7:46 P.M. June 27, Saturday, 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. The day has come for the Summer Round Robin Cup, where the top of Kanto and Johto’s advancing Trainers will compete to be named Seasonal Best. Rhea started her journey on the 9th of June—she’s been a Trainer for 19 Days (18 officially; 19 since getting Maya and Nova).

The soothing saxophone sound from the band with the gentle piano flowed through the atmosphere as Rhea sat with Amira, Heneli, Kekipi, and Malia; it helped ease the uncomfortable silence that passed between them.

By the cat-like look on a waitress’ face as she brought them water to start with, she could tell there was tension between Amira and Malia—more on the Alolan girl’s part—and to Rhea, the redhead couldn’t have been more at home.

Legs crossed beside the window, gazing across the soft glow of Viridian Park, there was a reminiscent twinkle in her crimson eyes. The city bathed the canopy and field zones with a glaze light enough to make out just enough detail to enjoy as the sky continued to darken.

Kekipi seemed to be enjoying the ambiance, as well, despite how tired he looked. Malia was trying to enjoy herself, but by her occasional fervent shifting focus between the dark-haired boy and Amira, she couldn’t shake her possessive feelings.

On the other hand, Heneli looked totally out of place; fidgeting with the pin in his pocket, hazel irises darting between everyone. Rhea was of the same mind, looking for anything that might break the ice.

Each party had separated to do their own thing, which didn’t help Rhea’s nerves when no one else appeared to share their awkward silence. Most of the Pokemon had migrated to a section they could all mingle, eating healthy portions of food from the servers taking their orders from the picture menus supplied to them.

Nova said she’d wait her turn to give Alice and Mya first choice, which made Rhea proud of the Eevee; she suspected the emotional fluff ball secretly was hoping the two having their first chance to interact outside of their pokeballs together would mend some bridges. Currently, the pair had split off to engage different discussions; still, Nova had to have hope for more unity.

From what Rhea could see of Lori’s group, Kekoa was talking up a storm—there were no reservations—but considering the girl’s parents were excellent at sparking conversation, in addition to the Unova girl herself, it wasn’t hard to see why it was a more relaxing mood.

Kris had roped Ethan into dancing so the man wouldn’t feel defeated by Red and Yellow, by Rhea’s amused guess; it was cute seeing the little blonde and tall World Champion sharing a private moment, not noticing the rival duo. Silver and Lyra were adorable, and clearly, this wasn’t their first slow dance by the rhythm and tempo as the redhead led his wife in the song’s sway.

Green sat by a window, drinking wine with her Nidoqueen, Nido; to Rhea, she gave off a somewhat lonely and melancholy look, but it could have just been all the couples’ influence on Rhea’s perception.

Rhea couldn’t help but smile while watching her father help her struggling mother through the simple steps; he’d helped Rhea learn various dances through the years when it interested her.

Vision shifting to the Viridian Gym Leader and his fashionable wife and secretary, she could see a sort of silent conversation passing between them while studying their nurtured city. Rhea’s imagination told her that every street and building had a story the three had taken part in, and after many years, they could look at them and resonate a host of emotions by what took their focus.

A shiver ran down her spine, and the lack of conversation drew her thoughts to the short journey she’d had with her two companions. She took a deep breath and let it out in a quick puff while smiling at the trees far below the tall skyscraper they relaxed in.

“What are you thinking about?” Heneli whispered, catching Rhea off-guard; his face flushed a tad as everyone looked at him and he quickly drank a bit of water.

Rhea was happy to have something to break the silence, but the question put a low vibration in her throat while shifting to examine the phenomenal metropolis.

“Hmm … It’s more of a feeling than thought, to be honest … I’ve thought about how my journey might go—I mean, unless there are some kind of belief reasons, almost everyone is required to at least attempt to train and bond with a Pokemon in Kanto—at least from what I’ve been taught. All of this just … It’s not what I thought it would be.”

Kekipi turned to join the conversation, pulling Amira and Malia’s attention. “How so—harder?”

Rubbing her arm as a sudden chill hit her, Rhea’s smile softened; her gaze drifted to the glass in front of her before shaking her head.

