8:43 a.m. July 23rd, Thursday, 106 PH (Post Hoopa Event). Day 44.

Events: Rhea and the girls are now on a mission to get into the Silver Bracket, pushing many others in Bronze-tier to follow their example. Our girl started her journey on the 9th of June. Lori earned her first Silver-tier Gym victory—giving it to Miky to take as her parting gift—even if it is a bittersweet moment in her life, they’re still pushing forward; now she has Zyra, her impish Rookidee!

The next two days flew by for Rhea as they got to learn more about their new Pokemon and relax; Amira and Lori were still struggling to keep the three of their Pokemon out like her—excluding their non-bonded Buddy Pokemon—but they were managing to do it for an hour a day, plus while they slept, not wanting to push their Fortitude too much. Rhea was concerned they were pushing themselves too much, but they assured her they were being careful.

Zyra took to the party without an ounce of shyness, drawing Roxie into a bit of trouble by playing pranks on Lori and her, but Amira, for whatever reason, seemed to be ignored in that regard. Rhea believed it might have been due to the Rookidee trying to befriend Mariah, curious to hear her sing after learning how timid she was, or not wanting to cause too many problems.

Her quirky little Cosmog was the most curious Pokemon Rhea thought she’d ever met, and she could generally be found riding atop Nova when adventuring and Mya when sleeping; the Legendary had done wonders in repelling anyone attempting to stop them every block to talk. Rhea had to look at it in a positive light, even if it made her sad the innocent fluff ball was looked upon with scorn and fright.

Terri, Alice, and Gables were getting really close over the last two days, with them following the bunny’s lead as they played off each other in various playful competitions.

Amira’s Fortitude was stabilizing, and she hadn’t fainted again, which relieved Rhea; she’d already been to the hospital once and didn’t want to see the redhead in the same condition she experienced on their first day as a team.

Shauntal kept Casey and Lori from going too crazy. Mallory was keeping up a brave face, but Rhea could tell she was still hurting with how active she was with wanting to be out in the city from morning to dusk, yet she returned to join them for the martial arts competition, playfully poking fun at Amira for not joining in.

The Rocket girl jabbed back that if she wanted to keep her word, they could go for a more in-team competition, which Lori promptly refused after seeing the first match; her body didn’t bend like that. After Lyra offered to show them some self-defense moves, Rhea was hooked, all for learning more, however.

On the other hand, her mother said she would not be joining when the bright-eyed former Champion offered, she reasoned that she was a researcher, and her husband handled any of that business. Rhea knew her mom was just really sensitive to pain and physical labor in general; they had to take rests—a lot—on the rare occasions they went hiking, which was ironic since she was a Low Master-tier Trainer.

Rhea was excited about the martial arts fights, following each match with interest as Lyra and Amira chatted about the various skills of the people competing; it was more for beginners and to draw a crowd to gain more members, as Amira pointed out, and it would have been unfair if she entered at the level they were seeing—not that she was trying to brag.

Lyra appeared to be having a blast hanging out and even went for a ‘moms’-night-out’ after the competition. They were laughing and acting like best friends when they came back, drawing Rhea’s curiosity, but the brown-haired, sunshine of a borderline Legendary-tier Trainer had a way of getting along with anyone, it seemed.

Rhea had no clue what they’d chat about since Lyra put a finger to her lips, winking and saying it was a secret, but she couldn’t help imagining what the two might get up to; the topics would probably be their daughters, she figured, since it was the big thing that they both could connect on.

Suddenly, Rhea felt her face go red, wondering what embarrassing topics the pair had shared; she may have even talked about her going on a hunger strike at one point or her obsession with Lance when she was nine, asking for a cape for her birthday.

In any case, it was nice to see her mom not cooped up in her lab and finding a friend; her mother typically kept a lot of people at a distance, never going beyond work associates with other scientists or breeders, in part so they wouldn’t steal her methods, and, given her past, Rhea could see why.

