TEAM: Twigs (Thwackey) & Crumbs (Greedent), Spike (Drednaw) & Tilda (Gloom), Hook (Galarian Slowpoke) & Cress (Charjabug)

Author's POV

Postwick had always been a quiet little area. What few houses there occupied residents who lived quiet lives, away from the bustling towns of the rest of Galar. Most have either retired and settled down to live their days in tranquility, or are still youth planning to grow up and get out there.

Judith Eon was a bizarre case. While she was a mother, she seemed too young to be someone who had already retired. While Flare was around the same age as Hop, Judith had to get used to how Hop's mother looked old enough to be her own mother. For most residents it was a mystery why someone as young as Judith wasn't assisting in professor work or taking up battling like other trainers her age.

Regardless, Judith seemed content living as she did, in her quaint little house by the woods. Once Flare left, she was left with herself, Banana, and Sheep. Of course, it didn't take long before the Eon household saw company again in the form of several Pokémon. The Pokémon that Flare caught were usually asleep when sent to Judith, allowing the mother to easily help the Pokémon adjust to its new surroundings. And soon her house that was once quiet and empty became bustling with life as Flare's other captures resided there. Banana made good friends with most of the Pokémon there while Sheep played her role as a secondary caretaker, watching over the little ones as an adult would. The elder Dubwool ended up watching Banana more often than the others as more mouths to feed meant more meals to steal from.

That morning Judith was preparing meals for everyone, making sure to prepare extra for Flare's newest catch. As all the others were digging in, Judith couldn't help but focus on the Stufful eagerly helping itself to some food. As she let herself pet its fluffy little head, she found herself reminiscing. "You remind me of my old Bewear." She found herself recalling days when she was an active trainer, out exploring with Banana by her side. As she thought about her Munchlax she found herself tenderly chuckling at how her first Pokémon had remained the same all these years. Judith also wondered what Sheep thought. After all, as accustomed as the sleepy old girl was, the Dubwool wasn't originally hers.

A sudden ringtone rang from the dining table, a soft lullaby tune that Judith recognized was hers. She left the Pokémon to their mealtime as she went to answer the call.

"Hello, it's Judith-"

The voice on the other end was booming, enthusiastic, eager to the point where one wouldn't believe it was coming from a fellow adult. Judith simply smiled at the familiar voice of an old friend.

"It's been a while, Peony. I was just about to make supper, what-"

Once again, he spoke up before Judith could finish, clearly excited about something.

"An expedition? Still can't get your daughter to join any of your adven-tours, huh…" Judith heard this scenario many a time before. "I'd love to join you, but I'm afraid I have my hands full right now. And before you ask, I'm sure Flare's busy as well, participating in a Gym Challenge-"

Peony was quick to reply, already bringing up another suggestion. He was so loud that he caught Sheep's attention, causing the Dubwool to approach Judith.

"Of course you don't have his phone number…" All the while Judith thought Peony's idea over, knowing well Sheep was eagerly awaiting a response as well. She found herself smiling at the sight of Sheep being giddy for the first time in a while. "If you really want me to call him for you, then I suppose I will."

Both Peony and Sheep seemed to cheer at the reply. After a bit, Judith hung up, looking to the Dubwool who was still excited.

Judith smiled. "Hopefully he doesn't mind. You must be so excited to explore again, aren't you, girl?"

Spike's POV

The morning was young, and so were we. Felt good to wake up in the morning and realize my whole Drednaw state wasn't just some dream. Figured it might still be some sort of dream with how much happier everyone seemed right now. Couldn't blame them. I was happy too. Being a big sturdy Drednaw felt great.

"In a bit of a good mood, are you lad?" Twigs told me. "Either that or you rocky types have more spring in your step than I thought."

I cracked a smirk. "Look who's talking. You haven't stopped smiling since you've gotten that Egg."

"Aye, got us there."

