B1 — 44. Proving Worth

I loosely follow this map as a visual guide; the creator made it in paint?!?!  It’s insane!  Some errors here and there, but I follow its design for the most part.  Areas can be further apart, some cities are in the wrong places or not listed, and the regions aren’t nearly so close.  The best map I’ve found, though!

Wooh!  We finally get to see our girls with their new eggs.  Feebas for Amira, Rockruff for Mallory, and Buneary for Rhea … My, these Pokemon are strong, too!  Let’s learn more about our little bunny!  Wait … What’s this?  Uh-oh … what lurks in the woods close to our girls?

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2:34 A.M. June 25, Thursday, 106 PH (Post Hoopa Event)

Events:  The Preliminaries for the Joint Kanto and Johto Indigo Summer League have concluded; 105 Trainers and their Pokemon have advanced from Bronze to Silver.  A week of celebration is to follow, marked with events put on by the Indigo League, after which the Summer Round Robin Cup will begin, to crown the best of each Tier among those that advanced.  The battles begin on the 27th.  Rhea started her journey on the 9th of June—she’s been a Trainer for 17 Days (16 Officially; 17 since getting Mya and Nova).

Declan cracked his neck while looking at the gagged turquoise-haired girl.  He sighed as she started crying again; the Machop with her had been beaten to the point its defensive shell was shattered and Declan’s Butterfree, Kalo, was keeping it paralyzed.

His gang had ambushed the young Bronze-tier Trainer and her party on the road after scouting out her background in Pewter.  Her two rich friends were little fish compared to the main prize in front of him.

Meghan Ford came from a rather wealthy Kanto family, and her mother, Emily Ford, inherited much of her parents’ fortune upon their early deaths when she was young.  Meghan recently turned seventeen, which put her on the path for the Bronze League and right into his sights.

Unluckily, the Combined Indigo League decided to have the International Bronze League in his backyard, which meant more eyes were on the lookout.  He’d been operating here for a few seasons now, and it paid well.  On the plus side, the families they extorted were too frightened to talk, and he expected their reputation to keep their mouths shut—who would want to let it be known they’re vulnerable.

“When are your parents going to respond?”  he asked with a bored look at the girl’s phone.

She quickly shook her head, chest pumping while trying to say something; she’d been strapped to the chair for the past two hours.  They’d ambushed their small camp when they decided to sleep a little too close to the forest treeline.

This wasn’t Declan’s first ransom; although, he’d missed quite a few big names with the Oak Award boys and girls passing through.  They had one shot, though, tomorrow—one job that could set everyone in his crew up for life, and that was Amira Rocket’s team … Of course, he wouldn’t touch the Rocket girl … Giovanni’s reputation was beyond legend.

Still, making her sleep for a few hours while getting cash from her teammates wouldn’t be that bad; in fact, the criminal genius turned apparent entrepreneur might even respect the bold decision, and no harm would come to his granddaughter.

His hand slipped away from his chin as the girl started rocking back and forth in desperation.  “Ugh … C’mon.  What?”  he asked, nerves already on high with the plan he’d shared with the rest of his crew.  Tomorrow’s job would be the last before they vanish forever—if this ransom hadn’t been in the works for a while before catching wind of Amira Rocket’s team, he would have abandoned it.  Declan reached over to tug the gag strap and remove it.  “Hmm?”

The turquoise-haired girl coughed a little.  “I … I’m trying t-to say … My Mom and Dad are—are out of the region right now!  T-They won’t have s-service until tomorrow … P-Please … just … just let Hana and Libby go … I’ll stay and…”

“Shut up,” he grunted, nose twisting with agitation at the news.  “Muk you look ugly crying…”  Her wet eyes slowly fell to her lap in fright as he put the gag back in.

Kalo gave him a small gesture with his hand.

I know!  I know!  This wasn’t a part of the plan … I know you want your cut, too—how do you think I feel?  he growled while communicating with the Butterfree.

