6:00 a.m. July 7, Tuesday, 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 28 Days (27 officially; 28 since getting Maya and Nova).

Slowly rousing from her sleep, Rhea greeted her little bunny, who got to rest with her since her other teammates were out most of yesterday; her little ears tickled her chin as Alice stretched with her Trainer—while Nova enjoyed sleeping between her legs, her Buneary enjoyed snuggling against her chest.

Naturally, Amira was already by the mirror, likely having woken up thirty minutes prior with Amber trying to stay quiet while blowing out her hair.

Lori groaned from her sideways sleeping position, Roxie and Gables sleeping on either side of her to keep their Trainer from falling off the bed during the night; it was uncommon for her to wake up before 6:30.

Rhea greeted the messy, purple-haired girl as she lifted her fist into the air, scratching her belly before reaching over to grab her phone, dully messaging someone; she didn’t miss the smile that lifted Lori’s cheeks.

“Who’s that?”

“Mmgm! Kekoa wished me a good morning. Sweet.”

“Hehe. You’ve been messaging recently?”

“Little bits, yeah.”

A frown creased Rhea’s eyes as she moved to take her cleaned dress from inside the overnight treatment washer/dryer that was standard for Trainer stops. “Did… he mentioned Heneli?”

“Ooh.” Mallory set her device on her stomach and scratched behind Roxie’s ears. “If you’re worried about the whole kiss on the cheek thing, you shouldn’t; I’m sure he’s gone on dates and knows girls can be crazy. Just play off that and pretend nothing happened!”

Amira sighed, looking at them in the mirror. “If it’s hard, you could do that, but I’d suggest sending a text—minimum. You don’t need to talk about whatever is embarrassing… just let him know you’re not ghosting him, and that should be more than fine.”

“Right?” Lori grunted, lifting her legs in the air to twist left and right to crack her bones. “Don’t make a big deal out of it, and it will be fine—eh-heh, just don’t make it an awkward text—ask if they’re planning on challenging Misty soon.”

“Uh-huh…” Rhea hummed, looking at her phone, still on the wireless charger. “Thanks for the advice.”

“Wait!” Lori hissed, making Rhea pause halfway into the bathroom; Alice was already pulling a towel off the rack and moving inside with it draped over her head, ears attempting to keep it stable.

“What’s up?”

“Uh… we’re doing that three vs. four today, right? Which Pokemon are you going to throw out—we coming up with a plan?”

Amira chuckled, getting up and straightening her skirt before checking herself in the mirror. “I think we should allow our weakest party members to have a chance to gain some experience.”

Her waking Pokemon all started to argue about who was the weakest, making Rhea sigh. “If we’re talking in terms of raw energy, then I think that would be Alice for me; sorry, but you are the youngest…”

Alice poked her pink eyes out from under the towel with a pouty look. “Bun-bun…”

“Hehe. I know you train and play games all the time, but if I’m gauging it purely off how much energy you can use compared to Mya and Nova… sorry, Alice, but it’s…” she trailed off as Amira cleared her throat.

Smiling at the agitated Buneary before continuing her preparations, she whispered, “Wouldn’t that mean Alice would get more chances to battle since she needs to catch up to the others… which means more time out… which means…”

“Buneary! Bun-bun.”

Rhea chuckled as her little puff ball promptly accepted the designation as ‘weakest’ in the party; not that she believed it, but if it let her have more time out, then she was content with that.

Mya balked at the revelation, but Nova calmed her down, saying it was only fair, and Rhea was working on having them all out, putting the pressure back on her.

We’ll get there, guys! she laughed.

“I like that logic,” Lori hummed, “but… I do think Miky needs to get some more experience before we take on Sabrina.”

“Not a bad idea,” Amira agreed. “Holly will be my choice since Serenity has been gaining quite a bit of experience lately, but Amber will need more focus as we get closer to Celadon.”

The Comfey chirped her acceptance.

Nova asked if that was her place to shine.

Mhm! Erika’s Grass Types will freeze to your icy breath!

Laughing, Rhea’s eyes danced while her Eevee cheered at the thought.

