A/N: Hey everyone! I mentioned in the blurb that this is heavily based on SW/SH, but I'm going to be switching some plot hooks around and adding some new story beats and stuff to flesh out some of these characters. I hope you like what I changed, but if not please be constructive in the reviews, I'm delicate :( Anyway, I'll shut up now. Enjoy the first chapter and the rest of the story!


"Ladies and Gentlemen, it's time for the final match to begin!" the man on the television shouted, as the crowd erupted in cheers. Sweeping shots of a wide patch of green turf switched into middle-distance static shots of frenzied fans from across the region. It seemed that the entire population of Galar was at the stadium for Leon and Raihan's exhibition match, although empirical evidence proved otherwise. Leon's brother, Hop, sat next to me, rocking in anticipation. His bright orange eyes were alight like the light of a Charizard's tail, specifically the one that of the camera operators at the match had noticed. As the three of us watched the Charizard land on the pitch and its trainer hop down on the turf, waving triumphantly to everyone in the stadium, Hop turned to Vic and me, his grin stretching from ear to ear.

"And you lot were just going to watch all this on your smartphones," he said with a snicker. "I've been watching Lee's matches since he became champion; it's always better on the big screen."

"It's just an exhibition match," my brother, Victor, said, smiling. "It's not like his title is on the line."

"Not on the line…yet" Hop corrected. "B'sides, Lee never treats his exhibition matches like they're lesser battles so why should I?"

"He's got a point, Vic," I said. Victor glanced up at me, hoping I would have backed him up, but I shrugged. "You gotta admit, it's a right good time." He groaned, but his smile was still plastered on his fair skinned face. On the screen, Leon spread his legs and reached his arm up to the sky in a dramatic pose, causing the stadium to erupt in cheers for a second time. He was wearing his trademark black champion's uniform, a black polo with white pinstripes and a red and blue graphic of a sword and shield emblazoned on the chest. Atop his long violet hair was a snapback cap, perked up so the brim pointed upwards. It looked enough like a crown as it did but looking closely one could even make out the jagged outline of one, sewn into the brim with gold ribbon. The crown cap made an odd pairing with the white sport shoes and tights Leon also wore, but with his massive confidence and billowing crimson cape, he somehow made his bizarre apparel work together.

"That Leon, always able to make an entrance," one of the commentators said.

"The only thing flashier than his battle style is his knack for the theatrical," said the other in a dry Unovan accent. "Only fitting, as we're about to see—oh, there he is now, the dragon tamer himself, Raihan!"

The cameras finally tore themselves off Leon and his Charizard, quickly turning to the other end of the pitch, where a challenger in an orange and blue hoodie approached. His skin was dark, even darker than Leon's olive skin, but his eyes burned brighter than the gleaming metallic dragon who followed him onto the pitch. Raihan walked slowly and purposefully, but he somehow knew when every one of the cameras whirling around him was live, giving winning smile after winning smile. Leon may have been a champion on the battlefield, but Raihan knew that he'd have won if it were a beauty contest. The handsome trainer was an intimidating force, even on the screen. By the time he met Leon in the middle of the pitch, he towered over the champion. The two smiled at each other and grasped hands, joking about something no mic could pick up over the howling of the audience. The two quickly turned and paced back to opposite ends of the pitch, ready to start their Pokémon battle when—

"HOP!" came a shrill cry. Hop jumped up in surprise as his mother barged into the room. Like her two sons, she had dark skin and violet hair, but while Leon's was a mane and Hop's was tightly scrambled upon his head, hers hung loosely down by her ears. She was a woman of nearly fifty, but despite two rambunctious sons, she hardly looked thirty-five. The few wrinkles she had creasing her face were the only giveaway that she was even much older than the lot of us sitting on the floor. She took one look at the TV and sighed. "Are you watchin' that silly match again? Lee won the damned thing two days ago, you tryin' to memorize the whole thing?"

"Mum, you know I have to pick up on these strategies if I'm gonna keep this family's legacy alive!" Hop said. Victor and I exchanged a look and hid a couple snickers. Not only was Leon the champion of the Galar region, but both of Hop's parents had met on their gym challenge back when they were teenagers and were respectable trainers in their own right.

