POV: Rhea Everhart (our 17-year-old protagonist about to start her Bronze-tier journey)
Recap: We learned about the Legendary-tier Trainers, Blue and Cynthia (Rhea’s aunt) … Blue’s … troubling past with Rhea, involving her important eighth birthday.
Blue’s life hasn’t been sunshine and rainbows. He developed a drinking problem, has trouble with his marriage (his wife Leaf), and troubled by the losses he’s suffered through war.
We learned just how powerful Legendary-tier Trainers Pokémon can be with Lila, Cynthia’s Spiritomb as she faced Franky, our resident Gengar (Rhea’s Dad’s Starter). The pressure released by powerful Pokémon can have harmful effects on humans and Pokémon alike.
Rhea received her first Pokémon with a touching letter from her mother, and we discovered one of her Pokémon would be an Eevee with the second being used as a bet, seeing who could guess its Type. Rhea chose Fairy.
Now, Sabin and Catelin (her brother’s girlfriend) are looking to have a battle. How are Pokémon battles in this world?
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Rhea carefully placed the egg containers on her desk, setting the items that came with it beside the metallic cylinders.
Returning downstairs, she smiled while catching sight of a grumpy Gengar on the armchair her dad had used, ears back with his typically wide smile a small downturned pout.
Sabin and Katelin were still sitting next to each other, debating on what kind of battle.
“Mmh… you want to make it a Blind Battle, huh?” Katelin asked with a small smile.
“Those are the best kind,” Sabin snickered. “What do you say, Singles or Doubles?”
Katelin sucked on her lower lip for a moment, folding her arms under her chest and leaning back to study the six pokéballs on her belt.
Rhea stopped at the foot of the stairs, holding her left arm across her front while smiling at Katelin. “Oh? I remember the last fight; didn’t Sabin’s Kangaskhan beat your Roserade?”
Her brother’s girlfriend hummed, eyes narrowing while lifting to her. “Yeah, well, it was a bad day for Noral… and I don’t have him with me.”
“Oof,” Sabin breathed in sharply as Rhea giggled.
Katelin’s brow furrowed, glancing between them. “What… oh, you sneaky girl!” She smiled and glared at her. “Now Sabin knows I don’t have him with me.”
Rhea shrugged weakly, looking away. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Oh, were you two going to have a Blind Battle?”
“Nice, Sis!” Sabin winked, getting to his feet with a light grunt. “What do you say, Kate? You were all up for it a moment ago. Not backin’ down now, right?”
Katelin’s cheeks puffed out, standing with a sigh. “Fine, fine, but… oh, why don’t we tell my mom!”
Oh, she’s fighting back!
Sabin’s smile instantly fell. “Eh… do we have to?”
“C’mon!” Rhea jumped in, liking the direction. “I’m up for an hour-long photo session. I dressed up and everything!”
A toothy grin lifted Katelin’s lips as she nudged Sabin. “Yeah, it’s the day before your sister’s journey! We should take some good pictures for her to have on her journey.”
Sabin put his hands on his hips, glancing between them, both on the same wavelength. “… You two… you know you can just call and talk to me anytime. Photos are so out of date.”
“Hmm?” Katelin’s left eye narrowed challengingly. “When you don’t pick up for three days, how else am I supposed to stare into those pretty blue eyes?”
“Three days,” Sabin chuckled, “when did…”
“Try a week!” Rhea huffed, folding her arms.
Sabin took a step back, his smile twitching. “C’mon, Rhea, I was on Mt. Silver! You know there’s no reception up there.”
“Proving our point!” Katelin grinned triumphantly. “Now, let’s get everything set up for me to stomp you into the ground! I’ll see you out on the second battlefield in ten.”
Before Sabin could respond, she stepped forward and kissed him, pulling away with a wink before heading out.
Rhea averted her eyes for a moment, trying not to blush over feeling jealous at the attention Katelin got from her brother. She knew it wasn’t the same, but still; Kate could shut down her brother with ease. However, she couldn’t help but smile as Kate gave her a thumbs up and a giggle while passing by.
Right, this is a double victory!
“Aww, Kate, that’s not fair,” Sabin mumbled, watching her blue ponytail disappear behind the closing front door. “Gah… guess I’ll need to change into something else.”
“No, you don’t,” Rhea countered, walking forward to eye her brother. “That outfit suits you!”
