5:37 A.M. June 11, Friday, 106 PH (Post Hoopa Event)

Events: The start of the 3rd day of the First Preliminary Match Week for the Kanto & Johto Summer Indigo Cup. Many tourists are traveling through Pallet and Viridian to arrive at Silver City for the big tournament while also supporting the Summer Bronze League kick-off.

Rhea stretched out as she awoke, hearing movement close by. Cracking open an eye, she blinked to adjust her vision. It was still dark outside from what she could see from the cracks of the pulled blinds; twisting to her back under her warm blankets, she saw the bathroom light on.

Fuzzy mind working through a yawn, Rhea saw Amira’s bed was made and empty; the alarm clock beside her bed showed 5:37 A.M., a full 23 minutes before she’d normally get up. Releasing a soft moan, she sat up, smacking her dry mouth before taking a drink from the cup she’d prepared the night before.

Lori was still fast asleep, her blankets thrown half-off the bed to show most of her skin, the left strap of her white and dark blue striped scoop bikini pulled to the side with her nighttime movements, and cheeky high waist bottoms on display. Gables was hanging over her right foot, almost falling off the bed.

Nova was stirring in her pokéball as Mya wished her good morning, already awake, and with Nova’s rise, Mya appeared to get ready for bed.

Good morning … are you two okay? Returning the internal greeting, Rhea grunted softly, scooting to the bed’s side to twist around and get a few good pops in.

They both responded in the positive, confusing her a little.

Okay … uh, are you taking shifts?

Another positive response gave her an answer; they were preparing their schedules to stand guard at night while the other was out during the day. Mya appeared to have drawn the nighttime stick.

Unbinding her high bun, she shook out her hair, rolling around her neck; she’d slept like a babe after the spa’s wonderful massage and felt well-rested for a day of hiking. Picking up her phone from the built-in dresser charger, she brushed her long blonde locks to the side to fall back on her pillow with a sigh.

A message from her mother was the only text that wasn’t just wishing her well.

10:13 P.M. Hey, lil’ Swablu, umm … so, I was thinking about your little girlfriends, and … I really liked them, so … I might have called a few connections to get some fun stuff to thank them for protecting you … because of my miscalculation! I’ll leave the package at Oak’s office for safekeeping. Loves you, and hope you feel better soon!

Rhea’s lips tightened into a line.

Called a few connections … she always leaves everything to be a surprise. It is kind of fun that way, though.

She giggled softly, swapping to the news. Few stories hit the daily release this early; typically, the big morning articles and gossip would come in around 6:30 A.M. to 7:30 A.M. Sure enough, most of the news was just speculations on the current top Bronze-tier contenders.

One of the niche sports that had become a bit more popular as of late was the speedrunning community; young upstart Trainers competing to see who could complete the Bronze-tier Badge Challenge the fastest, and it appeared to have a decent betting pool this year.

Kevin MacLerie from the Galar region appeared to have traveled all night with Finnik Buchanan and Nealson Vass, his speedrunning team; for some reason, Kevin was getting most of the attention.

Their parents were all within the Platinum-tier range, and they were getting some recognition after making it to the Xanadu Nursery at 5 A.M., seven minutes before the next team, and over a day before most teams were projected to have made it to the halfway point to Viridian.

However, the next article that came in at 5:07 A.M. would undoubtedly cause a bigger uproar. Amy and Olivia’s team appeared to join the speedrunning community because the two Sinnoh girls with their partner, Isabella, had arrived next.

Amy was probably the one pushing the girls to do it, and Rhea couldn’t see the first-place team holding their lead long with those types of girls on their butts. With relatives like Maylene, Candice, and Flannery, all very physically active High Master Gym Leaders, their physical fortitude gave them a pretty decent advantage in the speedrunning competition.

The thing that impressed Rhea was the speed at which they would have had to travel after the Starter Award matches; the Galar group had more than a five-hour head start on the gang.

Of course, there were many more speculations being tossed around about her getting upvoted on the Gossip App, which made her sigh. She’d gotten a bit of satisfaction over the years from keeping up with the latest celebrity news or viral events but didn’t really expect to be on there herself.

The current big topics related to her were the background of Mya, her second Pokémon, and questions regarding her pokéball. Evidently, more than one girl wanted information on the pink and purple-themed devices and a shocking number of guys. No one had an answer, though, and most just theorized it was a prototype brand or custom-built Ultra Ball.

There was one mention of her having a Master Ball, with the guy freaking out about it, but most were just calling him a troll. She’d never heard of a Master Ball before her mother explained it, and any Master-tier Trainers would likely speak to other masters, not talk about it online.

A few tags were linked to the post, trying to debunk his claim; it looked like Master Balls had been an internet conspiracy theory for some time with pokéball enthusiasts. Obviously, not false, but a well-guarded secret within the individual region’s Indigo League and the big companies, probably constrained by the League itself.

Rhea smiled while tuning in to Jason’s private Pikabook profile; she hadn’t been too into the social media platform, but since his mother was really big into it, it made sense why both her kids would be.

