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

Author's POV

As Flare gazed out the cab's open window to feel the air on her face, she noticed that the entire region of mainland Galar was getting farther behind them. A while later, she started to wonder just how long this flight to Hop's supposed special training spot would take. An even longer while later, she started to notice the stretch of land appearing not too far ahead.

"We're almost there." She figured now was as good a time as any to wake up her sleeping friend.

It only took a little nudge for Hop to lurch awake, and he quickly lifted his head from Flare's shoulder. He took a second to wipe a trail of saliva that dripped onto his coat. Flare did the same for her jumper's sleeve.

Hop was quick to peek out his window, his hands gripping the sides of the cab as he eyed the upcoming stretch of land. "We really are almost there!" He spoke excitedly, quickly looking towards Flare again. "Bet you didn't expect to see an island all the way out here, mate. Hold on to your socks!"

Seconds later, the taxi's Corviknight flapped with a burst of speed, and the vision of the island ahead became clear to see.

Flare's eyes widened with intrigue and awe as she saw the view, an entire tropical island all the way out here. Though as she watched the greens and beaches below, she felt like she saw this all before.

Hop was just proud to see the look of wonder in Flare's eyes. "I've been waiting to take you here. This is place is called-"

"Oh, it's the Isle of Armor." Flare suddenly spoke matter-of-factly. Hop's jaw dropped. "I can see the Master Dojo from here."

Hop threw his arms up in disbelief. "You never told me you've been here before!"

Flare looked back at him and sheepishly chuckled. "Well… it was only recently, actually." She paused before deciding to continue. "Some mysterious trainer from Turffield gave me a letter that came with a pass." She rummaged through her bag and took the envelope out to show him.

Hop was quick to grab the letter and open it up. His eyes darted suspiciously over the words and then back at Flare. "No signature, huh? What kind of business did this wally have with you, anyway?"

"No clue." Flare sighed, her gaze trailing out the window. "He… I think it was a he… must've disguised himself as a Gym Trainer, then gave me that letter asking to meet him here. Except he wasn't actually here. I did meet Mr. Mustard, who told me that guy was one of his students, but he couldn't remember who."

"Wack." Hop's smile was quick to return at the mention of the dojo master. "At least you met Master Mustard. I'll have you know he helped teach me and Lee when we were younger."

Flare's eyes widened again, this time in genuine surprise. "I didn't know that. You never told me that either."

Hop wore a proud grin as he rested his hands behind his head, leaning back on his seat. "That was a long time ago, when I was just a little kid. I have visited him again a few times with Lee, but… let's hope we don't run into him this time." His grin became sheepish.

Flare mulled a little bit over that last part, wondering what exactly happened, but she decided not to prod.

Shortly afterwards, the Flying Taxi dropped them off at their spot, though it wasn't the same lot near the station that Flare remembered before. It was quite a ways further ahead, where Hop could lead Flare to a grassy clearing next to a seaside cave.

Hop grinned as he got his supplies ready. "From the look on your face, I know for sure you haven't been here before! I was thinking we could train up here, at Brawlers' Cave. It's a cave where brawling happens. You can let your team out now, I'll get a head start on setting up camp."

Flare nodded, taking out her Pokéballs, but as she did, she hesitated. There were technically still only five members on her team. She and Twigs still haven't decided on who her new battle partner would be.

As the two trainers were still busy trying to set up their tents right, their Pokémon roamed about the clearing, each up to different things. Spike was busy getting along with the rest of Hop's team and asking where Heart went, to which he was met with relieving news. Cress and Hook went back to staring at the beach waves and talking about the elusive cave Galarica myth. The former started poking fun at Hook using his new Surf move to try to swim over to the lingering scent, of which the latter merely responded with an eye roll.

Twigs wasn't nearly as lively. She heard everything from inside her Pokéball. The shock and disbelief of everything that's recently happened left her distraught. The Thwackey isolated herself by a corner where the grass and rock met.

It wasn't raining, but as Twigs sat there with her head tucked behind her knees, she figured it might as well be gloomy enough for it. With everything that was gone now, she figured the light from the sky might as well be next. Right as she thought that, she slowly lifted her disheveled gaze to see the patch of grass around her darken. In her hopeless state she briefly pondered the possibility of a self fulfilling prophecy, until the nub of a hand placed on her head told her otherwise.

"Pat, pat." Tilda patted the ruffled fur that held Twigs' sticks together. "There, there. You big lug." She stopped for a second. "Wait, wrong person."

Twigs looked up at the Vileplume and the shade cast by her petals through half-closed eyes. "What're you trying to do?" she muttered with a groan.