Heh, 'us'. I didn't even mention Crumbs but she already knew it applied to him as well. I supposed that works. Ever since the Egg he looked even more jolly than when he learned he got to fight alongside me. Good for him, good for him…

Felt good to know we were all in high spirits here. Tilda was chatting up a storm with Cress and even that Hook guy seemed pleasant. I wondered if we could associate today's feel good attitude with how much sleep we had. Must've been how much of a deep sleeper Flare was, even if she wasn't too pleased about how that other guy left way before she woke up. Least now she was occupied talking to what seems like a different friend on the phone.

Wondered if Flare noticed we already reached that Hulbury place. Because I sure did. I've only been around lakes, but I knew the whiff of seawater the second I smelt it. Very clear this was a seafaring town, what with the boats off to sea, several fishing docks, a lighthouse in the distance- Is that a seafood restaurant?

Sure enough, it was. The Captain's Table, it looked to be called. But my attention was quickly caught by some human guy standing next to it. Dunno if it was the shades or the shorts, but something just told me he seemed like the big deal celebrity type on hiding. Maybe it was just me, or maybe the tall deadpan lady next to him seemed like a dead giveaway. He seemed to be occupied on the phone as well. Humans.

"... do try to keep your experiments more discreet, will you? Find better places to use that energy in secret. As long as you stay away from the power plant. We're not trying to make headlines here."

I had a puzzled look on my face as we all passed him. For an average looking Joe he seemed like he was dealing with something not so average. What was his deal? I quickly stopped wondering about it. Probably none of my business.

Even if Flare was too busy to sightsee like we were all doing, it seemed like she was still guiding us to the Hulbury Gym Stadium. I got a good look at the building. Very blue. I had a good feeling about this.

Flare's POV

No nightmares, but I still somehow managed to sleep in. Hop left to do the next gyms immediately while Marnie gave me a call to let me know that she's already got her second badge as well. I don't know how but I've somehow fallen to last place.

At least talking to Marnie again helped keep my spirits up. We had fun catching up considering we haven't seen each other since Motostoke. After she dealt with more Team Yell guys causing trouble she quickly stopped by the first two Gyms and easily got her badges back to back.

"Wow, you sound like you have a really strong team with you."

"I wouldn't say I'm that strong just yet. Perhaps I just got lucky, is all. Maybe come battle me and we'll see for sure then."

I smiled at the offer. "I'll try not to keep you waiting. So has training been going well?"

"You could say that. William's been stealin' everyone's meals, which have gotten them all riled up. These rascals of mine have probably found more training pickin' fights with him than they have the wild Pokémon."

We both found ourselves giggling at that. Shortly after we ended the call a bit after I entered Hulbury Stadium and stood in line for registration. The lobby looked identical in structure to the one in Turffield, except a lot more blue. Hop did tell me I'd have to battle Nessa here, a Water type trainer.

Hook looked up at me. "Took your sweet time on that phone thing, did you?" I knew he was poking fun. He had a bit of a snarky smile as he said that.

"Well, I was just talking with a friend. Can you blame me?"

He seemed to look away for a second. "A friend… I wonder what that's like…"

I felt a bit sorry for him and decided to pat his head, at least hoping he'd somewhat feel better soon. He still didn't seem to react.

After getting to register, I quickly changed into my Gym uniform and ended up waiting in the lobby for my turn. As I sat with my team I was already thinking about which duo I should bring inside.

"Thankfully, at least half of you guys are good against Water types, but I think a Grass type would be best here. That just leaves Twigs and Tilda…"

"Actually, lass…" Twigs spoke up, a sheepish look on her face. She was still holding the incubator. "Is it alright if me and Crumbs sit this out? We kinda wanna keep a close eye on the Egg."

"Just for now, yup!" Crumbs added.

I smiled at them. Who was I to deny a request like that? "Sure thing, you guys."

They seemed really happy about that. It was a good thing we got that Egg. They seem to have the whole 'taking care of it' thing under control. Still couldn't help but wonder what was inside…

"Well, guess that just leaves Spike and Tilda. Is that alright with you two?"

