Enjoy the chapter ahead! May it bring you a few minutes of peace in your time of insane life!
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"Black tea alright with you?"
"Sounds lovely, thank you!"
Clover (Leon & Hop's mother) began preparations in the kitchen. After running into Hana at the market, Clover invited her over for afternoon tea.
"After all this time, I'm not used to it." Hana said, glancing around. "Usually I'd hear the kids running around outside or talking upstairs."
"I'm still not used to it either. Silence is a bit unsettling after the kids leave for a journey." Clover chuckled.
Once, her house had been bustling with life. When the boys were awake, there was always noise. Roughhousing, cheering the battles on tv, loud discussions, racing about in the yard; never a dull moment. Even after Leon came by less, Hop and Fiora made the place lively. Sometimes it was looking at pokemon picture books, other days it was him dragging her into trouble. These days, it was eerily quiet. Maybe a tad lonely at times.
"Have you heard from either of the boys lately?" Hana asked.
"Hop called me just before leaving Hammerlocke. And Leon called after Hammerlocke had those earthquakes. I think he was worried it spread over to Postwick." Clover answered.
Thankfully, Postwick had minimal effect. Nothing more than a quick little rumble compared to the center of the region.
"That's sweet of him!" Hana said. "Fiora called before leaving Hammerlocke as well. She and Hop seem to be doing well! I love watching the battle videos and interviews."
"Same! It's always interesting to see how a trainer's journey unfolds. Even though my boys are similar, their paths are so unique and the pokemon they obtain say so much to a trainer's character." Clover said, setting up the teacups. "I know Hop's trying to emulate his brother but I'm happy to see him coming into his own identity."
"That smile and know-how, reminds me more of Alon than Leon, really." Hana remarked.
Alon; Hop and Leon's father. Clover's late husband.
Hana noticed the sad smile on Clover's face. "I'm sorry! I shouldn't have-…"
"No, it's fine." Clover stopped her. "I'm happy that someone else remembers him too."
"Of course I remember! How could anyone forget a guy like him?" Hana said.
Indeed. Hop and Leon might as well have been clones of their father. They all shared the same enthusiasm, energy and positivity. Hop also seemed to take on his dad's curiosity and thirst for knowledge. Just like Alon poured over research materials, Hop also spent hours looking up information on pokemon and battling. The way he shared that knowledge and his overwhelming confidence in the interviews, Hana was right; Hop did resemble Alon more than he did Leon.
"You still miss him, don't you?" Hana asked.
Alon was an assistant to Professor Magnolia's husband. While Professor Magnolia took on the more technical part of the research, her husband preferred working in the field. He and Alon participated in dynamax battles across the region to help gather more data and record observations on the phenomenon. They were a brilliant team. But suddenly, they were gone. Clover could remember the last time she saw Alon. She was holding her sleepy baby in her arms, sending her husband off with a kiss on the cheek. The bright grin on Alon's face as he promised little Leon he'd be back as soon as he could so they could play. That casual, carefree wave before disappearing out the door. An ordinary morning as a family...never to be repeated again. All because of an accident on the battle field.
Clover sighed. "Yeah. There was no one quite like him. Still...he's not completely gone."
Clover saw Alon whenever Hop excitedly told his mom about something he learned in a book. She saw Alon when Leon guided trainers on dynamax strategies. The sparkle in their eyes was the same as their fathers. His spirit lived on through their sons.
"I'm sure Alon would be so proud of them." Hana said.
"He is. And I am too." Clover responded.
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Circhester City; buildings from eons past still stand around a steaming hot spring that envelops the town. That was how many described the place. It was one of the oldest places in the Galar region. Despite its ancient roots, there was life bustling in the winter wonderland. There were stalls with hot foods near the central plaza. Children and pokemon built snowmen off on the sides.
It was fairly late when the trainers managed to make it into the city. Instead of charging into the gym, they decided to call it a night. While there were a lot of fancy hotels, the trainers stayed at the pokemon center. Even the pokemon center was a lot nicer than most places! This one had hot spring baths in the back!
"Ahhhhh, this is so nice!"
After dinner, Fiora jumped at the chance to use the hot springs. She donned a towel, tied up her hair and went into the women's section. The steam opened the pores of her skin. The burning hot water made her muscles relax, washing away any fatigue.
"Hey! We know that girl!"
"Fiora?"
Fiora looked to see someone else enter the baths.
"Marnie!" Fiora recognized. "And Morpeko? I didn't know pokemon were allowed back here."
"There's a sign near the changing rooms. One pokemon with certain specifications can come with. Besides, Morpeko would be mad if I didn't let him try too." Marnie said, slipping into the hot springs. "Oh! Ahhh, that hits the spot."
Morpeko started swimming about like it was a gigantic pool. For a tiny pokemon, might as well be an olympic sized one.
"I'll have a hard time deciding who to bring first! Everyone deserves a hot spring dip after all the work they put in." Fiora said.
"You might want to try the Heroes Bath. Then everyone can go at once. It's in the center of the city and most pokemon are allowed to dip in. Supposed to be a historic healing place or somethin'." Marnie advised.
"Thanks! I'll have to check it out after the gym battles! Say did you do yours yet?" Fiora asked.
"Tomorrow morning is my time. My team and I have been training especially hard for it." Marnie answered.
