Instead of moving to the fire, Amira folded her arms, lips pulling to the side while eyeing her. “Well, yeah. My mom told me that Gyms are mainly there to act as an information hub if the region needs to conscript people for war. It also provides a training method for strengthening a region’s potential military force competitively and profitably. From a business perspective, it’s pretty ingenious since the region and city-states get to take a small percentage of each bet.”
The pieces slid into place so fast that Rhea couldn’t believe she was just learning about it now, but it made perfect sense. “I mean, isn’t the tax used for like … Centers and mitigating some of the medical prices and stuff, too?”
Amira chuckled, walking over to the fire to start adding the leaves and sticks; Amber had been so adamant about being useful that she’d started moving some in herself. “How much of the Indigo League and City-States’ budgets do you think goes to social programs?”
“I don’t know,” Rhea hummed, hanging her towel and drying off her damp skin. “Not a lot about the government was covered in my school … well, not a whole lot. I lived in the Indigo Provence forest, so we didn’t really cover much of the City-States of Johto or Kanto.”
“Humph,” Amira shook her head, situating a side area of branches to set a pot for cooking before Amber lit the fire with a puff of flames. “Viridian’s Tax System only makes up about 10% for social programs. Then you’ve got many other programs like Science, Transportation, Food and Agriculture, Energy and Environment, International Affairs, Housing and Community, Veterans’ Benefits, Education, and of course, the Military, which is like … 42% of the budget. Of course, there’s a lot in the Military budget, including paying the Ranger Union for support, but it’s big.”
“I had no idea,” Rhea mumbled, applying her own creams and deodorant. “I wasn’t really into all of that … umm, anyway, I was worried about my Pokemon scoring really high on the energy reading device thing … and we’d be super outclassed because you know … all my energy is available, but I can’t use it.”
Mya was assuring her again that it would be fine, but Rhea still wasn’t so sure. Nova woke up for a moment but tried going back to sleep with Mya’s prompts.
Amira got her bag out from her tent, taking out a collapsible pot, and going down to the stream to get some water to boil. “Hmm … I wouldn’t be too worried about that. I’m sure the Gyms are smart enough to know something’s up. Your family might have even talked to them about it.”
“Yeah, sure, the Gym Leaders,” Rhea replied, rubbing her left arm. “I mean, I’ve met most of them, and even some overseas, but it’s just … we’ll probably be facing their Gym Aides.”
“Mmh,” Amira gave her a lifted eyebrow, “I don’t know about you, but I want to get four Encrusted Badges to skip the preliminaries. It will mitigate a lot of stress in the long run if we can get them as a team.”
“Yeah, but … we only have like eighteen days to get to each Gym,” Rhea returned, walking over to grab her own bag for cooking supplies.
Amira nodded, sitting on the grass while watching the water, Amber curling up beside her. “Right … which is more than manageable, and weren’t you the one that wanted to make detours for Contests?”
“Well, I do … it’d be fun, I think, but … I’m just a bit concerned about how much time we have, after thinking about it.”
“It’s not like it’ll take eighteen days to get to each city,” Amira replied, poking the leaves and logs with a stick to stoke the fire. “Some might only take us five or six days. Saffron and Celadon aren’t that far from each other, and if we go down Cycling Road, then Fuchsia will be a breeze. Pallet, Pewter, Cerulean, and Vermilion are the biggest travel times, Cerulean to Vermilion being the longest.”
“Hmm,” Rhea scratched the back of her head. “So … you’ve already thought about the whole travel time issue?”
“… Here, you finish getting ready, and I’ll show you on the map.”
“Okay…”
Rhea quickly packed up what she could and got her food out before sitting beside Amira; the redhead was moving around the hologram of Kanto’s map, zooming out.
“We’re about half the way to Xanadu Nursery, right?”
“… Mhm…”
“We’ll reach the nursery by … I’d say 6 P.M. with our current pace, and there we’ll probably be challenged. That is what I’m worried about.”