Declan shifted his chair to an angle to better look at her while sinking into it..  “Is that right … They won’t be available until tomorrow … Muk…”  He rolled around his shoulders with a low yawn.  “The question is … are you telling me the truth?  And if so—what am I going to do with you … I have plans for tomorrow.”

Meghan’s distressed eyes darted to the table as Kalo sprayed more powder on the girl’s Pokemon, but all of them froze as another male voice entered the conversation.

“Did I hear that correctly, Bub … Plans tomorrow, huh?  Do tell.”  A soft voice, clearly amused, spoke from behind him.

Declan jumped up as Kalo swiftly flew to his side, but no one was there.  “Wha … Who’s there?!  Gregory!  Is … Hey!  Gregory … Maisy?  What’s…”

The voice returned with a low chuckle.  “No need to give yourself a scare.”

He scanned the wide-open tent they’d set up in the shadow of the forest with the electric lamps they used to keep it lit.  Boxes and small crates were around the inside, items they’d stolen from Pewter’s stores; nothing was out of place or was large enough to hide a person.

Darting to the entrance and looking behind the nearby boxes as Kalo scanned from the air, his muscles froze upon hearing Meghan’s voice.  Almost stumbling in shock, he glanced back to see the girl’s gag was missing—completely gone.

“W-What’s going on?”  she cried.  “I—I just want to go home.”

“When…”  Declan trailed off as the ropes digging into her skin loosened with the high-pitched voice returning.

“I’m just a whisper in the void—no one’s there…”

Meghan hugged her arms, the girl’s body trembling as she looked around in a panic.  “A-Are you a G-Ghost Pokemon—are you trying to s-save me?”

“Stop hiding—and don’t you move!”  Declan shouted, pointing an accusatory finger at the teen and causing her to jump; Kalo moved his wings in a threatening manner.  “Gregory, where the Muk are you—Get in here!”

“He-he-he … I’m just a trick of your own mind—blink your eyes once and you’ll find I’m just a ghost inside your … oof!”

Kalo pointed to a shadow beside a crate, darting forward to send a gust at the intruder, and sending a shadowy Mewoth tumbling against the side of the tent before it returned to a normal color.  “Hey!  What’s the big idea, ya flyin’ ball of allergies … Ew, and take a bath!”  the Meowth mumbled, brushing himself off while getting to his feet.

A smile brightened Delcan’s face before laughter shook his chest.  “A Meowth … heh, we’re under attack by a talking Meowth?  Eh … what were you planning?  No, wait,” his smile fell as he released Gina, his Tangela, “who are you with…”

Gina’s vines rose in a threatening manner and Kalo went to his side; this was so far out of left-field that he didn’t know if he should laugh or feel threatened.

A low cackle slid through the Meowth’s throat.  “Who am I with?”

Meghan’s voice quivered with a low scream as she began to glow a deep purple with her chair; Declan couldn’t react in time as she was pulled through a cut in the tent that appeared in an instant for a man and woman to step through.

“He wants to know who you’re with?”  the blue-haired man asked.  He wore a ring, two bracelets, and an earring in his left ear.

The pink-headed woman beside him had a hand on her hip, giving the tent a sad smile.  “To think we were called off vacation for these fools—although, it’s a good thing we were…”

“Yeah,” the Meowth hummed, folding his arms and giving him a lifted eyebrow.  “Who knows what he would have done to that poor girl.”

A lump dropped down Declan’s throat; no one was coming to his aid—where were his men?  “Gregory!”

“Oh, darling,” the woman giggled, “have you not figured out they aren’t coming?”

“Sad, really,” the man mumbled with a shake of his head.  “The intelligence of criminals these days.”

Declan took a step back and adopted the best smile he could.  “You … aren’t with the Rangers, I assume?  What’s your goal here…”

“I’m glad you asked!”  the man chimed.  “Wife’s first.”

The woman shifted to put her back against her partner’s with a small smirk.  “To protect the innocent from devastation!”

