8:01 a.m. August 4th, Tuesday, 106 PH (Post Hoopa Event). Day 55.

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, and the end of registration for the Winter Indigo Cup is December 5th (123 days away). Rhea had her first perma-evolution with Alice!

Rhea’s mind spun circles around the tournament lineup on their way to breakfast, staring at their opponents; she’d never had a serious battle against her teammates, and Lori knew all of the personality weak points and Fortitude issues of their team.

Of course, since all of her Pokemon were in Master Balls, the Unovan girl was in the same boat, but, at the same time, her Pokemon required a lot more Fortitude to execute their Moves and Abilities due to the volume at their disposal. Not only that, but Lori dragging it out could severely affect her third match if she won; she had a lot to consider.

Amira pointed out to them that, unlike their previous matches against the Gyms, this type of contest was far easier to predict since they could look up the battles of the Trainers they’d been pitted against.

Arriving at the bakery to order a sweet breakfast, they munched on their pastries while examining the profiles and previous matches of those they were placed to face; they fell into silence as they ate and studied.

Ash joined them partway through, ordering his own while yawning and seeing how they were feeling.

Lori giggled, eating her third donut and downing her second mocha latte. “I’m hyped! I can’t wait to face down Rhea’s OP girls. Right, gang?” she asked her team, who were eating at a smaller table beside them that was set up for smaller Pokemon.

Rhea shot a light glare at the cheery lilac-eyed girl. “That’s because you’re already Silver-tier; this is all just fun and training to you.”

“Yo, but seriously,” Lori grinned, waving around her empty cup and more than a bit hyper. “We actually get paid for this kind of competition; every win is 500 credits with a final’s prize of 3,000. That’s Mukin’ huge for us!”

“Hehe.” Amira continued to watch some video of her first opponent, and Rhea caught sight of a Flaffy, sparking with electricity. “Maybe for those of us that have a hole in your pocket.”

“Haha! Guilty,” Lori laughed, going for her third cup now. “Be right back!”

Rhea hummed, glancing down at her team while they talked with Gables, Zyra, and Roxie about their upcoming matches; the three looked really excited, and she was feeling better about it as time went on. After all, to even face each other, they had to defeat a Silver-tier opponent, and they were in the lower bracket of the competition.

“Uh-uh-uh!” Rhea chuckled while pulling her own mocha latte from Lulu, who teleported onto the table to look into the creamy, half-empty cup. “We don’t need you bouncing off the walls; you’ll get some sugar during lunch.”

“Nee-nee.”

Her puffball hopped off to join the other Pokemon, probably wondering when they could play some more that day; although, she’d probably be sleeping in Rhea’s shirt by the time they made it to the stadium.

Meriah was still napping in Amira’s lap, having caught the sleep bug from Lulu the previous day; all of their Legendary or Mythical Pokemon seemed to take turns in how they dispersed their energy build-up.

Pikachu suddenly drew their gaze as he began to do tricks, finding an inflatable ball from somewhere to balance on. It put Alice in a tizzy to get her own, hopping to Rhea’s lap to look up at her, ears pulled back and looking up at her with her big, pink eyes.

“Haha. Okay. Okay. We can get one later today so you can practice balancing while we travel.”

“Lopunny! Lop-lop!” she chimed, doing a spin before jumping to kiss her on the cheek and return to the others, watching Pikachu go while counting how long he could last.

Mya was next, pointing to her scary jaws as she flexed them, trying to mirror the bunny in her please for something, but Rhea was at a total loss as to what she wanted. “Uh… why don’t you show me when we go shopping later today?”

“Maw-maw!” she nodded, motioning for her to come closer so she could kiss her steely cheek, making Rhea smile; Alice and Mya had a funny relationship.

Nova was content with anything, tail wagging while preparing Lulu to try the ball next; the cloud rolled across the floor, hugging it as it flattened her over and over again, their Pokemon following after her with initial panic. She teleported into the air just before they got to her, appearing across the room, now bouncing as she giggled.

“Ne-ne-ne!”

“Pika?!”

“Pweee!”

“Neeee!” she could practically hear the laughing plea for help from the puffball, who didn’t realize she could just let go or float.

Passively watching their antics, Pikachu made sure they didn’t disrupt the other guests too much; as could be expected, there were many who made a habit of keeping the infamous Pokemon at a distance.

