2 P.M. June 24, Thursday, 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 16 Days (15 Officially; 16 since getting Mya and Nova).

Rhea watched the other three go through their matches with bated breath.

Mimi and Jade went next, and because of her little Pichu’s low level, she came across a stroke of luck and found herself paired against an Omanyte. The battle was surprisingly well-matched since her baby Pichu was able to use her Thunder Shocks.

Considering the Spiral Pokemon only had Bind and Withdraw, it shouldn’t have been that difficult to win, but the little guy used its little white vines to slingshot around the pillars, which came as a shock to the crowd and the Pichu.

She smiled while watching the animated faces the little mouse made while dodging and jumping out with flair, likely taking inspiration from Star.

In the end, Mimi and Jade came out on top; the dark blue-haired girl was practically crying while hugging her Pichu.

Hannah came after, and everyone got on the edges of their seat when Amara released an Aerodactyl to fight the little egg. Star was a hoot, though; in fact, Amira was holding her breath and clapping at a few moments, such as when Hannah had him use Psycho Shift to cure the Dragon Breath Paralysis and return it to the Fossil Pokemon.

It tried to use Supersonic to confuse him, but he counted with Extrasensory self-flight—basically chucking himself through the air like a rocket ship—having the crowd jumping and laughing with surprise. He got three random Metronome Moves; one was terrible, the second amazing, and the third funny.

The first random Move saw Star picking up a rock, charging it with energy, and flinging it at the flying Pokemon—it missed. The second was beautiful, Star jumping off a pillar as the Aerodactyl smashed through it, trying to bite him, only to see a massive ball of electricity smash into his face. Marked by its red core and green inner fusion, the announcer went wild with the onlookers as he shouted Zap Cannon.

To end the fight, Star pulled out a shocker, transforming into the ancient Pokemon to shoot a Dragon Breath of his own—of course, Hannah and Star both looked super drained after the fight, and if there was any criticism, it was how they’d gone all-in, but that was Star.

Sam and Tera straight went in right out of the ball; her Geodude opponent and her meeting in the center with a Rollout collision. It was like watching a mirror as both tucked into a Defense Curl and went at it again, Tera edging out and throwing him to the side.

The Geodude broke away, tearing up an entire pillar, charging it with energy, and chucking it in the air for it to collapse into a hail of stones as Tera rolled in a rapid circle around them to send her opponent smashing through a few pillars. It retreated into the maze, using Rock Polish to speed itself up to prepare for a bigger attack, and Tera mirrored him, kicking up dirt while throwing out her trunk in a challenge.

Mya’s fists were held tightly against her chest as she watched, cheering the Shiny Phanpy on; she wanted to see her friend win—it was kind of for both of them, and Tera was killing it.

Light brown energy collected around her as Sam struggled to get to the proper threshold to unleash their big STAB Move as the Geodude gathered a dark red aura that condensed around his fists.

Tera jumped into a trampling charge, light brown force increasing as she moved, and the Geodude launched forward, breaking through the side of a pillar to meet her. Colliding in a battle of strength, Tera’s opponent’s attack and energy shell shattered, planting the rock firmly into a soft pile of soil three meters away and sending clumps of earth flying in all directions.

They won, all of Rhea’s friends managed to get their first badge, and she couldn’t have been happier for them, despite her difficult inner turmoil at the pain Mya was still overcoming.

Lori, Amira, and she had a chance to meet them in the lobby as they left the stadium, and to Rhea’s surprise, Jade’s sister was there before them.

She wore a black dress and summer hat with simple jewelry; overall, Rhea thought she was pretty. Hannah waved them over when they came into view.

“Hey! Over here!”

Rhea closed the distance, brushing back her bangs to give the older woman a bright smile; her hair was a darker shade than Katelin’s. “Hello, I’m Rhea—Is this your sister, Jade?”

The woman giggled, speaking up and holding out her hand before Jade could form a response. “Yeah, my name’s Cami; I just came to see my little sister totally dominate! Wasn’t she amazing?”

“Stop,” Jade mumbled, cheeks darkening as she looked away. “Mimi was pretty good, though.”

Mallory nodded, rubbing the Pichu’s head. “I loved your little screams—I can see who you’ve been hanging around most,” she snickered, pointing a finger at Star.

He puffed up his chest with pride, jumping into a conversation with Holly as she exited to congratulate her best friend on his victory.

