TEAM: Twigs (Thwackey) & Crumbs (Skwovet), Spike (Chewtle) & Tilda (Oddish), Hook (Galarian Slowpoke) & Cress (Grubbin)

Spike's POV

So this was the infamous Route 4. This was more like it. Yellow fields gently swaying in the breeze as far as the eye can see. If I wasn't too busy tagging along on Flare's journey, I probably would've liked to settle down here. There were berries and crops and a near enough body of water I could thrive in. Probably would've caused some invasive species business, but I didn't need to worry about that. Well, the sight of seeing some Electric types wandering through the grass made me want to hide.

"Come on, Spike. Route 3 wasn't that bad." Tilda told me.

"Okay, okay, you got me there."

Flare brought the two of us out to keep her company for this part of the route. Thankfully Tilda was willing to volunteer to fight the Electric type that Flare ended up catching and sending away. I wasn't really in the mood to stir up a crowd after what happened in Route 3. It seems Flare wasn't too pleased about that either. We had a talk about the matter and everything while we walked.

"So he seemed to cause even more trouble, is that it?"

Flare nodded. "We did win the battle, but I felt like things could've gone better…"

"Don't sweat it, kid. Sure he's strong, but the rest of us will catch up eventually." I nodded, once again looking forward to the day I evolve. "You sure you can't just switch him out for one of the other Pokémon you've caught? Might be cool to have that Zigzagoon join us."

She smiled, but shook her head. "League rules. Once I get a team of six, I can't change up my team or pairings unless I lose a match against another trainer."

So that's the deal, huh? I sighed and looked around the route for anyone else. "Maybe there's another one of those trainers who'll battle you like how we trained in previous routes. There's gotta be someone we could purposely lose to here. I'm self-taught in the flop."

At least I seemed to amuse Flare. Even if I was only partially kidding. Still, she had that smile that showed she meant well despite it all. Honest kid. "I don't really have any plans to lose on purpose. Besides, maybe Hook will start to pull his weight as a team player one day. I wouldn't give up on him that easily."

Heh. Even if I wasn't too big on that Slowpoke, it seemed Flare was taking this well. Still, if all else isn't going well, maybe I could start pulling my weight even more, just to be careful. I was a species of Chewtle that had a more rigid shell rather than sturdier teeth, but I was still hoping I could fight pretty well. Would've been extra lucky if I was the elusive 'fast Chewtle' breed.

Least Tilda seemed to be doing well for herself. She seemed to be extra active in the sun today, getting in easy knockouts against the local Electric types here. So much so that Flare said she reached her battle quota relatively quickly and got to training up Twigs and Crumbs. Least I got to watch from the sidelines and admire the scenery.

"Come on, Spike! Let's go fight something!" Of course Tilda had other plans. Getting all up in my view while I was trying to sightsee.

I leaned my head to the side, still trying to get a good look at the sky. "Mind moving a bit? I'm trying to enjoy this beautiful route."

Seems she wasn't letting up. Didn't seem to take the hint and blocked my view again with that peppy smile of hers. There was a cloud I had my eye on and everything. "That's what I'm saying! Wouldn't you rather make the most out of this by getting stronger and stuff?"

Guess she had a point. We seemed to have similar thoughts on evolution. "Touché."

"Bless you."

Least the Oddish's tenacity was fun to be around. Got a chuckle out of me. "What's your deal with me, anyway? If you wanna go fight something, be my guest. Preferably with Flare's supervision, just to be safe. Dunno why you insist on me tagging along, though."

She just wore that grin on her face. While Flare's was more kind and well-meaning, Tilda here was much more on the excitable side. "You said you were popular, didn't you?" Her wide eyed stare definitely gave off that kind of excitable impression. "If you're popular, then you must be really strong, right? I gotta tag along with you at all times, then!"

