---

9:29 a.m. July 20th, Monday, 106 PH (Post Hoopa Event)

Events:  Rhea and the girls have decided to push toward Silver-tier instead of the Bronze Bracket they’re on.  Our girl started her journey on the 9th of June—she’s been a Trainer for 41 Days (40 officially; 41 since getting Maya and Nova).  Today is Lori’s and our group’s first Silver-tier Gym Battle against Sabrina, The Rookie Crusher, of all Gym Leaders!

 

Entering the gym’s front doors to check in, Lori slipped her headphones out of her pocket, heart thumping; music was her release, and her Pokemon had grown to resonate with the rhythm and beats that reflected the pulse in her spirit.

Miky was closer than he’d been to her in a week, which helped, but she knew it didn’t change the results; tonight, they’d be parting ways, and she had to make sure it was on a positive note—she owed him that for putting his trust in her again.

Terri’s big eyes darted left and right as she held onto the bottom part of Lori’s skirt, following Miky’s advice so she didn’t get lost; it was sweet that he still thought of himself as a part of the team, despite his own doubts.

The front attendant scanned her Trainer Card to confirm her identity and appointment, explaining to her the rules; due to this being her first Silver-tier Badge—encrusted or not—there was a leniency policy that allowed for the use of one Pokemon, as to the standard Bronze-tier rules, but any after would require two in either a Doubles or Consecutive match.

Lori had a hard time concentrating due to the pressure piling up—a part of her wondered if Sabrina’s psychic powers would totally turn everything she’d thought of on its head.

A small smile and relief came upon rereading her big sister’s message; Shanty knew her too well, predicting she’d run herself into the ground overthinking things after failing so spectacularly to Misty.

Caitlin was somewhat of a big sister figure to her, as well, always offering support in dealing with her isolationist sister—whenever the woman wasn’t totally comatose—and to hear her praise the plan she’d made with Amira, who’d proven herself to be quite the strategist over the past month, put her nerves at ease.

Let’s face this storm and rolling thunder, she whispered, humming to her song before the baggage in her heart became too heavy; today had to be a positive day, even if she had to force herself to be happy for her Pokemon discovering a different path he wanted to follow.

The locker room was dead silent, and there were eighteen girls waiting for their turn; Sabrina had already started her decimation of the competition since 9 a.m.  A few looked like they either wanted to throw up or already had; anyone who’d seen Sabrina’s matches would feel the same with how untouchable her Pokemon seemed, and it wasn’t only the Trainers that felt ill.

Lori redoubled her resolve, keeping a smile that actually wasn’t a mask; when it came to today, this was the least stressful part, ironically.  She had her plan, and now all they had to do was execute it; the real beast threatening to make her cry would come later.

A short, green-haired girl came out, breathing deeply with her head held low; Bronze-tier went first, followed by Silver, and Lori was scheduled first at 10 a.m.  The crushed Trainer had a melancholy look on her face while staring at her normal Poke Ball.

Several of the others swarmed her as the arena was restored by the Gym staff, asking her what her thoughts were after battling the psychic; all of them had seen the battle from the locker room TV.

“Hehe.  What was she like?  Brrr.  It was like she could read our minds…  I felt like a Ratatta in a cage, unable to do anything against that Galarian Slowpoke.”

Miky shivered from within his Poke Ball at the mention of the pink Pokemon, getting flashbacks of Misty.

It’s okay, Bud.  We’ve got a plan; Ash and Pikachu helped us get ready for it.  Remember our talk during our casino fun?

Gables and Roxie comforted him as he calmed down, drawn back to his talk with the electric rat, and a black-haired girl posed a question to those listening that Ash had mentioned.

“What if we… you know, go in on instinct rather than thought—she couldn’t read that, right?”

“True!”  another grinned.  “Just go in and go wild?  My Mankey has Rage, which could help him resist Hypnosis.”

“Oh, that’s a good strategy!”

“Wait… isn’t Mankey Fighting-Type,” a blue-haired girl mumbled doubtfully.  “Yikes, that’s… not a great match-up, Tesa.”

“I know.  I know.  We did okay against Misty’s Gym and even got the Cascade Badge.  See?  Henric and I can beat anything after we jumped the entire way here today!”

“Eh-hehe.  Good luck with that.”

Lori caught two of the girls whispering to each other as the group split into smaller pairs to discuss things together.

“She’s so dead.”

