PoV:
1: Rhea (Our Blonde, Awkward Bombshell MC!)
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!
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4:06 p.m. July 8th, Wednesday, 106 PH (Post Hoopa Event)
Events: The Joint Kanto and Johto Indigo Summer League have concluded. Saria Surge has become the new Vermilion Gym Leader, converting it to a Fairy Gym. It will be open for challenges on the 10th.
Our girl started her journey on the 9th of June—she’s been a Trainer for 29 Days (28 officially; 29 since getting Maya and Nova).
The next three days blew by like a dream; traveling through Blue Forest with Ash was a casual stroll of enjoyable training and messing around with surprises every day. After seeing their friends off, they moved down the road while attempting to get used to the bouncing tennis ball game Ash introduced them to.
To Rhea’s surprise, Amira found it the hardest to get used to, but she suspected it was due to the redhead having other things on her mind. On the other hand, Lori picked it up without a problem, coordinating with Gables, Miky, and Roxie to edge out the top score.
Pikachu gradually brought the use of Moves into the equation, yet their Pokemon could only use two each hourly cycle; Ash had them only keep a single Pokemon out on rotation rather than having a single one for the whole day and giving each one a chance to snuggle with them at night as they’ve normally done.
The first day was mostly filled with talking and giving each of their Pokemon the chance to play with the electric rat, attempting to keep it up longer than the previous group.
It was a different training experience than Rhea expected to have with the legend; he wasn’t too rushed to get to their location and found excitement in simple things that made them laugh, such as catching sight of a rare Chansey or Abra and wanting to get a picture with them to send to his mom.
Along their slow pace, Ash introduced the other Pokemon he was currently traveling with, as well; Infernape started them out. The Flame Pokemon was huge, standing nearly 2.4 meters high, and was instrumental throughout the day in teaching their Pokemon how to utilize their unique body types and natural abilities to keep the ball in the air.
Amber was enamored by his flame control when Infernape used Blaze to keep the tennis ball in the air without burning it and how effortlessly he used the trees beside the road or branches overhead to smack it back and forth.
Alice kept typing to imitate him to little effect, but she wasn’t getting discouraged. Miky loved and seemed to love his jokes, trying to be less clumsy like the flaming monkey.
As time went on, Ash let them rest from the game to talk while their Pokemon continued; being a Trainer was less about battling to him and more about growing and having fun with your friends.
Of course, he’d always had the dream of being the very best—like no one ever was—but catching Pokemon hearts was the real test; training was the best way to build that bond, which was why making the process enjoyable was the top priority.
The only lasting thing to keep you motivated on a journey was your friends—Pokemon and human—and that was why he always traveled in a group; no one can be alone forever, no matter how strong a person might be, which was why he believed people and Pokemon needed each other.
You can cherish those bonds when times get rough—and times always got rough—so the more adventures and fun you had, the more strength you had to pull from within your heart. It was best to have fun in the adventure than rush to the destination.
Life was meant to be experienced in the moment with those you loved and not a sprint to some goal that reveals an even bigger, more lonely mountain beyond it to climb; Amira drew into herself, probably thinking about her mother and the Kanto Legends.
For Ash, the push to the top should be ingrained in you—to be the best version of yourself you can be—but if you raced up every cliff without enjoying the extraordinary view with your buddies or had fun along the way, you’d miss the best part—the journey; the top would always be there, so there was no need to sprint.
It was so real and natural to talk to Ash, and his experience came in natural doses throughout the day. The sun passed into dusk sooner than Rhea expected, and all of them were beginning to get the basics of the games, coordinating with one another.
Releasing all of their Pokemon at night—for even five minutes—was killer with all the Moves they performed every day; after the training throughout the day, and such an intense battle against Sam, Jade, Hannah, and Jay, Rhea felt like she was dying by sunset, yet it did promote a quicker and deeper sleep after the exhausting exercises.
The next morning, Rhea hadn’t expected to feel as good as she did, Mya resting beside her much of the night in their tent, although the tennis ball training was ramping up after eating breakfast and hitting Route 5 again.
