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

Author's POV

Stepping into the streets of Hammerlocke felt like a complete departure from the open wilderness that Flare was just in. With how it was as if she was emerging into a specific era of civilization, it was hard not to notice the castle-like layout of prominent facilities lining the sidewalks. All the walls were built with the idea of making the whole city look like a giant castle. It gave the area a sort of authentically vintage atmosphere that cemented it as the crown jewel of the Galar region. Flare also noticed the entrance sign posted nearby.

"A city of great history, living and thriving within castle walls that date back to the middle ages."

If Motostoke was the showcase of Galar's touch with its industrial side, Hammerlocke took pride in embracing its medieval heritage. Familiar facilities like boutiques, cafés, and polished Pokémon Centers were still present, these areas of luxury giving the area a more modern regal take rather than a dated medieval one.

Of course, even with several modern buildings standing out amidst the streets, one building in particular stayed true to the castle bricks that kept the city stable all those years ago. It stood directly across the main entrance, looming taller than any other facility in the area. Above the dome-shaped foundation was a tower that loomed into the sky, a peculiar purple glow at its top. Its sides upheld peculiar wall and pillar structures that vaguely resembled the shape of wings.

As Flare and her team took in the presence of the formidable building ahead of them, it became very clear to the trainer what place this was. "Hammerlocke Gym."

Spike whistled in admiration. "Whoa. I think I see a Haxorus statue up there. Never seen decor like that before. Anyways, is that big place our next stop?"

"No, thankfully." Flare sighed with relief. "Hammerlocke's Gym is the eighth gym we have to fight, actually. Good thing too, because Raihan is one of the strongest trainers there is." She recalled all those league championships she saw where it would always come down to Raihan versus Leon. It was like that year after year, and Leon always won those bouts.

Cress crawled up next to her. "Packed place. Wonder how many people are hungry to get their butts kicked."

The mention of it got Flare to notice the amount of people crowding around the entrance to Motostoke's stadium. "Wait, those aren't Gym Challengers."

The commotion and clamoring of the crowd ahead caught Flare's interest, leading her to head closer to see what exactly the fuss was about. As she reached the back of the crowd she saw that it led into the corridor of the lobby, which was relatively narrow as the room ahead led to the stadium while there were some elevators to the side that led elsewhere. A familiar duo stood at the front of the audience. Both carrying no subtlety whatsoever, Oleana stood rigidly, wearing her professional attire next to Rose, who once again wore his shoddy shades shirt shorts combo. Flare once again found herself behind all the adult bystanders and tried her best to peek over it all.

The commotion seemed to be caused by the news reporters in the front, microphones and cameras at the ready as they spoke their minds. "Mr. Chairman, what do you have to say about the surge of Dynamax Energy last night?"

"Do you have any leads as to what caused the Wild Area Pokémon to grow aggressive?"

"What does this mean for the Gym Challenge?"

The chairman smiled, his shaded stare calm. "Everyone, please. We assure you, we at Macro Cosmos are doing our best to keep everything under control. Need I remind you all how Dynamax Energy works? It's why I've come here to meet you all, actually. Oleana, if you please."

Flare continued watching intently as Rose's spokesperson pulled out a high-tech tablet of some sort. And from the tablet a holographic display emerged, looking to be an infographic depicting the tower atop Hammerlocke Stadium.

Cress squirmed atop Flare's head and tried to see what was going on. "Sup. The others have been wondering what's all the hubbub."

"Shh. I need to see this." Flare still kept her eyes narrowed ahead, intent on learning more about what that whole Dynamaxing fiasco was about.

"As I'm certain you all know, our wonderful Galar region has Dynamax Energy seeping through its lands thanks to the Power Spots lurking underground in different cities." Chairman Rose pointed at the part of the diagram displaying a sort of purple energy geyser beneath the ground. "Our very own Gym Stadiums were built atop these Power Spots, which are what allow us to enjoy our signature Dynamaxed Gym battles."