Amira stepped to the side with Hannah, bending down a little to watch the two Pokemon jump, clap, and high-five each other. “It seems you both managed to win on your own—Those combinations and making use of the surprise Moves was really well done, Hannah.”

“Thanks! Actually, my Dad’s trying to make his way out,” she giggled. “He took off the night to see my first Gym Battle.”

“That’s sweet.”

Sam hissed. “Yeah … My parents couldn’t come, but Dia’s here … my sister—kind of surprised she came, to be honest, but she did ditch her boyfriend for it, so…”

Rhea grinned. “Doesn’t that mean she really does care about you?”

She smacked her lips, folding her arms before rubbing Tera’s head; she and Mya were having an animated conversation about the battle with Tera’s trunk and Mya’s hands making extravagant gestures as Mya darted back and forth. Rhea figured she was recounting her moment dodging all the falling rocks.

Jay was a bit more stand-offish, but Jade and Cami swiftly roped her into going out to eat and allowing everyone’s families to get to know each other.

Sam was nervous about bringing her sister into the event but soon lost the option to retreat once the young woman showed up, shoulder-length brown hair pulled back into a small bun and wearing dark sunglasses.

She seemed friendly enough, hitting it off with Cami; if there was someone that felt out of place, it was Hannah’s aged father, hanging out with a bunch of younger girls. Still, he insisted on paying, and the girls didn’t complain.

Waving them off, Rhea released a low sigh, noticing more than a few people trying to act casual while recording them; she couldn’t go anywhere without someone recognizing her team. A man ran up with his phone, probably one of the MemeStar ‘reporters,’ and wanted to know how she was taking her loss against Forrest.

Lori chased him off, helped by Mya’s sullen growls, before Amira pulled her toward the exit. Rhea shook her head in amusement at how close she felt with her friends already, smiling at Lori as she returned; Nova had fallen asleep in her pokeball after the excitement of the match.

“So … We really going to head out?”

“The sooner we get four Encrusted Badges, the sooner we can relax and do whatever it is we want to do,” Amira shrugged. “Get the hard work out of the way first, and then you know how much time you have to play after.”

“Good in principle,” Mallory chuckled, “but I have problems procrastinating.”

“Heh,” Rhea lifted a fist that Lori bumped as they descended the stairs. “It’s a good thing we have Amira here to keep us on track!”

Amira snickered. “The pressure is overwhelming … So, what’s going on with your brother and Jason?”

Mallory jumped down two steps to land on the ground level, skirt flying up a little before she spun around to walk backward. “Yeah, didn’t you say something about them leaving, but he was spending time with his sister? Seems a little contradictory!”

Rhea groaned. “About that … So, apparently, Lucian got into the early matches before we got to the stadium yesterday and got his Earth Badge, which gave him a bit more money to work with, but he needs to find more opponents to build his funds up.”

Amira rolled her eyes. “Uh-huh … So, he takes the frustration of me thrashing him out on all the unsuspecting Bronze Trainers between here and Cerulean.”

“Lame,” Lori huffed, playing with a lock of her hair. “What’s up with that? Jason wants to spend some time with his sister but can’t because he’s too busy with a Diglett up his…”

“Hey!” Amira hissed, giving Lori a slight glare, “Don’t do Diglett dirty like that … they’re cute.”

Mallory lifted an eyebrow, and Rhea was with her on this one. “Diglett … cute?”

“Eh-he-he-he,” Rhea sucked in a breath, “yeah … I don’t know about that one, Amira, but at least I agree that we can leave the little guy out of … places they shouldn’t be,” she forced a laugh.

“Oh, c’mon!” Mallory crossed her arms with a frown. “It’s just an Unova expression; no harm! Should I stop saying Muk, too?”

Amira cleared her throat. “Muk … are disgusting, so I have no issues with that—but really,” she pleaded, “Diglett are adorable! Their little pink nose and big eyes,” she whispered, pulling up what seemed to be an entire file on her phone dedicated to fan art of the Pokemon. “The Alolan ones with their three tiny hairs!” She squealed.

“Mh-hmm…” Lori slowly nodded, looking at the images. “I’ll … stick with my Absol, Umbreon, and Alolan Meowth.”

Rhea’s lips pulled in, eyebrows rising. “Alolan … Meowth … Have you seen their Gigamax?” She shuddered. “It’s … It’s horrifying!”

