11:50 a.m. August 7th, Friday, 106 PH (Post Hoopa Event). Day 58.

Events: It’s here! The Vermilion Gym battle and Rhea’s first Silver-tier Encrusted Badge are just up ahead. Our girl started her journey on the 9th of June, and the end of registration for the Winter Indigo Cup is December 5th (120 days away). Nova got her new evolution, and Gables and Amber evolved, too!

Waving her team and brother off with Katelin beside her forty minutes before her scheduled time, Rhea made her way to the locker rooms. Her heartbeat increased as the door came into sight, but her Pokemon were jumping at the gun to take on the new Fairy Gym.

Kate hummed while opening the door for her. “Nervous, huh?”

“Heh. I guess you could say that,” she mumbled, rubbing her tingling arm while proceeding inside. “A lot has happened since our last Gym Battle against Forrest. I want to think we’re ready for this, but I can’t help but think about the other day.”

The blue-haired girl sighed, following her to a less populated area as the final Bronze-tier contestants that went through the Gym that morning prepared to exit; Silver-tier was about to start. Quite a few of the other girls in her previous bracket gave her considering stares in passing, perpetuating whispered rumors to one another in passing.

Rhea didn’t pay them much mind after Amira’s continual example of ignoring the idle chatter of crowds. The redhead had been a big help in showing her how to handle the limelight she’d stepped into.

Thinking back to her first time stepping into Oak’s lab with all the other Starter Award Trainers, she was sure now the selection wasn’t random like they’d told them, and she was glad. She couldn’t imagine going through everything they’d had with another group of girls. They all supported each other in different ways, and Rhea was happy to contribute.

Now, it was time to put her game face on because she’d need to be on her A-game since this new Gym Leader was currently undefeated even five weeks after being open; it almost felt like an eternity ago that they were in Cerulean.

Sitting on a bench a little out of the way from everyone, she heard the announcer inform the crowd that there would be a thirty-minute respite between the Bronze and Silver competitors. The break allowed Saria time to mentally prepare for the next tier of opponents.

Releasing her pent-up lungs, Rhea gave Kate an encouraging grin. “I’ll be okay. Alice brought something up this morning, though,” she mumbled, playing with her skirt as the woman sat next to her.

“What did the floppy-eared cutie have to say?” she asked.

Rhea released the bunny to rest her sad face on her knees, looking up at her while wrapping her ears around the back of her legs. Rubbing her head with a soft expression, Rhea sighed again, knowing it was really hard for her Lopunny.

“After we watched all those battles Saria had in Silver-tier, she’s worried she isn’t up to the level of Nova and Mya… She doesn’t want to hold us back, which is hard for her to admit.”

“Lop-lop…” she mumbled, chin still on her knee.

Kate leaned over to join her in scratching the fluffy bunny’s ears and neck. “Mmh. Due to evolving, I’d say she’s closed a huge gap due to increased stats alone, but if she’s feeling nervous about being younger than Nova and Mya, then maybe save her for the next Gym?”

A low grumble mixed in Rhea’s throat. “We planned to go to either Erika or Janine’s Gym next, depending on how things shake up here in Vermilion.”

“Ahh.” Kate’s thick ponytail bobbed with her head movements. “Yeah, Mya’s typing is really good, and Nova’s versatility in Glaceon and now Vaporeon is huge… Still, I think Alice would do great with the Speed, evasion, and status meta Janine enjoys.”

Rhea blinked, Alice’s attention being snatched by the thoughts.

“Lopunny?”

“Janine would be good for Alice if it’s focused on speed, and Mya’s typing counters the poison.”

Kate shrugged and leaned back. “I’d use Alice for Janine, and while Mya is immune to poison, don’t think for a second Janine doesn’t have a thousand counters to that as a Poison expert, including changing Mya’s typing to allow for poisoning. Higher tiers get way tougher—usually not in this tier, though. She should work on her maneuverability and coordination with teammates to cover her weaknesses.”

She winked at the hopeful salt-and-pepper bunny. “I’m sure Alice would be happy to help Mya learn how not just to be a meat shield. There are some tricky things I’ve seen some Mawile do with their Moves to get their tails into gear.”

Alice snickered at the comment, likely saying Mawile didn’t have tails, but Rhea was glad to see her speedy girl not so depressed after Kate’s encouragement.

“Thanks, Kate.”

“Of course! What—”

She paused as a voice entered their minds, making the older woman’s hand swiftly go to her waist and Poke Balls before the Psychic identified themselves.

“Apologies for the intrusion, girls; this is Inja, Gym Leader Saria’s Gardevoir. Would you two mind stepping out into the stadium hallway that leads to the stage? Thank you.”

