A/N: Team Roster: Jackson (Cinderace), Hudson (Mudsdale), Rosa (Bellossom), Theodore (Corviknight), Rouge (Weavile), Ophelia (Haxorus)
Chapter 31 - Shield of Galar
An eerie glow was cloaked over the lift and Dolly braced herself against its railing. The numbers ticked on the digital screen above the door as she rose higher and higher, and the yellow light flashed with each floor. Dolly steadied her breathing, though she had to cling to the railing whenever the lift shook.
She wasn't sure what would face her when the door opened. She hoped it would be a smiling pair of brothers, telling her that Leon caught Eternatus in a Poké Ball, and they could head back down. As the lift creaked, and as the floor numbers glitched to zero-zero-zero, something told her that wouldn't be the case. The lift finally stopped, and the doors opened a crack.
Dolly pried them open just enough so she could squeeze herself through the sliver of space between the two silver doors. She tumbled out as the ground shook again, then she sprinted down the path, around the corner, up the steps, and stopped in her tracks.
Before her rose a creature like none she had ever seen; the Pokémon floating in the middle of the roof was like an indigo skeleton, with tendons and ligaments made of light. The vertebrae of its spine shone red, and whatever life it had in its body was pulsing through the clear glass of its cartilage. It was if this Pokémon harbored a universe within its shell and the gaseous ball at its core throbbed just as her heartbeat did. Its shapes were mechanical, yet organic, as it let out a shriek that seemed to shake the universe itself.
The sky was swirling black, and beams of the red Dynamaxed light shot into the air around the roof of the tower. The wind billowed whenever the Pokémon moved, and as it roared again, the clouds above them swirled thicker still. Dolly tore her eyes from the creature to see Leon standing below it, tossing a Poké Ball up and down in his hand. Hop and Sonia were standing behind him, then turned to rush towards her.
"Leon's got everything covered," Sonia said as she pushed her hair from her face when it whipped in the wind. "His team has really worn Eternatus down!"
"Yeah, took you long enough!" Hop said with a grin. "I was about to come down and punch Rose myself if you took any longer."
"Aw, you'd punch a middle-aged man for me?" Dolly grinned in return.
Leon turned at the sound of their voices and waved at Dolly.
"Couldn't stay away from such a champion time, huh Dolly?" he said. "I'm going to catch Eternatus in a Poké Ball, and we'll get this madness under control."
Leon turned back to Eternatus, rolled his shoulder, and hurled his Poké Ball forward. It was as if steel was tearing against steel as Eternatus let out another ear-piercing screech and flashed into the Poké Ball. The ball fell and hit the ground with a 'tink.'
It rolled once.
Twice.
And froze.
Dolly couldn't swallow past the lump in her throat as she waited, waited, for the final roll, and the final click.
The only movement on the top of Hammerlocke Stadium was Charizard tearing through the air.
Then, the entire stadium shook as Eternatus exploded from the Poké Ball. Rubble and debris shot through the air, and Charizard's sturdy stance wavered as the wind howled around them. After the initial explosion, through the noise of the glass and concrete, Leon's grunt echoed across the roof.
"Lee!" Hop yelled. He tore into a sprint towards his brother.
Leon was lodged beneath a slab of concrete that fell from the top of the pillars. Hop and Sonia rushed to his side and started pulling away the chunks of brick, wires, and steel. Electricity shocked around them from the broken lights that edged the roof, and Hop had to stomp out a small fire as he tore at the rubble around Leon. Shadows flickered around them, and Dolly tore her gaze away when a shadow loomed over her.
Eternatus was floating before her, pulsing and throbbing, shadowed from the red lightning around them and from the light of its core. Its screech shot through her skull, and the roof of Hammerlocke Stadium shook again. More rubble quaked around them, and Dolly locked eyes with the beast before her.
"Eternatus!" she called over the roar of the wind.
It made no coherent response, only roared into the air again.
"Eternatus, we don't have to fight!" she called.
Again, it made no response. It writhed about in a poisonous rage, unable and unwilling to negotiate to the girl before it. Instead, a ball of light formed in its mouth, and it started to grow brighter. Dolly jumped and rolled across the ground as the Dynamax Cannon attack tore through the space she was just standing.