Rhea figured it was only due to their fame and Ash’s presence that they weren’t asked to leave, but she was fine to use that angle at this point; plus, Lulu acted like a wonderful groupie and paparazzi repellent. She could see a difference in how people viewed or approached them after her Cosmog joined their party.

Swapping apps, she sighed upon seeing the names or things people were saying about them online; they’d tell her they loved her and her Pokemon to her face, but once they thought she wasn’t looking or when analyzing their Aura, she could see they hated and envied them.

It put a knife in her gut at the internal faces that characterized mostly the girls that came up to them; whether it was envy or jealousy about looks, popularity, family, Pokemon, or their rapid advancement, Rhea could see Aura as a curse with how it changed the way she saw others interacting with them. People she’d never met before saw her as their enemy for things she couldn’t change about herself.

Letting the tension in her chest go after a few young women finished taking pictures with her grinning Eevee, she waved them off; two of them had venom hidden behind their smiles and compliments.

Ash made a gesture to catch her attention. “You doing okay?”

“Yeah. Haaa. Well, it just sucks seeing how people actually see you…”

Amira and Lori frowned while glancing at the young women’s exit, likely guessing what they were talking about.

The Legend streamed out a long sigh and nodded. “Believe me… I know. It can make you jaded; there’s a reason the Masters’ community is the way it is, and they get it. They tell you you’re the greatest… but once you leave, they show their true colors.”

He leaned back, using a toothpick he’d gotten from the front to clean his teeth. “You won’t make it to the finals—just a heads up—and you’ll get smiles and congratulations at advancing to Silver-tier, but you’ll hear what they really think online as they laugh at your fall. It’s just how it is.”

“Yeah, spare the sympathy,” Lori huffed. “Muk em; I’m ready to go whenever. I ain’t no saintess, and you give them an inch, they take a mile… If only my mess of a sister could get that,” she groaned, running her hand through her hair. “You reap what you sow; you gotta look out for yourself, ya know?”

Rhea frowned while fiddling with her phone and looking at a match her first opponent was in; their words resonated with her when revisiting how viciously her cousin was attacked by her own fans when she decided not to pursue the path of a professional Trainer.

Setting her face, Rhea smiled. “I don’t care what they say; I’m going to the top.”

Amira nodded and a smirk lifted her mouth while swirling around her drink. “I’ve heard it my entire life, and the thing I hated the most was those acting sympathetic like I’m a victim. Maybe you agree with me, Lori, but I don’t call it revenge—revenge sounds so mean… crude—and that’s why I prefer to call it returning the favor.”

“Oooh!” Lori swapped to her social media account as Rhea got flashbacks of Lucian. “I’m going to steal and post that; I love it!”

Rhea hadn’t looked at it in that light before, making her realize how sheltered her life was in the little bubble her mother had made for her; despite what she saw from the lives of the Masters, her brother, and Bianca, she’d never experienced the expectations or hatred of others.

“I like it, too,” Rhea said, letting the newly lit fire within her soul grow; the flames Amira and Lori had been molded by in their unique lives set an example for her, and maybe, in a way, it was a right of passage for all aspiring Masters. “You only fail when you give up, right?”

Ash laughed. “I know that better than most, I’d say… Most of my career has been filled with loss, but look at us now; right, bud? We always win when it counts.”

“Pikachu!”

“Believe in your dreams, and don’t let others define you! Ready to go, girls?”

Getting up, they nodded, and made their way to the stadium, discussing strategies among themselves—their primary goal was to beat their first opponent—that was a total victory, and anything else was icing on the cake.

Ash guided them to the contestants’ entrance, explaining to them that Battle Island had changed a lot over the years since he last competed here; Rhea could tell by the massive skyscrapers that had risen up since there was only so much earth they could build on.

The stadium had also expanded—nowhere near Cerulean or other major Gyms, but it was still fairly large—allowing for there to be four battle areas that the audience could swap between depending on who they wanted to see.

Much of the open stage had multiple configurations based on what style of matches were scheduled for that day; for the larger battles, the stadiums could be combined to have a full Master-tier match, which happened quarterly.

They’d been lucky to register at the beginning of the week and month because the latter half was dedicated to the champions; Monday through Wednesday had the weekly winners, and at the end of the month, the semifinalists of each week competed for the grand prize.

Tucker oversaw the whole operation and was a major contributor to Battle Island. Ash said he’d already been invited to the VIP observation deck to catch up with the Frontier Brain, but he’d be down to join them during the evening if they wanted to catch dinner.

