Chapter Text
Past the bustling city noise of Motostoke and Hammerlocke, past the expansious Wild Area, there are two little towns on the outskirts of Galar. They may not seem like much, but to the residents of the two towns, they were like paradise. The fresh, crisp air, the lush green fields, the scent of flowers coming from the florist’s shop, the songs of Rookidee fluttering through the air, as Wooloo tumbled through the fields below… It felt magical. It felt serene, cozy, relaxing, calming, and quiet.
Most of the time, of course.
“HEY, GIVE THAT BACK!”
The mocking laugh of the current Champion of Galar herself, Ellie, rang throughout Postwick like a shrill bell as a response to her friend’s complaint. The noise itself came from her friend Hop’s house, where they were “hanging out” for the day.
“I can’t believe it, Hop watches kids science shows! At his age! Such a discovery, I must tell Professor Sonia right away!” She held the Rotom phone just out of reach, over his head.
Hop tried to grab at the phone. “It’s practice for my career! I’m just pointing out mistakes in the show!”
“Hop, it’s a kid’s cartoon!”
“Misinformation is a big problem, okay?”
Alexander sighed as he watched the two squabble yet again. While in the end, it was all in good fun, eventually one would grow tired with the constant bickering between the two friends. “Hop does have a point about misinformation,” he added, though the other two didn’t seem to hear. He crossed his arms, and decided he would just wait out the arguing.
Eventually, Hop managed to grab the phone back from Ellie. He stuck his tongue out at her before running out the door. Ellie rolled her eyes and placed her hands on her hips.
“How childish.”
“Ellie, you got into a petty fight over a cartoon,” Alexander noted, slightly disappointed. “I’m pretty sure Hop isn’t the only childish one here.”
Ellie scratched her head. “Fair, fair.” She pursed her lips. “Ah, I hope he isn’t actually mad at me.”
“He’s not the type to stay mad, but I feel like it would be wise to make sure there aren’t any misunderstandings.”
“Yeah, you’re right. Alright, I feel like I have a few ideas as to where he went.”
“I’ll tag along with you, then. Not like I have much else to do today, anyways.”
Ellie and Alexander walked over to Wedgehurst, Ellie leading the way. Alexander admired the scenery, despite it being the same sight he’s seen every day from the day he was born. He was pretty cool like that, Ellie thought. He manages to see the best of the world all the time. She envied him for that. She scanned the area for any familiar faces - and saw some, but they weren’t the face of the one they were looking for. In fact, those were the faces of the twins, Gloria and Victor, walking out of the station. Their expressions were quite different, however, with Victor looking absolutely exhausted and weary, while Gloria was extremely excited. Ellie chuckled as she walked over to them. The twins would always be the twins, after all.
“What the hell happened to you two?” Ellie asked with a giggle.
“Gigantamax,” sighed Victor. “Really big bug.”
“It was the coolest thing ever!” squealed Gloria. “And the best part is?” She pulled out a pokeball. “I caught it!”
Alexander marvelled at the pokeball. “Woah…it was Gigantamax Butterfree, right?”
“Correct! Ooh, I gotta show this to Carrie and Hop! Hey, wait, where are they?”
“Well, I honestly have no idea where Carrie is,” Alexander explained. “But as for Hop…”
“We were just looking for him, actually,” Ellie finished. “He ran off somewhere, so-” Victor clicked his tongue in the middle of her sentence.
“Let me guess, you were teasing him again, and he got fed up with you.”
“Bingo,” Alexander said. Ellie shot a glare towards him.
“ Anyways , if you guys want, you can come along with us,” said Ellie. “The more the merrier, I guess.”
“Wow, that sounds like something that Alexander would say,” Gloria noted. Victor nodded in agreement.
“Uh, is that a good thing?” Alexander asked, but Gloria only winked in response. That was not comforting.
“Alright, let’s go,” Victor said. He seemed to be less tired now, though Ellie wasn’t sure exactly how or why.