A few "ooh"s and "aah"s were heard from the crowd, mainly the group of people who found this information new to them. Flare was already able to piece this information together herself, but she still continued listening in.

"Dynamax Energy can be found in both Power Spots and the rare Wishing Stars, and they can do more than just turn your Pokémon into giants!" Rose motioned to the illustration of the tower atop Hammerlocke Stadium. "Hammerlocke Stadium doubles as our biggest Energy Plant. Dynamax Energy is absorbed from the tower and into our energy plants, where it gets delivered to power the rest of our wonderful region! After all, our lives and society require various types of energy sources, such as electricity, natural gas, and water."

He cleared his throat, ushering Oleana away. She stepped back, taking the holographic display away with her. Chairman Rose looked to the crowd, keeping his friendly expression photogenic for the people. "As I'm sure you all know, we at Macro Cosmos and our associate groups aim to improve everyone's lives by harnessing the power of Dynamax Energy. The recent news came as a shock to me, yes, but our company groups will do our best to monitor future energy management to make sure such an incident will never happen again. After all, the Gym Challenge is our biggest event. I take pride in all the strong trainers here to keep our Gym Challenge energized!"

Oleana stepped forward to whisper something to him. Rose nodded at her, and he proceeded to step away towards the nearby elevator. He scanned an ID card to open the doors. "I have some official business to attend to, now. That's all the time I have for now, people of Galar! Stay safe and don't worry!" He made last wave to the crowd before he and his spokesperson disappeared behind the elevator doors.

The crowd continued making a commotion before he left, some desperately trying to inch closer, but ultimately settled with his abrupt departure, some groaning in disappointment at the result. They all proceeded to leave through the way they came, leaving a moderately perplexed Flare to remain.

Cress slipped off of Flare's head, accidentally falling to the ground and startling herself. She quickly shook it off and looked up at her trainer. "So… I fell asleep through all that. Did anything that guy say make sense to you?"

Flare sighed, breaking out of her thinking trance to pick Cress back up. "I guess, but it's not as if anything was cleared up for me." She brought her attention to the shut elevator doors. Something else didn't sit well for her. 'Why did it feel like he was looking at me?'

The elevator in Hammerlocke led to its underground power plant, an area much more technologically advanced than its city's aesthetic would lead one to believe. Giant glass capsules lined the majority of the place, processing the glowing red pinkish Dynamax Energy being absorbed from up above. Rose stood on a large open platform and watched the machines, a deep frown on his face. The glow of the energy showed on the reflection of his dark shades. Two League staff members showed up behind him, sharing his taste in eyewear.

"We're here just like you asked, sir." One of them spoke. "Is something the matter?"

Rose turned around, lowering his shades to reveal the disappointment in his glare. "Something the matter? What of the news-worthy catastrophe you two caused yet again?! Must you continue to leave messes everywhere despite my instructions?!"

Neither of the staff members reacted. Their expressions remained stiff. "We assure you, those were just experiments. It was all for the greater good, Chairman."

"After all, our proposition called for vast amounts of energy. And according to our results, we're still running short. We've consulted the mines, yet we've failed to find the black-helmeted individual who supposedly reached those Wishing Stars before we have." The other of the two gestured to a large circular capsule that sat near the platform. Its material resembled that of a semi-transparent shell, and a faint pulsing red glow emanated from it. "Our proposition still stands of course, Chairman sir. We just need more time."

"If I may…" Oleana stepped forward to offer her two cents. "Perhaps the solution to our issue lies not within Galar. Might I suggest an alternate source from elsewhere? I've looked into it, and located a potential alternative from this area called the Cr-"

"Do not speak of that place!" Rose quickly turned with a scowl.

Oleana didn't react, other than a brief shift of the eyebrow. "As you say, Chairman." She stepped back.

