5:37 a.m. August 12th, Wednesday, 106 PH (Post Hoopa Event). Day 64.

Events: Rhea won her Silver-tier Encrusted Badge after a tough battle! Now, our girls are on their way to getting their four Encrusted Badges for the League. Onward! Our girl started her journey on the 9th of June, and the end of registration for the Winter Indigo Cup is December 5th (114 days away).

Lying on her cramped bed, meant to be used for single use on the ship Amira chartered for them, Rhea twisted around her Silver-Encrusted Fairy Heart Badge in the dim light. There was always a little light in the cabin, allowing people to navigate on the swaying ship.

She’d woken up more than two hours prior, unable to fall back to sleep. Her Pokemon were snuggled up all around her, which helped with the cool atmosphere. They’d had a lot of time to talk and discuss plans over the last five days at sea, taking in the ocean sights and shore, whenever it could be seen.

It had been fun seeing the sibling dynamic between Ash and Dawn as they joked around, poking at each other. Pikachu and Piplup got into all sorts of trouble on the ship, and their Pokemon tagged along. On the third day, they’d been called into the captain’s cabin to request they not cause so much commotion since it was disrupting some of the more grumpy passengers.

Ash and Dawn occasionally had these cute reflective moments whenever she’d spot them alone together at the back of the ship or not being crowded by fans.

Recalling the discussion she’d had with the cobalt-blue-haired women in Vermilion, she could see why she’d say their relationship was complicated. How he acted around Dawn was a lot different than how he did around Chloe: there was an understanding and comfortable vibe they shared.

It made Rhea see why Lyra might ship the pair; they honestly did have a lot of chemistry, and the possibility for something deeper was certainly there. Then again, the two also had massive differences in how they approached her to talk about her Aura or hang out.

Dawn was very forward, cheery, and positive in coaxing her into walks along the side of the ship to discuss things the pair had been theory-crafting and testing. She always complimented something about some change in fashion each day, showing how much the woman paid attention to details and tried to build up everything she was around.

Ash was far more focused on the technical side, informing her about potential dangers and risks while also pushing her to be aware of them but not frightened. He was always calm and collected, showing a wealth of experience and maturity one second before it was shattered like an illusion when his Pokemon teased the Legend.

Above all, the two extremely powerful Trainers could always pull out a smile in them with their poke-and-prod antics toward one another. Dawn seemed to draw out a part of Ash that Rhea hadn’t seen thus far in their travels together. He was far more energetic yet laid back; Rhea figured the man just had a broader emotional spectrum when Dawn was present.

It could be him making fun jibes at her fashion choice for the day to get some prickly comments back or telling her she was killing it. Then there was Dawn, stealing his hat and daring him to take it back as she ran away, even while wearing a dress and all, somehow getting his entire team to traitor on him.

Of course, Ash knew exactly how to bribe her Piplup to stab his Trainer in the back, as well. Almost nothing seemed off-limits for the duo, and that was part of the fun mystery behind their ‘complicated’ relationship.

Rhea had to wonder if things could escalate if the two had the chance to just be alone together instead of in a party. She could certainly see it, though her thoughtful daydream date made her feel a little guilty toward Chloe.

After seeing Dawn and Ash’s deep understanding and bond, and only for five days at that, Chloe and Ash really seemed more like a mentor thing. The poor girl had fallen for her mentor. It must have been hard for Ash because he wasn’t the type to embarrass someone, but then again, maybe Ash was just that dense. She doubted it, but, at the same time, she had to wonder.

She puffed out a sad sigh, glancing to her right through the bed’s half-drawn curtain as the bed across from her creaked. Amira slid out of bed, a yawn close to her lips as her Pokemon trudged after her toward the female facilities area to get ready for the day.

Rhea was a little taken aback when they’d boarded the old and less-than-standard-class passenger ship. It was the type of place she couldn’t imagine the classy and well-educated redhead ever stepping foot in, but that also proved to Rhea that she still had some kind of internal biases.

