Author's POV

"Duraludon, G-Max Depletion!" Raihan's voice was heard through the phone's speaker.

The owner of said phone watched with excitement, her hands still slightly trembling in anticipation. The girl had seen this match already a while back, but she was rewatching the live broadcast because something special was set to happen that day.

While she was watching the match from the safety of a couch in her parents' house, she desperately wished she was in the stadium, witnessing such an event in person. The excitement she was seeing before her served as a stark contrast to the mellow atmosphere of the living room she sat in. While she was watching these two fierce Pokémon duke it out in Galar's biggest stadium, her parents' Munchlax and Dubwool were busy napping on the living room rug.

"Flare, dear, you've got a visitor!" Her mother called from the kitchen room over.

Flare looked up from her phone to see that her mother had already let their visitor in. In came walking a purple-haired boy being followed by his rolling Wooloo.

"Hello, hello!" He wore a trademark smile as he greeted her.

"Hellooooo." His Wooloo chimed in.

Flare giggled at the sight of the familiar duo. "Hello, Hop."

Hop excitedly brought his eyes to the device in Flare's hands. "Still rewatching Lee's match on your flash new Rotom phone, eh? We better get a move on now!" He pumped his fists.

Flare quickly got up and attempted to match Hop's excited stance. "He's arriving today, isn't he?"

Hop nodded. "Any second now! I'll have you know Lee always brings gifts when he visits so he'll probably have one for you too!"

"Hang on for just a moment, dears," Flare's mom spoke up from the kitchen. "Flare, if you're heading out, you should get your bag first!"

Hop nodded her way. "A bag could mean you could carry any gift that's as big as a Snorlax! Or an actual Snorlax! That's a mighty fine idea, Flare's mum!"

She gave him a gentle smile to match her soft-spoken tone. "I've said it before, you can simply call me Judith."

Hop made his way back to the door. "I'll be waiting for you outside, Flare! Let's go, Buddy!"

He briefly waved before motioning for his Wooloo to follow him. The little sheep was curiously observing the sleeping Dubwool before turning around to follow Hop. Flare waved back.

Flare repeated Hop's words in her head. She had to get a move on. Always the hasty one, that friend of hers. The girl rushed to her room and found her bag, a brown leather pack that looked more like a large satchel to be worn on the back.

As she tried it on, she felt the age of its sentimental leather. It was a gift, supposedly from her dad, that she had not touched until that day. As she looked at her reflection in the mirror, she figured out why. She normally wore her matching black jumper and pants, but with the addition of the bag it looked like she was getting ready for adventure. Adventure was a nice thought, but unfamiliar territory to her.

"That bag looks good on you, dear." Judith walked in from the hallway. "I'm surprised you don't wear it as much."

Flare turned on her heel, feeling flattered. "You know I don't go out as often as Hop. I don't have Pokémon like you do, Mom." She briefly glanced across the hallway to see the Munchlax and Dubwool still napping. "Not only that, but I always thought adventuring was more of Hop's thing."

"That might change today, who can say?" Judith winked, a proud smile on her face. "Being friends with the champion's younger brother has its perks. There's no saying what that gift could be. You could finally be a trainer like me and your father."

Flare playfully rolled her eyes at her mom's coy attitude. She had a bashful smile at the thought of potentially getting a gift from Champion Leon himself, let alone getting to finally meet him. Still, as her mother started to lead her to the door, she found herself deep in thought at the mention of her father.

All Flare knew about how he looked was from family photos when she was too young to remember. He had blond hair, Judith had blue eyes, and Flare had both. Well, even if Flare's eye colour was closer to her dad's shade of blue. She even had glasses like her parents, though hers had a pink frame. Because he was never around, all she knew about him was stories from her mom, like how their Dubwool family pet was a Pokémon her dad used in his journey.

Still, even if she never got to meet him in person, she supposed she could trust her mother's words in saying he was a good person. Right, of course. He did leave her a nifty bag to use, after all. Shoes, too.