“Hehe, while you girls need a new outfit for every photo?” Sabin asked with a lifted eyebrow.
Rhea’s cheeks puffed out. “It’s more complicated than that.”
“Oh, right, right… didn’t want to offend the presentation ceremony of picture taking,” he said with a grin.
“Better not!” she teased, looping her hand around his arm. “Okay, let’s go.”
Sabin let her pull him along with a forced smile. “Let’s hope this one doesn’t last an hour… how many pictures is that to sort through? How does a Master Trainer have that much time?” he asked, ruefully shaking his head.
They both waved at Franky before leaving the front room, but he didn’t seem to be in the mood to return the gesture or even notice they were there.
“Oof,” Rhea winced as they shut the front door, walking through the forest village to one of the cleared out training areas. “I haven’t seen Franky like that in a while.”
“Yeah, Pokémon near the top tend to take losses a lot harder than most,” Sabin commented.
“Dad said he’s been training pretty intently on his own, right? I have seen him a lot less… oh, how long has it been… five months? He’s been going off with Kyle’s Gliscor, Jasmine’s Scizor… she’s been stopping by lately,” she noticed with his questioning gaze, “and I think Tod’s Shuckle.”
“Even Tod’s Shuckle? Huh… must just be to watch,” Sabin muttered, glancing around at the forest.
Rhea noticed the damage, too. Leaves, sticks, and medium-sized branches had been blown off trees as if a heavy windstorm recently passed. “I hope he doesn’t expect us to clean up all this mess,” she mumbled.
“Naw,” Sabin said with a light laugh. “Dad’ll make sure he cleans things up, but you saw how Aunt Cynthia reacted to Dad’s question?”
“Ignoring it?” Rhea giggled. “She’s such a troll.”
“Well, yes, she is,” Sabin smiled, “but not that part. Personally, I think Auntie was trying to show Franky how hard he’s worked.”
Rhea lifted an eyebrow. “Eh… how so? From the sounds of it, she just showed how strong Lila is.”
“True… but how many people do you think have ever seen Aunt Cynthia’s Syncro-Burst?”
“Not many.”
“Yeah, not many. For Aunt Cynthia and her Pokémon, that’s the kind of burst evolution you use when dealing with someone like Red or Blue-level opponents. Lila can handle most any Grandmaster’s Mega Evolution without our aunt’s help; in fact, it’d be fun for her. The fact she used it against Dad and Franky shows how much they’ve grown.”
“Okay… then why did Dad ask her that question about not using that other Move?”
“What, Imprison?” Sabin asked with a dark chuckle. “Yo, Rhea, you’ll learn a lot about different Moves and how they’re used on your journey… with everything else they teach you in school, Moves are barely touched on.
“Personally, I think it’s kind of backward… Why do you focus more on learning Pokémon Natures, IVs, and EVs than Moves is beyond me. It’s not like you can change the raw talents a Pokémon is born with, so why go so deep into IVs, ya know?”
“To better understand your Pokémon,” Rhea defended with a frown. “Not everyone battles with Pokémon. Battle tactics and stuff are only lightly touched on because not everyone will be a Trainer, but everyone will have Pokémon at some point.”
“Still,” Sabin shook his head, “understanding what a Pokémon can do and how Moves combine to… nevermind, maybe I’m just thinking too much like a Trainer. The Battle Contest and Battle League have often tried pushing for more Move instruction in schools; it’s an old argument.”
“Politics,” Rhea chuckled.
“Eh… it doesn’t seem political to me, but I guess everyone has their own views,” Sabin sighed. “I just wish I knew more before starting my journey.”
“Mmh,” Rhea smirked. “Yeah, but how far would you have gotten if you didn’t learn all that wilderness survival stuff in school? Pokémon training is important, but you gotta be alive to train. Plus, how many people actually have hundreds of Pokémon besides Master Trainers? Most people only need to learn a tiny pool of Moves for the few partners they have.”
“I guess… but still, you’ve never heard of Imprison?”
Rhea shook her head but paused after a moment. “No… eh, maybe? I mean, we had a light course on important Moves back when I was like eleven, but you can’t expect me to remember something that far back! I doubt other schools even go that far, right?”
“Right… well, just remember, if a Pokémon uses Imprison on your Pokémon, then just call it.”
“Why?”
