Sam winced as Hannah’s weight pressed down on her shoulders; she was forced to help the girl out of the taxi with a sick Jade on the other side. They’d taken the car back to her parent’s apartment building to stay the night.

“Just a little more,” Sam grunted with a forced smile. Her male Pineco, Hector, named after her first crush, helplessly offered her moral support from within his pokéball.

Hannah’s light red hair was a tangled mess, draped around her neck, gray eyes closed as she groaned, holding her stomach. “I hate car rides…”

A weak chuckle moved Jade’s lips. “Hey, at least your stomach’s empty now, right?”

“Why doesn’t it feel like it, then?” Hannah complained.

Making it up the first flight of stairs, Sam led the girls to the first apartment to the right; she tried opening the door but found it locked with a bit of frustration. Her keys were in her bag, currently making her back feel like it needed a three-week vacation.

She kicked the bottom of the door a few times. “Dai, open up!” She growled. “Dai!”

“... I’m coming! Geez…” Her older sister opened the door. She was wearing a dark blue jacket with a light blue dress underneath, brown, shoulder-length hair straightened and swept to the side to frame her oval face. She offered her a grunt, brown irises glancing between her two new teammates. “Don’t bring home the sickies,” Dai moaned. “You know I hate getting…”

“Just move over,” Sam huffed, pushing the door open the rest of the way while motioning for Jade to follow. “Where’s Mom and Dad?”

“Out … ya know, they have seats to the stadium,” she responded, closing the door with a frustrated sigh. “What’s up with the strays?”

Sam caught her sister’s Metapod, Charlie, and Kakuna, Popo, out on the porch, hanging from some thread while glaring at one another, engaged in another staring contest. “They’re not strays; they’re my new teammates!” She shot back. “Over here … yeah, that’s my room to the right.”

“... Whatever, I’m gonna go hang out with Livo if you’ve got people over.” She grabbed her purse. “Watch Charlie and Popo for me. Bye…”

“Hey, wait … I’m sick … Muk…” Sam growled as her sister shut the door before she could finish.

Hannah and Jade didn’t say anything, but Sam could tell by their expressions that her sister had made an impression.

“There … let’s get your packs off and get some clothes. Who wants to take a shower first?”

“I’ll go,” Hannah said with a sickly smile. “I got some vomit in my hair a bit ago … so gross.”

“Okay,” Sam mumbled, helping to remove the straps.

They each took turns, spending the minimum time in the shower to clean up before dressing down to snuggle into her bed. She turned on the local network while Hannah tried to pass out next to her on her full-sized mattress.

Sam’s brown eyes widened, and she whispered. “Hey, hey, Hannah, Jade!”

“Mmh?” Hannah groaned, blindly reaching over to hydrate more, unscrewing the water bottle cap while scooting up to follow Sam’s prompts.

“... Rhea?” Jade asked.

“... Woah, you’re right,” Hannah mumbled, sipping a bit of water before coughing a little.

Sam studied the image before turning up the volume a little. “Wait … is she going into the … Rhea’s an Oak Starter Award winner?”

The three tired and sick girls watched the news cycle talk about Kanto’s three winners, and sure enough, Rhea happened to be one of them with someone named Jason and Amira Rocket. Even more shocking, it was soon revealed that Rhea and Amira would be on the same team with a big-shot from Unova.

“... No wonder she didn’t want to join me,” Jade mumbled.

“Yeah, she couldn’t,” Sam finished. “... She’s totally a Master’s daughter.”

Hannah pulled the blanket up further, cold bare feet pressing against Sam’s leg. “I dunno … you think she’s a Grandmaster’s daughter? I mean, Nova was pretty,” she coughed a few times, “... special, wasn’t she?”

“Yeah, yeah, she was … wait, won’t she battle, then? You know, the other Award winners; we could see Nova again,” she smiled, flipping to the PrimeTime Battle Network her parents paid for.

A match between Kalos’s star, Lucian Allard, and Amira Rocket was currently playing.

Jade cleared her throat, phone in hand, as she pulled up the current betting roster. “Umm … you guys think we should bet on Rhea? I mean, it could help cover a bit of our medicine if she wins.”

“You think she will?” Sam asked with a bit of worry. “We’re only down to what … about nine to eight-hundred each?”

