PokeSync (Pokemon Fanfiction)

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6:55 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).

 

Picking up her pace, barely able to contain her excitement, Rhea pushed forward to the pier stairs with the others behind them; Jay, Sam, Jade, and Hannah were still confused as to where they were going.  Almost tripping on her way down, she hurried over to the submarines to meet the periwinkle-haired matriarch of the People of the Water.

“Lizabeth!”  she called out, waving her free hand while attempting to keep the stream steady with her other; her cousin, team, and the boys bringing up the rear.

The woman turned to give them a soft smile, and Rhea saw the brilliant stone necklace she wore—signifying the People of the Water’s unique technology—something her mother had referenced at one point.

“Rhea, it’s nice to see you and a tad early!”  Lizabeth gestured for the man next to her to continue going through his list without her as she went to meet them.  “I’ll go over the list before we leave.”

“Got it,” he replied, leaving to continue checking things off his catalog.

Slowing as she neared the large containers that various large Water Pokemon, such as Tentacruel, Feraligatr, and Swampert carried onto the larger vessel, Rhea jumped into the conversation without reserve.

“My grandpa said you need help bringing stuff on board, right?  Those are, uh-heh, big boxes…”

Amira forced a chuckle.  “I… don’t think we’ll be able to help move these huge crates.”

“For real!”  Mallory mumbled, eyeing the fairly powerful Gold to Platinum-tier Pokemon bustling around.  “I have enough trouble carrying my own weight half the time, haha!”

“You can say that again—I swear you put on a bit since the last time I saw you,” Len teased, moving up a little to join her as Jason stayed back with Lucian.

Rhea winced, but Lori laughed at the comment.

“I’ll burn it off soon enough tomorrow when we go dancing!  You’re in, right, Len?”  she questioned, holding her hands behind her neck with a grin.  “Cass said they’ll be making it here around noon tomorrow.”

“Sweet!  Eh-yeah, I guess I can do that…”  he trailed off. 

Suddenly, everyone went silent as rainbow lights shimmered between Jason and Rhea, revealing a brown-haired woman wearing a fancy white dress with a black bow sash and matching summer hat.

“Mother?”  Lucian asked in shock as Diantha stepped back to view the stunned crowd, a radiant Gardevoir by her side.

“Hmm…  Am I interrupting something, Lucian?  Ah, you wouldn’t happen to be Lizabeth, of the People of the Water?”

Rhea wondered if anyone else had parents that would just teleport in randomly to visit but then remembered Karen’s surprise appearance in Apple City.

Lizabeth seemed as speechless as them.  “Grand Duchess Diantha…  Umm—yes, I am.  I assume… you are here to see your son?”

“Indeed…” she smiled, shifting back to Lucian’s confused expression.  “I sent a message.”

Yet, before she could address it, her son straightened, trying to compose himself while stammering,  “Mother—I-I apologize for not—my phone was on silent—it should have notified me if it was you…”  he trailed off while taking out his phone and likely seeing her missed message.  “I’m…  Did you travel all the way from Kalos?”

“Hmm-hmm.”  She shook her head, and Rhea felt a little bad for him; he was hiding it, but not well, seemingly devastated that he'd missed her text.  “It’s no trouble, Lucian, and I was already in Kanto for an emergency…  Lucian?”

His face paled, and he coughed, clearing his throat as an ill look crossed his countenance; he took a step back, muttering, “I’m—I’m sorry, but I need to go to the r-restroom…  Pardon me…”

Lucian turned and hastily retreated up the stairs, doing his best to keep an even pace to reach the facilities above the pier.

“Muk…”  Lori whispered, and Jason soon hurried after him, waving at them.

“I’ll go make sure he’s okay!”

“I appreciate that,” Diantha said, a melancholy tone touching her initially cheery voice.

An awkward silence followed, the Gardevoir floating over to rub her back comfortingly.

Lizabeth coughed softly.  “Umm…  I hope he feels better.  Were you… planning on joining your son, Grand Duchess Diantha?”

“My title is not important…”  Turning to give her an apologetic smile, she shook her head, Kalos accent evident.  “I’m afraid I do not understand his current plans… as I should, being his mother, and now, I’ve caused him trouble.”

