4:12 P.M. June 22, Tuesday, 106 PH (Post Hoopa Event)

Events: The Preliminaries for the Joint Kanto and Johto Indigo Summer League have concluded; 105 Trainers and their Pokemon have advanced from Bronze to Silver. A week of celebration is to follow, marked with events put on by the Indigo League, after which the Summer Round Robin Cup will begin, to crown the best of each Tier among those that advanced. The battles begin on the 27th. Rhea started her journey on the 9th of June—she’s been a Trainer for 14 Days.

Rhea took one last look at the expansive view of Viridian Forest, pondering everything that had happened since she’d started her journey.

Fourteen days ago, on June 9th, she’d bonded with Mya and Nova. Now, here she was, overlooking a sprawling landscape of a place she’d only seen in photos … It took her fourteen days to travel from Pallet to Pewter, and she did it with her friends—teammates.

She smiled, gaze shifting to her Pokémon on top of the rail guard, enjoying the sight below with the others. It was hard to believe, but they had taken down a Low Silver-tier wild Pokémon together … not to mention seen Ho-Oh, and it was only the beginning of their story.

Managing her long bound hair, Rhea flipped around, leaning against the guard to stare behind them at the large city they were about to enter, surrounded by a stone wall that marked its borders. She’d heard quite a lot about Pewter.

The ground was far more leveled out than the old pictures she’d seen of the place, which was in no small part a product of Brock’s family, and why they were so revered in the area. That hadn’t always been the case, though, and there was a time when they’d come under heavy criticism in the manner they handled the City-State’s Gym, primarily dealing with Flint and Lola.

However, in the subsequent years after Brock’s travels and education as a human physician, Forrest’s rise as a competent High-Master Trainer, and more of the Harrison family taking their steps into the spotlight, the Pewter City-State returned with power.

The Harrison family got together for an ambitious reconstruction effort fifteen years ago, diverting several nearby rivers to better connect the split water supplies for both Pokémon and human use, leveled the ground for stable expansion, and established the 3rd most prestigious hospital for both Pokémon and humans alike in Johto and Kanto.

Towering concrete and steel buildings of the working district rose into the sky on the west side of the city, whereas most businesses were near the river. The marketplace, corporate offices, and hospitals were located there, and its economy was booming since Viridian’s public and private transportation services had grown.

To the east of Main Street was the residential district, leading further beyond it to many farmlands and Route 3, the safest path Pewter maintained around Mt. Moon through Clefairy Valley, linking with Route 4 and Rifure Town in Blue Forest.

Some Bronze and even Silver-tier Trainers in the past had their most challenging times in this section of the region since paths weren’t as clearly marked back then, causing many young kids to become lost in the dangerous mountainous terrain.

Pewter had a rocky history—however, Brock had contributed a great deal of effort into improving his city, and with the reconstruction, Route 2 went straight to Pewter Main, guiding Trainers directly to the city’s heart, its Gym, which separated the working and residential districts.

Trainer hotels and dining areas were the main staple across the avenue, marketed toward travelers on their journey through Kanto that took them around Pewter’s Gym and toward the city’s greatest attraction, Pewter Museum of Science.

The entire northern part of Pewter was taken up by the sprawling campus, designed for specific purposes. At its heart was the museum itself, displaying the area’s rich cultural past and dedicated to many of Mt. Moon’s secrets.

Great and mysterious civilizations were native to Mt. Moon’s surrounding landscape, including Pokémopolis, a people that utilized strange artifacts the scientists of Pewter were still trying to decipher and learn more about.

It was a warful nation with some connection with the world’s giant Pokémon, but much about the people and its Pokémon was still being excavated due to its dangerous nature.

Mew was a big focus in some of the other past cultures that lived in these ancient mountains, dedicated to honoring a place called The Forest of Origin, which her father claimed was a real place, masked in the wandering alpine mists, north of Mt. Moon.

