Chapter Text
“Gather around, kids...it’s storytime!” A woman giggled as the bright eyes, and small laughter of children gathered around her. She sat in a comfy chair in the library; surrounding her were children of various ages, who sat at her feet. She gave one look around and clapped her hands before speaking to them. “So, what story would you like to hear today?” The children all exchanged glances at each other, unsure of what to ask. They’ve heard pretty much everything, from The Very Hungry Caterpie to Good Night Lunatone.
“We...don’t know.” The children shrugged as they looked around before resting their eyes on the woman.
“Hmm…” The woman crossed her arms and pondered before smiling. “How about I tell you guys a special story?”
“Oh!!” The children’s eyes lit up as she stood up and fished from her brown bag. She took out a red book and opened it.
“This book is a special one that hasn’t been published yet! I’ve been saving it for a special occasion. She gave a playful wink as the children sat closer to her.
“What’s the book about?” One of the children asked.
“I’ll tell you...it’s about a pair of heroes who stood against the odds to defeat a powerful and evil king. I call it; The Legend of the Sword and Shield.”
The sun shined brightly on the little town of Postwick. Wooloo rolled around the open fields. They jumped back as a boy ran past them. His purple hair and golden eyes shimmered in the sun as he approached a home near a field of flowers. He eagerly knocked on the door and awaited a response. The door swung open as a woman with dark brown hair smiled at him.
“Oh, Hop! It’s good to see you!”
“Morning!” Hop smiled wide and crossed his arms as he adjusted his denim jacket and green bag. “Is Victor and Gloria home?”
“Yes, they are just inside watching a match.” The woman smiled and led the boy in as he hurried inside.
“Get him, Raihan!” A girl in a grey sweater shouted as she pushed a boy next to her, dressed in a red polo. He furrowed his brow and shook his head.
“You can do it, Mister Kabu!” The twins watched the tv intently, taking no notice of Hop walking in.
‘Oh!’ He thought. ‘It must be the exhibition tournament!’ He watched as Raihan called an attack.
“Kabu’s gonna lose Vic!” The girl sneered, causing the boy to shake his head.
“No, he’s not, Gloria! He’s gonna win; I just know it!”
‘Actually, Victor...Gloria’s right.’ Hop laughed on cue as Kabu’s Pokemon laid defeated.
“Haha!” Gloria stood up and cheered as Victor sighed. “I told you so!”
“Yeah, yeah…” Victor sat up and turned off the tv and spotted Hop on reflection and jumped back. Almost knocking his head into the wall. “Hop!”
“Hey!” The boy waved as Victor blushed and stood up.
“How long have you been there?” He asked as Gloria ran towards him.
“Hoppy, good to see you mate!” The twins smiled at their friend, who dug his hands into his pockets.
“I came by to say; today’s the day!”
“Oh!” Gloria looked at the calendar and smiled wide. “That’s today? Oh, man, I forgot! I gotta go grab my bag!”
“Grab mine too, would ya?” Victor requested.
“The big one in your room, right?” She yelled as she ran up the stairs.
“You literally can’t miss it…” Victor smiled at his sister before returning his gaze back at his friend. “How’s it going, Hop?”
“Going good...a bit nervous though...with Lee coming home.”
“Yeah...I can imagine.” Victor walked over to the couch and picked up his phone. “He’s supposed to stop by and give us our starters, right?”
“Yep! And he’s gonna endorse us too!”
“Maybe you guys, but...I don’t know about myself, to be honest.” Victor sighed and looked up at the ceiling. “I’m not that great of a trainer.”
“What are you talking about? Of course, you’re great!” Hop placed his hands on Victor’s shoulders and shook him slightly. “You and I watched a ton of Lee’s videos! You even helped me write my special notebook too!” Hop dug into his bag and brought out a rather bulky purple notebook, and opened it.
“Right! I helped you with the writing since you ran out of space in it...or rather, you kept running out of space on the pages.” Victor giggled as Hop twirled his pencil around his fingers.
“Well, I’m more of a doodler anyway... I like seeing the cool pictures I draw come to life, but the writing does help a little! You did make it easier for me to tell what to do!”
“I’m glad!” Victor laughed and looked down as his Budew waddled towards him. “Hey, Ivy!” He crouched down and picked up the Bud Pokemon and held her up. “Say hi to Hop!” She smiled at the purple-haired boy.
“Hey, Ivy! You ready to go on a journey with Vic today!” Hop laughed as she nodded at him.
“Oh hush, I might go on a journey...but…” Victor held his Pokemon close to him.
“But you want to go, right?” Hop raised a brow as Victor nodded at him.
“Yeah, more than anything, to be honest. Thanks to you and Gloria, I feel like I can do what it takes to be a great trainer!”
“That’s the spirit, Vic!” Gloria ran behind the boys and tossed the rather large bag over to her brother.
“Whoa!” Victor instinctively let go of his Budew as she jumped on his head. “Careful! You almost hurt Ivy!”
“Oh, sorry, girl!” Gloria looked at his Pokemon, who smiled with glee. “Hey, have you seen Arthur? He should be around here…” Gloria felt a cold chill as her Ralts floated near her. “Oh, there, you are, mate!” The feeling Pokemon sighed and brought up the twin’s hats with his Psychic.
“Thanks, Arthur.” Victor grabbed his signature grey beanie and placed it on his head. “How do I look.”
“Okay...I guess.” Hop turned around, trying to hide his face from view.
“Okay?” Victor raised a brow and looked at Gloria, who giggled with delight.
“What, Sir Hoppington means is that...you look fine, Vic.” Gloria adjusted her bag and shook her head as she picked up her Ralts. “Come on guys, let’s get a move on! Leon isn’t one to be patient.” With that, she left towards the door.
“Right, we will be right there, Gloria!” Victor adjusted his bag and crouched down to let his Budew onto his head. “You coming, Hop?”
“Yeah...just remember.” Hop took Victor’s hand and rubbed his thumb across the back of his palm. “No matter what, you’re an amazing person, and we will always be together!”
“Right back at you, Hop! You’re my best friend, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world! I swear on my life!” Victor smiled wide as Hop punched his arm.
“There you go, being all cheesy and junk...come on, let’s start our first adventure as Pokemon trainers! Together!” Hop ran out of the door as Victor looked up at his Budew.
“Well, with confidence like that, it’s no wonder he’s so full of energy.” Victor sighed and bit his lip. “I wonder if I’m worthy in his eyes…” Victor closed the door behind him and walked down the steps, and looked towards his friends. They waved as he ran towards them.