Chapter Text

Kieran had woken up a little bit earlier than he expected, and he went ahead to freshen himself up. His heart was beating a little faster than he had expected, but last night's events seemed to have reminded him that it could be the reason why.

 'I'm gonna have a battle with her!'

 The excitement was tingling everywhere in his body, he just couldn't find himself stop bouncing his left leg a little from anticipation and even some nervousness. The nervous part, he has every right to feel it due to the fact Iphigenia is a Galarian Champion and that she had accepted his request to battle with him.

 If he had to be honest, he has no idea what came over him in wanting to battle with her. But he supposes it was because of how amazing she looked while battling against his older sister, and how she eyed the battlefield to survey her next move and the situation her Pokémon would be in. How calm and poised she remains even when it looked like Carmine might be able to turn things around, having full confidence in her team and their capabilities. Of course she would have faith in them, given she raised them to be where they are right now.

 She just excludes the kind of energy a Champion should own.

 Mature. Calm-headed. Calculating. Undaunted. Confident.

 She was everything that he was not, despite they are the same age.

 Kieran was just a trainer with no apparent talent or skills that every Blueberry Academy student strive to hone to be the top, with his sister being among them. Though he is part of the League Club, he was unfortunately at the bottom of the chain. Students who are part of the club have to battle everyone in order to climb the ranks. The more they battled and won, the higher their rank will ascend and the more league points they earn.

 And in due time, they'll have the chance to battle the Elite Four and defeat the reigning League Champion to earn the title.

 Honestly, Kieran was left in awe and experiencing admiration at the fact Iphigenia is a Galarian Champion. He won't lie to admit that he is rather envious, since she got to earn that position while all he did was just drag his feet around battling and seemingly getting nowhere.

 But she accepted his request, he still cannot believe it! He honestly thought that with her being a Champion, she would turn him down flat given he won't give her a challenge but she did anyways. The reason being was because she loves battling and finds it fun, never turning it down upon being asked. She battles for the thrill and to have fun, not because she wants to prove to others that she was better.

 Hearing something like that from her was... honestly refreshing.

 Kieran deducts he wanted a taste of what it was like to face a Champion. He would have asked Drayton back in Blueberry Academy for it, but then that would be asking to be humiliated in front of everyone. Kieran already had to deal with hearing most of them whispering unsavory words behind his back thinking he wouldn't hear but he has. The worst thing he would do to himself was adding fuel by humiliating himself with a swift defeat against Drayton.

 Iphigenia isn't the type to do just that, he just somehow has a feeling based on the way she treats him last night.

 After being done bathing, brushing his teeth and having his hair dry before wearing his yellow headband and getting dressed in his academy uniform, the teenage wanders out of his room and makes his way down the stairs to the kitchen for breakfast. His grandparents are already up, with his grandmother Hideko already making breakfast for their grandkids.

 "Good morning, Kieran. Up before your sister, I see." Yukito greets his grandson with a chuckle.

 "Good morning, grandpa." Kieran says with a smile, the gentle boy making his way to make himself comfortable at the table.

 "My, you must be excited about the school trip. I was worried that you would have trouble interacting with the school kids from Paldea." Hideko remarks to him, while stirring the pot on the stovetop. Kieran instantly thinks about Iphigenia upon the topic, and he feels his face heating up a bit.

 "U-Um, I think it'll be alright..." Kieran says, while messing with his bangs shyly. Yukito looks at his grandson for a moment, and instantly seems to figure him out.

 "Aah, did you make a new friend from one of the Paldean students?" he asks with a warm smile.

 Was he that obvious?!

  "Come now, Kieran. Last night you came home later than usual with a belly full. That means you had dinner with someone, like a friendly acquaintance for instance." His grandfather adds, and Kieran finds his face burning even more than usual. He actually does have a point there; Kieran is not one to turn down his grandmother's cooking unless he ate something while he was out.

"Well... um... I wouldn't say friends yet but... she was very nice to me." Kieran responds.

 "Ooh, a girl." Hideko coos a little, finding this adorable and the poor boy feels like his face might melt. "What is she like? What's her name?"

"H-Her name's Iphigenia, and she's really nice and cool. B-But grandma, grandpa! She's really good at Pokémon battling! Just yesterday, she beat sis like it was nothing and she owns really cool and strong Pokémon too!" Before either of them knew it, Kieran began to ramble on about Iphigenia and her Pokémon with shimmering eyes. Like a number one fanboy expressing their admiration to their favorite famous person, and honestly it was quite a sight and adorable for them to witness.

 This was the first time Kieran ever acted like this, and he went on like this for a while. Neither of them bothered to stop him and just let him keep on rambling, as they are beginning to think about what kind of person Iphigenia may look like. Or what she is like in general to get their grandson to express interest.

 "Oh, oh! And get this! There was a rumor about a foreign Champion being enrolled into the Uva Academy back in Paldea, and they turn out to be true!" Kieran says excitedly.

 "Ah yes, Carmine did mention something about it yesterday. The Uva Academy must be feeling honored to have someone like a Champion from another region to enroll there." Yukito mentions with a nod, while sipping on the matcha tea.

 "Yeah, because Iphigenia is actually that person! She's the Champion of Galar!"

 "WHAT!?!?"

 A shriek from the hall made Kieran jump in surprise, his grandparents included as they turned to the direction the voice came from. And that source was none other than Carmine herself, who looked very shocked and also very angry about what she just heard. Kieran could feel her yellow eyes burning holes into him, demanding an explanation from him and he sank a little in his seat.

 "O-Oh boy..." he mutters silently to himself.

───※ ·❆· ※───

 "Achoo!" Iphigenia sneezes while getting out of bed. She groans a little, and rubs the underside of her nose. "I feel like someone's talking about me..."

Iphigenia decided it was nothing, and went ahead to get ready and well-dressed. With a quick shower and tidying herself up to look more presentable, she decides to let her hair out from being styled in a romantic tuck revealing its length to be long enough to barely touch her shoulders. Putting on her Uva uniform and making sure she has her team with her and well-fed, she heads out of the Community Center to stretch herself a little. She takes in the morning air, groaning in content before huffing out after being done stretching as her arms fell loose to her sides.

 "Good mooooorning, Kitakami~!" she says to no one in particular but herself. It's a personal habit of herself to greet the outside world first thing in the morning. For what reason, simply to psych herself up and be ready for anything today and future days has to offer to her.

