The Twins At Paldea Univeristy (Pokemon Scarlet and Violet)

Concerns

Juliana and Arven were able to stand strong, and together they were able to face any problem no matter how strong. As long as they're by each other's side, they will never give up, and resort to anything as well as grant no half-measure. The same could be said for, well... anybody really. The parents who labor day and night for their children, the children who try to match their parent's expectations, the pokemon who roam and hunt or look out for predators. From overworked salarymen to retired snowboarders, everyone had that challenge. That challenge where they are faced with something insurmountable, as if to somehow stop an unstoppable force. One can count themselves blessed by Arceus itself if they find that special someone that makes surrender unfeasible in their mind.

But Florian... Florian had a different problem.

Grusha's cetitan collapsed onto the icy battleground, cracking it under its immense weight and causing an avalanche that would have been serious had it not been for the regular maintenance of the mountain peak area. The sub-zero shredder had terastalized his cetitan instead of his altaria, utilizing its thick fat ability at its highest while also trying to make use of his altara's fire resistance. Both however ultimately didn't mean anything. Florian's pyroar was a wholly different breed.

No, not breed, unit. Courtesy of a man in Montenevara who sold his hyper-training services for rather mysterious bottle caps. It's all effort.

The two quietly shake hands, as they do; however, Grusha had some words to say.

"Earlier, in the lobby, you mentioned rogue pokemon along the mountain side, the same side with a vaporized section. That was your pyroar's doing, wasn't it?" asked the androgynous man, Florian silently nodded.

"I figured. Winter madness is a sickness among the Glaseado landscapes. A specific virus that fosters a pokemon's capacity for proactive violence," Grusha points out, "but I won't bore you on something you'll probably learn better through the internet, I have some cetoddle to take care of. You go handle the league or something."

And that was that. His eighth badge and a new TM called Ice Spinner. Florian returned to the lobby to ensure the validity of his record. As he did, a familiar face appeared upon his entry through the sliding doors.

La Primera herself, Geeta.

The woman was tall, lanky, and dark skinned. Her hair is long and thick, more akin to be counted as cords rather than strands. Big eyes as well, which sparkled under the light. Adorned into simple black attire, and brown shoes cartoonishly big compared to the rest of her body. If not for its bland colors they could be mistaken for clown shoes. The figure walked up to him with her hands behind her back and a smile on her face.

"Florian," she nodded.

"Miss Geeta," Florian bowed.

"That's it, you have cleared 8 gyms. Not many people can say that." says Geeta, placing a hand on his shoulder, "do not worry, I've already issued them to validate your victory. Come with me, I must speak with you."

The two enter in the back rooms of the gym challenge lobby, where they are greeted with almost nothing. Just tables and papers. Due to how remote Glaseado gym is, few can ever truly even make it up here, either as a trainer or as a worker. And even then, Grusha was arguably the mightiest of the gym leaders as well, meaning there was not much activity going on backstage. Paired with some of Geeta's unpopular cost-cutting measures which saw several people lose their jobs, the authorized area of the Glaseado battle lobby was mostly empty of both materials and of life.

After sitting down, Geeta snaps her fingers, and a nearby employee runs off to the coffee machine.

"We have to talk about Nemona"

"Nemona? What about her?" Florian asked, feeling a chill run up his spine upon just mentioning her name. He had a feeling of where this was headed, and he wasn't sure what to feel about such a subject. "Is there something wrong?"

"Very much so, yes," Geeta's fingers clicked on the table, "she has been exhibiting.... Concerning behavior for the past few months we've taken notice. On one end, we in the league are elated to see her return to her vibrant self. On the other... that vibrant self seems to be heading in a less-than-desirable direction."

"I.... know."

"Is she doing anything to you? Anything at all that you might find concerning?"

"No, not particularly, none that I care for," Florian answered. "I mean, she yelled at Penny because we had a little battle that one time, I reckon that's concerning."

"Possessive, yes, that's what we're worried about" says Geeta as the employee returns with two cups of coffee. "She's been hounding you as well, like how a beartic stalks a chansey from the mountainside to the flowery plains. Assessing you. I've brought this to your attention so that we may discuss a form of corrective action."

"No action," says Florian, causing Geeta to spit out her coffee the moment she was trying to drink it.

"W-what?!"

"I have my own problem to deal with, and I think Nemona has something for me as well. She's a big reason why I'm even on the gym circuit. Once I get to her level, maybe it will all wash away."

"And what sort of problem is that, if I may ask?"

"The treasure hunt"

"Ah yes, the treasure hunt. Paldea University's maverick project, what of it? Is it holding you back from your league journey? If not for school you would have likely gotten all 8 badges in a quicker time. Only Poppy and Nemona have you beat on gym-clearing records as a result." says the chairwoman, but Florian shakes his head in disagreement.

"No, my problem is that... well... I don't have any treasure."

"Well, that's why it's called a treasure hunt is it not? You're supposed to find it"

"No, no, like as in-" Florian cuts himself off, 'nevermind. I'll steer clear of Nemona if I can, but she's not keen on taking no as an answer."

"Are you sure you don't want to lodge a complaint of any kind?"

"No, no.." Florian gets up, drinking the coffee down immediately. It was woody, rubbery, and overly bitter. Florian internally regrets chugging it down in one gulp. "I think I can handle her."

"Are you okay, Florian? That was a pretty big swig of coffee, usually only Larry can do that"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine..." says Florian, head empty. It doesn't take long for him to vomit. Fortunately he vomits down a nearby sink. Geeta just shakes her head.

"Kids," she says with a smile. Although it doesn't last long. It only seems to affirm that Florian might be out of his depth with the subject, and doesn't realize that Nemona poses a much larger threat to his well being than it actually is.