Len stepped up and held out his hand.  “I’m Len, Lucian’s teammate.”

“Ah, yes, Gym Leader Elesa’s son.  I hope I did not ruin your morning… it was not my intention.”

Amira mirrored Len, followed by Rhea, Lizabeth, and Lori, introducing themselves.

After breaking the ice, Len looked at the facility above the rise, Jason beyond sight on the opposite side.  “If you want my advice, I think you should join us—well, if Lizabeth is okay with that—heh, sorry for not asking.”

“No, it is more than acceptable,” she returned, motioning to the crates.  “Haha, we’re actually running a little behind on marking off each shipment container, considering I ordered more than usual, so having extra hands helps a lot.”

Diantha’s lips pulled in, arms folding under her bust, seemingly pondering what she should do as her Pokemon spoke, causing everyone to jump with the voice projecting through the air.

“I believe Len is correct, Diantha; Lucian was just unprepared for our visit.  He does wish to spend time with you.”

“Hmm…  Thank you, Alizée.  Well, until Lucian comes out so I can explain myself, will you allow us to be of help, Lizabeth?”  she offered.

Mood increasing, she nodded and took out papers from a folder she held.  “That would be amazing, Diantha—I can’t say I expected to give the Champion of Kalos a tour of our city, but I am more than happy to show you around.”

Diantha added a half-smile, tilting her head to look at Alizée as the Pokemon as she spoke.

“Is it right to assume you wish to be as swift and discrete as possible, Ms. Lizabeth?”

“It is, and, umm, your name was Alizée?”

“It is.  Would you mind leaving the cataloging to us while acquainting with one another?”

“Us?”

Rhea could guess what she meant, having experience with how her aunt did things, and a shimmering right of lights surrounded the entire docks, creating an illusion to not draw attention as the rest of Diantha’s Pokemon exited their pokeballs.

Overshadowing them all and immediately drawing all of their eyes was the shadow that blocked out the sun—an 11-meter tall Tyrantrum—its colossal figure towered over them as it bent down for Diantha to rub its lower jaw; more than a few of the Pokemon and humans helping to load the submarines dropped to their butts in awe of its intimidating presence.

Yet, at the same time, another massive figure soon rose to a height that made them crane their necks to follow his rise—a 15-meter tall Aurorus—and if Rhea was being completely honest, having Diantha and her main team here, she realized the Champion had broken into the Legendary-tier; she was probably a bit stronger than Lyra.

 “Rex and Castle would like to handle the higher up containers while Alizée checks everything off on the list; the others will handle the lower supplies, and once everything is properly accounted for, she can teleport it all inside your storage hold.”

Rhea forced a laugh with everyone else.  “You’re just like my aunt.”

“Oh?”  Diantha questioned as her Pokemon went to work; her Hawlucha and Gourgeist moved at blinding speed between them, with her giant Goodra becoming goo to slide under Castle, going to further away items.  “Hehe, I tend to not have much time in my life, so we try to maximize efficiency.”

“Understandable,” Mallory mumbled, trying not to fall with the rest of them as the colossal Pokemon caused the concrete they stood on to shake; Rhea wondered what the people above the pier thought, yet they simply dismissed it—the powerful illusion affecting their very minds—and went on.  “Uh…  So, why are you here?”

“To be short, I wanted to spend time with my son while in Kanto.  Hmm…”

Lizabeth walked to Diantha’s side as the paper and pen in front of her scurried through the items, ticking things off and making notes.  “You’re breezing through them…”

“It is simple when I can look through each of my teammates' eyes, past and future, to identify the labels…  Part of the issue you are having seems to be a double shipment.  I do not believe you have the proper room to handle the load.  Is that correct?”

“Mmgm…”  Lizabeth glanced at her submarine and sighed.  “Probably not in one trip with all of these.  Do you know which ones are doubled—”

She paused as the sheets floated over to her, and Rhea let go of her pen to allow the Fairy Pokemon to use it on more she was going through; Rhea stepped back with Lori, Amira, Len, and Bianca as the Kalos Champion sped through the hour’s-long work this was supposed to be.

“Huh, if it’s double our facilities items…  Hmm, it’s great, and since you’re saving us so much time, we could make two trips.”