Giving each other confused looks, Rhea got up with Kate and followed the instructions. Alice was by her side, communicating with her teammates through their shared bond as they discussed the sudden redirect.

“Well, this isn’t scary,” Kate giggled. “I guess maybe I’m in trouble for being too early? Platinum-tier shouldn’t be taking up space in the locker rooms until five. Eh-hehe. Ugh.”

They drew attention from the gathering Silver-tier competitors, a few pointing Kate out over Rhea, which surprised her, but the girl was somewhat famous. Though, as Rhea recalled from one rather prickly Gossip article she ‘used’ to like, it was more for being her brother’s girlfriend than as a standout Trainer.

Looking back, the young woman was probably just jealous since her brother rejected her advances. She’d heard Kate fuming about it when Sabin told her that the Gossip reporter had tried to set up an off-the-side fling with him. At the time, it was amusing to her, but not so much anymore after allowing herself room to get to know the strong and kind blue-haired woman.

Rhea forced a smile as Saria came into view with her gorgeous, poised Gardevoir. She always loved the elegance the Pokemon displayed, yet the online ‘fandom’ did make her uncomfortable, and a tad disturbed, whenever she tried to look up backgrounds for her devices.

“Hello, Gym Leader Saria! It’s, eh-heh, a pleasure—sorry for being early,” Kate said, jumping right into the conversation.

“Hehe. It’s no issue, Katelin,” she returned. “By the way, you have an adorable Pikabook profile. I love the cute, sleeping Sylveon profile picture. I’m glad you’re able to be here to support Rhea. Actually, I’m here for her.”

“Me?” Rhea asked, hands tightening at her front. “Is… something wrong with the registration—was it too soon after going into Silver-tier?”

“Oh, no, no. No need to fret,” she laughed. “I just wanted to ask for your autograph for my fiancé—heh, well, there’s more than that, but he’s become a big fan of yours since seeing you forfeit the Battle Dome match the other day.”

“Huh?” Utterly confused, Rhea’s brow furrowed while trying to work through the statement. “He… was a fan of me giving up?”

Kate leaned in to nudge her. “No, silly. Hehe. She’s saying he’s a fan of your forethought with the Spite dilemma you found yourself in.”

“Mhm!” Saria confirmed.

Inja smiled beside her Trainer, hovering a few inches off the ground. “It was very mature. It shows you are not simply, eh… as one of my closest friends might say, throwing your face against the wall and hoping it sticks inside of it.”

Alice giggled at the saying, likely thinking about Mya.

Rhea hesitated as the charming blonde held up a paper and fancy fountain pen. “I’ve… never given my autograph before, but… I guess there’s a first time for everything. You saw my matches in the Battle Dome?”

Saria’s expression became forced as Rhea took the items and moved to the wall to sign the paper.

“That is also another reason for contacting you. It’s rare that Gym Leaders get to know the Trainers they’ll be facing. However, your team has been a topic of great discussion amongst the other Gyms with the Pokemon your mother has gifted your group. There has been a soft restriction the League wanted the next Gym Leader you faced to discuss with you.”

Rhea’s gut tightened as she finished the signature, handing it back to her. “What kind of restriction?”

“Outside of Gym Challenges, at least for the time being, the League would like Nova to refrain from transforming multiple times in a battle.”

Stolen novel; please report.

Kate grinned, pulling out some gum from her back pocket to extract a piece to chew. “So… all is fair when it comes to battling Gyms—want a piece?”

Saria gladly accepted the offer, and after a second’s thought, Rhea did, as well.

“Thanks! Yup. You should thank Giovanni for that. He was very against any restrictions, saying, heh, Kanto needed to toughen up. I’m more on his side, which surprises me. Anyway, I also wanted to make you aware that I did plan on using an Alolan Vulpix against you.”

“Ack!” Almost swallowing the gum, Rhea rubbed her throat, face going red. “They get Spite really early; it’s the biggest threat we can face from Fairy Pokemon!”

“Did, being the keyword,” Katelin interjected. “You’ve changed your mind?”

Inja nodded. “It was before we saw your match in the Battle Dome. Actually, it was Giovanni’s suggestion in our last meeting; I suspect he wanted to show you a weakness he’d predicted, but now that you’ve already discovered it yourself, we don’t consider it necessary.”

“Plus,” Saria breathed out a heavy sigh, rubbing her neck and looking away. “I suspect if we did do that, we could put you in the hospital, and what kind of an image would that be for the new Gym?”