Pikachu pushed their Pokemon to try and not use their Moves if they could help it; keeping the ball in the air was a big point of the training, and still, Rhea felt like a lead ball attached to each of her partner’s legs while trying to keep up with Alice or Nova—Mya was easier, but they didn’t get the same numbers as the other two.
In the morning exercises, the electric rat guided them on positioning and teamwork in this ‘battle game’ that promotes coordination and cooperation rather than pure power or abilities, such as Rhea had mainly relied on; Moves really had limited use in a full day of games without utterly exhausting them.
It didn’t take long on the second day into Blue Forest for Amira to guess the next stage would be pitting their teams against each other; Ash winked and said that might be the next part, but they first needed to build up their Fortitude, and their Pokemon had to increase their personal energy reserves to get to that point.
Around noon, Ash began their first Aura training session; since Rhea had been taught basic Aura understanding and sensing already, something Amira and Lori—to Rhea’s mild shock—hadn’t fully grasped. The legend had her solely center her attention on counting the Pokemon they were attracting by Aura and without her sight.
The exercise was challenging since her father and brother mainly had her focus on individual Pokemon strengths—mainly the powerful kind—or long-distance detection of large-scale Moves.
Closing her eyes, Rhea had trouble multitasking—talking, maintaining an even course, and counting the Auras—and it soon became apparent Ash was having her build multiple aspects at once. She could ground herself by sensing where the Pokemon were and orient her direction by their position to her.
The issue? Sensing Auras was like her peripheral vision—difficult to focus on more than one thing at a time—it was dizzying trying to bounce between signatures, and she had to ‘squint,’ in a way, to spot the weak Auras of those around her without getting side-tracked by Pikachu’s colossal presence.
It didn’t help when Alice, Mya, or Nova were out, doing their game and tossing it between their friend and talking to one another; she was still a part of this tennis ball game.
Somehow, whenever the ball was tossed at her, it always hit her in the center of the forehead. She had to wonder if there was a conspiracy passing between her snickering Pokemon at each smack to the face, breaking her concentration.
Luckily, Blue Forest was a reasonably flat valley with a gradual descent into the lower half of Cerulean City-State and the upper part of Saffron, which promoted an easy walk along the trail for her to practice a more refined Aura sense.
If it wasn’t hard enough, Pikachu upped the challenge by getting the various Pokemon of the forest to join in the fun; most of which were rehabilitated released Pokemon from the “No Pokemon Left Behind” initiative.
Rhea was a little overwhelmed by the amount of Pokemon Ash and Pikachu attracted on Route 5 by their friendly Aura alone. Word seemed to spread amongst the wild community of the forest about the game because they wouldn’t stop coming.
The pair pulled out some of the rarest sighted denizens of the lush forest; in fact, they’d caused such a commotion among the Pokemon that it drew several curious Rangers that thought someone was manipulating them to steal, but such worries were swiftly dispelled once seeing Ash.
The men and women spent a few minutes with the Alola League’s first official Champion, and the topic came up in a joking fashion, asking why he didn’t take the position. Just like every other Kanto Legend, Ash had declined the responsibilities of taking over a region’s central government, running after another adventure.
Ash’s response was reasonable, though; he loved Alola and its people, but his passion in life didn’t lie in building up a region to reach its full potential. He wasn’t an Alolan native, nor would he do the job as well as someone who truly wanted to serve Alola’s people with everything they had.
He knew plenty of other wonderful Trainers that could do that job better than him, and it felt reductive to Alola to just sit there as some figurehead of a region’s power; Alola deserved better, and it wasn’t as if the region didn’t have people it could rely on with Leaf, Red, Yellow, and Blue at the Battle Tree if things really got out of hand.
It wasn’t what any of them expected to hear, but more than enough to earn the Ranger’s respect; some even joked he was more like a Ranger than a Trainer with his bond with Pikachu—another commented that he was the best of both worlds.