Rhea wasn’t exactly sure if her father was pulling her leg or not on that story since trying to hide a tree the size of a mountain seemed rather silly in today’s day and age, but he was adamant about it.

No, but what she was sure about was the campus’s Ancient Pokémon Biodome to the museum’s northern half, where an exhibit was located, and the giant Shieldon dating back to Pokémopolis had been revived.

It proved the Pokémon had been in the region and sparked some debate among scientists about how wide the ancient empire spread since no documents dated back that far and the language was still being studied.

Rhea was neutral to much of it, but she heard about it nonetheless because of who her mother was—she just wanted to see a non-Dynamaxed giant Pokémon for herself.

The east side of the campus was dedicated to Pewter University, built closer to the residential district where dorm facilities had been constructed for those studying abroad. It ranked in the top five in Johto and Kanto.

The city’s Science Division was located on the west side of the campus, dealing with most of the postgraduate activities and research, which Rhea wasn’t particularly interested in.

A long sigh left Rhea’s lips while studying the vast expanse of the city she’d only seen on her cycling laptop background of places she wished to visit—it was so much larger than her tiny little village … everything was, and it was beginning to become a bit overwhelming.

They’d hardly scratched the surface of Viridian; even Dark City and Gardenia City were massive compared to her home village.

The mountains surrounding the level city, enclosing it in a protective half-circle, put her mind at ease, though, knowing there was always something bigger.

There were still hydropower plants that could be seen along the Pokémon carved river that the area primarily relied upon before Rocket’s clean nuclear plants, but it still served as a means to mitigate some power costs—there were times Pewter faced power droughts when the mountains would have enough snowfall during the winter months to keep the plants from running and the area’s needed water supply dried up. Things had grown significantly better since Rocket’s ferocious return into the business world, though.

Rhea smiled at her redheaded companion as the girl peered into the deep valley below, searching for any hint of her home city.

Things are turning out pretty good so far…

Taking out her cell phone, she texted her brother, lips falling a bit when she got an auto-reply he’d preset whenever the message couldn’t be received—he was in a place that couldn’t be reached, meaning Katelin and him were still hiking around Mt. Moon on their couple’s retreat. The message said they’d be back in Pewter by the 23rd, tomorrow.

It wasn’t long after that the seven girls made their way down from the lookout tower to enter the City of Stone. Sam, Hannah, and Jade slowly got to know Jay over the last few days, exchanging contact information themselves.

Amira and Lori were discussing the benefits of Contests, the purple-haired girl still trying to convince their teammate to join them at some point when Rhea got a call from her mother.

Answering it in voice-only mode as they returned to the road, her mother’s cheerful voice brightened her moon further. “Hey, Mom!”

“Afternoon, my little Swablu! Oh … in new company?”

“Yeah, I found a new friend named Jay; she’s from Alola.”

Her mother giggled. “Look at you, capturing more friends by the day, and your father was telling me how worried you were about spreading your wings.”

A light blush touched her cheeks. “Mom, it wasn’t that bad…”

“He-he, alright, alright! Well, I can’t wait to meet them at some point—by the way, your father and I have made some time to stop by Pewter late this evening, and I have a special gift for you and your teammates!”

“A gift, huh…” Rhea mumbled, eyeing her two companions, still engrossed in Lori’s learned lessons from their spectacular Contest defeat. “It’s not new phones again, is it?” She asked, knowing her mother loved giving her new pieces of prototype technology to test out.

Rhea did her due diligence as a tester, though, and sent weekly feedback data on bugs or errors she found—although fewer and fewer of them occurred with every new item her mother sent her from her Silph contacts.

She caught a few phrases as her six companions as they converged into a singular group, noting the topic change as the Rocket girl explained to the others that Forrest wasn’t scheduled to take battles until tomorrow at 11 A.M., which made Rhea’s day since her brother would be able to see her first Gym battle.

Jay scratched her head with a slight frown. “Wait—so, Pewter is the easiest Gym?”

