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2:12 p.m. October 18th, Sunday, 106 PH (Post Hoopa Event).  Day 131.

Events:  Rhea and the girls have had an eventful 60 days of hardcore training!  What’s changed?  What new things have the squad uncovered?  Let’s find out!  Our girl started her journey on the 9th of June, and the end of registration for the Winter Indigo Cup is December 5th (47 days away).

 

Hannah breathed a sigh of relief as Cerulean City came into view, and she turned around to see Rylee right behind her, followed by Sam and Jayline.  Unsurprisingly, Jade was beside her big sister’s side, the older blue-haired girl panting and wheezing at the pace they’d set.

“You okay, Cami?”  she called back, smiling at her newly evolved Ledian, hovering behind the woman and carrying her backpack.  “We can take a five-minute break, but we need to make it to the city if we’re going to catch up with Rhea and the gang before they leave and figure out how their Gym Battle went.”

Cami puffed out a groan as she dropped onto a nearby bench at the rest stop, other Trainers giving them smiles and waves as they passed.  “My heart is… pumping so hard!”  she gasped between sips of the water her little sister handed her, hand pressed against her chest.  “How… can you make me feel so old when I’m twenty?!”

June, her Oddish, looked up with supportive eyes, patting her arm as Jade dropped down to comfort her sister; she’d gone through similar training as them with Ash and Dawn, but the woman didn’t have all that much time with Rhea to get the same Aura Spike, or whatever their blonde friend had done to them.  She could certainly feel the boost, though, comparing it to the time they were vomiting in Pallet’s Pokemon Center.

Jay dropped onto the bench, too, offering her own water to her red-faced teammate.  “You’re doing great, Cami!  You and June got an amazing victory against Amara!  She was a tough Master, too.  Poppy and I almost lost against her Lileep.”

“Don’t give me that!”  Cami said with a forced smile.  “You and Hannah were so awesome; I can’t believe Poppy evolved into a Steenee and Limru evolved into a Ledian in your battles!  The whole crowd went crazy.”

“Ste-ste,” the Fruit Pokemon comforted, resting her chin on Cami’s lap to smile up at her.  “Stee?”

“Aww!  You’re absolutely adorable!”  she chirped, reaching down to stroke her hair-like leaves and making her Oddish puff up her cheeks.

“Odd-Oddish!”

Giving her Pokemon a sweet smile, she moved her onto her lap.  “I’m not forgetting about you, June.  You were amazing…  We actually beat a Silver-tier Gym.  Do you remember when we couldn’t even beat the Gym Masters here?”  she asked, gulping and looking up at the sparkling city in the distance.

“Oddish…”

Hannah crossed her arms, glancing to her right to see Rylee once again engaged in her sword swings, using her Honedge.  They’d had almost no difficulty in Forrest’s Gym, which made sense with how active the girl was in her training.  Sam had her phone out, texting Rhea about a meet-up location.

“Yeah, Limru was pretty awesome, getting Barrier Bash+ right when we needed it to smash through that Reflect and score that Critical Mach Punch.  I can’t wait until she gets Iron Fist!  But, heh, that’s not until the Dream World, so, yeah…  Jay’s got the Rapid Spin combination with Razor Leaf down!”

“We practice!”  the Alolan girl chimed.

Rylee sighed, letting go of Knight to allow her Honedge to float beside her as she joined them.  “Yeah, we did pretty good against Pewter Gym, but that was only our one-on-one, easy intro into Silver-tier.  We can’t grow complacent because we’ve got our Silver Boulder Badge.  It only gets harder from here.”

Sam brushed back her brown locks as the wind picked up, having grown out a bit since the start of their journey.  It had been cold in Pewter with a light layer of surprise snow, but the chill was far less here; the trees were mostly losing their leaves, though.

“No one is getting complacent, Ms. Crystal Samurai.”  She lowered her tone with a smile and wink.  “Samurai rule one: always be prepared!”

The girl fidgeted with her own neon-blue hair as her cheeks darkened.  “What’s wrong with having a code you live by?”