So she thought I was strong, huh? Not to toot my own horn or anything, but I did seem to be doing mostly alright in the bouts I've had so far. "Strong? I wouldn't say I'm 'role model worthy' strong. I've seen you fight, and you seem to be handling yourself perfectly fine as is. I'm just making do." Course I was capable in my own right, I'm not all modest, but I know better than to assume I'm at the top. Compared to some Pokémon, that is…

The very thought of that Slowpoke got me mulling over something, slowly lowering my gaze as I did. Particularly over our first meeting. Could swear I still felt just how bad that one attack hurt. Left pain on my side and questions on my mind.

I couldn't just keep shut about how unfamiliar that sensation felt. I figured I might as well talk about it while I could. I snapped back to my senses and asked the Oddish a question. "Hey, Tilda. Have you ever felt weak enough to faint? Except, even weaker?"

The Oddish seemed to be occupied in her own thoughts when I asked. My question prompted her to quickly shift to a look of realization. "Weaker than fainting? Oh no! My grammy told me about this!" She looked genuinely worried for some reason. "Do you feel weak, Spike? Are there any predators around?"

Predators? Although confused, I tried to shake my head to let her know I was alright. "Thanks for asking, but I don't feel weak. Least, not now. What's the deal with the predators, anyhow?" I knew there were Electric types in the grass, but it wasn't like any of them were actively trying to hunt me down.

Tilda still looked alert. "My parents told me the weaker than weak thing happens when you get caught by any scary predators! You faint so hard, you never wake up! I think they called it…" She looked around herself as if to make sure the coast was clear. "... dying."

Huh. Death. The concept wasn't new to me, but the answer was still a bit unexpected. I would've thought I was having an off day, but for that to be my last? Well, it was a good thing Flare brought out the Potion when she did, then.

The realization dropped onto me like a ton of bricks. Good thing my shell was tough enough to take that metaphorical and potentially physical weight, despite me being a Chewtle. I still kept a cool head.

Not Tilda, though. "A celebrity like you can't die, Spike!" At that point I wasn't even sure if she was genuinely worried about me as an individual. Not that it really mattered, anyway. All I had to do was not die, pretty simple.

Meanwhile my Oddish companion was still listing off reasons of grandiose regarding why I shouldn't leave this world, even despite the reassurance that I had no plans to. She kept going off on supposed feats I was too modest to see myself achieving, so I just employed the familiar practice of drowning noise out. At least it was the thought of her concern that counted, even if her reasons weren't exactly the kind I'd rather be remembered for.

Still, Tilda was clearly a naïve girl, but she was capable in her own right and at least had good intentions. It'd be a shame if someone like her were to bite the dust, so I'd rather that not happen. Being paired up with her, I supposed I should take it upon myself to make sure she doesn't get too reckless during battle. Pretty sure the whole schtick with this partner gimmick was to have pairs back each other up all the way anyway.

I managed to tear my attention away to turn around and check back on how the others' training was going. Flare was sending Crumbs into battle against another one of those Electrike. Crumbs was a good Skwovet, very earnest, docile, and willing to share a Berry anytime. That spiffy white scarf of his only added to his cutesy innocent look. It was just that under Flare's command in battle, he seemed to be more active and feisty. At a surprising level, even. That's a bite rival right there if I've ever seen one.

It's been something that I've been keeping my eye on for a while now. Back during my time in Route 2, I've become very familiar with knowing what most wild Pokémon are like, but being caught has also taught me what a trainer's Pokémon was like. Not that much seemed blatantly different so far, but it seemed like battle prowess was where things really got interesting. Watching Crumbs fight then was much different than watching him fight that Hop trainer shortly after I was caught. He did decently before, but here he seemed even more hardy and ready to fight. Took less time for Flare to call out a command and lesser time for Crumbs to follow. I felt it, too. It was as if continued battling alongside a trainer made a Pokémon more… in sync with them. Really got me curious to check out what a professional Pokémon battle looked like.

Anyhow, it was at least reassuring to observe how having a trainer meant we'd perform better in battle. Left me wondering if said prowess would be enough to stand up against the fierce disposition I hear some crazed predators have. If worst comes to worst, I'd also rather that confrontation not happen.

