5:00 A.M. July 2, Thursday, 106 PH (Post Hoopa Event)

Events: The Joint Kanto and Johto Indigo Summer League have concluded; Saria Surge has become the new Vermilion Gym Leader, converting it to a Fairy Gym. It will take about a week for the transition to happen before it is open for challenges.

Our girl started her journey on the 9th of June—she’s been a Trainer for 23 Days (22 officially; 23 since getting Maya and Nova).

Mya yawned and stretched out as Rhea shifted next to her, shifting her head for her Trainer to push herself up; in mild surprise, Mya found open air before smacking the ground with a dull thump—she’d fallen off the bed.

“Oof…”

Movement came from the bed beside theirs, Lori groaning. “Hmm? What was that…”

“Hmm-hmm-hmm… Mya, you okay?” Rhea whispered, blonde braid falling over the side while peering down at her through the darkness.

Yeah… I don’t remember being so close to the edge…

Nova seemed to be pawing up their Trainer’s leg to walk across her back and look down at her. “Haaa… Mmh-mmh. Is it already time to get up?”

Their answer came from Amira as the girl exited the bathroom, flooding the area with light. “We’ve got about two hours to be there; no need to rush but probably best to get going.”

Rhea glanced at Mallory’s bare back, displaying the slight discoloration as she rose with Miky and Roxie to limber up. “Hmm. I can go after if you want, Lori. I’m cool with a cold shower.”

“‘Ight! Ugh. How can you guys have so much energy in the morning,” she grumbled, grabbing her clothes to slink by Amira. “Wait… We get our new Trainer dresses today, right?”

Mya’s forehead furrowed, pondering the question; Alice was still fast asleep—the annoying bunny was either knocked out or bouncing off the walls—and the Mawile was perfectly fine to not have her company.

Getting to her feet to drag herself back onto the creaking bed, Mya sat next to Rhea, noticing her Trainer’s sparkling pearly eyes. “It is today! Silver said it would be at the Center?”

“Yup,” Amira replied, combing out her hair with Amber’s warm, gentle puffs of air. “We can stop by and grab them on the way back.”

“Tailor-made clothing… Yes!” Lori cheered. “Gah, just knowing something will fit me just right is so satisfying…” Poking her head back out, she grinned. “Oh, Amira, mind texting your dad for me and giving him my thanks? Your family’s so awesome!”

“Heh, sure.”

“Sweet! I won’t be long, Rhea. I can’t wait to see what this Sea Temple will be like—talk about hype!”

The door shutting, Rhea scooted to the edge of the bed with Nova to watch her bring her phone out of sleep. What are you doing?

“Hmm? Oh, umm… Just seeing if my grandpa had anything else to add, but it doesn’t look like it.”

Nova put her two tiny paws on Rhea’s thighs to boost herself up to see the holographic screen. “Can I see the temple pictures again!? I wanna see the pretty rings.”

“What did you want, Nova?”

She wants to see the pictures—the temple thing you showed us yesterday.

“Yeah, where we’re going. It looks so pretty! Mmgm… I wanna be a Vaporeon already so I can swim around it…”

“Oh! You wanna practice transforming?”

No… She—

“Yes! I wanna transform!” Nova cheered. “Can I practice right now?”

Mya gave them both a dull look, completely moving on from the topic; then again, maybe that really was what Nova wanted, and Rhea read between the lines.

I can’t keep up with Alice or you, Mya grumbled, moving to get some water.

When she got back, she smiled upon seeing Nova in her Glaceon form, cuddled up on Rhea’s legs on the bed, and they were getting ready to rewatch some of the previous day’s match.

Oh! I wanna see, too! Can you go to the part where Zaneeta takes out that Rotom?

Nova smiled as she joined them on the bed. “I wanted to see the really pretty glittering rocks Minli made; they were so dazzling and sparkly!”

Yeah, that was pretty cool.

Rhea giggled at their discussion, starting it from the beginning as Alice groaned from inside her pokeball. “Mmgm… Looking at the match again? Oh, I loved the part where the Mawile got pounded by Mac! He was so fast—zoom—right there, and pow!”

