11:46 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). Nova got her new evolution, and Gables and Amber evolved, too!

Finishing their ice cream and stopping off at a mart to pick up a few snacks for their flight, Rhea texted her mother that, if she wanted to talk, as her brother predicted, then to shoot her a text to call her back since they’d be taking a flying taxi.

Amira posed an interesting question while sending a spiritual prompt to their Pokemon to return; at their distance, they could only project feelings, but their desire to return was more than enough to get them to begin speeding back.

“Why can’t we use your Charizard? Wouldn’t he be faster than a taxi; he’s certainly big enough.”

Rhea and Lori nodded to each other at the inquiry; it was reasonable to think the Legendary-tier lizard would get them to Vermilion in the blink of an eye.

Ash flashed his teeth, taking the Poke Ball off his waist to toss it in the air as Pikachu smiled. “Oh, he’s more likely to make a game out of it and challenge the taxi Pokemon to a race rather than cart us around; Charizard has a bit of a temper, and his pride is… legendary in itself,” he laughed. “Oof. Haha. I’m going to regret that later!”

“Actually, Charizard wants to go off on his own to meet up with an old friend; it’s been a while since we’ve seen him, and he offered to bring him our way. Plus, how would I show you the beautiful scenery if we just zipped by everything? Let’s enjoy ourselves!”

Liking that direction much more than simply rushing to every location and bypassing the insightful views Ash had of the landscape, Rhea agreed with her team.

When Nova and Mya returned, her Mawile looked a little conflicted, but her Eevee fed her a positive note that said they were making progress; Lulu was quick to teleport onto her back to be taken on an adventure with the other Pokemon returning.

Amber seemed to be eyeing everyone while escorting Mariah in their exploration; the Meloetta held fast to the newly-evolved Braixen’s hand, and she appeared to enjoy the fox’s twirling wand, leaving a mesmerizing fire in its path.

Gables and Roxie were a bit dirty when they came back, giggling at Lori’s curious gaze as Nova swiftly ran to see what trouble they’d gotten into; of course, they were the Unovan party girl’s Pokemon, so Rhea expected them to cause a bit of a scene.

Amira led them back to their hotel to grab their stuff, barely making it on time before the cab floated down to pick them up. Ash’s mouth tightened upon seeing the large Butterfree that floated down with her Trainer atop it; this wasn’t a Gold-tier transport by her size, and the Aura resembled her brother’s Pokemon.

The redhead shrugged and said he wanted to get there by the end of the day, and this was the only available option since Gold-tier would have made it a two-day venture with them staying at the checkpoint.

Resigning himself to the premium cost, the Platinum Trainer almost fell off the top when spotting Ash with them, and the Butterfree couldn’t keep her eyes off the colossal Charizard the man released; if Rhea didn’t know any better, the Fire Pokemon was flexing a little while preparing himself for his flight, showing off, which fit with the personality Ash gave him.

Pikachu ducked behind Ash’s back to sit on his backpack when the Flame Pokemon’s ponderous eyes shifted to him, no doubt expecting another Flamethrower, but he only shorted a short stream of embers from his nose before taking to the air, practically causing a whirlwind as he shot into the sky, blowing back their hair.

Rhea was happy they’d decided to braid their hair this morning as her Pokemon complained about how showy the Charizard was, but the Butterfree was captivated while watching him streak over the city, spraying a long stream of flames that lit up the sky and made Ash facepalm.

“I’m going to get a text from the Battle Island Jenny for… Nope, great. Vermilion City Jenny was video chatting with her sister and got to me first—there’s the second text… 10,000 credits for disturbing the peace,” he groaned.

Amira giggled and did a quick search as they entered the cab. “At least the fine only goes up to Master-tier; if it went up to Legendary-tier, you’d probably be paying in the millions.”

“No joke! He’s such a ham… I knew he’d make me pay for that comment, but not literally out of my pocket. Well played, old friend… well played.”

Spirits lifting, their Pokemon quickly jumped into the window seats of the 8-person cab; there was a limit to how many of them could be out on the ride, but they were happy to take turns.

