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Chapter Text

The music roared to life, and so did the cheers. From thousands of people in the stadium boomed voices all cheering for one reason.

Fireworks exploded above the stadium, and a man walked out onto the green, wearing a fine grey suit and a bold red tie in a fancy knot. He smiled at the camera, addressing not only everyone in the stadium but everyone in Galar.

"Welcome!" He said, his voice echoing over the thousands of others in the stadium. "Welcome to the wonderful world of Pokemon!" People everywhere cheered for him, a wave of hands flying up into the air. He placed his hands behind his back and took a step to the side so the camera could pan over to a large TV just over his shoulder.

"Our beloved Galar region is a wonderful place, with thriving nature..." He placed his balled fists into the air. "beautiful cities, and many pokemon which we share our lives! As you know, our society is able to thrive-"

With a tap on the screen, you paused the video and huffed. "That's enough out of you, Mr. Rose." You took your rotom phone in your hand and touched the screen again, fast-forwarding the video to the part you really were interested in. You fast-forwarded until you saw more fireworks go off on the field, and a man stood among the smoke.

There he stood, with that god awful cape and beautiful purple hair. The champion you adored.

Ever since you were introduced to the Galar region as a kid, and their own league, you've been obsessed with the different styles of battle in comparison to where you were from. At this point, you muted the screen and turned on subtitles, unable to stand the sounds of the crowd anymore. You slipped on your headphones connected wirelessly to your rotom phone and turned on some music, the sound blaring in your ears, as you smiled and watched the match.

As the match played, you stood up from your bed and began moving your hips along with the music. Rotom lifted from your hand and started gliding around in the air, making sure that you could still watch the match from whatever direction you were facing. You were in just your underwear, dancing around your room to the hard guitar that played so loud your ears rang. As you slid on a pair of black jeans, you stopped and stared at the screen of your phone breathlessly as the champion dynamaxed his Charizard to a frightening size. That was always your favorite part of the matches here in Galar, was the amazing feats you could achieve with your pokemon.

You started singing along with the music as you continued to get dressed, the song falling from your lips in perfect harmony. You put on a loose-fitting red sweater, and then your larger grey sweater over it. It was colder in this region than you were used to, but with every passing year, it got easier for you to deal with. You grabbed your green hat and haphazardly threw it onto your head before plopping down onto your bed to get your boots on. You tied the laces while watching the match, your phone hovering directly in front of your face so you didn't miss a minute of the action. As you watched, your hat began sliding off your head. You turned your head slightly, keeping your eyes glued to the screen, and just managed to catch your hat in your teeth as you finished tying your shoes.

You hopped up from your bed excitedly and shoved your hat back onto your head. As the match got more intense you could feel your heart race. Leon never lost, but when he battled your adrenaline kicked up and your heart raced. You bit your lip, watching the intense fight, and then you threw your arms up into the air when Leon's Charizard fainted another opponent.

Looking in the mirror, you made your hair somewhat presentable. It was long, black, and full, falling like a veil over your shoulders and down your back. Your skin was dark brown and your eyes a slate grey. You smiled, knowing that as each passing day went by, you became happier with the figure you saw in the mirror.

Your hat fell off again and you grumbled. You caught it before it hit the ground and tossed it onto the bed, giving up with the thing for now. You turned back to your phone to watch the rest of the match, but in the middle of the champion calling out his next attack, a notification popped on the screen. You blinked as you saw the image of your best friend popped up. He was making the angriest face he could while also smiling like an idiot, and he looked like he was standing right outside your bedroom door! The picture had a caption to it, and you smiled as you read.

"I keep knocking and you won't answer! Take your headphones off and hurry up!!!"

You giggled at his note and paused your music finally, taking your headphones off and hung them around your neck. Once things had gone quiet for you, you could finally hear the sound of your friend's voice chatting with your mom, still right outside your bedroom door. With a mischievous grin you tiptoed up to your own door, and with a swift movement, threw it open. He had been leaning on the door, and when it opened, he waved his arms wildly in the air and yelled as he hit the ground. With a giggle you bent down to him, your noses so close they almost touched.

"Hi, Hop!" You grinned, and he gave you a sour look before he started smiling too.

"Billie!" He shouted at you. As he moved to get up, Hop's faithful wooloo appeared in the doorway, and when he saw Hop lying on the ground, he panicked. With a distressed cry, he rolled forward and jumped onto Hop's chest, sniffing his face to make sure his trainer was okay. "Ack!" The wind had gotten knocked out of him, and he struggled to push the pokemon off of him. "Wooloo you git, stop that, I'm fine!" He said to the pokemon who was now giving him tiny licks to his cheek. Your mother appeared in the doorway, smiling down at two of them, and then helped pry Hop's wooloo off of him.

"You two better hurry up, or you'll be late!" Your mother said cheerily.

You helped your friend off the ground and blinked at him. "Late for what?" You asked, shoving your hands into the pockets of your sweater.

"Billie are you serious?" Hop looked at you like you had two heads. "Today's the day Lee is coming home to visit!" You could swear you saw Hop's eyes shine every time he talked about his brother.

His brother, Leon, champion of Galar. Who you've been in love with since you first saw him on TV.

You've never met him before, as he only came home very rarely. He kept in contact with his family, of course. Especially Hop, since he apparently adored his little brother who looked up to him as a hero. You watched every single one of his matches, fascinated by not only the pokemon battles but the man battling as well. You'd accidentally let slip to Hop that you'd been crushing on his brother, and he hasn't let you live it down since, but you knew he was good with secrets and he would never tell.

Well, as far as you knew, Leon had no idea who you were.

But now he would. He was coming home and you finally had a chance to meet him. You bit your lip and looked frightened for a moment, your heart racing as memories of the exciting conversation you and Hop had came flooding back. Hop gave you a grumpy pout and threw his arms into the air.

"Come on, Billie he'll be here any minute now!" He grinned and grabbed your shoulders, turning you around and pushing you back into your room. "Lee likes to bring presents when he comes, grab that trunk of a bag you have and hurry up!" Normally, you wouldn't let anyone push you around like this, but Hop was different. You'd known him since the day you moved to Galar, becoming fast friends. Even though he was so high energy, he wasn't draining to be around like most people. You were just a bit older than him, but as the two of you grew up together, you'd become inseparable.

You grabbed your mom's old bag she gave to you and waved to her as you ran with Hop out the front door, his wooloo trailing not far behind.

"That old bag looks like it could pull you over, Billie," Hop said with a smile as you descended the front steps. "At least we know that thing'll hold anything Lee brings, even something as big as-" He was cut off by the sound of a tackle. You both watched as a poor wooloo was rolling into the gate near your house, trying to knock it down.

"A wooloo... What're you trying to do, little friend?" You called over to the fluffy animal as it rolled into the gate again.

"I see what you're up to," Hop smiled, putting his hands behind his head. "Don't go using tackle on the fencing! Now, you listen! No going past that fence! No!"

"What's behind that gate anyway?" You asked, leaning on the mossy stone wall just outside your house.

"Everyone knows there are scary pokemon living in the Slumbering Weald!" Hop made a scary face and put up his hands as if he had claws. You laughed and pushed him away from you. The wooloo nearby made a curious cry and then continued rolling into the fence, ignoring the both of you. "Now that that's taken care of..." Hop said, pretending as if the wooloo wasn't still trying to bash down the gate. "How 'bout it, Billie, lets race! I bet I could make it to my house first."

"You wanna bet?" You grinned and then pushed yourself off the stone wall, flying past him before he had a chance to say anything else.

"Hey!" He called after you, and then sprinted to catch up. As you both ran to Hop's house you nearly knocked over a passerby on the way. You quickly yelled an apology over your shoulder and then turned to catch up, but it was too late. Hop had already beaten you and slipped inside. You stuck your tongue out at him and waited outside with his wooloo, patting the small pokemon on the head.

"He's not here!" Hop yelled as he slammed his front door open, making a big spectacle of walking out alone. You placed your hands on your hips and watched him walk up to you looking playfully sad.

"He's lost, isn't he?" You asked and then crossed your arms.

"Probably." Hop said, pretending to look miserable.

"Gone forever, what a shame." You shook your head and smiled.

"Guess I'll have to be the new champion in his stead." Hop placed his hands behind his head and winked at you. You slapped his elbow and he laughed. "Nah, mum said he's probably at the station, if we run we can 'prolly still meet him there!" And with that, Hop picked up and ran off with his wooloo following close behind. That kid was always faster than you, so you struggled to keep up. But, you followed him just the same, as you've been doing for so many years.

When you finally got to the next town over, Wedgehurst, there was a crowd of people standing around the train station. You didn't do well with crowds, so you kept to the back and away from everyone. Hop slid up beside you, giving you a reassuring smile. Despite his desire to always be involved with anything exciting going on, Hop was always such a good friend and stayed by your side. He knew when you needed him. As you stood near the back of the crowd, barely able to see in between everyone to really know what was going on, he stayed right next to you, making sure you knew that he was there for you.

Whispers picked up from the crowd and you quickly tried to look around. You grabbed Hop's shoulder and stood on your toes, trying to see what was going on. Hop tried to push you off of him but when you refused to let go, he gave up and let you cling to him to watch what was going on. Out from the station stepped the champion and his partner Charizard. You managed to see him through the crowd of people, and he smiled. It was cute, as he shared the exact same toothy grin as Hop. Leon stepped back and did his famous Charizard pose, causing everyone around to erupt in cheers.

"Isn't he cool?" Hop whispered to you as Leon said his hellos to everyone.

"I'm totally gonna embarrass myself." You whispered back to him.

"Probably." Hop teased and you smacked his shoulder. Hop laughed and then started jumping up and down, waving frantically. "Lee!"

"Hop!" You heard Leon call from the other side of the crowd, and then people began to part for him. You took your hands off Hop, stumbling back a bit so the brothers could greet each other without you being in the way. The hug those two shared looked like it could break bones, but the smiles on them never faltered.

"Look at you, Hop!" Leon said after finally letting him go from his back-breaking hug. "I reckon you've grown... exactly an inch and a quarter since the last time I saw you!"

"And don't you forget it." Hop glanced back at you and winked. You crossed your arms and grumbled, knowing that ever since Hop grew taller than you, he never quite let you forget it. "I reckon that's the sort of sharp eye that's kept you undefeated so long, eh, Lee?"

"And these bright eyes over here..." Leon turned from Hop and spoke directly to you. You were a bit surprised, really, when he did. You stared up at him with large eyes, almost afraid to say anything. "I've got it! You must be Billie- am I right?" Your mouth fell open slightly and you looked to Hop for help, but he was too busy standing there with his goofy smile to do anything. Leon reached out his hand to you, grinning while doing so. "I've heard loads about you from my little brother." You took his hand in yours, thankful he was wearing a glove because your palms were starting to sweat.

"Well, fuck." You blurted out without thinking, and then clasped both your hands to your mouth in surprise. Hop let out a snort of laughter and Leon reached back to scratch the back of his head, still smiling.

"Yeah, he mentioned that mouth of yours too," Leon said with a laugh. You wanted to scream, of course you would make a fool of yourself in front of him.

"Come on, Lee!" Hop said, thankfully saving you from this awkward situation. "And you, Billie! Bet I can beat the both of you back home!" With that, he turned on his heel and booked it back towards his house. You gave Leon an awkward smile and started running too, as fast as you could, back to the house.

Leon must have stayed behind to say goodbye to everyone because when you got to the house, he hadn't caught up yet. Hop stood in his front yard, laughing hysterically, and you walked over and punched his shoulder.

"Hop you've betrayed me!" You threw your hands up into the air.

"What did you want me to do, cover your mouth and keep you from talking?" He continued laughing as he rubbed his shoulder.

"That'd probably be the best fucking thing to do at this point." You crossed your arms and huffed.

"Don't let out mom hear you talking like that, she'd have a fit," Leon spoke from behind you. You jumped almost ten feet into the air and whirled around, seeing him walk up the path, his Charizard flying up and landing nearby. You let out a heavy sigh, you'd already dug yourself into quite a hole, so why not dig a little deeper?

You walked up to Leon, holding out your hand to him, letting your bangs fall into your eyes. "Hey, I'm Billie. I'm an A+ embarrassment."

Leon took your hand with a wide smile. "Well, first impressions are overrated anyway." You felt some of the tension in your shoulders release, thankful he gave you this do-over of an introduction.

"Alright, alright, enough wit' the flirting," Hop spoke up. You quickly pulled your hand back and gave Hop a death glare. "Lee, I'm done waiting. I know you brought presents. Come on, it's pokemon, isn't it? You brought us pokemon!" Your eyes went wide and you turned back to Leon. Despite being so starstruck by the champion, you were overwhelmed with excitement on the idea of having your very first pokemon.

Leon chuckled and placed his hands on his hips. "Right, then! The greatest gift from the greatest champion..." A small smile cracked at the corner of your mouth. He sure wasn't humble, but it was kind of endearing. "It's showtime, everyone!"

You watched as Leon took three pokeballs out of his pocket and tossed them to the small playing field Hop had in his front yard. A flash of light appeared and before your eyes were three of the most amazing pokemon you'd ever seen. There was the grass-type pokemon, Grooky. The fire-type pokemon, Scorbunny. And the water-type pokemon, Sobble. Your eyes were wide with amazement as you watched the three pokemon act playfully with one another, interacting with the world in the most unique ways.

"Alright everyone, line up!" Leon called to them, and the three pokemon then crawled up and stood at attention, watching you in their own excitement.

Your heart leapt in your chest. These pokemon were absolutely amazing! You'd never been so excited in your life. Sure you had lived around pokemon all your life, you had munchlax as a pet, your garden full of budew... But none of your own. None to battle with, to train, to help you become the pokemon trainer you've always wanted to be.

"Alright, Billie, you go first." Hop came up behind you and placed his hand on your shoulder. "I already got a pokemon of my own, since I got wooloo. Why don't you go first, since this'll be your first pokemon and all?" You could have kissed Hop. You looked up to Leon with stars in your eyes. He gave you a small nod and your heart fluttered.

"It's always been my goal to help the people of Galar become stronger." Leon said. "So go on, make your choice and begin working towards becoming a great trainer like me."

You turned back to the three sets of tiny eyes that watched you carefully. So, who would you choose?

Chapter Text

As you stared down at the three sets of small eyes staring up at you, joy swelling in your heart, you knew what you were going to do.

With all the confidence you could muster, you strode right up to Sobble and held your arms outstretched for them to come to you.

"So you're choosing Sobble, then?" Leon asked, crossing his arms and looking at you with bright eyes.

"Of course!" You grinned as the small pokemon hesitantly climbed up into your hands. You stood up and held them close to your face, your eyes sparkling with joy. "Not only are water types a perfect way to start off any team, being able to adapt to really any fighting style, but this is also the most precious baby I've ever seen." You leaned in and touched your cheek to Sobble, gaining a small, pleased purr from them. When you looked back at Leon you could swear you saw intrigue on his face. Perhaps he didn't realize just how much you knew about pokemon or battling. Well, he'll find out soon enough.

"Nice one!" Hop exclaimed as he walked up, Wooloo close at his heels. "I'm going with Scorbunny! You're all mine!" He grinned, and the small energetic pokemon bounced happily from foot to foot. "I'm aiming to be the next champion, so be ready! You and I'll be doing some serious training!" Scorbunny gave a happy cry and hopped up, doing a backflip from excitement, and then jumped again, holding out its hand. Hop and Scorbunny gave each other a fist bump, and he began laughing with excitement as the energetic pokemon began running circles around him and Wooloo.

You couldn't help but watch with a smile. For Hop, you were sure that there would be no better choice for him. You looked back to see Sobble staring up at you with big, curious eyes, and you grinned. You could tell already that this was the perfect pokemon for you, already imagining what kind of a fighter this little guy would be. Most of the time water-types were better with special attack, but occasionally physical attacks were their strongest. You'd have to spend a lot of time bonding with your new friend to figure out exactly how to train them the best.

Grooky, the small grass-type pokemon that neither you nor Hop had picked, stood quietly nearby. When you realized they were still there, you felt a small pain in your chest. You couldn't possibly leave them behind, could you? As you were about to ask Leon that maybe you could take two pokemon with you, he approached the small creature.

"And you'll come with me!" Leon said, looking down at the Grooky. "I'll have Charizard show you the ropes. He's strict, yes, but he's real strong and real kind, too!" Leon got down on one knee, reaching his hand out to the small grass-type. Grooky cried happily and crawled up Leon's arm all the way to his shoulder, nuzzling into the fluffy part of his cape and making themselves comfortable. Leon stood up and you could see a small hint of blush in his face at his new pokemon's show of affection, but his winning smile had shone through it all. Unfortunately, from where you stood, you could feel your heart begin to melt.

"Alright everyone, settle down, that's enough trainer talk for one day." Coming out from Hop and Leon's house were both their mother and your own. Your mom walked up with a big smile, seeing your partner pokemon and approving greatly. "Come on, kids, it's dinner time. Bring along your pokemon, let's eat!" She said with a grin.

~

Dinner was quite the spectacle, as your friend's mom decided to go all out with cooking because Leon was home. It was the perfect night for a barbecue, so you all sat outside while your mothers cooked away. Hop had taken a seat on the ground, his Wooloo resting his head on Hop's knee while he talked at the small Scorbunny. You took a seat next to your friend, smiling at him. You looked down at your shirt pocket and opened it, finding a tiny, sleeping Sobble inside. Your new partner was the most precious thing you'd ever seen and you will protect them with your life.

"Hop, I've never seen these kinds of pokemon before," You said, nudging his arm with your elbow. "I knew Galar had a bunch of unique pokemon, but none like this."

"That's because these three aren't commonly found in the wild." None other than Leon answered, walking over to where you two were sitting and joining you. He tossed out his cape so it flowed onto the ground around him and he smiled at you his large toothy grin. "I've been working closely with Professor Magnolia in studying these three. We came to the conclusion that the best way we could continue our research is if we let them grow strong. And who better trainers to entrust them to than you two?" Hop gave him a matching smile, and a hot blush crept onto your face. You?

"Trust me, Lee, you're gonna learn a lot from Scorbunny here when we totally floor you in battle!" Hop said excitedly, bringing his hands up behind his head.

"I've no doubt that you're going to be one of my fiercest opponents, Hop," Leon said.

You looked at Leon and noticed that Grooky was still sitting on his shoulder, tucked up under his hair now, napping away peacefully. You smiled and reached into your own pocket, scooping up Sobble into your hands and grinning when they gave you a big yawn.

"I don't know if I should name you." You said down to your pokemon, but loud enough for the others to hear. "I don't think anyone would really take me seriously if I go into competitive battling with a pokemon named something like 'Honey Bunches of Oshawotts.'" You earned a loud laugh from Hop and looked over to see Leon laughing as well.

"You can do whatever you want, they're your pokemon." Leon chuckled. "Oh, I've been meaning to ask, Hop says you're from Unova. Now that I've met you, from your accent, it's abundantly clear that you are." He smiled and you could feel your face grow hot again. "Though, tell me, have you ever met the champion of Unova before, Iris? The reason I mention it is that she's actually our cousin!"

"What? Not fucking way!" You then squeezed your eyes shut in embarrassment as Leon chuckled at your excitement. You cleared your throat. "Uh, I met her once in passing." You said, glancing upwards to try and remember. Sobble got up and crawled from your hands down to your lap, where they sat seemingly having a small chat with Hop's Scorbunny in small pokemon cries. "It was before she became champion, was still just a gym leader, actually. I was real young, and I saw her out somewhere, and of course I had to stop her and say something stupid. If I remember correct, I think I said something along the lines of, 'I'm going to become the best pokemon trainer and I'm gonna beat you.' Or something like that. She was real nice about it, though. She smiled and told me she had no doubt I would and wished me her best." You chewed on your bottom lip for a moment just thinking. "And then I spent the next few years doing nothing towards becoming a trainer, and here I am, being way too old to receive my first pokemon."

"Don't be too down on yourself. I think there's no limit to starting down the path of bettering yourself." Leon reached over and placed his hand on your shoulder. He was warm, the weight of his hand pressing down on you was comforting, and his firm grip made your stomach jump. You really hoped it wasn't too obvious how hot your face was just then. "From the way you were talking before, it sounds like you really know your way around pokemon."

"Oh she better know what she's talking about," Hop spoke up, grinning at Leon. "Her mom used to be a professor at Unova University!"

"Shut up, Hop." You scowled at him, unable to keep yourself from smiling.

"Is that so?" Leon took his hand off your shoulder and brought it to his chin, regarding you curiously. You immediately missed the feeling of his hand on you. "No wonder you know so much about pokemon."

"Type matchups are my specialty." You shot Leon a playful smile. "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't looking over at your Charizard when I picked my pokemon."

"I'm looking forward to the day I get to face you in battle, then." Leon's eyes were intense when he looked at you. Your heart skipped a beat.

"Oi, you two are forgetting who's gonna be the real champ!" Hop spoke up, pressing his thumb into his chest.

"You wanna fucking bet?" You said, speaking quietly leaning in close to Hop, grinning devilishly.

"Oh, I bet." He grinned back at you. "And don't think all that flirting you're doing with my brother is gonna make him go easy on you. I'll be the one to beat him, not you!"

"Hop!" You yelled loudly at him and pushed him, trying and failing to knock him over. "That's it, Hop, you're fired. You're fired from being my best friend!" You said, playfully angry.

Hop made an overly dramatic gasp and placed his hand to his chest. "You can't fire me!" Leon was laughing at the two of you and your face flushed hot.

"You're fired too!" You then shouted, pointing towards Leon. "You're fired from being the champion. So come on, give it up, gimme your hat." You held your open palm out to him expectantly. His snapback kind of resembles a crown, like he was some king of pokemon or something. You found your actions to be ridiculous, hoping at least to get another laugh out of him.

You were surprised when Leon went along with it. He simply shrugged and took his hat off, placing it into your hand and leaning back.

Hop was actually surprised now. "Lee! You can't just give up your championship like that!"

"That'll be the only way I'm dethroned, Hop," Leon said with a sly grin. "Is if I give it up myself. I'm going to stay undefeated for the rest of my career."

"Oh yeah?! I'll fight you right now for it, Lee, I've got two pokemon now!"

"Hey!" You yelled to Hop and then shoved Leon's hat onto your head. "I'm the champion now, you gotta fight me!" Had you looked over at Leon, you would have seen a dark blush creep over his face as he watched you wear his hat. But, you didn't, and instead, you were tackle by Hop to try and get the hat away from you.

Leon grabbed the hat away from both of you before you could get it dirty. He laughed at the two of you, and both of you followed along as well. That night was fun, spending time with your friends. You'd actually managed to meet the champion and not make that much of a fool of yourself. Apparently Hop told Leon all about you. Great. You were a little nervous about what he might have said about you, but figured it would be better not to ask.

As you went home that night, carrying Sobble in your arms, something felt different. You felt lighter than you had in years, hope building up inside you in ways you never thought possible. You stopped before getting to your front door, leaning on the mossy stone wall just outside, listing to the sounds of the night. There were so many bug pokemon making noise it sounded like a sea of voices all singing out at once. Hop once described the night as being quiet and peaceful, but you heard everything. Tonight it wasn't so bad, your mind was quiet, and the sea of sounds didn't fray your nerves like it usually did. The smile never left your face as you went inside your house.

~

You were up early the next morning. Hop sent you a message that woke you up. It was a picture of Scorbunny standing on top of Hop's head, proud and tall. You laughed and took a picture of Sobble, who was curled up asleep in the middle of a large pillow, looking quite tiny in comparison. You threw your clothes on and fixed your hair the best you could, knowing that Leon was still at Hop's and you wanted to at least try to look better than you did yesterday. You scooped Sobble up off your pillow and into your hands, smiling down at the sleepy little monster, and then slipped him into the pocket of your sweater.

You called out to your mom that you were leaving and you patted Munchlax on the head before heading out the door. On your way down the road to Hop's house, you plopped on your headphones, putting on a quick song as you shot him a text that you were on your way. You got another picture from Hop, of Grooky hanging upside down from its tail while holding onto one of Charizard's clawed hands. You erupted into laughter, causing Sobble to climb out of your pocket and cling to your arm to look at the phone. He made a happy noise when he saw the picture of Grooky and reached his hand out towards the screen.

When you got to Hop's house, he ran outside to meet you, his two pokemon followed close behind. You let Sobble down onto the ground to play with Scorbunny. Slipping your headphones around your neck, you grinned.

"Hop I'm so in love. Look at me, I'm a mother now. I've never seen anything so precious in my entire life." You motioned dramatically towards the pokemon on the ground and Hop burst out laughing.

"I see you two have bonded quite well with your pokemon," Leon said as he joined the both of you outside. He strode up to you and placed his hands on his hips. "Listen up you two, believe in yourself and your pokemon. If you trust in one another and keep battling side by side, you might even become worthy rivals for me, the unbeatable champion!" When Leon spoke, his eyes locked with yours. You stopped breathing. His gaze was intense and you could feel the weight of his words crushing down onto you. But instead of the pressure making you feel small, you felt uplifted by it. Motivated by his belief in you.