It was later that night that she double-checked with her mom to make sure she was okay with her bringing Sabin into the family secret, showing her the message and getting a promise that she wouldn’t flake out and would be in Lavender City next Monday when they’d likely arrive.

Her mother nodded and gave her a hug as they got into bed together; they were the first to turn in for the night. She whispered, “It may surprise you a bit, but I talked with Lyra about it, and she agrees with you… We talked about a lot of things.”

Rhea settled in, resituating Alice and Lulu on her chest, already fast asleep and the main reason they were heading to bed. “You talked about the war? I didn’t know Lyra was in it.”

Her mom’s face and voice turned melancholy. “Honestly, she shouldn’t have, but there are things she can do that no one else can, and… it was probably a mistake, but your aunt still believes it was necessary. War is… hard, and it did affect Lyra as much as it did me. It hurts and helps to talk to people who went through similar experiences… I’m okay, though; don’t worry about me, or I’ll cry,” she chuckled, reaching up to stroke her cheek.

“You say that,” Rhea mumbled, “but you know I can’t help but worry about you.”

“Heh. I remember the hunger strikes.”

“Oof… I knew you told her,” she grumbled, cheeks burning. “I wouldn’t have to if I had a mom that would think about herself every once in a while.”

“I’m that troublesome of a mother, hmm?” she sadly snickered, playing with Rhea’s bound hair between them. “I’m happy I got to spend these last few days with you… It’s been magical in more ways than I can count, and it helps me realize you really are turning into a woman… It’s scary for a mom, you know… The anxiety sucks.”

Rhea smiled at her mom using words she typically didn’t. “It’s not like your mind isn’t filled with other things—you’re a researcher and breeder, so you’re always surrounded by Pokemon—people, not so much. Hehe.”

“Oh… you’d be shocked how much of my time is spent worrying about you instead of those random topics,” she whispered. “Crying into my pillow about how terrible of a mom I am for not being strong enough to be at home… I know I’m stupid Huu-haaa. That’s the dark thoughts that tear me apart at times, though. I want to be a good mom… I do…”

“You are!” Rhea reassured, pushing in to kiss her forehead. “You do suck a lot at times—like a lot of the time.”

“Heh. Thanks! I needed to hear that,” her mother mused, still focused on her hair. “Why did you never cut your hair?”

A bit thrown off by the random redirect, Rhea made sure to close the previous thought. “That being said, I’d never trade you for anyone else, not that I could, but if I could, I wouldn’t… You’re amazing, Mom, and you’re beyond strong, so don’t ever say you’re not. Okay?”

“Okay,” she sighed, lightly chewing on her bottom lip. “I was expecting a, heh, thanks for ruining my life, Mom, but hey, you’re not the worst person in the world… just pretty low on the totem pole.”

“Not even close,” Rhea returned, finding her mom’s hand. “You know… I’m really glad we can talk about this stuff now. Thank you for ruining my life, Mom, and making it the greatest I’ve ever known; I wouldn’t trade the self-inflicted hungry weeks or childish tantrums about being a prisoner for the most normal life I could imagine… because I love you, for all your faults.”

“Aww… don’t make me cry,” she whimpered. “I don’t want to sleep on a soggy pillow.”

“Too bad; I’m evil. Hehehe. Love you.”

“Love you…”

Mya rubbed her back and Nova nuzzled her leg under the blanket, both listening closely to their conversation; a few more words and they prepared for the night to take them.

Rhea’s thoughts went to her absent Aura teacher, who had been MIA the last few days as she went under; he’d been busy helping out the restaurant owner, who was extremely embarrassed once realizing he wasn’t the absent assistant.

The Legend didn’t seem too worried about showing up to assist him, though, saying it was great training since he usually wasn’t the one that cooked on his journeys, and he’d been meaning to learn for a while now, but tomorrow, they’d be leaving Saffron.