Rhea was a little taken aback by the sudden shift in direction. “Why?”
“Because … I suspect there will be a group hoping to triple battle us, and you can’t have your Pokemon out yet, correct?”
“Right … that’ll only reduce my elo rating, though; if I refuse.”
“Our whole team will be reduced,” Amira sighed. “That rating will come into play later … I don’t know, maybe I’m just being an elite,” she mumbled, playing with her red hair slung over her shoulder, glare fixated on the Xanadu Nursery from her phone in front of her. “… I don’t like people … especially the News talking bad about me or my family.”
“Hmm…” Rhea studied Amira as she shifted with agitation. “I’m sorry, Amira…”
“For?”
“You’re in this whole mess … traveling off Route 1, avoiding Trainers, and hiding from the press … it’s all because of me.”
“… Well … it’s not that bad,” Amira mumbled, tossing her hair back to add her food pack that seemed to consist of a noodle dish. “I’m actually … no, it’s fine. Umm … anyway, if that happens, maybe I can just challenge them to a two on one or something … make them think they’ll get an easy win.”
Sitting cross-legged beside her, Rhea giggled. “Thanks, Amira … you’re so dependable.”
“… I have to be,” she whispered. “So…”
They paused as she heard rustling in Lori’s tent as she groaned, stretching out with a short yawn. It was 6:22 A.M. Sam, Hannah, and Jade was still passed out. Rhea felt a little bad for them; she didn’t expect the hike to be so demanding on the three. The Route 1 path was much more comfortable than hiking up the ridges; they were trying to hide how sore and tired they were last night.
“Looks like Lori’s up,” Rhea chuckled.
“Seems so … anyway, I thought we’d save my grandfather’s Gym for the last badge … I mean, you agree, right?”
“Yeah,” Rhea smirked, recalling the match, “umm … you aren’t planning on getting an Encrusted Badge from him, right?”
Amira’s somber attitude shifted with a delayed laugh. “You’re funny. No, he more or less told me that it would be a waste of time. No, not now, but … I do want to be the first to beat him … someday.”
“Ooh, got a plan?” Lori asked, getting out of her tent while stretching to the left and right.
“Not really,” Amira mumbled.
Lori and Gables plopped down by the fire, staring at the embers, but shortly after, Gables danced around and blended into the surroundings with Camouflage.
“Huh … the other still not up?” Lori frowned, checking her bun. “Guess it was pretty rough for them yesterday. Did you check their packs? Yeah, a bit heavier than mine, but not by that much.”
Rhea shook her head. “No, it’s probably the difference in our physical fortitude.”
“Huh,” Lori glanced between them before reaching over and poking Amira’s tone belly playfully. “Hehe, Amira certainly has us both beat in that department.”
“Hey,” Amira blushed, brushing her hand away. “I had a daily workout routine … my mom was really into hanging out with morning self-defense lessons.”
“Sounds nice,” Rhea whispered, feeling a little envious. “Umm, so what about the Badges?”
“Ah, to business!” Lori snickered, but her lips fell dramatically when studying their appearance and the drying towels by the river; the light around the forest was steadily increasing. “Ugh…”
Amira stirred her food around; it didn’t take long, and Rhea knew the meals weren’t terrible, but nothing to write home about.
The redhead nudged her head toward the fire. “Are you going to warm some water to wash off?”
“Oh, good idea!” Lori’s lips lifted.
Rhea motioned to her. “I can wait to eat; go ahead.”
Amira took her meal off soon after, allowing it to cool a bit. “Where did Gables go?”
“Oh, he’s checkin’ around for what happened to the other girls’ Pokemon. He didn’t like that they weren’t chillin’ nearby. Ya know what’s up?”
Amira shook her head. “No, but Sam, Hannah, and Jade are still in their tents, according to Amber.”