Some of his posts made her giggle, watching a short video of Len’s Chimchar sitting on a pile of logs and leaves they’d gathered to start the fire using his small burning tail. Sunny could be seen in the backdrop, high in a tree branch while looking out for danger; Jason edited the picture with a few filters to make him seem more imposing with the text underneath You steppin’ up to me? Huh, Punk?

Flipping through the bits of humor Jason added in his first pose, she followed their journey back, studying the Pokémon he saw, posting to an album every new one he caught sight of, as seemed to be a Pikabook tradition that was catching on.

Pondering if she should start posting on her somewhat barren account, she decided it might be fun to keep connected. Making a peace symbol while taking a selfie with her two pokéballs on the desk, Rhea posted her first update in forever. “Just got up! Feelin’ good for a day of hiking!”

Honestly, she was still sore, but it was manageable, unlike how she felt after the match with Mya. Yet, after more than forty hours of rest with her Pokémon in their pokéballs, she was handling it much better; it wouldn’t be the case if she had them come out, though.

A weak smile lifted her lips as the hearts and comments flew in.

Bianca: (ﾉﾟ0ﾟ)ﾉ~ Morning looks good on ya, Cutie! You getting on Pikabook now?!

Dad: （°0°）Rhea + Pikabook?! @Christie

Grandpa Drake: Swwwaabbbluuu!!! :’’))

Annila: Oh, goodness, Rhea?! I can’t wait to see your photos!

Catelin (>_<): Woah! Sweet, we get to keep up to date on your progress first hand! Now, if only we could get your brother in on this! ಠﭛಠ

Mom: Hold up! Sweetie! I should get on Pikabook more >_>

Grandpa Drake: YES, CHRISTIE!!! YES!!!

Great Grandma Carolina: (✪‿✪)ノ Family?! Lil’ Cindy’s been getting me up to date on this Pikabook business. Rhea’s on here, too?

Rhea: Hey, Granny!

Grandpa Drake: MOM?!?!?!

Grandma Glacia: Hello, Carolina, and good morning, Rhea. I hope you are feeling healthier.

Rhea: Yup, doing much better!

Great Grandma Carolina: … Why would she not be? Was my great-granddaughter sick and no one filled me in. ಠ╭╮ಠ

Great Grandma Carolina: … Drake?!? Christie?!?!

Auntie Cynthia: I’ll fill you in, Grandma. Looking lovely, Sweetie!

Great Grandma Carolina: Christie’s calling me … how do I answer on Pikabook?

Great Grandma Carolina: Uh, blast it! Just call my phone.

Rhea: Well, gotta get up and get ready. Amira’s gonna be done with the bathroom soon.

She smiled as the thread went on, her grandfather apparently in trouble for not letting her great grandmother know, and even her grandfather didn’t want to get on her great grandfather’s bad side. Rhea actually didn’t know how old her great-grandparents were, at least in their 130s, probably even older.

Her entire life, she’d heard comments about how they could die anytime, yet they stood firm against such predictions. The real shock was seeing them on Pikabook. Grandpa Drake was a Pikabook fanatic, posting images and updates on his ship and crew all the time. Grandma Glacia, on the other hand, was much more sparse with her posts but kept up with everyone through it.

Going to her settings for Katelin, she removed the nickname to get rid of the >_< text she’d placed there years before; she was actually starting to like Katelin more as of recent.

Mallory’s movement drew her eyes; her purple hair was wrapped in a bun, facing Rhea as she turned away with a groan, showing her bare back. In the dim light, Rhea was able to the soft remains of burn scars that had gone through extensive healing methods, showing only a slight discoloration from her normal skin tone.

Rhea noticed the mark at the spa, but no one brought it up, and she certainly wasn’t going to be the one to ask why she got the scar.

“Hmm…”

Amira exited the bathroom, and by the lack of steam, figured it was a cold shower. Her hair was pulled up in a microfiber towel that the hotel provided, her skin was shiny with whatever products she used, and a towel covered her body.

Rhea smiled, setting her phone back on the wireless charger while keeping her voice low to not wake Mallory. “Morning.”

“Morning,” Amira replied, giving her a soft smile before moving to her bag to extract some sunscreen. “How are you feeling?” She asked, moving to the mirror and sink outside the bathroom to finish up.

Taking out her morning kit from one of her bag's inner compartments, Rhea decided to use the hotel towels to skip a clean-up step. “Better. I’m good to get going. Umm … my mind’s been a bit fuzzy after the match; did you say your grandpa wanted us to eat with him?”

Amira’s hands paused, applying her sunscreen to her neck, deep red irises moving to her in the mirror. “Is that a problem?”

“No, no,” Rhea held up her hands. “I’m just trying to get everything in my head set right!”

“Hmm … yeah,” she returned to her task, removing her body towel to reveal her plain burgundy Bandeau top, accented with modern hand-woven back detail, and cheeky bottom swimwear. “It’s not that big of a deal if you don’t want to go.”