Sabin ran his free hand through his light brown hair. “Imprison is only learned by a small percentage of Pokémon… a Psychic-type Status Move that places a seal on a Pokémon that locks them out of any Move the sealing Pokémon knows.
“It’s not like Pokémon only learn four Moves, some can use hundreds, and you must train them to know how they’re to be used. A Trainer shouting out Moves is extremely inefficient, and televising your Pokémon’s actions is a good way to lose; even the personal connection you share can be too slow. Pokémon battles are mostly won outside of battles; you know the human boxing competitions?
“Eh… no, what’s boxing?” Rhea asked with a lifted eyebrow.
Sabin waved his hand dismissively. “It’s a niche thing… humans fighting humans with their hands.”
Rhea found it hard to imagine her brother and Jason on a battlefield, throwing punches or kicks like a Hitmonchan or Hitmonlee. “Weird… I get people punching or fighting each other when mad, but in a ring?”
“Yeah, it’s not the most popular thing… more of a Fighting-type Trainer’s hobby sport. It’s bigger in rural areas. Anyways…”
“Imprison?” Rhea giggled, bringing the exciting topic back. “So, basically, it’s a super-powerful Move that can shut down a ton of strategies you planned with your teams?”
“For the most part, yes,” Sabin replied, rubbing his left arm. “I mean, if you’re smart, then you’ll train for that possibility, but in a Single’s Match, it’s nearly impossible to win, and if they outclass you to start, then it’s just not worth the possible damage. Best to call it, pay the bet, and train with your extra time not visiting a Pokémon Center… you better expect to make a trip if you’re fighting an Imprison match.
“That leads us to Protect; if you know a Pokémon possibly has Imprison, you have to save your Protect at all costs for that play. Imprison is a close-range attack and must land on your Pokémon, giving you a good chance at a counter play if you can swing it.
“Protect is just such an essential Move that you should expect almost any Trainer you meet to have it. If that’s sealed, plus many staple TM defensive Moves, then it’s just grim.” He glanced down at her with an impish grin. “You can’t tell me you don’t know what Protect is?”
“Of course I do,” Rhea huffed, “it’s for defending against attacks.”
She glanced around the area, looking for any new type of Pokémon that might be hovering close to the town. Since the small hidden village held such powerful Pokémon, their radiant energy scared away most of the evolved wild Pokémon, making many of the pre-evolved Pokémon gather around the area since it was safe.
Rhea saw sleeping Hoothoot, Pineco, Wurmple, Spinarak, and Ledyba sprinkled throughout the trees; there were plenty of berries and other food. Scattered along the ground ran Bidoof, Buizel, Zigzagoon, Rattata, and both genders of Nidoran.
Sabin sighed. “Protect can be used for a lot more than just defending against attacks.”
“I know,” Rhea mumbled, “you know I’ve seen a bunch of battles. All the Masters recommend getting Protect for your first TM. Dad said he and Franky had to use it to stop that stupid powerful Dark Pulse.”
“…Right,” Sabin sighed, eyes scanning the forest. “Do you think any of these Pokémon could use Protect and survive that attack?”
Rhea’s lips tightened.
I didn’t think this would turn into a quiz.
“Uh… Protect defends against most attacks.”
“Not damage-dealing Z-Moves, Max Moves, and more than two dozen other Moves. There’s also a power difference that must be taken into account. A Pokémon and Trainer can synchronize their spiritual, physical, and mental Allocations of Fortitude, but that combined number needs to be at a certain level to defend against an attack.”
Rhea slowed as they made it to the field; they were the first to arrive. “Wait… so Protect can fail?”
“It often does if a Pokémon doesn’t know how to control their Moves. Moves that are learned by TMs must be practiced to master, and Protect is usually a TM-based skill. It will get weaker the more you use it consecutively, too, and if the Pokémon fires an extremely powerful Move, like Lila’s Dark Pulse… if Franky was at the level he was a year ago, that could have killed both Dad and Franky.”
A lump dropped down Rhea’s throat. “Wait… you’re not joking?”
“No, why do you think Blue acted the way he did? He may have gone through a rough patch a few years ago, but he’s still one of the few Trainers in the world that can match up to Aunt Cynthia.”
He brushed back his button-up shirt to select one of his Pokémon; he activated the Great-type pokéball before tossing it up and down in his right hand with a soft frown.