Jay grinned and tossed Rylee a power bar.  “Then why are you the one who never prepared enough food?”

“I work up an appetite!”  she defended, not denying the snack.  “I thought we weren’t going to talk about our Gym Battles with Rhea and her team until we fight at the Silver Cup, not that we haven’t heard gossip from other Trainers on the way here—blah!  Peanut Butter?!”

“It’s all I have left after someone ate my other flavors!”  Jay snickered.

Hannah pulled up the FanClub.pika site of Amira’s page, swiftly scrolling past the linked video to her idol’s battle against Misty.  She so wanted to click it and see some of the highlights their Flying Taximan had spoiled on their way out of Pewter; they hadn’t been game to trudge through the snowy route since it would have put them back a day and missed this meet-up.

“We promised not to watch each other’s battles to figure out tactics and stuff, not that we couldn’t talk about it with one another.  Didn’t you want to get a Fire Stone for Bruce, Jay?”

The golden-haired Alolan girl’s eyes sparkled as she knelt down to pet her fluffy Growlithe as he left their new Pokemon—one of which drew far too much attention with her icy coat—Tera, Star, and Mimi’s game of ‘ball hopper,’ attempting to keep it up as long as possible.

“I wanted to until I saw the price; our goal is to have the credits saved up by the time we finish all the Gyms.  Isn’t that right, boy?!  We’re going to grind hard!”

“Row-row!”  he barked, licking her cheeks and making the girl giggle.

Mimi came swooping out of the sky on Orin’s back, the Pichu and Pidgeotto landing on the bench.  “Pi-pi?!”

Jade let her electric rat hop onto her lap to stroke behind her ear.  “Mhm!  I bet you’re super close to evolving, too!  You’ve been doing so good, learning how to control your electricity, and you’re doing great, too, Orin.  Teamwork makes the dream work!”

“Cringe,” Sam snickered, getting smiling glares from all of them.  “Anyway, let’s go see our friends, and remember—”

“No talking about our new Pokemon,” Hannah repeated with a small smile, returning her Cubone to his Poke Ball.  “Ready to go, Cami?”

“The spirit is willing, but my legs and heart say no!”  she cried, forcing herself to her feet.  “Can we get a taxi when we get into the city?  My calves are killing me!”

“Sure thing,” Sam encouraged.  “In fact, I’ll order it right now and set it for thirty minutes.”

Cami gulped, looking down the road to the city in the distance.  “Thirty minutes…  Oh, you girls are evil!”

Hannah joined her other four friends in verbally supporting the woman to put one leg in front of the other.  It was rare for a Trainer who dropped out of the league to return, especially after three years away, yet Cami and June had pushed so hard to keep up with them throughout their whole training arc; the last 60 days had been torture for the pair.

Moving at what she’d come to accept as a gradual pace at this point, she swiped through the photos they’d taken together whenever they’d had group sessions in their Orange Archipelago adventure.  One thing was for sure: their tan had certainly improved since their first days, and she had to giggle at spotting Sam’s first sunburn, showing the girls to their amusement.

Jay, as an Alolan native, had super easy-to-tan skin, while they, as native Kantonians… did not.  Almost every picture saw one of them baked in red and slathered in ointment due to their harsh days under the unforgiving sun.

They’d gotten their third Pokemon during their training; well, all of them but Cami and Rylee, who had yet to fill their last slot for Silver.  The pair were still having a little trouble with their second always being out.

Hannah’s smile grew as they made it down the steep descent and to the bridge that brought them to the outskirt towns of Cerulean.  It was 2:39 p.m., and Rhea promised they had midnight tickets on the brand-new underground railway, Digglet Express, which utilized the old Diglett and Dugtrio tunnels to provide a competitor to the Magnet Train.  Only, it wasn’t quite as extensive yet.

Climbing into the cab Sam had called, they directed him to the restaurant Amira had selected in the Arts District.  It was more expensive to call an SUV taxi to fit them, yet more cost-efficient as a party if they pooled their funds.