He got blown away easy, Mya defended with a huff. Zaneeta battled like, the whole time, and it didn’t even phase her! See—she even got hit by the explosion and was back up like nothing! Obviously, Zaneeta’s the strongest!

“Nuh-uh,” Nova interjected. “Inja was the strongest! She’s so gorgeous and sparkly; she made the whole ground disappear! Isn’t she amazing?!”

“Pfft—Mac went from there—see—and got all the way over there so fast—you didn’t even see it!” Alice huffed. “They set up a trap for him, and he still protected everyone. He’s the best!”

No! Zaneeta!

“Inja’s the prettiest!”

“Wrong!”

““Wha—Rhea!”” all three of them cried out.

“Guys, huu-haaa… I’m not going to play it if you all keep arguing. All of them were amazing at different things. Hehe, just like all of you! Alice…”

“Hmm? I know… I shouldn’t have got Amber to make Mya do funny dances…”

Yeah! That was… humph…

“I was going to say,” Rhea interjected, “you’re going to be waaay faster than Mac!”

“Yeah! I totally am! I’ll be so fast, I’ll run circles around him!”

Distracted easily much? Mya smirked.

“Says the cry b—”

“And Mya, you’ll be even stronger than Zaneeta! We’ll get to the point you can Mega Evolve, and—”

And I can have two horns; I can slam them both on someone like her?!

“Yeah!” Nova cheered. “I’ll freeze them with my shiny breath—see, I can blow, and it’s all pretty—and then they’ll be stuck, and you’ll go wack!”

I can do that!

“Oh! Oh! What about me, Rhea?” Nova asked, standing to meet eye contact. “Alice will be like Mac—Mya like Zaneeta—and me? Hmm?! Hmm?!”

Rhea stroked back her stiff ears with a giggle. “Naturally, you’ll be like Inja and Minli—putting on a show that will take people’s breath away!”

“Two! I get to be two?!” Nova squealed in awe, making Alice jump back in.

“C-Can I be like Mac and Tismra, Rhea? I wanna go bouncing around—punching and kicking—being so fast they can’t even see me!”

“Of course! You’ll be the quickest little energetic bunny in existence!”

“I wanna be that!”

Mya folded her arms. I just wanna be like Zaneeta… She’s the best.

“Hehe. Let’s not get into another argument, guys—I know you all have your favorites, but why do you think they were able to do so well in the match?”

Because they’re strong!

Nova promptly shook her head, big ears flapping with the motion. “Nuh-uh, Mya! Rhea’s saying they’re strong together, right?”

“Yup! If Mac, Drowlo, and Tismra didn’t work together, then they could have died, even if they were really strong; on the flip side, if Saria’s Pokemon didn’t coordinate, they couldn’t have won—the only reason Zaneeta lasted so long was that she had wonderful friends, like Brix, keeping her safe.”

I guess…

Alice frowned; she honestly didn’t like that Visquez lost because their style was what she wanted to emulate, and Mya was sure to brag about her hero the previous day. The bunny was so wrong, though; obviously, Zaneeta was far superior to anyone on Visquez’s team.

“Hmm…” They all turned their attention to their Trainer as she gave them an inquisitive look. “Nova… I know it isn’t really fair, but I want Alice and Mya out together until they can make up.”

Alice glared through her pokeball at her. “I don’t wanna be around… her.”

Me neither, Rhea! It’s not fair—she’s mean.

“You’re the mean one!”

Nuh-uh! You are!

“No, you!”

“Haaa… I understand, Rhea,” Nova mumbled. “But, umm… can we still practice my evolutions when you feel it won’t hurt your fortitude?”

“Nova!”

Why aren’t you on my side!

