11:17 a.m., November 7th, Saturday, 106 PH (Post Hoopa Event). Day 151.

  Events: Rhea and the girls are on a Badge Hunt, trying to get all the Kanto Encrusted Badges before time runs out! Our girl started her journey on the 9th of June, and the registration deadline for the Winter Indigo Cup is December 5th (27 days away).

  Shae’s tiny feet hit upturned earth, toes flexing as she looked around.

  The roar of the crowd slammed into her skull—thousands of voices, the bass of the speakers, the crackle of residual energy from the battle that had just ended. Amber spotlights carved through lingering smoke, illuminating a battlefield that looked like a warzone.

  Oh. Oh, wow.

  Craters pockmarked the stone where Nova and Alice had clashed with Alpha. Spikes of frozen dirt jutted up at odd angles, some still steaming where Nova’s Flame Charge had kissed ice. Patches of smog particles coated the ground. A massive trench carved across the center where the Diggersby’s final Bulldoze had reshaped everything.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, Rhea has made her choice!”

  “A Ralts!”

  “It looks like her mother’s cooked up something crazy!”

  “A genetically enhanced Ralts enters the fray!”

  “Look at those colors—George, you don’t think…”

  “She’s linked to a certain Kalos superstar? I think so!”

  “Champion Diantha must be screaming right now!”

  The big blue lady was already waddling toward her, that dreamy smile making Shae’s tummy feel funny. White energy pulsed around her body, and Shae watched in horrified fascination as the purple Poison veins faded slightly.

  “Welcome to the grand stage.” The Quagsire scratched her belly, matrix climbing. “Try not to get hit, sweet thing. You might actually die at this stage. The battle already started.”

  The ground rumbled.

  “Move!” Nova cried several feet to her right, emerald energy flowing around her. “Feel for his movements underground.”

  Something below, moving fast.

  Shae’s legs moved before her brain caught up, stumbling sideways as dirt exploded where she’d been standing. Chunks of stone showered around her, one grazing her front horn.

  “Slow, little girl.”

  Dark eyes gleamed from the hole, amusement dancing in their depths. The Alpha Diglett was twice the normal size she’d seen on the Pokemon Rescue Squad shows, his head alone as big as her whole body.

  “Gotta be faster than that if you want to play with the big kids.”

  He dove back under before she could even squeak, holding her small hand to her mouth with a thoughtful hum. Rhea’s voice flowed into her, sending support and guidance.

  “Tyrone sends a stern message to our baby Pokemon!”

  “Is this a wise move, Jerry? I know she’s genetically enhanced to the max, but does she even know Double Team—oh.”

  A little melody resonated in Shae’s throat that she’d learned from Mariah as she bobbed left and right, dozens of copies of herself spreading out. Nova continued to engage Kestel as an Eevee, keeping her attention with stars flying out at her.

  “I’ll keep this one busy. Just get your bearings and watch out for Tyrone.”

  Okay!

  Shae spread out her flickering clones, dancing to her own rhythm as her Trainer guided her through what she should do. The announcers were going crazy as Tryone kept popping up, attacking her doubles.

  “That answers that!”

  “That first dodge was way too clean, too.”

  “Instinct?”

  “Christie’s Pokemon?” George snickered. “Instinct and Perception, is my guess.”

  “Oh, we’re in for a treat now! How will Gym Leader Giovanni respond?”

  “With that infamous Super Cheer ability, folks!”

  “If he empowers Kestel’s attacks, they become homing!”

  That’s cool.

  Nova’s response wasn’t so impressed. “Oh, son of a—”

  “Language!” Mya retorted with a huff. “Rhea’s working on it. Shae? Understand?”

  Mhm! I like trying new Abilities.

  Shae turned toward where the mole had vanished, reaching for that strange pulling sensation in her horn. Her body wanted to copy something. There—the Diglett—that loud bright feeling like wanting to cheer really, really hard—

  She jumped away as a feeling came on, yet…sand came out of a tiny hole that abruptly erupted into her face.