Lori gave her a dull look. “Mmh … Fairy lover?”

“Mya answers that question?” Amira snickered, pointing her finger at the confused Mawile beside her.

“Mya’s adorable!” Rhea defended, bending down to stroke her large second mouth as her little girl smiled from the praise, but in her heart, the Mawile was huffing that she’d rather be scary and intimidating. Always cute to me!

Making it out into the streets, Mallory threw her arms in the air. “C’mon, Rhea! Fairy-Types, though … that’s like every little girl’s generic wish to secretly be the Rota Queen … Dark Pokemon are where it’s at!”

A teasing smile lifted Rhea’s cheeks. “Oh? You’re not just saying that because your parents ‘both’ are Dark Specialists?”

“N-No!” Lori stammered. “I mean, I may have been exposed to a lot of Dark-Type Pokemon, but that doesn’t mean I’ll like them…” She shivered. “I can’t stand Ghost-Types, and my sister’s a Ghost Specialist. Why do you like Fairy-Types?”

“““Because they’re cute.”””

Rhea glared at her two companions as they both laughed after copying her. “Very funny. And Amira’s love for Ground-Types comes from her grandfather?”

“No, actually,” Amira said, putting on her glasses with the two of them as they exited out of the Gym; they’d gotten their Encrusted Badges at the desk before finding their seats. Holly wrapped around Amira’s hair to add a cute flowery vibe to her braid as they continued. “In fact, I don’t like most Ground-Types, but Diglett is an exception.”

“I—I’m not a generic Fairy-girl,” Rhea protested. “Really! I, umm … I like a lot of Pokemon.”

“It’s cool!” Mallory giggled. “By the way, when do you think those eggs your mom gave us are going to hatch—I’ve been dying to look up what it is, but … ugh, it’s so hard to resist!”

Rhea shrugged. “I mean, I can give her a text to make sure since—Well, I should have made sure before we started spending extended time away from them,” she mumbled, removing her phone from her dress pocket to ask the question.

“True,” Amira whispered. “It would be pretty traumatic to just randomly wake up in an empty, locked hotel room … Wow, we’re terrible.”

A low hiss passed through Lori’s lips. “Yeah … let’s get back to the room.”

Mya returned to her pokeball to allow them to pick up their pace, and the three of them made it halfway back when her mother returned the message.

2:34 P.M. Mom: Oh, you girls aren’t already on your way to Mt. Moon? Hmm … if you kept them in their incubation chambers, then the time should be relatively close to one another. One moment, let me pull up their datasheet to get an accurate reading.

2:37 P.M. Mom: Okay, so … How wonderful! They should be hatching in roughly two hours; they’ll be itching to get to know more about their new party, so it would be good to let them stay out and learn more about their new world!

Tucking her lip under her teeth, Rhea showed Amira the text. “Today.”

“No way,” Lori mumbled, a grin spreading across her lips as she put a hand to her breast. “My heart’s starting to beat! Two hours? Should we head out of Pewter or wait until tomorrow morning?”

Amira shook her head. “We can carry them out if it’s that soon and stop off on the road for a bit to read the instructions Christie gave us. Pushing forward should be the play.”

“Born on the road, huh?” Lori hummed.

“I guess it’ll give them a crash course,” Rhea sighed, and Sabin’s warning this morning pulled her thoughts in another direction. “But umm, guys … We should be careful.”

Amira and Lori gave her a questioning look, prompting her to continue. “Well, my brother said that high-profile Bronze-tier Trainers have been kidnapped recently between Mt. Moon and Pewter.”

Amira folded her arms at the news, lips tightening. “Kidnapped for what … Money?”

“Huh?” Mallory pulled up her strange app, likely looking through the criminal underground blogs and websites. “I can’t … see anything like that from online chatter.”

Shivering a little, Rhea rubbed her shoulder with her phone. “I don’t know … He just told me that the Rangers were looking into disappearances and to be careful; he and Kate’ll be close by in case something happens.”

“Humph, I’m not too concerned,” Amira replied, brushing back her bangs as a breeze blew them out of place. “It’s one thing to go after a famous Trainer, but another to go after a Rocket.”

“True. True.” Mallory snickered. “I mean, who’d be stupid enough to get on the big bad former Criminal Superstar’s bad side, right?”