“Or I could teleport them to your city?”  Alizée offered, glowing eyes drifting to the sea.

“Mmh…  You can sense it past the barrier?”

Lori leaned over to nudge her, whispering, “Yo, Diantha’s totally used to taking control, huh?”

She shrugged, and a sad smile lifted the Champion’s cheeks.  “Let’s not overstep our boundaries, Alizée.”

“Eh-hehe,” Lizabeth held her hands up, “no, by all means, if you can, it would save a lot of time, but…  You don’t know where it should be placed, right?”

“Hmm.  It is somewhat challenging to peer past your barrier, but I can place it on the closest docks to shore.”

An older gentleman walked around the many crates with a laugh, and by his appearance, it was clear he had a family relation to Lizabeth.  “Impressive!  I didn’t know we’d be entertaining the Grand Duchess of Kalos.”

“Dad.”

He clasped Diantha’s hand as he joined them, and Rhea kept her peace, not wanting to interrupt the group; everything was happening so fast, she didn’t know what to do but wait for things to calm down.

Mya and Alice—Nova using Rhea’s vision—were gawking at the colossal ancient Pokemon; the Hawlucha instantly caught the bunny’s notice as she zipped around at lightning speed.

Rhea’s mind went to her team composition, and she couldn’t help but ponder how her Pokemon worked in actual combat; her aunt had some massive Pokemon as well, such as Melina, her Milotic, yet seeing so many on the crowded pier was a little breathtaking.

It was the first time she found herself thinking in this way, but it piqued her interest, and Rhea pooled her knowledge on each Pokemon to satisfy her curiosity.

Alizée was said to be the strongest Gardevoir in existence, being a super-utility and ranged-nuker, with Missiara, Diantha’s Gourgeist, supplying its own unique support.  Rhea could only guess the insane tactics with Ally Swap that could be pulled with the Hawlucha speedily getting to their opponents for Rex, the colossal apex predator Pokemon, to appear out of nowhere to lock his jaws around their opponent.

Also, if Gables’ battle in Pewter with the Amaura indicated how unusual a battle style the Tundra Pokemon could take, Castle could provide his own type of support and offensive while in the back.

Glisra—Diantha’s Goodra—had a wealth of abilities and styles of attacks; Rhea had seen a few Master-tier Goodra have matches in her village, and she couldn’t imagine how much more the Dragon Pokemon could do at low Legendary-tier.

Lost in her thoughts and their ground-shaking steps, Rhea only noticed they had finished when the Pokemon returned to their pokeballs, excluding Alizée, who handed Lizabeth the small stack of papers.

“I will leave them on the docks you mentioned.”

Rhea’s focus went to the crates as the Gardevoir went to each group and teleported them away; Len was walking up the stairs to see what was happening with his teammates.  “So insane…”

Hannah, Jade, Sam, and Jay were freaking out about how huge the Pokemon had been, somewhat muffled, showing the intricate illusion was only cast on those not in their group, showing her skill and power.

“You’re telling me,” Lori mumbled.  “So, uh…  Everything’s basically done.  What are we going to do?”

Lizabeth giggled, shuffling through the papers with a happy smile.  “Well…  That’s one way to do it; thank you, Diantha.”

Her father waved to the clustered workers he’d brought, watching the Gardevoir transport all of their supplies away, unsure what to do next.  “I’ll go tell the boys to pack everything up; we’ll be heading out soon.”

“It was no trouble,” the Legendary Trainer returned, looking at the submarines while the man jogged to the others.  “It has been some time since I’ve taken an underwater adventure.  Of course, that depends on Lucian’s decision.  Hmm… might you excuse me for a second?”

“By all means!”

Rhea followed her gaze to Lucian as he walked out behind the facility to slowly make his way to the stairs with Jason, Len soon joining them, and after a second, the two boys left for Diantha to have a private chat with her son.

Alizée’s psychic illusion made them utterly invisible to the people gathering at the docks, and it seemed the word about the People of the Water may have gotten out, but after a few minutes of scanning past the invisible submarines and people, they talked with their friends and wandered off.

