Archive of Our Own

“It’s okay my child, he may not be here for your birthday, but I will be here in his place.”

Hop was 2 when his older brother took the title as champion of Galar and was 7 when people started to say Leon was undefeatable. His mother always set Leon as someone he should aspire to be like, but that was difficult when the man was hardly home.

It was his 10th birthday today and his mom had hyped him up over the fact Lee was supposed to visit them and be there to celebrate Hop almost reaching double digits in age with his Charizard. They were going to celebrate in a venue in Hammerlocke but he called last minute and said work came up and he wouldn’t be able to make it but they could still go to Hammerlocke to celebrate Hop’s birthday and he’ll try to make it.

He doesn’t make it.

This would be extremely crushing for a child as young as Hop, but the blow was softened by the person who filled up the brother sized hole in Hop’s heart, Ev.

No one else could see them but Ev was always there by Hop’s side since the day he was born, others thought Ev was fake but Hop could see and speak with them, they were always there to lend Hop the comfort and affection he needed when his mom fell short.

(She wasn’t a terrible parent per se but after her husband passed away and Lee was gone more and more from the house, Hop could tell something was off with her. She had such a close relationship with Lee, something he could never even hope to have. Plus Whenever she was near Hop she was so jittery and tense and he couldn’t figure out why.)

Ev wasn’t ordinary, Hop knew this. The cassock they wore was normal enough but they had purple and pink veins running across their arms and face, their eyes were a glowing bright Fuschia and Hop could see spine-like appendages being extended from their back and instead of regular fingers they had thin claws. Ev reminded him of a dragon, in all honesty, his classmates would be so jealous.

He always asked Ev why others couldn’t see them and they said it was because they don’t have a body anymore from an unfortunate accident and only Hop could see them because he was one of their descendants and they tried to talk to Hop’s ancestors and big brother but his ancestors didn’t like them and Lee couldn’t see them.

Only being five at the time, Hop didn’t exactly get it but the part he could get from Ev’s explanation was that Hop was the only person Ev was able to talk to in a long, long time.

“Hop, I know it's disappointing Lee couldn’t make it but why don’t you blow out the candles and make a wish now?” His mom gently urged. He must’ve been looking at Ev for too long, his mom must’ve worried Lee’s absence on his birthday affected him a lot.

Hop wished the same thing he had for the past 6 years.

I wish Ev had a body so that Lee could see what cool friend I had.

—---------------------------------------------

When they returned home from their admittedly cool trip, Ev asked him to go to his room so Ev could show him his gift for Hop.

It was a small doll of Leon, it couldn’t be larger than 10 inches but it held almost every feature of his older brother except for the bright Fuschia blank eyes on it. Lee’s yellow eyes on the doll were nowhere to be seen on the doll with Ev’s unique eyes taking their place.

“I tried to make the doll look like your older brother, but I couldn’t create the eyes correctly. Do you like it?”

He fiddled with the doll’s arm and looked straight into the doll’s eyes.

The doll was nice, but Hop wanted someone else. 

“Can you make a doll of yourself?” Hop asked Ev, giving pleading eyes to try and convince their parent in all but blood and name. He loved his brother, but he wanted a likeness of Ev as well.

Ev tilted their head confused at their descendant. “But my child, you see me every day, why would you want a doll of me?”

“Because I want to be able to play with you.”

An amused expression hit them before they could hold it back and he patted the child’s head as he puffed his cheeks in annoyance that Ev found humor in his genuine request. Patting his head and giving any form of physical affection was enjoyable to Ev who hadn’t been able to come in contact with anyone for thousands of years before Hop was born. Any reason they could find to give any was swiftly taken.

“Making a doll of myself would be very difficult, my child, I mean I have to create these” they raised the spine like appendages behind them. “Could you imagine trying to make these?”

“It would be like trying to see how much wool a Wooloo has!” 

“Exactly so it seems you’ll have to be stuck with just me in this form.”

“Well, that’s okay, as long as you’re with me I don’t really care.”

They chatted for a bit with Hop hugging the doll Ev created the entire time until they were interrupted by a crash they heard from downstairs which sounded like it came from the kitchen. Hop quickly put down the doll on his bed and rushed down the stairs of their home to see what happened.

Hop wasn’t sure if the events that transpired after were for the best or the worst.

—---------------------------------------------

His brother was home for once, that should have been a statement Hop would be happy to hear but the events that just happened overshadowed any joy he would have felt about his brother coming to Postwick.

Their mother suddenly collapsed in the kitchen and started screaming, curling in on herself up in a ball, refusing to calm down. The people from Wedgehurst had to take her away because she wouldn’t even calm down, not even when her young son cried for her. If anything she almost seemed to get worse.

When Lee arrived, Hop quickly rushed to hide the doll Ev made for him under his bed so he wouldn’t see it. It would be so embarrassing if he saw him having a doll of him of all possible people. 

For the next few days, his brother was there for Hop––and while he was nowhere near as good at chores as Hop or their mom, he was there and if it weren’t for what happened to their mom and Ev’s sudden more silent demeanor, Hop would’ve been over the moon.

Unfortunately, his brother’s visits were never long and after a series of phone calls that Hop didn’t understand, Lee informed him that he had to go back to work and that he was sending Hop to stay with Sonia and Professor Magnolia while their mom gets better.