"Might we offer an alternative?" A staff member spoke. "In terms of Wishing Stars, the quantity that we've ended up receiving has been lacking, yes. However, there is a way we can increase the quality of the ones being used up."

Rose raised an eyebrow, his frown still skeptical. "Go on."

The other of the duo staff members nodded. "As you know, Wishing Stars also contain and absorb the Dynamax Energy we need, mainly from Power Spots beneath Gyms. It just so happens that Wishing Stars that frequent Gyms tend to carry more Dynamax Energy than others. Of course, Dynamax Energy tends to fade over time, so an active Wishing Star carrier would carry the most energy."

"Wishing Star carrier…" Rose caught on to the suggestion, his frown deepening. "Preposterous. Take away the Dynamax Bands from our trainers? Our Gym Challenge is the pride and joy of our region, as are our trainers!"

The staff member shook his head. "Not many will be required. Perhaps… one will do. Any semi-capable trainer will suffice."

The other nodded. "It is all for the greater good of the region, so don't worry too much regarding the matter. We've already put together a plan regarding a certain… expendable someone. Perhaps he will do nicely." He took out a tablet, displaying an image of just exactly who he was talking about.

Rose's look wavered as he cast his eyes on the familiar young trainer. The chairman's eyes carried a look of pity, the worried kind. It was an insult to call this trainer he knew the expendable kind. If he were to approve of this idea, it wouldn't end well for the poor boy, and yet…

'... for the greater good…'

Chairman Rose blinked, his stoic expression returning. "Very well. What do you propose?"

Spike's POV

I noticed something about Hook today. He was actually bewildered by the sight of all the fancy human buildings around us, impressed even. He wasn't usually one to emote his astonishment, so I didn't point it out. Still, I couldn't blame him. It's like every town we reach just gets bigger and bigger, so getting to see Hammerlocke in all its glory was a nice distraction. We all needed something to take our minds off things. Especially Twigs. Good thing Tilda was there to keep her company.

We got so distracted trying to look up at everything that I forgot about all the walking we did back at the Wild Area. Good thing Flare remembered to bring us back to the Pokémon Center after she came back from whatever was going on in the big Gym building. And one round through the healing machine later, we were all refreshed and relaxed. Well, except Flare. She still had that troubled look on her face like something was on her mind.

We were all waiting by a table in the Pokémon Center when Flare came back from that Pokémart area.

She slung that bag of hers over her shoulder as she walked back to us. "You know, I was surprised with how much money I had left after getting more supplies. Then again, Mom did leave me with some spare money when she stopped by."

I shifted to look at her. "You know, this is quite the big city. Maybe you can, you know, help yourself to some more things."

Her eyes seemed to light up at the suggestion. "Now that you mention it, there were some TMs I had my eye on. I could go buy those and then some. It'd give me an excuse to tour the city."

I chuckled. And she said she wasn't as into the whole trainer biz as her friends are. "While you're at it, you might as well use these." I tucked into my shell for a bit before dumping a bunch of pearls onto the table.

"Since when could you spit pearls?" Flare just blinked at me, confused. For good reason. "Spike, where did you get these?"

"You'd be surprised what kind of things are just lying around the Wild Area." I proudly declared. "They'd probably sell for a pretty penny."

"Actually…" Twigs spoke up. She was quieter than usual. "Maybe I could join you?"

Flare smiled and pat her head. "Sure, Twigs. How about the rest of you guys, do you wanna come with?"

"I think we're good for now." Cress spoke from her seat. "We'll just relax for now and stuff."

Hook nodded from the spot next to her. "What she said."

Tilda nodded more enthusiastically. "Same here! Ooh! Maybe we can watch over Zap for you while you're out there!"

Twigs thought it over for a bit before finally handing Zap to her. "Don't go getting into any trouble, alright?"

"I won't!" Tilda replied gleefully with the Toxel in her arms.

