Happy New Year! Hope 2022 shines brightly for everybody, may the universe have mercy on us all.

(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)

"We'll win this time. I'm sure of it."

Later that night, at the pokemon center, Hop's Cinderace and Dubwool were in the room. Appletun and Corviknight snoozed away; an earthquake wouldn't disturb them at this point. Cinderace had been kicking around a pebble like a hackeysack while Dubwool had enjoyed the scenic view from the window.

"We did face the gym leader once before so we know what to expect. And the battle against Fiora's team helped train us further. Once Hop picks up Snorlax and Boltund from the PC boxes, we'll be able to handle whatever happens this time." Wooloo assured.

"And then we'll have to challenge Fiora's team again! If we can get past that ice woman, we'll get our rivals next time!" Cinderace said.

"I suppose we are due for a win with all the training we put in." Dubwool agreed.

Not once had Hop's team managed to beat Fiora's. There had been a lot of close calls but somehow, Fiora's team sniped the win at the end. It didn't really bother Dubwool though. The battles were always lots of fun. Both sides were smiling and laughing, enjoying the moment. Even in loss, Hop's pokemon all seemed to have a good time.

"Gah, what makes them so tough anyway?! All this training yet we can't even beat 'em!" Cinderace huffed.

"Patience, we'll get our chance someday." Dubwool said.

Was it the special ability Fiora had? Maybe but even a bond with pokemon didn't guarantee the trainer would be good at battles. Perhaps Fiora's knowledge and intuition was masked behind her innocence and calm demeanor. Had she been competitive, she'd easily go pro. Maybe even be able to stand against Leon. However, Dubwool knew his own trainer would be the one to take the champions throne. Hop worked hard to perfect his trainer talents, bolstered by his passionate dreams. There's no stopping Hop, especially now that the champions cup drew close.

"Where is Hop?" Dubwool asked.

"Hm? Oh yeah, he said he was going to take a dip in the hot springs. Might as well before we hit the road." Cinderace told him.

"Right now? But I heard the Chansey say the men's side was closed for maintenance tonight." Dubwool said. "Does Hop know?"

"Hey our trainer's not dumb enough to waltz right into a-…"

The door to the room suddenly opened. Sure enough, it was Hop. His head was looking at the ground but widened eyes were staring a thousand miles away. A deep red tint covered his face completely.

"Nevermind." Cinderace shook his head.

"I guess he knows now..." Dubwool sighed.

(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)

Route 9 was known to be challenging who wasn't familiar with arctic conditions. In fact, only trainers were allowed on the route and even then, there were patrolling pokemon rangers to make sure nobody got hurt. Upon leaving Circhester, there was a small snowy path that lead into Circhester Bay. It was a large body of water with chunks of ice and dots of land scattered about. Most of them were sturdy enough to support a couple people at once. So long as a trainer paid attention to their surroundings, they could navigate the bay by hopping from one spot to another. The wild pokemon usually kept to themselves. Mostly ice and water types such as cramorant, bergmite and mantyke. Sometimes a wailmer might be friendly enough to come say hello. Or a clobbopus is itching to battle. If a trainer was exceptionally lucky, they might get a peek at pod of lapras beyond the icebergs.

"Um. I think we need to go that way."

"Y-yeah. Ok."

There was also an awkward atmosphere but that fault lies within two trainers. Hop had won his gym battle against Melony first thing in the morning. Once supplies were gathered, the friends set off on the road again. However, not much was said between them. They could barely even look at each other without flustered expressions. After what happened the previous night, one could not blame them.

Fiora's mind was still racing from it. Did Hop see anything? She was in the water and the hot springs had a thick layer of steam in the air. Why else would he act so nervous? Maybe he did see something in that short moment. How much did he see? Sure Hop was her best friend but he was a guy! And he walked in on her in the baths while she was completely bare! That was way too embarrassing! Obviously he thought so too. Why else was Hop quiet and awkward? Why hadn't he met her gaze?

What now? Should Fiora pretend it never happened? Or was it better to talk about it? But what would she say? Any opportunity disappeared as Cinderace coerced his trainer to knock around a hackey-sack. Kubfu, Sylveon and Appletun joined the fun. Corvinight and Porygon Z would grab the ball back whenever it got too close to the waters edge, like goal keepers. Fiora watched them have fun from a distance.

"Geez, why are you so bothered anyway?" Tsareena groaned. "If you are such good friends, then whatever happened should be no big deal right? Enough with this weird tension and crud!"

