Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“We’re here!!”

Hop spreads his arms out wide, gesturing at the beautiful townscape surrounding them. Just moments ago, they were all still in Galar, bags packed and chatting amongst themselves as they waited for their way to Pasio. As outlined in their invitations, Hoopa appeared before them and created a portal to transport them there almost instantly. And now…

“We’re finally here!” He repeats, spinning on his heel to face the rest of the group. Gloria stands at the front of the pack, Marnie and Victor at either side of her as she nods.

“About time too! I was gettin’ sick and tired of waiting.”

“For once, that’s something the both of us can agree on,” Bede sneers from behind them, then goes on to complain, “Why did I have to come along with you lot? I’m next in line to inherit the Ballonlea Gym! I should’ve been allowed to arrive with Ms. Opal!”

“Because you’re not a Gym Leader,” Marnie points out, “Jus’ like how I’m not one either. My bro may plan to foist his gym onto me, but ‘til then, we’re regular competitors.”

“Exactly! So let's not waste anymore time and get a move on!” Hop exclaims.

Centra City is alive and bustling as the five of them make their way towards the Pokémon Center. People and trainers of all types wander about, having all come either to participate in the tournament or to live in Pasio. Hop can’t help but be impressed– He’s heard a lot about the place from Leon already, who received an early invitation alongside all the other Gym Leaders and Sonia. The same was true for all the other important figures of the different regions here. He assumes this was probably done to attract more people to the island before the main event began.

“When I heard this place was an artificial island, I would’ve never expected there to be so many people here…” Victor comments as they walk. Gloria is quick to reply.

“I know, right?! You’d’ve thunk the place would be smaller and more empty.”

“I heard the guy who made this place is a prince. With money like that, I’m not surprised he could make all this,” Marnie quips.

“Not to mention he’s got a Hoopa,” Hop adds, “Getting here was a cinch thanks to it!”

Bede, apparently tired of the conversation at hand, speeds ahead of them. It’s an ultimately fruitless action since, not long after, they arrive at the Pokémon Center together. The inside is stunning, unlike anything Hop has ever seen. The floor is carpeted, the walls are a solid white marble with interesting architecture, and the room is totally open. Not even the Pokémon Center in Wyndon is as large or as luxurious as this one. It’s tempting to break off and look around, but his eagerness wins over by a landslide. He all but dashes towards the lady at the centermost desk.

“Excuse me ma’am! This is where we pick up our sync stones, right?”

“That’s right,” The lady replies with an amicable smile, her name tag reading ‘Trista’, “Could I please get your names?”

“I’m-”

“Bede, top trainer at the Ballonlea Gym in Galar.”

Hop turns and gives an irate look at Bede for cutting him off. The white haired boy smirks, only to be elbowed by Gloria. He yelps and rubs his arm. Undeterred by the scene in front of her, Trista lights up.

“Oh! Then you five must be the final trainers we’ve been waiting for. Give me one moment please.”

The attendant types some things into her console before clicking once. A panel hidden in the countertop of the desk opens up, revealing it to be hollow. Only a second passes before a platform inside the contraption raises and reveals five cell phones. Hop blinks in astonishment.

“What are these?” Victor asks as he picks one up and turns it over in his hand.

“They’re your Poryphones. They are customary devices used for the PML, allowing a sync pair to keep track of their standing in the tournament, communicate with others, and more!”

“Cool! But… where are the sync stones?” Hop asks.

“Right there,” She says as she points a finger at the iridescent rainbow hexagon where a home button normally would be, “Your Poryphones double as your sync stones, allowing you to use sync moves during battle.”

“Awesome!” Gloria exclaims, and Hop agrees.

“I can’t wait to try out our sync moves as soon as possible!”

Bede scoffs, but before he can follow up with a snide remark, his Poryphone begins to ring. He looks just as perplexed as the others staring at him as he hits accept and brings it to his ear.

“Who is this?” He asks, his salty expression quickly changing to one of shock. “Ms. Opal?! How did you- Hang on, I can barely hear you over all that racket…”

The fairy type user wanders off to the side, his voice becoming inaudible as he finds somewhere quiet to chat over the phone. Hop glances at Marnie, who shrugs in return.

“So, you guys finally made it!”

He recognizes that voice anywhere. Hop whips his head towards the door and grins as three figures approach.

“Lee!”

He runs towards the group, jumping into a pair of waiting arms. Leon chuckles as Hop squeezes him once before letting go. This earns him a hand ruffling his hair from the champion.

“I’m glad to see you all made it here safely.”

“I could say the same for you. How’d you know we were here?”

“A little birdie told us,” Comes the raspy voice of Piers standing behind the other. Marnie is already at his side, giving the slightest of smiles.

“At least one of you was keeping us updated,” Comes another voice, one that Hop immediately identifies as Raihan. Sure enough, the dragon tamer is there with his phone in hand, giving a wave to Gloria and Victor before continuing, “Otherwise we’d have never caught you guys.”

“That’s right. Say, where’s Bede?”

Leon’s question is answered almost as soon as it falls from his mouth, the fairy trainer walking curtly past them with a sour expression on his face.

“Where’s he off to?”

“If I had to guess? Wherever Opal is,” Gloria hums. Marnie giggles softly.

“Ah, makes sense. In that case, it looks like it’s just you four getting the tour!”

“You’re giving us a tour?” Marnie asks, looking at her brother incredulously.

“That’s right. Figured we’d show you around before the big event.”

“Big event?” Hop perks up at this.

“You guys don’t know?” Raihan asks, allowing his regular Rotom Phone to float behind his head as he fishes out his Poryphone. “It was revealed this afternoon. Apparently that Lear fellow has a major announcement to make.”

“We just got our Poryphones. How were we supposed to know?” Gloria huffs. The dragon tamer waves his hand dismissively.

“Now you do. Let’s get this show on the road already!”

“Alright!”

Hop is quick to put the device away and follow as they make their way out of the Pokémon Center. The streets are more abuzz now, trainers wandering about and looking to battle. Those without invitations who came to Pasio were excluded from participating in the PML, but Hop can see why they came anyway. The beautiful atmosphere of the island paired with a new way to enjoy Pokémon battles would tempt anyone! Leon even stops and waves them over to watch as two sync teams duke it out.

Hop weaves between a few people in order to get a better view, Gloria following close behind. He stops when he manages to scope out the current situation. Both teams were facing each other, though one was noticeably down a Pokémon, making it a 3v2. The other team seemed to be capitalizing on this, commanding their Pokémon to keep on attacking. From there the battle was an easy win, but Hop still bounced on his feet and cheered once the final blow was dealt.

“That was great! Man, now I really can’t wait to form a sync team!”

“You said it. Wit’ both Zacian and Zamazenta, we’ll be sure to give ‘em a run for their money!” Gloria returns.

“Hold on. You guys have already decided you’re gonna be in a team together?” Marnie pouts, “That’s no fair. I thought me an’ Glo were gonna fight side by side.”

“We still can! You can be our third member!” Gloria rushes to assure her. Victor manages to squeeze through the thinning crowd at this point, frowning as he approaches.

“What about me then?”

Hop tilts his head in confusion.

“What about you? I thought for sure you and Bede would be on the same team.”

Victor reddens a little at this, stammering, “I don’t know where he is right now.”

“He’ll turn up eventually,” Piers tells him, the three veteran trainers rejoining them. Leon puts his hands on his hips and grins.

“So, what’d you guys think of the fight? Electrifying, right?”

“For sure!” Hop all but shouts, “I’m seriously pumped up now!”

“Hold onto that energy, because you haven’t even seen the best part yet,” Raihan tells them. He then motions for them to follow as they resume their trek towards what Hop makes out to be a massive building off in the distance. There’s a short bit of flat grasslands between Centra City and the location, but once they do arrive, Hop looks up in awe.

Standing before them is a massive colosseum, taller than it is wide and with huge blue banners across the front. From what he can make out from their position on the ground, there seems to be a giant star right above the center, somehow suspended by the architecture.

“Holy cow…” Murmurs Victor, apparently equally as impressed.

“This is where the main tournament will be taking place,” Leon explains. Marnie raises an eyebrow at him.

“The ‘main’ tournament?”

“You could consider it the second half, almost,” Piers drones, “The actual bracket will only be revealed after you finish the PML Gym Challenge.”

“So there is a gym challenge here? Wicked!” Hop says. He wants to press for more details about how it’ll work, however, Gloria letting out a groan interrupts him.

“That’s nice an’ all, but can we please go drop off our stuff now?” She whines, motioning to the luggage they brought that they’ve been carrying around since landing on Pasio. Victor nods in agreement.

“Well… The thing about that is…” Leon starts sheepishly, only to be cut off by a chorus of beeps. Hop feels a vibration in his pocket at the exact same time, fishing his Poryphone out of his pocket. The others do the same, their screens lighting up with an alert for an incoming announcement.

“Greetings, citizens of Pasio,” A red-visored face greets them on their devices. Hop recognizes him as Lear, the organizer of the event, but the two standing behind him are a mystery. One is a large burly man in a white suit, the other a purple-haired woman with long sleeves and a bored look on her face.

“It is I, your prince, here to announce that the Pokémon Masters League will soon be open for all to witness!” He pauses for dramatic effect before continuing, “However, before it does, I must inform you all of some important matters. Firstly, you may see some suspect figures wandering the island, namely members and leaders of different evil organizations from various regions. Rest assured, they mean no harm, as I have brought them here to take part in the PML.”

“What?!” Gloria shrieks, causing Victor to wince and rub his ear. Piers shakes his head and looks at Raihan and Leon.

“I don’t remember being briefed on this. Did you two know this was happening?”

“No, not at all,” Leon replies with his brows furrowed. Raihan shushes him when Lear speaks up again.

“Additionally, I will be making an update to the official rules for the tournament. You see, I find letting you all partner up with your buddies to make for too dull of an affair. Therefore… All sync teams participating in the PML tournament will be random!”

“WHAT?!” Gloria screams this time, Victor cringing away and letting out a yelp.

“That’s right– Your sync pair partners will be left to the stroke of luck,” Lear repeats, clearly enjoying the sound of his own voice making such a grand announcement.

“Of course, in order to keep things balanced, teams will follow a strike-tech-support format…” The dead-eyed woman says, “But besides that, sync teams will be totally random.”

“That means you’ll be sharing a space with strangers,” The tough looking man continues for her, “Since all PML registered sync teams will be sharing designated living arrangements. Your Poryphones will be notified momentarily.”

Right on cue, the air vibrates with the collective buzzing of their devices. Hop minimizes the stream in order to check the notification. Listed was what seemed to be an address with a flat number attached.

“Consider this your ultimate challenge as experienced and powerful Pokémon trainers. Your ability to cooperate with others will determine whether or not you have what it takes to last here on Pasio,” Lear explains. He then makes a flourishing gesture, the lady behind him waving and the guy crossing his arms. “Good luck, and don’t hold back!”

With that, the recording ends and the home screen pops up. There is a brief moment of silence before Gloria squeezes the phone in her hand.

“Are you kiddin’ me? They couldn’t tell us this sooner?!”

“I guess this is their idea of a surprise…” Piers sighs.

“I for one think this is a great opportunity,” Leon speaks up, gaining the attention of the others. “We’re here to meet others and have some great battles, right? What better way to accomplish both than by teaming up with someone new?”

“Yeah!” Hop agrees. He has a point. This will make things interesting. Difficult, possibly, but the same rule applies to everyone. They’ll all be dealing with the same struggles, making it fair.

“Nevermind all that. I want to see if any of us are in a team,” Marnie pipes up, holding out her phone with the number on display. Hop hadn’t thought of the possibility that any of them could end up together out of pure chance. He opens the notification as the others do the same.

“Marnie, look!” Gloria points to her Poryphone. Hop leans in to look. The flat number on Gloria’s phone and on Marnie’s were the same. She grins, “What are the odds, huh?”

“Lucky us I suppose. What about you, Hop?”

He glances down at his Poryphone. It listed his flat as number 13, as opposed to the 37 on theirs.

“No dice…”

“None for us either,” Raihan grumbles, comparing his own number with Leon’s. Piers looms over Marnie and shakes his head.

“Seems it’s just you two,” Victor tells the two girls as he puts his phone away. Gloria smiles at her partner, causing Marnie to look away bashfully and cover her lips.

“We still don’t know who the final member of our team is, though…” She mumbles into her sleeve.

“I suppose we’re meant to find out once everyone retires for the night. Speaking of, grab your bags. We should get a move on,” Leon says as he reminds them of the setting sun. Hop throws his duffle bag over his shoulder and takes his suitcase by the handle as they head back the way they came.

Centra City is alight with excitement by the time they return. PML participants were wandering about conversing with one another, attempting to find their randomly assigned sync team partners. Hop feels jittery with anticipation, eager to meet his own teammates. Would they be kind people? Strong? Calculating? It’ll be a blast seeing what Pokémon they have and how they battle alongside one another.

The group stops just outside of the building where all the participants are to reside. It’s a tall, U-shaped place that reminds Hop of an oversized, grandiose motel. Or perhaps in this case it would be an open hotel? Or an apartment complex? He isn’t quite sure, but it looks nice either way.

“Guess this is where we part ways,” Piers tells them. Marnie frowns.

“You aren’t coming with?”

“I want to make sure all of my music equipment made the trip here.”

“I’m heading out as well,” Leon adds on, “I want to go around and make sure trainers are getting along.”

“I’ll come with you, then. Someone’s gotta make sure you find your way back,” Raihan smirks.

“Are you sure? I can just have Charizard lead me if need be.”

“Charizard doesn’t know the way here, champ,” Raihan says with a playful flick on Leon’s arm. The other gives a flustered smile.

“Oh, right. We’ll go together then. Will you four be alright on your own?”

“Please. We aren’t wee little things anymore. We’ll be fine!” Gloria assures him.

“Actually… I’m going to go walk around a bit more,” Victor admits. Hop gives him a knowing grin.

“What, you gonna go look for Bede?”

“No! Not quite, I’m just…” He sighs, “Yeah, alright.”

“No harm there. In that case, we’ll see you guys tomorrow!”

Hop waves goodbye as Leon, Raihan, Piers, and Victor all leave in separate directions. The sky is quickly becoming darker now, the warm summer breeze from before turning cooler by the minute. Streetlamps begin to flicker on as voices fill the night, carried by the wind from neighboring streets. Hop takes in a deep breath. Today would mark the beginning of a new chapter for him– A second chance at becoming the legend he knows he’s destined to be! He might’ve let the first opportunity slip through his fingers, but this time would be different.

This time, he won’t let go.

The sound of giggling beside him snaps him out of his internal monologue. Gloria has a cheeky smile on her face while Marnie fights not to laugh. It’s been a while since the two of them started going out, and even longer ago since Raihan and Leon began dating, so he’s already used to this sort of thing. He clears his throat to get their attention.

“Welp, I’m knackered. Best we go find our rooms.”

“You? Tired? Tha’s a load of Bouffalant dung,” Marnie huffs, “You just wanna go meet your team.”

Hop gives a guilty chuckle.

“I’m with him. Let’s go meet these mystery people!” Gloria cheers. She then takes Marnie by the hand and rushes to the stairs, the dark haired girl clambering to keep up. With the both of them gone, Hop tugs his suitcase and looks at the doors ahead of him. They’re all the same sleek black color with plaques on the side showcasing their numbers. Interestingly enough, their knobs lack keyholes, instead having bulky scanners underneath them.

It isn’t long before he finds flat 13, what with it being on the bottom floor. He glances at the scanner on it and feels for his pockets. Sure enough, no keycard has magically appeared in them. What is he meant to use? He stands there stumped for a moment before realizing the solution. He takes out his Poryphone and holds it up to the device. Sure enough, it dings, and the light on the scanner switches from red to green. Hop pushes it open and drags his things inside, surprised at how heavy the door is. It closes shut behind him as he enters.

The light above the doorway is off, making the short hallway into the main section of the flat dark and somewhat ominous. Oddly enough, there are no shoes at the front, leaving Hop to wonder if he’s the first one there. However, the light in the living room tells him otherwise. He decides to face whatever is going on headfirst and makes his way down the hall.

“‘Ello! Sorry to barge in, I’m–”

Hop freezes. Two dark figures stand before him, both already facing him before he’d even reached the room. They’re both men wearing black, though they differ drastically in terms of appearances. One is shorter and has a gaunt face, as well as sharp eyes. His outfit is that of a businessman, his blazer pocket emboldened with a colorful R. The other is draped in a strange cloak with a wide collar and covered in creepy eyes. His hair is a light green color and only one of his red eyes are visible, the other shielded with an equally red eyepiece. A hand of his rests on a metallic cane that has a shield design on it.

Hop recognizes that symbol. He knows what that R stands for as well.

Standing before him are the leaders of Team Rainbow Rocket and Team Plasma.

Chapter Text

Hop staggers backwards, barely managing to keep on his feet. Just a minute ago he was on cloud nine, but now, it feels as though he’s walked into a Pyroar’s den. The two team leaders regard him differently, the Plasma leader’s expression becoming cross while the Rocket leader’s remains impassive. The former is the first to speak up, stomping his rod on the ground once.

“Who are you? How did you get in here?”

“Calm yourself, Ghetsis,” The man with the slick black hair says, “We’ve already confirmed there’s no way into these apartments without the appropriate Poryphone ID. What we have here must be our final member.”

Ghetsis scowls at Hop, causing him to take another step back.

“They’ve put us with a child? ”

“Oi! You think I’m happy to be put with a pair of criminals?” Hop retorts, regretting the words as soon as they come out of his mouth. Fortunately, his comment is dismissed by Ghetsis, who turns to regard his other teammate once more.

“This presents an issue to us.”

“Yes… It’ll be problematic having a third person here to intervene with our scheming.”

“Scheming?” Hop repeats, then narrows his eyes at them, “What are you two planning?”

“Nothing that concerns you,” Ghetsis snarls, then steps closer so that he may loom over the younger, “Unless you aim to stop us?”

Hop glares defensively at the other, the challenge sounding more of a threat considering the dark tone he uses. How could everything have gone wrong so quickly? It’d be one thing if his sync pair partners were rude or unwelcoming, but these two are genuinely dangerous. What if they don’t cooperate? Or worse, what if they hurt him?

“I’m not aiming to stop anything. I don’t even know what you two want! But that doesn’t change the fact that we’re a team now.”

Ghetsis snorts at this, both disbelieving and amused by what he is hearing. He finally steps away.

“A team? That’s what the prince may have assigned us, but I have no intentions of following his whims.”

“Then I hope you didn’t plan on finding a replacement,” Giovanni finally says, “Because the rules state we’re not allowed to substitute teammates unless they are completely unable to participate.”

“What do I care about any of those paltry rules after the way I was treated? I was brought here against my own will. I have no desire to play this ridiculous game of his!” Ghetsis announces. The Rainbow Rocket leader shakes his head.

“Don’t be foolish. You really don’t get it, do you? We don’t have a choice.”

“You don’t?” Hop asks. Both of them level a glare at him, causing him to shut his mouth again. Though, his question doesn’t go unanswered.

“I had originally come to Pasio looking to make use of its bountiful resources and influx of trainers. That tenacious prince, however… He discovered where I was hiding and gave me an ultimatum. Either I participate, or he would turn me in to the local authorities,” He concludes solemnly. He then looks at Ghetsis, saying, “I assume you were given a similar option?”

Ghetsis scowls, apparently displeased to have been figured out so easily.

“His threats are empty. He doesn’t have the manpower to stop me, let alone us both.”

“Perhaps not with his staff alone, but with the might of all the gym leaders and champions?”

“By the time they realize we’re here, it’ll be too late!”

“Uh, actually…” Hop starts, then goes on when he isn’t shot down for speaking, “They already know.”

“What?!” Ghetsis shouts.

“Lear told us all you guys were here in this afternoon’s announcement.”

Giovanni scoffs, “Did you really not know that? You have a Poryphone.”

“As if I would rely on the technology of my captor. Have you no dignity?” He growls in response.

Hop rubs the back of his neck nervously as he watches the ensuing argument unfold. He almost wishes he had stuck around with Gloria and Marnie, if only to avoid having met these two for a moment longer. He’s here now, though, and he’s got to face the music. Whether he likes it or not, these are the teammates that he’s been paired with. He’s got to make this work somehow.

“Look… if we’re gonna be stuck together, why don’t we at least get to know one another?” He asks, gaining the attention of them both, “I can start. I’m Hop, a future Pokémon professor, and I’m from Galar.”

“A professor?...” Giovanni murmurs under his breath. He then raises his head to properly address them both. “My name is Giovanni. I am the proud head of Team Rainbow Rocket. We operate wherever there is business to be found.”

“Team ‘Rainbow’ Rocket is nothing but a large-scale scam in the face of Team Plasma. Our goal is the one true purpose of life– To free Pokémon from the restrictive and abusive constraints of humanity,” He tells them, “My subjects refer to me as Lord Ghetsis.”

“... I’m not callin’ you that, mate,” Hop says. Ghetsis glowers at him at first, but upon seeing the unamused look on Giovanni’s face that says he agrees, he backs down.

“Just Ghetsis shall suffice.”

“Right then. Guess I'll go… put away my stuff.”

Awkward excuse aside, Hop takes his suitcase and his duffle bag and rushes down the hall left of the entryway. There are three rooms total, one door on the left and two on the right. They all have scanners underneath the knobs like outside, though when Hop presses his Poryphone against the closest one, the light goes red and makes an aggressive noise. He instead tries the solitary door, the light turning green and his Poryphone screen reading “room registered”.

Once he’s inside and the door locks shut behind him, he lets out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. Talk about an intense encounter. He’s grateful the rooms all have their own scanners and locks. It gives him a peace of mind knowing he won’t be attacked in his sleep.

He takes this chance to forget about what just occurred by instead investigating the room. It’s furnished enough to be liveable, though bare enough to invite decoration. There’s a bed that’s fully fitted with sheets and pillows, a desk with a chair slid under it, a dresser, a nightstand, and a fluffy Pokébed in the corner. Even though it’s quite large for Pokébed, it’s still too small for Zamazenta. Since the room itself wouldn’t be able to hold the legendary comfortably, though, that’s not a problem. He simply won’t let Zamazenta out while indoors.

All in all, it’s a pretty nice space. He’s glad for this since he’ll be staying here for quite a while. The PML tournament has no set end date, but all participants have been given a general time frame of at most three months. At first this made it feel like an exciting getaway, but now, Hop kind of hopes it won’t end up being that long.

Despite being full of energy before entering the flat, all of a sudden he’s now exhausted. He supposes it has something to do with who he just met. Because of this, he decides to leave the unpacking for tomorrow and just follows through with the necessities. He lays his suitcase on the floor, takes off his Pokéball holder, puts it on the dresser, and rummages around for his nightwear. In all actuality, it’s simply a comfortable t-shirt and a pair of shorts too worn to be worn in public, but they serve him well. He gets changed and wastes no time flopping into bed.

Hop shuts his eyes and buries his head in his pillow, letting sleep overtake him.

———

The next morning, Hop is woken up by the sunlight streaming through his window. He scrunches up his eyelids and throws his arm over his face, but the damage is already done. He’s awake.

The trainer huffs as he sits up in bed. He finds his legs tangled in the bedsheets, but considering they weren’t like that previously, he surmises he probably tangled them sometime during the night. He removes the sheets easily and throws them to the side, standing up in the process.

Getting dressed and undressed is a swift process, his nightwear tossed unceremoniously on the bed. Once he has everything on, he clips his Pokéball holder back onto his belt. It’s pretty weird having only the one ball, but since sync pairs include a trainer and a partner Pokémon, he figured he’d only need Zamazenta. The rest of his team are in the PC, excluding Dubwool, who he left in the care of his family back in Postwick. He’s sure his buddy is happy to be back with its old flock.

Hop reaches for the doorknob, only to hesitate. Would Ghetsis and Giovanni be there waiting for him again? Granted, he isn’t really sure they were waiting the first time. It’s possible he had just wandered in during the middle of a discussion between them.

Without thinking about it further, he turns the knob and exits his room. So what if they’re here? They all share a flat now, as unfortunate as that is. He’s not going to sneak around like a Nickit just because of it.

It turns out his dilemma is for naught since the living room is empty when he enters. The space doubles as the kitchen, separated by a small bar, which Hop walks past in search of something to eat. He opens the fridge, only to find it empty, the pantry also bearing no food. There are utensils in the draws and dishes in the cupboards, but besides that, there’s nothing of any substance. It looks like he’ll have to find somewhere else to eat for breakfast.

Just as he’s shutting the last cupboard, he hears the front door being open and then shut. Stepping out of the kitchen, he’s met with Giovanni standing in the living room and looking at a flip phone. The team leader looks up when he notices him.

“Good morning.”

“... Morning,” Hop greets him, then asks, “Did you go somewhere?”

“You’re awfully curious for it being so early in the morning,” Giovanni fires back. Hop almost apologizes, but instead the team leader continues, “I had a call to take. On top of that, I’m sure you’ve already realized the kitchen is lacking.”

“Ah, yeah… Looks like some grocery shopping is in order, eh?”

The other doesn’t respond in kind, allowing an uncomfortable silence to sit while he finishes texting a reply to whomever and then flips his phone shut.

“There’s a café a block or so from here. Just make a right and you won’t miss it.”

“Oh– Er, thanks?”

Giovanni nods without really looking his way and then descends down the hall. Hop watches his back for a second before heading towards the entrance. Just what was he supposed to think about that interaction? He thought for sure the other would either ignore him or scorn him, but instead, he treated him like a normal person. Were all evil team leaders like this, or just him?

His grumbling stomach demands he stop pondering such a matter and instead focus on getting food, so that’s what he does. He takes a right like he had been instructed to and eventually finds the café. It’s a cute little Kalosian place with seats in the front and a pretty sign atop the door. Before he’s even reached the seating area, he spots a hand waving at him.

“Hop! Hey!!” Gloria greets him, sitting at one of the tables with Marnie and another girl that Hop doesn’t recognize. He smiles, eager to finally see some familiar– and much friendlier– faces.

“Gloria, Marnie! Didn’t think I’d find you two here. Who’s this?”

“I’m Lillie,” The girl greets him. “I’m a part of a sync team with Gloria and Marnie.” 

A Clefairy sits at her feet, nibbling on Poké Puffs from a small white bowl. Morpeko is out of its ball as well, the dish next to it empty, save for a few crumbs. It’s eyeing the Clefariy’s bowl hungrily. Marnie nudges Morpeko gently with her foot, as if to ward it off from eating the other’s food.

“That so? Well, it’s a pleasure to meet ya. I’m Hop!”

“It’s nice to meet you too! Would you like to sit down and eat with us?”

“You should! We got a bit too much and we’re struggling to finish it on our own,” Gloria tells him. Marnie rolls her eyes.

“And whose fault is that?”

Gloria rubs her head sheepishly, “In my defense, all the food here looks super scrummy, so I wanted to try as much of it as I could. And it is!”

Hop grins, happy to receive such an invitation. He pulls a chair up as Gloria goes on to tell him about how Lillie is from Alola and they were all talking about the Pokémon in that region. He finds himself getting lost in the conversation, as well as the delicious Kalosian goods before him. At least, that is until Marnie interrupts the three of them.

“Say, Hop, where’s your sync team? I would’ve thought for sure you’d be stuck to ‘em like glue.”

“Yeah, that’s right! You haven’t said a word about them.”

Hop sighs. He was dreading that question, and as predicted, it’s been brought up.

“Where do I even start…”

His question ultimately is left unanswered because, before he can get another word in, his Poryphone goes off in his pocket. Apparently the same is true for the other three there, since they react similarly and take out their devices. There’s a new notification from the PML itself, meaning it’s from Lear.

“Greetings all… PML Gym Challenge starts tomorrow… Yadda yadda…” Gloria reads under her breath, before raising her voice, “We have to participate in at least three registered battles a week? What’s that supposed to mean?”

“There’s more,” Marnie points out, urging her to read forward. Hop has been reading at about the same pace, scrolling down now to see what is in store. His eyes widen as the words register.

Apparently, there are two requirements to actually participate in the PML tournament. The first requirement is the simplest, that being to collect five gym badges from five designated sync pairs. The second outlines a sort of hierarchy based on registered matches. In them, both teams must agree to using a Poryphone to keep track of the battle as it happens. Once it concludes, the results are recorded. Depending on how many matches a team participates in and how many matches they win, they can be placed in one of three categories: Bronze, silver, or gold. In order to participate in the tournament, a team must be gold ranked.

Gloria throws her head back and groans dramatically.

“Just how many more rules is this muppet going to throw at us without any warning?”

“As many as he wants, apparently,” Marnie huffs.

Hop doesn’t respond to either of them, rereading the passage on his phone. This… wasn’t good. Granted, he can see why such rules would be put in place. Simply allowing any team that collects five badges to progress would probably mean nearly everyone passes, since there are so many skilled and capable trainers here. With a ranking system and mandated participation, it makes things tougher.

But that’s especially disastrous for him. His teammates are untrustworthy, and judging by their behavior so far, don’t trust him much as well. If his team is going to make it through even the first week of the challenge, they’re going to have to start working together, stat.

“Thanks for the breakfast,” Hop says as he pushes his seat out and puts his phone away, “But I’ve really got to get going now. I’ll pay you back sometime later!”

“Huh? Where are you going?” Lillie asks with her head cocked.

“No time like the present to start training, right? See you later!”

Not waiting for the group to say anything else, Hop waves goodbye and rushes back the way he came. He thinks he might’ve heard Gloria say something about how he’s “always like this,” but that’s the last thing he’s worried about right now.

He arrives back at flat 13 and scans his Poryphone to open the door. As he enters, he’s immediately met with the sound of voices. It seems like Ghetsis has finally woken up. Hop wanders into the living room and finds the man pacing back and forth, with Giovanni standing against a wall.

“I don’t understand how you can sit there with a straight face and take all of this. Are you not the least bit enraged by all of this?”

“I am,” The Rocket leader says, “But at the same time, I can see the good in such an opportunity.”

“ Opportunity? Is this what this is for you?!”

“Uh, hello?” Hop speaks, the two turning towards him as he continues, “Did you two see the announcement?”

“Naturally,” Ghetsis says with a grave tone of voice. He ceases his pacing and remains where he is by Giovanni. “However, I seem to be the only one here reacting accordingly.”

“If by reacting accordingly, you mean acting like a wounded Growlithe in a cage, then yes,” Giovanni sneers. The Team Plasma leader furrows his eyebrows.

“Wait, you’re not mad?” Hop asks before the two can start throwing insults back and forth.

“Why should I be? Team Rainbow Rocket shall act accordingly whether I participate in the PML tournament or not… And as I said before, this presents me with a unique opportunity,” The man monologues as he raises a hand and crushes it into a fist, “To beat the champions of the world at their own game.”

“What?” Hop wonders aloud, eyes widening. He looks at Ghetsis for clarification, but the other seems to be just as surprised, his expression hardened with curiosity.

“That is certainly an interesting perspective you’ve provided. Care to elaborate?”

Giovanni chuckles as if the answer is obvious.

“It’s simple. All eyes will be on this event, particularly the champions and other elite trainers. Should I defeat them in what’s meant to be a tournament showcasing their splendor, it will prove to the masses the power Team Rainbow Rocket holds. It’s free publicity on behalf of that idiot prince!”

“Interesting…” Ghetsis utters with a grim smile, “And why should I take any part in your scheme?”

“If what I’ve said is true for Team Rainbow Rocket, it’ll hold true for Team Plasma as well. Our mutual cooperation is required, hence why I’ve outlined the benefits for us both.”

“I see… You make a compelling argument.”

As the two evil bosses converse, Hop can’t help but feel like he’s witnessing the birth of something truly dark and twisted. And just what is he in this equation, chopped liver?!

“Hey!” He speaks up, and by the way both the leaders glare at him, he guesses they forgot he was here, “In case you lot have forgotten, we’re a team, not a marketing ploy.”

“You dare oppose us?” Ghetsis growls. Hop shakes his head frantically.

“No, because we’re supposed to be working together!”

Ghetsis opens his mouth to challenge him further, but he’s halted by Giovanni throwing his arm up between them. The two stare at him in shock for a moment as he then lowers it and approaches Hop. He watches attentively– or rather, nervously– as the mob boss overshadows him.

“Tell me, then… just how much are you willing to compromise in order for us all to ‘get along’?”

Hop gulps. He wishes his mouth didn’t feel so dry, because right now, he does not want his voice to fail on him.

“I’m not compromising anything. We all have the same goal, don’t we?”

Giovanni raises an eyebrow.

“And what goal would that be?”

“To win.”

The man leers at him for a minute before suddenly throwing his head back and letting out a boisterous laugh. Hop feels the corner of his mouth twitch up in a confused smile.

“The kid has gusto,” Giovanni tells Ghetsis as he turns to the other man. He simply shakes his head in response.

“Even a weakling will bear its fangs when cornered.”

“I’m not weak!” Hop insists, “And I can prove that. In fact, that’s why I’m here.”

“Hm?”

“We don’t know each other's Pokémon yet. As long as that’s the case, we’re not going to be doing much winning, yeah?” He tells them. 