"So have we! Best of luck!" Fiora said.
Marnie smiled softly. "Thanks. You too."
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The next day, Hop and Fiora went right to the stadium. Brrrr, how was the stadium colder than the town itself? Was this the power of ice types at work? Marnie was the first battle of the day. Hop was scheduled later in the morning while Fiora was in the mid-afternoon. With ample time, they stopped by the food stalls.
"These really hit the spot!" Hop said with a mouthful of croquettes. "Ow, hot hot hot!"
"Not too fast! You'll burn your tongue!" Fiora warned.
"I'll need all the heat we can get if we're gonna melt this gym down!" Hop said.
Fiora wasn't worried about Hop. His team was built to handle the gym. Hers? Well, could go either way. Fiora trained alongside her rival as best she could. They would just have to power through and hope whatever strategy used was enough.
"Hey check it out! It's the champion endorsed trainers?"
"Say it is them! Cooool!"
Fiora's ears picked up on some voices not far off. There was a group of people looking their way and murmuring the trainers names. More and more people were starting to recognize them. Shouldn't be too surprising with their progress in the gym challenge though Fiora was always bashful about the attention.
"Did you see the updates to their profiles?"
"Yeah! Talk about drama..."
Drama? What drama? Fiora pulled up her rotom phone and scrolled through the league website, trying to track down her profile. There had been several new additions since the last gym. Interviews, battle highlights, photos, team info, even some edits to her biography...wait.
"How do they know this?" Fiora's face paled.
"Hm?" Hop peeked over her shoulder. "Know what?"
Biography update x/xx: Fiora was found injured and alone in Postwick Town at the age of 6. She had developed amnesia, with no knowledge of herself, possible family or whereabouts. Though searches were performed, there were no records of the child anywhere, no matching reports of a missing child or any indication the child had family. Police determined she was abandoned and called of searches with no leads to go off of. She was adopted by a woman in Postwick town and-...
"No way!" Hop exclaimed.
"I-I never told anyone this!" Fiora said.
"Talk about breech of privacy! Maybe Lee can ask those guys on the website to take it down?" Hop offered.
He went off to get a phone call to Leon. Fiora continued to read on, praying nothing else was leaked. Much to her relief, the rest of her biography didn't reveal anything too major. Her secret ability was safe. For now, at least.
But why did this information suddenly surface? Fiora didn't want to make her background a big deal or draw attention to herself. She was just an ordinary trainer as far as anyone was concerned.
Was it just her? No, Bede had been exposed as an orphan. It didn't seem like the kind of info he'd willingly share with the media. Looking on Hop's page, there was info about his childhood and strong bond with Leon. A new photo was added with Hop as a baby, being held by his brother Leon and looked over by a man in a lab coat who looked a lot like them. Took a moment for Fiora to recognize him; Hop and Leon's dad. She never met him but she knew of him. The dad passed away back when Hop was a baby. The man had been a part of some important research team when an accident happened. Hop didn't know much and Leon seemed hesitant to talk about it so Fiora never pried into the matter.
Hop returned. "Lee says league reporters might've dug into police records and private data to get the info. He can try getting them to take it down but it'll only be reposted elsewhere. Apparently, this sort of thing happens a lot."
"If they find out about this, will they find out about...you know?" Fiora quietly wondered.
"I think you're safe. Only a few of us know and we're not going to blab." Hop reassured her.
The families would respect her wish to keep quiet about it. And Fiora was certain Bede wouldn't blab to media outlets about this sort of thing. He didn't seem to be the type to gossip to reporters just to harass his rivals.
"Don't let it bother you too much." Hop patted her head. "Media's just trying to get more people's attention and building up hype using tragic backstories. Real fans wouldn't care about that kind of thing. They'd like you and your pokemon for who you are."
"Thanks Hop."
Hopefully the topic wouldn't be brought up. It was a subject off-limits to talk about for her. Would her mom be pestered by reporters too? Fiora would have to warn her later.
"Anyway, my battle time's almost up! Let's get going!" Hop said. "I am so ready for this! Get ready Melony! Cause I'm here to take you down!"
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Yamper barked happily, wading about in the hot springs pool of the Heroes Bath. It was said that the Darkest Day heroes came there after their mighty battle to heal their wounds. But it was just a folktale the city told. Nothing on the tapestries or legends indicated whether that was true. Nowadays, pokemon came here to soak in the hot springs to relax and enjoy themselves.
"I wonder, who exactly were the heroes that bathed here?" Sonia mused.
She had so much information gathered from her travels and research. It felt like she had the pieces but no way to connect them together. As if there was something missing. What though?
"Those kids are here in Circhester. Maybe talking to them would help sort my mind out?" Sonia said.
"Bwark bwark!" Yamper seemed to agree.
Sonia came to think of Fiora and Hop like good luck charms. She could always bounce ideas off them or be re-inspired to dive back into research. Heck, they helped her uncover the hidden statues in Stow-on-Side! Glancing at the website, Sonia found Hop was already battling Melony in the gym. Fiora would be later that day. Maybe when Fiora was done, Sonia could call them for a meeting at one of the restaurants in Circhester to chat. Leon did recommend Bobs Yer' Uncle once. That would be a good place to relax after a battle.
"Alrighty then. I'll treat them to a victory meal when they're done. And I can get some ideas off them while we eat!" Sonia said.