"Yay! I get to do even more cool stuff!" My Gloom was already hopping excitedly at the thought, splashing some honey around in the process.

Spike seemed more chill about it, but he still looked confident. "Sounds good to me."

I nodded, feeling good that I already had a plan. Now I just had to wait for my turn to enter.

Whoa… We found ourselves atop several platforms arranged like a maze, several grates on the floor to make way for the gushing pillars of water blocking some paths. I'm supposed to navigate this?

It was a good thing I didn't bring Twigs and Crumbs, considering right below us was a bit of a drop to a whole lot of water. Who designed this?!

At least Spike and Tilda didn't seem very scared about how high up we were, nor did they seem to be concerned about how absurd this place's water bill must be.

I took a deep breath and tried to steel myself for the challenge ahead. "Okay guys, we're supposed to find the buttons that turn off these water pillars, but there'll be trainers we have to battle along the way."

Tilda excitedly clapped her hands together. "Ooh! I can battle! I can battle!"

Spike nodded. "I can be backup then, not that you'd likely need it. Hope you don't mind if I just wander about looking for those switches then."

I nodded back. "Guess it's a plan then."

What followed was a nice routine of battling and puzzle solving. Any time we'd run into a gym trainer, Spike would lead for a bit before tagging out to let Tilda finish the job while he looked around for a switch. We were keeping good pace with this consistent cycle.

It was then that Spike ended up Headbutting someone's Remoraid into the plunging depths below.

"Oh no!" The trainer cried out, right before doing a graceful dive after her Pokémon.

I just stood there in astonishment as I watched the whole thing unfold. A whole few seconds of stunned silence before I heard the splash far below. I guess that's why their Water type uniforms are designed to look like swimsuits… I do remember reading that Nessa is apparently also a model…

"Guess that saves us some time." Spike just calmly walked back to me. "I'm sure they're gonna be fine. I remember seeing a ladder somewhere around here."

Tilda was excitedly nodding beside him. "I remember that ladder! I almost fell off!"

I snapped out of my trance to see that my face had heated up a bit, probably from embarrassment. "Well, good thing you didn't. I'd rather not get my uniform wet for this."

Spike raised an eyebrow. "And what would you do if we did?"

I knew he was trying to be clever with me. "I could just withdraw you into your Pokéballs."

He chuckled, amused. "Smart."

Author's POV

"Ok Tilda, Giga Drain!" Flare spoke.

Her Gloom excitedly followed, casting green energy that rapidly sapped at the enemy Corphish until it fainted. Any fatigue Tilda felt was immediately washed away by a newfound burst of energy at the sight of her victory.

The swimsuit-clad trainer that was Flare's opponent acknowledged her defeat and let Flare past. However, Flare and Tilda couldn't go much further until they found themselves by another gushing water pillar blocking the path.

Somewhat puzzled, Flare started to look around. "Where's Spike? He should've found the switch by now."

"Probably doing something cool." Tilda responded, blindly eager as always.

Partially unbeknownst to the two of them, the Drednaw had gone all the way to the other side of the room, past all the water pillars, finding the one switch that turns them all off. He reached up to press the button, shutting off all the pillars, surprising Flare in the process. She and Tilda quickly caught up to him at the end of the room.

"Hey, you two." Spike seemed mildly proud of his accomplishment. "Like my little trick I did just there?"

Flare couldn't help but still be a bit confused. "This… doesn't count as cheating, right? How'd you get past everything?"

"I just… walked through it all." Spike let out a knowing chuckle. "Just figured that if you didn't wanna get yourself soaked for this, I might as well try brute forcing it myself. It all worked out too, it's not like some water is gonna bother a big sturdy Drednaw like me."

Tilda was enamored. "Whooooa. I didn't know Spike was smart!"

Spike quickly shifted his gaze to her. "I'm just gonna take that as a compliment."

Flare merely chuckled and gave him a pat on the head. "That really was clever of you, Spike. Definitely saved us some time. Now…" She looked up to the staircase ahead. "... the Gym Leader is up ahead."

