Chapter Text
Rough Diamond
Prologue:
My Gallant Star
Postwick, Galar…
She had been seven when she had met the mysterious guardian of Slumbering Weald. It had not even been on purpose—a complete accident even. All she was trying to do was help the Rookidee that had fallen out of the sky.
She had been playing with Growlie in her front yard on sunny morning. The small fire pup was a little over four months old and a rambunctious puppy at that. While her mother’s Arcanine was busy running delivering the bouquets to Wedgehurst and Motostoke, she would look after the small puppy.
Picking up a small stick, she waved it to catch his attention. “Growlie, fetch!” she exclaimed, throwing the stick as hard as her small arms could. It flew a decent few meter and the pup ran to grab it. As she waited for Growlie to bring the stick back, she noticed a small flock of Rookidee flying above.
“Growl,” Growlie barked, getting ger attention. She smiled and grabbed the stick out of his mouth, patting his head.
“Wouldn’t it be cool to fly?” she asked the puppy who wagged his tail. Giggling, she went to throw the stick again when a sharp cry interrupted her. Looking to her left, her eyes widened as one of the small Rookidee fell from the sky and into the Slumbering Weald. Discarding the stick, she ran to the gate that kept the path closed.
“Growl!” Growlie barked, grabbing the bottom of her dress with his mouth, and tugging her away. She kept a firm grip on the wooden gate, shaking her head at the Pokémon.
“It could be hurt! We have to check it out,” she told the fire puppy who shook his head. “I know we’re not supposed to…but papa says we have to always help those in need. That birdie needs our help.”
Growlie still looked unsure as she slipped through the small gap on the right. He began barking and whining, scratching at the wood. Smiling, she stuck her hand through and patted his head.
“Stay here and keep watch. I’ll be back soon,” she promised, pulling her hand back and running into the woods. The further she went in, the darker it became and thick with fog. The sounds of many different Pokémon cries, singing their tunes. Her eyes widened, taking in the sights surrounding her. Barely any sunlight managed to breakthrough the thick leaves on the dozens of trees. The air was cool, a slight breeze running through and stirring up the leaves on the ground.
She should have been afraid. But she was in awe of the natural, untouched beauty that was the Slumbering Weald.
A pained chirp brought her back to focus and she carefully followed the sound. Keeping quiet, she soon found the source of the sound—the Rookidee. It was laying beside a large, sharp rock and clutching it’s wing.
“Hi,” she said quietly, getting onto her knees. It’s red eyes glared at her, pressing its back against the rock. “No, no, it’s okay. I want to help you. You’ve hurt yourself pretty bad,” she outstretched a hand. “Will you let me help you?”
It stared at the hand for a few moments, pulling its injured wing closer to its body. The act caused it to wince in pain and it looked at her. She smiled at the small bird, hoping it would let her assist it. Slowly, it hopped over and stepped into her hand.
She carefully brought it closer and gently inspected its wing. “It looks broken to me. I’ll take you home and get Nikki to take a look at it,” she told the small bird, rising to her feet. “She’s my big sister and she wants to be a doctor. She’ll know what to do.”
“Rook,” it chirped in response and she giggled. Seeing that she had accomplished her mission, all that was left was to get back home. Unfortunately, she did not remember the way.
“I think we’re lost,” she murmured, glancing around at her surroundings for something familiar. “Do you know the way out?”
Rookidee shook its head.
“Well…we’ll have to just walk on until we find the exit,” she said, motivating herself as she walked onwards. However, after a few minutes, there were still dozens of trees and no end in sight. Glancing at a nearby tree, she assessed the number of branches and figured could climb it. If she climbed to the top, maybe she’d have an idea of where she was.
Just as she went to put the bird down, a low growl caught her attention. Looking over, she found herself face to face with a large, scarred, dog-like Pokémon. It yellow eyes moved from her to the small, injured bird in her hand.
Lowering its nose, it sniffed the Rookidee curiously.
“It fell from the sky and landed on a sharp rock. It’s hurt really bad,” she explained to the Pokémon who returned its gaze onto her. The way it looked at her reminded her of Nikki. “I want to take it home to treat it, but we’re lost. Could you show us the way out?”
It huffed, walking past her and she watched it. It paused, looking back at her expectantly and she beamed.
“Thank you,” she said, following after it. It did not take long for her to see the exit, where she could hear Growlie barking and her mother’s voice calling out for her.
“Gloria! Where are you? Gloria!” she heard her mother call out. Turning back to thank the Pokémon, her smile fell when she discovered it had disappeared.
“Rook,” the bird chirped, bringing her back and she nodded.
“We’ll thank it another time,” she told the bird, stepping into the clearing as her mother ran over to her. “Mama, I found an injured bird.”
“Gloria, you know you’re not supposed to go in there,” her mother scolded as Gloria slipped through the fence, cradling Rookidee carefully in her hand. “I was worried sick about you!”
Her shoulders slumped. “I’m sorry mama,” she apologised as her mother sighed, crouching down. “But Rookie needs help.”
Her mother looked at the bird, noticing how it clutched its wing. “Bring it inside. We’ll fix ‘em right up and be flying in no time,” she said, rising to her feet and ushering her daughter inside.
Song: Mo Ghile Mear (My Gallant Star) by Celtic Woman.
This is my HopxReader fanfic because I'm bored from being stuck inside and felt productive. Also love this shit out of Sword and Shield and cannot WAIT for the expansions. Please, give this fic a chance and enjoy it. Comments are always appreciated and tend to get writers to post more work. Just saying...