PokéSync: B2 — 2. Loose Ends (Patreon)

PoV:

1:  Rhea (Our MC!)

2:  Mya (Our Mawile!)

3:  Rhea

Pokemon Map I Loosely Use For Visual Aid:  The distance between areas might be different, some cities are somewhat incorrect, a few routes have been labeled incorrectly, and some cities aren't listed, but it's the best I've found.

Pokemon Index

Google Document (You Can In-Line Comment)

Previous Chapter

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11:42 A.M. June 28, Sunday, 106 PH (Post Hoopa Event)

Events:  The Preliminaries for the Joint Kanto and Johto Indigo Summer League have concluded; 105 Trainers and their Pokemon have advanced from Bronze to Silver.  The second day for the Summer Round Robin Cup, where the top of Kanto and Johto’s advancing Trainers compete to be named Seasonal Best.  Rhea started her journey on the 9th of June—she’s been a Trainer for 20 Days (19 Officially; 20 since getting Maya and Nova).

Putting her past troubles behind her, Rhea tried to get back into the magic of her adventure with her team.  Once again, they were back on the road, and Amira retook the lead as their navigator; it made Rhea happy to see the redhead having faith in her abilities.

Now that she had a bit of time to slow down and study the forest landscape of Blue Forest, she lost herself in the scenery while talking to her Pokemon, and it seemed her companions felt the same because things were somewhat quiet between them for the first hour.

They eventually came to a fork in the dirt road that they’d taken before, yet this time, instead of heading south to Rifure Town, the eastern trail to Cerulean City called to them.  It would be a few days, even traveling at their best.

Rhea was a little disappointed they didn’t get the chance to further explore Rifure Town as Amira explained more about the old Badge crafting process that her grandfather excluded himself from.

The family of Badge crafters had a separate facility to show off their history in the service of the League and Official Gyms; the tour included the old family lodge, how the old Badges were crafted, and a fun ending that allowed the group to create their own custom plastic Badge.

Looking back at their journey, Rhea was satisfied, though; she’d spent time with Amira’s family in Viridian, trained in the mountains with her new friends, performed in a Contest, battled a Gym Leader, explored Apple City, and had an exciting adventure before Plasma came into the picture.

Still, she couldn’t look back if she wanted to rise and stand on her own; this was for the best, and it wasn’t as if Rifure Town was going anywhere; the famous family had been doing this for almost a century, after all.

After an hour, Lori walked over and nudged Rhea as she put on a song for them to sing and dance to; she felt a little awkward, having just passed a few people, but the Unova girl’s rhythm was infectious, and she joined the party girl in roping Amira into the fun.

Several minutes later, some familiar faces surprised them—the Alolan boys were seemingly packing up their tents after sleeping in a clearing with a brook.

Taking the opportunity to get one of their daily battles out of the way, a few nervous Bronze-tier Trainers that had spotted them stopped to watch, drawing a few more travelers.  They made a simple 25 credit bet that wouldn’t hurt each group that much.

This time, Alice managed to just barely come out on top against Keahi, being mindful of his tail and strange movements, and she even followed the Mankey into a tree.  Rhea felt much less pressure in the fight, which was nice for a change, but considering most of her family was cheering her on last time, it had been hard to not feel a bit tight.

It was easier after discussing their battles together, and knowing the pair’s strategy using Revenge was a bit rough for Heneli, but he was happy to learn the same tactics wouldn’t work twice, meaning they had more training to do.  At the same time, it was clear Alice had grown stronger since their last encounter.

Katelin had planned ahead where Rhea previously hadn’t, packing each of their bags with a diluted super potion, which seemed to be a trick from more experienced Trainers to help your credits go further.  Although, the Alolan group seemed to have their own healing items.

Her black and white-furred bunny and Eevee were an instant hit among a group of Silver-tier girls that showered them with attention once Rhea finished her match and restored Alice’s shield.