She quickly steeled herself as she headed up with her two Pokémon quickly following behind. As she made her way through the doors she found herself in a familiar corridor leading right to the main stadium area. As the trio headed through, the sound of a bustling stadium audience grew less faint.

Hulbury Stadium was as lively as ever, about as much as Turffield was, though the audience had more locals residing in it. Rotom drones flew about the scene, catching the anticipation of the crowd as they waited for the next challenger to appear. The field itself was designed to suit the Water type theme, the floor an expansive bright blue, also bearing a Pokéball emblem in the middle to serve as a divider. Nessa stood at the center of it all.

Tilda looked on in awe, absolutely dazzled by the commotion going on around her. "Look at all these people!" She gasped, then went to shake Spike by the shell. "Do you think they're cheering for you? Or maybe me! Or Flare!"

For once, Spike had wide eyes as he looked around at it all. "I'll admit, I've never been exposed to this much attention. It's a bit too loud for my liking, but I can dig it."

Flare was just focused on how Nessa kept her eye on her as she approached. The Water type Gym Leader had a smile on her face, but she seemed more ready and confident compared to how easygoing and friendly Milo looked. Even if Nessa wore the same uniform as the other Hulbury Gym trainers, the way she composed herself made the others look like amateurs in comparison. The way she stood with such poise with a hand on her hip served as a constant reminder of her model status. Flare suddenly noticing how Nessa was taller than her left her feeling even more hesitant and flustered.

"Welcome, honored Gym Challenger." Nessa spoke calmly. "You've made it here just in time. This'll be my last match for now before I take a short break today. I was surprised with how quickly you made it here. I don't doubt my humble puzzle's difficulty, and yet you've cleared it faster than I thought. You must be very clever."

"R-Right…" Flare quickly glanced at Spike. "... clever…"

Nessa also happened to look at Spike. "I see you have a Drednaw as well. You have good taste." The flattery made Flare feel a bit more at ease. "Still, I won't let you win that easily. Whatever clever ideas you're plotting, me and my Pokémon will be sure to sink it."

Flare couldn't help but gulp as she made her way to her side of the stadium. Nessa also walked to her half, effortlessly carrying the grace of a model as she did so.

"Ladies and gentlemen of Hulbury Stadium, let's give it up for another battle against our raging wave, Nessa! Challenging her this time is Gym Challenger 71!"

Once again the announcer's voice only fueled the excited anticipation of the audience. Nessa readily prepared a Dive Ball in her hand.

Flare looked at Tilda, beginning to find some solace in how excited her Gloom was to let loose. "You ready?"

She nodded excitedly, slobbering some honey everywhere in the process. "Yes yes yes! I need to look cool in front of everyone!"

Spike chuckled, looking up at Flare. "With a Grass type like her at the front, it looks like she'll be handling this all on her own. I don't mind. It'll be nice to see her hold her own from the sidelines, but I'm still here for backup."

Flare nodded, finding more confidence in her Pokémon's agreement. She looked at her Dynamax Band to see it glowing red with energy once more. 'No pressure,' she remembered.

"Trainers… begin!"

Nessa quickly got her throw ready, lifting her leg straight into the air before throwing her Dive Ball to reveal a Goldeen. Flare saw the display of flexibility all the way from the other side of the field, silently wishing she was as cool.

"You got this, Tilda!"

The Gloom excitedly ran ahead. "Here I gooooooo!"

However, the floating fish was quick to attack the naive Grass type running across the battlefield. The Goldeen dove past Tilda, jabbing her with a Horn Attack in the process.

"Owwww!" Tilda cried out, rubbing her cheek.

The Goldeen didn't let up, proceeding to conjure a large vortex of water around Tilda that spun her around. Tilda flailed about within the Whirlpool until she felt the sensation of Flare issuing a command. Even if she had trouble hearing inside the water, she could sense Flare's idea without needing to hear it. She looked up, focusing on the opening at the center of the vortex revealing the clear skies above.