“More like my mother,” Amira mumbled.

Rhea slowly nodded. “Yeah … I can see it; Lyra seems like the super protective type, and my aunt is … not friendly to those that cross her.”

Mallory’s smile turned forced. “We’ve seen it first hand.”

“That, we have,” Amira scratched her temple with a low puff of air. “I don’t think we need to be all that worried, but … a little caution wouldn’t hurt.”

Making it to their hotel, they gathered their items, cleaned up, checked out, and were on their way to the edge of Pewter, taking a taxi to the edge.

Rhea turned around to look at the high, mountainous stony city of Pewter; they were reaching slightly higher elevations before dropping into Clefairy Valley a few miles to their west.

Her grip tightened around the light container held in her arms while staring at the place she’d had her first Gym loss; Nova was now awake and excited to meet their new fresh greeny. Well, guys … we’ve had a rough start, but it’s going to get better from here. When we come back to Pewter, it’ll be for a big win.

Nova and Mya gave a cheer; they may have been the only ones not to obtain a badge, but that wouldn’t last long—the Encrusted Cascade Badge would be theirs.

“Well, can’t say Pewter was uneventful,” Mallory mused as they turned to begin their journey into the valley surrounding Mt. Moon. “So … Why aren’t we going through Mt. Moon?”

Amira hummed, holding up her egg case to study it. “Because, after the Sinjoh Incident, all those strong Pokemon flooded the area—the cave is now rated as Silver-tier. Uh, Rhea … Should we keep them in their case or take them out if they’ll hatch in the next forty minutes?”

“Mmh…” Rhea responded by taking out her phone and calling her mother; the ring only happened twice before she answered.

The three of them gathered around her phone to see Christie holding a phone out while wearing riding goggles; her hair was pulled into a ponytail, blowing back in the wind. “She tried to say something, but nothing came through the speaker, and out of the corner of the screen, Rhea could see her dad’s back.

It only lasted several seconds before she hung up, and she received a text.

3:57 P.M. Mom: Almost there! 10 Minutes.

3:58 P.M. Rhea: We just left Pewter. At East Gate.

3:58 P.M. Mom: Go into northern trees outside the gate. See you soon!

Rhea sighed, rubbing the back of her head. “I think … my mom forgot about making those evolution stones,” she mumbled, glancing back at the groups of people walking along the broad path and into Pewter’s Check-In Station.

“Is that like her?” Amira questioned, following her north to the treeline.

A nearby Ranger saw them going north and frowned, following their path with his eyes; the Pidgeot by his side rose into the air, hovering a hundred feet off the ground and keeping his eyes on them.

Mallory followed the Bird Pokemon’s rise into the air. “Seems the Rangers are a bit jumpy over here.”

“We do fit the profile,” Amira mumbled.

Rhea nodded. “Yeah … Umm, it is kind of like my mom, to be honest. She has so many projects going on—if you saw the state of her labs, then you’d understand—same with my aunt, actually. Though my Granny and Grandma are super organized.”

She trailed off as Mya exited her pokeball along with Miky and Amber to keep them safe in the forest as they entered the outskirts of Pewter; still, it was just outside the city, so the chances of getting snatched were almost non-existent.

It didn’t take long until her mother and father teleported beside them, causing their Pokemon to jump. Keith helped Christie down from Jeffery as Vilora hovered around them.

“Hey, girls!” Her dad greeted, rummaging through Jeffery’s saddle to get out a few hastily wrapped packages. “How’s it going? Oh, it seems we’ve got an onlooker,” he mused, and Vilora rose teleported away, likely to let the Pidgeot know everything was fine.

Her mom was pulling down her dress to put her hands on her hips while adjusting her appearance; she wore some stretchable gym shorts that Rhea guessed she’d snatched on the spur of the moment to ride. “Uh-huh … Well, you know your Mom,” Christie mumbled with a sharp hiss. “Sometimes, I can be a bit forgetful—so, ah, thank you, Keith!” she chimed as he handed her the packages.

Rhea was somewhat embarrassed by the whole show but knew there was nothing she could do about it. Vilora teleported back soon after, looking happy while munching on a berry the Ranger likely gave her.

Keith gave the butterfly a slight frown. “You know we’re layin’ off the sweets, remember?”

Vilora turned her back to him in protest, continuing to munch on the snack and likely telling him, ‘Just this once.’

