6:30 a.m. August 5th, Wednesday, 106 PH (Post Hoopa Event). Day 56.

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 (122 days away). Nova got her new evolution, and Gables and Amber evolved, too!

Waking up a bit later than usual due to following the Cerise household schedule, Rhea found Amira already gone, her bed meticulously made; Lori was in her normal backward position on her mattress, Pokemon draped over her.

Feeling refreshed and far better after the Spite incident the previous day, she stayed in bed for a few minutes, listening to the soft noises coming from the other parts of the house as everyone got ready for breakfast. Rhea didn’t want to be the first or last to reach the kitchen table, and she was content to allow her four Pokemon the joy of her presence for a bit longer.

Reflecting on her journey thus far while rubbing her shamanistic bracelet, Rhea’s fingers froze when a few things popped back into her mind, conversations a few weeks ago coming to the surface.

Kate said she would schedule her battle against Saria on the same day as me… Ooh! I can help her get my brother’s mind off the intense training and give them a break. Also, didn’t Ash say something about Chloe telling him she had a surprise for us when we got here?

A slight smirk lifted the corner of her mouth. I don’t think Chloe told her parents Ash was coming until he messaged them. Yeah, something is going on there. Suspicious…

Carefully getting up, she saw her Pokemon were still tired from their groans and sleepy movements, so she placed Lulu next to Alice to snuggle with each other, but Nova unlatched from her leg and got up to drag the blanket over Mya.

Heading to the guest bathroom, she saw the leftover signs of Amira’s use of the shower; Rhea ran the water cold to get her body into gear and quickly washed. Unfortunately, she’d somehow forgotten a change of clothes so Nova had to run out to snatch them for her.

Lori gave her a tired wave when she exited, hair still a bit damp since she didn’t have Amber to dry it off; she could imagine the fox using her new fire stick after her evolution, sparking Rhea’s interest.

“Wow,” the purple-haired girl mumbled, forcing herself up while scratching her stomach and displacing Gables. “Somehow, I feel even more tired sleeping in a little… Heh. Amira up at the normal time?”

Rhea shrugged with a grin. “You know she’s big on a routine.”

“Jealous—I wish I was as consistent as her,” Lori grumbled, stroking Roxie’s fur while attempting to summon the strength to hit the shower. “You know, I’m so lucky you two are chill with cold showers. Whenever I was at my mom’s place, I never had hot water.”

“Hehe. Yeah, it’s funny how that worked out. Catch you in a bit.”

Lori waved her off and grunted while stretching out with her Pokemon, Zyra puffing up her feathers with a few tears in her eyes, showing she’d probably stayed up to explore a bit at night; she’d noticed the bird did like to pretend to fall asleep quickly to roam.

Alice, Mya, and Lulu had taken her place on the pillow, sleeping side by side, prompting Rhea to take a quick picture of the cute Pokemon before leaving; Nova jumped over to grin next to them, tail weaving dangerously close to Mya’s face, threatening to tickle her for the photo but not going through with the prank to give her time to rest—it would be a fun picture to post.

Entering the hallway to the front of the house, she heard activity in the kitchen with Ash and Amira talking with the professor and his wife, preparing breakfast; a Yamper wandered down the stairs to poke her head around the corner, giving a light bark that Nova cheerily answered.

A knock from the front soon snatched their attention, and Talia called out from the kitchen. “Can someone see who’s at the door? We’ve, hehe, got ourselves in a bit of a mess.”

“I got it,” Rhea responded, wanting to be helpful; she adjusted her dress a little while jogging forward with the Yamper and Nova.

“Thanks, dear! If it’s a salesman, just turn them away; we get them occasionally, and for some reason, they always come early in the morning.”

“Got it!”

Opening the door, Rhea’s mind went blank at the smiling, maroon-haired young woman dressed in an expensive kimono—something she’d expect from some Johto regional fashion show—yet her brain soon snapped back into gear.

“Chloe?” she slowly asked, wondering why the woman would knock to enter her parents’ house or why she was already dressed like this; the Espeon and Umbreon beside her quickly drew Nova and her attention. “What’s…”

The woman giggled and shook her head. “I’m afraid you are mistaken.”

Ash walked out of the kitchen with Amira, lifting an eyebrow. “Lady Soleil, what brings you out of Eclipse Castle; everything okay?”

A huff came from the top of the stairs as Chloe descended them, her high ponytail bouncing a little. “Your Aura sensing is cheating, Ash; we can never surprise you. Come in, Soleil!”