"I wasn't…" Twigs stopped to chuckle. That seemed to cheer her up. "Sure. Guess that goes for the rest of you lot."

"Heh." I smirked. "Aye, aye, captain."

Flare smiled at all of us, definitely proud. Her eyes lit up once again as she recalled something. "One more thing you guys." She took out a box of something and put it on the table. "I got you the usual cookies. Go nuts."

"Righty-o." I watched as Flare and Twigs waved us off as they left the Pokémon Center. I let out a sigh of relief. "Looks like that went according to plan." I chuckled. "Still can't quite believe you two agreed to help me out with this."

"What can I say?" Cress sounded like she would've shrugged. "I'm just glad to be here to help out."

I smirked, directing my gaze to the Slowpoke. "I was mainly referring to the big guy. Wasn't expecting you to be on board."

Hook frowned. I caught him looking away for a second. "I just… thought that this would be worth my time. Can we proceed yet?"

"Child obtained!" Tilda cheerfully exclaimed as she placed Zap smack dab on the center of the table. "Okay, now what?"

I tried to curb everyone's enthusiasm. "Easy, guys." I watched the little Toxel. He was still quiet, and his big baby eyes didn't carry the same spark of curiosity he had before. Poor kid didn't even bother with the box of cookies nearby. "Hey, little tyke. The name's Spike. Twigs has told you about us, right?"

I got his attention. He slowly nodded and looked at me. "You're Shpike." He turned to look at the rest of us. "Tilda. Cresh. Bugger."

Hook frowned. "She did not."

Zap looked amused at the sight of Hook's unamused face. "Gwumpus." He clapped to himself.

At least he was cheering up. Progress. I nodded at Hook. "At least he likes you. Maybe try giving him a cookie."

"Hmph." Hook did just that, levitating a cookie out of the box and into Zap's hands.

Zap stared at the snack, hesitating just for a bit, before eagerly digging into it. I stared in mild horror. "Maybe… not the Drednaw cookie next time?"

Tilda chuckled next to me. "Come on, Spike. That cookie looked nothing like you."

Zap energetically clapped as he heard that. "Ugly!" I sighed.

Cress looked amused. "Least we're making him happy. Lighten up, Spike. Just like me." She crawled up onto the table and towards Zap. "Sup. You remember me, right?"

Zap started patting her on the head. "You're Cresh." Squish, squish.

"Got that right. Look at me, I can glow now." Electricity started crackling through Cress' body until she surrounded herself with a faint yellowish glow. "Cool, huh?"

"Ooooooh." Zap watched with amazed eyes as he stopped squishing the glowing bug. He closed his eyes and clenched his little fists, suddenly concentrating as electricity started crackling through him as well. It quickly grew to the point where electricity started flowing at a dangerously fast rate.

Hey wait-

We could only watch with shocked stares as Zap suddenly shorted out, briefly blinding us with a harsh glow before he just sat there, exhausted. He coughed out a bit of smoke before his eyes lit up with wonder. Figuratively, of course. "Cooooool."

"H-Hey now…" Cress was still struggling to recover from the spontaneous flash, wobbling a bit. "Maybe… try not to do all that electricity stuff?"

Zap frowned, eyes shaky. "But… but I wish to be strong. Like… papa."

"Aw crud." I hesitated. I wasn't exactly here to make a kid cry, but I was absolutely all for stopping it from happening. "We can help you, kid. You'll grow up to be big and strong just like he was."

Cress nodded. "You know what, I'm all for it. If you need help with this electricity stuff, I'm your girl. I wasn't always this good at it, but maybe you can get the hang of it when it matters most, like I did."

"I can help too!" Tilda leaned closer to stare at him. "You're a funny purple thing. Does that mean you're a Poison type like me?" In response, Zap used his hand to form and throw a chunk of poison that stuck to Tilda's face. Even if her eyes were obscured, Tilda squealed in joy. "Yaaaaay!"