Amira really was one for efficiency above all, followed closely by her own self-image. So, if that meant dressing up like she usually did on this subpar vessel to reach their destination sooner, then so be it. Her self-image wasn’t determined by what others thought but by how she viewed herself, and Rhea admired that about her friend.

The redhead took failure worse than anyone she knew, and not because she cared what standards others put on her, but because she held herself to a higher standard.

Rhea sighed as the door shut, leaving them to the dull sounds of the waves through the hull. In contrast, she cared too much about how the world viewed her ‘country bumpkin’ innocence. It reminded her of Lyra’s story, how she felt the same way growing up in Johto, unable to make solid friends, despite her outgoing, energetic personality.

Her very first ‘normal’ friends outside of her little village had been Sam’s group. And that had worked out, yet what if it had been another team? Would they have gotten close or reacted the same? It could have gone a lot differently with most other girls; she hadn’t been too confident in her social skills back then, to begin with—heck, she was still working on it now. Lori told her all the time that people would take advantage of her and that she had to put up boundaries—that she was too trusting.

Amira countered the pessimistic Unovan girl with the thought that Rhea could be unconsciously interacting with and trusting people due to her Aura sense. Lori gave some ground for that, but Rhea could also see her point.

Just the teasing peer pressure, Lori pressed on her in Cerulean had made her jump into something she really wasn’t ready for. She still hadn’t taken her advice in talking with the Alolan boy about the embarrassing ‘date’ and kiss. Then again, she thought she was getting better with how she handled herself in Meadowview Town when Jay’s new teammate confronted her.

Carefully leaning around Alice’s ears, currently draped over her face to block out the light, Rhea peeked behind the curtain to where Lori lay on the bunk above Amira’s.

Dawn was above Rhea, and Lori took the top since she was the tallest and could reach it better. Four people for a room wasn’t something she expected from a passenger ship, but at least they didn’t have some randos like Ash, who was dealing with two heavy snorers.

Amira was pragmatic and rather neutral toward others while having very strong opinions that made her somewhat inflexible in her opinion. Others could believe whatever they wanted, but they wouldn’t impose their thoughts on her.

Lori was far more energetic, outgoing, and carefree when it came to social interactions but, ironically, was rather pessimistic about them. She had a lot of negative experiences with social media regarding her family and their effects, which made her subtly bitter. She was an opportunist that would make use of what she could to have a good time—though remaining guarded—still somehow making herself the center of attention.

It was such a strange contradiction of emotions. Her guarded nature upset Rhea a bit, though, even if she could understand how she’d come to live that way. At the same time, her heart went out to her teammate. She wanted to help her. Again, something Lori always poked at, yet she felt they were gradually seeing the real girl underneath, and it made Rhea want to cry.

Being in constant pain throughout her childhood and always afraid it would come back. Being betrayed by childhood friends as a young teen and talked about behind her back regarding her adoption and orphan status. Having to protect her troublesome mess of a little sister from her many millions of followers taking advantage of her.

It had taken a toll on Lori, and maybe she even saw a bit of Casey’s naivety in her that sparked her protective instinct. Amira could be vicious when angered—she’d seen it firsthand with Lucian. But Lori, Lori would stoop to any level to utterly destroy anyone that crossed her: making memes to humiliate them on social media to her millions of followers was only the surface.

Thinking about their first meeting, Rhea couldn’t have imagined how complex the two girls were under all their layers, their family dynamics, and the social stigmas that would follow their group.

Lori had so much social and cultural power combined with her family members and their connections, which was a double-edged sword; the girl had literally flooded Cerulean with partiers with a single post.

Amira’s family connections to the business world and high-status upbringing made her such an asset. Her work ethic, advice, personal responsibility, and poise had been an inspiration. Yet, all of those traits almost crushed her when she believed she’d almost killed them during the Plasma incident.

Rhea, on the other hand, was still dealing with the uncertainty that she was helping or hurting her friends with her inability to control her Aura. Mixing her team up with her family’s messed up past, not to mention the level of danger just being associated with her put on them from Rainbow Rocket, had kept her up at night over the last few days.