It's a little bit too early for her to be awake first than the others, so she went ahead to explore around Mossui Town for a little bit. The locals are pretty nice about greeting the outsiders, which was a secret relief for her since she was kinda afraid there would be others who would act like Carmine. Looks like only Carmine would have some kind of beef with her for being an outsider, including her fellow classmates.

 After going for a stroll for a bit, her classmates along with the caretaker and Ms. Briar are already at the front of the Community Center. The only ones left to arrive are the siblings from the Blueberry Academy, and so Iphigenia strolls up to the small group.

 "Ah, good morning, Iphigenia! You're up already?" Briar greets her with a smile.

 "Yup, and I-"

 "Hey, you!!"

 They turn their attention towards where the angry voice came from, along with the rapid footsteps of a certain sister of Kieran who looks red in the face. Her brother is following after her as fast as he can with a panicked face. Iphigenia would know that Carmine is very flustered, and automatically realizes that she was the source.

And her best guess?

 "Why didn't you tell me that you were that foreigner Champion yesterday!?" Carmine demanded angrily, her fists clenching from anger.

 There it is.

"I-I'm sorry, Iphigenia... I let it slip." Kieran says to her, looking very apologetic about this. He knows that Iphigenia wanted to keep her title a secret and honestly with the expression he is wearing, he pretty much looks like a kicked Yamper. But what's the point with that if her classmates and Ms. Briar already knew?

 "It's fine, Kieran. Besides almost everyone knew so there's no point." Iphigenia reassures him with a closed-eyed smile, which makes the teenager feel kinda better about it. She then turns her attention to Carmine, "And by the way, you didn't ask."

 Carmine just looked about ready to pounce, or call forth one of her Pokémon to lunge on her.

 "But I was gonna tell you after I won our battle, but we got interrupted. So... there's that." Iphigenia shrugs innocently with the same expression she gave to Kieran. Carmine continues to glare at her, and she continues to be unfazed and keep on giving her that innocent closed-eyed smile while Kieran is just looking between them back and forth along with the other Uva students with nervous expressions.

 "Ah, I see you're getting well-acquainted with my students!" Ms. Briar comments, clasping her hands together with a smile. Either she is really oblivious to Carmine's not-so friendly vibes towards Iphigenia, or she just flatly ignores to look on the bright side. Kieran really isn't sure.

 "Well, now that everyone's here! Let's get on with the purpose of the trip, shall we?"

 Before then, they had the students of both academies to introduce themselves. Obviously, Carmine is acting friendly when she greets the Uva students, but Iphigenia can see the robotic smile to hide how she truly felt about outsiders being here and the way she looks at her. Kieran, of course was shy compared to his older sister with his eyes refusing to meet either gazes.

At this point, Iphigenia is convinced even more that he wasn't really a people person, even though he had talked to her alright.

The trip was very simple; they'd have to get accustomed to Kitakami itself and what better way to do that was to look for the signposts that tells the history Mossui Town is quite well-known for with a chosen partner. Although the other reason being is the fact there is the upcoming festival about masks and all. Iphigenia wasn't sure if that was on purpose for the trip to be happening just when the festival is around the corner, or it just so happens to be a coincidence.

 But either way, it would be interesting to scope out if that is allowed.

 With introductions and explanations aside, both Ms. Briar and the caretaker began to talk to each other while the students are left to figure out who they want to pick as their partner. Iphigenia already has a choice in mind based on her interactions, when suddenly someone else seems to beat her to it.

 "Um... Iphigenia."

 Kieran had approached her while Carmine wasn't paying attention, the latter interacting with the Uva students to assess which one of them is more tolerable to hang with from the looks of it. He shyly but also nervously taps the side of his left leg with his hand, "W-Would you... want to be my, um... partner..?"

 Iphigenia blinks in surprise, but she was quick to form a smile and nod.

 "Sure thing. You pretty much beat me to it." she tells him with a small giggle. Now it was his turn to be surprised after hearing her response, leaning back with his yellow eyes wide and his hands up. But his face even turns into a nice shade of pink, which honestly is quite a cute sight to her.

 "R-Really?!" he asks.

 "Yeah, since I'm pretty much more familiar with you. Which reminds me-"

 "Wow look at you, Kiki!" Carmine's voice came, as she approached them with a smile. "I'm surprised you made the first move, even though you weren't good talking to people and even acted all googly-eyed over her earlier."

 "S-Sis!" Kieran went red, while Iphigenia looked at her in confusion.

 "Googly-eyed?" she repeats.

 "Yeah, just this morning he wouldn't shut up about you before I found out about you being a Champion." Carmine nods to her.

 "W-Why did you have to go and tell her, dummy!?" Kieran says, looking very annoyed while glaring at her. Carmine instantly looks at him with a glare of her own, with her hand raised up.

 "HEY! Watch who you're calling 'dummy' if you know what's good for you!" Carmine tells him, making her brother drop his head down in defeat while muttering 'Aw man...'. Now that Iphigenia looks at them, she barely realizes that there is a mole beneath Carmine's left eye while Kieran has one on the side of his neck.

 She suddenly has the urge to poke it, but she suppresses it down.

 "Anyways, guess I don't blame him since he somehow knew you're the Champion from Galar." Carmine says, looking back to the white-haired teenager. Needless to say, Iphigenia feels quite flattered about Kieran talking about her and perhaps admiring over her Pokémon and such. It caused a sudden feel of fuzziness and warmth to form in her chest.

 "To be honest with you, he figured it out as soon as I told him I'm from Galar. But either way, I'm quite flattered to hear about him raving over me." Iphigenia tells her, which made the older sibling form an odd expression. It was easy to tell she was wondering when exactly did she interacted with her brother, but at the same time seemed to have figured out when exactly.

 "As I was saying," Iphigenia turns to Kieran, barely seeing that the redness is back on his face but chalked it up as the weather getting to him. "Do you want to have a battle with me now? I did accept your request."

 A realization overcomes his face, "O-Oh right!"

 "Well, whaddya know? You're not bad after all." Carmine comments with a nod towards Iphigenia, before looking at the others while moving to the side. "Hey everyone, steer clear! There's about to be a Pokémon Battle happening!"

 And so the battle went underway.

Kieran had sent out a Sentret as his first Pokémon while Iphigenia chose to have Mitsuri out and is planning to keep her out for the entire battle. Obviously while the excitement was there from her opponent, she can tell that he is keeping himself focused in the battle and commanding his Sentret to attack the best it can. While ordering Mitsuri to avoid and even counterattack the moves from the other Pokémon, Iphigenia can see the fire in those yellow eyes as he commands. 

