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Hop took a deep breath in, and then out. Papping at his face, he hyped himself up for this biggest challenge yet:
Christmas shopping!
“Okay!” Hop stood confident before the downtown square of Wyndon. “We are going to find the perfect gift for Gloria! She’s going to love it, and I’ll be the champion of gift giving!”
He smiled brightly, turning to his Wooloo. “Right, Wooloo?!”
“Wooo!” Wooloo matched his confidence and turned towards the square, ready to charge.
“Yeah! Let’s go, Wooloo!”
~~~ ❄️~~~
Hop’s confidence carried him strong for the first few hours of their adventure. He found so many good ideas, making mental notes of the things he thought were particularly nice. Nothing struck him as ‘perfect’, yet, but he was going to find it! He was sure of it!
As the sun started to set, and the crowd started to thin, his conviction started to waiver. Each gift idea he had fell through, one after another.
Pokéballs? A fine gift, but it was more practical than it was personal. Something your mum would put in your stocking with a pair of socks. Most of the Poké Stores fell into that group.
Then, there was make-up. Hop tried to tell himself that he gave the store his best shot. But really: He walked in, and almost immediately walked back out.The store felt like the Wild Area to him. He didn’t even think Gloria wore make up! Why did he try to go in there?! Why does ANYONE try to go in there?
Next up, clothing. Gloria liked hats, maybe he could get her a nice, warm one! He picked up a few, but found a reason to reject them all. One was just too gaudy, it looked like something the gym leader Opal would wear. The second was warm, but just too edgy. It Wouldn’t fit her style. The last one in the pile was a Lopunny themed hat with extra floppy ears that moved when you squeezed the ends of the hat. He…might have bought that one for himself.
Maybe a sweater? She definitely liked those! But any that he picked up had a crazy price tag. How did she afford to always look so cute? She must constantly be battling people, and winning no less.
If he could just be better as a trainer, he could afford to get her a better gift…
‘No!’ He shook his head free of the doubt. ‘You are a good trainer, and you’re going to be the Champion of Galar one day! You can’t let SHOPPING of all things get you down! Snap out of it, Hop!’
His new resolve kept him going for a little while longer. But shop after shop, always leaving empty handed, he eventually sat himself on a bench. His head hung low, letting his defeat set in. Wooloo moved his face under Hop’s, gently bumping the boy’s forehead in reassurance.
“…I didn’t think this would be so hard.” Hop said, rustling Wooloo’s fur. “Gloria has been my friend since we were small. I should know what to get her.”
He sat for a moment with his thoughts before sighing. “I bet she got me something awesome, too…I’m a bad boyfriend.” He rested his chin on Wooloo, thinking about how he’d explain to Gloria why he showed up empty handed. But across the street, a small sparkle caught his eye.
A gem, in the display window of a jewelry shop. Jewelry…maybe that could work. A locket, a bracelet, something small but pretty, and it won’t get in the way of battling. This wasn’t over yet.
“Looks like we’re not giving up just yet, buddy.” To Wooloo’s delight, he rose from the bench and crossed the street. As the two entered the shop, a little bell on the door rang to welcome them in.
Hop scanned the glass cases, looking for anything that caught his eye. Nothing really had a price on it, and that was concerning, but surely there was one thing in here he could stand to afford. At least a high price would make sense here, instead of the money gouging that is designer sweaters.
The discouragement was starting to set back in, as he was reaching the end of the shop and finding nothing of interest. But his eyes settled on a pair of rings. They were small, silver, and each had a small engraving of a pokeball on them, a small stone set in the button. The tag said they were ‘Pinky Promise Rings.’
A memory came rushing back to him just then: It was many years ago, when they were both very small. They had just finished watching Leon’s latest battle, and were mimicking the fight with their two favorite stuffed pokemon. Hop had insisted he won, Gloria insisting otherwise. It was eventually decided, begrudgingly, that they both won at the insistence of Hop’s mother, who did not want to referee a wrestling match between the two. They did admit that the other had put up a good fight, and that’s when Hop raised his pinky to Gloria.
“Promise we’ll always battle like that! That we’re gonna be rivals, and always make each other stronger!”
Gloria enthusiastically agreed, locking her pinky with his. “I promise!”
“Do you like that set, my boy?” The shop owner asked. Hop thought for a moment, before nodding his head.
“I do, but um…how much are they?”
The shop owner took out the rings, checking the bottom of the box. “Looks like they’re…1,200P.”
Hop’s shoulder’s fell. He didn’t have that much, even if he returned the hat he didn’t have that much. If only he had trained more, won more. He sighed, moving away from the case.