As she washed up, dried off, and got ready with her Buneary, Lori decided if they were facing their friends’ group, then the Exp they’d gain was best used on Miky for now; the Impidimp had the least amount of Moves and needed to learn how to fight in Trainer battles better.

By 7 a.m., they were out the door and going to the public eating place, where those that had room keys could partake in a morning buffet; there were several Trainers present, but none of their friends or Ash.

Swapping between her three Pokemon to give them a chance to have breakfast, it wasn’t for another hour before her friends showed up to eat; Ash seemed to be even worse than Lori, turning off his alarm by accident and sleeping in until 8:15—apparently, Pikachu had to shock him awake.

It was time for battle!

* * *

Sam emptied her lungs as they went outside to battle, Ash, Rhea, and her team following; they seemed totally chill—at least, to her—but Sam’s stomach was squirming. The whole night they’d been worrying about what strategy they should use against their super-powerful friends.

If Mimi’s battle against Mya showed anything, it was how incredibly strong their Pokemon were, and it made sense after Rhea explained her unusual Helping Hand Pressure ability.

It was amazing and awesome, yet it did make Sam realize how their lives could have turned out completely different if they hadn’t met Rhea in Pallet’s Center bathroom; they’d been vomiting and looking terrible—total wrecks—but Rhea didn’t let the semi-negative self-defeating comments they made deter her from confronting them about it.

Rhea really was incredible, and now she knew their sudden improvement had been helped by them, yet instead of taking full credit, Rhea drew back on Lyra’s lecture; sure, she could be a support system, but their growth was primarily due to their own efforts.

It meant a lot to Sam, and she knew Rhea was oblivious to the encouragement she offered them; each of them were nobodies, and Rhea was a member of one of the most prolific Trainer dynasties on the planet.

Amira had become a rising star online from her performance days earlier, while on top of having a stunning Gym Battle against Misty and becoming one of the most respected and feared Bronze-tier Trainer with the dominance and skill she showed during her Pewter and Cerulean Encrusted Challenge, yet it never felt out of place talking with her.

Hannah—being the secret president of the redhead’s fan club—had her social media page dedicated to her idol blow up over the last few days; Amira was classy, articulate, stunning, and cool, drawing a huge amount of questions from people asking if it was all just a persona.

Her days as being defined by being a Rocket seemed to be swiftly evaporating as she made waves, and Rhea, shockingly, was taking on the most mysterious role in their group since she didn’t participate in the Cerulean Encrusted Challenge.

Lori’s presence online was a complete mess of competing sides who mocked or adored her; the Unovan Trainer blasted her critics with memes that had people laughing—she was a master at turning public opinion against her detractors—and her performance in Cerulean Gym was another controversy to her name that overshadowed her loss.

It made Sam laugh at how the purple-haired city girl managed to flip the embarrassing loss into a meme and get people questioning online if it was all an Impidimp—using an Impidimp—deliberately losing the match to provoke online posts and upset people.

They’d drawn a crowd after talking about their challenge against the rising stars of the Bronze League; the Kanto Bronze Trainer Chat Room on the app had a trending topic, asking how Rhea’s team had such powerful Pokemon at the start of the League and if it was even worth trying to battle them.

Stopping inside of a small dip in the terrain, which seemed to be a popular neutral battle site for the village since onlookers could sit on the surrounding hilly rise, she glanced at her nervous teammates and whispered, “What we planned last night?”

Jade grinned and nodded. “Let’s do this! Everything depends on who they choose.”

Hannah rolled around her neck. “Thank Tera for sitting this one out; he’s our best tank, and I’m sure they’ll be expecting her to take the stage—he’s our best shot against Mya.”

Her Phanpy grumbled from within her pokeball; they’d all returned their Pokemon in preparation for the battle, and Tera did want to have a real battle with her idol, but she was content after playing with her yesterday.

Sam wasn’t so sure Rhea would use Mya, but if she did, her little pine cone tank’s Counter would be needed against the Steel and Fairy bulldozer; she doubted they’d let Tera charge up her High Horsepower with how fast the Mawile could throw out a Sucker Punch.

Ultimately, their plan was to throw out Hector first to handle any physical damage dealers, which their opponents had a decent amount of; Nova and Amber could ruin them, but they had Jay to help with that if it came to it.

