6:02 A.M. June 16, Tuesday, 106 PH (Post Hoopa Event)

Events: The start of the 2nd week in the Joint Kanto and Johto Indigo Summer League Preliminaries. The last Days of Rest after the previous week’s battles.

Rhea groaned a little while stretching out in her sleeping bag; her back pressed up against a soft, warm body next to her. She was a bit confused for a moment before remembering she was sharing her tent with Sam after the Nidorino ruined hers the day before.

Smacking her lips, Rhea took more care to limit her movements on the left side, extending her legs as far as they’d go to feel the morning burn. Nova shifted around her legs inside of her sleeping bag, two paws clamping around her calf and pulling it back to use as a pillow.

She giggled softly as Mya wished her a good morning. Adjusting her position, Rhea ran her fingers through her tied-back hair and yawned, taking a minute to fully wake up. She returned the greeting, releasing a puff of air before taking in the mountain’s crisp morning air.

A smile brightened her cheeks while thinking about Ho-Oh’s appearance yesterday; she felt amazing. Mya and Nova had the same sensation run through their own bodies. It’s not like they were just recovered … it was like they were renewed.

How was the night watch? Rhea asked.

Mya fed her a meh response; apparently, the rowdy Pokemon in the area had been somewhat preoccupied with each other, figuring out who’d be the next Area Boss after news spread that the Nidorino had not only been beaten but taken somewhere by the humans.

With a bit of interpreting and puzzling out Mya’s boredom-induced chat, she figured out that the Wild Pokemon had grown even more cautious of humans after their big lousy boss was swept away in a ray of light.

The arrival of Entei and Mepi didn’t seem to help; in fact, they were more frightened of the pink-haired woman than the Legendary Volcano Pokemon. It had to do with the strange feelings she produced, and Rhea had to agree; her aura was the most bizarre she’d ever read.

Lyra knew her, though, but they didn’t exactly seem to be friends based on Mepi’s reaction. It was shocking to see a Psychic in the middle of the forest without Pokemon.

Rhea shifted her hair a little against her inflatable pillow, eyes closed while remembering the sensation in her chest when Mepi appeared, trying to draw a comparison to the few Psychics she had met, like Sabrina.

The chattering Flying Pokemon in the trees didn’t help her concentration, and Sam’s low breaths became surprisingly loud when attempting to connect her experiences. She’d never shared a tent with anyone before, including her father when they went out on hiking trips.

Sabrina’s aura was very controlled but razor-sharp, like a knife, which made sense since she was one of the world’s strongest offensive psychics. The woman had a troubled past with how powerful her powers were, developing split personalities; she forcefully took over the Gym from her father at the age of 14, an accomplished Psychic himself, and began a game against the Trainers that would face her.

She’d even heard low mumbles between Masters, talking about how she used to turn people into dolls if they didn’t win … only one person ever did beat her while her personality was split, and that was Red, saving Yellow in the process. The defeat somehow merged the two psychically separated personalities, but the damage was done.

Sabrina had a reputation with the older generation and it was a fearful one; Kanto had its share of sketchy Gym activities that had Lance scrambling to address after Champion Oak retired, many of which Red had a hand in correcting. It was a chaotic time for Kanto, and it was later revealed Giovanni was the cause of most of Lance’s troubles, keeping him busy to keep his eyes off Rocket’s criminal empire. Red had been Giovanni’s blind spot.

That was long before Rhea was born, though, so she couldn’t be sure of all the details. Her wandering mind shifted between strong Trainers she’d been around, including Will and Lance, but no one even came close to how Mepi’s aura felt.

Her aura was almost like a Pokemon’s … what do you think, Mya?

Mya gave a low grunt; she wasn’t particularly interested in her. There was something off about the human, but it wasn’t her problem anymore … she just wanted someone to challenge her. It wasn’t likely with her waves of Intimidation and the reputation they’d made in the area.

Huh … yeah, I guess it doesn’t really matter since she’s gone, but … it’s just aggravating. I’ve been learning how to read auras since I was a little girl; I’ve seen thousands between all the Masters that come through, but nothing like that. Why’s she so different?

Mya didn’t have an answer for her, and Nova was passed out, hugging her left leg tight to her chest, holding it still; it was the first time she’d slept with Nova, and she was a complete cuddle-bug, making her giggle. It felt fine having her two Pokemon out of their pokeballs now, which meant she was acclimating.

Rhea settled into her sleeping bag, giving her little puffball more time to rest; Mya was content talking with Tera, Sam’s new Phanpy since the night had been relatively lax. Tera was surprisingly pretty strong, and even Mya acknowledged it.