Hannah hummed softly, fiddling with her own phone. “I’ma put six-hundred on Rhea.”

“Huh?” Both girls gave her a lifted eyebrow.

“Are you dehydrated?” Sam mumbled. “That’s almost all of your money.”

“I have faith,” Hannah grinned. “She seems pretty strong … she had two Pokémon, and they were really strong, too, right? I felt worse just petting that gorgeous Eevee.”

“True…” Jade mumbled. “... Know what, you’re right! I’ma do six-hundred, too.”

“Mmh … okay, fine,” Sam sighed, making her own bet. “Geez … let’s hope this doesn’t come back to bite us. Woah … if we win, we’ll get like … 4,300 Credits? That’s crazy.”

* * *

Amira took a deep breath as she waited below the Trainer observation stand, pushing her rose-tinted glasses up a little while staring at the Ultra Ball in her hand. She’d taken a moment to release Amber in the locker room to have a proper introduction to her new partner.

Amber really was a beautiful little girl; she was still fairly young, only being a few weeks old with some rookie training given to it to understand battling basics. However, the best feeling she had came when first touching the pokéball and experiencing the bonding process.

She finally had someone who really understood her, someone who didn’t care about who anyone in her family was, which was important to her. The warm fuzzy sensation that brushed against her heart made her smile.

Her cheer fell a little once she heard the opening ceremony beginning, and the butterflies in her stomach began to press against her sides, causing her to swallow the tiny bit of saliva that entered her dry mouth.

Why’d I make that stupid bet? She chided herself, closing her eyes while squeezing her left hand against her thigh.

The words had just fallen out on impulse, but this was different than just a typical verbal school match; if she lost, then she was obligated to keep her word, and there were more than enough witnesses to make it reasonably binding. If she refused, it would impune her whole family, but so would embarrassing herself after suffering a shameful loss.

Amira’s fingers eased a little, sliding away from her chest as Amber tried to comfort her. She turned to the side, releasing her gorgeous shiny Fennekin. Her light gray coat was almost a white color as live reddish-orange flames flowed from her large ears and licked off the tip of her puffy tail.

The fire swiftly converted to tufts of hair as she bent down to pick up the fox, staring into her bright orange eyes. Amber nuzzled her cheek with the tip of her black nose, releasing a soft chirp while Amira stroked her smooth fur.

“Thanks for being with me,” Amira whispered. “This might be a rough match … let’s win and show him that we’re more than just the Rocket name.”

Her smile returned, feeling the determination in her Fennekin’s emotions. “Just try to keep your distance and whittle him down, okay? You should be able to outlast most of the Starter roster. If you’re in a pinch, remember what I told you.”

Amber gave her a serious nod, and Amira set her down, returning her to her pokéball in preparation for the match. Her mind went over what she knew about her Pokémon.

Her breeder had given a Move list to Professor Sycamore, which he’d passed on to her after locking in her choice, and she was confident Amber could handle Lucian’s Starter.

Her Pokémon did know a fairly advanced Move called Psychic Terrain, but she wasn’t quite sure how it functioned and knew terrain-based Moves were rarely used outside of high Silver or Gold-tier matches.

It would be good to learn more about it, but she’d told Amber not to use it, and that left six moves her Starter knew. Four breeding Moves far outclassed most Pokémon’s genetics, making her Fennekin exceptional; however, so were the other Starters that were given to the other Award winners, which meant she had to be careful.

Amber was Timid-natured, which meant she shied away from close-combat, preferring mid to long-range attacks, and her stats reflected that. Her IVs were on a higher scale when compared to most, too, which gave her an excellent power-cap.

All-in-all, she couldn’t have been happier with her selection, which was ironic since Fennekin was normally a Kalos region Starter, being its homeland, while they faced the Kalos region star. It did make her wonder what type of Pokémon the front-runner had chosen.

Her grip tightened around Amber’s pokéball as the light next to her turned yellow, showing a count down before the platform would rise.

Amira locked her legs, straightened her dress, and managed her braided hair before preparing herself for the rise.

She winced; the hidden panel above opened, revealing the shining sun, and smoke exploded around the stand as she was lifted onto the stadium to roars of cheers. While the clouds still obscured her, she took another deep breath and set a fake, confident smile.