Seeing them off, Rhea returned her attention to the many Pokemon that gathered, attempting to identify them by Aura shape and type rather than sight.
Rattata, Pidgey, Jigglypuff, Oddish, Meowth, Bellsprout, Hoothoot, Snubbull, Pineco, Combee, Growlithe, Vulpix, Shinx, Plusle, Minun, and even Chansey and Abra walked with them, joining in the games with some of their evolutions making an appearance; although the older Pokemon generally watched them play rather than participate themselves.
Throughout the second day, it soon became apparent that Mankey were the kings of the ball game, and they had a big match against a whole pack of the Pig Monkey Pokemon after they bragged a bit too much to Mya.
Unfortunately, Mya and their side of random wild Pokemon were getting killed, unable to coordinate with all the random wild Pokemon to compete with the synchronized Mankey squad.
It was then they got their look at one of Ash’s other Pokemon that he had on hand—Sceptile—who swiftly took charge, and they managed to edge out a victory with Commander Sceptile directing the troops.
It wasn’t as if Rhea, Lori, and Amira were exempt from the battle, especially when Pikachu and Ash joined the Mankey’s side to make it fair; Rhea never expected to have so much fun jumping into the mass Pokemon games on their journey through the forest.
It was so hard to hit the ball by timing it based on the actions of the Auras around her but so satisfying when she’d actually hit the invisible ball; Ash’s guidance in the unseen action had helped so much.
Alice played a critical role in the final stretch, stealing the ball and forcing the Mankey out of their uniform position to chase her through the trees; she passed it to a wild Abra, who timed it just perfectly to teleport. Gables brought it back into their group with his tongue, jabbing it between a Mankey’s arms that shot out of the tree to return it.
They’d won against the defeated Mankey gang, yet a surprise challenger came from the heavens; a Pidgeot that seemed to be the ruler of the skies in Blue Forest—which meant there weren’t many flocks of Sparrow flying around—and its Pidgey gang showed up to make it a free for all.
It was total chaos at times and unlike anything Rhea had seen. Ash and his Pokemon took everything in stride, adapting to every new development with ease.
Their stop came on the third day—the checkpoint and near the exit to Blue Forest—where Ash showed them the hidden cave off the side of the trail he’d used to save the poor, abandoned Charmander before he could get medical attention at the Center up ahead.
Making it to the red-roofed building, Rhea dropped into one of the resting tables with her friends; much of the discussion was on the opened Fairy-Type Gym of Kanto tomorrow, and everyone was expecting it to be a breeze considering it was the Type with the least Pokemon.
It was nice sitting down and relaxing after covering so much ground over the last three days; it had been rough training for them, and it was only 3 p.m. After some discussion, they decided to sleep at the Center for the night.
Rhea pulled out her phone to check her messages, feeling somewhat spiritually exhausted after all the hyper-focused Aura use but glad they were able to make so much progress in three days.
Her mother kept up with some updates about the progress on their 4th ‘buddy’ Pokemon, revealing a few things that Rhea hadn’t expected. “We… can’t battle with our new Pokemon?”
“Say that again,” Amira asked, scooting over to read the text. “They’re not ‘battle ready’ Pokemon?”
Lori hummed, sipping the coffee she’d just recently ordered from the Trainer Lounge attached to the Center; Ash was off talking to his mom on a call. “Ash told us about that one Buddy Bond process. So…”
Rhea nodded, summarizing the lengthy massage chain low enough that the few Trainers around the lobby wouldn’t hear. “Basically, these Pokemon will have, umm… you remember the Victini Cores I told you guys about the other day?”
Amira’s mouth tightened at the topic; the little, innocent Victory Pokemon that had been murdered by Rainbow Rocket and converted into infinite power spheres wasn’t a casual or light topic to bring up, which was evident in her mother’s careful wording.
“Well… my mom was able to smuggle some out, and in order for these Pokemon she’s sending to us to survive, they’re requiring the orb to be infused into their bodies.”