Amira and Kekipi took the battle as a chance to show off their other Pokemon; Rhea was a little surprised to see a cute, rectangle-like Caterpie that Heneli named a Charjabug as Amira sent out Amber, much to the Alola group’s mild chagrin.

The shiny Fennekin made quick work of the battle, but to Nova’s horror, the Bug/Electric-type used mud tactics to try and counter the Fire Pokemon’s peppering of Embers; once again, people’s eyes sparkled upon seeing the rare-colored Pokemon in their team, snapping photos and posting on their social media profiles.

They all chuckled after the match, and Amira complimented him on using Moves to compensate for his Pokemon’s weaknesses; Kekipi laughed it off, saying he got the idea after seeing Mallory’s Gym challenge.

Hyped to get started, Lori did her battle at the same time as Amira, sending out a nervous Miky to have his first actual match; the Impidimp had only been a spectator in their journey outside of training in their own group.

When coming out of his pokeball, he seemed to gain a bit of confidence in seeing the aversion of many of the onlookers, off-put by his appearance.  He stuck out his tongue and danced around, probably distracting himself with Lori’s music as she bobbed her head to it and grinned.

Rhea took time to glance between her teammate’s clash with the Alolan Trainers and was a little surprised to see Kekoa release a dark-furred Rattata as Miky’s opponent.  Using her phone to identify the Pokemon with the Pokedex app, she scanned the information; it would be a tough fight for Miky since the Rattata was resistant to Dark-type Moves and rather bold, rushing in to chomp down on the imp.

Amira’s battle was long over while Lori and Kekoa continued to struggle against each other.  Miky got the opening hit with Fake Out, followed by a Flatter, putting the Rattata off-balance for the Impidimp to sneak a few Bites in.

Unfortunately, it seemed the rat was too bewildered to know where to retreat to, so he doubled down, landing a strike with his illuminated tail, but Miky’s training with Alice seemed to be helping him; he dodged most of his opponent’s lunges yet the Quick Attacks were too much for him to out-maneuver.

It became a game of who could slip around the other and land their attacks; Miky stood victorious in the end, breathing heavily from the long match.  Rhea could tell after a bit of study that the fallen Rattata he stood over was weaker overall, but it was a big confidence booster for the imp, running into Lori’s excited, open arms at his first win.

After healing everyone up, they decided to travel together to Cerulean City and got a few challenges along the way from some of the audience they attracted.

Rhea wasn’t exactly sure what everyone else faced since the crowd was growing and pulling them into their own matches; Mya wanted to get in on the battles before getting sleep to take guard duty that night and utterly stomped the Krabby and Combee to their Trainers’ shock.

Three mandatory battles done for the day, Rhea tried to get away from the throng crowding her and asking questions about her various family members; after ten minutes of trying to get away, Mya’s Intimidate aura and glare kept the rest whispering to one another as she rejoined her teammates who were dealing with much the same.

Breaking away to join the laughing Alolan team already with their packs on and ready to continue, Rhea sighed with relief as they hurried on, outpacing many of the onlookers.  Things started to calm down as they found their rhythm, and Rhea was happy to learn more about Heneli and his friends.

Malia, Heneli’s cousin, had taken a Pidgeot Taxi back to Apple City for the internship Silver offered at the space research center; his team would stream their big battles for her to watch.

The sun lowered across the sky as Rhea enjoyed herself, and Lori got them to join in some songs with the boys leading some Alolan songs that the violet-eyed girl added to her playlist.

To Rhea’s astonishment, Mallory actually got Amira to agree to learn an easy Alolan dance from Kekipi; of course, she roped everyone else in for her to not feel so awkward, but Rhea had a fun time—Alice and Nova danced with one another, giggling at the strange movements as Mya slept.

When night came, they made camp on opposite sides of the road for privacy; Rhea spent time with Nova as Amira and Lori prepared for bed, giving their own Pokemon attention.