Rising into the heavens, Rhea moved Nova to her lap and Lulu to her head as they looked out of the closed window; it was her first time being on a flying taxi, not that she hadn’t flown often with her father’s Pokemon—her brother’s flights were a lot bumpier.

She was impressed with how stable the Butterfree was compared to her brother’s Aerodactyl; of course, she was probably pushing herself due to the previous show and didn’t want to leave a bad impression on the legendary Charizard’s Trainer.

The long bridge below them and the open sea were filled with Trainers; Silence Bridge was unofficially called the Battle Bridge since so many Water-Type Trainers use it as their own free battle stage.

Slightly bored, she started the game she often played with her brother, attempting to spot the most Pokemon first while making a list, including roping her team into the fun. Once it was said you couldn’t use the same Pokemon twice—Amira won, and by a landslide.

Things changed when they reached land again, and Ash pointed out a large grove near the bridge, filled with berry trees and hordes of Snorlax, populating the areas at random.

Apparently, it wasn’t actually organized by the City-States or League and was done by a Trainer that had a bad experience with a Snorlax at one point—rumor had it that Trainer was Red or Ethan. Honestly, it did sound like something Ethan would do, and she could see Yellow doing it for her husband, but not Red.

They dropped down at the checkpoint into Vermilion City-State and went through customs, showing their Trainer and citizen IDs, but just before the descent, Nova bounced up and down on the opposite side after a nap to recharge herself, pointing at the rich, green climate to their south. Leaf Jungle, where the Eevee had spent time with her mother.

It made her a little melancholy, wanting to have another mother-daughter date. Naturally, it was hard when her mother was Champion-tier, and according to papers, Elaine unofficially retook the Champion seat from Chase three days ago, which meant Ambrosia would be busy, but that was the off-and-on pairs’ relationship, and they often swapped back and forth depending on the month.

While waiting in line, she checked Gossip, which had it that the two ‘Champion Lovers’ were at it again since some journalist caught a picture of them holding hands somewhere. With both of them potentially handling League business, there was a chance, though; it couldn’t hurt to ask, and Elaine had given her her number.

She sent a probing text to see if Ambrosia would be able to cut out some time for her daughter upon also receiving a text from her mother; the response was, as seemed to be typical with Elaine, almost instantly, showing she was often on her device.

4:20 p.m. - Champion Elaine: Ambrosia would love to carve out some time! We’re a little busy this week but how about next? Get back to us when you’re good, and we can work out a few days. How’s that sound? Also, congrats on Silver-tier! You’re blowing up on social media. Someone noticed you shifted rank from the swap in brackets and made a big post about it.

Oh, lol, and way to put heat on Ambrosia and me with that battle earlier today; Karen’s laughing about it, but I’m getting so many tags and frowny faces. Everyone wants their own little Nova! Who wouldn’t? She’s adorable! And that attitude at the end with using our signature move <3 she really is Ambrosia’s daughter.

4:22 p.m. - Rhea: Sounds great! We’ll get back to you. Hehe. Nova is growing fast. And it’s not me they need to get mad at; it’s my mom! I have no idea how Nova was made, and obviously, she’s got amazing genetics, so… yeah, people be mad!

4:24 p.m. - Champion Elaine: Lol! So true. Fair warning, we are having League discussions on Pokemon in Nova’s unique situation or any other crazy thing your mother may come up with, I’m sure. Nova may be limited to only one evolution a battle—at least in Silver-tier. ;) I’ll keep you updated!

Rhea figured something like that might happen since the backlash and questions, given the big audience of the Battle Dome and their reaction, which had continued to gain momentum throughout the day from trending on other sites.

She messaged back that she understood and went to her mother’s text, grinning at Nova’s fanning tail that beat against her arm; her Eevee would be daydreaming the entire week on the date.

12:51 p.m. - (Hopeless) Mom: I just saw the battle! Are you kay

12:52 p.m. - (Hopeless) Mom: Gah! I pressed enter. Are you okay? My mind totally slipped with the effect Spite would have on you! Oh no. I don’t have data for that. Call me! NOW!