“Hi-hi,” Soleil happily greeted, waving her hand and showing a smile that mirrored her twin’s.

“Wait…” Rhea’s eyebrows drew together while glancing between the pair, Chloe in overall shorts and a striped t-shirt while Soleil was practically dressed for a festival. “Are you two like… sisters?”

“Ah!” He grinned, Pikachu jumping down to jump around with the Espeon, Umbreon, Yamper, and Chloe’s Eevee, reconnecting as Nova wagged her tail, watching beside Rhea’s leg. “So this was the surprise you were talking about, Chloe.”

Chloe giggled while moving around them to hug the guest. “No. We’re doppelgangers! It’s pretty crazy, huh? Everyone has that one person that looks like them. Soleil just so happens to be the Liege of Johto’s Eclipse Castle and rules a small region in an area. Ilunas is handling the civil duties to give her a break.”

“Funny how things change,” Ash commented, motioning for her to come in as Chloe told her parents, who had stopped by.

Her father’s shocked voice answered. “Chloe, you have to communicate better. We weren’t expecting so many people to stop by.”

Relocating to the kitchen, the Yamper shut the door, and Soleil waved at the two, who were in the process of crafting scones with flour covering their hands. “I’m sorry for the intrusion, and I’ve already eaten. Chloe promised to show me around an amusement park and Vermilion City.”

Their eyes shot to their daughter as the maroon-haired girl showed a mischievous smile and latched onto Ash’s arm to grab his attention. “Ash can join us! It will be like old times, and aren’t you bringing your fiancé, Soleil?”

Rhea and Amira gave each other looks; yeah, Chloe had totally planned this little surprise collision, and what girl wanted to be the only one without a date on a group night out?

He forced a laugh, rubbing the back of his head as Pikachu shot Chloe’s Eevee a sigh that the Pokemon returned with a helpless shrug, yet Ash threw them for another loop while glancing between each thoughtful group.

“Oh, I know! Vermilion Gym’s Encrusted Challenge day is Friday, right? That gives us today and tomorrow. So why not join us, Rhea, Amira; you girls can see more of Vermilion with an expert—right, Chloe?

Amira saw the plotting maroon-haired girl’s eyes narrow and responded before Rhea. “I… think we’d like to go on our own. You only have so much time to spend with Chloe before she leaves, and I’m sure she’s planned this out far in advance, so…”

Her mother hummed, amused gaze shifting between her lightly red-faced daughter and bewildered Legendary Trainer. “If she was, she didn’t tell us.”

“Mom…”

On the other hand, her dad was now on board. “Yeah! Actually, maybe it would be good to catch up, and who knows when Chloe may see Ash again. How long do we fry these, honey?”

“Hehe. I’ll handle that,” she replied, giving her daughter a knowing look that somehow Ash appeared to miss. “You just keep kneading the dough for me. Is… Lillie also coming? I heard she was in the region due to her mother’s recovery.”

“Nope!” Chloe said, showing a fake grin. “Unfortunately, she’s a bit too busy.”

Ash hummed as the young woman pulled away, not having an excuse to touch him any longer. “I heard Dawn might be stopping in the next few days to drop off some of the research they’d discovered regarding the Hisuian variants—wait, was that supposed to be a surprise?”

Rhea started feeling stressed from thinking about what could happen in the coming days with the developing sticky situation.

Chloe’s mouth tightened at the news as her father forced a laugh. “Yeah, I think it was—she wanted to surprise Chloe before she left.”

“Whoops. Heh. My bad…”

Amira’s eyes sparkled, clearly knowing something about something as Chloe’s mother giggled.

“Why don’t you guys socialize a bit in the front room while we get breakfast ready; it shouldn’t be long.”

Complying with the request, they went into the front room, Chloe giving them a backward, thankful smile; clearly, she’d built up the courage to shoot her shot, and things were not going her way, but Rhea wasn’t sure Ash was even catching the hints.

What an introduction to Vermilion, Rhea laughed to her Pokemon while Mya and Alice cleaned up their bedding, wrapping a squealing Lulu inside the futon.

Sitting next to each other on the couch, Amira leaned in to whisper in her ear as the doppelgangers and Ash started to reflect and catch up.

“My mom traveled with Ash and Dawn for a while and is a big shipper of the pair; apparently, Ash is a blockhead who can’t take a hint to save his life.”

