---

7:48 A.M. July 2, Thursday, 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 take about a week for the transition to happen before it is open for challenges.

Our girl started her journey on the 9th of June—she’s been a Trainer for 23 Days (22 officially; 23 since getting Maya and Nova).

 

Walking off the docks, Rhea couldn’t help but marvel at the grand scope of the colossal city-temple; images didn’t do it justice, and the vibrance of the colors mixed with the elegant architecture was breathtaking.

She couldn’t help but giggle at seeing children running after one another, playing tag while using the flowing water as slides, and they were snappy in keeping momentum to stay ahead of their pursuers.

Teenagers flew freely between the temple’s base pillars, giggling while spending time together before school, and a few parents seemed to be teaching their kids the meaning behind the symbols of the People of the Water.  Several ducked shyly behind the columns upon seeing them, others grinning and waving.

They returned the gestures, spinning around in circles, vision skyward to see the adults and Pokemon going about their business, relocating supplies, or performing weekly maintenance.  Rhea didn’t want to think about how much work it took to upkeep the temple, yet these people seemed to take great pride in their underwater sea home.

The sunlight peeking through the rippling water overhead cast a rippling shimmer on the shield holding back the ocean; it was truly magical.  The hum of Manaphy’s song filled the temple as the metropolis awoke to the morning calls, currents of water changing to their vocal prompts that Samiya responded to.

Lizabeth’s accessories were illuminating with the call of the Seafaring Pokemon, and many of the temple’s pools and colors matched the radiance; it was as if the metropolis itself was waking from sleep.

None of them could speak as the matriarch smiled at their overwhelmed reaction to the vivid water springs of the place, and she guided them to a staircase that would take them on a path that brought them to an underwater space, the liquid held back by similar ancient technology as the one above.

Water Pokemon jumped in and out of the water walls, enjoying themselves; it seemed the entire city was built to accommodate them in the riverways and canals, yet unlike the images Rhea had previously seen, additions had been added to the place to support more permanent living for humans and Pokemon.

Samiya had truly become a safe, self-governing nation for the People of the Water to rebuild themselves while living in harmony with their mobile country’s mascot and guardian, Manaphy.

On Bianca’s inquiries, they entered new areas of conversation, Rhea’s cousin being fascinated by their science, and Lizabeth went into many things, showing off the construction and rediscovery of their ancestry.

For starters, the children they saw running around were taught both the world’s common tongue and language in conjunction with their historical terminology, the latter being their first tongue.

Rhea couldn’t believe what she saw—Bianca practically drooling for information—as men and women used the glowing stones to create rooms and hallways, grid-like patterns appearing as they manipulated complex weaving symbols they projected.

From what Lizabeth described, the entire city was like a giant energy converter, which was why people wanted to get ahold of it; it took its power from the sea itself, and that channeled energy could be used for phenomenal things.

Samiya’s powers could make people fly, breathe indefinitely underwater, move enormous objects, or even convert different types of natural energy into matter—essentially, the city itself was a colossal artificial Pokemon—the Sea Crown.

Everything they saw was similar to Mya using Ancient Power to create boulders to attack an opponent.  Yet, instead of using that energy offensively, the city converted it into a physical object to be used at will, and that technology had cataclysmic possibilities.

It was the inheritance of the People of the Water, and every nation recognized their sovereignty, much like many other kingdoms in the Pokemon world, but unlike most, there was a level of concern regarding the titanic power Samiya could employ.

The People of the Water didn’t want to expand their territory of influence, though, as some tried to fearmonger the masses into believing; they had everything they needed, excluding essential trade goods, and between marketing merchandise and public performances they did, the people could live their simple lifestyle.

Exotic fish farms and totally sustained agriculture due to their control over their environment meant they could provide for the bulk of their people’s needs, and the ability to access the internet using their unique technology gave them plenty of opportunities to further their market options for young adults looking to make other career options.