  “Agh! I can’t see!” she cried. “Bis Sis!”

  Gritty particles stung her eyes. Everything went blurry, swimming. The pulling sensation scattered like startled Butterfree. She couldn’t see the mole, couldn’t focus on anything.

  “Nice try, baby girl,” the Diglett mused from somewhere. “Can’t Trace what you can’t see.”

  His voice echoed from somewhere—left? Right? Below? She stumbled backward, rubbing frantically at her eyes, tears streaming down her cheeks.

  A blur of heat shot past her. The crack of impact. A yelp of surprise.

  “I’ve got him! Keep trying, Shae. You’ve got this! Double Team again.” Nova’s voice. “It’ll keep them guessing.”

  Okay!

  Shae did it. Then blinked. Blinked. Blinked again!

  The world swam back into focus.

  The arena spread before her in all its devastated glory.

  Nova—now wreathed in flickering flames as a dazzling, fluffy wonder—was darting around the far side, keeping the mole on the defensive with bursts of fire that left scorch marks across the broken stone. The Quagsire watched from her position near the center, rubbing her eyes, too, for some reason. Still, that little, non-bothered smile never wavered.

  She clapped her stubby arms together. Another pulse of white light. More healing as Poison ate at her.

  Uh… Big Sis. She’s just healing. I want to help more.

  Shae’s tiny hands clenched as Lulu’s maniacal laugh came through the connection.

  “Remember, Little Evil: a villain stands alone against the world. So what do we do when those foolish heroes try their tricks?”

  Shae’s smile grew. We go wild!

  She found the mole again—currently dodging Nova’s fireballs that left trails of light across the smoky air—and focused. The Flareon was sprinting all over the field, eyes sparking with light to dodge every attack, spreading Smog over the field.

  “It’s Nova, the one-girl army at this point!”

  “Detect, Eject, Perception, Sprint, Run Away, Mud Slap, Sand Attack, homing Swifts, with Spirit—this girl doesn’t play!”

  “Facts! Where’s the justice at?”

  “Unleash your potential, my young sprout,” Lulu soothed.

  Unleashing! Shae set her shoulders. I’m in the zone.

  The pulling sensation strengthened. Her horn felt warm.

  “We’re going in like the rent’s not paid!”

  Yeah!

  It wasn’t squishy-wet, like before; this was…loud?

  One second.

  “Where do you learn these things, Lulu?” Mya snickered.

  “Uncle Star and Auntie Zyra.”

  “Of course.”

  Shae’s grin rose, head tilting up, pink eyes flashing as the sensation to cheer really, really hard for someone you loved flowed into her. But that wasn’t her target…yet. Her gaze flicked to the blue Pokemon, feeling something else—a sleepy, warm, healing sensation.

  I’ve got this!

  Five seconds.

  The announcers noticed.

  “Is that…”

  “The Ralts uses Trace!”

  “But Tyrone’s not going to let that happen!”

  The mole’s head whipped toward her across the battlefield. His eyes narrowed as Nova was hit by a spray of sand, making her hiss.

  “Oh, no you don’t—”

  He flew toward her across the surface, surging through the soft earth. Ten feet away, he sank into the ground. Shae lowered herself to the ground, her focus sharpening, Rhea’s voice calm, guiding.

  Her fear evaporated as his outline flowed forward, showing the ground vibrating and exploding exactly where he’d attack. She just smiled and shook her head.

  “Take it easy. Let’s have fun.”

  She dove forward, rolling across rough stone as claws erupted from the earth where she’d been standing. Dirt showered over her back. Her concentration didn’t waver as she did a cartwheel, as Nova had taught her. Her gaze shifted to Nova for half a second, projecting warmth through their bond.

  For you!

  Fifteen seconds.

  “Well, aren’t you special, little girl?” he smirked, the Psychic aura surrounding her and her teammate with the commentator’s shouts.

