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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11:05 a.m. July 17th, Friday, 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. Our girl started her journey on the 9th of June—she’s been a Trainer for 38 Days (37 officially; 38 since getting Maya and Nova). Tomorrow is the day they get their Buddy Pokemon!
Rhea groaned as she felt something hard poke her side, stretching out on the futon provided by the dojo in their rented room; light blinded her, and, rolling to her back, she let her vision adjust until Mya came into view, a concerned frown on her face.
“What’s… going on?” she yawned, blinking a few times.
She followed Mya’s gesture to her empty room, and it took a moment for Rhea to realize she’d slept in; their bags were in the closet, likely with her teammate’s beds. She didn’t feel super rested, but well enough to twist around to crack her bones and force herself out of her light blanket.
“I’m up… I’m up—pffooph…” She spat out her bangs that slipped out of her bun and found their way into her mouth, forced to use her fingers to pick them out. “Bleh. What time is it? Oh, thank you, Mya.”
Taking the phone her Mawile offered her, she said good morning to her other two Pokemon before her blank mind settled on the time.
“Huh… 11 a.m.? Hmm. Wait… I slept for more than twelve hours?! Huh?!”
She rubbed the side of her head, groaning while resisting the urge to drop back into the bed, and restrained a yawn. “Wow… Aura Bonding is Muking taxing! How are you guys doing?” she asked, taking Alice out of her Poke Ball to allow the vibrating bun to bounce off the walls and release her energy.
“Bun! Bun-bun!”
“Maw-mawile…”
Nova hugged her spirit with her little paws; even when she wasn’t outside her Poke Ball, the Eevee snuggled with Rhea in her sleep; apparently, she’d enjoyed the lazy morning, getting more time to cuddle with her.
“Ugh. Well, I guess I should get up…” Rhea paused as she saw a notification; her mother had sent a text that she’d be visiting tomorrow and wanted it to be in private.
Rhea had almost forgotten that they were getting their Buddy Pokemon, which showed how draining her Aura Bonding was; she quickly scanned the information, excitement welling up in her belly.
8:21 a.m. – Mom: This may be a bit long, but there’s a lot I need to explain. These Pokemon are not what you expect and will draw attention since they have to be out 24/7, which means you and your Pokemon will have a lot of responsibilities in taking care of them.
As I told you, they have Victini Cores inside of them, and they are all female due to the requirement of fusing their genetic-energy structure into a forced helical fusion. They are all very young and will probably be mischief makers; well, at least Lori and yours will be. Amira’s is gorgeous and sweet; I love her!
They’re unbonded, so, as I said, you need to be careful and care for them because I went through a ton of hoops to get you this opportunity. Just show them love and welcome them in as a part of the team, and I’m sure you’ll do great. Ask Ash how to prepare. I’ll be at the dojo to introduce you at 10 a.m. tomorrow.
I can’t wait to see your face! <3
8:27 a.m. – Mom: Oh, afterthought; I saw on your social media page you’re going to be pushing for Silver and bypassing Bronze. Your brother has a fire under his butt, or so Kate tells me; he never calls and no socials! I hear he just challenged Kate to bypass Platinum with him and take on the Master challenge by the end of the year!
I’m so proud of my little Swablu and Houndour! Big steps! Also, your grandpa keeps liking and commenting on your posts, so show him a little love back. =P I know he never stops.
8:31 a.m. – Mom: After-afterthought! I’m guessing Gables, Amber, and Alice will evolve in the next two weeks with how swiftly you’re progressing. They’ll hit a bit of a rebellious stage, and change a little, so bear with them! Love you guys!
Chuckling at how concerned her mother was becoming, Rhea rolled up her futon and slipped on her dress while taking her extra bikini to the in-dojo laundry room to put them in, not spotting anyone in the halls since most of the people were probably outside, training or engaged in other activities.
Some of the machines were running, and Rhea swiped her phone I.D. to pay for the service, heading to the bathroom to get ready; Mya and Alice were out for now, and each of them would be swapping places each hour, which Ash and Pikachu got them used to.