The next day was less battling and more cross-team training; Heneli showed off his second partner, a female Yungoos named Aowena.  Mya and Aowena got along great, playing a game to see who could eat more nuts along the road to find the best-flavored ones.

Eventually, the pair went to bed to take overnight duty, allowing Alice to come out and spend time with Keahi, Heneli’s Mankey.  Nova practiced her Glaceon transformation, stunning the Alola group that hadn’t believed the hype about her Eevee being able to de-evolve.

Naturally, the pretty Eevee spent the day showing off while looking for Rhea to tell her when she could try to evolve again.  To Rhea’s delight, Nova was making progress with every change.  It was a little strange, but for the first time in a while, they didn’t pass a single group on the second day, which was kind of nice.

Rhea took time to message her worried family and friends, posting pictures of them traveling with the Alolan team.  Katelin had a few embarrassing comments that had her great-grandma up in arms that the boys better be civil; her dad was far laxer, joking with the blue-haired young woman, but Rhea was happy her brother seemed to still be social media skittish.  Her mother was a bit too busy to talk but liked her photos.

The forest opened up a bit as they neared Cerulean City, and they settled down by a brook that went along the route; Heneli’s group once again to the opposite side, giving them the river, waving them off for the night.

Nova spent some time trying to freeze a path on the water for Alice to ice skate—Gables’s idea—and managed to get it thick create a layer across the four-meter waterway.  As always, the bunny really just wanted to use it as training, much like everything she did, as Gables showed them how to do it from Lori’s borrowed phone.

Amira giggled while recording Amber being coaxed into giving it a try by the shiny Frog Pokemon—she collapsed on her belly, making Gables save her—the Fire Fox spent the next ten minutes bundled in the redhead’s lap, hiding her face from the embarrassment.

Roxie boldly went for it and nearly fell in three times but got the hang of it over time; Alice was a natural, finding partial success in dodging Serenity’s Brines, while Glaceon Nova found it a piece of cake—normal Nova, not so much; still, she never gave up.

The Rockruff and Eevee’s examples drew Amber to give it another shot—without the Brine dodging—not much progress was made, yet she was growing less embarrassed.

Heading to bed shortly after the ice cracked, Nova gave Alice the chance to sleep with Rhea, both loved the cuddles, and much to Mya’s annoyance that she had to be out with the rabbit, but it was the first time the Eevee managed to get the pair out at the same time, to her thrill.

Rhea noticed Amira watching some of the highlights from the Summer League; she’d forgotten it was even happening—in fact, she hadn’t checked the news for a few days.  Typically, it was one of her only ways to see what it was like outside of her small village, so checking it was almost habitual, showing how much she was changing … She was free.

Settling into her sleeping bag atop her small air mattress with Alice cuddled up on her chest, Rhea took a deep breath; an unhappy Mya sat outside with Miky and Holly, tricked into spending time outside of her pokeball with her bunny rival—Nova’s devious machinations—the Eevee even gave up her precious leg-cuddle time to try and bridge the divide between her teammates.

She pulled her bound hair to the left side of her pillow and out of the way, closing her eyes and letting the soft chirp of the forest’s Pokemon wash over her; the whispered chirps of Mya talking to Holly made her smile.

The world was a big, terrifying, and cruel place, but there was beauty in it that contrasted the pain, and what it meant to be free was to welcome both sides of the coin.  If there was happiness, there would be sadness, and she could live with that.

Memories of the last two days flooded her warm breast.  I’ve met so many wonderful people I never would have known had I not started this journey … Jason’s been kind of quiet recently … They’re in Cerulean; maybe we should meet up while Amira and Lori get stuff ready for the Gym.  Yeah, I’ll message him tomorrow…

Drifting off to sleep, Rhea’s allowed herself to be taken in by Alice’s body and Nova’s nuzzling spirit.

* * *

Mya sighed, sitting between Mallory, Amira, and Rhea’s tents to stare into the small fire Amber had made for them to manage; they’d needed to have a base to make breakfast tomorrow, so allowing it to whittle out for the coals to remain was something the Fox Pokemon wanted.