“Well, that’s what everyone says,” Hannah replied with a forced smile. “I don’t know if it’s true, but I wouldn’t say that when we get inside, they’re pretty touchy about it.”

Amira shrugged, pushing up her seashades a little on her nose after adjusting her tote bag. “It’s a well-known fact that Falkner and Forrest are the first Gyms you should attempt to get an Encrusted Badge from if you’re going for the League Triple Challenge. It’s hard to argue with numbers, but the statistics could be skewed since more people go through Pewter than any other Gym.”

“Huh … I had no idea,” Jay mumbled. “I was told by some Kanto guys that I should try Viridian Gym first.”

A laugh shook Amira’s chest. “... Yeah, you’ll get some of those people in Kanto—heh, no, no, you shouldn’t! My grandfather is ranked at the top of Johto and Kanto Battle Rankings for a reason.”

Focus returning to her mother, Rhea frowned while staring ahead of them at the front gate leading into Pewter. “So … you’ll be here tonight?”

“Mhm! I have a lot of data I can look over without being in Viridian as is, and some new developments have given me more time … Is Sabin there?”

“Nope,” Rhea sighed. “I think he’s still with Katelin on their little adventure, but he’ll be back tomorrow.”

“Good. Good. I was just hoping to see him a little,” she replied, mirroring Rhea’s depressed tone. “I don’t see you two enough … My, how quickly kids grow.”

Rhea’s expression brightened a little. “You can always stop by with dad wherever we are and hang out for a bit.”

“Yeah … maybe we’ll do that a few times a month—I gotta get my cute daughter fix,” she snickered. “Plus, I’ll be able to see how things are going with Nova and Mya … Hmm, gotta finish setting some things up. Talk to you later tonight, honey!”

“Later, Mom…”

Hanging up, Rhea caught a recent post by Jason that came down the moment she ended the call, saying they’d be back in Pewter late that night. They’d likely crash at some hotel after the grueling adventure they seemed to have, given the mud-caked images her best friend sent back, but it meant they’d have time to catch up tomorrow—it would be an eventful day.

Noticing she was off the phone, Sam bounced over with a bright grin. “... Hey, Rhea! So, we have some time to kill after signing up at the Gym. What do you think about hitting the museum? Jay wants to see the Pokémopolis exhibit and giant Shieldon!”

“Sure!” Rhea chimed, walking closer to her group. “Although, I need to stop by Brock’s hospital for a checkup later tonight.”

“Oh, is something wrong?” Jay asked with concern, brushing back her blonde locks that Jade braided that morning.

“No, no, no!” Rhea laughed, waving her hand. “My mom’s stopping by with my dad, and they wanted to make sure I’m healthy—nothing big.”

Sam quickly jumped in, pulling Jay’s attention. “Oh, okay! So, while Amira, Lori, and Rhea do that, we can look around the local shops.”

“Yeah,” Lori grinned. “You four chill, and we’ll meet up after; you can show us all the cool stuff.”

“Okay,” Jay returned, her brown eyes falling to the road. “You know … it really means a lot to me that you’re showing me around and stuff—thanks.”

Hannah jumped ahead a bit, turning to walk backward while managing her hair. “No problem! By the way, I love the whole Alolan theme you have; it’s really bright and eye-catching.”

Jay plucked at her skirt, expression forced before shivering a little as the wind picked up. “Uh … sure, but I really need to get some warmer clothes because—gah, is it not chilly to you six?” she asked, rubbing her shoulders. “It wasn’t too bad in Pallet, but every day it gets colder and colder—shouldn’t it be the opposite?!”

“Elevation,” Amira replied. “Uh … yeah, it’ll get a lot chillier as we go around Mt. Moon, but it will warm up as we get to Cerulean.”

“New clothes, then?” Rhea asked, studying the girl’s petite figure. “I kind of think it’s a bit hot right now—personally.”