"I dunno." Tilda shrugged. "I just tell Spike that whenever he's too scared to go to sleep. I think he likes it. You're trying to nap, right? Ooh, maybe I can use my Sleep Powder on you!" She didn't hesitate for a response before she vigorously shook her petals about, scattering powder everywhere.

"I'm nae trying to sleep. Besides, that stuff doesn't work on me." Twigs didn't even bat an eye as she halfheartedly swatted a speck away. She sighed. "Now that you mention it I'd rather this all just be some nightmare."

Tilda's frown grew concerned. She slowly sat herself closer to Twigs, hesitating as her eyes darted to and fro and she wondered what to say next. It's not as if she could talk about the clouds or offer Twigs some food. Still, Tilda couldn't leave Twigs alone. At the very least, even if the Vileplume felt like she couldn't say much, at least she wasn't being pushed away. The sky was still bright, but Tilda knew it didn't look that way to Twigs.

Knowing this, Tilda settled with just sitting in silence and keeping Twigs company. Even if she couldn't do much, she hoped the shelter of her presence would be enough.

"... I miss them already." Twigs slowly shifted. She lowered her head, sniffling. "I can't believe they're really gone. First Crumbs… now Sev…"

Tilda looked at her friend with worry. "There, there…" This time she tried caressing Twigs' back. Yet all she could feel was her shaky breathing.

"We were all supposed to see each other again. They were my closest friends." Twigs sobbed through muffled breaths. "Crumbs and I should've gotten together… I wanted to see the look on Sev's face… but now they're gone. They're both gone forever and I'll… never see them again. I'm alone."

Twigs sobbed and sobbed and sobbed some more like it was all she could do. In the darkness that shrouded her, she truly felt like her cries would only reach ears that were long gone. She was alone, where nobody could see her evolve again, nobody could see her raise Zap, and nobody to spend her happiest days with. Yet, a gentle touch on her shoulder seemed to imply otherwise. Twigs slowly lifted her head, wishing with what sliver of hope she had to maybe, just maybe, meet with the charming or understanding stare of a Greedent or a Drizzile. As her vision started to clear, she instead found herself being met with the genuinely concerned gaze of a Vileplume.

Tilda's smile was warm. "You're not alone, Twigs. There's Flare, Zap, Spike, and all the other friends you've made too. We're here to keep you company."

Twigs paused to think about it. She never meant to disregard the value of everyone else, but the more she mulled it over, the more she found the thought of her allies comforting. She wouldn't forget about them, or anyone else. And she would live for their sakes, as for the sakes of everyone else. It's what they would have wanted.

She remembered Therese teaching her about patience. The world took plenty from her, but she wouldn't break. She would be patient, for herself, and for everyone.

Twigs managed a smile. "Thank you, Tilda."

Tilda nodded, smile growing wider. She promptly threw her arms around Twigs and pulled her in for a hug. Twigs was thrown off guard by the gesture, but she was quick to return it, pouring out a few glad tears in the process. It wasn't raining, but it didn't matter to Twigs. Rain or shine, she found herself happy under the shade and shelter that Tilda provided.

The more Twigs thought about it, the more she found herself surprised that she was being comforted by Tilda of all people. "Never expected you to be good at this serious stuff, lass."

"Oh yeah." When Tilda stepped back, her tone picked up a bit of her usual liveliness. "Sometimes I catch Spike spacing out from time to time. Usually it's about being worried about death and stuff so I just stay near him and try to make him feel better. Spruce his spirits back up, you know?"

Twigs breathed out a chuckle. "You did a fine job. I better spruce myself back up as well." She looked up to her ruffled bun and figured she might as well get her fur done right this time. She wiped her tears and got to work.

Tilda watched on with continued intrigue as Twigs did her thing. "Ooh, I've always wondered how you did that. Can you teach me how to do that to my head too?"

Twigs glanced at Tilda's eager stare and then up at the bulbous and heavy-looking petals that hung over the two of them. "'Fraid I cannae do that with you."

Tilda's look turned confused as she tilted her head ever so slightly, the gesture exaggerated by her large petals. "You can you what?"

Twigs raised an eyebrow, genuinely perplexed. "I said I cannae do that."

Tilda still didn't get it. "I can I?"

Twigs' expression fell when she realized. "Tilda." She cleared her throat before enunciating. "Can. Nae."

"Can you what?"

"That's not…" Twigs slapped a hand to her face. As she did that, she realized she was smiling and chuckling again. She gave in. "You know what, fine. I'll try and teach you later."

"Yaaay!" Despite Tilda's lingering confusion, she found herself clapping with joy at the answer. Her kind smile quickly returned as she sat next to Twigs again. "I'm glad you're feeling better. Pat, pat."