"Well yeah..." Fiora mumbled.

"So he walked in on you in the bath. It's not that big a deal!" Tsareena said.

"I think it might be more than just that." Altaria sweatdropped.

"Eh? What do you mean? What else could there even be?" Tsareena questioned.

Altaria sighed, shaking her head.

"Don't worry about it. Our trainers just have a little growing up to do." Dubwool assured. "It'll all resolve itself soon enough."

"I suppose you've seen this before. A fight or a misunderstanding between our trainers, then they make up after time as passed?" Inteleon asked.

"It was pretty rare but yeah, once in a while something happened. Eventually things go back to normal and both sides gain understanding. That's how friendships usually are." Dubwool replied.

True. In the time Fiora knew Hop, they almost never had fights. The few they had took a little time to resolve; sooner or later, things would blow over. This was more of an embarrassing moment than a fight. Maybe it'd work the same way.

"It was just a simple mistake, Miss Fiora." Dubwool told the girl. "Hop felt embarrassed for intruding on you but he's learned to be more cautious from here on out. I'm sure, like you, he doesn't know what to say."

"Really?" Fiora said.

"How about we shift our thoughts to something else then? Perhaps the next gym?" Inteleon suggested.

Right, Fiora had almost forgotten! While helping Hop (and then the hot springs mishap), researching the next gym had slipped her mind. All she knew were the mumblings of other challengers and stadium trainers. This gym leader was the one missing from the opening ceremony back on the first day. Some say he had schedule conflicts, others claimed he didn't want to come so he didn't. Amidst rumors, two things were confirmed; he was a dark type specialist and his gym was in Spikemuth.

Spikemuth; Fiora remembered that Marnie said she was from there. Maybe they'd run into her while on the challenge? Spikemuth wasn't a big, bustling place like Hammerlocke but it had it's own charm as the 'origin of punk style'. Some famous artists, writers and musicians that embraced punk and spread it throughout the world had been born in this city. Even the streets and architecture had a dark, edgy look. It made Fiora curious about exploring the city. Kind of cool that it would be a stop on the gym challenge.

As for dark type? That was going to be an interesting battle. Fiora knew off the top of her head dark types weaknesses were fighting, fairy and bug. Kubfu and Sylveon would be perfect for this gym battle. Tsareena and Altaria knew some fighting and fairy moves, also a great contribution to the fight. Inteleon and Porygon2 had no advantages or weaknesses so they could be backup. The dark type pokemon could have secondary types but cross that bridge when they get there. The team had enough coverage to handle anything that came their way.

Hop would probably be ok too. Cinderace and Dubwool knew a couple fighting moves that would come in handy. Appletun and Corviknight would be ok as well. Since the ice gym, Hop decided to keep Snorlax as a permanent spot member (though primarily kept in the pokeball for size & transportation reasons) and it was adaptable to many battle situations. Hop had a few options in the PC to use for the final slot. He'd probably decide once they got closer to the city. Though both trainers seemed to have a good chance of winning, gym number 7 was not going to be easy. This mysterious gym leader was supposed to be second only to Raihan in terms of gym leaders strength. They must have some tricks up their sleeve, some really powerful pokemon.

"Any berry trees nearby? I could use a snack." Inteleon requested.

"I got some apples back in Circhester. How about that?" Fiora offered.

From her bag, Fiora pulled out a few apples to share with the pokemon at her side.

"Food?"

Hm? A squeaky voice? Where was it coming from?

"FOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD!"

Out of nowhere, a small black blur came flying out and landed on Fiora's face. She couldn't see what it was as it blocked her vision completely but it could be part electric type. Fiora felt crackles of static burning her face. Were there...spikes? Something seemed to be poking in-between the sparks. It was a pokemon as there was a voice that was yelling, albeit it was muffled. Fiora's voice was muffled as well since the pokemon had blocked her mouth.

"Hey you! Get off of her!" Tsareena yelled.

"I think it's stuck!" Altaria said.

"Oh I'll unstick that thing!" Tsareena growled, charging a grass attack.

"Stop! You might hit Miss Fiora!" Inteleon warned.

"Can you try sniping it off?" Dubwool asked.

"I could try but the force of the blast might hurt Miss Fiora. Or at the very least, knock her into the ice water." Inteleon responded.