He dropped them off outside the female locker room entrance in the underground Trainer exclusive location to bypass the crowds, using the one-use access code they’d been granted when signing up.

Puffing out a long stream of air, Rhea gave her teammates a grin that they returned—this was it, their rise through Silver-tier started here—as opponents, nonetheless, if they actually managed to make it through all these tough Low Silver-tier Trainers.

“No hard feelings, girl,” Lori said, holding out her fist to bump. “Let’s put our all into this and show these clowns we’re not just pretty faces. Am I right?”

“To the top,” Rhea returned, meeting knuckles as the redhead did the same.

“Ash thinks we’ll meet our match here, and he’s probably right, but I’m not going to go easy.”

Many girls gave them leery looks, mostly focused on Lulu, peeking out of Rhea’s top since her other Pokemon returned to their Poke Balls; several others were more drawn to the Meloetta staying close to Amira’s side or the Kubfu that returned the glares.

The emotions were more misgivings that they’d use the Legendary or Mythical Pokemon rather than the general hate the women at the shop had, and there were girls of all ages around them, ready for battle.

“That’s the spirit!” Lori cheered, rubbing her shoulders. “I’m getting chills. Okay, we’re at the same stadium; right, Rhea?”

She nodded, pulling up the directions in the email. “Amira’s in stadium three, and we’re in one, so… we’ll miss your battles. Sorry, Amira.”

The redhead shrugged, checking her braid and face in the mirror they stood beside, possibly sneaking a glance at the other girls. “It’s fine. We can go over the videos when we’re done and talk about them; this should be a case study to see where we need to improve. Uh… I guess it’s time,” she whispered as the announcement came overhead. “Good luck, girls.”

Rhea and Lori waved Amira off, squinting at the bright light as they entered the booth of competitors; they’d cycle in shortly after the previous battle ended while their basic Trainer ID information was displayed overhead for onlookers to watch or place bets.

Leaning against the railing, Rhea let Lulu tuck herself further into her bra to escape the loud noises and try to catch some sleep; it was good timing that the Legendary Pokemon was running out of energy, which wouldn’t have been the case if she’d managed to sneak some of her coffee.

Lori was up first, entering the spotlight to cheers, jeers, and mutters as she was thrust right into the match; they’d studied up on their opponents, so they knew which Pokemon they had bonded, which weren’t many at even Silver-tier.

Rhea’s fingers tightened against her arms as the mountainous-looking Unovan man of a hiker took the stage to greet her teammate. He commented that he was looking forward to the battle after her excellent performance against Sabrina; it showed he’d studied up on her, as well.

Terri stood on the console with her arms folded, head high as she stared down the boisterous crowd for some reason. The light above them showed red, displaying their match as a Single-Style, Two-Pokemon Battle—victory on knockout or score if reaching the 5-minute time limit—it was a quick format compared to what they were used to.

The light flashed red, yellow, and green—Lori threw her ball to cheers, releasing Gables against Drilbur—she’d won the Typing draw; he probably didn’t have any better options, even knowing her Starter was a Froakie.

The Mole Pokemon dove into the ground, not using the Move but its natural affinity with the earth, yet Gables was swift to jump to the area and blast the hole with a stream of water. It swiftly exited nearby, only using the distraction to get behind the frog.

Gables laughed while easily evading its rapid, shimmering claws, likely thanking Alice for all the training they did together while peppering the Drilbur with bubbles.

The Drilbur defended itself with dirt whenever it could, blocking or creating stony barriers by ripping up the floor, but Gables had too much of an advantage; yet, just before it looked dire for the Mole Pokemon, a red light connected to it, pulling the Drilbur back.

The frog jumped away as the hiker threw out his second Pokemon, releasing a Roggenrola; before Gables could reach the distant Mantle Pokemon, a dark brown aura enclosed him, whipping up a Sand Storm—it had a TM.

Rhea lightly bit her lower lip when she spotted the man recalling the Roggenrola with the haze obscuring Gables and Lori’s vision, stealthily returning his weakened Drilbur to the stage. However, Gables simply waited outside of the dangerous terrain, dancing on Lori’s side of the field to laughter from the Trainers; he’d already scored quite a few points thus far, so there was no need to put himself in a compromising position.