“No way…” Jay mumbled, still rubbing her shoulders. “Will it get colder anywhere else in Kanto?”

Amira shook her head. “Mt. Silver and Pewter areas are the coldest here.”

“Alright … so, I just need to tough it out for a week—better than wasting my money,” she grumbled, reminding Rhea how stretched the Alolan girl was without a team to help back her up.

Sam pulled her brown bangs behind her ears before looking at both her teammates. “Umm, Jay…”

“Hmm?”

“Hannah, Jade, and I were talking last night, and—if you want, you can join us. I mean, I know it’s not really that common to have a four-person party, and we’ll have to work some things out later, but we think you’d be fun to travel with.”

Jay slowed down a little, causing the others to join her; they were nearing the gate into Pewter. “You … You really mean it?” she asked in disbelief. “I mean … I’ve been a bit lost since coming to Kanto … It’s just so big…”

“Yeah!” Hannah grinned. “You’re super nice, and you can show us more of those Alolan dishes you were telling us about.”

“It wouldn’t cause trouble?” she pressed, concerned brown eyes shifting between them.

Sam shook her head. “Not at all! Will you join us?”

“Umm, sure—yeah, I’d like that,” Jay said, trying to hold back tears. “Thank you … I was getting a bit overwhelmed by how much Amira was telling me about how big Kanto was…”

Amira’s lips tightened. “Oh … Sorry…”

“No, no, I was just—it’s a lot to take in,” she hurriedly replied. “I’m used to living on an island.”

Lori chuckled. “What’s a continent but a big island—Am I right?”

They all laughed.

Rhea’s heart was on fire while watching the whole exchange, tears near her own eyes—she’d found a good group of friends.

Continuing into Pewter, her mind returned to her parents' visit; she couldn’t wait to hug her mom and dad again—she missed her father’s strong embrace and her mother’s gentle touch. Nova wanted hugs, too, while Mya was more focused on tomorrow’s match, excited for a real test of her strength.

The streets of Pewter were similar to Viridian, Brock probably taking inspiration from Giovanni’s own reconstruction plans, which left plenty of room for people to travel along the sidewalks.

Rhea caught sight of many Pokémon going about errands with their Trainers or operating independently; it was something she’d only recently become accustomed to since the only cities she’d seen were in online videos.

Walking into the colossal Rock-themed Gym at the city’s heart, her teammates signed up for the match against Forrest tomorrow, putting down the 3,000 required credits while the other four went for the standard 1,000 credit Aide challenge for later that evening. Jade, Rhea, and Hannah were nervous about the challenge, but Lori, Amira, Sam, and Jay were pretty confident—Mya felt downright unbeatable, as usual.

They stopped off at a nearby restaurant Amira directed them to, which was actually relatively affordable, considering the quality of the dishes, and once fed, visited the museum at 5:45 P.M.

On the way into the facility, Rhea noticed what she assumed were students of Pewter University, mostly ranging from ages 17 to 28, yet there were a few younger or older.

Amira explained that the shiny brass Bolder Badge pin with various bars on their outfit marked them as students, and the more lines showed their current seniority at the college. Everyone was dressed rather well, and their group drew a lot of attention, especially from the men, which Rhea chalked up to be from Jay’s exotic outfit.

Jay debated getting warmer clothes again while passing by a retail store but decided against it in the end, saying it would only increase her pack-load in the future, and they’d be indoors most of their stay in Pewter.

Rhea paid the 100 Credit fee for each of them, excluding Amira, who insisted on paying her own, yet the others gladly accepted her offer.

Inside the central museum were fine pieces of historical art salvaged among many other artifacts, such as pottery and the gibberish writing system Rhea couldn’t make heads or tails of.

Pokémopolis had an interesting architecture from what little had been uncovered so far, including the odd artifacts composed of a material only found inside the area, which had some scientists conclude the civilization originated from another dimension, possibly utilizing the Ultra Wormholes thousands of years ago.