The Alolan girl cheered. “You ready, guys?!”

Rhea shouted back from across the field, Ash’s Pikachu acting as referee; they’d already agreed to one Pokemon use, and they’d be going first since it was a four-on-three. Who chose their Pokemon next was whoever had the best counter—they were taking this seriously.

“Pika-pi?”

“Ready!”

“Huu-haaa.” Sam activated Hector’s Great Ball, having paid for it recently after learning about the better bonding potential they brought. You ready? His determination stilled the thumping in her chest. “Let’s do it; I choose you, Hector!”

* * *

Alice giggled as Rhea activated her pokeball, seeing the Bagworm Pokemon exit. Ooh! They’re thinking, aren’t they? He’s sooo slow, but if I hit him, he can hit me back. Right?

Nova’s soft, chipper voice responded; she’d been on a cloud since returning from her date with her mother. “You’ve been listening! See, Mya?!”

“Humph.”

I always listen to you, Nova, Alice said, returning the Mawile’s grunt. You’re nice. I just don’t listen to the Slowpoke.

“No fighting,” Rhea sighed, forcing a chuckle. “We’re supposed to be having fun, guys.”

Yeah! Let’s have fun.

“You’ll have fun,” Mya mumbled. “At least it’s not Tera; I want to battle her.”

“See! It works out. You’ll get to battle her next time,” Nova tried to mediate.

Alice just wanted to spread her legs and ears; Rhea threw her out next, and the second her energy stabilized, she jumped, twirling in the air to land a few meters away from the Pineco. “Hello, Hector!”

He bounced up and down with his energy, breathing a sigh of relief. “Haaa. Heh. Hey, Alice, I don’t think we’ve been able to have a proper battle.”

“Nope!” She hopped up, doing a backflip before punching the air. “I can’t wait to start the battle.”

Their attention shifted to Pikachu as he motioned to them, his reassuring voice carrying to them from the sidelines. “Move back a little, Alice; we’re going to start the battle when everyone is on the field.”

“Okay!”

She complied as Orin came out, surprising Alice a bit; she hadn’t seen the Pidgey battle too often. Lori released Miky, who promptly started making a fool of himself by dancing around and making faces to intimidate their friends—not that it really did anything but make them laugh.

Hannah responded by throwing Limru—her Ledyba—into the mix, who floated into the air with Orin, which made Alice frown; they were using flying Pokemon to try to counter her, and Rhea chuckled at the tactic.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

“I bet you ice cream Orin is going to lift Hector in the sky.”

That’s so cheating, Alice huffed, bouncing a little to work out her legs; she’d need good hops in this match.

“Not really,” Mya scoffed. “What, can’t fight airborne opponents? Weak!”

No! I can totally do it. You’ll see!

Amira released Holly—her Comfey—and to all of their excitement, Bruce came out to finish their opposition; they had only had a short time to spend with Jay’s new Growlithe.

I set the pace!

Pikachu held up his hands. “Ready. Set. Start!”

Alice shot forward, ears pulling back as she grinned, large, glowing pink irises centered on the only grounded Pokemon that couldn’t Counter; her eyes flashed white with a short glow that dispersed around her body—Bruce’s already slow movements split to show possible future actions, allowing her to predict where he’d move.

Faster!

She was the first to reach her opponents as everyone lagged behind, and, sure enough, Orin latched onto the pine cone, becoming Hector’s wings, but Alice was engineered for speed, and before they could react to her blurred movements, she drew sharp bursts from Rhea’s fortitude, causing white, orange, and black light to spark to life around her in rapid succession.

Faster!

Alice may have been a featherweight, but she could chain attacks at the drop of a coin; Bruce’s mouth filled with dark energy, yet her swift clap stunned his mind, ears already leached onto his leg to shift her kinetic energy and swing around to sweep his back legs out. Fists lighting orange, she pounded two blows into the stunned Growlithe’s stomach.

Hearing the rapid flaps of Orin’s wings, she tried to use Bruce’s body to block the coming gust, filled with sharp blades of energy, but the Pidgey had shockingly good aim, not hitting his teammate once.