“No way,” Rhea mumbled, leaning closer to speak privately while watching the three. “I know I’m nowhere near an authority on relationships, but they both concluded the young woman wanted to go on a double date—it’s clear as day.”

“My mom told me she’s tried to hook Dawn and Ash up for years, but he friend-zones basically every girl he meets. I thought he had a secret relationship with Misty when we were in Cerulean, but who knows—maybe he does, and he plays dumb to keep it on the low? I can’t imagine him missing it in their Aura. Mom says his love life is a battlefield, though.”

“You guys actually talk about that kind of stuff?” Rhea asked in disbelief, not having a relationship like that with her own mother.

“Mom’s a big gossiper—you should see her interactions on the app—she’s pretty famous for spinning stories on there.”

It clicked in Rhea’s head like a Thunderbolt. “Your mom’s CutiePie777? No way.”

“Haha. Of course, you’ve heard of her; I thought you might since you often look at the site, and the 777 is her love for lucky numbers—Togekiss numbers, she calls them—my mom’s funny like that.”

“Huh…”

It hurt watching Chloe casually flirt, and it passed right over Ash’s head, and it looked like Soleil’s real purpose in coming was to be her moral support because she’d need it with the legendary thickness of the man’s skull.

Lori was practically munching on popcorn while observing the drama once brought up to speed, and it made them facepalm with how obvious it was; Soleil was with her fiancé and wanted Ash to be her double for the adventure. Still, it wasn’t like it was their place to step in.

It started to grow sad by the time breakfast was ready, and Soleil left to meet with her own man; Chloe toned the flirting down hard in front of her parents, which was funny to see with the looks her mother sent her way, and Rhea wondered if there was some kind of code the two shared because if she didn’t know better, her mom was trying to give her advice.

Rhea breathed out a bit of stress once they packed in the car, leaving Ash, Chloe, and her mother behind to clean up. Lori sat with her in the back seat to continue their hushed conversation, Amira taking the front, not particularly interested in the development beyond her mother’s involvement in Ash’s love life.

Their Pokemon were more fascinated by the car and running around to check out the streets inside the metal vehicle than their conversation; Lori was invested entirely, though, leaning in to continue snickering.

“I think Amira’s on to something. What do you bet he totally knows but doesn’t know how to break the news? If he has so many girls looking to lock him down and doesn’t want to hurt any of them—he’s in a lose-lose situation. Is this stupid streak a defense mechanism or something? Nobody is this dense!”

“I don’t know,” Rhea groaned, left arm held against her stomach while scanning Gossip; there really wasn’t a good answer as to who Ash’s romantic partner was, but Misty’s pregnancy was just now hitting the news feeds, and the timing couldn’t have been worse with Ash’s presence apparently lining up with the time frame. “Technically, Misty and Ash could be off and on… Not totally committed, but enough to have a… I don’t know.”

Lori lifted her eyebrows a few times with a hum. “I mean, he is a Legendary-tier Trainer, and Dawn is the only one close to his level, right? We’re talking about someone with, ahem, Legendary Physical Allocation, so… I mean, a girl has to be curious.”

Rhea’s mouth drew in at the implication; she couldn’t deny some of the conversations she’d heard in passing within the Master’s community regarding that particular aspect involving Grandmaster Trainers and above, not to mention there was a whole female-locked thread on Gossip about it that she might have visited a few times out of curiosity.

“Plus… he’s the Aura Grandmaster…”

“Rhea!” Lori giggled, seemingly shocked she would feed into her degeneracy. “Ooh. Good point. Good point. Makes you wonder how you’ll be in time. Hmm-hmm?”

Face going bright red, she saw Professor Cerise smile and look in the mirror.

“Something funny, girls?”

“Nothing,” she hastily mumbled, nudging Lori a bit hard in the side as she snickered.

Her Unovan teammate wouldn’t let it go the entire way to the professor’s lab, continuing to speculate on how the date was going and if Dawn might literally drop out of the sky; she noted that Dawn was likely the best-suited partner for Ash considering her elevated Fortitude, which had Rhea trying not to think about the debased direction the girl was pulling the conversation.

To try and distract herself, she attempted to be more wholesome and help her potential future sister-in-law with her hard-headed brother.

8:05 a.m. - Rhea: Hey, Bro! So, we’re staying with the Cerises, and things are getting crazy. It’d be nice if Kate were here >.> wink-wink. BTW, she said she’d be scheduling her Encrusted Badge with me, but she’ll need to register today to hit the Friday block. What’s up?