"Flare, mate! What're ya spacin' out for?"

She broke out of her trance when she realized she was out of her house. Hop was by the bottom of the little staircase out the garden, waving to her.

She hurried after him down the stairs, clutching the straps from her bag as she hiked it up her shoulders. While Hop's smile was excited, hers was more bashful from anticipation. "Sorry about that, I'm still nervous…"

"Don't worry 'bout meeting Lee! He may be the champion, but don't forget he's still my bro!" Hop crossed his arms, proud of the fact.

"Brooooo!" His Wooloo chimed in, sharing Hop's enthusiasm.

Hop knelt down to take the lamb in his arms and pet him. "That's the spirit, Buddy! We oughta get going, Flare! Lee should've arrived at the Wedgehurst Station by now!"

Flare steeled herself. "Right!" She quickly recalled how Wedgehurst was just a short walk from their quaint town of Postwick.

Hop put Buddy back on the ground and wore his trademark smile. "Race you there, Flare. Gotta get there quick, we both know how hopeless Lee is with directions!"

Flare nodded in agreement and took chase as Buddy rolled after Hop. Even if she had yet to meet Leon in person, she was used to Hop telling and showing her nearly everything about him and his battling. It was still settling in that she was going to meet someone that talented and popular.

Flare's POV

Race you there, he says, like he doesn't know his own speed…

I wasn't quite used to running that much… Judging from how fast Buddy was rolling, it's clear Hop knew how to get around. With how much he liked running about, it was a wonder why he still stayed in sleepy old Postwick for all these years.

I ended up running through Route 1 and almost stumbling into Hop behind a crowd at Wedgehurst's plaza. The clamoring and cheering of everyone I couldn't see over made the situation obvious. Kids and adults alike were gathered in front of the Wedgehurst station while me and Hop were left standing in the back trying to get a look. I could barely catch flashes of purple hair and orange flames as I tried my best to peek. Then again, with how I could make out his grin from here, Leon seemed… much taller in person. Same could be said for his Charizard.

"... too true that my Charizard is blazingly strong. But other Pokémon can be strong as well!" And his voice was just as powerful as it was on TV too. "My dream is for Galar's trainers to work with each other and their Pokémon to become the strongest in the world!"

Getting to hear him in person made me forget I was supposed to be catching my breath from the run I just took, even if I was still stuck at the back of this crowd. I couldn't help but cheer alongside everyone else here, which just ran my throat into ragged coughs.

Hop started frantically waving from beside me. "Lee!"

"Leeeeeeee!" Buddy was hoisted up into Hop's arms, being lifted up high and also being waved.

Their noise seemed enough, probably enough to overshadow everyone in the area. The audience seemed to split after that, allowing Leon and his Charizard a clear view towards us. Seeing his full frame in view, I hastily caught my breath and straightened myself up.

"Hop! So, my number-one fan in all the world has come out of his way to pick me up!" He walked over to us and put a hand on Hop's head. "I reckon you've grown… exactly an inch and a quarter since the last time I saw you!"

Hop nodded, the grin on his face as big as ever. "Bingo! That's the sort of sharp eye that's kept you undefeated for so long, eh, Lee?"

It was then that they both cast their attention on me. I already knew Hop was taller than me by a bit, but the height difference between him and Leon just emphasized how much of a presence this champion had. Not to mention how large his cape was.

Leon smiled at me. "And these bright blue eyes over here. You must be Flare, am I right? I've heard loads about you from my little brother."

It was still sinking in that the champion knew my name. I tried to get my breathless self to say something. "You've… heard of me?"

Hop joined Leon by the shoulder to grin at me. "Got that right! Did you forget he's my brother or something?"

The two of them chuckled together, their grins almost identical. I just looked back and forth between them for a bewildered second, noticing just how similar their energy was. It somehow took me just now to notice they even shared the same hair colour too.