She could dodge the cutting blades by flipping side to side as her enhanced perception tracked their trajectory, but it was the closest anything had gotten to touching her fur; she couldn’t dodge the powerful gust throwing her back, but her blows had their effect on Bruce, eyes drooping as her ability forced him to sleep.

Orin dropped out of the sky with Hector to protect their teammate as a shell surrounded the Pineco and his friends, using their close proximity to stop Miky’s advancing shockwave.

A soft chant came from Holly, creating a cushioning glow around Miky, Holly, and her; their Trainers instructed them on everything they saw and what their teammates were doing to help—the extra energy funneled into attacks on them would be somewhat mitigated.

“Stay away from Hector!” Rhea warned. “Wait for Holly to force him away; one Self-Destruct and you’re out, Alice.”

I can outrun it, but okay… What is that?!

A light blue bubble surrounded Bruce from Limru as she floated down, rousing her sleeping friend, and Hector was guarding his recovery; her gut told her she had to advance now or her initial momentum would be ruined.

I need to go in!

“Just be careful!”

All in!

Shooting forward, she went right for Hector, doing exactly the opposite of what they’d expect; instead of attacking, she jumped over his illuminated white aura, trying to stop her—he didn’t use Counter, which was a surprise, but she could work with it.

Alice twisted around to let her back take the dirt Orin kicked up as she skated over the Pineco’s barrier, closing her eyes. She rolled across the grass, finding purchase with her ears to flip up, dodging Limru’s sonic screech.

“She’s always so fast!” the Ledyba complained. “Hector!”

Holly’s vines wrapped around the pine cone as his shell faded, throwing him across the field.

“I’m fine!”

“I got you!” Orin shot after him as Miky finally made it to Bruce and Limru.

Miky snickered as he clapped his hands, lights and sparkling lights flashing around the recovering Growlithe. “You’re so fluffy!”

Alice reached out to throw the Pokemon away from his teammates; she could handle anyone one-on-one, but his friends kept saving him from her attacks.

A radiant aura enclosed the Growlithe, and taking a deep breath as he stumbled to the side, Bruce roared. “Ugh… heh—give me a break!”

“Eh?!”

Alice’s momentum instantly neutralized, somehow making her feel even more weightless than she already was as Miky cried out with her.

A flash of light and hot air slammed against her body, forcing her into the air as a massive blow hit her energy matrix—a cone of superheated air threw her back. Yet, moments before the hot rush engulfed them, vines wrapped around Miky and her bodies, pulling them away from the full blast.

The grass 6-meters in front of the Fire Pokemon burned with the intense flames that spread across it, and the distance allowed him to shake off his befuddled mind.

Holly’s concerned voice carried to her as she touched grass and shot forward again. “You okay—Alice?”

“C’mon, Miky—don’t give them a chance to regroup!” Alice boldly yelled, following Rhea’s advice and throwing a spray of mud at the balls of fire Bruce shot at her, but she was forced to cartwheel to the side with the sonic waves Limru sent her way.

“Coming! Coming! T-Too fast! Mi trying!”

“Don’t be too hard on Miky; he doesn’t have all the Moves you do. Throw Hector at him; Amira thinks they’re trying to save Orin’s Protect for Hector’s Self Destruct to take you out.”

A plan sparked in her head as she changed directions, drawing from Rhea’s fortitude to enhance her own power; she launched into the air, seeing the Pidgey’s trajectory with her fading Foresight.

Hehe. Got it!

Flipping around to plant her feet against the small bird and making him squawk, she clapped her hands, creating a glow around Hector.

“Encore?!” he gasped as she chuckled and latched onto the Pidgey’s wing, forcing them into a dive-bomb; all Hector could use was Protect—his last Move—they struck the ground.

Doubling down, Alice’s ears held the bird tight as he tried to peck her, spinning him in a sharp circle and forcing him to let go of the Pineco—sending him flying—before tossing the Pidgey at Miky to gleefully chomp down on the bird.

“Hehe—Oi!” A blast of flames hit him in the face, peppering the Impidimp. “Stop! Stop!”

A cyclone of wind and leaves whipped up from Holly, fighting back the Embers, yet Limru carried him out of its path, bringing him into the air to bombard the panicking Impidimp with fireballs as he did his best to dodge.