Shifting her head to her left, Rhea’s lips pursed while staring at her clear crystal phone, and after a moment’s thought, snatched it up to check out the News. There had to be news about Ho-Oh, and sure enough, front and center was the high-resolution shot that had been taken by an amateur photographer that happened to be at the right place and time during his descent upon Viridian.

All the News stations had the Legendary Pokemon on the front of their headline, trying to bait people into their scoop or take on the incident. Most were positive, but a few were negative to elicit more traffic by taking the opposite angle, or at least that’s the kind of thing Rhea guessed would be Amira’s view.

Rhea’s mind paused, eyes narrowing with a small smile while staring at the corner of her tent ceiling; it was such a strange thing to ponder … she had begun to analyze the News as if she were Amira rather than just randomly skimming for general information.

Pushing it out of her brain, she tapped on a few articles, scanning the contents. Ho-Oh certainly had the strength of a Legendary Pokemon by the report’s highlighted notes. His healing rays were felt throughout all of the Viridian City-State and even reached as far as Pallet, Pewter, and Cremini City.

A few adverse side effects were caused by the Rainbow Pokemon that people noticed, such as the inability to teleport for some high-end transport agencies or item transferals. A lot of traffic was also stopped for a while, causing delivery delays, and there were several reports of accidents that had occurred … all their injuries were healed, yet the damaged property was an issue.

Not a single person died while Ho-Oh’s regenerative rays were seen in the sky, and its lights passed through the earth, buildings, and even Training barriers. Nothing seemed to be strong enough to repel the Legendary Pokemon’s power.

Most outlets called it a day of remembrance and praised the miracle that had healed tens of millions of even terminal and hitherto thought incurable diseases or genetic abnormalities. Journalists couldn’t find a single story about someone that hadn’t been cured.

On the other hand, articles asked why Ho-Oh didn’t do this regularly; they discussed his motives or outright accused him of single-handedly cutting medical personnels' jobs short since they were now not as needed. Nurses and doctors were examining how this would affect their industry, but Chase had already come out with a statement that government aid was being discussed.

Skull invading Viridian had taken a back seat to Ho-Oh’s arrival, and the Summer Cup was in the 3rd spot. Although there was some smack-talk happening between Gold-tier Trainers pushing for Platinum. It wasn’t anything new, and some Trainer rivalries could get really out of hand, but a lot of the early League craziness had been tempered with regulations.

Rhea’s mind turned away from the League, returning to the majestic image of Ho-Oh; at the angle taken, it almost looked like all the rainbow colors had filtered to gold; it was a rare occurrence that had only been documented in old Johto texts or ancient Kanto civilizations when all the shades momentarily took on this heavily cast of divine light.

It sent shivers down Rhea’s spine; there was a reason Ho-Oh was revered throughout Johto and Kanto. He’d been a check on tyrannical power in the past between warring City-States and even between the two regions throughout history. If a pure-hearted Trainer sought his aid, then legend said Ho-Oh would grant them his strength.

Thinking she’d spent enough time under her covers, she slid out of her sleeping bag with Nova protesting with a low groan. Rhea smiled at her little ball of fluff as she unzipped part of her bag; she was still clamped to her leg with a noticeable frown, front paws wrapped tightly around her ankle.

“C’mon…” Rhea whispered, scratching her folded back ears, “It’s time to get up, little princess.”

Nova cracked open an eye, pink iris catching sight of the sun filtering past the tent’s covering, and swiftly closed it again. She released her leg and nuzzled herself back under the sleeping bag. Rhea could practically hear her Eevee’s plea … five more minutes…

Rhea giggled while scooting out of her tent, pulling her bag with her. The crisp mountain air stung her bare skin; most Trainers slept in their underwear to make their daily clothes last as long as possible, and she usually went naked but felt it would have been uncomfortable with Sam in her tent.

Sam was shifting a little in her sleeping bag and seemed to agree with Nova about sleeping in. Mya was having a hard time staying awake after such a boring night, but Tera kept her company.

Tera guided her to a nearby stream, where she washed up and did her quick camping maintenance. After finishing up her morning prep and putting on her dress, she returned to find Sam sleepily rousing herself with a few stretches; Nova was doing the same.

The rest of the early hours were taken by cleaning up the site, finishing breakfast, and going over each other’s Pokemon Moves with them. Rhea was becoming more aware of what each of her Pokemon’s Moves did and began going over some possible combinations with Sam.

At 9 A.M., Lyra returned with Hilbert; they’d been up all night but didn’t look tired in the least … the benefits of having extremely high physical fortitude as a Champion-tier.