He forced himself not to cry when Professor Magnolia told him to say goodbye to his brother who despite promising he’ll visit soon, Hop knew he wouldn’t be back for a very long time due to his work as the champion. The only reason he was able to hold it together was Ev’s hand on his shoulder and gentle soothing as he watched Lee leave with his Charizard.

Professor Magnolia showed Hop the room he would be staying in and he didn’t see very much of her.

She was often busy studying something called Dynamax, and her granddaughter Sonia was nice but seemed more interested in doing research with her grandmother or playing with her Yamper than spending time with Hop.

Bored and lonely, Hop continuously pressed Ev on what was wrong and after almost a day of pestering them on the matter, Ev cracked. 

“What happened to your mother is my fault.”

“What do you mean?” Hop asked, distressed. What did Ev mean by that? How could they be responsible for what happened to his mom if they were with him when she collapsed? 

“Remember what I told you when you were 5? About your ancestors not liking me?”

Hop nodded his head.

“They didn’t like me because my presence made them go crazy. My presence alone made your ancestors lose their minds. I thought the curse had ended when your dad died because your mother seemed okay, your brother never felt my presence and you’ve been the only of my descendants I can talk to. I’m so sorry Hop, I really thought your family generation would be alright and I apologize for that. It’s okay if you won’t forgive me.”

Upon hearing that, Hop stared blankly at Ev who started to nervously fiddle their hands. The human form they decided to appear as for Hop was suddenly so uncomfortable and they almost considered shifting back to their pokemon form so Hop would look at them less incredulously

“That’s okay.”

Ev reeled back a bit, the near blank and griefless answer of the child in front of them causing disbelief to run through them. They just admitted to being the cause of the current situation and he simply answers with a “That’s okay”!?! Did the gravity of what they said not hit, or did he simply not believe them. 

“You do understand that I am completely serious about this Hop” they spoke in a gentle yet firm voice. He might be in denial so he can justify having them by his side since his mother is currently being treated and his brother is off on more champion business.

“I do, I just don’t care.”

Perhaps those words should’ve concerned Eter- Ev more, after all, a young boy lacking empathy towards such drastic events should react more. But they decided to hug their many years of a great-grandnephew, merely happy to have such a nice young boy with them after thousands of years of loneliness. 

—---------------------------------------------

Hop was 14 when Ev instructed him how to catch his very first pokemon, Wooloo.

The sheep pokemon had come charging into Wedgehurst and the pokemon centre, Hop just so happened to be near the pokemon centre and the clerk had hastily given him some Pokeballs from her stock and begged him to try and catch the energetic Wooloo.

A pokemon was a welcome addition to Hop’s life since his loneliness really started to sink in when puberty started.

After about a year of living with the professor, his mom was well enough to live with him again but their relationship even years after that day went from good but distant to awkward and cold. Ev helped keep him company in a home that was so lonely and lacking in warmth, but Hop wasn’t about to be upset about his newly caught Wooloo keeping him company.

He had never caught a pokemon in his life and panicked hard while trying to gather the courage to throw a Pokeball at the unruly Wooloo. Ev was the one who instructed him to take a deep breath and helped him get the Wooloo to stand still for a minute so Hop could throw the Pokeball at it.

In the end, the pokemart suffered minor damages and the employees had to put back all the potions and Pokeballs that were knocked off their shelves. Hop had a minor bruise from Wooloo tackling him, but he caught his very first pokemon to the joy of Ev and his mother. Lee even called later that day and congratulated Hop on catching a pokemon without the assistance of another trainer or pokemon. 

Well, Lee didn’t know that Hop received help from Ev. He was quite sure Ev was a trainer when they had a body, but was informed by them that they weren’t a trainer, but was a priest when they lived.

“When they lived” stung for Hop to hear as it reminded him of the grim situation his friend was in.

Deciding to change the subject, Hop talked to him about how Lee planned to visit and was bringing rare pokemon for him and Gloria to start their pokemon journey.

If nothing happened to his mom 4 years ago, he might’ve been finished with his pokemon journey by now since he would’ve done it similar to his older brother. His pokemon journey was unfortunately pushed aside with all the family drama that happened. He wonders if he would’ve had to approach the professor about starting his journey as a trainer if he didn’t catch Wooloo. 

He decided not to dwell on it and summoned Wooloo who had calmed down since his capture and had started growing pretty fond of Hop and was happy to receive so much attention from Hop who happily indulged him since the normal type helped so much with chores.

—---------------------------------------------

Sobble clung to Hop’s shoulder as they made their way to Professor Magnolia’s home with Ev and Wooloo not following far behind.

The Sobble his brother gave was shy and terrified of most things, as Sobbles usually were, but she proved herself to be a competent battler ––even if she lost to Gloria’s Grookey.

The water lizard burst into tears after it lost, worried that Hop would be mad or not want her since Wooloo did much better than her in the battle with Gloria, but Hop affectionately patted her on the head, consoling the poor lizard for doing her best against a pokemon that could hit her for super effective damage.

It was even more terrified earlier that day when he brought her and Wooloo to the Slumbering Weald with Gloria to rescue the Wooloo that rolled in there after using tackle on the fence blocking off the area.

Gloria swore up and down when the fog arrived she saw something resembling a pokemon, but Hop didn’t believe it as while he knew Gloria to be a very honest person who wouldn’t lie for attention, he was in the same woods and nothing happened. They just got shrouded by fog and got knocked out with Gloria falling unconscious first. The fog was so thick and suffocating she might’ve imagined something, then again, maybe she did and the fog was too thick and suffocating for Hop to see.

