10:31 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!

Noise surrounded Rhea as Lori gave her one of her wireless headphones before waving, and making her way around the outer edge of the field, a hop in her step while pointing to her ear and swaying to her music.

Rhea chuckled and complied, hearing an upbeat Pop song. Hehe. Lori’s right, we should have fun; it won’t help to focus on the crowd. You ready, girls?

Her three awake Pokemon cheered as she filtered out the loud throng to lean against the box railing to observe the current fight. If they were going to be battling Lori, she couldn’t pull her punches, even if this was a gauntlet, her teammate was only really here to have a good time at this point, and she was certain the Unovan girl had a few tricks up her sleeve.

Lori settled in the box opposite them as the displays overhead showed the remaining contestants, bobbing her head and scrolling through the Pokedex website.

Rhea had memorized all of the Moves her teammates had over the last two weeks in her downtime to better coordinate with them when battling together, but now that they were opponents, she was seeing things in a different light.

She passively followed the fight between the Bayleef and Ekans that currently occupied the field; the area was showing signs of its previous matches, including acidic goo, forming sand dunes, holes in the stone floor, and scattered leaves, half of had been burnt to ash by patches of flames—everything could be used in these fast-paced matches.

The Bayleef’s energy matrix shattered, leaving the Ekans victorious for his next opponent to make her appearance; a Drowzee exited her Poke Ball to howls from the crowd, Confusion catching the snake before it could burrow underground, causing it to wiggle in the sand.

This was a different tier, and things were getting more real; Silver-tier was filled with aspiring Trainers who were pushing to make a career out of their passion. During Bronze-tier, Moves were fairly predictable and limited, yet these Trainers were likely to have a TM or two invested in one of their Pokemon.

An upward tilt lifted her lips as the Drowzee took the opportunity to launch a sphere of glowing red energy in the sky, erupting to bathe the field in sunlight—the arena to their right was partly overcast by snowfall—this was where her Pokemon should have probably started in their journey.

The Psychic Pokemon rushed toward the confused Ekans, fire lighting at her fist to pound the snake, but she was too slow to follow up on the combo as her opponent shook off the status effect; frame illuminating white, his eyes flashed red, freezing the Drowzee in place—Paralyzed.

Purple needles peppered the Pokemon as the snake shot forward, wrapping around the stunned Pokemon, putting it into a trap effect, and leaving a white, constrictive vice while stacking status conditions; diving underground as the paralysis faded, he hid to allow the poison and wrap to do their work whittling down the Drowzee’s energy matrix.

It didn’t take long for the battle to be over—the Ekans took out the Drowzee and Bayleef itself, causing waves from the onlookers—it was a vicious strategy. Rhea took note of the creative ways these Trainers came up with.

Rhea stretched out as the match came to a close, Lori and her photos popping up as the announcer introduced them.

“Aye! Here we go, ladies and gentlemen—I’m sure you’ve seen the lineup—the girls that have every Trainer envious and crying across the world and left the web with a burn it can’t seem to douse! Myths and Legends in their party, including the infamous Cosmog line, as I’m sure you’ve seen plastered across social media…

“We have Rhea Everhart! Niece of Champion Mukin’ Cynthia of Sinnoh. Aye! Enough said, and going against her teammate, the Psychic Conqueror and daughter of Johto’s own Elite-4 Dark Queen… Mallory Medina!”

Rhea wanted to die, looking down to make sure Lulu was hidden from view; luckily, she was fast asleep, tucked inside her shirt. She did her best to ignore the hype the announcer was trying to bring, which certainly did pull many people from the other stadiums to crowd the stands.

Lori swapped the music to a song that started with ‘Shut the Muk up!’ making her giggle as the platform was brought up to give her a higher vantage point of the field and she changed it again to a rap song called ‘Upper Echelon’ as a joke, no doubt.

“Rhea is listed as Bronze-tier, yet her Pokemon passed the test to compete—Lori stepping into Silver only recently—and making noise among the Bronze Bracket as they jump into Silver less than two months into their journey! Legends, ladies and gentlemen. I’m sure they’re going to show us quite the battle! Let’s go!”