“Mom said it in her letter; the moment the world finds out who you’re related to, then things will change a lot for you. Why do you think I get so much news coverage? It’s not because I’m just that good… well,” he smirked, “I am good, but not as good as they make me out to be.”
“News coverage,” Rhea huffed, “I rarely see you actually on the news.”
“They go over my fights that are televised, though, and compare other Trainers to me, right?”
Rhea rolled her eyes. “Yeah, yeah, okay, but it’s not like they’re that far off; you’re a Platinum-tier Trainer for a reason… also, it’s nice to see you on the web when I can,” she mumbled, glancing away. “I rarely get to see you anymore.”
“Heh, I guess you’re right,” he said with a light shove, making Rhea’s eyes widen while hopping to the left on one foot.
“Hey!” She smiled, throwing her weight back to only make him take a single step to the side. “Really, though! For how often they talk about you, it’s shocking how little footage there is. I’d like to see more battles, but you always ask Gyms to keep them private!”
“Aww, c’mon,” Sabin looked away with a frown, holding his hands behind his neck while pressing the pokéball against his skin. “You know the reason for that. Giving people the chance to look at your tactics and battle-style is a big disadvantage.”
“The Gym Leaders do it!” Rhea shot back.
“Gym Leaders are High Masters, minimum… those guys aren’t normal,” he mumbled. “Anyways,” his smile flashed as he stepped away to smile at her, pulling out an Ultra-type pokéball. “You choose, which Pokémon should I fight Kate with?”
“You’re asking me?” Rhea huffed, glancing between them with narrowed eyes. “No, wait, are you testing me?”
“Hmm?” He tossed the bonding devices in the air, alternating them up and down.
Rhea glared at him for a moment before saying, “Well… normally, your Great-type pokéballs have more training and experience, but I think you’ve been swapping them to Ultra Balls recently since you’ve gotten more money… give them here.”
She sighed as Sabin gladly handed the two active pokéballs to her, and she frowned while closing her eyes. “Mmh… I can tell the left is stronger… but only by a little if we’re talking raw power.”
The world opened up again as she double-checked, which was in her hands. “Huh… the Ultra Ball has a stronger Pokémon, but the Great-type would probably be more experienced, unless… this is a trick question!”
She could feel the tingling pressure both Pokémon released, pressing against her hands. This had been a game she’d played with her father and brother for a while, and she’d gradually gotten sharper and sharper, but two problems started tripping her up.
If the Pokémon was too weak, then it was hard for her to accurately tell the difference since she was so accustomed to her family’s powerful Pokémon, and the other issue came from the balance that she had to calculate when her brother or father’s own energy was added to their Pokémon.
The amount of energy a Trainer could give their Pokémon varied depending on the bond they shared. A wild Pokémon could be extremely strong and even outclass a Trainer’s Pokémon’s base strength, but a Trainer’s added boost could tip the scales.
One of the many reasons becoming a successful Trainer was so difficult was because of this phenomenon. Only those Trainers that could sync with their Pokémon made it, and the pinnacle of those max synchronizations came with the powerful temporary evolutions.
“What do you mean?” Sabin asked with a cracking smile.
“…”
Rhea brought the containers closer to examine each, and a smirk brightened her glossed lips as she followed the aura each released.
“So, uh, which one?” Sabin pushed.
“Shh… I wanna take my time… I might have changed my mind… the left might have more raw power on its own, but you’re better synchronized with the Pokémon in the Great-type pokéball! Humph, trying to trick me,” she grinned triumphantly while tossing both back and brushing her bangs out of the way.
Sabin popped his tongue. “Took you a bit longer than normal. Hmm, losing your touch, Sis?”
“Tch, geez, you just toss some Pokémon at me and expect me to know how strong they are at a glance?”
He shrugged with a soft smile. “It’ll help you a lot on your journey. It’s harder to tell how strong a Pokémon is inside of a pokéball than when they’re standing in front of you. I’ve met my fair share of Pokémon I had to run from.”
“Liar,” Rhea replied with a confident smirk. “You…” she trailed off as a gust blew across the field, catching her dress; she reflexively pressed down on it before it could gain traction, but Sabin cut in with her short break.
“There are some super-powerful Pokémon out there, and sometimes, there’s nothing you can do but retreat. You know the mortality rate of Trainers?”