 “To unite all families within our nation!”

“To denounce the evils of bad hair products and horrible food!”

“To extend our reach to the jelly donuts above!”

“Jessie.”

“James.”

“Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light!”

“Surrender now, and we’ll spare you from the flight.”

“Meowth!  That’s—wait, is this our 500th assassination?”

Too confused to know if he should stop them or not, Declan’s face drained of color as he finally understood what was happening.  His heart stopped as he pulled back the flap to see a psychic barrier around his tent and beyond—everyone but Maisy was lying on the floor without a mark on them; he had no doubt they were dead.

A Chimecho hung in the air outside, creating the field, weaving back and forth with a bright smile upon seeing him as if saying ‘Hey!’

“Coming to a … Did she actually feel that—It’s suppressed?”  Jessie asked in shock, looking toward the forest with a small frown.

Meowth hummed, jumping up on the table while rubbing his chin and utterly ignoring him.  “That’s some crazy Aura sensing … Did she?”

“Yup,” James sighed, looking down at a phone, “the Rangers were alerted.”

Declan cleared his throat.  “A Rocket Assassination squad, huh?  Eh … I’m sure we can work things out—I’ve got some contacts that Giovanni might…”

“Oh, is he still breathing?”  Jessie asked, snapping her fingers.

His breath caught in his chest; a massive shadow coiled around him from nowhere in an instant, and both Kalo and Gina’s shields were shattered from a pink aura that enclosed them—they fell to the dirt, Declan feeling their spirits ripped away from him like roots leaving soil as their lives ended.

I don’t … No, Gina … Kalo … I don’t wanna die…

Tears fell down his cheeks as a three-meter long Seviper ensnared him; it opened its massive jaws to spray spittle across his face that burned.  He couldn’t speak as the razor-sharp, fin-like tail inserted into his mouth, forcing his tongue down.

I don’t want to die!  P-Please…

The last thing he saw was a Pumpkin Pokemon hovering down with a dark force gathering around it as a squat Pokemon waddled through the hole in the tent to direct illuminated pink eyes at him.  All Declan knew was the horrifying nightmares that brought back his step-father’s belt into memory until even that was gone.

* * *

Jessie moaned while working around her neck; her husband was doing his normal dorky thing and looking for goodies to treat her with.  “Why does everything have to get complicated?!  This was such an easy mission.”

James gave her a short nudge and chuckle.  “Hey, at least we get some time off after this one; the Boss set us up with…”

Her blue eyes sparkled as he pulled out tickets to Alola.  “No!”

“Cheap vacation to the big leagues, girl!”

“That’s what I’m talkin’ about!”  Meowth cheered, rummaging through Declan’s pockets when Jessie let the now brain-dead man go.  “Oh, he has some gum!  Want some?”  he asked, offering one to James.

“Sure … you know,” he mumbled, unwrapping it and popping it into his mouth, “You gotta wonder why these people ever think of pullin’ one over on the Boss.”

“Right?”  Meowth sighed.  “So … how do we go about cleanin’ this up with the fuzz on us?”

“Same ol’,” Jessie motioned for Mr. Mime, Chimecho, and Malamar to pick everything up.  “We’ll dump them off in the caves and burn it all to ash…”  She accepted two pieces of gum from Meowth.  “Then we control the smoke, make everything look good—and no evidence.  All they know is that there were some High-Tier Moves used in this area; no big deal.”

She glanced around at the ravaged campsite; they’d looked through a few of the belongings as their Pokemon slowly moved all the corpses and items away while cleaning up the mess and wiping the memories of the nearby Pokemon that were rounded up.

Popping a bubble, she huffed.  “Still, sucks we gotta rush … brats.  Oh, how’re the girls?”

Meowth pointed at the corner of the camp where Maisy sat with the hypnotized Bronze Trainers and their Pokemon.  “Handled.  Mime will dump them off at their old camp; he knows the plan.”