She grimaced and showed a weak smile. “I’ve got enough heat as it is turning it Fairy. I expect you’re still working out strategies. Well, I’ve got to grab a power bar or something before our battle—I’m starving! I can’t wait for tonight. I’ve got an amazing home-cooked dinner from my man waiting for me and hours of work ahead. Haha. He’s too good for me. Ugh. See you soon, and give it your all.”

“Yeah, see you…”

A little dazed at the quick meeting, she mirrored the pair’s gesture as Inja teleported them away. “Uh… that was something.”

Kate laughed and guided her back into the locker room. She didn’t know what to make of the revelation that Amira’s grandpa had suggested Spite when it could have just as easily put Amira in the hospital. Then again, maybe that was just a part of being in the Rocket family, and the redhead wouldn’t see an issue with it.

Time went by in a flash, and her name was called for the opener for the Silver Bracket. Kate rubbed her back as Rhea debated making a short run to the bathroom to throw up. She hadn’t felt this nervous in a long while, and after Forrest and Lori’s battle against Misty, she didn’t want to mess up.

Still, she stepped into the hallway, pink lights focusing on her and lighting up the arena. People generally didn’t get their own songs until Platinum-tier, so the Gym theme music played. Peach Dream, which was upbeat and filled with strings and flutes; it seemed to be something Lori would like to dance to in a club.

She listened to the music on the way up to the stage, the words making Rhea remember that Fairy-Type Pokemon weren’t all cute and cuddly but had a history of trickery.

“Never see you in the daylight, only in the twilight.

“Keep me on the down low. Love me in the moonlight.

“Baby that’s alright.

“Ya, I don’t really mind, as long you keep comin’ round; I’ll be yours for the night…”

Taking her place, Rhea put her Poke Balls in and let the announcer hype up the battle; she couldn’t see many people with the light on her and darkness taking the stands, but she knew her brother and friends were there. Supposedly, Ash came, as well.

Saria was in a radiant dress that sparkled in the pink overhead lights, and Rhea’s mind went into a short daze as spots flashed across her vision.

No! Focus! she yelled to herself, puffing out a long breath as her thoughts snapped back into gear with the countdown already started. Things were going too fast, but she acted on instinct, pulling out a Poke Ball. The green orb lit up, and she threw it into the center of the stadium. Lulu climbed up to her head to cheer them on, holding up her puffy arms like pom-poms.

“Ne! Ne! Ne!”

We can do this!

* * *

Nova exited her Poke Ball, ready for a fight, as a bipedal, maiden-like Pokemon exited his own capsule, making Rhea curse. Yet Nova was already jumping into combat as her Trainer informed her of their opponent.

“Kirlia! Muk, that’s at least mid-Silver, and… Trace?! Watch it!”

The Kirlia’s eyes widened, completely locked onto her, vanishing in rainbow bars. Nova knew this Move all too well due to her Quirky teammate’s antics, knowing they always went to a blind spot.

Pivoting to flip to the side in a half-twist, Nova saw the male Kirlia’s eyes light up with his body; pulses of psionic energy pulsed out to hit her, but the Psybeam was larger than the ones she saw at the Battle Dome.

“He’s copying your Adaptability, Nova; if you get hit, it will hurt a lot! Saria is countering our adaptability with her own. He will swap to multiple of your Abilities to make use of each, so no Vaporeon or they’ll become immune to all Water-Type Moves.”

Got it!

White energy surrounded Nova, a pulse of speed flooding her limbs as the world stretched and she surged forward in an instant to evade the quick-moving circular waves. She passed right through the flickering Pokemon as multiple copies shot out of him, swiftly surrounding her.

“Right for the throat,” the boy chuckled. “Quick, but how good are your dancing skills? Dance for me!”

Nova laughed, her energy dissipating in the air with a sparkle lit in the corner of her eye. The Kirlia released a song that vibrated the air around her, but his double swiftly faded away as she saw past his trickery.

“Better than you might think!” she shot back, flipping around to land on the ground, Run Away strengthening her legs as she zig-zagged to evade the Disarming Voice that kept close to her tail.

She dodged it two times, swapping directions each time but it wouldn’t let up. He sent two more her way—no matter—she twisted between them, tail whipping her around to pass right through a hoop, causing them to cancel each other out.

Finding a second to stand still, she added a charming smile at the Kirlia several meters away, as he prepared his next Move. She held a paw to her mouth and patted it with a yawn. “Mmh… How the tables turn; I think you should take a nap.”

She sent a few puffs of clouds at the laughing Kirlia, yet he elegantly stepped around them; unfortunately, they were only a distraction.