After he had woken up from the fog knocking him out, Wooloo, Sobble and Ev were nearby, fussing over him––and maybe it was from dizziness from the fog, but he saw Lee as well, charging over towards them, his expression genuinely worried and distressed that it felt wrong to Hop. He hardly even knew Lee as a brother, only ever seeing him in the light of an unbeatable champion with lasting smiles. 

His brother’s visit that day was far more exciting in his head than it was. It wasn’t that Lee changed, or was doing something wrong, but when Hop saw the crowds of people that gathered to see Leon and chose to attend to them even when he was technically on leave left a bitter feeling in Hop’s heart. It was one he hadn’t dwelt on since his brother left to go back to work after New Year two years ago.

Ev’s presence didn’t help in Hop’s more apathetic internal response to his brother visiting. They had been the only family Hop could lean on from the start of his life until now, so much so that his brother being there almost felt intrusive to Hop’s life. 

When Gloria woke up after the supposed encounter with the mysterious pokemon, Lee told them they should say goodbye to their moms since they won’t get the chance to see each other again for a while. 

The farewell with his mother wasn’t special like his brother’s visit, their relationship had been strained since he was 10 and even if they were getting along well during the barbeque to celebrate him and Gloria becoming trainers––and Lee coming home, they were still not as close. She just awkwardly wished him luck before occupying herself again with chores. 

Ev reminded him to get one of the camping kits from the house as he went to leave and after asking for permission from his mother, he had the items needed to camp outside if he had to and was out to start his journey.

….

“You should ask your brother to sponsor you for the gym challenge” Ev peppily told him and to his shock, Wooloo made a noise of agreement.

Hop honestly wasn’t interested in the gym challenge as the fact his brother was absent so much due to it left a bit of a sour taste in his mouth. Ev’s encouragement was very tempting though, but before he could give a no to his parental figure, another thing concerned him.

“You can hear them Wooloo?” He would explain to the very confused Sobble what he was talking about shortly. First, he needed to get to the bottom of Wooloo hearing Ev.

“It seems this little guy started to hear me today, perhaps it’s because he’s one of your pokemon?” Ev suggested.

Hop crossed his arms and looked down in thought. “That doesn’t explain why Sobble can’t see or hear you.”

Wooloo made another noise with a tone that suggested he thought of something. Not understanding him, Hop turned to Ev for translation.

“Wooloo here says he couldn’t see me until you two had bonded and spent more time together. He thinks that perhaps Sobble needs more time as your pokemon before she can see and speak to me.”

That explanation made sense to Hop and he saw Wooloo chatting with Sooble, likely explaining his theory. 

For the first time that day in matters regarding his family, a burst of excitement hit Hop at the thought someone else could finally meet Ev, the person (pokemon?) who raised him––Ev had explained the fact they’re more pokemon than human after he could live with his mother again.

According to them, since Hop took the information he brought a curse to his family so laxly, they figured that information shouldn’t have bothered them and Hop was inclined to agree except for one piece of information there bothered him.

Ev’s body was out there somewhere.

If he participated in the gym challenge then he would get fame which could help him search for Ev’s body. After all, even if he was young, companies like Macro Cosmos looked favorably at the gym challengers and even more, would look favorably at him for being the champion’s younger brother.

A part of him was annoyed at the thought he would use his brother’s fame for his dream but sacrifices had to be made.

“Let’s go get a sponsorship!” Hop declared to the jubilation of his companions.

—---------------------------------------------

As they neared the hotel, he let out his pokemon from their Pokeballs so they could get a chance to stretch. Wooloo loved being out of his Pokeball and he hardly tried to hide his displeasure when he had to be put in his Pokeball.

Sobble was quite fond of her Pokeball but did also enjoy being out of it to see the world around her and spend time with Ev and the others though would usually request to be returned to her Pokeball after about 20-30 minutes of walking around.

Rookidee seemed to be the neutral party in the Pokeball issue. If he was let out of his Pokeball he thrived but also seemed to do well in his Pokeball.

They could all speak to Ev so were all happily chatting as they made their way to the hotel where some hooligans dressed like gangsters were causing a ruckus at the front desk and the woman there was holding up a banner with… the face of someone who looked around his and Gloria’s age?

He saw Gloria was there too, watching the situation extremely confused and eventually deciding to step in and beat the people who called themselves Team Yell’s pokemon.

After the grunts were defeated, the girl who they had a sign of arrives with a Morpeko and introduces herself as Marnie and explains Team Yell are fans of her before ordering them to run off.

Wooloo made an upset noise, clearly dissatisfied with the explanation that the obnoxious group were just fans of hers.

Sobble, who did accept the explanation, was comforting the sheep pokemon’s back comfortingly to soothe its dissatisfaction.

“I think we should go check-in, your pokemon should have their energy for tomorrow.”

Hop nodded and went to check in while Gloria chatted with Marnie.

…

The ceremony to showcase the gym leaders and challengers of the gym challenge was as grand as the celebrations for last year and despite not caring much for the challenge itself, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of competition between himself and the other contestants.

He flashed Gloria a wide grin when she went over to look at him and to her right, he saw Marnie next to her, her usually stoic face carrying a pleased expression.

To Hop’s left was a guy with curly white hair, a rather arrogant expression and wide purple eyes. 

The four of them were the competitors for the title of “champion” and to the audience, they were rivals who were going to battle in the end to get the chance to try and defeat Galar’s reigning champion for over a decade.