Hector was slow, and without his pair of wings, he wouldn’t be much of a problem for her; she left Holly to help her teammate, doing what she did best and going on the offense with the pine cone locked out of his game-changing Move; if she could take him out, it was basically over.

Alice ran at the serious Pineco as he dug himself into the ground and prepared for her assault; she knew he’d rely on his Study Ability to mitigate as much damage as possible to buy time—she had his bane, though—flames enclosed her fists.

She struck the sparkling shell that enclosed him—it held; she flipped to his back, spinning her fire-engulfed ear against the next shield he generated—it fractured—the blow smacking his side and discharging a small explosion.

Dirt was kicked up, and Alice could feel the difference in how much stronger Rhea had gotten, allowing her to use so many Moves; it helped that only she’d been out through the night, and only one of them was out at a time. She loved the rush of energy that real battle flooded her body with.

Knowing Encore would be up soon, she used the short kick-up of dirt to change targets, exiting the dust to do a quick, dizzying dance; her white aura connected to the stunned Ledyba, causing her world to spin and taking her out of the air.

Bruce shot more Embers at Miky, but the Wily Pokemon sent snickering notes at the Fire Pokemon, lowering his Special Attack, which decreased the size and speed of the fireballs; they struck the Impidimp, but another Confide made the flames manageable.

He’d moved to the backline to drop their opponent’s Stats since he couldn’t get close due to the Pidgey and quick Growlithe’s fireballs.

Alice’s target was obvious; she darted at the Scout Pokemon.

He breathed in, and she recognized the telegraphed attack; totally focused on his mouth after being hit by the super-heated roar before, she knew she could cartwheel out of the way if she timed it right, and a flash of light brought back the outline of her opponent’s movements.

The bright red aura collected around his mouth as the Growlithe released the conal blast. Alice dove away from the general direction, forcing him to follow her; unfortunately for him, it was slow and bowed—she had him.

Drawing more from Rhea’s fortitude than ever before, she knew she’d need to be more conservative with her Trainer’s energy after this—a bright flare of orange energy condensed around her fist—she’d end this in one blow.

Alice’s world went white as she heard flapping nearby—she’d been too focused on Bruce.

* * *

Rhea forced a chuckle as Alice’s drawn-back ears, and hyper-focused mind drowned out her warning that Orin had picked up Hector, dropping him like a bomb; it was ironic that Alice’s first real battle had ended similar to Mya’s with one exception—she didn’t win.

Hector detonated, shattering Alice and Bruce’s energy matrix and leaving a large crater as the two were sent flying; Orin and Limru used Protect to eat the explosion, making it a two-on-two. The problem? Miky didn’t have much to battle flying Pokemon, and Holly was far more of a support than an offensive powerhouse.

The red light of Alice’s pokeball attached to the Pokemon, drawing her in for Rhea to release her knocked-out little girl, stroking her head; it took a few minutes for the Buneary to shiver and start waking up from the temporary reflux of having her first shield shattered—her teammates were holding out.

You did good, Alice.

Her salt and pepper-furred bun’s ears drooped as she sighed, realizing her mistake as Mya mentioned it, far nicer than even Rhea expected of the Mawile.

Mya seemed to be saying it happens, and she accidentally locked out their Trainer’s voice in her first battle—it’s a learning experience. Nova agreed, even though she’d never had the problem.

Rhea positioned her in her arms to watch the battle play out; it wasn’t looking good, but Holly’s vines and wind were keeping Miky mobile and in the fight—she knew it was only buying time, though.

Look at it this way, Rhea chimed, stroking her tight-eyed Buneary. They made a super concerted effort to take you out of the match, choosing to sacrifice Hector and Bruce to get you off the field… Know what?

Alice looked up at her, lips beginning to quiver; she’d truly believed she was doing everything right and didn’t expect to lose by repeating a mistake her rival teammate had fallen victim to but asked ‘what’ all the same.

I think we need to get you Protect like Nova and Mya have; if you had that, then we could have been riskier. You did amazing! Don’t think otherwise. Okay?