I looked back at Tilda to see that she was still going on about how the cosmos and all her ancestors wouldn't live with the disappearance of someone as supposedly important as I was. If her family tree (heh) really did go that far back, pretty sure they already got that living thing taken care of. I still got mine to live, of course.

I wondered if everyone else knew about this, too.

Flare's POV

That seems like enough training…

I had everyone else returned in their Pokéballs and only had Twigs and Crumbs with me at that point. Thankfully Crumbs gathered some berries we could all snack on for a little while. We found a nice little log we could sit by.

I watched as he and Twigs snacked. To think that just yesterday they were both near the same size. Then again, I only got Twigs yesterday and evolved her on my first day. Were things supposed to be this smooth?

Crumbs looked up at me. "Hey, Flare. Twigs and I have been talking. Do you think my scarf'll still fit me when I evolve?"

I chuckled at his innocent question and pet his head. His scarf did look good on him. "It looks big enough. You don't need to worry." I noticed Twigs' eyeing the scarf as well. "Do you want a scarf too, Twigs?"

She seemed to realize she was staring and shifted her gaze. "No need to worry 'bout me, Flare. I'm fine enough with my looks as is. Least I'm no chubby glutton."

Crumbs looked up at her. "I'll be taking that as a compliment. Hope you won't be looking down on me for long, y'hear?"

I smiled at their banter, yet couldn't help but wonder… "You two aren't actually arguing, are you?"

The two of them looked bewildered at me before smiling. Crumbs nodded at me before handing another berry to Twigs. "Golly, couldn't be farther from the truth!"

"Aye, lass." Twigs let Crumbs climb onto her shoulder. "Seems to me that we've been getting along the best out of everyone here. We're practically besties at this point."

Crumbs looked at her with a sudden flushness on his face. "Golly, I've never really made any friends before. You certain about that?"

She just patted his little head and nodded at him. The whole interaction made me glad that it didn't look like we'd be having more falling outs anytime soon. "I'm happy for you two."

After our little break, the three of us pressed onwards and made it to Turffield. I didn't even realize we were that close to the town with how natural both it and the route looked. It was as if the route served as an extension to the crop fields the town looked to have.

"I did some reading about this place and it seems to be a farming town. Makes sense since the first Gym Leader is Milo." I recalled, remembering the articles Hop sent me.

"Looks about right." Twigs commented. She scanned the place with her eyes and took a breath, seeming satisfied. "Air here's mighty fresh and there looks to be a flower shop here. Maybe worth a visit."

"Hey, Flare!" A familiar voice called out to us nearby. "Over here!"

Speaking of Hop, he was the one calling out to us. He was waiting by the town's entrance, waving enthusiastically as he stood with a pair of Pokémon.

"Hey Hop!" I waved back. Figured that he'd be here first. I just didn't expect him to be waiting here. I watched as my pair ran to his, Twigs of course heading to Sev, and noticed something. "A Yamper? I didn't know you caught a Yamper." The little thing backed away shyly when my Pokémon came close.

Hop held his hands behind his head and wore his trademark smile as his Yamper scurried behind him. "I recently caught her on Route 4, actually. I figured it was about time I got another member after meeting a certain someone at the mine."

"Ah…" I thought back and immediately knew who he was talking about. "So you ran into Bede too. It was a good thing I had my Grubbin with me."

Hop seemed to agree, though his expression shifted for a bit. "Type matchups are darn important, mate! Good thing you beat him, then. He gave my team of three a proper thrashing!"

I widened my eyes at the news. Hop lost?

Hop seemed to notice my surprise and wore his smile once more. It seemed genuine. "No worries, mate! I've only just started out and have yet to complete my dream team. Besides, that's what I have Heart for." He kneeled down to pet his shy Yamper. "An Electric type is nice to have, but the real kicker is she also knows Bite. None of my team really had any good Dark type moves back in the mine, but next time things will be different! My team still has to reach its full potential!"

I found his excitement contagious. It was nice that he was still able to pick himself up from this. "Do you only have four Pokémon? I'm sure there's enough Pokémon around for you to have a full team by now."