The giant Shieldon was something else to behold; Mya and Nova seemed very puzzled by what the creature had to say; to them, the Pokémon spouted nonsense, talked funny, and what they did understand was rude—Mya wanting to fight it, but the first-stage Pokémon was somehow Gold-tier by Rhea’s estimates, and the museum wouldn’t be too happy with them for disrupting the habitat.

At one of the exhibits, a video was playing about scientists theorizing how Pokémopolis managed to accomplish giant Pokémon without using the Dynamax phenomenon and questioned how they managed to do it.

Unlike Gigamax, where Champion-tier Trainers could cause their Pokémon to mimic the Dynamax feat or the Galar equivalent, Pokémopolis managed to keep their Pokémon at that colossal form permanently. They were hoping the giant Shieldon would provide them some answers since giant Pokémon sightings had turned out to be accurate, where everyone thought it was a myth beforehand.

Rhea took several pictures of the interesting things, posting them for her family to comment on.

Of course, she quickly learned that was a mistake after her great grandmother, Bianca, mother, and aunt got into a lengthy scientific breakdown of every little thing. The four bounced off one another, making the comment section downright unreadable with the scientific and historical jargon they were spouting.

Wasting time in the museum until 8:45 P.M., when the facility was nearing closing hours, Rhea, Amira, and Mallory split ways with the other four girls, promising to meet up after the checkup.

They made their way to Brock’s private hospital, where he acted as its Medical Director. The auburn-haired beauty that met them at the desk took the group by surprise, though.

Holly Harrison, Brock’s wife, was standing behind the receptionist’s desk, casually talking to her husband’s employee with her large Probopass beside her.

Rhea knew about the woman and even the romantic tale the two shared since it was a favorite among Masters. Brock and Holly were paired in the Platinum Hearthome City Tag Battle Competition, and he was instantly smitten by her beauty, while she couldn’t care less for him, rejecting his advances.

Holly was older than Brock by two years and had no interest in younger men, yet after experiencing how deep his bond was with his Pokémon, she began to wish for something similar with her own, feeling somewhat inadequate and responsible for their loss.

She left without saying goodbye to him, unable to face the former Gym Leader, and vowed to train to be not only a better fit for her own Pokémon but for Brock, as well. Two years later, when he was 19 and she 21, they met again—this time it was Holly that made the first advance, saying that after their battle, she’d know if they were right for one another … They were married that night.

Holly was a Master-tier Trainer, never quite making it to High-Master, yet still participated in competitions to this day.

“Rhea, I’ve been expecting you,” she said with a soft smile, pushing herself away from the wall to join them. “Your parents should be arriving shortly.”

She said it low enough to not be heard by the several patients around the open area, but several of them watched in fascination as Holly guided them back, likely knowing who they were.

Once beyond the restricted doors, nurses and doctors cycling between rooms, Rhea looked up at the slightly taller woman—her heels added to the height difference. “So … Are you here to spend time with Brock?”

Amira and Mallory seemed to have no idea about the connection, keeping silent while listening to them.

“That and helping out,” Holly replied in a happy tone. “I received my nursing license a few years back, and while I’d rather be training with my husband, this is a passion of his I can enjoy being a part of.”

Rhea wondered what Lori was thinking, seeing her sly smile as the woman mentioned training with her husband, but dismissed it as Holly continued.

“Hmm—How are you feeling? Brock’s been pretty worried about you over the past two weeks.”

“He’s still talking about it?” Rhea asked with a forced smile. “I mean, I’m fine now, especially after Ho-Oh’s visit to Viridian.”

Holly slowly nodded, lips falling. “Yes … Ho-Oh’s appearance was a shock … It’s too bad only a part of Pewter was affected. There were a few patients that could have really used his help—but that’s life. A great many were healed, though, which we should be thankful for.”