Jessie blew another bubble while lifting an eyebrow.  “Mhm … remember the last time James said Mime had it.”  The scrawny Pokemon lifted his middle finger at her with a slight scowl, causing her to giggle.  “I mean, you did almost drop a train on all of us.”

James walked over to talk to Maisy with a bright face; the woman had been the one to tip off Rocket about her boss’s plans to attack Amira’s group.  Naturally, Giovanni responded precisely the manner Maisy feared; Rocket’s reputation was there for a reason, and by doing this, she’d obtained a place in the organization.

Jessie was more interested in what cafe James would surprise her with in Alola; she knew him too well, and he had some plan to dazzle her with something—she couldn’t wait.

Looking up at the starry sky, she smiled.  What a wholesome mission.  Save some girls from sketchy dudes, get time in Alola with the gang, and we get to loot everything!  The Boss is good.

“Alright, losers!”  she yelled, spinning her fingers.  “Let’s get this show on the road; my Alolan tan is a day away!”

Meowth gave her a dull look.  “Who’s the one lazing around and looking at the sky?”

“It’s romantic looking right now,” she huffed, pointing at the heavens.  “Besides, who’s the one that can’t get enough of looking at that fake gold block we found last mission?”

“You don’t know it’s fake!”  Meowth defensively returned.

Both of them looked at James as he came running over with a bright smile.  “Jessie!  Meowth!  I found donuts!”

““No way!  Jelly?!””

The three of them split the treasure between everyone—except Maisy, of course—moved everything to a cave with Psychic and Teleport before ridding themselves of the evidence.  Now, it was time for Alola!

* * *

A shiver ran down Rhea’s frame as a spike of energy crawled through her veins, sitting up in her tent.  Alice smoothly flipped off her chest, where she’d been sleeping, Nova sharing her time with the rabbit.

Mya sent her a questioning pulse through their connection since she was outside with Serenity and Gables.  Alice swiftly hopped out, ears scanning left and right for danger, but she couldn’t find any.

It took a moment for Rhea to realize what she’d sensed; a spike of Pokemon energy that shouldn’t be close to this area—Master-tier.  Rubbing her neck, she yawned while trying to collect herself enough to further identify the pulse; it had only been for a slight second, but her father and brother went through exercises like this regularly, and Master-tier was the best area she could identify since it was the most common strength around her house.

Someone had used one of the Moves her father warned her to watch out for; she couldn’t tell what the Move was other than it was in the list to be concerned about … Moves used to cause trouble, especially if in the dead of night.

It’s fine … I just … There it is again … Do you feel that?  It’s weak, but … no, it’s like … A Pokemon is trying to minimize their aura release.  That’s not normal…

Alice hopped back in to lean against her knee, observing to better understand what she should do.  “No need to worry,” Rhea giggled, reaching down to scratch the base of her ears.  “It’s pretty far away … at least … It’s near the edge of what I can sense—wow, umm … it’s about a mile to our northeast.”

Debating for a moment, she decided to send a message to the Pewter Ranger Hub through the Trainer App.  It would be logged, and someone would be out to check it.  She also messaged Sabin, but he returned a message that they were to their south and hadn’t seen anything suspicious.

Alright, I’m heading back to bed.  If anything looks bad, then wake all of us up, Mya.

Mya gave her a confident affirmative, and Rhea slowly drifted back to sleep.

* * *

Alice crossed her arms as she watched her Trainer go back to sleep; she didn’t quite understand the temporary concern that flashed through Rhea’s spirit, but she appeared to have calmed down.  It didn’t take long for her to sleep, and Nova was practically comatose.

She smoothed out her white tufts, glaring toward the front of the tent where Mya was; the Mawile put out this ‘I’m better than you’ vibe that didn’t sit well with her, and now that she was awake, she couldn’t go back to sleep.

Jumping outside, she did a flip over her to land in front of the big-mouthed Pokemon and stared at her.