"Well, you can pick up those strategies when you pick him up in twenty minutes," she said. "His train will be in at the station in Wedgehurst any second now!"

"Oh, crud!" Hop said, grabbing the remote and clicking the power button. "Gloria, Victor, we gotta go!" he said excitedly, rushing out of the bedroom. Victor and I got up a bit more slowly, laughing.

"That boy is going to be the death of me," she said, rolling her eyes.

"I doubt it," I replied, "but he might be the reason you're getting those gray hairs." Victor snickered as we rushed out the door and down the stairs behind Hop.

"No, I am not gonna fall for that one again!" Hop's mother called, although I already knew she was checking her reflection in the full-length mirror on Hop's wall. Hop was already out the door by the time we got to it, so we slipped on our shoes and strode into the waning light, shutting the door behind us.

"Hurry up, you lot!" Hop called, already down the street. Victor and I gave chase, and only barely managed to avoid the fluffy white ball that was Hop's Wooloo as it rolled toward its trainer. Hop's family herded Wooloo when they weren't battling, and this one in particular had seemed to take a liking to Hop's adventurous nature. The two were nearly inseparable, and with Hop sprinting away from the house, it had to roll after him at top speed to catch up. Hop hooked a sharp right around a wooden fencepost and onto the connecting route to Wedgehurst, and as he looked back to see if we were catching up, he caught a glimpse of the white cotton blur blitz past him and directly into an old wooden gate. The old gate never stood a chance, and although the three of us heard a near sickening crack, the sheep Pokémon ripped right through the gate as if it were made of paper and into the large and ominous thicket of trees beyond.

"Was…was that my Wooloo?" Hop asked, jogging back to the corner to meet us.

"Yeah," I said. "Daft thing nearly bowled us over on our way out the house."

The three of us stared at the gate. It had never been opened in any of our memories; our mums always told us to steer clear of it, and the trees beyond. The other kids who lived in Postwick called it the Slumbering Weald, and that anyone who went in would be slumbering forever. No one knew what lied beyond the first string of grey trees, but if we stayed up late at night and kept our ears tuned to them, we could occasionally hear howling or chittering that didn't sound like any of the wild Pokémon that lived around Postwick. I glanced over at Victor, and followed his eyesight to Hop, who was rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet, deciding his course of action. Hop took a deep breath, and with a resolve that reminded me of his older brother Leon, he charged into the trees.

"Hop!" I yelled.

"Are you mad?" Victor shouted. "You can't just barge into the Weald like that! You're gonna get yourself killed!"

"Well, I'm not letting Wooloo get his because I got careless!" he shouted over his shoulder, not even slowing his stride. Victor and I glanced at each other again, and I could see the fear and confusion in his eyes. I looked back in Hop's direction, but he had already disappeared into the trees.

"Well," I said, hoping I sounded braver than I felt, "If Hop's goin', I'm goin'." And with that, I scrunched up my eyes and my resolve, and sprinted after him.

"Gloria!" Victor yelled, but he should know that I don't ever back myself down from a challenge once my mind's made up. He yelled something else, but as I passed into the Weald, it was as if even sound did not want to follow me in. I slowed my sprint down to a jog. All I could hear was my own breath and the steady squishing of my brown leather boots on the wet dirt. There was a definite path that I was following, as overrun with weeds and moss as it was. I hoped I would find Wooloo and Hop before I found a branch or end to the path.

After a couple minutes of running, I heard shouting just a bit ahead of me. It was Hop. I breathed a sigh of relief and slowed down to a walk, taking in my surroundings. Problem was, there weren't many surroundings to take in. I was surrounded by trees that looked like swirls of black paint, barely contrasting with a thick grey mist that rendered anything a few yards away blurry and anything much further nearly invisible.

"Hop!" I shouted, but it sounded so eerily quiet. I heard him shout again, and with a new burst of speed, I ran it the direction of his voice. After a few seconds, his form faded into existence. He was spinning around, shouting left and right for Wooloo, but Wooloo was nowhere in sight. His denim Jacket had a couple streaks of mud across him, and his black athletic pants sported a nasty rip right across the knee.