Lyra was thrilled with Tera, saying she was the highest level out of everyone’s Pokemon so far and that she was impressed by the tactics they’d used against the Nidorino.

Rhea asked about Mepi, but the girl had returned north to Sinnoh, which surprised her; apparently, it was the girl’s home region.

Hilbert gave her a hug before taking off; he had to take care of something that was bugging him. She was a little disappointed he didn’t stick around since she didn’t see him that often, but was used to everyone in her life taking to the skies the moment something caught their interest … most of the people in her life were all high-profile Trainers.

Lyra teleported them back to her house, and everyone else followed shortly after; Silver seemed to have already left for work. They all found a place in Lyra’s living room, and her Azumarill went to grab a few more chairs from the kitchen.

Rhea’s eyebrows furrowed as the group took their places around the room. Everyone was in high spirits, but for some reason, Inoa, Casey’s teammate, sat kind of off on her own, and Jade swiftly moved her seat over to join her, which caused Inoa to give her a thankful smile.

Did something happen between Inoa and her team? Why is she by herself? Mmh … should I go talk to her … oh, Jade’s doing it.

She caught a look that passed between Casey, Inoa, and Ellie she didn’t quite understand; if she was to take a guess, they needed to sort something out. Her attention was swiftly pulled back to the others as they all introduced their new Pokemon. Rhea didn’t know if she should try to say something or not, but Jade seemed to have gotten closer to the dark-skinned Alolan Trainer.

Amira got a pretty strong Fairy-Type Pokemon called Comfey, which she named Holly.

Rhea thought she was super cute with how friendly the flower Pokemon was, floating between the other Pokemon to shake their hands or talk. Nova took a shine to her, and she ran over to join Amber and her new teammate to talk more.

On the other hand, Mallory had an Impidimp that Nova didn’t like at all, and the little guy wasn’t exactly in Rhea’s taste with its personality; he reminded her of a much less mature Franky. Miky kept on snooping around and trying to play pranks on them. He learned quickly not to get behind Mya with her snapping jaws, which got a giggle from a few of the girls.

Tera and Hector gathered around Mya for protection from the imp’s games, if nothing else, but the Long Nose Pokemon had really taken a shine to her tough Mawile.

Hannah’s Togepi introduced himself with flourishing twists and jumps in the air; he actually went kind of on the offensive against the Impidimp, chasing it around while shouting things that the other Pokemon laughed at. The spiky egg was really quite animated compared to most of the Pokemon Rhea had seen. Rhea just liked to see the pink trickster get a little taste of his own medicine.

Everyone fawned over the shy little female Pichu in Jade’s lap, which refused to leave her side, with Orin sitting on his Trainer’s shoulder, talking to her.

According to Jade, the Pichu had a rare genetic condition that Rhea’s mother had talked to her about, and there might be a way to save her. Both of them were worried about the operation, but if they didn’t do anything, then the little Pichu would die regardless.

She was the weakest out of all the Pokemon they’d gathered since she was a newborn, and even though Mya and Nova were only recently hatched, they were exceptions with all the changes her mother had made to them.

Inoa had a female Galarian Meowth ask to be in her party, which was a bizarre regional variant to the Meowth Rhea was accustomed to. The cat Pokemon was certainly fluffy around certain parts, but small curves to her features did make her appear more feminine, according to Ellie, who’d grown up around this kind of Meowth … Rhea found it hard to believe she thought their Meowth was the strange one.

Ellie gained a male Tangela on her squad, which made a few comments but didn’t seem too outspoken. The Tangela and Galarian Meowth stuck together since the two had grown up in the same area; in fact, the Tangela convinced the female Meowth to join him on the human adventure.

Mya and the Galarian Meowth seemed to hit it off a bit from the little they talked.

Ellie’s male Charmander and Inoa’s female Cyndaquil appeared to be buddies, and Casey’s Mudkip was obviously quite shy due to a Mime Jr. named Noble. From what Rhea could see, the little clown was peppy and respectful, but Sadie was pretty nervous around him, hiding behind Gables.

They each got ready to go after some introductions and a snack for those that hadn’t eaten yet, such as Mallory and Casey; apparently, the two sisters had slept until 8 A.M., likely partying all night, if Rhea was to take a guess.

With how many girls they had, Lyra’s car wouldn’t be big enough to accommodate them, so she called the Rocket limo to pick them up again. In the meantime, Hannah and Jade managed to get the Champion to tell them a bit about Ho-Oh; Amira seemed to know the story because she disappeared to her room for something.