She picked up one of the sticks Rhea had used to poke the logs, Miky following her example as Holly settled around Mya’s head like a coat.  “Why were there no Trainers to fight today?  I wanted to have a battle.”

“Mmh, I’s do likes to battle, but—but sometimes I gets scared,” Miky chuckled, trying to make the fire bigger; his speaking skills were getting better.  “So many big, big Pokemon outside forest.”

Holly giggled.  “I thought it was a wonderful day; Amber and Serenity had a lot of fun with the river.  Oh, and Nova’s getting better at staying in her Glaceon evolution,” she whispered, patting Mya on the head.  “I’m sure you’ll have some good battles soon.”

“Mgmgh … Not for a while,” she mumbled, head drooping a little.  “We’re not going to battle Misty for her Badge.”

“Isn’t that a good thing?  Amira thinks it's a good plan to not waste credits that could put us in a bad bind since if we fought everyone, a single loss down the line could cost so much more than we have.”

“Mhm!  Mhm!”  Miky grinned.  “Little Red is a real smarty-smart!  Lori likes Little Red; she’s cool.”

Mya scratched her cheek.  “No, I get it … Nova and Rhea have talked to me about it but … Mmmg…”

“Oh…”  A sad note came to Holly’s usually cheery voice.  “You’re sad you won’t get to battle the next Gym?”

“I mean, I know it’s a bit selfish … Alice told me as much, and as much I hate to admit it … Yeah, it is, but—but I just want to show I’m better … That I won’t lose again.”

“Me’s understands,” Miky mumbled, pulling his stick away from the fire to glance back at his Trainer’s tent.  “I’s not been good likes everyone else—me’s not have so many Moves—I’s not want to make Lori sad…”

“Mhm-uh,” Holly interjected in the ensuing silence.  “I don’t think our humans are sad when they lose now; Rhea seemed okay—Amira was happy to see how Rhea took her loss.”

“But why,” Mya’s tiny fists closed, cracking the wood in her hand.  “She was a little sad, but she dismissed it really fast … I was told I shouldn’t lose … to protect Rhea … I don’t want to lose.”

“Have you talked to Rhea about it?”  Holly pressed, sliding away from her to float to the opposite log, and curled her tail around to grasp it.

“Yeah…”

“What’d she say?”

“Having fun is better than winning … It’s not the same when we fight people trying to hurt, Rhea, though … I can’t lose, or I could lose her.”

Holly’s eyes fell to the fire with Miky, a somber look crossing the Flower Pokemon’s face.  “I get that … Amira still blames herself for putting Rhea and Lori in harm’s way.  Amber, Serenity, and I tell her Rhea doesn’t think that, but she says it doesn’t matter what Rhea feels … It’s what Amira feels that is the issue, and she can’t just not feel that way.”

“Is it what you’s feels—like that?”  Miky asked, tucking his legs up to his thin chest.

Mya slowly nodded, rubbing her arm and looking up at the bright, starry sky.  “I guess … Nova’s supposed to be the next one that fights in a Gym.  I get the reason why … I’m just a bit sad it’s not me … Selfish me,” she sighed.  “Then there’s Alice…”

“What about Alice?”

Her two friends turned to stare at her Trainer’s tent as Mya hissed out a long puff of air through her large, second mouth, a rumble shaking in her throat.  “She’s so … hyper and happy, yet … she’s focused … fearless.  I used to feel like that, and I thought she’d break down when she had her first loss … but she didn’t…”

Trying to fight the tears threatening to leave her eyes, Mya shifted to look at her Trainer's bright yellow tent; Alice, Nova, and Rhea were already asleep.  “She didn’t … unlike me.  Does that make Alice stronger?”