Rhea liked that the electric rat had helped them get past taking turns and being fair to one another when it came to spending time outside the capsule; they could experience stuff through Rhea, but it wasn’t the same as spreading their limbs and engaging in the world themselves.
She didn’t have Amber there to dry her hair, which had Rhea sitting in front of the mirror with her super-dense, soaked hair draped all the way to the tile when wet. “Oh-no… I’ve grown dependent on Amira and Amber,” she mumbled with a forced laugh, making her Pokemon snicker as she parsed through her combed-out locks.
It took longer than she would have liked to dry and shape it into a bun; she was unsure if she was expected to do any physical training with the other students. It was nice that they let her sleep in, but her friends were caring and thoughtful like that.
Checking her hair’s security in the mirror, she flashed her teeth before realizing she hadn’t brought her toothbrush supplies with her; breathing on her hand, she grimaced and backtracked to snatch the items.
Finished preparing and twisting to check to see if her dress was alright, Rhea picked up Nova, having swapped a bit ago, and waved with her chirping Eevee, saying good morning to their reflections.
“Ready to take on the world, girls?!”
Her three Pokemon cheered, excited to greet a new addition to their party tomorrow.
Wandering through the dojo, they took in the well-maintained estate; the past Grandmasters and students really seemed to put their hearts and souls into building up what they hoped would be the pride of Saffron.
Their goal was to be the next Saffron Gym, and, unfortunately, they were up against the final boss and team breaker of Fighting-Type specialists—the genius psychic, Sabrina. Still, they persevered.
The dojo was pretty large, extending far behind the main building and showing other facilities used for things Rhea couldn’t guess at. Perhaps the most critical detail was everyone was training with enthusiasm; this was more than a pastime for these Trainers; it was a way of life.
Thirty minutes passed before asking someone for help finding her party; they’d apparently gone out for the day, making her huff and call Amira.
“Rhea. I see you’re up. Hehe. Ash thought you might sleep all day.”
“I probably could. You could have sent me a text to let me know where you guys were going; I’ve been wandering around for a while. What’s up?”
“Oh. Yeah, sorry, I thought Lori texted you…”
“Huh? Aye, I thought you texted her,” the Unovan girl shot back, and she heard loud noises in the background that sounded like the casinos from movies. “Yes! Alright, let’s**** the blackjack table, girl—you can totally make a killing—I swear!”
“Ugh. I don’t gamble, Lori.”
“You’re a Rocket! What do you mean you don’t gamble; your family practically invented it, right?”
“Wow… No. Just, no. My family exploited people who had no self-control.”
“Ouch! C’mon, Amira. Just a few rounds. I know you’re a pro; you don’t have to be modest!”
The redhead’s tone became dull, and a sound came from her phone that said the girl had sent her their location. “Save me, Rhea. Ash already blew most of his money.”
“Eh?! Wasn’t he going to pay us back for all the food he borrowed on the trip here?”
“Yeah… Lori’s a bad influence, and Ash seems to have no luck.”
“Pika-pi…” his electric buddy groaned, probably sitting on Amira’s shoulder; he sounded in pain.
“Lori! Lori!” Ash called out from a distance. “I need another thousand; I almost had the triple seven!”
“Bro! That’s like ten grand you’ve sunk from me; I know I win a lot, but give me a break!”
Rhea forced a laugh, checking the directions real fast before starting on the journey. “I’ll be right there. Lori seems like she’s doing well?”
“Eh… I expect we’ll get kicked out soon,” she leerily mumbled. “She’s cheating somehow and using Ash’s losing streak as a smoke screen to skirt the line. I’m guessing she has a pullout number she wants to get to; Miky, Gables, and Roxie love it.”
“Haha. Okay. I’m coming. We can hang out a bit while they do their shady stuff. Want to get lunch?”
“Absolutely,” she whispered as Rhea heard Lori cheer in the background. “I expect she’ll be banned from at least three places by the end of the night, but she may subvert my expectations; casinos want winners since it incentivizes others to drop big, and the winners generally keep spending until they lose everything they gain. See you soon.”
“See you soon!”