Dolly smeared the dirt from her face and scoffed at the audacity Rose had to expect her to talk to this thing. Instead, she hurled her Poké Ball forth, and Jackson appeared beside her.
Fire blazed forth as her Cinderace attacked the massive Pokémon above them. She wasn't sure what type it was, or what the advantage could be, but at least Jackson's attacks were effective, as Eternatus writhed with each hit. As their battle continued, Dolly watched its movements - it was as if it couldn't control itself, as if its only option was to release these attacks as if to release the tension within its body. Dolly's eyes widened at the revelation: it was the glowing light of the Wishing Stars that burned at its core. It was their energy, their might, that were causing this great beast to pulse and writhe like it was. Only half of its attacks were aimed - the rest were merely bursts of energy trying to be released from its swollen core.
The air was laced with fire, with blasts of poison, and the ethereal beams of a Dragon Pulse and Dynamax Cannon. Dolly switched out her team members, because even if Eternatus wasn't focused on her, its power was pregnant, raw, oozing, and more dangerous than anything she'd ever seen.
As she battled, Eternatus was growing weaker, and the beams of light within it were becoming sparse. With another roar, it fell, and so did Dolly when the ground shook with its weight. Eternatus was trembling, shaking, quaking, as the dust settled. Dolly reached for a Poké Ball, ready to furl it at the creature before her.
Although her aim was true, the Poké Ball merely tapped the Pokémon as a catastrophic explosion billowed around them. Dolly's neck arched to see Eternatus lurching into the sky, as if catapulted to the stars. The sky was swirling, the dark clouds intensifying, and red lighting shocked around them. More beams of Dynamax light were erupting from the sky, and the clap of thunder rumbled louder and louder. There was no rain, only glass, concrete, and steel, that swirled around the arena. Dolly flinched as the glass and rubble cut at her skin, but her eyes were strained for any sight of Eternatus contorting in the sky.
"Look out!"
Dolly turned to the slab of concrete hurtling toward her, then her vision went black.
The earth trembled as a voice echoed.
"Shield of Galar."
Her vision cut between a swirling purple mist and the swirling black sky above her.
"Shield of Galar," the voice said again.
Her body was shaking, and again her vision phased from the swirling mist to Hop's face above hers.
"Dolls!"
His voice was muffled, as if he was speaking to her through water. He called to her again, and her vision focused.
"You alright?" he asked over the roar of the wind.
She nodded and her eyes widened when she looked behind him, then into the air above them.
What was once the indigo exoskeleton of Eternatus was now a long coil of vertebrae, still mechanical, still organic, and at the end, a massive, glowing, clawed hand reaching towards them. Whatever creature Eternatus was before Dynamaxing was cast aside, as whatever it was now that floated before them was curled around the gaseous star at its center. Every bit of Eternatus was spiraling around the ball of light that once swirled in its chest - and every bit of rubble and shrapnel from the Hammerlocke Stadium roof whipped around it as well.
As Dolly and Hop sent forth their Pokémon, their moves only clattered weakly against the bricks of the tower. The rubble and shrapnel were like asteroids orbiting the star that dwelled within Eternatus, and none of their Pokémon's moves were powerful enough to reach through the space.
"Our moves aren't working!" Dolly called to Hop as the rubble whipped around them. Pebbles and flecks of glass lodged into her skin as they tumbled when the ground shook.
"We can't just let this thing win," Hop called in return. "We have to think of something!"
Dolly covered her ears as Eternatus roared, though instead of hearing a screech, a deep voice echoed through her mind.
"Shield of Galar."
Her eyebrows furrowed, and she squeezed her eyes closed as the voice repeated.
"Shield of Galar."
Dolly gasped.
"The shield!" she said as the word finally struck her. "Hop, we need to use the shield and the sword!"
Hop's eyes widened, and he nodded as the ground shook again.
"It might be old and rusted," Hop called over the wind. "But there's got to be some use for it!"
Beams of light erupted around them again as Dolly and Hop grabbed the artifacts. Dolly held the shield to the sky, and Hop held the sword. The light that shot forth wasn't the red of Dynamax, but a brilliant yellow. As the light faded, two massive Pokémon stood before them. They turned, and again, one's yellow eyes bore into Dolly. The strange familiarity pounded in her chest at the Pokémon before her.