Her glasses helped adjust to the glaring sunlight as a soft wind blew through the stadium, pulling her hair to the left where Amira caught the other Award winners, gaze falling upon Rhea and Mallory.

The chances that she’d been placed with another Kanto girl still made her stomach uneasy, but Rhea had been surprisingly different than what she’d expected. She’d never heard of her, which wasn’t all that surprising; Amira only kept track of Viridian’s Master-tier families. Mallory seemed to know Rhea pretty well, which put her on a team as the third-wheel.

Amira’s troubling thoughts vanished upon turning her eyes to the right, and it took everything within her to keep from biting her lip and tensing up; her grandparents, mother, and father were there, all staring at her, and she could see her mother’s parents moving from another underground area to join them.

Why is everyone here?! No one said Grandpa Devry and Grandma Fearn were coming … they probably want to see my new Pokémon to see how she was bred, and why is Grandma Ariana here? Shouldn’t she be running the company if Grandpa is here … wait, is Matori here, too? Why?!

Her stress levels were hitting new peaks as she watched her mother’s teary-eyed wave, smiling at her with a look that made Amira want to hide below the machine.

She only barely managed to suppress a jump when a voice spoké through the panel speaker in front of her. “Ms. Rocket, if you could place your Pokémon in the analyzer for a moment.”

Amira complied, movements feeling robotic.

“Everything checks out; be ready for the announcer’s signal.”

Removing Amber’s pokéball from the device in front of her, Amira looked up as the crowd went wild at her family being named in attendance; to say butterflies were in her stomach would be an understatement.

Lucian’s eyes were centered on her mother with a glare as the crowd exploded with adoration upon her reveal, and the announcer soon began the countdown.

“Start on one…”

Every word felt like an eternity in Amira’s mind as her red irises scanned the field for a proper place to place Amber; her heart was beating out of her chest, dreading even the idea of losing this match, but knowing she’d come too far to turn back while berating herself for not already planning a release point as she threw back her arm.

“... two, one!”

She selected the left side of the field. Amber popped out of the pokéball, eyes scanning the grassy terrain for her opponent before locking eyes with Lucian’s Starter. Amira could have cried upon seeing the practically glowing, light-blue Penguin Pokémon.

“Amira releases a Shiny Fennekin while Lucian chooses his Shiny Piplup; a battle between the shinies, ladies, and gentlemen!”

The hope in Amira’s chest continued to plummet as the smug blue bird began to glow, immediately being surrounded by three sparkling rings of water droplets.

“And … what’s this? Piplup instantly goes for an Aqua Ring! It looks like Lucian’s trying to turn this into a battle of attrition. Fennekin isn’t wasting any time, either, sending an Ember across the field for a swift punish.”

Amira felt a little guilty, trying to bolster her confidence as Amber jumped into action, flaming ears and tail leaving a trail of light while darting toward the center of the field. Her little Fennekin’s heart was blazing with a fire to prove herself, opening her mouth to form a ball of fire.

The globe shot out, striking the stationary Piplup as he tanked the hit, unable to budge while forming the healing over time Move; if there was any hope, Amira knew Fennekin had a higher Speed-stat than Piplup. She just hoped he didn’t have a Water-move yet.

“As a Water-type, the Ember isn’t very effective and didn’t manage to break Piplup’s concentration; his Aqua Ring is up, and he’ll be healing for at least the next several minutes, folks. What’s this … Piplup still isn’t moving! What’s his strategy?”

Amira’s hands pressed against the control platform in front of her, jaw locked while feeding as much energy as she could into Amber; this was the perfect opportunity.

What’s Lucian’s plan? Even if he’d frozen up, his Piplup should be able to at least put up some kind of defense…

The Kalos star seemed anything but panicked, though; in fact, he wasn’t even watching his Pokémon as Amber fired another Ember before understanding the instructions Amira was feeding through their connection.

Lucian gave her a pompous smile, and she returned it, feeling her chances of victory increasing by the second. Yet, there was still a sinking dread that pulled at her stomach; he was planning something, but his Piplup took the second Ember to the face without resistance, body beginning to glow white as he charged some kind of long-processing Move.