“Mom…”

“Hmm?”

“Nevermind,” she grumbled, running her fingers through her hair. “So … should we take them out of the cases before they hatch? I mean, logically, we should, right?”

“Yup! And … Here you go, Amira, and … this one's for you, Mallory,” she whispered, handing them the small packages. “And this one's for you, dear!”

Rhea accepted the package before setting down the container to remove the egg. “Umm, Mom, since you’re here, can you take the containers back?”

“Sure thing! Oh, we’ve actually got somewhere important to be … Something to do with Ultra Energy spikes or something. Keith, if you could…”

“Already on it, honey!” He said, accepting the containers to put in the saddle. “By the way, Mya, I heard you put up a Muk of a show; just dirty, huh?” He grinned.

“Keith, language,” her mother mumbled, giving him a slight glare while taking out her tablet to scan Rhea’s egg.

“I know. I know.” He snickered, giving Rhea a wink. “Kids don’t swear.”

“Never!” Mallory returned with a big grin, crossing her heart. “I’m so excited!”

“I bet,” he returned. “They’ll be real winners, but you’re gonna have to take some time to learn how they battle.”

Amira nodded, silently looking at the egg in her hands.

Her mother puffed out a long, regretful breath. “Well … Sorry, Rhea, but we need to get going. I can’t wait to see the pictures, and don’t skimp out! I’ll be glued to my screen to see your posts—oh, and set your watch…”

Amira was the first to get her app open, causing her mother to give her a beaming smile. “Always quick on the take!” she said, messing with her tablet. “It will be precisely … thirty-three minutes.”

“I have it,” Amira whispered, starting the timer on her phone.

Her parents went just as they entered, like a whirlwind; with one swift flap of his massive wings, Jeffery and Vilora shot into the sky with her parents. It was kind of crazy how easily the gigantic Fearow could get through the smallest treelines.

Amira, Rhea, and Mallory took a few minutes to look at their eggs before returning to the road. They turned the bend that put Pewter out of sight as they reached the 3-minute mark and moved off to the side of the road.

Going a bit away from the flow of traffic, they sat around a picnic area with a chained bench. Nova, Mya, Gables, Miky, Amber, and Holly were standing around the table, looking at the eggs with anticipation.

“Well … Here we go,” Amira whispered, looking down at Rhea’s as it started to wiggle.

Mallory scanned both of theirs, but they seemed to be a little delayed. “Oh? Heh, looks like we’ll be taking our turns! Dark-Type? If my dad had some input, it could be…”

“She could be anything,” Amira mumbled, arms tightly folded against her body. “She’s going to be powerful, nonetheless, and we’ll need to bond with a Master Ball—aren’t you scared?”

“Not even a little!” Mallory grinned. “Were you, Rhea?”

“Eh … mmh, kind of … I mean, Nova and Mya were my first Pokemon. So…”

“Yeah, I can see why that would be … Oh, she’s coming out! Is that…”

Rhea’s eyes opened wide as a shining smile brightened her cheeks. “A Buneary! S-she’s so fluffy and cute!” She gasped, leaning forward to pet her soft ears as she sat in her broken shell to look around with confusion. Like Nova and Mya, she had pink eyes, but her brown fur was a shiny black with pure white tufts and nose.

Blinking a few times, she yawned and stretched, leaning left and right before smoothing out her fur and listening to the Pokemon talking to her. She looked up at Rhea with a bright smile and greeting before folding down her ears to brush them a little.

Nova looked to be talking her ear off, but everyone changed focus as Mallory’s egg started to shiver. Her Buneary followed Nova’s prompts to watch with a small frown.

“Okay—deep breaths,” Mallory repeated, sounding breathless. “What am I going to … So cute! But … Mmh?” She cheered as the little puppy Pokemon popped her head out to look around but didn’t seem to know what she was.

Rhea knew in an instant due to seeing Professor Kukui’s so often, but Amira was the one to reveal her name. “She’s a Rockruff … Very, very cute,” she smiled, reaching over to pet behind her ears with Mallory scratching her head. Her white tail, the inside of her ears, collar, and mouth were shiny black, while the rocks on the collar, her body, and nose were white—the Rockruff’s pink eyes scanned before giving a charming bark.