Her dreams drifted between each city they’d gone through on their journey over the past month and a half; so many memorable things caught her fading brain, causing her to reflect on the moments as they entered a clouded wonderland.

She’d gained her first Pokemon forty-four days ago, and already, so much had happened. It made her smile in her sleep, just thinking about how she’d made her first friends outside the Master Community in a Pallet Center’s bathroom, confronting their preconceived opinions about her after fawning over Nova.

Sam, Hannah, and Jade—her Wooloo squad—had become wonderful rivals, and were even drawn into their troubles by being roped into an unwilling interview with a scummy journalist; her friends had come so far from their Viridian Forest trip.

Her first battle with Mya and meeting these new girls—girls with a rather colorful reputation—that would be her team going forward, and trying to keep an open mind. Feeling indignant at the uncalled-for bullying of Amira when Lucian singled her out—turns out he probably liked her, as Rhea had come to believe—but her redhead teammate refused even to consider the possibility, which always made Lori snicker when it was brought up.

Rhea’s opinion of Lucian had somewhat changed due to the things Jason texted her about the young man, along with meeting his amazing mother, who was trying to make up for time lost. It made her realize everyone had complicated family dynamics and pasts that they had to overcome, and it wasn’t so easy to remedy.

The Rocket VIP treatment the redhead had shown them with her bubbly, uber-powerful mother that continued to take every opportunity to butt into her daughter’s life, unable to fully let go. Her intimidating grandparents’ party they’d thrown them, in part to celebrate their survival of the Plasma incident, but also to get to know them better and to show their support for their granddaughter’s first Encrusted Badge.

Then there was their first Contest, which ended in disaster, but did teach Nova and her a valuable lesson; they still needed to participate in another, and the opportunity was there when they decided to go to Vermilion.

Her own teammates had gone through their own fair share of self-doubt and troubles since they’d known each other, and she couldn’t imagine how strong Lori was to deal with the constant threat of the burn on her back rekindling, yet pushing forward. Still, she did wear a mask that was hard to peer through, and Rhea was thankful she’d finally opened up to them.

Amira’s guilt for causing the Plasma incident—even if not really her fault—had almost made the redhead leave their team, yet they’d also managed to work through that.

Their first Gym Battle had been a rough one, as well—at least for her—and it was wonderful to have people there to support Mya and her, including her amazing older brother, who also came to her rescue like the stories she’d been told at night. The feeling of relief upon seeing Atrayu when the terrorist fired his gun left her sleepy body with tingles.

The fear of learning about the scientist abductions by space Clefairy, and how she’d projected that into anger at her mother; the constant worry she had of her self-torturous mom had been a thorn in her heart for years, yet now they were healing and talking—getting closer, as she’d always wanted.

At last, they were hitting their stride, and the awe-striking times they’d spent in Cerulean as she experienced her first large festival—an embarrassing first kiss she wanted to erase from memory—and spending time in the fantasy-like city of Samiya.

The horrific and heroic dualistic match of Lori and Amira against Misty that broke the Unovan-girl’s heart but made her a better Trainer; Rhea had to wonder if the famous Water High-Master knew what her strategy would do for their team.

Ash’s addition to their party and the growth she’d experienced from developing her Aura and learning about her parents’ traumatic past brought them to the golden fields of the farmsteads, and through Lori’s crafty understanding of underground bets, Sam managed to make her older sister’s dreams come true by joining her on her journey. She’d used the bets on them and their bounties to give the teens more money than they knew what to do with.

They’d made it to Saffron, where she’d helped a man through something that might have driven him to suicide, learned of a tragic past of the dojo, and gained Lulu before Lori obtained their group’s first Silver Encrusted Badge from the notorious psychic rookie crusher, Sabrina.

Now, they were onto their next challenge, Silver-tier. They were entering a new chapter on their journey, and Rhea’s mind finally drifted into oblivion.

* * *

Zyra’s wings puffed up as she heard someone groan and roll over across the room. Her pink eyes opened, peering into the darkness to spot the rustling sounds that had awakened her slumber.