Hanging up, Rhea giggled at the photos Amira posted on social media; Ash honestly looked down in the dumps in one and then determined to win the next second. Lori seemed to be feeding an addiction to lighten tensions and rally others up to cause more commotion.
Rhea wondered how much she’d come out with at the end and swapped over to her social media page to check on her Wooloo friends. They’d exited Blue Forest—thankfully, considering their humorous involvement in a bug Pokemon territorial war—and were in the golden fields of Cerulean’s farmsteads.
They were posting a lot of photos of them battling, faces filled with determination, and Rhea couldn’t help a smile upon seeing their totally changed attitudes from when she’d first met them back in Pallet, down in the dumps and puking out of their minds after bonding to their first Pokemon.
Here were her Wooloo friends, making a name for themselves all on their own, and winning battle after battle, climbing up the ranks; Tera was an absolute monster that had a lot of the Bronze slack chatrooms buzzing with stories about the invincible tank.
Mya puffed up her chest in pride at her ‘pupil’s’ success; Tera learned the ways of total destruction well from the Mawile, according to her little snap-jaw Pokemon.
Jade’s sister loved the training Ash was doing with them with the ball and rallied their team to do the same; it was fun seeing Hannah’s secretly taken video of Jade utterly failing at the game as her big sister juggled circles around her. For being so close, Rhea was beginning to see they were really competitive toward each other, which was great as travel rivals.
Jay had taken a considerable liking to Cami, and they had high hopes for their newest recruit; tomorrow, they’d make it to the village, pick up their new samurai teammate, and shoot east to the train station.
Rhea swapped over to Jason’s team—a little surprised she hadn’t heard a lot from her best friend recently—to see them on some kind of ship; somehow they’d gotten a ticket that took them all the way to Fuchsia City, and after scrolling up, she saw Jason post that they’d be attempting to do the Silver Encrusted Challenge, two hours after she’d posted it.
Wondering if it was a coincidence or if the competitive Kalos trainer couldn’t stand Amira skipping the League bracket they were in, so he was pushing his party to go on to Silver. Although it appeared Jason was fired up for the task, as well. It made Rhea wonder if they’d meet them in the Winter Cup.
She sent a few heart emojis at her grandfather to show him some random love that she knew he’d appreciate before exiting the app. Looking back on the casino pictures Amira texted, Rhea smiled; the violet-haired girl would have to win big if she wanted to have Silver-tier funds. In fact, all of them did.
Scanning the rules, she discovered some changes had come to Kanto and Johto outside of the United League Cup; it was a flat rate for each challenge.
At Bronze-tier, the cost was 1,000 credits for a regular Gym Badge and 3,000 per Encrusted, yet it didn’t double like it had for the United League they’d entered. After further thought, she looked it up online and saw a petition to lower the price since it was ridiculous to think a Bronze-tier Trainer earned that many funds when typical battles ranged between 25 to 100 credits a win.
Luckily, since they’d now be off the United League bracket, their Encrusted Silver-tier would cost 6,000 per challenge, making it a 24,000 total price if winning each of the four Leader battles. Non-Encrusted was 16,000 total.
She looked through the many threads online, seeing some of the complaints involved in this Encrusted Cup. Things would likely change in the following United Cup; it was a learning experience.
Rhea put her phone away when Amira came into sight. Waving, they went to a sit-in diner to order some food, and she updated the redhead on the plan for tomorrow.
Amira asked if she had any clues about what they might be, and she shrugged her shoulders, picking away at the malt she’d ordered, sharing with her three Pokemon as they took turns. Her mother loved to surprise them, and it had to be a Pokemon worth putting a Victini Core into, which likely meant they were super powerful.
Rhea giggled as Amira mumbled about her daydream that it would be Maushold, Iron Valiant, or Baxcaliber. Not recognizing the names, she figured the girl had been immersing herself in the recent Paldean region’s Pokemon; sure enough, the Rocket girl reluctantly revealed she’d been getting information from her grandmother.
Not many Trainers from the region came to Kanto or Johto, a lot of these Pokemon were new, and Rhea had to admit some were very cool. Rhea wouldn’t mind an Iron Moth or an adorable Flutter Mane, which might make Luna, her brother’s Mismagius, jealous.