————————————————

“Now I’m terribly sorry as I have some important business to attend to, however, I do have a request. Hop, I wish to speak to you more even beyond our meeting here, would you be alright with us exchanging phone numbers?”

Hop gave the chairman an incredulous look before he could stop it and he could see Leon giving the chairman a look for giving such a request but before Leon could say anything, Hop whipped out his rotom phone and they exchanged numbers.

“I hope to see great things from you two, now I must be going before Oleana comes over to drag me to the meeting herself. Best of luck to you two.” Rose said before leaving.

Recovering quickly from the confusion he got from the chairman’s actions, Leon gave his brother and Gloria a bright smile and said Rose must be in a good mood from seeing such promising trainers.

Before he left, Leon gave advice on how to improve as trainers and informed them where the first gym is and wished them luck before leaving to return to his work.

After some chatting, Gloria left as well as she wanted to get a move on to the first gym and Hop exited the stadium too, quickly releasing Wooloo, who was restless and Sobble who wanted to stretch her legs.

Ev who watched the whole exchange was beaming with joy from the events earlier, “For you to catch Chairman Rose’s attention brings me so much joy, Hop. You’ve grown so much since I first met you as a baby.”

Hop blushed a bit from the praise and he could hear Wooloo and Sobble speaking to Ev, curiosity clear in their tones.

“What are they asking you about?”

“Stories of when you were a baby.”

“Oh okay- wait no!”

“Don’t worry I won’t betray you like that.”

Wooloo and Sobble made noises of despair and Hop looked at his pokemon in exaggerated mock betrayal which got him a soft tackle from Wooloo.

Ev gave a soft smile to the trio as they left Motorstoke and made their way to the first gym.

—---------------------------------------------

It wouldn’t be until Hop was going to get his second gym badge when Chairman Rose gives him a call.

“Hop! I heard from your friend, Gloria, that you should be on your way to Hulbury. When you get there please meet me at the restaurant, I want to discuss something with you.”

A sort of odd but not completely out of nowhere request as it would make sense Chairman Rose would want to chat to Hop in a more relaxed setting since the request was sudden and after quickly consulting Ev and Wooloo and Sobble who were the ones out of their Pokeballs, Hop readily agreed.

When he got to the restaurant, he was greeted by a woman who Hop recognized as Oleana (Lee had sent him a picture once and he’s seen her online) who curtly greeted him and told Hop to keep his pokemon in their Pokeballs for the meeting with the chairman which he obeyed since most restaurants didn’t let trainers keep their pokemon out of their Pokeballs anyway.

After a reminder from Oleana to not disappoint Chairman Rose, Hop went to the table where he saw Chairman Rose and the guy he recognized as another gym challenger.

“Hop! I’m glad you could make it. I’d like to introduce you to Bede over here, I’m sponsoring him for the gym challenge. Bede, this is Hop, Champion Leon’s younger brother.”

He could see Bede hold back a sneer and Hop held back a grimace at how he was introduced. Chairman Rose was his brother’s boss so it makes sense that's how he knows of Hop and he had anticipated this would happen, still didn’t stop it from stinging especially when Milo and many others have said the same in his journey and he’s only past the first gym.

Despite his negative feelings about the introduction, he extended his hand out to shake hands with Bede, something the trainer accepted and after they shook hands they turned to the chairman who looked very pleased with the two of them.

“I’m glad you two could become acquainted and I hope you two continue to make Galar proud,” his pleasant smile dropped a little. “Arceus knows that Galar will need it for its future.”

Hop tilted his head in confusion and he could see Ev express the same sentiment. Bede scoffs.

“In the next 1000 years, Galar will face an energy crisis,” Bede said, a hint of arrogance in his tone though clearly restrained. “The chairman is the only one who seems to be concerned.”

“Well of course he’s the only one concerned. That’s like 10 generations in the future” Hop held himself back from saying that. It would be rude and there must be a reason this matter is being brought to Hop.

Ev seemed to share the sentiment though with not as much dismissal as Hop.

“Thank you for the summary to Hop here, Bede” Chairman Rose’s smile drops completely and instead of the kind and friendly expression he is known for, he had a rather serious expression. “There is only one solution to the energy crisis that will destroy Galar in the next thousand years. The pokemon that controls dynamax energy, The gigantic pokemon: Eternatus.”

The chairman continued about how Eternatus could single-handedly set Galar up forever and he has decided to use everything he has to ensure Galar’s future. The only issue is that Eternatus is only a body as of now and the ancient text he found on the stone sealing the body away informed him that the only way to bring Eternatus back to its body was to find the spirit and return it to its body. The only one who has any hope of being connected to the spirit of Eternatus is the descendants of Eternatus’ family when they were once human.

At that explanation, Hop’s eyes widened and it was clear to him what the chairman wanted. Ev seemed to as well as their posture straightened and their expression was unreadable.

“Hop, I’ve spent months pouring through every family tree I could find and fact-checked all of them. I believe that you are a descendant of Eternatus’ brother, in fact, you’re the descendant of the brother that if my sources are right, the brother he loved most.”

Ev flinched at the mention of their dearly departed brother and he could see Bede give him a questioning look when he looked at Ev momentarily with pity.

……

The chairman wanted to use him. Plain and simple.

He said all sorts of buttered up words on how useful and important he was but Hop could tell the only reason the Chairman wanted him was his ancestry with Eternatus and the fact he was connected to Professor Magnolia so he would help research wishing stars.