"Hey! What're you lookin' at her for?" Hop spoke up. "I'm the one who'd gonna be coming for your championship!" You relaxed a little bit, seeing the fire in his eyes. Of course Hop would be the one to face the champion and not you. Hop had been dreaming of this day for as long as you'd known him. When your brother has been champion for most of your life, you become obsessed with the thought of being as great as him. You knew that this was meant for Hop. It's always been.

"Well, if you think Billie might be able to challenge you, then I guess she's my first ever rival!" Hop exclaimed, crossing his arms and staring you down.

"What?" You took a step back, putting your hands up in defence.

"Oh, don't you worry," Hop winked. "I'm not planning to lose to you and miss out on my chance to beat the unbeatable champion." He took a step towards you, getting up in your business. "Just having a pokemon doesn't make you a real trainer, you know. Proper trainers raise their pokemon up to be first-rate in battle, too! So you gotta put that big brain of yours to the test and really train hard if you want a chance of beating me!"

"Oh, and you think you're worthy of calling yourself such a proper trainer already, Hop? I guess I'll be the judge of that!" Leon spoke up, his challenging tone setting something off in the younger brother. Leon then turned to face you, giving you a smirk. "Let's see how you two handle yourselves in a battle, shall we? If you're up for it, of course."

You looked between the two brothers and bit your lip. The intense looks you got from both of them made you freeze for just a moment. Were you actually ready for all this? For a brief moment, you entertained the idea of just running away. Leaving the two of them behind and continuing life as you did now. But then the thought of doing this began to excite you. You had your own pokemon now, and this would be your first real pokemon battle. And who better to do this with than your best friend?

You heard a small cry and looked down, seeing your tiny Sobble looking up at you with big, curious eyes. "Yes." You said, and then looked Hop dead in the eye. "Let's do this."

Chapter Text

"That's what I like to hear!" Leon called to you, the biggest grin on his face. He grabbed the hem of his cape, tossing it behind himself and letting the wind blow it around rather dramatically. "Believe in your partner Pokemon! And care for them, too, with all your heart. Do those two things, and I'm certain you'll learn to choose the moves that suit your pokemon. And more importantly...to have a champion time battling with them!"

Hop recalled his two pokemon to their pokeballs and excitedly ran over to the small playing field nearby. You scooped up your small Sobble into your arms and joined him, feeling your stomach begin to turn as you saw the readiness in Hop's eyes. You could do this, right? Sobble crawled up your arm to sit on your shoulder, rumbling out a small purr of excitement.

"Looks like everyone's on board, pokemon and trainers alike?" Leon strode over and stood just off to the side between the two of you. He placed his hands on his hips and looked between you and Hop. "Then let's do this!"

"I've watched every match that Lee's ever had!" Hop said, holding his clenched fists up in front of himself, excitement pouring from every word. "I've read every book and magazine he left behind at home, too!"

"Any of those books just so happen to be published by my mother?" You found those taunting words come easy too you. You saw Hop's eyebrow twitch and you couldn't help but smirk.

"You're just scared because I know exactly what to do in order to win!"

"Watching battles and winning them are two totally different things, you know." You shot him a playful wink.

"I could say the same to you." Hop taunted back through a toothy smirk.

Hop grabbed a Pokeball from his belt and stretched his shoulder before clasping his hands together. He was ready. With the confidence of the champion himself, Hop threw his Pokeball out onto the field, his trusted Wooloo shining to life in front of you. In response, you held your arm out and Sobble crawled down to your elbow, giving you a quick nod before jumping down. The two pokemon stood there, staring each other down and waited for orders.

"A pokemon battle it is then!" Hop called, you could hear the giddiness in his voice. "I've got two pokemon with me, think you can take us?"

"Alright, Sobble, show me what you can do." You spoke down to your small friend and wracked your brain. He's a low-level pokemon, probably didn't know many moves yet. You chewed on your lip, wondering whether or not he even knew any water type moves yet. "Alright Sobble, use water gun!" You called out, pointing at the Wooloo. With an intense look, Sobble gave a grumbling roar, and with all the energy he could muster, reeled back and then shot water from his throat at Hop's Wooloo.

It landed on the ground just inches in front of Sobble. You guessed he didn't know that yet.

Hop nearly fell over laughing, holding onto his sides as he nearly doubled over. You glanced over and saw Leon scratching the back of his head, trying his hardest not to smile.

"Shit." You mumbled, and when Sobble looked back at you, your heart broke. The poor baby's eyes were brimming with tears, and the next thing you knew, he was crying up a storm that made your eyes water. "Oh, no, Sobble!" Before you realized it, tears were streaming down your cheeks and your nose felt stuffy. When the others saw that you were crying too, Hop stopped laughing.

"Oh jeez, sorry mate." He said as he awkwardly stuffed his hands into his pockets.

You flared your nostrils in anger as you couldn't help yourself from crying with your poor Sobble. "Look what you did! You made him cry, how dare you!" You said in a much too overly dramatic tone and gestured wildly to your Sobble. You knelt down and placed your hand on Sobble's head, soothing him as his cries stifled to hiccupping sobs. You didn't know why you were crying too, or why you couldn't stop. It was so odd. It'd been so long since you last cried, you actually couldn't remember. But, you had to stop. As much as you craved this emotional release, you couldn't let this get to you. Sobble looked up at you with large eyes and you got an idea. You winked at him and mumbled something no one else could hear. You wiped your eyes into your sleeve and stood up again, taking a step back. You glanced at Hop as your face was still shoved into the fabric, and then smirked.

"Quick, Sobble, use pound!" You called out, and before Hop or his Wooloo could react, Sobble leaped forward and slammed his body into Wooloo, knocking it back a bit. Still teary-eyed, both you and Sobble took an offensive stance as you readied yourselves.

"Wh- Hey! You distracted us!" Hop called over to you when he realized what happened.

"I'm a savage bitch!" You said with tears still in your eyes.

"Wooloo, use tackle!" Hop called out to his pokemon, not wasting any more time. His pokemon launched itself forward, rolling into Sobble with a savage hit, but your pokemon stayed strong.

Again you yelled to Sobble to attack, and it mustered up all it could to take out the opponent. Wooloo stumbled back again, a critical hit almost knocking it out completely. Hop knew his pokemon was about to go down, so in an act of desperation, he called for a defensive move. You knew it wouldn't help, his pokemon was far too weak at this point. You called out to your Sobble once more and it took down Hop's Wooloo with ease.

"Yes!" You shouted out, throwing your hands into the air. Tears had finally stopped falling and you sniffled, wiping the last of the wetness from your face off onto your sleeve. Sobble already looked so much stronger from your match, he turned to you with the biggest smile you'd seen from him.

"Don't you forget, I added another member to my team," Hop recalled his fainted Wooloo to its Pokeball and then tossed out Scorbunny, who excitedly hopped up and down. Scorbunny waved happily to Sobble, absolutely thrilled to be battling.

"Alright, let's try this one more time." You said under your breath. "Come on, Sobble, use water gun!" Sobble looked ready this time, drawing up the energy, his brow furrowing in frustration. Scorbunny knew what was coming and quickly jumped, trying to get out of the way, but Sobble ended up being faster. It was a direct hit, and Scorbunny fell backward, though quickly jumping back up.

"Hah, of course, you got me beat on type advantages!" Hop closed one eye, wincing on behalf of his pokemon. "Come, on Scorbunny, get them back! Use tackle!" Scorbunny was swift, leaping forward and tackling into Sobble with great speed. Both pokemon fell at your feet, you took a couple of steps back to give them some room and both of the pokemon scrambled back up to their feet.

"Come on, Sobble, just one more hit!" You cheered, and he readied himself. Sobble let out a powerful stream of water from its mouth, knocking out Scorbunny with that last hit. Scorbunny fell backward, and Hop quickly recalled him before his pokemon hit the ground.

"What?" Hop brought his hand to his head and winced again, gritting his teeth. "You beat my two pokemon with your one?! You're too much!"

"Yes!" You exclaimed, throwing your hands into the air once more. You grabbed Sobble off of the ground and held him up, grinning like an idiot. "Yes! Sobble, you're the best! Look at us, we're the greatest. We're the kings of Galar, now, look at us go! Leon, gimme your hat back!" You held Sobble close to your face and Hop stuck his tongue out at you.

"Well, I guess I know why Lee thought he should give you a pokemon, too..." Hop said, trying not to look too deflated. You walked over to him and placed your hand onto his back, smiling.

"Somehow, I'm convinced you let me win." You winked at Hop, who turned away from you, blushing and refusing to look you in the eye.

"You and your pokemon all fought hard," Leon spoke up, grinning at his brother. "Made me want to let out Charizard and join in on all the fun!" Leon stepped up to the two of you, pulling some potions out of his pocket to get everyone healed. "Why don't I get you all sorted?"

Leon took the time to revive Hop's fainted pokemon, giving the small monsters praise on how well they fought. He then walked up to you, holding out his hands to take Sobble from you. You handed him over like you would a small child. Leon took out a potion and sprayed Sobble's skin, soaking him thoroughly with the medicine, making sure he used up all of it. Sobble gave out a small trilling noise in thanks, and Leon handed him back over to sit on your shoulder.

"You know, Billie, you've got real promise," Leon said, smiling down at you, something sparkling in his eyes. "In fact, I've actually got a favor to ask you..." Leon turned back towards Hop, watching him for a moment as he interacted happily with his pokemon, and then turned back to you. "Be a real rival to Hop, would you? I want you to push him to be stronger, so you both will be stronger." Leon's hand grasped your upper arm, not hard, but when he did you felt your stomach jump. You didn't think you had it this hard for the champion, but here you were, melting into a puddle at a simple touch of his hand.

You glanced at Hop before taking in a deep breath. "I guess this is really happening, huh..." You looked back up into Leon's eyes with the most sincere look you could muster. "Hop is my best friend. I love him more than words could even describe... I'm gonna kick his ass."

The look on Leon's face when you said that was absolutely priceless. Slowly you watched his face morph into a huge grin, and then he laughed like you hadn't heard before. He laughed like Hop did, squeezing his eyes shut and bending over to grab his knees. As you stood and watched the undefeated champion of all of the Galar region absolutely lose his shit at your joke, you couldn't help but crack up laughing as well. Sobble clung to your hair to try to stay on your shoulder as you also bent over laughing, tears beginning to prickle the corners of your eyes.

"Just what are you two on about?" Hop spoke up, coming over to the two of you. He gave you both odd looks as you laughed like idiots together, unable to stop.

You and Hop spent most of that day talking pokemon. Asking Leon as many questions as you could about training, what he did to grow so strong, how he has stayed undefeated for so long. Most of the time Hop would interrupt his brother to answer for him, knowing absolutely everything there was to know. You couldn't stop smiling. You had your own pokemon now, you had your first ever pokemon battle and you won. If you told yourself years ago that you'd be here now, you wouldn't have believed it.

"So you never had any pokemon of your own before coming to Galar?" Leon asked you curiously.

You shrugged. "Nope. I mean, mom and I have Munchlax, but it's more of a pet than anything. I guess I wanted my first pokemon to be special." That last part you spoke while looking down at Sobble who was playing with Grooky nearby.

"And how much more special could you get than getting a pokemon from the champ himself?" Hop spoke up.

"I dunno, maybe getting a pokemon from an actual professor?" You playfully knocked your elbow into Leon's arm, smiling up at him. He fake scoffed, pretending to be offended.

"These pokemon are special. I told you, Professor Magnolia has been studying them." Leon said. "These three have great potential. I've no doubt you're going to get much stronger as time goes on." Leon said, looking towards his brother.

"I know I'm gonna get stronger," Hop said, putting his hands behind his head. "In fact, I'd say I'm already pretty strong! You've seen me battle now, Lee. So come on- you've gotta let me take on the pokemon gyms!"

"Already?" You asked, absentmindedly picking at a small scab you had on the back of your hand.

"You know it!" Hop said excitedly.

"Really, Hop? You, join the Gym Challenge?" Leon placed his hands on his hips and turned to his brother curiously. "You think you're ready for the single greatest competition in the Galar region? Not putting the cart before the Rapidash there, little brother?" His voice sounded skeptical, but you saw a glint of excitement in his eyes.

"If that's really what you wanna do, Hop, you got a lot to learn in, like, a really short amount of time." You spoke up, picking Sobble back up into your arms. The thought of Hop going off on his own adventure, being gone while he does the gym challenge... It made you sad. Since the two of you had become such close friends, you hadn't really been apart for long. You'd miss him for sure.

"And so do you." Hop grinned as he turned to you. "You think I'm gonna go at this on my own? If I'm gonna do this, I need a proper rival. You beat me in your first ever pokemon battle, I'd say you're proper enough."

You chewed on your lip as you held Sobble tightly in your arms. You couldn't do the gym challenge, could you? You'd probably fail halfway through. More likely, you probably wouldn't even be able to beat the first gym leader. But you already made your promise to Leon to be there for Hop, to push him to be great. Could you actually do this?

"I... Guess I could give it a shot." You shrugged your shoulders, feeling small under the gaze of both of the brothers.

"Well, let's start with one thing at a time," Leon said, sensing your unease. "First, you two should probably get a Pokedex before doing anything else. That'll help a tremendous amount. It-"

"Right, right, we get it. Pokedexes, then! We're on it!" Hop threw his fists up into the air, the excitement palpable now. "Come on, Billie, I'll race you to the pokemon research lab!"

"That's the kind of enthusiasm a trainer needs!" Leon chuckled. "But, let me go on ahead and let the professor know to expect you."

"Ugh, alright, fine!" Hop said, dropping his arms down and slouching, pretending to look miserable.

"A, shut up, Hop." You smiled and pulled out your Rotom phone. "You'll get a chance to take on the world eventually, but for now, you're gonna have to slow down. Especially if I'm gonna be dragging along behind you. Come here," You then grabbed Hop by the arm and pulled him close to you. "Hold still, I want a fucking a picture before you go running off."

"Oh eat shit, Billie." Hop tried to push you off of him but easily gave up.

"I don't think you're a very good influence on my little brother," Leon said jokingly.

"Well one of us is gonna have to teach him how to swear properly, and I don't think you're up to the challenge." Your words were playful, but the look on Leon's face told you he took it as an actual challenge.

"You think I'm not doing a proper job as an older brother?" Leon grinned down at you, crossing his arms.

You were about to say something, but Hop spoke up. "Would you two arseholes quit being gross so we can get this picture over with already?"

"You can't even say ass properly!" You roughly grabbed Hop's arm again and pulled him in close to you. Your Rotom phone slid out of your hand and hovered in the air just in front of you, getting ready to take the shot.

"Lee, you're in this too!" Hop grabbed the hem of Leon's cape and dragged him over to stand behind the two of you. He stumbled forward, not really expecting to be pulled, but he righted himself and smiled.

"Come on, pokemon front and center!" You ordered the others, holding Sobble up in your arms so he was in the picture too.

Hop let Scorbunny stand on his shoulder, his Pokemon smiling towards the camera. Wooloo scampered up in front of Hop, holding its nose up to get in the picture too. Leon, having to put up with getting his picture taken all the time, stood just behind the two of you and let Grooky out of its Pokeball, letting the pokemon sit on his own shoulder as well. Of course, he brought Charizard out too, the fire-type craning its neck to get into the photo just next to Leon. Your Rotom phone made a small buzzing noise as it got ready, and with a quick snap, it happily fluttered back over into your hands. Sobble crawled over to your shoulder and you held the phone close looking at the picture, grinning stupidly at all of you.

"We don't look half bad," Leon said as he leaned down over your shoulder to look at your phone.

"We look like a right bunch of assholes." You held the phone out a little bit farther for him to see, hoping he wouldn't realize how hot your cheeks were.

"Well I like it, can you send it to me?"

"Uhh..." You froze for a moment, not really knowing how to respond to that. "I mean... I can send it to Hop, and he can send it to you?" Leon then casually snatched the phone out of your hands, tapping away with his thumbs as you stood there looking dumbstruck.

"It's okay, I can do it," Leon said, not looking up from your phone. You frantically looked to Hop for help, who was just standing there, trying not to laugh. After he was done, Leon handed you back your phone with a smile.

"Billie," Hop spoke up, still snickering at the embarrassed look you had on your face when Leon took your phone. "You should 'prolly tell your mum we're headed out or you'll get a right earful from her."

"Yeah I guess you're right," You mumbled, still gripping your phone tightly in your hands.

Leon head out first, planning to go let the pokemon professor know that you were on your way. Hop figured he'd at least wait for you in the meantime. As you walked down the path from Hop's house back to your own, you quickly unlocked your phone. You almost dropped your poor Rotom when you saw that Leon had gone ahead and saved his phone number into your contacts. Why would he do that?!

You didn't have much time to freak out about it, though, as on your way back home, you heard a loud crash.

Chapter Text

"Billie, what was that?!" Hop ran up to you after you heard a loud crash. You looked around and saw the gate near your house, the one that Wooloo was trying to knock down earlier, was now in pieces on the ground.

"That Wooloo from before-" You started.

"You think it actually broke through?" Hop asked, looking at the broken fence. He thought for a hard moment and turned back to you. "That place is off-limits, though. Some wicked scary Pokemon live that way."

"Didn't you tell me once the Professor's granddaughter went in there once and got real fucked up?" You asked, crossing your arms tight across your body. Sobble held onto your hair, a small shudder running through his body as he could feel your body language go tense.

"Aye, you could say that." Hop clenched his fists. "We can't just leave that poor Wooloo all alone in there!"

"We have to help it!" You said, turning to Hop with a hard look in your eye.

"You're right." He agreed. "Even if this isn't the kinda scene we shouldn't be sticking our noses in, we can't just leave it alone out there. Come on," Hop grabbed your hand and you both ran forward without looking back.

You both stumbled into the forest, taken aback by the drastic change in scenery. It was dark, despite it only been just after noon. The trees were thick and you couldn't see far off into the distance, the fog wasn't helping either. You felt an odd pressure around you, on that left a sense of uneasiness in the pit of your stomach.

What bothered you most of all, though, was the lack of noise in the area. Everywhere you went there was an echo of Pokemon cries and people talking. Here, there was nothing. Rustling of the grass, the swaying tree branches in the wind... And that was it. You were unsettled with how quiet it was. You didn't like being here, not one bit. But, you weren't going to dare leave a defenseless Pokemon behind to get hurt.

"Where could that little git 'ave wandered off to..." Hop said under his breath before turning back to you. "Fog's really coming in quick now, stay close."

"Then let's get fucking on with it, then." You pressed forward, strolling right through the tall grass, only to be attacked by a wild pokemon. A Skwovet jumped out of the tall grass, leaping right at you with its teeth beard. Before you had a chance to react, Sobble jumped down from your shoulder and tackled the Skwovet to the ground. The Pokemon panicked and scuttered back away into the tall grass.

"Sobble!" You were worried about your partner Pokemon, but when he looked up at you, you could tell he was more worried about you. You grit your teeth, falling deeper in love with your new friend, and then nodded. You ran forward, Sobble running after you. Deeper into the forest, another Pokemon lept out for an attack, and Sobble quickly knocked them away. He kept you safe as you ventured deeper into the heart of the forest. You stopped when you heard a strange sound. Like the cry of a Pokemon you'd never heard before. Hop ran up to you with a worried expression.

"Billie, you heard that, right? You don't think that was the Wooloo, do you? Come on, Billie, it might be in real trouble!" Hop shouted at you and then went running.

"Hop, wait!" You called after him as he disappeared into the fog. The quiet started to get to you. You stood there for a moment, your head spinning as the world around you stood in silence. Sobble tugged at your pant leg, making a small cry and keeping you grounded. You nodded. You scooped Sobble up into your arms and ran forward after Hop. You couldn't date leave him alone in these woods, it was far too dangerous.

You kept running.

You had no idea for how long. The trees got closer together and you had to slow down. You called out for Hop, dread growing stronger in your heart as the fog was just getting thicker around you. You couldn't see anything, and you were beginning to panic.

"Hop?!" You were almost screaming now, fear staring to squeeze closed your throat.

"Billie!" You heard him call back, and suddenly he ran out of the fog to grab your arm. "Billie there you are! The fog's too thick, I can't see a bloody thing!"

"M-maybe we should get out of here." The words broke you when you said them, but the pressure you were feeling in your head and chest from being in this forest was beginning to get to you.

"But, we can't just leave! That poor Wooloo might... Be..." Hop stopped talking and stared at you with wide eyes. You both stared at each other for a moment, fear creeping up both of your spines. In unison, you both turned and slowly looked up at a great beast standing just beside you. It was a Pokemon you'd never seen before. It stood taller than both you and Hop, it's body massive and intimidating. You felt the weight of the creature as it stared down at you and Hop. You were frozen in fear, it's gaze piercing right through you.

"B-Billie..." Hop stumbled through his words. You did the only thing you could think of doing, and you grabbed onto Hop's hand tightly.

The Pokemon took a step forward and then threw its head back, letting out an ear-piercing howl that rocked you to your very core. In a panic, both you and Hop readied yourself for battle. He tossed out his Wooloo from its Pokeball while you let Sobble jump out of your arms. As you stood across the field from this strange Pokemon, you got a much better look at it. The monster was huge and wolf-like in appearance, like a Mightiena but more than double in size. Its eyes were so intense you could have sworn that it knew exactly what it was doing by approaching you.

"Sobble, use water gun!" You called out. Sobble wasted no time and shot his attack forward, sending it right at the opposing Pokemon... Just for it to faze threw it as if it were an apparition.

"What was that?" Hop blurted out as he watched the attack do nothing. The Pokemon's gaze then fixated directly onto you, and you froze. "Billie?" Hop tugged at your hand, trying to get you to react, but you were too frightened. He called for his Wooloo to attack as well, and when Wooloo rolled forward, he once again phased through it like nothing. Scrambling back, Wooloo pressed its body close to Hop's legs, shivering in fear. The strange Pokemon's eyes suddenly began to glow, and with a savage growl, the fog around the area grew much heavier.

"Billie, I can't see anything, you okay?" Hop asked, once again tugging at your hand. Were the two of you not holding onto one another you'd probably get lost in this mess.

You grit your teeth, finally able to move. "Come on, Sobble, we have to do something!" As you pleaded, Sobble once again attacked, shooting another jet of water straight through it.

Another growl rang out, and all you could see now was the glowing eyes of the Pokemon as the fog grew thicker and thicker. You reached down and grabbed Sobble back up into your arms, backing away and tugging at Hop's hand, desperate to get out of there. the fog grew thicker and thicker, and then suddenly, everything went white.

~

When you opened your eyes, the world was overwhelmingly blurry. Your ears rang, sending an odd buzzing through your head that made you uneasy. As you took a moment to come to, you realized that you were beginning to sit up. There was a hand on your back, it felt warm and strong. You closed your eyes for a moment and then opened them again, letting the world re-adjust itself as your vision cleared. Leon knelt onto the ground next to you, his hand on your back helping you sit up, his other hand resting on your shoulder. He looked concerned, his golden eyes staring down into yours.

"Billie, are you alright?" Leon asked as his hand moved from your shoulder and up to your chin, moving your head slightly so he could check you over for any injuries. The only thing you could manage was a small noise from your throat as you stared wide-eyed at him as he held you like this. Your Sobble crawled up and into your lap, its eyes watery with concern for you.

"Well that was a real cock-up, wasn't it, Billie?" Hop was sitting nearby, legs crossed, his hands rubbing his head. He looked kind of out of it too, but he was awake.

"Would you two tell me what happened?" Leon asked as he slowly helped you to your feet before going over and giving Hop a hand as well.

"Well, we came in here 'cause we were chasing that Wooloo..." Hop started and thought for a moment, then his eyes went wide as he remembered. "The Wooloo! Is it alright?"

Leon let out an exasperated chuckle and then pointed over to his Charizard standing nearby. Charizard and the Wooloo were letting out small, happy cries to one another, and you let out a breath you hadn't realized you were holding.

"Hey, Lee, how'd you find us here anyway? You're pants with directions!" Hop went over and patted the rescued Wooloo on the head.

"Oh really, that's what I get from the brother I've been worrying 'bout for so long?" Leon crossed his arms and furrowed his brow towards his brother. You hadn't seen him angry before. "I've been waiting ages for you two and you never showed. 'Course I came lookin' for you!" His voice raised with his worry, and suddenly Sobble started crying.

Tears began streaming down your cheeks too, as Sobble's cries made you tear up as well. "Hey, stop it, you're upsetting the baby!" You stepped in front of Leon and instead of pointing to Sobble, you pointed towards yourself. Leon sighed and placed his and on your shoulder.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to shout. I was just worried. There's a reason this place is out of bounds..." He looked between you and Hop for a moment. Sobble had stopped crying and, thankfully, so had you. You wiped your face on your sweater and looked up at Leon with large, burning, red eyes. "It took you both quite a bit of courage to come all the way out here. I understand why you would, though."

"At least the Wooloo's okay, right Billie?" Hop smiled over at you. "I thought we'd be done for when that weird fog rolled in and that mad Pokemon attacked..."

"Mad Pokemon? What are you talking about, Hop?" Leon asked. You'd forgotten his hand was still on your shoulder until his fingers squeezed down gently.

"It was way stronger than any Pokemon I'd ever seen." You spoke up, your voice cracking just slightly. You cleared your throat and continued. "It had this kinda presence to it, too... Like, all of a sudden it got real heavy, almost hard to breathe. It was spooky."

