Finally wrote this just right! Hard to quiet the inner editor in me while I'm writing. I'm hoping you enjoy!
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Galar Gym Challenge Official Website
Finalists for League Championships
#189 Hop
Hometown: Postwick
Pokemon Team: Dubwool, Cinderace, Appletun, Corviknight, Pincurchin, Snorlax *click pictures for each pokemon bio*
Endorsed by: Champion Leon
League Card: A force to be reckoned with, Hop has not only studied his brother, Champion Leon's, matches but the matches of many gym leaders and talented trainers. As a result, he can recognize all sorts of opponent strategies and counters to them, along with a vast knowledge of pokemon. His starter pokemon, Wooloo, was given to him by Leon when they were younger.
*links to gym videos
*links to interviews
*bonus links
#960 Marnie
Hometown: Spikemuth
Pokemon Team: Morpeko, Liepard, Grimmsnarl, Toxicroak, Scraggy, Theivul*click pictures for each pokemon bio*
Endorsed by: Piers
League Card: As a child, Marnie was said to be timid and a crybaby. After receiving Morpeko from her brother Piers, Marnie began to smile more and develop a skill for pokemon training. Her reason for joining the gym challenge is to breathe life into her dipilated hometown, though she occasionally gets distracted by the many boutiques of Galar.
*links to gym videos
*links to interviews
*bonus links
#816 Fiora
Hometown: Postwick
Pokemon Team: Inteleon, Altaria, Urshifu, PorygonZ, Tsareena, Sylveon *click pictures for each pokemon bio*
Endorsed by: Champion Leon
League Card: Fiora grew up in the countryside, after being found without any memory and then adopted into a warm home. Rather than become champion, her aim is to travel throughout Galar, meet new friends and create as many memories as possible as a trainer. The bond she shares with pokemon, her own or otherwise, is strong and full of understanding.
*links to gym videos
*links to interviews
*bonus links
# 321 Cory
Hometown: Motostoke
Pokemon Team: Raichu, Gyrados, Coalossal, Roserade, Mimikyu, Mr Rime *click pictures for each pokemon bio*
Endorsed by: Kabu
League Card: Hopping between regions, Cory has several years of trainers experience under their belt. After a chance meeting with Kabu and encouragement from their friend Sky, Cory found themselves participating in the Galarian Gym Challenge. Cory typically flies under the radar, hoping to avoid attention; it may be why most of Galar is surprised to see them as one of the finalists for the championships.
*links to gym videos
*links to interviews
*bonus links
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Over several days, the two trainers worked hard to cross over Route 10. The deeper they were in the mountains, the higher the snow levels were. It even seemed like the winds were harsher, making the temperature plummet and ice fly about. Pushing through, the trainers had to overcome the blizzards to keep up their training. Wild pokemon and the rare veteran trainer helped keep their skills sharp in the intense conditions.
Hop was in the zone the entire time. Really, it didn't seem like he ever got tired. From the moment he woke up to the moment he crashed in the tent, he was ready for anything and always seeking out a challenge. If there was a break to eat or catch their breath, Hop was coming up with battle techniques and perfecting his pokemon's moves. Maybe, now that they were closer to the championships, he was more motivated than ever to be the very best. If only Fiora could keep her head in the game.
On the outside, she put on a smile and tried hard to keep up the pace with her team. They were making strides, no doubt. Every pokemon on the team was eager to compete in the championships so each of them was putting in 110% towards training. Unfortunately, try as she might to focus, Fiora was distracted.
Those strange visions hadn't stopped. Sometimes, Fiora would be randomly assaulted by a scene inside her head. That wintery little village in the middle of nowhere, wild pokemon playing in the snow, the warm woman with a gentle smile, those were the most common in those visions. What happened varied from one vision to the next, from ordinary aspects of life to big events. It was like watching clips of a movie all out of order. In the daytime, it was out-of-the-blue. At night, it came in the form of dreams. Each time, the ache in Fiora's heart grew stronger. Why did these visions feel personal? What were these emotions that swirled inside her? It seemed like these visions were somehow important.
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There were two women; one of the woman with the warm smile and the other blurry, a warped shadow. The background was hazy, though it resembled the inside of a house. As if the world was in slow motion, the shadowy woman struck the kind woman in the head. The woman fell, her head crashed into the corner of a countertop and then crumbled to the ground. Red liquid oozed from her head.
"Shit shit SHIT! This was not how this was supposed to go! Arceus dammit!"
"Boss, are you alright?"
"M-mama...?"
Another shadowy figure, presumably male, ran to the warm woman's side.
"It's bad. She needs medical attention quick or she won't last long."
