7:08 P.M. July 3, Friday, 106 PH (Post Hoopa Event)

Events: The Joint Kanto and Johto Indigo Summer League have concluded; Saria Surge has become the new Vermilion Gym Leader, converting it to a Fairy Gym. It will be open for challenges on the 10th.

Our girl started her journey on the 9th of June—she’s been a Trainer for 24 Days (23 officially; 24 since getting Maya and Nova).

Increasing their pace as seven came around, Rhea chuckled when they neared Mainstreet, the sound of music pumping through Downtown Cerulean only growing. It seemed the celebration was spreading fast, and the local Masters were riding the hype, setting up hubs throughout the area to accommodate the massive influx of Trainers.

The crowds were getting so big with teenagers flooding the roads that it made their group practically invisible; Rhea couldn’t believe how different it was compared to Apple City’s alien party. She’d never seen people with this kind of energy.

Amira kept track of the rapidly changing atmosphere of Cerulean through the City’s official website, which most Trainers around Kanto—especially those living in the City-State—followed. Every notification was instantly trending with the huge traction every announcement brought, further propelling interaction around the world with so many stars increasing traffic.

Yancy called for any nearby band to Direct Message her; she was keen to add to the growing line-up—now she was working with the Cerulean Planning Committee it would be easy to transform the event into a battle of the bands with open areas for dancing.

Masters used Psychic and Electric Pokemon to set up stages across Downtown to accommodate the flash party; if that wasn’t enough hype for the bands scrambling to book a place, Cynthia and Steven’s additions exploded online.

Electric Pokemon were now taking to the sky with large displays and cameras to spread the party remotely with speakers to the other parts of the city. The two Champions live streaming their own adventures, Porygon-Z and Claydol floating them through the air to show the two dancing against gravity, it set the inspiration for other participating Masters to do the same.

The two cleared out all of the City’s event storage floats and portable stages to begin various moving performances that were swiftly being mapped out, setting up block parties en masse to disperse the clustering people and Pokemon in the flash celebration.

Rhea couldn’t believe how many things had come together to make this work as Karen and Grimsley joined the Bay Stadium party; she’d never seen so many people all jumping in unison, flashing lights, Fire Moves, and Mist being used by Trainers to heighten the experience.

According to Amira, something like this would bring a huge influx to Cerulean’s revenue to do further city projects; the increase in required goods were being handled by Diantha’s Gardevoir, imported in from surrounding towns as the Pokemon volunteered, leaving the Campion to enjoy her time with her son.

Mallory’s hashtag didn’t go unnoticed, and Kanto’s Summer Fire Fest was likely to become a staple for the region; Rhea couldn’t believe how a single social media post could spark such a colossal shift in a city’s daily operation. The media appeared to be flocking to the area with clout chasers, trying to make a fandom with the bigger battles now flooding the various smaller stadiums.

The police were reinforced with support from the League, Chase sending Trainers to bolster their numbers in an attempt to maintain peace and stop any bad actors; Will teleported most in, staying to enjoy himself and be present if needed.

Festival booths were strategically placed as Masters worked with local businesses to help make the event a success.

Rhea had to remind herself that this was only the beginning, as well; every new post saw the event extending as sponsors and celebrities made plans to fly to the Floral Lagoon City.

The People of the Water was also announced with the growing festival now that they were setting things in order, and it seemed to have become a week-long party, not that they would be staying nearly that long.

The city was buzzing with Pokemon and Trainers, including Wild Pokemon that were curious about the noise and ready to pick clean any scraps left behind. Enthralled by the many lights that were being set up around Mainstreet; keeping the area lit as the sun dipped lower in the sky, Rhea finally caught sight of Len and Heneli’s group.

Music exploded from overhead speakers as they neared, forcing Rhea to yell.

“Hey, Jason!” Rhea called out, teeth flashing as she fed off the energetic environment Lori was drawing them into; she had to repeat it twice more before they noticed them. “Isn’t this crazy?”