"WOOLOO! Huh—Gloria!" he shouted in surprise once he saw me. "Didn't know you followed me in. Victor come with you?"

"Nah, he chickened out," I said, puffing out my chest in a façade of bravery.

"Can't believe the inseparable twins finally separated," he said with a chuckle.

"Well, I figured if you and Wooloo could do it," I teased, knocking him softly on the shoulder. Hop didn't laugh at the joke, but instead looked even more stressed. "Sorry, bad timing on my end. I came to help you find Wooloo, and I'm gonna do it."

"Thanks, Gloria, you're a right good friend."

With Hop next to me, I felt a bit braver already. We shouted for Wooloo a bit more and trudged on. I don't know how long we were looking, but time had seemed to stop, almost as if the entire Slumbering Weald itself was asleep. I felt a bit rude waking it up with all our yelling about the place. Occasionally, we would see a burst of movement, but it was always just a Skwovet, its thick gray body skittering along the forest floor, searching for berries or apricorns. I think ten minutes had passed when we heard a shaky bleating coming from a few yards away.

"Wooloo!" Hop yelled again with a sudden alertness. He was answered with a surprised bleat and took off in a sprint. I followed and soon we found the runaway Wooloo, one of its silver wooly braids tangled up in an oran berry bush. Hop fell to his knees and scooped up the sheep in his arms while I tenderly removed the braid from the branches. Hop then picked a handful of the juicy blue berries and we had ourselves a bit of a snack. The Wooloo seemed to be a bit rejuvenated, seeing his trainer and eating one of his favorite treats again. I finally breathed a sigh of relief until—

"Hop, what is that?"

"What's wha—what?" he asked, looking up and pausing as he followed the direction of my outstretched hand. There was a strange light coming from the woods ahead of us, and it seemed like the fog was clearing. Though it was still a little hazy, I could see the form of a small stone archway, as well as some other carved stones scattered about. I walked toward it slowly, and as I moved closer, I could see that the fog was indeed starting to clear. After a few more steps, I was out of the fog entirely and standing in a small clearing next to the stone archway. The light was from the last few rays of the sun, burning like fire through the trees and underneath the archway, and the scattered stone bricks cast shadows that were nearly as tall as I was. Behind the archway was a small lake whose waters were crystal clear, as if it were a giant mirror lying on its side. Underneath the archway was another stone, and as I approached it, it appeared to be like a closed coffin or a sacrificial table; I wasn't sure which. At any rate, it was a long slab of granite atop a thinner but taller chunk of granite, and on top of it were two small indents. It looked as if there was something missing from the rock, but time had withered away what it was that was supposed to be there. I thought I saw writing on the side of the rocks, but they were in characters I did not recognize, and formed words in a language I did not know. I placed my hand on the granite slab. It was cool to the touch, but it seemed to give off a strange energy, as if the slab itself were alive…or as if it were giving me a warning.

"What is this place?" Hop said, walking up behind me.

"I…I'm not sure," I replied. "But I get the feeling we shouldn't be here…"

"Right on the money there, mate."

"B'sides, sun's going down, we better make it back to Postwick before—"

"Gloria." I looked over at Hop, whose eyes were wide in terror looking at something behind me. Whirling around, I gazed over the serene water and saw the mist come creeping over the lake, and on top of it were two massive beasts. In the dying light, their fur seemed to be of navy and burgundy, but I could barely focus on their fur, as two sets of golden eyes looked hungrily at us. I stepped back, hoping they wouldn't give chase, but I knew we were in trouble. The water rippled as the beasts took a step out onto the water, but they did not sink. It was as if they were carried by the fog itself. One beast stopped and lifted its head up in a mournful howl that cut through the silence like a knife. The other, with a vicious bark, began to charge.

Whatever immobility spell we had been enchanted with was immediately broken and Hop and I turned tail and sprinted out of the strange clearing, back into the fog. I did not know where the path had gone, but as I heard the thunder of paws on stone, I knew I wouldn't have much time left to find it anyway. Still, we ran. I think I was screaming, but the thundering of paws was all I could hear over my pounding heartbeat. To our left, a giant shadow overtook us as the navy beast circled around and stopped in front of us. We skidded to a halt, and turned back again, only to see the red beast, who howled again. The beasts closed in on us. "W-Wooloo, use tackle!" Hop sputtered, but the sheep was rooted to its spot, same as us. I could feel its wooly body pressed up against our legs. There was no way out of this one.