“I-I’m not taking sides…”

Mya’s shoulders drooped a little while catching her Trainer’s glare, Rhea’s tone of voice quieting Alice, too. “Don’t take your frustrations out on Nova; she’s the only one that’s been reasonable out of you three. Look…”

Rhea took a deep breath and let it stream out, reaching over to rub Mya’s head as Nova returned to her pokeball for their Trainer to bring Alice out on her lap; Mya was glad to see her ears pulled back, looking sullen.

“Mya… Alice… I get that you both started out on the wrong foot; it’s hard getting used to people, and sometimes personalities clash. Still, we’re a team, and I know you all want to get stronger—to help us get stronger—and this is important.”

She never listens to me, Mya mumbled. I try to give her advice, and she just blows me off… I don’t like that.

“Hah! Why should I listen to you?” Alice interjected, making Mya’s blood run hot. “All you do is try to boss me around.”

I’m older.

“I don’t care! You’re slow—a total oldy—you don’t get me at all!”

Amber tilted her head to look over at them as they vocalized their conversation. “Uh… you two fighting again?”

Mya’s mouth tightened, vision falling with Alice’s as Rhea’s hands compressed around their heads. “Guys. I get you have your differences—I don’t know why, for the life of me—but I get you really feel that way… It doesn’t help us, though. We’re a team; we need to act like it, and that means working things out and not letting them go on. So… Until you can get along, you’re stuck with each other!”

Alice folded her arms and huffed, shifting to look away. “This is so unfair…”

“It is…” Mya grumbled, making Rhea roll her eyes and shake her head.

“Well, at least the two of you seem to agree on something… It’s a start.”

* * *

Rhea got out of bed and began her morning stretches, Mya and Alice attempting to pretend the other didn’t exist; she’d hoped the pair had been moving beyond their differences, yet for some reason, it had returned with a vengeance.

She didn’t want to force the two together like this but was running out of options, and recently they were bringing others into their conflict, which was a recipe for disaster—especially for poor Nova, who wanted nothing more than to be friends with everyone—the excitable Eevee had been getting stuck between the two, and Rhea didn’t like that at all.

“Haaa…”

Amira looked at her through the mirror, a slight frown on her lips while doing her light makeup. “Trouble?”

“I don’t understand why Alice and Mya dislike each other so much,” she muttered, glancing back at the pair trying to articulate themselves. “Normally, I can kind of tell what they want, but recently all I’ve gotten from them is aversion toward one another… to the point I can’t even really tell what they’re trying to say.”

The pair's sullen expressions increased after learning about Rhea’s own frustration with the communication barrier.

“Amber and Holly could try to smooth things over,” Amira offered, returning to her full lips. “Amber’s been worried about them, too.”

“Thanks, but… I don’t want to make this something that will put a barrier between each of our Pokemon—they’re having the issue; they should work it out without making everyone involved suffer.”

“Fair,” Amira sighed. “Although, if you can’t understand their arguments as their Trainer… I don’t see it getting better on their own.”

Running her fingers through her hair, Rhea groaned. “You’re probably right… It happened almost right off the bat—when Alice hatched—I just don’t know why they’re always so upset with each other.”

“Hmm…” Amira backed away to inspect herself, wearing a red and white floral dress she’d picked up the other day; while they had the chance to wear new clothing, it was good to take it. “Why don’t I take Mya down to grab us some breakfast, and you can ask Alice about it in private?”

Both Pokemon instantly listened and agreed to the proposal—if anything to be apart—and Rhea could see it possibly being productive. “Sure. I can probably talk with her in the shower about it.”

“Great! Hehe, thanks, Holly,” Amira chuckled as the floating Pokemon brought over her phone to pay for the goods. “Lori sounds like she’s almost done.” The redhead tapped on the door. “Hey, what do you want to eat?”

“Yo! I’m starving, Girl! Get me the works; I’ll shoot you the funds when I’m out.”

“Latte?”

“Haha! You know I’m not a morning kind of gal—I Mukin’ woke up at five! I’m talkin’ the caffeine, eggs, meat—load me up on the carbs—oh, and make the drink sweet—I can’t stand the bitter Muk you get!”

“Hehe. Got it. You, Rhea?”