8:08 a.m. - Sabin: Oh, snap! She totally forgot, but I’m down to see both of you be the ones to break Saria’s spotless record. Yeah, we can put a cap on the training. We just got back into the grind, but I want to see you crush it!

8:09 a.m. - Kate: TY! TY! TY! More time to bum around as a couple. Kisses! Recently, you’ve been the most incredible wing-girl a woman could ask for! See you soon, cutie. We’re booking it down there; if we rush, we might be able to get there by 8 p.m. to sign up. <3 Gotta fly!

Smiling, she almost forgot about Lori’s deviant thoughts while reflecting on how her relationship with her brother’s girlfriend had changed over the last few months. It was amazing to see how well the woman helped to balance her brother’s rash and obsessive training regiments.

Getting out of the car and going through the machines the professor had set up to collect data for her mother with her Pokemon, Rhea’s thoughts went to her past.

Sabin never used to be so intense with Training, but over the past year, something had changed; his drive had gotten a bit extreme, and the only person keeping him from disappearing for months on end was Kate, forcing him to take breaks. It said a lot that even Kate was having a hard time recently; Rhea had to think it was connected to her starting her journey and what had happened thus far.

If Sabin hadn’t been strong enough to shut down that Plasma agent, then we wouldn’t be here now… He has to think about that and kick himself for not being quicker. Just seeing how Lyra shut everything down when she showed up and how much of a gap there was… Maybe I’m reading too much into it.

After finishing the tests, Professor Cerise told them he’d drive them to the Eevee Evolution Lab himself after reviewing a few notes and discussing a few things with his assistants; he’d already sent her results for Christie to look at.

Lori got Amira involved in her fan fiction regarding Ash and his love life, and the redhead promptly pointed out how deteriorated the girl’s mind was becoming; of course, that didn’t dissuade the Unovan party girl, who swapped to the topic of which potential partner was the best dancer.

Rhea had no clue about some of the dances she mentioned, but, by Amira’s face, some were of the more… erotic kind. She was happy to be in her own little world, looking back at her brother’s recent changes and reviewing some of Gym Leader Saria’s match history.

The more she looked into the High Master’s matches, the more concerned she got; Fairy Pokemon had the least number among the Types, which meant they could use Main and Secondary Typing, and that made for a rather challenging battle with the diversity of tactics she could use.

Another point of contention was that unlike most Kanto Gym Leaders, who generally used Pokemon more native to their region, Saria was the first to have a wide diversity of regional-specific Pokemon in her Gym.

If that wasn’t enough, she hired Gym Aides from every nation, including a recent addition from Paldea that had applied, which sparked some controversy since they weren’t a part of the United Indigo League yet.

Still, Rhea couldn’t help but coo at the adorable Fidough that the aide used in yesterday’s matches. She sat a little straighter upon seeing her single Platinum-tier battle; it included a Pokemon called Tinkaton that had Mya gasping at her giant hammer, and the Hammer Pokemon even had the reversed Typing as the Deverver Pokemon.

Paldea has some really cool and cute Pokemon, she internally whispered to her team. It could be our next destination. People seem to think they’ll be brought in… Wait, their Champion…

On their way to the car, Rhea saw something that had only just hit Gossip and the news channels. “Hey, Amira, check it out…”

“Hmm?”

Lori scooted closer, reading the headline aloud as the professor listened. “Paldea Champion issues a challenge to the United Indigo League… Woah, so this Geeta woman thinks she can prove her region won’t be a leech by having the Champions test her strength?”

“Bold,” Amira whispered, taking out her own phone as they watched and texting her mother the information. “Ironically, despite all the Legendary-tier Trainers associated with our region, our Champions are the weakest in the UIL. My mom would be interested in this, I’m sure.”

Lori grinned. “I like the brass to challenge the UIL.”

A low note resonated in Rhea’s throat, eyes creasing at the comment. “I… really can’t see her standing up to my aunt.”

Lori and Amira lifted their eyebrows while looking at her.

“Pfft. Muk, girl, go straight to Death Mode. Naaa. They wouldn’t send your aunt to test her—that’d be too harsh—like, as much as anyone loves to see your aunt battle and stomp, they don’t want to cause an international incident by embarrassing Paldea.”

Amira nodded. “Yeah… I think Chase or Elaine would be the prime markers since they’re the minimum the League has set… maybe even ask Hilbert or Hilda to test them. Although…”

“What?” Rhea and Lori asked in unison.