“Hehehe… Very well then,” Ghetsis smirks as he produces a Pokéball from underneath his cloak, “Let’s have ourselves a little ‘show and tell’.”

Chapter Text

An empty can falls over and clatters onto the ground as a Rattata runs underfoot. Hop watches it dash for a crack in the wall, then continues to keep pace with Giovanni and Ghetsis. Currently, the three of them were moving through the back alleys and hidden walkways of Centra City, since the leaders insisted they’d rather not be spotted by the masses. Hop doesn’t get why they wish to be so secretive when they’ve already been exposed, but he isn’t against the idea. He’d rather not be spotted out in public with these two anyways. Just what would it say about Leon if his little brother was found fraternizing with two wanted criminals?

Frankly, he is a bit worried about how well Giovanni is able to sneak around without anyone noticing. He wonders just how long Team Rocket has been here before being discovered by Lear. He won’t look a gift Ponyta in the mouth, though, because this works to their advantage.

It isn’t long before the sun baked bricks of Centra City make way for the open fields of Pasio, and eventually, the forest. Here it would be easy for them to remain undisturbed while they train. They stop once they reach a small clearing, still shadowed overhead by the trees but open enough to rest in.

“This looks as good a spot as any!” Hop announces, resting his hands on his hips as he faces the two of them. “So, what kind of Pokémon did you two bring?”

Ghetsis shuts his eyes, an embittered expression crossing his face.

“I did not ‘bring’ any Pokémon with me. Upon landing in Pasio, I discovered that the only Pokémon I had was a lone Kyurem.”

“Wait, really? What about your team? Where are they?” Hop asks, concerned for the wellbeing of Ghetsis’ Pokémon. His concern is not reciprocated, the team leader simply scoffing.

“If I knew that, I wouldn’t be here. What matters of it, anyway? With the strength of Kyurem by my side, I have no use for any other Pokémon.”

“But… That’s awful!” Hop says in disbelief, “They could be hurt or lost!”

“If you had them before being taken by Hoopa, then it’s likely they’re in the prince’s custody,” Giovanni proposes. This answer assures Hop somewhat, though it does the opposite for Ghetsis, only making the man more enraged.

“He can keep them for all I care. Now come, Kyurem!” 

The man flourishes his cloak dramatically, revealing a Pokéball holder on his belt with a single Duskball. He plucks it from its place and tosses it into the air. From the emerging light, a large, draconic beast emerges. Hop looks at it in astonishment, noting its asymmetrical wings and almost hunched-like stature. The air around him immediately feels colder upon the dragon’s release, which, paired with the ice crystals on its body, leaves him to assume it's an ice type.

“Woah… I’ve never seen a Pokémon like this before.”

He reaches out a hand to it, only for the Pokémon to turn its head towards him and growl. He backs up, shuddering a little under its sharp yellow eyes. Honestly, he couldn’t imagine a more fitting Pokémon for someone like Ghetsis.

“Of course you haven’t. Kyurem is the remains of the splitting of the Legendary Dragon, the leftover parts of Reshiram and Zekrom. No other of its kind exists.”

“So it’s a legendary Pokémon? That’s wicked!” Hop gasps, “Hey, that means we’ve got two legendaries on the team!”

“Oh?” Giovanni hums, “Does that mean you’re already aware of Mewtwo?”

“Huh? Mewtwo?” Hop questions. He’s heard of such a Pokémon before, but mostly as a passing rumor. A terrifying creature born from the DNA of Mew and created entirely by humans… Or more accurately, Team Rocket.

“That’s correct. Observe.”

Giovanni reaches for a Pokéball on his belt. Hop takes note of the fact that it isn’t the only one here, the five other slots taken up by a mix of Greatballs and Ultraballs. He presses the button on it to enlarge it before underhanding it onto the ground. Before it even lands, the ball bursts open.

Hop’s eyes widen at the Pokémon unleashed. It’s bidepal yet not humanoid, cat-like in appearance yet without any fur. It has three fingers on each hand, a long fluid tail, and hardened eyes that betray a great amount of intelligence. It takes Hop a minute to realize the thing isn’t even standing, instead hovering a half a foot or so off of the ground. This definitely has to be a psychic type.

Giovanni chuckling manages to snap him away from looking at Mewtwo.

“Awestruck, aren’t you? As you should be– Before you is the pinnacle of power!”

Mewtwo responds in kind to the man's gloating, letting out a piercing cry as it waves an arm. Kyurem stomps a foot at the gesture, cold air visibly rolling off of it. Hop rubs his arm at the drop in temperature.

“I’m more surprised than anything… The teams are supposed to be random, but we’ve got a full three legendaries on our side!”

“Three?” Ghetsis and Giovanni ask at the same time, intrigued. Hop nods and grabs the Pokéball off of his holder.

“C’mon out buddy!” He says as he throws the ball. It pops open and Zamazenta forms before them, landing on the ground with steady paws. Mewtwo narrows its eyes and Kyurem raises its head as the legendary dog looks at the two Pokémon. Hop comes around from behind and pets along its side. 

“This here is Zamazenta. Him and Zacian are known as the Warrior Pokémon. They’re the guardians of Galar!”

“Zacian and Zamazenta? This is the first I’ve ever heard of them,” Giovanni speaks, clearly impressed with the beast standing before him.

“That’s no mistake. The two of ‘em have been slumbering for decades, maybe even centuries! They weren’t awoken until recently,” Hop tells them both. He’s spent hours pouring over the details of the two legendaries, alongside Sonia. It was quite fun bouncing ideas and theories off of her while she lent him her research on the matter.

“Fascinating…” Ghetsis mutters as he steps towards Zamazenta. The wolf narrows its eyes and howls, the sound reverberating through the woods. The man steps back wearily, both shocked and annoyed. Hop does his best to calm the Pokémon, stroking its fur gently.

“Easy, pal! He’s not going to hurt you,” He assures it. Zamazenta looks back at him with narrowed eyes, and Hop swears, it almost seems to not believe him. However, it soon relents and turns back to the two trainers and their Pokémon. Hop lets out a sigh of relief.

“Clearly you’re in need of better control over it,” Ghetsis scorns him, making Hop look down in embarrassment. However, he goes on to say, “Nonetheless, with three legendaries on our side, we will decimate the competition with ease!”

“I wouldn’t be so sure of that,” Giovanni counters, earning a glare from the other. “We’re not the only ones with legendary Pokémon here.”

“Plus, even regular Pokémon can be plenty strong!” Hop adds, “Take Lee and his Charizard for example. They could probably take on any legendary, all on their own!”

“‘Lee’?” Ghetsis asks, mouthing the words like they leave a bad taste in his mouth.

“He’s my big bro, and on top of that, he’s the strongest trainer in Galar!”

Giovanni strokes his chin thoughtfully, then looks inquisitively at Hop.

“By Lee, you wouldn’t happen to mean Leon, would you?”

Hop nods, “That’s right. The one and only!”

“Out with it, you two. Who is this Leon?” Ghetsis grumbles. Giovanni shakes his head, disappointment written clear on his face.

“Do you know nothing? Champion Leon of Galar. He has quite the reputation, apparently being undefeated in all of his time as a trainer.”

“Undefeated? Ridiculous.”

“It’s true!” Hop says, quick to his brother’s defense. However, the team leaders disregard his passion for the matter entirely. Instead, Ghetsis sneers at him.

“Why did you fail to mention such a thing earlier?”

Hop crosses his arms at this. Of course… It’s always like this. Whenever people find out that his brother is Leon, they’re always quick to get on his case for not mentioning it sooner. So what if Lee is his bro? It’s something he holds pride in, not something he needs to flaunt. Although, in this case, he supposes it would be relevant. These two don’t seem keen on champions.

“Because it didn’t matter then, and it doesn’t matter now. I’m going to beat Lee and become the champion for myself!”

The silence that follows his assertion is telling– Neither of them think he’s capable. The fact stings, but not too much. He’s already used to people underestimating him.

Their discussion is interrupted by the sound of snarling. It turns out that while they were talking, only Mewtwo had remained at its master’s side, the other two veering off to interact. Zamazenta was currently trying to sniff at Kyurem, with the dragon snarling whenever it gets close. The wolf stamps its front paws on the ground and flicks its tail.

Hop regards the two curiously before grinning. This gives him a great idea! He faces the other two with excitement.

“Hey, I know! Why don’t we spar a bit? It’ll help us get to know each others’ fighting styles, as well as our Pokémon!”

“That is acceptable,” Giovanni concedes, then adopts a sinister smile before stating, “Prepare yourself for a world of pain!”

“You’re on mate! Zamazenta, let’s do this!” The Pokémon barks in response, adopting a battle-ready posture.

“Hmph. I suppose if that’s what we’re doing... Kyurem!”

The three Pokémon stand facing one another now, waiting on the commands of their trainers. Surprisingly, Hop is the first to give the cue to spring into battle.

“Zamazenta, Metal Claw!”

The wolf howls before lunging at its target, that being Giovanni’s Pokémon. Mewtwo easily dodges, taking to the air above Zamazenta.

“Glaciate!” 

Both Pokémon turn just in time to see Kyurem rear back its head, then blow out freezing wind and snow from its mouth. Mewtwo’s tail lashes at the cold as the psychic type lowers itself once more, but Zamazenta simply shakes the snow off.

“You’ll have to try harder than that to get through Zamazenta’s defenses!” Hop gloats.

“Mewtwo, Confusion.”

Mewtwo holds a hand out in Kyurem’s direction, the space around its fingers warping with a pinkish glow. The dragon curls in on itself and shakes its head, visibly pained by the attack. Ghetsis looks at the Pokémon in contempt.

“Noble Roar!”

Kyurem widens its stance as it opens its jaws and lets out a guttural roar. Mewtwo flinches and covers its ears, leaving itself open to attack. Hop jumps on the opportunity.

“Now’s our chance! Zamazenta, Behemoth Bash!”

A faint red aura envelopes the Pokémon as the metal parts on its body shift into place, becoming wider and forming a full shield. It then dashes across the field, charging straight towards Mewtwo. The psychic type is unable to react in time, being sent flying back by the force of the attack. It still does not touch the ground, however, gliding through the air and recomposing itself.

“Clever move,” Giovanni smirks, “But you’d do better if you paid more attention.”

“Huh?”

Hop whips his head around to find Kyurem charging an attack off to the side, ready to fire.

“Dragon Breath!”

The purplish flames spew forth from the dragon and straight towards Zamazenta. Mewtwo flies back, allowing the wolf to take the brunt of the move. Zamazenta staggers, static energy raising its crimson and navy fur.

“No!” Hop cries. That was a seriously inconvenient paralysis. On top of the cold slowing it down from Glaciate, Zamazenta won’t be able to move nearly as fast! 

“Yes! Now, the other one!”

“Mewtwo, retaliate.”

Kyurem screeches as it fires another Dragon Breath, only for the flames to collide with a Shadow Ball from Mewtwo. The two attacks explode and release a great deal of smoke. Hop uses this as an opportunity to whistle and call back Zamazenta. It returns to his side as he pulls out a potion and sprays it on the Pokémon.

“Kyurem, clear the smoke. Glaciate!”

The dragon spreads its wings wide as it sends icy wind all about, even causing the grass around it to harden from ice crystals. However, it seems Giovanni had the same idea Hop did, signaling for his Pokémon to use the smoke as cover and move unseen. Mewtwo reappears from the trees behind them, Ghetsis turning around too late to see it.

“Now, Mewtwo. Psychic!”

Mewtwo crosses both of its arms as it gathers energy before unleashing it, psychic energy bombarding the ice dragon is a dense attack. Kyurem is sent skidding backwards, its feet leaving streaks of dirt in the ground as it fights to stay upright.

“Heh. Not bad,” Ghetsis says in a manner that could easily be confused as taunting.

“I could say the same about you,” Giovanni replies in a similar tone of voice.

Hop grins as Zamazenta prepares to enter the fray once more. Evil supervillains or not, this battle was an exhilarating one, and Hop could feel the thrill of it coursing through his veins. He figures now would be as good a time as any to try out a sync move! From what he remembers, he doesn’t need to have his Poryphone out to use it, just to have it on his person. He pumps a fist into the air, hyping himself and his Pokémon up.

“I think it’s about time we get to the main event. You ready, Zamazenta?” The wolf barks before giving a nod. Hop returns it. “Then let’s do this! Time for our sync move!”

He cheers his partner Pokémon on as energy gathers around it, the aura from before being much brighter this time. Zamazenta’s plates shift into place once more, this time seeming sharper and more lustrous as the steel armor glows. The Pokémon howls, its voice alone sending shockwaves through the area as it bolts towards the two adversaries. Mewtwo just barely manages to fly out of the way, leaving the wolf Pokémon to smash into Kyurem and send the dragon careening into a tree. Hop watches, amazed at the strength of the sync move and at the fact Kyurem manages to get back on its feet.

“Such power…” Ghetsis utters, blown away as well by what he’s witnessed. A malicious grin spreads across his face, “I must taste it for myself! Kyurem! Fire back!”

The dragon stomps its feet and bellows at Zamazenta, poised to make an attack of its own. However, nothing comes of its miniature tantrum, leaving the Pokémon dazed. It looks back and forth as if it expected something to happen.

Ghetsis’ grip on his staff tightens as he shouts, “What’s the matter? Are you defying me? Attack! Use your sync move!”

Kyurem turns and screeches at its trainer, agitated. Hop motions for Zamazenta to stand down, perplexed by what’s happened. Why wasn’t Kyurem obeying? Or rather, why couldn’t it obey?

Giovanni smirks, seemingly amused by Ghetsis’ struggles.

“Pathetic. Let me show you what true power looks like. Mewtwo, Mega Evolve!”

Mewtwo propels itself further off the ground and curls in on itself, bracing for mega evolution. It then throws its arms out and lashes its tail about. Like with Kyurem, however, nothing comes about its actions. The Pokémon looks at one hand and then at the other, unable to grasp what was going on. Giovanni steps back in astonishment.

“What? It’s not working?”

Hop stands beside Zamazenta now, the battle all but forgotten in the face of this new predicament. He tilts his head and folds his arms as he tries to figure out what is going on. That’s when a thought strikes him.

“Can you guys not use sync moves?”

“Impossible! We have sync stones! Unless…” Ghetsis mutters, then snarls with rage, “That obnoxious prince! He must have given us faulty stones!”

“But then why would be give you Poryphones and let you compete?” Hop wonders. It just doesn’t make sense for Lear to grant the two leaders sync stones if they were dysfunctional. Sure, they’re untrustworthy, but if that’s the case then why let them participate at all?

Giovanni, who's been standing with his eyes shut in contemplation and a hand in his pocket, now looks at them.

“Whatever the reason, it must be fixed. I’m certain the local professor here on Pasio could provide insight.”

“There’s a professor local to Pasio?” Hop asks, his interest piqued. He hadn’t heard about anyone like that from Lee.

“Her name is Professor Bellis. I hear she specializes in the research of sync stones, being partly responsible for their usage here on Pasio.”

“Then we must go at once,” Ghetsis demands. Hop shakes his head at this, refusing.

“We can’t go now! Our Pokémon haven’t rested yet.”

“They can rest plenty in their Pokéballs.”

“That’s no way of going about things. Your Kyurem can hardly stand,” He points out, motioning a hand towards the dragon. True to his word, its legs are shaking, apparently having sustained damage from Hop’s sync move.

The trainer pulls his bag off his shoulder and takes out a potion, then approaches the legendary. It growls at him at first, but Hop raises his hands as a show of submission, even spritzing the air once with the potion.

“See? It’s not gonna hurt you,” He says as he moves in closer and sprays it onto Kyurem. The Pokémon lets out a noise akin to grumbling, though far deeper and far more guttural than any human could produce. He gives it a small pat for cooperating, noting how cold its scales are under his touch.

“The boy is right,” Giovanni agrees, “Even tools need time to recharge. Besides, I have business that I must attend to.”

Hop gives an angry look to Giovanni for the tool comment, though the team leader does not acknowledge it. He simply returns Mewtwo to its Pokéball and starts walking further into the forest. Ghetsis slams his staff against the ground.

“And just where do you think you’re going?”

Giovanni glances behind him.

“It’s none of your business.”

The man then continues and disappears into the treeline. Hop sighs and calls over Zamazenta, returning it to its Pokéball as well.

“What a piece of work…” He complains to himself. Ghetsis nods grimly. Kyurem trudges over to his side, silent and expressionless as usual. Hop looks at the legendary.

“Are you going to take it to a Pokémon Center?”

Ghetsis huffs, returning the Pokémon to its ball.

“That is hardly necessary. All Kyurem requires to rejuvenate itself is a frigid climate.”

“Oh. Well, I think there is a frozen tundra in the northern part of the island,” Hop informs him, remembering the various climates Leon and Raihan described to him during the tour.

Ghetsis regards him sternly for a moment, then nods. That’s the only sign he gives of having heard him at all, flourishing his coat and walking off in the direction provided.

Hop is left standing alone in the clearing, listening to the ambience of the forest as he mulls over what he’s learnt. One thing is for certain; He definitely has his work cut out for him.

Chapter Text

“Look, all I’m saying is, the guy can’t be considered a dragon type master!”

Leon takes a bite of the sandwich he’s holding, watching as Raihan waves around his soda and rants. The two of them have taken a break for the afternoon to get some food, having already met both of their sync teams. Apparently one of the trainers on Raihan’s team was Jasmine, a steel type gym leader. This wouldn’t at all be a problem if she hadn’t compared Raihan to Lance.

“He does have dragon types on his team, though, doesn’t he?” Leon asks as if this isn’t the millionth time he’s heard this tangent from his rival. Raihan scoffs.

“Sure, but so do you, and no offense babe but you’re no dragon master either. Besides, all three of the dragon types on his team are Dragonites!”

“Doesn’t your gym team only have two dragon types on it?”

Raihan recoils a little at this, not having been ready to be called out in such a manner.

“That’s because my gym challenge places an emphasis on weather. Besides, I use more dragon types for all out battles. And I’m surrounded by them every day!”

“So by that logic, Lance is a dragon master too.”

“Argghh!!” Raihan cries out, throwing his arms up before slouching over. He sips from his soda in defeat as Leon smugly takes another bite of his sandwich.

“You’re so cruel to me, you know that?” He pouts, earning an apologetic look from the champion as he swallows his food.

“You love the challenge though, don’t you?”

Raihan stares at him for a minute before grinning and sitting back up.

“I suppose you got me there.”

Their moment together is interrupted by the sound of battling in a nearby alleyway catching Leon’s attention. He sits upright as he listens for it, hearing commands of the trainers– and they don’t sound happy. He looks to Raihan who responds with a hardened expression, apparently also hearing it. The both of them get up swiftly and make for the source of the noise.

They arrive just in time to witness a Trubbish being KO-ed, toppling over in front of a Krookadile. There are three trainers standing behind it, the other two presumably having already been defeated. Strangely enough, they’re all wearing monochromatic masks. The young girl in front returns her Trubbish with a grimace.

“Darn it!...”

“Would you look at that? Another victory for me,” The trainer behind Krookadile gloats, being none other than Lear himself. He waves an arm as if trying to dispel the people before him. “Now move along. You’re not welcome here!”

The three run off as told, leaving Leon and Raihan to glance at each other in confusion. The champion decides to approach the prince, who notices the two as he recalls his Pokémon to its ball.

“Well, well, well. Who do we have here?” Lear smirks, regarding the two as fondly as he did the trainers that he sent packing. Which is, to say, not very much. “I thought I felt someone sticking their nose where it doesn’t belong.”

“Who were those people just now?” Leon questions him, doing his best to be the bigger man and not pay any mind to his comments. Evidently Lear is quite annoyed by this judging by the way he frowns.

“Didn’t I just tell you it’s none of your concern?”

“Those didn’t look like competitors,” Raihan points out, his tone nonchalant even though his expression says otherwise. The prince waves him off indignantly.

“Continue as you were previously. All matters will be handled by yours truly.”

As if on cue, Lear’s phone begins buzzing. He takes it out and responds immediately.

“Status report. Is that so? Yes, I’ll be there shortly…”

He does not bother answering any more questions the two of them have, simply turning on his heel and walking further down the alley. Leon folds his arms in front of himself, displeased. He isn’t sure what he just witnessed but it didn’t look good.

“That guy hoards secrets like a dragon type hoards gold,” Raihan says with a sigh. “First all those surprise rules, and now, this.”

“You said it,” Leon agrees. 

They walk back to their table together, finishing what little of their food is left and throwing out the remains. Any previous momentum in their conversation has been killed by the mystery now looming over their heads. Just who were those masked figures, and why was the organizer of the PML battling them?

Leon checks his Rotom Phone as he and Raihan gather their things to leave, noting the time.

“It’s getting pretty late… I think I’m going to go.”

“Hm? You got something to do?”

“I want to go check on Hop before the end of the day,” He tells his partner. Raihan smiles at this, watching as Leon sends a text to his younger brother. The reply comes quickly, with Hop telling him he’s at the Pokémon Center.

“You want help getting there?”

“No, I’ll be fine,” Leon says, holding firm in his reply despite the incredulous look Raihan gives him.

“Whatever you say. See you around, champ.”

The dragon tamer leaves down and gives a peck on the man’s forehead, causing his snapback to be pushed further back. Leon chuckles and fixes it before waving to the other. Raihan raises a hand back and walks off.

Now… was it a right he had to make to reach the Pokémon Center, or a left?

Chapter Text

Hop returns to the apartment building early in the evening, the sky above a milky blend of cream colored clouds and tangerine sky. The sparring session between him and the evil team leaders had lasted well into the afternoon, so by the time he got lunch and visited the Pokémon Center, the day was practically over. Now the shadows are growing long as he stops in front of his flat, checking his Rotom Phone. Him and Leon were supposed to meet at the Pokémon Center, but the other never showed up. Had he gotten lost?

Who is Hop kidding? Of course he did. The assistant professor starts typing up a message asking where he is.

“Hop!”

He looks up, startled. Walking towards him and waving his hand was none other than Leon himself! He puts his phone away and smiles, glad to see his bro after such a long day.

“Lee! How’d you know I was here?”

“I didn’t! I was still looking for the Pokémon Center…” He says sheepishly, “But I ended up here instead, so I figured I’d check if you were in the area.”

“Those champion instincts never fail, eh?” He jokes in return. Leon laughs, bright and unapologetic. It’s a welcome contrast to the frowns he’s been faced with lately.

“Looks like it! So, how’s my favorite fan? Have you met your partners yet?”

“Yeah… about that…” Hop starts, noticeably deflating at the mention of them, “This whole randomized team thing has seriously put me through the ringer.”

“Really? How so?” Leon asks.

“You’d think with so many possible sync pairs, I’d end up with better teammates, but…”

Hop is about to go on when movement behind Leon catches his eye. He gasps as he realizes who the two figures approaching are.

“It seems we’ve interrupted some sort of family reunion.”

Leon turns around now, eyes widening at the arrival of Ghetsis and Giovanni. He does not let his surprise show for long, immediately putting himself between Hop and the two.

“Looks like the announcement was true. You all really are on the island,” He addresses them, his tone uncharacteristically serious. Hop hasn’t heard him talk like this since that whole escapade with Rose and Project Eternamax.

“‘You all’? Don’t address us as if we are one entity. Team Plasma stands above the rest.”

“Though, I suppose we could be considered a single unit for now. After all, we have been made to team up,” Giovanni adds.

Hop takes a step to the side, being unable to see the conversation at hand properly from behind Leon’s wide cape. His brother is all but glaring at the two as they speak. Ghetsis looks the champion up and down with a peculiar expression, then looks towards Hop.

“You failed to mention that Galar’s champion dresses like a sportsman deluded into thinking he’s a king.”

“Hey!! My bro looks awesome!” Hop retorts. Leon puts his hand out as if to tell Hop to stand down.

“Why would he need to tell you anything? Nobody is willing to talk to the likes of you.”

Both men stare at him for a moment before breaking face. Giovanni shakes his head with a smug grin while Ghetsis cackles.

“You truly know nothing, don’t you?” The Team Plasma head sneers.

From where he’s standing behind the champion, Hop can see Leon’s hand ball into a fist. He probably thinks the two are messing with him. Which, granted, isn’t totally untrue. Still, it bothers him to watch them toy with his brother. He should try and diffuse the situation somehow.

“Lee,” Hop gets his attention by tugging once on his cape, “Meet Ghetsis and Giovanni. They’re… my sync team partners.”

“They—“ Leon gawks at him, then at the other two, seemingly unable to comprehend what he’s just been told.

“That’s right. And as it so happens, you’re standing in the way of our apartment door,” Giovanni says to add salt to the wound. The mob boss then walks forth, forcing Leon to step aside awkwardly as Hop continues clinging to his cape. The door opens with a click after he scans his Poryphone.

Ghetsis follows him, though he stops in the doorway and holds it open so he can face Hop.

“Don’t be out here too long. We have business to discuss regarding this afternoon, remember?”

Hop has to wrack his brain for a second to remember, feeling a bit overwhelmed from this encounter as a whole. He figures Ghetsis must be talking about their sync stones and the professor on Pasio.

“Right…”

The man nods, allowing the door to shut as he walks into the flat. Only once it’s completely closed and still does Leon turn his back to it. Hop withers a little under his gaze, worried about what his brother might say. Was he upset that he didn’t bring this up sooner?

That worry turns into surprise when Leon plants his hands on his shoulders. He lowers himself a little to try and be eye level with Hop, concern written all over his features.

“Hop, you aren’t hurt, are you?”

Hop blinks in astonishment before shaking his head.

“What? No, I’m fine!”

“You haven’t been threatened either, have you?”

“Lee.”

“Alright, alright. Just making sure.”

Hop feels his hands slide off his shoulders as Leon steps back and straightens himself out.

“I think I see now what you mean by being put through the ringer,” He jokes, but the slight strain in his voice speaks volumes towards his feelings. If anything, Leon seems even more bothered by this whole arrangement than Hop is.

“They haven’t been completely unbearable. They’ve at least agreed to battle alongside me in the tournament,” Hop tells him, but this doesn’t seem to help dissuade his worries.

“I’m not sure that’s something to be glad for. Maybe we can talk to Lear and find you some new teammates?”

“But the rules say you can’t get replacements unless absolutely necessary,” Hop reminds him. The champion sighs and rubs the back of his head.

“I suppose that is true… Then in that case, I need you to listen to me carefully, Hop. If you ever feel like you’re in danger, don’t hesitate to go to any of the champions or gym leaders here.”

“Bro…”

“I mean it. You can even ask to spend the night with me or Raihan at our places if you need.”

Hop wants to tell him that he won’t be needing that, but the stern look in Leon’s eyes keeps him from saying such a thing. He knows his brother is just fretting for his safety, and for good reason.

“Okay, Lee. I will.”

“Good,” Leon smiles, though it doesn’t quite reach his eyes. “You sure you don’t want to hang out at my flat for a bit? You could meet the rest of my team.”

“That sounds fun, but I promised I’d go talk to them, remember?”

“Right, I know…” He concedes, obviously dispirited by Hop’s refusal. “Guess I’ll get going then. Text me first thing in the morning, alright?”

“Alright,” Hop tells him. Leon pats him on the shoulder before letting him by, heading towards his own flat. He waves goodbye, which Hop returns as he scans his Poryphone on the door and unlocks it.

Stepping inside and hearing the metallic clunk of the door shutting behind him feels weightier than it did before. Like he’s crossing a boundary into enemy territory. For a moment, he regrets not going with Leon to his flat, but it doesn’t last long. If he had, he knows his brother would’ve been more overprotective than usual. The last thing he wants is for Lee to treat him like he can’t handle himself.

He flicks the hallway light on as he passes by the lightswitch and enters the living room. Giovanni is sitting on the sofa looking at his Poryphone while Ghetsis stands by the wall. His head turns the moment Hop steps into the space.

“You’re late.”

“No I’m not. There isn’t a set time for this,” He tells him, “And don’t think I’ve forgotten what you said about my bro! I’ll have you know he looks great!”

“Ghetsis makes a point,” Giovanni says without looking up, “He is in need of a wardrobe update.”

“You too?! Gah, just… Can we switch topics?”

“Gladly,” The Rocket leader replies, finally putting his phone away. “While I was away, I discovered the location of the professor’s laboratory. It’s south east of the city, amongst a small cluster of buildings separate from the main populous.”

“Then we will set out for it tomorrow,” Ghetsis says. However, Giovanni shakes his head in reply.

“No, I think it’d be much better if we had the boy go on his own.”

“Huh? Why me?” Hop asks before adding, “And I’ve got a name you know.”

“Our reputations precede us. It’s possible the professor may refuse to lend her assistance if she knew we were involved.”

The young trainer folds his arms at this, looking at the floor in contemplation. Giovanni raises a valid point. If two evil team leaders show up unannounced and start asking about how to use sync stones, people might think they’re trying to use them for nefarious purposes. But what if they really do later down the line? What if he’ll be the one responsible for putting such power in their hands?

“I don’t know… Do we really need them anyways?”

“Of course we do!” Ghetsis slams his staff, “Without the ability to use sync moves, our Pokémon are at a severe disadvantage.”

“That’s right. Our defeat will be assured.”

Hop sucks in a breath at this. He hates to admit it, but they’re right. During their fight in the afternoon, Hop noticed how both Mewtwo and Kyurem were out-damaging Zamazenta. Their attacks were able to afflict the opponents in ways Zamazenta’s couldn’t. He was only able to even things out with the ice dragon by trying out his sync move. If that’s the case for him, he can only imagine how devastating such attacks would be if they were sync moves. They could very well make or break the outcome of their battles.

“... Fine. I’ll go tomorrow to Professor Bellis’ lab and ask her about what we should do,” Hop relents. He doesn’t enjoy the smile the two share upon his admission, looking less so relieved and more so sinister.

“Excellent,” Giovanni hisses, then looks to Ghetsis, “As for you, I will require someone who can go out and scout the current power level of the–”

“As for me?” Ghetsis interrupts him, mouth pulled into a scowl, “I take orders from no one.”

“I am not ‘no one’. You may not be familiar with what it’s like having a superior, but that changes today.”

“Hah! Am I meant to tremble in awe of your words? I’ll say it again, clearly this time; I take orders from no one,” Ghetsis growls. Giovanni narrows his eyes and gets up, much to Hop’s dismay. If he doesn’t do something, these two are going to be at each other's' throats.

“Who says either of you should be the leader?” He asks. The villains look at him with much chagrin in their eyes, but he continues on, “All you two have ever done is give commands to people and Pokémon. That’s not going to fly in the PML.”

“And why’s that?” The green-haired man questions, clearly looking for a reason to disprove him.

“Because we’re not operating under normal rules! We’re a team of three with only one Pokémon each, not a single trainer with a full team of six. Our Pokémon are all going to be on the field at the same time, which means we need to be working in tandem in order to win.”

“That’s where my leadership comes in,” Giovanni insists, earning a glare from Ghetsis. Hop shakes his head before the two can bicker about it again.

“Your ‘leadership’ would just bog us down. How are you supposed to keep track of us, and our Pokémon, and your own Pokémon all at the same time? Nobody can give orders that quickly,” He explains. Judging by the way the Team Rocket leader harrumphs, it seems he’s gotten through to him. Ghetsis, however, remains stubborn.

“Do you expect me to heed the words of a child? You’re inexperienced in the ways of the world,” The man says, approaching Hop. Hop stands up straighter, his posture defensive.

“I’m not inexperienced! I tamed Zamazenta and fought in the Gym Challenge! I even made it to the semifinals!”

“Oh?” Ghetsis sneers, now overshadowing Hop, who has to crane his head upwards to face the other. “That’s odd, because I don’t see a champion standing before me. I take it that must mean you failed.”

Hop cringes, the comment going straight to his ego. He shouldn’t have fed fuel to the fire that is Ghetsis’ contempt, but he ended up doing so anyway. The Team Plasma leader backs off now, having successfully asserted himself.

“Only the young and foolish throw themselves into battles they cannot win. A leader would know otherwise.”

“I’m not saying I should be leader either…” Hop maintains, although now that the wind has been taken out of his sails, he feels less sure of this, “Just that having a leader would hurt us instead of help us.”

Ghetsis shoots him a dirty look, unhappy with being defied yet again by him. Hop doesn’t break eye contact, unwilling to give him any more ground. The two of them are locked into a stalemate until, without warning, Giovanni snaps his fingers. They both turn their heads towards the man.

“Easy now. The night is still young and we have much to prepare. We’ll decide on how to carry on going forward at a later date.”

With his declaration made, he makes his way down the hall and towards his own room. Hop stands in silence along with Ghetsis until, with a ‘tch’, the other retires for the night as well. It isn’t until he’s sure they’re both in their rooms that Hop retreats into his own.

Hop changes for bed as quickly as he can before the exhaustion can take hold, at which point he crawls under the covers and sighs. How did those two ever manage to become leaders of vast criminal organizations? Trying to hold a conversation with them felt like diffusing two bombs at the same time.