Jason nudged Len, still getting to know the other boys. “Yo, Rhea’s here with Cass’ group!”

“Aye!” Len jogged over to hug both sisters. “Yo, it’s poppin’; they got free water at every booth to keep everyone hydrated! I didn’t expect it to take off like this—heh, way to turn up, Kanto!”

Lori pointed to a nearby dance circle. “Pfft! Ya know we had to bring a little Unova spirit ta this place; c’mon, let’s show these Kanto Slowpokes what real dancing is, huh?!”

“Totally—ah, and this song hits!”

Casey was already dragging them over. “Let’s Mukin’ go!”

“Wait,” Lori glanced back, pointing at a confused Kekoa, and a big grin spread across her face. “Get over here, Man!”

“M-Me?!” the slightly overweight boy stammered, weaving past a couple to join her. “I’ve never seen this kind of stuff—”

“That’s the point—hehe, let’s get hoppin’—just follow our steps… There we go!”

“Nice, man—just get into the rhythm,” Len urged.

Watching them go—unsure if she should join them—Rhea caught Amira motioning Kekipi to an alley to get out of the main flow of the crowd, probably trying to inform him about Yancy; they split off so fast, she was left in a bit of a stupor next to Inoa, Heneli, and Jason.

The last Alolan boy’s hazel irises shifted between their parties, laughing as Lori took over the vibe as she pulled others into her step. “Unova people are wild! No way, she’s actually getting Kekoa to dance?”

“I mean, it is Lori,” Rhea snickered as the Unova girl demanded attention with her flashing shoes and heated body, starting a shuffle line that kept increasing with people getting into her flow.

“You know how to do all of that—woah, their feet are so fast—Kekoa’s actually doing it!”

“Hehe. Lori and Casey are like pros, and when you have girls as pretty as them setting the example while playing off Len, there’s not much anyone can do but follow their instructions. Oh, how have you been—”

Jason sidestepped to allow Inoa in, just as lost as Rhea in how they should act in the frenzied teenage environment; twelve-year-olds seemed to know exactly how to jump into the groove, guided around by their big sisters or brothers in their friend groups.

However, the chaos faded away as she caught the mocha-skinned Alolan girl’s face. “Wait, Inoa—are you okay?”

Jason did a double take, leaning in as if he hadn’t heard her properly. “What’s up?”

“Mmgm… It’s just—everyone’s so… hyper…” Inoa mumbled; hugging herself, her body seemed to have the jitters. “I’m just… So much emotion.”

“Should we… go somewhere?” Jason questioned, looking for somewhere to get away. “I can’t see over the…”

Heneli’s eyebrows furrowed. “What’s up—does she not do well in big crowds?”

Rhea scanned the area, looking for Ellie, but the girl’s teammates seemed to have been pulled away into another circle; she was probably livestreaming Casey’s dances. The hundreds of thousands of watchers around the world were likely further contributing to the internet hype—and those numbers would likely rising into the millions when things picked up—but Inoa took priority.

Jason jumped forward to stabilize the Alolan girl as she stumbled forward, brown eyes spinning. “Woah! Yo, Rhea—”

“Yeah, let’s go to the Center.”

“What?”

“The Center!”

“Okay!”

Guiding the stumbling girl to the eight-story building, Heneli following them, the doors slid open to allow them in.

Inoa winced and shook her head. “N-No—I don’t want to… I want to have fun with—with Cass and Ellie.”

“It’s just for a second,” Rhea assured, noticing a Resident making his way over to them.

Heneli appeared to be connecting the dots. “Inoa… Hold on—you’re Kahuna Oliva’s daughter, aren’t you?”

“Hmm? Did you say something?” the girl hissed, rubbing her forehead. “It’s so hard to hear…”

Rhea gave him a nod since the girl couldn’t keep the conversation straight, causing the boy to grimace and rub the back of his neck; he’d probably heard stories in Alola.