“What do you think they’re talking about?”  Rhea asked, seeing her cousin step in closer; she’d been oddly silent most of the exchange.

Amira shrugged.  “None of our business.  I am surprised she has the time to spend with him, though; her life is split in so many directions, it’s hard to imagine she wasn’t instantly pulled back to Kalos.”

“I guess,” Rhea mumbled, “but she was here on emergency League stuff—isn’t that weird?”

Bianca sighed, a deep frown on her lips.  “I’d say Lucian’s reaction to his mother is more concerning.  Did you notice him clutching something in his pocket?”

Lori nodded.  “Super weird…  He looked like he had a panic attack… I’ve had those before—not fun.”

“Uh-huh,” Bianca whispered, hugging herself.  “I don’t think Diantha wanted to do that, but…  Just concerning.  I hope he’s okay.”

Rhea couldn’t read their red-headed companion’s expression; the two seemed to hate each other to the bone, but she couldn’t see Amira not having compassion for someone struggling like that.

“Hmm…”

Jason had a big grin on his face as he neared.  “Yo!  Rhea, you won’t believe it!”

“What?  Is Lucian okay?”

“Umm—he’s doing better, yeah—but it’s crazy!”

Gathering in their small circle, Len directed a small smile up at Lucian and the Active Champion.  “Apparently, Diantha is taking time away from her acting and modeling career to spend more time with her family.”

“Isn’t it awesome!?”  Jason jumped in, flashing his teeth.  “We might be staying a few more days so they can catch up; so, Amira, Lori—Len and I can come see your guys’ match against Misty!  Serenity and Miky are going to kill it!”

Mallory forced a laugh, looking down at the Great Ball attached to her waistband.  “Eh-hehe…  Yeah, I wish Miky felt better about it.”

Gables and Roxie looked up at their companion’s pokeball, giving him their encouragement.

“Huu-haaa…”  Amira’s lips tightened, and Rhea followed her gaze to Lucian and Diantha as his mother hugged him.

“Wait…”  Lori squinted at the pair.  “Is he crying?”

“Be cool,” Len muttered.  “It’s been rough on Lucian; he puts a lot of pressure on himself.  This is good.”

Rhea moved to her best friend’s side as tears gathered in his own eyes.  “You okay?”

“Hmm?  Yeah, it’s just…  Lucian’s a good guy—he just puts on this persona to…  Yeah, he’s just a better guy than I thought.”

Len bumped his own best friend’s side as a doubtful hum rumbled in her throat.  “You gave Jordan a second chance our senior year; Lucian and you guys had a rocky start, but you know the rep Kalos has—no excuse, I know,” he smirked at her lifted eyebrow.

“Still, he’s better than you think.  Anyway, we’re going to give him some space with his mom, so we can totally hang out today!  Wanna learn some of these dances the People of the Water got?”

“Now there’s something I can agree to!”  Lori laughed, throwing her arm around his shoulders.

“Hehe.  You’re so petty.”

“Hey, you know me; I ain’t gonna just forgive someone when they haven’t owned up to it!”

“Fair,” Jason sighed.  “Give him a bit of time.  You gonna dance tomorrow, too, Rhea?”

She gave a weak shrug.  “I guess.”

Bianca scooted over to poke her side.

“Hey!”

“Hmm-hmm?  When did you learn how to dance—been taking lessons without me knowing?”

“N-No…  Well, sort of…”

A half-smile lifted Jason’s lips.  “No joke.  Rhea sucks at dancing!  You should have seen how many times she stepped on my toes the last time we tried.”

Bianca gasped, making Rhea jump in to try and erase the image forming in her mind.  “We were twelve!”

“That long ago, and you kept it from me?!  Hehe.  Was it the waltz?”

“We were twelve!”  Rhea repeated a bit louder than she expected, making everyone laugh, including Sam, Jade, Jay, and Hannah.  “Geez!  I’ve been, umm, learning stuff from Lori, too…”

Mallory grabbed her hands with a grin and brought her into a rhythm; Amira still appeared to be focused on Diantha and Lucian.  “Yeah, Girl, you’re getting some basic steps—see, she’s doing good!”

Len snickered.  “Because you’re guiding her.”

“Details!”  Lori laughed.  “It’s all about having fun—twirl!”