"Are you..." she started. "Are you the Pokémon from my visions?"
The great Pokémon nodded, and his bright red and blue mane waved in the wind.
"I am Zamazenta," he said. His voice was the same that beckoned to her for so long, the same deep and powerful call, the same voice that held the authority of a king. "And you are the Shield of Galar. Bring the Sword of Galar, because now we must go, fight, and save the region!"
Dolly whipped her head to Hop, who was staring into the eyes of Zacian, just as she had been with Zamazenta only moments before.
"The Sword of Galar," Dolly breathed.
Her attention was torn when Eternatus roared again. They readied themselves, and Dolly grinned just as Hop did as they sent their own Pokémon forth. The dust and rubble hurled around them as the five Pokémon wove around the roof of Hammerlocke stadium. A Cinderace, a Dubwool, and the legendary Zamazenta and Zacian, all blazed forth with everything they had. Eternatus roared and surged forth with great power as it again hurled poison, fire, and ethereal beams at the Pokémon and Trainers before it. The earth was quaking at its might, and Dolly feared the entire building may collapse. She and Hop needed to grip at the rubble around them, grip at one another, as the ground shook from the red lightning that struck the altar they were standing on.
Zamazenta and Zacian both glinted in the light, and their steel coats and weapons weakened Eternatus hit after hit. Explosions, fire, and smoke erupted around them. Dolly's ears were ringing, Hop kept stumbling, and it was getting hard to breathe as the wind whipped around them. They battled for what felt like hours, days, years, and each attack brought Eternatus weaker and weaker. Finally, when Eternatus let out a feeble roar, Zamazenta turned back to Dolly as the ground rumbled again.
"Now is your time, Shield of Galar!"
Eternatus roared again, and Dolly hurled the Poké Ball forward. In another blaze of light, Eternatus flashed into it, and the Poké Ball formed a crater as it hit the ground. Dolly stumbled each time it rolled.
It rolled once.
Twice.
Three times.
And froze.
Then, the massive Poké Ball finally clicked, shrunk, and the world around them paused. The concrete slabs and glass shards hovered in the air, as if floating through water, as if time stopped.
The ground started to rumble, the concrete started to hurdle towards the earth, and the shards of glass shot through the air like hail. There was no time for celebration as the power of Eternatus was sapped from the atmosphere, and everything that was hovering around the arena was now catapulting to the earth. Dolly's eyes widened, and she deftly returned Jackson to his Poké Ball as a jagged steel beam crunched into the ground where he was just standing.
The wind was knocked out of her as Zamazenta lurched towards her and shoved her to the ground as a concrete slab formed a crater beside them. His body covered hers, and the massive Pokémon blocked the raining glass and steel that fell around them.
After a few more moments, the earth no longer trembled, and the only tinkle of glass was when Zamazenta stood to his full height. Dolly stood as well and gazed around the destruction and rubble of the Hammerlocke Stadium roof. The dust was settling, and the dark clouds that were swirling above them started to thin. Dolly met the eyes of the great Pokémon before her, and he bowed his head.
"You have bested the beast, and you have saved the region," he said as his deep voice boomed around them. He lifted his head, and his yellow gaze bore into hers. "You rightly bear the title of the Shield of Galar, and the region is safe because of you. From the bottom of my heart, I thank you."
Dolly nodded, and Zamazenta offered her a slight smile. Zacian approached beside him, and she lowered her head as well.
"But, Zamazenta," Dolly started again. "What about… what about the Curse? That was you, right? You can release me from it?"
"Only you can release it from you, Dolly," Zamazenta replied. "I am but a messenger, a vehicle, a pathway to your goal. You must grow stronger yet, and then I can comply with your wish."
Although she was anticipating a response such as that, Dolly let out a quiet sigh, and a nod.
"Beat the Champion, break the Curse," she mumbled dejectedly.
Zamazenta nodded again.
"Indeed. I have no worries that you will not perform excellently. Best of luck, Shield of Galar, I will be awaiting your return."