Hop got back up and chuckled. "Don't think I haven't been getting catches here and there! I'm just carefully picking what kind of team I'll need when I feel like it. Besides, handicapping myself with less Pokémon early on makes my accomplishments feel all the better!"

I supposed that was a good way to go about it, even if I preferred having my party the way that it was. Even despite the obvious conflict within the team.

"Hmm?" I noticed something else about his Yamper. Plural. "Is that Yamper also yours?"

Hop also looked confused at the second Yamper at his feet. In contrast to Heart, this Yamper seemed very outgoing, all smiles and tail wags.

"Oh, hey!" Hop pet this Yamper as well. "This is Sonia's Yamper, Bow!"

The happy Yamper yipped at the mention of his name. "Yep yep!" He turned around and headed up a path, looking back at us as if he wanted us to follow. And follow we did.

We were led by the Yamper with our Pokémon in tow, heading up this path a ways away from the main area of Turffield. As we strolled by, I noticed there were some standing stones placed about where other people stood and stared at, as if serving as tourist attractions.

Hop noticed them too. "You know, I've actually done some reading about Turffield. Those stones are based off of Stonjourner, and if I remember correctly, this path is supposed to lead to…"

As if on cue, the Yamper brought us to the end of the path, this open area at the top of a hill fenced off at the sides. There were little pedestals of info, other little things, and people out and about that really made this place feel like good sights for tourists.

One of those people was Sonia, who was gazing off towards another hill in the distance. The Yamper joined her side and she turned around to greet us with a smile, brown coat and all.

"Figured you two would reach here!" She said, hands on her hips. "How's the Gym Challenge?"

Hop crossed his arms proudly. "Been doing pretty good, thanks for asking! A bit rough, but my team and I still got a ways to go!"

I sheepishly chuckled in his stead. "To be fair, we just started. We're actually here because we need to fight Milo for our first Gym Badge."

"Ah, Milo… he may look tough, but don't worry, he's a bit of a softie." Sonia's exasperated smile returned. "So much so that it's no surprise that he ended up being the first Gym Leader again."

Is that… supposed to be a bad thing? I wondered about her words alongside something else. "What're you doing here, Sonia?"

She seemed to recall something amidst what looked like excitement. "Right, right! I want your thoughts on this landmark here. Take a look at that geoglyph."

Sonia stepped aside to allow us a look at the hill far off in the distance. The geoglyph she mentioned was a giant inscription on the hill, detailing an equally giant creature wreaking havoc amidst a storm of sorts. In hindsight I should've realized how obvious her reason for being here was considering how the geoglyph stood out.

I took a second to understand what the crude and dated style of art meant. "That giant creature looks like it could be a Pokémon… could it be related to Dynamax?"

"It's more than that, mate!" Hop turned to me with a knowing look in his eye, sharing Sonia's eager look. "See that eye of the storm, there? Must be related to the Darkest Day! You must have read about it back in Motostoke, right?"

Now that he mentioned it, I did remember the brochure detailing the statue in the Budew Drop Inn. That story only really showed the statue, but to see the implied chaos like this… well, at least the geoglyph didn't show any blood. The crudeness helped, at least.

And at least Hop and Sonia seemed eager about sharing this knowledge. It surprised me a bit, actually. "I didn't know you were super into this stuff, Hop." His excitement gave it away. I haven't actually seen him like that outside of talking about Pokémon.

He gave me a confident smile. "It helps to read 'bout this stuff, mate! A Galar Champion has to know the Galar region inside out!"

"Well…" Sonia went back to her exasperated smile. "At least it looks like you'll have more situational awareness than your brother."

We all had a good laugh at that. It wasn't long after until Sonia continued. "Well, thanks for your input, you two. It is interesting to hear about what you kids think. And my gran thought the youth of today weren't as informed!"

Hop smiled. "No worries, Sonia. This was an interesting find!" He took out his phone to take a picture of the hill. I took out my phone as well, but for a different reason. "Alright, Flare! We better head to the stadium while we still can!"