A soft sigh came from Lori as she looked at Roxie, Serenity, and Nova, each discussing the topic amongst themselves. “Does she say how it makes them feel… Are the Victini just batteries now?”
Amira shook her head while browsing the studies attached to the message. “From what I understand, the Victini are unable to take on a corporeal form based on the experimentation done by Rainbow Rocket, so, in a way, they’re finally being able to release the painful energy bottled up inside of them by being the silent companion to our Pokemon…”
Placing a hand against her breast, Rhea stared blankly at the phone in front of her. So… you’re just along for the ride, Victini? You’ve been with me my whole life, experiencing it with me, huh? I hope I’m a good bunk buddy… and I’m happy if I can take away your pain…
“Do… you think I’ll be able to talk to her someday?” Rhea asked, having learned all the Victini her mother had been able to escape with were the female ones since they were kept in the same location.
Amira and Lori shook their heads and shrugged their shoulders, indicating they couldn’t guess.
“I hope so,” Lori whispered.
Nova put her two paws against Rhea’s collarbone and nuzzled against her, whispering to her spirit that they wanted to be friends and to talk one day; Mya and Alice joined in.
From what her mother said, just like Mya, Alice, Nova, Serenity, and Roxie, these new Pokemon couldn’t survive on their own without something feeding them energy to stay alive, which was why the Victini were required to keep them stable. Of course, there were many other reasons that they’d realize when they showed up, which, upon further inquiry, would likely be when they reached Saffron City.
This came with certain risks that they’d need to be aware of; for one, they weren’t attached to their spirits, which meant they wouldn’t know where they were if they got lost or were stolen.
Ash chuckled at the concern when they brought him into the discussion; apparently—to Amira’s chagrin—Team Rocket had been quite the cause for such worries within the Pokemon world. Splinter organizations had taken over the hole Rocket left in the underground business sphere, but nothing like it had been in the old days when the internet wasn’t so widespread.
These new Pokemon wouldn’t be able to use their Abilities or Moves very often because of how much stress they’d have already within their energy core, but they could have all of their love and snuggles; the Buddy Bond would gradually help them adapt over time.
It would be a long road, and Ash assured them they’d be continuing this journey long after he left their party, yet once they’d mastered it, they’d have a connection with their Pokemon that even something as unifying as a Master Ball couldn’t hope to achieve.
Two hours went by, and Rhea was starting to feel a lot better when something interesting popped into her Trainer app; a powerful group of high-ranking Bronze-tier Trainers had just come into range to be challenged.
Resting on the Center lounging couches with her team absorbed in their own activities, Rhea studied the trio; they’d started late on during the Summer Cup and were from Johto, Mahogany City.
The three were some of the last teams to have earned the Thunder Badge before the Gym had been temporarily shut down for a month; tomorrow was the opening of Vermillion City’s newly branded Fairy-Type Gym.
Rhea sipped her water as she scrolled over their data; the team was far too strong to really challenge anyone at this point; they were ranked among the top 200 in the Kanto Bronze bracket. It was the first time she’d felt they wouldn’t be punching down in a fight and could actually challenge someone since they’d already qualified for the Winter Cup.
Looking at Chris’ League Card, she hummed; he’d already earned the Encrusted Thunder, Zephyr, Hive, and Rising Badges. The fact they’d beaten Lt. Surge, Falkner, Bugsy, and Clair showed their skill and journey through the regions.
“Ash…”
The black-haired man straightened from his losing card game with Pikachu, Sceptile, Heracross, Sirfetch’d, Dracovish, and Infernape, gambling with sweets. “Mmh?”
Mallory and Amira looked up, noticing the Trainer Card open on her holographic screen.
“Umm… Our goal is to be Silver-tier by the time we enter the League, which does mean we need to re-challenge our previous Encrusted Bronze Badges to upgrade them, but… I’ve felt for a while my Pokemon are a bit too strong for Bronze-tier—especially with all the advantages we have… What do you think?”
Lori adjusted her skirt and crossed her legs the opposite way to position herself better. “We did just lose to our Wooloo friends.”