Mya expressed some concern, too, but mostly because she was mad they didn’t stay by her tent to protect her overnight.
“Hmm … think there was trouble?”
“Meh, can’t be anything serious, right?” Lori asked. “If Sam and the others didn’t wake up from their Pokemon sending a distress call, then it shouldn’t be anything that bad. So, you were talkin’ about … wait … huh…”
Rhea frowned as Lori got to her feet. “What?”
“Gables says there’s somethin’ up. C’mon…”
Amber ran to the left, seemingly knowing which direction the frog Pokemon had gone. Following them a few dozen meters into the foliage, Rhea was a little concerned upon seeing the three girls’ Pokemon pretty beat up. In fact, it seemed they were having a bit of trouble getting back to the camp.
Hector, Sam’s Pineco, had gotten Orin, Jade’s Pidgey, on his back, probably with Limru’s help. The whole scene was utterly puzzling; why they hadn’t woken up their Trainers was beyond her if they’d gone through a rough battle, but the more bizarre result was why they’d traveled so far away from the camp.
Amber and Gables were talking to Hector, Hannah’s Ledyba limping along beside him.
“What happened?” Rhea asked, bending down to lift up the Pineco and Pidgey. “Here, let’s get back to camp.”
Lori carried Limru. “Gables seems a bit conflicted about it … something probably happened that made them feel compelled to leave.”
“Humph … Amber feels like they should have woken us up for it … still, she doesn’t feel that mad at them,” Amira commented, following them back. “Here … I have a potion bottle we can use.”
“For real?” Rhea asked. “When did you get that?”
“Since the start … it’s really something you should have no matter what.”
Rhea felt a bit foolish for not having one; she could have ordered it when Ben went to pick up groceries or bought one at Pallet.
“Yeah,” Mallory sighed, lifting up Limru to check her out, “I tried to buy one in Pallet when I got there, and they were totally sold out.”
“Oh…” Well, there goes that. I guess it wouldn’t have helped if I did look for one.
“Let’s wake up the others,” Amira mumbled. “We need to get ready anyway.”
Rousing the three, they instantly realized something was wrong once waking. A mixture of confusion and worry filled the air as they fired off questions, but they didn’t get much. After a bit of interpreting done by their Pokemon, they discovered a swarm of Plusle and Minun had shown up during the night to pick a fight.
They didn’t want to wake their Trainers after how hard the day had been for them, and so they chose to accept the challenge on their own, taking it deeper into the woods. The three managed to work as a team to beat them off, but in the process, Orin and Limru were paralyzed, and they’d all taken a lot of damage.
It was a pretty brave story, but Rhea agreed that the three put everyone in danger by not waking them up when something showed up that they had a hard time contending with.
Amira pulled out a bottle, unsealing it to spray on the Pokemon. “You three know what this is?” She asked.
“Oh, I do, and thanks, Amira!” Jade piped up. “My older sister actually works by commission for the Rocket Item Division Branch in Pallet. She works in the berry fields.”
“Right,” Amira smiled a little, continuing to heal their Pokemon. “It’s possible using special equipment to extract more out of a berry and turn it into a more potent serum, depending on the process. Potions are the most diluted of the mix, and you don’t need to use all of it … just enough to get them to the point they feel better. How’s that?”
“Orin’s feeling a lot better. Thanks so much, Amira!”
“No problem … now for the rest of you.”
Rhea was a little shocked at how careful Amira was, fussing over their Pokemon. It was the most she’d opened up to her three friends throughout the whole trip, and she even used most of her Potion and Paralysis Heal bottles on them. Once finished, Hannah went down to the river with Sam to wash in the cold brook, but Jade preferred to go with Lori’s method of warming the water up.
They sat around the fire; Amber and Gables talked with the other three Pokemon to get more details on the fight.
Amira started up the conversation, picking up where they’d left off. “As I was saying, we’ll need to pick which Badges we should aim for so we can select our travel route. Personally, I’d want to get the most distant Badges first.”