When the meeting was over and Hop mustered all the politeness Ev raised him with to form a coherent reply, and went to a quieter alley with Ev trailing behind.

Hop pulled out the two wishing stars that Rose gave him to research and he took one out and stared at the strange stone, the stone oddly warm on his hand.

Ev makes a noise of protest as his fingers wrap around the stone and Hop can feel the energy flow into his body. 

His back leaned back as his hand shook under the new power. It felt a surge into it and he let out a shudder as the strange sensation faded and even if he couldn’t see it, he could feel something had changed in his body.

“Hop, the wishing star…the energy on the wishing star is gone.”

Inspecting the rock that was left on his hand, the energy was indeed gone from it, leaving only an oddly shaped stone in the palm of Hop’s hand.

“Did I absorb its power?” Hop pitched and Ev nodded, their expression pretty serious.

“There’s some things you need to understand about this, Hop.”

—---------------------------------------------

Hop watched as security dragged Bede away. The boy looked around frantically, clearly confused at this being the outcome of Hop’s tip-off about the wishing stars.

He didn’t exactly lie to the now ex-gym challenger, there were wishing stars on the mural and the chairman claimed to have confiscated them, though Hop could tell from how the chairman looked at him as he escorted Bede away that Hop will be consuming some of those, but to get those wishing stars would be extremely idiotic.

A part of him partially felt bad for doing that to Bede who only wanted to do what the chairman wanted but he had it coming with his arrogant attitude. He never even tried to hide the fact that he was jealous of Hop for being the one the chairman looked to the most for his plan for Galar. Hop honestly wouldn’t have minded that. Most people are jealous of his close ties to the champion. He insulted his pokemon and said they would be better off having the champion rather than him try and make contact with Eternatus.

“If they even tried to ask Lee about it, their plan would go nowhere.”

Knowing full well the chairman would wish to see him soon, Hop stayed close to the pokemon centre in stow-on-side, simply feeding his pokemon some curry and as expected, Oleana approached him and said the chairman requests his presence.

The chairman had three wishing stars for Hop to research, saying that the other 7 of the 10 wishing stars Bede collected were to be given to Eternatus’ body, and after quickly looking over the wishing stars to see if they were genuine––not that Hop doubted they were, it’s just always nice to check––and a short discussion with the chairman about the recent events, Hop left his office giving the wishing stars a small grin.

Once out of the sights of the Macro Cosmos presidents, Hop went to an alley––his usual hiding spots as most didn’t look in them and those who did know to mind their own business–– he clutched the first wishing star in his left hand and bit back a groan of pain as he felt the energy from the rock seep into him.

After the wishing star energy settled in Hop’s body, he took the other two and looked to Ev who was smiling slightly nervously but then gave him a thumbs up after looking Hop’s body over for any signs of the wishing star energy and finding none. With his business done, he left the small alley and was on his way to leave for Motorstoke when his rotom phone started ringing and Hop quickly picked it up.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Hopster!”

“Lee?”

It was a bit odd for Lee to call Hop when their calls usually were initiated by their mother though Hop supposed now that he was out on his journey, Lee would call him directly.

“It’s been a while hasn’t it? I watched your matches against Milo, Nessa and Bea, you did great!” 

“Thanks,” Hop replied flatly. Perhaps it was from just betraying Bede or the disappointment that came from the fact his brother had seen those matches and chose to call three gyms in. 

Lee caught onto his tone and Hop could imagine he had a bashful look on the other end of the phone. “Sorry, you know work piles up during the gym challenge.”

Hop was aware, rather painfully so since his birthday coincided with it.

“So anyways Hopster, how’s your pokemon? Sending out Dubwool against Bea’s Machamp was a ballsy move I’ll tell you that.” 

Honestly, he panicked in that battle since his remaining pokemon were his experienced partner, Dubwool or the baby Toxel he only got recently. Her gigantamax Machamp packed as much of a punch as his trainer and Hop had to choose as Corvisquire, Silicobra and Drizzile were down for the count.

“Dubwool is one of my best pokemon.” Many, including Bede, mocked Hop for having a pokemon many deemed to not be good enough. His partner was his loyal and faithful companion alongside Ev and Inteleon. 

That insult was part of why he had Bede knocked off his high horse. No one mocks his close companions and gets to walk scot-free.

“I agree! I never expected him to have zen headbutt, you’ve trained him well.” 

Being able to chat with his brother about his prized pokemon felt nice. Toxel needed more time with him before he could speak to Ev but the baby pokemon was excited to meet Ev from all the hyping up he’s received about Ev from Corvisquire and Drizzile.

“- by the way, I’ve heard from mom that you used to have an imaginary friend named Ev. H-“ 

Hop almost ended the call right then and there with no explanation upon hearing that. They were just chatting about the pokemon Hop’s trained and raised, what brought this on?

“And why does it matter to you ?” Hop interrupted his brother and spat that last part out venomously. If he wasn’t as frazzled as he currently was he likely wouldn’t have added that “to you” part but the topic of Ev as an imaginary friend angered him. Ev was more family to Hop than Lee was.

Sensing that the topic was upsetting Hop, Leon was quick to defend himself. 

“There’s nothing wrong with that!” Leon slightly panicked. He was used to Hop being such a sweet and well-behaved boy that the sudden anger caught him off guard. “Mom just told us how she always worried about you speaking to this Ev character despite there being nobody else around. I was just curious what you had as a companion when I couldn’t be there for you.”