A soft hum vibrated in Holly’s throat, pulling her tail against her cheek to rub it as the sensitive Pokemon rubbed liquid from her own eyes.  “I think you’re both super strong—Amira likes to say we all have our strengths and weaknesses.  Amber has been kind of down on herself because of how embarrassing she’s been when we deal with water, but Amira always tries to cheer her up.  Heh, she’s the only one that can help dry everyone’s hair—Amber likes that.”

“What can I do?”  Mya mumbled, looking off into the night.  “I’m heavy, so I can’t sleep on Rhea like Alice or Nova.  I’m slow, so it’s hard to keep up with everyone when we walk, and I draw more energy from Rhea when I do.  I was the only one to lose our Gym Battle … I put Rhea in the human Pokemon Center … All I’ve been is a burden on my Trainer.”

“Me’s feels that way, too,” Miky mumbled, picking at the stick he held.  “Gabs and Roxie be so big and confident … Me’s used to be big and confident … So many bigger Pokemon makes me see me as so small, but … but Lori loves me and cheers me on.  Me not want to disappoint my human … I’s needs to be strong!”

Mya smiled at his resolute face, wiping away the single tear in her eye.  “I need to be strong, too, Miky.”

The sound of the crackling fire and wild Pokemon filtered back into focus as they went quiet, but Holly soon broke the silence with a question that made Mya’s mouth tighten.

“Do you … hate Alice?”

“Mmh … I don’t think so … I’m kind of jealous of her, I think,” Mya mumbled, poking at the logs again for one to collapse.  “Nova and Alice are close to Rhea in a way I can’t be because of how I was born … It’s stupid, I know, but I’m stupid.  Maybe … Maybe I admire Alice a little, too … She reminds me a little of how I was before I lost to Forrest … I want to feel a little like I did, but … I don’t know how to.”

Holly and Miky’s gazes returned to the flames; no one had answers for her, and Mya didn’t expect them to.  She was dealing with something she hadn’t resolved yet, which was frustrating when Rhea managed to get over their loss and the incident with Plasma so soon.  Tonight was the first time she’d opened up to anyone about it, and it felt good, but she wasn’t ready to do the same with her teammates.

Why am I stuck … I’m supposed to be stronger than this.

Ten minutes passed before chuckles sounded above them, drawing Holly, Miky, and Mya’s gaze; five Pidgey fluttered out of the sky, each landing on their Trainer’s tents—all were male.

“So, you’re a loser, huh?”

“Losers will always be losers.”

“You’re right; she looks so weird.”

“All of them are ugly.”

“I kind of like the weird one.”

“Huh—are you an idiot?”  the one next to him chirped, smacking him with his wing.

“Hey—she is cute … I could be her strong protector!”

“Fool.”

“Fool.”

“Fool.”

Mya’s nose twitched with agitation while rising with Miky and Holly.  “Who are…”

She trailed off as a sixth Pidgey fluttered down to smirk at her from the top of Rhea’s tent—feathers and face showing a few scars—the Plasma Pidgey that had tried to kill them.  “Well, well, well … long time no see.  Remember me?”

Fists tightening at her sides, Mya’s gut tightened, feeling the strength of the Pokemon; he was roughly as strong as the Nidorino she’d fought.  “Why are you here?”

Rhea!  Rhea!

“Mmgm?”

Shhh, don’t make too much noise; it’s the Pidgey that tried to kill us!

Alice and Nova’s ears were instantly up, waking as she sent the warning.

“My name isn’t you,” the Pidgey growled.  “What’s my name?”

Holly’s eyes narrowed.  “How should—”

“Drew the Great!”

“Drew the Magnificent!”

“The Power of the Sky!”

“Psst, there’s no Drew in there…”

“Oh, Drew, the Power of the Sky!”

A few of the birds chirped.

Alice’s voice came to Mya through their connection to Rhea.  “I hear Neville running back from inside the bushes.”

“What?”  Rhea questioned, trying not to make too much noise while looking up at her tent, where two Pidgey sat.  “The Plasma Pidgey … If there’s six of them, then we’re in trouble; I don’t think we can cover all angles.  Our best shot is running into the forest to use the trees for cover against their Gusts.  Amira and Lori?”