Rhea sighed, looking up to give a helpless shrug and smile at Amira as they neared the front of the line. “How soon until we’re up in the air again?”

“Fifteen—thirty max,” the redhead returned, going through her own messages from her family regarding Amber’s evolution; Lori appeared to be doing the same with her mother and sisters. “We might want to grab something to eat for dinner since we’ll be airborne until 10 p.m. or so.”

“Great… Want to order for me from wherever? I need to call my mom.”

“I got you,” she absently mumbled with a smile and thumbs up. “Oh, Mom wants more pictures of everyone together. Ash?”

He chuckled and scooted forward to take her phone as Serenity, Holly, and Amber all temporarily exited their Poke Balls to have a swift photo with Mariah standing front and center.

Leaving them to their fun, Rhea called her mom, scooting closer and closer to the front of the line to get into Vermilion City-State. It took a few rings before she answered.

“Rhea, you aren’t experiencing any ulcers—no, eh-mmh, stomach cramping or sweating off-and-on randomly? Have you needed to go to the bathroom more often?”

“Wha—no, Mom, cool your head!” Rhea returned, scratching her neck as her blood pressure rose at her mother’s frantic tone, her changing cadence bringing inquiring gazes. “No. Huu-haaa. I’m fine. Yes, it was scary when I realized what was happening, but I handled it, and Ash was here if anything bad happened.”

“Symptoms?” she pressed, likely sorting through pages to find something to take notes.

Rubbing her nose and spotting Lori setting her items on the scanning device, Rhea hissed. “Mom, I’m going through the checkpoint between Vermilion and Lavender City-States. Call you back in like a minute.”

“Mmgm.”

“I’ll call you back! Ugh.”

Hanging up and feeling uncharacteristically annoyed, Rhea frowned while mirroring Amira in placing her items in the plastic container. She knew she shouldn’t be mad at her mom’s concern, but she felt fine.

Amira and Lori’s curious brows followed her through the process as they got through on the other side.

“You good, girl?” Lori asked.

“I think so… I don’t know,” she mumbled, rubbing her neck. “I just felt really… annoyed. It’s probably my Aura out of whack or something due to the Spite. Am I right?” she asked as the Legendary Trainer joined them.

“Mmh. You are weakened, and the very feeling of being vulnerable can contribute to weakening your Aura, which, given your abilities, could cause a backlash that makes the Auras of others impress upon you,” he theorized, glancing back at the agitated workers, people, and Pokemon having to go through the tedious crossing.

“Well, that’s comforting,” she grumbled, picking up her phone to redial her mother and giving a more accurate account of her health. “Ash says I’m having some Aura troubles, but it’s fine. Sorry for snapping at you, Mom… I’ll work on strategies to handle it with my team. Thanks for worrying about me.”

“Of course! Umm. Have you thought of stopping by Cerise Laboratory?”

Rhea’s eyebrows drew together as she glanced at Ash, the place not ringing a bell to her. “No… We were going to head to the Eevee Evolution Lab. Why?”

“Mmh.” Her mother grumbled a few unintelligible things before saying, “Professor Pinery… has been hounding me for years to help her with her Unity Eevee Project—she’ll ask for samples of Nova’s DNA. Honestly, a lot of the initial groundwork I used was developed by her team, but I… fell out of touch.”

Rhea rolled her eyes. Essentially, her mother was saying the woman’s approach was too slow, and they differed in direction; they weren’t on good terms. “Are you telling me not to? I mean, I don’t want to subject Nova to anything potentially harmful, or are you just telling me you don’t want your methods being discovered?”

“Oh! No, no, no… Pinery is a great woman and Pokemon lover, but she also isn’t the greatest of researchers—harsh, but true—and she still hasn’t made a lot of headway in any direction regarding other evolutionary lines that were lost in Eevee’s genetics, given her own understanding of genetics.”