Zap clapped excitedly alongside her. "Yaaaay! Strong like Tilda!"

"I actually know Acid too, if you guys didn't know." Hook quickly spoke up. "I don't know why I do, but trust me on this one. I can help too."

Tilda pouted, staring the wrong way from him. "Oh yeah? Prove it!"

Hook sneered at her. Surprisingly, he quickly formed a chunk of poison in his paw and hurled it at Tilda's face. It was enough to make her stagger to the point where she stumbled off her seat.

I looked down and chuckled as she bumbled back to her feet. "You need help getting back up here?"

"I got this!" Tilda looked up, once again facing the wrong way. She started stumbling around with her hands in front of her as she walked the opposite direction from our table.

At least Zap looked like he was having fun. Clearly impressed by Hook's Acid with how he was enthusiastically clapping his way. "Strong like Twat!"

Hook looked even more disgusted as he grimaced. "Okay, who keeps telling this child these names?" His grumpy face only made Zap laugh even more.

I couldn't help but laugh to myself at that. Cress seemed amused as well as she crawled towards me. Hard to tell with a Charjabug.

Cress briefly glanced at Zap. "Looks like he's feeling better already. He's a strong kid, isn't he? Taking the loss surprisingly well and all." She looked back at me. "Guess your idea worked. I never would've took you for the fatherly type."

I couldn't help but smile proudly. "I wouldn't say I have any experience being a dad or anything. Let's just say this isn't the first time I've had to encourage a meek Electric type." I wondered how Heart was doing.

Cress glared at me. "Are you calling me meek?"

I chuckled. "Obviously not."

Flare's POV

I proudly admired the extra weight my bag carried as we walked through the streets. "That was a good haul we got, wouldn't you say, Twigs?"

"You tell me." She crossed her arms and looked up at me. "All I did was watch ye buy all those disc things."

"They're not just discs, you know." I smiled at her. "They're TMs. Technical Machines. I can use these to teach you guys new moves."

"New moves, eh?" That seemed to get Twigs' attention. "Any for me?"

"Well…" I paused to look through my bag. I found the green TM I just bought, Bullet Seed. It was a move Twigs could learn, but the act of rapidly spitting out seed-shaped projectiles reminded me of someone else. "... no, unfortunately." I decided against it. I've heard Razor Leaf was more reliable, anyway.

Besides, I was here to try to cheer Twigs up. We were here to enjoy ourselves, and even if we didn't buy much else, just holding her hand and strolling through Hammerlocke seemed to keep her busy and put her at ease.

"Well, how about you buy me something fancy with that pearl money?" Twigs playfully nudged me. "I dinnae remember you getting me any cookies like you did for the others. Maybe that place has some." She started walking ahead of me to point at a nearby store. From the coffee signs I read that it was a place called the Battle Café.

I remember reading about this place… I heard about this branch of cafés that were coffee shops where you could battle the owner for discounts or extra desserts. I've never tried it, but maybe I could- I got a good look at the window to see the owner already in a battle with someone else. He was in a Double Battle, using an Alcremie and a Slurpuff. "Maybe let's not." I grabbed Twigs and started to back away.

She looked like she wanted to protest, but before she could say anything, the doors to the place opened as I looked up to see a familiar face walk out. Two familiar faces, actually.

My eyes widened in disbelief. "M-Mr. Leon?" Finding him at a time like this was just about the last thing I expected.

I had to look even higher to see the other guy he walked out those doors with. He looked down at me with a fanged smirk. "Watch out, 'Mr. Leon', looks like we ran into another fangirl."

I stood in even further astonishment when I heard his voice. "Mr. Raihan?!" He was taller than he looked on TV. Seemed… more laid back with his posture too. Still, there was no mistaking his dark blue jacket and weird red hat. The floating Rotom phone next to him was a dead giveaway as well. And I thought Leon was tall…

"Flare!" Surprisingly, Leon looked just as shocked to see me. He sounded worried. "I heard about what happened in the Wild Area. Are you okay?"