Sonia waved him off as Hop didn't hesitate to get running. "Least he still has that in common with Leon…" She then looked back to me. "Aren't you going to follow him?"

"Hmm?" I was still getting my phone ready to take a picture of something. "I will, just give me a second."

I brought my attention to the Pokémon cardboard cutouts here. There were holes where kids could put their faces through. Instead of kids, I saw what looked like Crumbs standing on Twigs' head so he was high enough to reach a specific Pokémon cutout.

He saw me looking at him and grinned. "Look at me, Flare! I'm a Greedent!"

Author's POV

The lobby area of Turffield Stadium looked similar to that of Motostoke's, albeit with a greener color scheme to match the Grass theme. There, Flare got to meet Hop after they both got changed into their gym challenger uniforms in separate locker rooms. Their Pokémon were all out and waiting for them, too.

Hop waved to Flare as she stepped out the locker room. "Hey, Flare! I went ahead and got us both reserved against Milo!"

Flare smiled before realizing something. "Wait, aren't we supposed to fight him one at a time?"

Hop put on a carefree grin and put his arms behind his head. "That's right! I put my name first if you don't mind!"

"Of course…" Flare sighed, but still smiled. She looked towards one of the monitors in the lobby. "At least I get to watch how you get to fight with your team."

Hop nodded. "There is still a catch, though. For this gym it says we're only allowed to bring one pair at a time. We are still allowed to leave and get another pair if anything happens, but this still feels like a bit of an endurance test!"

Both trainers mulled over that rule for a bit, wondering what pair to bring inside. It didn't take Hop long to settle with a choice.

"Of course, I gotta bring Knightley and Buddy for this!" He looked to his Rookidee and Wooloo, who seemed pleased.

"Rest assured, I'll fight my hardest." Knightley nodded.

"Yaaaaay!" Buddy bleated.

Meanwhile Flare was still looking over her team of six. "At least I remembered to stock up on Potions before this…"

It was then that a voice on the intercom echoed throughout the room. "Calling Gym Challenger 189. Challenger 189, please proceed."

Hop quickly stood up. "That's my cue! Let's go, guys!" Buddy and Knightley were quick to follow. "Watch the rest of my team for me while I'm gone, will you Flare?"

Before Flare could respond, Hop had already disappeared past the sliding doors ahead. Not that she would have objected. She looked toward the Pokémon group and was amused by how they all interacted. Still, she had to focus on what she was going to do for her attempt against Milo and what pair she would end up using. Her attention was caught by the lobby monitor lighting up to show a live feed of Hop's run.

As for the other Pokémon, Twigs and Sev were quick to get to talking and were going off about wanting to battle each other now that they've evolved.

"I've developed some new tricks, laddie. Now I got two sticks I can beatcha with!"

"I-I'd like to see you try!" Even despite the new emo-like do, Sev was still a bit timid but at least tried to back up his talk.

Hook continued to brood by himself, Crumbs and Cress were snacking together, and as usual Tilda was bugging Spike.

The Oddish's eyes were as wide as ever at her surroundings. "I've never been to a place like this before! It's so green! And there's no sun! Do you think we'll get to fight here?"

Spike eyed the monitor in the distance. "Even if that was the case, you'd probably see more battling here than me. I don't exactly like the thought of fighting another Grass type."

"Wait… I know that voice…" The Yamper crawled out from her hiding place. "Spike?" Her tail started to wag.

The Chewtle stood wide-eyed at the sight of the familiar face. "Heart, is that you? It's been… quite a long time, actually."

"Whoooa…" Tilda watched in astonishment as her eyes darted between Spike and Heart. "You guys know each other? That's so cool! Are you both celebrities or something?"

The sound of Tilda's voice made Heart hide behind Spike, but the Chewtle reassured her with a nod. "Tilda, this is Heart, formerly from Route 2. No celebrity, just a friend I knew. Heart, this is Tilda, a handful. Enough said."

"Hi!" Tilda tried to wave her leaves. "I don't know why Spike says I'm a handful when I don't even have hands. That is what you meant, right?"