She wanted just to have fun and take her brother’s advice to put it all behind her at this point in her life, but it was hard at times when she was in her own head. It made her wonder if she doubted or didn’t trust her family to take care of it enough, putting her into a spiral.

Rhea’s gaze shot to the bunk above her as Dawn groaned and stretched out. It wouldn’t be long before she crawled down to get ready for the day.

Gingerly moving Lulu to Alice’s neck to snuggle up against, Rhea did her best to untangle herself from her Pokemon, and, for the first time, despite the most crowded bed they’d shared, she managed not to wake a single one. It was a small victory that uplifted her troubled heart.

Looking up as she straightened, she saw Dawn dressed in her tracksuit pajamas. Lying on her side, the Sinnoh High Champion supported her head with her hand and smiled at her. She winked and put a finger to her lips. Rhea returned the expression and pointed at her Pokemon, prompting Dawn to nod.

They quietly got their clothes together, Dawn selecting a white top and faded blue-white hanbok with star and spade designs. Rhea was jealous at how many outfits the woman was able to travel with and buy. She was probably selecting this fashion since they were arriving in Fuchsia today.

Her mother’s idea about beta testing the storage capsules Silph was making couldn’t come soon enough. Plus, Nova’s little mother-daughter date should be coming up. She’d have to contact the current Champion of Kanto to make sure they could still take the time out of their busy schedule in the next few days.

Meeting the redhead in the somewhat cramped showering area, Rhea was glad they came early. Two days ago, there was an actual line to get into the place; Lori would probably want to get woken up when they got back.

She made small talk with the two, skirting the topic she really wanted to discuss until Amira finished and went to get Lori ready. Their Pokemon could keep resting since they’d done a lot of ship battles over the last five days. Rhea had taken it somewhat easy, but Ash wanted to see firsthand how her Aura fluctuated in live combat.

Much to Dawn’s excitement, Amber dried them off in a flash before Amira crafted their hair into matching buns with contrasting accessories; after that, they dressed in their typical Rocket-designed Trainer top and skirt. Rhea was happily surprised when Dawn nudged her head to the deck to burn time; nodding, the redhead waved them off.

“Want to watch the sunrise together? I kind of got the feeling you wanted to talk. Don’t worry; when we hear a loud racket, we’ll know our Pokemon are up.”

Rhea chuckled and went up the stairs to the top deck. Despite the cramped accommodations, the vessel was large, showing that they were trying to cram as many tickets and people as possible.

Amira had commented the day before that the captain probably had shady connections to get it to pass inspection since it was full of dozens of hazards waiting to happen. She waved all that off due to Dawn and Ash being with them, and this was the quickest ship to get them across Vermilion Bay.

The strong sea breeze pulled at their bound hair and skirts as they made it up the stairs and leaned against the railing to look across the choppy ocean. Dawn stared at the shandy shoreline in the distance as the outlines of many Water and Flying Pokemon followed their ship’s path came into view with the brightening horizon.

“I doubt we’ll be able to tour the Safari Zone since you’re on the Badge grind, but maybe you can come back when you get the ones you need. The experience is worth the trip… Fuchsia is such a lovely area to visit.”

Rhea had only seen pictures and videos, but it was a very popular cultural area in Kanto. Unlike most of the region, it had kept enough of its old roots, and one particular event drew her interest in the catalog Amira gave them.

“The Safari Zone would be interesting, but isn’t it supposed to be the Kelpsy Blossom festival in August; Fuchsia is famous for its four-seasons blossom festivals, right?”

“It is,” Dawn whispered, turning her gaze to the Flying Pokemon that had hitched a ride on their boat, taking roost on the rails to stare at them. “It’s one reason why certain Pokemon migrate to Fuchsia during specific times of the year. Parts of the forest will soon be filled with bright blue blossoms… Have you ever thought what it would be like if berries didn’t grow on trees?”