 He's still a bit intimidated by the fact he asked a Galarian Champion to battle, but that only seemed to fuel his excitement. It's true that he is no competitive battler like his sister, but he finds great joy in having a good sportsman ship with someone like her. While Sentret had some good offense, but with two hits from Mitsuri was enough to knock him down in defeat.

 Kieran sent out his second Pokemon after recalling Sentret, revealing to be a Yanma. Like Iphigenia planned, she kept Mitsuri out as she was much more gentler compared to the rest of her Pokémon in her current team. Volcarona being a close second though, but the rest don't know the definition of holding back.

 Not that it's a bad thing, given that Kieran didn't want her to hold back on him and that she even warned him that she won't go easy on him. It's just that she truly cares about having the health of the Pokémon coming first before winning.

 Yanma held potential. It owns impressive speed and could land swift attacks on Mitsuri in her blind spots, even though the Embrace Pokémon was quick to react to defend herself while it was chipping away at her. It even took a powerful hit from a Moonblast like a champ, able to get back in the game and unleash Bug Buzz towards Mitsuri who was quick to avoid it.

If Iphigenia didn't know any better, Yanma may be close to evolving at this point, but either way Yanma still wouldn't be able to defeat her. And that proves to become reality when Yanma unleashed another Bug Buzz towards Mitsuri when the final evolved form of Ralts suddenly moves and reappeared behind Yanma who became startled.

 "Dazzling Gleam!" Iphigenia says with her hand stretched out.

 "Aaardevoir!" Mitsuri yells while unleashing the bright flash of lights onto Yanma, a direct hit as an explosion occurs with everyone shielding their eyes from the small shockwave of the attack. They didn't have to wait for it to die down, as Yanma was seen dropped to the ground with swirly eyes as it's defeated.

 Flawless victory for Iphigenia.

 "Wowzers..." Kieran says in awe, despite that he was defeated.

 "Yeeah, that's the strength of the Galarian Champion!" one of the Uva students on the trip cheered, with a clap of her hands.

 "Good show, you two!" another Uva student calls out, while both trainers moved towards their Pokémon. Yanma was looking pretty down for being beaten, as Kieran kneels down beside him to give him a pat on its back.

 "It's okay, Yanma. You were great out there." Kieran reassures it. Iphigenia comes up and hands out some Oran berries to Kieran, who was surprised at the offer.

 "For Yanma and Sentret." Iphigenia says to him, as he gratefully takes them and calls out Sentret to offer them who were thrilled and went ahead to chow them down.

 "Thanks, but wowzers, you're really strong Iphigenia! No wonder you're the Champion of Galar!" Kieran says, smiling over to the latter who simply smiles back to him.

 "Aww shucks, and here I thought I'd get used to it." Iphigenia comments.

 "That was a great battle, you two! Nothing more important than a friendly battle to get to know each other!" Ms. Briar applauds happily, as Carmine approaches the two as Kieran went ahead to recall his two Pokémon after they were feeling better and Iphigenia following suit with Mitsuri after giving acknowledgement for her work in battle.

 "I'll say. Just so you know, Kiki is nearly as strong as me but I guess either way it wouldn't matter." Carmine remarks, glancing over to her brother. Kieran seems to look very doubtful about it, as he glances down while messing with his bangs.

 "I-I dunno about that..." Kieran mutters.

 "I wouldn't be doubting about it, you really do have the skills. And that fire I see in your eyes earlier, Kieran, I have no doubt in mind that you'll grow to be a very strong trainer in the future." Iphigenia says. That made Kieran look up from the ground to gaze at her, his eyes wide and his mouth a little open in surprise and shock.

 "R-R...Really?" he asks, almost not believing what is coming out of her mouth.

 "Yeah, I know it when I see it. Train hard and you'll get there! If you don't believe me as a trainer, then believe me as a Champion of Galar." Iphigenia grins, with her finger up as though making it known.

 Kieran isn't sure how to feel about this. Other than this very warm feeling in his chest that keeps spreading, and the fact his heart pounds at the encouragement and faith Iphigenia gave him that nobody has ever shown to him. No one back in the Blueberry Academy would belief he would be a great battler like his sister, nor even bother to offer him tips and such to help him be better.

 But to hear this from someone who is definitely stronger and talented like Iphigenia?

 And a Champion of another region at that??

 "Whoa, look at that." Carmine comments in amusement, as she and Iphigenia noticed how big Kieran's ecstatic smile has gotten as he appeared lost in thought with his face being lightly pink. "I don't think I've ever seen him smile this big for a long time."

 "That's a good thing, right?" Iphigenia looks over to her, who then looks at her. She forms a tiny but genuine smile for a split second, but immediately replaced it with a cryptic one so she doesn't let herself be known that she is starting to take a liking to the outsider of Paldea.

 "It better be, or else I'll kill you if you hurt him." Carmine threatens her, even though she isn't completely serious(?).

 "Ouch!" Iphigenia says as she simply laughs. That laugh was all it takes for Kieran to snap out from his thoughts, lingering his sight onto Iphigenia who is still laughing away at the somewhat threat his sister gave her.

 Her laughs sounds angelic-

 "Have one of you paired up?" the caretaker asks as she noticed the two with Iphigenia.

 "Oh, these two have. I haven't yet so I'll go find a partner." Carmine says while pointing at Iphigenia and Kieran, before she moves along to get a partner.

 "Great, I'll go on ahead to place the three markers on your map through the Rotom Phone." the caretaker says, and Iphigenia's Rotom Phone flew out from her pocket as he went ahead to send the data on the map of Kitakami. The Galarian Champion noticed that Kieran doesn't seen to have one, making her wonder if maybe he never had the chance to get one before the trip or whatnot.

 As he moves away along with Ms. Briar, Kieran taps his hand to the side of his leg.

 "So, um... From here, the first signpost is right at.... L-Loyalty Plaza since it's the closest... It's past the apple orchards that's to the west from here, where um... we were last night..." Kieran tells her. Though he's known her a little more than the other Uva students, he still couldn't help but remain shy and awkward.

 "Oh, really? Neat, let's head over there." Iphigenia smiles, as the Rotom Phone flew back into her pocket.

 "A-actually, um... You can go on ahead. I-I'll get in the way, but I'll be right behind you." Kieran says, making Iphigenia look at him rather dumbfounded.

 "What makes you think you'll be in my way?" she asks him, genuinely confused.

 "Well-" Kieran starts to say, only to feel his face heated up when Iphigenia went ahead to grab him by the wrist.