“Kind of but not really … I knew it would be hard, and there are some things that really threw me for a loop, but the real thing that got me was the emotional part … Making friends, overcoming challenges with them, and discovering weaknesses I had that I wasn’t aware of.”

Malia forced a chuckle, taking one of the straws that had been given them out of the paper and sticking it in her drink to spin around the ice cubes. “That makes me think about the Island Trials back on Alola … You learn a lot about yourself in them that doesn’t really pertain to battling.”

Kekipi nodded, sitting back to study the architecture, chandeliers, and decorations on the high, vaulted ceiling. “I remember Captain Mina giving a speech one time on Poni Island about how the Island Trials were meant to help you discover yourself … I suppose the Kanto journey is similar.”

“I wouldn’t put so much thought into that,” Amira muttered, taking a sip of her water and returning her focus to the city. “The Bronze-tier Journey was created for war purposes, anything beyond that is a secondary product.”

A small grin curved Kekipi’s lips. “And the Island Trials were originally created to prove to each island tribe that a great warrior and protector was worthy of meeting the tribe’s guardian deity. During a large war among tribes, one man of mixed blood rose in fame due to completing all challenges, becoming the first Kahuna.”

Heneli rubbed his shoulder and yawned. “Yeah, he-he—but now there’s a Kahuna for every island—things sure change over time, huh?”

“There’s a reason for that,” Malia mumbled, “but you never did pay attention to Island History.”

“Why should I? It’s all old tradition stuff—I want change; give me Gyms and a good fight that will get my blood pumping! Right, Rhea?”

Rhea’s smile became strained. “Eh-he-he, I don’t know why you’d throw me in the spotlight for that.”

“Oof, my bad…”

“No! No! Umm, it’s just … I know what you’re saying, and yeah, ehrm…” She smacked her lips, hugging herself and looking toward her Pokemon across the room as Nova nuzzled her spirit. “I grew up in a tiny village all my life—like you wouldn’t believe how small…”

She sighed, returning her gaze to the fiery Alolan boy. “All I’ve known are Master Trainers … heh, minimum, and everything was always about putting your all into everything you do, which was awesome and all … It’s just I didn’t know what I wanted to do.”

“Oh, uh … that’s rough,” Heneli muttered, the heat in his voice calming. “So … Do you know what you want to do now?”

“Keeping our team on their toes?” Amira asked with a slight smirk.

“Hardly! He-he-he, umm, no, I think you keep me on my toes—I can’t go a day without you two pestering me to eat more.”

“Well, if you didn’t starve yourself, we wouldn’t have to,” Amira teased. “No, but seriously, you really do need to watch your diet … And, for talking about food so often, considering the things you make with your cousin,” she brought their attention to Bianca and Hilbert, swaying on the dance floor, “I’d think you’d have a more healthy appetite.”

Rhea shrugged. “I mostly cook for others … My dad, his Pokemon, my brother when he was at home … I just don’t get hungry that often.”

“Really?” Heneli asked, latching onto the topic. “How often do you eat?”

Scratching in front of her ear, Rhea’s lips scrunched to the side. “Uhrm … maybe once a day … back home, once every two or sometimes three days if no one bugged me about it. I mean, I can force myself to eat, but I just don’t really feel like it most of the time. It’s just how I feel, and I don’t like worrying people, so if they notice, I’ll snack or something.”

Heneli laughed. “That’s crazy; I can’t go a day without chowing down a ton, ha-ha!”

“Tell me about it,” Kekipi snickered, drawing attention away from Rhea, “you eat enough for Kekoa and me combined. Malia doesn’t eat much.”

“Eh, yeah,” the woman mumbled, rubbing the back of her neck and blushing a little, “you know our family has trouble putting on weight if we overeat—Heneli’s clearly took after his mother’s side, or else he’d be as big as a Munchlax.”

“Speaking about Munchlax,” Heneli grinned, “I could go for a few plates myself—I’m starved!”

They all chuckled, and Rhea spun the conversation back to the reason they all gathered as the boy got up to take his plate to pile it with food.