“What?”  Mya asked, moving away from her to sit against a tree; she was assigned to watch the forest.  “Rhea’s going to sleep, so you should do the same.  Nova and I have got most things covered.”

Alice’s left foot started to tap against the ground with slight aggravation.  Gables talked with Serenity, helping her better understand Lightning Pokemon that Amira warned her about before bed.  She didn’t want to start a bad vibe, but everyone treated them like second-tier fighters.

“What’s up with you; all you’ve been doing is jumping around and glaring at everyone all day.”

She lifted her chin, arms crossed again.  “I could beat you.”

“Heh … you’re joking?  Look, Alice, you’ve got some speed, sure, but that’s it.  You don’t have the power to hurt me.”

“Are you scared to try?”  She asked, ears tilting to the left with a slight smirk.

“No … You’re just the dress-up pretty Contest kind of girl, and I’m more of the battle girl.”

“Excuse you!”  Alice hopped forward to put her hands on her hips.  “Prove I’m only a ‘dress-up pretty Contest’ kind of girl!”

“I’m not interested in a newborn,” Mya said, waving her hand dismissively.

“You are scared.”

Mya’s expression fell a bit as she saw Gables and Serenity look over at them.  “Why would I be—your punches literally do nothing to me when we’ve sparred Gabes?”

Alice shrugged before walking back toward Gables and Serenity.  “Do one of you want to practice?  Mya’s too scared that if I bring it, she’ll get decimated.”

“What?”  Mya growled, getting up to glare at her.  “You know I’m not scared of anyone!”

“Hmm?  Then why won’t you fight me!”  Alice challenged, causing Gables and Serenity to look back and forth at them.  “Are you jealous I could do both Battles like you and do Contests like Nova?  I mean, I can see why you’d be shaken—I’m coming from under the radar while you’re overrated.”

Gables gave them a small smile, holding up his hands.  “Hey!  Hey!  We good?”

Alice gave her a cute wink.  “It’s okay to admit it, Mya; you’re scared to fight me.”  She jumped around, accelerating at various points while spinning, kicking, and punching.  “I’m a whirlwind, and you’re the mountain getting chipped away!”

“Oh, I like all of that—is that how the big mountain gets blown down?”  Serenity asked, pointing up at Mt. Moon.

“He-he,” Alice adjusted the floof around her waist, “that’s how a Mya falls; she doesn’t want to start the tally because she knows she’ll never win.”

“Let’s go!”  Mya snapped, releasing an intimidating aura that pressed in on Alice, but it only got her blood pumping.

“Finally…”

Gables jumped between them.  “Woah!  Woah!  It’s super late, guys!  If you want to fight, then do it when Rhea gets up during breakfast.”

Alice’s ears drooped a little, realizing she’d draw energy from Rhea and likely wake her up, but she’d gotten what she wanted—a real fight instead of the fake no-energy stuff they’d been doing—she was itching to let loose.

Mya was the first to accept it, though.  “Yeah—and don’t go draining Rhea, Alice … She needs the energy to travel during the day, too.”

Alice did an aerial cartwheel before a roundhouse kick.  “Don’t worry about me.  I’ll show you how I’m not just a sweet face!”

“Certainly not a sweet attitude,” Mya grumbled, returning to her tree.  “Go get some sleep—you’ll need it.”

She crossed her arms.  “I’m not going back because you told me to—I was going to get some sleep anyway.”

“Mhm,” Mya smirked.

Jumping a few feet to Rhea’s tent, she glanced back at the Mawile.  “Don’t back out.”

Mya yawned.  “Why … because even this conversation is boring.”

The heat in Alice’s chest rose; Nova was fun and friendly, but Mya was only interested in scaring away the wild Pokemon.  She gave her orders as if Alice was obligated to follow her.

Just try to land one hit on me.

“Too easy.”

Prove it.