  “Shae Shares Instinct with Nova!”

  “Nova just can’t be hit!”

  “Aww, I’m turning red!” she hummed, touching her mouth with a giggle. “Lulu says I should say I’m a goddess—or was it villainess? Anyway, I’d be lost without your love.”

  His nose twitched. “Heh. So humble. But can you keep it up? Not a single attack.”

  Her head tilted to the side. “Why do I need to attack?”

  He vanished again. The ground went still.

  Too still, but she was already making multiple clones, keeping her gaze on her target through Perception. Shae’s illuminated pink irises darted across the arena, tracking movement through the broken terrain while maintaining focus on that sleepy feeling.

  Her horn was really warm now as she jumped on hard stones at Nova’s direction, multiple images appearing across other hard areas.

  Almost there. Almost—

  Twenty seconds.

  A massive spectral face exploded to her left. A giant ghostly mole head with gaping jaws and hollow eyes, growing bigger and bigger and bigger, filling her entire world with nightmare fuel—for her image dancing on a rock.

  Lulu’s was scarier.

  He couldn’t track her if she didn’t move to create vibrations.

  Shae feigned a scream.

  “So scary! Hehe.”

  Nova’s body shimmered with light, honeycomb panels blocking a massive flash of light that curved several times in its pursuit, landing against her shielded back.

  “Holy! Nova couldn’t even escape that with Detect and Perception!”

  “Super Cheer is doing work. Our Champion Eevee’s little girl is on the ropes!”

  “Shae is finding her ground, though. Is this a baby Pokemon?” Jerry scoffed.

  “Not this baby, George! She goes hard.”

  “But what’s she cooking?”

  Kestel’s body illuminated yet again, tanking, healing, and buffing on repeat.

  Nova growled. “How much Personal Power does this girl have?! This is crazy. I swear I must have done twice as much damage as Alice at this point, and she just eats it!”

  You okay, Big Sis?

  A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  “Yeah, Shae, just getting a bit tired of this homing Ability,” Nova sighed. “Almost ready?”

  Mhm! Rhea’s so smart.

  “We couldn’t do it without you, sweetheart,” Mya chimed in. “Giovanni gave us a puzzle, and Rhea solved it!”

  Tyrone emerged to spray sand, and she was still looking at him.

  “The Muk—she’s still—Kestel!”

  “Hmm?” The Quagsire tilted her drowsy head, just snapping out of another sleep. “I’m only plus two—”

  “Stop her!”

  The blue lady turned her way, mouth opening. All her stored power concentrated into a single brilliant, amplified beam aimed right at Shae’s chest. It closed in—

  Rainbow light erupted around Shae. The world lurched, colors smearing, her body becoming weightless for one disorienting instant.

  She reappeared across the arena, hopping on one foot on the uneven ground.

  Nova appeared where she’d been, blue barrier washing over her as George shouted.

  “Ally Switch!”

  “Spit Up hits—”

  The enhanced beam slammed home.

  The shield cracked.

  It held.

  “Nova’s down to her last defensive option!”

  “Nova eats a berry!”

  “Detect saves her from another Dig as Kestel Stocks Up!”

  “What’s this?”

  Something clicked into place inside Shae’s chest—that sleepy feeling was hers now. She could feel it humming in her horn, wanting to be used, wanting her to doze off… But she wasn’t going to use this Ability.

  “I got it!” She bounced on her feet, grinning as her head tilted, glowing eyes fixating on the Diglett. He tried to Dig under, but she’d caught him in her gaze. “I hope you enjoy the trade!”

  Psychic energy flowed around her and Tyrone, following him underground as the Move took hold—that intense cheering Ability was now hers.

  The sleepiness?

  Gone.

  Tyrone froze, eyes wide.

  Kestrel, oblivious.

  George and Jerry were practically jumping on their floating platforms.

  “Trace steals Deep Sleep!”

  “Shae Skill Swaps Deep Sleep for Super Cheer!”