“Eh-heh… I would just say a medium decaf latte… but then I’d get that look from you. Umm, just something light; I don’t care what it is.”

“Hmm… The more I get to know you, Rhea, the more suspicious I get when recalling that hunger strike story you told because if this is you on a typical day…”

“C’mon!” Rhea forced a laugh; her Pokemon nodded in agreement that she should eat more, knowing she actively tried to hide her minimalist diet. “I’m not going to drop dead… I just don’t have the same appetite as most people.”

Lori came out of the shower in her bikini, a towel wrapped around her violet hair. “Everyone needs to eat—you make me wonder if you’re part Pokemon or something,” she snickered.

“Yeah, hehe, I used to get that a lot as a kid with how active I was, but I just had a lot of energy…”

Amira’s soft pink lips pulled in, vision narrowing suspiciously. “Mhmm… A lot of energy without a lot of input, hmm? You’re definitely not normal, Rhea.”

“Ouch! Thanks.”

Lori returned the grin with a wink. “You know we want our blonde bombshell to be nice and healthy—oh, by the way, check out this song—hehe, what do you think, Amira? Totally our blonde, huh?”

Rhea threw up her hands in defense as the lyrics went off. “Me? No, I think you’re thinking about our foxy redhead with a vixen! Hehe.”

“I’m not the blonde,” Amira interjected, “and don’t think you don’t have the looks to blow minds, Rhea.”

“Right?!” Lori added, swaying a bit with the beat. “Rhea could totally work a red dress—oh, that reminds me—we need to hit up a club with Cass! Tomorrow, okay?! I’ll set it up.”

“W-Wait, why so soon?” Rhea muttered with a forced laugh.

“Yo! We can call the Alola boys, too!”

Amira tilted her head a bit. “Hmm. I’m not opposed to that.”

“Woah! Why are we suddenly making plans to go clubbing out of nowhere, a-and calling the boys?”

Lori bounced forward to take her hands and bring her into a rhythm. “I’m on my own mission to get you on a date!”

“What? No, but…”

Amira sat down on her chair to put on her shoes. “Have you been on a date before?”

“Uh… not really.”

Lori’s eyes widened. “No way! Not even with Jason?”

“W-Why would you think that?! No, we—we’re just friends!”

“Mmhmm,” Lori mused, spinning her around in a circle before giving a light gasp and giggle. “Friends… Wait, does that mean you’re still a kissing virgin!”

“You… don’t need to make it sound so embarrassing.”

“So you are,” Amira smiled, getting to her feet and crossing her arms. “Interesting.”

“It’s not that interesting… I just haven’t had a boyfriend—it’s no big deal.”

Amira creased an eye. “Into girls?”

“N-No… not that I know of… I mean, I like a lot of male actors and singers—C-Curtis is pretty cute—he’s so confident and outgoing… he leads an interesting life, and mmh… he likes fishing and outdoors stuff—I don’t know…”

“Huh—is that your type?”

Rhea stepped aside as the redhead motioned for an interested Mya to join her, seemingly trying to distract herself from Alice with the bunny now jumping around with Gables and Roxie. “I don’t know what my type is…”

Mallory gave her a thumbs up. “Hehe! Don’t worry; your girls got you!”

“I… don’t know if I want you to… get me on this? Why are we even talking about relationships—I mean, we need to be Trainers!”

“We’re girls, too—human!” Lori sang. “And humans need that connection! Physical and otherwise!”

“Don’t make me think of embarrassing things!” Rhea cried, face turning bright red as her teammates snickered.

“I didn’t take you for being so innocent, Rhea,” Amira teased, stopping at the door with Mya tailing after her, “and I’d love to continue this, but if we’re going to have time to eat before heading to the docks, I should go.”

Saved by the time! Rhea thought, forcing a grin and waving as her braided red hair disappeared beyond the closing door. Why do they find such joy in teasing me?!

Snatching her items and ducking into the bathroom with Alice before Lori could continue to poke at her single status—that Rhea pointed out they were all in the same category, which Lori completely brushed off—and Rhea breathed a sigh of relief in starting the shower; the cold water running over her hot face was therapeutic.