“Only like .2%,” Rhea replied with a dismissive shrug. “Other professions are more dangerous.”
“Eh… the Bronze-tier Trainers?”
“Well, yeah,” Rhea replied, taming her hair with the increasing Gusts while watching a few Pidgey and Spearow chase each other, deciding who would claim a specific tree as a nesting spot.
“Right,” Sabin muttered with a sad shake of his head. “It only increases the higher you go. What’s Mt. Silver’s difficulty level?”
“Master. That’s easy,” Rhea scoffed. “The Rangers make sure specific listed areas are kept restricted to anyone that doesn’t have the proper credentials.”
“What if I told you Mt. Silver’s yearly mortality rate is 20%?”
Rhea’s eyes widened. “Huh?”
“One out of every five Trainers that went to Mt. Silver died last year, and most of the time, if a Trainer dies, their Pokémon do, as well. That doesn’t even mean they made it into the mountain’s caves either.
“I got permission to trek the outer edges of Mt. Silver, where the weakest Pokémon are, and they were terrifying. I went there and was forced to run away from lots of Pokémon, and I was with a Rank Seven Ranger. To put that in perspective, there are only 2,434 Rank Seven Rangers in the world, and they’re normally assigned to dangerous areas, but even he was having a difficult time calming those Pokémon.”
“I mean, I know there’s a Top Operator and Top Ranger that manage Mt. Silver, but I didn’t think it was that dangerous… 20%?”
“Yup, and that’s Master-tier Trainers and Level Eight Rangers, not counting any other deaths. After the Pokévirus and Gigavirus swept the world,” he whispered with a shake of his head, “every wild Pokémon that reaches its max evolution grows… and they grow so fast, now, that it’s hard to manage, plus the increased strength from the Gigavirus.”
“Mhm,” Rhea’s head dropped. “One of the things that came through the Ultra Wormholes during the Ultra War eight years ago… it made a lot of Pokémon hurt their own Trainers, too, right? I saw it on some old news feeds.”
He motioned her to the shade at the foot of a nearby tree, and they sat down. “Yup… it’s why Franky’s a bit bigger now than some of the old photos Dad has of him. The Gigavirus somehow gave Pokémon a lot more energy, increasing their size, while the Pokévirus increased their growth rate, and none of the Regions could prevent it from spreading.
“Wild Pokémon grew more aggressive, attacking towns that lived peacefully with Pokémon, and they were forced to take more drastic means to survive.”
Rhea smoothed out her dress, playing with her shoes. “Yeah, which is why we didn’t see much of a change around here when we were kids… other than more people being gone than usual, but… that was during the Ultra War when almost everyone was gone. Franky, Koral, and Benny were way stronger than any of the Pokémon in the forest, so none of the wild Pokémon wanted to start something.”
“Yup,” he nudged her a little, causing her to look at him. “That wasn’t always the case, you know? Has Dad told you about when they were first starting the village?”
“No!” Rhea’s eyes widened. “What happened?”
“There were quite a few wild Pokémon that felt like they ruled this area… one of those was Jeffery.”
“Jeffery? No, really… Dad’s Fearow was the big shot here, and Dad battled him and caught him?”
“No, not at first,” Sabin chuckled. “Actually, there were three bigshots in the area when they first came. Jeffery was the weakest one, an upcoming contender for the established bosses. The other two were a pretty smart and wild Primeape and a Gray-flamed Rapidash.”
“Ooh, pretty,” Rhea smiled, nestling next to her brother as he told the story. “Gray… Shiny are really rare… wait, you mean Persephanii, Janice’s Rapidash?”
“That’s right!”
“Wow… she never told us that.”
“Well, they were Master-tier Trainers back then. Persephanii wasn’t that aggressive at first, but once she realized Dad, Janice, and Ben weren’t going to just pass through, she tried to basically burn down the whole forest!”
Rhea smirked, glancing to the left as she caught Katelin and Jason walking toward them with bright expressions. “Yeah, sounds like her. She burned my hand once because I got a question wrong…”
“She did the same to me,” Sabin chuckled, waving at his girlfriend, fist held tightly around one of the two balls in his hand. “Oh, by the way, you didn’t choose which Pokémon gets to fight.” He said with a sharp grin.
“Oh, easy, the weaker of the two.”