Lyra settled in, smoothing out her dress to tell a short story; everyone else seemed happy to learn more about the Legendary Pokemon.

“Okay, so, the first thing you need to know about my guy Ho-Oh is that he’s a pretty old dude!” Lyra started with a short snicker.

“Huh?” Rhea nearly fell out of her chair at the comment; there was a massive disconnect in her brain between the elegant, dazzling Rainbow Pokemon and an old man.

Hannah nodded. “Yeah … uh, I’m not really seeing the resemblance.”

“Well,” the Champion mused with a sly look, “Lugia is way more sus, but Ho-Oh’s had his flings.”

“Hold-up, hold-up,” Mallory smiled, “you’re talkin’ about Legendary Pokemon dating scandals?”

Lyra put her finger to her lips, giving her a wink. “Shh … he’s got ears everywhere! I’m going to tell you a story about the Ultra War, a pretty cute but tragic one.”

“Mom,” Amira called down with a loud sigh, “you know, talking about that stuff is supposed to be somewhat illegal, right?”

“Pfft,” Lyra waved the comment off with a chuckle, “girl, do you know who you’re talking to?! Oh, and I participated in the whole meeting; of course, I know what’s off-limits … and where to walk the line,” she winked at them, causing a giggle to pass through the group.

Lyra shrugged with a sad shake of her head. “Although, I thought more of it should be open,” she huffed, drawing the hopeful eyes of everyone for juicy details. “Besides, I’ve told you all the fun ones already!”

“Yeah … doesn’t mean you should have,” Amira replied, barely audible from upstairs.

“Anyways,” Lyra grinned, settling into her armchair while crossing her legs. “During the Ultra War, Ultra Wormholes were popping up everywhere; basically, teleportation spatial stuff that could take you to different dimensions. We couldn’t stop them all since our enemy wanted to open as many as possible to throw us off. It was chaos!”

Lyra’s hands and facial expressions animated the scenes with emotion. “We were running all over the world, trying to deal with all the random things that came through, and well … Legendary Pokemon helped off and on, depending on the region and threat. Ho-Oh was a huge support, and Lugia … well, more toward the tail end of the war for, ahem, reasons,” she snickered.

“You see, Ho-Oh had been putting in all this work and helped me out a ton; we’re pretty close to making some real headway,” she added. “Then … Lugia got himself a little girlfriend,” she mused, “that dirty old man.”

Casey’s thighs were locked together as she sat on the edge of her seat. “He was older than her?” She asked, more enthralled than Rhea thought the party-girl would be, but it was a question she also wanted to know. Stories like this weren’t something most of the Masters she knew talked about; all their tales were about battles that she didn’t understand since there wasn’t any context.

Lyra nodded. “Oh, our Legendary Pokemon are super, super oldies! This Lugia that showed up was like only … 30,000 years old? Yeah, super, super young, but, oh, she made ol’ Lugia’s tail wag with those colors! She kind of messed him up in more ways than one for a bit,” she mumbled, lips pulling in, “he’d fallen hook, line, and sinker for the pretty bird.”

“30,000 is super young?” Sam whispered in disbelief, but Lyra kept on with her story.

“Naturally, Ho-Oh got a bit jealous … and a bit exasperated with his old pal,” the woman chuckled, playing with a few free locks across her front. “I mean, the two guys had been bachelors for like … ever, and then his main dude had this random girl wrap him around her tail!

“He stopped showing up on weekly catch-up flights, started ditching planned battle spots, as well as ghosting him a bit to deal with this attractive little fox, and well … Ho-Oh couldn’t just interfere—my advice, by the way,” she tittered.

“Lugia had met one or two female Lugia throughout his many ages of Ultra Wormhole events, but they always went back, leaving him heartbroken, and … usually a bit battered. He’s kind of a hopeless romantic,” Lyra shrugged, getting a giggle out of Rhea and a few girls. “He never goes hard on them.”

“Ho-Oh, though … wow,” Lyra breathed with a forced smile, “he’s … somethin’ else when it comes to courting. He’s made a few advances at one or two Ho-Oh beyond our dimension, but he’s never really had Lugia’s luck, which is crazy because he’s super hot!” She smirked. “Maybe it’s the way he goes about preening … I don’t know, but as far as Lugia tells me, those Ho-Oh were super stuck-up and probably intimidated by our Ho-Oh since he’s so strong … or just old.”

“Is it really that hard for them?” Rhea asked, feeling a little bad for the majestic bird Pokemon.

Jade shook her head with a strained grin. “I’m just trying to understand there’s more than one of … well, Ho-Oh. Wait … they can have babies?”