Everyone greeted her, but Rhea’s Buneary seemed to be getting bored of the exchange because she had hopped off the table to do several flips and was testing her speed at swift side-to-side maneuvers. She had quick, uneven bursts of speed that seemed challenging to track when they’d happen as she bounced around in a flurry, performing twists, kicks, and punches with her tiny arms, legs, and ears.

“Wow…” Mallory grinned upon seeing her Buneary dart around and test her skills; her Rockruff lifted up on her hind legs to watch the bunny play-fight. “She doesn’t seem all that tired using her own energy—oh, I’ve got the perfect song for her!” With a few swipes, a song was pumping.

“Really?” Amira asked as the snappy beat played.

Rhea chuckled. “She does seem to have that attitude and energy—my mom said she’d be a bit sassy and hyper.”

Nova jumped down to follow her a little, complimenting her on her movements. Mya went to join the Eevee to learn more about their teammate’s personality. She was now looking around at the Pokemon, watching them from the treeline or in the air.

Rhea walked over to offer her Buneary the special stones her mother made and the Master Ball; she quickly accepted both, and Rhea winced as she bonded with her.

“Here, these are what … Oh, heh, I guess Nova and Mya already told you,” she whispered as she swiftly went through the process without hesitation.

Having three Pokemon bonded to her was a bit rough and harder than she expected to have out all at once; thankfully, Mya was fairly self-conscious about her, and so the stress to her spirit only lasted a second before the Mawile returned to her own pokeball. Nova was already explaining to the confused Buneary how things worked, giving Rhea a worried look.

Now bonded, Rhea could tell just how ready the Buneary was to get used to fighting; it was a little frightening how hyper the little girl was—she had a remarkably similar sensation to Mya. If Mya did a lot of damage in a single attack, this Buneary did it in speedy, rapid Move combos, and it came naturally to her. In fact, she could tell her new Pokemon had more Moves than Mya and Nova.

“A name,” she whispered, “umm … How about Alice?”

Alice nodded, and Nova went off with her to spar a little; Nova was happy to help her new teammate, but Rhea was a little taken aback at how eager to see combat the hasty bunny was. She was still a newborn, and Nova had a lot of experience with her over the last two weeks they’ve entered the Trainer scene.

Alice was still shockingly fast, and they weren’t using her energy for Moves but just practicing movement and dodging. You can … chill if you want. Rhea laughed, but Alice wanted to better understand what Nova was telling her and this seemed to be the best way to do it; Mya was coaching from within her pokeball, but Alice seemed to be listening to Nova more than her, which annoyed the Mawile. Okay. Umm … Once we start getting more on the road, I think the others will want some practice, too. So that should help.

The little flipping and cartwheeling bunny gave her an internal cheer at the news, and Rhea hesitantly returned to Mallory and Amira, still waiting for her egg to hatch while petting her Rockruff.

Mallory pulled out her own stones from the bag, freezing as one absorbed into her own body. “Wha … Oh, this is that … Did I just evolve?” she asked with a bright smile. “By the way, heh, Alice is SUPER hyperactive … Look at her go!”

“She just hatched,” Amira mumbled with a furrowed brow. “I’ve never seen anything like that … I suppose that’s genetic engineering for you. Speaking of which…”

Rhea sat down across from her. “I’m sure it will just be another few seconds … Yup!”

Amira tensed, holding her breath and pulling in her lower lip while watching the egg slowly break open to reveal a Pokemon all of them recognized. A soft hiss passed through Amira’s teeth. “A … what?”

They watched in question as it slowly hovered out of the egg to spin in a slow, wide-eyed circle. She gave a slow yawn before gently falling to the table and drifting to sleep.

Rhea pipped up in an instant. “A Feebas! I know it’s not the most popular Pokemon,” she giggled, “but there’s a reason my aunt has a Milotic! She’s soooo gorgeous and powerful—the strongest in the world!”

The Feebas’s tiny pink dot of an eye was in a black pool with a white lining. Her brown skin had darkened, white speckles, and blue fins and pink lips were white.

“Wait…” Mallory lifted an eyebrow at the ugly Pokemon. “That … turns into a Milotic?! No way…” she mumbled, pulling up her phone to look up the information. “Eh … Woah, yeah … what a … eh, transformation.”

Obviously, she didn’t want to hurt the Fish Pokemon’s feelings.

“She was … floating, too,” Amira slowly commented, taking Mallory’s offered phone to look at the data.