“So, what were your guys’ thoughts on your battle? I couldn’t see much, and to be honest, heh, I was kind of too distracted to hear much of my cousin’s commentary. What happened?”

Heneli skidded to a stop a few meters away from the table, spinning around. “Aye, don’t start without me; I wanna hear!”

Kekipi smirked, getting to his feet and stretching. “Why don’t we all talk while getting some food—heh, I’m pretty tired after that battle. Cool?” he asked, looking at Rhea.

“Fine,” she puffed out a breath of air, figuring he was posing the question to her in response to Amira’s pointed concern for her health. “We already ate before the battle, though.”

“A little more couldn’t hurt,” Amira returned, getting up, “and the food here is exquisite—besides, you’re somehow the skinniest and most muscular out of Lori and I.”

“I’m also shorter,” Rhea grinned. “I get it, though! I get it … Thanks for worrying about me … Sometimes I think my mom thinks I’m going on a hunger strike when I’m really just not hungry, which—mmh, never mind—yeah, so, we're going to get something to eat?” she asked, trying not to embarrass herself further.

“I’ve never heard of a hunger strike?” Heneli said, already piling a ton of berry dessert dishes on one side of his plate and meat on the other. “What’s that about?”

Malia hummed, scanning the table of expensive dishes and likely trying to determine which she’d try with her limited calorie intake. “Basically, starve yourself until you get what you want.”

“That sounds insane … Like, how can you not eat?”

Amira’s gaze wandered between Rhea and Christie. “Hmm … Some things are worth more to people than a full belly. In any case, Serenity and I went with a stall, bait, and reflect strategy.”

“Right,” Kekipi smiled, grabbing a healthy portion of greens and a much smaller selection of meat compared to his friend. “Mika’ele was saying you were trying to counter our smokescreen strategy by using some kind of mist of your own; to be honest, I figured you’d go hard from the start … Clearly, I have a lot to learn.”

The blonde Alolan girl grunted, shooting a light glare in Heneli’s direction. “It’s not like you’ve had many examples of strategy to model yourself after, considering my cousin always drags you to that brute of a Dragon Master’s fake Gym all the time.”

“A Gym’s a Gym, Malia,” Heneli grumbled. “So what if it’s not official on Ula’ula Island; Ryuki is a legend! He’d beat any Kanto Gym Leader.”

“Shhh!” Malia hissed, fervent eyes darting to Giovanni just over fifteen meters away. “Have some tact, cuz…”

Rhea wondered if she could hear herself, but clearly, the woman had a blind spot when it came to specific topics she felt passionate about. Green was making her way over to get seconds of her own.

“I’m just sayin’,” Heneli smirked. “Ryuki is basically a Dragon god!”

Amira smirked at the comment, filling a cup with some strange berry mixed drink at the end of the table. “Believe what you want.”

“He totally is!” Heneli doubled down. “C’mon, who could beat Ryuki; do you even know who he is?”

Amira rolled her eyes. “I don’t need to. If he started a Gym in Alola, modeled after Kanto, then clearly he couldn’t take the position himself and decided to make an unofficial start-up like the Kaz and Yas Gyms of Dark City—Alola version.”

Heneli glared at the redhead, and Rhea knew both had different reasons to be proud of their respective opinion. Still, she wondered how many avenues were left that could lead them down these conflict routes because they kept getting sidetracked.

Malia’s face paled as Green stopped beside her, an amused cat-like grin on her face. “Did I hear some comparisons between Alola’s lil’ Ryuki and Kanto’s Gym Leaders?”

“H-He’s not little!” Heneli defended, clearly fanboying over the unofficial Alola Gym. “He’s a superstar!”

“Mhm,” Green snickered, reaching over to help herself to quite a bit of food on her plate that was more of a platter. “I’d say being 173 centimeters tall is on the shorter side, hun—heh-he, oh, but if you count his ridiculous hair, I suppose he could be ‘considered’ tall.”

Amira cut in before Heneli could stop grinding his teeth to respond. “What about his position?”

Everyone centered on the entertained Legendary Trainer as the corners of her lips twitched, and knowing her, Rhea wondered if she would continue stoking the flames between the pair.