“Oh, they totally can! There are many, many more Legendaries, too” Lyra waved her hand, “but usually only one per dimension since they’d have to migrate across space and time; it’s also not guaranteed they’d be female! As to your question, Rhea,” she puffed out a long sigh, “yeah, knowing how most Legendary Pokemon personalities are … it’s hard to find compatible mates with egos so big. It really takes something special for two Pokemon that can live forever to decide to live eternity with one another.”

“Well, when you put it like that,” Mallory hummed, rubbing her chin.

Casey shook her head, braided hair bouncing across her front. “No, I think it’s beautiful, Lori … spending forever with someone that gets you…”

“Mmh … I don’t know,” Lori mumbled, “seems like a pipe dream to me.”

Lyra leaned back, folding her arms and tapping her leg. “Finding that kind of love can be difficult … it certainly requires more than physical attraction … anyways, Ho-Oh was kind of in a slump, and so he came knocking.”

Hannah’s eyes widened. “Woah, he went to you for relationship advice?” She asked with awe; her phone was out, and she was writing it down in what appeared to be a journal. “That’s like … Pokemon do that?”

“I mean, Ho-Oh’s not a normal Pokemon,” Lyra mused. “He’s been around before humanity was a thing … but yeah, he came soaring through the sky, pulling me right out of the backyard,” a slight pout creased the woman’s lips, “he’s normally more gentlemanly about his abductions, but he was in kind of a mood that day.”

“... Wait,” Rhea mumbled, ”he … kidnapped you?”

“Basically,” Lyra huffed. “He wouldn’t even let me talk; just went on and on about this little storm he had to contain because Lugia and his new girl … well, she wasn’t his girl then, but Lugia kept bragging about how he was getting through to her … it’s complicated. Anyway, he just wouldn’t shut up about it, so … I told him to just find a girl himself and stop bugging me … I was kind of pissed.”

She rolled her eyes, brushing back her brown locks as everyone leaned in closer. “And he, having the dense bird brain he has sometimes, started thinking with his emotions and was like … ‘yeah, I should!’ So, when the next big battle happened with a wormhole opening up … ya know what he did?”

They all shook their heads.

“He skipped out!” Lyra groaned. “And it was kind of my fault … I felt a bit guilty, but things turned out alright since Zygarde showed up … oh, Amira,” she shouted, “that’s the Pokemon’s energy that the Togepi copied! Yeah … where was I … ah, he skipped out … yeah, probably the maddest I ever was at him,” she shook her head with a frown. “Not only did he skip out, but he showed up to skip out!”

With everyone’s confused glances, she elaborated.

“Ho-Oh popped-in to the battle and just smashed right through the enemy’s formation without a care in the world … super stupid, but that’s how annoyed he was with Lugia, and I didn’t realize it … he went to twelve dimensions before returning … twelve!”

“Did he find a girl?” Sam tentatively asked.

Lyra nodded, anger fading. “Yeah, he did … super young thing … probably less than 10,000 years. She made it back, and they had a happy few months together … I was pissed at him, but then she was murdered in one of the last invasions. That kind of changed him … and his focus; I couldn’t stay mad after seeing his heart break like that.”

Rhea was surprised her nose started to burn, and Hannah was wiping at her eyes.

“Why,” Casey mumbled, “he just … after so long, he finally found a girl that liked him and … she was killed?”

Lyra breathed in and out, fiddling with her bangs again. “Ultra Wormholes used to be extremely rare … thinking about the ages they’ve lived and how long it took for him to find that love interest is what kind of hit me, too. The Ultra War gave him the chance to find her … and it took her away. Yup … that’s why it’s cute and tragic. There are lots of stories like that during the Ultra War … filled with happiness and sadness.”

“Life sucks,” Casey grumbled.

Mallory was folding her arms under her chest, glaring at the floor. “... Did he get his revenge?”

“No, not yet … it almost cost him his life trying, but … he’s doing better. He’s got a good group of homies, and Lugia was there for him.”

Rhea reached down to pick up Nova as she ran over to her, petting her head. “That’s so sad … my family never told me that story.”

Lyra gave her a sad nod. “Yeah, your family’s closer to the Sinnoh and Unova Legendaries, which … I am not so much,” she said with a forced smile. “Even the Legendary Birds give me a headache sometimes … they can be fire starters, but Lugia keeps them in check most of the time with his girl. They’re a lot more manageable with the two of them keeping an eye out for their tempers … oh, the limo is here!” She chimed.

“That was quick…” Inoa mumbled. “Umm, Ms. Lyra … I heard a story that Ho-Oh could revive the dead … couldn’t he do that to … you know?”