"Our moves didn't even seem to touch it. I mean, really- They seemed to pass right through it!" Hop spoke up, looking more excited than you were to talk about the odd Pokemon.

"Pass through it? What are you on about, Hop?" Leon asked, crossing his arms. He looked thoughtful for a moment and then shook his head. "There's a fearsome Pokemon they say lives in Slumbering Weald... Could it actually be an illusion or something?"

"Hey, you think I can get strong enough to face it someday?" Hop clenched his fists and looked excitedly towards Leon.

"Maybe." Leon smiled. "There's a chance that someday, you two could reveal the truth. But for now, let's get out of this place. You'll be alright now that I'm here with you." Leon smiled down at you and his hand slid from your shoulder to your back, pressing on you gently to lead the way out of the forest.

"Aw, hey, Billie, you gotta admit that was pretty wicked, wasn't it?" Hop asked as he walked next to you. "Even if we did get a real earful from Lee... What an experience! I'd say that's a pretty fine first page in the tale of my legend!" He looked so proud of himself at that moment, you couldn't help but grin from ear to ear with him.

~

Once out of the forest, you were more than happy to feel the warmth of the sun on your face. You mustn't have been gone for too long, as you still had plenty of daylight left. You let Sobble hop down onto the ground to stand next to you as Leon kept walking, but Hop stayed behind.

"Remember to tell your mom we're headed out!" He reminded you. Hop wasn't phased one bit by your little adventure, you could tell. He was always headstrong, and he wanted nothing more than to get his journey started. "I know that lady 'o yours, she'll go spare if you leave without a word. Even worse than Lee." He winked at you and ran off, leaving you alone.

You hurried up the front steps of your house and threw the door open. Despite just almost being attacked by a horrific Pokemon, you somehow still found the energy to be excited about your adventure. It must have been Hop rubbing off on you.

"Hi, Munchlax!" You smiled happily as you ran into the living room and saw the small Pokemon asleep while sitting up. You reached over and patted it's head, causing it to jump slightly as it awoke. Sobble crawled over and have a small cry hello and then followed you into the kitchen.

"Well, hey there sweetheart!" Your mom was in the kitchen waiting for you. She grinned down to your Sobble, picking him up into her arms and giving him pets.

"Thanks, Mom." You crossed your arms and fake pouted at her.

"You too, honey." Your mother chuckled at you and put Sobble back down onto the floor. "Young Leon from next door came over and told me. I'm glad someone bothered to! So, you're off to Wedgehurt, huh? Here. Take some pocket money with you and be careful." She pushed some money into the palm of your hand and left a kiss on your forehead. "Go buy something for yourself, and for Sobble, too. Remember, he'll battle for you until the very end!"

"I know, Mom." You smiled, stuffing the money into your jeans pocket.

"You take care of my little girl now, you hear?" Your mom said down to Sobble with a sly smile. Sobble gave back a happy cry.

Before you left you grabbed your mom into a tight hug. She was surprised at first but happily returned it to you. You took a deep breath, feeling your nerves starting to creep up on you as, now, it was finally happening.

"You think I can do this?" You whispered to your mother as you refused to let go of her.

Your mom pushed you back just enough so she could look in your eyes and smile. "Honey, your father would be so proud of you right now, you've no idea" Your chest swelled with happiness and you hugged your mom again.

~

"Come on, Billie, I'm tired' a waitin'!" Hop was waiting on route 1 for you. You ran up to him and threw your arms around his neck, giving him a hug that knocked the wind out of him. "Get off!" He said while laughing, but he hugged you back all the same. Sobble copied you and flung himself onto Hop's leg, holding on tightly to him.

"You ready?" Hop asked as you stepped back, letting him go. "This is a big step, you know. My first step toward becoming the next champion!" He threw his hands behind his head, grinning.

"Yeah, if you can get passed me, first!" You pressed your thumb into your chest. Sobble jumped off of Hop's leg and stood next to you, making an angry face along with you.

"You wanna bet? Let's go!" Hop grabbed you by the arm and ran, dragging you after him towards adventure.

Chapter Text

Hop ran on ahead. Of course he did. He always led the way for you, anyway. You were on your way to the Pokemon research lab, you knew where it was. You decided to take your time getting there, training up Sobble along the way. By the time you made it to town, the square was still filled with excited people, a sea of voices all talking at once and making your head hurt. You saw a few of your neighbors all huddled around Charizard, but Leon was nowhere in sight. Hop told you he was bad with directions, even in his hometown, so he probably got himself lost.

"What are you doing here all alone?" You spoke to the Charizard as onlookers marveled at the strong Pokemon. You let him sniff your hand for a moment before he lowered his head to you, letting you pat him. You then heard hushed whispers from nearby and looked over. A few other people from the town were huddled together looking over at the Pokemon Research Center. You could only guess why. You gave Charizard one last pat before walking away, lingering close to the whispering people.

"Oh wow, that's the champion!" Someone whispered.

"He's so cute!" Said another.

"I heard he's single now~" When someone said that you couldn't help but stop walking and look over. The crowd of people saw you staring and got angry. "What're you lookin' at?" You mumbled a quick apology to them and kept going.

You saw Leon standing just outside the door to the research lab. He was standing there, leaning back against the wall, smiling at something on his phone. By Arceus he was adorable. He snickered at something and started texting quickly. You walked over, trying to keep your footsteps as quiet as possible while doing so.

"Boo." Your smile grew even wider when Leon looked up at you and grinned.

"And I thought I was bad with directions. Did you get lost on your way here?" Leon asked, shoving his phone into his pocket and placing his hands on his hips.

"Just playing around." You answered honestly and then grabbed the Pokeball holding Sobble. You let your friend go free and gestured down to him. "He's gotten stronger even from just a few battles. I adore him so much."

"I'm glad. It's my dream to help everyone in Galar become strong. Seeing you and Sobble together as you are now, I have to say... You're like a dream come true."

"What?" You barely had time to process what he said before you heard stomping behind you.

"Charizard, there you are!" Leon said, perhaps too quickly. "Come on, in we go!"

You felt your cheeks get hot as you followed him into the lab. When you walked inside, you were quite impressed. It's been a while since you were in this lab, but the books that lined the walls had doubled in number, and it was surprisingly clean form the last time you visited.

"I've got to hand it to Professor Magnolia. She does some fascinating work here." Leon said, looking around. A sudden yelping broke your attention away from the area and down to the floor. Just before you stood a small Yamper, the most absolutely adorable dog Pokemon you had ever laid your eyes on. Leon dropped to one knee and held out a hand to the Pokemon, the Yamper excitedly trotting over to be petted. Your Sobble quickly climbed up your legs to hide on your hair when the Yamper approached.

"What is it today, Leon?" You both looked up and saw a woman standing on the next floor up, her hands on her hips looking down at you both. You'd seen her around town and knew she was the professor's granddaughter, but you never got the chance to introduce yourself. Probably because you were too scared because she was stunning.

"Looking for another never-before-seen, super-strong Pokemon? That's juuuust like you, Leon." Exaggerated her eye roll. "Can you just can it already?" You watched as she walked down the steps and towards the both of you, her jacket swaying side to side, her hair bouncing. you could feel your face grow hot as she approached, a small smirk out of the corner of her mouth. The Pokemon Leon had been playing with suddenly ran to her side, wagging its tail to be with its trainer.

"Well, it's good to see you too, Yamper." Leon stood up and said sarcastically, completely ignoring the woman who now stood across from you. He turned back to you smiling, holding his hand out and gesturing to the Pokemon. "Yamper here is a real champ at helping you find your way around. Came to my rescue plenty of times back in the day, when I got lost on the road." The woman cleared her throat. Crossing her arms and tapping her foot, she glared at Leon. "Oh yeah, and that's Sonia."

"Really, Leon, that's my introduction?" She said impatiently.

"What?" He shrugged, a playful smile on his face. "Hmm, what can I say about Sonia?" He stayed quiet for an awkwardly long amount of time. "Well, I like her cooking-"

"Oh come on, Leon!" Sonia threw her hands into the air completely exasperated now. She turned towards you, her balled up fists in front of her. "I'm guessing he forgot that we were rivals back during our Gym Challenge." She signed and then gave you an actual, genuine smile. "Anyway, Yeah. Name's Sonia! I'm the professor's assistant."

"Billie." You managed to say, trying your hardest not to laugh at that trainwreck of an introduction.

"She's new to training. Set her on the right path, would you?" Leon spoke. He gave you one last grin before turning to leave the lab.

Sonia walked up to you, her head in her hand. "Who does he think I am?" She mumbled and then sighed. "Always got his head in the clouds, no wonder he gets lost all the time.

"So!" Sonia smiled and walked up to you, giving you her full attention now. "You have one of those Rotom phones too, right?" She asked, holding her hand out expectedly.

"So I'm guessing Hop has already been through here?" You asked curiously as you dug through your pockets to hand over your phone.

"The Champ's brother is quite enthusiastic, I have to say. Just like he was way back when." Sonia smiled as she admired your phone. "Hey there, Rotom!" Rotom smiled at her and she chuckled. "Handy little things, aren't they? They've got a map and navigational tools. All that and Leon still ended up getting lost, though..." Sonia started tapping away at the screen of her phone and then pulled something out of her pocket and plugged it into one of your phone's ports. She hummed away to herself happily, and then removed the plug and handed your phone back.

"All done!" Sonia announced happily, and you took your phone back and looked through its new feature. "That should help you with everything you need. It'll record data of every Pokemon you encounter. Though, I'm sure you already knew that." You looked up and saw her wink at you. Your face flushed hot. "I've heard of you, Billie. I met your mum before. She used to be a professor too, right?"

"She taught me everything I know." You said with a small voice, hiding your face with your phone.

"I can imagine that's quite a lot! They're a smart lot over at that school she used to teach at. I can imagine you know everything you need to start your journey off right." You nodded at Sonia. "Hey, that shiny new Pokedex of yours, that's a gift from Gran. Mind headin' on over to let her know you have it?"

You nodded again. "Thank you." As you turned to leave, you saw Sonia shook you a quick wink. You almost sprinted out the door, feeling overly flushed from the encounter. You dropped your head into your hands and headed out. "Arceus, why does she have to be so fucking pretty?"

"Oi, crush on one person at a time." Hop's voice spoke as he walked up to you. You stuck your tongue out at him.

"Make me."

"Right git you are." He crossed his arms and shook his head at you. "Come on, we're due at the Professor's house."

"I'll meet you there." You waved him off. "If you think I'm not gonna go head out and catch myself my own Wooloo, you're dead wrong."

Hop laughed. "Love Wooloo so much you need your own?"

"You bet!" You plopped your headphones onto your head and tapped your phone to start up some music, drowning out the sounds of the world around you. "Meet you in a bit!" You waved and headed off.

~

Later in the day, you met with Hop as he was catching his own Pokemon on route 2. You shifted one ear of your headphones back so you could talk to him, but let the other stay and continue to play its tunes.

"Hop!" You called over after he caught his Pokemon and he grinned.

"Billie! Took you long enough!" He ran up to you, putting the Pokeball away. "Aye, I've been thinkin', you wanna do the Gym Challenge too, right?" You chewed on your lip for a moment but didn't answer. "Well, you know how it works, right? It's an annual thing, and you gotta be sponsored to get in. Lee doesn't think I'm up to snuff. We gonna convince that professor to sponsor us instead!" Hop threw one of his fists up into the air and you grinned at his enthusiasm.

When you got to Professor Magnolia's house, the first thing you did was admire the scenery. It was right on the lake with the most beautiful scenery you'd ever seen. The house itself looked ancient, tree branches and ivy crawling up the sides of it as if the forest were trying to reclaim the building. You saw the greenhouse and smiled, thinking about what it would be like to be a professor yourself, in a beautiful house on the lake with a greenhouse for you to take care of plants and grass-type Pokemon. That really would be the life.

Then, you spotted Leon standing just outside the house with the professor, and you admired more than just the scenery. Hop elbowed you in the ribs when he saw you staring at his brother for too long, and in retaliation, you pushed him back.

"What's all this ruckus, then?" Professor Magnolia interrupted her conversation with Leon when she heard you two stumble up. Hop grinned and threw his hands behind his head excitedly. "Why, dear Hop, you've grown quite a bit from last I saw you!" The professor smiled back at Hop. "Come in. And your friend, too, come inside."

Leon opened the door to the professor's house and she stepped in, Hop following close behind. Leon motioned towards you as you headed into the house. You looked up at him and he pointed towards his ears, making you aware that you still had your headphones on and playing music. You muttered a quick apology and turned the music off, slipping the headphones around your neck and heading inside with the rest of everyone else.

"I see Wooloo has made some new friends." Professor Magnolia said to Hop as they chatted in the kitchen. You and Leon joined them and they both turned to you, smiling. "You must be Billie. I'm sure you've received the Pokedex from Sonia, correct? I'm sure you'll fill the Pokedex in no time, being the daughter of a professor and all!"

You could feel your face grow hot as you reached back and scratched the back of your head. Everyone always talks about how great of a professor your mother was. If only they knew that the reason she stopped working as one was all because of you.

"You must already know about Dynamaxing, right, Billie?" Leon spoke up, hands on his hips as he spoke to you. "Professor Magnolia's been doing research into the Dynamax phenomenon for years and years. And it takes proper understanding of the thing if you plan to use Dynamaxing to the fullest!"

"Oh, go off, Leon." Professor Magnolia spoke up. "There are other things worth talking about other than Pokemon, you know. Like how many different types of tea there are!"

"I'm up for tea." You said.

Hop waved you off and put his hands behind his head. "Hey, Professor, do us a favor, would you? Help me convince Lee he should endorse us for the Gym Challenge"

The professor chuckled. "Hop, you're just like your brother."

"I'm not like him, I'm better than him!" Hop clenched his fists and held them out in front of him. "Or at least I'm gonna be. If we get endorsed, I'll become stronger than Lee's ever been!"

The professor turned to Leon, looking up at him. "Oh Leon, why wouldn't you endorse them?"

"Hop and Billie only just started out as Pokemon Trainers..." Leon said back. "There's still loads they don't know yet!"

"That's Granbull crap and you know it." The others looked at you, surprised by your blunt tone. You crossed your arms and looked up at Leon, getting serious now. "When it comes to Pokemon training, I've never met anyone who knew more. Other than myself, of course. Hop's ready for his journey. He's more than ready. What I don't understand is why he's waited this long to ask you."

Hop and the professor looked back up towards Leon as he gave you a long, hard look. "How about this." Leon crossed his arms, not taking his eyes off of you. "Let's see if the two of you can show me such a brilliant battle that I'm left with no choice but to endorse you."

"Yes!" Hop jumped into the air excitedly. "Come on, Billie, outside, let's go!" He turned on his heels and ran out the door so fast you barely had time to react. Before you turned to leave you looked back up at Leon, unable to hide your smile, before running after your best friend.

Once outside you ran towards the battlefield that the professor had just outside.

"Come on, hurry it up, Billie!" Hop yelled impatiently. Soon, the professor and Leon joined you outside, watching from just beyond the small, stone garden wall. "I'm gonna become the greatest Pokemon Trainer there is!" Hop said excitedly as you took your spot across the pitch from him.

"I don't doubt that, Hop." You said honestly, grabbing Sobble's Pokeball and tossing him out onto the field in front of you. "I've always believed in you." Your challenging words were gone, only your sincerity left. You could tell Hop was thrown off by this, his eyes glistening at you for a short moment before he regained himself.

Out came Wooloo, Hop's first pokemon, onto the field. "Have you gotten any stronger?" He asked, his cocky smirk slowly coming back to him.

"Oh, quite a bit, actually." There you were. Your eagerness to battle built up once again in your chest. You didn't spend so much time on route 1 for nothing, you wanted Sobble to be strong!

"Alright you two, enough talking," Leon called form the edge of the field. "Show me something that'll blow me away!"

"Water pulse!" You called out quickly, throwing your arm forward. Sobble quickly jumped into action and attacked. With the one vicious movement, Hop's Wooloo fainted.

"What?!" Hop said in amazement as he called his Pokemon back to its ball. "Billie, no way!" He grit his teeth and grabbed his next Pokeball. "Scorbunny can outrun you," Hop said under his breath as he threw the Pokeball and his partner flashed to life. The small rabbit hopped between its two feet, looking as ready as ever for a fight.

You were about to call for your Sobble to use water pulse again, but you were too slow. Hop called for a tackle and Scorbunny ran faster than you could keep up with. The Pokemon ran around the side of Sobble and tackled him to the ground, sending them rolling almost off the field. Sobble tore himself loose from Scorbunny's grasp and scrambled back up to his feet, ready to fight.

"Water pulse!" You ordered, knowing that with just one hit the Scorbunny would be defeated. Though again, the Pokemon was too quick and dodged your attack. You saw the smirk grow on Hop's face as the battle unfolded, and you had to think of something quick. "Sobble, use bind!" Before Scorbunny was able to get away, Sobble lunged forward and grabbed Scorbunny's leg with his tail. The bunny looked back, and with one last shout, Sobble used Water Pulse again and knocked out his opponent.

Hop grit his teeth as he called back his Pokemon. He sent out his last Pokemon, a Rookidee he had caught just before you met him on Route 2. The bird flew up high, fluttering around Sobble just out of reach. It came crashing down, pecking at Sobble's head and sending him rolling back towards your feet. Fear crept into you, as the thought of having poor Sobble faint broke something in you. You'd considered calling him back, but doing so didn't make Pokemon strong. You needed Sobble to be strong.

"Come on, Sobble, let's do this!" You cheered. The Rookidee kept fluttering around, and Sobble began hopping around the field to avoid its attacks. Rookidee flew quickly and caught Sobble again in the back with a savage peck, but that gave Sobble the opportunity to bind it with his tail. The bird Pokemon, now stuck, frantically flapped its wings to get away, as Sobble used water pulse one more time to take it down.

Hop staggered back for just a moment in utter shock as your one Pokemon took down his three, but his smile came back and he scratched at his head.

"Oof! Gutted that I lost... But I'd expect nothing better from you, Bille. You're a right, proper rival." Hop couldn't help but grin. Meanwhile, the shock of winning once again set in, and you reached forward to scoop Sobble into your arms for a hug. "The sting of defeat and the joy of victory... Blah blah, Billie, you did great!" Hop walked over to you and held out his fist for you to bump your own against.

"Billie! Hop!" Leon called over and walked up to the two of you on the pitch. "Well, after seeing a match like that one..." You and Hop interrupted him by grinning wildly and high fiving one another. Leon laughed at the two of you and took from his back pocket two letters, one for each of you. Immediately, you tore open the seal and read it over, your eyes shining as you realized just how real this was all becoming.

"Yes! Lee! Thanks!" Hop grinning, looking at his own letter. "I swear, I'm gonna win my way through the Gym Challenge and reach you!"

"You're both still a little rough around the edges, but that right there, that was a proper battle." Leon held his hands on his hips and looked at the two of you with pride. "I'd like to see more thrilling battles from the two of you in the future!"

"Come on, Billie!" Hop was now jumping up and down, still clutching his letter for dear life. "You and I are gonna train up against one another for that Champion's title! We gotta start, right now!"

"Hop, come on you're gonna-" You grabbed onto his arm to stop him from jumping all over the place, but you heard a strange noise that stopped you in your tracks. After a moment, Hop heard it too, and you both looked up towards the sky.

A red streak pierced through the sky above you all and then landed with a small crash nearby. Hop, being overly curious, ran right towards them with you at his heels. You watched over his shoulder as he reached down and tried to pick up two small stones that fell, but they were so hot they burned his hand. Thinking quick, you brought Sobble over to splash a little bit of water on them to cool them down, and then Hop snatched them up.

"Billie, look at this!" He held them up for you to see. Two perfectly round stones lying in his hand.

"What are they?" You asked.

"Wishing stars!" He thrust one of them into your hand and held the other close to his chest. "You know what this means, right?" You shook your head no and he let out a giddy chuckle. "It means that, with these, we can Dynamax our Pokemon! They're gonna be massive! YES!" Hop looked mighty pleased with himself at that moment, and you looked back towards the oddly colored stone he forced upon you.

"Trust you to pull something like this!" Leon said as both he and Professor Magnolia walked up to the two of you. "You know, they say wishing stars only fall for those who have a true wish in their heart."

"I'm gonna be the greatest trainer ever!" Hop started chanting over and over again, louder and louder. You reached out and punched his shoulder as you did.

"Shut up, Hop! If you say your wish out loud it won't come true!" You said.

"No way, that's not how it works!" Hop fought back.

"Both of you are being silly," Professor Magnolia spoke up with a smile. "Those wishing stars are comprised of a curious sort of power. They are one of the most precious resources we have here in the Galar region."

You looked down into your hand for a moment at the stone, thinking hard. You then held out your arm to the professor, waiting for her to take it. She blinked at you curiously.

"Then take it. Shouldn't we give it to you to do research on, then?" Your eyes were wide with fascination.

Magnolia gave you a kind smile and took the stone from your hand, looking it over. "Well, I can say that this won't do you any good right now. Don't worry, though, I'll get you both sorted."

"First we get caught up with that mad Pokemon in the Slumbering Weald, and now this?" Hop grinned at you. "Feels like we're in the middle of an adventure of a lifetime!"

"I can see your excitement, but you'll want to save your energy for tomorrow's journey," Magnolia said.

"Seems I came back home right in time for all the excitement!" Suddenly, Sonia's voice spoke up as she walked up behind you all.

"Sonia!" Hop yelled excitedly. "You just missed it! Billie and I had an amazing battle, and then Lee finally agreed to endorse us, and then wishing stars-"

"I saw, Hop!" Sonia laughed. "Say, you lot must be hungry, right? Why don't you come inside and I whip somethin' up for ya?" She smiled as she played with her hair. Of course, Hop looked overly excited at the thought of food.

As the others all headed inside the house to have dinner, you looked back down at the letter of endorsement that Leon had given you. You were slightly embarrassed to do so, but you quietly caught his wrist before he was able to walk away. He looked at you for a moment as you clutched the letter to you.

"Sure was convenient, huh?" You said rather matter-of-factly.

"What do you mean?" He knew what you were talking about and couldn't quite hide his smile.

You let go of his wrist and held up the letter. "That you had these. All pre-written, pre-sealed. Besides," You shoved the letter into his face, pointing at a spot on the bottom. "You never even bothered to ask my last name. So how'd it end up on this conveniently sealed letter?"

"Billie," Leon smirked and walked over, placing a hand on your back. "Why don't we go inside and have dinner?"

"You're smooth, Mr. Champion, I'll give you that. I'll play your game. And I'll beat you at it, too." You didn't know how you had the courage to do it, but you winked up at him and walked away, leaving him standing there as you walked inside. You took one last glance at him as he watched you from across the lawn, and then you closed the door.

Chapter Text

"Sure was convenient, huh?"

Leon didn't quite know how to respond to you. He glanced quickly at the others and watched them disappear into the house, leaving him alone in the yard of Professor Magnolia's house with you. He looked down, seeing your small hand around his wrist. Your grip wasn't that strong, but even if you had held him by one finger alone, he wouldn't have pulled away from you if his life depended on it.

"What do you mean?" Leon could tell you knew what he was doing. He couldn't hide the smile that was forming on his lips, and he could feel his face warm up when you smiled back.

You held up the letter for him. "That you had these. All pre-written, pre-sealed. Besides," Leon had to lean back a little when you shoved the letter into his face, pointing to your own name. "You never even bothered to ask my last name. So how'd it end up on this conveniently sealed letter?"

Of course he planned on endorsing Hop. He had been planning on doing so for years, but never found the right time. Hop had been talking about going on his own Pokemon adventure for years, but... He had been holding himself back. It was Hop who wasn't ready. Until now. Leon had been patiently waiting for his brother, always supporting his brother from the sidelines, but never doing so outright. He wanted his brother to think he earned this on his own, not out of the kindness of Leon's heart. This was supposed to be another way for Leon to make Hop feel like he earned his place in the Gym Challenge. Of course, you saw right through him. You were smarter than he thought you were.

"Billie," Leon moved closer to you. In his short time in knowing you, he'd grown to admire you. His hand rested on your back, feeling you tense slightly and then relax against his touch. "Why don't we go inside and have dinner?"

"You're smooth, Mr. Champion, I'll give you that. I'll play your game. And I'll beat you at it, too." And then you winked at him. The look you gave him just then nearly stopped his breathing, your smirk leaving him at a loss for words. He stood there, completely helpless as you walked away, taking the last word and his dignity with you. You shared one last look across the yard before you disappeared inside the house, and then you were gone.

How dare you.

How dare you challenge him like that. Leon knew he couldn't say no to anyone who challenged him, especially to a pretty face like yours. How dare you see through him the way you did, picking him apart like that so well. How dare you make him betray his better judgment like this, making him fall so hard for someone he had just met...

Wait.

~

You set the alarm on your Rotom phone to wake you up extra early the next day. When your alarm went off you grabbed your phone, staring at it angrily as you looked at the time. In a haze of sleepiness, you had forgotten about exactly why you set yourself to wake up this early, and then it came back to you.