Taking a deep breath, Rhea smiled at Lori as her face appeared on the console screen, showing a smirk. “It’s like, does he ever stop?”

“Right? Hehe. Good luck, Lori.”

The girl’s left eyebrow lifted. “Muk that, girl! If you don’t go hard, I think you’ll be shocked by the work my crew’s been putting in to keep up; let’s get it jumpin’ in center court, Goldie!”

Goldie! I guess it’s not ‘Gold’ and it fits me better than him since I have blonde hair… Rhea internally reasoned, looking up as the light showed red, indicating they were about to start.

“Haha. I’ve always been more of the hands-on kind of girl, so show me a little demonstration.”

“It’s a dance!” Lori grinned, expanding her Poke Ball as Rhea mirrored her.

Red, yellow, green—she threw the capsule as hard as she could to reach the middle, Lori doing the same; her choice was exactly what Rhea expected.

* * *

A grin split Mya’s lips as she left her Poke Ball, drawing on Rhea’s energy, large mouth opening wide while launching forward to close her jaws around the slippery, shiny frog that met her.

“Yikes, girl!” Gables snickered, leaping high overhead and dodging her bite; that wasn’t her attack, though.

Showing a sly smirk, Mya’s pink eyes followed his rise, and she winked, twinkling light surrounding her as hearts formed to pursue the airborne Froakie to drop his Special Attack.

“Oooh! Crafty,” he mumbled before launching rings of water pulses that shattered the hearts and caught her by surprise; she’d never seen him use the Move.

Branching herself, the liquid hit her like a ball, shattering against her body to drench her; spinning in a sharp circle while listening to Rhea’s careful analysis, the water was thrown off her as she generated a cyclone of fairy energy to throw the shiny Pokemon back.

“That’s sneaky, Gabs!” she laughed while landing on her feet. “When did you learn that?”

The frog took the blow, doing a backflip before touching down on a pile of sand. “Like, a week ago! What will you do now?”

Mya’s lips fell as light rippled around Gables. “Camouflage,” she cursed, rethinking her Ancient Power; his footprints in the sand vanished as he took to the air to reposition.

What should I do, Rhea? she asked, building up energy and backing away to the edge so he couldn’t attack her from behind; a sword came into being for her to snatch, boosting her Attack.

“Hmm. Remember what you did in the fight with Alice?”

The bunny hummed. “Will that work?”

“It should,” Nova chimed.

Mist formed around her, spreading out to mumbles from the crowd as she hid in the glowing fog of Fairy Energy.

“Okay, that’s a pretty cool counter-strategy,” Gables said from her right. “I had no clue this stuff negates my camo.”

“Hehe. Neither did I,” Mya snickered, flexing her fingers.

Should I go for a Sucker Punch?

“Be careful; Lori may try to swap to Zyra to blow away the—she switched!”

Mya’s brow furrowed as she ran out of her mist, four rocks forming as she prepared to meet her next foe, yet Lori had thrown the Poke Ball into her veil; a spark lit inside the shimmering clouds—she launched the stones.

Roxie shot out, jumping between the fast rocks to reach her in a matter of seconds, fire in her mouth making Mya’s gut tighten.

When did Roxie get so fast?! she cried, trying to bat her away before her flaming fangs could sink in, yet the little puppy did a delayed leaping flip, biting her shoulder.

Mya winced as the detonation chunked her energy matrix and threw her back; she managed to stabilize herself since she was used to Alice throwing her around everywhere but caught a face full of sand as the dog danced around her.

“Yes! Thanks for all the training, Lt. Hop!”

The bunny sniffed from inside her Poke Ball. “That’s my soldier!”

Whose side are you on?!

“Nova!” Rhea said, making Mya groan, but she knew it was the right call since it was hard for her to see—a beam pulled her into her capsule—she needed time in her Poke Ball to recover from the Move.