Carrie sighed as she examined the produce available at the market. Absolutely no Mago Berries in stock, at all! Now, how would she be able to convince her mom to make her some Mago Berry pudding? She pouted as she picked out the groceries her mom asked her to buy - Oran berries, rice, Petcha berries, coconut milk, fruit bunches…
“Hey, Carrie!” said a voice from afar. Carrie turned to see Gloria running straight towards her, with Victor, Ellie, and Alexander trailing behind. Carrie ran over to Gloria, giving her a high-five. “Glo, what’s up? Oh, Ellie and Alexander are here too! Hello!” She looked over at the grocer, whose arms were crossed, impatiently waiting. “Oh, whoops! Sorry, sir!” She ran back to him and paid for her groceries. Alexander walked up to her.
“Chores for your mom?”
“Yeah, but I don’t really have to bring it back right away. Mama said that I should spend some more time outside, anyways.” She crossed her arms. “Sheesh, you spend a few days inside to study a cool mushroom from the Slumbering Weald, and all of a sudden you’re a socially dead vampire who disintegrates in the sunlight.”
“So that’s what you’ve been doing all this time,” Ellie said, walking up to them with Gloria and Victor. “I thought you were plotting an assassination or something.”
“Interesting suggestion.” She smiled. “Anyways, what are you guys doing all together?”
“Oh, we all just happened to be in the right place at the right time, so we decided to hang out,” answered Ellie.
“Actually, Ellie mocked Hop to death again, and ran off somewhere. We’re looking for him,” Gloria corrected.
“Gloria, I swear to-”
Carrie laughed. “Yeah, I can definitely tell who’s telling the truth here. Can I tag along too? I want to help Hop get his revenge!”
“Revenge on- Oh.” Ellie glared at Carrie. “Okay, I’ll ignore that for now. Hop’s probably at the lab, so let’s go.”
The door creaked as Ellie opened it. “Hello? Is anyone there?”
She walked inside, looking for anyone. “Hop? Professor Sonia? Professor Magnolia?” No response. She examined the area - it was about as cluttered as usual. It didn’t seem like anyone was here, perhaps Sonia was taking a break today? She looked behind her, but there was nobody there. Then again, what was she expecting? She had asked the others to just wait outside, saying that she wanted to talk to Hop alone. But, in reality, she just thought that having Gloria, Carrie, and Hop in the same area would be a serious blow to her ego.
Suddenly, she felt the weight of her friend fall down on her.
“BOO!” yelled Hop, laughing. Ellie shrieked.
“H-hey! What the hell, Hop?!”
Carrie burst through the door, throwing herself onto Hop and Ellie. Gloria followed soon after, dragging Victor along in the process. And Alexander, not wanting to make the situation awkward, followed along.
“Mmph!” mumbled Ellie at the bottom of the pile. “What- the-”
“Vengance!” cheered Carrie, waving her arms and legs around. Hop grinned.
“Guys, I think we’re suffocating Ellie,” Alexander sighed, dropping himself off the pile and onto the floor. Victor followed after. “Sheesh, Glo, maybe a warning next time?”
Gloria and Carrie stood up next. “Haha, that was awesome!” Carrie said excitedly.
“Awesome is…a subjective term,” Ellie sighed as she and Hop got up. “Be glad you didn’t break any of my ribs.” She glanced at Hop.
“Oh, by the way, are you still mad about earlier?” she asked him awkwardly. “I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings, I swear. Sorry…”
Hop shrugged. “Eh, it’s fine. After all, there’s no way I wouldn’t forgive a friend like you! Besides, you know what they say. Some things never change!”
“Aha, I guess you’re right, then.”
Carrie popped up behind them, hugging them together. “Hehe, your friendship is enviable!” She had a wide and contagious smile. “Honestly, have you guys ever had an argument that wasn’t resolved in a day at most?”
Victor shrugged. “Not that I remember, at least. They’re practically inseparable.”
Ellie smiled in response, but she pondered over Carrie and Victor’s words. Victor was completely right about them being inseparable, yes. But, neither Hop nor herself could agree that they’ve never had a serious argument before.
But that was a secret that would be saved for another day.
After all, everyone was happy now, and the past was in the past. Why would she ever wish to disrupt such a fragile and blissful joy?