 "I think it's better if we stick together. Besides, I really need a tour guide to tell me everything about Kitakami and someone to keep me company, that's where you come in mister." Iphigenia tells him with a closed-eye smile. Kieran fears that seeing that radiant smile would make him go blind, and he feels the unusual beat in his chest that makes him wonder if he's sick.

 "B-B-But, y-you're a..." Kieran stammers.

 "What, that I don't need company because I'm a Champion? Champions can have traveling companions too, and someone with a good sense of direction. I don't wanna turn like the former Champion of Galar; his sense of direction is terrible." Iphigenia tells him, laughing at the incidents about Leon and his terrible sense of direction.

 "H-He is?" the teenage boy was stunned.

 He has seen newsfeed about the previous Galarian Champion and clips of his past battles, but never would he think the very same Champion who is very strong and supposedly unbeatable would be terrible at going which directions which. He just doesn't seem like it, but then again no one would know any Champions personally unlike those closest to them.

 "Yup. Now come on, we got a signpost to visit!" Iphigenia says cheerily, as she brings Kieran along the way towards for Apple Hills. Seeing that she is adamant for them to go together had Kieran relent, but he was feeling very happy regardless that she doesn't mind his company.

───※ ·❆· ※───

"Applins!" Iphigenia says happily, looking at the small dragons inhabiting the apples just doing their thing among the apple trees. Though she knew they were there since last night and all, especially back in Paldea in the certain forests but are hard to come across, to see the familiar Pokémon that are normally native in Galar is very refreshing and a welcoming sight to see.

 Kieran giggles, seeing how adorable her reaction is.

 "You like Applins?" he asks her.

 "Oh yes, they're native back in Galar but are hard to come by! Seeing them here like this is honestly refreshing!" Iphigenia tells him, as they stood in the middle of the path through the apple orchards to observe the Applins and some other Pokémon that inhabit the area as well. She seems to gaze at them for a moment, before she glances over to Kieran.

 "I think an Applin would make a good addition to your team."

 "H-Huh?" Kieran blinks in surprise.

 "Think about it. I know it may not seem like a great idea, but if you were to be mindful about it's forms and know when to use them and teaching them the right moves then you got yourself a great Pokémon." Iphigenia says, as she happily claps her hands. She then makes a sound like a thought occurs to her, "Oh right! And I recall from a professor I knew back in Galar that recently the Applin specie has new evolution forms!"

 "O-Oh, I think I know what you're talking about. I think you mean a Dipplin." Kieran smiles as he nods and Iphigenia looks at him for a moment. Then her amber eyes became starry.

 "A Dipplin?! Okay, you and me HAVE to catch them together!" Iphigenia says excitedly.

 "Why?" he asks.

 If Applin is native from Galar, then wouldn't Iphigenia have one or two at her home? Or maybe she never caught one before?

 "For memories! And, well, pokedex for me as second reason." Iphigenia admits with a sheepish smile.

 Ah, that makes sense.

 "O-Okay the-"

 "First one to catch an Applin decides what to eat for lunch!" she says, already heading off to find an Applin despite a pair being in front of them. Possibly to find one that seems very promising to her, if he would have to guess. But nonetheless the competition she set up fired up the hidden competitive side he didn't know he had.

 "No fair, getting a head start!" Kieran complains, thought laughing a little as he goes to find an Applin that he thinks would be great.

 It took a while to find an Applin of his choosing, but after looking around and scoping out the Applins to find one that looks promising. It even put up a good fight for him too, as Sentret was having trouble weakening it but he managed to catch one in a Pokeball after three successful shakes done.

"Yes! Good job, Sentret!" Kieran cheers, taking the pokeball from ground with his recent capture as Sentret happily bounces around his trainer. Suddenly Sentret stops and quickly hid behind him, making Kieran look at his Pokémon in confusion until he feels something sniffing him from behind.

 He turns, and met Zacian looking down at him.

 "Waah! Z-Zacian!" Kieran yelped, almost having a heart attack from the Legendary Galar Pokémon suddenly behind him. And he was equally surprised that he was able to recall its name; must be due to the fact rare Pokémon like maybe Zacian leaves an impression that he'd never forget.

 "Sentre...." Sentret expresses its nervousness.

 "U-Um, it's okay. Z-Zacian is friendly..." Kieran reassures his Pokémon as it slowly calms down, just as Iphigenia appears from the side and spotted them.

 "Oh, you found him! Sorry if Zacian scared ya two." Iphigenia says, while approaching them with a smile. Kieran can see that she has a Pokeball in hand, meaning that she also caught an Applin. He wonders how long ago did she catch it compared to himself.

 "I-It's fine, but um... when did you catch your Applin?" Kieran asks curiously, while Zacian is being observed by Sentret who is moving around as though admiring it. As well as the other wild Pokémon in the area, some ignoring the presence of the two trainers while others keep their distance if they wanted to be caught next.

 "About a minute ago I would say. Did you just catch yours?" Iphigenia hums in thought.

 "Yeah. Aww, man..." Kieran hung his head in defeat.

 "But Kieran, you won't believe about the Applin I just caught!" Iphigenia says, coming up to him excitedly. Rather than telling him straight up, she releases her new catch and the Applin she caught is revealed from the blue light. But instead of it being red like any other Applin, it was-

 "Wowzers! You caught a green Applin!" Kieran says in surprise, right away seeing the green apple the Applin inhabits in.

 "I know!!" Iphigenia squeals, as she picks up her shiny Applin and holds it close to herself. The shiny Applin, despite being recently caught, seems to like being held. "This is like the fourth time I encountered a Shiny by luck! First Tiamat, then a shiny Heracross, after that a shiny Nacli, and now this little one!"

 "Oh man, talk about luck." Kieran says smiling, even though he's feeling envious.

 "Let's see yours and I'll use my Rotom Phone to evaluate the stats!" she says.

 "O-Okay." Kieran calls out his own Applin, who appeared in front. Iphigenia went ahead to place her shiny Applin down, and both Applins acknowledge each other before huddling up together happily. Iphigenia's Rotom Phone flew out and scans them each as both trainers are kneeling down looking at the screen.

 "Huh, mine's a female while yours is a male. And the stats and all look pretty good, above average." Iphigenia comments, while reading the information regarding both Applins.

 "That's cool. I guess that should've been obvious with the way mine battled." Kieran remarks, looking at his Applin.

 "Oh he gave you a hard time to catch it?"

 "Yeah. Did yours did to?"

 "Oh no, she fell atop of my head."

