As dawn broke on the Great Den of Galar, our heroes one by one emerged from their rooms, meeting in the lobby. The last to make it down was, shockingly, was Piers, who was struggling to put his boots on.
Kai chuckled, Melony watched in pleasure.
"Quit your laughing, dammit!" He shouted. "I'm trying to keep us on schedule!"
Melony smirked. "What happened to 12 Sharp, captain quick?"
Piers grunted. "Shut it! Off to Ballonlea we go!"
The trio flagged for a Flying Taxi, and they went on their way to the hidden wonder that was Ballonlea. A small, fairy tale of a town hidden within the Glimwood Tangle.
The flying taxi ripped through several overgrown tree tunnels, before landing in the luminescent village. Not many people seemed to be out and about, but there were quite a few fairy type pokemon fluttering around, among them being hattrem and morelull. Upon exiting the trolley, Kai's Hakamo-o noticed a few hattrem on the roof, who looked down and smiled, as Hakamo-o shook it's head and growled. Fairy types did not mesh well with him.
Kai chuckled. "Yeah, this one will be tough, but I know we can do it buddy. Whadda ya say?"
Hakamo-o held up it's fists, and let out a confident shout. Kai did the same.
Piers exited the taxi, pounding the side, as the Corviknight flew off into the murky trees above.
"Don'tcha think those Corviknight get hurt flying through all those trees?" Melony asked, placing her hand under her chin.
"Nah." Kai chimed. "They're harder than the toughest form of steel. A few branches can't possibly hurt."
Piers groaned. "Well this is swell, i'm all out of items. I must've left them on the Taxi." He said, shuffling through his bag.
Kai turned. "I can lend you some of my stuff, don't sweat it."
Piers shook his head. "Appreciate it mate, but I've got very specific items I like to use on my team."
Melony raised her eyebrow, placing her hands on her hips. "Such as...?"
Piers closed his sack. "Don't worry about it." He responded. "Anyway. You two go on to the stadium without me, I'll catch up. Besides, it's best I do some training anyhow since my team is all dark."
And with that, he entered the PMC.
"Uhh. Okay." Melony said. "So, let's ah... head to the stadium I suppose." She said, smiling.
Kai nodded. "Sounds good to me." He replied, as they began to walk.
The long cobbled path leading to the stadium was illuminated by the magic energy and aura surging through the forest. It was quite a sight to see.
"It sure is beautiful here, isn't it? Almost like something out of a storybook." Melony chimed.
Kai nodded. "Who would've thought that such an ominous forest could create such a beautiful village."
Melony smiled once again. The two continued to walk, seeing the stadium in their sights over a long creek bridge. It appeared as though there was someone in front of the door, however.
"Are you seeing that as well?" Melony asked.
Kai nodded once more. "Yeah, looks like someone's in the way."
They got closer to the door, and to their surprise, found Opal, the gym leader, scolding none other than Chairman Rose himself.
"And why must the announcer always poke at my age! I'll have you know i'm 62 years young! I may be the oldest gym leader, but that doesn't mean that I'm an old frail grandmother!" Opal shouted.
Rose chuckled, scratching his neck. "Well... I'm sure things can be arranged to correct that, if it does indeed bother you."
Opal scoffed. "Bothers me? Far from! Why, if they knew the power that-"
Opal turned, seeing that Kai and Melony had approached them and were listening on the conversation.
Kai awkwardly smiled. "Heh. Hiya."
Rose turned as well. "Well, what a surprise to find you two here! Haha!" he began. "Our star competitors finally taking on good ol'-"
"NOT. Old."
Rose awkwardly laughed. "..T-Taking on Opal. Though, I see that Piers is not with you?"
Melony nodded. "He decided to do more training. I guess he felt he wasn't ready yet."
Rose grinned. "Ah, just like his dad. Taking those saftey precautions that may or may not help in the long run. Always keeping an avid eye out!"
Opal turned to Rose. "So. These are the three that have been making their rounds?" She asked.
Rose nodded. "Indeed they are. I hope you're ready for them Opal, they pack quite a mean punch."
She didn't respond, instead, she closed her eyes and nodded.
"Well, I'd love to stay and chat my friends, but I have to move on to the other gyms to conduct my remaining surveys to ensure everything is running like a well oiled machine. Good luck against this one, you'll need it!" He warmly assured, heading off.
"Of course, thank you Mr. Rose!" Kai replied.
As he walked away, Opal's eyes were still closed.
"I look forward to battling you two. Or three. Whenever your friend shows. I have heard many things about you, and I am curious to see how you hold up to my strategies." She began. "Whenever you feel ready, step inside the stadium and bring your game faces. I assure you, this battle won't be what you think it is."
And with that, she turned and went inside the Stadium.
Melony crossed her arms. "My mom always said that Opal was a peculiar one... but I wonder if she was talking about her battle style, or just, in general?"
Kai scratched his head. "Iunno. Anyway, where's Piers? Shouldn't we wait for him?"
Melony rolled her eyes. "Probably goofing off somewhere. It shouldn't matter, he'd want us to go forward anyway. So, how about it?"
Kai shrugged. "Alright I guess. He'll get here when he gets here."
And with that, the two walked in. Within the stadium, bright pink wallpaper and blinding neon lights littered the floor and walls. It was enough to make Hakamo-o sick.
"I get where you're coming from buddy." Kai retorted, belching.
Melony giggled. "It can't be that bad..." she replied.
"It makes a dragon user sick. I promise you that."
Melony giggled once again, as they both looked around for the registration booth and locker rooms.
"Did you want to go first?" Kai asked.
"It's okay, you can if you want." Melony smiled.
Kai was iffy, but decided to knock it out. He went and changed into his uniform, before preparing to enter the challenge zone.
"Good luck!" Melony proclaimed, as the doors closed in.
Kai turned, and was surprised to find no Umpire, and no trainers. Just Opal, and a performance stage.
"Uuuh... did I enter the wrong room?" he asked.
Opal shook her head. "Welcome to your challenge. Please, take your place on stage."
Hi everyone!
It's been WELL overdue to get a new chapter, does anyone still read this? Haha.
This chapter was a bit short just because I need to go back and review my content board, and actually play SW/SH again. It's been quite a while, so having a refresher on stuff around me will be quite helpful. As always I thank you guys for being patient, if in fact you're still reading this, and I will hopefully get this book back up and hopefully done soon! Thanks!