She rested against the cushioned leather with a relieved sigh; their ride from Pewter to Apple City and then to Rifure Town hadn’t been anywhere near as comfortable since they’d taken the cheapest options, which meant they’d been cramped.  After that, it was a swift hike through the chilly, mountainous Autumn breeze of Blue Forest until they arrived at Cerulean proper.

“Hey, girls,” Cami mumbled while massaging her calves, “how about we do a little battling here in Cerulean and not kill ourselves on our next trip to Saffron?  We need to sharpen our skills against Water Trainers anyway, right?”

“True,” her little sister hummed, holding June in her lap as her Trainer tried to loosen up.  “We could take the route we did last time to get to Lavender and then take a flying taxi to Saffron from there, which would be a lot cheaper… or spend one to two weeks hiking down Route 5 at our previous pace.”

Cami’s mouth became a line as she swiftly shook her head.  “Please, no!  Not again!  Last time, we got mixed up in a local territorial war in Blue Forest.  We were kidnapped!  I get I need to work on myself, but we’re also trying to save time, heh, right?”  she winced.

“I remember,” Sam chuckled, “I was there.”

Rylee huffed, leaning against the window and looking out at the glistening skyscrapers they were now passing.  “I keep hearing about this bug war, but if I’d been with you, then I could have talked them down.”

“Pfft!”  Hannah snorted.  “You mean like how you ‘talked down’ that Crystal Onix in Sunburst Island?  You almost got yourself swatted down a waterfall!”

“That’s different,” she mumbled, looking away.  “And, that worked out since I got Tissa…  I didn’t know how much attention I’d draw from her, though.  I hope Rhea doesn’t get spoiled on it, so maybe I should just tell her.”

Sam sucked in her lips.  “Mmm.  I mean, we should have expected it with how much love and hate Nova gets online…  She’s not quite ready for Silver yet, but I think you’re really pushing it with a Crystal Onix; you can hardly keep her out for more than half the day with how much pressure she puts on your spirit.”

“I’m training,” Rylee defended, having been fairly self-conscious about not having a third Pokemon yet.  “Rhea’s mom and Ash said that she’d be an absolute monster; it’s just… yeah, I didn’t expect the attention.  I’m glad we got out of Pewter before those sketchy guys asking to buy her went for a more forceful approach.  No, I know it’s not your fault,” she whispered, keeping her voice down while likely talking to her second Pokemon.

Jade leaned over to talk to them in the back seat.  “Her 1st Stage Ability is insane, for sure; well, if she can evolve at all, and if she can, wooh!  I bet Amira would faint if she knew.  What do you think, Club President?  She’s a titan, and twice as big as normal Onix her age.  How’s your funds?  Do you need to borrow anymore?”

Hannah could see worry now on her teammates’ faces as they focused in on Rylee, fidgeting with her bedazzled Poke Ball.  They hadn’t expected the huge increase in food some of their new Pokemon would have on their budget.

“No…  No, I’m good.  Thanks for offering, Jade.”

“On the bright side, if you do tell them, then you’ll be able to get support—actually, taking a picture with Nova may end up deterring a lot of people from pestering us,” Sam thoughtfully mumbled.  “In fact, let’s just say screw it and show off our new Pokemon!”

“Really?”  Hannah asked, stress melting away.

“I think that’s fair since we know all theirs,” Cami chimed.  “I can’t wait to show off my handsome Gligor!  He’s such a tease; I love him.”

Jayline nodded, taking out her own showy Poke Ball, glistening green and black.  “Let’s do it!”

Filing out of the SUV, they waved the driver goodbye; he’d likely only heard half of their conversation due to the music he’d been blasting.  They were just another random customer, after all.

Hannah turned to look up and down the street, where rich vines grew over rails and flowers, trees, and artistic displays were set up.  Her focus was drawn to the murals of Pokemon on some of the walls, showing all sorts of styles.  Amira certainly knew how to choose a cool place to have a dinner date.