Dolly nodded, and the two grand Pokémon before her started to shimmer with light. Their yellow eyes glinted in the sun, they looked beyond Dolly, and into the sky behind her. With another nod to the Trainer before them, Zamazenta and Zacian stepped beyond her, and leapt into the light of the sun. Dolly shielded her eyes at the blinding rays, and before she knew it, they were gone.
As the bright rays glinted around her, Dolly basked in the warmth of the sun. She heaved out a sigh and realized that everything ached. She wondered if full restores worked on humans, because that crick in her neck made it hard to turn her head. Perhaps a potion or something could alleviate the ache in her neck. Or the ache in her back, or her knees, or her head, or everywhere else. But, despite her grievances, she had done it: best the beast, save the region.
Check and check.
Dolly reached out her hand to curl her pinky around Hop's, only to swipe at the air. She did it again, then turned with a huff. When her eyes scanned the empty roof, her brow furrowed.
"Hop?"
No response.
"Hop?!" she asked again.
The sound of tinkling glass and rubble scratched against her ears, and she whipped her head around. Hop was lying beneath a steel beam.
Her heart stopped.
Dolly sprinted to where he lay, and with a surprising amount of strength, heaved the rubble off him and flung it to the side. She clambered down beside him and wiped the trickle of blood from his forehead.
"Hop, are you alright?"
He made no response, and Dolly's eyes widened.
"Hop," she repeated as she pushed his hair back, then cupped his face in her hands. Her eyes started to sting, and her words were growing more desperate. "Hop, c'mon, you're alright, open your eyes."
Her eyebrows pulled together when he didn't move.
"Hop, wake up," she said, shaking him lightly. His head lolled to the side, and her eyes widened.
"No, no no no no no," she whispered. Dolly couldn't top the tears that came tumbling out as she hovered over him, willing it with everything she had, hoping with her entire self, that he would open his eyes. "Hop, please, wake up."
Still no response.
"Please Hop, you're my best friend," she sniffled.
Silence.
"Hop, I need you," Dolly whispered. "So much, you don't understand."
She shook him again, and he still made no response. Dolly held a hand to her mouth, though she couldn't stop the sob that cracked out.
"No..." she whispered as the tears tumbled from her eyes.
Though her skin was so familiar with the sting of loss, the stab in her heart wasn't the same this time. It wasn't sharp, it wasn't shooting. It was dull. It wasn't just her fingers, her arms, her chest, but it reverberated through her entire body, as if she were the inside of a bell that was repeatedly struck. Dolly gently grazed her thumb over his cheek, brushed through the hair by his ear.
Another sob cracked out when she realized she may never see those golden eyes open. He may never again pull her against him, or tuck her hair behind her ear, or brush against her skin, gently and softly, as warm as the sun. How could she go on without her best friend? How could she continue without the one who she could tell everything and anything to? How could she live without the one who encouraged her, who sacrificed for her, who made her feel safe, who made her feel supported, who made her feel loved? How could she live without the one who was a friend to her when she wasn't a friend to herself? How could she live without the one who, when she didn't love herself, loved her with everything he had?
Dolly shook her head.
"I don't think I can live without you, Hop," she whispered.
With another sniffle, she delicately leaned down, and pressed her lips to his forehead. The air around them was still as Dolly rested her forehead against his. Then, she felt the tickle of eyelashes. She bolted up and Hop grunted.
"Hop?!" Dolly gasped.
Hop's eyes opened slowly.
"How the hell did you lift up that beam?" he croaked.
Dolly couldn't respond when the sobs racked her body as she flung herself against him.
"Why are you the one crying?" Hop grunted. "I'm the one that almost just died."
"You're alive," Dolly whimpered, still curling around him and ignoring his question. "I'm so glad you're alive."
"Yes, I'm alive," Hop said with a chuckle. "You need to have more faith in your best mate."
Dolly managed out half a laugh, half a sob, as she hugged him tighter. Hop motioned to move back, but she had no intention of letting go any time soon. She curled around him with everything she had and buried her face in his neck. She didn't even try to be discreet in her sniffling.
"Dolls I'm fine, you don't need to blubber like this," Hop chuckled.
She nodded, though her response was laced with a hiccup.
"Are you okay?" she muttered as she finally pulled back. She brushed her thumb over his cheek as her eyes scanned over his face. "You're not hurt?"
"Just peachy, Shield of Galar," he chuckled.