  “We’ve got a Super Cheer Ralts—after giving Nova Instinct!”

  “A Super Cheer Ralts who just locked out Tryone from his Super Cheer!”

  “What is this? What is this broken Pokemon?!”

  “Is this even Silver—that’s from a baby Pokemon!”

  “This Ralts is a support monster!”

  “What other tricks does she have up her sleeves?”

  “We’re going to find out, George!”

  “They’re on fire!”

  Giovanni’s image, far above them, almost showed a cold, approving smile, his dark eyes fixed on her.

  Instructions flooded through their bond—not words exactly, more like feelings, intentions, a plan that unfolded in her mind like a flower blooming. Lulu and Mya were freaking out.

  “Oh! That was so mean!”

  “I love it! I love it!”

  “Tyrone just lost his most critical support aspect!”

  The crowd erupted. Shae could feel their energy washing over her, their excitement, their disbelief. Up on his platform, she saw Giovanni’s Persian show an impressed nod.

  “Victory!” she cheered, throwing both hands in the air and sending power to Nova. “I am the blinding star of the rose crystal throne!”

  The mole’s face twisted with frustration and bewilderment. “What are you—huh?”

  His eyes widened, darting to Giovanni as if he’d just shared something critical, despite his passive, menacing stare. He turned toward the Quagsire and burrowed toward her position, dirt flying.

  Pink mist erupted from Shae’s body, spreading across the battlefield in a shimmering wave from her many images. Sparkles danced in the amber spotlights. The air turned sweet, dreamlike, tasting of Fairy energy.

  “Ho-ho. You figured out our plan, hmm? Rhea said you might have a counter.” Nova laughed, darting after him with a grin her way. “You’re doing amazing, Shae. Keep up the pressure.”

  “I thought so,” Rhea hummed, her voice laced with excitement. “He’s got Stabilize+. If he gets close to her, he can disrupt your Terrain! I know it takes a lot to keep it up, but she’s done if you keep it up… How did Giovanni know how many crazy Moves and Abilities you have?”

  She paused, then giggled. “Never mind. Basically, take the most broken Ralts you can imagine and just model after that… That’s what Mom would give me. Not so hard after all.”

  “Indeed. Only shooting stars break the mold!” Shae cheered, mirroring Lulu and further amplifying Nova. Fireballs shot out of the Flareon’s mouth, becoming missiles as the Ability projected them directly to the Quagsire, flowing around Tyrone’s attempts to block them. “You’ll never shine if you don’t glow! Go, go, Big Sis!”

  Tyrone burst from the ground near Kestel—

  Nova was already there.

  Her tail glowed with repulsive force, slamming into the earth beside him. The shockwave caught his emerging form and launched him and a massive chunk of soil underneath the Diglett skyward.

  “No way—”

  He tumbled through the air, trailing dirt, rocks, and what looked like an entire root system, eyes comically wide.

  “Eject sends Tyrone flying!”

  “Is that fifty pounds of dirt?!”

  “The mystery of the Diglett strikes again!”

  He hit the barrier wall with a heavy thud, sliding down in a shower of debris.

  Shae giggled.

  “Focus, Little Evil,” Lulu coached. “The blue hero is getting antsy. It’s time to get down and dirty.”

  Yes, Dark Fluff Queen!

  Kestel’s dreamy smile had sharpened into something more alert. The Quagsire’s stubby arms spread wide, gray mist billowing from her body to mix with the pink sparkles.

  “Haze cures Badly Poison from repeated Smogs!”

  “She’s trying to clear Nova’s Speed and Special advantage—”

  The Mist swirled together as it flowed into the Fairy Terrain, but Shae’s inner ghost came out—purple flames gathered in her palms—cold, wrong, like frozen fire. She threw them at Kestel as the Haze left.

  “Someone’s listening to their Trainer!”

  “Will-O-Wisp lands right after the Mist!”

  “Burn status on the Unkillable Blue Wonder!”