Rhea took her items to the bathroom, catching Amber prancing out, fur looking shiny as if just cleaned. “No, I’d love to meet your grandparents. I’m looking forward to it.”

“... Okay,” Amira absently replied, working the sunscreen in as Amber watched her morning process. “Better hurry, Lori wakes up at 6:15 … 6, but she’ll hit the snooze.”

Oh, got it!” She giggled, moving into the shower to start getting ready.

Rhea naturally woke up at 6 A.M. from years of routine, but it seemed Amira had an even earlier system. It did give a good indication of their schedules, though, and would probably set what time they’d start preparing for sleep each night.

Doing her light maintenance after, she brushed her teeth, applied lip balm, deodorant, and a mixture of sunscreen with lotion. Amira’s fingers were expertly crafting her hair into a similar waterfall braid that she’d first seen her with.

Mallory stretched out with a low moan across her bed, causing her startled Froakie to drop to the floor. Gables recovered instantly as he fell, landing on his feet before yawning; glancing at Amber as she stared at him from atop Amira’s bed, he appeared to say good morning, and the two Pokémon exchanged a few chirps.

Nova felt a bit left out, Mya already asleep.

Just a few more days. Once we get to Viridian, we’ll be free to start hanging out!

Her Eevee gave a longing sigh but responded that she was alright.

Lori grunted, glancing over at them as Rhea started combing out her hair. “Y’all get up too early, geez! Mmh … what’s goin’ on in the world?” Reaching over to nab her phone off the charger, she began swiping through messages. “Mhm … figured … oh, what’s this?”

“Hmm?” Rhea caught Mallory scratching her bare belly out of the corner of her eyes; she really did have both Amira and her beat in the chest department.

“... So, last night I set up an App Grimsley developed to gather intel to see what people were saying about us…”

Amira was working on her last braid, brow furrowing while eyeing Lori. “You can do that?”

“Yeah, yeah … uh … yo, nothing I didn’t really expect, but this … hey, Rhea, check it out … hmm…”

Rhea picked up her phone as Lori requested a quick link; accepting it, she frowned as the holographic display radiated out, showing a news article.

“Man … I need to get me one of those,” Lori huffed, glaring at her phone.

“Oh, that reminds me,” Rhea mumbled, picking up her phone to read the article, “my Mom sent a text saying she’s got you two some gifts.”

“For me?” Amira asked, checking the stability of her braids.

Mallory’s eyes lit up. “Ooh, what is it?”

Rhea shrugged. “No clue. She likes to keep things mysterious.”

“Sweet!” Lori cheered, rolling around her neck. “Man … that spa, and I don’t know if I like the manicure or pedicure more…”

“Mhm,” Rhea mumbled, “yeah, I’ve never had someone do my hands or feet before … where did they … hmm…”

Amira brought up her own phone to glance through it. “... By Coral Kaylera … I can’t say I’m surprised she ambushed those girls.”

Rhea’s teeth clapped around her pulled in lips, applying light pressure while following the piece Lori sent her.

The Enigma, Rhea … Connected to Red, Yellow, Cynthia?

By Coral Kaylera

6:13 A.M. June 11, 106 PH (Post Hoopa Event)

If anyone was going to put their bets on who would be the most talked-about frontrunner within the first International Bronze League, few would have placed their money on the mysterious Kanto Master’s pick, Trainer Rhea … until her impossible reveal battle.

Rhea went against her opposing counterpart, Jason, who also did not reveal his family’s identity, and the fact no one seems to know anything about them means the Master’s Community is choosing to let this vexing puzzle continue. However, Jason did not leave the mark that our cryptic blonde has, and her supposed randomly selected team strikes quite the image.

With someone like Amira Rocket, granddaughter of infamous Giovanni Rocket, Mafia Head of the allegedly disbanded Rocket Syndicate, and the daughter of Kanto’s regional jewel and Champion-tier Trainer, Lyra Rocket, as her teammate. It brings some questions about Rhea’s obviously modified Pokémon, which is only one of many past crimes charged to the girl’s mob boss of a family.

We can only speculate how Rhea, this indomitable force among Bronze-tier rookies, and Amira Rocket were placed together. Each group member has already reached the bounty cap of 5,500 credits with their team bounty at 10,000, meaning if any aspiring Bronze-tier Trainer did manage to win a Triple Battle, they’d split 26,500 credits, marking this group as the Rank 1 International League target.

Yet, as many of yesterday’s online commentators pointed out, after that chilling debut, would anyone really even consider taking on a Bronze-tier Trainer that clearly belongs in the Silver Division?

The final member of Rhea’s team is an interesting pick and irking conundrum when trying to investigate. Mallory Medina, not much was known about her past since the records are sealed behind League Subpoena, directed to Cynthia herself, which can only be issued by high position elected officials and can be rejected on the narrowest grounds.

What we do know is that Grimsley Medina became the legal guardian of two girls twelve years ago, Mallory at age five, and Shauntal at age fifteen.

