Two complicated friends share a simple moment. Precious feelings lay in the experience, not in the destination. Right? Right.
“You sure someone saw it? I mean…I’ve heard the stories, but here?”
Juliana had always wore her heart on her sleeves and kept her judgment at the door, for better or for worse. It helped when it came to harrowing mysteries and far off legends一it meant that she was more likely than most to believe whatever hole in the wall tale you threw at her. On the other hand…it meant it was all too easy to trick her with a somewhat plausible tale.
She was never good at reading people, liars or jerks or anything else. She assumed the best of people.
Kieran envied that, as silly as it was.
He didn’t believe that a legend like Meloetta was in the Terarium. But it’s not like he knew nothing一when trying to improve his battling, he’d done research into all kinds of myths and legends before concluding that all of them were outside his reach, like alw一
“I swear, it was here!”
He shook his head, and stood up. Juliana and Kieran had been crouching behind a nearby bush for ages before she got sick of waiting and threw her hands up in the air out of frustration. She pointed at the spot, face pulled into a pout he’d never seen from her.
“People have been talking about it all over!” She reached over and grabbed Kieran’s shoulders, a gesture that had him freeze while she shook him like a ragdoll. “You’ve heard too, right? Right!?”
“Yh, yeah, I have! I have! Uhhh…” The world swirled around him like he was the strawberry in a neapolitan sundae, and upon realizing that, Juliana let go.
“Oops, sorry. You good?”
“‘M fine, I think…” He pulled at his hair and dipped his head down, his surroundings returning to normal.
“Mh-hm, okay! Okay.” Juliana placed her hands on her hips. “Let’s see…Meloetta’s a music-y pokemon, right?”
Kieran put a hand to his chin, tapping his side with his other rhythmically. “Uh, yeah, I think so. Maybe we need to…prove ourselves?”
“Like with a guitar solo?”
“I think I remember hearin’ a story like that. How a guy, uh, managed to see it after playing a song on his guitar?”
“Really!?” She leaned in close, and clapped her hands together before she threw out a pokeball. Koraidon landed next to her with a quizzical tilt of its head before she leapt onto its back and took off towards the Savannah zone. “Keep my spot warm!”
“Wh一wait, huh!? Where are you going!?”
By the time Juliana returned, an hour passed. Kieran had rolled out a picnic blanket half an hour ago and poured out some food for his team, munching on a chocolate bar as he stared out at the meadows ahead. If Meloetta was really out there, then hopefully it wasn’t scared off by the noise…
“Heyyyyy, sorry for the wait! I ran into Carmine, and then Cripsin,” Thunderous footsteps followed by ground vibrations signaled Koraidon’s landing a safe distance away, “and the time totally got away from me!”
“Ah!”
Kieran reached into his sack and pulled out an extra candy bar just as Juliana made her way over to the picnic. She waved an acoustic guitar in one hand before she sat down, plopping the instrument in her lap. She strummed and started to tune the instrument with a finesse that had him silent for a moment before he spoke, drumming his hands in his lap as his Furret feasted from a bowl next to him.
“You…know how to play?”
“Mhm!” Juliana did the finger motions for a couple chords before she went back to tuning. “My father taught me when I was really, really young. I only have a few years of practice, but I’m not trying to become a big star, so that’s all I need!”
“O, Oh. That’s cool…” His hands balled into fists. Kieran didn’t have many (or any, really) hobbies that he could show off like that besides battling, so he couldn’t help the pang of insecurity that went through him一the whisper in his head that said ‘Who gave her the right to be so good at so many things?’
Then, like every other time since that day, he remembered that she was his friend. That she always cared about him. That was enough to silence it now.
“So, uh…”
Juliana stared at him. Kieran stared back.
“So? What’s the song’s name?”
He blinked. “What song?”
“The one you mentioned! With the guy!”
Oh. That’d make sense. “I…I don’t know.”
Juliana hummed, and put the guitar down to check her phone. “Let me see! Maybe I can try finding a video? Or something. I mean, if my song summoned a cool pokemon, I’d put that all over the internet!”
“It would be cool, wouldn’t it?” Kieran smiled, reaching over to run his fingers through Furret’s coat. It made a clicking-hum sound of its usually harsh cry and leaned into the touch.
“Right!? I mean, it didn’t feel real when I met all these cool and legendary pokemon before!” Juliana smiled, her eyes sparkling with a joy she only displayed when facing the unknown. Though she was a talented battler and a renowned champion, it was obvious to anyone that what caught her interest was pursuing the mysteries ahead of her, whether they involved battles or not.