“Does she even know Fighting-Types suck against Psychic?”

Ignoring most of the gossip and groans, Lori kept to herself, moving off into a corner.  More than a few eyed her, yet kept their distance for some reason; it was either due to her reputation being devastated by Misty, or they didn’t feel comfortable talking for some other excuse—honestly, she was somewhat of the third-wheel in her party.

Roxie jabbed her spirit, followed by Gables and then Miky, causing her to rub her chest with a sad chuckle while sitting on her lonesome; Terri looked up at her with concern upon seeing her Trainer’s strained expression.

I know.  Not happy thoughts.  I mean, that bombshell blonde of ours has more losses than all of us, yet she’s pumping forward with that ridiculous heart of hers.

“Haaa.”

What did I do to deserve such an awesome team?  You guys keep me on point, she internally whispered, trying not to tense as the embers along her back tingled; Lori wasn’t sure if it was her imagination or not, which was always the worst whenever she was stressed.  I can learn from Rhea and Amira…  The peppy country girl and the sophisticated mafia chick…

Moving Terri to her lap and adjusting her skirt, she swapped to the next song, closing her eyes to lean against the wall.

Hmm-mmh-hmm.  Got my heart feeling stone cold; match the ice ‘cause they’re both frozen.  Gotta watch for the “no-shows” who come around when it’s in motion.  Gotta stay on my toes when I’m out on the road, ‘cause I know that they’re plottin’.  You notice, it’s unspoken, and we’re riding like the whip is stolen.

Took a shot—I need four more—won’t stop, seeing slow motion.  Got my heart feeling stone cold, so it doesn’t get broken.  Switchin’ ain’t no option, and we came up from the floor—tryna break through the door—me and my brothers stay mobbin’.  I don’t give a single Muk; I’ve been rocking double G…

Her eyebrows drew together when Terri tugged on her skirt, trying to get her attention, breaking her out of the rhythm she was trying to lose herself in.

“Hmm?”

Vision clearing, she saw the girl with short black hair that had mentioned one of the tips Ash gave her; although, he didn’t recommend it to anyone below Platinum-tier.

She gave a weak wave, several of the others focusing on them; most were on Terri, their phones open, and likely realizing she was a Legendary.  Releasing a long stream of air, she watched the Mankey Trainer go off for the next fight while taking out her headphones.

“What’s up?”

“Yeah, sorry to bother you—umm, Mallory, right—you’re on Amira Rocket’s team?”

“Mhm?”  Lori returned in a tone that asked what she wanted; she wasn’t in the mood for catty locker room chats.

“You… mind if I sit?  Uh, heh, and is that your Kubfu?”

Lori sighed and shrugged.  “Sit where you want.  I’m a bit occupied, though.”

“Sorry,” she mumbled, nervously brushing back her bangs but sitting anyway.  “I… was wondering if I could get your advice.  I saw you sign up for the Silver-tier Encrusted, and… heh, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised with how powerful your team is that you’re going to skip Bronze—it actually made me breathe a sigh of relief.”

“Oh?”  Sitting up a bit straighter, a curious tilt came to her mouth.  “Why’s that?  Rhea being the niece of the World Champion and Amira being the infamous Kanto Mob Boss’ granddaughter a frightening prospect in the League lineup?”

“Not just that,” she laughed, possibly trying to talk to her to ease her own nerves in her upcoming battle.  “It was actually your battle against Forrest that got me, eh, somewhat pumped to do the Encrusted Challenge.  Misty was a real beast to take down, for sure, and Forrest beat me, but I didn’t give up because of Rhea’s example.”

A bit shocked at the sudden topic, Lori watched her fidget a bit and realized she had a Unovan accent.  “You’re a part of the United League program?”

She nodded, becoming less agitated as they spoke.  “Yeah.  Umm, heh, I always envied you a bit—the partying and everything—it’s a bit embarrassing and stupid, but… a few years ago, I wanted, eh… never mind,” she chuckled, scratching her temple.

“I just wanted to say I’m a fan—and the party in Cerulean looked so much fun—I only got to fly in for the tail end of it.  Thanks for helping me push out of my comfort zone…  I know it’s selfish to, heh, dump all this on you…  I, uh, actually… my first Pokemon—well, she wants to meet Gables…”

Lori’s chest shook with laughter as she realized both Trainer and Pokemon hyped each other up to approach them; she knew it took guts to talk to someone you admired—even if she never had that problem—so, how could she say no?