As she’d done the night before, Zyra stood guard on one of her Trainer’s mounds. She had to make a few adjustments throughout the night whenever Lori would toss and turn, but she discovered if she perched on one of the two big bumps on the human’s chest that it kept her pinned to the spot—a weakness she’d made sure to exploit.

Roxie had been keen to hear Zyra explain her findings as she researched her new Trainer, wanting to know everything she could about their depressed human to help her rest deeply; her current plan was working wonders since they’d only made three shifts tonight instead of the six the night before.

The fluffy Rockruff was lying on her belly just below Zyra, between their Trainer’s mounds where she could be held; Lori seemed to enjoy having a hand on Roxie, keeping her close throughout the night because her breathing evened out when they’d taken this position. Success! To further keep the human pinned down, Gables was sprawled out on Lori’s belly; it was perfect!

Now, something was threatening to wake her Trainer up, and so she squinted in the dark room to discover the cause. Two small flames illuminated a fox as Amber yawned, stretching while rising to sit up and dully stare around, licking her pointed mouth.

Ah. The red songbird has awakened! Zyra monologued to herself. Interesting. It appears to be around the same time as yesterday. We’ll have to make a note of that. Should I follow them again? I do need to see if they sing in the showers to mark it as a habit… Interesting. Interesting. Maybe she will get Mariah to sing. I can’t wait to hear it!

Lightly hopping on the squishy mound, Zyra’s eyes darted between her resting Trainer and the drooling Rockruff; it seemed Roxie enjoyed being cuddled with at night, as well—a double win.

“Psst. Psst. Lt. Gabby. Lt. Gabby,” she softly chirped, carefully descending her perched position to wag her tail across the Froakie’s nose.

“Mmgm… Mmh?! I’m up—I’m up…”

“Shhh. No need to wake up the whole sky,” Zyra returned. “I’m off to ‘Operation: Spy On Chirpers; take over the field position.”

“Mmh? Oh, yeah, yeah… Huu-haaa. What time is it? Oh… Amber’s getting up? Must be around 5:30. Alright. I got it, Sgt. Flutter. Count on your officer,” he said with a lazy salute, flopping to his back and closing his eyes. “No one is going to sneak up on us…”

“May the winds be with you,” she said, giving him a slight salute. “Oh, and I’ll be back for the morning feather alarm and Operation: Bubble Up.”

“Go with care, Sgt. Heh. I’ve got Private Roxie.”

Spotting the vixen’s amused gaze as she helped her Trainer clean up her cottony sleeping nest, Zyra ducked behind her Trainer’s bulky body, using her bound hair as a rope to hop onto the pillow and creep around Lori’s head to spy on the small group.

Note… Amber may have better hearing than I initially gave her credit for; operational silence will be key in the future. I’ll have to hang back and make them think I’m staying to keep watch… What secret songs will they be doing today? Why do they keep them hidden from us? Suspicious.

Carefully maneuvering along the floor, she chuckled to herself as she passed the easily teased blonde, extending her time by tugging out the ribbon that kept her hair bound; Zyra carefully wrapped it around the thin area between Mya’s head and slobbering horn, looping it back around the girl’s braid.

Ho-ho. What chirps will they make?

Performing a slight tug, she made sure it was secure enough to loosen just enough so it wouldn’t hurt her Trainer’s golden companion but enough to make her sing.

She did a short check on her other Pokemon, tickling the bunny’s nose until her ear flopped onto her Trainer’s nose, making it twitch as she groaned.

Perfectly done, Sgt. Zyra! she self-congratulated, spotting Terri had somehow found her way underneath their Trianer’s left leg; she hadn’t seen her. Mmh. Failure, Sgt. Zyra; note, be more observant!

Taking to the sky, she internally cheered when she realized Amira had left the door open a crack; a foolish mistake that she would exploit!