When you finally remembered, you threw the bedsheets off of you and jumped out of bed so fast you scared poor Sobble who had been asleep next to you. You frantically grabbed your things, shoving them into your bag, preparing for what was about to be the greatest journey of your life. You only stopped for a moment to call your Rotom phone to play some music for you as you got ready. You got dressed in a flash, throwing your clothes on haphazardly, remembering to check yourself out in the mirror beforehand. Just to make sure you looked good because Leon was still around after all...

Sobble was sitting on your bed, watching you prepare frantically for your adventure. As soon as you were ready, you scooped Sobble up into your arms and ran out the door. You yelled to your mom that you were leaving, and you didn't even bother to wait for a reply before you were outside, running down the road to meet Hop. He stood waiting for you, his Wooloo and Scorbunny out with him, all looking just as excited as you felt.

"You got Sobble with you?" Hop asked as you approached. You held up your arm to show Sobble hanging onto you, upside down, still looking quite confused by how fast you were moving that day. "You're forgetting somethin', Mate." Hop smiled and pointed towards his ears, and then you remembered you forgot to bring your headphones with you. You nearly yelped when you realized and you quickly ran back to get them. You hated being without them.

Before you got to the door, though, your mom had stepped outside and smiled at you. She held your headphones in her hand and held them out for you. You moved Sobble up to your shoulder and you came crashing into her for a tight hug, and then with a quick kiss on her cheek, you took your headphones and ran off once more.

Both you and Hop ran the entire way back down to Professor Magnolia's house. She had wanted to see you off before you left for your journey, saying she had something for you. You could only imagine what the great professor of this region held in store for you. Your mother would always tell you stories that when kids would go on their own Pokemon adventure, the professor would give them something special to help them. Some kids got new technology, some got unique versions of the Pokedex.

"We're back!" Hop yelled as he threw open the door of the professor's house. Just inside the kitchen were Professor Magnolia and her granddaughter Sonia. They both tuned as you entered, giving you and Hop excited smiles of their own.

"Good morning to you, young Challengers." The professor said.

"Oh, Hop, I been meaning to ask," Sonia spoke up as she played with her hair. "Is it true you really met some Pokemon you didn't recognize? Is there anything more you can tell me about it?"

Hop threw his hands behind his head as he tried to remember. "Er, well, there was a weird heavy fog, and then this even weirder Pokemon appeared... We tried to fight it off! But then I think we both passed out or something."

"A right fount of information you are." Sonia sighed.

"Billie, Hop," Professor Magnolia spoke up again as she took a step towards the both of you. "These are for you."

Hop gasped when the professor handed him his gift. It was a wristband, similar to the one you saw Leon wearing during his matches. You got your own, matching wristband and you turned it over in your hands carefully. The realization slowly hit you that, this is what Leon used to Dynamx his Pokemon. You had your own Dynamax Band. You looked over at Hop with wide eyes. He was grinning like a mad man at you and you both hurriedly put them on, showing them off to one another.

"I'm assuming you both know what those are?" Professor Magnolia said. "I made them by fitting those Wishing Stars you found last night into those bands."

"Professor this is brilliant!" Hop shouted excitedly.

"Now, don't be afraid to go to all sorts of places and meet all sorts of Pokemon." The professor smiled. "That will help fill out your Pokedex too."

"The legend of my reign is finally about to begin!" Hop crossed his arms and flashed a smile that reminded you of Leon. "Come on, Billie lets go! I'll race you to the station!" With that, Hop turned on his heels and ran out the door. You thanked the professor profusely for her gift to you and quickly followed soon after.

Once in the front yard, you saw Hop was still there, but so was his brother. Leon had been walking down the path towards the two of you, and you'd watch Hop excitedly run up to him.

"Lee!" He exclaimed. "Check this out! The professor gave us Dynamax bands just like yours! Now we can Dynamax out Pokemon and take you on!"

"Excellent!" Leon exclaimed as he examined his brother's band. "I wanted to see the two of you off before you left." You ran up to stand at Hop's side as Leon looked down at the two of you, his hands resting on his hips. "Now, I want the two of you to know; this will be the most intense journey you have ever been on. You will face new hardships, make new friends, and come out as a different person from when you first set out. You will grow, becoming stronger, and-"

"Yeah yeah, Lee, I've heard this all before!" Hop interrupted his brother, throwing his hands behind his head and grinning. "You tell me this story every time I talk about going on my own adventure. I've heard this before, and I'm sure Billie doesn't need to hear it either."

"But..." Leon looked rather deflated now, though still smiling. "I had this whole speech planned..."

Hop walked up to Leon, giving him a hard look with his ever-confident smile. "I'm comin' for ya, Lee. I'm gonna work my way through the Gym Challenge, and I'm gonna be the strongest trainer in Galar. If anyone is coming for your unbeatable record, it's gonna be me." Hop pressed his thumb to his chest and grinned.

"I know," Leon said, looking down at his brother, his eyes shining with pride. Hop's resolve broke when his brother said that, and you saw him get teary-eyed as he jumped onto his brother, hugging him tightly. Leon hugged his brother so tight he actually lifted Hop up off the ground. You hugged your own arms while you watched the brothers have their moment together. You sniffled, not realizing that you were beginning to tear up as well. The two broke their hug and looked over at you as you were rubbing your eyes.

"Alright over there, Billie?" Hop asked, poking your cheek as you tried your hardest not to cry.

"Shut up," You swatted his hand away. "There... Someone is cutting onions nearby." Your stupid excuse made Hop laugh. You then realized why you were crying, as you looked on your shoulder to see Sobble sitting there, tears falling from his large eyes. "How dare you keep making me cry. You're the onions." You mumbled accusingly to the Pokemon.

"And you," Leon came over to you, smiling. He reached his hands up and held you tightly by your upper arms, bringing his face down close to yours. "I can tell already you're going to be a great trainer. Please, look after Hop, will you?" He lowered his voice on that last part.

In an intense bout of courage, you wrapped your arms around Leon's neck and held him close. He was surprised at first by what you had done, and you began to sweat in nervousness as you hugged him so close to your body. Though, in almost no time at all, Leon wrapped his arms around your back and hugged you as well. He was so warm. You felt his cape drop down over his shoulders and almost envelop you. As you buried your nose into the fluffy trim of his cape, you smiled.

"Thank you." You said just loud enough for only him to hear. You could feel his grip grow tighter around your body and your heart fluttered. And then you saw Hop, standing just off to the side, giving you the smuggest smile you'd ever seen. You glared and flipped your middle finger at him as you hugged his brother, and then Leon pulled away.

"You two had better get going. You only have so many hours of daylight left." As you were hugging Leon, Sobble, who was sitting on your shoulder, wrapped his arms around Leon's hair for a hug as well. Leon gently removed Sobble from his hug and placed him gently back onto your shoulder.

"Come on, Billie, let's go!" Hop yelled excitedly, and then took off running. You gave Leon one last smile and then followed after your best friend.

Chapter Text

You were going to be on the train for a while, so you and Hop made yourselves comfortable. You had your headphones on and playing music so loud, Hop could even hear the muffled tune from where you sat. You both played with your phones, tapping your feet to the music while the train bumped along the tracks.

You were looking at that photo again, the one with you and Hop and Leon with your Pokemon. You decided to change it to the background of your phone because you loved it so much. So, you removed the photo you had of Hop's Wooloo lying on it's back in the grass and changed it to the new one. You couldn't help but smile. And then you noticed, out of the corner of your eye, Hop was silently watching you from over his phone.

"What?" You raised an eyebrow.

"Nothin'," Hop smirked and looked back to his Rotom phone. You didn't bother taking off your headphones, as you had gotten pretty good at reading lips.

"What are you smiling about?" You flicked your finger against the back of Hop's hand, making him pull it away from you.

"Just couldn't your eyes off my fuckin' brother, could ya?" Hop leaned forward and pushed your phone down onto the table to look at you properly. Your eyes went wide and glanced down at your screen which still showed the picture of the three of you. Hop's eyes followed yours down to your phone, and when he saw the picture you had been staring at, he erupted into laughter. You snatched your phone away, glaring at him.

"Eat shit, Hop." You grumbled.

"You eat shit, Billie, quit being gross with my brother," Hop said through his giggles.

"Fuck you. He doesn't even like me." Though when you said that, you quickly remembered that Leon had entered his number into your phone the previous day. Maybe he did? But you weren't sure.

"I can't believe we're finally doin' this," Hop said excitedly. He realized you weren't looking at him as he spoke, so he waved to get your attention and then repeated himself.

"Its what you always wanted, right?" You leaned your head into your hands and looked at him thoughtfully.

"Yup! I got my endorsement, I got my Pokemon, and now I got a right proper rival. This is gonna be great!" Hop rested his hand onto the back of his head and leaned back to relax. You smiled at him and went back to your phone.

You were scrolling through your social media when you came upon another post from your favorite gym leader. Raihan, the dragon-type gym leader, was big on social media and posted several times a day. You loved when he did because you found him to be absolutely beautiful. This time he posted a picture of himself with a Goomy he was holding in both of his hands, dripping through his fingers.

"Hop, look at this." You smiled and turned your phone around, showing him the picture of Raihan holding the Goomy.

Hop laughed. "Bro, he's the best. I met him before, you know?"

"Really?" Your eyes went wide with disbelief. "Dude, he's so fucking cute, I can't get over it." Hop made a scrunched up face and shook his head.

"No way. I can't see him like that, especially since he used to date my brother!"

"He what?!" Before you could get an answer, Hop looked up and around the cabin. He waved his hand at you to shut you up and then beckoned you towards him. You looked up at him questioningly and he shrugged his shoulders. You watched as he got up from his seat and grab his things, you following close behind. The train had come into a station and all the passengers were beginning to shuffle themselves off. As Hop was on his way out, you reached your hand out to grab his, making sure the two of you wouldn't get separated.

You pulled your headphones back just enough to expose one ear so you could talk to Hop. "We can't be here already, can we?"

"Nah, we shouldn't be getting off until the next stop," Hop said as he led the two of you off the train. "But you missed it, there was an announcement that the train will be delayed. Somethin' about a bunch of Wooloo on the track." You giggled at that as the two of you stepped off into the station. You both looked around, trying to find a map to tell where you were.

"No way!" Hop grinned excitedly as the two of you studied the map on the wall of the station.

"Where are we?" You asked, tugging at his hand like a child.

"Billie, this is brilliant! We're in the wild area!" He looked over at the confused look you were giving him and laughed. "This place is massive! There are loads of Pokemon to catch and battle here! Don't you get it? This is the best possible place to put together the greatest team!" When he said that, something lit up in your eyes.

Both of you hurried out of the station. Once outside, the sunlight streamed down in pillars through the trees. Hop, still holding tightly onto your hand, dragged you away from the station to the top of a small hill, where you could overlook a good portion of the area. It really was as massive as he said it was. Forests and lakes as far as you could see. You saw clusters of Pokemon in the grass, some you'd never seen before, just moving about in perfect harmony with nature. Your mind was racing about the possibility of this area. You could catch so much! You had to think of what kind of team to put together. A strong team. You had a couple of Pokemon in mind, but some you weren't sure were even in this area. You had a lot of exploring to do.

"Billie, look that way," Hop pointed off into the distance. You could see a large stone wall and entrance on the other side of the area. It looked pretty far, but you could make out some shapes of buildings and a clocktower there as well. "That's Motostoke, way off that way! And between here and there are countless new Pokemon waiting to be met!" Hop grinned at you and let go of your hand to clench his fists. He looked so excited, and your stomach felt like it was doing backflips as you grinned.

You just barely heard the soft footsteps behind you as the music still played from your headphones. You took them off and hung them around your neck and looked behind you to see none other than Sonia striding up with a smile.

"Oh, hello," Hop said cheerily.

She gave a grin and then a sigh before playing with a piece of her hair. "My gran gave me a proper earful, in her own way... "Those two young Trainers are setting out on a journey, but what are you doing with your life?""

"She sounds like my mom." You snorted, earning another cute smile from Sonia.

"Ah... Never you mind that now! Nothing you lot ought to worry yourselves over! Besides, I'd been quite curious about that Pokemon you two met in the forest. I'd been thinking I should look into it, so the timing works out fine! If I discover something really huge, then maybe even Gran'll admit I've got some talent!"

"Yikes, sounds rough," Hop said, tilting his head and crossing his arms.

"I think you have talent." You said, raising your hand into the air.

Sonia laughed again. "I'm glad to be on the road. Really! It's been ages. It'll be great fun to fish and camp and rough it outside again."

"Well, you two can stay and chat," Hop said, beginning to look excited again. "I'm off to go stick my head in as many of those red glowing dens as I can find. I'm going to battle the snot out of a bunch of Dynamax Pokemon and fill in another page in the tale of my legend!" Before Hop had a chance to turn and run, Sonia caught the back of his jacket and kept him from running away.

"What cheek you got! Dynamax Pokemon are really on another level, you know!" She scolded.

"I know that! I also know I'm ready for'em!" Hop struggled against her grip, and when she let go, he almost fell over.

"Well you're not going anywhere until I give you both a little something," Sonia said and then held out her hands. "Let me get a look at your Pokedex. You're gonna be catching quite a lot out here, and I wanna make it so you can use the Pokemon Box out on the road. It'll be a lifesaver for sure." With that, Hop more than happily handed over his Rotom phone, and so did you. Sonia tapped away on Hop's first before working on yours, and when she looked at the screen, her face split into a huge grin.

"Well don't you lot look right adorable!" Sonia said. You had forgotten you had changed your phone background to the photo of you, Hop, and Leon. You blushed slightly as Sonia laughed. "Aw, little Hopscotch, you look just like your older brother." Sonia pinched Hop's cheek and he wildly batted at her hands to get her away from him.

"Hopscotch?" You laughed as Hop crossed his arms, his face going a deep red in his embarrassment.

"Here you both are." Sonia finally said as she handed you back your phones.

"Alright, Billie, you see that weird tree over there?" Hop pointed it out to you, about half a ways through the field over to Motostoke. "I'm gonna go catch as many Pokemon as I can, but let's meet up there later at sundown, alright?"

"Got it." You nodded.

"There's two days until the opening ceremonies," Sonia said. "Make it to town before then and you'll be fine. There's a hotel for Gym Challengers with rooms waiting for you both. Until then, you both have your fun." Sonia winked at you, and you felt your face grow hot. Like a flash, Hop was off running towards his adventure.

"Thanks, Sonia!" You called to her as you ran down your own path.

~

It was almost sundown, but there was absolutely no way you were giving up yet. You had spent the entire day hunting for all different types of Pokemon. You had filled quite a bit of your Pokedex, catching as many different species as you could. But for the most part, you had been on the lookout for one Pokemon in particular. Gastly. You had found a whole den of them, and as you tried to catch one, you were overpowered. They were far too strong for you to catch, as you and Sobble had the snot kicked out of you multiple times as you tried to catch one.

So, here you were, hiding behind a fallen tree as you scoped out a bunch of Gastly floating around. You had tried to find one that didn't look quite as strong as the others. You wanted the strong Pokemon, but right now, you'd settle for what you were able to catch. Both you and Sobble were peering just over the log, scanning the area for any opening you could find. Finally, you saw one. You glanced over at Sobble to see if he was ready, and like a determined little baby, he gave you a nod.

At once, you both sprang up from your hiding place and lunged at the Gastly, taking it by surprise. "Sobble, water pulse!" You called, and Sobble shot a savage attack at the Gastly. Its eyes went wide as it got hit and fell to the ground. It was completely taken by surprise, and you used that moment to throw a Pokeball, capturing it within. To make sure this one wouldn't break out, you lept on top of the Pokeball, holding it closed with your hands until it stopped shaking. Once you heard the little click of the ball, you let out a sigh of relief. Sobble jumped onto your shoulder, nuzzling his face against you happily as you managed successfully to catch the Pokemon you had been hunting for so long. You held up one finger to Sobble, and he gave you the tiniest little high five.

You stood up, brushing the dust off your clothes and let Gastly out of his Pokeball, smiling at him. "Welcome to the team, Gastly! Now that you're here, the real training can begin!" You grinned. In response, though, all you got was the most appalling look you had ever seen. Almost as if he had been personally offended that you had captured him. "What? Don't you give me that look, I caught you." You held your finger up to the Pokemon, who then squinted his eyes angrily at you.

You were about to say something else, but then you heard the grass rustling behind you. Slowly you turned, seeing a whole horde of Gastly and Duskull behind you, looking angry. Sobble made a small noise of fear, and you quickly returned both him and a now smirking Gastly to their Pokeballs. You took off running before the Pokemon could descend upon you.

~

By the time you found Hop, it was night and the stars were already out in full. Hop had his camp set up, a fire going, and a pot of food that he was cooking. He stood next to Sonia, who already had her tent set up as well, and she was teaching him how to cook curry. You could smell the food as you walked up, your stomach grumbling painfully. When you walked into the light of the fire, your knees felt weak and a line of drool fell from your mouth.

"You gonna share?" You asked, and the two of them looked up at you.

"Billie! 'Bout time you made it!" Hop called to you as he ran over. He held up his fist for you to bump your own against, and then he looked you up and down. "You look like arse!"

"I feel like ass." You sighed, dropping your bag off your shoulders and sitting down on the ground right there. You were covered in dirt, mud, scratches, and blisters. You had a small twig stuck in your hair that Hop tried to pull out, but it was tangled. You yelped in pain and tried to push him away, but he kept fussing with it, trying to pull the twig out of your hair. He pulled at it a couple more times, causing tears to prickle up out of the corners of your eyes, and then it broke free. He held the stick up with a smile, then saw that it had strands of your hair still attached. He looked down at you and the angry face you made, rubbing the raw spot on your head. He simply shrugged and tossed the twig to the ground and walked back to Sonia.

"We thought you weren't ever gonna make it." Sonia smiled happily at you as she kept her eye on the cooking. Her Yamper then ran up and jumped into your lap, licking at your face. You grinned and pet the small Pokemon, excitement building back up in you.

"Hop, check this out!" You picked Yamper up off of you and plopped it onto the ground. You stood up and fished for your Pokeball, and then tossed it, releasing Gastly for the others to see. "I finally caught one! I'm so excited."

"Oh wow!" Sonia exclaimed. "Those are pretty tough to catch. Usually, most rainers need a badge or two to be able to get their hands on one of those."

"I'm just that good." You placed our hand on your chest and looked at Sonia with all the false confidence you could muster. You turned to Gastly, who was giving you a highly skeptical look and then rolled his eyes.

"Why are you so worked up over a Gastly?" Hop asked.

"Because this guy here is going to be my secret weapon." You gave Hop a sly grin as you placed a hand on top of Gastly. In defiance, Gastly turned his body incorporeal, causing your hand to go right through him and almost make you fall over. You cleared your throat, trying to regain yourself. "When people go up against Leon, when they fight his Charizard, everyone is trying to use water types. Now, I considered that when I picked Sobble, but that's not who I'm gonna use when I fight Leon. Because, this guy here, he can learn electric type moves. 'Oh, but Billie, why don't you just use Pikachu?' I hear you asking." You pointed towards Hop, who gave you a flat look. "But did you know that Charizard can also learn ground and rock type moves?"

"Yes." Hop said as he crossed his arms.

"But!" You threw your hands into the air. "If I put an electric type move on Gasly, here, there's almost a zero percent chance of Leon having a super effective move against him. True, moves of a different typing aren't as strong as if that Pokemon were that type, to begin with... But still, if I train hard enough then we can probably take down Charizard with one hit! And after that, Leon's team will be a breeze to get through." You crossed your arms and looked at Hop with a satisfied smirk.

"Sounds like you really know what you're talking about!" Sonia spoke up as she walked over and handed you a plate of curry. You took it happily, your mouth watering as you smelled the delicious food.

"Yeah, if you can even make it to Lee!" Hop spoke up excitedly, taking a plate of his own food. He shoved a spoonful of food into his mouth and began talking with his mouth full. "We both know that I'm going to be the one to make it to Lee in the finals!"

"You wish!" You yelled back at Hop, your mouth also full of food.

"Would you two stop bein' gross and chew with your mouths closed, please?" Sonia yelled at you as you almost spit on her. She dropped her face into her hands and grumbled. "You two're practically adults and yet I'm the only real adult here."

Eventually, everything began to settle down and you let Sobble out so you can feed both him and Gastly as well. Hop and Sonia were sitting together as she talked to him about Pokemon, giving him advice and teaching him all the other things the Pokedex could do. Meanwhile, you sat with Sobble, playing with him with a small feather toy. Sobble was jumping at the toy enthusiastically, trying to attack it with all his tiny might.

You looked over at Gastly, who was staring off into the night, not wanting anything to do with you. You took the feather toy and waved it in his direction, the small bell on the toy jingling softly. Gastly didn't bother looking your way, and Sobble was still trying to get to the toy, so you simply shrugged. You continued waving the feather toy around for Sobble, but with your other hand, you grabbed a small rubber ball from your bag. You squeezed it in your hand, causing it to squeak softly. You didn't look up, keeping your eyes focused down, but you knew that Gastly turned around when he heard the squeak.

You casually tossed the ball, it didn't land too far, but it rolled off into some grass and you couldn't see where it went. Gastly was hesitant at first, not wanting to play games, but also really wanting to get that ball... He made sure you weren't looking as he drifted off into the grass and grabbing the ball. Gastly floated near the ground and chewed on the ball, squeaking it repeatedly. You glanced up for a quick moment and smiled, seeing how happy the Pokemon was with the toy. You looked back down to Sobble, who tried shooting his lizard-like tongue at the toy and getting stuck. You tried to untangle Sobble from the toy, breaking his sticky tongue free from the feather, and then you heard the squeak from the rubber ball much closer now.

You glanced over to see Gastly floating up close to you. He had the ball in his mouth and then dropped it onto the ground. He stared at you intently for a moment, and with slow movements, you reached over to grab it. He looked up at you expectantly, and then you chucked the ball even further this time. Before it even hit the ground, he was off, chasing after it and attacking the ball as it bounced on the ground. You couldn't help but smile as your new Pokemon was having fun. You would continue playing with your Pokemon like that for a while before it was time to go to bed.

As you were setting up your tent, you looked back and saw Hop walking up to you. "So, Billie, have you Dynamaxed your Pokemon yet?" He asked, his hands in his pockets.

You stood up and brushed yourself off. "Not yet. I was kinda afraid to, honestly." You pushed your hair back behind your ear and looked down at the ground.

"No way!" Hop exclaimed. "It's super cool! You gotta try it, Billie!" Hop brought his hands behind his head and smiled. "Tomorrow, you, me, and Sonia will go raid one of those dens. I wanna see what Dynamax Sobble looks like!"

You couldn't help but smile as you looked down at Sobble who was sitting on the ground nearby. You couldn't imagine tiny Sobble as something as gigantic as Leon's Charizard when you watch them on TV. You laughed at the thought, and Sobble looked back at you, rather confused. Hop's phone began to buzz, and his Rotom phone floated up on out of his pocket and into his hands.

"Hey, Lee's texting me to check in and see how we're doing," Hop said as he started tapping away at his phone.

You let out a sharp gasp that made Hop jump. "We should all take a picture and make faces, and tell him how much fun we're having without him."

"Yes!" Hop exclaimed while laughing.

Sonia, who was nearby, walked over. "Hey, I want in on this!" She grinned and you all huddled together. You picked up Sobble and put him on top of your head. The three of you all made funny faces and rude gestures towards the camera as Hop's phone took the picture. When he grabbed his phone and turned it around to show you, Sonia nearly fell over from how much she was laughing, and you along with her. Hop sent the picture right away, also sending a text soon after that you were all having the time of your lives without him. You can only imagine the look on Leon's face when he got that text.

~

While Sonia and Hop were still laughing at your little joke when they went back to their tents, you had suddenly grown somber. You sat in your tent, Sobble sitting in your lap and Gastly floating nearby. The rush of excitement you had gotten from your adventure was starting to wear off, and you looked down at the Pokemon and took a deep, shaky breath. The sounds of all the Pokemon in the world around you echoed around your tent, but you didn't bother drowning it out with music, not this time.

"Did I tell you that my dad used to be a Pokemon Trainer too?" You spoke quietly to your Pokemon. You didn't want Hop or Sonia to hear you right now, so you made sure to keep your voice low. Sobble tilted his head up at you and stared at you with big eyes. You knew he couldn't understand you, but you knew he could feel your emotions.

"I never thought I'd be like him when I grew up..." You hugged Sobble in closer to your chest, feeling sadness begin to overpower you. And then, your walls came back up. Over the years you had kept yourself from feeling sad by feeling... Nothing at all. You looked down at Sobble, feeling an emptiness in the pit of your stomach that you hated so much.

"Can you do me a favor?" You spoke in just a whisper now. "Can you cry again? Please..." You were so tired of feeling nothing, you wanted something, even if it was sadness. Almost as if he understood your every word, Sobble began tearing up. As soon as he did, you felt yourself do so as well. In almost no time at all, you could feel yourself be hit with wave after wave of sadness as the tears started coming and didn't stop.

You held onto Sobble for dear life, trying to keep your sobs quiet as not to wake anyone else. You cried longer and harder than you had in years, finally giving yourself what you needed. Peace.