Dolly breathed out a laugh, and after finishing her injury assessment, looked into his eyes.
"Well if I'm the shield of Galar, that probably makes you the sword."
Hop pursed his lips, then nodded.
"Hm. Sword of Galar. That's got a nice ring to it."
Dolly smiled again, though Hop's mouth twitched up into a mischievous smirk.
"Maybe I should get hit in the head more often," he said as his eyelids lowered. "Kinda like how worried you are."
Her jaw dropped.
"I-I'm not-," she spluttered. "I-I mean you just almost died, you twit!"
"You can't live without me, hm?" Hop whispered. Her cheeks flared when he bit his lip and raised an eyebrow. "You're awful cute when you're concerned about me."
"W-well, no, I mean, I didn't mean-" Dolly stuttered as Hop curled his arms around her waist.
Her fervent denial was laid bare as Hop raised his eyebrows and gestured to how she was still very much curled around him.
"Is this really the time for teasing?" Dolly huffed as her cheeks stained red.
Hop opened his mouth again, but his cheeky smirk was laced with a wince.
Dolly's eyes widened and she scrambled up. Immediately she was hovering over him, poking and prodding, pushing his collar back, pulling up his sleeves, checking for rips in his clothes, looking for the source of the pain. She was riddling him with questions, stumbling through her sentences whenever he tried to speak.
"D-Dolls, calm down, I'm fine," Hop stuttered as she poked and prodded everything about him. "I was just joking about you being worried-"
Her sentences were still racing as she ignored his rationale.
"Dolls?" Hop tried again. "Dolls. Dolls. Dolly. Dolores."
Her hair hung like a curtain, her eyes darted around to find the source of the pain, and her questions were still a mile a minute.
"Love."
She glanced up.
"I'm fine, really."
"You better not be lying to me," she said as she let out a frustrated sigh. Her thumb grazed over his cheekbone, and he tilted his head into her touch.
"When have I ever lied to you?" he said gently as he breathed out a laugh. "I said I was fine."
And then, Hop smirked again.
"You sure look like a Feebas, though."
Even the wind didn't howl as Hop grinned up at the girl hovering over him. Dolly's expression didn't change, and neither did Hop's. After a moment, and then a moment after that, Dolly finally whispered back.
"Are you... are you serious?" she breathed.
Hop smiled and slowly sat up. Dolly fell onto his chest, though she was still staring at him incredulously.
"I can't believe you just said that to me."
Hop was still grinning, and Dolly's brow furrowed as the fire started to blaze in her eyes.
"After what we just went through? After everything we've been through?!"
Hop raised an eyebrow as Dolly's sentences grew louder.
"I can't even tell you how many bruises and cuts and scars and probably fractures I have from walking through the entirety of Galar!"
He tucked a loose hair behind her ear as she continued. He bit back a chuckle when she clutched his shirt in her fist.
"My poor face has been punched, slapped, cut, and all for what?! Because I wanted to make sure you were okay?! Or because I wanted to win through the bloody Gym Challenge?! The stupid thing that's led by your older brother, the one who every person thinks is so charming and daring but he can't even chew with his mouth closed?! Then we've got that other bloke who I thought was so beautiful and intelligent and he ends up being raving mad and-"
He cupped her face in his hands as she kept listing.
"-then he's blowing stuff up to fix some problem a bajillion years in the future and it doesn't help that he literally owns the entire country so everyone is freaking out and the world is falling apart so we had to book it into some creepy secret underground power plant and he tells me he wanted me to talk to the thing that's blowing up the country so I had to battle him with all those exposed wires and glass everywhere-"
Hop slowly lifted her glasses off her face as she continued. He set them on top of her head, then tucked the loose strands behind her ear again.
"-so I didn't exactly have time to visit the salon because then I actually get up to the roof after a billion years on that stupid lift and then there's this skeleton legendary monster thing-"
Hop slowly pulled her closer to him, and her grip was softening, if not slightly trembling, against his chest. One of his hands snaked around her waist, and her sentences were growing quieter as she recognized that intensity in his eyes.