The Whirlpool eventually spat Tilda out from the top, but rather than feeling disoriented in the air, the Gloom focused on the sun above. Quickly absorbing some energy, Tilda proceeded to use Growth, enveloping her body in a sunny aura that boosted her stats. Using her sudden boost of energy, Tilda propelled herself towards the Goldeen, diving at it.

"Hyaaaaaaaah!" She brought her hands forward as she pounced, casting the sapping green energy of Giga Drain. By the time she landed, the Goldeen was down. "That was awesoooome!"

The act caused the crowd to go wild, cheering as Tilda waved to what she thought were her adoring fans. From her side of the field Flare couldn't help but feel triumphant, knowing well she got Tilda to act by merely thinking of the command. "Good job, Tilda!" 'Is this what being in sync is like?' she wondered.

Nessa saw the celebrating Grass type before her and appeared mildly inconvenienced, quickly returning her Goldeen and sending out an Arrokuda. "Aqua Jet!" she commanded.

While Arrokuda was another floating fish, compared to the Goldeen, it was faster, feistier, and a smaller target. Enveloping itself in water, the Arrokuda sped towards Tilda at surprising speed.

The Gloom noticed her speeding opponent later than she liked, resorting to her instincts and trying to duck out of the way. However, because Tilda underestimated her height, the Arrokuda ended up ramming itself into the flower on her head, accidentally lodging itself into the orifice. The sudden impact caused Tilda to react on reflex.

"Achoooo!" She sneezed with such force that sent her tumbling back, launching the Arrokuda out of her head and unleashing a dense cloud of pollen in the process.

Being at the brunt of the pollen sneeze, the Arrokuda simply fell to the ground, having succumbed to the Sleep Powder.

"Oh!" As Tilda was rubbing the spot on her face where a nose would be, she noticed the state of her opponent. Noticing her chance, she cheerfully frolicked over to the sleeping fish. She formed a blob of Acid in her hands, promptly splatting it over her foe. "I win!"

Both Flare and Nessa stood stunned for a moment at what just unfolded. Even Spike just stood there and blinked at how that somehow worked out. And yet, the crowd simply roared into cheers at the display of it all.

The volume of the cheers got Nessa to snap back to her senses, letting her bring out one more Dive Ball after withdrawing her Arrokuda. "We're not done yet!" Her voice was picked up by the Rotom Drones, heard by the whole stadium through the giant screens. "I've been saving the best for last!"

Nessa threw her Dive Ball forward, letting her Drednaw land onto the field. A smile appeared on her face as she let her trusty favorite out to play again.

Flare saw this and called out to her Gloom. "Tilda! Try not to confuse that Drednaw with Spike, okay?"

Tilda looked back, happily waving as she did. "Don't worry, I know the difference! That Drednaw is ugly!"

Spike blinked. "I… beg your pardon?"

The flying Rotom Drones caught wind of this statement, causing it to be heard from the giant screens. Nessa heard the remark and was less than pleased, especially given someone that valued beauty like herself. "Always the Grass types…" she muttered under her breath, withdrawing her Drednaw into a large glowing Pokéball.

Flare recognized the glowing from across the field and knew what to do. "Tilda, it's time to Dynamax!"

The Gloom looked back and cheered. "Yaaay! What's that?"

Before her question could be answered, Tilda was recalled into her Pokéball, Dynamax Energy turning it into a large glowing sphere. The crowd waited with bated breath.

"You won't get to heckle my Drednaw and just get away with it! It's time to flood the stadium once more and make it our ocean!" Nessa spoke, uttering the line as if by routine. The crowd cheered at the quote.

Flare heard this as she sheepishly held Tilda's large Pokéball. She quickly tried to come up with a cool one liner. "Well, you're about to… be uprooted?" The crowd erupted into cheers all the same, even at the awkward delivery, despite the audience, Nessa, and Flare knowing well the line was stolen from Milo.

Nessa clutched the ball with both hands before gracefully tossing it ahead in a single gesture. Flare attempted a similar motion, albeit executing it much less poise. The audience started to cheer even louder at the sight of the giant Pokémon facing each other off in the field.