"It'll only stay that way if you dinnae mess with my do." Twigs playfully shoved Tilda's hand out of the way. They both had a good chuckle at that. "Think nothing of it. I just figured all of you lot were worth fighting for." She almost muttered 'you big softie' out of habit.

"Ffffffighting."

The sound of sputtering caught Twigs' attention. She saw Zap standing nearby, giving her an expectant look with his bulgy eyes. Twigs let him waddle into her arms for a hug.

Twigs looked at him with a warm smile. "What's that you said?"

"I want to fffight." Zap paused for a second before nodding with certainty. "I want to be strong. Like you. And papa."

Twigs' neutral expression wavered at the mention. Keeping everyone safe was the priority in her mind now, but she could see the determined look that Zap had in his eyes. Or at least, the determined look he was trying to pull off. She thought it was a bit goofy trying to look so serious with his large eyes.

And yet, she realized he was in her scenario as well. Having lost a loved one and desperately wanting to fight back. Although he was at a much younger age, Twigs still saw her emotions in his stare. She knew what she must do.

Twigs nodded, trying to match the look of confidence on Zap's face. "That settles it. You're officially part of the team. You're gonna need a ton of training, though."

"Yaaaay!" Zap and Tilda responded with similar cries of celebration.

"Ooh, I've already helped him a little bit on that training thing." Tilda eagerly nodded. "Flare gave me this funny looking cookie earlier that gave me a new Poison move, and I was trying to teach Zap how to use it earlier. Show her!"

"Yesh!" Zap was quick to chuck an Acid chunk at Tilda's face.

"Well, that wasn't the move I was talking about, but good job!" Tilda grinned.

Twigs looked fondly at her proud little Toxel. "Get over here, you."

She pulled Zap in for another hug, holding her little boy close. Tilda also wanted in on the action, so Twigs obliged for the group hug. Not before the Vileplume blindly ran into the wall in the process. The chuckling smile that came onto Twigs' face wouldn't be one that would be fading for a while.

"I'll keep you safe."

As Twigs held the two close, she felt more at ease knowing what she was hanging on for. She wouldn't forget about Sev and Crumbs, either. They weren't just memories to cry at. They were more than that. The crybaby of a childhood friend. The fuzzy little critter that packed food. Courageous and sleek. Big-hearted softie. An admittedly good battler after evolving. An admittedly warm pillow after evolving. Even if they themselves didn't think so, Twigs thought they were the bravest Pokémon she knew, being the bigger person when it counted.

Twigs would never forget them. They weren't just memories to cry at, after all. They were also memories to smile at. And memories to fight for.

There was a familiar sense of unity as the two trainers helped set each other's camping supplies, making sure everything was set up properly. Progress went pretty smoothly, both Flare and Hop maintaining a good bit of momentum in motivation as they got everything just right. As they both looked towards the entrance to Brawlers' Cave, they called forth the duos they were going to train and stepped forward.

They both managed to stay in line with each other until Hop stopped all of a sudden. His stance became petrified, gaze fixated ahead, just as he was on the stairs leading to the Stow-on-Side Gym. Flare stopped to look at him.

Hop gulped. His tone was quiet. "Flared, I'm scare."

Flare gently clutched his sleeve. "Hop."

"I know, I know…" Hop slowly shook his head. "It feels like the weight of the world is on my shoulders, Flare. I don't want to drag Lee's name with me being so rubbish. And everything that happened with losing to Bede… Every time I think about battling my thoughts just go to pot with all these words running through my head. And-"

" Hop. " Flare spoke with more conviction while still being gentle. She took him by the hand and smiled. She desperately wanted to give him some words of encouragement that would stick. "You got this."

Hop hesitated, but he seemed to come to his senses after a second of thinking. "You're right. I just need to clear my head, is all. Some training with my tried and true rival oughta fix that."

They both nodded at each other before finally stepping into the cave. It was generously bright with the openings in the ceilings providing light onto the stretch of river close ahead. Though for training purposes the two decided to stay at the expanse of cave floor near the entrance.

A few Poliwag wandered here and there, but with Hop's recommendation the two decided to settle with battling the friendly wild Chansey that were easy to level up against. As Flare sent her Thwackey and Toxel forward, Hop sent forward his Dubwool as well as a Toxel of his very own. It took Zap a second to realize he had a brother all this time.

Twigs punched a Chansey and it promptly fell over. Using her Pokédex, Flare was able to see that Twigs went up a full level from doing just that.

Twigs was impressed at the realization. "Those Chansey are something, huh?" She looked at the one she knocked out to see that it got right back up with a smile, happy to help. "Zap, you should try this!"