Staring off into space with a dull look, Rhea only heard her mother saying the woman wasn’t a real scientist or breeder; she was a certified Eevee fan that was able to sucker other fans into funding something that wasn’t going anywhere.

“So… yeah, she gave up on Chloe’s Eevee, for instance, since she couldn’t make heads or tails of her genetic abnormality—naturally—which is similar to Ambrosia but with specific mutations; they aren’t the same. It’s frustrating to listen to her talk.

“On the other hand, those working under her are students and pseudo-scientists, for the most part, who might try to do something with Nova’s unique physiology… They may even go so far as to try and clone Nova since they can’t replicate my far, far more tiring, and precise methods. And haphazardly cloning Pokemon, even with an expert in the field, can have… terrible results, much less a complete idiot looking for fame or money.”

“I get it! I’ll refer her to you and give her your new number if she asks,” Rhea returned, as a compromise, trying to keep her temper under control as she took a table and her friends went to order. “Why do you want me to go to Cerise Lab?”

Her mother made a note in her throat that said she wasn’t enjoying her tone.

“Professor Cerise is an old friend of mine, and he has the equipment needed to send me a full body scan of you and Nova; since she evolved into her second form, I need to ensure the resonance between your connection isn’t causing any problems. I’ll need Mallory to do the same when Roxie evolves; it’s the product of their unstable genetics.”

Letting go of the stress in her lungs, Rhea smiled. Her mother was being more of a mom recently, which was both welcomed and not at the same time; it was weird, but maybe these feelings were just a phase from the agitated people around her in the facility affecting her mood.

Her gaze went to her three travel companions as her mother revealed something else.

“Oh, and Ash knows Professor Cerise fairly well since his daughter is his close friend; they traveled together for a while.”

“Huh. Always women? I thought Brock was known to be the Rizz king, but okay. Thanks, Mom. I’ll make sure to stop off at the place.”

“Thank you, Rhea. Hehe. I know I’m being a worrywart, but I hate it when I don’t consider important things, and Spite really is a huge health risk to you and your Pokemon. Please, be careful, Sweetie.”

“Will do.”

Hanging up, she pressed her phone against her lips, looking down at her smiling cosmic ball on the table, staring up at her with a grin. “Hmm-hmm. You want a little something to eat, too?”

“Ni!”

“Okay. I’ll share.”

When her team came back with food, she split up her meal with her Pokemon and ate quickly while bringing up her conversation with her mother.

Ash said he was happy to show them to both labs; he was kind of an expert on Vermilion, actually, and there was a lot to do there. Looking forward to seeing the city, they entered the cab again, taking to the air and scanning the green, hilly region.

Considering the winding paths and battles, it would have taken them several days to reach the city by land, but after nine hours in the air, they began to see signs of living. Small communities dotted the countryside, cropping up in recent years as the big cities continued to expand. Pokemon and humans continued to grow side by side.

Rhea spotted the Magnet Train between the major cities zip past them to enter a tunnel leading to Saffron. Boats dotted the sea with Pokemon and people enjoying themselves as they moved toward night, the sun lowering over the horizon.

They all pressed closer to the glass when Vermilion’s capital came into view, lights illuminating the cloudy sky overhead and showing dazzling colors across the coastline. A long bridge went from the harbor to an artificial island that Amira said was for research and safe development on further expanding their territory over the sea rather than land.

In many ways, it reminded her of Saffron with its massive skyscrapers, but it wasn’t quite as stacked, plus there was far more emphasis on greenery mixed in with the aesthetic. The city had been under heavy construction for the last thirty years, and a whole district opened up five years ago that brought huge industries into the City-State.

Rhea pointed out a curiously designed building that had a thick disk at the top, which Ash identified as the Go Gym, which was an interesting idea in that local Trainers ran it as a pseudo Gym that Lt. Surge instituted to give people a practical place to gather and battle, having its own ranking system.

From the hospital to the Poke Mart and prestigious school, Vermilion had done an exceptional job, according to Amira, in developing their economy, and to the north of the city was a massive campus that seemed dedicated to Pokemon—the Kanto Pokemon Fan Club.