I hesitated, but I tried to keep myself composed. I glanced at Twigs. "More or less."

Leon's frown still remained. He stared at Twigs and then back at me. "It happens to the best of us." I stayed silent and nodded in understanding. It was a bit weird seeing him this concerned. I had to remember that he's not only a champion, but a big brother too. "Have you seen Hop anywhere? I've tried calling him ever since I heard the news but he hasn't picked up."

I remembered what Allister said before I left Watchtower Ruins. "I haven't seen him either." Leon sighed.

"So that's who you are." Raihan spoke. I looked up to see him scrolling through his Rotom phone, relaxed smile still on his face. "So you're Flare, huh? You know, Lee's not the only one here who's been looking for you or Hop. Miss Clever Cogs was also on the lookout for you guys."

"He means Sonia." Leon was quick to add. "She was supposed to meet us here in Hammerlocke so we could catch up on things, but she said she had something to attend to. Don't exactly know why she wanted to talk to you guys instead…"

Raihan used a thumb to point to a building up ahead. "She went up ahead to our museum place. Can't miss it, on the road to Route 6. Though she probably used a special pass to head up to the super secret upper vault area."

"A pass?" Now I was really stumped. "Where am I going to-"

"Good thing you're in luck, kid." Raihan took a slip of paper from his pocket and handed it to me. I took a second to stare at it in surprise as he grinned proudly. "With my signature and everything. No need to thank me. Any friend of Lee's is a friend of mine. Unless we're in the stadium." His stare deepened. I noticed just how much he towered over me. "Don't expect any nice clear skies when I'm on the field."

Leon was quick to step between us, unexpectedly sheepish. "Don't mind him, Flare. He's just very competitive. We've got more… official business to attend to, anyway."

Raihan peeked from behind him, stare and tone back to being chill. "Yeah. Maybe take me to someplace less expensive next time, Lee."

"You know I have no idea where anything is, Raihan." Leon glanced at him. "Besides, you're the one who said you'd pay the tabs if you lost."

"Bummer."

I chuckled a bit at just seeing the two here like this. I knew they were rivals from how they spoke during the league battles on TV, but I didn't think they'd be friends like this. The thought of friends, reminded me of my objective. I nodded with resolve. "Don't worry, Mr. Leon. I'll go meet up with Sonia, and then afterwards I'll try looking for Hop."

"Thank you." Leon's smile was glad. "And please, you don't need to be so formal."

"Yeah, Mr. Lee would sound weird, anyway." Raihan chimed in, smiles and all. "Especially with how he's shorter than me. How's the weather down there?"

"Beats me." Leon chuckled. "How is it up there?"

"Depends on my mood. It's whatever I want it to be."

I watched as the two started walking away until they were out of sight. I looked down at my new premium museum pass and then at Twigs. "Well, looks like we know where we're going next."

She nodded as we started making our way to the museum. "You know, Flare… I hope we find that Hop lad soon."

I caught the concern in her tone. "I hope so too." I remembered that Twigs is good friends with Sev and immediately understood. She really needed some reassurance.

Raihan was right when he said the museum was hard to miss. Even from the outside it was another one of those buildings that looked a lot like a castle, or was at least inspired by the design of one. Twigs and I headed through the large castle doors and showed the desk lady my special pass to be greeted by a little lobby area. There was a couch and a table and everything.

I was a bit confused when I saw the shelves of pamphlets nearby. "Why would a museum need a waiting room like this?" Things got even weirder when I noticed the shelves of trophies and awards right next to them. I peered through the glass of the trophy case. "Is this a museum for Hammerlocke or a museum for Raihan?" It didn't help that I saw the Dragon type symbol plastered front and center on the wall.