“I hear them waking up, too … I think Kekoa is getting his teammates to help—Neville was scouting around and saw the Pidgey eyeing our camp a few minutes ago,” Alice said.  “I want to punch them!”

“No, if there are numbers … Nova’s Glaceon Icy Wind would be the best thing—sorry, Alice, and did you say Kekoa’s Rattata saw?”

“Mhm!  Should I get in my pokeball now?”

“No, they’ll see the flash of light; wait until we can coordinate—who’s sleeping with Amira and Lori?”

“Roxie and Amber—they can hear what’s happening, I think.  Umm, yeah, the Alolan boys are coming with their Pokemon!”

Mya felt nothing but frustration but knew they were in a tough spot; Drew had ambushed them and taken up a position to threaten all of their Trainers.

Miky hissed, glaring at the ones above Lori’s tent.  “You’s comes attacks us?  What’s do you’s wants?”

Drew smirked, pulling their gaze.  “I’ve been in a rough spot since you killed my human … I had to fight to get where I am now … I want revenge, but you’re always around super-powerful people!  Hah—but now I have you!”

“Stop!”  Holly cried, spinning in a circle to throw out a burst of wind as Drew lazily smacked his wing toward Amira’s tent, blades of laced wind cutting past her Leaf Tornado to cut several gashes in the Flower Pokemon’s tent, but the redhead didn’t make a sound from inside.

Holly’s arms trembled as a few of the embers from the fire floated with the wind; luckily, nothing lit as the sparks settled around the area.  “No…”

“Don’t move!”

“We attack if you move!”

“Hahaha!”

The other Pidgey squawked, lifting their wings threateningly; all of them were at least as strong as Tera, Sam’s Phanpy.

Mya’s eyes burned, her stick snapping in her right hand.  “I’ll fight all of you at once … Let’s go to the road, and I’ll…”

“I’m not stupid,” Drew snickered, glaring at her.  “I’ve watched all of you closely over the last two days; I know you care so much for your humans—all of you are guilty!”

“You’re all cowards,” Mya growled.  “Are you scared of me?”

“Why would—”

A jet of water launched out of the brush, catching Drew in the face, the tent fabric ripping as he was torn away from the rod; he swiftly righted himself, squawking in anger as his fellows took to the air in surprise.

“Attack!”

“Ambush!  It’s an ambush!”

“Where!”

A green streak launched out of the brush as Mya gathered her own energy, but her lips parted in disbelief upon seeing Haoa, Kekipi’s Charjabug, be thrown into the center of the agitated Pokemon.

Golden light shimmered around his frame while laughing.  Sparks traced around his rectangular body, and the Pidgey assassins’ attention instantly went to the Battery Pokemon as its steel-like vertical jaws opened.  “Freeeeedom!”

A concussive shockwave of green and yellow energy lit the night in a pulse, engulfing four of the stunned Pokemon, including Drew; two managed to dive out of the way, and one illuminated white as it became a blur, heading for Lori’s tent.

Miky launched to the right, hands clapping to generate a dark ring; the Pidgey’s consciousness wavered, forcing it to tumble across the ground.

A low growl rumbled from inside Lori’s tent as Roxie tore through the side, electrified jaws forming in her mouth to chomp down on the fallen bird.  Thrown back, he swiftly recovered and tried to take off again, but balls of fire shot out from Amira’s tent as Amber leaped out.

Happy to take part, brown energy collected around Mya as an unusual discharge of electricity sparked around them from the chuckling Charjabug, falling into the river; a surge of energy filled her Move, causing the four rocks that formed to grow.

Launching forward to meet the second Pidgey, diving for Rhea’s tent, she roared, sending a burst of intimidating force to weigh down their opponents as every stone blindsided the confused Pidgey.