“Huh… I see how it is,” Sabin muttered, trying hard not to wince. “Okay, well, we’ll see how this battle goes. I’m pretty sure I know what Kate’ll choose.”
With Jason and Katelin still out of earshot, if whispering, she leaned in, shoulder pressing against his arm. “Bet! Which one?”
“Ugh,” Sabin’s lips drew in, “bet what?”
“Dinner goes to your Pokémon, whoever wins!”
“Mmh, okay, okay… I mean, it is you who’s cooking, right?” he asked with a counter grin.
“Eh?! Hey, what does…”
“She’ll definitely go with Fabio. Kate’s feeling some pressure to win with her brother and mom watching.”
“Aye, what was that about my cooking?” Rhea huffed, completely thrown-off from the original topic. “I’ll have you know, Bianca, and I have been doing a lot of chats during her cooking crucible!”
Sabin sucked in his lips. “Oof… RIP, Hilbert, you were a legend!”
“Hey!”
“What’s up with Champion Hilbert?” Katelin asked, bright, innocent eyes glancing questioningly between them as Rhea glared at her older brother’s forced chuckle.
“Nothing, nothing,” he waved.
“Bianca’s been trying really hard!”
“Ah, cooking?” Jason asked. “Yeah, last time I was over, wasn’t she trying that Frosted Ribbon Loaf… was that the name? Anyways, how’d it turn out?”
Rhea’s jaw snapped shut, remembering the expression on her cousin’s face after trying it and crying into a throw-pillow.
Katelin and Sabin lifted a questioning eyebrow at her silence.
“…Look, it’s just hard finding certain substitutes for ingredients in such a remote part of Unova when trying overseas recipes.”
“Ouch… that bad?” Katelin asked with a pained look.
“Yeah, but she’s getting better, right, Rhea?” Jason asked. “I mean, I loved that one… what was it called, Jellied Tomato Refresher…” he mumbled, trying to connect the words. “Uh, yeah, that was a pretty decent one that you made with her through the call… a little strange, but it worked. Your cousin made it, too, right?”
“Yeah, Rhea,” Sabin smiled, “how was it over in Unova?”
“Hilbert said it was good,” Rhea defended.
“Mhm, yup, I’m sure he did!” Sabin nodded with a chuckle. “Wait, wasn’t that around the time he got a little sick? Hmm… he ate a strange, super thick, tomato… if you call it a drink, a drink, with some strange jelly… then gets sick…”
“You don’t know that,” Rhea huffed. “Bianca’s in a remote area, too, so they don’t have everything you need to make unique dishes.”
“But she keeps trying!” Katelin cheered. “Good on her; she’ll find something that’ll work, and who knows, maybe she’ll create a new recipe all her own.”
“Yeah,” Rhea nodded, feeling oddly in sync with the girl fighting for her brother’s attention.
Katelin gets it, but all Sabin sees is Bianca as a horrible cook! She’s made some good stuff, too…
“Remember her Alolan cha siu bao when she came over a while ago?”
“Eh,” Sabin nodded, “okay, yeah, that was pretty good once she had proper ingredients. Umm,” his eyes darted to his girlfriend, “has Ben stocked everyone up this week?”
“Uh… yup, I had him bring back a few things yesterday when he went on the weekly Viridian run.”
Sabin chuckled.
“Hmm?”
All three of them had a questioning look.
“Oh, I’m just thinking about my cousin… how Bianca became a Master Trainer without a single flying Pokémon is beyond me. If she had one, then she could fly out to get food, no, she could go out and catch one, but nope… maybe I should bring that up to Hilbert,” he mused.
Rhea’s cheeks bunched as she slapped his arm. “Geez, stop picking on Bianca!”
“No, no, I’m serious,” Sabin laughed, backing up defensively. “It’d really help her out, wouldn’t it?”
“Yeah, but… you don’t have to say it like that,” Rhea grumbled, thinking about all the times she’d cooked with Bianca through a call and all the times she’d feel like an utter failure when Rhea’s food would come out perfect with the proper ingredients.
The Gigavirus increasing Pokémon aggression only aggravated the issue of getting certain ingredients by gathering or killing most of the wild animal population.
Since Viridian had risen up over the decades to compete with a massive trade city like Saffron and Celadon with Rocket’s HQ being established there, Rhea never lacked something. Ben made weekly runs to get whatever anyone asked, and Rhea even had the option of creating an online list that he’d pick up.