"...th-that we have to fight literally on top of the world with all these chunks of building just flinging around in the sky and then two giant Pokémon jump out of nowhere -"
His gaze flitted from her eyes to her lips, and Hop leaned forward another inch. He settled her comfortably into his lap, and the decisiveness in his movements made red flare in her cheeks.
"-and they… they um... helped me catch that Eternatus thing in a bloody Poké Ball and then we're dubbed the Sword and Shield of Galar like I had in that vision a billion years ago and… and..."
Dark eyelashes fluttered as Hop's gaze flicked from her eyes to her lips. He pulled her arms up from his chest and rested them over his shoulders. His fingers slid down again, and his hold on her waist was firm as he pulled her closer. She was fully pressed against him as her words grew quieter.
"...And… then they jump off into the friggin' sunset and… and…"
He was staring into her eyes, and that familiar heat flared between them.
"...and then I thought you died but you didn't…"
He leaned closer, and Dolly's eyelids were feeling heavy.
"...and after all that, that's what you have to say to me...?"
Another inch closer.
"S-So yeah, whatever, of course I look like a Feebas…"
Another degree hotter.
"I-I've got blood and dirt and that gross goo from that Eternatus thing smeared all over my face and… and..."
He lifted a finger, trailed it down her temple, her cheekbone, her jaw, then gently tilted her chin up.
"...and..i-it's all in my hair because sorry I tried to help you after you almost die..."
He was only centimeters away, and her lips tingled where his breath hit. One of her hands curled into his hair, and her fingers wove between the strands.
"...s-so… I can't believe you just said that to me…"
He was holding his breath as Dolly's eyes fluttered closed.
"...that I look like a Feebas…"
His lips were grazing against hers as she continued to whisper.
"...you're such a twit..."
Dolly breathed out her last word as Hop pressed his lips against hers. They paused, waited, feeling for themselves the reality of what they had both been wanting for so long.
Then, that first small, chaste kiss easily turned into another, and Hop tangled his fingers into her hair as he kissed her deeper, slower, and her hands clutched at his shoulders. Dolly breathed out when Hop leaned into her, and it was if their bodies were formed just for each other as she curved against him, trying to be as close to him as she possibly could. It was as natural as breathing, as natural as the heartbeat that pounded in her chest, as she melted against him.
His lips were just as soft as she had imagined, his kiss just as alluring as she had known for so long. It was soft, slow, tender, and Dolly's toes curled at the intensity coursing from his body. His hold on her was gentle, warm, firm, as he kissed her again, and again, and again, and again. After a sweet eternity they finally broke apart, and Dolly opened her eyes to see Hop's signature grin.
"Sorry," he whispered. "I didn't know how else to get you to stop talking."
Dolly pursed her lips. Then, as she was gazing into the eyes of her best friend, she gasped.
The revelation struck her, blasting against her like a howling gale. Their kiss. Those feelings. Anything and everything that had been coursing within her and the lightning that struck between them and the looks and glances and the pink auras and the Butterfrees swarming.
Everything fit into place.
Although she was perfectly fine on her own, he made her better. He enhanced the goodness that already dwelled within her and encouraged her to heal and craft her qualities until they were nothing short of greatness. She had never once pictured her life without him, nor could she ever try, and all of those thoughts culminated when she realized how desperately she wanted to kiss him again.
"Holy shit."
"...Dolls?"
And, that quiet question combed through her mind yet again:
Could she be… in love with Hop?
Yes.
Yes, yes, yes.
This was among the truest things she had ever known. Looking into his eyes, seeing his smile, feeling safe and secure and warm with her best friend there - how could she be so blind? How frustrating it must have been for everyone around her as she denied it with every particle of her being for so long. It was as if she was finally being liberated at the acknowledgement that she was so irrevocably and ardently in love with him.
"Hop," she whispered.
"Are you okay?" he asked as his eyebrows pulled together. "Was it really that bad?"
"I'm in love with you."
"Wha-hhmph?!"
Hop's sentence was cut short when Dolly kissed him with everything she had. She curled her fingers around his collar and pulled him to her with as much strength she could muster. Hop didn't seem to mind as she curled into him in desperation, though he pulled away only for a second to whisper to her.
"S-so, more than just a friend?"
"Yes," Dolly whispered, and kissed him again.
"More than just a best friend?" he muttered against her lips.