The little Toxel waddled towards the friendly pink Pokémon, putting his determined battle face on. He formed a chunk of Acid poison in his hands and threw it at the Chansey with all his might. The attack splattered onto Chansey's face and it barely budged. It just calmly wiped it off and smiled like nothing happened.

Twigs just blinked in mild astonishment. "Any… other moves you got?"

"I can strong!" Zap quickly nodded at Twigs eagerly before tensing himself to stare grumpily at the Chansey. The pink Pokémon just observed him with great interest, waiting for his next move.

Zap clenched his fists as he stood firmly, concentrating electricity to run from the ends of his feet to the spark on his head. Pulsing with energy, he sprang towards the Chansey, landing an improvised tackling headbutt. Well, it was more like a tackling faceplant, the impact of which caused Zap to stumble back, disoriented. While the Nuzzle attack did paralyze the Chansey and cause it to sway a little, it just barely moved.

Twigs caught Zap as he stumbled, gently helping him back up. "We'll work on it, lad. Just watch me."

Twigs proceeded to demonstrate by delivering a straight punch to the Chansey that caused it sway almost all the way back. Zap tried to follow and ended up needing to deliver more than fifty times the same amount before the Chansey gave up and decided to flop on its own. Still, the effort made him go up several levels, much to the joy of Twigs who was still cheering him on.

Flare was more focused on making sure Hop's training was going well. She noticed him starting to deter every now and then, so she had to egg him on from time to time. Sometimes literally, as one time she had to bring the Chansey itself over to cheer him up. Sooner or later Flare was glad to see Hop starting to get back into the swing of things. Eventually the two trainers spent their time conversing with each other rather than continuing to watch their Pokémon use Chansey as punching bags.

One Pokémon in particular saw the punching bag act and was much less than pleased. A Golduck emerged from the river, climbing onto the shore only to see fellow wild Pokémon brethren being doubled up on by trainers. Furious, it rushed towards a Toxel, energy forming around its tail as it ran.

The Chansey were the first to notice the Golduck, spotting the distant threat immediately and bolting away. Hop was the second to notice, noticing the disturbance right away as he called Flare's attention. Twigs saw what was coming up and threw herself in front of Zap, pulling him close to her to try and shield him. Flare could only look on in shock as the Golduck swung its rushing Aqua Tail attack at Twigs and Zap.

An instinct called for Flare to shield her eyes from what would come next, which she ended up having to do when a sudden flash of light appeared before her eyes. What figure she could make out of Twigs grew into a form so defined and large that it towered over the Golduck. As the light faded, Twigs was face to face with her foe. A wooden object was braced over her forearm, acting as a shield against the Aqua Tail while her other large arm covered Zap.

Twigs snarled at the Golduck. "Don't touch him." Her taller muscly Rillaboom form helped plenty with the intimidation.

With relative ease, Twigs swatted the Golduck away with her new wooden shield, which appeared to be shaped like a tree stump. Acting on instinct, she slammed her new wooden shield in such a way that its sides firmly stuck into the ground. The very act created a brown root that emerged from the ground beneath the Golduck and snagged it by the tail.

"Hmm." Twigs raised an eyebrow, twirling the new sticks in her hands.

She promptly used her sticks to beat on the top parts of the tree stump as if it was a drum. Twigs' side-to-side beats motioned the root to pick up the Golduck and flail it back and forth across the ground.

A sudden bolt of electricity sped forth from behind Twigs. The electrified figure rushed at the raggled Golduck, lunging with a shoulder charge of a Spark tackle. The impact caused a surge of light and hurled the Golduck back into the river.

Twigs called her root back as she took a surprised look at the glowing Pokémon ahead of her. As the light faded, even the Toxtricity before her was surprised at the sudden surge of power. His big glossy eyes curiously looked over his new form, from the yellow frill of electricity coming out of his head to the curious purple organs protruding from his chest.

He poked at the organs and noted the peculiar strumming noise they made. In his surprise, he let his tongue poke out. "Pbbth," was all Zap could say.

"You guys!" Flare ran to her Pokémon, feeling a mixture of pride and relief as she tried to bring her arms around the two. While Zap was short for a Toxtricity, getting Twigs in for a group hug proved difficult due to how she was the largest out of them all now.

Still, the Rillaboom took pride in her new form, one much more suited to being someone tough the team could rely on. The drumsticks and her drum piece attached to a new root attack felt weird, but she could get used to those. With all that's happened with her and Zap's evolution, she could say that the training session was worth it. And that she was up for more.