The beasts came closer and closer still, but as they did, I felt a strange sense of calmness start to wash over me. I could feel it in Hop as well. Perhaps this was what it was like to accept your death? No, it couldn't be. The beast in front of me wasn't glaring hungrily any more so much as it was staring quizzically. It seemed to be assessing me, its nose twitching. Up close, the beast still looked harrowed, almost emaciated, but it held itself like it was a prince, or even a king. Tentatively, I reached my hand out, palm down, as if I were befriending a Growlithe for the first time. The beast took a step back, and after one more deep look directly into my eyes, as if it could see my entire life in front of it like a movie, simply disappeared into the fog.

"Wha—did you see that, Gloria?!" Hop stammered, and I didn't even need to look to know that the other beast had done the same.

"Hop, that was wicked cool, but we need to get out of here now," I said shakily. Hop grunted in agreement and we both turned to run, only to be blocked immediately as a massive wall of fire erupted in front of us.

I screamed and fell back, landing in a pile of twigs. Hop fell on top of Wooloo in a protective stance, and with a sickening crunch, something landed heavily behind us. I scrambled to my feet and turned around, finding myself face to face with a tall orange dragon with sharp spikes on its head and even sharper teeth. Its wings were outstretched, and smoke wafted out of its open maw. I could see Hop's and my reflection, two silhouettes against a fiery backdrop, in the dragon's emerald eyes.

"We just cannot catch a break, can we?" I asked, defeated.

"What do you mean, we just did!" Hop cried jubilantly. "Charizard! Oh, it's good to see you, old buddy!" And with that, Hop wrapped his arms around the Pokémon, whose terrifying aura broke immediately as it nuzzled Hop affectionately with a deep rumble in its throat. It was only then that I saw that Charizard had come with two people. The first was a face I had only seen on the television. Champion Leon's bright eyes were assessing the situation carefully, checking to see if any of us were hurt. He was even taller than he looked on TV, a whole head taller than me. The other person was Victor, who was much less impressive in his red polo and grey woolen cap. But I was still happy to see him.

"Victor!" I cried. "You followed us in after all!"

"Well, I went to get Leon to do it actually," he said. "Then I didn't have much of a choice. He pulled me onto his Charizard and well, here we are."

"You never let me ride Charizard, Lee!" Hop accused playfully.

"Well, it's even less likely to happen now," Leon said grumpily. "What were you thinking, coming into the Weald just before dark? You know how dangerous it is, have you even been listening to Mum?"

"We were coming to get you, but Wooloo lost control and…" Hop trailed off, his energy falling. He scooped up the sheep, who surprisingly had not had a heart attack from all the chaos but was still shaking violently.

"And you had to play hero," Leon finished, his voice softening and his features rearranging into a charming smile. "Mum and Dad were right; you have been idolizing me too much. Come off it, Hop, I'm not mad at you." And with a ruffle of Hop's hair, he laughed heartily. "All right, Gloria?"

"Y-yes, Mr. Leon," I stuttered.

"Pump the brakes there on the formalities, kiddo," Leon said, laughing still. "I'm only Mr. Leon if you're battling me in the league. Now let's get some food already. I'm famished!" With that, he tossed out a Pokéball, and in a flash of light and sparks, a giant and lumpy blue toad landed on the ground with a thud. Leon tilted his head toward the fire, and the toad immediately started dowsing it with water.

"Wow!" Hop gasped. "You brought your Seismitoad with you? Wicked!"

"I told you he'd like any Pokémon I brought," Leon said, winking at Victor, who beamed. As the light of the fire died down, I looked behind us. The mists were clearing again, but I thought I caught the glint of the beast's eyes. No, that couldn't be it, I told myself. It must have just been some embers left over.


And that's that! Next week: CHAPTER 2: PARTNERS IN CRIME