“Eh-heh,” Amira gave her a wry smile. “Let’s be honest with ourselves, Lori, Alice was basically one versus four for the first half, and the only reason she was taken out was because of inexperience.”
“Haaa. True,” she sighed, drawing her purple ponytail around her front. “My only issue with that is not all of our Pokemon are at the same level; don’t get me wrong, Miky is trying really hard, but Roxie, Serenity, and Rhea’s Pokemon are just… overpowered—sorry to say.”
Rhea played with the end of her bangs, watching Mya, Gables, and Holly play their own card game, trying to emulate Pikachu. “I know… I’ve just felt so awkward not challenging anyone because I don’t want to pick on people… It feels like bullying… stealing their credits.”
“Hmm.” Amira crossed his arms. “I can see your point, and the League encourages bullying, to an extent… Training is a military practice at the end of the day.”
“It wasn’t always,” Ash mumbled, tightening his cap. “Although that’s debatable if you go back in time. Haaa. Battles should be fun above all else, and wanting a challenge is certainly a part of that. Your one biggest issue has been… well, the Master Balls.”
“What do you mean?” Rhea asked, voice lowering as he scooted closer; most people were giving them a decent distance out of respect and with how large Ash’s Pokemon were.
Ash pointed at Gables. “It’s not all that common to have baby Pokemon more powerful than even a Starter from the Oak Institute, and the Master Ball complicates that by allowing your Pokemon to draw energy that isn’t theirs…
“It doesn’t promote a proper ‘Trainer to Pokemon relationship bond,’ meaning they can subconsciously tune out your voice without even noticing it; it’s not that they don’t want to get your advice, but it isn’t ingrained in them like a normal pokeball relationship. A Master Ball is an amazing tool, yet, as I see it, also has its weaknesses.”
“Which is why we’re doing the Buddy Bonding?” Rhea added.
He nodded. “It is… but that’s long-term. You girls have a lot of eyes on you, and, as Amira pointed out, your friends battled very well, using strategy to overcome the raw power your Pokemon possess.
“Alice has insane instincts and fought to an incredible degree for her age, but without the full access to Rhea’s Fortitude to rush those Moves, she would have had a much harder fight. All that being said, what is your real question about Silver-tier, Rhea?”
Puffing out a long breath, Rhea glared at her lap. “I feel after going through this training with you, we should start looking for Silver-tier Trainers instead of Bronze; I don’t feel comfortable challenging Bronze-tier… but I totally understand that Miky is having a tough time, too, Lori…”
“Yeah…” Mallory held up Miky’s Master Ball, rotating it around her hands and probably assuring him it wasn’t his fault; Rhea didn’t like bringing this up because she knew it would be hard for the pair, yet she had to voice how she felt, as well.
“I think our problem is the same as you, Rhea; we just need to get better at understanding our strengths and how to battle with what we have; Pikachu has been helping Miky a lot with building his confidence, and Alice is teaching him how to dodge. I think if we can get those two things worked out, then everything else will fall into place.”
Amira’s hands tightened against each other. “Ironically, I believe my issue actually lies in my own Fortitude; I’ve been the only one affected by it so far…”
Rhea hadn’t expected that admission from the redhead, yet Ash had more to add to that topic, leaning against his chair with a thoughtful grin.
“You know what’s interesting?”
They all looked at him, waiting for the answer.
“The three of you each makeup for each other’s Aura weaknesses.”
“Really?” Lori asked, glancing between them. “What’s my Aura strength and weakness?”
“Well, not perfectly,” he laughed, motioning to Amira. “It’s true you have the weakest physical Allocation out of your teammates, but it’s certainly not weak; on the other hand, you excel at your mental Allocation and are very strong in your spiritual.”
Amira tapped her side, full lips pulled in as she pondered the answer. “Mmh… so, if we are talking numbers, I’d be an 8 in mental Allocation, 5 in physical, and 6 in spiritual?”