  Orange flickers danced across the sapphire hide, making Kestel’s smile twitch.

  “Wow. That stings, little one. Your team is good.”

  “Sorry! Not sorry!”

  Nova followed up immediately, purple smoke billowing from her mouth as she darted past. The toxic cloud washed over Kestel and Tyrone’s face, mixing with the Poison she’d been carrying all match.

  The purple veins darkened. Spread. Intensified.

  “Nova just won’t let up, no matter how many Mists Kestel throws out!”

  “Smog just keeps stacking!”

  “Deadly Poison is ramping!”

  “A Flareon with poison in her blood—who’s ever heard of such a thing?!”

  Kestel coughed, matrix flickering on the overhead display.

  “Probably at forty percent,” Nova guessed. “Maybe thirty-eight.”

  “I am so impressed,” Quagsire said slowly, wiping her mouth as Tyrone carved a cyclone out of the mist. “I was going to take it easy on the baby. But you girls are making that difficult. She’s so versatile.”

  Her vacant eyes sharpened fully now. The Sleeping Dancer was awake.

  “Tyrone. Stop playing around. This little one is a handful. I like her.”

  The mole emerged from his dirt pile, shaking debris from his head. His expression had changed too—less amused, more focused.

  “Yeah. I hear you, big girl.”

  He dove.

  But not toward Shae this time. Toward Nova.

  George leaned forward.

  “Switch up!”

  “Tyrone’s targeting the Flareon!”

  The ground beneath Nova exploded—she dodged left, only for Kestel’s tail to sweep from the right.

  “Ally Switch!”

  Rainbow light. Nova vanished. Shae appeared. The tail passed through empty air as Shae dissolved into her shadow, sliding across the arena floor. She emerged behind a frozen spike, breathing hard.

  That was close! Using Moves so fast is hard.

  “Nice moves, baby girl,” Tyrone called, his voice carrying grudging respect. “But you can’t help her dodge forever.”

  “I mean, we’ve done a good job already!”

  Nova reappeared beside Kestel with a grin, darkness-laced fangs eating into her hide and making her Mist fail. Instead, she swapped to Stockpile, stacking it up.

  “Oh, bother—”

  “Stop healing and fight me!” Nova growled.

  Kestel’s response was another pulse of white light. Then another. And another. Her matrix climbed slightly—then dropped as Burn and Poison ate through the recovery.

  “Not my style. Better hurry. That’s two Stockpiles and a Recover,” the woman mused. “I enjoy the struggle.”

  “Weirdo.”

  Jerry snickered. “She’s barely breaking even! I can’t believe a High Silver and Bronze pair are giving a Low Gold-tier Pokemon so much trouble.”

  “The chip damage is outpacing Recover! And Nova keeps trying to interrupt the Mist!”

  “Thirty-five percent. Thirty-three.”

  “You know what?” Kestel’s smile returned, different now. Fiercer as a third Stockpile completed. “I think I don’t just like you girls. I really like you girls.”

  She inhaled deeply.

  “Let me show you something fun. Hey, Shae, am I doing good?”

  White light gathered—not Recover this time. Something bigger. Her body began to glow with the Quagsire’s stored energy concentrating.

  “Uh… Yeah! I think you’re super strong!”

  George choked.

  “She didn’t—that’s a Spit Up!”

  “All three Stockpiles!”

  “If that hits—”

  Shae’s Super Cheer pulsed. The amplifying energy flowed toward…the Quagsire’s attack?

  Wait. I’m empowering her attack?! Huh?! Oh, no!

  “Shae! Cut the Cheer!” Nova’s voice was urgent.

  She tried—but the energy had already connected. Kestel’s eyes sparkled with amusement.

  “Thanks for the boost, sweetie.”

  The beam erupted.

  Massively amplified.

  Homing.

  Aimed at Nova.

  Mya shouted, “Incoming!”

  Nova’s eye sparked. “I see it!”

  Shae felt her big sister’s horror flood through their bond.