Mallory hummed, using her slightly steaming water to wash off nearby, just taken off the fire. “… I’m like … an idiot when it comes to Kanto Badges. Lay it on me, Professor Rocket! What should we look out for? You said you want to go to your grandpa’s Gym last?”
Jade giggled, watching her water to make sure it didn’t get too hot. “Yeah … I’d rather not get blasted by the News articles and social media memes about going up against that monster.”
Rhea’s shaking stomach followed shortly after. “A bunch of memes are probably already hitting MemeStar; fifty-two foreign Trainers challenged Giovanni yesterday in his scheduled eight-hour battle bracket. Hehe, it was over in two.”
“Haha! I’ve gotta look up some of those,” Lori said, moving her bikini to clean her chest, and causing Rhea, Amira, and Jade to release an internal sigh at the clear advantage she had over them. “It’s probably like trying to take on High Master Drayden first in Unova.”
“… Something like that,” Amira mumbled, probably doing the same thing as Rhea, trying not to compare their bust sizes.
Rhea wasn’t all that far behind, but the purple-haired girl definitely had her beat; Mallory rode the edge of what was perhaps too big for her height and proportions.
Shaking her head, Amira continued, Lori seemingly not even noticing the slightly depressed expressions on each of their faces as she resituated the garment to move to her sizable and toned legs. “No, High Master Forrest has proven to be the most friendly beginner Gym Leader to attempt and should be our first Encrusted Badge.”
“Oh, so we’re gonna go for the four Encrusted Badge challenge, huh?” Lori mused, now drying off and applying her creams. “That’s good news for me since it’s a Rock-type Specialist Gym, but what about you? Rhea should be fine with either of her Pokemon, but uh … Fire isn’t great against Rock.”
“It won’t be easy, I’m sure, but with the low Move Pool, it’s my best bet currently since Cerulean Gym will be my real challenge. I see Forrest being beatable … High Master Misty … not an option. It’d be better for me to go against a Gym Aide.”
“Hmm … so, we’ll be going against different Gym Leaders for our Encrusted Badges?” Rhea asked.
Amira shrugged. “It doesn’t matter in the end, as long as we get four. The order we should take is fairly clear, though. Pewter, then Cerulean because of the Boulder Badge’s easier reputation, and the Cascade Badge because the city is so far out of the way from everywhere else important in the entire region. The next steps are a bit more tricky, though…”
“High Master Sabrina?” Rhea asked with a forced chuckle.
“High Master … she might as well be Grandmaster,” Amira mumbled, staring down at her cooling seasoned noodles. “The Saffron Gym has almost as bad of a reputation as my grandfather’s. No, the Marsh Badge will be a difficult one, even against the weaker Aides. There’s a reason people keep an eye on the Gym’s weekly battle schedule in hopes to catch one of the Aides with the lowest Battle Rating.”
“So, we save it for later?” Mallory asked, getting her own breakfast in the form of two protein bars and pulling out some Pokemon food. The others did the same, allowing their Pokemon to eat their fill.
Sam, Hannah, and Jade were silently listening, trying to hurry up with their morning preparations.
Amira nodded. “As long as we can while keeping an eye out for the Gym schedule. They post it on their website each week.”
“Oh, sweet,” Lori mumbled, playing with the complex App she had. “So … I can just program a notification to let us know when it’s posted … and which Aide has the lowest current elo … there we go! Once it goes off, then we just have to apply for the slot, right?”
“Handy,” Amira’s full lips lifted a little. “Yeah, that would make it a lot easier.”
“So … where do we go if no one with a low enough elo shows up when we’re goin’ by Saffron?” Rhea asked, scanning her own map. Sam and Hannah were eyeing it closeby.