They fell silent at the sobering topic until reaching the designated room; her parents were already inside, likely teleporting in, and her father rushed forward, reacting faster than her mother.

Rhea released a gasping chuckle as her father swept her off her feet and into a bear hug. “My darling little Swablu! How are you doing?”

“F-Fine, Dad! Heh … umm, yeah, my first few weeks have been great!”

“Hello, dears,” her mother laughed, walking over to hug Amira and Lori before getting to Rhea once her father let her go. “We’ll have to talk after we see how you’re doing … by the way, has Rhea told you two I have a little gift for you?” she asked with sparkling eyes.

“No…” Amira mumbled, giving Rhea a questioning glance.

Mallory grinned. “Oh, I love surprises!”

“Wonderful!” Christie chimed, ushering Rhea to the oversized chair that Brock silently stood beside with his wife. “First, we need to get some data … There we go, just sit back and relax…”

Brock and Holly stood by the edge of the room as Christie took over, messing with the equipment on the holographic interface above the device. After adjusting a few settings, her lips tightened, gaze darting between graphs and numbers that meant nothing to Rhea.

Mallory, Amira, and her father took the opposite side of her chair, wearing blank expressions while trying to follow the rapidly changing data points her mother instantly grasped and flipped to the next, making more adjustments.

“Hmm … I thought so … That could cause issues later … This could help, though … but modifications need to be made…”

“Christie?” Brock mumbled, glaring at the gibberish above them. “You’re looking at the genetic readings—How important is that in regards to her fortitude health?”

“Mmh … a lot in the long run,” Christie absently replied, still cycling through the data that might as well be from Pokémopolis with how alien it all looked. “Ho-Oh accelerated several factors that I wasn’t accounting for—I was right to advance to the next stage.”

“Meaning—you know, in a language I understand?” Rhea weakly laughed.

“Your next Pokémon,” her father brightly responded.

Brock’s eyes widened. “W-Wait … so soon—And this one will require a Master Ball, too?”

“She will…” her mother whispered, seemingly not all that happy about what she was seeing. “It’s not exactly what I planned for, but readjustments are just a natural part of science and groundbreaking research.”

Christie swiped left, dismissing the data. “Now, I’ll need the two of you to hop on the chair, as well,” she stated, smiling between Amira and Mallory.

“For?” Amira nervously asked.

“I’ve discussed it with your parents and come to the conclusion that it just isn’t fair to keep giving my daughter so many things without considering the two of you, and so, after some explanations, they consented with my desire to give you both a Pokémon I’ve bred.”

Rhea was just as floored as her two companions, and it didn’t stop there.

“Giovanni was particularly eager to see what you might decide, Amira.”

“My grandfather…”

Amira brushed back her red locks while staring at the tiled ground, deep in thought. “So … my mom’s alright with it, too?”

“More than that,” Keith warmly replied. “She can’t wait to see how you respond to the offer; there’s no pressure. If you want to accept it or choose to find your own, then either is fine—Christie just wanted to give you the option.”

Lori licked her lips, rubbing her left arm with excitement. “So, what are they?”

“A secret!” Christie winked. “I went over the options with each of your parents, and they helped me narrow down the choices. Karen was a little hesitant but agreed with your father that it would certainly test your adaptability.”

“Cool! Yeah, I’d love it—uh, what’s up with the checkup, though?” she mumbled, glancing down at the chair Rhea was on.

Rhea sighed. “It’s for the human evolution stones … Isn’t it?”

“The what?” Amira chuckled. “Sorry … human evolution stones?”

Christie nodded. “Not like the one I gave you, dear, but similar, yes—more specialized than the public ones Silph is creating.”

“Yes! More exclusive stuff,” Mallory chimed. “Yeah, okay, so … I just need to sit down?”

Rhea got up to allow her to sit. “Umm … I’m healthy now?”

“Mhm! Ho-Oh is a miracle worker … literally, and that’s it, Mallory!” Christie stated after tapping a few buttons. “What about you, Amira?”