It wasn’t as if it was all peace and harmony in Samiya either; there was a faction of their people that wanted them to have more of a standing presence in the world rather than isolating themselves, yet Lizabeth believed that would only paint more of a target on their backs, given the power Samiya had—equivalent to a Legendary Pokemon.

Besides, they had so many other things to improve on and learn from their ancestors, who had this power and chose to use it conservatively to not provoke or bring trouble.   Eventually, they decided to give up their temple so it wouldn’t fall into the wrong hands when another nation attacked, seeking to use it for their own gain.

Although Lizabeth disagreed with their total pacifist approach, to the point of allowing most of their people to be slaughtered without a fight, they could undoubtedly exercise wise constraint with the power they’d inherited.

In addition, the technology wasn’t uniquely operated by the People of the Water but the unique activator they developed for the unusual method, which meant any bad actor that could get their hands on it could use Samiya to destroy an entire region.

If it hadn’t been for Ash Ketchum’s fearless actions when they’d first found the hidden city, one such infamous pirate would have taken control and wreaked havoc; she couldn’t talk about the renown ‘semi-official’ Alolan Champion without giggling at the classic joke—Ketch’em’all, ketchup or catch up, poking fun of him chasing after Red, Blue, or other rivals.

Moving into more happy topics as Lori jumped in about dancing, Rhea’s attention wandered to the fantastic underwater vista the temple’s clear waters allowed.  If she didn’t know any better, she’d say Samiya was also a purifier for the ocean.

That came with the question of where the filtered stuff went, but then again, it could just convert it into light or other such things for all she knew.  It truly was a majestic hidden pearl in the ocean.

The new hallways of parted water and pillars sustaining the divide kept a similar aesthetic as the rest of the temple, and when they got to a storage room with an attendant, they were surprised by another famous person—Misty.

Wearing a light blue and white ruffled dress that fell from her lower bust to her shins, Rhea was a little surprised to see the woman’s new look, given her notorious fashion for tighter swimwear and her light orange hair was loosely braided.

Appearing out of shimmering rays with her Ace, Starmie, Misty gave Diantha a toothy grin.  “Champion Diantha…  Ah, so that’s it—hehe…”  she added, seeing her son beside the woman.  “I was a little shocked to feel you teleport to my city and, eh… release all of your Pokemon.”

“Goodness,” Diantha forced a smile.  “My apologies for giving you a fright—it must have been exhausting, given your condition, to travel back so swiftly; I admit, I was curious as to your rapid short-range teleports.”

Misty waved her hand dismissively.  “I’m fine, heh; I’m just glad I had the means to penetrate Samiya’s defenses if needed—thanks, by the way, Lizabeth,” she added, holding up a turquoise stone necklace.

“No problem!”

Rhea waved as Misty turned to her, a hand going to her hip.  “Ah, I see you finally made it to Cerulean, Rhea—are you planning on battling my Gym?”

“You know each other?”  Diantha interjected, Lucian’s lips tightening as he hung back.

Mallory snickered.  “You kidding?  Rhea knows just about everyone important in Kanto!”

“Not everyone,” she mumbled, playing with her hands behind her back.  “I only met Amira’s grandpa when she introduced us, and he’s arguably one of the most important people in Kanto.”

She got a small smile from Amira at her comment.

Misty chuckled.  “Without a doubt, Giovanni is pretty important—changed a lot since Lyra got involved in his life, but eh-heh, I don’t think I need to say why,” she said, catching the redhead’s eye.

“As to Rhea—yeah, her dad visits all the Gyms every so often to help keep us in shape, and sometimes we travel to his neck of the woods.”

Amira slowly nodded.  “Ah, okay, that makes sense now.  My grandfather?”

Rhea shook her head.  “Not that I know of—he’s the only one, but I think it’s probably because he always stays sharp—well, that’s the impression I got when I met him,” she added, blushing a tad at vocalizing her opinion.

A half-smile lifted Diantha’s lips.  “I’d say your assessment isn't wrong, Dear; when I saw Giovanni, I had the impression he’s far stronger than most give him credit for.”