"Mmhmm,"
"I've waited my whole life to hear you say that," he whispered, though his words were often interrupted by Dolly's lips against his. "I love you too, I am so in love with you."
Then, he kissed her a few more times, only to break off again.
"So you're sure-"
"Stop talking," Dolly breathed, as she kissed him again, and again, and again.
The rubble around them was shifting, but Dolly could only focus on Hop curled around her and his lips as he kissed her. It was getting hard to breathe as that revelation pressed against her again and again. She was so in love with him, she was so, so, so in love with him.
"Are you serious?!"
They froze.
"This is the time you choose to snog?!" Leon asked incredulously. "We almost just died, and you get the guts to finally confess?!"
They whipped their heads to the source of the sound. Leon and Sonia had managed through the rubble around them and had stumbled upon Dolly and Hop tangled together. Sonia was laughing into her hand and Leon's jaw was hanging open.
"Finally!?" Dolly repeated. "What are you going on about, finally?"
"Mate, I've been waiting for that since you moved to Postwick!" Leon retorted.
"And all of Galar has been waiting for that since you both arrived on the pitch for the Opening Ceremony!" Sonia added.
Hop sat up straighter, and Dolly fell into his lap again as Leon set his hand on his hips and started counting on his fingers.
"Boy and girl from the same town, best friends turned rivals, all the blushing and what-you-thought-were secret glances, him kissing you 'for good luck,' you two running to each other at the semifinals?! He literally calls you 'love'!"
Leon continued on, listed even more examples, even going back to when Dolly first moved to Postwick. When he ran out of fingers, he borrowed Sonia's. When he ran out of those, he borrowed Charizard's. When he ran out of those too, he threw his arms up.
"The list goes on! You are literally the only one surprised by this," he laughed again.
"I-I..." Dolly stuttered, as she processed his words and his very long list. Hop kissed her temple and tugged her against him again. She didn't realize how obvious it really was until Leon said it out loud, and Sonia confirmed it.
"I can't believe how many fan pages there are for the two of you, and even more shocked you haven't seen any of them," she added, scrolling through her Rotom phone and showing them an example.
"Sorry I've been a little busy, haven't looked at my phone much," Dolly huffed as the heat flared in her cheeks.
Hop laughed and kissed her cheek. She didn't even want to imagine how pink her face was, what with her heart beating a thousand miles a minute. Those familiar Butterfree were back, stronger than ever.
"Ugh, you two are so cute!" Sonia squealed. "Ah, to be young."
Dolly waved Hop off as he chuckled. They both finally rose, and dusted off the debris, dirt, and a bit of Eternatus goo.
"She really is so cute, hmm?" Hop hummed as he pulled Dolly to him.
"Alright you two, enough of that," Leon said with a laugh. "Not sure how much longer I can watch you two snog. I think we've all got a date with the hospital."
Sonia and Leon started towards the lift and Dolly tried to follow, only to be pulled back by her hand. Hop was gazing at her softly, a smile still on his lips.
"I really am in love with you, Dolls," he said quietly. Then, he huffed. "I've tried to tell you like a thousand times, but you're the most oblivious person I've ever met."
Dolly bit her lip and looked down, and the warmth and sincerity in his words spread through her body. He had never been a very good liar, and the thought made her blush.
She stepped toward him and hesitantly looked up. He smiled and leaned in again and kissed her softly. The tenderness of his touch made her fingers tremble as she thought how finally, finally, she could kiss her best friend. All it took was travelling through all of Galar and him almost dying, but, better late than never. The ambiance was finally perfect, especially with the Eternatus goo and building shrapnel lying about. They broke apart and she couldn't help but smile up at him. When she did, his eyebrows pulled together, and he heaved out a sigh.
"And there you go again, looking so cute," Hop said. "Do you know how hard this whole trip has been for me? What with you looking like that and me not being able to kiss you?"
Dolly pursed her lips at him, knowing full well she probably looked like a Tomato berry.
"Oh please," she laughed. "You're so dramatic."
He raised his eyebrows and let out an incredulous huff.
"Dolls. You don't understand. I said I have always been in love with you."
He took a step toward her, that strange intensity burning in his eyes. When he leaned in, his kiss was a little harder, a little more desperate, and her eyes shot open when a soft moan escaped his throat.