Trying to ease the sudden tension she shouldn’t have for meeting a friend, Hannah took out a makeup mirror to check her face and hair.  Amira was always the picture of perfection; just by watching her, she’d been able to find all sorts of fashion tips for redheads, from her outfits to how she did her hair.

“Hurry up, superfan,” Sam called back, making Hannah jump upon realizing her friends were already at the door to the restaurant.  “You look fine!”

“Shut up!”  she hissed, embarrassment rising at the looks some of the passersby gave them.  “You can’t tell me you’re not excited to hang out with Rhea again.”

Sam flashed her slightly crooked teeth.  “I am, but I know Rhea isn’t the type to think about how I look, which is fine!  You don’t need to—wait, your hair…”

“My what?!”  Jay and Jade snickered as she took out the mirror again.

Cami huffed.  “Don’t be mean, Sam; your hair is perfect, Hannah!  Oh, Rylee…”

“Is already inside,” Hannah grumbled, Star jumping out of his Poke Ball to materialize on her shoulder.

“Prrrri!”

“I know, I know,” she chuckled, catching the ball as it expanded and shot to her hand before minimizing it to put on her belt.  “You’re excited to see your bestie, Holly.  Let’s do this!”

Setting her resolve, she entered the grungy brick establishment, going for more of a fashionably old look with its rustic, polished wooden tables and brownish-themed design.  Plants grew from various places, and the fresh smell of coffee, baked bread, and meat filled the air.

She looked up with the others to the second level, where Amira sat at a table, offering them a perfect smile and waving to let them know where they were.  At first sight, Hannah knew that Amira was exactly who she wanted to be: cool, sophisticated, smart, and beautiful.  Why did she make it look so easy?

Panic made her stumble a little, but her teammates didn’t even seem to notice as they went to the stairs.  Stay calm, Hannah!  It’s cool.  Be cool and not weird!  I’m just having lunch with a girl who sang with Muking Yancy and has a top-chart song…  She even donated all the proceeds.

Heart thumping, she made it to the second floor and spotted the three gorgeous superstars who should never be friends with average girls like them.  However, there was a surprise; Casey, Lori’s half-sister, was beside the purple-haired social media star, taking pictures with Inoa and Ellie, her teammates.

Rhea’s golden smile lit up upon seeing them, her Legendary nimbus cloud waving from atop her head.  “Hey, girls!  How was the trip?”

Sam initiated, as usual, taking one of the chairs on the long table they’d reserved.  “Rough.  It’s snowing in Pewter, by the way.  I bet we left a foot of powder behind us.”

“Ouch!”  Lori returned.  “Hey, Cass, scoot down a little so we have room, fatty.”

“Someone’s projecting!”  the silver-haired girl returned, poking the side of her sister’s bust with an unabashed grin.  “Is it just me, or have you been working on those love handles?  Kicked up a few hundred calories a day, Sis?”

“You know it!  Alolan boys like a little meat on their girl.  You know what I mean, Inoa, Jay!”

The black-haired and dark-skinned empath choked on her bread as Jay sat next to her.  “W-What?”

“Hey, I feel like that’s a slight against all thin women like me,” the blonde Alolan girl laughed.  “Not all Alolan girls have the beef, but we sure can eat it!”

“Then eat away, fatties!”  Lori cheered, holding up her glass of juice.  “Meals on me today since we’re standing on Victory Hill, baby!”

Jade sat on Lori’s other side.  “We heard about some upsets on our flight out of Pewter.  The guy wouldn’t stop talking about the change in format and difficulty spike for Silver—are those the badges?”  she asked.

Hannah settled in next to Amira, noticing a shimmering, silver-outlined teardrop hairpin that kept the redhead’s locks in a fashionable bun.  Why do I suddenly feel so dirty…  We should have taken a shower before coming.

She gulped as a server came with menus as the other girls got into their own discussions, each of them flipping open their handed booklets to scan the dishes.  Rhea was pulled every which way as their ‘known’ Pokemon exited to take another table to chat.