The fifteen-year-old promptly eclipsed all Bronze-tier competitors, shooting to Platinum-tier within her first year in brutal fashion. Two years later, she became one of the youngest Grandmasters recorded, only overshadowed by the standard Legends, and currently holds the lowest-tier position in the Unova Elite 4 at the age of 24, filling the place for the last three years. That’s not even discussing her literary achievements.

All of that only tickles the fancy of any journalist, but I wanted even more juicy details. With the group themselves bluntly refusing interviews, I went to the next best source and sat down with three of Rhea’s close friends to get a better understanding of these esoteric stars.

These young Bronze-tier girls were infatuated by Rhea, which is to be expected; most children of Master-tier Trainers are the idol and envy of the world since it almost guarantees strong fortitudes.

However, unlike the unreachable pillars most of these privileged Trainers appear to be, these girls saw Rhea as a rather humble person, showering these stars with praise about their stunning looks. What I discovered from them truly surprised me.

Rhea invited them to the PikaSpring, one, if not the, most expensive and upper-class spas in Pallet, with Mallory paying their way. The connection PikaSpring shares with the rural Viridian Legendary-tier superstar is well known, but when the girls said Rhea personally knew Yellow and Red, the Legendary power couple, I was shocked. Apparently, she even hinted that the pair stayed at her house, which begs the question … who are Rhea’s parents!?

If these two legends are on bunking terms with Rhea’s parents … who would live up to that standard? And that brings us to the next tantalizing detail these girls brought up when discussing Rhea’s dazzling looks, comparing the blonde bombshell to Sinnoh Active Champion and Legendary-tier Trainer, Cynthia, and not without good cause.

After looking at our enigmatic rising star, it’s not hard to see the resemblance, and the raw, unbridled dominance she demanded once entering the battle stage is unquestionably a striking correlation. Alas, we can only speculate, but just the fantasy of Rhea being the spirited away child of such a legend makes you ponder the possibility with all the obvious evidence and similarities.

Equally deserving of notice is her thoroughly bred and modified Pokémon, which were approved by the Pallet Stadium Commission for legal use. One has to wonder what pressure they might have been under?

Maya, nicknamed Mya, Rhea’s unique white and black Mawile, boasts the most enormous Starter Move Pool to date, displaying many top-tier Moves such as Psych Up, Swords Dance, Sucker Punch, and with some analysis of the footage, word of more Moves are spreading. After Len’s Chimchar got an Encore on her, she appeared to have attempted what would have been a deciding Slam and a Stab Fairy Wind to blow Lucian’s Piplup’s Icy Wind back in his face!

If all the speculation is correct, we’re looking at a Mawile with at least 11 Moves; I’ve identified the following so far, and I’m sure more are to come:

Ancient Power, Astonish, Stab Fairy Wind, Growl, Psych Up, Seismic Toss, Slam, Sucker Punch, Swords Dance, and Thunder Fang.

Combined with two Abilities, perhaps an even larger upset than the incredible energy Rhea and Mya were able to produce at their level. Intimidate, an already top-tier Ability to possess with the added coverage that Hyper Cutter provides, utterly shutting down Lucan’s Piplup’s pitiful Feather Dance attempt, desperately trying to lower the +2 Attack Fairy-Steel Pokémon’s rampage.

If that wasn’t enough, I’m happy to announce that Rhea’s second Pokémon in no way lags behind Mya; Rhea’s friends revealed that her second Pokémon was a white and black Eevee named Nova, and providing some good evidence that she must have gone through the same breeding and genetic program as her Mawile!

Is Rhea Professor Bianca’s hidden away sister? Was their team truly selected at random? How did Rhea get such overwhelmingly powerful Pokémon? What is her connection to Yellow and Red? Who is Rhea related to, and why is the Master Community so tightlipped on the topic? So many questions, but only time and transparency will give us answers!

I can tell you one thing for certain, though; keep an eye out for Nova, Rhea’s unique Eevee. I’m sure we’ll see something phenomenal when she does appear; Rhea is definitely the Starter to keep track of, and I can tell you her first Gym Battle will be one to behold!

Rhea’s lips fell into a slight grimace.

She assumes a lot of things … I mean, some of it isn’t far from the truth, but she’s stating it as almost a fact. Cynthia’s my aunt, not my mother … and I never said Red and Yellow stayed at my house … did I? No … they never have, so that would be a lie, and she’s acting like Red and Yellow are stuck-up snobs that wouldn’t stay at anyone’s house that weren’t famous.

Her thoughts returned to the kind golden-haired woman that stopped by every other year with Red to talk with her father, and the journalist’s portrayal made her a bit angry. They stayed at one of the three guest houses the Masters had pitched in to build; a lot of Masters used them as a low-key resting spot when traveling between regions.

Nova mirrored her light frustration but was feeling a bit happy that she was mentioned.

“What do ya think?” Lori asked, getting up to do some light stretches on the ground with Gables.

Rhea hummed softly. “What evidence is she citing?”

Amira shrugged, tossing her phone beside her before packing up her items. “It’s standard journalist manipulation. A few people will blow it off, but most will buy into it because she says it and is check-mark certified from Gossip. Other than Nova, the Cynthia speculation, and the Red and Yellow bits, there’s not much substance to it that wasn’t public knowledge.