Chapter Text

In the morning you were awoken by the sounds of pots and pans banging together. You shot up quickly, Sobble tumbling off your chest and onto the floor of your tent. You rubbed your eyes, feeling them sting. You must have cried yourself to sleep the night before. Your body felt stiff and your head hurt. You didn't want to leave your tent, but Sonia was making a racket.

"Wake up, you two! Morning is here!" You heard Sonia chant from the outside of your tent. You wanted to yell at her for waking you up so early, but then you could smell the food she was cooking. You heard sizzling of something on the fire, and your stomach grumbled. Alright, maybe she could be forgiven just this once. You crawled out of your tent, rubbing your back as it was hurting from sleeping on the ground. Hop was slowly waking up as well, and he came up to you, leaning his head on your shoulder and closing his eyes.

"I'm just gonna go back to sleep..." Hop mumbled as he was leaning on you. You pushed him off, almost making him fall face-first onto the ground.

"You alright there, Billie?" Sonia came up to you with a concerned expression and bent down to get a better look at your face.

You hated the way you looked when you cried. Your face would get puffy, but even worse, your eyes would get terribly bloodshot. That, matched with the shining silver of your eyes, made you look like some sort of ghost. You waved her off, turning your face so she couldn't look at you.

"I'm fine. I'm just allergic to little brothers." You spat an insult at Hop, hoping Sonia would just laugh it off.

"Brother?" Sonia tilted her head. "Here I thought you two were a thing the way you were holdin' hands before!"

"Gross!" Hop exclaimed, taking a step away from you.

"Wow, Sonia, you were spying on us?" You crossed your arms and raised your eyebrows, trying to look as accusing as you could.

"I was not!" She said defensively, holding her cooking spoon up in the air. "Alright, fine you two. Just come get some breakfast."

"Besides," Hop said as he helped himself to most of the food. "Billie can't like me, she's too in love with Lee." He made a grossed out face at you.

"Hop, I swear to Arceus I will stab you." You glared at him, holding up a spoon and pointed it at his face.

Sonia rolled her eyes. "What girl isn't in love with our champion?"

"You, apparently?" You asked with a mouth full of food.

"Nope. I've already got someone, I don't need to go falling all over him."

"And let me guess, he's nothing like Leon?" You asked.

"No, she's not." Sonia gave you a sly smile and winked. You could feel your face grow hot at that.

"Hey Sonia," Hop spoke up as he was finishing off his food. "Let's help Billie with a Dynamax raid today. She hasn't done one yet!"

"Well, we should have some time for that today." Sonia started packing her things and taking down her tent after she was finished eating. Her Yamper was 'helping' by running away with the tentpoles. "Remember, the two of you have rooms reserved just down the road from the gym in Motostoke. As long as you make it there before 8 o'clock tonight, you should be fine."

"Can probably catch a few more Pokemon before then." You mumbled to yourself as you started breaking down your own tent. Absentmindedly, you slipped on your headphones and started playing some loud music. The sounds of everybody moving around was starting to get to you and you needed something to drown it out.

As you were moving about and packing up your things, you completely missed the conversation Sonia and Hop were having without you.

"So, Billie, there's a Dynamax den nearby, I think we can-" Sonia was talking to you, but when she looked your way, she saw you putting your stuff away with your headphones on. Hop looked over and saw Sonia looking confused. He simply pointed to his ears and shrugged. "Oh come on," She complained. "Why would you be listening to music when you can enjoy the beautiful sounds of nature!"

"It's, like, a thing for her," Hop answered on your behalf as you were totally unaware of what they were talking about. "Too many sounds fry her brain and it makes it hard for her to pay attention."

"If she has hearing issues then why listen to music that loud?" Sonia asked.

"Well, it's not how loud it is... It's usually how much sound there is. Like, once she told me that she can't go out to eat at restaurants because of the sound of everybody's forks hitting plates. And so many people talking at once. It just fries her brain, you know?" Hop shrugged again. Sonia gave him a thoughtful look as she tried to process this information about you. She turned and stared at you for a moment, watching as you finished putting away your things and tossing your bag onto your back. You bent down to pick up Sobble, holding him in your arms as he wrapped his tiny hand around your finger. You noticed Sonia staring at you out of the corner of your eye and looked over. When you did, she smiled.

"Everything okay?" You asked her. She was about to say something but realized you still had your headphones on and stopped herself. "It's okay," You said. "I can read your lips, it's alright."

"You ready to go raid one of those Pokemon dens?" Sonia asked, instinctively raising her voice. The idea of it excited you, and you nodded to her with a smile.

~

You stood, hands on your knees, bending down with your face directly in front of the red, glowing nest.

"Careful there!" Sonia called to you as she caught up to you and Hop, who both ran ahead. "There's a powerful Pokemon in there. You don't want it Dynamaxing right in your face."

"How does it even work?" You ask, still peering into the darkness of the den.

"We don't know." Said Sonia. "We're still trying to do research on it, but most of the mysteries of Dynamaxing remain undiscovered."

"You ready?" Hop asked, looking at you excitedly. You looked up at him and gave him a nod. Hop simply kicked his foot against the den, and then you heard a loud cry.

The ground began rumbling under your feet and Hop grabbed your arm. He pulled you far back away from the den, and the three of you watched as a gigantic Pokemon emerged. As the ground began shaking more violently, you saw red clouds building up overhead and giving an eerie glow to the land around you. Out from the den, the Pokemon grew larger and larger in size, until you were staring wide-eyed at the most frightening thing you had ever seen.

A 50 foot Togepi.

"A Togepi!" Sonia gasped and clasped her hands to her face. "I need one for my research! Mind if I catch it?"

"It's all yours!" Hop yelled to her, as the wind around the area began picking up, making it hard to hear anything.

"Holy shit!" You called out, still not believing what you were seeing.

"Billie! Dynamax your Pokemon, it's all you!" Hop gave you a thumbs up and a wink.

You grabbed Sobble's Pokeball and looked at it with determination. You pressed a button on the cuff on your wrist, and the Pokeball in your hand began to grow in size. You held it tight, the giant ball, and took a deep breath before throwing it behind yourself as hard as you could. In your amazement, you watched as the Pokeball opened, and a blinding light shown as Sobble emerged, growing bigger, bigger, bigger in size until he became even larger than the Togepi. Sobble let out his cry, making the ground shake yet again.

"Big!" Was all you could say as you stood there, arms in the air, staring at your baby that was now the size of a building.

"Come on, Billie, let's do this!" Hop said excitedly. He let Wooloo out of its Pokeball and Sonia brought out her Yamper. The three of you stood, staring down the opponent, ready to take it on.

"Sobble attack!" You pointed at the giant Togepi, and once more the ground rumbled as Sobble readied himself. He shot a vicious blast of water, knocking the other Pokemon back. The attack was so powerful that it actually started to rain now, and water quickly soaked all of you.

Yamper leaped forward, taking the rain in stride and using an electric attack. The rain made it more powerful, and the Togepi was staggered for a moment. Hop took this opportunity to attack as well, his Wooloo tackling it. The Togepi regained itself as fast as it could, and in retaliation, it waved its short arms in the air. Almost instantly, the rain stopped and was replaced by a vicious sandstorm. You could barely keep your eyes open as the wind whipped past you. You covered your eyes, trying to shield them the best you could.

"Sobble, hit it again, get rid of this sandstorm!" You yelled at the top of your lungs, hoping that Sobble could still hear you. And he could. He readied another attack, stronger this time, and hit the Togepi dead on. The rain mixed with the dirt and sand in the air, causing mud to come flying down on all of you every which way. The Togepi was stunned, falling backward.

Sonia tapped at the buttons on her own bracelet, causing a Pokeball in her hands to grow large in size. She threw it as hard as she could at the Pokemon, and the ball opened and captured the creature. It fell to the ground, cracking open the earth beneath it. The three of you stood watching with bated breath as the ball shook. Once. Twice. Three times. With another flash of light, it shrunk down to the size of a normal Pokeball and clicked. Togepi was caught.

"Yes!" Sonia jumped into the air in joy. Soon the red glow around the area lightened, and the clouds overhead cleared.

Sobble shrunk down to his normal size and came running up to you as fast as his little legs could take him. "Sobble!" You cried and scooped him up into your arms. You held him close, cuddling him to your face and grinned. "Sobble that was amazing! You were so big! You're the strongest Pokemon ever!" It was still raining even after the battle, and Sobble looked like he couldn't have been happier.

Sobble let out small cries of happiness from your praise, and then he stopped. You looked down at him curiously, and as he looked up at you with his big eyes, his entire body began to glow. In a panic, you placed him down onto the ground and backed up a bit. Sonia and Hop ran up to your side, watching the transformation with you. Sobble let out a small cry as it glowed, the light changing and shifting in shape, and then the cry got louder. As the light started to fade, you saw that Sobble had grown in size and... Wasn't a sobble anymore.

"That's amazing!" Sonia said, taking out her phone and snapping a picture. Your Pokemon now stood in front of you, more than double in size, looking at you curiously.

"Baby!" You leaped forward with tears in your eyes, hugging your Pokemon close. "You evolved! You're so big now!"

"Hey, how'd your Sobble evolve so quick?" Hop crossed his arms, sounding miffed, but still smiling as he was happy for you.

"Because I'm better than you." You stuck your tongue out at Hop and then grabbed your phone. Your Rotom phone opened up its Pokedex and you looked at the information, realizing that Sobble has now evolved into Drizzile. You gasped. "I should show Leon!" Quickly you scooped up Drizzile into your arm and held him in your lap as your phone floated in front of you, snapping a picture of the two of you. You looked like shit, absolutely. You were covered in mud and soaked through, but you didn't care. Your Pokemon evolved! You quickly tapped at your phone, sending a quick text to Leon along with the picture about how happy you were right then. Hop started snickering at you, and in response, you slapped him in the elbow.

~

"Thanks, Charizard, I don't think I'd ever be able to find my way around without you." Leon smiled at his Pokemon and placed a hand on his nose as the Charizard growled happily.

Leon was standing at the entrance to the town of Motostoke. The opening ceremonies of the Gym Challenge were about to begin and he had to be there. But most importantly he wanted to be there to support his brother. And you. Leon waved to all the people he passed by that called his name. He was used to being recognized wherever he went, and it didn't help that he always wore his cape. But, he liked the attention. He had been the champion for over 10 years now. This was his whole life.

"Hey there, Champ!" Leon recognized that voice. The sarcasm laced in his words told Leon it could only be one person.

"Raihan!" Leon called over to his best friend who was standing out in front of the gym waiting for him. Leon's Charizard flew up first, nudging his head into Raihan's hand for pets. Raihan gladly gave them, and when Leon walked up, he grasped his hand firmly.

"It's about time you showed up," Raihan said with a smirk. "Was beginning to think you got your ass lost again."

"You know I wouldn't miss this for the world, Raihan. Especially since now Hop is competing."

As the two of them greeted each other, people began to gather around the two celebrities and started asking for pictures. Of course, the two of them had to pose for a couple, but when more and more people started showing up, Raihan grabbed Leon by the collar of his cape and pulled him inside the gym. Inside there were more people who were happy to see them. They both hammed it up, taking more pictures and signing autographs.

It was a while before they made it into one of the locker rooms. It was empty, as the ceremony wasn't starting until the next night, but it gave the two the privacy they needed. As soon as Raihan shut the door behind the two men, he flipped the lock closed, and then descended upon Leon. Raihan grabbed Leon by the waist and pulled him in close. He then crashed his lips down into Leon's pulling a moan out of him as we did so.

For just a moment, Leon melted into Raihan's kiss before putting his hands on Raihan's chest and pushing him away. "Hey... I thought we agreed to stop doing this." Leon said in a hushed voice, his face growing more and more into a dark shade of red.

"Hm, I was just hoping you'd be a little nostalgic." Raihan teased. "Its been a while since we had fun alone in a locker room like this."

"Yeah..." Leon rubbed the back of his neck, the memories of him and Raihan suddenly coming back to him.

"When you messaged me earlier, you said you wanted to talk," Raihan spoke, letting up off of the overly flustered Leon. He sat down on one of the benches and took out his phone, flipping through some photos he had taken earlier.

"Yes, it's about Hop." Leon took a moment to regain his composure before taking a seat next to Raihan. "He's going through the Gym Challenge this year, finally. I know he's ready, but... I can't help but worry for him. You know?"

"He's not a kid anymore, Leon." Raihan actually put his phone down, resting it on the bench beside him. He leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees. "He's way older than you were when you first set out. He'll be fine."

"I know," Leon crossed his arms and stared at a spot on the floor. "But, if you could just keep an eye on him..." Raihan gave him a sidelong glance and he stopped. Leon took a long breath and continued. "He has a friend he's traveling with too."

"You mentioned him. What's his name, Bill?"

"Billie," Leon corrected and pulled out his phone. He brought up the picture of you, Hop, and Sonia that Hop had sent to his brother the night before. "That's her." He pointed to you.

"The one with the Sobble on her head giving you two middle fingers?" Raihan asked, a smirk creeping onto his face.

"Yup. She's strong, too. I watched her beat Hop twice in battle. The first time was her first Pokemon battle. Ever."

"That's the daughter of the Pokemon professor that moved here a while back." Raihan sat up and snatched the phone out of Leon's hand. He studied your face close for a moment. "Professor Holly, from Unova. I met her once, actually. Shortly after our Gym Challenge, after you became champion, I went over there for a couple months."

"I remember."

"I met with your cousin and stopped off at the trainer school. That's where I met Professor Holly. I met Billie there too, but she was really young, I doubt she even remembers. Crap, I can't believe I remember her from way back then." Raihan handed Leon back his phone and grabbed his own again, looking for something.

"Hop told me her father died shortly before she moved here." Leon looked back down at his phone, looking between you and his brother. "The two of them bonded over than. Since our dad is gone too."

"Yeah..." Raihan said, only half-listening. "Fuck, I knew it." He held his phone up to Leon triumphantly. "She follows me Siniste-gram." He leaned in until he was shoulder to shoulder with Leon, scrolling through all the pictures you had posted over the years. There were a couple of you and Hop together, hanging out, having a great time. There were more pictures of Hop's Wooloo, though, than there were of him. Raihan stopped at one picture, of you standing in front of the TV, pointing at Leon who was in the middle of a fierce battle. You had captioned the photo, 'Just a pic of me and my husband. (Don't tell Hop)' Raihan almost lost his shit laughing and Leon's face went bright red. That was until Raihan swiped to another picture, one with you standing in front of the TV, pointing to a picture of Raihan this time captioned, 'Me and my other husband. (Don't tell Leon.)'

This time, Raihan fell off the bench laughing. "Alright, I think we're done," Leon said, clearing his throat.

"I'm gonna follow her," Raihan said, still laughing as he picked himself up off the floor.

"Don't you dare." Leon tried to grab the phone from him, but Raihan put his hand on Leon's face to keep him away. As the two were struggling with one another, Leon's phone went off.

He stopped what he was doing and looked at his phone curiously. It was a text from you. Your name flashed to life on his screen, 'Billie (Hop's cute friend)' and he couldn't pull his phone away in time before Raihan could look over and see. Raihan gave Leon the most shit-eating grin.

"Stop," Leon ordered.

"What? I agree with you, she has gotten cuter over the years." Raihan shrugged. He kept glancing at Leon's phone as he opened the message. It was the picture you sent.

When he opened the picture he couldn't help but smile as he saw you, covered in mud, holding your newly evolved Pokemon in your lap.

"Wait, isn't that one of the Pokemon you were going to give to your brother?" Raihan asked, leaning on Leon's shoulder now.

"Yes, I gave him three to choose from. Hop kept telling me about his friend, so I decided to gift one to her as well. He was nice enough to let her have first pick. I can't believe her Sobble evolved already, she hasn't even started the Gym Challenge yet."

"Maybe she's stronger than we all thought she was."

"I guess so."

"Then you should have nothing to worry about!" Raihan stretched his arms, letting one rest over Leon's shoulders. "Our girl Billie will take care of Hop. He's in good hands." Leon looked up at Raihan for a moment, thinking hard. Then another text came through from you.

"Hey Leon, I just wanted to say thanks again for everything you've done for me. I just hope I can keep up with Hop and make you proud! I won't waste this opportunity, I promise!"

Leon smiled wide at your text. He got ready to reply but didn't quite know what to say. He tried typing a few things out but ended up deleting them all. He thought for a moment about what to say, and as he read your text over again, he couldn't help but crack another smile. Of course, he noticed Raihan staring at him with wide eyes.

"What?" Leon asked, defensively. 

"Oh you've got it bad for our girl Billie, don't you?" Raihan's smile was dangerously wide, his smirk wide enough to bear his fangs. "From that look on your face, I'd say that's a yes." Leon's face flushed dark, and Raihan captured his chin into his hand. He pulled Leon's face closer to his. "How old is she even, anyway?"

"Stop," Leon said with more certainty now as he pushed Raihan's hands off of him. "If you have to know, she's 18." Raihan gave Leon a shit-eating grin since Leon just so happened to have that information offhand. "But it doesn't matter. Because I'm not going to do anything about it."

"I dunno, dude, I think she likes you," Raihan pulled up that photo again that you posted, standing in front of Leon on TV and calling him your husband. Leon simply pushed Raihan's phone away.

"The only thing that means is that if she has any feelings for me, it's for my fame. Not for me." Leon had a hard look in his eye that Raihan recognized, and his shoulders slumped.

"Here," Raihan reached over and grabbed Leon's hand that was holding his phone. He held it up for Leon to re-read the message you had sent him. "From what it looks like, she sounds genuine to me. What have you got to lose?"

"Nothing, but if it goes wrong, it could ruin her friendship with Hop."

"Oh yeah." They both stared at the phone for a while, before Leon dropped his head into his hand.

"What do I even say to her?" He said through a heavy sigh. "She says she wants to make me proud, but...

"Well, are you?"

"Of course I am. Look at how well she's raising her Pokemon." He once again pulled up that picture of you and Drizzile.

"Then tell her," Raihan shrugged. Leon looked back and forth from Raihan to his phone and then sighed once again.

~

Hop had run ahead once again. He always leads the way for you. Sonia went ahead too to the town of Motostoke. As much as she missed roughing it out in the wilderness, the thought of a nice, warm, hotel room was too good to pass up for her. You lagged behind, taking your time catching Pokemon and training up your team members a little bit more. You let Drizzile walk next to you, him scuttering around on all fours, as he had now become too heavy to sit on your shoulder. Gastly floated along behind as well, slowly starting to build his trust in you.

"You know, I've never been to Motostoke before. I wonder what it's like." You talked to your Pokemon as if they could understand you, even though you knew they couldn't. You had your headphones on again, playing the newest song you'd become obsessed with, written and sung by one of Galar's own gym leaders. You wondered if you'd make it far enough to meet him. You looked forward to that.

In a sudden burst of happiness from the excitement of your adventure, you started singing as you walked. You sang along to the song, moving your hips along the way. Your Pokemon looked at you as if you lost your mind, but you didn't care. Eventually, they got used to the sound of your voice, and Drizzile let out small cries as if to sing with you. You grinned down at him and pulled your headphones away form just one ear. The two of you 'sang' together, but it was more of just making noise to the sound of the music on Drizzile's end.

You stopped when you felt your phone buzz. You pulled it out and realized that Leon had texted you back! You bit your lip and your heart rate picked up a bit as you opened the message.

"Congrats, Billie! I'm amazed your Pokemon is evolved already. You're a much stronger trainer than I thought you were. You're exceeding all of my expectations of you. I look forward to battling you one day! ;)"

You didn't know that Raihan stole Leon's phone and added in the winking face himself, but even if you did you probably wouldn't care. Your heart was racing and you read it over and over again. You then turned your phone around to show Drizzile the screen.

"Look at this! Do you think he likes me?" You asked your Pokemon. Drizzile stared up at you with heavy eyelids, completely quiet. You brought your phone back to your chest and sighed. "You're right, probably not. It's a nice thought, though." You then let your Rotom phone float out in front of you. You posed for another picture with Drizzile and Gastly, giving a wink and a smirk. You sent it to Leon with the caption:

"Be ready, 'cause we're coming for you."

Chapter Text

You stood at the base of the steps of Motostoke. It was starting to get dark out so you said goodnight to the wild area and headed off. As you stared upwards at the mouth of the large city, you felt a small amount of dread tingle up your spine.

"I never liked big cities." You said out loud. The only ones around to hear you were Drizzile and Gastly, but you talked to them all the same. "I used to live in a big city, actually. But that was a long time ago. Since I've been living here in Galar, I've gotten used to the quiet little town where I come from. I kinda don't ever wanna go back..." Pokemon adventures could get a bit lonely at times, with how long some people were out on the road all alone. Though you considered that talking to your Pokemon would help build up trust. Mom always told you that the more time you spent with them, the more they trusted and loved you, so you would do what you could.

By the time you made it up all those steps, your legs were hurting, but you were too distracted from the pain by all the sound. People were everywhere, running around, talking, laughing, yelling. You didn't know if this was normal for this city or it was because of the Gym Challenge, but either way, you hated it. You slipped your headphones back onto your head and blasted music into your ears. It downed out the sounds around you and gave you something to focus on.

As soon as you kept your ears busy, your eyes went to work. You scanned the area, the faces of everyone around, hoping to see Hop in the crowd. You were sure you wouldn't run into him just yet. Maybe you should call him... You spotted a Pokemon center not too far off in the distance and headed that way. As you maneuvered through the people, you became worried about your Pokemon getting lost, so you brought them both back into their Pokeballs for the time being.

In and out of the Pokemon center, you made your way to the heart of the city. You were able to orient yourself by looking up at the large clock tower in the center of the city. You wondered if even Leon still managed to get lost here. One scarily fast trip up the lift to the upper district, and there you saw him.

Hop was waiting just outside the gym, tapping away at his phone. You called his name, hoping he would hear you over all the noise everyone was making. He turned around and looked confused for a moment, but grinned when he saw you approach.

"Took ya long enough to get here!" Hop laughed as he put his phone away. "I've been waitin' on you so we can sign in for the gym challenge together!"

"Aw, Hop, that's so sweet of you. I'm gonna barf!" You said with a grin.

"Barf later, let's go." He grabbed your sleeve and pulled you in after him. "Come on, Billie. It's time the world learned out names!"

Inside was huge. There were lights everywhere, and TVs with screens that showed past Gym Challengers during their matches. There were so many people, all Gym Challengers themselves, all rivals to you and Hop. You had never been gladder to have your headphones with you, as the number of people would probably be way too much. As you looked around the room, Hop tugged at your sleeve to pull you towards the back of the room, to the desk that people were lined up near.

Thankfully, people quickly dispersed, and that only left you and Hop, along with someone standing in front of you in a pink coat. The only reason you noticed the person standing in line just before you was because of the cologne he was wearing. It smelled awful to you, so it was probably expensive. It was deep and musky, something that didn't match at all to the person who wore it. As soon as you tried to get a good look at his face, though, he turned around.

The young man's purple eyes glazed over you for just a second before giving a second thought to you. He ran his hand through his curly, pale blond hair, and let out a low sigh. Without saying anything, he strutted off, his arm hitting Hop's shoulder, causing Hop to stumble back a bit. Hop glared at the passing man, gritting his teeth. He didn't even turn around to say something to Hop, and just kept going.

"Seriously?" Hop muttered. "What a piece of work..."

"Prick." You said under your breath so only Hop could hear.

"If you're going to register for the Gym Challenge, I'll need to see your endorsement, please." The man at the counter called to the two of you. You both quickly brushed off the encounter, the excitement of the situation coming back to you now, and fumbled around for your letters. As you passed the man the letter, he looked between you and it a couple of times before speaking.

"Fancy that... This is the first time we've had a challenger endorsed by the Champion!" He said excitedly. Hop, sliding up close next to you with his own letter, gave the man a big smirk.

"Well, now you've had two, because I am as well!"

"What?! Two of you at once?! I wonder what's come over Leon this year... The two of you must be something special."

Hop gave a big grin and put his hands on his hips, the way you've seen Leon do before. "I'm Hop! I'm Leon's little brother, in fact. And the next champion." He said that rather matter-of-factly. "Get me all signed up, would you?" He gave an overly exaggerated wink and you couldn't help but laugh.

"W-well, yes, I'm trying to... If you'll just give me a moment..." The man then typed rather hurriedly at the laptop on the desk in front of him. "Please step to the side, Mr. Hop, to take the picture of your League Card." The man motioned towards a side area where there was someone waiting with a camera. You watched as Hop almost bounced over and posed for his picture; his hands behind his head, a huge grin on his face. Hop ran back over and the man handed over his printed out League Card. Hop had a couple, so he gave one to you with a proud smile. "You're next, Ma'am." The man gestured to you.

"Ooh, ma'am." You muttered and Hop gave you another overly exaggerated wink. You stood in front of the camera, feeling shy all of a sudden. You weren't quite sure what to do, but when you saw how happy Hop looked out of the corner of your eye, you relaxed slightly. You held your hands up in balled fists and gave the readiest look you could. You skipped back over to the front desk and took your own League Card happily. You looked... Slightly awkward, but it was good enough for now. You traded Hop your own card with a confident smile.

"There! You two have been successfully registered as Gym Challengers." The man said. "You can now choose your preferred number for your uniform if you'd be so kind?" You thought for a moment. Hop already had his number chosen, so he went first. You couldn't think of anything with any real meaning, so you just chose the first number that came to you, your birthday.