Misty sighed, scratching the back of her neck.  “Not wrong; I’ve had the same opinion of Giovanni for a while.  He likes to keep his cards close, but uh, getting to another topic—since you’re busy—I’ll visit your mom to understand how you guys are doing.”

Lizabeth’s face brightened.  “Oh, before you go, Misty, I’d like to congratulate you on the pregnancy!  I heard from my mother.”

“What?!”  Bianca, Rhea, and most of the girls, including Sam’s group, gasped at the shocking news, and suddenly, her new sense of fashion totally made sense.

Diantha winced with Misty.

“I believe that was supposed to be a secret, Lizabeth.”

“Oh?  Oh!  Uh, hehe, sorry…”  she mumbled, noticing their stunned looks.

Bianca’s eyes were sparkling.  “Wow!  That’s amazing—I won’t tell a soul—how along are you?”

Rhea nodded.  “Yeah, congratulations!  Umm, wow, yeah…  I haven’t seen anything about it on Gossip or heard anything from the other Masters back home.”

Lori’s gaze was firmly planted on the ruffles masking her stomach.  “Has he kicked yet—do you know if it’s a boy or girl?”

“Let’s slow down a little,” Amira called, holding up her hands as Misty mirrored her response.

“I knew there would be all sorts of speculation about the father and the like, so I wanted to keep it low-key…  I don’t like media butting into my personal life—ugh, the Muk they spun regarding Daisy’s first marriage and child makes me sick.”

Amira hissed.  “Yeah, I know how you feel…  They’re like Mandibuzz when they smell a story, circling overhead to pick clean every bit of meat on your body to get clout or clicks for credits.”

Misty rubbed the back of her neck and smiled at Lori.  “Mmh… not to mention a sensationalized group of sisters suddenly abandoned by their parents and left to pick up the pieces of a broken Gym,” she mumbled, clearly reliving her past by the melancholy look on her face.

Feeling this direction might have to do with her changing hormones and fears the woman might have suppressed below her tom-boyish attitude, Rhea could sympathize with the Gym Leader.

Daisy was the oldest of her sisters, having a nine-year gap between them, and had been the one that had taken the bulk of Cerulean City-State’s responsibilities when their parents up and abandoned them, running off together to escape the ruined financial state of the Cerulean due to poorly implemented policies.

Being the strongest Trainer in the City-State at mid to borderline High-Master, and having the most knowledge on her home’s affairs, she’d been thrust into the limelight; Violet, the second oldest of the Sensational Sisters, being a year younger than Daisy, had written a best-selling biography about their childhood that Rhea had read when she was fourteen.

It had been a terrible time for Cerulean, and to make matters worse, Red, Leaf, and Blue tore up the City-State Gyms in their dominating rise to stardom.

With Daisy scrambling to keep the City-State above water financially, correcting many of their parents’ mistakes, and finding people to help her, the Gym was left to Violet and Lily, who were strong enough to act as Gym Aides, but not Gym Leaders.

The stress of the pressure placed on Lily, being fifteen when they’d been abandoned, had caused the second youngest to release tension by poking fun at her eight-year-old, youngest sister, which caused a rift to grow between them for a while, and eventually led to Misty running away from home and meeting Ash.

Daisy had tried to be a mother figure but was so swamped with keeping things from falling apart for the failing economy of Cerulean and harming countless other families.  The result was that Daisy couldn’t be there for her sisters like she wanted, and that came out in ways she regretted.

If that wasn’t bad enough, the scandal of her first husband cheating on her, as he claimed she had no time for him, and coming out after she was twelve weeks pregnant, had been a crushing time for the young nineteen-year-old woman—the media had not been kind—and she’d done her best to keep her child out of the Gym and public eye to shelter her child.

Violet tried to be the mediator between Lily and Misty, but some crushing defeats and media coverage had dropped the eighteen-year-old into a somewhat reclusive depression that allowed Lily to act out her frustrations more.