"It's always a pleasure to meet my fans," Leon added, grinning back to the waiting Wedgehurst crowd before looking back at me. "Just remember I'm still Hop's big brother, and a big Charizard fan." He gave me a nudge. "Thanks for looking out for the little guy."

In a moment of stunned silence I could only reach for my shoulder. "E-Er, it's no problem!" Hop did more of the looking out, anyways.

"Little, eh? And right after you praised me for growing, too!" Hop butted in. "Did you come visit for just a chin-wag or what?"

"Excited as always, aren't you? Want to race home first?"

Hop put on a determined smile. "You bet I do! Last one there is a rotten Bounsweet!"

"Sweeeeet!"

Without hesitation, Hop ran off with Buddy rolling after him. Leon didn't even give chase, at first. He gave me one more smile before stepping ahead.

"That Hop, always wanting to be the best. I bet he'd become something real special if given the right push."

"Oh, huh?" I was just surprised he was still talking to me. I think. I didn't know why he was looking at me when he said that. Was he trying to tell me something? Maybe he was looking at somebody else.

As I found myself lost in thought, Leon said something to the Wedgehurst crowd that made them disperse and leave. He looked at me once more.

"Well, whatever the case, let's not keep Hop waiting!" Leon already broke off into a dash, cape flowing as he ran. "Hope you know where our house is!"

"W-Wha?!" It took me a second to realize I had to run too. It was only when a Charizard's shadow flew over me did I realize it. I still had yet to fully catch my breath and I was already back to running. What's with these brothers and leaving me breathless?

Once again I had to run through the grass-less path of Route 1 to try to catch up to Hop and Leon. While I was mostly behind, I caught faint glimpses at how they bounded across the path. They were even nudging each other along the way, like they've done this for years. I could tell Hop was smiling, and that caught on to me, even if I still thought their taller selves were an unfair advantage.

Good thing I knew where Hop lived. It wasn't too far from my own house, but it was much bigger. Still didn't help me from being dubbed the 'rotten Bounsweet' when I reached the yard.

"Well look at the bright side," Leon told me. "Least you're still sweet."

His comment earned him a jab to the arm from Hop. The two brothers and Wooloo laughed to themselves while I still found myself blushing at the idea of being complimented by the champion.

"Come on, Lee. You promised gifts, so out with it! I hope you got something for Flare, too!"

As flattered as I was at Hop's suggestion, I smiled and tried to act modest in the face of his eagerness. "It's okay if you didn't prepare anything for me, Mr. Champion, honest."

"Don't worry, you two!" Leon answered by reaching into his cape pocket. "I prepared a little something you might like! Take a look!"

He quickly brought out three Pokéballs and sent out the Pokémon inside. The three small figures of green, orange, and blue landed on the open court of the yard.

Me and Hop just watched as the three Pokémon scampered about for a bit, poking around and exploring their surroundings. They weren't as rowdy as I would've thought, almost like they knew each other. Then they gathered and looked up at us.

I recognized their species. "Grookey, Scorbunny, and Sobble? Aren't these Pokémon rare?"

"She's right, Lee!" Hop looked on with as much intrigue as I did. "Where'd you get these?"

Leon just wore his signature grin. "I know a place. It's just a champion thing." He started to nudge us closer to the trio of Pokémon. "What're you waiting for? You can both pick one!"

Pick one? I looked down at the Pokémon to see them looking up in anticipation. As in, one of these, for me? I found myself stunned at the realization that one of these rare Pokémon would be mine for the choosing.

In a moment of hesitation, I looked back at Hop. He grinned at me, holding Buddy in his arms. "Help yourself, mate! You can pick one first."

"Fiiiiirst!" Buddy smiled under his touch.

I went back to looking down at the three Pokémon before me. An energetic Scorbunny, a timid Sobble…

I noticed the Grookey used its stick to tie its hair tufts into a bun. I was enamored. "I love your bun."

The Grookey smiled at me, pleased. "Ta, lass. You're not too bad yourself, goldilocks."

I smiled back, using one hand to comb through my shoulder-length hair and the other to reach for the Grookey. She hesitated.