“Hmm … I … I guess it would be kind of stupid to refuse,” she whispered, hesitantly getting into the chair. “Is there anything you can tell us about the Pokémon we’ll be bonding with, though … Will we have to use Master Balls?”

“That’s my question,” Brock grunted, Holly soothingly rubbing his back as she listened.

“Sadly, yes. It is unavoidable due to the power they possess as newly hatched Pokemon” Christie replied without hesitation.

“... I see,” Amira muttered, looking up at the glowing lights.

Christie shook her head. “I will say—your grandfather was very interested in the implications your Pokemon offers, given its potential … Heh, and your mother was dubious about how you’d react to the requirements to achieve her potential … Keith…”

Rhea stepped back to allow her father to shift around her, heading to a small crate in the corner of the room. He picked it up and brought it over to a table, opening the top to reveal three containers.

Her mother opened the first one her father placed on a table, taking out a black and white egg with what appeared to have cloud-like shapes across it and small ovals. “I’ll tell you a little about each … Rhea, this little girl, well … I had to make some adjustments to make her less—hyper-focused, after the previous data I collected…”

She was obviously talking about Mya while trying not to make it sound as if she had a problem.

“However, it altered her Nature to be a little more … quirky than I anticipated—even human personalities are influenced to a degree by our genetics. Pokémon primary Natures dictate directions their energy will develop, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have other qualities or traits … this girl will be quite a bit more hasty and sassy than I anticipated, but her primary Nature will be Quirky.”

Heh … are you two ready for a sassy and hyper-active teammate? Rhea asked her two Pokémon as they exited their balls to study the new egg. “I can’t wait…”

Lori giggled at the explanation as Christie sat the egg down with the small bag holding their EV food and the special stone to give her once hatched. “What about mine?!”

“Yours … is right here…” her mother laughed, taking out a rather oddly designed white and black egg—Rhea could only describe it as a crown with diamond shapes, holding an egg.

“So cool!” Lori squealed, Gables and Miky hopping around it.

“She will be a bit difficult to adjust to at first; I’ll send you a guide on what to expect … Once I get the time to write it,” she mused. “Next, Amira’s…”

Out of the final container, she pulled out an even more unique egg, still in the black and white theme; it had wave-like patterns and oddly-shaped splotches across its upper region.

“This darling little girl … is actually related to one of my sister’s Pokémon, meaning she comes from very, very strong stock,” she chimed.

“All girls?” Mallory questioned.

Rhea giggled. “Yeah, female Pokémon carry on the type of Pokémon while males seed various potential Moves and Stats, so my mom always manipulates them at the start to be female to continue on the genetic line instead of it coming to a halt. Right?”

“You paid attention!” Christie smiled. “Indeed. It is key with breeding to have strong females, and if you keep having females down the generations, then you’ll end up with Pokémon like Nova and Mya…”

“Impossible in nature,” Brock mumbled. “They’d die.”

“True,” Christie conceded, “but that is the purpose of the Master Balls and a Trainer. So … which will you choose?”

Her father took out four pokeballs, three Master Balls that he put beside each egg’s care package. “No need to select now,” he said. “Christie’s just really excited to see what you think about them.”

Christie laughed. “I am! You could consult with your family, though—there are pros and cons to having these Pokemon and going all-natural … Now, why don’t we gather everything up and talk for a bit!”

Rhea happily accepted her new Pokémon, excited to see what it was, and Lori made them promise not to look up any egg guides to cheat the surprise to her parents' amusement. Brock was pulled away by his staff to handle administration work, but it was clear that her mother’s methods didn’t entirely sit right with him.

After a good thirty-minute visit, they parted ways and joined back up with the four other friends; the topic about their eggs became the deciding talking point for the rest of the night, and it wasn’t until 11:56 P.M. did they get to bed.

Tomorrow was the big challenge—their first attempt at an Encrusted Gym Badge.