Gables popped out of his Poke Ball, doing a flip to land on her shoulder and give a two-fingered salute in a way that said, ‘Yo.’

Eyes sparkling, she brought out her own Froakie, who looked to be having a troublesome time talking to her Shiny buddy; he eased her into a conversation as the girl stammered, seemingly asking for advice on how he should handle Sabrina, according to the vibes Roxie sent.

Miky was totally focused on the girl as Terri and he became the topic of their conversation.

“My name’s Quinn—heh, not that you asked—but, umm…  I can guess you’re going to use Miky to fight Gym Leader Sabrina.  I know he’ll do amazing!  It was a bad match-up against that Slowpoke; we saw that match against those rising Bronze-tier stars—uh, Sam, Jade, Hannah, and Jay, I think?”

“Yeah.  Haha.  Actually, they’re friends of ours.”

“Oh!  That makes sense,” she mumbled, apparently stunned at the information.  “They’re rising so fast in the ranks—it’s pretty incredible.  Miky was so good with Holly and Alice…  Everyone on your team is so amazing, and you almost won a three versus four!  Miky distracting them and keeping Holly away from danger was so sweet and brave.”

Lori didn’t see their battle like that, and neither did her Impidimp, but he wasn’t going to discard the compliment; it was a different perspective, and she just kept going, talking fast due to her nerves, no doubt.

Gables stood with his arms crossed, showing a thoughtful expression while speaking to Quinn’s Froakie, and she was as excited and animated as her Trainer; they discussed some of the things they were thinking about doing.

“Thanks.  It means a lot to Miky that you admire all the work he put in,” Lori translated, hearing lifting now that Miky was gaining more confidence.

“And you even have a Legendary with you now—how—are you going to battle Gym Leader Sabrina with her?  Everyone’s talking about it.”

“Is that right?”  Lori mused, noticing quite a few girls look away when she cast her gaze around the room.  “No.  Terri isn’t going to be battling; you were right the first time.”

“Miky…  Haaa.  Terri really is beautiful—I love her unique colors.  Is she Shiny—can I pet her?”

“Not Shiny.  She’s just super unique and a battle fanatic, heh, like a little Buneary I know,” she mused.  “Are you going to use your Froakie?”

“Mmh.  Yeah, Clara is my only partner,” she said, shooting a soft smile at her Pokemon, still enamored by Gables.  “So, you’ll be using Miky after all, huh?  I guess you would have a Dark-Type considering both your parents are Dark specialists.  I’d be great if Clara was a Greninja.  Hehe-haaa.  Yeah.”

Quinn’s shoulders drooped a bit as her bottled-up emotions came to the surface, spotting the Mankey Trainer get taken out by a Drowzee Hypnosis and Pound combo.

“Mallory, umm…  I’m kind of a little scared after all the rumors I heard about Gym Leader Sabrina.  If we don’t win this… we’re out.  Encrusted Challenges are Muking expensive.  Haha.  What should we do…  We just kind of signed up on the spur of the moment when we saw your team doing it on Saturday.  We read online if you go by instinct, you can bypass the mind reading stuff.”

Leaning back, a tingle shot through Lori’s body, seeing her thoughtless decision to fight Misty in the same light; it was just the next Gym Battle she needed to win like Forrest, but they’d had every advantage in that first challenge—Misty showed her this wasn’t something to take lightly.

“Yeah.  I guess you could say Sabrina is like Drayden or Elesa is for us in Unova…”  She caught the tight expressions from a few of the girls that were pretending not to listen.  “Heh.  I know, I should be respectful and call them by their title, but it’s not easy when you know them personally!  They don’t really care anyway.  Hmm…”

Pondering her predicament, she said, “I talked with Ash—yes, the ‘official-unoffical’ Champion of Alola,” Lori added to Quinn’s expression.  “He told me the instinct strat only works when your Pokemon can act on instinct, and you train extensively to combat Psychic-Types.  The best strategy for us is to come up with a tactic where even if they know what we’ll do, they can’t really do anything about it.  Give me your Moves, and why don’t we see about preparing while you still can?”

“Really?!”  Quinn asked, eyes lighting up more than they had any right to; this was Amira’s department, after all.  It had taken her over a week to develop her own plan.  “Thank you so much!”