Rhea leaned over to read with her. “Eh … Wait, my mom makes sure the Pokemon has all of its Abilities, which is probably … uh … Does she have three Abilities?”

“No, FIVE … No wonder she’s lying there like that,” Lori gasped. “Snap … Is that even possible?”

Amira promptly took out the stones and pokeball, hesitating for only a moment before bonding with the Feebas. Her eyes instantly closed, taking a sharp breath while lowering her head. “This … This is … uncomfortable, Rhea,” she whispered. “It … gets better. Right?”

Holly swiftly returned to her pokeball after Nova barked something, and Amira breathed a sigh of relief, scratching her temple as Amber nuzzled her hand in concern.

“... I’m fine … That helps.”

Rhea’s hands tightened against each other. “Yeah, it’s rough at the start. Nova and Mya can run your Pokemon through the basics.”

“That would be helpful,” Mallory said, having Miky return to his pokeball before bonding with her Rockruff. “That’s insane, though. I think I’ve seen Feebas on one of those top ten—eh, least used Pokemon for Bronze-tier,” she corrected as the Pokemon opened her naturally big eyes to float into the air.

Looking over at Alice, Rhea sighed. “I mean, I guess I could see that, but if you can get onto Melina’s level, then—yeah, just imagine a fifty-foot long Milotic that can create huge tsunamis.”

“Mhm … Have you seen the Move list?” Amira asked, looking inside of the bag Christie gave them to extract the paper.

“Oh, right! Eh, but shouldn’t we name them first?” Mallory asked, giving her cute little puppy a small smile. “I’ve seen what you transform into, and you’re a beast! My adorable little beastie, he-he-he … How about Roxie!” she squealed. “I love it! What about you … You, too?! Yes!”

Amira looked at the image of Milotic with a soft hum as her Feebas blankly stared at her. “How about … Serenity … It seems to suit you. Hmm … She likes it.”

They all looked down at their papers, stunned at the volume of Abilities, Moves, and exceptional genetic feats Christie managed to give their new Pokemon.

Mallory was the first to have her mouth drop open. “Whaaa … Are you kidding me? So … Roxie, when we start Gold-tier … when you Evolve, you’ll constantly change between all three forms, depending on the time of day? That’s wild … totally changes our strategy, too.”

Rhea chuckled. “Yeah, sounds like something my mom would do.” She glanced left as her Buneary flipped into the air to land on the table as Rhea scanned her data. “Umm … So, apparently, Alice has three Abilities … Sleep Charm, that has a chance to force the opponent asleep when landing a successful hit. Opportunist, that can randomly multiply her damage, like Tera. And Klutz has been removed to tweak Run Away to activate when going into combat instead of away.”

“Sleep on attack? Even if a super small chance, it’s still crazy powerful,” Mallory mumbled. “Especially with those moves she’s got. Roxie has Keen Eye that allows her to predict movements, Vital Spirit—heh, that prevents sleep,” she winked at Alice as she folded her arms with a slight frown, “and … Rockify? Huh … She can turn her allies next Move into a Rock-Type if she touches them.”

Rhea turned her attention to Amira, who looked a bit torn by what she was reading; Serenity simply watched her with a blank look. “What’s up?”

“Huh?” Amira looked up for a moment before returning to the sheet. “Umm … Serenity actually comes from your aunt’s Milotic … She has an insane Move Pool, and her Abilities are … incredible, to be honest. Her Stats are off the charts—everything about her is exceptional beyond words … My grandfather would salivate over Serenity … without a doubt.”

“But?” Mallory asked with a small frown, petting Roxie in her lap as she looked between them.

“If … I want her to reach her potential … I need to do Contests,” she mumbled.

Mallory breathed a low hiss. “Oh … Oh … I see. Uh, well, on the plus side, you’ll be joining us!” she laughed. “Contests, though? Kind of a strange way to evolve.”

Rhea nodded. “I thought that, too, but it’s really just a way to break past Feebas’s innate genetic feeling of inadequacy—at least, from what my aunt and mom say.”

“Right…” Amira looked down at Serenity with a tender smile before reaching out to hold her. “Your mother said it’s been something she wasn’t able to breed or genetically remove. Well, I suppose we … Hmm … We’ll be getting to know each other better.”

Alice jumped off to practice her movements with Gables and did a shockingly good job keeping up with her short bursts of speed.