Gah! I know I haven’t had a relationship like that—Jason’s the only boy my age—who else was I going to date, the boys three years younger than me? All the Masters that are a bit older than me are constantly in and out, too; it’s not like I can just pick some random person that I won’t see for months, if not ever again! Geez…

Alice and Nova were giggling at her flustered rant, apparently unaware of what she was so internally frantic about, and it did help her to better see the frustration between Mya and her little bunny; they couldn’t articulate in a way that she’d understand to support them as she should.

Still, her first two Pokemon should be hitting their blooming phase in another week. Pokemon and humans didn’t have the same type of relationship norms, but they would start seeing their Trainers as having ‘bonds’ with other humans.

Kneeling down in the chilly water to help Alice wash her ears—to Nova’s slight depression—Rhea let her emotions settle. “I don’t want to try and rag on you, Alice—I know it hasn’t been easy to get along with Mya…”

Her little Buneary huffed, rubbing some of the product she’d taken from the dispenser to work into her fur, and Nova commented a little from her pokeball; Mya was a bit too distant at this point to really hear them, even spiritually, but they could track her general direction.

“Hmm… It’s Mya’s attitude? What about her makes you so agitated?”

Rhea sat in the water and slowly helped her little fluff ball make her shiny black and white fur sparkle while attempting to listen carefully to her complaints; in the end, she believed she got the gist of it.

Turning off the water and drying off with Alice, she wrapped her hair for when Amber would be back to aid her. “So… to be clear, Mya tried to tell you how to do things, and you didn’t want her advice… She also grew a little embarrassed when you first fought and got thrown around?”

Alice shrugged, not making eye contact, and Nova whispered a few words that made Alice rub her damp arm. “Hmm. You were a little rude and dismissive of her, too, which also contributed to it? I know she’s not as fast as you, even if she’s older—eh-heh, Nova can only somewhat keep up because of her own Run Away ability; you can’t compare everything to speed, Alice.”

Her big pink eyes lifted to show her confusion, mumbling a few phrases that came out as her name, but their connection helped translate.

“Speed is super important, but can you tell me you can hit as hard as Mya or take a hit like her? Heh… I know not getting hit at all is better than being hit, but you didn’t have to add the insult to Mya in that,” she sighed, listening to Nova’s protesting prompt.

“You’re right that speed is very important—you’re very talented, Alice—but Mya is also very talented in a different area. Do you think Drowlo was important for Mac and Tismra—who set up the electric webs, Zone, or kept Zaneeta off his teammates—did he have crazy speed?”

Alice shook her head, looking a tad bitter.

Rhea picked her up to set her on her knee. “All of you are special in your own ways, and just because Mya is slow doesn’t mean she’s useless—and I know she can’t hit you—and you’ve learned how to bypass her Sucker Punch by delay attacking, but as we saw, Zaneeta learned how to counter even that.

“It’s not so simple,” Rhea smiled, using a hand towel to help get more water out after the bunny squeezed out the majority. “Do you think if you were really fast and could throw your opponent at Mya so they couldn’t dodge, she could end it in one big hit?”

Getting another shrug, Rhea drew her attention to her eyes. “We’re a team. I’ll talk to Mya about not being so bossy, too. I know you won’t be best friends off the bat, but at least give each other a second chance. Okay?”

After a few seconds, Alice begrudgingly nodded, saying she’d try her best.

Rhea finished their preparations, satisfied with their progress, and when Mya and Amira returned, she took their breakfast on a short walk around the block to speak to the Mawile.

She sipped her drink in the time they went around, taking a second to let Mya snack on her meal; Pokemon didn’t need to eat that often, but it did taste good and gave them positive biological vibes that promoted a good mood.

So, I talked with Nova and Alice, and she promised to not be so dismissive and make fun of you, but… Her Mawile uncertain gaze lifted to stare at her. You need to let Alice find her own way—I know you have good intentions—you’re trying to look out for her. Hmm… How should I put this?

