Chapter Text
"Would you rather kiss a Grimer or Hug a Maractus?"
Hop laughed at Gloria's absurd question. "Neither. Both would likely end with me in the hospital."
As Hop's Wooloo, Skip, nodded sagely in agreement, Victor looked up from the curry pot he was tending to. "Pretty sure you have to pick one of them, Hop. That's the whole point of Would You Rather."
Hop sighed. "The Grimer then, I guess. Slightly smaller chance of harm. Why are we doing this?"
"Duh, We're camping!" Gloria proclaimed. "This is what you do when you're camping!"
"We're only camping out for the night because you and Hop spent the whole day chasing a Nincada to Wyndon and back..." Victor grumbled.
"Hey! Don't badmouth Roadrunner! He's my precious little insect baby!"
"I'm just glad the opening ceremony isn't 'til tomorrow..."
Hop stared at the Nincada, who was currently busy munching on an Oran Berry and ignoring the disapproving glare of Gloria's Scorbunny, Cinn. Victor groaned in frustration. "Where'd all those Oran Berries I put out go?"
Apparently, it wasn't the bug's first Berry. Hop sighed. "I can go shake a tree and get more?"
Victor uttered a quick thanks before turning to the Sobble that was clinging to his shoulder. "You know, Beaky doesn't bite. You can go down and say hi."
Hop's Rookiedee, Beaky, was staring up at the quivering Sobble in confusion. Victor's Sobble, Ace, would not budge.
Gloria laid back and placed her head on Skip's soft wool, giving Ace a sympathetic glance. "Poor thing...why do you think he's so scared?"
Victor shrugged. "Leon probably would have told us if our starters came pre-traumatized. I think he's just really shy."
Hop then yelled out. Victor jumped in surprise, dumping Ace off of his shoulder and right onto Beaky. Skip stood up and trotted towards the noise, causing Gloria's head to hit the ground. Roadrunner attempted to nab a piece of Rawst Berry from the cutting board, only for his hand to be slapped away by Cinn.
Victor grabbed what he thought was Ace's Pokèball, and ran over to help Hop. He found his friend sitting under a tree, clutching his forehead as Skip licked his cheek. He saw a shadowy shape begin to roll away, and instinctively threw whatever he was holding at the blob.
Gloria ran up behind him. "Hop, are you okay?!" she shouted.
Victor stared into the dark as the Pokèball he had thrown let out a chime to indicate a successful capture.
Hop stood up, patting Skip on the head. "Sorry guys. I was shaking the tree, and an Applin fell onto my head. It kinda...startled me."
As Victor walked over to the Pokèball to investigate, Gloria nudged Hop with her elbow. "You think the tree was trying to say something to ya?"
"What? No!" Hop protested. Gloria laughed, and continued to pester him about possible romantic ties to a Berry Tree. Victor walked back over with the Pokèball. "I think l just caught that Applin!"
"Nice! Another one for the team! What are you gonna call him?" Just as Victor was going to name his new companion, they heard the telltale "Fwooom" of Cinn launching an Ember attack.
The three ran back to the campsite to find Roadrunner fainted on the ground near a knocked-over Curry Pot and Cinn standing triumphantly next to it. The curry that hadn't absorbed into the ground was horribly charred, and most of the chunks in it looked nibbled-on. Ace was hiding behind Cinn, putting the rabbit between himself and Beaky, who looked more dazed than intimidating.
Victor deflated as his stomach growled. "Instant Noodles?"
"Instant Noodles." Hop agreed.
And so Victor boiled some water, glaring at Roadrunner while Gloria fed him a revive.
When Gloria woke up and crawled out of her tent, she found Hop was already awake, doing push-ups outside of his tent. Skip, Beaky, and Diddy, Hop's Grookey, were all next to him, attempting to do the same. Of course, given that one of them had incredibly thick wool, and the other one was a bird, the Pokèmon were less than successful. "Hop, what are you doing?"
"Ah...Morning, Gloria!" Hop jumped up and ran across the campsite to a tree, where he had hung a Red Flag. Diddy gladly followed, with Beaky simply electing to fly over to the tree. Skip, on the other hand, had rolled himself onto his back in an attempt at a push-up and seemed stuck. "I'm doing Raihan's daily training regimen!"
"Raihan has a daily training regimen?"
"Don't tell me you don't follow him on ChattR. He just posted about it!"
Hop leapt down onto his back to do a Sit-Up. Diddy chirped happily and mimicked his trainer. Beaky gave up and perched next to the Red Flag. Skip was still stuck on the other side of the Training Course. Gloria tilted her head. "Doesn't Raihan have like, equipment? Maybe a Membership at, I don't know, a GYM or something? With Weights, and Treadmills, and stuff?"
"But he posted this one on ChattR! You know it's gotta be the real deal!"
Gloria took a closer look at the flag. "Hop...is that..."
"Victor's Shirt? Yeah. Don't worry, I'm sure he won't notice. He always sleeps late, remember?"