With that, Alice went to sleep on Rhea’s chest again, snuggling between her breasts; Mya and she couldn’t have been spiritually further apart as they took to their own corners of their Trainer’s bond.

It didn’t take all that long for her to go to sleep, and when Rhea stirred in the morning, Alice was quick to flip off her chest and stretch beside her.  She could hear Amira using water Gables created in a pan to wash her face.

Morning, Rhea.

“Hey, Alice … How was your night?”  Nova asked, yawning in her pokeball.  “We get to spend more time together since Mya will be sleeping!”

Not for a little bit; we have a battle!

“Morning … wait,” Rhea was taking a moment to analyze the strange shift that she sensed between them.  “Are you two fighting, Alice, Mya?”

Mya appeared in the tent entrance with crossed arms.  “She said I was scared to battle her; I’m not.”

“You really wanna try, with Moves and everything?”  Nova asked.

Of course.  If she lands one hit, then I’ll admit defeat.

A snort shot through her nose.  “One hit is all it will take.”

Can we, Rhea?  Alice asked, looking up at her trainer with big, pleading eyes.  I’ll show her I’m worthy of respect!

“Uh … heh, it’s kind of early,” she mumbled, rubbing her eyes, “but as long as it doesn’t get too serious, it should be fine.”

Yes!

Jumping outside, Rhea let the others know she wanted to have a battle with Mya; Mallory groaned, cracking her back before joining them with dead eyes.

“Remember,” Rhea said, bending down to look at them both, “this is just a quick battle; we need to save our strength for the rest of the day.”

“I’ve got it!”  Alice grinned, brushing back her black fur.  “I’ll show you what I can do.”

Mya shook her head and rolled her eyes.  “Show her what—how easily you get stomped into the mud?”

Nova gasped inside her pokeball.  “No, not mud!  Don’t do that to Alice’s pretty fur; you’re not evil!  Don’t be evil, Mya!”

  Do whatever you want, Alice challenged.

“Ready?”  Rhea asked, glancing between them.  “Set … Go!”

Their Trainer sent an equal amount of energy between them, but obviously, Alice had an advantage in the amount she could utilize in quick succession.

Alice shot forward, darting around Mya’s slow, open jaws; her arms began to glow white, and she delivered swift one-two punches around Mya’s body as she spun in circles, trying to follow her speedy movements.

“Alice … How can you build energy so fast, and … and it costs almost nothing…”

“G-Give me some space!”  Mya growled, jaws and fists thrashing around to try and catch her.  “You—it doesn’t even hurt!”

Mya released dark energy before a clone shot out of her body to swallow Alice, but she simply cartwheeled out of the way, spinning in a low sweep to take the Mawile off her feet.

The Mawile’s jaws latched onto the tree nearby to fling her mid-air high above and away from her small, repeated attacks.  A white illumination surrounded her as she swiftly returned to the ground to slam her into the soil.  “What’s your deal?”

Alice did a backflip to the tree and used it to leap away; finding her balance in an instant, she giggled while doing an aerial cartwheel and clapping her hands, shimmering white that soon encircled Mya.  Unfortunately, it failed.  It didn’t really bother her, but it was confusing.

Rhea?  Why did that fail?

“Heh,” Mya stood in place, continuing to gather energy at a snail’s pace that made Alice want to cry.  “You can’t use Status Moves when my energy matrix is so much stronger than yours!”

Rhea confirmed it.

“Huh … That’s pretty fun,” she laughed, launching back at her with swift motions; she finally felt better after being able to use Moves.  It was funny and thrilling watching the slow Pokemon’s movements, too, as she slid around the telegraphed flailing.  “Let’s switch it up!”

Ducking around her attempt to bear hug her with a side step, her ears illuminated to do another one-two punch, and just as Rhea and Amira talked about yesterday, one of her Abilities finally snuck past the Mawile’s natural barrier, and her eyes drooped.