“Hmm … that’s the question,” Amira growled. “Personally … I say we actually loop around. From Cerulean, we can go down Route 5, transfer to 29, and HopHopHop City. We cut south from Greylan Village, through Fennel Valley, and it’s a pretty easy journey from Sable City to Celadon City.”
“Isn’t that pretty rough trekking through the mountainous areas, though?” Mallory asked, following her explanation. “We could go to Saffron City through Amity Meadows and the Farmsteads, then take Route 7 to Sable City.”
“Umm … because Fennel Valley has rare Pokemon near the ruins that are moderately low level … we can catch our second Pokemon there, and it’ll probably be a good one. A lot of foreign Pokemon can wander out of the Sable National Park, too … you know, that one incident with the Utripis Group several years ago?”
Sam sucked in a sharp breath. “No way! I’ve never even heard of the place.”
“Utripis Group … yeah, I think I remember something about that,” Hannah mumbled.
Rhea’s brow furrowed while looking at the areas. “Wait … that part of the valley you’re pointing to says it’s Gold-tier restricted.”
Amira pushed her lips to the side, getting up to snatch her dress out of her tent. “Well … there is a path my dad showed me that is safe for Bronze-tier … where the weaker Pokemon gather. The Ranger Union just is very heavy-handed with their recommendation and restrictions since they’re somewhat liable if something goes wrong.”
“Makes sense,” Mallory nodded with a soft hum. “Oh, hey, you’re goin’ a bit bad girl on me, Amira; tryin’ ta sneak past the Rangers! What kind of Pokemon?”
“I’m … not completely sure,” Amira replied with a light blush, putting on her red dress. “Uh … Rhea, could you…”
“Yeah, I got ya,” Rhea chuckled, getting up to help zip up the back. “In fact, I should get my own clothes on. So … yeah, I’m cool with that, and then we take Celadon to Sunny City? Oh, and we can see the Gaiva Dam, along the way, too! It’d be fun to see Mossgreen Lake.”
“Huh … the Cycling Road to Fuchsia next? That’d make four Badges with our second Pokemon … yeah, I think that’ll be fun, and depending on how much time we have, we can check out the Kanto Safari Zone. Wait, what’s Laramie Land?”
“A big breeding center connected to the Safari Zone,” Rhea replied, getting dressed. “It’s one of the biggest in Kanto. Uh … maybe you two could catch your second Pokemon while going through Mt. Moon, though, and that could help you with Misty, Amira. I mean, it has all types of Pokemon that were pushed south after the war. I heard an Articuno guards the peak, too! That’d be awesome to see.”
Sam chuckled at that. “Eh … yeah, you guys are way out of our league … off to see a Legendary like no problem, and where did you hear that?”
“Uh,” Rhea forced a giggle while putting on her skirt, “well, my brother told me about it a month ago. Maybe she moved on to another location, but who knows.”
“Coo…” Mallory hummed thoughtfully. “We’ll see … huh, so, then we flip around to Vermilion, Amira?”
“We can,” Amira commented, starting to pack up her tent. “We could also save Vermilion for after Saffron so we can use the boat there to get to Cinnabar. If we haven’t booked our Saffron match, then we could head up to Lavender for a Ghost-type if any of you want one.”
“Eh … I don’t know,” Lory mumbled. “Ghosts are … kind of my sister’s thing; I’m cool with goin’, though.”
“Wow … this really is a big trip,” Rhea giggled. “I can’t wait!”
“Yeah, but we’ll have to book it to Saffron if we’ve only got a few days to make it there in time. Is it even possible with that distance if we had five days from Fuchsia?”
Amira chuckled. “Honestly, I really doubt it. No, I’m just saying it’s an option we can try, but it’s better to be on the move and getting Badges while we can instead of waiting forever for a low elo Aide to pop into the rotation.”
“Fair point,” Mallory nodded. “Yeah, I’m game. You, Rhea?”
“Sure!”