 "It what?" Kieran looks at her in confusion and some surprise. Iphigenia giggles, while she glances up from the screen of her Rotom Phone to look at her shiny Applin.

 "I was walking through the trees looking for one promising looking Applin, when I felt something drop atop of my head before rolling off in front of me. I caught whatever it was, and lo and behold it was the Shiny Applin. She was running from a Staravia, so I shooed it away while protecting her." Iphigenia explains to him. To hear the fact Iphigenia greatly cares about the Applin's safety made Kieran gaze at her in awe; she really does love Pokémon a great deal.

 Iphigenia then rubs her head in one spot in particular where her Applin must've dropped in. "Not gonna lie, that hurts." she adds as an afterthought with a pout.

 That made Kieran laugh, raising a curled hand to have it close to his mouth.

Chapter Text

"So, how do you evolve an Applin to the new form you call Dipplin?" Iphigenia asks while cradling her Shiny Applin in arms that she nicknamed Eden since it'll be kinda confusing keep addressing them despite the distinct in coloration. Plus the nickname fits since Eden is a Shiny and is very rare, like the mythical golden apples.

 "Um... there's this hut that sells a specific kind of apple that an Applin needs to become a Dipplin." Kieran hums, having his red Applin perched atop of his shoulder like a Chatot. He feared it would somehow slip off, but surprisingly his Applin secured there quite well, but it may be due to his tail clinging onto his jacket. Like the way it would cling on the branches of the trees.

 "What apple is it? I've known Sweet and Tart apples, but obviously it's not either of those." Iphigenia comments, shaking her head a little as they continue to walk their way up the dirt path from the apple orchard. Kieran shook his head, making her know that it's a totally different kind of apple which would make sense given the new evolution form.

 "It's called a Syrupy apple. And last I remember, those apples are being sold by five-hundred pokedollars each." he tells her.

 "Five-hundred solid, huh... I should have more than enough to buy one." Iphigenia says, before she went ahead to pet Eden with only a finger who somehow can purr in delight from the affectionate touch. "But, I ain't gonna evolve her just yet. She should grow strong first, and only when she thinks she's ready to evolve."

 "You usually let your Pokémon decide themselves?" Kieran asks curiously.

 "Yup. I know that most Pokémon would jump at the chance to evolve in order to get stronger, but.... there are some Pokémon that would be reluctant to change forms. Some have fears of not meeting their trainer's expectations, some others feel they are not ready yet, others want to get stronger first before evolving for better results. And of course, you have ones who just don't want to evolve ever. The opinion of my Pokémon matters in this life-changing moment, so I let them decide themselves and I won't force them. All I ever do is help them achieve what they want. If they want to get stronger, then I'll help them get stronger. Simple as that." Iphigenia tells him, and once again Kieran was left speechless at how very thoughtful she is towards Pokémon.

 For a moment there, she wasn't the normal Iphigenia who is a simple trainer and catches Pokémon and such. She was a whole different person who has many experience with Pokémon, who has seen both the good and the bad in both environments and only cares for the well-being of Pokémon more than perhaps her own.

Speaking like a true Champion.

 "You're really kind... you know that, right?" Before he realized it, Kieran spoke up.

 He felt himself turning red in the face so much, perhaps more darker than his Applin who looks at him with confusion. In the corner of his eye, he can barely see that she made a blink at what he just said.

Oh Arceus, that was supposed to be in his mind and Iphigenia was not supposed to hear that at all!

He feels so embarrassed to say it out loud!

Iphigenia doesn't seem to mind though, as she turns to look at him and smiles. That smile for some reason always makes him feel the unusual feeling in his chest, once again making him under the impression that he might have a problem with his heart or something.

 "I've been told, but it's the right way. We co-exist with Pokémon, right? So it's very understandable and appropriate that we make it mutual." the Galarian Champion says to him, before giggling when Eden snuggles into her affectionately.

The sight of it made the boy watch, unable to stop the smile forming rather shyly on his face.

 That shiny Applin was only caught minutes ago, and she's already very attached to her new trainer. Well, given the fact Iphigenia kept her safe while warding off the Staravia and how kind she treats her own Pokémon, Kieran certainly doesn't blame that Applin for taking an immediate liking to her.

 He would be too.

 "Anyways, the first signboard is up ahead right?" she asks him, snapping him out from his thoughts.

 "Y-Yeah, as long as we follow the path we should be there in a moment..." Kieran says while messing with his bangs a little, with his Applin seemingly on the verge to fall asleep on his shoulder. Iphigenia hums in acknowledgment, and there was silence between them for a moment as they keep walking.

 The silence was deafening, it only made him very nervous and awkward with nothing to talk about with her. He wasn't sure why, but the teenager wanted to hear her talk to him more.

 "Can you tell about Kitakami's culture?" Iphigenia then asks him, looking at him with curious eyes. When Kieran looked at her in confusion and with some surprise, she continues, "I am new to this place after all and I wanna know the customs. You know, to be respectful, and I am rather curious about this place."

 "Sure, if um... you tell me about Galar." the Blueberry Academy student says. After all, he is rather curious about the Galar region and he wanted to know more about the place where Iphigenia came from. It's only fair since she wanted to know about his home.

 "That's fair." she laughs with a closed-eye smile, making him feel the Beautiflies in his tummy.

 Oh Arceus, is this normal to feel around someone you hoped to be friends with?

───※ ·❆· ※───

By the time they made it to the Loyalty Plaza, the skies are now a more vibrant blue with the sun high up in the skies signaling the midday. They must've spent quite some time catching their two Applins in order for the morning to slowly convert to the afternoon, for it felt like minutes to them but never an hour or two. They pass through the wooden arch and there was the wide plaza there with a signboard there up ahead in the center of the area, along with some benches by the side.

There doesn't seem to be anyone else, so it was just them.

 "This is Loyalty Plaza..." Kieran says, though his eyes are zoned onto their first signboard ahead. "And there's our first signboard."

 "You weren't kidding that it's the closest." Iphigenia says, with Eden now atop of her shoulder as she moves over to see the signboard up close. Kieran follows after her closely, with his Applin still on his shoulder calmly. He feels rather nervous, since he already knows what is written on the signboard and what she would thought about.

 "You can read it. I, um, already know what's written on it." Kieran says.

 "Alright then..." Iphigenia nods to that, and looks at the signboard to read it. She hears movement beside her, even though Kieran is already on her left side. She knew it was Zacian who is still out of its Master Ball and occupies the opposite side of her, taking a look at the signboard as well.