"You certain you're fine hauling a Grookey like me around?" She looked up at me curiously. "Not quite used to being the first choice, lass."

I nodded. Even if I've never had a Pokémon before, I was really sure at that point. Something about this just felt right. "I'm Flare. Do you think you're fine having me as a trainer?"

The Grookey looked amused. "Aye, got me there, Flare. Call me Twigs." She climbed onto my hand and made her way up my sleeve and to my shoulder. "I got a good feeling 'bout you, girlie."

I still couldn't believe I actually got my first Pokémon. I would've squealed, if not for the possibility of screaming my new partner off of me. I looked towards Hop to see him sharing my excitement.

"Good stuff, Flare!" Hop pumped his fists and turned towards the remaining two Pokémon, putting Buddy back down on the ground. "Looks like it's my turn."

The Scorbunny and Sobble looked up at him, the rabbit once again looking confident while the Sobble trembled nearby.

Hop glanced at Leon nearby, eyeing his Charizard as well. "I need to be a strong trainer to take on the likes of you, Lee! And because of that, I'm picking Sobble!"

Both the Scorbunny and the Sobble appeared surprised at his response.

The Sobble slowly approached him. "M-Me?"

Hop grinned at him. "You got that right! What's your name, little guy?"

The little lizard slowly looked up, wiping tears. "I'm Sev…"

"Welcome to the team, Sev! I'm Hop, and this is Buddy!"

The Wooloo walked over to the smaller Pokémon. "Buddyyyyy!"

I looked over to the Scorbunny to see its confidence completely drained. Poor thing probably thought it would've been picked.

It was then that Leon went over and knelt down beside it. "Guess that means you're staying with me. It'll be nice to train a Fire type from scratch again."

This perked the Scorbunny's mood. It excitedly hopped around him.

"I'll make sure we have a champion time!" He uttered his catchphrase, just like in his matches, as he pat the bunny's head. "Charizard will be sure to show you the ropes. He's real kind and he'll help you grow real strong too." The fire dragon looked down at the bunny like a gentle mentor.

Seeing Leon pet his Pokémon made me look at Twigs still on my shoulder.

She looked back knowingly. "Aye, fair enough. If you must, I'll take chin scratches."

I obliged and brought my hand to the fur by her chin. Even if her fur was short, it felt surprisingly soft. She seemed to like it.

"Now, you two should have these." Leon made his way to me and Hop and gave us each a Pokéball. "And with that, they're officially registered as your Pokémon."

I looked down at Twigs' Pokéball in my hand. "Whoa…" The realization was still settling in. I looked at Twigs on my shoulder once more.

"Okay, Flare!" Hop called to me with determination alive in his voice. "We both have Pokémon now. You know what we gotta do!"

I caught on. "Battle? Now?" I looked at Twigs.

"Seems like it." She looked eager. "I'm just about itching for a fight." She hopped off my shoulder. "Oi, Sev. You in the mood for a scrap?"

The Sobble slowly crawled out from behind Hop's leg. "Twigs? Well… sure."

Twigs looked up and nodded at me. I was actually going to have my first battle as a trainer. I couldn't exactly run away from a battle like this, so it was time to see what we could do.

Hop and I took our places at the open part of his yard meant to look like a small battlefield. I took a breath and steeled myself as I noticed Leon observing us from nearby.

"Nothing like watching some greenhorns go at it!" The champion seemed surprisingly enthusiastic about watching two rookies like us. "Give it your all, you two!"

Hop looked at me. "I think I'll have Buddy sit this one out. I need to give Sev his time to shine!" He held his Pokéball with one hand, winding up his arm and smacking the ball with the other. "Let's go, Sev!"

At the same time he lurched his arm forward, I did the same with Twigs' Pokéball, trying to match his force. Both our Pokémon came out at the same time.

Twigs looked up at me with a raised eyebrow. "Did you really have to put us back in the balls? We were right there and everything."