“I don’t have that much…I’m sorry.”
Hop went to leave, but stopped when the shop owner called to him.
“Well now hold on, let’s see if we can work something out. How much do you have?”
Hop looked through his money, hesitant to say the total. “I have…600P.”
“Hmm. And do you think they’ll like it?”
Hop thought, shifting his steps. “…I think she’ll love it.”
“Well then, how can I let you leave without ‘em?” The shop owner smiled. “I’ll give ‘em to you for the 600P.”
“Really?!” Hop said with a smile, his eyes lighting up.
“Sure, sure! Business has been good, and you look like you could use a win.” The man said with a matching smile. The man put the rings in a box, wrapping it with a small bow. “Just remember to come back here when you’re older and you’re looking for something extra special.” He said with a wink.
The last comment flew over Hop’s head, his excitement consuming all his focus. “Thank you, thank you! I will!”
The man held back the box, waggling his finger. “No no, you promise?”
Hop laughed, and spoke with confidence. “I promise!”
~~~ ❄️~~~
Gloria had taken to making a snow Scorbunny while she waited for Hops. He had mentioned he was running late, but he was apparently running late enough for the Scorbunny to get a face, a snow soccer ball, and was even in the works of getting a new friend. Gloria told herself that if he ran much later, his gift would end up being a snowball to the face.
Luckily for him, he had made it in time to escape his frosty demise. They hugged, Hop apologizing for his tardiness, commenting on how cute her snowy company was.
“Thanks! Glad to have my own Scorbunny to reference. And to keep me warm while I waited for SOMEONE.”
“I said I was sorry! I can’t help that a bunch of Bergmite iced the tracks!”
“Uh huh, likely story.” Gloria giggled. “Soo…What did you get meee? Was it worth being so late?”
Hops scratched the back of his head, smiling nervously. “I sure hope so. Buuuut…Why don’t you go first?”
Gloria laughed. “Gladly! I know you’ll love it!” She held out a bag to him, decorated with ribbons and shiny print. He carefully took the bag, careful to not disturb too much of the beautiful decorations.
“Come on! You can’t open presents like that! Just-“ She motioned with her hands like she was tearing it open, making the sound of ripping paper with it.
“No! It’s pretty!” He laughed. “And it’s not even wrapped, how am I supposed to open it like that?”
He reached into the bag, and pulled out a box. When he opened it, he was stunned.
It was a pokeball, but no average one. It was a Master Ball, decorated with his favorite colors. Around the band, it was engraved.
‘Hops, Champion of Galar’
“The future champion, after I’m done of course, can’t just have average pokéballs.. He needs a special pokéball for his Mew, at least!”
“Oh gosh, you remember that…” He smiled, staring at the pokéball.
“Mew might not have been your first pokémon like you wanted…but if you want one, I know you’ll get one!” Gloria said, her words confident. “There is no one I believe in more than you!”
Hops smiled, feeling happy tears welling in his eyes. “Thank you…Man, my gift is going to be so lame compared to this.”
“Shut up, no it won’t! I bet it’s amazing!” Gloria reached out her hands, moving her mittens furiously in a grabbing motion. “Lemme see, lemme see!”
Hops paused, and took off one of his gloves before reaching into his coat for the box. This gave Gloria’s grabby hands pause, confused as to why he’d remove his glove when it was so cold.
He set the box in her hands, and began to explain himself as she unraveled the bow.
“I don’t know if you remember that promise we made forever ago…Where we’d always be rivals, and always make each other stronger?”
Gloria nodded, and Hop continued.
“Well, that promise is…really important to me. You’re really important to me. So I just…you know-“
Gloria opened the box, her eyes going wide.
“-Wanted to always remember that promise.”
Hop took one of the rings from the box, putting it on his pinky. “See? They’re pinky promise rings, so you always remember what your promise was! I thought it would be nice, especially when we’re training so far away from each other, or when things get hard, or…”
Hop trailed off when he saw Gloria’s face. She had taken off her glove, slipping the other ring onto her own pinky. She was looking at it so happily, her eyes sparkling.
“I love it. Thank you.”
Her smile made him blush, making him turn away. “I’m glad…Merry Christmas, Gloria.”
Gloria had taken that moment to lean over, giving him a small kiss on his cheek. “Merry Christmas, Hop.”
Hop’s blush grew even hotter, touching his cheek. He then felt something…sticky? He took his hand away, seeing a slight shimmer on his fingers.
“Oh you do wear make up!”