The Butterfree that had carried them dropped them off at a flight hub near their hotel, but Ash told them that, if they wanted, they could cancel since the Cerise household had sent him a text that they’d love to host them.

Amira was all for saving money, so with a nod from them, they accepted. Thanking the Butterfree and complimenting her on the ride, Amira rated the experience high as they left to sleep after the nearly ten-hour flight.

Ash said it wasn’t far, and Chloe was preparing the guest room for them; they had two extra beds, so someone would need to take the floor, and he’d be resting on the couch downstairs; Rhea was swift to volunteer, grinning at Lori’s light glare at beating her to the punch.

“I called it first!”

“You’re something else, Rhea.”

“Hey, I’m used to sleeping outdoors and camping. You’re a soft city girl,” she teased, making the others laugh.

After a thirty-minute walk, she was starting to feel the stress on her body, even with her Pokemon only coming out one at a time most of the day; she felt exhausted from the battle that morning.

Arriving at the single-car driveway of the Cerise household, they walked up the steps to the wooden deck, studying the deceptively small house; it had a large back section, as well, that was made for guests.

The man that met them had graying maroon hair, his wife seemingly dyed hers, appearing to have a bubbly personality as she rose from a couch in the front room and waved them in.

“Hello, girls! Ash, hehe, you haven’t aged much since we last saw you; Chloe always talks about it in a huff. How are Misty and Goh? I haven’t seen them in a while.”

She talks about him often, huh? Rhea thought to her Pokemon, seeing Ash obliviously laugh it off.

“They’re doing well, Talia. Thanks for having us.”

Professor Cerise laughed, studying the Cosmog on Rhea’s head as Lulu mirrored everyone’s wave. “If Professor Everhart wants you guys to stop by my lab, we might as well carpool, right? Yes. She gave me a call,” he said to Rhea’s questioning eyes.

“Of course she did.”

Talia’s eyes brightened as she motioned for them to follow her into the hallway to the back. “Parker’s at a summer camp, and Chloe is staying the week; she’s preparing to make a trip to Paldea at the end of the week, so she shouldn’t have anything going on.”

Rhea wanted to snicker as a young woman with maroon hair leaned against the side of the doorway at the end of the hallway, shooting a dirty stare at her mother. “Way to tell Ash I don’t have anything going on in my life.”

“Pwe-pwe.”

Rhea’s focus instantly dropped to the pretty Eevee that walked out to stand beside her Trainer, waving at them with a cute chirp, lighting Lulu’s eyes up as she teleported to her.

“Ni? Ni-ni-ni! Neee?”

She spun in a circle as Mya returned for Nova to come up, jogging over to greet the older Pokemon; Ash told them Chloe’s Eevee was very similar to Elaine’s in its genetics being very stable, making it highly challenging to evolve but also granting it some unique feats.

Happy to leave their Pokemon to talk, Rhea followed them back to the room, giving Ash and Chloe curious looks, and she wasn’t the only one in her team that saw the slightly flirtatious actions the ‘close friend’ had with the man.

It made Rhea wonder if Misty and Ash were married or even if he was the father; perhaps Chloe didn’t even know about that development since they hadn’t seen each other for a while. Plus, Ash and—now that she thought about it—Misty both didn’t wear rings.

The plot thickens! she mused to herself, falling into her old Gossip habits of following certain celebrities. Ash knows so many girls; how many are into him? He is one of the strongest Trainers in the world and, shockingly, doesn’t seem to have a lot of the personality defects a lot of them have. Interesting.

Alice and Mya reflected on her thoughts as they prepared for bed, Talia asking what they liked for breakfast, and it wasn’t hard for Rhea’s mind to fail her, courtesy of her drained Fortitude, once on the floor futon that about rivaled the comfort of the hotels she’d stayed at.

Tomorrow, they’d stop by the two labs and register for her first Silver-tier Gym Battle, and against a Gym Leader that no one had beaten yet, no less; she decided she would be the first… Nothing would stop her.