Several of the girls glared at Quinn, likely jealous for whatever reason, and Lori rolled around her neck, catching the calm vibes from her Rockruff.  Miky was now floating above the ground with the confidence Quinn gave them; in a way, Lori felt a little indebted to this fan for that, and if she could help, then she’d do her best.

“Let’s look at this…”

“You have a Pokedex sub?  So nice,” the girl whispered, fixated on her holographic phone.  “Really awesome stuff…  Where can I get one like that?”

“Silph, I think?”  Lori returned with a helpless shrug.  “Rhea’s mom got this for us, so…”

“Gotcha.  Thanks again… so much, Mallory.”

Using what little time she had left, Lori discovered Clara had the Camouflage and Toxic Spikes Breeding Move, showing phenomenal breeding, which made the Timid frog blush when Gables complimented her.

In addition, she had Bubble, Pound, Growl, and Quick Attack; she also had a very rare Ability called Big Wave that increased her Water Moves if done in combination—amazing later, not so much now—which the girl was excited about.  Her best shot was to stall it out with poison, making use of Camouflage and clearing her mind.  Gables helped her learn how to meditate, which Lori didn’t know how well it worked by the peeks she snuck of the Shiny Froakie.

Finally, it was time for the girl to go in; she’d been the last competitor for Bronze, and a few of the Silver were now showing up, looking just as sick as their Bronze counterparts.

Gables returned to his Poke Ball, and they watched her battle as a team, Terri punching the air when the referee started the match; it helped to have someone else in the same position she’d been in, and the hope budded within Lori that they’d be able to help someone through a similar mistake she’d made—the difference, Quinn realized she’d gotten over her head.

Clara’s opponent came out, making Lori’s stomach tighten—a Wynaut—with Astonish, Counter, Encore, and Safeguard; the Shadow Tag Ability totally locked out their Camouflage strategy, providing the Bright Pokemon a perfect knowledge of where the Froakie was, no matter the strategy, but Quinn showed her resolve, not giving up.

The battle appeared hopeless, and it was clear the girl felt the stress, yet Clara did wonderfully in dodging and blocking the Astonishes, laying out the Toxic Spikes to hopefully eventually break past the Safeguard since it had limited ranged attacks.

She used the warp pads on the floor to her advantage to escape when it got close, memorizing where they lead to; eventually, she landed the Poison, slowly ticking down the Wynaut’s energy matrix until, nearly exhausted on energy, Clara stood victorious as the only Bronze competitor to win against Sabrina that week.

Sabrina offered a soft smile and only a few words after, everyone was on the edge of their seats.  “You persevered, even when your strategy was in shambles, using our limited range to your advantage to make it a battle of attrition.  Well done in memorizing the warp panel locations.”

“T-Thank you!  Honestly, though,” Quinn swallowed, voice hoarse, “it was only some of the advice another Trainer gave me that got me through it…  I almost cried, heh, when you threw up Safeguard and saw through our Camouflage.”

Lori felt Gables puff up his chest with pride at being the one to give her advice on keeping her cool if her cover was blown and using what’s available because there’s always a win condition in a Gym Battle; it was good to keep in mind for themselves because Sabrina saw through Quinn’s strategy in an instant.

The girl came walking back into the locker room to cheers; everyone was thrilled to see the infamous Gym Leader’s psychic abilities weren’t impossible to beat, but Quinn looked like she was about to faint, and her short black hair was a tad messy from running her hands through it.

She stumbled forward and smiled at her.  “Hehe…  We did it.  Thank you for taking the time to talk to me, Lori,” she said, eyes beginning to water and making Lori’s chest tighten; the relief she felt at coming through the intense battle flowed into her.  “Thank you…”

Opening her arms, Lori let the girl come in for a hug—Rhea must be getting to her.  “That was a great inspiration, Quinn.  Okay…  I think it’s our turn.  Wish me luck?”

She pulled away, sniffing back her tears and nodding.  “Mhm!  We’ll be cheering you on!”

Lori puffed out a long stream of air and picked Terri up; her Kubfu patted her on the shoulder, showing a serious expression that was translated to support by her other three Pokemon.

It’s time.

Leaving the clamoring throng, she drew out her phone with a short giggle upon seeing a last-minute text from Kekoa.