Having fun daydreaming and going over all the interesting Pokemon on Pokedex. Eventually, they exited the website, paid for their meal, and met up with a hyped Lori and depressed Ash.
“Win big?” Rhea laughed.
“Pi-Pi-Pikachu,” the electric rat soothed, patting Ash on the head.
The legend forced himself to smile. “It’s no big deal… I just owe Lori like… 40,000 credits.”
Rhea shook her head with a short chuckle. “Ouch! Haha.”
Miky held up a peace sign with a toothy grin on Lori’s shoulder. “Shi-shi-shi!”
The lilac-eyed girl puffed up her chest. “I only made what… 34,000, Ash? We also got a sweet little TM we could cash in at 40% off with the tokens with a protect, total—drum roll—25,000! We’re doing good, bud!” she cheered, high-fiving the Impidimp.
“Wonderful!” Amira snickered. “I guess you won’t need to borrow any more money from me?”
“Oof! Yeah, hehe… yeah, we’re good… this time. I do need to go sign up for Monday; we good to hit the Gym before it closes?”
Rhea glanced between her three travel companions. “I don’t think we have anything else to do today, right; Lori’s got her money and a strategy to take on Sabrina, so… training at the dojo?”
Ash rubbed the back of his neck and waved them off. “You girls can go set things up. I told Kyle I wanted to check up on Terri; it’s been a while since I stopped by the hospital.”
Mind flashing back to the former Dojo Master’s tragic story, Rhea’s heart went out to the girl, and making a snap decision, she said, “Lori, Amira, I think I want to go with Ash. See you after at the dojo?”
“Sure,” Lori shrugged before understanding brightened her face. “You know her… Oh, are you going to check her Aura or something? Ash has seen it, hasn’t he? Can Rhea do anything to help?”
Amira shot a leery, side-long look at the Unovan girl. “Don’t assume random things; that’s a lot of pressure, and what brought you to that conclusion?”
“I don’t know,” Lori mumbled, her smile becoming strained. “Sorry, I just thought you were testing out all your recent Aura stuff, so maybe this was something like yesterday.”
Rhea shook her head. “I don’t know if I can do anything, but I just want to be there to support Kyle since he was so kind to us yesterday and helped us get a cheap place to stay since we need to save for the Encrusted challenges.”
“That’s sweet,” Ash said, and Pikachu gave an approving nod with a thumbs up. “I’m sure Terri would enjoy the company, as well; the more, the merrier!”
Amira’s expression softened. “That’s Rhea… too kind for her own good. We’ll see you after.”
“Yup, later!” Lori sang, breaking away to pull up her map, stop, and walk in the opposite direction as Amira sighed. “Eh-hehe. Wrong way!”
Rhea watched them go, her nerves tightening her stomach. Lori had been mostly right; she wanted to be able to help, and recalling the discussions revolving around Ho-Oh, and Viridian City-State was still fresh on her mind.
Ash put his hands in his pockets, nudging his head to show her the right direction. “Huu-haaa. You want to understand her Aura when she’s unconscious?”
“Umm… I should really slow down after yesterday, but I… have this feeling. Gah!” She fidgeted with her high bun, seeing Alice and Nova studying her from further up the sidewalk as people walked around them. “It’s kind of like what happened yesterday, but… I can’t place my finger on it.”
“Pi-Pika.”
“I know, bud…”
Rhea’s eyebrows drew together as the electric rat shot a tight-mouthed stare at his Trainer. “What?”
Ash reached up to scratch his partner’s neck. “You’re probably connecting to my own Aura, and the truth is, give it a solid year, and you might be able to bring her back… if you have the proper training.”
The information hit her like a ton of bricks, and she bent down to pick up Nova and Alice as they began to draw too much attention. “Wait… I could bring people back from a coma?”
“It’s not that simple. Huu-haaa. I didn’t want to bring this up because you’re far from having the control to repair spiritual bonds, much less consciously restructure someone’s Aura, and even if I have all the knowledge to give you, I’m not a specialist in that field.”