Aww… Good luck!

* * *

Nova’s brow set as she came out, smiling at the puppy, vision narrowed as they slowly began circling each other. “You’ve come so far recently, Roxie.”

“Thanks… You know if you turn into a Glaceon my Fire Fang will do a lot of damage.”

“Hehe. Yup,” Nova mused, ears folding back; she’d watched all of her friends carefully in their training to know exactly what they’d do—all of them had a tell. “Getting ready for a Leer? I can counter it by tossing up mud to break eye contact.”

“Huh? No!” Roxie mumbled, taking a step back as her own small ears drew back. “How did you know?”

Nova giggled while swiping at the ground and doing exactly what she said as the Rockruff did exactly what she thought she’d do.

“And… you’ll go left to throw sand in my eyes,” she mused, twisting in a circle; her glowing tail batted away the haze before she launched forward, crashing into the surprised Roxie and throwing her tumbling back.

“Ugh! Y-You don’t have Mind Reader!” she growled, jumping back up from the ineffective attack; still, their power difference was very apparent by her grimace. “How are you doing that?”

“Not fair!” Alice cried. “How are you doing that? You’re always taking care of Lulu…”

I have to have a sharp eye to keep an eye on that girl, and I’ve seen all the tricks you and Zyra play. Hehe. I have really good hearing, too, Alice.

Rhea’s impressed voice followed, making her chest puff up with pride. “Wow, Nova… I didn’t expect you to shut her down. She’s doubting what to do… You could end it.”

I want to save our energy, Nova explained, not underestimating the leery-eyed dog. I’ve heard Amira and Lori’s group trying to practice on their own some nights… Sometimes you move your leg and squish me, so I wake up.

“She does do that, doesn’t she?” Alice chuckled.

Roxie hummed. “Oh yeah; can you predict this?”

Nova’s mouth pushed to the side in mild surprise as the Rockruff hazed, splitting into dozens of copies; she’d seen the Move before.

“Oooh. Double Team? Cool, but I read your profile on Rhea’s device; I know you’d get that soon anyway. Does… that mean you have Quick Attack, too?”

“Ugh! It’s not fair—you have so many Moves I can’t even remember them,” she growled. “Use Protect, I dare you!”

Nova sat down, eyes drifting to the left as a twinkle shone in them before Roxie launched at her; it honestly wasn’t fair since Roxie was the same age as Alice.

Mya just had trouble when it came to faster opponents when trying to conserve energy, plus Nova suspected there was a bit of fear in her friend that she’d put Rhea in the hospital again. It was something they had to deal with soon. Without Miky, Lori’s team was weaker than theirs due to the experience they’d had over the past fifty days; Gables was the hard carry—that didn’t mean she wasn’t taking this seriously.

A glow instantly accelerated Roxie, bringing the twelve clones to attack her on all sides, yet with her twinkling eyes, she knew exactly which of the girls was real, and Nova rolled to the side at the last second, evading the frontal kinetic barrier to flick her illuminated tail against her side, lowering her defense.

“Why Protect when I can Detect?” Nova said. “Careful, Roxie—oh, Leer again, nice,” she said, spraying mud up and making Roxie groan.

“You’re not supposed to be this strong—I’ve been training so hard—and you’re making fun of me, Nova!”

“No!” She sighed, scratching her ear upon hearing the crowd talk about how easy she was making the match look. “Ugh. I learned a lot from my mother when I went out with her, and she taught me how to use a lot of my Moves. I just haven’t really had a chance to show anyone yet.”

Roxie glared at her, trying to attack her again as Nova predicted her next attack, dodging it again. “You’re supposed to be serious!”

“I am! I’m just conserving energy since this is a gauntlet…” she trailed off as Rhea opened her eyes to something else.

“Nova, I get you’re a lot stronger than we thought—you’ve been helping me a ton with Lulu—but you can’t make Roxie feel like she’s a failure or…”

Miky… Maybe it would have been better to have Alice fight her than me, Nova mumbled, forcing a smile while deciding to show exactly what her mother had taught her to her Trainer and friends.