“Nova was the linking piece that’ll throw weight behind her speculations to be carried by other outlets. It’s a practice I’ve seen Coral use before, and she’ll go after the people close to you, ambushing them with paid off individuals. You’d be shocked what normal people are willing to do for fame or 20 credits.”

“True, that!” Lori chuckled.

Rhea sighed, scanning the article again. “Is this bad? Did Sam, Jade, and Hannah sell her the information?”

“Doubtful,” Amira promptly replied in a disinterested tone. “They were just used by Coral, which is why you should keep friends at a distance.”

“Oof, harsh,” Mallory said with a small smile. “I can’t blame them, though; we never warned them.”

“Did we really need to?” Amira asked with a lifted eyebrow. “They were smart enough not to spill the information about Rhea being hospitalized but couldn’t handle the other probing questions. They knew what was sensitive information, but were more likely careless about what they talked about in public.”

“Can’t argue there,” Lori replied, swapping positions to stretch out her chest. “They don’t have the experience.”

“Hmm … I don’t have the experience,” Rhea sighed, dressing in her navy-themed shirt and skirt before pulling back her hair into a ponytail to feed through the back of her cap. “Should we bring it up to them?”

Amira shook her head. “I’d wait to see if they bring it up.”

Mallory moved to the bathroom, giving the redhead a smirk. “Test them?”

“For what?” Rhea asked. Lori entered the bathroom to take a warm shower. “I didn’t think about them even letting slip about me being in the hospital … and are you going to wear that dress hiking?”

Amira glanced down at her lavish red dress with a small frown. “What’s wrong with it? It’s a hiking dress that’s no different than the average Trainer-style outfits, designed with protective coating for the elements to resist stains and water.”

“Hmm … what about wind?”

“I have a belt and leggings; the tiers are designed to be removed … there’s a pokéball magnet ring layered on the hip, too,” She mumbled, showing the hidden thin zipper underneath.

“Wow … fancy,” Rhea mumbled, smiling at her defensive tone. “Maybe I should get one.”

“Umm, yeah … I can show you a place in Viridian,” Amira whispered. “... I don’t know, I just feel like if they are your friends, then they’ll own up to their mistake.”

Rhea didn’t like the idea of testing their loyalty, but a part of her questioned how the entire exchange went; Coral didn’t have a lot of time to interrogate them, and she wondered if the journalist had more if she could have gotten her hospitalization out of them.

“Uh … Amira, how did you know I told them about being in the hospital.”

Finished dressing, Amira’s lips bunched to the side while staring at her. “... Because you talked about it at the spa. Are you sure your brain’s okay?”

“Oh, hehe … umm, yeah, I guess I’m still not a hundred percent. I usually have a really good memory…”

“That’s because you have a good mental fortitude,” Amira commented, crossing her legs after moving to an armchair by the door; Amber jumped on her lap. “It just means you’re not fully recovered. Right?”

“I guess so … thanks.”

“Don’t mention it.”

Attaching her pokéballs to her white belt, Rhea’s mind returned to her conversation with Brock. “... Hey, Amira…”

“Mmh?” She was fiddling with her glasses, attached to her dress front.

“What’s it like for you … with your Pokémon? How does it feel when feeding them energy?”

“Right … you don’t have a limiter.” Amira glanced to the side, vision narrowing slightly while petting Amber. “I can tell how much personal energy Amber has … not as clearly as I’d like, but I’m working on enhancing that monitoring sense.

“There’s like a … filter in place between us, and I can throw as much energy as I want to her, but only so much slips through that filter. It’s like I’m pushing against an immovable wall that’s slowly chipping away the longer Amber and I are bonded.”

Amber chirped happily, rubbing her head against Amira’s hand; her fiery tail and ears had turned into dark red tufts to not burn her Trainer.

So … Amira’s working at decreasing that wall while I need to put it up. How, though? Just being bonded with a Pokémon and increasing that link helps reduce the barrier, but how do I put one up … I don’t think it’ll happen naturally.

They fell into silence, Rhea using the time to analyze the link between her and her Pokémon, but whatever she was looking for wasn’t so obvious.

Lori spent 8 minutes in the shower with only 5 more getting herself ready. She wore her clothes that went through the automatic Trainer washing and drying machines each room had for overnight cleaning.

Most Trainer outfits were high-quality non-iron treated fabrics for long-term use. She appeared to have breathable leggings for warm climates and an insulated pair for colder.

After finishing their preparations, they put on their sunglasses, leaving the keycard in the automatic return slot by the front entrance, and moved through the brightening city toward the Oak Foundation Lab.

Rhea frowned upon getting a text from her mother on the way there.

6:47 A.M. Hey, my lil’ Swablu, so … there’s a bunch that’s happening in Viridian right now. Your father and I will probably be here for a few days; I’ll have my hands full, but I want to make time for your father and I to take you out to lunch, though! There’s a place we can go discreetly. Loves you!