“I had Dubwool” Lee wouldn’t understand anything about Ev, nobody but his pokemon did.

“Hop-“

He disconnected the call.

—---------------------------------------------

“Your eye is pink.”

“I- wait it’s WHAT-” Hop pulled out his phone and with the camera app saw his left eye was the same shade of Fuchsia as the wishing star he absorbed into his body earlier.

Dubwool––who Hop had released from his Pokeball for comfort after his talk with Leon––gave him a look of concern as Hop moved to hide in a discreet area between some buildings as he checked his eye.

“Relax Hop, take some deep breaths for me, you know how to hide the energy, push it back.”

Following Ev’s instruction, Hop sharply inhaled first to try and relax his panic then relaxed as he stared down his eye at the camera app and watched the color slowly fade back to yellow.

Now that the wishing star energy problem was resolved, Ev had another matter to attend to with the young trainer. 

“You should talk to your brother.”

“I will not.”

“At least pick up the phone.”

In Hop’s distress over his eye, he hadn’t noticed that his brother had tried to call back almost 8 times after Hop suddenly ended their call and sent several messages begging Hop to pick up, clearly distressed.

How Hop could just casually keep pressing the decline button as he kept looking at the camera app for his eye honestly astounded him.

Now that Hop calmed down, he started making his way over to a nearby route to train his pokemon. Training them always made him feel better as seeing his companions grow stronger always warmed his heart. He let Toxel out to fight some Axew as he declined another call from Leon and returned to his conversation with Ev.

“He said you were imaginary!”

“All the people you’ve met think I’m imaginary.”

“I don’t have to like it.” 

He never liked the fact that Ev was just imaginary to the people around him. His teachers and people like Sonia had told him since he was little all about how it's okay to have imaginary friends, just not to get upset when being confronted with the fact they are imaginary

But Ev. Isn’t. Imaginary.

It was surprising to him just how angry he got with his brother over this matter but the recent planning and the fact Lee seemed to know that Hop grew up with almost nobody with him set him off.

“I suppose you don’t, '' E v said as they watched Toxel beat the Axew and to their shock, start to evolve into Toxicitry, amped form.

Dubwool, Corvisquire and Drizzile ran over to their excited teammate with Hop and Ev following to celebrate the growing power of their team.

—---------------------------------------------

Charizard made a cry of despair when Hop declined another call from Leon, something he had been doing for the past 30 minutes. 

Leon was trying to make sense of just what went wrong in their conversation that prompted Hop to get angry enough to disconnect the call.

The topic that seemed to upset him was the topic of Hop’s ima… friend, Ev and he stopped the call when Leon tried to assure him there’s nothing wrong with him being friends with this “Ev”. 

Hop dropped the call and has refused to call back since.

After about the tenth attempt to call him, Leon puts down his phone and sinks into a nearby couch in defeat.

How had his family become like this?

He could still wistfully remember his childhood and how his family was the happiest of the families in Postwick, How their mom was a bright and peppy woman and while his father wasn’t as cheery as her because of catching an illness—that unbeknownst to them would take his life in a few years––was still a loving and jovial man.

Things were only supposed to get better when his younger brother was born while he was out on his journey to become a champion but looking back at it now, it seemed that only he held that sentiment.

His dad was only well enough to visit Hop and the family for 1-2 hours before returning to bed and being pregnant with Hop was hard on his mom who looked like she aged a few years from the pregnancy and birth, but Leon was reassured by the doctors this was normal.

He knew he wasn’t the closest to Hop because of the fact he became champion when Hop was just a toddler, with him swamped with work and the fame that came with being a champion he couldn’t spend as much time as he would like with Hop but he trusted his loving mother would raise Hop as well as she raised him, even if their dad passed when Hop was just 1.

Charizard nuzzled his face in an attempt to comfort Leon and he affectionately petted his long time partner’s back in thanks.

“I should call Raihan, maybe he has some ideas.”

Perhaps it was wiser to call Piers since he had a close relationship with his younger sister but Leon wasn’t as close to the dark type gym leader as he was to Raihan so it felt a bit inappropriate for Leon to complain to Piers about his family problems. Especially since Piers has probably only heard about Hop from the gym challenge while Raihan knew about Hop from Leon sharing stories to him about his younger brother.

Thankfully unlike Hop, Raihan picked up the phone immediately.

“Hello? Raihan speaking, need anything, Leon?”

“Just some advice” he didn’t realize he was exhausted until he said that. He sounded so tired and vulnerable that he almost felt inclined to repeat what he said but livelier.

“Oh sure, let me just tell Camilla and the others to watch the gym for me, I’ll move to somewhere private.”

Deciding sitting on the couch was just making him feel even more tired, Leon stood up and stretched to try and help his mood, his Rotom phone still close to him as Raihan instructed his gym trainers on what to do in his absence and moved to a more private space.

“So what’s up?” Raihan asked.

“It’s about Hop” the stretch was nice for Leon but he was still hurt and lost about what happened with Hop.

“Did something happen? Didn’t he just beat Bea?”

“Yes? Well, how do I explain this…”

The account he ended up giving Raihan, was a bit disorderly and he wonders if he stressed his confusion on what he did wrong too much. In the end, Raihan seemed to understand what happened.

“So you called him to try and catch up which was going well until you brought up some things from his childhood?”

“Yeah and I don’t get what exactly went wrong, I know maybe I should’ve called Piers since he probably knows more about these things but it felt too… personal.” 