“Okay, Roxie; show me your strongest attack, and I’ll show you mine—head to head—we’ll end it in one go!”

Roxie set her ground, and Nova guessed Lori didn’t want to recall the Rockruff for the same reason Rhea was concerned; there were a dozen strategies Nova had thought about while babysitting and watching her friends play, but this was the best option for Roxie.

“Don’t try to trick me and just use Protect or Detect!”

“I promise. Mine’s pretty quick, but I can only use it once. Ready?”

Roxie responded by all the fur on her body standing on end; a light brown aura encompassed her—pupils dilating, she locked onto her friend. It wasn’t technically her strongest Move but her second; claws ripping into the rocky field, she darted at her, every step crushing the stone beneath her.

“I’m putting everything I have into this, Nova!”

Nova smiled and closed her eyes, drawing inward as all the memories of her time with Rhea sank into her heart; she recalled the moment she first hatched, their Contest failure that her Trainer helped her through, and all the little things they’d shared over their short time together.

Time slowed to Nova as she opened her eyes, a golden glow wrapping her in warmth as she drew upon not only Rhea’s Fortitude but the bond they’d come to share, multiplied by her Abilities.

I love you, Rhea…

She felt weightless, stars shimmering around her as she rocketed forward, meeting Roxie’s long, extended claws—something within her clicked as they met—Roxie’s claws shattered with her energy matrix, flinging her to the left.

Coming to a slow stop near Rhea’s box with the crowd clapping and cheering, Nova’s eyes widened as she looked up, pulling even more liberally from her Trainer’s reserves; an effulgence bloomed within her, and the world shrank—she was evolving.

Silence fell over the onlookers as Nova focused on her night-black tail with white frills, examining them along her spine to her flared mane.

I have a fin…

“You have a fin?” her teammates said in unison, but Rhea was squealing.

Nova! Arceus! You’re gorgeous! You turned into a Vaporeon, just like you wanted!

Nova looked up to see Roxie pulled back into her Poke Ball, lying battered and unconscious a distance away; Lori took a second before bringing Gables back into the fight.

“Huu-haaa. Well, you’ve shocked all of us, Nova,” he said with a wry smile, rubbing his head. “How in all that is wet have you grown so strong when you’re not even training with us most of the time?”

Nova rotated her neck and tested out her far larger and more bulky body; she was made for water, which could be a problem, but Rhea reminded her of a rather nasty Move she had. “This is the first time I’ve been able to change into anything besides a Glaceon.”

“Well… Heh. I think we both know how this is going to end,” he laughed, giving her a thumbs up. “We’re all kicking ourselves for thinking you were out of practice. Ready to end this?”

Nova sat down and returned the smile. “Sorry, Gabs. I didn’t mean to make this so one-sided; I, umm, just got lucky, I guess. Zyra would have been more challenging because I haven’t had so long to study her fighting style.”

“You’re so stupidly adaptable; you’ve grown, Nova,” he snickered. “Roxie will get over it; she just expected to be on your level with all the work she’s put in. Center, here I come!” he roared, throwing his hands in the air.

Gables melded into the background, but Nova wasn’t worried. Unfortunately, she was built to be far more powerful than even she understood. Sitting to examine her new, elegant form with interest, she heard the crowd and multiple announcers debating her transformation with a small smile.

“Is that legal?”

“There needs to be a League ruling on this because that is ridiculous!”

“Did she use Ambrosia’s signature Move—Veevee Volley?”

“Not only that, she’s basically the advanced version of Red’s Eevee, Vee; she should be illegal!”

“You don’t think she’s the daughter of Ambrosia and Vee?”

“No way!”

“The transformations and the unique Move—do you think she can do other ones—Ambrosia’s Sizzly Slide or Glitzy Glow?”

“The League definitely needs to look into this…”

She felt like a whole new Nova with controversy sparking around her. Eyes sparkling with her glistening black skin under the limelight, Nova’s gaze shifted to the left, sensing Gables creeping up on her from that direction; she drew in a healthy amount of Rhea’s Fortitude, a resonance oscillating within her.