It was a terrible situation, Lily harboring guilt that it had been her own fault due to her butting heads with their parents that had caused the abandonment, and according to her, years later, she’d wanted to be the bad guy because she felt like it, yet no one would notice.

In the end, it was Misty’s three older sisters acting like nothing was wrong, trying to put on this cutesy act and draw investors into the City-State with their performances to mitigate even a little of the debt they faced that caused her to run away at ten-years-old.

What Misty saw Daisy go through in private while putting on a golden smile to the booing public in the stands, doing everything she could to keep herself from falling apart while trying to raise a newborn with only Violet for help and being unable to hire any Aides to support the Gym.

Violet had been crushed by putting all her attention into keeping their family together while being there for Daisy, who was drowning in her own collapsed personal life and being torn to pieces by the media and people.

Lily blamed herself for the entire situation, and after these 10-year-old Pallet Rookies whipped the floor with her three times in a row, bringing criticism against her older sisters when she was the one that lost, once again—being the bad guy overlooked—it hadn’t been good for her mental health.

Misty couldn’t handle the internal and external pressures and ran away, which further fractured her barely tolerated standing with her older sisters.

It got to the point where the Sensational Sisters abandoned the Gym entirely to focus on the City-State, leaving the door open for Misty to eventually play Gym Leader, and her sisters were just happy to see she was alive and well.

According to Violet, they hadn’t seen Misty so animated, vocal, and happy for two years since their parents abandoned them, and unanimously decided the best thing for her was to travel with Ash and get away from the politically charged landscape of Cerulean, which turned out to be the right move.  

Years passed, and the three sisters grew into the position that had been forced onto them, making a goal that they’d make their home better for when Misty returned, and eventually, a place she’d be proud to remain; the dream was enough to rally the three together and weather the storm.

Years later, Cerulean had rebounded due to taking advice from the other Gym Leaders, and finally, the sisters’ vision came true when their youngest sister returned to challenge them for the right to hold the Gym.

Rhea’s heart burned with a sense of inspiration while gazing at the laughing red-haired Gym Leader in front of her; throughout all the controversies—including a vicious news cycle questioning if Misty wasn’t the biological sisters of Daisy, Violet, and Lily—the media pointing to the fact the three used wigs to hide their black hair.

In the end, Misty stood tall, ready to start a family herself; in a way, it had a similar ring to Bianca’s when her fan club turned on her.

“Hehe.  No, I haven’t felt any kicks quite yet, but I think it’s getting close to that time.  Aura specialists like Diantha could determine the gender—I want to be surprised, though; I’ve looked forward to this for a long time and don’t want to be spoiled.”

Jason leaned to the side a bit, trying to keep his focus on her face, and for some reason, he looked flustered at the conversation.  “Uh—so, when do you need to take a break from the Gym?”

Misty gave him a sly smirk.  “Looking at challenging it when I’m down in bed, hmm?”

“N-No!”

Everyone laughed at his protests.

“People shouldn’t worry about the Gym; Lily will be coming back to man it while I’m throwing up and, heh, calling for a ref.”

“Wait, really?”  Hannah asked, being the first to pipe up of her teammates.  “I would have thought women as strong as Gym Leaders would just pop the baby out no problem?”

Diantha giggled.  “Despite what the public believes, women that are Champions and Gym Leaders are just that… women, and we have our own style of struggles; I was down for almost a month after giving birth to Lucian.”

“Mom…”

“Hmm-hmm.  It’s the truth!  Your father was so sweet, catering to my every whim for every food aversion and ridiculous demand I made of him.  In any case, I’m looking forward to seeing more about this city and Cerulean itself—I’ll be spending the next few days here with my son,” she explained at Misty’s inquiring look.

“That sounds great!  If you need anything, don’t hesitate to drop by the Gym.”

“Naturally, I’ll go to your assistants, Darling, hmm-hmm—you have quite the load already.”