… Okay, maybe he’s just that stupidly confident? He’s trying to get off something big, but two can play at that game. If his Pokémon’s not going to move…

Amber came to a stop, four meters away from the Penguin Pokémon; the flames in her ears and tail started to increase as she took a deep breath, Amira funneling as much energy as she could through her bond with her Fennekin, feeling the transferal link flowing through her heart and the presence next to it.

The orange glow building in Amber’s mouth radiated out into a cone of hot red air that rushed toward the Piplup, leaving a black path of flames behind it as the heat lit the grass ablaze.

“... Here we go … Piplup takes another Ember to the face! Even if they’re not effective, he can’t keep taking hits like this; another few blasts, and … both Pokémon are charging up for something. Is that … Heat Wave! Fennekin sends out a … a counter, a counter!”

Amira’s lips parted in disbelief as the bright light surrounding the Piplup faded; it opened its mouth and released a stream of chilled air in swift succession.

How … so fast?

The blast of chilled air was swiftly pushed back by the heatwave, sending Piplup tumbling into the honeycomb barrier, but the counter Move had lessened much of the initial damage.

Cheers erupted on all sides as the announcer continued to commentate. “Agility! I can’t believe it! Agility! Lucian managed to send enough energy to his Piplup to use an advanced status upper; Piplup is now plus two, Speed. I have never seen a Rookie Pokémon and its Trainer be able to accomplish that, but will it be enough?

“The Icy Wind lightened the blow of Heat Wave, but he’s already taken substantial damage from this Fennekin. She’s proven her own brute strength with that Heat Wave, but it’s not the type of Move you can just pop-off one after another. She’s following up, preparing more Embers, but … what is this?”

Piplup opened his mouth again, releasing a stream of frigid air on the ground while waddling forward; dropping down on his belly, the penguin slid across the ice, using his fins to steer it around the Embers Amber shot at it.

Amira couldn’t believe how fast the typically very slow and clumsy Pokémon was able to maneuver on the ice. Amber was trying to retreat, to keep him at a safe distance, but the Piplup swiftly closed the gap, slamming against the fox’s side and sending her tumbling across the grass.

No…

She could sense the damage Amber took, causing her closed fingers to press against the steel console in desperation. Things were looking so good before, and Amira’s teeth snapped together as Lucian’s voice spoke over her private speaker.

“Did you think you won?” He chuckled, glaring at her from across the field as Amber did her best to dodge the skating penguin.

Her flaming fox managed to cut off a few of his paths with some well-aimed predictions, but the battered Piplup seemed just as confident as Lucian while jumping over the predicted Embers to skid to a stop on the grass, repeating the process. Worse, the penguin’s damage was slowly healing with the Aqua Ring continuing to recover his stamina.

“... Are you so desperate that you can’t even answer me?” Lucian mocked, glancing over at the stands. “Your mother seems worried … of course, she’d know how this would end the moment this whole thing started, wouldn’t she?”

Amira couldn’t help but follow his gaze, and sure enough, her mother’s hands were held in tight balls in her lap as she followed the battle. Unsurprisingly, the Rocket side of her family didn’t show much emotion as they cooly observed the match with her grandfather sitting cross-legged, hands folded together, but his attention was on her, and not Amber.

“Cobalt’s recovering quickly,” Lucian commented with a smug tone. “How’s your little Fennekin doing, and did you honestly think I wouldn’t know how to handle a Starter from my own region? The moment I saw her, I knew I’d won.”

… No, I need to get control of myself. Take a note from Grandpa…

Amira took a deep breath, feeling Amber take another Tackle; she was beginning to panic a little with the Piplup’s swifter movements, but they were somewhat televised by how he spread the ice; although, it was swiftly transforming parts of the field to make it easier to move.

Amber, remember the plan we made before. When he gets close to you, try to land it; he shouldn’t be able to dodge, and it’ll give us time to recover.

The confusion in Amber’s heart lifted with the direction, and she jumped out of the way as Cobalt made a sideswipe, attempting a Pound while overshooting.

Amira couldn’t even hear the screams of the crowd or the announcer as she focused on her Pokémon; Amber would need a lot of energy, and she was beginning to feel a bit of the fatigue.

“... Just a little more,” Lucian lilted. “I can’t wait to see the look on your parents’ faces when you tell the world your thug trash. How disappointed will…”

The crowd fell silent as Rhea’s voice came over the loudspeakers. “I want to join under the New Challenger ruleset.”