  “How is there really no escape vector with Perception, Instinct, and Detect?!”

  It curved as she barrel rolled out of the way, dodging a spray of sand from Tyrone by turning her head away. Landing, she sprang into the air right beside Kestel—the beam bent at a perfect 90-degree angle.

  “You have to be kidding me!”

  “Protect!” Mya shouted through the bond.

  Blue honeycomb surrounded Nova as the enhanced beam slammed home. The barrier held—barely—cracks spiderwebbing across its surface.

  “Unbelievable!”

  “Nova tanks it with a third Protect!”

  “But that’s her last Protect in this match, folks! There’s no fourth!”

  “Thirty percent on Kestel,” Nova muttered through the bond, as if keeping track in a way Shae didn’t understand. “The Poison just ticked. Twenty-eight…”

  “Oops,” Shae squeaked aloud, hands clasping over her mouth in horror. “I made it worse! I got tricked.”

  “Dastardly heroes!” Lulu roared from her elevated position with Rhea, shaking her puffy hand. “Let me at’em!”

  “It’s okay!” Nova panted, the barrier fading. “Just—be careful where you point that thing!”

  Tyrone burst from the ground between them, cutting off their line of sight. His grin was back, sharper now. “You girls are fun. But the clock’s ticking.”

  “He was right,” Mya hissed, mirroring Rhea as she went through a checklist of things. “The timer overhead shows nine minutes remaining. Ramp it up. Use it, Nova!”

  “Not yet! I need her to use Protect, or else I’ll be fully tapped.”

  “The stall game is in effect!” Jerry shouted.

  Shae’s mind raced. Rhea’s guidance flowed through her, but the answer wasn’t coming fast enough.

  “Shae.” Nova’s voice was calm. Too calm as she sent stars flying at Tyrone, only for him to duck into the ground. “I need you to do something brave.”

  What?

  She listened intently, heart clenching as she kept Misty Terrain up, locking Kestel out of her main recovery Moves and Ability. Her attacks hit super hard but required a ton of setup, giving them time.

  Is that…all I need to do?

  “Yes! She’s weak enough now. But I need you to get close. Really close. So, I’m going in. Spook her!”

  Shae looked at Kestel. The Quagsire was watching her with those sharp eyes, that fierce smile.

  “You’re planning something scary, hmm,” Kestel whispered. “I can see it in your face.”

  “Maybe. I’ve done this only once before…”

  “Oh? I respect that.” The smile softened slightly. “Whatever it is—make it count.”

  Shae’s tiny hands clenched.

  I can do this. I’m a big girl.

  She moved.

  Not toward Kestel—toward Tyrone.

  Nova reverted to an Eevee, and a golden radiance illuminated her. The world moved in slow motion with an aureate glow erupting around her. Stars twinkled around Nova in a dazzling display that made Shae almost trip and ruin it all.

  She caught Kestel’s vision widen, lowering herself and preparing for something that really seemed to make her get serious. Tyrone’s mouth slackened at the intense stream of power that engulfed the Eevee.

  “Hey! Hey! Hey! Let’s not go—”

  George and Jerry’s noises faded into empty space, and all Shae fixated on was the Diglett in front of her. Rhea’s voice flowed through them, energy she’d never felt before, wrapping around her eldest big sister and lifting her into outer space.

  “I love you, Nova.”

  “I love you, too, Rhea…”

  “Now, show them what it means to be a supernova!”

  Shouts were heard all around the stadium.

  Every man, woman, child, and Pokemon shot to their feet.

  A honeycomb blue shell encompassed Kestel, bracing for impact.

  Ghostly energy flowed out of Shae, collecting around her right arm to her tiny point directed not ahead…but at the big blue tub of a Pokemon to her right. A specter-like Ralts materialized, flying right toward the Quagsire.

  A quiver ran down Kestel’s spine, wide eyes drifting to her in the first show of horror since the battle started. It passed through the barrier.