Leon’s reassuring words and Ghetsis’ snide insults swim in his mind as he plants his head on the pillow. He could always run to his brother and rely on his protection… But would that really do him any good? He wouldn’t be getting any stronger that way. At the same time, though, he knows his worth (or, at the very least, he’d like to believe so). He’s not maladjusted to the world like how Ghetsis may insist.

These thoughts fade into a background of static noise as Hop can no longer keep himself alert, drifting off to sleep.

Chapter Text

Hop wakes up slowly the next morning, stirring idly in bed before it registers that he’s awake and that it’s a new day. He pulls the covers off of himself and rubs his bleary eyes. The living room is empty when he exits his room and travels down the hall, a fact which he is grateful for. He’s able to brush his teeth and shower quickly in peace, the water helping to wake him up. Soap and shampoo were provided with the flat, as well as toilet paper, which he finds in the sink underneath the cabinet. Oddly enough, though, he also finds a box of green hair dye there. He wonders why this was left here for them, or if perhaps someone forgot it? He isn’t sure.

Stepping out of the bathroom with a towel around his neck, he heads back to his bedroom. There was no point going into the kitchen since he’s certain none of them have gone and filled it. That would have to be a priority for today. Right now, though, he has to make good on his promise to text Lee.

Adding all of his contacts from his Rotom Phone onto his Poryphone is easy enough, allowing him to text and call from the device. He decided to message Leon that way, almost immediately receiving a response. His brother bids him a good morning and checks if he’s still unharmed, making Hop roll his eyes. Once that’s over with, he goes on to tell him about how getting along with his team is going— Apparently one of his teammates is a super strong trainer from Sinnoh, and the other is a professor from Alola. Hop giggles to himself when he reads about how apparently the latter has been asking to wrestle with Lee’s Charizard! 

All in all, they both sound like great partners. Hop is glad his brother got paired with people who will help him shine, rather than drag him down.

Speaking of, after he’s gotten changed and ready, Hop opens his door to find Ghetsis leaving his room at the same time. The two stare at each other briefly for a second before Ghetsis turns his head away. He walks past him wordlessly, his staff thumping against the floorboards with every step. It’s a good thing they’re on the first floor, because if they were situated above someone, they’d probably get annoyed fast.

Despite not really wanting to be near him, Hop follows him to the door. They’re both going the same direction anyways. Plus, this gives him the opportunity to ask something he needs to.

“Where you headed, mate?”

The both of them are already out of the flat by now, standing in the common area together. Ghetsis barely turns his head towards the trainer, obviously disinterested with the conversation before it’s even begun.

“Nowhere that's of your concern.”

“Fair enough…” Hop sighs, before taking out his Poryphone and asking, “Could I at least add you on my contacts?”

Ghetsis raises an eyebrow at this, fully facing him and looking at the phone in his hand.

“Why would I do that?”

“Because we’re a team, and I’m not running around all over the island just to get ahold of you two,” Hop states. He really does mean it too, doing his best to convey this with a stern face. This doesn’t seem to affect the other as much as he’d like. Nonetheless, the man still pulls out his own device.

“Fine. Be quick about it.”

Hop blinks, surprised to have actually gotten what he wanted with such little resistance, then takes the Poryphone. He wasn’t going to let the team leader grow impatient and reconsider. Once he has him added, he holds it out for him to take back. Ghetsis all but snatches it from him before leaving.

“A ‘thank you’ wouldn’t hurt ya know!” Hop calls after him, but receives no such thing. He grumbles to himself.

Well, at least he completed his objective. Now it was time to take on his real mission for the day; Talking to Professor Bellis. Last night Giovanni had provided him with a general direction and description of where he needs to go, so it shouldn’t be too difficult finding his way there. Before he can do that, though, he has to get some food in his stomach. He finds a stand selling some sort of meat-filled bun and buys a few of those, one for himself and the rest for Zamazenta. A few trainers watch him as he does so, a pair even being so bold as to come up and ask if they can pet the legendary.

Once that’s over with, he continues on his way towards the edge of the city. Thankfully, all of the Poryphones come with a digital map of the island, though the quality of it isn’t the greatest. From what he can tell he has to head through a small portion of forest to reach the outskirts of town, where the lab should be. He pockets the phone once more as he walks, Zamazenta following alongside him. It feels wrong to keep such a noble and majestic beast inside of a Pokéball, so he lets it out to roam more frequently than he does for the rest of his team. That isn’t to say he doesn’t let them out, though– He loves having them hang around outdoors while they camp or during long treks.

Soon enough he’s reached the forested area, the stone road underfoot making way for a dirt path. It doesn’t take him long to realize he’s far from the only person here. In fact, the further he goes, the more trainers he catches sight wandering the place in groups of three or less. He supposes a lot of sync teams were taking towards the forest in search of training. It makes sense, since most people equate the wild with strong Pokémon and trainers on routes.

As much as he’d love to jump into the fray and battle to his heart's content, he continues on the path laid out for him. There isn’t much point in honing his skills as an individual when, right now, his struggles come from his team. Getting that in order takes priority over all else.

Zamazenta is recalled into its ball once he reaches the laboratory. It’s one of the few buildings on the outskirts with any sort of deviation from the architectural design, housing a garage to the side and antenna on the roof. Hop knocks on the door, hoping she doesn’t mind the fact he’s come here unannounced. He would’ve asked when she was free if he could, but he has no idea how to get in contact with her.

He looks up when he hears the knob turning. A head of orange wavy hair and a pair of teal eyes are the very first thing he sees.

“Sonia? What are you doing here?” Hop asks, flabbergasted to see the woman he’s studying under standing in the doorway. She looks just as surprised as he is.

“I could ask you the same thing! Here, come in,” Sonia motions for him to enter. He does so, stepping past her and following her into the main space.

“I’m here to visit Professor Bellis.”

“Si?”

Hop comes to a halt when an unfamiliar voice joins the fray. The main laboratory area is quite open, featuring hardwood floors and a strange glass tube that could probably fit a Tyranitar. There is a computer setup and bookshelves to the left, and to the right is a sitting area with sofas, as well as a woman sitting on said furniture. Her hair immediately calls to mind a Purrloin, what with its dark purple color and two ear-shaped tufts. The other thing he notices about her is that there’s a sync stone attached to her necktie.

“‘Ello miss! Sorry to barge in,” Hop apologizes. She dismisses it with a smile.

“No need for sorries. Sonia and I were just having a casual discussion on the nature of the Dynamax phenomenon.”

“That’s right. We were just going over some of my theories,” Sonia tells him, before clapping a hand on his shoulder and addressing Professor Bellis, “Speaking of, this is Hop! He’s actually working at my lab to become a professor of his own!”

“Is this true?” Bellis asks, and Hop nods. She beams at this. “Magnifico! It’s always a delight to see promising young minds eager to learn.”

Hop flusters at the compliment, losing track of why he is here for a brief moment.

“Thanks,” He says with a chuckle before clearing his throat, “Anyways, could I ask you about something? It has to do with sync stones.”

“Oh? Then you’ve come to the right place. Come, sit!”

Bellis waves Hop and Sonia over to the couches. He takes a seat next to the other Galarian, who folds one leg over another and plays with her ponytail.

“So, what’s up? Are you curious about the sync stones?” Sonia asks him.

“I sure am, but that’s not why I’m here. Y’see, I sparred with my teammates yesterday, and it turns out neither of them can use sync moves.”

“They can’t use them?” Bellis questions, raising a hand to her chin. It’s obvious the gears are already turning in her brain.

“Maybe they got faulty sync stones?” Sonia proposes, to which the other professor shakes her head.

“No, that can’t be it. A sync stone will always function as intended unless it’s been physically damaged. Although… there is one other case I’ve seen where someone couldn’t use sync moves.”

“Really? With who?” Hop leans in.

“I’m afraid I’m not at leisure to expose who it is, or else I’d be up to my neck in hot water! But tell me, Hop, are your teammates at all distant or uncaring towards others?” 

He blinks at her, surprised at the accuracy of her question before nodding.

“‘Uncaring’ is an understatement. They see people and Pokémon as nothing more than tools!” 

“You’re joking,” Sonia gasps, acting like she’s just heard a juicy piece of gossip. She then pouts, going on to say, “And I thought I had it bad with my teammates.”

“Really? What’s wrong with yours?” Hop asks, looking at her now. She groans, leaning back in her seat.

“They’re both total loners! They won’t listen to a thing I have to say. I’m stuck basically babysitting two angsty teens!”

“Yeesh. That does sound rough.”

“In any case, that’d explain why they can’t use their sync moves,” Bellis goes on, “A trainer who hasn’t forged a proper bond with their partner Pokémon can’t unlock the potential in them to unleash it.”

“A proper bond?...” Hop wonders aloud. It’s no wonder then why Ghetsis and Giovanni can’t use sync moves. The only “bonds” those two have ever cultivated are with the followers of their organizations.

“I guess that makes it similar to Mega Evolution, in a way,” Sonia tells them. Hop looks at her, amazed.

“You’ve researched Mega Evolution as well?”

“Of course! Sort of. I read a thing or two about it from Professor Sycamore…” She says, her confidence slowly diminishing with every word. It’s clear her knowledge is likely only surface level, which even then, Hop still finds impressive.

“It’s good to broaden your horizons!” Bellis pipes in, a smile on her face, “And Pasio is the best place to do so. Professors from all over the world have gathered here to participate in the PML, you know.”

“I heard! Why is that anyways?” Hop puzzles. He knew Sonia went along with all of the gym leaders and Leon when invited, but he didn’t understand why since she’s not involved in the Gym Challenge.

“That’s because of all the various battle methods that come along with so many different regions. Mega Evolution, Dynamaxing, Z-Moves… I’ve already got my hands full with sync stones alone, so you could say I needed a little backup!”

“That makes sense! But then what about Professor Magnolia?” Hop turns to Sonia. The woman sighs and rests her cheek on her hand.

“Gran said she didn’t want to come. She’s never really been one for battles anyways.”

Now that she mentions it, Hop is fairly certain he’s never heard anything about Magnolia as a trainer– If she ever even was one. He wonders if she has a Pokémon of her own, or possibly a full team. Maybe she has the Boltund to Sonia’s Yamper?

A ringing across from him causes Hop to look up. Bellis pats her lab coat pockets before pulling out a Poryphone and bringing it to her ear.

“Moshi moshi, this is Bellis. What? They are?! … Alright, thank you for telling me. Yes, I’ll warn others to keep clear. Ciao.”

“What was that about?” Sonia asks, beating Hop to the punch. Whatever that call was about seems to have been serious, since Bellis has dropped her carefree attitude.

“Apparently Team Rocket and Team Plasma are having a skirmish close by here.”

“What?!” Hop all but jumps out of his seat, startling the other two. “Where? How close?”

“On the beach just east of here. Thankfully it’s far enough from the city that no civilians should get involved, but…”

“Hey, just where do you think you’re going?” Sonia stands up as Hop makes his way for the entrance.

“I’ve got to make sure those tossers don’t hurt each other!” He answers.

“What? Why?”

“Because their leaders are my teammates!”

“They’re– HUH?!” Sonia shouts, but Hop is already out the door. He takes Zamazenta’s ball out and unleashes the legendary wolf, mounting it with a practiced and fluid motion. The Pokémon had already lowered itself in preparation, anticipating its master’s intentions.

“C’mon Zama! To the beach!”

It immediately takes off in the appropriate direction, leaving the laboratory behind as they dive into the forest. Questions and worst case scenarios run rampant in Hop’s mind as he holds onto Zamazenta’s fur. All he knows for certain is that when he gets there, he’s giving those two a piece of his mind!

———

Despite Zamazenta’s speed, it takes longer than Hop would like for them to reach the shore. That’s partly due to the fact that they had to speed through the forest without running into any of the battling trainers, as well as go through a part of Centra City. Once they reach the coast, Hop pats Zamazenta’s back as a sign to stop. The legendary slows, crouching on its haunches so that Hop can slide off and land on his feet.

He returns his Pokémon to his ball as he catches sight of a group on the sand. Just as he expected, the two team leaders are there. Ghetsis is surrounded by three identical looking people, all with long white hair and ninja gear. They stand opposed to Giovanni, who has two Team Rocket grunts ready behind him. There’s also another person with red hair who has their back turned to Hop, instead facing Giovanni.

“So, what,” The person speaks, and Hop now realizes he’s a boy from his voice, “You’ve got time to butt heads with this oaf, but not to battle with me?”

Giovanni snickers at this, eyeing the mystery trainer with a strangely fond look, even despite his apparent hostility.

“What I’m granting you is mercy. You stand no chance of defeating me currently. Why not accept this gift with humility?” He tells the boy. This obviously enrages the other, who procures a Pokéball from his belt and points it at him as though it’s a weapon.

“Fight me!”

“Nobody orders the boss around!” The grunts behind Giovanni yell, stepping in front of their leader. The three identical figures before Ghetsis hunch over, ready for battle. Hop may have no clue what’s going on, but he can tell this whole ordeal is about to reach its boiling point. He has to step in.

“Oi!!”

Hop is immediately made the center of attention as he steps forward, hands on his hips.

“I bugger off for a few hours and already you two are stirring up trouble! What happened to our agreement?”

“That’s right,” Ghetsis glowers at the Team Rocket party, “We were in an agreement. And yet you saw it fit to spy on me!”

“Don’t act as though I am a traitor. You’re the one who hid the fact of Team Plasma’s arrival on the island, as well as those bodyguards shadowing you,” Giovanni retorts. He earns some nasty looks from said bodyguards for saying such a thing.

“Enough!” Hop shouts, “I don’t care who did what. If you two keep at this, we’re never going to win the PML!”

Both parties go silent at this, still obviously in contention but also considering his words. The red-haired trainer approaches Hop during this moment, slightly baffled.

“Hold on. Are you working together? With them? ”

“I sure am. Or at least, I’m trying to… We all got assigned to the same team.”

The unknown person frowns at this, throwing a suspicious glare at Giovanni. The Team Rocket leader seems to be observing the two of them carefully, almost curiously. He’s not trying to hide it either.

“... What’s your name, kid?”

“Huh?” Hop pauses at this, not having expected such a question. And who is this guy calling kid, anyways? They seem to be similar in age. “My name’s Hop.”

“Mine’s Silver,” The trainer tells him. He then places his Pokéball back in its holder, walking past him and lowering his voice, “Whatever you do, don’t trust Giovanni.”

Hop stares at the back of his head in confusion as Silver trudges towards Centra City. He wants to ask the other so many questions, such as how he knows Giovanni, or why he was here, but all he can do is watch as he leaves.

“... Hmph. You, take yourselves away from here.”

The two Rocket Grunts hesitate at first, but after a pointed look from Giovanni, they immediately comply. One of them releases an Abra that waves its arms, teleporting them away. Ghetsis waits until Giovanni is alone before addressing his followers.

“Shadow Triad, fall back.”

“Of course, Lord Ghetsis,” The three reply simultaneously. The centermost one throws down a smoke ball that conceals them temporarily before wafting away and revealing that they’ve disappeared. With all the commotion and extra people gone, Hop stomps up to his teammates.

“Mind telling me what that was all about?”

“It’s just as I said. This one has been operating behind our backs,” Giovanni sticks a thumb out towards Ghetsis. The other tightens his grip on his staff, but all Hop does is roll his eyes.

“What, like you haven’t? In case you don’t remember, you ran off yesterday to who-knows-where!”

“That’s right. If we’re going to be transparent, you’d do well to explain yourself–”

“And you!” Hop redirects his attention, cutting off the Team Plasma leader, “Don’t think I didn’t hear you. Your cronies aren’t welcome either.”

“You insolent little… The Shadow Triad assures my safety, no matter where I am. You do not have the authority to command them!”

“Yeah, well, I’ve got the authority to tell you not to let your ninjas in the flat.”

“They’re not my–”

“I second this,” Giovanni maintains, “Seeing as it is a mutual space. You lack our consent to allow them in.”

“That means no Team Rocket grunts, either,” Hop tells him. The man scowls at this before taking a breath and sighing.

“Very well. From now on, no one without the Poryphone ID required to enter shall be allowed in.”

“What gives you the right to make such a rule? I have agreed to no such thing,” Ghetsis insists.

“‘Cuz, it's two against one. Besides, it’s clear we need a bit of order around here,” Hop says as a dig towards them both.

There is a moment of silence between the three of them as Hop stares down Ghetsis. The man is gripping his staff so tightly that his arm jitters, causing the rings on his wrist to clink against one another. His rage does eventually subside, though, leaving him pensive.

“You’re determined to see this out, aren’t you?” He asks Hop, leaving him wordless. He nods in response. “Not every battle ends in victory. How do you know you aren’t bringing about your own ruin?”

“I don’t, really…” Hop admits, “But I’m trying to make do with what I’ve got. That’s gotta count for something, right?”

Ghetsis provides him with no immediate answer, instead gazing through him. Without warning, Hop feels a hand fall onto his shoulder and grip it. A chill goes down his spine when he realizes Giovanni is the one touching him, though the other doesn’t seem to notice. That or he doesn’t care.

“It’s just as he says– Pointless bickering will get us nowhere. We should focus on the goal in front of us, as well as what we know. Speaking of… what did the professor say?”

“Oh– right,” Hop utters, having completely forgotten what he came here for. He shuffles awkwardly out of Giovanni’s hold as he says, “Professor Bellis told me she believes you guys can’t use sync moves because you haven’t bonded with your Pokémon.”

“We haven’t bonded with them?” Ghetsis repeats, either unbelieving or unaccepting of what he’s been told.

“That’s right. And while we’re on the matter, we’re going to need some serious team bonding as well.”

“What exactly would you propose as a team bonding activity?” Giovanni questions him.

“Well…”

In all honesty, Hop has already been thinking about this for a bit. There isn’t much he’d prefer to do alongside the both of them besides perhaps Pokémon battles. However, there is a matter that requires addressing which will involve all three of them cooperating. It’s simple, it’s easy, and it’s harmless. There should be little room for disaster to occur, even with two team leaders involved.

In short, they need to go grocery shopping.

Chapter Text

In all honesty, Hop had nearly forgotten that today marked the beginning of the PML Gym Challenge. He had been so wrapped up in visiting the professor and making sure his teammates got along that it slipped his mind. That’s why, when they return to Centra City, Hop is astounded by how many trainers are out. People of every variety with Pokémon of all kinds are wandering the streets. Wherever there’s space away from the foot traffic, there’s a battle to be found. Everyone is eager to join the fun, even if the main event is closed to regular trainers. It hurts a part of his battle-loving heart to be stuck watching from the shadows of the alleyways. Unfortunately, he can’t jump right into the swing of things yet, not when he has two major restrictions. Both of whom happen to be walking just ahead of him.

Thankfully, the market area isn’t nearly as crowded as the streets and plazas are. There are a plethora of vendors to choose from, some having stalls with goods on display and some being small stores with more specific items. They step out of the alley now, and Hop is grateful to have the sun on his skin again, even if it does mean being seen out in public with these evil team leaders.

Now that they’re here and out, Hop realizes a few things. For one, the only bag between the three of them is the green duffle bag he keeps on him at all times. He has a larger one at the flat in his room, but he isn’t about to go all the way there to get it. The other thing is that he has no idea what they need exactly. Bread, milk, eggs, vegetables, meat, and some fruit would be nice, but besides that he isn’t sure what to get– Or really, what his teammates want.

“Sooo… where to first?” He asks, turning to look at the two standing adjacent to him. Giovanni takes a moment to scan the venues before stepping off and towards one of them. Hop nearly rolls his eyes at the lack of a response, stepping forward to follow after the other, but he pauses when he doesn’t see Ghetsis move to join him.

The Team Plasma leader has an oddly quiet expression, not serene nor tranquil yet equally still. His eyes (or rather, the single eye that Hop can see) are glued to the people filtering in and out of stores and between stalls and disappearing into neighboring streets. His gaze doesn’t leave that point until, finally, he blinks and looks down at Hop.

“What do you want?”

Hop, feeling suddenly seen, flounders to give a response.

“I don’t– You seemed sort of–”

“Where’s Giovanni?”

He swivels his head around and, sure enough, the mob boss is no longer where he was walking before. Hop clicks his tongue in annoyance.

“Drat! He must’ve legged it while I wasn’t looking. Should we go find him?”

Ghetsis shakes his head.

“He’ll turn up eventually. Let us proceed without him.”

“If you say so…” Hop concedes, although he’s still quite miffed that the other ditched them. This was supposed to be a team building exercise! How can you build a team without every member involved, or at the very least in participation?

Since he can’t reach out to the man, he’ll just have to trust Giovanni is being the adult of the group and getting them the essentials. That leaves the non-essentials to them. Hop already knows what he’d like to get, so he figures he’ll take the lead here and procure the items. That means their first stop is at the closest berry stand.

“‘Scuse me, miss,” Hop greets the lady standing behind the produce crates, “Could I please get 2 Pecha berries, 3 Sitrus berries, a Leppa berry, and… a Tamato berry?”

“Of course. Will that be all for today?”

“Yeah– Oh, actually, have you got a bigger bag you could put that all in? I forgot to bring one,” He explains.

“I do have a reusable tote bag available with purchases, though it’ll cost an extra 100 P.”

“Seriously?... Well, alright.”

Hop hands over the necessary funds for all the items and thanks her, slinging the bag over his shoulder. He returns to Ghetsis, who has been standing off to the side and staring at one of the vendors. Hop follows his gaze and finds it’s a place selling Pokéball decorations, such as stickers and caps.

“Y’know, you can go ahead and get whatever you want,” He tells his shopping partner after a minute or so of silence. Ghetsis scoffs at this.

“As if I would ever want something so garish. Also, I don’t have any money at the moment.”

“Really? Why not?” Hop asks, a bit surprised. He always thought all the team leaders were filthy rich, considering they lead such large organizations.

“I was transported here on a whim and stripped of my Pokémon. What makes you think I’d have my wallet?” The other sneers, and Hop has to admit, he has a point. That doesn’t excuse his attitude, though. Ghetsis continues, “If I desire anything, my subjects can acquire it for me.”

“So you’re moochin’ offa your fans?”

Ghetsis frowns deeply at this, so much so Hop thinks for a second his face might get stuck like that. It doesn’t, however, and he turns away to wander deeper into the market. Hop follows, content to keep pace and occasionally pull them over when he spots something they need. He does this three times, once to buy some much needed rice, once to buy curry powder, and once for some sausage being sold for cheap.

Throughout all of this, the Team Plasma leader remains uncharacteristically silent. Hop isn’t sure what’s going through his head, but none of the food on display has piqued his interest, so he can’t tell what to get for him. That all changes when they stop for a minute near the edge of the market, with Hop taking a moment to look at some cooking equipment being offered in a storefront. When he turns back around, he notices Ghetsis standing in front of a stand offering Combee honey. He approaches from behind, catching the conversation at hand between him and the salesperson.

“Thank you so much! Our family has been in the trade for quite a while, so we know all the ins and outs of honey harvesting.”

“That’s quite wonderful…” Ghetsis says, and Hop almost believes for a second that he must have the wrong person. His tone is wistful and sweet, completely unlike anything he’s heard from him.

“I can’t help but wonder, though… What of the Pokémon?”

“Pardon?”

“They too work hard to produce this honey, and yet it’s taken from them for human consumption. What do they receive in return for this?”

“Well… I-I guess they get to live on the farm? It’s safe from predators.”

Ghetsis shakes his head, “Sometimes, our own desires as people can blind us from the suffering we cause our Pokémon companions. Though, I’m sure you mean no real harm.”

The young man seems to falter at this, glancing at the honey in front of him with a look of consideration. It’s because of this that he notices Hop, which in turn causes Ghetsis to realize his presence. He looks at the younger trainer before smiling at the salesperson once more.

“Excuse me. I must go.”

Ghetsis walks off to the left and Hop stares at him briefly before rushing to follow after him. He slows to a more reasonable pace once he’s at his side. The smile he had on previously is already gone from his face.

“What was that?” Hop questions him, then adds, “I thought you didn’t care about Pokémon.”

“These are adult matters that don’t concern you,” Ghetsis says without looking at him, which leaves a sour taste in Hop’s mouth. He huffs indignantly.

“Y’can’t just go around telling people they’re hurting Pokémon when that’s not the case. They might feel bad, or worse, desert their partners!”

“Then let me ask you this; Do those fools who doubt their relationship with their Pokémon really deserve such companionship?”

Hop doesn’t know what to say at first. It’s a strange question that makes a strange hole in his thoughts, one asking to be filled but disastrous if done so improperly. Briefly, he’s reminded of his own gym challenge and the struggles he faced during it. He remembers the look on Gloria’s face when she asked where his Wooloo was, his rival having noticed it wasn’t on his team.

It’s a face he really, really hopes he never sees again.

“… I think everyone has their moments of weakness. That’s what second chances are for, yeah? And you’ll never get that if someone convinces you to do something you might regret,” Hop answers carefully, thinking hard on every word. His effort to be conscientious is ultimately undermined by a wave of Ghetsis’ staff.

“The ignorant don’t know what to do with a second chance. They will make the same mistakes over and over. It is inevitable.”

“You speakin’ from experience?”

Hop earns a glare for that comment, but it was worth it. He doesn’t get the chance to think twice on it anyways because, soon enough, he spots Giovanni on the path up ahead. He calls out to the other before rushing over to him.

“There you are!! You couldn’t have given us a warning before scampering off?” He complains. The Team Rocket leader doesn’t seem to care one bit about his hollering, simply shifting his arm and showing the two plastic bags he’s carrying.

“It was easier to remain discreet by going in alone. Besides, it seems whatever allowance you receive was enough for this trip,” He says in relation to the tote bag on Hop’s shoulder. The young trainer crosses his arms.

“‘Allowance’ my arse! All this came out of my own wallet because Ghetsis is broke.”

“You– Broke?! ” Ghetsis roars, followed by harsh laughter from Giovanni.

“What? You’ve got no money, so that means you're broke!” Hop insists further, unable to stop the cheeky smile tugging at his lips.

“I’ll show you something broken,” The Team Plasma leader growls menacingly, at which point Hop covers his mouth to hide his grin. Thankfully, Ghetsis doesn’t get to make good on his threat, since Giovanni steps in.

“Enough of that. I bought the supplies necessary for dinner tonight, so I expect one of you two to be in charge of lunch,” He tells the both of them. Now that he mentions it, Hop is feeling pretty peckish himself. He gladly volunteers for the job.

“I’ve got enough to make us and all our Pokémon a batch of curry. We can let them out to play while I make it!”

The two men look at him quizzically, as if he’s just said something wrong. He looks between them trying to understand why before Giovanni finally speaks.

“‘Play’?”

“Yeah! Why not?”

“Because our Pokémon don’t ‘play’,” Ghetsis tells him, “Nor do they require human food. A bag of Pokéfeed would do.”

“They don’t require it, but it still tastes good. And they can too play! Zamazenta does it all the time with the rest of my team.”

“Where would we even let them out?” Giovanni says, “There isn’t enough room in the apartment, and they can’t be left out on the street either.”

“We’d be eating outside. Surely there’s got to be some public benches and tables somewhere, right?”

All this does is earn another look from the both of them. Hop furrows his eyebrows in response.

“Oi, none of that! This’ll be fun, if not for you then at least for your Pokémon. And I’m the one cooking, so what I say goes, got it?”

“... Fine,” Ghetsis groans, followed by Giovanni nodding solemnly. They’re not the most enthusiastic of agreements, but he’ll take them anyways.

———

The three return to the flat shortly after in order to drop off all of the food they acquired, as well as so Hop can fetch some of his camping supplies. He’s glad he brought them with him in case he felt like eating out in the open, for good old time’s sake. Making curry in the Wild Area and sleeping under the stars was one of his favorite parts of the gym challenge, even if it was difficult at times. He still vividly remembers waking up near the Giant’s Seat and finding his tent with an inch of water in it since the tide had risen overnight from rain. That certainly wasn’t fun. The following cold he caught from sleeping in lake water was also not a blast.

Since the apartment provides them with basic amenities such as utensils and cookware, he only has to bring a few things of his own: The ingredients, the portable stove for the pot, the rice cooker, and the bottled water. The pot, utensils, and dishes were all in the kitchen for him to take, loading them into his larger black duffle bag and bringing them with him. Giovanni and Ghetsis are waiting for him at the door once he’s gathered everything they need. Predictably, neither of them offer to help carry anything.

Their group sets out north this time, avoiding the main streets where they can and heading for the fields surrounding Centra City. Hop does have to break off momentarily to ask around if anyone knows where there may be some park tables of any kind, returning to his team once he has an answer. It isn’t long before they’ve reached their destination, which is thankfully void of any other trainers.

“Alright!” Hop announces once they’ve arrived, “Time to get started. C’mon out, Zamazenta!”

He plucks the ball from its place on his belt and tosses it, the legendary emerging from it. The Pokémon takes a look at its surroundings briefly before flopping over and rolling in the grass. Hop grins, not minding the bemused expressions of his teammates. They follow his lead shortly after, sending out their own Pokémon.

Zamazenta hops to its feet once the other two are allowed out of their balls. It sniffs curiously at Mewtwo, who side eyes it before floating some distance back. Kyurem simply waves its head back and forth, taking in the view.

Once Hop is certain they’re all getting along and that no fights will break out, he gets started on the curry. It’s nice to fall into the familiar and repetitive motion of cooking, chopping up the berries for the curry and adding the powder and water and preparing the rice about halfway through.

After he’s fanned the fire and gotten started on stirring the curry, Zamazenta wanders up to his side. Hop gives a smile to the armored wolf looming over him and staring at the food.

“Smells good, doesn’t it?”

Apparently too good, because not even a minute later, he hears the heavy footsteps of Kyurem approaching from behind him. The dragon cranes its neck over shoulder, causing Hop to chuckle and bat at its face lightly with his free hand.

“Not yet, mate, not yet! Gimme a second won’t you?”

“Kyurem!” Ghetsis barks at his Pokémon, “You’re not to leave my side!”

The legendary doesn’t move from its spot, only turning its head to look at its master and snarl. Ghetsis narrows his eyes at the dragon, clearly infuriated. His rage is only fueled by Giovanni letting out a curt laugh. The man has already taken a seat at the table, lounging as he waits.

“Having trouble controlling your subjects, are you?”

“As if you’re one to talk,” Ghetsis retorts. Giovanni shakes his head.

“Mewtwo obeys me and only me. My word is absolute–” He taunts, only to pause mid sentence when he realizes his Pokémon isn’t standing where it should be. He glances around before noticing it standing behind Hop, who is holding a hand out to keep it back.

“Hey, I just said gimme a– Are you drooling? Not over the pot!” Hop laughs, obviously amused by the Pokémon surrounding him at all sides. The two team leaders stare at the scene in an awkward silence.

“... You were saying?” Ghetsis asks after a while.

“Just sit down and shut up,” Giovanni mutters.

Soon enough, the curry is finished, and Hop begins plating it all. He makes six plates total, giving some extra to Zamazenta and Kyurem. Zamazenta tends to eat a lot, and considering how large Kyruem is, he has to assume the dragon eats just as much. He gives the Pokémon their food first, leaving the plates on the ground before bringing the remaining three to the table.

“All done. Dig in!”

Hop takes his spoon and takes a piece from the middle, popping it in his mouth. He did a pretty good job if he does say so himself! Obviously the Pokémon really like it, because all three of them are scarfing down their plates. Or, well, Mewtwo would be if it weren’t eating like a proper human. He’s never seen a psychic type levitate a spoon to their mouth to eat before. Does it eat Pokéfeed with such table manners as well?

He decides to not bother himself thinking about that and instead focus on his meal. Considering neither Ghetsis nor Giovanni have said a word so far, that means they must be relatively pleased with the food, which is a win in Hop’s book. He’s more than happy to eat in silence, listening to the sounds of Zamazenta huffing between bites and someone yelling off in the distance.

… Wait, what?

Hop lifts his head and strains his ears, thinking for a moment maybe his imagination was playing tricks on him. Sure enough, though, he can hear someone shouting clear as day, and it sounds like they’re getting closer. Giovanni is next to catch it, putting his spoon down and looking around. Kyurem, having already cleared its plate, raises itself on its haunches.

“HEYYY!!!”

All eyes turn to a figure approaching from the distance, and judging by how quickly they’re coming into view, this person is seriously sprinting. It appears to be a young man Hop’s age with blonde hair, a striped polo, and a green scarf that’s waving in the wind as he charges towards them. Mewtwo floats to its feet in preparation to meet the newcomer, yet the person doesn’t seem phased at all. He runs right past the legendaries lounging to the side and stops at the group’s table, slamming his palms on the surface of it. Hop jolts as the plates clatter and his spoon nearly falls over.

“I challenge you! FACE ME… EVIL… Doers?”

His enthusiasm quickly peters out when he locks eyes with Hop, staring at him with just as much confusion as Hop is feeling right now. He’s compelled to say something, although he has absolutely no idea what.

“Uh… hi?”

Chapter Text

“What? What!? Who are you?!” The newcomer asks, pointing an accusing finger at Hop. Hop doesn’t take kindly to this, especially considering he’s just had his meal interrupted by a loud and unruly stranger.

“Who am I? Who are you, bruv?”

“I’m Barry, and I’m–”

“Mewtwo.”