Twigs was staring at an upside down pamphlet before huffing and tossing it aside. "Nope, I still dinnae understand." She quickly hopped to face me. "Didn't that tall guy say Sonia was somewhere up?"

"He did…" I paused to think. That's when I noticed the staircase leading out of this room to somewhere upstairs.

A set of large stairs and a set of large doors later, I was taken to an outdoor area that led to the roof of this place, which looked just like a castle. There were even authentic torches on the walls. I can see why a special pass was needed here…

Just a bit further up the roof area was another set of doors leading to some sort of large room, blocked by another pair of classic doors of course. Opening it required me and Twigs to put in a bit more effort, resulting in the wooden creaking to echo around the entire large room ahead.

Whoa…

Now this was an exhibit. A whole room preserved like it was right out of an actual castle, grey bricks and all. Checkered banners hung on the angular walls, with the sun peeking through the windows above to shine on the wide center area the room was made of. It was as if I stepped back into the past, though a part of me was wondering why this area was so open in the first place. I thought I could spot a familiar circular symbol built into the floor, but I didn't think much of it as I noticed something else of note too.

The main attraction of this room was definitely the four tapestries that hung straight ahead, tall illustrations that almost draped to the floor. They all seemed to have that ancient look to them that I would've expected, each depicting a different event. As I stood to admire it, I realized I wasn't the only one taking it all in.

Sonia must've heard me coming in, because she quickly turned around to see me. "Oh, you're here, Flare." She smiled and put her hands on her hips. "Got my memo, did you?"

I sheepishly smiled back as I let the door close with an awkwardly long creak. "Well, Leon and Raihan sent me."

"Of course." Her gaze briefly trailed elsewhere as her smile grew exasperated. "Those two and their 'official business'. I'm sure we already know what they mean."

I really didn't. I just looked back up to admire the room some more. "So what is this place, anyway?"

"I've had my eye on this place for a while, so I figured now would be a better time than ever to examine this place in detail." Sonia turned back around to stare ahead some more. "Very convenient that Raihan just has these lying around here. Good thing I got his permission to come here on the condition that I don't make a mess."

For a second I wondered what exactly Sonia meant with everything we said, but I was still wondering what the deal with these illustrations were. It seemed like they were all linked somehow.

"Brilliant, aren't they?" Sonia glanced at me. "It's great that there are still treasured tapestries that can tell us of Galar's history. Seeing the real thing sure beats looking this stuff up online."

With the sight of a flash in the corner of my eye, I caught Sonia with her phone out. I raised an eyebrow. "Is that allowed?"

Sonia chuckled. "I'm sure I can get Raihan or Leon to get a good word in for me. I'm sure you can take some too. It would've been nice to have Hop here as well, but I suppose I can still share my thoughts with you."

I nodded and looked back up at the tapestries.

"Once upon a time…" Sonia pointed at the first one, which displayed two individuals standing on a flowery hill as a wispy red mist hovered above them. "... there were two youths… watching a Wishing Star."

She pointed at the second one, where the red mist had accumulated into a violent storm that thundered over the landscapes. "A disaster occurs… observe the two bewildered youths." The two individuals before seem to have stumbled, kept away from the flaming commotion in the background. It looked like several armored knights were charging into the danger, spears at the ready.

The third illustration showed two grand emblems leaning against each other and parting the storm, bringing back the light to the land beneath them. The symbols were that of a sword and a shield. "The youths looking on at the sword and shield that stop the disaster." There the two guys were, standing beneath the brilliant blue sword and shining red shield. Were they… presenting them? Revering them? It was hard to tell.

The fourth showed the sun back in the sky, shining over what looked to be a kingdom. With the skies clear again, birds flew as flowers bloomed. "The youths being crowned." At the center of the piece were the two same guys, this time wearing noble suits and capes, crowned and all. And they were shaking hands, too.

Sonia looked to me. "These tapestries tell the story of the creation of a kingdom in Galar. Say, Flare, does anything stick out to you?"