She let her team know as they walked through the busy street, drawing gazes as they went. It was a partially cloudy morning with a cool breeze that would be nice when hiking.

“... We have a lot planned for Viridian, don’t we?” Rhea chuckled.

Lori nodded. “I’m so excited!”

Amira’s fell a bit, red irises watching for people instead of enjoying the bustle Rhea was enthralled by; just being around, so many people were new to her, and seeing how everyone dressed and acted fascinated her curiosity.

Amber kept a few feet in front of them with Gables camouflaged from sight, apparently practicing his stealth while on the lookout for journalists.

“Lunch with your parents and dinner with mine … how long are we planning to stay in Viridian?”

“Mmh,” Mallory clasped her hands behind her back as they stopped at an interception, waiting for the light to change, “probably at most two days. We gotta get to Pewter to participate in some of the local betting odds to get back what we spent here, what we’ll spend in Viridian, and Dark City. Maybe we can participate in the Yas or Kaz Bronze Challenge. I’ve heard they both have some fun prizes.”

For the first time all morning, Amira giggled, causing the two other girls to lift an eyebrow. “Yas and Kaz? You do realize those two establishments have been trying to compete with the Pewter Gym for official Gym Status for over two decades and failing miserably? I heard their children are even involved in the effort.”

Rhea and Lori shook their heads with a wry smile.

“Nope,” Rhea mumbled. “Never heard of them until now.”

“I just heard they had decent prizes,” Mallory shrugged.

Amira smirked. “The highest challenge they have is in the Gold-tier. They can’t even qualify for a Platinum-tier Challenge Ranking, yet they’ve been hounding my grandfather for support forever; it’s only because of him that Dark City hasn’t collapsed and has basically become a subsidiary of Viridian. They come to the city to seek sponsorship just about every year.”

Mallory chuckled, pulling up a large map of Kanto. “Well, isn’t all of Viridian Forest … Muk that’s massive, Viridian Bay … the surrounding areas around Neon City, Gardenia City, the Shadow Woods to the east of Dark City, Gardenia City, Fennel Valley, Stone City, Terracotta Town, Scissor Town, Mulberry City…”

“Yeah, yeah, I get it,” Amira mumbled with a wave of her hand. “Viridian has a lot of governing land as an official City State.”

Rhea’s eyes lit up. “Oh, do you think we can stop by Gardenia City to try out the Contest? It’s only like a few hours hike uphill from Dark City, right? There’s an official PAC Office there so we can get our Contest Passes; we can do some of the Contests around the region, too! Oh, what about Hollywood in Viridian? That’d be fun!”

Amira’s brow furrowed, glancing to the side with a sour expression. “Ugh, you want to go everywhere. Contests … aren’t really my thing, and the Hollywood district in Viridian isn’t all that … a bunch of bloodsuckers.”

“Aww, c’mon, Amira! You’re the one that seems to enjoy dressing up, and Amber would be a smash; I’m down to give it a go!” Lori cheered.

The redhead popped her tongue a few times, ushering them into a small store to buy a pack of spearmint gum for 3 credits. Waiting in the checkout line, she brushed back her hair with a soft sigh. “Yeah, but wanting to look nice and dressing up to make a fool of myself are two different things.”

“Hehe, okay. You can watch us from the stands,” Lori chuckled. “We could use someone on our side; I don’t think we’ll win since that’s a higher class Contest Hall, but it’ll be a fun bonding experience.”

“Yeah, knock yourselves out,” Amira grunted with a small smile, paying for the item. “It will probably force us to stay in one of the cities overnight, though.”

“Unless we camp out!” Lori returned with a smirk.

“Why camp when you can have a bed to sleep in … even if it’s not that decent?” Amira asked, popping the gum in her mouth.

Rhea thought the bubblegum girl suited the redhead’s look well, causing her to smile as she casually offered them both a piece. Accepting it, Mallory challenged them to a bubble size contest. Gables obviously won once joining the competition, hanging off Lori’s pack with a smug smirk, sucking in the sphere he created that was the size of his head.

“Muk, nice!” Lori giggled, giving him a high-five. “Creamed Amira’s record.”

Amira’s cheeks bunched to the side, glaring at the frog through her round rosy glasses. She’d been winning before that point, with Rhea being crushed. “Okay, that’s not fair.”

Amber was still trying to make a bubble, doing even worse than Rhea.

Rhea got her first text from Jade’s group when walking up the lab steps.

7:08 A.M. Hey, sorry, we’re running a bit behind! There was this strange lady that wanted to talk to us about PikaSpring … she totally crushed us … I’ll tell you about it when we meet up. We were soooo embarrassed! Anyways, we kind of couldn’t sleep that well; we’ll be at the spot in like 40 minutes, top!

Showing the message to the others, Amira huffed, still chewing her gum. “Not surprised. Coral’s got a whole community hate thread on PikaEdit … mostly Viridian residents, I think.”

“Crazy,” Mallory mumbled. “Think she’ll follow us?”

Walking inside the building, they made it to the front desk, Rhea asking for a package in her name. The woman retreated to the back to check with her supervisor.