Hannah smiled at them, already dressed, and taking down her own tent. “We’ll be lucky to make it to each city by the Winter Cup if we travel by foot … I hate to say it, but … maybe once we get to the Xanadu Nursery, we should keep in contact through text, or PikaBook or something.”
Sam scratched her shoulder with a sad smile, unable to meet eye contact with Rhea. “Sorry, Rhea … we really want to join you guys, but … we just don’t have the energy, and I feel super guilty, and I know you don’t want that,” she mumbled, holding up her hands as Rhea’s brow creased with concern. “No, it’s not you guys … really…”
“Wow,” Jade snickered, nudging Sam. “What kind of sad break-up line was that?”
“Jade…”
“No, no,” the blue-haired girl laughed, hugging her. “She’s totally right, though, Rhea. We’re not gonna wimp out and take taxis, but we’re seriously holding you three back. Like … we all know it, and it’s not bad, right, Hannah?”
“Yeah,” Hannah smiled. “I think last night showed that … well, at least Limru and I aren’t ready for this route’s difficulty level, hehe, much less where you’ll be at Mount Moon.”
“Umm … are you sure?” Rhea asked, feeling a bit conflicted. She’d invited them, but it was true that they were having a challenging time even keeping up with them at a casual pace.
Sam nodded. “Definitely! Maybe we’ll call if we see you’re near us.”
“Okay, give me your PikaBook info … oh, and let’s take a picture! I’m sure all my family would love to see it.”
“Uh … I don’t know,” Hannah mumbled.
Sam and Jade gave her a questioning look.
“No PikaBook?” Sam asked.
“No, it’s just … uh, wouldn’t that mean that we could … you know, see your family members?”
Rhea giggled. “Oh, right, well … I think you three are pretty trustworthy! Plus, it’ll get out eventually, but … yeah, that’s fine. Come here, and let’s get a picture!”
The sun was shining through the trees as it hit 7:25 A.M. They connected with each other, Rhea sending them friend requests since her profile was under max security settings, unable to be seen by the public. Each of the girls increased their own security to help keep her secret.
All three girls’ faces drained of color when spotting who Rhea had on her friend’s list; Rhea just showed a sheepish smile as they linked the dots.
“Uh … this isn’t a joke, right?” Hannah asked, voice hoarse.
“How many Masters,” Jade paused, “no … Champions do you know? Wait … your mother is Christie … Christie Bliss?”
Rhea shrugged. “Uh, yeah … that’s my mom’s maiden name. My dad’s is Everhart, and umm, I’ve met … every Champion, I believe. I mean, Ethan and Blue aren’t my favorite people in the world … I’d try to avoid them when they came around. Ethan’s just so … cocky it’s infuriating, but … I mean, he is on the same level as my aunt, so … not much I can say other than he’s a Legendary-tier Trainer with an ego bigger than his 10-foot-tall Donphan. Trace is … forgettable, and my family doesn’t get along too well with Diantha lately.”
“Sad,” Mallory softly snickered with a wince, “but I mean … eh.”
The girls’ eyes grew the longer she ranted.
“Wallace can be a bit … overwhelming, but I suppose he’s not technically the Hoenn Champion, but occasionally stands in for Steven Stone when he’s off … wherever he goes, but I guess my aunt does the same thing with Dawn … she’s super cool, by the way; I like Dawn. Alola is in the process of deciding a Champion, and their Trainers are pretty cool. Professor Kukui is fun to be around, but he’s only a placeholder Champion until someone beats him … kind of like Alder was for Hilbert.
“Uh … Iris is awesome … Gramps raves about her on PikaBook all the time … I think he’s her biggest fan. She’s a super prodigy Dragon-type Trainer … Gramps.says she’s almost as strong as he was at his peak, which means she’s nearing Legendary-tier … probably why Hilbert’s trying to get in some training time with Ethan … of course, some newcomers named Nate and Rosa are climbing fast.”