She went to the girl’s other side to help Jason bring her further into the lobby, the thick walls dampening the outside noise, yet every so often, someone would pass by too close and the doors would slide open to blast the interior.

The Resident bent down to look at her face as he neared. “What happened to her?”

“She’s an Empath,” Rhea explained. “All the people are overloading her emotions—we just need to get her away from the crowd.”

“Can we go upstairs?” Jason pressed.

“An Empath? Hmm…” The medical staff took a moment to examine her before nodding and ushering them to the elevator. “How powerful of an Empath is she? If we go upstairs, it may not help a whole lot; I can have an emergency evac carry her to a less populated part of the city? Is there a threat of a psychic reflu—”

Inoa choked a bit on her saliva before shaking her head, black braid swinging at her back. “No—no, I’m fine… I just need a… a second… I’m not going to have an episode!”

Heneli’s lips drew in. “Mmh, I’ve heard she’s pretty sensitive—once she made her entire class cry for an hour—why did you come into a crowd this big?”

Rhea grimaced. “Heneli—”

“I said, I’m fine!” she snarled, suddenly taking on a more aggressive tone than Rhea had ever heard from the girl as she struggled away from Jason and her. “I’m not a threat—I don’t… need to be carried—oh… No, I’m sorry! I, umm… umm, I’m sorry…”

Expression softening, Rhea moved into the elevator as it opened, holding out her hand for Inoa to join her. “It’s fine; we totally get it, Inoa—well, eh, not the Empath part, but heh, we empathize! Why don’t we cool off a bit upstairs? Heh, I’m getting a bit overwhelmed, too. Mind if I chill a little?”

Inoa’s jaw tightened, hugging herself and not making eye contact with anyone. “Mmgm… Okay…”

Jason, Heneli, and the Resident entered shortly after, Rhea pressing the button for the eighth floor as they reassured her it wasn’t a problem; the Alolan girl was centered on the floor, holding her left arm and biting her lower lip—clearly embarrassed—she was likely trying her hardest to not project her emotions onto everyone around her.

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Trying not to make a big deal out of it, Rhea sporadically decided to throw herself out there to equalize the playing field for the struggling girl. “Hey, Heneli, want to try to dance on the roof—I can show you the stuff Lori’s been teaching me? I—eh, heh, I’m not that good, but yeah…”

“Wha—for real?” His gaze shot to Inoa before grinning and giving her an awkward smile. “Umm, yeah! I want to learn that sync-step stuff Len was showing us; the rhythm’s so hard to get down,” he laughed, and it seemed the other two boys caught her hint, too.

Jason made a few weak movements, even though Rhea knew for a fact from his Pikabook profile he’d been learning from Len and was pretty decent himself. “I totally get that!”

Rhea grinned at Jason, not skipping a beat. “I know! Why don’t you let Inoa show you some stuff, too? It’s so hard to hear down there; this is great!”

“Woah! Haha, eh-he, hold up,” he hissed, scratching his elbow as the Alolan girl shot him a concerned look. “I mean, I guess if it’s Inoa that’s cool, but eh, you won’t try to stunt on me like Len, right?”

“What? No! No, I wouldn’t do that…” Inoa whispered, playing with her braid behind her back. “I… don’t think I’m a good teacher, though—Ellie and Cass are better than me.”

“That’s a relief,” Jason breathed out a long sigh.

“Eh?”

“No, I just thought you might start me off on all those crazy combo moves, but if we’re just going to learn the simple stuff, then that could be fun.”

“Yeah…”

The Resident gave them a small smile as the doors opened and they exited. “Don’t worry about anything; stay up here as long as you want—I’ll let Nurse Joy know.”

“Thanks!” Rhea grinned, waving him off before pointing to the end of the hallway. “Let’s go!”

Skipping that way while grabbing Heneli’s arm and guiding him, she half turned to smile at Inoa. “Let’s have some fun, too!”

“But… don’t you guys want to party with Casey, Len, and Lori?”