“Appreciated.  Again, eh-heh, please, keep this a secret.”

They all agreed without question, and Jade chimed in that they were no fans of the media either; the Gym Leader waved their group off before teleporting away with her Starmie to meet with Lizabeth’s mom.

As they continued their tour, Lizabeth got them their own wristbands for the stay, showing the pattern to float into the air; it was another experience entirely, having the warm golden force pick her off the ground.

Moving quickly through the halls and getting a better grasp on the layout of the expanded temple, Rhea estimated there were only a few hundred people who lived in the colossal metropolis; naturally, the number of Pokemon far outweighed the people.

It was a bit troublesome learning how to navigate while flying, considering it was more or less focusing on where you wanted to go and the city responding; Lori went straight into the water when attempting to dance, yet the energy kept her free to move about as she pleased.

Mya was as fast as Alice for the first time, and the two got into a race that saw them disappearing into the water; Rhea let them have their fun, exploring the metropolis since they knew how to get back to her.

For Amber, the entire situation was liberating, and the firefox cheered with Serenity as the pair split off with Roxie and Miky to explore themselves.

Jason, Len, and Lucian’s Pokemon did their own thing, leaving their groups to split off to enjoy themselves after Lizabeth showed them where they would stay the night; she’d grab bedding and the like for them to sleep.

It would be futons for them, and Lizabeth apologized to Bianca and Diantha for the accommodations, yet the two women were more than willing to sleep on the tiled ground if need be, quoting various experiences they’d gone through in their own journeys.

Rhea was biting at the bit to explore herself, and, once set free, Bianca, Amira, and Lori joined her on their exploration; as could be expected, the first thing they did was speed through the nearby halls to map out where the local facilities were, including the cafeteria.

They spent the day underwater, going beyond the city barrier to study the ocean floor without scuba gear, greeting local Pokemon; the Manaphy kept all the territorial showboaters pacified, showing them little hidden pockets of interesting places along the sea's bottom.

Dazzling displays of wellsprings of natural energy, little bits of treasure that they helped bring back to the city—part of the revenue stream of the People of the Water—and going on actual treasure hunts was thrilling.

Eventually, they lost Bianca in an undiscovered underwater caving system that seemed to be a part of a sunken civilization connected to Pokémopolis; it had been recently discovered by some of the Manaphy, who knew the People of Water liked such things.

At that point, Rhea knew her cousin would disappear in her fascination as a researcher, and she quickly got into the documentation zone, using Samiya’s phenomenal connection to stream the information to other researchers; they weren’t told where it was or why she could spontaneously breathe underwater with this golden glow, but wouldn’t question it given the material discovery.

Knowing it would also draw her mom and brother’s attention, who were interested in all things Pokémopolis related, she contacted them to join the call with her cousin.

Jade, Jay, Hannah, and Sam chose to get off a while after, wanting to actually make it to Cerulean to join them in the festival but asked them to record parts and post it on their Pikabook so they could comment and not miss anything.

As the morning turned to noon, they met up to have lunch and actually had their first semi-neutral conversation with Lucian regarding the ruins—they had to be cordial since his mother was there—and shockingly, he wasn’t that insufferable, shy even.

And, as was typical, Rhea found herself forced into showing her concerned team she could eat… even if she didn’t want to.

Len and Jason joined them after Lori dragged their group, excluding Lucian and Diantha, to the dancing lessons the locals were doing with their teens.  The circumstances flipped on their heads to Rhea’s excitement and Lori’s dread; the dancing involved swimming and water.

Lori shot a venomous glare at her best friend’s snicker when she was escorted off to take swimming lessons with the children; Amira and Rhea’s gentle and soothing prompts helped to mitigate her shame and fear, but if there was ever a place to learn how to swim, the People of the Water were the experts.

Rhea was really impressed by Lori’s resolve, considering her previous near utterly crippling fear of the water; it was a huge step, reminding her that she needed to step up.