“Haha! Funny,” Ash snickered, shaking his head. “No, if 5 is the average, you’d be at a 10 mental, 8 spiritual, and 7 physical.”
“That’s… not that low at all!” Lori grinned as Amira reflected. “What about me—c’mon, don’t leave me hanging!”
Ash turned to Rhea. “Why don’t you gauge her Fortitude?”
“M-Me?! I can hardly do that for Pokemon, much less people.”
“Give it a shot,” Lori urged, turning her attention to her and making Rhea’s gut churn.
“Mmgh… I’ll try.”
Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath; it always started more as a gut feeling before gradually developing into anything visual. After a full, uncomfortable minute, Rhea shook her head.
“All I can sense are Ash’s Pokemon… it fills up the whole Center—practically the forest—I swear.”
Ash’s head leaned back to look up at his cutely odd-looking fish. “Keep trying whenever you get a feel for it, but Lori’s a physical 10, mental 7, and spiritual 7.”
“Oof. Knew I was lower,” she sighed, “but for real—Rhea and Amira are total outdoorsy physical gods; I’m just a dancer.”
Amira slowly nodded. “I think that’s the point… You don’t tire out, and without really any physical training, it also shows how large of a difference each scale is. Three points on the scale and I collapse, but you’re pushing along, dancing the night away like it’s nothing…”
They all turned to Rhea, the question obvious on their minds to her discomfort.
“Rhea’s a 12 across the board—calling it now!” Lori mused.
“And… me?”
Ash’s expression drew in as Pikachu glanced at him. “Sporadic… due to Victini, you tend to jump between 9 and 15… Off the scales, but mainly in the spiritual department.”
“Totally called it! Muk… 15?”
Amira’s left eye narrowed a tad. “Our scores… were excluding her Helping Hand Pressure, weren’t they?”
“Smart!” Ash winked. “Yes, which I learned has a greater effect on those she considers friends and wishes to support, which shows in the ‘Wooloo party,’ heh, as you call them; Rhea, your power is the first thing I’ve seen that actually has a lasting effect on Fortitude.”
“Wow… It’s not me, though,” she whispered. “I think it’s Victini, personally… more acting through me.”
Ash cupped his chin as his Pokemon nodded in agreement. “That’s a wonderful team-oriented way of looking at it, and it could totally be true…”
After several seconds of thought, he pointed at the Trainer Card she had opened. “If you’re worried about being in the wrong Tier or even pushing past it in the next few weeks, I’ll do what I can to help you get there, but on one condition… beat that team as a team and make it fun for everyone!”
Rhea’s internal concerns melted away; Ash was right. If they wanted to push to enter the Silver-tier by the end of this and fight where she knew they should be, they needed to set goals. Working as a team was important, and just making Silver-tier wouldn’t be enough; she hated how her Pokemon couldn’t spread their legs and have more time outside.
Girls… Alice, Mya, and Nova turned their attention to her. I want to do all our Gym now as Double Battles, so we can work better as a team. Are you with me?
Alice and Mya still didn’t quite get along, but they were game if it was for battles, and Nova pulled them both into big, spiritual hugs, drawing them together.
“Okay,” she breathed in and out, drawing Amira and Lori’s smiles. “Let’s strategize; Amira, you’re our genius, so let’s pull everything we can find on these guys and prepare to win!”
“Yeah!” Lori cheered, activating her special app to do a broad search on the team. “Uh… Chris has a Sneasel. Is that gonna be a problem, Amira?”
“Yikes,” she hissed, and Rhea figured she’d know all about the Pokemon since her father had one on his main team. “Sneasel is the fastest unevolved Pokemon… and he has a Scyther; Chris could choose either one. Rhea, I think we need Nova to go first to hopefully trip them up, but I bet they’ll know our match history.”
“Pika-pi?” the electric rat asked as her little fluff-tail exited her pokeball to replace Mya in their strategy meeting.
Nova’s brow set, wearing a smile; her little not-so-secret Glaceon was ready to enter the battlefield again. “Pweee!”
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