The heat in Rhea’s face began to leave as Lizabeth returned to clap her hands.  “Ooh!  You girls like to dance?”

“Absolutely!  I heard the People of the Water love to, as well?”

“We have dances almost every night!”

“Gah!  Sounds like the dream,” Lori groaned.  “Yo, Amira, do you think we could stay overnight and check out the whole experience?”

“Hmm?  Oh, sure.  It would be educational.”

“Boo!  Quit thinking about wasted space and get into the rhythm—we’re going to Samiya!”

Bianca and Lizabeth got into a conversation about the city’s past and how they had a great many enemies while Rhea was pulled between her friends, all focusing on dances; Sam’s group wanted to join so bad after Lori let slip the place they were heading, and the prospect of a dance, making them want to redouble their efforts in getting to Cerulean.

Mya and Alice had found common awe in Alizée as their teammates gathered around the Legendary-tier Pokemon several meters away to question her.

It didn’t take too much longer for Lucian and Diantha to break apart and make their way to them, and the stuck-up boy seemed far less intimidating with red cheeks; he almost appeared awkward in his mother’s presence—uncharacteristically reserved—and they prepared to leave.

Filing in the submarine, Lizabeth connected them to Samiya’s wireless grid network that had been adapted to receive just about perfect reception near anything that dealt with their ancient Sea Crown technology.

Lizabeth guided them to their seats, Diantha not wanting to ruin the experience by simply teleporting to the Sea Temple, and buckling themselves in, they pulled away and sank under the waves.

Rhea was glued to the window with her Pokemon, practically forgetting about Lucian as she explained to a curious Nova and Alice the various forms of life they saw underwater.  Mya was still more impressed by Alizée than the sights, interest stuck on the Embrace Pokemon.

As they traveled—picking up speed as they got into open waters—Rhea couldn’t help but chuckle at the curious Water Pokemon that swam up to their windows to check them out and see what they were about.

Exiting the shelf and twenty minutes into their trip, Rhea got her first live appearance of the ancient water city; it shimmered into existence as they traveled between specific strong currents—the city’s defenses—to breach the bubble.

It was stunning—a spiraling tower at its colossal center and what appeared to be a horn on its left side—the small metropolis was splendorous—in pristine condition.

As if welcoming them to their magical city, a few Manaphy and a swarm of several Phione encircled their vessel, guiding them to the surface and talking to their Pokemon.

Alizée smiled while moving to watch the Mythical Pokemon.  “You have gathered quite the cast of children, Lizabeth.”

The matriarch chuckled.  “Thank you, but really it’s all thanks to our harmony with the Manaphy that we can enjoy our prosperity and bliss.  Samiya shares a sort of bond with them and us, as much as our Pokemon do through pokeballs as mediums.”

“Fascinating,” Bianca hummed, waving at the tiny blue Seafaring Pokemon.  “And that real bond is brought to life by the Sea Crown I’ve heard about?”

“Mhm!  We don’t completely understand it yet, but learning how to deepen our relationship with Samiya, the Manaphy, and the Phione, is one of our greatest desires—eh-heh, I speak about the People of the Water, that is.”

“I’d love to see how you’ve grown as a society and learn the challenges you’ve had along the way,” Bianca commented, putting her fingers against the glass for a Phione to touch and giggle.  “I heard The Phantom has made several attempts at seizing the city.”

“Yes, well… he is a rather vile man,” Lizabeth mumbled.  “Ash has always helped us whenever we’ve called for aid, and now that some of our Manaphy are more grown, they can handle most threats.”

Amira leaned forward a bit, sitting behind the women.  “I’m curious; what are some memorable things you’ve seen down here?”

“Sunken treasure?”  Jade asked, still able to follow their progress through their phones being connected to the underwater metropolis.

Rhea’s ears peaked at that.  “Have you?”

“Hmm-hmm.  Yes, we have found many things—much of which is sent to the various Professors and experts, such as your mother, Rhea.”

“Cool…  I wonder why she never shows me any of that stuff,” she grumbled.  “A lot of the time, it’s all about some word I’ve never heard of involving genetics—markers or something—she’d found and jumping for joy before collapsing from overwork.”