“Oh, yeah, I like them,” Mallory grinned. “They keep on trying to beat my sister; get better every Biannual Cup, too. They enter Master-tier, win, challenge the Elite 4, hit my sister off the bat, fail, repeat. Three … times, now? One more,” she giggled, “then they don’t have to enter the Cup and can just go straight to the E4. Of course, they haven’t actually won a match yet, but they’re determined.”
“L-Legendary-tier?” Hannah asked, glancing at Amira. The redhead was playing with her phone, studying the map and routes with the Ranger recommendations.
Mallory giggled. “Basically slaps Champion-tier strong; it’s something talked about in the Master-tier circles. You’ve got Champion-tier, and then there are the Trainers that are basically a region themselves … Cynthia, Red, Blue, Ethan … I think Leon’s getting up there, too…”
“ Leon,” Rhea released a long sigh, rubbing her temple with a slow shake of her head. “Leon is just … uncomfortable?” She mumbled in an unsure tone. “I’ve only met him six times, but he has a way of being a complete idiot and somehow somewhat cool too … seriously, though, he can be … painful to be around sometimes, and every time he tries to challenge my aunt,” she groaned. “He’s strong, but not Legendary-tier … yet. Undefeated in Galar, and even beat Lance when he decided to test him … gotta give him props for that.”
Hannah cleared her throat, tapping on her aunt’s profile. “Insane … so … wait, your aunt … as in Cynthia Bliss … Active Champion Cynthia Bliss … daughter of … your grandparents are Drake Bliss and Glacia Bliss … granddaughter of Professor Carolina Bliss?”
“My family … yup,” Rhea replied, holding her arm across her stomach with embarrassment.
Sam’s phone stopped over Bianca’s smiling face. “And your cousin…”
“Married to one of Unova’s Former Champions, Hilbert.”
“You know Former Champion Hilda, too?” Sam whispered. “She’s so cool …Arceus … I can see some of their posts with you as a friend. Oh! Not that I’ll actually try to say anything to them!”
Rhea winced. “I mean, yeah, that’s fine, but Hilda is … uh, a little too … intense when it comes to gatherings, but … maybe I met her at the wrong time. I was thirteen … Hilbert and her have a, eh … very heated rivalry. Otherwise, yeah, she’s chill to hang around … I guess.”
“Muk…” The three girls mirrored each other while sliding through all the renowned Trainers linked to her profile.
Once everything settled down, they had a cold breakfast of protein bars, and Rhea decided to do the same. Packing everything up, the two groups brushed their teeth, using the brook water to wash their mouths. The remaining wet towels were dried out by Amber and doing a final clean-up of the campsite, they followed Amira down her selected path.
The journey that followed wasn’t as bad as the previous day, and Rhea felt almost entirely normal, but she’d made a promise to wait until Viridian to keep her Pokemon in their pokeballs.
Pallet River rushed through part of their path, and Rhea was a little surprised they hadn’t crossed it before. After checking her map, she found that it looped back, but Amira guided them to a sturdy wooden bridge constructed over the 50-meter wide waterway.
Rhea took pictures of a few Pokemon she hadn’t seen in the wild near her small part of the world, casually responding to posts on other profiles when the path grew easier.
Bianca took a picture next to her latest dessert creation, an Alolan Coconut Angel Cake; she looked so cute and proud of her accomplishment.
A dubious smile brightened her lips when seeing Sabin and Katelin together at a fancy restaurant; her brother was all dressed up and looked surprisingly comfortable. The next photo showed the Pokemon booth nearby with their main teams. According to the post, they were getting ready to take on Forrest for the Encrusted Platinum Boulder Badge.
Posting that they’d be doing the same in several days, Katelin responded within a minute.
Katelin: Yo! Hey, we’ll stick around there for a while; Sabin owes me a date hiking up Mt. Moon! Hehe, what’s it say when your girlfriend can out-eat you?
Jason: O_o what Sis? Are you calling yourself fat or a glutton?