Long, long ago, there was a fearsome ogre in the land of Kitakami...

The ogre made its home in the mountain behind the village, frightening all who ventured there.

One day, the ogre came down from the mountain in a terrible rage, causing great fear in the village.

By some stroke of luck, Okidogi, Munkidori, and Fezandipiti all happened to be there as well.

The three Pokémon laid down their lives to fend off the ogre and send it back to the mountain.

In admiration, the people of the village bestowed upon this brave trio the title "the Loyal Three".

Their remains were given a proper burial, and statues of the three were erected above the site.

Iphigenia furrowed her brows at the tale she just read by now. Even though it was only the first part, if she were to believe the other two would contain more information about the Ogre and the Loyal Three, the way it tells leaves her with questions that struck her as odd.

Maybe no one would question it after reading this and just accept it as is, but for her something is nagging.

 "The Loyal Three Monument is up ahead..." Kieran says, his attention staring at the monument that is further back in the plaza for Iphigenia to see. After a few seconds of silence, he then turns to look at her and noticed she is still staring at the signboard but thought she was absorbing what she read.

 "But, um, don't you think the ogre in the folktale sounds kinda... cool?" Kieran asks nervously. Iphigenia didn't seem to say anything and still stares at the signboard with a look full of concentration on her face, making him feel very nervous but also a little concerned.

"Um... Iphigenia?"

 "Hm? Sorry, I was going over the folktale for a moment." Iphigenia says, looking at him with a sheepish smile. Then she forms a look of thoughtfulness with a finger up against the side of her chin, "But the ogre being cool? Well, for it to fend off the three Pokémon on its own, I suppose that is very cool."

 "Right?!"

 Iphigenia blinks in surprise when Kieran looked very ecstatic that she agrees with him.

 "I knew you would get it, Iphigenia! It was up against all three opponents at once, battling it out all by itself! Like, wowzers, that's so cool!" Kieran says excitedly with admiration. Then he quickly composed himself, calming down upon realizing Iphigenia was caught off guard and thought it would be because of him idolizing the ogre and not the Loyal Three.

 "Oh, sorry... Most people would just think an ogre like that is scary, huh?" he says with a sheepish look.

 "Most people, yes. But for some like me and you, I think it's impressive." Iphigenia tells him with a smile, making him surprised that she agrees with him still but nonetheless smiles brightly. Though he becomes confused when her smile was quickly replaced with a troubled look when she turns to look at the signboard again.

 "Although... it does leave me with questions after reading this signboard." she says to him.

 "Huh? L-Like what?" Kieran asks in confusion.

 "Based on the introduction of the folktale, the ogre has to be a Pokémon right? If that is the case, then why does the story say that the ogre came down from the mountain in a rage just like that?" Iphigenia questions, as she turns to him with that same look on her face.

"Pokémon do not suddenly get angry out of nowhere and come about to cause wreckage, unless they are provoked. They don't attack just cause they feel like it or just cause, there's always a source of their anger. So for the story to simply say that the Ogre came down from the mountain in terrible rage with no apparent reason to say for more context..."

 Iphigenia simply shakes her head in total disagreement and with doubt, "This is just me but.... I feel like there's more to what the folktale is saying."

 In all honesty, after hearing her express her doubt about the folktale and say about her wonders had Kieran thought over it. Now that she mentioned it, there were some things he also had some wonders about but everyone in town simply believed it right away because their ancestors believed it so and it's the truth to them. He didn't question it, even though he himself thought the ogre is very cool unlike the Loyal Three and even when he earns odd looks for idolizing over the enemy of the folktale.

 "S-So you're saying... you think the Ogre is not a bad guy?" Kieran asks with wide eyes.

 Iphigenia seems to think over it for a moment, lifting up a hand to mess with her natural locks of white hair. A habit that she unknowingly adopted from Sonia when she gets into her theory mode.

 Geez, Sonia rubbed it on her.

Sonia was breaking down the history about the Darkest Day and how it really went back in ancient times of Galar, unearthing that Zacian and Zamazenta were the true heroes of Galar and not the two kings. And now here she is, Iphigenia is about to dive deep into the folktale of Kitakami in order to find out the truth because of some things that doesn't seem to sit well with her.

 "At this point, it's too early to say until we see the other two signboards but... that's my theory." Iphigenia tells him truthfully.

 "Wowzers... I never actually thought about it until you said it." Kieran admits to her in amazement. He went quiet for a moment, before he glances over his shoulder in the direction of where the mountain is.

 "You know... ever since I was little, I would always venture to the mountains many times at night all by myself. Just so I can meet the ogre. But no matter how many times I went up there, I never once met the ogre. I wasn't scared at all, but I was only scared every time the adults told me off about venturing up there alone." he tells her. Iphigenia thinks about a younger Kieran bravely venturing up the mountain to meet the ogre, ad then coming back and get scared from being chewed out made her smile and giggle silently to herself.

 "Wow, you're really brave to go up there yourself." she comments, and he looks at her with a red face.

 "I-I was back then..." he mutters shyly. Then a thought came to him, "Oh right, I think we're supposed to take a photo of us with the signboard. I-I don't have a smartphone so um..."

 "Way ahead of you." Iphigenia grins, and her Rotom Phone flew out.

 Both of them positioned themselves in front, and obviously Iphigenia poses with a smile and a peace-sign while Kieran is much more shy about it as the Rotom Phone snapped a photo. They had their Applins atop of Zacian on its back from the side, the cyan legendary unbothered by this to hold onto them for a moment.

 The pair checked the photo after it was done.

 "That turned out great. You're really good at taking photos." Kieran comments, and Iphigenia simply grins at him.

 "Wanna try?" she offers.

 "O-Oh no! Uh, um well..." Kieran says, looking very startled and also nervous. "M-Maybe... next time..."

 "Alrighty then." Iphigenia giggles, as her Rotom Phone flew back in her pocket. Then Zacian comes up to them, as the pair of Applins rolled off its back for their trainers to catch them with their hands.

She sees the way Zacian is looking at her, making her sigh.

 "Hungry huh? I mean... it is lunch time now." she says, before they all heard growling which came from Eden and Kieran's Applin. Both of them having their eyes being thin lines as though to express their small discomfort from the lack of food in their tummies.

Kieran and Iphigenia looked at their Applins for a moment before to each other, then they laugh a little.

 "Guess that means we'll have to set up picnic then." Kieran says with a shy smile.

 "Yeah. I know I said whoever caught an Applin first decides what to have for lunch, but then again there's only two options. By second option, it's curry but I already had that for breakfast so..." Iphigenia trails off. She is not gonna say the certain word, since she brought a certain someone with her along.