Jason chuckled, cheeks red a bit, and Rhea didn’t miss it; Inoa was pretty, and she’d cornered him into a soft date with her—double success!

“Erm, well, you see, Rhea and I grew up in a place that has less… I know, come here—I’ll show you what I mean!”

He took her wrist and pulled her toward the door, almost making Rhea trip.

Oh, Muk! He actually went for it! Wait, I went for it! She suddenly panicked, letting go of Heneli’s arm as her cheeks colored, trying to hide it by jogging after the other pair.

Inoa and his Alolan accent strengthened with their bewilderment.

“Huh—what’s going on?” Heneli asked.

“S-Show me what, Jason?”

“Hehe…” He threw open the doors and—luckily—the rooftop was empty, excluding the many Wild, Trainer, or contracted Pokemon filling the skies; the City hadn’t prepared for this, so the number of Pokemon a Trainer could have out hadn’t been restricted.

Jason took them to the railing to look down at the sea of people milling around, circles here and there with people going in and out, showing off their shuffle skills. “Holy Arceus—I’ve never seen so many people—not even in Pallet during the Award Ceremony!”

“Yeah…” Inoa whispered, wincing a bit as a display held by Magneton passed. “Alola can get crowded like this…”

Heneli chuckled. “Sure, but it’s not as congested as this—it’s wild… I bet there are more people here than all of Poni Island.”

“Hmm-hmm-hmm!”

Rhea smiled as Inoa laughed. “What’s up?”

“It’s just—hehe—that’s not a high bar; I bet Akala has more.”

“Haha! Probably. Feeling better?” he asked, leaning his back against the rail.

Blushing a bit, she nodded. “A lot… Thanks for not making fun of me.”

“Huh? Why would I do that?” Heneli muttered. “I think it’s pretty awesome! My buddies think so, too.”

“How is this awesome? It blows Onix.”

Rhea snickered, her language likely a product of being around Casey; the foul-mouthed girl had probably been influenced by her step-sister, too. “I think it’s a gift to be able to know when people need help.”

“Sometimes… A lot of times, I just want to mind my own business.”

Jason puffed out a long stream of air. “I can see that. So, eh… Did you want to—ya know…”

“Hmm? Oh, you mean—”

Rhea hopped forward with a finger to her lips. “Shh! Make him say it!”

“Dude!”

“Tee-hee! What, Jason?”

He crossed his arms, choosing to eye her down instead of Inoa. “What were you going to do with Heneli, hmm?”

Drawing courage from his taunt, Rhea puffed up her chest and nudged a grinning Heneli, noticing Nova and Alice had followed them, dancing themselves. “C’mon, Heneli, let’s leave these two lovebirds to their dance!”

“Yo! What are you two going to do?”

“What do you think?” Rhea laughed, stomach filled with butterflies as she took Heneli’s hands again; if she was going to do it, might as well go all the way, and Inoa deserved someone to spend some one-on-one time with her friend. “I’m going to be the master to this young Teddiursa!”

Jason took a second to process her statement, left eye narrowing as if questioning what he’d just heard, yet Inoa smiled at the comparison—cute and cuddly—which wasn’t wrong, but Rhea had read online that boys wouldn’t get the link.

She gave Inoa a wink, who giggled and waved them off. “I’ll try to teach Jason some of what Cass showed me; have fun!”

Heneli gave her an amused look as she took him around the hallway entrance to the elevator to the opposite side of the roof. “What does that even mean—Teddiursa… Oh, my skin color?”

“Maybe! Hmm-hmm. Ready to do some dancing?” she asked, paying as little mind to her hot face as possible. “Oh, before that, let me check on everyone real fast and tell them where we are.”

Taking out her phone, Heneli hovered by the railing to observe the moving throng, partying through the street as new bands took over, answering Yancy's call.

Amira had already messaged her; Kekipi and her went to get the details from the world-famous Unova Popstar herself. Rhea figured as much; the redhead was the type to need all the details so she could prepare herself, and it would give them a chance to spend some time together.