Spike was in awe as well, having to behold this phenomenon in person for once, yet couldn't help but notice that a Dynamax-sized Gloom meant Dynamax-sized honey drooling as well. "I hope they have someone clean that up later."

Meanwhile Tilda found herself amazed at her sudden boost in size, her previous sunny Growth aura making her absolutely radiant now. Her eager voice boomed. "Whoooa, everyone is so small now!" She looked at the audience around her and started waving at them. "Everyone's so tiny! Ooh! Where's Spike? Is he small too?" Her attention was suddenly caught by the loud roar of her Dynamaxed foe. "Hey! You're not Spike!"

Nessa stood behind her Dynamaxed Drednaw, arms crossed and tone serious. "Here's a little gift from us, I hope you can take it! Max Geyser!"

The Drednaw built up a spontaneous torrent of water that it fired all at once as a straight blast, resembling the eruption of a horizontal geyser. The impact reached Tilda and it was so forceful that she struggled to hold her ground, being pushed back a fair amount. So much water was compacted into the blast that the resulting splash sent a drizzle into the air that instantly formed rain clouds.

Once the blast was done, Tilda shook off the water. She still had a confident smile on her face. "That was easy!" She looked up, groaning in disappointment. "The sun is gone? Noooo!"

Flare started calling out to her Gloom, Pokédex in hand. "Okay, Tilda! Try using Max Overgrowth!"

The giant Gloom nodded back at her trainer. "Okay! I think I can do that!"

Still unfamiliar with the move itself, Tilda tried bringing her arms forward and conjuring up energy like she would when using Giga Drain. The Dynamax energy within her manifested as glowing green projectiles that she shot out of her hands. Her attacks seeped into the ground around Nessa's Drednaw, causing the floor to glow a bright green before unleashing a burst of grass energy. Tilda could only watch in awe at the wonderful display of destruction she caused. Even more so when she saw the Dynamaxed sized explosive aura of the enemy Drednaw falling back to normal size.

Flare watched as the same red aura enveloped her Gloom as well, who started to shrink back to normal size too. She ran up to her, Spike following behind.

The Gloom noticed them coming, seemingly snapping out of a trance as her Growth aura faded. "Oh! You guys! I just had the weirdest dream! I was big, and there was this big Drednaw, but it was just some lame imposter."

Spike chuckled. "Knew you had it in you, kid."

Flare smiled as well. "You did good, Tilda."

"Why are you praising me?" The Gloom looked around curiously. "Did I win something? Hey, this looks like the stadium from my dream! And the sun's back!"

"And just like that, Nessa's Drednaw is already down! Challenger 71 takes the victory!"

The announcer's voice got the crowd to be the loudest it could be, cheering for the victor. Flare and Tilda found themselves in awe at the attention, hearing the crowd call out '71' and 'Gloom' in praise.

With triumph in her heart, Flare found herself able to walk back to the center of the stadium where Nessa was.

The Water type Gym Leader seemed to have composed herself once more, though she gave Flare a smile. "I shouldn't be surprised to have lost. You appear to be a very capable trainer, well deserving of this Water Badge."

Flare accepted the metallic looking piece bearing a symbol resembling water, attaching it to an edge of her Challenger Band. She felt accomplished knowing she got one more badge down, though her heart was still rapidly beating at the excitement of it all and then some.

Nessa offered her hand to shake, and although sheepish at first, Flare gladly took it. The trainer once again found herself wishing she was as calmly poised as the Gym Leader in front of her.

"You should know the drill by now." Nessa spoke afterwards, motioning to an exit by the other side. "There's the way out. Your next stop should be the Fire Gym Leader, right?"

Flare nodded, still a bit flustered she got to speak to Nessa up close again. "R-Right! Thank you, Miss Nessa!"

The Gym Leader watched as the Challenger headed off, her two Pokémon following. She smiled as she turned to walk towards the locker room designated for her. "Another loss doesn't seem so bad. But for now, a break."