“Combat wise? Ryuki would get creamed against any Kanto Gym Leader … But!” she added, watching Heneli puff out hot air. “But … he has beaten the Kanto Master Challenge and borders on High-Master. I’d say he has a decent shot at taking Forrest’s Gym from him at this point, but if we’re talking about ‘To The Death’ … Ryuki wouldn’t make it against a single Gym Leader, without a doubt.”

Heneli’s lips pulled together, glaring at his plate. “Are Kanto Gym Leaders really that strong?”

A thoughtful look crossed Kekipi’s face. “What about Johto? I heard there was a Normal-type Gym there.”

Green grimaced, forcing a chuckle. “Whitney, Whitney, Whitney…” she slowly mumbled. “The question isn’t if someone can beat Whitney but how there is a Normal-type Gym, to begin with … You really need to be careful when dealing with Normal specialists, and Whitney … Whitney can be terrifying.”

“I can see your point,” Kekipi hummed, vision drifting to Giovanni. “The world is bigger than our little islands, and Kanto has some of the strongest there is—naturally, they’d need stepping stones to get there … Red and Blue have made clear how dominant they are at the Battle Tree.”

“I guess,” Heneli mumbled, eyes downcast.

“Ahem,” Rhea smiled, not liking how the conversation was twisting. “I’m sure Ryuki is getting stronger every day. Right? He’s going to beat Royal Mask?”

“Yeah! He never gives up, and I won’t, either! When I get to the top, he’s gonna be there to battle me, and I’ll be Champion of Alola!”

Green’s amusement died down, and she gave him a thumbs up. “Good luck, Kid. Every great journey starts with a dream, and it looks like you’ve got a good team of girls to whip you into shape. Huh?”

Rhea sighed at the woman’s wink in her direction. “Hmm … Yeah, I want to get strong enough to protect my mom and everyone else I love, so … heh, I think that means I gotta beat my aunt, I suppose.”

Heneli pupped a fist into the air. “That’s the spirit!”

A low whistle sounded from Green. “Big dream, Girl … I’ve seen your aunt at her best, and it’s not something I’m likely to forget. Also, heh, that means you’ll have to beat me!” Green flashed her teeth, grinning and waving a hand as she returned to her table. “Good luck with that, Rhea, because I never go easy!”

Rhea’s gaze lingered on her Nidoqueen, more than four meters tall and taking up the entire side of the table Green was using, whispering, “I know…”

Nova, Alice, and Mya roared in support as the other three at the dining table watched Green exit in surprise, and Amira appeared to be more unsettled by the prospect than the Alola gang.

“Really, Rhea? That’s … insanely powerful.”

“Mhm, but if I don’t, then how can I save my aunt if something bad happens … like what happened to us,” Rhea mumbled, feeling an odd warmth and pain in her heart while watching Katelin and her brother dance across the room. “If Sabin wasn’t strong—if your mother wasn’t strong … We could all be dead, and I want to be strong enough to protect the people I care about, too.”

Heneli breathed in a deep breath and let it out as they made their way back to their table; taking a seat, he began picking at his food. “I can relate to that … Malia was hurt one time in the woods, and I wanted to help—but Keahi and I couldn’t … Kekipi and his Pokemon were able to use a move and scare it off since Malia and Mei did enough damage, so it didn’t want another fight, but it was a close call.”

Malia’s eyebrows pulled together, vision falling to her glass. “Wait … Heneli, I was trying to protect you from that wild Torracat we stumbled into.”

“Yeah, but Keahi and I felt so powerless,” he mumbled. “We were petrified, and so I wanted to—no, it’s just something that bugged me … You didn’t have to get burned—every time you came over on Sundays, and I saw the bandages, it pissed me off.”

“They healed—it wasn’t that bad,” Malia whispered. “Honestly, it was kind of my fault—we shouldn’t have gone to that area to pick ingredients since Mei and I aren’t good at battling—especially with you, since you were only fourteen.”

“Mgmh … So, umm, what was your plan in our fight, Rhea?”