A pink glowing aura envelopes Barry as he begins to levitate off the ground. The boy squawks, flailing his limbs and trying to break free of the psychic energy lifting him. Hop quickly shifts his attention to the Team Rocket leader sitting across from him.

“Giovanni!”

“No, no. Go ahead. Remove this nuisance at once,” Ghetsis enables the other. Hop sits up straighter in his seat.

“You don’t gotta hurt him for that!”

“Who said he would be harmed?” Giovanni replies. Hop narrows his eyes at the man.

“I’m not stupid, mate.”

“DON’T IGNORE ME!!” Barry shouts, immediately drawing all attention to him. He flaps his arms up and down, his hands balled into fists as he resists the Psychic keeping him in the air. “I’LL FINE YOU TEN MILLION FOR THIS! NO, A BILLION!!!”

“If we put you down, will you please calm down?” Hop asks, doing his best to sound placating. Thankfully, this seems to work, since the other nods. He looks to the Pokémon holding him in place. “Mewtwo?”

The psychic type glances at its master, who gives a curt nod as the go ahead. It lowers its three-fingered hand, the energy around Barry abruptly giving out and dropping him onto the ground. He lands with a thud, rubbing his backside before quickly scurrying to his feet.

“Like I was saying,” The intruder says with his hands on his hips, “I’m here because I heard a bunch of bad guys were working together and had been spotted here recently. So naturally, I challenge you to a battle! I won’t let you do–”

Barry cuts himself off mid-sentence, sniffing the air. His righteous posture drops when he spots the plates of curry on the table.

“Hey, that smells really good.”

“... Do you want some?” Hop offers tentatively, “We have enough left for an extra portion.”

“Do not–”

“Sure I would!”

Ghetsis groans and plants his hand on his face as Hop shoots him an apologetic smile. He gets up from his seat and grabs the ladle in the pot, scraping out the last of the curry alongside some rice. Barry slides himself onto the bench next to Hop’s spot and takes the spoon he’s offered.

“Thanks!” He tells Hop, then immediately takes a bite. He hums in approval, his eyes lighting up as he exclaims with his mouth full, “Wow, this is great!”

“Cheers for that,” Hop replies. He’s glad Barry doesn’t seem to mind the two team leaders glaring at them while he gobbles down his plate– That or the boy doesn’t notice. Hop takes this chance to finish his meal, finishing at around the same time as Barry, which is a surprise considering he was already halfway through his curry before the other had even arrived.

“Ahh… That hit the spot.”

“Barryyy!”

Hop looks up and sees two people arriving from the same direction Barry had come from. They’re both quite short, although for drastically different reasons. One is an old man with a white beard and green cap, carrying what seems to be an oversized pair of scissors. The other is a young girl dressed in blue meditation gear and a white bow.

“There are more of them?...” Giovanni grumbles. Barry, on the other hand, jumps out of his seat and runs to meet the other two.

“Hi Ramos, hi Liza! I found them!”

“And in the process, yeh lost us!” Ramos, the old man, says with a laugh, “Yer lucky the nice folks of Pasio could point us in your direction.”

“Is that really them?” Liza, the young girl, leans over to see past Barry.

All three newcomers jump slightly at the sound of Ghetsis’ fist hitting the table. The Team Plasma leader has risen to his feet now, his gaze set on the group.

“Leave at once,” He commands, venom dripping from his voice. Barry notably goes pale at this, the gravity of his interruption and the consequences to follow having set in now. The other two, who Hop can only assume are his teammates, remain steadfast. In fact, Ramos steps in front of the pack in order to address Ghetsis.

“No need to be so prickly. We’re all competitors, aren’t we? Young Barry here only wanted to battle yeh, that’s all.”

“That couldn’t have waited ‘til after we had our lunch?”

“Leave it be, Ghetsis,” Giovanni speaks up. He’s also risen from his seat, circling around the table to stand beside his Mewtwo, which is still ready and alert. “These folks don’t seem to realize who exactly they’ve challenged. Why don’t we show them?”

“I know exactly who you are! He’s a bad guy, you’re a bad guy, and you’re!--” Barry stops when he gets to Hop, who glances up now. This whole time, he’s been keeping himself out of the conversation, not wanting to stir the malice already brewing. He’s simply been gathering the empty plates at the table while everyone else speaks.

“... I’m?” He prompts the other, who stares at him for a moment before sheepishly rubbing the back of his head.

“I, uh, don’t actually know who you are.”

Hop sighs, setting all the plates down carefully.

“My name’s Hop. I’m an assistant professor from Galar.”

“Ohh! That’s cool!” Liza chirps, which makes him feel somewhat better about being the odd man out. That doesn’t seem to deter Barry, though, who takes out his Poryphone and holds out the screen towards them.

“Two out of three is still good enough! We’ll take you guys down!”

“Making this official, are we? Our victory will be all the sweeter,” Giovanni chuckles.

Hop, on the other hand, is feeling much less confident about this. Would they be able to take on this team? They haven’t worked out anything in terms of a strategy, nor have they figured out a way to fix the whole “no using sync moves” issue. Perhaps he’s just nervous because he’s the kind of trainer who plans extensively before going into a major battle, but he still can’t help feeling like they’re not ready.

Unfortunately, there’s little he can do to stop this fight from happening. Ghetsis and Giovanni seem to be eager to teach Barry a lesson, and Barry’s other teammates don’t seem to have any objections. It looks like washing the dishes will have to wait for later.

The battle is initiated swiftly thanks to the system being quite intuitive. A request was sent to Giovanni’s device, the man pressed accept, and Barry’s Poryphone took to the air above them. Now it hangs there as all six participants get into position, three against three. Their Pokémon, being long done with their meals by now, have sensed the change in atmosphere and move to stand in front of their trainers. Barry and his team send out their Pokémon– An Empoleon, a Weepinbell, and a Lunatone. Hop perks up at the noble looking penguin standing before them.

“Isn’t that a starter Pokémon?”

“That’s right! Entrusted to me by Professor Rowan himself!” Barry thumps his chest in pride, then looks at the three Pokémon opposite of him with a weary look. “I… don’t recognize any of your Pokémon, though.”

“Then allow me to teach you. Mewtwo, Shadow Ball!”

The Pokémon obeys, shadowy energy gathering between its hands before shooting it forward. Empoleon stumbles back, followed by a yelp from Barry.

“Ack! Talk about a low blow! Empoleon, Bubble Beam it back!”

It opens its mouth and fires out bubbles in a straight and powerful line. Mewtwo raises an arm as the blow connects, although the legendary seems mostly unphased.

“Let’s help out, Lunatone! Confusion!”

The moonrock spins in place before floating up to the same plane of elevation as Mewtwo. Hop raises his voice to address Zamazenta.

“Don’t let it! Metal Claw!”

His Pokémon barks in response before charging into the battlefield. It leaps into the air, swiping a hardened metallic claw at Lunatone. It trills in pain, its attack warping the space next to Mewtwo but missing the Pokémon itself. Zamazenta lands on its feet while Lunatone crashes into the ground, floating back up a moment later.

“Sleep Powder!”

A green powdery mist is spit forth and surrounds the legendary wolf. Zamazenta looks around before its eyes droop and it drops to the ground. Hop gasps, now noticing the Weepinbell which had snuck up behind Zamazenta. Ramos grins.

“Yer good, but yeh left yerself wide open, sprout!”

“So did you.”

The old man recoils at this, opening one eye to look at Ghetsis. Kyurem, without even being commanded to do so, uses Glaciate. Pure cold blows onto all three of the opposing Pokémon, leaving them shivering. In fact, ice crystals proceed to freeze over on Weepinbell, which lets out a cry before falling to the ground. It disappears in a flash and returns to its Pokéball.

“A super effective hit!” Hop exclaims, glad to see the battle shifting in their favor.

“WHAAAT?! That move was insanely powerful!” Barry shouts as he grips his head. He quickly recovers, however, and so too does his Empoleon. “But we won’t let that stop us! Go, use Bubble!”

The water type Pokémon unleashes an onslaught of bubbles from its mouth once again, except this time, they don’t fire out in a line. They float into the air and coat the battlefield, moving with the wind and popping upon contact with the enemy. Mewtwo attempts to maneuver between them, but it ends up being hit anyway, alongside Kyurem. A few land on Zamazenta as well, though it doesn’t seem to do much damage, since all the legendary does is roll over in its sleep.

“Lunatone, use Psychic on the ice type!”

It does just as Liza commands, psychic energy surrounding the dragon before bursting with light. Kyurem wrenches its head back and screeches, remaining standing.

“Two can play at that game. Mewtwo!”

Mewtwo points a hand at the moonrock, enveloping it with its own energy. It then swipes its arm down, and in accordance with the motion, Lunatone slams into the dirt. The impact is so great that the Pokémon ends up lodged in the ground before letting out a croon and fainting. Liza deflates as her Pokémon returns to its ball.

“Ack! No!! This can’t be happening!” Barry cries out, stomping his feet on the ground. Giovanni chuckles darkly.

“Now for the finishing blow…”

“Who allowed for this?” Ghetsis growls, and already Hop is dreading what’s to come. He knew this would happen sooner rather than later.

“Your leader, that’s who.”

“Hah! And when did I agree to this?”

“I’m the one dealing the most damage, therefore I should be in charge.”

“We are tied for knockouts!”

Hop watches in disappointment as his two teammates devolve into a squabbling mess. On the plus side, all this noise seems to have woken up Zamazenta, who blinks the sleep out of its eyes and shakes its head loose of any leftover pollen.

“YOU’RE IGNORING ME AGAIN!” Barry yells, then furrows his eyebrows and declares, “That’s it! Empoleon, hit them with all you’ve got! Late Fee Bubble Beam!!!”

A bright light shines from above, Hop looks up. Barry’s Poryphone is glowing. He must be using a sync move! He can see the light already gathering around Empoleon, coiling around it as it readies its attack. Without thinking, Hop throws out an arm and gives his order.

“Zamazenta, block it!!”

The wolf jumps in front of Mewtwo just as a stream of water and bubbles comes surging from its mouth. Hop raises an arm to cover his face, all three of them getting splashed from the force of the sync move. Once he feels stray droplets no longer raining on him, Hop looks up to the battlefield. A glowing sort of pride swells up in him when he sees Zamazenta still standing, its paws planted firmly in the now muddied ground as water drips off of it.

“Good job, Zama!” He compliments it, then adds on, “Don’t stop now! Behemoth Bash!”

His Pokémon lets out a mighty howl as its armor plates shift. It launches itself forward in a straight line, colliding with Empoleon and knocking it backwards. The starter Pokémon flies back and skids across the ground, coming to a halt just at its trainer’s feet. Barry looks slack jawed at his companion before it disappears into its ball.

Hop sucks in a breath. When he breathes out again, it comes as a sort of half-laugh. He’s about to say something, but that’s when he notices both Ghetsis and Giovanni have their eyes on him. He glances at Zamazenta and then back at the two of them.

“Looks like I got the final blow, eh?” He says, mostly at a loss for what to tell them. He expects a lot of things– Yelling, rage, perhaps even to be dragged into the argument himself. For a moment, it looks like that’s what Ghetsis wants to do, but he’s beaten to the punch.

The corners of Giovanni’s lips turn upwards.

“Looks like it.”

“We… LOST?!?”

Over on the other side of the field, Barry holds his Poryphone and gapes at it in astonishment. Giovanni’s device beeps a moment later, notifying him that the battle is over and the results are in: Him and his team are victorious. 

“No way, no way, NO WAY! I can't accept this!” Barry shouts. Next to him, Liza looks down at the ground and fiddles with her sleeve.

“I’m sorry… I’m not used to fighting without Tate just yet.”

“Aw, it ain’t yer fault, so don’t go wilting on us!” Ramos reassures her, “‘Sides, we all got knocked down a peg after that one.”

“Peg schmeg! I won’t take this defeat lying down! Mark my words, I’ll defeat you evildoers one day!”

With that said, Barry takes off towards the city, leaving Ramos and Liza to watch him speed away. The young girl shakes her head.

“He ran off again.”

“Well, at least we’re getting some good exercise,” Ramos jokes. He then turns to Hop and the others, giving a small wave, “Thanks for the battle, young’uns!”

Liza waves goodbye as well, which Hop returns as they leave. He’s the only one to do so of the three of them.

Zamazenta comes trodding towards him a moment later, its fur damp and sticking to its skin due to the attack earlier. Hop gives it a grateful ear scratch as it lowers its head.

“You did great, buddy. I’ll take you to the Pokémon Center in a bit, okay?”

His Pokémon gives a bwoof in response, which Hop takes as a sound of affirmation. He returns the legendary to its ball, an action which Ghetsis and Giovanni mirror. The former raises his robes and inspects them, clearly displeased with the moisture still clinging to them.

“This is the last time I will enjoy a meal outdoors,” The man grouses, and to be perfectly fair, Hop can hardly blame him for feeling that way.

———

Before heading to the Pokémon Center, he has to return to the flat with the others so he can drop off the dishes in the sink and get dry. The texture of his wet jacket on his skin is seriously bugging him by the time they get there, so he decides to leave it hanging in his room to dry. His t-shirt isn’t wet, so he doesn’t bother switching it out for a different one. After he’s put everything away or into the sink, he heads for the Pokémon Center to get Zamazenta healed.

He greets the receptionist, Trista, before handing her the legendary’s Pokéball. After she runs it through the machine and hands it back to him, he hears someone call his name.

“Hop!”

Hop turns to find none other than Gloria and Victor, both of whom are coming towards him, although Gloria at a much brisker pace. He doesn’t even get the chance to say “hello” before suddenly his friend is gripping his shoulders and shaking him.

“Hop, is it true?! Say it ain’t so!”

“S-Say what ain’t so?” He asks, somewhat disoriented. Victor places a hand on Gloria’s shoulder to get her to stop, then addresses Hop.

“Sonia called us earlier today and was up in a tizzy about something. Said you told her your teammates were the bosses of Team Plasma and Team Rocket?”

Shoot. He had completely forgotten he told Sonia about that. Was that really today? Between meeting Professor Bellis, shopping, making lunch, and fighting Barry’s team, the day has felt incredibly long and jam packed. He always talks about having a legend chock full of adventure and drama, but even this is beyond him!

“‘Fraid so. We should probably talk about this somewhere else, though,” He tells them, taking note of the few trainers staring at them. Probably because they’re smack dab in the middle of the Center and making a scene.

“True, don’t wanna hold up the line. C’mon then!”

Gloria takes him by the hand and pulls him out of the Pokémon Center, Victor trailing behind them. The main plaza of Centra City is close by, so that’s where they end up as Gloria leads them along. Hop is amazed he hasn’t seen this part of the city yet, although to be fair, he’s mostly been traveling by alleyways so far. It’s no wonder he missed it.

The three of them end up on one of the many benches lining the yellow stone paths. Hop is promptly sandwiched between the two twins, which he doesn’t mind one bit. They are his childhood bestfriends, after all.

“Alright, spill the beans. I have to know everything! Are they scary? Did they try to steal Zamazenta? Do I need to go teach ‘em a thing or two?”

“Slow your roll, Glo! They aren’t all that bad,” Hop says, although hearing those words come from his own mouth makes him reconsider, “... No, they are that bad actually. Thankfully though, they haven’t done anything extreme.”

“Besides duking it out on the beach apparently?” Victor adds, to which Hop looks at him with raised eyebrows.

“Sonia told you about that too? Jeez, remind me to never ask her to hold a secret.”

“That’s rich coming from you! Why didn’t you tell us about this sooner?” Gloria demands to know. Hop makes a noise of uncertainty, trying to find the words for why.

“I don’t know… It didn’t really feel like the sort of thing you just drop in someone’s messages or call ‘em up about. I didn’t know how to bring it up in person either. Just felt off, y’know?”

“Guess you can’t argue with that,” Victor surmises. He then goes on to ask, “So what do you plan to do now?”

“Whaddya mean?”

“Well, they’re your assigned teammates. Are you really going to fight alongside them?”

“I don’t got much of a choice, really.”

“Actually,” Gloria butts in, “I heard Leon and a bunch of the other Champions are going to go talk to Lear about the whole ‘evil teams on the island’ thing!”

“What? Seriously?” 

Hop is astounded to hear this considering Leon hadn’t told him anything like that. Was he trying to hide it from him? No, surely not. Though, it wouldn’t be the first time Leon’s kept vital information from them… The whole Eternatus incident probably could’ve been avoided if Rose hadn’t sworn him to secrecy.

“Yeah! Maybe they’ll manage to change his mind, so that way you can get new teammates!”

“I have my doubts,” Victor says, ever the pragmatist, “But hopefully they do.”

“You know how it is with royals,” Hop comments in reference to the two brothers he and Gloria faced, Sordward and Shielbert. This earns a cackle from her, as well as a slap on the back. He grins back, glad to see her so enthusiastic.

They end up sitting there on that bench together all the way until sunset, chatting about their experiences on Pasio so far and what they think is next to come. Victor says he caught wind of some rumors on the location of the first gym leader, Hop and Gloria both drilling him for more details. Gloria talks about how she believes her team will easily make it into the tournament, to which Hop challenges her statement and declares he’ll definitely be joining her. Overall, spending time together with his friends is easily the highlight of his day.

In the back of his mind, though, he can’t help but wonder how the negotiations are going between his brother and the prince of Pasio.

Chapter Text

Leon is, in a rare moment of luck and foreplanning on his part, not terribly late. He had left an hour earlier than needed to compensate for his awful sense of direction. It helped that he has been to Lear’s posh villa on at least two separate occasions at this point. The building is sleek, consisting mostly of gray and black hues. The architecture is a lot more modern than the rest of Pasio and has gold accents here and there.

Thankfully, he is not alone in his endeavor today. A handful of other Champions are there, as expected. They had all coordinated to meet at the same time and attempt to convince Lear to expel the evil teams from the island. He passes through the foyer and makes his way towards the sound of voices. If their tones are anything to go by, the discussion has already gone sour.

“Have you no concern for the safety and wellbeing of the trainers here?” Lance demands, his words being the very first thing Leon hears upon entering the room. Lear, who is sitting on a throne-like chair with his helpers at either side of him, rolls his eyes from behind his visor.

“The master has been working hard to protect all of you from behind the scenes! And yet you choose to repay him like this?” Sawyer retorts, speaking on behalf of the prince. Rachel nods in agreement.

“That is, like, seriously not cool. You’re all totally ganging up on him.”

“We’re just trying to do our jobs as Champions.”

Cynthia’s calm and composed response only seems to irritate Lear more. Leon steps forward now to join the group, immediately drawing attention to him. The lavender-haired royal cocks his head in what is a blatantly arrogant manner.

“Oh, great. Another one. Let me guess, you’re also here to complain?”

Leon’s at somewhat of a disadvantage here, having missed the build up to the animosity currently driving this debate. Anything he has to say has likely already been stated and restated multiple times at this point. If he wants to get through to the prince, he will have to try a different approach.

“I am, and for good reason. You’re putting much more than just bystanders at risk here. What if the PML itself comes under fire?”

Lear doesn’t take the bait, scoffing at the other’s words.

“I can manage my own event, thank you very much. Your needless worrying is exactly that– needless.”

“He’s right, though. Participants and their Pokémon might end up getting targeted as a result of your dismissal,” Wallace supplies.

“They’re all talented and capable trainers, are they not? If they’re too weak to stand up for themselves then they don’t deserve their places in the tournament anyways!”

Several voices raise objections at this point, Lear having successfully riled them up with his pompous attitude. Sawyer steps forward and keeps his arms out in case any of them decide to approach. Leon doesn’t say anything, instead trying to figure out what his next move will be.

This is clearly a losing battle. Lear is far too absorbed in his beliefs of “survival of the fittest” and his own superiority to listen to any of them. However, he might just be able to salvage something from this.

“If you’re not going to remove them from the island, then I suggest a compromise. I think sync teams should be allowed to swap and replace members if there is a possibility for harm towards anyone involved.”

A beat follows his statement as his words are considered. Rachel is the first to voice any sort of rebuttal against him.

“What good would that even do? All the scary guys would still be here and a part of the challenge.”

“It would provide distance. Sync teams have to share a flat, right? That puts trainers with dangerous teammates under threat.”

“That’s right! Plus, a lot of the participants here have had at least one encounter with an evil team. What happens if someone like that gets put with a person from that team who hurt them in the past?!” Iris exclaims.

“Why does this matter so much to you all?” Lear asks, arms crossed and a frown on his face, “As far as I’m aware, none of you have any problematic teammates.”

“We don’t need to in order to be concerned for others,” Diantha tells him.

This seems to perplex Lear more than anything previously said. Leon almost feels bad for the man. How does someone manage to be so far removed from any sort of compassion that they cannot understand basic empathy? He decides to meet Lear halfway on the matter by showing he’s not completely wrong.

“I am worried about someone specific, though. My little brother– his name is Hop. Both of his teammates are not just part of an evil team, but are actually the leaders of them.”

“Both of them? I sincerely doubt that. Sawyer, pull up the data for me.”

The man at his side nods and takes out a Poryphone, typing something into it before handing it to Lear. He adjusts his visor as he reads the text, soon looking up in astonishment.

“Well, I’ll be. You weren’t lying. It says there your brother is currently in a team with Giovanni and Ghetsis of Team Rocket and Team Plasma respectively.

Multiple people visibly react at the mention of those names. Lance’s eyebrows furrow and Red, who has been leaning cooly against a wall this whole time, glares at Lear. Iris’ eyes widen and she opens her mouth like she has something to say, some sort of objection, but it dies in her throat. She looks anxiously at the ground before glancing up at Leon. He isn’t sure what she knows about Team Plasma, but it's probably nothing reassuring.

“... You all are not going to drop it, are you?” Lear asks. He’s met with no response, but from the looks the Champions are giving him, their answers are obvious. The prince throws his head back and groans dramatically.

“Fiiine. However! I won’t be enacting this new rule without further input. More specifically, I believe it would be in our best interests to get input from those who will be affected first.”

“Meaning?” Lance asks through gritted teeth.

“It’s really quite simple. You want the bad guys to leave people alone? Ask them yourselves! Go bother them instead of me. I will open this rule up to those who accept, allowing for the changing of sync pairs within a team. Those who refuse will remain as they are.”

“Sounds good to me. Does everyone else agree?” Leon looks to the rest of the room. He’s met agreements from almost all the other Champions besides Red. For obvious reasons.

“Great! Now, feel free to see yourselves out.”

Having overstayed their welcomes, Leon follows as everyone exits the villa. It isn’t until they find themselves outside and off of Lear’s front porch that they split off into smaller groups. Leon is approached by both Lance and Iris, the latter of which practically throws herself in front of him.

“I can’t believe the nerve of that guy! I always thought he was annoying before, but this is too far! Who in their right mind would let Ghetsis anywhere near a child after everything he’s done?”

“The same goes for Giovanni. It’s beyond reckless,” He says, then turns to address Leon, “Just give us the word and we will go make sure they find a new sync team.”

Leon shakes his head. It’s him who proposed the compromise and him who brought up his brother. He should be the one to handle it.

“Don’t sweat it. I’ll ask both of them the next time I see Hop.”

As obstinate as these crime bosses may be, he’s certain he can convince them to switch teams. There’s no doubt in his mind that they must be eager to work with others who are willing to stoop to their level, just like how Leon would be reluctant to fight alongside either of them. He can’t wait to tell Hop the good news and put this nightmare behind them.

Chapter Text

It’s only once the streets have cleared out and the air has gotten cooler when Hop finally parts ways with his pals. It was nice to catch up with them and hear about their experiences on Pasio so far, as well as talk about his own. Victor was hesitant to let him go, probably out of fear for his safety, but Gloria was quick to reassure him that Hop could handle his own. He thanked her for that, because not only was it true, it also felt nice hearing that from Gloria.

He returns to the flat just before the sky has gone completely dark, pushing open the heavy door with what energy he has left. Today has been a long day, so much so that he’s almost tempted to forgo making dinner for himself so that he can instead pass out in his bed. However, he pauses when he catches the scent of something good, sniffing the air lightly. Hop exits the hall and rounds the corner and is stunned to find Giovanni standing in the kitchen. Apparently he found the time to change at some point, his suit jacket and undershirt having been traded in for a looser white button down. He’s stirring what looks to be a red sauce in a pan before setting it down to check on whatever he has boiling in a pot.

Perhaps it's because he’s tired and hungry that Hop entirely forgets what he was doing, idly loitering by the kitchen entrance as he watches the other work. It isn’t until Giovanni looks behind himself at Hop that he snaps back to reality.

“I said I would cook tonight, didn’t I?” He reminds him, then turns back to the stove and says, “Go sit with the other one.”

Not knowing what to say, all he can do is nod dumbly and follow his directions. Ghetsis is sitting on the couch, looking past Hop to glare at the man preparing dinner for the three of them.

“‘The other one’... What insolence,” He mutters. 

Hop doesn’t bother responding, instead letting himself sink into the couch with a sigh. The last thing he wants to do is stoke the flames and get burnt. Maybe if he turns on the television, he can drown out whatever rant is incoming from the Team Plasma leader. He reaches out and takes the remote, turning the TV on. It buffers for a moment, then displays the channel it had been left off on. It’s a news station reporting on current events in a region he’s never heard of.

“Huh… Hey, you ever heard of this place?” Hop asks, motioning with the remote he’s still holding to the screen. Ghetsis, who seems to have been making a point of not looking at the television, now glances at it.

“I can’t say I have.”

“Me either. That’s odd. Guess this telly got brought here from far away.”

“This what?”

“Y’know… the telly,” Hop says, then turns to find Ghetsis making an unamused, almost disappointed expression at him.

“It’s Galarian slang,” Comes Giovanni’s voice from the kitchen, followed by, “Can someone come carry the utensils and one of the bowls?”

“I refuse to believe any rational person would use that word.”

“Well tough luck, ‘cause tons of people do,” Hop retorts, getting up from his seat to go and help Giovanni.

“Then they’re all making fools of themselves,” Ghetsis calls after him.

Hop rolls his eyes and ignores that last comment. He gets to instead focus on the wonderful smell now permeating the flat thanks to Giovanni’s cooking. The mob boss hands him a bowl of the food he made; Pasta in a red sauce, presumably with Tamato berry chunks. It’s still steaming as he takes it alongside a handful of forks and napkins.

He returns to the couch with Giovanni behind him, carrying the other two bowls. Ghetsis has taken the remote at this point and is flipping through the channels. Giovanni sits on the other end, leaving Hop to sit between them and hand out the utensils. He also passes Ghetsis his bowl and takes the other from Giovanni.

With everyone now situated, Hop decides to dig in. He sticks his fork into the bowl and twists it, getting a good portion before blowing on it and taking a bite. It tastes really good, but it’s still too hot, leaving him puffing out breaths in between chewing.

“Stir it first,” Giovanni chides him as he does so with his own bowl. Although this slightly irritates him, Hop follows his advice.

Ghetsis has yet to even touch his fork yet, still clicking through channels. At some point his frustration wins over and sets the remote down. The channel he’s left it on is some sort of Johtonian action-drama series. It serves as passable background noise while the three of them eat. It isn’t long before they’re a good three episodes in, almost on their fourth, when Hop sets his bowl down and leans back.

The sound of the actors mumbling their lines paired with Ghetsis and Giovanni discussing something fades into a dull bassline. It’s getting hard to keep his eyes open now, Hop notes, but he can’t muster up the mental and physical exertion to do anything about it. So, instead, he lets himself slip into the sweet embrace of unconsciousness. Tomorrow, he’ll wake up in his bed, the sunlight filtering through his window, the Wooloo baaing in the nearby meadow– Then he’ll head downstairs and say good morning to his mum, then… then…

———

The next morning, Hop wakes up with a bit of a start. For a moment, he can’t remember where he last was, what with his exhausted daydreaming from the night before. It isn’t until he squints his eyes open that he remembers the fact he passed out on the couch after eating dinner. But if that’s the case, why does he feel a pillow under his head and a blanket on top of him? And when did he lay down?

He props an arm underneath himself and pushes so that he’s at least somewhat upright. The pillow he was resting on is one from either end of the couch, and the blanket is no blanket at all. Rather, he’s been covered by Ghetsis’ creepy eye-covered cloak.

Wait, what?

Hop rubs the sleep out of his eyes before sitting up. Much to his bafflement, nothing about what he saw is false. He’s still in the living room, as well as still being in his clothes from the previous day. The bowls and forks that were previously on the table are no longer there, and to top it all off, the sun is already up. Judging by how much light there is coming from the window, it’s probably fairly late in the morning by now.

Before he has any chance to be perplexed by the cloak draped on him, the owner of said article of clothing steps out from the hallway. Hop startles a little at his sudden appearance.

“Oh, good. You’re awake,” The man says. Admittedly, he looks a lot less intimidating when wearing just his black suit. Probably because he’s lost almost all the width that comes with his normal ensemble.

“Er, yeah… Mornin’,” He greets Ghetsis, then looks down at the cloak and asks, “Did you… give me this?”

“So what if I did? Now hand it back.”

Why he would give Hop a blanket at all is beyond him, but he supposes he appreciates it nonetheless. He pulls the cloak off of himself and hands it to Ghetsis, who swiftly puts it on. Once he’s adjusted it to his liking, he looks down at the young trainer to address him.

“The first Gym Leader is in the forest on the outskirts of the city. Prepare yourself, then meet us along the path there.”

“Uh– Wait, what?” Hop questions, but Ghetsis has already turned his back to him and gone halfway towards the door. He watches in stunned silence as the evil team leader exits.

… Well, at least now he has the flat to himself.

He uses this chance to get ready undisturbed, showering quickly and getting changed before grabbing something small to snack on. It’d be pointless to eat a full breakfast now, what with lunch being just around the corner. Besides, he’d rather not keep his teammates waiting.

As he steps out of the door and double checks to make sure he has everything on him, Hop realizes he received some text messages on his Poryphone last night. They’re from Lee! He reads them as he begins his trek towards the edge of Centra City. Apparently the Champion has some sort of good news for him, and would like to meet up whenever possible. For a moment, Hop considers whether he should tell him his team’s plans to take on the first Gym Leader. Although he’s reluctant to have his brother scrutinize his battling, it’s possible he won’t be able to meet today if he says otherwise. After all, when Lee gets lost, he can get lost for a good while.

He decides to shove his worries aside and tell Leon about his upcoming battle. If Hop had any say in the matter, he’d be more inclined to wait a day or two before challenging them, but apparently his opinion has already been outweighed. Both Giovanni and Ghetsis are for taking on the Gym Leader as soon as possible.

His Poryphone beeps. Leon says that he’ll be there. Hop smiles at this, then puts the device away.

After much walking and avoiding overexcited trainers speeding by, Hop manages to find Ghetsis and Giovanni. The two are standing by a sign indicating that the path ahead leads to the other, smaller section of the city. There is a dirt path behind them that disappears into the treeline. Both men turn to look at him upon his arrival.

“Finally. It’s about time you joined us,” Giovanni quips.

“Come off it. Why are we taking on the first Gym Leader now, anyways? Shouldn’t we train first?”

“Train for what? We demolished our foes yesterday with ease,” Ghetsis gloats.

“That doesn’t mean we’re guaranteed to win today. What if they’re really powerful?”

“She isn’t,” Giovanni tells him, “She’s a grass-type Gym Leader from Kanto named Erika.”

The three of them have started walking at this point, traveling along the dirt path leading deeper into the forest. Now that Hop knows they’re going against a grass-type specialist, the location makes sense. What doesn’t make sense is how Giovanni would already know who their opponent is. Did he have some Rocket grunt scout ahead for him, or does it have something to do with the fact that Giovanni is native to Kanto? Either way, he’s not entirely certain if what the man says is true or if he’s simply conflating his ego with his ability.

Eventually they find a fork in the road with a sign pointing them in the direction of the battleground. In reality, it's more of an especially open field, with a small lake to the side and a hill on the other. There are quite a few trainers loitering about, almost all of them in groups of three. Hop doesn’t recognize anybody concretely, but he’s pretty sure one or two of them might be elite trainers from other regions. Most of them are non-competitors sitting around and tending to their Pokémon. It seems like they’ve all battled recently.

“She’s not here.”

Hop glances at Giovanni, then back to the open field. Indeed, it seems like the Gym Leader is currently absent. He’s not sure what this Erika looks like, but he’s certain if she was here, it would be obvious.

The sound of murmuring and whispers catches Hop’s attention. A sync team is staring at the three of them, speaking in hushed tones. They don’t avert their gaze from him even despite the fact he’s looking right at them. It’s uncomfortable. He has to look away.

As it turns out, Ghetsis has broken off from their group and approached one of the teams sitting underneath a tree. Hop almost calls out for him to come back, but Giovanni raises a hand to halt him. He looks at the other inquisitively, but receives no response.

“Excuse me. Where is Gym Leader Erika?” The man asks. The three young trainers look between one another, then back at him.

“She’s resting right now. I don’t know where, but probably close by.”

“I’m surprised she can sleep easily after wiping the floor with us,” One of them jokes. A girl next to him giggles.

“I’m not. We rushed in unprepared, so it’s only natural we– Uh–”

Ghetsis has already put his back to them and returned to his own team before the girl finishes her sentence. His eyes are narrowed in contempt.