 "Oh, so some sandwiches then?" Kieran says, and Iphigenia's eyes went wide.

 HE SAID THE WORD-

 "Agia!!"

 Within a flash of blue, Miraidon appears from the side appearing very excited to have sandwiches.

 "Gyah!!" Kieran yelps in fright, instantly going behind Iphigenia and Zacian while clutching his Applin close as though to protect him. "W-What is that thing!? S-Some kind of kaiju or somethin'!?"

 "What? No, this is Miraidon." Iphigenia laughs a little, finding it oddly adorable that Kieran ran to her for protection. It just is, for some reason.

 "Arooo!" Zacian howls towards Miraidon with narrowed eyes, as though to scold it for scaring Kieran. This was the first time Kieran ever heard Zacian's voice, staring at the Fairy type Legendary in awe at the air of regality it shows.

 Miraidon, in response to Zacian scolding it, croons nervously while crouching a little to show submissiveness towards the Legendary Pokémon of Galar. Miraidon shows clear respect towards Zacian, probably as a show that Zacian may be more powerful than this mysterious looking Pokémon.

 "Now, now, Zacian. You know how much Miraidon loves sandwiches, he doesn't know we had company." Iphigenia tells Zacian, and Zacian simply lets out a low howling-like sound. She then looks at Miraidon, "And Miraidon? We talked about this. Refrain yourself from coming out if you hear the word. You'll get your meals around the clock daily."

 "Agias..." Miraidon says while lowering his head, and Kieran is slowly coming out from being behind Iphigenia.

 "So... it's called a Miraidon?" he asks her, and she nods to him.

 "Yup. And I can ride him as well, neat huh?" Iphigenia smiles.

 "You can ride on it?" Kieran looks surprised and confused, staring at the Paradox Pokémon as Miraidon doesn't look like it can be ridden on. But based on its appearance and all, it does seem likely that it's possible to ride on it like a vehicle.

 Like a bike of sorts, maybe.

"I've never seen another Pokémon like this before... much like Zacian here... And it comes out when it hears the word sandwich?" Kieran asks.

 "Agias!" Miraidon says happily, as though confirming it.

 "Wowzers, I never thought I would see not just one but two awesome Pokémon with you." Kieran comments, as he looks over to Iphigenia. "No wonder you're strong and a Champion, Iphigenia. You're... special."

 Iphigenia forms an unusual look, and his face turns pink at what he just said before quickly changing the subject.

 "Oh! I-In any case, the next signboard is at Kitakami Hall! Kitakami Hall is um... well, retracing back to Mossui Town, there is a bridge off to the east and we'd have to climb up the mountainside. That's where Kitakami Hall is. But um, I guess having lunch first would be best right?" Kieran says. He really hopes she doesn't think too much about it, not wanting to like weird her out or anything.

 Iphigenia gets rid of the expression previously, and nods to him with a smile on her face.

 "Yeah. How about you pick a spot for us to set up picnic?" she asks.

 "Oh, r-right! Leave it to me!" Kieran smiles, before he runs off to find a suitable spot for them to eat. This leaves Iphigenia on her own with her own Pokémon with her, and she gazes down at the ground. The expression from earlier came back, as she rewinds what Kieran called her.

 "Special, huh..." she mutters, looking to the side with that same expression.

 That is a word that she is no stranger to at all.

 Back in Galar, and from the beginning of her journey, she was regarded as a talented trainer with a chance to beat Leon in the Championship. A special kind, who breezed through the gyms and met the legendary heroes of Galar. She even caught a dangerous Pokémon that threatened to destroy all, and then proceed to capture Zacian soon after she became the Champion because it chose her after seeing that she is worthy. After everything she had done alongside Hop. For helping the Pokémon that were in dire need of aid.

 But in all honesty... Iphigenia doesn't consider herself special.

 She's just a simple trainer who happens to love Pokémon and battling because it was fun. She thought tackling on the Pokémon League would be fun, because she is tackling it alongside Hop as both of them compete each other as they go in-between gyms. And to maybe test herself to the limits to see how far she can get to, and also as an excuse to submerge herself in the world of Pokémon and learn something new.

 Unfortunately, it opened up the dark side that should have remain hidden behind doors.

 A chairman's ambition to uphold the future of Galar by the use of Eternatus's power.

Eternatus going on a rampage from the uncontrollable amount of energy within its body that threatens to destroy Galar.

And those arrogant descendants of the Kings who attempted to exploit both Zamazenta and Zacian.

She only stopped them because she was the only one capable of doing so. Leon would have been better suited, but he was Champion no more because she defeated him and because Eternatus proved too much for him to handle when he tried to subdue it himself with his Charizard. The reality of what it means to be a Champion of Galar now and the dangers like this are everywhere prompted her to get stronger to be more better equipped.

 To be more ready for anything that tosses in her way.

 All for the sake of protecting her loved ones and her home.

 "Agias?" Miraidon's trill snapped Iphigenia from her thoughts, and she shakes her head.

 "I'm alright. Let's go find Kieran." Iphigenia said, before she went ahead to recall Miraidon back in his pokeball. That way Miraidon wouldn't end up scaring the locals that could be in the area as them. Iphigenia looks at Zacian, and the legendary simply sniffs the ground for a moment before straightening its head and moves along to follow Kieran's scent.

 The Galarian Champion had Eden perched back on her shoulder, and the shiny Applin made herself comfortable as the trainer walks behind Zacian. Though Iphigenia stops for a moment, and looks around with a troubled look on her face.

 "Squeh?" Eden blinks over to her trainer.

 "Weird, for a second it felt like I'm being watched..." Iphigenia comments, before she shakes her head to ignore the feeling. "Eh, it's probably nothing, Eden."

 She resume moving along, pacing herself to catch up with Zacian who is several paces ahead by now. As she was leaving the Loyal Plaza, she was unaware that the source of the sensation is perched atop of the branches from one of the many trees. The wild Pokémon watched her go, tilting its head curiously as its light brown feathers along with the lush-green leaves around it are lightly brushed by the gentle breeze for a moment.

 "Kroo..."

───※ ·❆· ※───

After having a picnic lunch, there was still plenty of time for them to go on ahead to head over to the second signboard. So with no time to waste with bellies full and packed up the camping equipment, they start making their way back to Mossui Town to wander through for the bridge that should lead them towards Kitakami Hall. As they made it to town that's when Iphigenia, who was listening intently with Kieran as he is telling her about the history of Kitakami, spotted an individual who doesn't appear to be a local here in Kitakami.