Katelin: Wait … that didn’t come out right. Jason! Bro … don’t do your Sis like that!
Jason: Aye, I’m just asking what you’re saying?
Rhea: Yeah … what are you saying, Kate?
Katelin: Uh… yeah, your brother has a small appetite…
Rhea: Hmm … maybe the problem is low credits?
Katelin: … He didn’t say anything about that.
Jason: ‘Cause he’s the man! Yo, but seriously, you guys should wait to do your matches! I totally wanna see you go at it live! Rhea, you with me? Let’s double team this!
Rhea: Yeah! No match unless we’re there or we riot!
Katelin: Hehe, how are y’all gonna catch me on those slow legs when I take to the skies?
Jason: Savage!
Rhea: Oof … hey, we got our ways!
Jason: Yeah! (What ways, Rhea? O_o)
Rhea: She’ll see ( #｀︿´# )Ψ oh, she’ll see!
Katelin: Okay … I’m a little curious, but all jokes aside … yeah, I got y’all! We’ll see ya in Pewter!
Great Grandma Carolina: (✪‿✪)ノ My lil’ Rhea!
Rhea: Hey, Granny! How’s Sinnoh?
Great Grandma Carolina: Same ol’, same ol’. So, your mother told me what’s happening. (ー∀ー；) Uh … so, how are you feeling?
Rhea: So much better! Nova, Mya, and I are being good girls, though, and we’re waiting for Viridian.
Great Grandma Carolina: Oh, that makes me feel a lot better.
Rhea: Alright, well, I should probably get back to talking with my friends.
Great Grandma Carolina: Oki! (✪‿✪)ノ Bye, bye!
Katelin: I LOVE your Granny, Rhea! She’s SOOOO CUTE! TTYL!!
Jason: YOO, Rhea, we’re in Viridian right now … if you saw my posts. >.> Comment more … make me feel bad, girl! Uh, yeah, so hurry your butt up and catch up!
Rhea: I’m coming! I’ll be there tomorrow.
Jason: Aww … we’re bouncing to Dark City. Took like an HOUR to explain to Lucian why we don’t face Giovanni first >.> an HOUR for something SOO basic … sigh…
Mallory: Yo, how’s my home boi doin’?
Jason: YOOO, Mallory, sup! Yeah, he’s chill … uh, yeah, we’re havin’ a bit of trouble connecting with each other’s profiles … we’ll get it ironed out soon.
Mallory: I know =P he’s keepin’ me up to date. TROLL DOUT!
Jason: Ehhhh?!?!
Great Grandma Carolina: Troll … what’s a dout? Typo? What is dis? Dis is correct, right?
Katelin: SO CUTE! <3 Oh, saw your new friends, too, Rhea! I’m dying of a sugar overdose here!
Great Grandma Carolina: Oh my goodness!! Is that a heart?!
Great Grandma Carolina: <3 <3 <3 <3 I LOVE IT! Super sugar overdose!
Grandpa Drake: SWWAABLLUUU!!!
Great Grandma Carolina: Too late, dear.
Grandpa Drake: NOOOO!!!!
Rhea giggled, turning off her phone. Amira was on the money; they made it to Xanadu Nursery, and sure enough, there was a crowd gathered with many more on Route 1, traveling to and from Pallet. Amira’s fists tightened, glaring at the waiting throng past her rose-tinted teashade glasses.
Here we go … who’s gonna challenge us?
SME’s Request:
I hope you’ve been enjoying the free entertainment! The internet is divided into different echo-chambers; you have a specific group that only hovers around specific sites/content. So, by recommending my serials to others, you give it more exposure to different echo-chambers and help it grow. Ratings are excellent, Trending is terrific, but it only will appeal to a specific echo-chamber. If you like my content, then please share it in your own unique way.
Thank you! ^_^7
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5 Chapters ahead in A Tail’s Misfortune.
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