"S-Sorry!" I meekly smiled at her. "We just really wanted to practice our throws."

I looked ahead to see Sev still trembling.

"You can do this, Sev!" Hop encouraged him. "I believe in you!"

The little Sobble seemed to cheer up at his words and stood determined. Hop then looked up at me with a similar determination. "We're going to give you a real fight, Flare! I have all of Lee's matches recorded on the telly so I know what I'm doing!"

I tried to match his confidence. "I watched those matches on the TV with you too!" I recalled the kind of confidence I saw from the trainers in those videos. "Twigs, use… use…" It was then I realized I didn't know what moves Twigs had. She just looked up at me as I stammered.

Hop hesitated too. "Flare, don't you have the Pokédex app on your Rotom phone?"

I blinked, just realizing Hop had his own Rotom phone on hand this whole time. "What's that? Could I see Twigs' moves with that?"

Twigs nodded at me. "Don't worry yourself, Flare. I can take it from here if you'd like. I know Sev pretty well."

"Okay Sev, use Pound!" Hop suddenly called out.

The Sobble suddenly lunged at Twigs, doing a quick twirl to hit her with his tail. She stumbled back towards me, but quickly caught herself.

"Twigs!" I called out, worried.

She shook it off and gave me a reassuring nod. "No need to overreact, lass. I know what I'm doing."

Twigs jumped ahead and swiped at Sev with one of her paws. It was then that Sev suddenly… disappeared? My Grookey missed her attack and stood on guard, as if expecting something.

"Good job, Sev!" Hop called from the other side. "Now, surprise Water Gun!"

All of a sudden, a blast of water came out of thin air and splashed onto Twigs. The attack surprised me, but she ended up looking more annoyed than anything. "You jus' had to wet my bun again."

I tried looking for where the water came from and found nothing. "How is he doing that?"

Twigs shook the water off. "The lad's invisible again! Quit hiding!" Another blast of water splashed her from a different direction. "Och, now you've done it!"

Shaking the water off again, Twigs undid her bun and took her stick, holding it in one paw like a weapon. "I gotcha, Sev!" She lunged towards a spot on the field and jabbed her stick at the air. At least, I thought it was just the air, until I heard her hit something.

"Eeeep!" Sev let out a shrill cry, suddenly reappearing where Twigs jabbed her stick. He clutched his stomach and fell over on the spot.

I stood in silence for a second. "Did we… win?"

Hop scratched his head, just as confused as I was. "I think so." Didn't take him long to go back to smiling. "That Grookey fought good, but so did Sev! Still, did you already know about type advantages, Flare?"

I tried to recall from the matches I saw. "Mostly."

"Then you oughta get your Pokédex when you can, mate!" He encouraged me. "You and your Grookey could be going places!"

I found myself smiling at his praise. I literally just started. "Your Sobble did great too, Hop."

Speaking of the two, I looked at Twigs to see her still checking on the knocked out Sobble.

"Oi Sev, bit of a drama queen aren't ya? All I did was give you a gentle prod."

"Oh. Okay." Sev immediately sprung back to life and got up as if nothing happened.

It was then that Leon and his two Pokémon came up to us, smiles and all. "You and your Pokémon fought really hard. Made me almost want to let Charizard and Scorbunny here join in on all the fun! Good effort, the both of you!"

Sev headed back to Hop's side as Twigs climbed back up on my shoulder and redid her bun. Her fur was a little bit damp, but still soft.

"Leon! There you are!"

I heard the familiar voice nearby to see Hop's mom join us by the yard. Someone else joined her too.

I immediately recognized the silver hair as well as her Munchlax and Dubwool. "Mom? What're you doing here?"

She smiled at me. "We knew Leon was visiting, dear. We planned a little barbecue for the occasion."

Hop's mom already got to cooking what looked to be meat on the grill. I've never had barbecue meat before, so I wouldn't know.

"Judith!" Leon greeted my mom. "It's been a while! Is that Sheep and Banana I see with you?"