"Damn woman, if she had just gone along with it, we wouldn't be in this mess! Should've accepted our offer when we first laid it all on the table!"
"Mama? Mama, wake up."
The red liquid formed a large puddle under the woman. Her skin grew pale.
"Should we load her into the chopper? We might be able to get to the hospital in Motostoke if we're quick."
"No."
"Boss?"
"We have a mission and I swore I would complete it. This may have deviated from the original plan but it might actually be better for us if that woman isn't around to interfere. Grab the kid."
"Oh, uh sure thi-...I mean, yes boss."
"No! NO! LEMME GO! MAMA HELP!"
"I'll be with you in a minute. First I need make sure we can't be traced to this."
"Stop squirming, kid!"
"MAMA! MAMA HELP!
The scene shifted to outdoors. From a black helicopter, one could see a small log cabin nestled among snowdrifts at night. It looked like the type of cozy scene someone would see in a christmas card. But all of a sudden, there was an explosion. Windows shattered, flames spewing out. The shadowy figure ran out as fire began to engulf the house.
"MAMA! NO, MAMA'S IN THERE!"
"Alright, everything's taken care of. Now get us out of here before the rest of this backwater town sees us!"
"Yes boss!"
"And someone keep the kid quiet. Geez, she's noisy."
"MAMAAAA!"
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"Fiora! Hey Fiora!"
With a gasp, Fiora's eyes snapped open and her body bolted upright. She was in the tent and Hop was by her side, his face worried and confused.
"You were having a nightmare. Really bad one from the looks of it." He said. "You were crying and...geez, it gave me hell of a scare."
Trying to catch her breath, the panic slowly began to subside. But the pain and sorrow of the nightmare remained. A nightmare, was that really all that was? No. That dream, the ones before it, the visions that came at random, they weren't just random scenes in her head. These emotions weren't nothing.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Hop asked. "I mean, if you want to."
Fiora fell onto her back. "I...I think I'm starting to get my memories back."
"Memories?"
"From before I came to Postwick, when I was little."
"No way, seriously? All this time and you remember, that's big! So what'd you remember?"
"It's bits and pieces. I remember this small village with snow, somewhere out in the middle of nowhere. There were pokemon I made friends with, the kind of pokemon you don't see in Galar. And I remember I lived with a woman who was gentle and warm. She...she was my mother."
Most of the flashbacks depicted an ordinary life, from what Fiora could assume. Helping her mother around the house, playing with the wild pokemon in the snow, taking long strolls in the peaceful little village. Happy memories filled with love.
"I...I remember these people in labcoats and suits started coming by to talk to my mother. She'd usually send me away while they talked. But late one night, my mother was arguing with one of them. And then they just... Fiora's voice trembled. "They attacked her."
Hop was stunned into silence.
"They took me into a helicopter and then burned the house with her in it. Th-they killed her."
Fiora's vision blurred as tears threatened to spill over. After so many years, she had the memories back. But she almost wondered if she had preferred not remembering. The scent of the blood that oozed out from her mother, the wonderful woman who loved her dearly. The loud whirring blades of the black helicopter. The cold freezing the tears thar rolled down her cheeks. Every detail came rushing back all at once.
Hop reached over and pulled Fiora close, wrapping his arms around her.
"I can't believe you went through something like that." He quietly said. "I dunno what I can do to make things better but I'm here if you need to talk or cry or anything."
Really, just having Hop here was more than enough. Fiora wanted to say that, instead she nodded and let the tears fall. She was so lucky to have Hop, her closest friend, by her side. Before she came to Postwick, she had lost her family, her home, even her own memories. But she had a new mom who loved her. She grew up in a quiet farming town with her best friend and his brother, who treated her like a sister. And from there, Fiora was able to meet the pokemon who'd become her family.
"I...I want to remember more." Fiora mumbled.
"Remember more?" Hop asked.
"I want to learn about the life I had before; my mother, the village, the pokemon. And I want to know who kidnapped me and why."
While her memories were returning, it felt fragmented. Clear in some memories, blurry in others. She couldn't make out the identity of the shadowy figures from that night. The leader, the one who killed her mother, was in a lab-coat with two other men who wore suits. There was also that black helicopter. Fiora recalled seeing that same one when she had travelled 10 years in the past and encountered her younger self. There were a lot of questions in the gaps her memory couldn't piece together. Who were her parents? Where was this place she lived in? And why did the strange people kidnap her?
"How 'bout this, after the championships are over, we'll do a little investigating. Maybe even journey to that place you used to live?" Hop offered.
"Really? You'll help?"
"Course I am! You and me, there's nothing we can't do!"