“It’s almost over … W-What … No, you can’t…”  she wobbled with the immense amount of energy she was pulling from Rhea collapsing.  Alice wasn’t done, though, and she grabbed the girl’s foot, red aura flowing off her frame as she spun in a circle and tossed her at the tree; the increased strength Alice gained from the Move was the only way she could even hope to budge the Mawile’s heavy body.

Mya hit the tree while fading into sleep; it didn’t take long for her to snap out of it.  Still, it gave Alice enough time to run up the tree and pull in the required energy to hit her groggy teammate with a sky uppercut.

The Mawile smashed through the lowest branch before dropping to the ground to recover.  Honestly, she didn’t look like she’d taken much damage at all, and Alice could sense Mya’s inner frustration.

“S-Stop throwing me around!”  Mya yelled, grabbing the nearby broken branch to sweep her away.

Alice giggled, jumping to smack her left ear against the bark to carry her over the wood; the problem was it sent her spinning faster than she anticipated.  She managed to land but felt a little dizzy at the motions.  Snapping out of it, she saw Mya had used the opportunity she’d given to charge up her second complete attack out of the entire fight.

Eyes snapping open in surprise as her ears stood on end, Alice felt a shiver down her fur as Mya vanished into shadows.  Twitch fibers activating the moment Mya used her attack; Alice jumped to the side to see Mya’s Dark-infused fist sliding just under her jaw—the graze of energy itself took an 18% chunk out of her energy matrix.

“Done!”  Rhea called.

Alice did a small side twist before jumping into a round-off backhand spring to escape the Mawile’s deadly fist.

Mya glared after her, fists shaking with agitation.  “All you do is run, jump, and run again!”

“I know, aren’t I adorable?”  Alice laughed, hopping into flips.  “I was so … That was so much fun!  I want to do it some more!  You are pretty sturdy, though!”

* * *

Rhea leaned over to Amira and Mallory as they finished watching the exchange.  “What do you think?”

Amira nodded with an impressed look.  “It’s not that she’s just fast—she’s quick and can find perfect balance while predicting Mya’s attacks.”

“Not really that hard, to be honest,” Lori whispered.  “Mya’s a powerhouse, but she’s kind of telegraphed in her movements.”

“True,” Amira nodded, “but Alice is still less than twenty-four hours old, and this was her first battle.  Mya had at least a day to acclimate and was able to watch Amber fight.”

“The speed at which she accomplishes Moves is insane, too,” Rhea mumbled.  “Although, they aren’t the most powerful attacks—Is that just her age versus Mya’s own battle experience?”

Mallory pulled her lips in for a second.  “Eh … probably has a part in it, but who knows what your Mom did.  A fast Move charge at the cost of some damage isn’t a terrible trade-off.  How was the draw?”

“Mya pulled more in just the few attacks she did—although, it was pretty clear they’d one-hit Alice if Mya got a clean strike.”

Amira bent down to stroke Alice’s ears as she listened with a bright expression; Mya looked more annoyed but seemed to be happy they’d recognized her strength.  “Alice is sure to get stronger, and her energy matrix will grow, but I suspect she’s more of a glass cannon.  Her movements are insane, though—I’d like my Pokemon to practice dodging her, to be honest.”

The Bunneary’s pink eyes sparkled.

“Heh, yeah … yeah, she’d love that,” Rhea mused.  “She really wants to show how fast and strong she is … So, let them just do non-Move-based Training on our way into the valley?”

“Sounds like a plan!”  Mallory cheered.  “Gables loved doing it with her when we were setting up camp yesterday; she’s quick, and those random speed boosts are scary—oh, Roxy wants to join, too!”

“Then it’s a plan,” Amira said, getting her supplies together.  “We’ll probably meet up with some Trainers looking to fight, and I’m looking forward to seeing their faces when Serenity, a floating fish Pokemon, pulls out the Dragon Pulse.”

Rhea could practically hear her evil chuckles, which brought a smile to her lips; she was beginning to have fun.  “Yeah!  This will be great!”

---

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