...That was new.
Her eyes closed again as she leaned into him, letting him hold onto her in the way and kissing him in the way she had imagined so many times. Everything he said; she couldn't disagree with him. Whether she acknowledged it or not, she had wanted this for so long too. His smile and his hands and his eyes and his security and his lips and his warmth all holding onto her like that; it almost made her knees buckle. Their embrace was cut short by their frustrated friends as Leon called out to them.
"Come on! You'll have all the time in the world to snog later! You need to worry about that blunt-force trauma."
"Alright, alright," Dolly huffed as she pulled away from him and tried to wave the heat off her face. "That's enough of that, it's not like we've got a quota to fill."
"Wait, hold on," Hop said, pulling her back. "I was right."
"Right about what?"
"You need another Hop kiss."
He leaned in and kissed her again.
"Hop," she grumbled as her face flared red.
"Okay just one more," he said, then kissed her again.
"Come on," Dolly laughed as he kept trying to kiss her.
"I like kissing you," he mumbled, then kissed her again. "I've wanted this for a lo-ong time."
Dolly let him have one more kiss, or maybe two, then they walked hand in hand off the roof of the Hammerlocke Stadium. The four of them stepped into the lift, and as soon as the door closed, they slumped against the walls and let out a collective groan.
"My entire body is sore," Leon grumbled, rolling his shoulder. "I would say that was not a champion time."
Dolly breathed out a laugh, her thumb brushing over Eternatus' Poké Ball in her pocket.
"Ace job, though, all of you," Sonia said, setting herself up on her elbows against the railing of the lift. "You all rush up in the nick of time and save the world, real ace."
"And you too, Sonia," Hop grinned as he set himself back on his elbows as well. "Not sure we would have gotten as far as we had without all your help."
"You're incredible, Sonia," Leon agreed with a nod. "Not sure where I'd be without you."
"Lost, probably," Sonia said.
"Probably," Leon smiled.
Sonia waved him off as her cheeks tinged darker. Hop and Dolly glanced between Leon and Sonia, then at each other, and their eyebrows raised.
The lift slowed, then came to a halt as the doors opened to the underground energy plant. The four stepped over the debris and shrapnel littering the floor as Dolly looked into the chamber where she battled Rose. The capsule that contained Eternatus was still sitting solemnly at the back, highlighted by the glow of the lights around it. She vaguely wondered where Rose went. They stepped into the next lift and Sonia turned to Hop.
"You know Hop, work has been really piling up lately. I could use a hand at the research lab."
Hop raised an eyebrow.
"What do you mean?"
"Your intuition with Pokémon is like nothing I've ever seen," Sonia said as she twirled her hair around her finger with a grin. "You're even more apt to know how they're feeling than Dolly is, and she can talk to Pokémon. You've been invaluable with my research, and I want you to come help me at the lab. Come be my assistant."
Hop's eyes grew wide.
"Really?" he breathed.
Sonia nodded.
"You've already got a base knowledge from Pokémon physiology, and your help with the Darkest Day has been invaluable. I'd think we'd work well together, and I think you'd be an excellent Pokémon professor."
Dolly's heart swelled as she watched a smile bloom on Hop's face.
"A Pokémon professor…" he whispered.
"I second that, little brother," Leon beamed. "After watching your battle with Dolly and knowing how you've interacted with Pokémon your whole life, I think it'd be a perfect fit."
"Me too," Dolly added. "And I've told you a thousand times how amazing you are with Pokémon. Better than anyone I've ever seen, too."
Hop's small smile easily grew into a megawatt grin.
"Funny that you mention that, Sonia, because I've been thinking about asking you the same question," Hop beamed. "I'll be the most ace Pokémon professor there ever was!"
Sonia laughed as the lift reached the atrium of Hammerlocke stadium. Dolly squeezed Hop's hand and smiled up at him.
"Professor Hop," Dolly said. "That's got a nice ring to it, too."
"I'll say, way better than rubbish 'Sword of Galar,'" Hop grinned.
Dolly laughed and rolled her eyes as the four made their way out of Hammerlocke Stadium. The sun was beaming in through the entryway, and the warmth spread over the room, over Dolly, and over the region of Galar.