“Abilities! What are her Abilities,” Mallory eagerly asked.

“Hmm…” Amira showed them the piece of paper with Serenity’s information. “Levitate was not something I expected. Swift Swim when in rainy weather. Oblivious to most feelings, in general. Opportunist, just like Alice, and Barrier Bash, that destroys Barrier-type Moves like Light Screen.”

Mallory breathed a long breath while nodding, reading through her Move list. “Yeah … Even if we’re feeling a bit of discomfort from this Master Ball stuff—yo, Rhea, we’re gonna have to thank your mother because she hooked us up!”

Buneary:

Name: Alice

Nature: Quirky (Neutral; Slight Sassy Gene)

Average IVs: 31

Abilities:

Sleep Charm - On physical Move contact has a small chance to force target asleep; does not work against those that are Oblivious or immune to Charm Effects through Abilities or Moves.

Opportunist - Occasionally 1.5x Multiplier on random attacks.

Run Away - Modified to activate when rushing into combat rather than away by removing Klutz to give room to tweak it.

Move Pool:

Attract

Circle Throw

Copycat

Cosmic Power

Defense Curl

Double Hit

Encore

Fake Out

Fake Tears

Fire Punch

Flail

Focus Punch

Foresight

Ice Punch

Low Kick

Magic Coat

Mud Sport

Pound

Power-Up Punch

Return

Rototiller

Sky Uppercut

Splash

Sweet Kiss

Switcheroo

Teeter Dance

Thunder Punch

Feebas:

Name: Serenity

Nature: Bold (Defense Up; Attack Down)

Average IVs: 31

Abilities:

Levitate - Levitate a few meters into the air, depending on the strength of the Pokemon. (Feebas has the ability in the Anime → Image ←)

Swift Swim - Raises Speed by x2 when in stormy weather.

Oblivious - Immunity to Charm Moves and Abilities.

Opportunist - Occasionally 1.5x Multiplier on random attacks.

Barrier Bash - Physical Attacks break Light Screen, Reflect, and Aurora Veil if near the same level as the opponent.

Move Pool:

Brine

Captivate

Confuse Ray

Dragon Pulse

DragonBreath

Haze

Hypnosis

Iron Tail

Light Screen

Mirror Coat

Mist

Mud Sport

Tickle

Splash

Rockruff:

Name: Roxie (Will alternate between all three forms (Midday; Dusk; Midnight) depending on the time of day in an 8H period after evolving)

Nature: Jolly (Speed Up; Special Attack Down)

Average IVs: 31

Abilities:

Keen Eye - Allows Roxie to predict where a Pokemon will dodge, minimizing the chance of missing.

Vital Spirit - Prevents sleep, and Pokemon with this ability are genetically predisposed to enjoy battling.

Rockify - Allows Roxie to change the type of Move of its allies into a STAB (based on its own typing) Rock-Type if she touches a partner.

Move Pool:

Crush Claw

Endeavor

Fire Fang

Last Resort

Leer

Sucker Punch

Tackle

Thrash

Thunder Fang

Rhea forced a smile as they went through each other’s Moves, each of their Pokemon listening closely. “... Eh, so … We’re really going to have to practice to not get smashed by the Encrusted Challenge.”

“You’re tellin’ me,” Mallory giggled, “but isn’t this exciting! I can’t wait to reach high-end Silver-tier or Gold to see Roxie in all her forms; she’s going to be so adorable, awesome, and cool!” she said while scratching the Rockruff’s neck as she arched her back and lifted her tail with enjoyment.

Amira hummed. “Yeah … It’s going to be a lot of work, but now we have a reason to hit every Contest Hall … I need practice and Serenity, we’re going to fail a lot.” The Feebas gave her a dull look as the redhead stroked her faded black and white scales.

Packing everything up, they put their backpacks back on and started on their journey; Nova spent most of it teaching Alice about battling and helping her know how to use her Moves with Rhea as the others did the same for Serenity and Roxie.

It took most of the remaining day to reach the slope that would take them into the valley; Mt. Moon’s colossal girth couldn’t be described by words, and only Mt. Silver rivaled it. The peak was well-hidden behind the veil of snow that constantly blanketed the elevations, which was likely caused by the Articuno living at the top.

They set up camp and got ready for bed, swiftly drifting off to sleep with their new Pokemon snuggled against their chests.