The Mole Pokemon used the cover as a shield to launch a surprise attack against Gables; Mind Reader saved him, bright eyes flashing as the frog did a backflip to evade the Fury Swipes that burst from the stone ground, leaving him open for a blast of frigid liquid—one down.

Rhea was shocked when Lori recalled Gables as the Roggenrola entered the stage again, whipping up the storm—Zyra came out—and the salt and pepper Rookidee’s sharp pink eyes gleamed as she soared on her Trainer’s side of the field.

What’s she doing? Rhea internally groaned as the weather-resilient drones showed the stony Pokemon release mines throughout the obscured field. Zyra’s weak to Rock-Type Moves—Stealth Rocks—of course! Lori watched his previous battles.

A white illumination overtook the bird as she beat her wings—Defog—whipping up a whirlwind that entered the storm, leaving it mostly unphased while detonating the hidden explosive rocks, rendering them useless.

Tailwind followed with Gables taking the stage again, the breeze at his back pushing him forward to enter the storm, partially protecting him with the gust it provided as he finished off their opponent; it was an overwhelming victory that had Lori dancing to the song that played on her win.

“Oh-ehe-ehe-ouu—that’s what I’m talking about—we’re in it, boys! You’re up next, girl!” she sang, high-fiving her as they passed.

“Haha! That was amazing, Lori.”

“Amira’s got us on that study grind. You think she’s been a good influence on us?”

“Definitely!”

Entering the stage, she smiled at the brown-haired Hoenn boy that took the opposite stand, throwing a thumbs up at her as their information was announced and speaking to her through the private Trainer link.

“I’m a huge fan of your grandpa; my mom’s freaking out that I’m facing you for the competition.”

Ah, Rhea wryly thought, knowing her grandfather had a fairly big housewife fanbase.

“Let’s have fun!”

“Three, two, one, begin!”

Knowing the boy’s lineup, she activated her capsule and launched it as close to the center as she could manage, feeling the energy of her Pokemon erupt within her, ready for a battle.

* * *

Alice’s feet touched the ground, launching forward like a bullet as a smoky, almost ghost-like Pokemon came out; leaping into the air, she could see the panic on the Castform’s face—raging orange energy surrounded her—a grin split her mouth.

“Hi!”

Her fist met the girl’s face, sending her flying toward her Trainer as Alice pursued, second connecting before the Pokemon could gather her first Move. The Castform was Silver-tier, so her Super Effective attacks didn’t do as much damage as they should, which was just wonderful to Alice since she wanted to enjoy herself.

Twisting into a sweeping aerial kick, punting the tight-mouthed Pokemon to the left as her ears found purchase to allow her to jump after the recovering cloud; her eyes flashed, an outline of the Pokemon coming into focus as her sharp hearing caught the gasps and praise the spectators threw at her—this was her debut, after all.

She reached the Castform as a bright red aura encompassed her, shooting a ball of light into the sky to radiate solar waves, warming Alice’s fur. Laughter shook Alice’s chest as her claws snatched the cloud out of the air, spinning her in a swift circle, Fighting energy colliding with the Pokemon—a red light connected to the Castform, pulling it back.

“Aww. Don’t run away!” she giggled, performing several acrobatics to keep her momentum and blood pumping. “I’m just getting started, and you’re not even that hurt—oh, hello, and thank you for the sun!”

Crouching on all fours as she landed and her next opponent revealed himself, she shot toward the Nuzleaf Rhea had warned her about; fire encompassed her fist as she neared, yet, time slowed in her mind’s-eye when her jab met air.

He dodged?!

Left ear slapping the ground, she barely evaded a darkness-enclosed leaf that only just missed her tail as she arched her back; a thin blade continued several meters from the slash, showing its range.

Interesting! Wait, Rhea! I was having fun…

“Sorry, Alice!” Nova giggled from their shared connection through their Trainer. “I want a turn, too!”

A red beam connected to her, bringing her close to Rhea’s heart as she crossed her arms in a pout. Fine, but I get to taste your ice cream later.

“Deal!”

“At least you get a turn,” Mya grumbled.

* * *

Nova exited her Poke Ball, shaking out her fluffy obsidian neck fur while stretching her white ears and smiling at her guarded opponent, who swiftly shot toward her.

“Hello! I’m Nova… Woah, hehe, I guess Alice has you on edge,” she laughed, a shine brightening her left eye and allowing her to smoothly duck under his Dark-Type attack, ears lowering. “Fair warning, I have a lot of Moves and tricks!”