Mallory soon followed. “Oh, me, too; we’ll make it a Team Challenge!”

The announcer cheered with the rest of the throng. “... What is this? A New Challenger appears! Will Lucian and his team accept the challenge before it’s too late?”

Amira didn’t have time to try and protest as she launched her plan.

Cobalt barreled right for Amber, now dangerously close to passing out after being tackled across the field four times.

Amber stood her ground as the blue penguin rushed right at her, and then her orange eyes shone purple, rippling waves of energy flying toward the rushing Piplup; he desperately tried to slide to the left, but with his speed, it was too late, and he was too close.

“... Hypnosis! Piplup is flying … smashes right into the barrier in a crumpled heap, still fast asleep from a last-ditch effort from Fennekin to buy herself … is this what I think it is?” The announcer yelled, returning his focus to the battle.

“What?” Lucian’s stunned tone was like honey to Amira’s ears. “How did … wait, no, wake up, Cobalt!”

Shimmering lights flashed all around Amber; it looked like stars dancing around the fox as Amira fed her as much energy as she could through their bond.

“Wish! Wish!” The announcer screamed. “If Piplup doesn’t snap out of Hypnosis soon, our little fox will be back in this fight! Do both teams accept the terms of New Challenger?”

Amira felt her confidence returning; it looked like Wish would take effect, restoring a large amount of Amber’s stamina.

Still, sending the needed supply to her concentrating Pokémon, Amira glanced over at her new teammates; they were both standing beside one of the field-side referees, holding his microphone with Professor Oak beside them.

She wants to help me win? We’ve barely even spoken … no, how do I know adding Lucian’s team won’t make it even more one-sided? How can I trust her, to…

Lucian’s slightly annoyed tone came through the speakers. “... Okay, Rhea. We’ll accept the Team Challenge.” Amira caught Jason and Len’s strained expressions as he responded. “On the condition, you reveal your family name to everyone here.”

That’s exactly what he wanted in the first place; there’s no way…

The stadium grew deathly silent, all eyes on the screen as it turned to Rhea’s determined face. “Fine. If you win, then I’ll lay out my entire family line.”

Roars of excitement exploded around the stadium as Amber finished Wish; in just a few more seconds, the Pokémon standing in the shining lights of the Move would be healed.

Amira was now completely distracted, though. “... Why?” She mumbled.

It didn’t make any sense to her; obviously, concealing her identity was for a pretty significant reason, given how some of the others were reacting to her. She couldn’t even take a guess at who Rhea was related to, but if Lucian was willing to give up a clear advantage against her to have a shot at it, then it must have been in his favor.

Still, the questions remained in Amira’s mind as the announcer revealed the changing format. “The battle is suspended; each Pokémon will move back to their respective sides; all current effects may remain in play as we prepare our four new additions!

“Reconsider your bets, folks, caus now would be a good time to grab a snack; when we get back to this match, we’re going to see a wild battle, I’m sure!”

Amber recovered much of her stamina from Wish, returning to their side of the field with a few haughty calls to the Piplup, shaking his head while snapping out of the Hypnosis. Amira was still studying Rhea; her teammate talked to Mallory, and the other girl looked troubled by what she was saying.

What does she have to gain? It doesn’t make any logical sense.

* * *

Rhea watched the match with a cramped stomach, vision darting between Amira, her Fennekin, and the worried look in her mother’s eyes.

Amira’s doing good, but … no, if it keeps up like this, she’ll lose! Her mom looks so worried, too … gah, and there’s Lucian with that smug look on his face.

“No, look out!” She yelled as the Piplup slammed into Amira’s Pokémon, sending her tumbling across the grass. The Fennekin was swift to recover, dodging the next by only a hair.

Her mind returned to the announcer’s statement, and her stomach cramped again. She felt so invested in the match but didn’t know precisely why; every time she saw her mother’s tight lips and agitated hands, moving Silver’s up and down as he held it gave her anxiety.

“Wow … she’s not doing bad for the type disadvantage,” Mallory commented. “Although, it’s not looking good with that constant stamina recovery and speed … Rhea?”

Rhea got up, making up her mind with Mya clawing to get her hands on the Piplup; Lori hesitated for a moment before following her.