Batting her eyes, Nova held a paw to her mouth again with a hidden smirk as pink, twinkling lights encompassed her. “Oh. If you keep looking at me like that, I might think you want something different. Not going to turn away? Bold.”

“Ugh… hehe. You are terrifyingly pretty,” he muttered, dodging the last Yawn as his face tightened upon her Captivate.

Nice! Rhea cheered. If he needs to keep locked onto you to maintain Trace, then we can use that to our advantage. Two Special Attack stages down!

He split into multiple copies again, making her giggle and use Detect again. “The same thing—oh, well, that’s not good…”

She got on all fours as the duplicates were surrounded by a black aura, and their eyes flashed red—pressure hit her from every angle—he’d baited out her Detect again to use Disable.

Quick Attack broke her out of the weight against her body, accelerating her to jump around the dozens of energy-charged vocal rings; she couldn’t tell which was real, so she used up the Move just to escape the barrage.

It would have been great to have Haze right now, she internally complained to her team as she thought back to what the Vaporeon at the lab had shown her.

“Huh?!” The world went wild, and before she knew it, she was tumbling across the ground.

“Confusion! He hid inside his Double Team to launch it since you couldn’t detect it… Smart. You good?”

I’m great… Nova growled, diving to the left and rolling to dodge a pulse of psychic waves. Just seeing triple… of, like, dozens of people.

A light blue shell surrounded her, taking the multiple Moves that he’d chained to hit her at once, cracking the barrier, but it held; it was hard not to stumble and drop the Protect—it couldn’t take much more punishment, and it was the first time she’d used it in what seemed forever since she favored Detect.

She blinked and all of the clones faded away, seemingly a product of her confusion more than the Move itself now. Shaking her head, a rock dropped into her stomach as the Kirlia appeared right in front of her, dark purple eyes wide and all-encompassing—a beam brought her back into her Poke Ball.

* * *

Mya grinned as Rhea recalled Nova and shouted, “Mya, you’re up! Nova needs a break.”

Exiting her Poke Ball, a ghostly aura surrounded her, projecting giant fangs that closed around the Fairy and Psychic Pokemon, teleportation collapsing; locked out of gathering his energy, Mya released a sweet scent throughout the field from her mouth.

She ran at him with a grin, radiating her Intimidation Aura to make him flinch as he tried to swap his Trace to her; his actions were becoming sluggish in the haze she spread around, making it difficult for him to react and dodge—Sweet Scent was something she’d found that worked on Alice.

Darkness flared in her jaws, tongue reaching to pull the dazed Pokemon into their embrace; a red beam took him away from her snapping jaws. A short explosion of Dark-Type energy detonated as her teeth came together, and Mya landed.

“Nice job, Mya!” Nova cheered, regaining her senses. “Ooh! So, close!”

No snack, though, she grumbled, keeping her back partially turned to the Gym Leader with her sticky mouth opening to show its thick, intimidating teeth. What’s she doing?

Rhea answered her. “A momentum shift. She’s waiting the several seconds allowed between releases to bring things back into her favor.”

“Cheap trick,” Alice huffed. “She should just throw out her new Pokemon and let them turn the tides in an instant.”

“No, it’s smart.” Nova hummed with interest at the delay. “Oh, here it is! She’s probably giving them advice or a plan.”

Mya flexed her fingers; dark-brown energy surrounded her, pulling away to form four stone rocks. She directed them at the smiling pink ball-like Pokemon that materialized. It easily sidestepped them with cartwheels as Rhea groaned.

“A male Clefairy… and probably with Magic Guard and Cute Charm. You can’t use Sucker Punch or Bite—no contact Moves, Mya, which will be hard for you… Ugh. Gym Leaders always have counters!”

“Hello,” the Clefairy cheerily greeted, waving and showing an amiable expression. “I like to take things more slow-like, personally. You?”

Mya slammed her fist into her palm with a grin. “I like to take my time! Haha. Well, my mind can go soft by hitting you a few times; the solution is simple… Hit harder!”

Fist lighting with raging orange energy, her Attack increased while slamming it into the stone, creating a small impact. Flexing her fingers, she hummed, gathering more from Rhea to further increase her power.

“Hit a lot harder…”

The Celfairy forced a smile. “Eh-heh. I… know someone just like you.”

Striding forward as the crowd cheered and a sword appeared in her hand, Mya felt power flood her body. “I hope you’re good at dodgeball, buddy… I wouldn’t want to kill you! Haha.”

“Are you even listening to me? Haaa. Yeah, just like someone else I know—you’re just a lot prettier,” he mumbled. “Alright. Let’s slow dance, girl!”