Electricity flashed down her spine as Amira gave her undivided attention in the chaos of words.  “You seem nervous, Hannah.  Is everything okay?”

All she saw were shimmering rubies in her idol’s locked eyes.  “Umm…  Yeah, no, it’s just… eh-heh, I feel like we’re a bit underdressed,” she half-lied, looking down at her shorts and tank top.  “We’re good to talk about our Gym Battles, right?  We’re just, uh, not… watching them?”

Stupid!  Stupid!  She internally slammed her face on the table.  What kind of pivot was that?  Way to totally look like an idiot, stumbling over your words like some anti-social stalker!  Not that I’m a stalker—no, we’re friends, and I don’t follow her anywhere… except social media…

Her cooked brain must have increased the heat in her face because Amira’s full lips drew in ever so slightly while studying her.  “I think you pull off the tank and shorts combo well; it’s simple, cute, and practical.  Plus, I love what you did with your hair; the double-linked braid down the back is one I’m fond of.”

“Thanks!  Umm, I really like your bun, too.  The Silver Encrusted Cascade pin is really cool.  Did it cost a lot?”

Amira reached up to feel the smooth surface.  “Not as much as you might think.  I can give you the details of where to get it done if you like.”

Butterflies swirled in her stomach.  “I’d love that.”

Amira brought up her phone to send her the contact info, showing a graceful smile.  “I planned for us to go to the beach after this to have some fun, and the shop is on the way.  Here’s the location.  As for our battle with Misty.  Yes, it was quite the Shell Smash.”

Getting more comfortable in her chair, Hannah’s hands knotted in her lap as she crossed her feet.  “Misty changed it to a Double Battle, right?  You had signed up for Singles.  That must have been such an… uh, a scary moment,” she pivoted from saying something crude.

Her redheaded idol scratched her arm with a short chuckle.  “It was unexpected…  I led with Holly, and Misty countered with a Qwilfish…  Luckily, it wasn’t a Hisuian variant, which, apparently, she’d recently gotten from the Sinnoh League to test.”

Hannah’s gut tightened at the news.  “Wait, I heard about some Gym Leaders getting some of these new Hisuian variants; a lot of Silver and Gold-tier Trainers are complaining about it on the public forums since it’s not technically a Water-Type.  Isn’t that the Dark/Poison one?  Wouldn’t that be a crazy counter against Amber’s Psychic Moves and Typing?”

Amira crossed her legs and folded her arms under her bust.  “Sharp thinking, Hannah.  It wouldn’t be just Amber, though.  We’ve used Hypnosis a lot in battles, and Dark Types are immune to it, which put us in an awkward spot.  However, Misty decided to turn it up to eleven and give us our first taste against a Gyarados.”

“No way…”

“The crowd was on their feet.  Honestly,” the redhead mumbled, “it was a tough pill to swallow.  Holly’s Helping Hand, Lucky Chant, and Leech Seed were some of the only ways we were able to win since Serenity has such small Attack Stats; well, that and Status Moves gave us the opening we needed.”

“Mmmgm!”  Hannah sat back and tried to control her ping-ponging thoughts, trying to figure out how Amira had won.  “I want to ask more, but I feel like I shouldn’t since I shouldn’t be trying to pry into your tactics.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Amira smoothly returned, picking up her coffee to wet her throat.  “I’m not all that concerned about the condition we made.  To be frank, I’d rather we drop it since I’d like for us to support one another.  Rhea, Sam… what do you girls think?”

Rhea hummed, looking at the brunette beside her.  “I thought it would be cool at the time.  Now, it does seem a bit too restrictive, though.  I want to see your awesome victories, get excited, and congratulate you.”

Sam nodded and took out her last remaining Poke Ball.  “If that’s the case, then allow me to introduce to you Shelly the Abra.”  The snoozing Pokemon exited her capsule to hover above the tablecloth.  “Funny name, huh?  She chose it herself since she lived around a lot of Shellder.  Bit of a sleeper, but she’s super reliable.”