"Can I do 1023?" You asked.

"Sorry, a three number maximum." He responded.

"Just 23 then, I guess." You shrugged.

The man then handed both you and Hop your challenger bands, and you were all set.

"The opening ceremony for the Gym Challenge is to be held here tomorrow. All the Trainers taking part have been booked a room at the nearby Budew Drop inn."

"Alright, Billie, I'm off to go check out those fancy digs!" Hop said, as excited as ever.

"I'll meet you!" You shouted after Hop, wondering if he even heard you as he ran away.

As Hop ran off, you decided to take your time with things. You took a step to the side, away from the desk to let other people through to sign in. It was all starting to sink in, really. You let Hop drag you into another one of his adventures, but this time, it was bigger than anything you've ever done before. You thought that the first Pokemon League you would take on would be the one back home in Unova, but Galar was starting to feel like more of a home to you now. Maybe things were turning out as they should for once...

You felt a tap on your shoulder, and you quickly turned around to see a cute goth girl in a pink dress and a black leather jacket. "You're lookin' a bit gobsmacked by all this." You read on her lips as she spoke. She was cute, about the same height as you, and a small smirk cropped up at the corner of her mouth. Her accent sounded slightly harsher than Hop's, she must be from a different part of the region. "You must be from a small country town, is that it? I'm quite the same myself."

"Yeah, you're right." You gave the girl a happy smile, and she returned it. Her eyes seemed to crinkle a bit as she smiled at you.

"I like your choice in music," She said as she pointed to your headphones. You would forget sometimes that you would play it so loud that others could hear it too.

"Oh, yea?" You pointed to your headphones as well. "It's the Gym Leader Piers' new album. It's fuckin' fire."

"Yeah, I know." She said, her smile growing wider.

Your attention was pulled away from the girl when you started seeing flashing lights out of the corner of your eye. You turned to see the people around you all begin to flood towards one corner of the building. You stood on your tiptoes to get a better look, just barely making out the brim of a snapback above the crowd. It was Leon. Of course, it was, who else would cause such a ruckus like that? You wondered if he knew you were here. Should you go say hi to him? Would you be bothering him? You realized you were chewing on your lip rather hard and you had to focus yourself to relax. You didn't actually stop chewing on your lip, though. The girl standing next to you motioned towards Leon as he became more and more visible through the slowly dispersing crowd.

"That's my best friend's brother." You said rather proudly. Not only that you knew the champion, but that you were friends with his brother, which seemed to be a feat in and of itself to you. It wasn't that Hop wasn't extremely friendly and likable, but nobody really knew him as you did. You were proud to be his friend.

"Nice. Well, I'm out, night." The girl said and threw up devil horns at you as she walked away. You held your hand up, giving her the same goodbye along with a smile. You stayed and watched Leon from a distance for a little while longer. You felt like such a creep just staring, but others were doing it too, so you didn't feel too bad.

He was cute. Really cute. And you hated that about him. The way he smiled to the kids, took pictures with people, awkwardly scratched the back of his head as he answered all of the embarrassing questions everyone kept asking him. You'd been watching him on TV for so long that it felt so different seeing him like this in person. Even though you've already gotten to know him over the past few days, he still seemed leagues away from you.

After a few more moments of creeping from a distance, you decided you had enough for one night. You felt bad for staring for so long, so you made your way through the crowd and over towards the entrance. Hop was probably waiting for you, anyway. It was about time you left. Though you almost jumped out of your skin when you felt a hand touch your shoulder. It was large, warm, and as soon as you realized who it was, comforting.

"Billie, wait up!" Leon was standing just behind you. He must have seen you leaving and ran to catch up with you. There was still a crowd of people behind him trying to get to him, but Leon seemed to be ignoring them now. You couldn't help but smile as you stared up at Leon. Your face was hot, but you were really hoping he wouldn't notice. "Let me walk you out," Leon said, though you could tell from his body language it wasn't a question. You nodded quickly and he grinned, a thankful look in his eye telling you all you needed to know.

You took a step back as Leon turned back towards the crowd of people. You couldn't tell what he was saying as he was facing away from you, but from the sad looks on the faces of the people around you, you could tell he was saying his goodbyes. Leon very dramatically gave his famous Charizard pose and people cheered. He grinned one last time and then turned, placing his hand on your back to help lead you through all the people towards the entrance.

Once outside, it had gotten quite dark, and there were a lot fewer people to overwhelm the both of you. The city was quieter now, so you felt safe enough to remove your headphones and hang them around your neck, though the music still playing softly up into your ears. Leon smiled down at you as the two of you stood just outside, the light of the streetlamp casting odd shadows, illuminating his face at odd angles. You could see he was tired, more so than you ever had before.

"Thanks for that," Leon said to you, finally taking his hand off you. "I've been stopped constantly all day."

"Sounds rough," You said, shoving your hands into your pockets. "You okay?"

"Hm?" Leon seemed genuinely confused at your question but quickly shrugged it off. "I'm fine. That's the life of the Champion for you!"

"You missed Hop," You said, not really knowing how to talk to him one-on-one. Usually, you always had Hop here with you to act as some sort of buffer, but you didn't have him right now. So, you might as well bring him up, right? You both had him in common.

"Yeah I know," Leon said and then pulled out his phone, motioning towards it. "He texted me, telling me he was here. I guess I'm a little late."

"More than a little." You said jokingly.

"Yeah, I guess." You could swear you saw a bit of color appear on his cheeks as he said that. "I'm actually late for more than just that. I'm supposed to meet some of the Gym Leaders at a restaurant to celebrate this year's Gym Challenge."

"Oh, okay. I won't keep you, then..." You were about to turn to leave, but Leon caught your arm in his large hand, stopping you in your tracks.

"Actually," He spoke quickly and let go of your arm. "The restaurant is right across the street from the hotel you'll be staying at. That's where you're headed, right? I was hoping to walk you there..." Now there was no denying it, his face was absolutely turning a dark shade of red. Yours was too, as you could feel the heat radiating off of your body.

"O-oh..." You had no idea what to say to that. You were flattered, really, but also incredibly awkward. "Thank you... I don't know my way around the city, so, thanks..." When you said that, you saw a small bit of panic shift onto his face. It took you a moment to realize what was going on. "Oh... You were hoping I would lead the way, weren't you?"

Leon's face grew entirely red all the way to his ears. "Little bit, yeah," He shyly admitted. It was odd, seeing Leon like this, but that only made you like him more. It was casual, and he was being vulnerable with you. You didn't usually see that in important people, let alone celebrities.

"You fucking asshole," You said as you slapped his arm playfully. He was a little surprised by you using such harsh language with such a laid back tone, but he smiled nonetheless. "You really expect me to show you where to go in a city I've never been to?"

"Listen, I'm sure you're still better with directions than I am." Leon soon began to relax as the two of you now took on more of a playful tone with one another. It was better this way, cut the tension. You were sure the both of you would have just died inside if things had stayed that tense the entire way there.

"Alright, hold on, I can figure this out." You said as you then pulled out your Rotom phone. You tapped on the screen quickly, pulling up the map you had on there. You searched quickly for the stadium to figure out where exactly you were, and then looked for where the hotel was. Leon was peering over your shoulder to try and look at your map as well, but he jumped back by how quickly you then whipped your head around to look at him.

"What?" He asked defensively as you gave him an almost angry snarl.

"Leon, the hotel is down the street." You said. You could see Leon swallow hard, his face getting red again, and then you couldn't hold back your laughter anymore. "Lee, you fucking egg." You said through your giggles. "You've been champion for how long? And coming here for how many years?"

"Ten years..." You heard him mumble under his breath.

"Come on," You said, trying and failing to hold back your laughter. "The hotel is this way. It's, like, a straight shot from here." Before you even realized what you were doing, you grabbed his hand and started walking. You had become so accustomed to the casual intimacy with Hop, you almost couldn't help but feel the same way around Leon. Though the feelings around him were different slightly, more intimate, as you felt differently for Leon than you did Hop. You didn't dare look at him as the both of you started walking, and you casually tried to slip your hand free... But you couldn't. Leon held onto your hand tighter, refusing to let go of you. You could swear if you were physically able to, you would have turned into a puddle and leaked right into the storm drain.

The two of you walked in silence for a few painfully awkward moments. Luckily, most of the people that had crowded the city earlier had all gone. So the two of you walked together in relative comfort knowing no one would see you. It would be a long moment before either one of you broke the silence.

"I've a question for you," Leon said after clearing his throat. "How on earth did you manage to catch a Gastly so soon? The ones in the wild area are rather strong for most new trainers."

Somehow, you felt slightly more relaxed while talking about Pokemon, and you let some of the tension released from your shoulders. "Pure determination." You said, looking up at him with a smile. "Actually, there were some that were a bit weaker than others, ones that I was actually able to lay my hands on. There are even some Pokemon dens out there where they Dynamax, and sometimes the ones you find there are super rare."

"You must have spent quite a bit of time out there training." Leon smiled down at you. He probably knew all of this already and was just humoring you with questions. You had forgotten that he was in your shoes a whole ten years prior. "During my League Challenge, I actually got lost in the Wild Area for an entire month. I already had caught my whole champion team by the time I found my way out."

"So I guess you really haven't changed much since then." You joked.

"In some ways, no."

Your Rotom phone started buzzing in your hand, alerting you that you had made it to your destination. You both stopped walking and you slipped your hand free of Leon's to grab your phone and stop the buzzing. You looked up at the large building, the top floors reaching far up into the night sky, and then you looked back towards Leon.

"It was literally, like, five steps away." You said flatly.

"Oh, I almost forgot!" Leon said, trying to steer the conversation away from himself. "I have something for you. Really, you're proving yourself to be quite the talented trainer. So, I wanted to give you a gift." From his pocket, he pulled out a necklace. You saw the silver chain shine in the light of the nearby streetlamps, and you were stunned to silence. As he handed it over, the small pendant dropping into the palm of your hand, you looked it over in detail. It was a small, teardrop-shaped pendant made out of a hard crystal material. Inside was a beautiful blue liquid that swirled around as you turned it over in your fingers.

You looked up at Leon, your eyes shining. "Oh wow... It's so beautiful-"

"It's for your Pokemon!" Leon smiled happily.

You gave him a flat look. "Oh."

"It's called Mystic Water. If you give it to your Drizzile, it'll power up his water-type moves."

"Huh," You looked back at the pendant, thinking. You pulled your Pokeball off of your belt and brought Drizzile out. He stood in front of you, cocking his head, and then he let out a happy cry as he saw Leon standing there with you. "Hey you, Uncle Leon has a gift for you." You said to your Pokemon as you fastened the necklace around him.

"Uncle Leon...?" You heard him mumble behind you.

Drizzile looked at the necklace you had put around his neck curiously. He then sat back on his haunches and smiled, giving Leon another happy cry in thanks.

"I think he likes it." You smiled up at Leon, your hands on your hips. "Thank you for this. Really."

"Well, I know I'm expected by the others. You should get rest, it's a big day tomorrow!" He gave you his champion smile and you couldn't help but grin.

"I'll tell Hop you say hi. Have fun at dinner." You waved at Leon and then turned to leave. Drizzile waved excitedly at Leon as well and wouldn't stop. You reached back and grabbed Drizzile's hand like you would a small child and gently tugged him along after you. You turned back one last time to look at Leon before you entered the hotel. He was still watching you go, his hands on his hips. Still smiling.

Once inside the hotel lobby, you were pleased to see both Hop and Sonia standing together by a large sculpture the hotel had. They both turned around simultaneously and smiled as you approached.

"Late again, aye Billie?" Hop said as you walked over, still holding Drizzile's hand.

"Fashionably so." You winked. Drizzile waved to Hop, who gave a happy grin and waved back. "Y'all missed Leon by the way."

"Aw shite!" Hop slammed his palm into his forehead and you gasped.

"Hop! That is not how you pronounce shit. I thought I taught you better than that." You stuck your finger out at him like a scolding mother, and then you smiled when Sonia nearly fell over laughing.

"You two're quite the riot, let me tell you what." She said as she regained her composure. "I was just telling Hop about the story behind this here statue. Care for me to run it by you right quick?"

"I think I heard it once, gimme the SparkNotes." You said.

"Long ago...a great black storm covered the Galar region. People called it "the Darkest Day." The land was assaulted by gigantic Pokemon... But they were defeated by a single young hero bearing a sword and shield. This statue here is meant to depict the young hero of that legend." You watched Sonia's face as she described the tale to you, her eyes seeming to shine with fascination.

"I thought that was just a bedtime story here in Galar. That's real?" You said curiously.

"Well, we all can't have kingdoms that literally split Pokemon in half." Sonia winked at you as she described the history of Unova.

"Huh..." Hop said, placing his hands behind his head. "I suppose that hero must've been about as strong as Lee, then! Looks like you're going to have your hands full with plenty to research, though, Sonia. Black storms and swords and shields and all..."

"You'll be alright, Sonia?" You asked.

"Course I will," She answered. "I'll muddle through somehow-don't you worry! You two are staying here at the hotel tonight, though, aren't you? Shouldn't you check-in?"

As if on cue, you all turned when you heard a crash. Just up a small flight of stairs, there was a group of people standing around the front desk. Some looked like Gym Challengers, but there was another cluster of people at the front desk, being loud and rowdy and refusing to let anyone get passed them to sign in. You grumbled and slipped your headphones back on, turning up the volume all the way to drown out the noise they were making.

"What's all that then?" Hop said and you shrugged. The two of you climbed the steps, Drizzile crawling along close at your heels. When you got to the front desk, you saw a group of people dressed in leather with black and pink paint covering their faces. They were laughing and yelling and having a grand time, but they were all crowded too close to the front desk so nobody else could get checked in. You saw another young challenger in a grey hat standing next to you and you tapped his shoulder.

"What's goin' on?" You asked him.

"This lot is refusing to bugger off." He said flatly. You took notice of the Pokeballs at his belt that his hand had been hovering closer and closer to.

"No worries, Mate," Hop spoke up and gave a wink to the boy. "We can handle this mess."

"Aye!" You called out to the group. They all turned to you, going eerily quiet as they did. You took a step forward, hands shoved deep in your pockets, and you spoke with your heavy accent from Unova to try and assert yourself. "Y'all wanna get the fuck outta the way? I'm tired here, I wanna check-in and go the fuck to sleep."

"Oi!" One of the young punks took a step forward. "All we lookin' ta do here is cheer on the other challengers! Team Yell here is only lookin' ta help, after all! You're in for a battle if you wanna stop us!"

Getting ready, you took another step forward yourself, Hop close by your side. Drizzile scuttered up from behind you, standing in between you and the group of punks. You were ready and waiting for them to call their Pokemon, but...

"Wait a tick, what're you listin' to?" A girl from the group walked right up to you, pointing towards your headphones. During your standoff, it must have gone quiet enough for them to hear the music coming from your headphones. "Are you listenin' to Piers' new album?"

"Huh?" You and Hop looked at each other, confused for a moment. "Uh... Yeah. Nonstop since it came out, actually." You answered hesitantly.

"This Lass is alright!" The girl called out to the others, who all looked happy. You and Hop had never been more confused in your lives.

Out of the corner of your eye, you spotted movement. You turned back quickly to see the girl you were talking to back at the gym where you signed up for the Gym  Challenge. She seemed rather angry about the entire situation by her body language, but her face didn't express it much.

"Marnie?!" One of the members of Team Yell shouted out as they all seemed rather surprised to see her. "N-n-nothin'... We was just..."

"I know you all are terribly curious bout the other Gym Challengers, but you gotta show a bit of restraint," Marnie said, walking over and scolding the group. Now that things had quieted down you took your headphones off and let them hang around your neck.

"This lot belongs to you?" Hop asked her, crossing his arms.

"No!" Marnie said defensively, but then looked down at the floor. "Uh... Kinda. Sorry 'bout them! They're just a bunch of my fans. Call themselves Team Yell and follow me around, cheerin' for me. I think they've let it all go to their heads a bit..." In an attempt to set things right, Marnie turned to the group and yelled to them. "Come on, you lot! Back home with you now!" You all watched the group shuffle out of the lobby, looking rather defeated. One of them, just before leaving, gave a quick wave to Marnie. In response, Marnie made the "up yours" gesture at him, and he quickly left.

She turned back to you and Hop with a sigh. "They're just so caught up with wantin' to support me and all that they tend to get a bit shirty with other Gym Challengers."

"I dunno, they seemed to like Billie," Hop said, putting his hands behind his head.

"Yeah, I can only guess why." Marnie gave you a small smile that you couldn't help but smile back at. "Sorry if they caused you any trouble."

"So you're a Gym Challenger, too?" Hop asked, always needing to be the most charismatic person in the room. "Team Yell, was it? Pretty impressive that you already have a set of fans to call your own!" As Hop said this, you saw Marnie's smile grow wider at him, and she gave a small, excited nod.

"It was nice meetin' you, Marnie, but I'm fuckin' tired." You said, glancing back at the front desk where all the other Gym Challengers were finally getting a chance to sign in. "We'll see you tomorrow?" Your Pokemon Drizzile crept up to Marnie and she held out her hand for him to sniff. Drizzile let out a small, happy sound and let her pat him on the head. Marnie gave you another smile and a nod, and you all finally headed off.

~

Up in your hotel room, it was fancier than you had imagined. You let Gastly out of his Pokeball as well so your Pokemon could wander around the room, finding a comfortable place to curl up and sleep. The first thing you did, though, was take a long, hot shower. It felt nice to get all that mud and dirt out of your hair from spending the night in the wild area. When you got out of the shower, you slipped into some comfortable clothes and flopped face-first onto the bed.

As you lie there, you felt Drizzile climb up onto the bed and sprawl out on top of you. He lay flat on your back, his weight making it hard for you to breathe, but you were too tired to move. In the same vein, you noticed Gastly fly up and rest on top of you as well, but the gas-ball Pokemon didn't weigh anything, so you didn't mind him as much.

"Well, no going back now, guys..." You said to them as you stared off into the distance, unmoving. You thought about the Gym Challenge, about the excitement of it all, how anxiety-inducing the entire event sounded... You thought you would be too nervous to go to sleep, but before you even knew it, you were out.

Chapter Text

In the morning, you were almost late. Of course, you were, you were always late. That's just who you were as a person. You slept through your first two alarms you had set on your phone, and you only woke up when Rotom floated over and started playing the alarm directly into your ear. You scrambled to get ready, your Pokemon watching you silently from the bed as you threw on your clothes and gathered your things. You forgot to look at yourself in the mirror before calling for your Pokemon and running downstairs.

Good, you weren't too late. In the lobby was Hop, standing there alone, practicing his perfect Pokeball throw. You hopped off the elevator, your Pokemon following you close behind, and trotted up to Hop. He turned when he heard you approach, and his smile turned from a friendly hello to a laugh.

"Woke up late again?" He asked as he pointed to your head. You were confused for a moment, but then Hop motioned towards a mirror in the lobby and you took a look at yourself. Your hair was a mess, so you flattened it onto your head the best you could.

"Are we late?" You asked.

"Not quite," Hop said. "If we leave now we'll make it just in time." Hop grabbed your wrist and nearly dragged you to the stadium.

On the way there, Hop did most of the talking. Your nerves were starting to get to you, and when you get really nervous, sometimes you just stopped talking altogether. You placed your headphones back on, focusing on the music and reading Hop's lips, trying to ground yourself to keep calm. Once you were back at the stadium, it was even more crowded than the night before. You recalled your Pokemon back into their balls and made your way to check-in.

Things almost moved in a blur. You followed closely behind Hop from check-in back to the locker rooms. There, you, him, and all the other Gym Challengers changed into your uniforms, all showing proudly the numbers you had chosen. Your eyes scanned the locker room, seeing the faces of kids much younger than you were, some your age. Some you knew. You spotted the blonde boy that ran into Hop the other day. He seemed so sure of himself. There was the boy in the grey hat from the hotel the night before. He locked eyes with you and gave you a polite nod. There was Marnie too, who had her small Morpeko sitting in her lap as she sat on one of the benches.

You sat down nearby, watching the TV in the locker room mounted on the wall. Luckily they had the subtitles on so you knew what was going on. You watched the Chairmen Rose step out and make his usual announcements like he did every year. You had watched this on TV every year since you came to Galar, so you knew his speech line for line. You bounced your leg up and down and chewed on your lip hard until you could taste a small hint of blood. This was why you had a scar on your lower lip. Hop came up to you and sat down next to you, his hand resting on your shoulder. He had seen you this nervous before, and he offered you a comforting smile.

"Alright, Trainers, you're up soon." One of the staff members said to everyone in the locker room. Hop stood up to line up at the entrance to the stadium with everyone else, and you followed him once more. Just before you all were about to walk out, another staff member stopped you and pointed towards your headphones. You slipped them off and he scolded you.

"Leave those in your bag." He ordered, and you swallowed hard. Hop gave you a concerned look and you did your best to wave him off. You could survive without your headphones, right? All you had to do was go out there, stand on the pitch with the others while the Chairman said his speech, and then you were done. Sure it would probably be super loud out there, but you can handle it for just a few minutes, right?

You tossed your headphones into your bag and ran back to Hop to walk out with the others. You and the rest of the Gym Challengers waited just outside the stadium pitch as the Gym Leaders got called out and were introduced one by one. Not even being out there yet, you could tell it was too much. The volume of the crowd didn't bother you as much as the number of people all cheering at once. You heard it all. Every whistle, every yell, every name being called out on the lips of the thousands of fans. Hop grabbed your hand, squeezing it tight to make sure you were okay. You managed a quick, toothy smile, and then it was your turn.

The Gym Challengers were called out. One by one the group of you stepped outside and into the light of the stadium, thousands of camera flashes going off at once directed at all of you. The Gym Leaders were all lined up in the middle of the pitch, so each of you that went out stood across from them. Most of the other Challengers grinned excitedly, some looked almost as overwhelmed as you did, but they were probably having a more positive experience. You didn't know when Hop let go of your hand, but you regretted letting him go. You tried your best to drown out all the noise in your brain, but it was nearly impossible. You ignored the Chairman the best you could and focused more on what you could see.

Hop was standing there next to you, that was good. You saw everyone looking at the Gym Leaders standing across from you. That gave you something to focus on. You looked at the Gym Leaders one by one, looking them over, trying to get a good sense of what you'd be up against. You'd met Milo once before, as he sometimes came to visit your town to talk to the Professor. The others you only knew from watching on TV. They all seemed more intimidating in real life than they did on screen.

Raihan most of all. He was much taller in real life, and you found yourself staring at him. He himself was seizing up all the Gym Challengers, and then his eyes turned to Hop. His gaze lingered on your friend and he gave a big, toothy grin. You remembered that the two had met once before. And then he looked at you. His eyes locked with yours and you didn't know why. Why was he staring at you like that? You couldn't think straight as you looked back at him, and something like a lost memory itched at the back of your skull.

"And so, with that, the Gym Challenge can now officially begin!" Chairman Rose's voice boomed so loud over the speakers, your eardrums shook. The crowd all stood and cheered, all the voices at once making your head spin.

Alright, no, you couldn't do this.

You felt dizzy like you were about to fall over.

You wanted to run, to get far away from all the noise, to find someplace quiet and hide away forever.

You couldn't do this. You had to get away.

And then, you realized you were back in the locker room.

Once the ceremony had ended, Hop must have dragged you back here and sat you down, because you were now sitting on one of the benches in the locker room with Him and Marnie standing above you. You had no memory of walking back here at all.

"She gonna be alright?" Marnie asked Hop as you slowly became more and more aware of your surroundings.

"Yeah, she gets like this sometimes," Hop explained to her. He had seen you like this before, completely gone from the world, overwhelmed and broken. He was so good the way he sat next to you, his thumb tracing along the back of your head. You didn't speak yet, but you rested your head onto Hop's shoulder, closing your eyes and letting your hair fall into your face. You felt so stupid at that moment. You'd become like this just from being in the stadium for what, five minutes?

"I can't do this..." You mumbled to Hop, and his hand grabbed yours tightly.

"Sure you can," He tried to sound positive, but even he couldn't figure out what else to say. All the other Gym Challengers began to shuffle out of the locker room one by one. Some stop to look at you for a moment before minding their own business and leaving. Marnie, however, sat down as well and stayed with you. You didn't know why she did, she wasn't saying anything, but she was there for you as well, and it made you feel better somewhat.

"Billie, are you alright?" You heard Leon's voice as he entered the locker room, and you felt panic creep back up into you. You curled back a little into yourself and held onto Hop's hand so tight he winced. Leon strode over to where you were sitting and sat on the bench directly in front of you, bending down to try to get a good look at your face behind your veil of black hair. "I was watching you on the telly when I saw your face get pale. What happened?"

"It was the noise," Hop answered on your behalf. "It was too much sound, just kinda all built up. She's like me, Lee." When you glanced up at the two of them, you had noticed a look of understanding in Leon's eyes you had never expected to see. Leon's gold eyes met yours for just a moment before you had to look down at the ground. You winced slightly when he brought his hand forward and touched the side of your face.