Rhea hadn’t expected to be so okay with being alone with Heneli; she didn’t know much about him and wanted to learn more about his experience in Kanto. If she just saw this as more of a fun night, learning more about someone from another region, it wasn’t so scary; she just didn’t need to try to be someone she wasn’t.

After telling Lori where they were—and keeping her GPS Team coordinates open in case they needed to find them—she showed him some of the things showed them that morning.

Heneli met her energy, trying to get into sync with her steps instead of the music, and Rhea had to admit it was fun to work her body to the beat; it was like getting into sync with nature when on a walk but just so much more intense.

She was sweating by 8 P.M., and growing far more accustomed to Heneli’s presence; he swapped things up halfway through, teaching her a funny Alolan dance that Alice mirrored—Nova tried, getting up on her hind legs—which had her cracking up.

“This can’t be a real dance!” Rhea laughed as Heneli showed her the ridiculous movements. “I need what—pom-poms?”

“C’mon!” he scoffed, swaying left and right. “You’ve never seen Oricorio dance? These are very cultural moves! Sway those hips—just like me—wooh!”

“If you say so! Haha.”

“There ya go, Alice!” he cheered, making her bunny redouble her efforts with a beaming smile as she kept Nova stable. “Oh, now for the Christmas Delibird Jingle!”

“This—haha—doesn’t fit the music at all!”

“Unova stuff is too fast! We should go to an Alola night dance!”

“Heh—wait! Are you asking me out to an Alola dance night?”

“Sure! Why not—we can get the proper skirts, and I can show you Fire dancing!”

“Fire-what?!”

“Fire dancing! I love it!”

Picturing him engulfed in flames, flailing around, Rhea had no baseline to draw. How is something called ‘fire dancing’ slower than the Unova shuffle?!

“Okay… I’ll take your word for it!”

Heneli got hungry as time went on—naturally, she wasn’t all that famished—but what she did find was a smile when they discovered Jason and Inoa still on the shuffle dance. Giggling, Rhea noticed they were way better at synchronizing than Heneli and her were; the two appeared to have chemistry.

Rhea put a hand on her hip as they neared before looking to the edge of the building. “Hey! So, Heneli’s gonna grab something to eat. Did you want us to bring something up?”

Inoa’s eyes creased, determination set. “No, I want to try to go down again.”

“You sure?” Jason whispered. “You don’t need to push yourself.”

Heneli crossed his arms and nodded. “It does sound like the initial flood has died down a bit, but it still seems pretty wild down there.”

“I’ve calmed down,” Inoa assured, fingers tightening against her breast. “Can I at least try?”

Rhea held up her hands, more than willing to support the Alolan girl. “Woah, we’re not holding you prisoner; if you want to give it a go, then let’s do it!”

“Thanks, Rhea… It means a lot that you guys are worried about me, too,” she added, looking between Heneli and Jason. “I may need to rest a bit or find somewhere to relax again, but… Casey is right; if I don’t keep trying, I’ll never overcome this problem.”

“Training?” Rhea asked, reaching out her hand to help her off the vent they were using as a bench.

“Heh. Something like that.”

Heneli stepped forward with a sheepish grin as he held up his phone. “Also, I’ve, eh, sort of been given an order by Amira—through Kekipi, apparently…”

Rhea glared at the message, Jason snickering as he caught its contents.

“They actually force you to eat?! That’s hilarious! I remember—”

“Don’t even!” Rhea huffed, blonde locks whipping to the side as she went to the elevator with the others following. “I’m generally not hungry! It’s everyone else that’s weird—how does everyone eat so much?!”

Heneli grinned as he gave Inoa a look. “Typically, isn’t it a cause for self-reflection when everyone tells you something?”

“Pfft!” Jason tried to cover his mouth.

“Not when I’m the only one that’s right!”

“You should have seen her growing up—her mom’s one of the leading scientists in the—”

“In genetics and breeding! She’s not a nutritionist—”

“Master Renetisin?”