Gables exited his camouflage in a dance, making Nova giggle; it was just something the frog would do. A high-pitched noise erupted from within her, meeting a blue shell that surrounded the Froakie; he wasn’t going to make it easy for her after all.

Protect fracturing as the Synchronoise hit it, Gables grinned and drew back his fist, orange energy encompassing him.

“I’m feeling it now; let’s have a good dance, Nova!”

“Haha!” Nova giggled and winked at him, sending hearts to intercept and lower his Attack by two stages to counter the Power-Up Punch, eating the blow against her chest without much trouble. “Are you trying to get Amber to burn me in my sleep?”

“Oof. You’ve really studied up, girl,” he mumbled, dodging her lashing-out tail while leaving bubbles to explode on impact; rather than feeling damage with the Water-Type Move, she felt rejuvenated.

Huh, that feels nice; I could get used to this!

“Ugh! The worst part is you can just sit there and Wish the entire fight!”

Heh, thanks to you, I don’t even need to do that!

Nova gave him a sweet look, making him wince as his Attack dropped further. “Aww. You’re so nice, Gabs. I’d totally chase after you if I were accustomed to this new body.”

“Now who’s joking?” he mumbled, dodging a large stream of water she blew at him. “Your defenses are insane; Lori and Zyra are just laughing!”

A smirk lifted Nova’s mouth as she played her little game, an eerie aura rising out of her dark skin to increase her Attack and Defense while decreasing her Speed before a bright green replaced it, further increasing her Attack and boosting her Special Attack. She was slower at charging, but it wasn’t like he could really hurt her now.

“Huu-haaa. You look sleepy, Gabs,” she mused, yawning to send a puff of smoke after him.

“Oh no, you don’t!” he laughed, fading away and causing the attack to limply fall to the ground without a target. “Curse and Growth again; I thought you were saving Rhea’s energy?!”

Nova hummed, looking to the side while preparing another Detect to discover his location. “Well… Rhea is telling me we promised to go hard, so… I have to give it my all!”

“Pfft. Cap! You just want to explore your new form.”

“Hehe. Guilty! She’s totally cool with it, though… There you are!”

Gables became visible, face telling it all as beads of light appeared around her to be absorbed into her body, resonating with her stat increases to bathe her in a light purple glow. “Oh, no… Lori thought it was that—”

He licked his lips, taking on a stance as a Psychic beam fired into the sky before curving to target him; Gables dove to his right, barely missing the changed direction of the ray, yet Nova simply charged another one, humming to the music Lori was feeding to Rhea.

So you can throw me to the Houndoom; tomorrow I’ll come back, leader of the whole pack… Every wound will shape me; every scar will build my throne!

Gables managed to flip away from two more, fragments of stone peppering his skin from each explosion; his only chance was to play defensive and run them out of energy, yet Nova saw an opening on the third that sent him into the barrier.

Rhea was getting worried about their energy, but it wouldn’t be long now…

There!

Getting to her feet, Nova saw Gables hit the barrier as her beam struck, closing his eyes; light erupted around her, accelerating her into a sprint in an instant to smash the Froakie against the barrier, dealing extra damage that sent him bouncing across the stage and destroying what remained of his defense matrix.

“Uh… victory to the Supernova of Eevee—five seconds before the bell,” the announcer called as if she’d planned it, which she didn’t. “We seriously need some official calls on if multiple—what?! Are you seeing this, Jamie?”

Nova’s ears flared as excitement filled the stadium, spotting a brilliance from the frog—he was growing—and Lori’s shrieks of joy were heard in the momentary silence; Gables had evolved into a Frogadier.

Walking back toward her Trainer, the world became larger as she reversed the process, suddenly feeling like she’d been chasing Lulu all day and night; the world spun as Rhea called her back to her Poke Ball to the worried voices of her family.

Good job, Gables…