Looking at the early morning Trainers and their Pokemon as they jogged down the sidewalks, Rhea breathed in and let it go. Alice isn’t someone that likes to be told about what to do in a battle; if you want to teach her, you need to do what Nova does—heh, yes, play with her. She loves to play tag or hide and seek… stuff that is fun, and I know you get left behind in a lot of those games…

As I said, she’s not going to belittle you anymore for not being able to catch her or the others. It’s a new start for you, and I totally get it; you’re not going to be best friends right from the go… I told her the same thing, heh, and she gave me the same sullen look like you—yup, the same look—but we’re a team, Mya.

What would you do if you saw a bunch of Pokemon picking on Alice?

Mya’s expression tightened while looking down at the sidewalk, mumbling her reply.

See? You’d beat them up and make sure she’s okay, because… Right! We’re a team! You care about her, which is why you try to give her advice. I bet Alice would do the same for you.

Her Mawile’s lifted brow said she highly doubted it.

She would, trust me. I know she picks on you, but you’re like a sister—only she gets to pick on you—heh, which isn’t the best solution, I know. My point is that she does care; give her a chance to show it. Join in their games instead of sitting out on your own. Can you do that?

Just like Alice, Mya begrudgingly nodded, removing a weight against Rhea’s chest.

Alright! You ready to go see this super awesome city? It’s going to be Alice and you today! Hmm… Alright! Try to see what she likes—make her feel good by saying she’s fast—compliment her, even if it’s hard, and be genuine about what you point out.

Returning to the hotel with her feuding Pokemon at least somewhat at peace, Rhea finished her preparations before striking out to the docks; excitement was bubbling in her breast upon meeting up with her cousin.

Jason, Len, and Lucian joined them soon after, the Kalos boy remaining in the back with Len, who seemed to have warmed up to him; Lori wasn’t too happy to not have time with him but let it go to talk to what she now called the ‘Wooloo Girls.’

Hannah balked at the name, but Amira found it somewhat amusing, considering their first encounter with a reporter—if you could call her that—which had the girl’s face as red as her hair. Jade and Jay loved the comparison, calling themselves the Floofy Squad, and Sam found the whole thing funny.

On the other hand, Bianca was in love with the symbolism, asking for details around the story, followed by Jay’s interest; naturally, the girls sidestepped the topic, and Rhea couldn’t blame them. Their newest member would likely get the tale eventually.

Listening to their travels and time in Apple City, the conversation swapped to their own adventures at the Lighthouse, reminding Rhea she needed to get her cousin’s expertise on the bandless braids.

On inquiry, Bianca promised to teach it to her later that night, and that promise became unanimous across both parties to her amusement.

Lori brought up the conversation of the date tomorrow—not that Rhea was aware it was official until now—being particularly loud to draw Lucian’s attention, she guessed, and to complicate Rhea’s dilemma, Jason was now interested in knowing more about these ‘Alola Boys’ that Mallory hyped up.

Please… stop, Lori! I don’t know if my heart can take it—I might literally have a heart attack!

Her internal panic worked, causing Mya and Alice to fear such a result and jump forward to distract the Unova party girl, and the final piece of grace came as they arrived at the dock.

On the massive pier was one submarine that instantly caught their attention; neon orange, it stood out like a wet thumb, and a beautiful periwinkle-haired woman was directing men on the docks to load things into an even larger red submarine meant for supplies.

Having looked up the woman online, she was instantly recognizable, and most gossip pieces put her around her mid-twenties; supposedly, Ash Ketchum—very famous in most regions—knew the matriarch of the People of the Water, but the reasons were unclear.

Then again, it seemed Ash Ketchum knew just about everyone. Unluckily, every time the Trainer had been in her village, she’d been busy, so they’d never crossed.

Making it down to the water level, they moved to meet Lizabeth; their journey to the magical city under the sea was less than an hour away, and Rhea couldn’t wait to see Samiya with her own eyes, considering no new images had been posted for years.