“Huh…” Rhea absorbed his explanation, trying not to feel overwhelmed by the fact she could do a miracle and disappointed that she wasn’t skilled enough to fix Terri’s injuries right away. “I don’t get how I can do so many things with my Aura… I get I have insane genes with Mew and Mewtwo and the like in me, but can you tell me what I can’t do?”
Ash’s cheeks pulled in, and he streamed out another long breath. “Honestly, Rhea… you can Aura Link, Aura Mimic, and Aura Seal at some point… even things far more significant, and I know you don’t understand what those mean, but your mother was forced to design you to literally be a Legendary Human… to rule all Pokemon and humanity.”
“Haha.” It sounded so cartoonish coming from the man, and she deepened her voice. “One girl to rule them all, One girl to find them, One girl to bring them all, and in the Aura bind them; in the one called Rhea, where the Aura Soul lies! I’m a supervillain! Bua-ha-ha-ha!”
Alice, Mya, and Nova chirped their mirth at her own laughter, and Ash followed her example.
“That’s a good attitude to keep! Haha. Stay humble, Rhea. You really do have a pure heart, and I’m glad I get to hang around you. Uh… we’re here.”
Rhea looked up at the large, fancy-looking hospital Ash had guided them to. “Okay… I hope I can help people like Terri someday.”
“What do you mean?” Ash asked, waving at the excited patients moving about as they noticed the legend. “You can make a difference just by showing up and showing people you care… that you’re thinking of them. We’re helping Terri—and her loved ones— by being there for her… she already lost most of her family, so Kyle’s all she has left. Ready to create some smiles?!”
“Pika-pi!”
Rhea nodded, letting her self-depression go from Ash’s infectious Aura. “Yeah! Oh, let’s stop by and grab some flowers, too. You never know, maybe she’ll wake up, and I know I’d be touched if I saw someone had left flowers. Yeah… let’s get some flowers!”
“Good call!” Ash grinned, and they went inside, stopping at the shop to select some lovely red tulips to match the woman’s hair.
Entering the room, she saw Kyle sitting by the bed, leaning forward with a blank stare as he watched the sleeping redhead; she was hooked up to life support. A small smile lifted his somber expression as Ash moved in to hug him, saying May sent her regards.
He thanked her for the tulips when Rhea handed it to him, unconsciously asking how she was doing; there was no change, and as they sat down, Kyle chuckled softly before going into a few stories that probably just popped into mind after seeing the flowers.
They let him talk, and he began to choke up at one point, making Rhea realize he probably was closer to Terri than just a friend; apparently, they’d grown up together, and she’d always been the stubborn type that never backed down. She was the first person to try any new ramen recipe he made, and since her coma, he hadn’t made a new one since.
It made Rhea’s nose burn and dab at her cheeks. She couldn’t imagine her mom or dad in this kind of state, feeling helpless, and the pain that it had been caused by someone else made her want to exact justice.
After a while, she realized these were probably Kyle’s emotions. So much pain caused by some random guy who wanted to find someone who could challenge him; she wished someone would give him exactly what he’d done to Terri. Kyle may look happy on the outside, but he was breaking year by year.
When they left, the sun descended below the buildings, painting the sky orange, which instilled a desire to push her Aura training further. She didn’t want someone like Kyle to suffer anymore, someone who just loved making food people enjoyed.
Her teammates were a bit taken aback when Rhea hugged them and cried a little, still sensitive to the scene and fearing that someday it would be Amira or Lori; she couldn’t forgive someone who hurt those close to her, and the hard part was that with her Aura opening up, she could feel close to a complete stranger.
Amira and Lori got her into bed and brought back a more positive vibe by talking about their Buddy Pokemon her mother was bringing tomorrow. Nova, Alice, and Mya also tried to cheer her up, wanting to have a great day with their fresh partner.
Drifting off to bed, Rhea drifted between dreams, seeing memories of Terri and Kyle on some kind of picnic or vacationing near a beach, where Kyle actually rented a ramen stand to test out a new recipe to Terri’s mild amusement and agitation. The feelings warmed her heart.
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