On the other hand, Bianca was in a small village high in the Twist Mountain Range with strong Pokémon surrounding it. It was required that a Master-tier Trainer live there, or else it would be overrun, and thus, Bianca and Hilbert volunteered to make the sacrifice. Since they’d arrived two local fast food places opened up, reassured of the area’s survivability with Bianca and Hilbert present, but you could only stomach so much of the same type of food.
The most prominent sacrifice being supplies, but occasional trade agencies operated in that area for a certain time. So, she stocked up heavily when available, but it didn’t last long with the culinary arts becoming a hobby of hers besides research.
“So, you two goin’ to battle?” Jason asked with a bright smile. “By the way, I got fifty credits on my sister!”
“Tch,” Rhea glared at him, “where’d you get the credits, and who are you betting against?”
Katelin giggled. “Our uncle Jeb in Sable City. He was on call with our mom.”
“He’s betting against his niece?” Rhea asked with a frown.
“That’s what I said,” Jason shook his head with a shrug.
Rhea tilted her head as Katelin danced over to whisper in her ear. “It’s just a legal way to give him a few extra funds for tomorrow; Mom’s got money on Sabin. Just so they feel like they’re helpin’ Jason out,” she giggled. “They did the same thing for me.”
“Huh…” Rhea nodded, remembering her aunt’s bet.
Jason let out a low groan. “Aww, yo, Sis, don’t leave me out!”
“Girl talk,” Katelin winked.
“Eh, right, right, eh… okay,” Jason replied, expression telling Rhea he half wanted to know and half didn’t.
“Yeah, we’ll stay out of that one,” Sabin smiled, slowly walking away while holding his Great-type pokéball in the air, returning the other one to his belt. “Let’s go, Katelin! By the way, Rhea and I got a bet on dinner, and if we got ingredients… aye, I ain’t losing a good homemade meal!”
Rhea smiled. “You do like my cooking!”
“Aye, as long as it’s not that random stuff Bianca throws together, then I’m game!” Sabin laughed. “Hey, don’t look down, of course, I like your cooking… it’s better than Mom’s,” he mumbled, but Rhea caught it, making her heart warm.
Katelin wasn’t having it. “Sorry to break it to you, love, but there’s a lot of bets riding on this match. I ain’t goin’ easy on you, even if you beg with those pretty blue eyes!”
“Oh? You’ve said that before and broke, Kate,” Sabin snickered, causing a light blush to touch her cheeks. She grinned and pulled off an Ultra Ball from her belt. “Yeah, okay, Mr. Rising Star, time to work for that title, and if I win, you’ve gotta dance with me tonight. Five songs!”
“C’mon, Kate, are you tryin’ to make me lose with that bet? Six songs if I win!”
Katelin giggled with anticipation, and Jason walked beside her as a young woman came running through the jungle with a flushed face.
Her white summer’s dress fluttered around her feet as her bound thick blue hair bounced behind her, tied into a braid. “Wait, wait, wait!” she cried out, gripping a camera in her hands. “I’m coming, I’m coming!”
“Mom,” Jason chuckled while scratching the back of his head. “Last time I saw her, she was wearing a big T-shirt and sweats… her hair wasn’t even done.”
Rhea nodded. “Impressive. She had motivation, though.”
“Pictures? I don’t know why you three are so big into it,” Jason commented, eyes following his mother darting around the field to get different angles, snapping photos like a madwoman. “That one-time Viola stopped by; Mom was so nervous, asking so many questions about photography.”
“I recall,” Rhea giggled.
“You know, I think my dad gets a little jealous whenever Viola comes around.”
Rhea lifted an eyebrow. “It’s only like twice a year.”
“Still true.”
Rhea nodded her head to the side. “I guess. Your mom does follow all of her stuff on PikaBook.”
“Alright, Mom,” Katelin cheered. “Okay, we’re goin’ to start; get as many as you can!”
“Count on me, Honey!” Annila replied with a toothy grin. “Don’t worry about the field; I’ll calm things down if a fire breaks out and clean-up. You two just dance for me!” she said, tossing out a pokéball attached to her camera strap to reveal Reon, her Poliwrath, standing at 6′ 8″.
With a vigorous yell, Reon punched his fist in the air like a referee.