"Hey, be careful, you're hurting yourself." Leon's voice was low and gentle with you. His thumb then traced along your bottom lip, lightly tugging on it to pull it out from in between your teeth. You had been chewing on it again so hard your lip had started to bleed. His touch was so warm you wanted nothing more than to stay like this, but eventually, his hand left you, leaving just a ghost of his warmth on your skin. You looked up at him through strands of your hair, silently pleading for him to come back, but he sat there thinking for quite some time. "I have an idea." He finally said and then stood up. "I know something that might help you, get changed, alright?" He spoke in a low, quiet, and soothing voice to you.

"We'll be right outside waitin' on ya," Hop said.

"Want me to stay?" Marnie finally spoke up, and you turned to her.

"I'm fine," You managed to say to her in a small voice. The others all got up and left to give you some space. You took your time changing your clothes, slipping on your soft, warm sweater and feeling much more comfortable. You let Drizzile out of his Pokeball as well, wanting to have him close. He could tell right away you weren't feeling well, so he stayed close to you as you changed back into your normal clothes.

When you stepped out of the locker room, you saw your three friends standing nearby, all talking with none other than Chairman Rose. You couldn't tell what he was saying at first, as his face was hiding behind Leon's head from the angle you were standing at, and you had your headphones back on blasting your music. You approached them, drawing everyone's attention directly onto you.

"And you, you're one of the two Trainers our Champion here endorsed, correct?" Rose said to you. You managed a small nod. "It looked like you had a bit of stage fright out there. Don't worry, it gets easier, I promise." He smiled down at you and you faked a small smile right back. Rose then turned to address all of you. "Now, I'm terribly sorry, but there is some urgent business I need to attend to, so I must be on my way." He gave a polite wave and left the four of you standing there.

Leon then turned and spoke to you. "Usually you should be off and starting your adventure by now, but I have something for you. Billie, would you come with me?" Leon held out his hand for you to take. You almost did, though right before you took it, you felt embarrassed holding his hand with so many people around. You wouldn't want him being seen like that with someone like you. So, just before you took his hand, you shied away and then reached down to grab Drizzile's hand. You noticed a small bit of sadness on Leon's face when you refused to take his hand, but you tried your best to ignore it.

"Lead the way," You said in a small voice.

"Oof, you really wanna say that to Lee of all people?" Hop said jokingly, actually managing to make you smile. "I'll be waiting for you over by route 3, alright? Don't keep me too long, the tail of my legend is only just beginning!"

~

After getting lost a few times, Leon having to call out Charizard to lead the way, you eventually made it to a small storefront on the main street of the city. Leon had instructed you to stay outside, which you were fine with, as Leon left his Charizard to keep you company. The Pokemon must have sensed your frayed nerves, as he stayed close to you, letting you pet its head and neck to calm yourself down. You had watched Leon's Charizard in dozens of fierce battles in the past, it was odd seeing him so cuddly with you right now, but you weren't complaining. You had found a bench to sit on while you waited, Charizard stood nearby and Drizzile made himself comfortable in your lap. Eventually, Leon returned. He had a small box in his hands as he came over and sat next to you.

"I understand just how overwhelming all the noise can be, really," Leon said. He started opening the box he had and showed you a pair of very hi-tech looking earbuds. "I actually have a set of these myself. Every gym leader gets them because being in crowds like that so much over the years can actually damage your hearing." He spoke as he fiddled with them, pressing some small buttons to get them turned on.

"Can it connect to my phone?" You asked as you leaned closer to get a good look at what he was doing. The two of you fiddled with them, trying to get the earbuds to set up wirelessly with your phone.

"Ahh, we probably should have gotten Sonia to come help..." Leon said as he looked hopelessly at the instructions.

"Oh come on, we have to get this, or Mom is gonna be super disappointed in me." You said, and after a few more moments of trying, you eventually got it.

"It's weird at first, I'll tell you that," Leon said as he handed everything over to you. "These are excellent at blocking out any outside noise. They're challenge legal and everything, so you shouldn't run into any trouble about wearing them."

Curiously, you placed just one of the earbuds inside your ear and immediately felt strange. It almost felt like you had a cold and only one side of your head was stuffed up. You looked up at Leon with wide eyes and he couldn't help but grin at you. You placed the other earbud in, and then the world fell silent. The only thing you heard was the blood rushing in your own ears, but that was it. For the first time, you looked around, seeing the business of the world in near-complete silence.

"Holy shit," You said, the vibrations of your own voice echoing inside your head. You saw Leon smile warmly at you and you could feel your face grow hot. You played with the settings on your phone, as they would allow you to actually change the sounds in your environment, allowing you to hear things like only Pokemon cries. You liked it better when everything was quiet though. Eventually, you turned back to Leon, who was still looking down at you fondly.

"Leon, thank you... These must have been super expensive, I don't know how I-" You were cut off by Leon waving his hand at you.

"Don't worry about it, the company that makes them is actually one of my sponsors! I got them for free!" Excitedly he pulled the hem of his cape out from under him to show you the sponsor logo stitched into it. Part of his cape fell into your lap and on top of Drizzile, who then scrambled lo ed up and off of you, looking very offended his nap was disturbed. You smiled down at the heavy cape in your lap, running your fingers through the fluffy hem.

"Hey, I'm sorry for being so weird today," You said, looking up at Leon. "I... Usually don't really like telling people I'm autistic, because most of the time when I do, they treat me different. But, after today I kinda can't really hide it anymore... But, I guess you understand, huh, since Hop is too."

Leon turned so he could face you completely and gave you the warmest smile. "Thank you for trusting me." Was all he said, and all he really needed to say. He had his hand resting in his lap, so you reached over and took it into your own. You squeezed his hand gently, and he squeezed your hand right back.

~

After saying your goodbyes to Leon, thanking him again for his gift, you made your way to find Hop. He said he would be waiting for you, and you really hoped he was. You checker the map on your phone to find route 3, which was right near a bridge passed the hotel, and you saw him standing there. You smiled as you watched him, he leaned over the side of the bridge, watching people go by in the lower districts. He looked so giddy at that moment, you just had to ruin it.

"What's up, you asshole?" You walked up next to him with the biggest smile on your face. Hop returned with a flat look, until he remembered what had happened earlier, and was relieved to see you smiling.

"So what happened with Lee? He take you somewhere and snogged ya until you felt better? Hop made a grossed out face and you pushed his shoulder.

"Wow, no. Though I kinda wish." You then showed him the earbuds you got from him and showed him how they worked. "Plus, I can still listen to music. Hardcore, huh?"

"Brilliant I'd say." Hop grinned. He then took a step back and pulled out a Pokeball from his pocket. "What'd you say, Billie. Let's have ourselves a battle before we start our journey for real?"

You smirked, looking down at Drizzile who sat ready at your heels. "Alright then."

Chapter Text

"Aw come on!" Hop exclaimed as he recalled his last fainted Pokemon. You stood with your hands on your hips, Drizzile standing by your side and Gastly floating just by your shoulder.

"Sorry, Hop, guess I'm just too good for you." You boasted playfully.

"And to think, you didn't even wanna do the Gym Challenge with me," Hop said as he rubbed the back of his neck, smiling at you.

"Yeah, I guess." You looked towards your Pokemon, grinning like a proud mother. "Come on, the Pokemon center is right here. Let's get your loser ass patched up and we'll head on out."

"Nah mate, you walk too slow. I'm goin' on ahead."

You gasped overdramatically. "You're just gonna leave me all alone to fend for myself?"

"Yup!" Hop said with a grin.

"Wow, you're a bad friend." You poked his shoulder.

"I'm not your friend, don't touch me." Hop joked and then you reached over with both hands to mess up his hair. He laughed and pushed you off of him and you both headed back to the Pokemon center together.

"I thought you said we were doing the Gym Challenge together?" You pouted as the two of you entered the center. Hop handed over his three Pokeballs to the nurse behind the counter to get them all healed up. Meanwhile, you recalled your Pokemon and handed them over as well.

"Billie, you've been all 'round the world, you'll be fine traveling on your own. I gotta go make my legend! Can't be standing around waiting for anyone. You're too slow, you know." Hop took his Pokemon back and crossed his arms.

"Yeah, that's what all my teachers told me in school, too." The two of you laughed as you took your Pokemon back and headed out. As both of you reached the bridge on the way to rout 3, you grabbed Hop by the collar of his jacket before he could get away and dragged him in close to you. He yelped and you wrapped your arm around his neck, bringing your face in close to his and then grabbed your phone. You snapped a picture of the both of you, Hop giving an angry half-smile, bearing his teeth, and you with a smirk and a wink.

"Another selfie to send to Lee?" Hop teased you as he finally pulled himself out of your grasp.

"Nah, this one is going on Sinstagram*, you dope." You opened the app on your phone, a cartoon picture of a Sinistea flashing on the screen before opening up to the feed with all the pictures posted from the people you follow.

"You're so obnoxious," Hop said as he looked over your shoulder to watch you post the picture. Your own account, which you so affectionately named yourself BillieMaysHere23, had dozens of pictures already uploaded. You threw the new one up there captioned 'And so the adventure begins!' and tagged Hop's account, Hoppip189. You checked your follower count and noticed the number had jumped quite a bit from the day before. After the opening ceremonies of the Gym Challenge, they released the names of all the challengers, including yours. People must have found you and started following you after that. You remembered a couple of embarrassing photos you had posted a few months back. You'd have to go back and delete them before you became too popular...

"Are you just gonna stand there all day?" Hop asked, getting impatient while watching you. He was rocking back and forth from his heels to the balls of his feet. His hands were shoved deep in his pockets and he was chewing on the inside of his cheek. You couldn't help but smile, and a grin grew on his own face as well.

"Alright, I'll see you in Turffield," You said, and you saw Hop suddenly beam happiness. He threw his arms around you, knocking the wind out of you with a bruising hug, and before you could say anything, he was off.

~

The road to Turffield was a long one, but you enjoyed yourself along the way. You could understand why Hop would leave you behind like that, there was so much to explore along the way. While he always wanted to run a million miles a minute, you wanted to stop and drink in your surroundings. Your wide eyes saw everything as you surveyed the road, seeing all the different kinds of Pokemon run by, making their homes in the grass or a fallen tree. It was peaceful, and a couple of times you felt comfortable enough to take out your earbuds. You couldn't help but actually enjoy the sounds around you, those of nature and Pokemon cries rather than the roar of so many people.

You filled your Pokedex along the way, catching more of them that you found, some you didn't see in the wild area while you were there. Your eye caught hold of a Trubbish hiding not too far away. You caught it by surprise and tossed a Pokeball, capturing it before it even knew what was going on. You released the small monster to sooth it from being so spooked, and you then got an idea. You snapped a picture of it, grinning to yourself as you then sent it to Hop.

Billie: Look, it's you!

You snickered to yourself, honestly believing yourself to be the funniest person you knew. Of course, Hop didn't share that sentiment, and you soon received back a picture of Hop giving you the middle finger. You laughed so hard you ended up scaring away a few of the wild Pokemon in the area. You stopped when you saw another person on the road nearby. You locked eyes for only a brief moment, but you saw the excited look on her face.

"Are you a trainer?" You read her lips as she spoke. She looked to be a young schoolgirl, probably no older than ten or so. You thought for a moment before nodding, and her eyes lit up. She jumped happily and pulled a Pokeball off of her belt. "I knew it! I saw you on the telly, you are one of the Gym Challengers! Oh, I wanna battle you, pretty please?" She had a huge grin on her face as she took a step closer.

"Would you look at that? Guess I'm famous." You said with a smile and took a step forward. You grabbed Drizzile's Pokeball from your pocket and tossed it, letting him come to live in front of you. The girl seemed absolutely thrilled to battle you, and as the fight progressed, she ended up being happy to lose as well. You took out her Pokemon quickly, but it was a good fight nonetheless. Drizzile crawled back towards you and smiled up happily at you. You shook the girl's hand and she thanked you once more for the battle.

You ran into more trainers along the way, and you didn't lose once. You almost prided yourself on how well you battled, but you knew it was all Drizzile doing the work. You reminded yourself that you'd have to stop at some point and make him the most delicious curry you could cook up. It wasn't long before you stumbled upon the mines. You weren't too thrilled about going in, as you weren't too thrilled about the dark. You kept Drizzile close at your heels and brought Gastly from his Pokeball as well to watch your back. What better way to scare off the ghosts lurking in the darkness than to bring one of your own?

"Have I ever told you that I hate caves?" You said to your two Pokemon as they lingered with you. You stood at the mouth of the cave, looking in at the blackness inside, not wanting to go in. "When I was little, I ended up getting lost in one once. It was very scary, but I eventually came across a whole swarm of Zubat. I thought they would attack me, but they must have known just how scared I was. They started flying away and being curious, I followed them. They lead me right out of the cave and back home, I was so thankful. Dad wouldn't stop crying when I came home..."

You swallowed hard. You looked down when Drizzile tugged at your pant leg. With a deep breath, you tossed your bag higher up onto your shoulders and gave a determined look forward. Now wasn't the time for crying. You took a glance over your shoulder at Gastly, and then took a step inside the cave.

You were surprised by how beautiful it was in here. Not only was the cave well lit by he lanterns hanging from the ceiling of the caves, but everywhere you saw glimmering, glowing stones shining around you. There were shimmering clusters of blues and greens, reds and purples, yellow and orange, shining bright, reflected in your wide eyes.

You turned to the two Pokemon still by your sides and smiled. "Okay, maybe this won't be as bad as I thought it would." You wandered around the caves, taking your time exploring. Eventually, your eyes became accustomed to the dark and you found it easy to find little trinkets here and there that other Trainers had lost along the way. You ended up finding a few lost Pokeballs, some potions, and even a TM along the way. You'd say you found some pretty nifty things while stumbling around in the dark.

This little trip through the mines wouldn't be as bad as you thought it would. "This isn't so bad." You said to your Pokemon as you walked along the minecart tracks laid throughout the mine. Every once in a while you'd have to hop off the tracks for a passing Carkol to go by, and your two Pokemon would hear them long before you would, and signal for you to move. "You know, this kind of reminds me of some of the caves I visited in Kalos when I traveled there with Mom last year. I was helping look for fossils with her, and I met some really cute Pokemon in there. I thought Zubats were cool since they saved my life? You guys should see Noibats. I want one so bad, and I know they live in this region too, but I just can't figure out where..." You had your hands shoved deep into your pockets, your eyes looking down towards the ground, watching your own feet. Suddenly you felt yourself being dragged by the collar of your sweater. Gastly had grabbed you by his teeth to pull you off the tracks so you wouldn't be crushed by another Carkol going by. You were lost in thought you didn't even notice him trying to get your attention.

"Woah, thanks..." You said, your heart racing slightly. You took just one of your earbuds out to listen out, hearing the echoing sound of the Pokemon wheeling off into the distance. You figured it'd be safer if you gave yourself your hearing back. "Guess you're starting to like me, huh Gastly?" You joke over your shoulder towards him. You could almost swear he understood you as he suddenly became more bashful around you. Though you were right, he really warmed up to you over these last few days. Eventually, you saw the end of the tracks, and the end of the mines as well. "Finally, as pretty as it is in here, I think I'm done being in the dark." You said to your Pokemon with a smile. As you spoke, you seemed to catch the attention of another trainer up ahead. He stood up from where he was crouched and you watched as his purple eyes scanned over you. You quickly realized that this was the jerk that rudely bumped into Hop back at the opening ceremonies. You'd remember that pink coat and curly white-blonde hair anywhere.

"Were you just talking to yourself?" He said as he looked around the area, seeing you alone aside from just your Pokemon. You watched as he scoffed at you, and you felt your teeth grind together. "I knew you were an odd one before, but this just confirms it. You better not be coming my way, I'd advise against it. Any trainer with a Wishing Star is in for a beating from me and my Pokemon!" He stepped forward, patting the dirt off his hands, and you saw a small Solosis appear from behind him, hovering just off the ground.

You recognized that Pokemon, it was native to Unova, so you were familiar with it. A psychic-type, extremely powerful, but also extremely slow. As you took a step forward, you nodded for Gastly to come up as well, making sure he was at the front of your party before approaching. You watched the kid in front of you scoff as you approached, and he ran a hand through his hair, looking overall unimpressed with you.

"You," He said, confidence laced in his voice. "You're the Gym Challenger endorsed by the Champion, aren't you? What a joke." You grit your teeth when he said that, wanting to turn this Pokemon battle into a fistfight, but you held back. "You are aware that the chairman is more important than the Champion, right? I was chosen and endorsed by the chairman himself, so that makes me more amazing than you!"

"Could' a fooled me." You mumbled to yourself as you crossed your arms. This seemed to strike a chord with him, as his eyebrow twitched, yet he still threw a cocky smirk at you.

"I suppose I should prove beyond a doubt just how pathetic you are and how strong I am." He said, his voice echoing through the cave and into your ear.

"And just who exactly do you think you are." You said, taking a step back and letting Gastly giving a frightening glare to the Solosis just across the way.

"My name is Bede, and you will not forget it." Bede threw his hand forward, his Solosis then lashing out towards Gastly in a vicious hit. Luckily, Gastly was faster and avoided the attack before the hit landed.

"Shadow Ball!" You called out, the echo of your own voice ringing in your ear and making your head vibrate. Gastly summoned the dark energy around him and hit the Solosis dead on, causing it to faint in just one hit. You watched as Bede grit his teeth, a bead of sweat dripping down his forehead. He recalled his Pokemon, taking a moment to regain himself.

"I'm just giving your Pokemon a little chance to shine. That's all." He said in defense of himself. It was your turn to scoff, but you said nothing. Bede took another Pokeball and tossed it out in front of him, a Gothita looking ready for a fight.

"Are you kidding me? Too easy." You said to yourself. It was anther Pokemon you knew, another psychic-type. You found his theme and knew that Gastly was going to easily sweep his team. Bede grimaced at your words and then stepped forward.

"Gothita, use Psybeam!" Bede called to his Pokemon, who then leaped at Gastly. You both were taken by surprise, and Gastly was hit with a powerful blow. He reeled back, hovering close to the ground with one eye closed, but he still looked ready for a fight.

"Again, Gastly, Shadow Ball!" With a quick shake of his body to realign himself, Gastly zipped around in the air to avoid another attack from the Gothita and hit it with another powerful attack. Bede's Pokemon fell to the ground, dust kicking up into the air in a small cloud. He almost couldn't believe that you had taken out two of his Pokemon so easily, but he tried to hide his surprise the best he could. Gastly zipped through the air back to your side as you waited on Bede.

"Oh dear, what have I been doing? Well, whatever. Let's just get this over with." Bede made a big spectacle of checking his oversized watch, trying not to look too concerned before tossing out his last Pokemon, a Hatenna he called it. This one you didn't know. It was small and covered in pastel pinks and blues. It looked overly cute, could it be a fairy-type? But Bede just threw out two psychic-type Pokemon before this one, why would he change it up now?

You were so distracted by trying to figure out what kind of Pokemon this was that Bede took you by surprise. He called for Confusion, and the Pokemon moved swiftly enough to hit Gastly head-on. You bit your lip hard as you saw Gastly waver in the air, unable to fly steadily now. He was confused, the poor thing.

"Gastly, come back," You said, grabbing his Pokeball, but he did not return. Gastly tried to shake off the confusion and refused to go back into his Pokeball, determined to keep fighting. "Buddy, this attitude is going to get our asses beat in the finals, you know that, right?" You said to him but also put his Pokeball away. If he wanted to keep going, you'd let him, you knew he wasn't out for the count yet.

"Why do you talk to your Pokemon like that? Do you even know how weird you look?" Bede said, his hands shoved deep in his pockets as he looked down his nose at you.

"My Pokemon make better conversation than you, that's for sure." You spat back, getting tired of this pink asshole's attitude. You were tired of his voice too, so you put your earbuds back in and focused the best you could. You kept your eyes on the Pokemon in front of you, making sure Gastly was alright, but he still swayed back and forth slightly in the air like he was confused. You'd have to play this very carefully. Without wasting any more time, refusing to let Bede get the jump on you like that again, you called for Gastly to attack. "Last time, Gastly, Shadow Ball!" You weren't gonna risk calling a non-ghost type move, so you went for it. And you called right, it was another psychic-type, as the Pokemon attempted to dodge, but got hit, and went down almost immediately.

"What?" Bede grit his teeth in surprise when his Pokemon fainted. He recalled them quickly and grabbed the collar of his jacket, putting it up to cover his face slightly. "I see... Well, that's fine. I wasn't really trying all that hard anyway."

"Gastly you did great!" You grinned happily and then tried to throw your arms around him for a hug. In a slight panic, Gastly went intangible so your arms went right through his body, almost making you fall to the ground. After realizing what you were trying to do and letting you regain your footing, Gastly floated over to you and gently nudged his cheek into yours. You couldn't help but feel so loved at that moment. You glanced back to Bede, who was staring at your odd show of affection to your Pokemon, and you watched him clear his throat.

"Well, that was unexpected." He said, regaining his cool as he talked at you almost dismissively. "I suppose you're more able than I thought. Naturally, I'll remember your battle style and strategies now. I'm sure to easily defeat you if and when we face each other in an official match." His smirk returned to his face, his head tilting back slightly. You couldn't help but smile back at him, and then you took a step forward, extending your hand.

"Diversify your team a little bit more, it'll help, I promise." You gave him a playful wink, waiting for him to shake your hand. Bede almost didn't know what to do after that, but he still raised his own hand to shake yours, watching you carefully. "I'm Billie, by the way." You were trying your best to be friendly, the thrill of winning the battle melting away all of your anger from before.

Bede almost smiled, but he caught himself. "Now that we've established that, I won't waste any more time on you." He cleared his throat and yanked his hand from yours. "I'm done here, I've already gathered every Wishing Star in this area. I do hope that the next time I see you, you won't be talking to yourself like an absolute madwoman." He turned to leave and you grit your teeth at him. You couldn't let his ego have the last word like that, so you grabbed your phone.

"Hey, Bede!" You called to him right before he left the cave. You'd turned so your back was to him, and then threw up your hand in a peace sign to you, and a middle finger to him. When you snapped the picture, you were grinning and winking at the camera, while Bede was in the background, just over your shoulder, looking incredibly displeased.

"Don't mind me," You said as you then started tapping away on your phone. "I'm just gonna send this pic here to my Champion, you know, the one who endorsed me? Figured I should let him know I just beat the kid the chairman endorsed." You glanced up at Bede for just a moment to see him mutter something you didn't quite catch, and then he turned to leave. You couldn't help but snicker to yourself as you turned back to your phone. As you were getting ready to send the picture to both Leon and Hop, you felt Gastly float down onto your shoulder.

"You're tired, aren't you?" You said as you reached up to touch the top of his head. "Alright, we'll head out and make camp, you deserve something nice."

Chapter Text

You set up camp that night just outside the cave. You cooked your Pokemon the best food you could possibly make, which tasted... Adequate to you. If you saw Sonia again, you'd have to have her teach you to cook. You took off once again in the morning, letting Gastly stay in his Pokeball as the morning sun was far too bright, but Drizzile happily crawled along on all fours, walking next to you as the sun warmed his scales.

"Alright, so Turffield isn't too far now." You spoke as you walked. You could see it just over the horizon, and before that were beautiful, golden, rolling fields of wheat. You could already see off in the distance new and different Pokemon just waiting to be caught, and you felt excited. "So if we head straight there from here, we'd probably make it by midday. Now if we linger for a bit catching things... Maybe by nightfall? We can always challenge the gym first thing in the morning, right?" You looked down at Drizzile who stayed close by your side. He opened his mouth wide with a loud cry in response and you giggled.

You took your time getting to the gym, you wanted to catch as many Pokemon along the route as possible, and you wanted to train up your Pokemon a bit more along the way. You found yourself some new friends, an Electrike, a Pikachu, and the absolute smallest Pumpkaboo you could find. It was midday when you finally decided to start heading down towards the town.

"Alright, maybe we can still make it before nightfall." You said to Drizzile. As you made your way down the path, you suddenly felt tugging at your leg. You looked down to see Drizzile panicking, trying to pull you off the road, and by the time you looked back, it was too late.

Out of nowhere, a stray Wooloo came rolling your way and knocked you flat onto your ass. You yelped as you hit the ground, going down with a hard thump, knocking your earbuds out in the process. Drizzile quickly crawled his way to you to make sure you were alright, and other than probably a bruised butt, you were alright.

"My... Are you OK? You took that Tackle head-on..." You looked up to see none other than the Gym Leader Milo standing above you. He pulled the Wooloo out of the way and stepped in front of you, holding out his hand to help you up.

"Milo!" You smiled, taking his hand. Drizzile had found your earbuds that had been knocked out and handed them to you. "Good boy." You said down to him, petting his head appreciatively.

"Hey there Billie, long time no see!" He grinned happily at you. "I sure hope you weren't hurt just then."

"Nah, I've taken worse falls." You waved him off.

"I heard you were endorsed by the Champ himself! That's quite the honor." Milo said, and you felt your face begin to heat up. "That must really say something about you as a trainer, huh?"

"I dunno 'bout that..." You said, starting to get a bit flustered. You began chewing on your lip again.

"I saw Hop run through here not too long ago. Don't think he's too far ahead now." Milo said. "You two better hurry up, I'm looking forward to battling you!" Milo gave the cutest smile and you couldn't help but giggle. "Come on now, Wooloo, back to the stadium with you, too! We can't keep the Gym Challengers waiting!"