“Apparently she’s off napping somewhere.”

Giovanni frowns at this, so Hop takes it upon himself to shed some light on the situation.

“On the bright side, that means we’ve got time to strategize.”

“We have no information to strategize with,” Ghetsis replies. He gives a suspect glance to Giovanni, who shakes his head.

“I do not know which Pokémon she will use, if that’s what you were going to ask.”

“That’s not what I meant by strategizing anyways,” Hop butts in, “I was talking mostly about our own team. I don’t want the two of you bickering like last time.”

“That would not have happened if leadership was turned over to its rightful owner,” Ghetsis maintains. Hop almost wants to stomp his foot on the ground out of frustration, but he holds back and instead speaks up before Giovanni can reply with an insult.

“Nobody is going to be leader, especially not you!”

“Hop.”

He bristles. This might be the first time Hop has heard either of them say his name, and frankly, it’s a bit off putting. He turns his attention to Giovanni, albeit hesitantly.

“Both of you, silence yourselves and think for a moment. All sync teams are comprised of three main roles, aren’t they?”

Hop wracks his brain for what the other is talking about. That’s when it hits him– Lear’s announcement. He said that all sync teams, although random, would include a “strike”, a “tech”, and a “support.”

“That’s right! I’d completely forgotten about that.”

“How are we supposed to know which of us is which, though?” Ghetsis asks with a begrudging expression. Giovanni takes his Poryphone out of his pocket and faces the screen towards them.

“Your profile tells you. Mine says my sync pair is a ‘strike unit’, which means I specialize in damage output.”

Hop looks in astonishment at the device before pulling out his own, almost at the same time as Ghetsis. He scrolls through his profile and finds what Giovanni was talking about. On his screen is a small heart symbol accompanied by the words “Support Unit.” There’s also a small description.

“Tech unit,” Ghetsis reads aloud, “Focus on disrupting the opponents and lowering their stats.”

“Says here I’m a support unit, so I take hits and aid my teammates,” Hop adds.

Giovanni nods, “This provides us with a foundation to build off of. If we focus on our respective roles, we may gain the upperhand.”

Finally, something constructive to work with! As cold and untrustworthy as Giovanni may be, at least he knows how to get things done. He’s also very glad the man has decided to drop the back-and-forth leader argument, at least for now.

A familiar, guttural roar pierces the tranquil silence of the forest. Hop immediately looks to the sky and, as he expected, a Charizard is rapidly approaching from above. It lands and lowers its wings, allowing the passenger on its back to dismount. Hop lights up when Leon spots him and waves.

“Lee! You made it!” He exclaims, running up to his big brother. Leon grins and readjusts his cap.

“Of course I did! I said I’d come, didn’t I?” He responds brightly. However, his smile fades when he looks up and spots the two evil team leaders approaching.

“Well, isn’t this a surprise,” Ghetsis remarks flatly.

“Come on, there’s no need for that. I’m actually here to talk to the two of you.”

“Really?” Hop asks, a bit astonished. What could Leon have to say to either of these guys, let alone them both? Sure, they’re both objectively bad people, but he knows his brother isn’t the type to attack someone for such a thing.

“Really. It has to do with how the teams are formatted right now.”

“But why just them?” Hop questions him. Leon gives him a sheepish smile that seems more apologetic than embarrassed.

“I can explain it to you some other time. Right now, I just–”

“He’s right. If this is a matter regarding our team, all three members should be present,” Giovanni insists with a slight smirk. Leon’s gaze shifts to the mob boss. For a moment, he looks disgruntled with the other, but he soon lets go of that expression with a sigh.

“Fine then. Could you follow me?”

Hop isn’t sure why he wants to lead them away from the clearing, but upon hearing the curious chatter behind him, he understands. There are a few too many people who might recognize Leon and end up eavesdropping their discussion. He joins his brother at his side while his teammates trail behind them. They don’t go very far off, stopping in a more shaded part of the woods.

“What do you want? You better not waste our time and make us miss the Gym Leader,” Ghetsis grumbles.

“Trust me, this’ll be quick. I’m just here to pass along a message from Lear.”

All three of them perk up at this. Hop feels a bout of worry. What could the event organizer have to say that couldn’t be summarized in public broadcast? And why does it involve them?

“Out with it,” Ghetsis demands with a thump of his staff. Leon crosses his arms.

“The rule regarding teammate replacements has been changed. There were concerns amongst participants about known criminals being allowed in the PML,” The Champion explains, “And while that’s still the case, sync teams with said individuals may find new teammates.”

Hop gasps under his breath. He can’t believe it. He thought he would be stuck fighting alongside Giovanni and Ghetsis his entire time here on Pasio. Did Lee have any sort of say or influence in this change of heart from Lear? He wouldn’t be surprised if that was the case. If there’s one thing his brother can be, it’s overprotective.

“Are you implying you’re kicking us out of our own team?” Giovanni asks, his tone icy.

“Well… not exactly. Although this rule has been put into effect immediately, it doesn’t apply to anyone who refuses those terms.”

And just like that, Hop’s enthusiasm turns to dread. If this were a few days ago when he had first arrived on Pasio, he’s certain the two team leaders would have agreed immediately to switch teams. But things have changed since then. As poorly received as his efforts to get along have been, he can’t help but suspect something about their dynamic has changed. It’s no longer a thin string held together only out of obligation.

His suspicions are confirmed nigh instantaneously, his hopes dashed with a single sentence.

“Then I refuse.”

Leon looks in shock towards the Team Rocket boss. Evidently, he had been expecting a different response.

“What? Why?”

Giovanni chuckles, putting his hands in his pockets as he steps forward.

“If I were to find different teammates now, I’d be passing up an invaluable opportunity. They may not be as strong as my current team, nor as willing.”

“Willing is hardly an apt description,” Ghetsis interrupts. However, Giovanni takes this in stride.

“We may be in contention, but our goals and methods are similar, aren’t they?”

Although Ghetsis’ frown deepens, he provides no disagreement to Giovanni’s statement.

“And as for you,” The man continues, Hop jumping a little when he realizes he’s being addressed, “We do not see eye to eye whatsoever, but you are willing to set that aside in order to progress, correct?”

“I mean– Yeah, but–”

“Right and wrong, good and evil… People nowadays refuse to see the world as anything other than black and white. That’s why I find it refreshing when someone can look past this flawed self-righteousness that society preaches.”

Hop is at a loss for words. He feels like he’s just had his entire world flipped upside down, put rightside up, and then fallen over flat. He had no idea that he was regarded as anything but a nuisance by the Team Rocket leader, and frankly, he isn’t sure if it’s a good thing that he’s been proven otherwise. It makes him feel far too self aware of how his teammates may have been perceiving him so far. What sort of expectations are they harboring for him, if any?

“I hope now you understand why I have no intention of finding new teammates,” The man concludes. Leon looks just as stunned as Hop feels right now, so he can really empathize with him.

“If that’s the case, then I too see no reason to leave this team.”

As if Giovanni’s whole speech wasn’t already a slap to the face, Ghetsis just had come in and deliver the final blow. Hop stares at him with his mouth agape, at this point not caring how he looks.

“You’re– You can’t be serious!” Leon laments, dropping any pretense of politeness he had.

“I am quite serious. Why should I mingle with more unpleasant trainers than I already have? This team has yielded results, it has yielded victory, and I shall see it through that we remain victorious.”

“Speaking of remaining victorious, we’ve spent too long dawdling here. It’s possible Erika has returned by now,” Giovanni comments, then looks at Leon, “Unless you have any other startling news we must know, we’ll be taking our leave.”

With that said, he turns towards the direction they came from and begins walking. Ghetsis follows, only stopping to look over his shoulder at Hop.

“Are you coming, or not?”

For a moment, he’s frozen where he stands. He’s still not over the total whiplash this entire conversation has brought him, getting his hopes up and crushing them, followed by praise. He forgets that Leon is standing right behind him until he hears him approaching. He stops next to Hop, who looks up at him.

“Can’t say I didn’t try, huh?” He mutters, clearly disheartened. Leon then raises a hand and places it on his shoulder, squeezing once, gently.

“Lee…”

“We can talk about this later. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner.”

Hop doesn’t know what to say. So he doesn’t say anything. Instead he presses himself against Lee and wraps his arms around him for a brief hug. He feels a hand rub against his back before he pulls away and steps back. Giovanni and Ghetsis are already far ahead, so he has to run to catch up with them.

Upon rejoining his team, he puts himself at Giovanni’s side. A question raises to the forefront of his mind.

“Did you mean it? About everything you said back there?”

The clearing is in sight now. The leaves above them are becoming fewer, allowing the sunlight to filter through the canopy.

“I did. Do you have any objections?”

Hop bites his tongue for a second. Now that he’s asked, he sort of wishes he does.

“Not really.”

The man smiles.

“Good answer.”

Chapter Text

All of the trainers who had previously been lounging on the outskirts of the opening have now stood up and gathered near the center, surrounding a central figure. Hop squints, his eyes adjusting to the sudden influx of light as him, Ghetsis, and Giovanni emerge from under the shade of the forest. Some heads turn in their direction, followed by concerned looks and hushed murmurs. The centermost person, who Hop can now tell is a young woman with straight black hair and a kimono on, turns. Her expression is serene at first, but the moment her gaze lands on the three of them, it’s gone. Her eyes widen.

“Team Rocket…” She mutters to herself, sounding somewhat breathless. It seems like she’s become winded from shock.

“We are not a part of Team Rocket,” Ghetsis corrects her, then glares at Giovanni. The man responds with a smug grin and a shrug of his shoulders.

“My reputation precedes me.”

“Nobody needs any of your reputation right now,” Hop says with a sigh. Can’t either of these guys dial it back for just a moment?

He looks over at Erika, who in turn looks at him. His presence seems to remind her of something, which serves to calm her down.

“Oh… that’s right… You must be here as a sync team looking to challenge me.”

“That’s right. Now on with it!” Ghetsis demands. Erika folds her hands in front of her, and at the same time, two trainers emerge from the group to join her at either side.

“... Very well, then,” She tells them, “My name is Erika, and I love Grass-type Pokémon. As the Gym Leader of the Celadon City Gym… I swear I won’t lose to the likes of you.”

Hop can’t help but regard that as an odd thing for her to say. Then again, the comment is likely not meant for him. She must feel some sort of upset towards Giovanni, which makes sense. He can’t imagine how much trouble he’s caused others in the past, especially Gym Leaders.

Nonetheless, he readies his Pokéball, and the battle commences. Zamazenta hits the field at the same time as Mewtwo and Kyurem, who are soon facing down Erika and her two teammates’ Pokémon: Roserade, Skiploom, and Erika’s Vileplume.

“Roserade, use Leaf Storm!”

The first turn goes to the ranger with the Roserade, who obeys her command flawlessly and sends a flurry of razor sharp leaves towards Kyurem. Due to how slow and bulky the dragon is, it can’t move away in time, screeching in rage at the attack cutting it. Ghetsis narrows his eyes at the trainer.

“Grrr… Kyurem, Glaciate!”

It stomps a foot in response, ice spikes shooting up from the ground and leaving snow in their wake. All three of the opposing Pokémon are hit, even the flying Skiploom, which begins shivering from the cold.

“Oh no— Don’t give in, Skiploom! Use Air Slash!” The other lass cries, pointing at Zamazenta. 

Her Pokémon flaps its ears and beckons the wind around it to form glowing crescent blades, which it shoots forth. However, despite connecting, the attack does little to the armored legendary. Hop grins, proud to see his partner holding its ground so well.

“Fight back, Zama! Hit it with Metal Claw!”

Zamazenta howls, its claws gaining a metal sheen as it lunges forth and swipes. The Skiploom cries out as it’s sent hurtling back from the impact. It falls onto the ground and doesn’t get back up, having fainted. The lass gasps before dejectedly returning the Pokémon to its ball. Hop, meanwhile, is pleasantly surprised. He hadn’t expected that attack to knock out his opponent. Had Ghetsis’s Kyurem really done that much damage to all three Pokémon? Or is Zamazenta simply stronger than he is aware? Whatever the answer, it can wait til after the battle. He mustn’t get distracted like last time.

“Vileplume, use Energy Ball, please.”

Erika’s words are cool and calm, even in the face of an early KO on her side. Her Vileplume gathers energy above it, which condenses in a glowing green ball.

“Mewtwo, counter it with Shadow Ball.”

Thanks to Glaciate slowing down the other team, Mewtwo has more than enough time to react. The psychic type pulls its arms back and, between its hands, summons a dark ball. It fires at the same time the Vileplume does, the two moves colliding and exploding into smoke.

“Stun Spore, if you would.”

Even despite losing sight of them, Erika commands her Vileplume to act, which it does. The grass type leaps out from the smoke like it is jumping out from behind a curtain, lowering its head so its flower is facing Mewtwo. Yellow spores burst out from the hole in the middle, trapping the Pokémon in a cloud of it. Mewtwo flies back, but the damage is already done. It’s been paralyzed.

Hop grits his teeth. That’s the same move that Giovanni had made during their training! And if that rustling he hears is any indication, there’s another one coming. He calls out.

“Roserade, Vine Whip!” “Zamazenta, protect Kyurem!”

The commands come out at the same time, both Pokémon rushing forth. Roserade breaks through the smoke, vines already twirling, but as they lash out, they’re met with the sturdy steel of Zamazenta’s body. Hop lets out a small breath of relief. He’s glad his prediction was correct. It made the most sense for the next attack to be towards Kyurem, since it’s taken the most damage so far.

“Noble Roar.”

The ensuing roar is so loud and ferocious, it sends Roserade tumbling back, as well as clearing the remaining smoke. Hop takes this chance while their Pokémon are still slowed to move.

“Zama, Metal Claw!”

Zamazenta scratches at the Roserade struggling to get up, which falls back down once more. It lets out a pained noise before fainting. That’s two down, one more to go.

Erika’s collected attitude cracks now, worry and despair at the oncoming loss as clear as day. Nonetheless, she bravely presses on, raising her voice so as to address her Pokémon.

“Vileplume, use Energy Ball!”

“Mewtwo!” Giovanni yells over her, “End this already!”

Vileplume gathers energy once more. Mewtwo raises an arm, but electric static runs across its body, causing it to tremble. The flower Pokémon bobs its head, sending the Energy Ball straight towards the psychic type. Hop gasps. Even if he tells it to, Zamazenta can’t possibly get in front of Mewtwo in time.

However, it doesn’t need to. Before the attack lands, Mewtwo regains control of itself, suddenly disappearing from where it was originally and appearing higher in the air. Erika gapes at this, and honestly, Hop feels the same. How can a Pokémon move that fast without teleporting?!

The Vileplume looks around for Mewtwo, having not realized it’s gone higher. By the time it does notice, it’s already too late. Psychic energy surrounds the grass type Pokémon and explodes in a colorful light show. 

Hop shields his eyes briefly, then looks up. Vileplume teeters in place before collapsing. They won.

They won! Their first Gym battle on Pasio, and they beat it on the first try! He lets out an astonished laugh, unable to contain his joy.

That delightful feeling of triumph is squandered the moment he turns his attention to Erika. She looks disappointed, not in her Pokémon, but in herself. It’s an emotion he recognizes well, which is why it hurts to see so much on someone else. His smile fades. Should he say something to her?

Before the words can form in his mind, Giovanni walks forward, approaching the Gym Leader. He can’t see the other’s expression from behind, but if Erika’s is anything to go off of, he’s probably looking quite smugly at her.

“It seems you owe us a badge.”

Ugh! Why does he have to be such an arse about everything? The two trainers at Erika’s side are rightfully upset, but neither of them say anything when Erika holds up a hand. She reaches into her sleeve, procuring a green and brown pin shaped like a tree.

“For besting me in battle,” She speaks, although her voice is now softer and quieter than before, “I bestow upon you the Tranquility Badge.”

“Tranquility?” Ghetsis murmurs next to him, “How foolish.”

More like ironic, Hop thinks to himself. Ghetsis and Giovanni are anything but tranquil.

The Team Rocket leader snatches the badge from her hand and turns back to them, not granting her even another second of attention. He holds it between his fingers and waves it, showing off their prize to the two.

“Haven’t either of you heard about manners?” Hop chastises him before he can start gloating, “There are these three funny words you must’ve heard before. They’re ‘please’ and ‘thank you’.”

“Then, would you please shut up?” Ghetsis quips. Hop folds his arms, unable to think of a witty comeback.

“Forget all of that. We’ve won, haven’t we? This calls for celebration.”

Hop perks up at this. That’s right! They are the victors of this battle, and there’s no way he’s letting either of these two ruin that for him.

“Yeah, we did! What should we do to celebrate?”

“I’d much rather revel in victory alone,” Ghetsis grumbles. Hop shakes his head.

“Don’t be like that. How about we go out for dinner tonight?”

“Good idea. I’ve been craving Kantonese,” Giovanni tells them, pulling out his phone, “I’ll see if there’s any restaurants like that here on Pasio.”

“Out of the way! We’re here to challenge the Gym Leader.”

Hop holds back a groan. He knows exactly who that voice belongs to. Why is everyone and everything out to skewer his good mood today?

He turns his head, and sure enough, Bede is there. He’s just entered the clearing, two more following from behind. If he had to guess, they’re probably his sync teammates. The first one is a boy with spiky black hair and sharp eyes that give even Bede and his glare a run for their money. The other is another boy, this one with a yellow and black cap and black bangs. The latter holds a hand over his eyes, scouting the area.

“Hmm… Oh, look! There she is!” He grins, “And there’s a bunch of other people here already! Like—Giovanni?!”

“Ghetsis!” The spiky-headed one roars, his eyes alight with rage. He bares his teeth at Ghetsis, hands balled into fists.

“Hop,” Bede finishes out the trifecta, sounding quite bored.

“Who are these impudent children?” Ghetsis asks Hop, to which he shrugs.

“I only know the bloke in the middle. No clue who the other two are.”

“Who is he?! Is he a part of an evil team too?” The loud and angry looking one questions Bede, mirroring their interaction. He scoffs at this.

“No, he’s just some secondrate trainer. Hardly much of a threat.”

Hop frowns. He knew that the other would have something rude to say, and lo and behold, he was right. Sadly, knowing it’s coming doesn’t do much to make him feel any less bad about it.

“Jeez, being a jerk much?” The capped one says, then continues, “Now c’mon! We’ve got to go ask Erika to battle us before they do!”

“No need. We’ve already defeated her,” Ghetsis comments.

“What?!” Bede growls, “Are you telling me Hop got a badge before I did? That’s unacceptable!”

With that said, the fairy trainer marches straight for Erika, not heeding the words of his teammates. They chase after him, joining Erika at the tree she’s sitting under. Hop watches as they run off, feeling a bit of satisfaction at Bede’s ire.

“Hand that over.”

Hop turns back to his own teammates. Ghetsis has his hand held out expectantly, and Giovanni looks to be halfway through putting something in a pocket inside his suit jacket. He pulls the Tranquility Badge back out.

“Why should I? It doesn’t matter which of us has the badge.”

“Then it shouldn’t matter if you give it to me or not.”

“As if I would trust you with it.”

“Likewise.”

The two hold eye contact for a moment, locked in a stalemate, until Ghetsis sighs. He points a thumb at Hop.

“Then just give it to him.”

“Wh- Me??”

Why Ghetsis would trust him with holding the badge over Giovanni, he has no idea. It seems the Rocket leader has the idea, though, because he relents without much of a fight.

“Fine. Catch.”

He tosses the badge to Hop, who scrambles to catch it. He does, thankfully, clapping it between his hands. He opens his palms to look at the badge nestled there. Its metal coating shines beautifully in the sunlight.

“Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to the Pokémon Center.”

———

Bede had lost in his battle against Erika, Hop later found out. He had complained about it after the fact to Victor, who then complained to Hop about Bede’s complaining. Granted, he was mostly doing it for show. Hop knows that Victor doesn’t let things like that get under his skin, which is one reason why he holds his friend in such high regards. How he can handle Bede as a friend, let alone as a crush, is beyond him.

Victor isn’t the only one who reached out to him, though. Shortly after this, he received a message from Leon asking if he’d like to chat at his place. This came with the additional bonus that Hop would get to meet his brother’s teammates, which admittedly, he has been eager to do. So, he accepted.

It takes him no less than ten minutes to reach Leon’s flat, since Hop had already returned back to his own apartment by then. He pushes the button for the doorbell, then waits. It doesn’t take long for him to hear footsteps approaching and the click of the lock being undone.

Without any warning, the door swings open, and a Lycanroc jumps towards him! He yelps in surprise, staggering when the Pokémon throws itself upon him. It begins licking his cheek fervently, causing him to laugh as he turns his head away.

“Hey— Pbbht— Down, hehe, down! Man, you’re friendly!”

A short whistle causes the rock dog to stop, lowering itself and circling Hop once. It’s tail is wagging as it returns to the one who whistled at it, a tan man wearing a lab coat and no shirt.

“Sorry about that, cousin! Lycanroc here loves meeting new people. She always makes a real First Impression, yeah!”

“It’s fine,” Hop says as he wipes his face with his sleeve, still smiling. A slobbery impression, for sure.

“Hop!”

Leon appears from behind the man and his Lycanroc, the latter of which runs to him and follows as he approaches the entrance. He chuckles, giving it a pat between the ears.

“Lee!” Hop greets him. He accepts the welcoming side hug the other provides.

“Kukui, this is my little brother, Hop.”

“So this is him! It’s a pleasure to meet you. My name’s Professor Kukui, and you’ve already met my partner Pokémon!”

Said partner was rubbing itself against his leg, all while being mindful of the jagged stones pointing out of its neck. Hop nods, grinning. The lab coat had tipped him off, but it’s still cool to meet another professor from a different region!

“Is someone here?” Hop hears a girl’s voice shout from inside the flat. Kukui turns and walks back inside, Lycanroc trailing after him.

“Yeah! It’s Leon’s little brother! You’ve got to come see, he looks like a miniature version of him!”

He doesn’t hear that last part, but whatever it is, apparently his brother finds it funny, because he lets out a chuckle. Leon then pats him on the back and gestures for him to enter.

“Come on in, bro.”

Hop smiles. He does just that, stepping through the doorway and letting Lee close the door behind him.

Chapter Text

Walking in, Hop realizes that Leon’s flat is furnished exactly the same as his own, which confirms his guess that all of the apartments are identical. The only differences he can spot are dishes piled in the sink and Lycanroc fur covering every inch of the living room floor. A girl emerges from down the hallway where he assumes the bedrooms must be. She adjusts a clip in her hair as she approaches, lighting up when she sees the group. She’s wearing a white beanie hat, a red scarf, and matching yellow clips in her navy blue hair.

“Hi there! My name’s Dawn. You’re Hop, right?”

He nods, “That’s right. Pleasure to meet ya!”

“Same here! Although, some warning would’ve been nice,” She says as she pouts at Leon. To Hop’s surprise, his brother has the decency to look apologetic.

“My bad. I forgot to tell you guys that I was having him over.”

“It’s no problem. The more the merrier, I say!” Kukui announces.

“That I can agree with,” Dawn says with a smile. 

“Wow, you’ve all gotten along quick!” Hop comments, genuinely amazed at the fact. He knows his brother is amicable and easy going, but that latter part can get on peoples’ nerves sometimes, even if he is the Champion of Galar.

“Sure have. You say that like you didn’t expect it,” Kukui says with a chuckle. Dawn looks deep in thought for a moment before thumping her fist into her open palm.

“Oh, that’s right! Your teammates are some really awful guys, right? I remember that now!”

“You know?” Hop asks, not hiding an ounce of his shock. He then shoots a look at Leon, who gives a guilty smile in return.

“I was, ah… Really worried when I found out. Dawn and Kukui played a big part in talking me out of doing anything drastic.”

“Lee, I told you, it’s not–”

“I know, I know. Nevermind all of that, alright? How did your battle go against Erika?”

Hop wants to call him out for the change of topic, but the damage is already done. Dawn bounces on her the heels of her feet in excitement at this tidbit.

“Yeah, tell us! We haven’t taken on the first Gym yet, since we’ve been busy catching up with friends and meeting new faces.”

Oh, that’s right. Trainers from all over the region are gathered here in Pasio. Hop has really been missing out when it comes to that, stuck lurking in the shadows with his shady teammates instead of getting out and making new pals. He isn’t disheartened by this, though. If anything, he just takes Dawn’s words as a reminder that he should take the time to do his own thing.

As for her question, he has an easy answer.

“See for yourself!” He exclaims, fishing the Tranquility Badge out of his pocket and holding it out in front of him. Dawn oohs and Kukui whistles.

“You got it already? Way to go!” Leon tells him, giving him a congratulatory pat on the back. Hop flashes a smile in return.

“Thanks!”

Just as he’s putting the badge away, Hop feels a vibration from his other pocket. He deposits it before taking out his Poryphone. It’s a message from Giovanni– And how the team leader got his contact information, he has no idea. Maybe he asked Ghetsis for it? In any case, he seems to have sent an address, a time, and a name for a restaurant. Presumably, this is where they’ll be eating tonight.

“Hm?” Leon makes a small noise as he looks over Hop’s shoulder and asks, “What’s all this?”

“Me and my team are going out to eat, since we managed to get our first badge.”

“You’re having dinner with them? Willingly?” Dawn asks in disbelief. Hop almost scoffs at her.

“Yeah? We did defeat the gym as a team. So, it only makes sense that we celebrate as a team as well.”

Leon frowns slightly at his words, a near imperceivable tug on the corners of his lips. Kukui, on the other hand, gives an enthusiastic grin.

“That’s the spirit! A good meal is the best reward after a well-fought battle.”

Hop feels more at ease after hearing this, glad that someone else here is trying to stay positive. The conversation veers away from the topic at hand when Dawn asks him to share his experiences so far on Pasio. He’s more than happy to, taking a seat on the couch and getting comfortable before going over what’s happened so far. Battling against his teammates, using his sync move for the first time, meeting the local professor, and of course the gym fight from today. While he and Dawn chat, Leon offers to fix up some tea, and Kukui joins him in the kitchen while they do so.

“Get out of here! You met Barry? He’s one of my best friends!” Dawn exclaims when he gets to the part about fighting a random trainer.

“You know him? Man, small world! Although, really, it'd be more accurate to say he hunted us down,” He says with a chuckle.

“Don’t tell me… Did he run up and bump into you, then demand you battle or else he’ll fine you?”

“He did run over and threaten to fine us, but no, no bumping into.”

“Good. You should consider yourselves lucky then!”

Eventually, Kukui and Leon return with the tea, and the conversation picks up from there. Kukui insists that Hop shares some more details about how the battle went, to which he happily obliges, describing what had occurred on both sides. He doesn’t get to properly finish up his story, because from there the professor gets distracted by Hop’s recount of Kyurem’s unique move, Glaciate. From there, the discussion shifts towards battle tactics, which Hop doesn’t mind. It’s practically a given they’d have ended up talking about this sooner or later, considering his brother is here.

The time passes, and soon enough Hop realizes he can’t stay any longer. He sets his mug down and gives his thanks to the three for hosting him. They all say their goodbyes, and Leon offers to see him off at the door, though Hop has a feeling he only does so because he has something to say. Sure enough, he does.

“Hang on a sec, little bro. I don’t wanna make you late, but… Are you sure this is a good idea? You’re not obligated to spend time with those two just because they’re your teammates.”

He looks down as he thinks of what to say, face pensive. He isn’t obligated, no, but his team won’t succeed if he avoids Ghetsis and Giovanni wherever he can. Their cooperation and trust have to be earned, as unfortunate as that is.

“I know, Lee. No one’s making me do this or anything.”

A second or two of silence passes until Leon seems to accept his answer for what it is. The champion gives him a pat on the shoulder and smiles.

“Alright, I get it. Just promise me you’ll be safe, okay? And don’t stay out too late.”

“I won’t. Later!”

He waves goodbye to his brother as he exits, heading downstairs and to the streets. The restaurant is farther than he would’ve liked, Hop realizes as he plugs the address given into his GPS, so he books it to make it there on time. Thankfully, he does so, arriving with only a minute to spare. The building stands out amongst the others, with the outside made to look like how a traditional Kantonian one might. Above the door, the sign reads “Order Up”, with a mascot of a blue fish Pokémon he doesn’t recognize next to it. It seems to have a large mouth and serious eyes, as well as a platter of sushi.

Standing in front of the restaurant is none other than Giovanni, who upon noticing him, raises his arm and glances at his watch.

“Hm. You actually came.”

“‘Course I did! I didn’t say I’d flake, now did I?”

“I suppose not,” The other responds, then turns to enter. He’s already got the door halfway open when Hop stops him.

“Ah– Hold on, mate, aren’t we going to wait for Ghetsis?”

“He can find the table himself, I’m sure.”

With that said, he steps in, not willing to hear Hop’s protests. He would’ve given more if he could, but in the face of Giovanni’s decisiveness, it seems he’ll just have to roll with things. He follows the man inside, just in time to hear him tell the hostess of their reservation. She grabs three menus and leads them to a spacious table in one of the far corners of the restaurant, away from everyone else. They are informed that a waiter will be with them as soon as their last member arrives, and with that, she leaves.

Hop sits down, seated across from Giovanni. The team leader picks up the menu, only giving it a cursory glance on the front and back before seeming to decide what he wants. If Hop had to guess, he probably looked at the menu beforehand– That or he’s familiar with this dining establishment. He looks over his own menu, noting the various options. There isn’t a lot to choose from, but what is there all sounds good, so he has to give it some thought before eventually picking something out.

“He’s taking quite a while.”

Giovanni’s words startle him slightly, only because he hadn’t been expecting him to speak. Hop sets his menu aside and, with a cursory glance to his phone, discovers a few minutes have passed. Not what he would consider ‘a while’ as the other may put it, but still, the Plasma team leader is definitely late.

“Maybe he got lost on the way here?”

Giovanni scoffs at this, apparently finding such a sentiment humorous.

“Whatever his excuse may be is irrelevant. Though, at least this gives us a moment to chat.”

Immediately, Hop feels as though something has shifted. He isn’t sure what, nor does he care to puzzle over it. All he knows is that now he’s on edge.

“Chat? About what?”

“Our victory, for one. You battle quite well for a professor’s assistant. That is what you said your current profession is, no?”

He has to think for a moment to try and recall when he ever said that, and sure enough, it hits him. He honestly had almost forgotten he said such a thing when they had met on his first night in Pasio.

“Yeah, I suppose I did. Like I said, though, I did take the Gym Challenge back home. Any trainer who’s done the same and is worth their salt would put up a fight.”

“Still, to go from a trainer to a professor… That’s quite the career change. Why the change of heart?”

There is no way he’s admitting to Giovanni, of all people, the fact that he became a professor because he had his life’s dream of becoming Champion uprooted. Thankfully, he doesn’t show any signs of hesitation to prove otherwise.

“I wanted to find my own way of helping Pokémon, and what better path is there for that than to become a professor?”

Giovanni doesn’t seem convinced by his words, shrugging lazily.

“That depends. Studying is not the same as acting, and some people can be so blinded in their pursuit of knowledge that they fail to apply said knowledge,” He states with certainty, then almost as quickly changes the topic, “What is it you research that helps these Pokémon?”

“Oh, well, a couple of things. Mainly, we focus on explaining the Dynamax phenomenon and anything related to it.”

Hop almost immediately regrets having opened his mouth, because judging by the glint in Giovanni’s eyes, he’s just said something he shouldn’t have.

“That’s right, I believe I’ve heard of Dynamaxing before. If I remember correctly, it’s when a Pokémon grows to an enormous size during battle. Though, feel free to correct me if I’m wrong.”

“Ah, no… That’s spot on. There’s more to it, of course, but you’ve got the gist of things.”

“More to it, hm? Please, do go on.”

Now he really wishes he hadn’t said anything. He should’ve realized sooner that Giovanni had no intention of having a genuine conversation. It’s obvious to him now what his goal is: To learn more about Dynamaxing. The question is, why? Dynamaxing is only possible within Galar. Even if Giovanni had a Dynamax Band and were in the region, it’d still be impossible so long as he’s not in a Power Spot. Though, it’s possible he’s not aware of any of this, so maybe that’s why he’s pressing for information he can’t utilize.

Before Hop can muster up some sort of deflection, a familiar thumping sound reaches his ears. Sure enough, he looks up and finds Ghetsis approaching their table, his staff in hand. Hop waves him over eagerly, taking his arrival as a welcome excuse to stop talking about Dynamaxing with Giovanni.

“Hey! You made it!”

“Of course. I said I would, did I not?”

“Uh–”

“That’s debatable,” Giovanni interrupts, “You, as a grown adult, couldn’t follow simple instructions that even a child could.”

Ghetsis frowns and glares for a moment at Hop, which causes him to realize that he is the child in question. He chuckles awkwardly.

“Um, anyways, take a seat! We haven’t ordered yet, so you’ve got some time.”

The man looks between the two before him, presumably debating in his head which side to sit on. He moves in Hop’s direction, opting to take the chair next to him rather than the one next to Giovanni. What that means for him, he isn’t sure, but he supposes it makes sense. Between him and Giovanni, he would definitely be considered the lesser of two evils. Though, in this case, one of them is literally evil as opposed to a metaphorical one.