Rhea was shocked it had been the Alolan girl to bring it up; the thought did momentarily pass through her mind, but it was swiftly swept under the rug with the rest of the tragic tone of the story.

“Wait,” Casey’s brow furrowed, “you’re right! What about the story with Suicune, Raikou, and Entei?”

Everyone’s gaze turned to Amira as she descended the stairs. “It’s because of how she died … Yveltal.”

There were more than a few blank looks around the circle, but Rhea breathed out an understanding hiss. “Ah … the Destruction Pokemon.”

Lyra groaned, goosebumps appearing on her arms as she rubbed them. “I hate to even think about her … umm, yeah, some Pokemon are just … dark. Anyways, we should get going!” She chuckled, getting to her feet. “I’ll drop you girls off wherever you want,” she added, glancing at Casey’s group.

“Right…” Casey whispered, giving Lori a look that confused Rhea; her sister only returned a lifted eyebrow, which caused Casey to sigh. “Alright, umm, I think our hotel would be fine. Thanks, Champion Lyra.”

“I told you,” Lyra giggled, “just call me Lyra!”

The rest of the girls thanked her for the help and advice she’d given before dragging their packs outside. Only a few fit in the trunk, so Casey’s group decided to keep theirs inside since they’d be getting out.

To Rhea, it looked like Casey had something she wanted to talk about with her teammates, but it was awkward in the group. The trip to their hotel was mostly in silence; Inoa kept giving Casey nervous looks while Ellie kept a bored expression … of course, Rhea hadn’t seen much emotion out of the girl.

Jade waved Inoa off as Mallory and Casey hugged; Lori whispered something into her ear before pulling away. The exchange didn’t last long, and they were back on the road to the nearby hospital where Rhea’s mother was waiting.

The Pichu looked pretty agitated, but Rhea was sure she was scared; Jade comforted her with Sam and Hannah’s help.

Amira was back to her silent cool-girl attitude, passively looking out of the window, glaring at Skull members, but Rhea’s mind was still on the exchange between the two sisters.

“Umm, Lori,” Rhea asked, shifting a little to face the purple-haired girl.

“Mmh?” Lori asked, giving her a questioning smile.

“Is Casey okay? She just seemed a little … well, a lot different.”

“Cass, yeah, yeah, she’s fine,” Mallory waved dismissively. “Their team went through a bit of a rough patch, but it’ll work out. Hmm … but I’m a bit more worried about Viridian,” she mumbled, watching Gables talk to Miky; he seemed to be trying to teach the imp how to be a bit less annoying, and he was actually listening.

Amira’s hand stopped passively petting Amber in her lap, causing the fox to look up at her. “What do you mean?”

“Ah, I guess it’s hitting the dark web, huh?” Lyra sighed, readjusting her hair.

“What?” Rhea asked.

Lori straightened out her skirt. “Lusamine woke up … some people are saying the Ultra War will probably start again.”

Flashbacks of the injured Masters passing through her small village when Rhea was younger surfaced. “Wait … no, but … she stopped it, didn’t she? Why would that mean they’re going to open again?”

Mallory shook her head. “No idea; it’s just what people are saying.”

Sam hugged herself as a shiver ran down her frame. “That was a pretty scary time … my parents were really worried Silver-tier would be drafted. One of the Gold-tier Trainers they knew died…”

Lyra’s smile was compassionate. “We’ve had a lot of time to prepare. It shouldn’t be as bad as it was if that happens. The truth is, we don’t know what it really means; they might open again, but if they do, it will be slower and not nearly as many. It could be five or ten years until the first reappears.”

It all started to connect in Rhea’s head. “That’s why my mom’s here … she’s trying to figure it out, right?”

“She is,” Lyra nodded. “It’s not something you girls need to be worried about, though…”

“No?” Amira asked, glaring at her mother. “After you just told us a story about the war where Legendary Pokemon died? Where Grandpa and everyone else in my family was on the front line? Rhea and Mallory’s families, too,” she challenged.

Sam, Hannah, and Jade’s lips sealed, not wanting to get involved in the conversation.

Lyra’s smile fell a little with her gaze. “True … I can’t say everything will be fine like you’re a little girl anymore. War is scary, but if those that can fight don’t … then we lose everything we care about anyway.”

“I get that,” Amira replied, arms tightening under her chest, “just don’t lie to me.”