Cries came from the Flying Pokemon, in utter shambles after their leader was hit by the massive discharge, yet a sudden tornado of wind launched out from the middle of the falling Pidgey; Holly tried to counter it but was quickly overwhelmed.

Mya’s jaws tightened as she was carried into the air with Roxie, Miky, Amber, and Holly, tumbling into the atmosphere; she lost all knowledge of direction until striking hard dirt.  Her friends landed around her as Mya scrambled to her feet; they’d been tossed back to the road.

Rumbles shook in her throat while Mya ran back, cursing how slow she was as Amber and Holly swiftly outpaced her; the Alolan party’s Pokemon had been sent back a ways from the whirlwind, as well.

However, Mya slowed, a smile brightening her lips when a shimmering black and white Glaceon jumped out of Rhea’s flap; a whipping tempest surged from the remaining Pidgey, trying to recover over the water, yet Nova took a deep breath, the temperature falling rapidly as Rhea funneled a large chunk of Fortitude to the Ice Pokemon.

“Freeze!”  A rush of frigid wind flung back the wave, icing over the brook and sending three of the flock to the ground, their energy matrix shattered; the rest scattered.

Keahi, Heneli’s Mankey, grabbed Mika’ele and swung him around to launch him into the air for a jet of concentrated water to shoot out of the Horsea’s nose, eyes sparkling in the starlight—Drew fell to the grass on the opposite side of the bank—his minions running in fright.

Mya’s gut churned while rushing back into camp with the others, watching Rhea exit, left hand on the dirt and right against her breast as she tried to control her breathing.  “R-Rhea!  Are you okay?”

* * *

A soft chuckle left Rhea’s tight lungs as she tried to regain control over her thumping heart.  “We did it … Mmgm, yeah, hehe, I’m fine, Mya,” she whispered, rubbing the side of her worried Mawile’s raised second mouth, somewhat sinister in the faint light.  “I just used a lot of Fortitude in that attack.”

“Rhea, are they leaving?”  Amira asked, exiting her damaged tent, and she could see a bit of blood running down her thigh from a small gash.

Lori hissed upon exiting.  “Woah, I was not expecting an attack out of the blue like that—Plasma’s bird, right?”

“Hey!  What’s up with that?!”  Heneli fumed, rushing over wearing his swimming trunks—likely sleepwear.

Kekipi’s dark eyes scanned the night, seeing a few of the Pidgey lying unconscious on the ice or across the bank.  “You girls okay?”

“What was that Icy Wind?”  Kekoa asked in amazement, scanning the frozen ground and water as the river gushed over the ice to find a way across.

Amira took a deep breath, adjusting her bathing suit top while following their gaze to the iced-over river.  “It’s … Kekipi, umm—Amber, can you go and help Haoa out of the ice—is he okay?”

Instant panic-filled Nova’s chest as she noticed the Charjabug frozen inside the blocked river, and she rushed after Amber and the other Pokemon to help.

“Eh, heh, yeah—he’s going to be knocked out for a while, but he’s still got his secondary shield; we were just caught a little off-guard by the level of that attack.  How long were you charging that?”

“Woah!  Woah!”  Rhea held up her hands, a forced smile on her lips.  “Uh, we should contact the Rangers first.”

“Already done,” Amira said, holding up her phone.  “We can talk about it later…”

“After you’re checked out,” Kekipi muttered, noticing her bleeding leg.  “How bad is it?”

“No, I’m fine.  It was only a graze; I have medical supplies.”

“You sure?  We have stuff back at our camp, too.”

“I’m good.  Umm, yeah, we should…”

They paused as a large Crobat swooped out of the sky, holding a rod for her partner to hold onto; the Ranger dropped out of the sky to land beside them.  “You kids okay—what’s the emergency?”

She turned to survey the scattered camp and frozen river before settling on the fallen Pidgey.

Amira was the first to respond as the Platinum-tier Crobat hovered in the air, a deep frown in his red eyes.  “So far as my Pokemon tells me, that scarred Pidgey was a Plasma agent’s Pokemon; he’s been stalking us to get revenge.”