“... Professor Oak,” Rhea said, stopping in front of the academic party; every eye moved to her with question. “Umm … can I do the New Challenger thing? I don’t know exactly how it works, but I’ve heard about it. I just need to challenge Lucian, right?”

“Oh!” Lori’s frown turned upside-down. “I like that. Umm, yeah, I know how it works. Come with me!”

“... Rhea,” Oak quickly interjected. “Are you sure? You’ll basically be going into a handicap match.”

Professor Sycamore spoke up. “And Lucian’s teammates would have to agree. Usually, New Challengers must offer a decent incentive to get the opposing side to reconsider a reset to the current match.”

A lump dropped down Rhea’s throat; if that was the case, then she knew what Lucian’s condition would be.

“Mmh,” Lori gave her an uncertain look. “You sure, Rhea? Now that I think about it…”

“... No, it’s fine. I know, Mallory,” Rhea said, setting her brow. “I just really want to help Amira … and show Lucian that he’s not that hot.”

“...” The professors glanced at one another with tight expressions, but Professor Rowan was the one to speak.

“If that’s what you’ve decided, Rhea, then I have no doubt you’ll follow through. You know your family is watching right now, correct?”

“W-What?” Rhea’s eyes widened, glancing around. “Where?”

“Oh, they’re around,” Rowan chuckled. “Your Aunt should be in Sinnoh, but she got Dawn to handle things in secret. I think you’ll make them proud by this.”

Oak gave Rowan a conflicted stare but nodded after a moment. “Alright, let’s make it official, then.”

He guided them to one of the many refs, studying the match from different angles of the field, and after a few words, made her declaration.

It was a bit tough on her gut, but she accepted the condition she’d expected before turning to Lori and whispering, “Lori … could you not get involved … not unless it’s looking really bad.”

Mallory’s excited smile drained in an instant. “... Wait … huh? You … want to do a two vs. three?”

“Just … my Pokémon really, really wants to show Lucian that he made a bad mistake.”

“... Uh, sure, but … you’ll be going against, you know…” She pointed at Jason and Len, giving her exasperated expressions, clearly not wishing to get involved as they rose to figure out what was going on.

Oak didn’t seem to notice their conversation as he spoke to the ref, providing a few details the judges might need, and Mallory’s lips puckered at her request. “Mmh … okay … to borrow one of Casey’s phrases,” she grinned, glancing over at the cocky Champion’s son. “When you beat the lot of ‘em, tell Lucian to sit the Muk down. Kay?”

Rhea grinned. “Hehe, ya got it!”

“Oh, and you gotta stick your tongue out and give him a V-sign!”

Her smile turned forced. “Really?”

“That’s my condition,” Mallory giggled, giving her a toothy grin.

“Well, I guess there are less embarrassing things,” Rhea chuckled.

Mallory gave Lucian a vicious, sharp-eyed smirk. “Oh, this’ll be epic!”

Jason and Len jogged up to them.

“Okay, what the Muk!” Len growled.

“Epic?” Jason questioned.

“Totally epic,” Lori responded, shooing them off. “Now, go get ready to face us! C’mon, c’mon, and don’t hold back, or you might look bad! Hehe…”

Jason turned his gaze to her. “Rhea, are you really going to tell everyone about your family?”

Rhea held up her knuckles. “Let’s just make this a good first match. Okay?”

He stared at her fist before giving a weak shrug. “Okay … I won’t hold back.”

“Let’s get this!” Lori cheered, nudging Len. “Think your mom’s watchin’?”

“Probably,” Len moaned. “Ugh … how am I stuck with that loser?”

Lori snickered. “Probably karma … you know, eight months ago…”

Len gave her a hard glare. “... We don’t talk about eight months ago.”

“Right? Let’s go hard, man!” She said, jabbing his shoulder playfully.

“Fine, fine,” he relented, giving her a soft chuckle. “Man, I’ve been off … I need to get back into the game.”

“Ah, Cass and I can’t blame you,” Lori shrugged, following Oak as he motioned for them, and a ref guided the boys in the opposite direction. “See ya on the field!”

Rhea and Lori followed Oak and the ref to the locker area, showing them how the staging process would continue. The two smiled at each other, mentally preparing themselves, and not soon after, two announcers introduced them, a new one joining the fray.