Hannah took her newest Pokemon out and tossed him to the other table to meet the others.  “Bond is my awesome Cubone.  He’s a total champ at the ball-bouncing game you guys got us into.”

“My turn!”  Jay sang, revealing her narrow-eyed green bird.  “Meet, Nut the Natu!  He’s been catching up to Poppy fast.”

Lori’s teeth flashed as she pushed against the table’s support to lean back and get a better look at the spot where their Pokemon were mingling.  “I saw you’ve got some evolutions under your belt, girls!  Nice.  Nice.  That Poppy smile on your Steenee is infectious, Jay!”

“Nee-nee!”  Poppy cheered, doing a cute curtsy that had all the other Pokemon clamoring, especially Rhea’s Legendary puff ball.

“Nee?”

“Nee!”

“Ne-ne-neeee?”

The cute pair jumped up, pressing hands together as Poppy’s leaf-hair beat to lift them both off the ground temporarily.

“Steenee-nee!”

“Nee!”

Nova was chatting it up with Limru as the Ledyba told her about her epic fight against a Larvitar.  Meanwhile, their other Pokemon were quickly getting into their own tales.  Tera jumped up and down, swinging her trunk in a circular motion to Mya’s impressed nods.

“Hmm-hmm!”  Jade smirked and held up her Poke Ball.  “If you thought Shelly the Abra was good, then you should meet Shela the Shellder!”  She released the Shiny Clam Pokemon with pride, showing off its glistening, golden coat to their claps.  “I thought about Goldie or Mustard, but she didn’t like those.”

The clam stuck out her tongue at her Trainer before retreating into her shell and making the cobalt-haired girl laugh.  “She’s a little Timid.”

Rhea rocked back and forth, shining with excitement.  “So cool!  You’re all growing so fast!  Oh, what about you, Cami?  Sam said you had a secret weapon, too.”

Jade leaned in to elbow her big sister’s side.  “Yeah, Cam, show us your definition of cute.”

“Oh, shush, you!”  she returned, reaching over to mess up her sister’s hair.

“Woah!  Woah!  Not cool, Sis!”

Chuckling, her sister took out her Poke Ball and tossed it to the ceiling for a familiar winged Pokemon to spread his arms and latch onto the ceiling beams.  “Meet, Devlin!  I’m aware that you met a similar little Scorpion when facing Janine, Lori.”

Lori clapped.  “Don’t tell me…”

“No!”  The older blue-haired woman chirped.  “No, he doesn’t have Shackle; he’s got Block Shot, which has a chance to stop ranged Moves.”

“That’s not cheap,” Lori laughed.  “I like it!  I like it!  And you’ve been kind of quiet, Rylee; what’s up, girl?”

Sweeping her neon-blue locks across the back of her chair, she cleared her throat.  “This place is a bit too… small for my Pokemon.  Is there an outside eating area?”

The server returned in time to hear the request and spoke up.  “Absolutely.  Would you like me to move everything out back?  There’s a private banquet area that hasn’t been reserved until 5 p.m.”

“Yes, please,” Rhea said, scooting out.  “I think all of us have our orders, right?”

Hannah gulped, eyes darting to her menu.  “One second!  I haven’t read through it yet.”

“No rush,” Amira said, getting to her feet and motioning for their Pokemon to follow the server.  “Will the cost for the reservation go up?”

Rhea choked, probably not even thinking about it.

The server shook her head.  “No, think of it as on the house, Ms. Rocket.  Please, this way.”

Tingles shot up Hannah’s arms at the statement; Amira was just too awesome.  Yet, the redhead didn’t seem all that pleased for some reason as they moved to the back.  Walled off on all sides, the area was being prepared for a banquet, it seemed, and the wind didn’t really bother them due to the barriers.

On the way, Amira sighed and continued their previous topic.  “As for my battle with Misty, it was tough trying to avoid the Barb Barrage, but they managed it by working together, and the Gyarados was mostly just there to Intimidate and apply cover, trying to make us lose our nerve since he only had a few Moves.”