“Haha! No. Weird thoughts,” Rhea whispered. “What would they grow on, bushes?”

“Wouldn’t that be a sight to see? Hmm.” Flipping to rest her back against the rail, Dawn eyed her. “Why don’t we go shopping to get you girls your own hanbok and enjoy the festival tonight? Janine doesn’t take Encrusted challenges until Saturday anyway. We have a few days of fun.”

Online videos of festivals flashed across her mind, lifting Rhea’s spirits. “I’d love that! Although, heh… I’d probably need to ship it back home unless Amira’s capsule thing comes soon. I can’t take your money, though—”

Dawn flashed her teeth. “Don’t worry about it; it’s not my money! Hehe. Your aunt gave me her card when we left, so…”

“Ooh. That’s bad!” Rhea snickered, now realizing why she was being so liberal with buying things. “Wait, are you using me as an excuse to tell my aunt that you bought stuff for me so she won’t look too closely at the purchases?”

“All of the above! She likes seeing you spoiled, and you know it.”

“Haha! I thought that was more my grandma’s thing.”

Dawn hummed, looking up at the sky. “Cynthia wishes she could see you more, and this helps her feel like she’s at least doing something. She’ll love the pictures.”

“Then we have to take a lot,” Rhea grinned. “Umm… so, can I talk to you about something?”

“Lay it on me, Sunshine. Oh, I do like these nicknames Lori’s giving you.”

“Hehe, yeah… I don’t feel much like sunshine, though,” she whispered, swallowing and rubbing her left elbow. “I’ve been… having these thoughts and feels…”

Explaining all the trouble she’d been experiencing over the last few days, Dawn listened quietly, giving her full attention. When Rhea stopped, the woman was quiet for a short while, turning her focus to a pair of squawking Spearow as they argued with some Pidgey.

“From what Ash tells me, Amira was struggling for a time when you guys were in Cerulean, and it affected her all the way to Maiden’s Peak, but it was a compounding issue that has slowly been resolved. You aren’t the cause. In fact, you’ve helped her by improving her mood.”

“Really?” Rhea followed Dawn as she pushed off the rails to wander the side deck with more people waking up. “You and Ash told me my Aura has been interacting with my environment more, but the supernatural aspect is too erratic to pin down yet… I don’t want to draw up bad memories for Lori and her big sister, or something she hasn’t told us about Ghosts.

Dawn reached over to put her arm around her shoulder and pull her in. “Aww, always thinking about others. The danger is you delving into it. Have you?”

“No…”

“Then you’re fine! Hehe. If you’re feeling down, it will also transfer to others with your Aura.”

A small smile lifted Rhea’s mood. “So… that’s why you’re all pro festival?”

“No way. I’m pro festival because they’re fun! Hehe. I love the Sinnoh Cherrim blossom festivals, and this is like that but Kanto-style. I’m missing that up north right now, but you’ve got your own version of it here. What do you say? Want to spend the mornings studying, shopping, and battling while the evenings are reserved for festivals and fireworks?”

“Sounds wonderful… We do need to sign up for the Gym today, though.”

“Of course! No worries! We should be reaching the port in the next two to three hours. We have the whole day. Let’s explore!”

Rhea sighed when not two minutes later, the same team that lost to them four days in a row challenged them again. The young women were nice and cheery, though, which made their encounter a lot easier compared to the other sour groups that blamed ‘genetically enhanced Pokemon’ for being the reason they lost.

Sure. Fair enough. Her Pokemon were very talented and strong. But Sam’s group had managed to win against them in Bronze-tier a few weeks ago. So, Rhea didn’t fully buy it. If they prepared enough with their very public roster and the Moves they’d already shown, then her team wouldn’t have obliterated the Sinnoh Trainers. Mya and Nova were blowing off steam from her internal feelings, though.

Since it was only Rhea up on the deck, she did a single, asking them to wait for her Pokemon to get there. She felt the four following her scent via Nova’s sharp nose ten minutes ago as they circled the deck the long way to get to them.