Yawning, she let the puff of pure energy follow the Pokemon.

“Eh-heh. Thanks,” he gasped, diving under the sleep-inducing attack; Nova was impressed since it was the first time she’d seen anyone but Alice escape the Move.

I could Curse, but the speed drop wouldn’t be good against a fast Pokemon like this… Okay. I can go fast, too!

A white radiance instantly accelerated her to the Pokemon, and he may have been as fast as Alice because she only clipped him, sending the woody Pokemon spinning to the left.

“Nice! Oh…”

Nova hummed as the Nuzleaf held out his hand, concentrating; she felt her energy matrix diminishing with the glowing green orbs that left her body—the problem with Absorb was that, even if it conserved a lot of energy, it was a stationary attack, Rhea advised.

Okay, easy—oh, no!

Quick Attack brought her rocketing toward the Pokemon, only for her eyes to grow big when a massive light blinded her—Explosion—a greenish shield embraced her, yet she was thrown back nonetheless, fracturing part of the barrier.

Landing on all fours after the slow backflip, Nova blinked as the shield faded, leaving a giant dark crater; their opponent had three Pokemon, but he must have known she could evolve and wanted to take her out completely. It might have worked if she hadn’t practiced a lot against Alice and often had to cancel a Move to defend against her Fire Punches.

Sitting at the edge of the blackened area, her tail wagged back and forth, looking up at the sun with a frown as Rhea called her back again as the Castform came out to renew it.

“Sorry, Nova, but Sun-enhanced Castform isn’t a good matchup against your Glaceon form. Alice, ready to finish up?”

Woooh! I still get ice cream.

“I get it,” Nova mumbled.

She felt a little bummed while watching the bunny dance around the flaming Pokemon through Rhea’s eyes—she didn’t let her displeasure show—she normally didn’t feel this way; her attention-seeking and competitive teammates often liked to hog the spotlight, which was fine, they were getting along better now, but she wanted to show off, too.

I’m supposed to be ultra versatile… I’m doing everything Mom told me to do when we had our adventure in Leaf Jungle, and I can stay in my Glaceon form a lot now, but… I want more.

* * *

Rhea could feel her Eevee’s slight discontent; it was fair since Nova did a whole lot in their group and didn’t get quite the spotlight she’d gotten at the beginning of their journey. She was fine with taking a back seat to help their team unity grow, but her dependable Pokemon wanted more.

I know, Nova. You’ll get your spotlight; I promise. We’re going to push as hard as we can!

Surprisingly, Alice got hit twice by a Disable and Powder Snow, which actually froze the bunny’s feet in place, but a swift Fire Punch to the ice broke her out to just barely dodge the Embers launched at her. They won, but her quick girl finally met opponents that matched her due to their level advantage.

It only hit her that Lori was next when the Unovan girl let go of a loud whistle behind her, making her jump.

“Woooh! Way to go, Blondie! Let’s go!”

Leaving the stage with a few parting words with the boy, she made her way to the violet-haired girl. “We made it to round two!”

“Pfft. Like there was any doubt! How’s Alice?”

“In disbelief, she got hit, so… yeah,” she snickered, looking at the next two boys that moved to take the stage. “We’re actually lucky that Nuzleaf exploded because Alice probably didn’t outspeed him. I’m shocked he actually went through with the Move in this kind of competition.”

“I’m not,” Lori mused. “I heard that part about him being a fan of your grandpa. Muk the competition; he wanted to take you out—that’s all!”

“For real?”

“It be like that sometimes,” she shrugged, pointing her to the large monitors to their right. “So, look up there!”

“Amira won?”

“Hah! Was there any doubt? The girl’s got brains; she’s totally confident in this next match, too. I think one of us will make it to the end. We’ve entered the Weather scene, and look how good things are going!”

Rhea forced a laugh. “Hehehe. Knock on wood.”

“Who the Muk needs to when it spontaneously combusts?” she joked, making her giggle while reflecting on their opponent.

“Well, one of us will be out in our next round regardless.”

Lori winked and held up her thumb. “We’re gonna go hard, so don’t limp out on me, okay? No goodie-two-shoes going easy on me. Got it, Ms. Aura Queen?”

“Huh? What do you mean—you’re Mukin’ tough, Lori—there’s no way we can win unless we go hard.”

“You’re Arceus Mukin’ right, girl; let’s dance!”