It’s not long after Ghetsis has sat down and looked at the menu that a waiter comes to take their orders. They all give their respective answers, and after only a minor amount of listening to Ghetsis and Giovanni go back and forth over the latter’s comment, their food arrives. The waiter puts down a large bowl of ramen in front of him, followed by a small rectangular plate with gyoza on it. They both look great, and he thanks the waiter, who drops off the other dishes and leaves. Hop doesn’t wait for the other two to dig in, grabbing his chopsticks and tearing the paper away, then rubbing them together with his palms. He takes some of the noodles from the broth and is about to slurp them up when Giovanni clearing his throat gets his attention.

“Stir it first.”

Seriously? He rolls his eyes dramatically, not appreciating the other for interrupting his chow time. The bowl is still steaming, though, and he’ll probably burn his tongue if he doesn’t cool it down, so he follows Giovanni’s advice. As he’s stirring, he hears grunts to his side, so he turns to see what’s going on. Ghetsis has his chopsticks in his hands, but appears to be struggling to get them into the correct position, and is trying to use them by holding them incorrectly. As a result, the food keeps slipping out of his grasp and dropping back onto the plate. That’s when it dawns on him.

“Ghetsis, do you not know how to use chopsticks?”

The other stops what he’s doing, giving Hop a look of pure, vitriolic hate. To make matters worse, Giovanni begins laughing at his question, or more accurately, at Ghetsis’ inability to use the utensils provided. It’s pretty weird to hear, mostly because Giovanni’s laugh sounds almost identical to his practiced evil chuckles.

“Aww, does the king of Team Plasma need a fork?”

“ Silence ,” Ghetsis hisses, taking one of the sticks in his hand and stabbing it into his food. He shoves the morsel into his mouth and chews angrily. Watching this, Hop can’t help but think of how he used to do the same as a child, when he was less dexterous and didn’t know how to use his chopsticks.

The meal continues as expected, with Ghetsis being too prideful to wave down a staff member to get a fork and instead eating by piercing his food. They eat in silence at first, but after clearing all the noodles from his bowl, Hop decides he can’t take the quiet any longer and begins talking. He tells them about the Galarian forms of Pokémon in his region, and when he brings up Meowth and Perrserker, Giovanni becomes interested. The two of them end up sharing fun facts about their native Meowths, and the Team Rocket leader goes so far as to bring up his beloved Persian during the discussion.

Towards the very end of dinner, when they’ve all cleared their plates and are awaiting the bill, Hop notices something strange. Although it’s gotten dark outside, he manages to spot something bright orange out the window, moving around. Upon looking closer, he finds it to be a Growlithe. It’s limping about, seemingly hurt, and looking around like it’s lost. His eyebrows furrow. Where is that poor thing’s trainer?

“Hey,” He speaks up, putting the attention on him, “Do you guys see that Pokémon out there? It looks injured.”

Ghetsis looks over his shoulder, spotting the Growlithe outside. He turns his back to it shortly after.

“Just another example of irresponsible trainers mistreating their Pokémon. If that thing is lucky, its owner won’t come back for it.”

Lucky? Hop can hardly believe his ears. He jumps out of his seat, pushing his chair back as he does so.

“That’s an awful thing to say!” He reprimands Ghetsis, then walks around the table, “I’m going to go check on it. Don’t wait for me!”

“We weren’t going to,” Ghetsis informs him as he rushes towards the front of the restaurant.

Hop flings the door open, making a sharp turn as ducking into the narrow alleyway beside the building. He emerges from it and finds the Growlithe still walking around in circles and whimpering. The moment it spots him, though, it lowers its small body and bolts in a certain direction.

“Wait!” He calls after the Pokémon, giving chase, “I’m trying to help! Don’t run!”

It either doesn’t hear him or doesn’t listen, because the fire type continues its escape. Hop manages to keep up, eventually following it down a dead end. He stops now, the Growlithe no longer having anywhere to run to. It doesn’t seem perturbed, though. In fact, it doesn’t seem to be pained now either, turning to face Hop with a steady gaze. He watches it, feeling thoroughly confused. Was it putting on an act?

Then, without warning, the Pokémon begins to glow. It leaps as it does so, its form changing and growing. When it lands, it reveals itself to be a fully grown Zoroark, standing high on top of a closed dumpster. And as his eyes follow it, he realizes it isn’t alone. There’s a person sitting there already, who he had failed to notice earlier due to the darkness of the alley shielding them from the moonlight.

“Your kindness and love for others has brought you here… Though, I wonder if you’ll be inclined to follow your heart in the future, knowing it’s led you astray.”

“Sorry, what? You’re talking too fast. Who are you?”

The mystery person jumps down from the dumpster now, stepping out of the shadows. Hop moves back instinctively, not trusting them fully, especially now that he knows he’s been duped. Now in the dim light, he can make out the young man in front of him, who is wearing a white outfit with a cap and has long green hair tied back into a ponytail.

“My name is N,” He introduces himself, holding his palms out to the sky, “Let me hear the voice of your Pokémon.”

Chapter Text

Hop keeps his eyes trained on the mysterious figure opposite of him, his hand hovering next to his belt. He has no idea who this person is, but the fact he’s led him into an alleyway in the night and is now spouting off weird things is what Hop would constitute as “pretty damn creepy.”

N seems unperturbed by how on guard he is, taking another few steps forward even as Hop’s fingers curl around the Pokéball on his belt. Something about the way he walks is really strange, reminding Hop of how a ghost type Pokémon would glide through the air. It takes him a moment to realize it’s because N is walking more so on the tips of his toes than on his heels.

“Well? Aren’t you going to let me meet them?” He asks, causing Hop to look at him in confusion.

“Meet who?”

“Your partner, of course. I’ve heard they’re part of a pair that are similar to the dragons of Unova, powerful remnants of a time long gone. Wisdom like that is hard to come across. That’s why I must hear their words.”

Right. So basically, this guy is crazy. Hop has no clue what he means by the dragons of Unova, but something about it does ring a few bells in his mind. As for the parts involving talking to his Pokémon and hearing their wisdom… Yeah, no, that’s utterly insane. Humans cannot communicate Pokémon on the same level that they can communicate with each other. He’s only ever heard of such a thing in fairy tales or televised stories.

Nonetheless, he doesn’t see any harm in letting Zamazenta out. He was going to do it anyway, just so that he has some form of protection between him and this stranger. If doing this means N will leave him alone sooner, he figures it’ll be for the better.

“Well, alright then. Knock yourself out.”

With that said, he plucks the Pokéball from its holster and releases the legendary. The flash of light as Zamazenta emerges illuminates the alleyway, if only briefly. His partner stands tall and proud, taking note of its surroundings before eyeing N warily. Once more, N is not put off by the distrust towards him, simply extending a hand towards the Pokémon.

“Hello, my friend. Won’t you share your name with me?”

The Zoroark next to him chitters, likely trying to convey something which Zamazenta understands. The armored wolf woofs in response, and N lowers his hand, nodding.

“I see. Zamazenta, is it? Your words hold quite the regalness to them.”

Hop’s jaw nearly drops, but he manages to keep his mouth shut. How does he know Zamazenta’s name now if he hadn’t previously? Surely he didn’t actually understand what the legendary said, right? There is the possibility that N knew earlier and was playing dumb, but he doesn’t see why the other would feel the need to do that.

The Pokémon at his side makes another series of noises, which N seems to consider carefully, closing his eyes. He only opens them after the Zoroark nudges his arm gently with its snout, as if reminding him he’s in a conversation.

“That’s quite the outdated form of speech. You and Zekrom really are similar.”

“Zekrom?” Hop asks, no longer willing to watch on the sidelines as N “talks” to his Pokémon. The young man shakes his head.

“Nevermind that. I would love to talk more, but I have something important I want to ask you,” He states, looking directly at Hop. His tone has become serious and his expression is no longer as tranquil.

“What is it?”

“That man, you’ve gotten closer with him, but not so close as to be under his thrall. Please, tell me as honestly as you can… What do you think of Ghetsis? Is he a changed man? A reformed one?”

The question catches Hop off guard. For a moment, he isn’t sure why N cares about what his opinion on the Team Plasma leader is, but the more he thinks about it the clearer it seems. He remembers now, hearing the name Zekrom before, when Ghetsis was talking about Kyurem and its origins. Not only that, but N’s green hair has struck him as familiar this entire interaction, and now he’s figured out why. It’s a similar shade to Ghetsis’. This begs the question: Are they related?

Regardless, Hop knows what his answer is.

“Definitely not. He’s a real jerk, to people and to Pokémon. Stubborn, too!”

N stares at him with a strange look in his eyes, and for a moment Hop worries that he’s offended somehow, but it soon passes. The other sighs, hanging his head.

“I see. So the other day, when he said all those things…”

Hop tilts his head. He didn’t catch everything N had said on account of the fact he’s mumbling, but he did catch the part about him having done something yesterday. Did the two speak, he wonders?

“Found you!”

Zamazenta turns in sync with him, just in time to see three people take position in the entrance of the alleyway. They look like regular trainers, but upon closer inspection, Hop realizes they’re wearing black and white eye masks. The group send out their Pokémon, blocking off him and N’s way out. He balls his hands into fists.

“What? Who are you guys?”

“We’re Team Break, the ones who will be responsible for putting an end to the PML!” The central figure announces. The one next to him speaks next, pointing to N.

“We’ve been following this guy all night in hopes of taking his Pokémon from him so he can’t compete… But we had lost track of our target.”

“Until now!” The last one announces, “So hand over your Pokémon! Both of you!”

Team Break? He’s never heard of any group like that. He’s also not sure why they’re trying to stop the PML, but he’s definitely not going to sit by and let them take his or N’s Pokémon.

“No way! Zamazenta, break through!”

The legendary howls, preparing a Behemoth Bash before charging forward. The Machoke sent out by the central Team Break member tries to catch the oncoming impact, only to be sent hurtling backwards. Its trainer yelps and ducks out of the way, then rushes to its Pokémon side. The remaining two, who have a Frillish and a Staravia, step back from Zamazenta. It growls at both of them.

Without warning, the Zoroark from before rushes out from the alley, springboarding off of Zamazenta and taking to the air. Dark energy gathers around its claws as it dives on the Staravia, felling it in one swoop. Its trainer yelps, backing away from the Pokémon.

N emerges from the back of the alley, joining Hop at his side as he observes the situation. He looks unnaturally calm considering they were randomly beset upon by a trio of baddies.

“So, it’s you people… You’re the ugly truth Pasio is still ignorant to.”

Hop glances at N, surprised by his words.

“You know this lot?”

“No, not in the traditional sense, but I’ve seen masked grunts sneaking around the city. I suspected there was something afoot, and it seems I was right.”

“Hey, don’t chat like we’re not here! Frillish, Hex!”

The jellyfish Pokémon warbles in response, putting its flippers together as purple and black wisps float around it. Those wisps fly towards Zamazenta, but before they can reach, the Zoroark dashes in and slashes its claws across the Frillish. It lets out a loud trill before falling over and returning to its ball, the ghostly energy it summoned fizzling out.

Needless to say, Hop is fairly impressed. The Zoroark had acted without N even needing to give it a command. Either he is a phenomenal trainer, or he trusts the Zoroark to act of its own accord.

“Machoke, Karate Chop!”

Speaking of, the Machoke has recovered and is going in to hit the Zoroark with a super effective attack. Hop throws his arm out.

“Zamazenta, don’t let it!”

His Pokémon jumps into the fray, using Metal Claw to clash with the Machoke’s hand and force it to miss. The Zoroark moves back, making space for the two fighting types to clash. Zamazenta may be bigger and bulkier, but it moves with such speed and power that it doesn’t matter, easily overwhelming the Machoke and landing a Metal Claw square to its chest. The Kantonian Pokémon stumbles backwards before fainting.

Its trainer lets out a ‘tch’ before recalling his Pokémon.

“Team Break, retreat!”

Sure enough, the three book it, one of them yelling about how they’ll be back. Hop returns Zamazenta to its Pokéball, not wanting the legendary to give chase. He doesn’t see a need to pursue their attackers now that they’re no longer a threat. N seems to think similarly, the Zoroark returning to his side with a near imperceptible nod of his head.

“Thank you for your help. I knew those three were tailing me, but I hadn’t expected them to try and attack us both, let alone steal our Pokémon.”

“It’s all good! More importantly, I've never heard of a group called Team Break before. Were they a part of the groups brought here by Lear?”

N shakes his head, bringing a finger to his chin.

“No, I don’t believe so. I hadn’t heard of a group like theirs either until coming here.”

“Really? Ugh. As if this place needs more crooks running around…” Hop groans, thinking back to his encounters with Team Rocket and Team Plasma. On top of them, now there’s Team Break, and likely a plethora of other evil organizations he hasn’t run into.

On the other hand, N seems to tilt his head downwards at that statement, only to then turn and look over his shoulder. He’s got a smile on his face, one that’s oddly serene and mysterious.

“I’ll let you go now. And please, for your sake and for mine… Do not tell Ghetsis that we met tonight.”

“Huh? Why?”

The other doesn’t answer his question, already striding away, his Zoroark at his side. The two turn a corner, and just like that, they disappear into the night. Hop stands there for a moment, baffled, before looking around. He doesn’t remember which way he came from the restaurant, having followed the “Growlithe” blindly. He isn’t sure which way the living quarters are from here, either.

He sighs and picks a direction to walk in, hoping it’ll get him where he needs to go.

———

It takes longer than Hop would like to admit to find his way back to the apartments, but after some aimless wandering, he had eventually ended up on a street he recognized and figured out his path from there. In a way, he’s sort of glad for it, since all that walking gave him the time to chew on everything that’s happened today. From his victory against Gym Leader Erika, to meeting with Leon and his teammates, to encountering Team Break and speaking with N… It’s a mixed bag of stress, joy, and confusion. He isn’t entirely sure how to feel about it all.

Regardless, it’s late by the time he makes it to the flat, pushing open the door with a small grunt and stumbling down the hall. He almost makes the mistake of slipping off his shoes to put near the front, but then he remembers he’s not at home in Postwick and that there’s no spot for his sneakers here.

“There you are.”

It is nothing short of a miracle that Hop doesn’t jump at the sound of Giovanni’s voice suddenly addressing him. He does, however, whip his head up and look with wide eyes at the other sitting in the living room. Sure enough, he’s lounging there with his phone out and his suit jacket tossed over the back of the couch, looking back at Hop. He realizes now he’s staring and gets a hold of himself, stepping into the room.

“Yup, I’m here,” He comments absently, checking his surroundings. “Is Ghetsis?”

“No. The two of us parted ways after dinner, and since then, he’s yet to return.”

“Hm…”

After having just met N and learning he’s connected with Ghetsis in some way, it feels awfully convenient that the man has disappeared for the night. He must be off plotting something, as team leaders do. But what? He feels helpless, knowing these two are likely committing acts of evil right under his nose.

“Not that I mind,” Giovanni continues. “After all, him being gone means we can continue our discussion on the Dynamax phenomenon.”

The sentence hits Hop like a sack full of bricks. He had completely forgotten about that, having been too distracted with Team Break and N. He tries not to let his discomfort show as he turns away.

“I’ve got nothing to say to you on the matter, not now and not ever.”

With that said, he begins for the hallway, hoping to escape into his room and avoid Giovanni entirely.

“Really? That’s a shame. Perhaps I should go ask Professor Sonia then.”

He stops dead in his tracks. He’s just underneath the arch of the hallway, staring at the floor in front of him. The sound of rustling comes from behind him, and when he turns, he finds that Giovanni has gotten up and collected his jacket.

“You-- That’s not a threat, is it?”

Giovanni’s catlike grin does not leave his face, even after he circles the couch and stops just in front of Hop. He takes half a step back, not wanting to give the other anymore ground but also wishing desperately to run away.

“Of course not. That being said, I am very interested in the subject, so if you’re not going to tell me what you know, I may as well seek out the leading expert on the matter.”

The idea of Sonia talking to a scoundrel like Giovanni seriously rubs him the wrong way, especially when he seems to be implying that he won’t take no for an answer. Just how far is he willing to go in order to learn what he can about Dynamaxing? He doesn’t want to know, but at the same time, he’s terrified of the possibilities his mind is quick to conjure up.

“What if she refuses to tell you either?”

Giovanni chuckles, closing his eyes briefly.

“Then I’ll have to resort to alternative sources.”

His response is just vague enough to be a nonanswer, but not so vague Hop doesn’t have an idea of what he might do. Either way, he doesn’t like it. He glares at the man, now finding himself angered by his persistence.

“There’s really no point for you to be doing this, you know. Dynamaxing Pokémon is impossible to do outside of Galar, and even in Galar, you need to be in a Power Spot to do so.”

Giovanni raises an eyebrow at this, his smug grin finally falling. Hop counts that as a point in his favor, no matter how small.

“Is that so? Because I could’ve sworn I heard of an incident some time ago where Pokémon Dynamaxed all over the region.”

Wow, he’s seriously well informed if he knows about the Darkest Day that Rose had brought about. Then again, the event had been disastrous enough that he’s sure it became hot news in regions outside of Galar. Nonetheless, he really wishes Giovanni of all people didn’t know about it.

“That was caused by a Pokémon, Eternatus. And before you say anything else, it’s since disappeared, likely having gone back into space where it came from. So no, there is no possible way for Pokémon to Dynamax outside of Galar.”

The man regards him for a moment, likely debating whether or not he believes him, before finally realizing he is telling the truth. He lets out a bothered hum, though otherwise doesn’t seem too upset. Hop can practically hear the gears in his brain turning.

“I see… It’s a good thing I asked, then, before deciding to act. You’ve helped me a great deal.”

Is it really a good thing? Hop can’t tell. All he knows is that hearing those words makes his stomach feel like it’s dropped, and he’s not a fan of that. He wants to ask Giovanni what he plans to do with that information, but the team leader seems intent on ending the conversation there, taking a few steps forward. Hop has to put his back to the wall as Giovanni slips past him and towards his own room.

With one final glance at him, he unlocks the door and enters, then shuts it behind him. With Giovanni gone, Hop feels like he can finally breathe again, letting out a small sigh. Although he’d like to take a moment and recuperate, he’d rather not hang around in the hallway any longer, especially not when Ghetsis could get back at any minute. So, he escapes into his own room and gets ready for bed.

Once he’s got his sleepwear on and has put away his things for the night, Hop lays down in bed. Unlike the previous nights, sleep doesn’t come easily to him, even despite how late it is. He can’t help but toss and turn as his brain replays the day over and over again. Ever since coming to Pasio, every day has felt like a rollercoaster, going up and down faster than he can keep up with. It’s honestly beginning to get on his nerves, how it feels like he keeps getting jerked around by the strange events unfolding.

He shifts onto his side and curls up his arms underneath his pillow, supporting his head. Why should he let himself get whisked to and fro? Why should he bear the brunt of responsibility for his teammates’ actions? The answer is, he doesn’t, so he won’t. He came to Pasio to have fun, and he’s going to have fun dammit!

So, it’s decided. Tomorrow he’s going to explore to his heart's content, battle all he wants, and make as many friends as he can find. And absolutely nothing is going to stop him.

Chapter Text

Keeping in line with last night, Hop wakes up late the next morning. He knows he needed the extra rest due to how long it took him to fall asleep, and he’s thankful he got it, but he generally is not a fan of sleeping in. Plenty of interesting things can happen in the morning, case in point, friends reaching out to him. He blindly slaps around on his nightstand for his Poryphone before pulling it to his face and opening it. There are a slew of notifications waiting for him, a majority of them from Gloria.

He squints at the phone, scrolling through the various messages she sent. Trying to decipher Gloria’s texting on a normal day is already hard enough, trying to do so half-asleep is near impossible. Thankfully, the ever diligent Victor seems to have foreseen this possibility, and has sent a message of his own effectively summarizing what she wants to say. Apparently Lear is going to make an announcement sometime this afternoon, one that trainers have the option to watch live rather than simply get the recording of. Sure enough, when Hop checks the last notification on his phone, it’s a time and place for the event.

Before that happens, though, Victor and Gloria are apparently heading to a place where a bunch of other sync pairs their age will be meeting. The way Victor describes it, it sounds something like a small gathering where trainers can introduce themselves and chat about Pokémon, and possibly even battle.

He sits up now, smiling. That sounds like the perfect event for him to attend, now that he’s sworn to take some time to himself and enjoy what Pasio has to offer! He texts his friends back, letting them know he’ll be there as soon as he can. Now invigorated by the prospect of meeting new people, he jumps out of bed and rushes to get through his morning routine.

Once he’s done, he steps out into the living room area. The television is on and currently switched to a news channel, which Giovanni is watching from the bar front of the kitchen. There’s a plate in front of him that’s nearly empty, save a bite or two of bread, and next to him is another plate with berries, toast, and eggs. Notably, there is no third plate.

“Is that mine, or Ghetsis’?” He asks, pointing to the full plate. Giovanni looks at him without turning his head.

“Yours. Ghetsis left before I woke up.”

Well, it’s a good thing Hop hadn’t made any plans for them to train today, because it sounds like Ghetsis has made himself scarce. Briefly, he thinks back to last night, where Giovanni had mentioned that the man had yet to return. It makes him wonder what he’s doing that requires so much time and attention from him.

Thinking back to last night also reminds him of the confrontation he had with Giovanni. It’s bizarre, how one minute he can feel cornered by his teammates, only to find himself sitting down and enjoying a meal with them the next.

Regardless, he should probably let Sonia know at some point that Giovanni is poking his nose about when it comes to Dynamaxing. Even though the man said he won’t come after her, Hop doesn’t trust him to make good on his word.

“It’s not getting any fresher.”

Hop looks up at Giovanni, realizing he has been standing around idly this whole time after having asked his question. It’s honestly a tad embarrassing, circling around the kitchen bar and hearing the other chuckle as he takes his seat. He hadn't meant to get caught up in his thoughts like that, but in his defense, he’s had a lot to think about lately.

Soon enough, though, he’ll finally be able to forget about all this stressful nonsense and simply enjoy himself! Remembering this lights a fire underneath him, one that he uses to fuel his hunger. He tears through breakfast as swiftly as he can, somehow managing not to choke before finally putting his fork aside.

“Thanks for the food! I’m heading out now.”

“Going somewhere?” The team leader asks, though he doesn’t sound particularly interested.

“Just meeting up with some friends. We’re going to hang out some, then watch Lear’s announcement. Will you be there?”

He looks at Hop now, an eyebrow arched.

“I’m sure you can imagine why it’s best I avoid large gatherings such as those.”

Oh, right. Wanted criminal and generally infamous villain. Hop nods.

“Right, heh… Well, they’re gonna broadcast it, so you can still watch. Anyways, later!”

Escaping that awkward interaction, Hop grabs his bag and throws it over his shoulder as he heads for the door. Stepping out, he’s soon greeted with the blue skies and crisp air of Pasio. A smile creeps its way onto his face as heads in the direction given to him by Victor. Centra City never fails to impress him, what with its vibrant colors and variety of people. It’s a shame he hasn’t seen all that much of the city, but that changes today. He’s going to take hold of the reins of life and steer them where he wants to go!

And as it turns out, his current destination is the field just outside of the city. Specifically, directly North there is an area with rolling hills and large stones jutting out of the ground. He isn’t sure why they’re there, but if he had to guess, he’d assume they’re probably left over parts from the construction of Pasio. The place is an artificial island, after all, one made by Hoopa no less. He wouldn’t be surprised if there are out-of-place bits littered all over.

Some people standing in the distance catch his attention, and as he jogs over, he’s able to spot the familiar green hat and brown hair of his best friend. Hop waves and calls to her, a motion she reciprocates as he draws near.

“Hop, you made it! Glad to see you haven’t been carried off in your sleep yet!”

“Yet?!” Hop exclaims. “I’ll have you know, there’ll be no carrying of any kind.”

“Don’t say that, or else you’ll jinx it.”

“But you’re the one who brought it up!”

“Oh, pish posh,” She waves his (very valid) point off, then looks to the two she’d been talking with earlier. “Hau, Calem, this is Hop! We grew up together in Postwick, and during the Gym Challenge, we fought against one another as rivals!”

The two trainers in question are both boys, one being shorter with tanned skin and green hair tied in a ponytail, the other having short black hair and a hat with sunglasses resting on the brim. The former gives a wide smile, putting his hands behind his head in a motion Hop finds awfully familiar.

“Really? That’s awesome! Traveling alongside friends is always a blast!”

“I couldn’t agree more,” Calem replies, his voice calm compared to Hau’s. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“The pleasure’s all mine!” Hop tells him. “So, where are you guys from?”

“I’m from Kalos. All of my friends and I came here together to take part in the PML.”

“And I live on Melemele Island, in Alola! My pals are here too. Like Lillie over there!”

Hop glances in the direction Hau is motioning towards, and sure enough, he spots the platinum blonde girl standing in the distance. She seems to be talking to two others, a girl with teal hair in sharp pigtails and another with a white and pink cap and long brown hair.

“Oh, yeah, I met Lillie. She’s in a team with you and Marnie, right?” He asks, looking at Gloria. She nods in response.

“Yup! We’ve been getting along great with her. She’s a real treat!”

“Right? You get it!” Hau agrees, seemingly happy for his friend.

The four of them chat more, mostly talking about the Pokémon they’ve seen while on Pasio and the Pokémon they’re used to in their respective regions. Hau shows them his Alolan Raichu, which Hop finds to be very cute, what with its softer features and tail surfing gimmick. Hop tells him about how recently, they’d discovered that Pikachu is capable of having a Gigantamax form, which leads the discussion into Mega Evolution once Calem brings it up.

It’s fun, being able to talk freely with these like-minded individuals about the things he enjoys. He wishes it could last forever, but alas, all good things must come to an end. At some point he notices a group approaching in the distance, the centermost figure dressed in a shade of pink he recognizes.

“Uh oh.”

Gloria turns to him.

“What? What’s– Uh oh.”

“Uh oh?” Calem parrots.

“Hey, everyone!” The yellow and black capped boy in the team greets them, waving as they approach. If the way Bede subtly glares at him is anything to go off of, he isn’t nearly as excited to be there.

“Hi!” Hau replies with a similar amount of enthusiasm, earning a glare of his own.

“Well, well, well. It seems like all of the weaklings have gathered in one place. What, is this some sort of convention where you pat each others’ backs?”

“Oh, come off it, Bede. No one wants your attitude,” Gloria huffs.

“Yeah, it’s rude!” The spiky haired one behind Bede scolds him.

“It’s not rude if it’s true. Compared to me, these lot are weak,” Bede retorts.

“Wow, uncalled for,” Hau comments.

“Enough with the insults! Apologize!” Bede’s teammate demands of him, pointing accusingly. Bede scowls.

“Why should I?”

Hop had figured Bede probably wouldn’t get along well with his assigned teammates, but this is simply unbearable to watch. It’s like he has no concept of putting aside his own ego in order to reach a goal! Certainly, this inability to be flexible is probably what cost them their victory against Erika. Regardless, he doesn’t want to watch this go on any longer, so he figures he should probably say something.

“What do you even want, Bede? I mean, you’re here for a reason, aren’t you?”

The Gym Leader in training turns his head, narrowing his eyes at Hop like he’s offended him somehow. It doesn’t last long, though, and soon he’s running his hand through his white curls like he’s unbothered.

“That I am. I figured you’d be here rubbing shoulders, so I came here to challenge you.”

“Wait, seriously? Why?” Gloria asks, seemingly taken aback. Hop isn’t nearly as surprised, quickly puzzling out the answer.

“Is this because I beat Erika and you didn’t?”

Bede visibly recoils, then balls his hands into fists.

“No! Not at all. We just… need some extra practice. Now fight us!”

“Oh, oh, could we make this one of those official battles?” The capped boy asks, waving his Poryphone. Hop almost agrees, but then he remembers something.

“Wait, I can’t fight you guys. My team isn’t here, and I seriously doubt I’ll be able to get them to come on such short notice…”

Bede relaxes, putting a hand in his pocket and smirking.

“Then it looks like we win by default.”

“What? That’s not how that–”

“Ethan. Don’t,” Bede growls.

Regardless of whether this counts as a win in Bede’s favor (which it totally doesn’t), Hop is disappointed that he can’t fight against them. Sure, Bede is only challenging him out of contempt for his success, but Hop can’t deny that he wants the chance to knock the boy down a peg. He’s had enough of his high and mighty attitude, especially considering how much Bede puts him down.

“If it’s teammates you’re missing, why not ask us?”

“Huh?”

Hop looks to Hau, bewildered. He’s got his hands on his hips, but he doesn’t look upset or cocky. Instead, he seems eager, like a Yamper ready to give chase. Calem smiles and adjusts the brim of his hat.

“I don’t appreciate being called weak. I’d like to prove that isn’t the case. So, why don’t we act as a team for now?”

A smile creeps onto Hop’s face. He hadn’t considered the possibility that he could team up with others independently of his team, just for the sake of having fun. He hadn’t considered the possibility that anyone might want to team up with him in the first place, outside of his friends. Here he is now though, being presented with the prospect of fighting alongside these newly met trainers.

His answer? Heck yeah!

“Yeah, let's!” He agrees, then turns to Bede and crosses his arms confidently. “Alright, you’re on!”

“About time. I’ll mop the floor with you just like I did during the Gym Challenge,” Bede declares with a tilt of the head.

With that, the battle is underway. Gloria elects herself as an unofficial referee, to which no one has any complaints as they take their places. Hop sends out Zamazenta, Hau sends out his Alolan Raichu, and as Hop soon discovers, Calem sends out a Pokémon known as Meowstic. On the other side of the field, Bede has his Hatterene, Hugh has a Bouffalant, and Ethan has a Typhlosion.

“Ready?” Calls out Gloria, raising her hand. 

Hop steels himself, his arms braced at his sides.

“Begin!”

The battlefield explodes into a flurry of movement, noises, and commands being given. It’s evenly matched at first, with Hop trying to get into the rhythm of things all while steadily dishing out damage. Zamazenta hits the Bouffalant with Metal Claw, which rams into the legendary with a Headbutt in retaliation. Bede’s Hatterene flexes its superior psychic abilities, flinging Calem’s Meowstic away when it tries to attack. Ethan’s Typhlosion is nothing to scoff at either, launching Eruptions that cover the entire field, the heat from the flames making the air swelter.

However, their opponent’s lead doesn’t last long. Hop notices how fast Hau’s Raichu is, zipping and swerving past attacks aimed towards it, only to fire back quick bursts of damage. He decides to lend his support to the psychic surfer, telling Zamazenta to cover for it by taking hits and disrupting moves used towards it. His Pokémon responds diligently, using a Behemoth Bash to knock over the Typhlosion readying a Flamethrower. With his Pokémon creating openings, Calem has his Meowstic use Thunder Wave where it can, paralyzing Bede’s Hattrene. With him inflicting status on their opponents, Hop soaking up damage meant for his squishier teammates, and Hau’s Raichu nailing them with powerful moves, the battle is swift to come to a close.

Bede’s Hatterene falls, and that’s game. Hau whoops, holding both of his hands up for a high-five, one for Hop who gladly returns it and another for his Raichu who glides over to smack his palm with its paw. He hears Calem chuckle beside them.

“Good game, you guys. Hop, your Zamazenta is really powerful.”

“Aw, thanks!” He replies. “Your Meowstic was great too. It made fighting a lot easier.”

“What do you MEAN my fault?!”

All three heads turn to the other team, or more specifically, Hugh’s roaring. Bede, with his arms crossed, is giving him a sour look.

“I mean just what I said— If it hadn’t been for you and your weak sync pair, we wouldn’t have lost.”

“ I’m weak? You didn’t knock out a single Pokémon! You just kept barking orders at us!”

“And perhaps if you had listened, we would’ve come out on top. Shame we can’t all get what we want.”

“Why you!...”

“Guys, guys, c’mon! Break it up!”

Despite Ethan’s best efforts, Bede and Hugh do not settle, instead locked in a staring (or rather, glaring contest). Hop can’t help but shake his head at the sight.

“It’s no wonder you couldn’t beat the Gym Leader, mate. You’re not cooperating with your team!”

Bede’s wrath-filled gaze falls onto Hop now, and he swears, this is probably the most pissed he’s seen the other before.

“You’re the last person I want to hear that from,” He hisses, and Hop opens his mouth to retort but the other continues. “Not all of us are as brainless as you are, needing to rely on criminals to succeed.”

That comment hits him like a javelin through the forehead, his jaw immediately tightening. His mouth moves before his brain can catch up with it.

“That’s rich coming from Rose’s former lapdog.”

It isn’t until Bede’s eyes widen with shock and he hears Gloria gasp to the side that he realizes what he just said. The guilt settles almost immediately, followed by Bede narrowing his eyes and turning his back to him.

“Bede, wai—“

“Forget it. We’ve wasted our time here.”