Going high, she spun into a spiral dive, slipping through the opening at just the right angle before unfurling her majestic, small wings and gliding along the floor, using a low draft that carried across the hallway; she could practically feel the current of air that came from the red songbird opening the locker room door.

Silent as the night, she kept herself low, tucked under claws hovering just above the floorboards as she entered—the opening shut—it was a trap!

Cover blown! Mayday! Mayday! Requesting backup!

“Oof!”

Amber giggled by the sliding door, seeing her big eyes as she lost control, tumbling across the tile ground. “What are you doing, Zyra?”

She hopped up, glancing around the bright space in a panic, eyes spinning; this wasn’t supposed to happen! She was a professional.

“Umm. Umm. I was… getting water, uh, to… spray on my Trainer to wake her up! Yeah. What are you doing? Preening yourself and your Trainer with the hot air? Eep!”

Her focus snapped to Amira as the large human brushed back her unbound hair to kneel beside her; she was surrounded!

“Haha. Do you want to join us, Zyra? You can perch on the shower head; it seems like a good place to collect water to clean yourself. What do you say? Is it okay if she sings with me, Mariah?”

The shy Meloetta poked her head out from behind her Trainer, voice barely audible. “If I don’t have to sing… I like hearing your voice. Are you good at singing, Zyra?”

“I, umm… I like to sing a little,” she mumbled, hopping a bit away. “Not that you caught me! No, I let you all see me.”

“Mhm,” Amber snickered, giving Holly a look as the Posey Pokemon hovered over to shake her wing.

“We haven’t been able to spend much time together! Can we be friends?”

“Umm. I could… use more Privates… If you want to be recruited into the Army of Mischief?”

“Sounds exclusive,” Amber said, crossing her paws as she fell to her belly to be on her eye-level. “What do you think, Serenity?”

“Hmm? Oh, I’m just enjoying the water… What are we talking about?”

She looked up to see the floating fish in a sink, letting a stream of water drench her.

“Haha. You’re fine,” Amber said, pointing her tail to the shower. “You aren’t scared of water, are you, Sgt. Flutter?”

Code Red! She knows my code name—cover blown! No. No, this is perfect. I just need to flip her to the side of mischief!

“Of… course not! Hehe. Lead the way!”

She hopped onto Amira’s finger as she held it out, allowing the human to put her on the highest position, which made her chest fluff up with pride at being given such an honor, but then she started to wonder why. Was this another trap?

Such thoughts melted away when she began to hum to a song, and she found herself swaying happily with the sounds the human made; Amber had no musical talent, though, but she wasn’t going to say anything so she wouldn’t wake up with her tail-feathers on fire.

Enjoying herself more than she would have thought upon being discovered, she let the human preen her; she was very good and careful with her fingers and nails. The hot air Amber blew felt like she was melting into something soft and squishy; she loved that feeling.

Once the cleaning ritual was done, Zyra felt like a new bird, and when they returned to the room, she chuckled to herself when seeing her trap hadn’t been set off yet.

Swiftly going to her lieutenant, she tickled his nose again.

“Hmm? I’m up…”

“It’s time, Lieutenant Bubble.”

“Ah, hehe. Mischief making time?”

“Mischief making time!”

Rising to a cross-legged position across their Trainer’s belly, he breathed in deeply and puffed out a large bubble, and, to Zyra’s utter thrill, the red songbird appeared to be on her side!

The big, wet, and wiggly bubble hovered above their Trainer’s head, and Zyra lightly guided it right for her Trainer’s unsuspecting face.

Pop!

“Guagh! Ack—huh?!”

Roxie shot up as their Trainer coughed and sputtered with the water soaking her hair and face; Gables and she laughed, and the extra seed on the ground was the yelp from the blonde as her hair was pulled up with the Mawile’s swift rise, trying to figure out what was happening—the string unwound before it yanked too hard, as she’d expertly planned.

“The operation is a success, Lt. Bubble! Mischief rules!”