“Well I can’t say for sure what happened, maybe it was just overwhelming to him?”

“Overwhelming?”

“Well the way you talk about Hop’s childhood, he was probably a lonely kid so maybe now that he’s out making friends he doesn’t want to hear it? Especially from someone who he expected to be with him growing up - no offense.” 

“None taken,” that explanation made sense, maybe after the gym challenge and league were wrapped up he should try to argue for a prolonged leave so he can spend time with Hop and bond with him. “Thanks, Raihan.”

—---------------------------------------------

Team Yell’s plan was not something he had a particular interest in. He was fully aware of what Chairman Rose wanted to discuss with his brother and in all honesty, he hoped he failed in recruiting his brother. Despite how little time they ever actually spent together, Hop knew Lee and he would only ever agree on the energy crisis part and not Eternatus and the latter was all Hop cared about. 

If he was recruited then he might try to stop Chairman Rose from giving Eternatus the last few wishing stars they need to reawaken. Hop would have to start from scratch.

“Hop, control yourself, the wishing star energy is flaring up again.”

Hop’s eyes widened as he looked at the glass from a nearby shop and faintly saw his left eye changing. He quickly covered the eye with his hand and grimaced when he saw purple veins running across it. He was thankful the only people nearby were preoccupied with the matter of finding the Marco Cosmo employee as he did breathing exercises to conceal it once more.

After Eternatus confirmed to him that he had suppressed the wishing star energy, he looked around and saw Gloria battling the employee that had the key with Marnie and some members of Team Yell cheering her on. It was honestly surprising more people weren’t coming to see what they were causing a commotion over.

“You okay there, kid?”

Hop nearly jumped in shock and whirled around to the source and found Piers there giving his usual tired look. 

“Your eye seemed to be hurting earlier, you were gripping it and everything” the dark type gym leader gestured to Hop’s arm. “Need eye drops or anything?”

“No, I’m good,” Hop said, giving his best possible bashful expression. “Something just got in my eye, it’s all good now.”

Piers shrugged, “Well if you say so, looks like your friend over there has got the guy running again. Let’s catch up.”

Recovering quickly from how close someone might have been to see his secret, he followed him to the station and watched as Piers used his music and fame to incite a mob to distract the employee so Marnie or a team yell member can grab the key. 

Fortunately, Marnie was quick to snatch the key and they quickly fled as Piers entertained his fans. He almost pitied the employees there who were innocent and he faintly heard grumbling about not being paid enough to deal with a surprise concert.

Oleana lost her cool at Gloria, and believed she could defeat her to convince Lee to join their cause by making him lose heart. He didn’t get the logic behind that plan but he simply stood at the back as Oleana and Gloria battled it out, determined to keep Macro Cosmos convinced he’s still loyal so he could take back Eternatus’ body from them.

Dinner that day was nothing special though he felt a bit out of place with Lee excitedly discussing Gloria’s future battles as his battling was over for the league––though he wasn’t exactly mourning the loss.

After all, in a few days, his plan would all come to a head.

—---------------------------------------------

How annoying, the chairman threw a tantrum because the golden child he’s been nurturing since the start of his career decided that an event that thousands of people pay to see and thousands more watch with bated breath at home was more important than an event that might happen in the next thousand years.

It almost hurts that despite providing him more help than Lee did in getting Eternatus that it's still Lee that pushes Chairman Rose to action.

Suppose that was how Bede felt when his practical adopted father chose Hop over him for the plan.

Charging into Hammerlock stadium he was greeted by Oleana who politely told him that the Chairman is busy and Hop shouldn’t bother him, though he could tell from the look on her face what she meant was clear.

“Your usefulness has run out, run along now.”

Jokes on them, it wasn’t his usefulness that ran out but theirs. 

Thanks to the champion battle ongoing that day, there was far less security and Hop recognized the employees there are people loyal to Chairman Rose, likely assigned there so fewer people would be in the Chairman’s plan.

“Toxicitry, boomburst” the punk pokemon quickly snapped into action upon being released from its Pokeball and knocked out the Macro Cosmos employees acting as Hammerlocke stadium’s security but Oleana withstood the unexpected assault and gave Hop a look of fury as she clutched her ears, still ringing from the attack.

“You petulant brat! You never held any loyalty to Chairman Rose” Oleana’s cool and collected demeanor snapped and her temper from her fight with Gloria appeared again. 

She sent out her Froslass and Hop ordered Toxicitry to get ready as a tingling feeling spread through his arm and he could see the wishing star energy freely flowing through his body.

A feral grin graced Hop’s face as his dream was getting closer and closer to being achieved.

—---------------------------------------------

“I intend to bring about the second darkest day––to protect Galar’s future, of course. I didn’t want to have to come to this but you forced my hand, Leon.”

Leon ran to the power plant where Rose planned to summon Eternatus to stop him. It was his duty as the champion of Galar to not only battle in the league but to protect the region, no matter the opponent or problem.

Reviving Eternatus would not help Galar, it would potentially cause its destruction. 

The lack of any resistance as Leon made his way to the power plant was a surprise but a welcome one. He expected to find employees or even Oleana trying to stop him from getting to Rose since they were all so undyingly loyal to the man, but they were all knocked unconscious or cowering somewhere in fear and ran at the sight of Leon.