The fairy user stomps off, fists balled and his teammates trailing after him. He hears Ethan ask what’s up with him and Hugh grumble something indistinguishable, but Hop can’t focus on any of that. All he can think about is the ball forming in his stomach. Why did he say that? Bede’s an asshole, sure, but he isn’t. He’s not supposed to be, anyways. Gloria approaches him now, at first facing the direction Bede’s leaving before looking at him.

“Yeesh, Hop.”

“I knowww,” He groans, bringing a hand to his forehead and dragging it down onto his face. “I shouldn’t have said that. I was just— I’m so sick of him acting like he can do whatever he wants!”

“You and me both,” She sighs, patting him on the shoulder.

“Victor’s gonna be right miffed with me…”

“He will be, yeah.”

“Who’s Rose?”

Hop and Gloria both turn to Hau at the same time, who is looking at them with a curious expression. Calem clears his throat, a sign to the more clueless boy that it probably isn’t their place to ask, but it goes right over his head. Gloria addresses him.

“Rose was the former Chairman of the League in Galar. He almost destroyed the region trying to solve an energy crisis, and he was someone really important to Bede.”

“Ooohhh,” Hau says, his expression at first understanding before registering what that means of Hop’s insult. “Oh, ouch.”

“I know,” Hop repeats, hanging his head. Gloria pats him on the back, almost knocking him off kilter.

“Hey, chin up! At least the three of you won! And besides, Bede’s the one that threw the first punch. He shouldn’t dish out what he can’t take.”

“That’s true,” Calem nods, before briefly glancing at something on his wrist. “Oh, the announcement is soon. Should we make our way there?”

“Yeah! I wanna get a good spot to watch!” Hau says, taking off before anyone can say anything else. Gloria and Calem follow, and it seems that the rest of the trainers in the meadow are also heading in the same direction.

Hop takes a few steps before glancing over his shoulder. Although Bede has long since left, he can’t shake the feeling that this won’t be the last he sees of him.

Chapter Text

By the time their group makes it to the stage on which Lear will make his announcement, there’s already a large crowd waiting, one full of both PML participants and Pasio residents. Voices fill the air as people chat amongst themselves, theorizing what the prince may have to say and why he’s decided to make the announcement a public event in the first place. Calem picks up on this and questions the same, sparking a conversation amongst Hau and Gloria.

Unfortunately, Hop can’t bring himself to focus on the discussion at hand. His mind continues to replay his argument with Bede, as it's done since their battle concluded. During the Gym Challenge, he had trained himself to come up with quick and witty responses to the trainers he’d face, since casual smack talk is typical amongst competitors. It’s something he and Gloria did together, mostly as a joke, but sometimes legitimately. They’d go back and forth with the typical lines, teasing one another when they faltered in battle or if an attack didn’t come out as planned. It was always just playful banter, nothing more.

That’s rich coming from Rose’s former lapdog.

Just thinking about it makes him want to smack himself. Why in the world did he say that? It’d been the first thing to pop into his mind at Bede’s words, and before he could think twice about it, he’d already spat it out. The cruelty behind the comment didn’t register until it had already made itself known, the damage already done.

He feels awful, yet at the same time, a more cynical part of him rationalizes that this was a long time coming. Bede pushes peoples’ buttons, and it was only a matter of time until he pushed the wrong button on the wrong person. But he isn’t the wrong person! At least, he’s not supposed to be. He’s always taken Bede’s taunting calmly, albeit only in the moment. Afterwards he would sulk and self-deprecate to his heart’s content, just never in front of the other, and never to such a vitriolic degree. This is the first time he’s ever blown up over something the fairy type user has said. It doesn’t feel as good as he’d imagined it would.

“Hey, are you alright?”

Gloria’s soft tone (a stark contrast to the loud, boisterous voice he’s used to), as well as a hand placed gingerly on his shoulder startles Hop out of his thoughts. He turns his head, grateful to find Hau and Calem are still distracted with their chat while Gloria frowns at him. Instinctively, he smiles, quick to mask his discontent.

“Yeah, I’m doing alright! Why do you ask?”

“You haven’t said a word since we got here,” She points out, her frown not leaving. “Are you still mad at Bede?”

His smile falters now, eyes wandering away from Gloria to stare at the stage.

“I’m not mad at him.”

“That’s a load of crock if I’ve ever heard it.”

He huffs.

“Well, okay. I’m a bit mad at him. But more than anything, I’m mad at myself for having told him off the way I did.”

Gloria is quiet for a moment, causing him to look over. She doesn’t appear all that surprised by his answer, which makes him assume she probably already knew he was upset with himself. Figures. Having spent so much time together as kids, it’s no wonder they can read each other easily.

“If you feel bad about it, then why not apologize to him?” She suggests.

Hop folds his arms in thought. In truth, it’s not a bad idea. This is probably one of the few scenarios where he feels like an apology towards Bede is warranted, which is not something he ever expected to think anytime soon. However, he can only imagine what the other’s reaction would be if he tried to tell him he’s sorry.

“Would Bede even accept an apology from me?”

She shrugs.

“Whether he does or doesn’t is his choice. Either way, you’ll have let him know how you feel.”

He unfolds his arms now, putting his hands on his hips as he gives Gloria a cheeky grin.

“Since when did you know wisdom like that?”

She smiles in response, beaming with pride.

“I picked up quite a lot during our journey in Galar, y’know!”

“Heyyy, Lillie! Over here!”

Him and Gloria turn simultaneously to Hau, then to the approaching three figures. It’s the girls from before, Hop realizes, with Lillie jogging ahead when Hau calls her over.

“Oh good, we’re not late! I was worried the event has already begun,” Lillie laughs, out of breath.

“Seems we made it just in time,” The teal-haired girl comments.

“By the way, we saw you guys fighting back there with that other team. You were really good!” The last girl tells them, looking at Hop, Hau, and Calem. Calem seems taken aback by her appearance, holding the brim of his hat.

“Wait, you're Hilda, aren’t you?”

“Yup! And this is Kris,” She says, introducing the girl with pigtails. She smiles and gives a wave.

“Hi!”

“Hey,” Hop greets them, now in a far better mood than before. “It’s nice to meet you guys!”

Before anyone can exchange any more pleasantries, the crowd hushes, and Hop looks to the stage as Lear walks across it. The two from before are with him, the large man with the rings and the petite woman with long sleeves. Holograms light up on either side of the stage, providing a better view for those farther back of Lear as he takes his position.

“Greetings, trainers! It is I, your benevolent ruler, creator of Pasio and founder of the Pokémon Masters League, Lear.”

Lear snaps, giving pause for people to applaud. A good majority do once the two behind Lear start clapping, as if presenting a cue for the people to follow. Hau, Lillie, and Hilda are the only ones of their small group to give applause.

“I’ve gathered you all here today to address a growing concern amongst the populace. As some of you may already be aware, there is a pest problem here on Pasio. Their name?”

The holograms change now, displaying a sharp looking B that’s black on the top half and white on the bottom.

“Team Break!”

Murmurs erupt through the crowd, quelled only by Lear signaling that he shall continue his speech.

“These hoodlums have been going around challenging trainers and attempting to steal Pokémon in an effort to halt the PML tournament. No doubt they’re jealous of my accomplishments, and this is their way of releasing that frustration. Rest assured, I personally have gone above and beyond to squash Team Break when they appear! Rachel and Saywer have been aiding me in this endeavor.”

Rachel waves with both hands to the crowd, her sleeves flapping at the motion, while Sawyer simply gives a two fingered salute.

“Still, our efforts alone aren’t enough, so I came to give this warning: All trainers and tournament participants should avoid Team Break wherever possible! Team Break members often wear white and black eye masks, so that’s your sign to run. If you’re left with no choice but to fight, then you all have my express permission to beat them to a pulp and send them running!”

Some trainers cheer at this, others exchange hushed whispers. Lear raises his hand to silence them all.

“Now, I have other business to attend to. I will not be taking any questions.”

With that, the presentation is over, though that marks the beginning of some major discussion. The plaza erupts with chatter as people talk about what just happened, some even yelling after Lear and demanding he further explain himself. Even as Kris exclaims how she had no idea there was a team like that on the island and Hau says the same, Hop keeps his eyes on the empty stage. So Lear knew about Team Break this whole time? Why did he only announce their presence now? That seems like a major security oversight on his part.

“I just can’t believe there’s people out there who want to stop the PML,” He hears Lillie say, tuning back in to the conversation at hand.

“I could see one or two, but a whole group? There’s no way this is just jealousy,” Calem supplies, to which Gloria nods.

“Right? It’s odd, that’s what it is.”

Suddenly, it strikes Hop that he has something to add. He personally fought against Team Break last night, having heard all of this firsthand. Now would be a good time to speak up about it. He opens his mouth.

“I-“

“Hilda!”

His jaws click shut as everyone, including him, turns to whoever shouted. A girl with brown buns that lead into pigtails run up to them, a boy with brown hair in a blue cap keeping pace behind her. She all but crashes into Hilda, grabbing onto her arm.

“I knew you’d be here! It’s a good thing too, I was about to start yelling your name in case we didn’t find you!”

“Hi Rosa!” Hilda greets her, somehow unphased by the sudden onslaught. “Hilbert, too. Did you guys watch the announcement as well?”

The boy, Hilbert, nods. Rosa pulls back now, looking distraught.

“We did, but nevermind that! Something happened!”

“What?” Hilda asks, now looking serious. Hilbert answers.

“Nate just called us. Apparently N was attacked.”

Hop’s eyes widen. That was not what he expected to hear, and immediately, worry bubbles inside of him. He recalls what few words N had imparted on him that Hop could understand, as well as the battle they fought together. Did Team Break come back for their revenge?

“Attacked?!” Hilda gasps, only for her shock to transform into determination. “Is he alright? Where is he now?”

“He’s fine. The fight’s already over, from what I understand.”

Relief is written clear as day on her face, only for her eyebrows to furrow once more.

“I still want to go see him, just to make sure for myself.”

“What are we waiting for then?” Rosa points in a certain direction. “Let’s go!"

“Wait!”

The three Unovans turn, surprised, at Hop. Gloria too is looking at him funny, though he tries to pay no mind to that.

“Can I come with you guys?”

“Um… why? Wait, who are you?” Rosa asks, narrowing her eyes and putting her forefinger underneath her chin.

“I’m Hop, a trainer from Galar. I met N last night when he came and asked me about my teammates. I’m worried about him too, please let me come and check on him!”

Rosa still looks a bit suspicious, but Hilda and Hilbert exchange a glance before looking towards Hop with a smile.

“A friend of N’s is a friend of ours. We’ll all go together!” Hilda tells him.

Hop lights up, pleased that they trust him enough to let him join them. Perhaps now he can finally get some answers as to what N’s deal is and what’s going on with these Team Break people.

“Guess you’re heading off then, eh?” Gloria asks, reminding him to say goodbye. He gives her a nod.

“I’ll catch up with you whenever I’ve got a chance, yeah?”

“Alright then. Good luck you guys!”

The others give their goodbyes as well before the four of them leave, Rosa eagerly leading the way as they rush to the scene of the attack.

———

Reddish brown, sun-baked cliff faces stretch as far as the eye can see in the craggy valleys west of Centra City. Rosa had finally slowed down at some point during their trek there, realizing she was unable to run the whole way and having to lag behind in order to regain her stamina. Hilda and Hilbert lead the charge now, both silent as they walk along the dirt path. Hop wonders what the two of them are thinking about, given the information they received. He also wonders how they know N and how long they’ve known him for. It dawns on him now that he has no idea where N is from or what he does, nor who he knows. Soon enough he spots a group of people standing a distance away by a cave opening, and the two in front break into a run.

“N!”

Sure enough, the green haired trainer is amongst the four others standing there, a welcome smile spreading across his face.

“Hilda, Hilbert. I knew you both would come, but I didn’t think you’d be here so soon.”

“Of course! The moment I heard you were in trouble, we made our way here.”

“That’s right. Thanks for letting us know, Nate,” Hilbert says to a shorter boy with messy brown hair and a visor. He nods, bobbing a little on his heels when he does so.

“It’s no problem! Hey Rosa!— Hm?”

Nate’s gaze falls from the aforementioned girl to Hop, seemingly confused by his presence. N’s eyes follow him, his eyebrows raising in astonishment.

“Hop? What are you doing here?”

“I came to see how you were, since I’d heard you’d gotten attacked,” Hop explains simply. He would’ve followed up with a question, namely who attacked N and why, but someone else beats him to the punch.

“You just pop up whenever I least expect it, don’t you?”

Bewildered by the sudden accusation, Hop now realizes that there is a pair standing behind N and Nate. The two walk forward, one of them being a man with tufts of red and orange hair that he recognizes as the former Champion of Unova, Alder. The other is who had spoken, a boy with red hair whom he immediately recognizes.

“You’re that bloke from the beach!” He points out, to which Silver rolls his eyes.

“Really? That’s what you have to say?”

“Ah, so you two know each other already? I can’t say I was expecting that, but now that I know, it makes perfect sense,” N comments. Rosa, having joined the small half circle that’s formed around N with the other Unovan trainers, waves her fists in an impatient manner.

“So, what happened? You guys aren’t hurt, are you?!”

“We’re safe and sound,” Alder says with a small chuckle, to which N nods. However, his smile drops.

“Yes… as for what happened, I had gotten careless, that’s what. Even despite what I knew and what I was told, I still chose to meet with Ghetsis.”

Nearly everyone there has a reaction to the name, Hop included. N was attacked by Ghetsis? But hadn’t he been the one who told Hop not to speak to him after they met last night? Furthermore, why would he want to be anywhere near that guy in the first place? If Hop had the choice, he would’ve never met the Team Plasma leader, that he can say with certainty.

“It’s not your fault that you wanted to give him a second chance,” Nate tells N, his voice firm with conviction. “Whether he deserved it or not is a different story, but you’re not to blame for wanting to rekindle your relationship with him! And you’re definitely not to blame for him taking advantage of that desire!”

“Nate…” N breathes, clearly moved by his words. Hilda nods, adding onto his speech.

“That’s right. We’ll be here to back you up every step of the way, through thick and thin!”

“Yup! You can count on us!” Rosa cheers. N smiles now, his eyes creasing slightly as he looks at his friends.

“Thank you. All of you. It means the world to me.”

“By the way…” Hilbert interjects, “Where is Ghetsis now? Should we be worried about him?”

“He was in that cave when we defeated him and left,” Alder tells them, drawing all eyes to the cave entrance. “It’s possible he could still be in there, but I suspect he might’ve found another way out.”

“I doubt he’s going to be showing his face again, especially now that there’s so many of us here.”

Nate’s assertion is taken as fact, the Unovans returning to the topic of what transpired. Hop doesn’t catch much outside of N telling them that Ghetsis had tried to steal Zekrom, his attention fully set on the cave. It’s dark inside, as well as a bit damp, which he can tell from the reflections of puddles he spots inside. He suspects the reason he can see those reflections at all is thanks to the luminous mosses and mushrooms scattered about the floors and walls of the cave.

Without thinking, he walks towards it, planting a hand on the mouth of the cave as he stares inside. Even with his eyes now adjusting to the light, he doesn’t see anything noteworthy. Only a tunnel of naturally carved stone leading into an unknown abyss. He should step back now and rejoin the others, but he falters. Should he venture in deeper and look for his teammate? If he does, he isn’t sure what he’d have to say, though some small part of him feels he should scold him out of a sense of responsibility.

His foot falls back a bit, trailing against the dirt, and at the same exact time someone grabs his wrist. He recoils in shock, but his arm is not freed, the masked figure’s grip remaining strong.

“Lord Ghetsis requests your audience.”

“What?!”

That’s all he manages to get out before, with their other hand, the Shadow Triad member lobs a pellet at the ground that explodes into white smoke. Hop hears someone shout his name as gravity disappears underneath him and he feels himself being half hoisted, half dragged off somewhere else. In a dizzying blur of speed, he’s suddenly been transported, followed by being unceremoniously dumped onto the ground. He coughs as he tries to regain his bearings, the last remnants of the smoke bomb tickling his throat. He rubs his eyes, unsure of when he closed them.

Pushing himself up, he blinks rapidly, then feels himself grow tense.

Staring down at him with a glimmer of rage in his red eye, Hop is at last reunited with his missing teammate.

Chapter Text

Getting to his feet, Hop takes note of his surroundings. This portion of the cave is somehow not any darker than the front part, likely due to the small cracks of sunlight seeping in, as well as the now abundant sources of bioluminescent plant life. Movement in the background alerts him to the fact that they’re not the only ones here, some people in uniforms recalling their Pokémon and exiting through a tunnel opposite of the one Hop had come from. The Shadow Triad member that had forcefully brought him appears behind Ghetsis in a blink, now standing between the other two that form a protective half-circle around their leader. This leads him to the Donphan in the room he’s yet to address.

“Ghetsis,” Hop greets him, so much as a single terse name can be considered a greeting.

“Hop,” Ghetsis spits back. He’s clearly in a worse mood than usual, which Hop would find himself impressed by if he weren’t so fearful of drawing his ire. Though, if the fact he’s used his name for the first time since they’ve met is any indication, it may already be too late for that.

“What are you doing here?” He asks when Hop fails to respond in time.

“I should be asking you that. What are you doing here?”

“That’s none of your business,” The team leader answers unhelpfully. Hop puts his hands on his hips.

“I think it is, especially if you’re going around trying to steal peoples’ Pokémon!”

Ghetsis glances behind him, likely checking on the progress his grunts (or so Hop assumes the to be) as they file out of the cave. Hop looks too, following his gaze. The last of the knocked out Pokémon have been recalled, which he takes as a sign that their attack had not gone as planned.

“What does it matter to you? It’s not as if you know them.”

“I don’t need to know who anyone is so long as you’re out here causing trouble. It’s not right!”

One red eye narrows at him, pinning him in place.

“If you don’t know them then why are you here?”

Hop opens his mouth, only to shut it again. He can’t answer truthfully, not after N had specifically instructed him to keep their meeting a secret. The longer he takes to reply, though, the more suspicious he looks. He has to throw something out and hope it works.

“W-Well, I’d overheard those blokes talking about how you’d attacked someone, so I asked to tag along.”

At first, his answer garners no reaction, Ghetsis staring at him with the same scowl he’s had on the entire time. For a moment, Hop thinks maybe his eyebrow twitched, though it’s impossible to say for certain. Then, he moves. Hop takes a step back, but that distance is easily cleared thanks to the green-haired man’s longer legs and more imposing stature. Speaking of, it’s only a matter of seconds until the other is towering over him.

Without warning, Ghetsis grabs the fur of his jacket and yanks, pulling him upwards. He yelps, grabbing onto the man’s wrist and trying to push him away to no avail. The Plasma leader easily overpowers him. He has to stand on the tips of his toes, now that he's being semi-lifted off the ground.

“What are you doing?! Let go!” He cries, panic surging through him. He hopes briefly that someone will do something. Nobody moves. The Shadow Triad stare passively, and the last remaining grunts have stopped at the exit tunnel, watching the display.

“Don’t think I can’t see through your lies,” Ghetsis growls, and Hop’s eyes snap open wide at this. The hand holding him shakes him, all while Ghetsis raises his voice. “Answer truthfully! How do you know those nuisances? What did you tell them?!”

“Does it really matter?”

“What?” Ghetsis asks, baffled.

Hop never imagined he would see a day where hearing Giovanni’s voice brought him relief, but it seems that day has come. Ghetsis stops shaking him (though as he finds with another tug, he’s not letting go), looking over his shoulder at the approaching figure. Giovanni enters through the escape tunnel, the Team Plasma grunts making way as he does so. It’s obvious as to why when Hop spots Mewtwo floating just behind him, the psychic type glaring at the grunts like it’s daring them to try something. The Shadow Triad all take out a Pokéball, but that does not phase the Team Rocket leader in the slightest as he draws near. He stops just short of them, scuffing his foot against the ground as he cocks his head.

“You heard me. Whether he spoke to them or not, does it matter?”

“Of course it does!” Ghetsis roars in response, his voice hoarse with rage. “He could have warned them! It’s no wonder they were so cautious, he—“

“Even if he did, it’s obvious you lacked the ability to overpower them in the first place. Otherwise, you’d already have Zekrom by now,” Giovanni snipes back coolly. Ghetsis physically recoils, which jostles Hop as he struggles to keep his feet on the ground.

“You… How dare you taunt me? And after you refused to cooperate in the first place,” He replies in a dark tone, venom dripping from every word. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you set me up.”

Giovanni chuckles, shaking his head as if Ghetsis told a joke.

“The only reason I backed out was because I knew this operation of yours was doomed the moment the PML began.”

Although his heart is still beating in his chest like a Rillaboom on its drums, Hop feels he’s at least calmed down enough now to put some pieces together. What he’s hearing now answers some questions, while raising others.

“You— You knew about this?”

Ghetsis turns back to him, angered that he had the audacity to speak, but Giovanni answers regardless.

“I did. I was going to assist in capturing Zekrom… That is until the tournament began and I had a shift in plans. I would’ve assumed you’d be the same,” Giovanni says, eyes locked onto Ghetsis as the other meets his gaze, “But clearly one of us has forgotten how to play nice.”

For a moment, everything is still. Hop gulps as he listens for a response from Ghetsis, but none comes. He can only imagine the look of pure vitriol he’s giving Giovanni as the other states back at him, unfazed. It isn’t until after almost a minute passes that someone says something, and it happens to be one of the Shadow Triad, who all turn in sync to the tunnel opposite of Giovanni.

“We have visitors.”

All eyes go to the tunnel as the sound of footsteps against stone come into range. From the darkness, two people emerge. N and Silver enter, Silver moving briskly while N follows casually. Both stop to take stock of the scene in front of them, with Silver’s eyes hardening when he notices Ghetsis’ grip on Hop.

“Let go of him!”

Hop half expects Ghetsis to sic the Shadow Triad on the red-haired boy for trying to tell him what to do, but to his surprise, he doesn’t. He does the opposite, in fact, releasing Hop without a word and allowing him to stumble. He manages to remain upright despite the sudden drop, thankfully, and immediately puts space between them by taking a few steps back.

Ghetsis glances at him, then returns to glowering at the two new interlopers.

“You all just don’t know when to quit, do you?”

N shuts his eyes briefly before giving Ghetsis a look of conviction.

“It’s you who doesn’t know when to quit, father. Today was proof of that.”

Hop blinks. Did he just hear that right? He wants to say something, perhaps ask if what N just said is true, but a stomp of Ghetsis’ staff on the ground stops him. The man has a crazed, furious smile on his face.

“Silence! I am no father, and you are certainly no son of mine! You’d do well to remember that.”

Apparently done with the conversation at hand, Ghetsis waves arm, his cloak fluttering with the motion. The Shadow Triad take this as some sort of signal, falling back and disappearing from view, likely into the tunnel the grunts exited through. Ghetsis moves to follow, although he pauses briefly when he comes side to side with Giovanni, the two exchanging a heated look before the other leaves. Hop immediately feels as though a weight has been taken off of his shoulders now that he’s gone, although that feeling doesn’t last long when he hears Silver speak up.

“Well? Are you going to denounce me as your son as well?”

He whips his head to him, aghast, then to Giovanni. The man only smirks.

“You’d like that, wouldn’t you? No, you are my flesh and blood, that I’m sure of.”

For some reason, this seems to frustrate Silver, who balls one of his hands into a fist. He looks like he has something else he wants to say, but Giovanni turns, not having it. Mewtwo trails after him, though he pauses just at the mouth of the tunnel to look back at Hop.

“Consider this a lesson not to stick your nose where it doesn’t belong.”

Frustration flares up in him like a fire that’s been stoked, only to reel back when he recalls Giovanni’s earlier actions. If it hadn’t been for him stepping in, there’s no telling what Ghetsis would’ve done in his fit of rage. He straightens his shoulders as he glares at the other defiantly.

“That’d be easier to do if you lot weren’t lurking about everywhere I go.”

It’s almost freaky, watching the way Giovanni’s face lights up with genuine, twisted amusement. He throws his head back and laughs, the sound echoing through the cave as he finally heads into the tunnel and leaves. The last thing Hop sees of the man is his Mewtwo’s tail waving nonchalantly before slipping into the tunnel after its trainer.

There’s a moment of silence that follows before anyone makes a noise. Silver clicks his tongue.

“Fathers,” He says, his tone both exasperated and salty. “They really are good for nothing.”

“I’m afraid so,” N agrees, lowering the brim of his hat over his eyes before looking at Hop. “Are you alright? They didn’t hurt you, did they?”

He approaches them now, having felt out of place standing a distance away. Once he’s standing in front of them, he shakes his head.

“No, they didn’t. And I’m fine. Did you two come all this way to find me?”

Silver nods.

“Us and everyone else, actually. We had to split up, though, since there were so many paths and we didn’t know where you were taken.”

“Really? You guys didn’t have to do that. I’m sure I would have been fine.”

Granted, he can see how things might’ve looked bad there for a second, what with Ghetsis holding him up and Giovanni with his Mewtwo out. However, Hop wholeheartedly believes neither of them were going to do anything. They’re all a part of the same sync team, after all. Battling together, living together, working together— That all would become exponentially harder to do if they were to be at odds with one another.

N doesn’t look the least bit convinced. If anything, he seems to reject the idea, addressing Hop sternly.

“Don’t be so sure of that. Ghetsis is an unpredictable man. He has no qualms with hurting those close to him, since he knows he can get away with it.”

Hop licks the roof of his mouth, his tongue feeling dry. N’s statement was made with such certainty, such heat behind it that he has to assume he’s speaking from experience. To what extent his words mean, though… It’s not clear. He can’t imagine what it must’ve been like for N— nor Silver, for that matter— to be raised by those maniacs. Did they even bother to raise them? Ghetsis and Giovanni don’t exactly strike him as the “fatherly” types. Though, he’s had some strange moments with them, interactions like Giovanni preventing him from burning his tongue or Ghetsis lending his cloak as a blanket that Hop can’t help but wonder.

“N, Silver!”

Hilbert and Rosa come rushing in, the former arriving with a Pokéball in hand, in case things were awry. They aren’t, though, and the two figure this out quickly when they spot Hop standing with the two.

“Oh, good! You already found him!” Rosa says, taking a breath in between as she tries to regain her stamina.

“Where’s Ghetsis?” Hilbert asks, to which Silver answers.

“He left. Giovanni did, too.”

“Giovanni?!” Rosa gawks, before looking confused. “Why was he here?”

“Do you want to tell them, or should I?” The red-haired boy looks to Hop, who suddenly feels very put on the spot. Thankfully, Hilbert interrupts them.

“Whatever the reason, it can wait. We should regroup with the others first, so they know we’re alright.”

There are no complaints there, so the five of them head back the way Hilbert and Rosa had come. Finally, after what feels like an eternity (yet also no time at all), Hop feels the cool outside air once more. The sun is starting to set by now, the sky a deep orange hue that makes the clay cliffs appear brown. Alder, Hilda, and Nate are all there when they emerge from the cave. The ex-Champion looks notably relieved, smiling at the group.

“It looks like everybody’s in one piece.”

“Yup! No losses here!” Rosa chirps. Hilda nods, then faces Hop.

“So, what was that about? Why did the Shadow Triad go after you?”

“And you said Giovanni was there as well. Why’s that?” Hilbert adds. Nate looks at him in astonishment.

“Giovanni? Like, the leader of Team Rocket Giovanni?!”

“That’s what I thought!” Rosa exclaims.

A loud sound prevents any further comment. Alder lowers his fist from where he had it over his mouth, having faked clearing his throat to get their attention.

“If you want to know, you should let him answer,” He tells them, then looks to Hop, who feels embarrassed on behalf of all four of them. “Go on.”

“Ah, thanks! Yeah, it’s that Giovanni. He was there because apparently he had originally been planning to help Ghetsis steal N’s Pokémon, but then he backed out at some point. I suppose he’d come to gloat about how he was right to not help.”

“Sort of deserved, if you ask me,” Silver mutters. Hop sighs.

“Deserved or no, I’d rather he not stir the pot any further. It’s hard enough already to keep them civil!”

“Keep them civil?” Hilbert asks with a raised eyebrow.

He supposes there’s no more avoiding it.

“Ghetsis, Giovanni and I… we’re all in a sync team together.”

There’s a second in between the words leaving his mouth and hanging in the air before Rosa’s shrill voice breaks the silence.

“WHAT?! They’re your teammates!? That’s so unlucky!”

“I can’t believe they’re even allowed to participate. What is Lear thinking?” Hilda huffs with her arms crossed.

“It’s unfortunate, but he has no sympathy whatsoever for the matter,” Alder says. Briefly, Hop is reminded of the fact that he had learned from Gloria that all of the Champions had gone to complain about the rules to Lear. When she had said it, his mind immediately went to Leon, but it’s only now he realizes that means all of the other Champions are also aware of this now.

“That’s… that’s terrible!” Nate cries, clearly outraged by what he’s learned. His fists tremble as he puts one in front of his chest, his stance assertive. “Doesn’t he know what Ghetsis has done to people? All of the pain and damage he’s caused?! How can he just let him act freely and battle like he’s a normal trainer?”

“I mean, he did change one of the rules so that dangerous teammates can be replaced if the person agrees to leave, but neither Ghetsis nor Giovanni wanted to do that… So it was sort of useless,” Hop explains, rubbing the back of his neck.

Hearing this does seem to placate Nate, thankfully, though not for very long. His determination returns to him twofold, the boy setting his hands on his hips as he addresses Hop.

“In that case, from now on, if either of them give you trouble, you can ask me to come over! You have to share an apartment with them just like all the other teams, right?”

Hop blinks. The fact that Nate is offering to protect him takes a second or two to take in. Once it does, however, he feels conflicted. It’s nice knowing that someone he just met cares enough to go out of his way to help him, but at the same time, he doesn’t want to have to rely on him. Besides, he just remembered a key detail of his living arrangement with the two evil leaders.

“I appreciate the offer, but we’ve sort of got a deal going on that no outsiders are allowed into the flat without permission from all three of us.”

“What???” Rosa blurts out, bewildered. “Why the heck would you agree to a deal like that?”

“Because, I didn’t want them bringing their cronies into the flat whenever! Plus, Ghetsis has got those freaky ninjas tailing him everywhere, which neither me nor Giovanni wanted to deal with.”

N hums, rubbing his chin.

“That was a wise move on your part. The Shadow Triad are not to be trifled with. The last thing you’d want is for them to have access to somewhere they shouldn’t be.”

Hearing N condone this seems to stop Nate before he can complain, his posture dropping. However, he’s not down for the count yet.

“Well… How about I walk you back to your apartment then? That’s the least I could do.”

“Finally, a good suggestion,” Silver comments. “It’s about time we all get going.”

Something tells Hop that, regardless of how he may feel about taking advantage of Nate’s kindness, the other won’t take no for an answer. So, the boy tags along as they begin to go their separate ways. Alder, N, and Silver all head in different directions, while he and the rest walked to the residential building for the tournament participants. He has to admit, it’s amusing listening to them chat, with Rosa going back and forth between Hilda and Hilbert about what happened today and how shocking it’s all been.

Once they arrive at their destination, the three wave goodbye and head to their own rooms, while Nate continues to follow him. Finally, they reach the door with the number 13 next to it. Hop readjusts the sling on his shoulder before facing Nate.

“This is it. I appreciate you coming all this way.”

“Of course! We were all going to the same place anyways,” He tells him with a bright smile. However, his enthusiasm quickly evaporates as he glances at the door. Hop knows what he’s thinking, the anxiety written all over his face, so he gives him a smile of his own.

“Hey, don’t worry about me, alright? I’ve handled those two well enough so far, and I’ve got my buddy Zamazenta to protect me.”

Nate brightens up once more, and wow, with an expression like that, he could probably light up an entire room. He nods enthusiastically.

“Right! I’m sure your Pokémon will take care of you. If you ever need backup, though, my apartment is number 23! Feel free to swing by anytime!”

“Will do, mate!”

The Unovan gives the door one final quick glance before he parts ways with Hop. It isn’t until he’s completely out of view that he takes out his Poryphone and holds it to the scanner. The door unlocks with a click, and with a small grunt, he pulls it open and heads inside.

Chapter Text

As dusk swiftly eats what little time is left in the day, a lone figure walks along a cobblestone path. Bede pulls back his sleeve and checks his golden watch once more, the third time he’s done so since he began to walk. Only a few minutes have passed, a fact which makes him scowl as he sets his gaze back on the scenery around him. It’s quite boring, being nothing more than trees and lamp posts and benches lining the path as he wanders the outskirts of Centra City.

He should head back to the apartments. He should have hours ago, really, but instead he found himself following the wind towards nothing. Even now, he still does, his mind traveling back to the events of the day.

The event is crowded. A veritable sea of people had poured their way into the plaza before he arrived and now serve as a flood Bede doesn’t dare trek through. He simply lurks on the edges of it, leaning against a pole as someone next to him attempts to stand on the tips of their toes in order to see the stage.

He almost rolls his eyes at the display. Almost.

He hadn’t been interested in what the prince had to announce whatsoever. Rather, after ditching Ethan and Hugh, he felt he was in dire need of a distraction. Something to keep his brain occupied, while also providing him some cover in case either one of them came looking for him. For that purpose, Lear’s announcement was perfect.