"Sure."

Heart chuckled a bit and stopped hiding. "Didn't think I'd meet a familiar face like you here, Spike."

Spike found himself with a little smile. "I was wondering where you went. Where'd you disappear to?"

"Well…" She looked away for a bit. "I think I ended up in Route 4. At least, that's what my trainer said the place was. I must've gotten careless in getting caught… but I'm not complaining. My partner's pretty nice." She cast a look in Sev's direction, who was still busy bantering with Twigs.

"Heh." Spike smiled. "Neither have I, for the most part. Even if…" His thoughts returned to a lingering concern. "... things might be a bit dangerous."

Heart seemed uneasy at the mention. "What… do you mean?"

Spike sighed and dropped the act, briefly looking over his other allies. "I might as well tell everyone else at this point…"

All the Pokémon bar the obvious loner were rounded up, the whole ordeal completely unaware to Flare because she was too focused on watching the gym challenge feed.

"Oi, Spike. What's this all about?" Twigs asked. "Something on your mind?"

Spike got straight to the point. He left out the part where Hook was involved because he didn't want to place any blame. Decided to give him the benefit of the doubt and guess that Hook didn't really mean it. His spiel was met with varied reactions and seemed like a call for help to some.

"Golly…" Crumbs gulped, genuine fear in his eyes. He clutched his scarf with his paws. "Running into a predator sounds real scary… You want a berry to make you feel better?"

Sev seemed uneasy. "I-It's okay! We're strong and have trainers now!"

Twigs nodded. "Aye. We may have different trainers, but we're strong I bet. I'm no stranger to the idea."

Cress looked up at the Thwackey. "You too, huh?"

Heart took a good look at everyone and felt amazed and also at ease at their solidarity. Her tail started wagging again. "Wow, Spike. I haven't seen you round up a following like this in forever."

Spike couldn't help but chuckle. "A following? No, this is different." He looked at everyone who looked back at him. They all seemed to nod in understanding. "What I got here isn't just a following. What I got… is a team."

Flare was completely unbeknownst to the team rallying going on right nearby. Her attention was all focused on watching Hop's challenger feed and wondering what pair would prove the most useful for this gym.

'Tilda does have Acid for Grass types… but Spike wouldn't be that good for backup. Cress does have Bug Bite… but Hook is…' She kept going back and forth in her head, remembering the challenge part outside the battles. She saw from the feed that it involved running with a large group of Wooloo. 'I don't know how he can help much in the herding part… slow is in his name… Could using Twigs and Crumbs work?'

She was so absorbed in her thoughts that she missed Hop's battle against Milo that was going on in the monitor. So much so that she ended up missing the entire battle.

It was only after hearing someone call for her did she become aware of her surroundings again. "Hey, Flare! I did it!"

She was startled to see Hop coming back so soon, Buddy rolling in tow. Her jaw practically dropped when she saw the rather large bird perched on Hop's outstretched arm.

"Oh ho ho!" The Corvisquire seemed pleased at Flare's reaction and nodded at Hop. "It seemed the young miss reacted as you expected. Quite amusing, yes."

Flare blinked as she recognized the bird's accent. "Is that…?"

"That's right!" He proudly looked at his proud Corvisquire. "You had to have seen it! Right there, on the big screen! It must've looked so good on TV to see Knightley evolving after winning our first Dynamax Gym battle!"

"Oh, that…" Flare smiled meekly. "I was actually too distracted to watch. I still needed to think of how I'm actually going to do this."

"No worries!" Hop let Knightley perch on the ground and smiled at Flare. "You don't need to let my successes distract you! Just try not to overthink it, mate. It's the first Gym, no pressure!"

Their attention was suddenly brought to the voice on the intercom. "Calling Gym Challenger 71. Challenger 71, please proceed."

"There it is, Flare." Hop grinned, giving her a pat on the shoulder. "Good luck!"

Flare got up and took a deep breath. 'No pressure, then…' She looked to her waiting team of Pokémon and decided. 'Well, here we go.'