“She’ll go wherever the biggest clickbait is, which was us yesterday, but it could be something else today,” Amira absently replied, studying the scientists walking through the doors to start their workday. “They’ve got informants all over the place that might send them something that’ll distract the mob for a bit. Believe she’ll be there when we get to Pewter, though.”

“Makes sense,” Mallory hummed, fiddling with an app that was more complicated than Rhea wanted to learn or discover its use. “I’ll widen the net to see what’s goin’ on … umm … by the way, the underground bounty for us went up.”

Rhea and Amira’s gaze darted to her.

“Our what?” Rhea asked.

“So … you know how our legal max bounty is capped at 26,500 right now, right?”

“Mhm?” Amira replied, folding her arms under her chest with a deep frown.

“Yeah, well, there’s a few underground betting rings I keep an eye on, and three of the biggest ones are focusing on us pretty hard. Seems a lot of people on the low wanna see us eat dirt…”

Rhea adjusted her cap. “What’s the bet?”

“Combined or individual?”

Amira nibbled on her lip, gum tucked against her cheek. “The total works.”

“Okay, excluding the official bet, for me … 18,870 credits, which is kind of low, to be honest,” she huffed with a slight frown. “I guess it makes sense, though … Grimsley has a lot of weight in these circles.”

“Me?” Amira asked with a rushed chuckle.

“Uh … one sec … oh … 78,472 credits.”

“... Great,” Amira grumbled.

“Oh, what about me?” Rhea asked, feeling more excited than worried.

“Uh … two bounties, actually … although I’m not surprised.”

“Wait … only two pools?”

“No, no … there’s a bounty on beating you for … 87,450 credits, and one for your family identity for 55,540 credits.”

“You’re joking…” Rhea sighed, twisting to lean up against the desk, texting Jade back.

7:12 A.M. Yeah, no problem. BTW, go to PikaEdit and lookup Coral Kaylera. xD That the woman you met?

“Nope, and I think it’ll probably go up,” Lori mumbled. “That’s a healthy chunk of credits, though; it could cover a small family for a year. Bah, not much we can do about it…”

She paused, putting away her phone as the woman returned with Rhea’s box.

Opening it with some scissors the woman lent her, she extracted exactly what she thought they’d be, two prototype phones from Silph.

“Oh, sweet!” Lori cheered, swiftly selecting the black one as Amira hesitantly accepted the red.

“... Are you sure?” She whispered, fingers rubbing the smooth red crystal device.

Rhea shrugged, motioning for them to follow her out. “Why not? My mom wanted to give them to you. If you want, I can just give it back to her. It’ll probably hit the market in like … six or eight months.”

“Nice!” Lori snickered, fiddling with her phone to extract the small SIM bar that held her information. “I wonder what kind of processing power and network coverage this thing has…”

“I’ve never had issues,” Rhea replied, walking back out into the sunlight.

Amira and Mallory went silent, each fiddling with their phone as they transferred the data over with the simple TouchTether method, applying all the enhanced encryption and password requirements.

Rhea snuck a few more pictures of them while walking to post on her PikaBook profile, tagging her mom to let her know they loved the gifts.

On their way to the meet-up spot, Jade texted her back.

7:32 A.M. Woah! That is her, and … she is a journalist. Did we say anything bad?

7:32 A.M. No, you’re fine. Just watch out; she might show back up again, using other people to get info about us. Thanks for keeping the hospital bit a secret!

7:33 A.M. Yeah! We’ll be more careful … Hannah’s so mad … me, too … she really, really embarrassed us and didn’t tell us the truth … Hannah’s writing a post on PikaEdit right now.

7:33 A.M. You’ll have to tell us about it. Yeah, Amira’s not a fan of her. See ya in a bit!

7:33 A.M. Okai! We’re on our way right now … we’ll maybe be there at 7:45.

7:33 A.M. NP, we had somewhere to go, too. You’ll probably beat us. We should get there at like 7:55.

Rhea did what she’d seen other Pallet citizens do, stop beside a yellow taxi and just open the back door, motioning for her team to follow; the two girls were still fussing over their phones, going through settings for Mallory and the startup tutorial for Amira.

They got to the location at 7:51 with their driver going a bit faster than her travel App suggested and less traffic than expected. Getting out where she’d entered Pallet, Rhea guided Lori and Amira to the clearing, meeting up with the three girls as they seemed to be going over the map, their Pokémon out.

“Umm … where does the map show we should travel, Hannah?” Jade asked with a bright tone.

“Not near Mt. Hideaway or Mt. Evolution,” Hannah mumbled.

Sam shook her head. “No, no, that’s way too far west … it’d be out of the … oh, hey, Rhea, Lori, Amira!”

“Hey, guys!” Rhea called back. “What’s up?”

“Just trying to figure out what’s the best route,” Hannah replied with a nervous giggle. “Umm … hey.”

Amira had the holographic display fully extended with the map application active. “... I’ve already come up with a trail. If we cut through the mid-range Bronze-tier areas, then we can bypass most traffic and minimize the probability we’ll get challenged.”