  Shae jumped into the air, two hands placed on Tyrone’s head as he activated Protect, just as Rhea predicted Giovanni would have him do. And rainbow lights took Shae.

  All the emotion and energy she could feel consolidated into a single furry Eevee Shae connected to, and Nova turned into a comet…just as that colorful light transported her.

  The next thing she saw was the stunned blue woman, Shae’s arms open with a grin as the comet materialized right over Tyrone, its radiance barely brushing him before the explosion.

  “Surprise!” Shae chimed, hugging Kestel as the barrier broke on its own.

  Fully embraced, darkness shrouded her, and Kestel chuckled softly.

  “Well done, sweet thing…”

  Memento activated, shattering Shae’s and Kestel’s energy matrix as Destiny Bond retaliated.

  “You girls really are a terror.”

  ?????

  An explosion of gold blinded Rhea, forcing her arm up to shield her eyes.

  The shockwave rattled her platform. Shards of stone peppered the barrier around the arena. The roar of the crowd vanished into white noise as light consumed everything.

  When it cleared—

  A trench.

  Carved through solid stone from Nova’s starting position to the far wall, at least forty meters long and two meters deep. Molten edges still glowed orange where the comet had passed. Frozen spikes had been vaporized. Craters had been smoothed over. The entire battlefield looked like a meteorite had struck it.

  And at the end of that golden scar—a crater in the reinforced wall itself, cracks spiderwebbing outward like shattered glass.

  “Veevee Volley!”

  George’s voice cracked.

  “Nova launches Veevee Volley—Champion Ambrosia’s signature Move!”

  “Second time used on the grand stage!”

  “That is just not Silver-tier, folks!” Jerry was practically screaming. “That’s not even Gold! Really, what a treat!”

  “Triple knockout! All three Pokemon are down!”

  Rhea’s legs wobbled, sweat coating her neck and armpits. She gripped the console to stay upright, her vision swimming as the aftermath registered.

  She’d told Nova to hold back. To use the radial damage, not the direct hit. A Bronze-tier Diglett couldn’t survive a full Veevee Volley. It would have been more than overkill. Even for an Alpha Pokemon.

  But even restrained…her girl had carved a canyon through Giovanni’s arena.

  The cameras spun wildly, trying to capture everything at once. Tyrone lay motionless at the crater’s starting point, half-buried, his Protect having saved him from the worst of it—barely.

  Kestel and Shae were tangled together near the center, the Quagsire’s arms wrapped around the tiny Ralts in an almost protective embrace.

  None of them were moving.

  “Start the count!”

  “One!”

  Rhea’s heart pounded.

  “Two!”

  Come on. Come on.

  A salt-and-pepper ear twitched at the bottom of the trench. Then another. Nova’s head lifted weakly, golden light still fading from her fur, her pink eyes finding Rhea’s across the devastated field.

  Four legs shaking, she tried to stand.

  The crowd held their cheers, hands over mouths.

  Nova breathed once.

  Twice.

  Stood on all fours and chirped with a dirty, cute smile.

  “Pwe.”

  Tears spilled down Rhea’s cheeks as the crowd’s roar deafened.

  Yeah. Yeah, we did.

  She held up her ball, the red light connected to Shae, as Giovanni recalled his two others and pulled them back to safety. The weight of their exhaustion flooded through their bond, mingling with pride, love, and bone-deep satisfaction.

  All eyes went to the Gym Leader, slipping the two balls to Matori to return to the Center for treatment. A stillness took them.

  Then, a smirk lifted his lips, his arms raised, and Giovanni’s slow claps echoed through the sudden silence.

  “Well done… It is my loss.”

  And Rhea finally let herself smile.

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  Current Books on Amazon and Audible:

  The Oscillation

  Book 1 - Chaos

  Book 2 - Masquerade

  A Tail's Misfortune

  Book 1 - Transformation

  Book 1 Audible - Transformation

  Undying Empire

  Book 1 - Foundation