Mallory sighed, fiddling with her skirt. “I get why you’d need to keep certain things hidden. If you say the wrong thing, then the public could go into a panic, and it would only hurt things. The economy could take a hit, which would affect the war effort, too … it’s complicated. I don’t really remember much from that time … just a lot of sadness, being alone, and well, a lot of pain.”

The Champion visibly forced her hands away from her hair. “... I do generally agree with your aunt, Rhea. I think kids can handle more than we think they can … I mean, from personal experience alone, heh … but you should also be focused on other things, happier things.

“War is ugly, and I fought to make the world a brighter place for my cute little redhead,” she teased, scooting over to hug Amira. “I want you girls to enjoy yourselves on your journey; becoming a Trainer is all about the adventure, growing closer to your Pokemon! Leave all the hard stuff to the adults until you absolutely have to join the fight … of course, that doesn’t mean you can’t prepare,” she added with the glare Amira gave her.

Amira took a deep breath, seemingly to calm her nerves as Rhea thought about Lyra’s words, but her teammate said what she was thinking. “I get it … we’re weak Bronze-tier. If I want to keep you safe … I just need to get stronger than you and force you to stay home.”

“Oh, honey,” Lyra chuckled, tears coming to her eyes. “You’re impossible.”

“No, you’re impossible!” Amira returned, cheeks red as her arms tightened around her mother’s chest.

Rhea smiled. Amira was right; her family always left her behind with all the things they did to keep the public peace. If that was the case, then she just needed to get strong enough to keep them safe. Mya and Nova were 100% on board. “You’re saying we have time, though. Are you with us?” She asked Mallory.

She pulled back her purple hair with a forced smile. “It’s gonna be harder than you think, but yeah, I’m with you.”

“Us, too!” Hannah chimed. “Umm, we’re not super strong, but we want to help.”

Sam’s grip tightened against her thighs. “Mmh … yeah, we’ll do our best.”

“Us, too, right, Pichu?” Jade asked, holding up her little yellow ball.

The electric mouse gave a weak chuckle, probably not understanding what was going on, which caused the other Pokemon to laugh.

Lyra ruffled Amira’s hair to her displeasure, forcing her to fix it. “You girls are so cute and spirited … if you keep that attitude, I know you’ll go far. Just know that this little lady’s gonna be looking out for you. Until you can beat me in a match, you’ll always be my little girl,” she winked.

“Just watch,” Amira grumbled, fiddling with her braid, “I’m going to beat Grandpa and you…”

“I look forward to it!” Lyra giggled.

Rhea’s heart warmed at the exchange. She hadn’t met Lyra before since her family didn’t trust the Rockets that much, but the woman was a gem.

She noticed the strict Rocket security outside the hospital as they arrived; shockingly, one or two reporters were being kept from entering. Most of the News was still on the Ho-Oh event, but it appeared a few snoops had at least connected the dots that Lusamine might have awoken.

They tried to get a comment, but the Rocket guards swiftly forced them back as the girls entered the extremely advanced-looking building. Researchers were flooding the hallways, talking to one another and comparing notes or theories, but Lyra promptly released her Porygon-Z and teleported them to a room once inside the building.

Christie was standing beside a strange portable machine, messing with a tablet as they entered. “Ah … you made good time, Lyra.”

Rhea rushed over to hug her, and her mother opened her arms with a tired smile; she didn’t look quite as bad as when she’d passed out, but it was getting close to that point. “Mom … you need to rest a little.”

“I know, I know,” she chuckled, rubbing her back with the tablet, “your dad tells me that all the time. ‘Oh, you’ll start losing hair if you keep like this’ … gah, like I haven’t already solved that issue,” she snickered.

“I’m with your daughter,” Lyra chimed in, taking a nearby seat, “you should take care of yourself more.”

“I do with what little time I have,” Christie replied, brushing back her bangs to focus on the Pichu Jade brought over. “And this must be the patient,” she hummed.

Jade and the Pichu fidgeted with Christie’s critical eye. “... Well, she’s as healthy as she could be, considering the circumstances, which is a positive. Alright, let’s get this going … I have a few gene ontology reports to go over after this to compare our bioinformatics data…”

“For Lusamine?” Rhea asked.

Her mother scratched her temple, shooting a light glare at Lyra, but the woman pointed at Mallory with a smile. “Gah … let’s not make a spectacle of the woman; she’s been through enough.”

Rhea was surprised to hear that from her mother. Amira, Lyra, and Lori agreed, though.

Her mother took the nervous Pichu from Jade, and everyone moved to the side of the room to observe.

“She’s terrified,” Jade whispered.

“Aww, I know,” Christie smiled reassuringly, “it’s rough for wild baby Pokemon; they don’t understand us. Okay, Pichu, let’s get acquainted.”