 

9:56 a.m. Kekoa: Shoot!  I thought Sabrina was tomorrow!  We wanted to catch up with you guys to watch, but we’re still a day out.  Apparently, I’m the only one who didn’t know we were behind schedule.  Silver-tier, too?  C’mon!  Amira has Kekipi all fired up to skip Bronze-tier, too, which means Heneli’s burning a fire under my butt.  Ggaaah!  Haha.  I know you’ll win, and show me how your Alolan dances are coming along tomorrow… if you’ll still be there?  Call me!

 

Boys…  Lori internally snickered, shaking her head.  I suppose I can swap things up for Cass and throw everyone for a loop by taking us to an Alolan-themed club tonight.  After all, I need to practice.

Gables, Miky, and Roxie laughed, knowing how much she’d enjoyed her night out with the slightly chubby island boy; he’d shown her going at a slower pace could be enjoyable in its own way from her typical fast-paced Unovan-style.

Making it to the stadium, it rose up, and Lori placed Miky’s Poke Ball into the machine to be scanned as a full stadium;cheers greeted her for the start of the Silver-tier Event.

“All the way from Unova, ladies and gentlemen,” the announcer called out.  “You’ve seen her ups and downs through this Bronze League, yet, as a surprising twist, Mallory Medina has chosen to perform a Rank Advancement to move up to Silver-tier by facing the Rookie Crusher and Psychic Prodigy, Gym Leader Sabrina, who has accepted the task of evaluating the young rookie’s aptitude to skip to the next Tier!  What a way to kick off this week!”

Feeling oddly calm, she saw Sabrina on the screens overhead, showing a light smile while studying her, and Lori saw a pink gloss overshadow her blue irises for a moment.  The chants, shouts, and words around them faded as the woman’s voice came to her private box and the field to protect them came into existence.

“It’s rare someone chooses me to act as a measure to evaluate their strength, Lori,” she said, and if she didn’t know any better, the woman was speaking directly to her mind.  “Your Kubfu is quite an amazing child, and the latent power within her is… alarming.  Christie certainly does shake things up for the League and cause trouble.”

“Haha.  Thank you…  Do you think we have a chance?”

“Always,” she returned as the compartment next to her revealed six Poke Balls she could choose from, and her hand hesitated over one, a small frown touching her lips.  “Hmm-hmm.  My, what a troublesome opponent you will be in the future, Lori…

“Your resolve is firmed by your sister, that troublesome Sinnoh narcoleptic that moved to Unova, and the budding Trainer before you, who drew her own strength from the conversation you had…  You can trust yourselves, Miky, Lori; I am left with such limited options.  It truly was a masterful strategy.”

Selecting a Poke Ball, it lifted out of the case, seemingly on its own.  “All that work you’ve put in has paid off… win or lose.  I sense great things in your near future.”

The referee checked if they were ready, and Lori pulled Miky out of the analytical machine; she had to wonder what the Psychic would do to throw a wrench in her careful plotting because, despite the praise, this was far from over.

However, one odd thought crossed her mind as things were winding down, and she cast her gaze at the crowd, hopelessly looking for her team in the sea of people and Pokemon.  How can I be more real to strangers than my own team…  Shanty’s right; I need to do better, guys.

“Both opponents are prepared?  Here we go, ladies and gentlemen; Silver Rank Advancement.  One verse one Knockout.  Three.  Two.  One.  Begin!”

Lori threw Miky’s ball at the edge of the acceptable range—the warp gates were randomized every match but were also impossible for Dark-Type Pokemon to use, so it didn’t matter for them—and their opponent came out, making Lori shiver.

A bipedal, yellow Pokemon with closed eyes hovered in the air—Sabrina’s Ace Pokemon species—Abra appraised her laughing Impidimp, already running toward the Psi Pokemon while building his energy.

This Abra was likely on the cusp of evolving—too powerful for Bronze-tier and just not enough for Silver—the perfect middle ground to determine if they could make it in the next bracket, and Lori just knew it would have Inner Focus to counter their Bite Flinch; Sabrina could see through everything, even if she was at a severe disadvantage, she’d make this a challenge nonetheless.

No backing down!  Lori internally shouted, knowing her teammates were watching from the stands and cheering her on.

Taunt was worth the price, with Prankster, and your Typing making you immune to their stupid-powerful Psychic attacks…  You’ll get us through this battle; no Teleport today, Abra!  Don’t plan, Miky—just use it whenever—it’s your stage, Bud!  Fake Out, Flatter, Confide, or Taunt—keep me guessing, and you’ll keep him guessing!  Let’s Mukin’ go!

---