Rhea licked her lips; hearing other people’s life struggles helped to humbler her—everyone went through problems, and now she could see why Malia might have a small crush on Kekipi that probably grew over time. When she was desperate, even if his pokemon were weaker, the boy and his Pokemon stepped in to save her.

At the same time, her cousin felt frustrated that he hadn’t stepped up, which likely pulled him to the Kantonian Gym as a symbol of strength and courage for him.

“Yeah, let’s talk about some lighter topics!”

Rhea caught Amira’s calculating gaze as the two of them went into their battle; she didn’t know why the redhead was so focused on her, but it happened after declaring her intentions to surpass her aunt.

Soon enough, Kekipi pulled Amira into their own conversation, mixed with commentary from Malia from time to time.

Luckily, she managed to keep everyone from noticing she hadn’t touched much on her plate, but Nova soon caught on as they were finishing up their conversation, and with threats of tickling her spirit with her tail, in good humor, Rhea ate a bit to help replenish the physical fortitude she’d lost during her battle.

As could be expected, her mother soon got surprising news from Rhea’s great grandmother that made her zip off to Sinnoh, kissing Rhea goodbye; she was just happy to have her mother for what little time it was.

Apparently, a new cavern in Mt. Coronet had been found to have unique stones that could evolve some Pokemon into old Sinnoh regional variants, and she was being called in as an expert. Once again, it was an exciting time and breakthrough that Professor Rowan was at the forefront of. Dawn had been the one to discover the place, which made Rhea happy; she loved the cheerful woman.

After some time of mingling between groups, Rhea found herself by the window with Nova in her lap; it was nearing 9 P.M. Her gaze wandered between parties for a moment; she wanted to look like she was having a private moment with someone on her phone to give herself time to reflect.

In truth, she’d already spoken to Sam and the other girls. It was Romance Night for quite a few couples that came with them. However, her father could tell she was stalling to calm down after so much social interaction and came to silently sit beside her.

Sabin and Katelin went over her fight not too long ago before heading off to enjoy the city, much like Yellow, Red, Kris, Ethan, Blue, and Leaf. Lori had asked a flustered Kekoa if he knew how to dance before guiding him away with a giggle, leaving her parents to talk while observing them.

Amira, Malia, and Kekipi were now getting to know the Rocket family in the corner, Silver and Lyra joining them with their Pokemon.

Focus returning to the dim cityscape, Rhea puffed out a long breath. “I’m glad I got to see Mom and you dance,” she whispered.

“He-he,” her dad scooted his chair over to wrap an arm around her; she snuggled into his muscular chest as their seats clicked together. “I’m glad I had some time with her, too … How do you feel about her being whisked away again?”

“Mmh … I get it. She was here when I needed her, and that means the world to me … How are you doing?”

He groaned, popping his tongue a few times. “Yeah, we’re all a bit lonely without you around the house … Franky’s been in a depressed rut—no use in denying it, Bud,” he grinned as the ghost floated up from the floor to glare at him. “You’ve been glued to my computer looking at old videos of when Rhea was a baby … I know you helped her learn how to talk; heh, I was there.”

Rhea giggled, reaching out to rub his head as he sniffed back tears. “Aww, sorry it’s lonely, Franky. If you send me a message, I’ll let you visit sometime—you just need to give me a warning if you want to come say hi.”

The Ghost’s frown lifted, nodding vigorously.

“There we go; what’d I say?” her dad laughed. “She can’t get rid of her little spook … Hmm, so, I heard you wanna surpass your aunt? I’ll be sure to let her know.”

“Ugh, please don’t … I want to tell her myself,” she smiled, looking down to flip through her photos to one of just the two of them. “Aunt Cynthia has always been so supportive … I know it’s childish, but yeah … I want to support her, even if that sounds crazy.”

“Not crazy at all…”

Rhea leaned in closer as they went silent, and she looked into the night city, enjoying the experience with her father for one last time; tomorrow, they would begin their path to Cerulean City to take on Misty—Rhea was determined to complete the Bronze Encrusted Gym Challenge with her teammates; that was her first checkpoint at the foot of the mountain path she was on, and eventually, she’d reach her aunt at the peak.