“Bah—he just says whatever my mom tells him to say.”

“Mhm…”

Rhea didn’t miss his lifted eyebrows to Inoa and Heneli.

I don’t have negative effects when I don’t eat much—I’ve lived my whole life like this—and overeating is… I don’t feel good when I force myself to eat, and I never know when that is—that fine line—so I just wait until I am hungry!

“My system works! People just don’t believe me—I don’t have an eating disorder!”

“I didn’t say anything about that!” Jason defended. “I just think it’s funny how pissed you can get about it; seriously, sometimes you don’t eat for a week!”

Hah! If only you knew I hide it better than people think; I can go a whole three weeks without feeling hungry!

She hissed as they went down the elevator, drawing the other three’s gaze, and Inoa could see she really was annoyed at the topic. I know I’m weird—I get that—but I can’t help it, and I hate the way overeating makes me feel… I might be getting closer to it by the day with how much Amira and Lori force me to eat. Ugh… But how do I tell them?

The next several minutes were a bit consumed with the thought, but her concern with Inoa put the topic in the back of her head after she began to show signs of struggling. She ordered a small bowl of rice to satisfy Heneli to send the thumbs up to Amira, they spent the next hour and a half wandering between less busy areas.

Her mood improved as it went on, and when 9:30 P.M. came, she let Lori and Amira know she was going to head back to the hotel to rest; she actually wanted to keep going, but this time it was Heneli that seemed to be lagging behind.

Splitting ways for Jason to take Inoa—also struggling—to her hotel to rest, Rhea lazily wandered down the rather empty part of the city, Heneli insisting on walking her there, even if it was him that had the energy issue.

Still, it made her heart thump a little, and Lori’s past teasing kept playing inside her head as they moved; she didn’t want to be teased again and wanted to have something to tell her friends.

Reaching the door, she stopped outside of it, hands behind her back as Heneli leaned up against the door, groaning a little. “Yo… I’m beat; how can you do those really fast feet movements for—”

Shutting off her screaming brain, Rhea opened the door for Alice and Nova to run in—they didn’t; anxiously waiting for whatever was bothering her—and deciding there was nothing to lose, stepped forward, got on her tippy-toes, and kissed his cheek.

“Woah… Huh? What was that for?”

Looking down at her cracked door, face flushed and thumping heart so loud she feared he’d hear it, Rhea cleared her throat. “Thanks for spending the night with me—erm, I mean the festival… You’ll show me an Alolan festival sometime?”

“Yeah? Uh, count on it…”

“Okay, well… Night.”

“Night…”

Stepping inside—an utterly confused Nova and Alice running in—she shut the door and slid down the frame, hair bunching around her as her hand pressed against her breast; she couldn’t think, yet that wasn’t entirely right since her mind was on overdrive.

I kissed a boy—only on the cheek—what would Aunt Cynthia say; she’s here, so… Is one of her Pokemon keeping an eye on me? No! Will she tease me? Should I have gone for the lips—no, I couldn’t—never!

“Gah! Mmgmm-hmm…”

Does he think I’m too forward… What if he expected more? Is he waiting outside or—did he go? Why didn’t he say anything about it?! What do I do when I see him again? I didn’t think about seeing him tomorrow! It’s going to be so awkward!

“No-ho-ho-ho!” she mumbled into her hair as she brought it around to cover her face, Nova and Alice rubbing her leg, trying to comfort her. “I’m so awkward… He probably thinks I’m so weird… Cold shower… I need a cold shower!” she hissed, thighs tensing together.

Despite her words, it took several seconds to get up, unable to even reassure her Pokemon that she was okay; Alice wanted to know what Move Heneli had done to her—she was going to punch him when she saw him again.

Turning on the cold water, she threw off her clothes to get into the frigid stream, attempting to cool her overexcited mind and body.

I kissed a boy… I did… Me! Why did I? I was just—Lori and Amira… What’s wrong with me?! Idiot! Idiot!