“Haha, she totally does,” Bianca confirmed.  “I’ve had to take care of my aunt more than once when doing research with her—oh, I can get so mad when she works herself into a fever, but only my mother or grandma can get her to take a rest.”

“Right?”  Rhea sighed.  “Gah, I don’t even want to think about that—this is so awesome, though!”

“Yeah… kind of scary when underwater tides equal to hurricanes happen—you know, when one of the two Lugia or Kyogre randomly swims by—brrr… and the temperature changes so fast.”

“Wait, Kyogre?!”  Len asked, having been recording for most of the time to send to his mother.  “Isn’t he like—like supposed to be sleeping?  If he wakes up, he’ll cause like, the end of the world?!”

Bianca snickered.  “Old fairy tales, hehe—while, yes, Kyogre can utterly destroy the world, he’s mostly just chilled since waking up during the Ultra War.”

“Mmh…”  Lizabeth doubtfully mused.

“No?”

“Well, most of the time…  If the male Lugia and Kyogre meet, they can… cause a little trouble, but they mostly keep away from each other unless—I don’t know, they feel bored—heh, hard to say?”

“Interesting.  I’ll have to see what my mother thinks about that,” Bianca smiled, sending the message.

Amira released a slow stream of air at their conversation; they slowly rose to the surface.  “Yes, well…  Personally, I’d say Argen is just trying to show off to Corrina—his girlfriend—that’s the name my mom gives them anyways.  He probably stokes the old rivalry flames with Kyogre…”

“Oh?”  Bianca asked.  “Do you know the male Lugia well?  No… your mother?”

“Yeah…”  Amira grumbled, repositioning her braid.  “It’s something he’d do but not take it too far… he doesn’t like it when my mom is mad at him—he cares a lot about what she thinks.”

Lizabeth took them to the surface, momentarily running her fingers through her hair.  “Yeah—well, it causes us a lot of trouble down here…  Hehe, maybe we can use your mom’s name to calm things down next time.”

“For the Lugia,” Amira swiftly warned.  “Kyogre is a different story entirely—from what my mom says, he’s just a little tired and building strength back, but he isn’t above a brawl.”

“Haha, what an interesting conversation,” Diantha chimed in from the back, sitting next to her son.  “Perhaps I should spend more time with the other Champions and Legends to hear more about such stories.

“Currently, Leon, Red, and Ethan are all training at Mt. Silver—hehe, quite the intimidating aura,” she chortled.  “The girls are exploring together; you should have seen Blue’s face when Green and Leaf forced him to join them instead of training with the boys—caught between a rock and a hard place, I’d say.”

Rhea gave an internal cheer as Diantha used Ethan’s real name instead of Gold, his famed symbol, but all of their conversations died as they exited the submarine to step out onto the temple ground.

The entry view was magnificent—vast with coulombs and flowing water everywhere—only a few people could be seen.  On the other hand, it was a Water Pokemon paradise, and the architecture stole Rhea’s breath; everything was so grand.

Vegetation and fruit trees could be seen all over the place with shimmering lights that seemed to project the proper UV radiation to feed the growth.

Looking down at the ground in awe, she saw uniform brick and stonework—masonry found few places in the world, according to her mother—and the stunning visage of the motif it painted would have made a painter cry for joy.

Unable to speak, Rhea held her camera up to give Sam and the others a full view, taking pictures to post on her Pikabook later—she had to preserve the memories like this—and now she wanted to do the same of the Articuno underground ice cave when they returned to the area.

Pretty…

Lizabeth exited and motioned for them to follow her.  “C’mon, I’ll show you around!”

Getting into step behind her, they marveled at the immense size of the Sea Temple; they’d entered a hidden world, only viewed by a few in its complete majesty, and to her shock, something else soon gave her goosebumps—people floating through the air about their business, a golden aura surrounding them.

“You can even fly here?”

“Oh, hehe,” Lizabeth touched her necklace in a specific manner for the same light to embrace her.  “If you’re in the know, it’s pretty easy and makes getting around or moving supplies simple.  I know!  Let’s get you your own for your stay.  This way!”

“Awesome…”  Rhea breathed, and she wasn’t the only one.

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