My eyes widened with intrigue. I knew Mom's Dubwool and Munchlax were named that, but how did Leon know their names?

"Right you are." My mom smiled, then looked at my shoulder. "Is that a Pokémon you have, dear? I was wondering when you'd finally get one."

I scratched Twigs' chin. "She's a gift from the champion."

"That Leon." She cast him a knowing smile. "Flare dear, does this mean you'll be able to head out on a journey of your own?"

Head out? It got me thinking for a second and I hesitated. "You mean, leave home?" I turned bashful. "I don't know if I could…"

My mom put a reassuring hand on my shoulder. "It's no pressure dear. It's something to consider since your father and I did the same back then."

I watched as Twigs hopped off and observed Sheep. The big Dubwool was as silent and dormant as usual. I always thought she wasn't lively because she was old.

"Hey Flare! I got you a stick!" Hop ran over to me, stoked as always and handed me a kebab with sizzling pieces of meat on it.

"Thanks, Hop." I accepted it and took a whiff. Fresh off the grill, and just as tasty when I bit into it. I saw Hop take a bite off his own kebab stick while giving some pieces to Sev and Buddy. I gulped. "Is that safe for them to eat?"

"Imitation meat made out of Liechi Berries." Hop spoke while chewing. "Completely safe and still has the protein."

I nodded in understanding, chuckling a bit at the sauce on his chin. I looked to see Twigs and Banana at my feet, looking as if they wanted some scraps. "Okay, you two."

"Ta, Flare." Twigs gladly accepted the piece and used her stick to poke through it.

After I gave Banana his piece, the little Munchlax immediately went over to Hop to ask for more. I chuckled. If the little guy really wanted more food, I might as well have given him my whole kebab.

Everyone was having a good time. Our parents were catching up on stuff with Leon, me and Twigs were helping ourselves to the food, while Banana continued asking Hop for more meat.

As I looked around from my spot on the yard bench, I suddenly noticed something missing. Sheep wasn't here.

"Strange…" I muttered to myself. I recalled the Dubwool being nearby just a few minutes ago. It wasn't like the old girl to wander off on her own, too.

The distant sound of trotting made me stand up. I had a bad feeling. I quickly got up to leave and look around.

"Oi, Flare, what're leaving for?" I heard Twigs call from behind me.

The trotting sounds looked like they were headed back home. Why would Sheep want to leave my mom and Banana's side? Why was she running?

I dashed back down the path to my house to see the familiar legged fluff going at a trot's pace. As I made chase, I noticed that she wasn't actually heading home. Sheep was running down the detour path with the boarded-off gate meant to keep out small Pokémon. The gate that led to the murky forest next door.

The Slumbering Weald? I pondered, trying to catch my breath. But-

I found myself completely shocked when Sheep straight up jumped the gate and ran ahead. I didn't know Dubwool had that agility!

I eventually reached the gate and froze. I've never been to the Slumbering Weald before. All I heard about it was how off limits it was. This gate had to be here for a reason, what with the path ahead shifting into a foreboding forest area I couldn't see through from here.

"Hey Flare! Wait up!"

I heard Hop's voice to see him catch up to me, followed by Twigs, Buddy, and Sev.

Hop eyed the gate. "I saw what happened. I didn't think Dubwool like her could run off like that!"

I nodded, looking back at him in worry. "I was thinking the same thing. But what do we do now?"

Hop's trademark smile came back, a hint of determination in his voice. "We follow her, of course! That place could be dangerous for all we know, and it's not as if we could just leave her be!"

His resolve ended up catching on to me. I tried to steel myself too. "Right."

Twigs climbed onto my shoulder. "I'm here with you, lass. I know how to take care of myself but I dinnae know 'bout you."

I smiled at her and scratched her chin. "Thanks, Twigs. And you too, Hop."

Without another moment's notice, Hop easily jumped the gate while it took me a bit to climb after him. Still, as we ran off into the dark path ahead, I couldn't help but think.

What was Sheep thinking by suddenly running off here?