“I bet it was tanky as all Muk, though,” she said, wanting to bite her tongue as the curse slipped through.

“Haha.  It really was tanky as all Muk,” Amira returned, surprising Hannah.  “Rhea’s was arguably far harder, though.”

Hannah glanced at the blonde ahead of them, engaged in hearing Sam’s fight against one of Pewter’s Masters.  “What happened?”

“Basically, a Gold-tier battle.”

She almost missed the last stair and caught herself on the railing.  “Shut up!”

Amira chuckled.  “Misty only does Stage Changes for Gold-tier and above, unlike Janine, and she turned it into a swamp for Alice and Nova to face a Quagsire and Lombre.”

“Nooo,” Hannah gasped, spotting the prancing black-and-white Eevee slip outside.  “Nova’s worst nightmare: the mud.”

“Oh, she was a champ,” her idol whispered.  “She swapped between Vaporeon and Glaceon to handle the bog, and Alice was a ninja in the trees, using the environment against them.  It was pretty intense, and Rhea won by time and judge’s ruling.”

“Ahh.  I want to see it,” Hannah groaned.  “Misty’s so mean!  I used to watch my dad’s battles all the time going to bed, and his Gold-tier Gym challenges against the Masters were so intense.  I can’t believe Rhea can actually fight at that level!”

Amira’s smile softened.  “I bet you’ll be there before you know it, and your dad will be taking time off to see you battle.”

“I hope so,” she mumbled, quieting down as the server got their table all ready.

In truth, her father had called her a few times to tell her how proud he was, but he’d been working extra shifts to pay for a lot of the debt he’d recently discovered they owed from her deadbeat mother.  A deadbeat mother who randomly showed up on their doorstep out of nowhere when she’d seen her in some gossip article with Rhea.  She wanted to strangle the Leech Life that was her mother for putting more stress and debt on her father since, technically, they were still married.

Letting the sour feelings drift away, she tried to enjoy the moment as Rylee revealed her new Pokemon.  Silence fell over everyone in the area as a ten-meter-long Crystal Onix exited her Poke Ball.

Rylee cleared her throat.  “Umm.  Meet Tissa, my amazing little girl… who people keep trying to put a price tag on for me to sell her.  She has Filter as an Ability, and that’s got a lot of businesses in Pewter going Mankey over her when we fought in a small High Bronze-tier tournament before our flight.”

Amira took a deep breath and let it stream out beside her.  “Rylee, you are legitimately in danger when this hits the wider market…”

The Samurai rubbed her arm.  “I mean, Rhea’s been kind of fine… right?”

Lori snorted, snapping a picture with her sister as Tissa leaned down to nuzzle her Trainer.  “Rhea’s stacked with scary family, girl.  You’re boned.”

Rylee rubbed the top of the Crystal Onix’s head.  “What am I supposed to do?  We bonded while I was challenging her dad all the time…  She even sat under the waterfall with me and trained!  How can I keep her safe?”

Everyone turned to Amira, making the redhead sigh.  “I’ll… put in a call to my father to draw up a contract for a research proposition; if people publicly know Rocket is involved with this Crystal Onix, then it should keep the scum away from you… hopefully.”

Hannah’s heart heated at the concern and offer to protect the awkward Samurai-loving girl; Amira was too perfect!

Her fingers instantly went to her phone, but she had to restrain herself; this was one story about her idol that she couldn’t share with the fan club.  She sat down with her teammates and friends to eat as the employees gawked at the giant, shimmering Rock/Ice Pokemon.  She had to enjoy this time with Amira and learn more from the elegant Rocket star while she had the chance.

From dining etiquette to learning how totally outclassed she was in physical sports, such as volleyball at the beach or holding her breath, as the day went on, Hannah had the time of her life.  She knew Amira wasn’t a monolith or truly perfect, but she was as close as it got in her eyes.  One thing was for sure: she’d have a ton of things to report on how phenomenal Amira was to the rest of her fan club.

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