With that, the Wooloo let out a happy cry and trotted off back towards the stadium on Milo's heels. You felt a sort of misplaced pride as you watched him leave. You only knew Milo because he would come to your small town often to catch some Wooloo every now and then. He often would stop to speak to the professor, and on occasion come visit your mother. She was quite popular here, being a professor from another region. When Milo would stop to chat with your mom he would always greet you so politely. A proper little farm boy, your mother would call him.

You checked your watch, knowing you still had plenty of time in the day to fill your Pokedex a little more.

~

"Do you know what this is?" You asked, holding a Pokeball in both of your hands. "This right here? This is opportunity. This is pure, uninhibited potential. Here in my hands, I hold the missing link to our team. If I fail to cover any of our bases, we are now, officially, good." You tossed the Pokeball up into the air and caught it again. "Let me introduce you to..." You tossed the ball, a bright light illuminates the area and out comes a small vulpine Pokemon, standing there looking utterly confused. "Eevee." You placed your hands on your hips, looking quite proud of yourself.

Meanwhile, Drizzile just stood there, looking unimpressed. He didn't seem to understand a word you said, and instead just looked over at the newly caught Eevee curiously.

"Oh come on, I just spent an hour trying to catch an Eevee. At least pretend to be happy for me." You crossed your arms and began to pout. The Eevee looked back up at you, it's large eyes making your heart melt. "Alright, new partner, here's the deal." You said, crouching down to talk to your new Pokemon. "As any good Pokemon trainer would know, you need a well-rounded team to take on any and all opponents. Right now we have rather poor type coverage since there are so few of us. I'm only picking the best of the best for this team, and I wanna make sure I cover all my bases. That's where you come in," You place your finger on Eevee's nose, making her sneeze. You laughed and scratched her behind the ear. "Any type coverage we are missing, you'll be there to carry us. So, I won't be evolving you just yet, I'm gonna wait to see who else I can catch before I do so. In the meantime, though, I'm gonna be training you up to be strong with the rest of us. But no evolving, got it?" You held your finger out towards Eevee's face and she sniffed it for just a moment before biting down playfully on your finger.

As you were giggling, Drizzile suddenly looked panicked. He ran over and grabbed your arm, shaking you to look behind yourself. Quickly you jumped up and turned around, frantically looking around for what had scared Drizzile so much. It wasn't until you looked down that you saw it.

"Ahh!" You jumped back, shying away from the creature. Standing before you was a Pokemon, a Meowth of all things. It just stood there, looking up at you with large yellow eyes. It was breathing rather loudly, a light purr coming from it as it stared at you unblinkingly. "What the fuck? Is that a Meowth?" Moving slowly you pulled your phone out and scanned the Pokemon, reading the Pokedex entry. When you looked back up at the Meowth, it was standing even closer to you now.

"Holy shit-" You stepped back a little, your new Eevee hiding behind your leg while Drizzile stepped up in front of you. The Meowth didn't attack, though, and just stood there. Watching you. When it blinked one eye closed at a time. "You're a little fucking gremlin aren't you?" You mumbled to yourself.

Suddenly you saw Hop running down the path to meet you. He was waving at you, his Wooloo rolling at his side. You braced yourself as Hop flung himself at you, hugging you tightly around the neck. But before he could say anything else, though, you quickly pushed him in front of you, in between yourself and the odd-looking Meowth.

"Billie, what's up?" Hop asked, confused.

"Hop, do you care to explain to me why that Meowth looks like... Like that?" You threw your arms out in exasperation and pointed at the Meowth that was still just standing there and watching the both of you.

"What? Billie, that's just what they look like!" Hop rubbed the back of his neck as he looked back and forth between you and the Pokemon. "Why? Do they look different in Unova?"

"Rotom, search up a picture of a Meowth from Unova." You said, crossing your arms and looking angrily at Hop. Your phone flew up from your pocket and displayed a picture of an adorable sleeping Meowth, the gold coin shimmering brightly on its forehead. "See?"

"Oh wow, you're right, that's way different, mate." Hop scratched his head as he looked at your phone. You both looked down again to see the Meowth had silently moved even closer, standing right at your feet now. You jumped back again, absolutely weirded out by the cat-like Pokemon. "Aww, I think he's taken a shine to ya," Hop said playfully.

"Can't quite say I feel the same yet..." You mumbled. You reached back into your bag to grab a Pokeball and then looked back down to the Meowth. "Alright then, you wanna fight me first or is this gonna be an easy catch?" You put your hand on your hip and bent down towards the Meowth. It just blinked and didn't move. "Alright then." You dropped the Pokeball, letting it fall directly on top of the Meowth's head. Suddenly it was ensnared in the blinding white light, and it's form disappeared into the Pokeball. It only shook one time before it clicked, signaling the capture.

"Well that was right easy," Hop said as you shoved the ball into your bag. "Oh, by the way, I ran into Sonia on the way here. She says she wants to meet us on what's-her-face hill, you know the one."

"Oh, yeah, I know that hill." You said with dripping sarcasm and rolled your eyes.

"We're not too far now from the stadium, let's go before it gets dark," Hop said, grabbing your arm. You quickly recalled your remaining Pokemon back into their balls and Hop began dragging you along behind him at a run.

In almost no time at all you were there, the stadium looming large in the center of the town.

"So that's Turffield?" You said, finally catching your breath as the two of you stopped running.

"Yup, that's it right there!" Hop grinned. "Bet that place is jam-packed with challengers. It'll be ages before out turn comes up..." Hop said, staring off at the stadium in the distance, his hands behind his head.

"Let's go find Sonia." You said.

"Think she might be up this way," Hop absentmindedly slipped his hand into your and then lead you further into the town. It wasn't something you were embarrassed about, the two of you were best friends and had no problem with showing physical affection for one another. You loved him, platonically of course, and you held his hand tightly as Hop led the way.

You looked around wide-eyed at your surroundings, large pillars and obliques stood lined the streets. They looked so mysterious and unique to you. The last time you saw something like this was when you went to visit Unova with your mom a while back. Hop led you up a hill towards the end of the town and stopped when he saw Sonia's Yamper in the middle of the road.

"Come to lead the way?" Hop asked the small Pokemon with a smile. Yamper barked happily and trotted further up the hill to where Sonia must be. "He's such a good boy."

"The best boy." You nodded in agreement and followed the good boy.

There, on a landing at the top of the hill, you saw Sonia facing away from you, looking off into the distance. You glanced up to see what she was looking at, and your mouth fell open seeing the giant picture painted into the landscape before you. Hop took his hand from yours and approached Sonia with a smile. Yamper ran up to Sonia and barked. She turned around when she saw you and Hop approach and smiled back.

"Thanks, Yamper!" Sonia gave her Pokemon a pat on the head, and he barked back at her. "Hey there you two. I had you come 'cause I wanted to hear what you thought." She motioned towards the hillside with the intricate, ancient drawing and walked towards it. The two of you followed her, and you placed your hands on the railing. "So, that geoglyph... What do you two think of it?"

"Is that the Darkest Day?" You asked.

"Dyamaxing?" Hop said at the same time, and you looked at one another.

"Right perceptive of you." She grinned. Sonia turned away from you to face the hillside and you quickly took your earbuds out to listen to her exposition. "A long time ago...a great black storm covered the Galar region. Giant Pokemon ran rampant... But what was that black storm they called "the Darkest Day"? What connection does it have to Dynamax?" Sona sighed. She turned back towards the two of you and started playing with her hair. "Guess I'm the lucky lady who'll be looking into that... Gran sure gives me a lot to do."

"Don't you worry, Sonia, I believe in you!" Hop said smiling.

"Same." You said with a thumbs up.

"Aww, ain't you two just the sweetest." Sonia giggled. "Anyway, thanks for your thoughts on the matter! As thanks, I'll give you a League Card." Sonia slipped out of her pocket two cards. She handed them over and you looked down, seeing Milo's smiling face on it. "Milo's a Grass-type Gym Leader. Things will go well for you if you use Fire-, Flying, or Bug-type moves. Take these, too! It'd be pretty bad if your Pokemon weren't in fighting form!"

You took the revive Sonia handed and looked up at her. "Thanks so much! You sure?"

"Heck yeah, I am! Go on, then! Get yourselves to Turffield Stadium and battle yourselves silly!" Sonia waved the both of you off.

"Come on, Billie, I'll race ya!" Hop said the fire ignited in him once more. He turned quickly on his heels and ran down the hill, and you took a moment to say goodbye to Sonia before following after.

Chapter Text

Alright, you had just watched Hop complete his Gym Challenge and defeat Milo. If he could do it, so could you! It would be easy, right? ...Right?

You waited just outside of the stadium, tapping your foot on the ground, your hands deep in your pockets. You watched carefully, waiting for the door of the stadium to open, waiting for your friend. In almost no time at all, you saw Hop throw open the large, glass, double doors, his arms up in the air in celebration. You waved, and he spotted you standing off to the side. Without warning, Hop threw his arms around you, his cheek pressing into yours.

"Billie! Take a look at this!" Hop let go of you and grabbed his newly earned badge out of his pocket. He held it out too close to your face, the badge glimmering in the sunlight. "The Grass Gym Badge! I got it in one try!"

"I know, I was watching. I guess it helps that you've got a fire-type." You teased, Hop's energy bleeding out to you, causing you to bounce on your toes in shared enthusiasm. "What was your gym mission like?" You had asked because you weren't allowed to witness it. You watched his battle with Milo on TV, but as another Gym Challenger, you weren't allowed to watch the actual Gym mission. Every year during the annual Gym Challenge, the Gym Leaders would come up with new and unique challenges to surprise the new Trainers. You were beginning to feel nervous, having watched many Gym missions on TV in the past, but you had no idea what to expect for your own.

"You'll just have to find out for yourself." Hop winked. You got angry and started playfully whacking him in the arm.

"Come on, you gotta tell!" You yelled, and Hop threw his arms up to defend himself.

"No, I don't!" Hop laughed. "Come on, it's your turn to face the gym. Get to it!" Hop then quickly sidestepped behind you, placing his hands on your back and pushing you into the gym. You yelped in surprise as he did, but you didn't fight.

~

You stood in the locker room, having just changed into your uniform. You fiddled with your hair, biting your lip, and rocking back and forth on your heels. You were nervous, not just for the gym mission, but for the battle afterward as well. You had done your research and knew that your water-type Pokemon Drizzile wouldn't stand a chance against Milo's grass-types, but you had a secret up your sleeve. You only hoped your calculations were correct... You made sure your earbuds were in tight, music playing loudly to drown out all the noise from the people as you stepped back into the lobby. From there, you were then ushered into the rear of the building, leading you to your gym mission. You stopped for just a moment to take a deep breath before continuing. 

As you walked down the steps into the arena, you couldn't see anyone on the sidelines watching, but you knew that this was being televised to everyone in the Galar Region. You gulped, your skin prickling as you could almost feel the eyes all on you. Taking a moment to took over your surroundings, the first thing you saw was... Wooloo. A whole heard of Wooloo standing in a small patch of grass right at the foot of the stairs. You got excited as memories of you and Hop chasing after Wooloo as kids came back to you, and you thought for a moment that maybe this wouldn't be too hard?

"Hey there, Champ in the making!" You saw a man in a sports uniform run up to you at the foot of the steps. He wore the official Pokemon Gym Challenge uniform and smiled happily at you as you approached. "The mission given by Turffield's Gym Leader is this! To chase our unruly Wooloo!" He threw his arm back in a sweeping gesture towards the small heard of Wooloo standing before you. "You must heard them to to the blockade we've made from our bales of straw over there! Easy, right?" He turned back to you with a toothy grin. "Oh, by the way, you can call me Dan. I serve as a referee, and it's also my job to report the results of battles to the League HQ. Now, let the Gym mission begin!" With that, Dan ran off behind you and back up the steps, leaving you to face the Gym mission on your own.

"Alright, Billie, let's channel your inner Hop." You said to yourself and balled your fists. You took a running start and then threw your arms into the air. "Come on, get!" You yelled, startling the Wooloo and causing them to suddenly ball up and roll away from you. You ran around them side to side, making sure they rolled the direction you wanted them to go until they all made it safely to the other side of the field where the hay bales were. Once there, you saw a scoreboard light up off to the side signaling you had gotten them all. You watched as the Wooloo then all rolled together at once, knocking the stack of hay bales down and out of the way.

"Alright, this is gonna be easy." You said to yourself triumphantly and then ran after them again. Once the Wooloo saw you coming, they quickly began rolling away again as you tired to heard them in the direction you wanted to go. Though, out of the corner of your eye, you spotted another Pokemon. A Yamper was on the field, running around and playing. You kicked your foot in front of you, sliding to a stop, but it was too late. The Yamper ran towards the Wooloo, spooking them and scattering them everywhere! You frantically ran around to try to regather the Wooloo, but with the Yamper around, you were unable to. That's when you saw the other trainer on the field with a Pokeball in his hands.

"If you want us out of the way, you're gonna have to battle us!" The trainer said, the Yamper running up to his side. You reached onto your belt, your fingers fiddling with Drizzile's Pokeball for just a moment before grabbing it and tossing him out onto the green. Drizzile was propped up on all fours, ready for a fight. You knew the trainers leading up to the Gym Leader weren't that strong, but they still couldn't be underestimated. You knew Drizzile was stronger, but you had to act quickly since the Yamper was an electric-type.

"Swift!" You called quickly, and Drizzile then sprang to life. A blinding flash of light appeared, and the Yamper was hit by a barrage of shooting stars before it even realized what was going on. Your quick thinking leads you to a one-hit knockout, and you hopped around happily for a moment.

"Not bad," The other trainer said with a smile as he recalled his fainted Yamper back into his Pokeball. "Good luck!" He said, and then ran to go watch from the sidelines.

You left Drizzile out of his Pokeball and instructed him on what to do. The both of you working together, you wrangled the Wooloo back up in no time at all and knocked down the second blockade.

Once you had gotten a hang of the Gym mission, you had no problem completing the rest. By the time you were done, you were completely out of breath from running the entire time, pieces of hay stuck out of your hair, and sweat dripping down your face. Once the Wooloo were safely herded out of the way behind the gates, you hopped up the steps at the end of the stadium triumphantly and threw your hands into the air. Drizzile let out a small cheer as well, and you reached your hand down to give him a high five.

The doors behind you opened, and you stepped through to the dark hallway before you. Once the doors closed again, you looked down at Drizzile who stood ready by your side for anything. You took your earbuds out, listing to the chattering of people from the stadium just before you, and then popped them back in.

"I don't know if I'm ready..." You said to yourself, and you felt Drizzile tug at your hand. You looked down at him, and he smiled his goofy little smile that made you laugh. "You're right, we can do anything!" You reached down and hugged him, feeling Drizzile's soggy arms wrap around your neck, and then you recalled him back into his Pokeball. You stood up tall, looking off towards the end of the hall, towards the stadium, and took a deep breath. You could do this.

You were utterly impressed by the quality of your headphones because when you stepped out onto the green, you saw the crowd cheer louder than before, but heard only your music playing. You had to remember to thank Leon again. Slowly you walked out onto the green, and from the other end of the field, you saw Milo approach, matching your pace and meeting you in the middle.

Milo gave you his signature warm smile, his green eyes sparkling with the lights of the camera flashes from the crowd. "My Gym's the first one people face, so we get a lot of challengers." He told you, the smile never leaving his face. "That's why I try to keep the Gym mission challenging, but that didn't stop you from completing it, Billie! Proper job! Sure seems like you understand Pokemon real well. I expected nothing less from you! This is gonna be a doozy of a battle, Billie. I'll have to Dynamax my Pokemon if I want to win!" With that, Milo turned to walk back and put some distance between the two of you, and you did the same.

Once far enough away, Milo grabbed a Pokeball off his belt, and you felt yourself tense up. Your eyes saw everything, the crowd spring to life, people standing to their feet as the battle began. Rotom drones flew around the stadium, trying to capture everything from as many angles as they could, and you tried your best not to let all the prying eyes get to you. Your fingers trailed over Drizzile's Pokeball for just a moment... And then shifted over to Gastly's.

Milo tossed his Pokeball out, a small Gossifleur appearing before you. Your heart fluttered as you realized your strategy was going to work, and you quickly threw out Gastly's Pokeball with all your might. You saw Milo's eyes flash with curiosity, not quite knowing what to make of your Ghost-type Pokemon on the field, but then it clicked. You watched him laugh, knowing you were going to put up a good fight.

Gastly was more than ready for this fight, you made sure to train him up specifically for this. He looked back at you for a split second, giving you a big grin before turning back to his opponent. You had speed on your side, as Gastly was the fastest one on your team. You called for him to use a move you had taught to him while still in the Wild Area, Sludge Bomb. The Gossifleur tried to dodge, but Gastly was too quick and far too strong. The move was super effective, and the opponent went down with just one hit.

"Woohoo!" Milo called out as he crossed his arms and grinned. "We're not going to be done in that easy! We're tough as weeds!" He threw another Pokeball out onto the field, and a strong-looking Eldegoss stood before you. You were more than ready, but then Milo did something that threw you off your rhythm.

"Come on, then! It's Dynamax time! You're about to be uprooted!" Milo called out to you, and then recalled his Pokemon back into its ball. With a tap of the Dynamax band on his wrist, the Pokeball suddenly grew in size and glowed brightly. Milo grinned and tapped the ball lovingly before using all of his strength and tossing it behind him. You watched with wide eyes as the Eldegoss grew as it Dynamaxed, almost taking up half the stadium in its side. The Pokemon's cry was so loud, you could hear it even through your headphones.

"Come on, Gastly, you too." You said, your voice too quiet to be heard over the roar of the crowd. You recalled Gastly back to his Pokeball and fiddled with the Dynamax band on your own wrist. Suddenly, Gastly's Pokeball grew as well, and you had to use both your hands to throw the heavy ball as far as you could behind you. Gastly too grew in size to take up his portion of the stadium, and you couldn't help but grin as you watched him marvel in his own newly Gigantamaxed size.

Even in these new forms, your Pokemon was still much faster. You called for the same move as before, but this time it looked far different. The usual Sludge Bomb now turned far more powerful, a foul-smelling ooze bubbling up from the ground. Gastly cried out, and the ooze rose from the ground, flinging itself violently towards the Eldegoss. The move was powerful, yes, but the opponent did not go down.

"Amazing, the power of Dynamaxing, right?" Milo said, as even he was impressed by your battle. "This'll really leave you in shock and awe. It's our Dynamax move! Come on, Eldegoss, use Max Overgrowth!" You watched with wide eyes as the Pokemon shook itself, huge green seeds falling from its flowering body. The seeds shot out towards Gastly, hitting him fiercely head-on, and then exploded! You shielded your face as suddenly the entire stadium was filled with a thick flowery pollen smell that stuck to the back of your throat. The Eldegoss glowed for a moment, healing itself from the sheer force of the move.

You looked back at Gastly, seeing he was still hanging in there. You had to continue, but you knew he wouldn't last much longer. With one last desperate attempt, you yelled as loud as you could, your voice breaking slightly, you called for the same poison-type move. That had done it, as the Pokemon riled back in pain, you knew it was done for. In a tremendously loud explosion, the Eldegoss shrank down to its original size so Milo could recall it back into its ball.

Your heart raced, and you turned back to Gastly as he shrank down too and floated over to you. You placed your hands on its body, grinning widely as you felt the adrenaline from the battle overtake you. Suddenly, Gastly glowed bright, looking slightly confused for a moment. You stepped back, shielding your eyes from the light. When you opened your eyes again, your Gastly had evolved into a Haunter. You threw your arms around his body, as he doubled in size from what he was before. With his new hands, Haunter hugged you back, and with his impossibly large tongue, he licked your face, leaving you sticky and gross, yet undeterred.

Milo couldn't help but cheer for you as well, watching your display of affection with your Pokemon. "The power of Grass has wilted... What an incredible Gym Challenger!" Milo said as he rubbed the sweat off his face with his scarf. Milo then approached you, and you quickly trotted up to meet him in the center of the field.

"That must have been a fulfilling Pokemon battle for you!" He said with a grin. "As proof that you have defeated a Gym Leader for the Gym Challenge, allow me to present you with your very own Grass Badge!" He stepped forward and handed you the glimmering badge, you looked at it wide-eyed as it glimmered in the light. Milo then took your hand into his, shaking it vigorously. "You need to obtain all eight Gym Badges in order to complete the Gym Challenge. And the only way to gather the Badges is to defeat every Gym Leader! Good job today, Billie, I'll be rooting for you!"

~

After the battle, you made your way back to the lobby of the gym. Hop was waiting for you there, and this time around, you were the one to tackle him with a hug. He held you back so tightly you felt your back crack and pop.

"Billie that was so cool, your Pokemon evolved!" Hop said as he grinned. Sonia walked up to you too, she must have been there watching as well, and you felt your face heat up as she leaned down to give you a hug as well.

"You fought well out there!" Sonia said. "Though I must admit, it was a risky move using a Poison-type against Milo instead of a Fire-type or Bug-type."

"Well, I never seen him use a Poison-type before on TV." You admitted. "And poison is super strong against grass. I figured if he didn't have an Oddish, I'd be fine."

"Quite a risky move there, but it worked out in your favor nonetheless!" Sonia said with a smile, her finger tapping against her chin. Hop spotted something behind you, and you turned around. Milo was walking up towards the three of you, a wide smile still plastered to his face. Though just behind him walked another man, much taller than Milo. He looked like he wasn't from Galar, probably from Sinnoh, since you've visited there before and recognize some of his feathers being from there. He was well dressed, had long hair, dark brown eyes, and a polite smile on his face. 

"Some advice for the two of you," Milo said, looking down at you and Hop. "The Gym Challenge has a set order you'll need to follow. So that means your next stop should be in Hulbury to meet Nessa. Hulbury's just beyond Route 5. Or, since you both have the Grass Badge now, you could head to the Wild Area. It's a bit tricky to catch Pokemon that are a higher level than the Pokemon on your team, but they made powerful allies if you succeed!"

"Hey, thanks!" Hop said, throwing his hands behind his head and winking. "I expect this Gym Challenge to be a piece of cake. Right, Billie?"

"Aw heck yeah." You said with a grin.

"I'll be rooting for you both!" Milo said and patted you both on the shoulder.

"Hey, wait, can I get a picture?" You asked, quickly taking out your phone. Hop rolled his eyes at you, as you needed to take a selfie for everything. Milo laughed and agreed, standing next to you with a smile. You smiled widely and snapped a quick picture of the two of you, and then you had to right away post it on all your social media. As you were tapping away on your phone, Hop tapped your shoulder to get your attention. You looked up to see the other man that had followed Milo smiling down at you. You stuffed your phone back into your pocket, your face heating up slightly as you realized how rude you were being.

"You're Billie, right?" The man asked and then his hand out to you. "My name is Johnson, it's a pleasure to meet you." You smiled back and shook his hand. "I'm Champion Leon's personal assistant. Since you're good friends with the Champion and his brother, I wanted to introduce myself to you. If you ever need any help with anything just give me a call, alright?"

"Thanks!" You said a little too loudly, feeling a little embarrassed. You took your hand back, feeling self-conscious as your palm had been a little sweaty. Did Leon really consider you a good friend? You bit your lip, not knowing what to say.

"To be honest, I tried to find my way to the two of you before you took on the gym," Johnson motioned towards you and Hop. "But I ran into a little someone along the way that ended up delaying my arrival." Johnson pulled out a Pokeball from the inside of his jacket pocket. He pressed the button, and a Wooloo sprang to life before you. It wasn't just any Wooloo, though.

You gasped, pulling the earbuds out of your ears. You were in awe, seeing the black wool on it's back, it's white face looking up at you, giving a small beeping cry.

"No way..." You said and looked back up towards Johnson. "You found a shiny! Those are so rare!"

"Yes, this poor thing literally ran into me on my way here. She was being chased by a Meowth, so of course, I had to help her." Johnson rubbed the back of his neck as you leaned down to pet the small Pokemon. "Would you like her?"

Your head shot up to look at Johnson, your eyes almost popping out of your head. "Are you serious?"

"Absolutely," Johnson said. "Unless you would like to take her, Hop."

"Nah, you know I already got one," Hop said. "You take 'er, Billie. We both can have Wooloo on our teams!"

You stood up straight, looking up at Johnson. "Are you sure? You're just gonna give away a shiny?"

"Oh, I'm far too busy to take care of her, it's alright," Johnson said politely. "I'm sure she'll be much happier with you since you're out on the road now. You just have to promise to give her a good name-"

"Beepers."

Johnson blinked. "Beepers?" He scratched the side of his head, not quite knowing what to think. "A-are you sure?"

"Beepers." You repeated and then leaned down to pet the Wooloo.

"Alright, then..." Johnson held the Pokeball in his hand and then held his other out towards you. "May I have your Pokedex?" You stood and handed over your Rotom phone. Johnson opened up your Pokedex and registered the Wooloo over to you as a gift Pokemon, and then he handed you over both your phone, as well as the Pokeball. "Treat her well."

"I'll love her forever." You said as you hugged Wooloo close to you. She let out a small squeak and then nuzzled her nose into you.