"HOP! WHERE'S MY SHIRT?!" Victor stormed out of his tent, the entire upper half of his body missing clothing. His newly caught Applin, Fuji, happily rolled along behind him.
"Vic, I can explain..."
Victor sighed as he snatched the shirt away from the tree and put it on. "You're up early." Gloria remarked.
"We gotta get to the Budew Drop Inn, remember? Pack up camp, we gotta go!"
"But I was in the middle of my workout..."
"The workout can wait! We have to go check in, or we won't be able to register for the League in time!"
Hop looked down in shame as he walked back to his tent.
"A-a-am I the only one who finds these s-s-s-sudden weather shifts really s-s-strange?" Victor shivered.
Hop breathed on his hands before rubbing them together and pressing them to his face. "N-n-now that you mention it, y-yeah...D-D-Diddy won't even come out of his Pokèball..."
The Grookey in question was currently cowering inside of the Pokèball, staring through the translucent top in complete horror at the Blizzard outside.
"C'mon, fellas! Step it up! What are we, Slugma?"
Victor stared ahead at his twin sister, his facial expression showing an odd combination of annoyance, awe, and horror. "How are you not c-c-cold?!"
Gloria turned around to face them, revealing Cinn, who was attached to her front, riding inside of a stretched-out gray sweater. The Scorbunny cheerfully waved at the two. "Oh..." Hop sighed.
He turned to face Victor. "Alr-right, f-f-first order of business; catching a Fire-t-type."
"...Or j-just b-b-buying a winter c-c-coat."
"I guess that works t-too..."
"Oooooh..." Gloria, Hop, and Victor could only stare up at the majestic glowing beam rising from the outcrop of violet rocks.
Victor looked down at his phone. "Apparently, this means that there's a wild Pokèmon who fell down there, and Dynamaxed...it says here that these dens sometimes have stuff like TRs and rare berries down there!"
"I say we jump in!" Gloria said enthusiastically.
"Hold up. Lee told me you need four people to do one of these. Just in case."
"Oh..." the three looked down sadly, but then Gloria perked up. "Hey! Mr. Suit Guy! Can you help us with this?" she shouted at a random guy walking past.
"Gloriawhatareyoudoingyoudontjustcallpeoplemistersuitguy" Victor turned to the man, who had walked over. "Sorry for the inconvenience, sir, you can keep doing what you were doi-"
"Why, I'd be glad to help three strapping young gym challengers such as yourselves! Ah, I remember the days when I did the league, back when Mustard was champion. Those were the days, let me tell you."
"...okay. So I guess we jump in?" Victor asked as the man continued to ramble about how youth was wasted on the young.
"Max Raid Battllllllle, here! We! Gooooooooooo!" Gloria shouted as she dove into the den. The other three just stared as she vanished into the beam, before following her down.
As Victor slowly stood up, gaining his bearings inside of the surprisingly spacious den, he looked over in front of himself to find a massive Pidove looking down at him. The Bird let out a deep, menacing Pidove coo, sending energy all over the den.
"Cinn! Let's Go!" Gloria shouted as she tossed out her Scorbunny's Pokèball.
"Come on out, Beaky!" Hop yelled.
"Ace, I choose you!" Victor exclaimed, pitching the lizard's Pokèball forward.
"Solrock!" shouted the man in the suit.
Ace immediately noticed the giant bird towering over him, and, doing some quick mental math (opponent = very very big, me = very very small), immediately returned himself to his Pokèball. Victor facepalmed, staring down the quivering critter through the top of the ball. "Really?!"
He attempted to send out Ace again. "Get...out here!"
Gloria took the first move. "Cinn! Ember!"
The Scorbunny launched a small Fireball from its mouth, hitting the Pidove directly in the beak.
"Beaky! Hone your Claws, then use Power Trip!"
Beaky took to the air, rubbing his talons against each other to sharpen them before being surrounded with a dark aura and smashing into the larger bird's chest.
"Direct Hit!" Hop exclaimed.
"Solrock, Cosmic Power!" the man exclaimed. The Sun Pokèmon glowed with a mysterious power.
"Ace, get out of your Pokèball, dammit! Fuji can't fight this thing!"
As Victor continued to struggle with his timid Pokèmon, the Pidove launched a whirlwind, consuming Cinn with 60mph winds.
As the Scorbunny landed on the ground on his back, dazed, Victor finally convinced Ace to launch a Water Gun at the Pidove.
"Cosmic Power again!" The Solrock's glow intensified.
The Pidove took flight, swiping at the Pokèmon on the ground with its Talons. "Beaky! Fly behind it and use Peck!" Hop commanded.
"Solrock, Cosmic Power!" The Solrock's glow intensified even further. Gloria turned to him. "Does your Solrock know any other moves?"
"Buffing up your stats before attacking is very important when you battle, Young Lady! Remember that for your future endeavors. And yes, he does! Solrock!" the man commanded. "Uuuuuse...Rock Polish!"