Her vulnerable Buneary smiled with tears in her eyes as Rhea kissed her cheek. You’re a real threat, Alice. Plus, all of those Pokemon are a lot older than you and have had a lot more battles as teammates; Sam’s group usually does team battles… Maybe we should do more. Huh?

Alice, Nova, and Mya agreed, and they watched the rest of the battle play out.

With Holly’s defensive plays and vines, she managed to get Miky in a position to latch onto Limru’s back, and a few Bites broke her energy matrix; Orin knocked the Impidimp out shortly after, making it a one-on-one.

The Pidgey was far more agile than the Comfey, and she wasn’t able to land her Leech Seeds or, to Rhea’s surprise, her newly learned Draining Kiss. The fight ended with a well-aimed Air Cutter breaking through Holly’s Leaf Tornado, knocking her unconscious—they’d lost to Sam’s group.

Rhea clapped with Ash, Lori, and Amira; her friends looked utterly stunned that they’d managed to win, glancing at one another with their weakened Pokemon in their arms.

“We… won?” Jade mumbled in disbelief, welcoming back her battered Pidgey, seemingly having trouble keeping in the air after the lengthy battle against Holly.

Hannah blinked. “No way.”

Amira walked across the field with Holly wrapped around her neck, waving weakly at Orin and talking to him. “You came up with an excellent strategy; taking out Alice was definitely the play since she was the biggest offensive threat, and she couldn’t attack from a distance.”

“You didn’t go easy on us, right?” Jayline mumbled, her Alolan accent thickening.

Sam chuckled. “You can’t think that after seeing what a monster Alice is, Jay! She was speeding between everyone, throwing our Pokemon away and separating them; it was almost scary, seeing that pink-eyed aftereffect of her super-speeded movements. What was that?”

“Foresight,” Amira answered. “She was predicting your Pokemon’s next action; you did really well using more cone and area attacks like Gust, Air Cutter, Heat Wave, and Self-Destruct since she’s so adept at dodging.”

Lori bounced forward as the crowd around the field replayed the fight on their phones, recording it and likely posting it to social media. “For real! Jay, that Heat Wave shocked us—Bruce is a beast—and that Refresh, Hannah, amazing!”

“Thanks!” the redhead blushed at the compliment, playing with her bangs. “We knew Alice had that insane sleep hit ability, so Limru needed to be ready to cure anyone who she hit—haha—you had me sweating when you threw out Alice, Rhea. Limru was the only one who could counter that.”

Rhea nodded, stroking Alice’s head; she was feeling a lot better after all the praise. “Thanks for showing Alice what a real battle is—you guys were her first challenge!”

“Scary!” Jade laughed. “She’s so scary!”

“Bun-buneary,” her little girl smiled, hiding her face against Rhea’s chest.

“Wha?!”

“What’s up?” Ash questioned, finally getting to them after surviving the small crowd that had gathered to ask for autographs or attempt to get his attention with Pikachu on his shoulder.

“Pika?”

Hannah held up her phone to show the end-of-battle results. “67,900 credits… each?! What?!”

Her teammates hastily pulled out their phones to check their own bank, utterly shocked at the massive credit drop into their accounts.

“My sister doesn’t make that in a year!” Jade mumbled.

Lori snickered. “Yeah… we kind of have massive bounties and a huge reward for beating us in a team battle; congrats on the payout and win! You guys deserved it—for real—Miky just couldn’t keep up with Alice… We need to work on that, Rhea.”

“Yeah. Haha. Holly did great adapting and trying to support us. Thanks, Amira.”

Talking it over, Ash listened to them analyze each other’s strategy and performance, adding his own two-credits with Pikachu as they moved to the Center to heal up their Pokemon.

Rhea felt a bit of a drain from all the rapid Moves Alice used, but nothing like it normally was when Mya battled or Nova transformed; the Buneary’s attacks seemed to be far more efficient and meant more for disruption than pure damage.

Spending a bit more time with her friends—the now rich Wooloo Gang—she saw them off to Cerulean around 11 a.m.; they went over some of the training plans Ash had for them, and the four girls promised that when they fought again, they’d be even stronger.

It warmed Rhea’s heart, looking back at when they’d met and how sick they’d been just bonding to their Pokemon to how much her first outsider friends had grown.

We can grow stronger, too!