The young woman cursed when Rhea sent Alice in to give her more experience; the Trainer had three Pokemon, and they were somewhat impressive, but still low Silver-tier. It made her laugh thinking about that when a few months ago they were in a life-and-death situation against a low Silver-tier Nidorino.

She had noticed these Sinnoh Trainers looked more at Dawn when challenging them than her. Dawn was a huge star, and more than likely the next Champion of their region, so it made sense. Plus, Rhea was the niece of their current Champion. They wanted to prove something, and the nice part was they had Potions and other items to heal all their Pokemon, despite the results.

Kimie sent out her female Luxio with Rivalry and Intimidate to try and counter Alice. Unfortunately, her bunny had been training almost every moment of every day since their Fairy Gym battle, not wanting to be left out of the challenges due to level again.

It was a good strategy, with Shock Wave able to counter Alice’s evasion, but it took too long to power up without support. Alice still took at least 45% damage to her energy matrix before shattering the Luxio’s.

Rhea didn’t want to embarrass her in front of Dawn, so she didn’t hold back and had Alice jump back to her side. They drew a crowd, and her teammates soon joined them, having heard about the battle from the excited youth running through the halls. Everyone loved a good free match, and people generally paid to see Silver-tier battles.

Her teammates hissed, nudging Kimie as Rhea sent out her next Pokemon before she selected hers; Nova sat down with a cute smile, but everyone knew how much of a terror the Eevee was. Between her Normal, Water, and Ice transformations, she could cover so many weaknesses. Rhea already knew her opponent’s two remaining Pokemon, though.

It doesn’t matter what it is. You know what to do, Nova. Monferno or Sudowoodo, she doesn’t have a chance.

Nova chirped, energy leaving Rhea’s body as a bright light turned her into a black and white Vaporeon. Kimie’s head drooped, and she waved her hand from across the deck to signal her forfeit; they were losing quite a bit of money and ranks in these challenges, but obviously, they didn’t care.

Some Bronze-tier competitors tried to keep the crowd going by announcing their own challenge to their ‘rivals,’ spirited on by their battle. Half of the crowd walked away, though.

Kimie already healed her Luxio and made her way over to talk to them. Maybe this final day would be the day they actually told them why they kept challenging her when all of their Pokemon could be countered now that she had a solid grasp on their lineup and tactics.

“Ugh… I really hoped Yarnie would be able to win with a few Shock Waves. Is it just me, or is Alice getting faster by the day?” Kimie asked, bending down to scratch her Electric Pokemon’s head. “Was there anything I could do to win?”

Dawn looked at her as her teammates chuckled.

“Uh… I know you don’t think your other Pokemon have a shot at touching Alice, but maybe you should have tried Tommy since he has Fighting Moves and can use the ship infrastructure to his advantage? He feels like he has better Stats than Alice, despite Alice’s breeding; she’s still young and hasn’t been in a ton of battles.”

Rhea posed it as a question, glancing at Dawn for confirmation. Dawn held her hands behind her back and gave a bright nod.

“You girls don’t give up! Rhea’s right, which shows you’ve been thinking about how they can counter you. Hehe. What would you do if they started doing that?”

“Mmm. My only option would be Nova as a Water-Type, but Tommy would still have the acrobatics advantage. Although, Nova is very good at swapping between Detect and Protect while using other Moves to block her opponent’s Moves. Alice can also try to stick in the fight with Foresight. My Pokemon just have a ton of options. Sorry.”

Amira lifted her eyebrow, the rising sun shining off Amber and her rose-tinted glasses. “Impressive, Rhea. You’ve been thinking lately. I have an idea. Anyway, now that the battle is over, want to take advantage of the free breakfast menu before we dock, and it’s taken away? Care to join us, ladies?”

Kimie and her team’s faces brightened.

“Absolutely!”

“Thanks for inviting us!”

Clearly, they’d been waiting the entire five days to be invited to have some personal time with them.

Lori snickered. “You’re always a cheapskate, Amira. You are the most tight-pursed woman I know!”