“No way—the terrorist organization?”  Heneli asked in surprise.

Kekoa hissed, glancing at the fallen Pokemon.  “For real … That group that’s been all over the Kanto news stations?”

Kekipi was already jogging back across the road to his tent, pulling a few of their gazes.

“Hmm…”  The dark-haired woman nodded, shifting to look at the ice as the Pokemon tried to find a way to get the unconscious Battery Pokemon out.  “I’ll handle it—are there any more besides these ones?”

“Yeah,” Rhea said, pointing in the direction they’d gone.  “There were six—two got away, but their energy matrix is probably low, and I think one was paralyzed from what Nova tells me.”

The woman put two fingers to her lips and whistled; two Golbat shot out from the treeline, swiftly giving chase.  “Alright, heh, and I assume the ice was from your special Eevee, Rhea?”

“Eh—of course, you know who I am, heh-he…”

“Hard not to when the World Champion puts you under her wing,” she laughed.  “Still, I’m impressed you girls made it out of a Flying Pokemon ambush—especially given their strength—good teamwork from what I’m gathering.  Are you okay, Ms. Rocket; do you need anything?”

“No, I’m … Kekipi, I said I had stuff…”  she muttered as he came jogging back with a medical kit.

“Heh, well, you seemed busy, and I had the time,” he returned, handing it to her before turning to the Ranger.  “Uh, Ms…”

“Mikayla,” the Ranger returned, smiling at the young man as he handed Amira the kit.  “An Alolan group, huh?  I’m glad to see you were close enough to notice something was wrong to help.  Uh, let’s see … Ion, wanna help those guys?”

The Crobat chuckled, shooting over to skillfully flap his wings to cut out a block of ice and lift it out; Amber and the others rushed under him as the Pokemon set the frozen Charjabug by the fire—Amber’s ears and tail ignited as she began breathing hot steam over the block.

“Anything else you’d like to report?”

Amira shook her head, ruefully turning to look at their tents.  “I’d love to file a complaint, but I know this was probably too small to be prevented … Thanks for responding so fast.”

“Not fast enough,” she sighed.  “Sorry about that, but it seemed that Pidgey knew his stuff when it came to Ranger patrols—attacked when my focus was elsewhere.”

“Figures,” Lori snarled.  “I mean, he was with Plasma.”

“Mmh … I’ll call it into the Kanto Ranger HQ; we’ll pull in some more Rangers to scan the area and make sure the route is safe.”  She waved to the forest for another Golbat to flutter out and hang upside down on a nearby tree.  “Eh, I know saying you should get some rest is a bit much, but I’ll leave one of my buddies here to look out for you.”

“Thank you,” Rhea returned the smile.  “I’m actually pretty tired now … I used a lot of Fortitude in that attack—no, silly, that’s not your fault,” she chuckled, bending down to pet Nova as her little girl said she was sorry.  “You were amazing—all that practicing has been paying off!  Right?”

The Ranger soon took off, and Lori invited the Alolan boys to hang around; it was 1:04 A.M., yet she couldn’t get back to bed, thinking about Plasma.

Amira treated her own leg and insisted that Rhea go back in and sleep; totally outnumbered, Rhea was too tired to fight it and complied.

She was a little confused by Mya’s reluctance to join her on the now ruined and deflated air mattress and chalked it up to Alice cuddling against her other side, but in the end, she settled in, snuggling closer together.

It was a little uncomfortable on the hard ground, but her mat helped, and Rhea didn’t find it difficult to enter her dreams again; hopefully, this was the end of their little Plasma encounters, but with the Alola party supporting them, it hadn’t been that bad.

It was the 30th and the fourth day of the Summer Round Robin Cup—tomorrow was the anticipated day; the 1st was the High Master Battle that would determine the future of the Vermilion Gym—Saria Surge vs. Visquez for ownership of the Leader title.

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