“... Yeah, but umm … that’s a bit rougher terrain,” Sam mumbled softly. “Uh … yeah, okay, umm, sure; we’ll give it a shot!” She grinned, grunting while hoisting up her backpack.

“Mmh,” Amira swiped through the 3D map, glancing at the shown terrain, “it’s not that big of a curve … we’ll be hiking up a few hills, but nothing like Viridian Forest will be.”

“... I see,” Jade replied with a forced smile. “We, uh … better get used to it, then, haha.”

Rhea glanced down at her own phone; Amira had sent her a link to her chosen path, and she marked forward. “Okay! We’re heading to Xanadu Nursery!”

“We probably won’t get there today,” Amira commented, following as the others trudged behind. “If we travel at a constant rate, then we’ll probably get most of the way by nightfall, though. Make camp at 7 or 8 P.M., and wake up, restock at the Nursery, and see how far we can get to Viridian.”

Glancing back, she caught the three girls’ giving each other strained expressions. “What’s up?”

“Umm,” Sam mumbled, “I don’t know if, uh … we can travel the whole time … you know, until 7 or 8 P.M.”

“Not the entire way,” Amira evenly replied. “We’ll probably take one or two five minute breaks.”

“One or two…” Jade chuckled.

“Uh, yeah! We’ll do our best, right?” Hannah returned.

The other two swallowed. “... Yeah…”

Feeling a little bad for them, Rhea hummed. “... If you do feel tired, just let us know. Okay?”

They gave similar responses in the affirmative. It turned out to be a lot worse than Rhea thought; she wasn’t even feeling tired after each break the girls needed to take, and she began to realize how much more physical fortitude her team must have had compared to ordinary people.

Sam, Hannah, and Jade weren’t all that fit, but they weren’t overweight; still, they required a rest every hour or two with the casual pace Rhea set. She knew Amira was a little exasperated with the constant stops, but she hid it well, and Lori didn’t seem all that bothered. It gave Rhea time to enjoy nature, though, watching out for new Pokémon and taking pictures that were receiving constant feedback from her family.

She caught sight of all the normal Pokémon within the area; Pidgey, Rattata, Sentret, sleeping Hoothoot, Wurmple, Pineco, Ledyba, and Spinarak. There were one or two Poochyena groups, and a Plusle and Minun group.

The Poochyena party paused as if debating starting something, but after a sharp bark from Amber, flames flicking out of her mouth, they scampered off. A Spinarak crawled down from its web around 11 A.M. to see what they were about, but again, the firefox sent it scampering back up its tree.

Gables kept popping up every so often, resting after extended Camouflage usage.

Sam, Hannah, and Jade’s Pokémon weren’t able to see a lot of action with Amber’s leading prance, acting as if she owned the forest. A swarm of Sentret followed them for a bit, eyeing Jade’s Pidgey on her shoulder. It almost seemed like they had a bit of beef with the bird, but Gables and Amber were a powerful deterrent for the weak Pokémon along their route.

The one upset came from a pair of Pikachu that stood in their way, seemingly challenging Amber. After a short exchange that consisted of three Ember and a Scratch, the two yellow mice were battered and defeated, running with sharp cries.

Gables was able to practice Bubble and Mud Sport to put out any chance of a fire starting from the Stab Embers. Unplanned forest wildfires rarely happened with the network of Rangers that patrolled the forest, but handling the issues you create from battles were also a part of a Trainer’s duty.

Once it hit 5 P.M., Rhea decided it would be best to call it; the three girls were huffing and puffing, and they’d just found a downhill stream they could use with a decent clearing to set up in.

Nova had been a great cheerleader throughout the trip, and Mya was starting to wake up. Along the way, they recounted their encounter with Coral, and Rhea told them that she had to rest after her previous fight with Lucian, which was why Nova and Mya weren’t out of their balls. They appeared content without the details, so Rhea kept them to herself.

After setting up their tents, they started a fire with the gathered sticks they found around the area and talked. She discovered a lot about each of the girls as Mallory guided the conversation between them. Preparing for bed at 9 P.M, Rhea talked a bit to Bianca about her first day on the journey, lying on her sleeping bag with the warm night sending in a lovely breeze.

Sam, Hannah, and Jade’s Pokémon had gotten a lot of rest with Amber and Gables handling everything, so they offered to take up the night watch, allowing the two to sleep. Amira was a bit leery about the offer, Amber protectively sleeping beside her. Nova and Mya felt the same, longing to be out to be on watch duty, but contented themselves to their pokéballs.

Rhea was a little surprised they didn’t run into a single Trainer, but Amira had picked out their route for that very purpose. They could start taking battles more seriously once they hit Viridian; Amira thought that they’d get a few challenges tomorrow once they hit the Nursery, though, but the big hitters looking to make a name for themselves would be at the Viridian gates.

At 9:35 P.M., she said goodnight to Bianca, already up longer than she should be, but her husband wasn’t home and drifted off into oblivion.