It felt good to use her well-conditioned muscles—even if Amira questioned if she even had them—and sure, she may have only looked toned, but beneath that was hidden a wealth of hidden power, which she proved!  Even the People of the Water were astonished by how strong her swimming was, and her lung capacity floored them.

Proud of herself and having a lot of fun learning the techniques, evening came—she was forced to eat again, this time by her Pokemon—and Nova got her turn, Alice electing to return and rest after growing tired; she was still young.

Lori soon met back with them, face beaming and ample bosom puffed out; Rhea giggled at her beaming rays of confidence.

“Hey!  You can’t even guess!”

Amira dabbed at her lips with a napkin, setting down her fork to smile at the purple-haired Unovan girl.  “Hmm… learn how to swim?”

“Not only can I do the breaststroke, but I can also hold my breath underwater for a whole two minutes without freaking out!”

Rhea clapped.  “Wooh!  That’s amazing, Lori—and you couldn’t even get in a boat without having a panic attack several days ago!”

“I know!  I mean, eh-heh, I do need to be able to stand in the water—feel the bottom—but, yeah!”

“Progress,” Amira said, giving her a thumbs up.

“Totally!  Oh, you get some cool water dancing lessons?”

“Lessons?  Hmm-hmm.  You should have seen Rhea; she was practically right beside the instructors by the end.”

“No!  I still have a ton to work on—I think I need to do more work on those interesting stretches they did—and some of those workout routines could really help strengthen some areas I haven’t put a lot of effort into.”

“Do you hear her?”  Amira mused.  “It sounds like she’s getting into dancing, Lori.”

“Yo!  For real—I can teach you land stuff, and you can teach me water stuff!  Deal?”

“Heh—I only had one lesson, and it was basic movement.”

“Eh—you saw me, Girl—I can’t do a cannonball into the water out of fear I’ll get carried to the deep end of the pool…  The pool, Rhea!”

“I get it!  Hehe.  Yeah, I’ll be happy to help you with swimming when we get chances; Amira’s super talented, too—she was keeping up with the teens.”

“Pfft…”

“What?”  Rhea asked as the redhead snickered.

“Thanks—you’re here keeping up with the instructors, and I’m back floundering with the teens.”

“I didn’t mean it like that!”

Lori jumped forward to draw Rhea into a hug.  “You’re so adorable!  We can’t help but tease you—did she get her daily meal, Amira—we gotta take care of our girl’s needs, or she may starve herself!”

“I’m not anorexic!”

Several people glanced their way at her shout, making her face turn bright red as she lowered her head to hide behind her thick blonde locks.

“Hehe, we never said you were—you certainly don’t appear that way with how much meat you have,” Amira teased, gesturing at her chest and butt, “but you have to admit your eating habits are concerning for a girl when you eat half what I eat—and I watch my figure.”

“Yeah,” Lori released her, holding up her hands, “I swear you’re a Pokemon, Rhea—what’d I say, Amira?”

“That you bet 50,000 credits on it… that you don’t have.”

“I’m good for it; I’m saying, you know those old stories!  Isn’t there scientific proof, too?”

Amira shrugged.  “Nothing concrete, but the person to ask would be Rhea’s mother, being the world’s leading genetics expert…  Interesting that her daughter would be such a genetic superstar, hmm?”

Rhea sighed, hanging her head.  “I went from part Pokemon to a genetic experiment in like ten seconds…”

They laughed and wandered the city for the remainder of the night with Len and Jason—Bianca had checked out, and Rhea expected her Master-tier cousin would be pulling an all-nighter in the ruins—and Nova almost had her transformation down to four whole minutes now, which was a long time in a battle, even if she hadn’t been using Moves during that time.

When bedtime came, Rhea got to snuggle up to Mya and Alice, big-sis Nova being the big girl in allowing the two to have more time together, hoping it would rub off.

Today was magical; tomorrow, the gut-wrenching plans to dance… with guys!  Rhea was kind of freaking out a little, but eventually, she got to sleep.

---