Kieran peaked at her phone, eyes widening as she scrolled past a blurry video from twelve years ago. “Is that? Wait, can you go back?”
“Huh?”
“There! I think that might be it. I got a feeling just lookin’ at it.” Probably a wrong one, but some small part of him insisted that he had to speak up about it.
“Hmmmm~.” She pressed on the video. The footage was blurry, as if filmed on an old, smudged out camera. It made everyone present into a blurry blob of mishmashed colors. A few dull colored blogs took up most of the camera space, but in the very corner, a bright green blob was above the mass of people(?), with a distorted, but simple guitar melody coming through.
“I see. I see! I think…okay, Kieran, can you do me a favor?”
Juliana grinned and plopped her phone onto Kieran’s lap before pulling the guitar back up. “Keep playing that. Over and over again. I’m gonna see if I can do it by ear!”
“Ah, are you sure?” He picked up her phone like he was given a precious treasure一just one of the many reasons he never had his own phone was because of how terrified he’d be of breaking it, even if it could float.
“Positive. C’mon, play!”
Juliana twiddled her fingers against the strings, already figuring out the first few chords. When it came to a mystery, she always was off to the next goalpost, even if said goal post was a flight away, or a trek into dangerous caverns. That kind of courage, that ability to stare at the impossible and see it as a possibility…
It was as mythical as the pokemon she encountered.
Ten minutes later, she could play twenty seconds of the song. Hydrapple and Politoed long since finished their meals, sitting down near Kieran and Juliana. Koraidon left its ball, too, rolled onto the ground like a baby Sprigatito enjoying the morning sunlight.
“It almost sounds like it’s missing something.” Juliana played as though she’d known the song her whole life, her fingers gliding across the strings.
“I think so too…” Kieran mumbled, and as if on cue, a voice joined their peaceful chorus. Juliana was too concentrated on getting down the next part of the song, but he picked up on the change all too quickly, jolting back and forth until he saw a head of green hair on a small pokemon’s body.
The sensation of awe that crept over his heart reminded him of Terapagos. No, not quite. Back then, it was a sense of blinding awe (both metaphorically and literally) followed by obsession一one so strong that it lit his heart on fire and drove him to throw that Master Ball before he could take another breath.
Now, the awe he felt was more like one on a warm summer day. The grass flowing to and fro, the sun’s heat prickling against your face, and the chatter of conversation around you.
But you didn’t have to be a part of it.
Just that feeling was enough.
It felt like a daydream. A manifestation of a day that was too perfect to be real.
Juliana lowered her guitar, having finished the song. It was only then she realized that another voice intertwined with her melody, mouth falling slack at the sight of the mythic creature only a few feet away.
Meloetta floated from side to side, looking at the two humans as if putting on a concert just for them. Julianna reached for her backpack, then hesitated before she thumped Kieran on the back.
“Hey,” she whispered, “now’s your chance.”
“Huh?” Kieran was snapped out of his stupor, looking back at Juliana. “Didn’t you wanna catch it?”
“I mean, yeah, but I’ve had my chance. Or, hah, chances? It’s your turn. I know you were super interested in her too.”
“I, but, so were you…”
“C’mon, just go! Don’t make me say it twice.”
“But!” Kieran’s hands curled into balls again, though the frustration he felt this time came from an entirely different source. “But, you did all the hard work.”
“And you were the one that came out here with me!”
“But you deserve it this time!” Juliana yelled. Realizing how loud she was, she gasped and slapped her hands over her mouth. Luckily, Meloetta kept singing, though the bickering brought a sadness to its serene expression that made Kieran’s chest hurt.
…No, it wasn't the pokemon that made him feel that way.
It was an uncomfortable realization that settled with her words. He looked away, not wanting to address what she’d referred to. But still wanting to…
Wanting to…
“It wants to sing. So…I wanna hear its song. For as long as it’s gonna keep it up. Even if it’s all day.” Kieran brought his knees to his chest, while Juliana began to strum the melody of Meloetta’s song once more.
“...Me too.”
“An’ that’s fine, yeah?”
“Mhm.”
They both deserved to share this moment, at least. If nothing else. Maybe, after a little while of cherishing its melody, Kieran would ask Meloetta what it wanted. Even if he already knew the answer一he was happy enough to have a memory no one could replicate.