"But if you become champion, you'll be busy-…"
"Hey even Lee sneaks out of champion work to pester Sonia sometimes." Hop snickered. "Speaking of, even if I take his title, Lee's probably got a lot of connections. I'm sure he'd help us out if we ask. Sonia too."
Hop had a point. Leon worked with a lot of people and pokemon over the years, forming new friendships with people all over Galar. Well, all over the world really. Sonia was a professor's assistant but she probably had her own network of people to talk to about stuff. Surely someone out of all those people had an idea how to get the answers Fiora was looking for. Even the tiniest clue would be helpful.
"Feeling better?" Hop asked.
Fiora nodded. Her shaken nerves were starting to settle. Instead of fear of the unknown past, she could feel a glimmer of hope.
"We should rest up. We're only a day or two away from Wyndon!"
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That same night, someone else was restless.
Sonia stared at the hologram screen filled with power spot data from all over Galar. At first, the readings had slowly changed to state the number and power of the dynamax areas has gone up. Lately, there's been even more spikes in activity. All over Galar, more and more power spots were triggering. Some were even appearing in places long thought dormant. And the dynamxed pokemon were getting stronger, more unstable.
But why?
Why was any of this happening?
"I had a feeling I'd find you here."
Professor Magnolia appeared, slowly walking up to the spot her granddaughter was standing.
"Gran? I thought you went home." Sonia said.
"Yes but I decided to return after that tremor earlier. I had a feeling our work was not quite done for the day." Magnolia told her.
A little while ago, there was another earthquake. It was bigger than usual, this time affecting any location between Hammerlocke and Mototstoke. Wedgehurst was further away so the effects were minimal. Still, everyone did notice a small shake in the earth beneath them. Sonia was about to lock up the lab and go home when it hit. She went to check on the research material, only to be wrapped up in analyzing the data post-earthquake.
"It seems the power spots were affected once more." Magnolia said.
"Yeah. Increase in numbers and threat levels, just like other times." Sonia mentioned.
"Have you heard about any rampaging dynamax pokemon escaping the dens?" Magnolia asked.
"Nothing on the news reports. Agitated herds of normal-sized pokemon and enraged den pokemon after activation but nothing like Route 7 or any other instance." Sonia answered. "Leon's probably overworking himself trying to lead the gym leaders to calm the chaos. I'm surprised the championships is still on with all this going down."
"It's up to the Chairman to make the final call and Rose is adamant about keeping the tournament going." Magnolia said.
"Can't you talk to him? I mean, at least postpone all this until we figure out what's going on."
"I already tried. I had a meeting with him earlier today to discuss our findings on power spot energy. He insists that everything is fine, that there are other things more important to fret about."
Not a surprise. Chairman Rose was strangely nonchalant about all this. Sure he did help cleanup after the events of Route 7, suggested Leon rally the gym leaders to combat the surge of dynamax dens and keep patrol for strange occurances. He cherished the gym challenge so why wasn't he concerned about the disasters threatening its stability? Sonia was starting to feel uncertain about Rose. She suspected her Gran was thinking the same thing.
"Sonia, we still don't know all there is to know about Dynamax phenomenon. But the further you delved into your research, the more I see patterns connecting our research together. I feel you may be able to not only solve the mysteries I've searched my entire life for; you may also find the answer we need to settle this region's current crisis."
Sonia turned to her grandmother, shocked. "But Gran, I-…"
Magnolia held up a hand to shush her. She took off her lab-coat and draped it over Sonia's shoulders.
"When this matter is settled, I'll help you in filing the proper paperwork and we can discuss this with the Board of Professors. Then you can take over my position as this region's Lead Professor."
"Me? The Lead Professor of Galar?" Sonia teared up. "Gran, thank you! I'll get to the bottom of this, I swear!"
She had never considered herself anything other than ordinary. She had been satisfied being her grandmother's lab assistant. Maybe it wasn't glamorous like being a champion or a model like her friends, but the work made her happy. Sonia was content learning things from her grandmother and helping trainers like Hop & Fiora. But since starting her research on the Darkest Day, something awakened in her. The drive she long thought lost finally came back. The thrill to make discoveries and uncover the world's mysteries, it was what got her out of bed in the morning. Her uncertainty about her future was gone, like a fog that cleared to show the path ahead. Sonia finally found her place in the world.
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About the opening part of the chapter
Thing is, in game, it never went into detail about who Hop went up against before facing the protagonist. We are left to assume it's just a regular not-important trainer. And while I won't be going into any details either, I thought I'd give a shoutout to the person who encouraged me to write/share this fanfic here. Cory would be the gender-bend version of her.