Seeing Flare have two Pokémon evolve at once encouraged Hop to pick up his own pace and get his duo trained. As the two trainers continued their training, it wouldn't be long afterwards until Hop's own Toxel evolved too, this time becoming a Toxtricity with blue electricity. By the time the two trainers were fine with the training they've done, the sun was starting to set, so they headed back to their camp where the rest of their Pokémon were. Flare and Hop were getting a Snorlax's worth of curry ready as all their Pokémon mingled with one another, mostly just gawking at the newly evolved members.

"Look at me, Flare!" Tilda excitedly called to her. "I look like an Ivysaur!"

Flare turned to see the amusing sight of Twigs helping Tilda fold up all her large red petals in such a way that looked like a bulb. "Looking good!"

She chuckled again when she saw that the string keeping together Tilda's petals eventually broke and caused the Vileplume to tip over in surprise. All was good, and she also took into account Hop's amusement as well. Flare was glad. While it was weird to see him without Heart or Knightley, he was still the same old Hop. The two spent a good while chatting away as they got the curry prepared, like how high Magikarp could jump or how exactly a Milcery evolves or the special meaning Applin have. Hop mainly did the talking, surprising Flare with just how much he had to share about Pokémon. While they had time to talk, Flare made sure to fill Hop in on everything she learned at Hammerlocke with Sonia, as well as what she managed to get out of Team Yell.

"Two shady blokes did all this Dynamaxing incident nonsense, is that right?" Hop frowned. "When I find the twits responsible for what happened to Sev I'm gonna-"

" Dum dum dee dee, la la de daaa… "

"Oh no." Hop's expression fell when he heard the familiar humming.

"Hoppy-kins! Is that you, my boy? What brings you out here?"

Hop lowered his head and groaned in exasperation as Mustard showed up in the distance and made his way to the two trainers, his carefree smile still present. Flare giggled to herself as she quickly realized why Hop didn't want to see him.

Hop mustered an awkward smile. "Hey there, Master Mustard."

Flare waved at him and tried to match his energy. "Hello. We just stopped by for some training."

"I can see that." Mustard smiled, stroking the wispy hair on his chin as he observed their Pokémon out and about. "I just came here to check on what the fuss here was all about, you know. Don't let me get in the way of your fun, I was just stopping by."

As he turned to walk away, Flare suddenly recalled something. "Wait!"

"Hmm?"

Flare hurriedly got up from the curry pot and made her way to him. "Did you ever find out who sent me the letter that brought me here?"

Mustard curiously eyed the envelope in her hand, his expression briefly tensing to one of serious thought. It quickly faded to his usual smile. "Oopsie, my memory isn't quite what it used to be. The answer still eludes me."

Flare sighed as she lowered her head. "Well… thanks anyway."

Seeing this, Mustard placed a hand on her shoulder. His stare suddenly intensified with the weight of someone knowledgeable. "I see it in you… you'll be the one to neutralize the coming threat and bring the stars back to the sky. Finish what he started."

"Wait, what?" Flare quickly looked back up at him, but only got even more confused to see that he vanished. Without a trace, as if he vanished into thin air. "What stars? Finish what he started? Who's he?" Inconvenienced that she was left with more questions than answers, she sighed and headed back.

Hop watched her return to her spot near the curry pot and glanced at the letter she was holding. "No answers on your mystery person?"

"Nope." Flare shook her head with defeat, right before she looked back at Hop. A smile crept up on her face. "So. Hoppy-kins?"

"Oh, shut it." Hop shook his head with embarrassment and hid behind his Magikarp fan.

Night continued to approach as the trainers got their curry right this time and shared it with all their Pokémon. Some finished their meals lickity split while others took their time scarfing it down with all the mingling they were doing. Mainly Spike. Cress was trying to nab portions from Hook's levitating plate while Tilda was trying to make her way back to Spike.

Twigs was quick to finish her own portion, still getting used to how her plate was tiny compared to her now. She watched Zap finish his meal as well, though shortly after the Toxtricity looked up at her with quivering baby eyes. His stomach rumbled.

A warm smile came on the Rillaboom's face. She mostly expected something like this to happen and reached into her new thick foliage of a hairdo. Twigs took out an Iapapa Berry and handed it to Zap. The Toxtricity's eyes glimmered with excitement as he happily accepted the berry and started scarfing it down. Twigs proudly watched Zap's eager energy. Even if he evolved, he was still the same Zap. And even if her closest friends were gone, Twigs knew at that very moment that they were proud of her.

Both finding themselves at ease, Twigs, Flare, and Hop all looked up at the darkening night sky. The odds were against them, but they knew they would be safe with the friends they had by their side. The sky didn't hold that much light that night, but what was in sight still had might to fight.