Oleana was unconscious at the end of the stairs at the entrance. Leon checked her vitals and body for injuries, fortunately, it seems she wasn’t pushed off the stairs but merely left there by whoever attacked her.

It would appear that someone went to fight Chairman Rose before him. Their bravery and strength were appreciated and if they stopped the chairman from summoning the legendary pokemon it would save many but the brutality in how they attacked the lackeys of Chairman Rose was unsettling to Leon.

Perhaps he would see why they were so aggressive when he met the attacker of Macro Cosmos and he would get his chance to meet them when he got to where Rose was.

“How could you betray me in this way? Do you not care at all for Galar in 1000 years?”

“I don’t care about Galar in the next 1000 years. The only thing I want is the pokemon you’re summoning. Galar could suffer an energy crisis for all I care, they’ll fix the problem anyway when the time comes. ”

Before he could even think, Leon started charging to the source of the voices. He would like to say he was fueled by the need to protect Galar but he and his pokemon knew that wasn’t true, he wasn’t fueled by the desire to stop Galar in those moments, what fueled him was desperation to see just who Chairman Rose was talking to.

He almost wished he had turned around and left.

Chairman Rose was on the floor, being held down by a Dubwool, with a Corviknight and its trainer looking down on him with their attention solely on the Chairman so they didn’t notice Leon enter the room.

“Hop!”

His brother flinched, his attention snapping from Chairman Rose and the energy plant reactor core, realizing that his brother was seeing him like this too.

Hop put his face in his hands and Leon could hear him breathing heavily. Dubwool gave his trainer a look of distress and Leon was about to rush to his side to see what was wrong but before he could, Hop’s hands slowly slid down from his face and he turned away from the chairman to glare at Leon with a manic smile. 

Charizard, who let himself out of his trainer’s Pokeball after sensing his distress gasped in shock. Hop was not himself. 

Fuschia coloured veins covered his fingers, a pair of pale pink gloves and a long-sleeved black shirt covered his arms that were undoubtedly covered in the same veins, and almost the entire left part of his face was Fuschia, the veins covering him like an infection. His eyes were a similar Fuschia colour but a brighter shade and he wasn’t wearing his blue fur-trimmed jacket. He wore a black cape with light pink rimming it and pinkish-red on the shoulders. 

“With the power of the wishing stars, I will give Ev… no… Eternatus their body back! Galar’s darkest day starts again!”

“Ev? Isn’t that Hop’s imaginary friend?”

Leon quickly forced that thought down, remembering his argument with Hop the other day. He had to treat Hop seriously right now. Not only was the person in front of him different from the baby who he held in his arms and made him and his toughened pokemon soften but it’s clear that he wasn’t in his right mind. 

“Do you understand what will happen when you bring back the Darkest day? You will hurt both people and pokemon” Leon said sternly. It hurt him to speak to his brother in such a way especially when their last conversation ended so poorly and Leon wanted to make up for that awful call, but Hop was currently being erratic and as his older brother, Leon had to set him straight.

“Eternatus will have their body back after being sealed in the stone by Zacian and Zamenta. I don’t care what happens after.” 

“What do you mean you don’t care!?! Hop, what you’re doing could cause irreparable damage! Do you not care at all for Galar?” Leon asked enraged. His brother was a kind and considerate young man ever since childhood, what happened to that? 

“Galar can always repair itself. Ev- Eternatus has waited long enough, I’ll do what our ancestors could not.” 

Before Leon could try to make sense of what Hop said, the Fuschia veins covering Hop’s body started to glow and he whirled around to look again at the reactor core which had started to glow more and more and he threw his arms up in joy. 

Charizard rushed forward to stop whatever Hop was doing but was stopped by Dubwool who jumped off the unconscious Chairman Rose and used a double edge to stagger the Kanto starter and stop him in his tracks.

“Awaken! Return to your body and live among us once again, Eternatus! I’ve done it!”

The reactor core burst open and Eternatus stretched its body and let out a fierce roar to the horror of Leon and the delight of Hop.

Leon grabbed the Pokeball that contained his Dragapult and quickly released him, to have him ready to fight Eternatus and possibly even Hop with Charizard.

The ginormous pokemon leaned its head down for Hop to affectionately pet them with a much calmer and happier expression on him while Dubwool gave a delighted cry at the two. If it weren’t for the circumstances it would be a touching scene.

Deciding to not let the legendary get a chance to cause the darkest day, Leon commanded Dragapult to use dragon pulse and for Charizard to use air slash, but the moves didn’t connect as the poison dragon type quickly moved Hop and his Dubwool out of the way upon hearing Leon’s command and quickly fired off a dynamax cannon to stop the attacks from connecting.

The attack was a weaker version of the actual attack––this was clear from just how little effort was exerted into the attack––likely to ensure Hop and Dubwool didn’t get hurt and Leon could see the rage on Hop’s once earlier delighted face, likely from Leon attacking what looks to have been a great moment for him. 

Leon scowled and ordered Charizard and Dragapult to get ready as Eternatus let out a fierce roar. His opponent isn’t some challenger with hopes of becoming champion or an ordinary criminal who thought they were going to be the next Lysandre or Ghetsis. The legendary in front of him was the friend that Leon realized he and Hop argued over in that call, the pokemon the chairman thought could help save Galar, the pokemon that clearly shared the same power that was currently flowing through Hop. 

“Dynamax cannon, Eternatus.”

“Fire Blast, Charizard!”

He felt his heart shatter into pieces at Hop’s angered expression. Just what happened to Hop?