 She owns short dark blue hair with some dark blonde and green at the ends of her hair, owning fair skin and owning brown eyes. Her outfit consists a short gray top with no sleeves made with sweater-like material, wearing a white undershirt underneath that wraps around her arms but not her shoulders, which exposes her abdomen, with light blue and torn up skinny jeans using a black belt to hold them up. She wears white sneakers have a gray shoe laces and padding. She is also has a thin black choker around her neck, and two similar armbands around her right arm, while her left arm has a white wrist watch.

 There's a camera around her neck, making her think the woman appears to be a photographer.

 But that isn't what caught her eye.

 It was the Pokémon with her. It was unlike any Pokémon she has seen before; from the way it looks it must be a new variant of a Growlithe but the white fur is covering its eyes and there is a small horn protruding at the top of its head. The white fur appearing to look fluffy like resembling clouds, and the normally orange fur are dark orange instead.

 "Hey, Kieran? Is she a local here?" Iphigenia asks him as she comes to a stop making him stop alongside her as well. Kieran blinks before he follows with his eyes to look where she is looking at. He right away spots the female photographer, and becomes very confused.

 "Um... I don't recall her being around here..." Kieran mumbles, as his eyes then lowers down to observe the odd-looking Growlithe with her. "I would have remembered her with that Growlithe... that's definitely Hisuian."

 "Hisuian?" Iphigenia blinks in puzzlement.

 "Yeah. Believe it or not, that's the ancient name that Sinnoh used to be called centuries back. At least, that's what I remember from my classes back in Blueberry..." Kieran explains, glancing back to her. That instantly made Iphigenia recall her history lessons with Ms. Raifort, whereas she had covered over the history about Sinnoh in its ancient times.

 "Oooh, I remember now! Man, this is my first time seeing a Hisuian Pokémon in person." Iphigenia remarks with an excited grin. She wants to get up close with it, but then that would be awkward to suddenly come up to the owner and ask if she could take a closer look at the Hisuian Growlithe.

 Although she noticed the troubled look on the woman's face before she considers it.

 "Huh... she looks bothered by something." the Galarian Champion noted.

 "You're right... Should we go ask?" Kieran asks her, making Iphigenia look over to him with subtle surprise. "W-Well um, y-you can go ask her and I-I'll um..."

 "We can go ask, unless... you want me to do the talking since you're nervous around girls?" Iphigenia teases him lightly with a smile. That made the other teenager sputter a little, his face turning very red from the harmless teasing that was thrown to him which made her giggle at his reaction.

 "I'm only playing, Kieran." she reassures him.

 "S-Still..!" he mutters with a red face.

With a giggle, Iphigenia went ahead to approach the woman and he follows after her a bit closely. Even though he has done this before with his sister and normally feeling down about relying on her, being behind Iphigenia stirred up something he isn't sure about. Like he doesn't prefer to be behind her, and instead rather to be beside her.

Maybe in front of her even-

"Grow!" the Hisuian Growlithe barked towards the approaching trainers, and the woman took notice as she looks over.

"Woah, there! Didn't even notice you two approaching." the woman comments while looking at them.

"Hi there, sorry if we're bothering." Iphigenia greets her with a small friendly wave of her hands. The Hisuian Growlithe approaches the two and sniffs while circling around them, which both trainers decided to let the little Pokémon do its thing.

"Well that's fine. Anyways..." The woman looks at them both each, before pointing at one of them.

"You must be a visiting student from Paldea, and you must be from Blueberry Academy." She then chuckles noticing the surprised looks from them both, "Surprised huh? How I'd know, let's call that an intuition."

Too good to be an intuition if Kieran had to be honest with himself.

"Anyways, you two got perfect timing. Have you two seen a certain Pokémon around? A Pokémon that sticks out like a sore thumb among the wilds here in Kitakami, of course." she asks them. That had them both blink in confusion, wondering if that was the reason why she looked troubled earlier.

"Not that I know of." Iphigenia shakes her head, before glancing over to Kieran behind her. "Do you?"

 Iphigenia hasn't seen all of Kitakami for her to know which Pokémon is native here and what isn't. If anyone who knows Kitakami's Pokémon here, it would be the locals here such as Kieran and his older sister.

"Um... no. Sorry." Kieran shakes his head apologetically.

 "Well, that's unfortunate." The woman shakes her head with a look of defeat. "The little guy is seriously such a troublemaker, always heading off the moment I take my eyes off of him."

 "Is that..  a normal occurrence?" Iphigenia asks, her dark brows furrowed in wonder. Sometimes she'd come across trainers who had trouble with Pokémon not listening to them and liking to wander off on their own. Usually because the trainers aren't competent enough for the Pokémon to listen, or just doesn't like them for whatever reason.

 "Not really. He usually listens to me, but for some reason he ends up taking a liking to head to places. I'd hazard a guess that he developed a liking of sightseeing, but who knows what going through his mind." she remarks, raising a hand to rub the side of her head.

 "Well... we can try keep an eye out for the Pokémon for you." the Champion of Galar offers, making the photographer raise an eyebrow.

 "Even if you don't know what he looks like?"

 "You did say it sticks out like a sore thumb. I'm sure my friend here and I will know it when we see it, eventually." she says, not noticing the astonished look Kieran is giving her when Iphigenia addressed him as her friend. The woman seems to think about it for a second, and forms a delighted smile on her face.

 "That'd be very much appreciated! If you found him, you know where to find me and my Growlithe here!" she responds, as her Hisuian Growlithe barks while wagging its fluffy white tail.

 "We'll try our best." Iphigenia nods with a smile of her own, before turning towards the eastern side and glancing over to the other teenager with her. "Come on, Kieran." she adds before she runs off for the bridge up ahead, with plans to make it to the second signboard quickly first.

 "H-Huh?" Kieran snapped out of his daze from feeling the fuzziness and warmth, his face being a hot mess before he quickly jogs after her. "W-Wait up!"

 Perrin watched the entire thing, and chuckles to herself. Even though she is no expert in such things, but she is very familiar with the cues that she has grown to spot on from her travels.

 "That kid definitely has a crush on her." Perrin comments in amusement, placing her hands within the pockets of her trousers. She then forms a thoughtful look on her face, closing her eyes and entertaining the idea that occur to her just now.

 "Maybe I can... ask them for that...?" she wonders out loud.

Her Growlithe tilts his head in confusion at his trainer's words.