Fiora wobbled around, unable to see anything. The longer the strange thing was stuck on her face, the more her cheeks sizzled. She tried using her hands to pry the thing off but the electricity shocked her hands. Whatever this pokemon was, it was stuck like glue.

"HEY! FIORA!"

Something was whirling through the air at top speed. It hit the black thing directly. A red light surrounded it and like that, the mysterious thing disappeared. A pokeball landed on the snow, wobbling before the familiar click signaled the capture complete.

"Whew, perfect aim!"

Hop jogged over to pick up the pokeball. The other pokemon joined the group to see what was going on.

"So a pokemon was stuck on my face?" Fiora asked.

"A pincurchin." Inteleon told her.

Hop walked over to her, pokeball in hand. "Everyone alright?"

"We're ok." Fiora replied.

Hop paused. A look of surprise turned into laughter.

"Hop?" Fiora tilted her head in confusion.

"Your face..." Hop snickered.

Fiora traced her cheeks with her fingertips. It was still slightly singed from the electricity and sharp spines from pincurchin's attachment. Her cheeks must be red and puffy thanks to that little pokemon. The heat from her embarrassment wasn't helping the stinging go away either. Still chuckling, Hop bent over to scoop up snow. He pressed the two clumps of snow into Fiora's cheeks. The ice hissed, starting to melt on her face. The cold felt amazing, providing relief from the burns.

"That should help the swelling and pain a little. Once we get to stable land, we can put some ointment on that." Hop gave the snow for Fiora to hold as he got the pokeball out. "Now then, let's see my newest catch."

Out came pincurchin. Some of the trainers pokemon were on alert, ready to attack if need be. Pincurchin didn't jump onto Fiora again or make any sudden movements. Rather he sniffed the air, looking around.

"Food? Where's food?" He asked.

Was he just hungry? Fiora dug out an apple and rolled it towards the little urchin pokemon. Pincurchin gave a happy squeal. His mouth opened wide, almost like a cartoon character with an unhinged jaw. The apple was swallowed whole. Chews were made with an 'om nom nom' sound before an apple core was spit out.

"So he was just hungry." Hop said.

"I was giving some apples to the others when this little one jumped onto my face. I think he was too excited and got stuck." Fiora told him. "Are you going to keep him?"

"I'll give it some thought." Hop shrugged.

"Ugh, like we need some annoying foodie in our group." Tsareena mumbled.

"Calm yourself, he's on Hop's team not ours." Kubfu corrected.

"Yeah but we still travel with that thing!" Tsareena argued.

"We'll keep an eye on things and make sure no other inncidents like that happen again." Inteleon assured.

Situation resolved, everybody began moving forward again. Hopping from iceberg to iceberg, navigating the bay.

"Thanks for helping me back there, Hop." Fiora said.

"Of course! Always here for ya." Hop responded. "And, um, again sorry for what happened last night."

"It was an accident! You wouldn't walk in a women's bath on purpose." Fiora said.

"Well, yeah. I just felt a bit weird about it. I mean I didn't see anything but, er..." Hop scratched his head, looking a bit uneasy. "I kinda forgot you're a girl."

"Eh?"

"I mean, you've been around for a long time! For most of my life, really! Kinda always saw you as my best friend and rival. I kinda forgot you're...well, a girl too. Gah, I'm having a hard time explaining this!"

Yet Fiora kind of understood. Seeing Hop walk into the hot springs bath room wearing only his towel, Fiora had been flustered. She had forgotten her lifelong best friend was a guy. They weren't little kids goofing off in the fields anymore. They were growing up. It was strange to think about.

"Soooo are we cool?" Hop asked.

"Yeah. We're cool." Fiora agreed.

Finally, things were going back to normal. No more tension, no distance between them.

(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)

"Sir, we have a report from our technicians. There appear to be more power spot readings than usual? Check these readings."

"Is that so? Hmmmm, I see. We haven't performed any test runs lately, no?"

"Correct. The number of power spots is increasing, even spreading to places where ones rarely activate. The energy output is higher as well. While almost all of Galar is experiencing this, it seems the highest output is here, here, here and here."

"Surrounding our location. This is expected as our subject is in the center. It appears our plan is progressing faster than expected. We may have to proceed to the next stage soon."

"We still need a little more data from the subject and its energy. If there is even a chance something could happen..."

"We should have enough supplies for one more test run. Schedule the final test run within the next week and adjust the parameters of the subjects containment facility."

"Yes sir."

"Oh and keep an eye on backup supply unit. Just in case."