“Pfft.” Amira snorted, tilting her head to give the girl a look. “I wouldn’t have to be if my teammate wasn’t such a gambling addict and always borrowed money.”

“Oof. Okay. Fair. Fair. I’ll get you back the 8k credits today, though; you said there was a festival, which means…”

“Gambling,” Rhea finished with a sigh, shaking her head. “You really are an addict, Lori.”

“I keep telling her to seek help.” Amira sounded half-defeated. “I might just have to cut her off soon.”

“Woah! Woah! Heh. Let’s not do anything drastic!” Lori laughed. “I paid you two days ago…”

“And borrowed 8k the very next day because you lost everything you gained, including the winnings from the wins against their team. You’re hopeless!”

The other three girls and Dawn laughed.

They met Ash and the rest of their Pokemon in the cramped dining hall. Getting a chance to talk to Kimie more one-on-one, she learned the three had watched her match against Saria. They’d been blown away that Rhea succeeded where they’d failed.

The three thought it was because of Ash or Dawn’s training at first, then her overpowered Pokemon, but now believed she was strong all on her own. Rhea had to credit Amira for teaching her how to use Pokedex properly and Lori for buying them their subscriptions. It really upped their game and taught them all sorts of useful tips regarding each Pokemon.

Having a good time talking with the 25-year-old women, Rhea was surprised to learn the three had originally given up on reaching Gold-tier after losing most of their money in Sinnoh, bashing their heads against a wall on the Gyms.

They’d saved enough money doing their other jobs when the United Indigo Cup challenge was announced and decided to fly down to Kanto and try their luck here. It was much the same, and they were about to go home and rage quit after Misty, but a victory against Forrest brought them to try out Kanto’s newest Gym Leader. Once again, they were beginning to feel discouraged when they saw her match.

Kimie felt terrible upon remembering Alice still hadn’t had her energy matrix recovered and quickly brought out a potion. Rhea waved her hand in protest and said they’d be by a Center soon enough and to save it.

When they finished their food and the ship neared the dock, Rhea waved goodbye to the gang, adding them to her personal social media profile with limited view to the rest of her family; Lori showed her a few tricks to modify what they had access to.

Promising to follow their progress and offer her support, they parted ways below deck. Dawn didn’t want them to ruin the moment by viewing it on the deck and experiencing the city by walking down the docks.

Rhea moved Lulu on top of her head to feel tall and look around, but she soon teleported to Lori’s head since she was the tallest. Not long after, Terri was on Lori’s head and Lulu on Terri’s, making them laugh at the stacking Legendaries. Pikachu and Piplup followed their example, getting on Ash and Dawn’s head; the Penguin Pokemon even used the woman’s bun as a seat, making them snicker.

Looking to her left at the blonde Sinnoh girl she’d battled an hour before, Rhea smiled. I guess you never know who you inspire… I’ve been inspired by a lot of people. It seems we make more of a difference than we know. Why have I been so down? Maybe it’s just my fluctuating Aura or this cramped ship when I’m used to the open woods and roads now. Let’s have fun!

Her Pokemon chirped by her feet, Alice and Mya holding on to either of her hands.

“Pwe!”

“Mawile!”

“Pun-pun!”

The doors opened, and Rhea squinted, eyes going wide as she saw the shimmering petals of the Kelpsy trees weaving in the gentle ocean breeze. The sun showered the old Kanto-style buildings that resembled many of Johto’s architecture.

Exiting onto the dock, she saw more than 80% of the people wearing old kimono clothes or other traditional outfits. Classical music from their early days was played by street performers—koto, taiko, shakuhachi, hichiriki, biwa, and many other instruments—welcoming them to the city. Paper lanterns and other decorations filled the cobblestone streets.

She’d seen videos online, but nothing could prepare her for the scale, vibrance, and energy of the tradition-loving province. They’d entered Fuchsia City-State; the Gem Encrusted Soul Badge could be seen flying from flags with many other ninja clans and old nations she’d seen online: this was the soul of Kanto.