Now that she brought it up, there were a few select details that stood out to me after Sonia's explanation. Like the kingdom in the last picture looked a whole lot like how I saw the outer walls of Hammerlocke before entering. It even had the crown-like structure at the top like that big tower Chairman Rose was talking about, which harnessed… "... Dynamax Energy?"

I looked back to the first two tapestries, keeping my eye on the wispy red energy that erupted into a dark red storm. "If that kind of energy came from a Wishing Star… wouldn't that be a storm of Dynamax Energy? Like the Darkest Day, right?" I recalled Motostoke and Turffield.

Sonia nodded at me, a proud smile on her face. "Bang on! The story of the black storm that blotted out the skies was passed on through the years as a tale of disaster… That's what the Darkest Day is!" She looked back to the tapestries and I caught her eyes glimmer with excitement. "And the statue in Motostoke that had the sword and shield! That imagery is present here as well, but no matter how you slice it, there's a key difference."

I noticed it too. I nodded slowly as I started to piece it together. "Didn't the statue in Motostoke only show one guy? And now there are somehow two youths…"

"Right?" Sonia nodded again. "There's a conflict of consistency here. Was there really only one hero, or were there two? So many questions…" She turned to face me, proud smile on her face again. "You know, I did just come here to see if the recent Dynamax incidents could potentially be linked to the unusual circumstances surrounding the Darkest Day, but I'm getting a real history lesson here! And to think Raihan just found this so-called 'fictional rubbish' at a garage sale just because it looked nice! Wait 'til Gran hears all about this!"

I just watched as Sonia eagerly snapped some more pics and typed away on her phone, presumably taking notes. It was amusing to see just how much her energy outshone mine, even if I felt sheepish about it. I looked at Twigs to see that she was still piecing stuff together too.

She shrugged, sharing my confusion. "Don't ask me for thoughts, lass. Maybe just try doin' what Miss Cleverlocks is going for."

I nodded and figured I might as well take some pictures while I was here. The fourth tapestry seemed to have the most detail, so I decided to take a picture of that first. As I did, I noticed something weird. Two animal-shaped figures were drawn near the two heroes, but too small and vague to stand out on first glance. They looked like… dogs? Pokémon? And they only seemed to appear on the fourth tapestry out of nowhere. I looked at Sonia and wondered why she didn't seem to notice this.

"Something else must be afoot here… whatever happened to the sword and shield that drove off the disaster?" I caught her muttering to herself before she put her phone away and nodded my direction. "Thanks for letting me bounce some ideas off you, Flare. I think I've got a few theories, but I can't say for sure. I'm going to research these tapestries a tad more, so you oughta go continue that Gym Challenge of yours."

"Right." I nodded, suddenly remembering that was the underlying objective this whole time. "I'll be sure to relay this info to Hop as well."

"Thank you kindly. Don't you forget I'm cheering for you both, so I hope to see more of your wins!" She started waving me off, but stopped me for a second. "One more thing, Flare." Her tone quieted down to one of gratitude. "Thanks for always taggin' along with Hop. I hope you can keep it up, seeing as how much of a handful he is. Leon really worries about him, too. He practically raised him, after all."

I nodded again, this time with more determination in my resolve just at the mention of it. "Don't worry. I'll be sure to find him and make sure he's okay." I recalled what Leon said about Hop not answering his calls and tried to reassure myself. Of course he's okay. He's Hop.

I looked to Twigs and we both nodded at each other. "Let's get going."

We exited the large room and were once again greeted with the view of Hammerlocke atop this museum's roof. I took a second to look at all the people on the streets. If Hop was here, I definitely would've seen him by now. Seeing as how he wasn't, it became clear to me where to go next.

I looked to my right, where the lowered castle-like gate leading to the exit path cleared out its grass to make way for dry terrain. Route 6, my next stop at finally continuing this Gym Challenge.