Solrock spun around, becoming even shinier. Gloria looked back over at the Pidove, who had landed. The bird released a wave of energy, knocking back all of the Pokèmon and prompting Ace to hide behind Hop. The Solrock's glow vanished, causing the man to scream in frustration. "Now look what you've done, you uncouth avian! You've reset all of my hard work! Solrock, Cosmic Power!"
Gloria moaned in exasperation. "You have a Rock Type, make it attack already!"
"But he's not ready yet! Rock Polish!"
Gloria screamed into her sleeve. "Guess this is what I get for asking random passersby to battle with us..." she muttered to herself.
As the Pidove flew directly above them, Victor threw Ace at it. "Ace, Water Gun!"
The Sobble sprayed water directly up into the Pidove, causing it to freeze. Victor cringed as water flew right up the Pokèmon's...back end. The Pidove roared out in shock, flying away while tilting around unevenly, causing it to crash into the roof of the den...and keep going.
The four could only stare as the Giant Pidove proceeded to fly right through the ceiling of the den and fly off into the Galarian Skies.
"Um...I...uh...what the...huh?" Victor stuttered as Cinn leapt to the other side of the den to catch a falling Ace.
"We...uh...never saw this happen." Gloria decreed. "We weren't here."
Victor nodded mutely. "Ooh! Look! TRs!" Hop exclaimed.
"I will never understand Fishing." Hop intoned as he sat on a rock, watching Victor and Gloria fish.
"You just don't have the patience for it." Victor explained. "Using the right bait to attract the right kind of Pokèmon, feeling the subtle pull of one swimming by your Lure..."
"Victor, I caught something!" Gloria shouted excitedly. She reeled in her line to reveal a Magikarp, which she quickly caught in a Lure Ball.
"A Magikarp? Really, Glo?" Victor asked.
Gloria sent out said Magikarp. "Welcome to the team, Mr. Fish!" she said cheerfully.
The Magikarp balanced on its lower flipper, looking up vacantly at its new trainer. It eventually decided that it had nothing better to do, and gave a sort of lopsided smile at her.
As Gloria pet her new Magikarp, Hop shook his head. "Alright, forget fishing. I just don't understand Gloria."
Victor then reeled in his line, revealing a crying Ace, who had his lip pinched between two magnets. Victor sighed as he removed the magnets and comforted the Sobble. "I thought I told you I was fishing here..." He shook his head, smiling slightly. "Never change, Ace. Never change."
"Hey guys, look! Straight ahead!"
Victor smiled. "Motostoke! We did it!"
Hop ran ahead of them, smiling. "Come on, guys! Last one to the Budew Drop is a broken Exeggcute!"
Gloria took off after him. "Wha-Unfair!" Victor shouted.
The three ran off, laughing and whooping as they came up on their first challenge.
Leon adjusted his cape in his room at the Budew Drop Inn. "Hey, man, you need to relax." Raihan said concernedly. His Flygon nodded, a sad look on its face.
"I know, I know, I'm overthinking all of this. It's just that this is Hop's first year in the League, and everything-"
"Needs to go perfect, we know. For crying out loud, that's all you've said for the past week."
Leon looked over at Piers, who was currently video chatting them through Raihan's Rotom. "Don't act like you haven't been thinking the same thing, Piers. This is Marnie's year too, right?"
"Yea, but you don't see me panicking over it!"
"Why are you still in Spikemuth, Piers?" Raihan questioned.
"Oh, thought you knew. I'm not comin'."
"What? Why? It's the Opening Ceremony!"
"We all know Rose doesn't care whether I attend his yearly ego trip or not."
"Come on, it's more than just that..."
"Oh, sorry. Rose and Leon's yearly ego trip."
"Low blow, Piers. Low blow."
Raihan put his hand on Leon's back. "Don't worry. You have an autograph session at Four. That'll bring your ego right back up to where it's supposed to be."
"What is this, pick on the Champion day?"
"You know you love us." Raihan insisted. "We wouldn't dish it out if we didn't know you could take it."
"Don't you have another quote-unquote daily training regimen to make up?"
Raihan looked at his friend indignantly. "Look, my PR Agent told me to share one that anyone could do without any special equipment, alright? Buzz off."
The friends fell into silence for a bit, before Raihan spoke up. "Look, you remember our first league, right."
"How could I not?"
"Even when Sonia got sick and sneezed into a microphone in the middle of Rose's speech?"
"That just made it better." Leon laughed.
"See? No matter what happens, this will be an unforgettable experience for Hop. He's been watching your matches all his life, he'll love finally being able to be in the league!"
"I know, I know, I just can't help but worry about him."
"Ya told us yourself, mate." Piers said. "He's got his best friends with him, Pokèmon and Human alike. He'll be fine."
Leon smiled as he looked out the window at Hop, Victor, and Gloria, who were slumped over on top of each other on a bench, winded from their race to the Inn. "I know. They're all destined for great things, I can tell."