“Eh… It has to be someone everyone respects—oh, no…”

A smile lifted Rhea’s lips as a new text popped up on Amira’s phone.

11:49 a.m. - Mom: That sounds really interesting! You know, I’ve been interested in going to Paldea recently with all the hype your grandfather has been talking about, expanding Rocket’s reach to the nation and all. Your dad has booked us a flight, so maybe I’ll speak to the League and volunteer! Thanks for bringing it to my attention, Sweetie.

You know, now that I’m thinking about it. Riga has been talking about evolving into a Farigiraf recently, and maybe Geeta can introduce us to someone who will tutor her on the Move required to make that happen. I’m getting excited; I really wanna see how strong she is now! <3 You! Thanks for the idea! LOVE the pictures, by the way. Keep them coming!

Lori laughed with the professor as they piled in the car, the Unovan girl settling in front now since her legs were cramped due to her height on their way over.

“Way to go, Amira! I can see the news titles in the next few hours or whatever—a challenger comes out of nowhere, Former Champion of Kanto and bubbly mother of the year, Lyra Rocket, blasts off to Paldea to answer its challenge! Lyra vs. Geeta! Hype!”

“Ugh… Mom just can’t stop—if she texted me this, she’s already set it up. I bet she’s been going stir-crazy in the house since I left home; she’s going through a midlife crisis.”

Rhea didn’t see it at first, but the redhead made a valid point that she wasn’t the type of woman to sit in one place for too long, and all the stories Amira told had them always traveling around Johto and Kanto since she could literally teleport across the continent in the blink of an eye.

They joked about it the remainder of the trip, Amira nervous about her mother making an international incident and causing their family troubles, but it was official and hitting almost all networks by the time they stepped out at the Eevee Evolution Lab.

Lyra appeared to have gotten all the Champions on a group call minutes after Amira’s text and hashed out the date to be the end of the Summer Indigo Cup in Paldea; major news organizations were now making public claims to be reaching out to both Champion-tier Trainers to get interviews.

Rhea couldn’t believe how things had escalated; Lyra was at the very tip of reaching Legendary-tier, and if she did evolve one of her Pokemon, it could put her over the scale. Although, such a match would be held outside of a stadium, considering there was no barrier strong enough to handle the clash.

News agencies were clamoring to get interviews with both in the coming weeks, trying to build hype to likely get the public to pressure the women into discussing the event.

After waving the professor off, they drew away from the topic, and Rhea got a thank you from her mother for entertaining her. Feeling a tad guilty, she called her on the way into the facility, apologizing for how she had acted the previous day; she knew her mother was just trying to look out for her.

Rhea said her goodbyes to allow her mom to review the findings as they neared the front, spotting Eevee and Eeveelutions of all kinds roaming the facility and interacting with each other. Yet, they couldn’t make it to the front doors before they were entirely surrounded by the Pokemon, all staring at Nova, who kept very close to Rhea, nervous at the attention she was drawing. A few researchers came jogging out to see them, looking shocked.

“Rhea Everhart, uh—what brings you to the Eevee Evolution Labs? Umm, sorry, it’s just… so unexpected! Umm. Professor Pinery is being notified that you’re here. Can you follow us?”

Rhea sighed, bending down to scratch Nova’s neck and pick her up. “I thought having Nova interact with other Eevee might be good. To be clear, I’m not here to spill any secrets or feed some research experiments—I just want Nova to see how all of the other Eeveelutions act.”

“Right…” The man and woman gave each other sad looks before motioning them toward the facility again. “Still, I’m sure Professor Pinery would love to meet you. All of Nova’s recorded battles are being dissected frame by frame—she’s amazing!”

“Pwee?” Nova looked up at her, ears laid back; she liked the attention, but these people were a little too obsessed with her, and apparently, some of the Eevee and the other evolutions weren’t thrilled at the attention she was getting.

“We’ll only be here for a short visit,” Rhea reinforced; she’d expected it to be a lot less tense, but Nova was basically the goddess of Eevee, and after this, she didn’t want her nervous little girl to leave her side. “Like I said, we won’t be long… We need to go get lunch anyway.”

A light flipped on in the pairs’ eyes. “Is that so? I’m sure Professor Pinery would be happy to take you somewhere nice to talk and pay for the meal—she’s been dying to meet Nova.”

“Right…”