It also served another purpose, but he didn’t know it at first.

Team Break is probably the stupidest name he’s heard for a group of baddies since Team Yell, and those oafs were nothing short of a joke. It was truly laughable how little they accomplished, not to mention how easy they were to steamroll over– and that was even before Bede started using primarily Fairy types, instead still using Psychic types against their Dark type Pokémon.

Again, laughable.

But hearing about Team Break sets his thoughts back to the one thing he’s been trying to forget. Hop. He grinds his teeth together as he recalls their exchange, recalls how the other had belittled him. Who was he to bring up Rose when he was the one working with the leaders of two notorious teams?! It made his blood boil unlike anything else.

His eyes go to his watch again. Barely five minutes have passed. He can’t stand it. He wishes this path would end, that he’d somehow end up at the apartment building despite him not making his way towards it.

Attending that event had been a mistake, but he would rather walk aimlessly for another hour than admit that.

“Team Break… I had no idea!”

“Where do you think they’ll appear next?”

“I hope I don’t run into them!”

Idiots, all of them , Bede thinks as he listens to the crowd. Why would Team Break go after weak civilians and their comparatively weak Pokémon when they’re targeting the tournament specifically? He’s astounded by just how hard it is for some people to use their ears in conjunction with their brains.

“They’re not the only ones,” A young trainer says, “I heard there are other teams on the island from all sorts of regions!”

“Really? That’s scary!”

“I don’t believe it. Why haven’t we seen them yet?”

Bede turns his head to the trio talking. Immediately, an idea strikes him. His lips stretch into an sly grin as he pushes himself off of the lamp pole, sauntering towards the impressionable young folks.

Finally, he stops. He can’t take it anymore. Why is he even doing this?! This is boring, it’s pointless, and it’s not even doing anything to make him less restless. He still feels just as antsy, all while being tired at the same time.

Bede sighs as the words he spoke then swim amongst his irritated thoughts.

He wanted to get back at Hop. That’s why he told those random people that he’d encountered Team Rocket and Team Plasma. That’s why he mentioned how someone he knew was in a sync team with them for the tournament. That’s why he lied , saying he’d overheard that same person swear to join their evil organizations.

“I couldn’t believe my ears, but in hindsight, it makes sense. He’d been bitter ever since he lost against his rival in the semifinals of the Champion Cup. He’s a complete sellout, all he wants is fast and easy strength. It’s pathetic.”

It hits him. Is this guilt? Is that why he’s doing this to himself, why he keeps torturing himself with the same scene over and over again? He frowns. 

Why should he feel guilty? This is what Hop deserves. A little rumor isn’t going to kill him. Besides, it might not be a rumor forever. Maybe he will join Team Plasma or Team Rocket. He’s not above that kind of thing. No one is when they have something they really want. And even if he doesn’t, he’s still despicable for helping them further whatever goal they have in the tournament. These are his just deserts.

This is what Bede tells himself until he finally feels satisfied. He takes a step forward now, beginning the journey back to his apartment.

“He shouldn’t have mentioned Rose in the first place,” He states out loud to no one.

Chapter Text

Hop wonders idly, as he pokes the over-easy egg on his plate and pushes it around with his fork, if this is what having bad parents is like. He has no good frame of reference himself, having never met his father, instead living in a home with a caring mother and grandparents. Gloria and Victor have a kind mother as well, and Hop hasn’t spoken well enough to Bede or Marnie to know what their homelife is like, outside of knowing Bede lived in an orphanage before being taken in by Rose.

All that to say, he wonders if breakfast was ever as uncomfortable for him as it is for Hop right now. He peels his eyes off of the food in front of him– eggs and sausage, neither of which have any right tasting as good as they do– and looks up at the person sitting across from him: Ghetsis. He’s made about as much progress through his meal as Hop has, which is to say not much. One of the sausages has been bitten into, and both eggs have had their yolks torn so that the runny, yellow liquid can flow onto his plate.

Turning his head a little to the right, Hop looks instead at Giovanni, who sits next to him. The man is wiping his mouth with a napkin, both of his utensils down and his plate clear. He seems completely unaffected by the awkward atmosphere floating in the air, though Hop can’t tell if it’s because he doesn’t care or because he hasn’t noticed.

He gets his answer soon enough when said man looks between the both of them.

“Why aren’t either of you eating? I’d expect this sort of childish behavior from the brat–”

“Hey!” Hop sits up now, offended, but Giovanni continues.

“But from you? This is ridiculous.”

“If you wanted ridiculous,” Ghetsis quickly hisses back, “You should have heard yourself yesterday.”

“You’re still on about that? How sad.”

“I’ll make you pay for that, mark my words.”

“The only one who ought to pay is you! After all, you were the one trying to steal N’s Pokémon,” Hop asserts. He knew the comment would get him a mean look, but what he isn’t ready for is the pure hatred in Ghetsis’ eyes at the mention of N.

“I am Zekrom’s rightful owner! If it hadn’t been for me, that blasted beast would still be an inanimate hunk of rock! I’m the one with the tools to unite the three dragons!”

During this tirade, Ghetsis gets to his feet and slams his hands twice against the table. The first time, all that happens is the silverware clattering, but the second time jostles his plate, causing a blob of yolk to spill onto his cloak. He grits his teeth and wrinkles his nose up at this, seething with rage. 

Without thinking, Hop grabs his napkin and hands it to his volatile roommate. Ghetsis’ eye(s? maybe?) snaps to his hand, rage still written all over his face, before it seemingly disappears into thin air. With nothing but a sour frown, he snatches the napkin from him and wipes it against his cloak, taking his seat once more as he does so.

“You’d make a better actor than you would a leader, given your theatrics,” Giovanni tells him with no small amount of smugness. Ghetsis simply scoffs at him.

“You’ve had your fair share of failures too, that I’m aware of.”

“That was far more than a failure. It was a demonstration of your lack of commitment to the real mission.”

“What mission?” Ghetsis asks, bewildered. For once, Hop is able to immediately pick up on the unspoken statement at hand.

“Our mission to win the tournament!” He announces, before looking to Giovanni for confirmation. “Right?”

Sure enough, the man nods.

“That’s right. You running off and chasing ghosts of the past does nothing to get us any closer to victory.”

At this, Ghetsis seethes, attempting to defend himself.

“If I had Zekrom, I’d be able to fuse it with Kyurem to make an unstoppable partner!”

“Then what? What would you have done when its owner came back for it?” Giovanni challenges him, though Hop feels he’s not making the right point, so he adds on.

“Besides, isn’t Kyurem your registered sync pair partner? The rules state we aren’t allowed to switch Pokémon without permission from the tournament organizers.”

“What?!”

Giovanni looks unamused.

“You still haven’t looked at the rules, have you? Are you trying to get us disqualified?”

Ghetsis growls now, gripping his fork tightly in his hand.

“This entire ‘plan’ of yours is unbearable. Why should I care about the exposure one measly tournament brings when I could collect the Pokémon of the strongest trainers in the world?”

All Ghetsis earns for his question is a wave of Giovanni’s hand.

“You’ll have plenty of time to do that later. It’s not like the trainers will all leave at once even after the tournament is done. However, how often does an event like this occur, let alone one where men such as ourselves are allowed to take part?”

“Besides, you shouldn’t be stealing people’s Pokémon in the first place. It’s wrong!”

Hop is given a bored look from both of them for this comment, to which he pouts. It’s times like these where he wishes that sync teams consisted of four people rather than three. Maybe then he’d have someone else in his corner to back him up.

Or maybe, with his luck, he’d have three evil team leaders to deal with rather than just two. He doesn’t like that idea one bit.

“Regardless, you ought to behave yourself,” Giovanni continues to scold Ghetsis. “Especially now. We’ve still yet to meet the cutoff for battles fought this week.”

For a moment, Hop isn’t sure what Giovanni means by that. Then he remembers the rules Lear had put out about official battles and the various rankings of teams. His spine goes straight as he plants his hand on the table.

“Wait, you’re right! We’ve only got three more days left, but we’ve only done one battle!”

Ghetsis frowns at this.

“Did defeating that puny Gym Leader not count as one?”

“Of course not. Gym badges are only half of the requirement to make the finals,” Giovanni reminds him.

At this, Hop stands up from his chair and rounds the corner to head down the hall.

“Well then, what are we waiting for? Let’s get out there and start battling some teams!”

“After you finish your food,” Giovanni calls after him, and Hop turns around with a groan.

“You’re not the boss of me. I can skip breakfast if I want to.”

“So you can complain later about how hungry you are? I won’t stand for that.”

“You’ll have to stand for it  whether you want to or not,” Hop retorts before escaping to his room. He knows that it probably would be better to sit down and eat, but he doesn’t want to give Giovanni the belief that he can order him around however he wants. Besides, he wants to get going as quickly as possible and enjoy a nice day of Pokémon battles.

He grabs his bag and fastens it around his chest, puts on his jacket, and takes Zamazenta’s Pokéball before heading back to the common area of the apartment. His teammates are already there waiting for him when he comes out, Ghetsis having gotten his staff and Giovanni putting the leftover food away. With everyone ready, they exit the room.

———

In hindsight, Hop thinks he prefers lurking the alleyways of Centra City. At least that way he remains hidden and out of sight, with no bystanders to point out the two literal criminals he’s forced to spend time with. Now, though? As he, Ghetsis, and Giovanni walk the streets openly, he can feel peoples’ eyes on them. Perhaps it’s just due to paranoia that he gets this feeling, but the fact that he’s caught a few people staring at them once or twice seems like proof enough.

The three of them find a small group of trainers battling. Hop’s noticed that gatherings like these, both big and small, have been popping up all over Centra City ever since the tournament began. It makes sense, given the nature of the event. Trainers are intended to meet up and battle as often as possible in an attempt to either meet the deadline or better their rank by collecting wins. Not only that, but Pasio is also full of regular trainers who simply want to join in on the fun. It warms Hop’s heart to see it, knowing that this place is essentially a trainer’s paradise.

That warm feeling immediately dissipates when Ghetsis steps forwards and addresses the group.

“Which amongst you are participating in the PML?” He asks, though his tone of voice and volume make it sound more like a demand.

The shift in attitude is immediate. Where the trainers had once been chatting amongst themselves and watching the ongoing battles, they now eye Ghetsis warily and murmur to one another. A few people even take a couple of steps back.

Ghetsis narrows his eyes at this, his nose wrinkling with contempt.

“Your cowardice won’t save you.”

A few people grab their Pokéballs at this, and Hop decides he can’t watch anymore. He taps Ghetsis twice on the back of his arm. The man looks back at him with disdain, though whether it’s towards him or the group, he isn’t entirely sure.

“Mate, you’re scaring ‘em.”

“They should be scared.”

“We won’t be getting any responses anytime soon if you keep acting like an enraged Rhydon,” Giovanni points out. Ghetsis shrugs him off, turning to face them now.

“I’d like to see you do better, Rocket.”

The corners of Giovanni’s lips tick towards at this, though Hop cannot fathom why. He seems to take great pride in his organization (despite how reprehensible it is), so shouldn’t he be glad to be called something akin to his team?

“Just watch,” The man replies, leading them away from the frightened trainers. Hop and Ghetsis follow, though Hop does spare a glance back at the group, noting their relief at their departure.

They find a different trio of trainers after a bit more walking, though whether they’re a sync team or not, Hop isn’t sure. One of them in particular is a man with spiked black hair and a white and black kimono. His overall color scheme reminds him of Team Break, but as Giovanni approaches and the man turns, he doesn’t have any sort of mask on his face. Only sunken eyes with bags under them.

“... Yes? Can I help you?” The tired looking man speaks first. Although he doesn’t seem scared, it’s obvious from his tone of voice and the way his eyes narrow that he is weary of Giovanni. This doesn’t deter him.

“We’re looking for an official battle. Care to test your strength?”

The man smiles, not looking the least bit happy or genuine.

“We’ll pass. Thank you for your offer.”

The three trainers waste no time in turning their backs and getting far away enough that they don’t have to deal with Giovanni anymore. He scowls and returns to Hop and Ghetsis, the latter of whom looks smug.

“You sure showed me.”

Giovanni shrugs like it doesn’t bother him, but a twitch of his eyebrows (or lack thereof) say otherwise.

“I am known across the globe. I understand if that level of infamy intimidates you.”

Hop frowns, sick of hearing these two try and one up each other. He’s also sick of them having gotten absolutely nowhere in finding a battle. So, he speaks up.

“Look, why don’t you guys just leave the talking to me?”

To this, Hop is met with no complaints, a rare occurrence for this team.

“If it gets us an opponent, then fine,” Ghetsis grumbles. Giovanni simply nods in agreement.

“Alright! Give me one minute then.”

Hop takes a look around himself before spotting a young man and a young woman, both with full Pokéball holsters on their belts. He walks up to the two of them, catching their attention with a small wave.

“Ello there! Are you two a part of the PML?”

The woman smiles and responds.

“Sorry, no. Are you looking for trainers to fight?”

“Yeah, my team and I have… sort of had some trouble with it, heh.”

At this, the man glances past Hop to the two team leaders standing and watching the interaction. His eyes widen.

“You’re working with those two?”

The woman seems confused for a moment before also noticing Ghetsis and Giovanni. Hop rubs the back of his head.

“Well, I haven’t really got a choice… It’s a part of the tournament rules.”

To his surprise, the woman shakes her head, now looking cross.

“That’s no excuse. You should be ashamed of yourself!”

Hop pauses, completely taken aback. Where did that sudden 180 in her attitude come from?

“What? I’m not actually working with them, we’re just on the same team is all.”

“Right,” The man responds, sounding disbelieving. “The same team. Well, we’re not a sync team, so we can’t help you. C’mon.”

He ushers his partner to follow, and with that, the two leave. Hop stands there for a moment before returning to his teammates, trying to process what just happened.

“They seemed hostile,” Giovanni notes, hands in his pockets and expression serious.

“Hostile isn’t the half of it… They were acting like I was a part of an evil team myself!”

Ghetsis rubs a finger against his chin.

“People are dim witted, social creatures. It’s possible that there’s been misinformation going around about our affiliation with one another.”

“What? How? We’ve barely been around other people!” Hop points out, terrified of the implication that most of Pasio now believes him to be working with criminals.

“There were those three pests from before that had demanded a battle of us.”

Hop’s eyebrows raise at the realization of who Giovanni is referring to.

“You mean Barry?”

“Of course. A moron like him is sure to have blabbered,” Ghetsis agrees. However, Hop can’t believe it. From what Dawn had told him about Barry, and from what he learned about him during their battle, he doesn’t seem like the type to spread such malicious lies. Nor did his teammates, either. Still, who else could’ve caused this besides them? It stresses him out wondering about the possibilities.

Hop’s so lost in thought that he doesn’t notice Giovanni looking behind him at something. It isn’t until he hears a feminine voice that he realizes someone has approached the three of them.

“Hello there.”

He turns, surprised to find a woman with incredibly long, blonde hair. It’s so long that it goes past her hips, covering her person in a way that reminds Hop of a Snorunt and its cloak. She has on a white dress with a black and green gemstone on the chest, as well as white and black leggings that lead into heels of the same color and pattern. Her bangs cover half of one eye, the other revealing a sharp green peering at them. Between her ethereal appearance and impossible hair, he almost feels like he’s staring at a fashion mannequin.

“What a surprise,” Giovanni says, now wearing a curious smile. “I wasn’t expecting to meet the president of the Aether Foundation so soon.”

The woman holds her elbow with one hand, the other held with its back to her chin.

“I should’ve known the leader of Team Rainbow Rocket would be well informed,” She replies, her tone icy. However, it thaws out only a moment after. “Let’s get introductions out of the way. You already know me for my position in the Aether Foundation, but please, call me Lusamine.”

“You already know who I am, as well. I am Giovanni of Team Rocket.”

“My name is Ghetsis. Now state your business.” 

“Ah, ah,” Lusamine tsks at Ghetsis. “There’s one more.”

She now looks at Hop, smiling faintly. He takes the opportunity to greet her.

“I’m Hop. It’s nice to meet you, miss.”

Her smile grows when he calls her “miss”, causing her to raise the hand under her chin to cover her mouth.

“The pleasure’s mine.”

“Well? What do you want?” Ghetsis asks, immediately following up their introductions.

Lusamine’s smile fades.

“I was wondering if any of you could help me. I have a son and daughter I agreed to meet somewhere in Centra City, but… I’m still not familiar with it enough to find my way around.”

Hop is reminded of his brother and his uncanny ability to get lost no matter how familiar he is with an area. Because of this, he decides on the spot to aid Lusamine.

“Sure, we can help!”

“Don’t speak for all of us,” Ghetsis reprimands him. “I certainly will not be a part of this.”

“Well, let’s not be so hasty. How about we make a deal?” Giovanni suggests. Hop raises his eyebrow at him.

“What sort of deal?” Lusamine asks.

“You’re here to participate in the PML, aren’t you? We’ve been looking for a sync team to  challenge in an official battle. In return for that, you’ll have our help.”

Lusamine hums, sounding contemplative.

“I’m not sure about that… I agreed to meet them soon.”

“It’ll be a quick battle,” Giovanni offers, not hiding his sneer.

Despite the apparent malice coming from him, Lusamine does not seem the least bit perturbed. Instead she smiles.

“It’s a deal, then. I’ll call my teammates to meet me here for a battle, and in return, one of you gentlemen will help me find my children.”

As Lusamine turns to make some distance and call her teammates on her Poryphone, Hop puzzles over why he feels like they’ve agreed to her terms and not the other way around.

Chapter Text

As it turns out, Lusamine’s teammates aren’t terribly far from their current location, meaning they don’t have to wait long for their arrival. One of them is a girl not much older than Hop with blue overalls, a white cap, and brown hair held in twin ponytails. She carries herself with an undeniable enthusiasm, a pep in her step as some may say. The other is someone Hop actually recognizes, what with his unforgettable hairstyle and mask.

“You’re Brycen!” Hop points out, well aware of the Gym Leader for both his role in the League and his profession as a moviestar villain. The man perks up at this.

“So I am! Though, many also know me as the phantasm of the night, Brycen-Man. Is that where you heard of me from?”

He nods.

“Yeah, but I heard you’re a Gym Leader as well. I dunno how you make the time for doing both!”

“Speaking of time, quit wasting ours with your prattling,” Ghetsis speaks up from behind Hop, effectively ending their friendly conversation, not due to his words but due to his very presence. Brycen’s and the girl’s eyes widen at the sight of their opponents.

“No way! You’re… You’re the one we’re battling?!” The girl exclaims, her eyes set solely on Giovanni. On the other hand, Brycen glares at Ghetsis before looking towards Lusamine.

“Are these really the challengers you were telling us about?”

“They certainly are. Do you have a problem with that?” She replies. The Gym Leader folds his arms.

“No, none. I’ve had my encounters with Team Plasma in the past, and they were no challenge,” Brycen tells her, then looks to make direct eye contact with Ghetsis. “I’m sure this time will be no different.”

Now that is some great pre-battle smacktalk. Hop wants to snicker, finding his comment genuinely amusing, but a hand suddenly being planted on his head shuts down any thoughts he had been having previously. With no small amount of alarm, he realizes that Ghetsis has a hand ruffling his hair and is not-so-lightly shoving him aside.

“Hah! Bold words from a mere performer. Why don’t I help that acting of yours and show you what a real villain is?”

Not waiting for Brycen’s reply, Hop smacks Ghetsis’ hand off of him. He’s met with a half-startled, half-insulted look for it, one which Hop disregards.

“Keep your hands to yourself, mate! I don’t need more of you shaking me around.”

Hop misses the way Lusamine’s eyes sharpen at what he’s said, her fingers curled for a moment like a Meowth readying its claws. The expression leaves as quickly as it comes, the spotlight being taken by Lyra as she puts her hands on her hips.

“If this is what we’re doing then let’s go for it! I’ll show you just how I feel through this battle!”

Giovanni hums in amusement, fully aware that her comment was meant for him.

“Just don’t let your emotions get the better of you.”

The town square they inhabit is already sparse with people, and though he loathes to say it, part of this is thanks to Hop and his team effectively scaring off anyone from coming too close. Because of this, all that has to be done is for the teams to take their positions across from one another and initiate an official battle through a Poryphone. Once the device has taken to the sky, everyone readies their Pokéballs and summons their partner Pokémon.

Of the Pokémon summoned, Hop only recognizes one of them, that being Brycen’s Cryogonal. The other is clearly a quadruped grass type, what with its green skin and the flower petals around the base of its long neck. The other he’s less sure of, though he notes just how elegant its appearance is. Its carapace is entirely white, forming what almost look like dress ruffles along its torso, and a pair of long antennae hang from its head. Much like how Lusamine’s hair engulfs the woman, this Pokémon has a translucent film coming from the back of its head that tapers off near its feet.

A pair of blue and purple eyes shaded by long eyelashes wash over him in disinterest. The thing holds an air of boredom that seems impenetrable despite the fact that it's gearing up for a battle. Hop has no idea what sort of Pokémon this is, but one thing he knows for certain is that it’s no normal one.

With the time for analysis quickly coming to a close, Hop lightly slaps his cheeks. It’s go time.

“Zamazenta, use Behemoth Bash!”

———

The Poryphone above them all beeps and whirs as it flies back down, logging the results of the battle. Another win for Hop and his team. Lusamine’s Pokémon– Pheromosa, as he had learnt it’s called– was terrifyingly fast. If it weren’t for Ghetsis’ Kyurem slowing it down with its Glaciate and Giovanni’s Mewtwo halting its momentum with Psychic, he’s certain they would’ve struggled greatly.

As it stands, though, they managed to pull through. Hop took to his strategy of absorbing hits for his team, all while focusing his damage on Brycen’s Cryogonal, since it didn’t do well against Zamazenta’s steel type attacks. This allowed for Giovanni and Ghetsis to make quick work of the grass type, as well as Pheromosa. For all of its speed, it wasn’t terribly bulky, and both psychic and ice moves worked well on it. A bug and fighting type, he assumes, given its antennae and the kicks it would use in battle.

“It’s no fair… I don’t even know what to say!” The girl with brown hair gripes, torn about having lost to them– Or rather, lost to Giovanni.

“Some losses do not require words, only a promise to yourself to do better next time,” Brycen reassures her, though his counseling tone sounds somewhat strained. It seems he isn’t too pleased at having lost, either.

Lusamine, on the other hand, bears the same uncaring attitude as her partner Pokémon. She runs a hand through her hair and flips it, though all that does is cause it to fall back into place a moment later. Crossing the battleground, she stands in front of them now.

“It seems like our efforts weren’t enough. What a shame,” Lusamine laments, not sounding the least bit ashamed. “Now, I believe it’s your turn to uphold your end of the bargain.”

Ghetsis huffs.

“I’m still reluctant to take part in this.”

The corners of Lusamine’s lips turn up a tick upon him saying this.

“That’s fine. I only really need one of you to help me.”

It’s only upon this admission that Hop is struck with how just odd her request is. It would be faster for them all to look for her kids together, since there’s no promise any one of them would know exactly where Lusamine is planning to meet them. Not only that, but couldn’t she have asked her other two teammates to guide her? None of it makes sense, especially considering that Lusamine decided to ask his team, of all people, to help. Giovanni and Ghetsis aren’t exactly the spitting image of charitable folks.

Lusamine glances briefly at Hop, making eye contact with him, and that’s when it hits him. She’s trying to get him away from his team and alone with her. A tidal wave of questions fill his head, the main one being: Why? Couldn’t she have just asked him flat out to come with her? Though, he supposes if she did that, she’d have to explain her reasoning as to why, and she doesn’t seem keen to do that.

It must have something to do with Giovanni and Ghetsis. Otherwise, why would she be keeping her cards so close to her chest? While he isn’t sure if he can trust her, what with her being a stranger and all, he trusts his teammates even less. So, Hop quickly speaks before they can.

“Then I’ll do it!” He offers.

Lusamine’s smile grows. He chose the right answer.

“Why, thank you. What an upstanding young man.”

Hop turns to his teammates, noting their expressions. Giovanni’s eyebrow has quirked upwards. Ghetsis appears equally suspicious, his eye narrowed.

“I’ll catch up with you guys sometime later, alright?”

Giovanni shrugs, pretending to be indifferent.

“Fine, then. We’ve gotten what we needed.”

Now that he’s off the hook, he follows after Lusamine, who is receiving pointed looks at her back from her own teammates as she saunters off. He catches up to her side soon enough and is about to ask where she is meant to meet her children, but if the purposeful way in which she strides is any indication, she already knows exactly where to go.

“So,” Hop starts, feeling somewhat awkward about still being in the dark as to why he’s here. “Uh, did you need something?”

Lusamine slows down now, the two of them having put good distance between their teams.

“I should be asking you that.”

His eyebrows raise.

“M-Me? Why’s that?”

Her gaze leaves him now, the woman staring straight ahead with open resolve.

“I consider myself a mother to all of the creatures in this world that are without love.”

Hop blinks. That wasn’t what he was expecting as a response, nor does it answer his question. However, before he can ask for clarification, Lusamine continues.

“At first, I only shone my kindness upon Pokémon. There are many out there who are mistreated or abandoned, becoming victims of circumstance. My heart couldn’t take it. But I suppose somewhere along the way, in making myself a caregiver to all Pokémon, I’d also become an enemy of people.”

Already, this conversation has been entirely lost upon Hop, though he isn’t perturbed by this. At this point, a good chunk of his stay on Pasio has been adults monologuing at him, so he isn’t all that put off by one more joining the list. What does put him off, however, is her last statement.

“Can’t you do both? You know, care for Pokémon and for people?”

Lusamine looks at him once more now, her eyes full of regret.

“Yes, well… At the time, I didn’t think that was possible. People hurt Pokémon, after all.”

“Not all of them do.”

“No, not all of them.”

That regret morphs into anger as she folds her arms, glaring at the road ahead of them.

“I’m still learning better now, and in turn, I’ve had my eyes opened to a new problem. People who don’t just hurt Pokémon, but other people.”

Hop almost points out that, yeah, duh. Of course that’s the case. However, he holds his tongue on that matter and instead infers what she means.

“What, like those two? Giovanni and Ghetsis?”

“Yes… And that foul prince. How dare he think he has any right to separate children from their caretakers? It’s disturbing.”

Hearing herself and her rage, she takes a moment to breathe, then stops to face Hop.

“I’ve taken it upon myself to right this wrong, for my love is infinite. I will protect those Pokémon and those children who are in need of safety.”

Hop has stopped as well, regarding Lusamine with a slight frown. To say he’s weirded out is an understatement. A lot of what she’s saying is going over his head, but he’s gotten the general gist of it all, and it sounds to him like she’s asking to take care of him.

“I already have a mum,” He tells her, hoping that will assuage her motherly instincts.

Evidently, it does not, because she seems somewhat offended by him having said that. She fights not to pout, her eyes narrowed.

“I wasn’t saying you didn’t. Listen to adults when they speak.”

He has been listening, she’s just making no sense at all. He rubs the back of his neck as she turns and continues walking. Strange conversation aside, they have a pair of trainers to look for, so he follows after her despite having soured the mood.

The two of them continue to traverse through the city, heading away from the stadium with the enormous star over it and towards what Hop soon recognizes as a shopping district. Red petals litter the ground, stamped down and flattened onto the stone, likely due to trainers walking over them time and time again. Pots with bushes that are blooming with flowers line the street as Lusamine and Hop approach a triangular white archway. There, a number of people are huddled in an intersection and conversing with one another.

Immediately, Hop recognizes the telltale sound of Galarian accents. He lights up upon spotting his childhood friend, then calls out to her.

“Hey, Gloria!”

His friend immediately drops whatever it was she was doing, whipping her head towards the two of them. Her eyebrows, which had previously been creased together, relax.

“Oh, Hop! Fancy seeing you here. What are you doing with a beautiful, young blonde all the way out here?”

“I– What?!” Hop exclaims, too dumbfounded by her question to say anything else.

Lusamine, on the other hand, looks pleased.

“Thank you, little girl! However, I’m actually well past my fourties.”

“I’m not a– What!?”

This time it’s Gloria’s turn to be shocked, her jaw dropping at Lusamine’s admission. Behind her, Lillie is red in the face. She steps in front of Gloria and stomps her foot.

“Mother! I thought you said you’d be coming without your teammates!” She chastises her, then looks over to Hop. “I’m so sorry you got dragged into this.”

Hop tilts his head in confusion.

“Uh, I’m not a part of her team.”

Lillie’s eyes widen.

“Y-You’re not? Then why are you here?”

“That’s what I’d like to know!” He replies.

“This is turning into a right mess,” comments Marnie, who has been hanging around towards the back of the gathering. Hop couldn’t agree more.

“Seriously! Why are there so many people here? And where do you think you’re going?!”

To his surprise, it’s Sonia who has said this, who he hadn’t noticed earlier. Speaking of people he hadn’t noticed earlier, one of them is a boy with choppy blonde hair that covers one of his eyes. His clothes seem purposefully torn, jagged black edges showing off the red of his shirt underneath. He glares at everyone with a piercing green eye, and right off the bat, Hop realizes he and Lillie must be the children in question that Lusamine is meant to meet.

The other person is someone Hop recognizes, even with his back turned.

“Hey, you’re that bloke from the other day!”

Silver turns, looking at Hop with contempt for having halted his exit.

“Haven’t you learned to stop messing with other people’s business?”

It’s exactly the same message that Giovanni had imparted on him yesterday in the cave, and much the same as then, Hop becomes irritated.

“I wouldn’t be messing with anyone’s business if people would stop dragging me around everywhere!”

“Then don’t let them.”

As if it’s that easy, especially when the people he’s gotten tied up with are so dangerous. Lusamine tuts next to him, shaking her head.

“Now, now. Let’s not throw any temper tantrums.”

Silver scowls at her, then turns without another word, ignoring them all and keeping his distance. The edgy looking blond-haired boy sighs.

“If he’s not going to be involved, then neither am I.”

“Oh no you don’t!” Lillie huffs, cornering him alongside her mother in order for them to discuss something. Hop doesn’t pay too much attention, instead approaching his fellow Galarians as Gloria and Marnie attempt to talk Sonia out of her bad mood.

“Would someone mind catching me up to speed already?” Hop asks, to which Sonia snappily answers.

“I can’t take those two anymore! All day with them, it’s just brooding, brooding, and more brooding! We haven’t gotten anything done as a team because they keep running off!”

So that’s it. Silver and this other guy here must be the two loners Sonia had told him about earlier. He never would’ve guessed Silver was one of the angsty teenagers causing his boss so much trouble, but in retrospect, it makes sense. He’s got that kind of vibe to him.

“Lillie told us that she’d try and help by chatting with him, since they’re brother and sister and all. Even convinced their mum to come over and take a crack at it,” Marnie explains.

Hop hums as he thinks about what he’s been told, holding his hands behind his head. So the real reason Lusamine is here is because she’s trying to rein in her unruly son. That makes sense. What doesn’t compute is why she had to bring him along for the ride. She seemed to have a lot to say earlier while they were coming here, so it must be because she wanted to talk in private with him.

He glances at the woman, who has her back turned. For all of her crypticness, it sounded to him like she was offering to be someone in his corner who he can reach out to in case things go south with his teammates. It’s the same offer he’s been made a few times now, whether that be from Leon, Gloria, or Nate. They’re all worried about him, and so is Lusamine. Lusamine’s worry feels different from theirs, however. As much as he shouldn’t, he can’t help but feel like all this fussing over him has involved people looking down on him. It isn’t, and the logical part of him knows that, but there’s still that traitorous voice in his head who’s saying that he can handle this on his own.

For some reason, that voice has been awfully quiet despite Lusamine doing the same. What’s the difference between her offer of safety and others, he wonders? He suspects it might have something to do with Lusamine’s worry clearly stemming from anger rather than anxiety. However, all of this is pretty new to him, so he isn’t certain of anything.

He makes a silent vow to himself to talk to the Aether President more at a later time.

“What’s his name anyhow?” Hop asks, forgoing any mention of his inner thoughts.

“His name’s Gladion! You ought to see him in battle, he’s got this crazy looking partner Pokémon!” Gloria chirps.

The mention of a crazy looking Pokémon does catch Hop’s attention, since he always loves seeing all sorts of different kinds of Pokémon. Before he asks, though, one look at Sonia reminds him of the fact he wanted to tell her something. He searches his mind briefly for what that might be before remembering.

“Oh, right! I almost forgot!” He says aloud, catching the attention of all three of them. “Sonia, there’s something important I’ve gotta tell you.”

“Really? What’s that?”

“I dunno why, but Giovanni’s taken an interest in Dynamaxing. He was asking me about it earlier, and he even said he might come after you to find out more.”

Sonia’s eyes widen. A small gasp comes from Gloria, and even Marnie looks surprised by this. Before any of them can say anything, though, a voice cuts through from behind him.

“And here I thought you’d be smart enough to keep that a secret.”

Hop’s teeth click against one another as he tightens his jaw. Lusamine, Gladion and Lillie have all stopped talking. Hop turns, ignoring the fearful expression on his mentor’s face as he turns to his teammates.

Giovanni smirks, and just like that, the tension in their group skyrockets.