Christie took out a pokeball to release her male Meowstic. “Mika will help you relax … there we go,” she soothed as a white aura emitted from him before yawning.

The small cloud dispersed against the Pichu’s body, causing her trembles to ease and the Pokemon swiftly fell asleep. She accepted the sleeping Pokemon and placed her inside the machine.

“It’s not going to hurt her, right?” Jade tentatively asked.

Christie’s lips bunched as she sealed the container. “It would be more comfortable if we were in my lab with proper equipment, but this will have to do. She won’t feel anything with how deep she’s sleeping … this is much easier on newborns than already developed Pokemon.”

“What’s she doing?” Amira whispered to her mother.

Lyra shrugged. “Wrong person to ask…”

Rhea had heard her mother talk about this before, so she explained while her mother worked, Jade, Hannah, Sam, and Mallory listening intently. “You see the second chamber Mika is getting into? To force open the Pichu’s Energy Core, she needs to be surrounded by concentrated Pokemon energy … it’s actually a bit painful for Mika, having his energy extracted.”

“You can extract Pokemon energy?” Hannah hissed with concern. “When did that happen?”

“A long time ago,” Lyra mumbled. “Rocket and Plasma developed the technology. It can be used in a good way … and bad.”

Rhea nodded, watching Mika wince as the machine started to hum softly; her mother was watching the charts and modifying the draw. “I think it should be pretty quick and easy since Mika is low Master-tier and Pichu’s a newborn.”

“That’s correct, honey,” Christie replied, giving her a warm smile before returning her focus to the tablet. “I’m happy to see you pay attention while I’m rambling at home.”

They fell silent for the remaining five minutes it took to forcefully expand the Pichu’s Energy Core, and Christie gave the Pichu an item to wake her up. She seemed to have a hard time breathing.

Everyone’s gaze moved to an Ultra Ball that Christie produced from her lab coat, handing it to Jade. “You’ll need to constantly feed her a small bit of energy, which will also help you expand your fortitudes. It’s going to be a bit rough, though.”

Mika explained to the Pichu what would happen next, opening the case up himself with Telekinesis.

Jade hesitated for a moment before accepting it and offering it to Pichu with a smile. “Okay, are you ready to be my partner?”

Whatever Mika said to the Pichu had her in tears, and she practically jumped on the device, not knowing a simple touch would work. She was converted to energy and swiftly accepted the bond.

“How do you feel?” Rhea asked as Jade winced.

“Umm … it’s a little tight…” She mumbled, rubbing her chest.

Rhea chuckled. “Yeah, I know what you mean.”

Mallory gave her a bright smile, gaze shifting back to Christie. “So, it worked?”

“It did,” Christie replied, packing the device into a large bag that Mika lifted with his psychic powers. “Now, I’ve gotta get back to work … I’m so sorry, dear,” she sighed, reaching over to hug Rhea.

“No, it’s fine. I know you’re busy. Thanks for helping.”

“Y-Yeah, thanks so much!” Jade followed.

Christie waved them off, already on her way to the door. “Your dad says he’s sorry, too, but more stuff came up that he has to deal with.”

Story of my life… Rhea partially complained. “It’s fine … umm, Mom, I’ll see you guys at Pewter, right?”

Her mother paused at the door, suddenly looking a bit frustrated before hurrying back to get a good look at her. “Yeah, we should … hold-up…”

“What?” Rhea asked.

Lyra hummed, giving Christie a wink. “Just noticing?”

“Ho-Oh healed your fortitudes … hmm, but I’d still like to run more tests when you get to Pewter,” she mumbled, turning Rhea around in a circle. “... Super cute dress, by the way … okay, I’m off!”

“Thanks,” Rhea chuckled. Just Mom being Mom…

They all laughed at her mother’s strange, sleep-deprived behavior before heading to the Viridian Gym. Giovanni had texted Lyra about stopping by, which Amira was excited about; Rhea figured she was relieved about the simple fact her grandfather was alright after the chaos yesterday brought.

An officer stopped them on the way out, pulling Lyra off to another room … probably to talk about her teleporting in the hospital by her sheepish expression. Rhea could understand where Amira was coming from by the stern look of Viridian’s chief law enforcement officer, Viridian Police Commissioner Jenny, the City-State didn’t mess around, even with Champion-tier Trainers that broke the rules.

After a short exchange, they parted ways with Sam, Jade, and Hannah; Jade called her cute little Pichu Mimi since the little Pokemon liked Mika’s name, and Rhea, Lori, and Amira went with Lyra to the Gym.