This chapter almost wasn't finished in time. Please enjoy.
They fought their way through the crowd, and were greeted by Hop, apparently waiting for them to arrive. He was twitching, as if he wanted to hit something but was fighting against the urge with every bone in his body.
"This is mad," he said once hellos were said. "There was a giant explosion, and a rogue Dynamax, and then Lee wouldn't let me help…"
"You're his brother," Gloria pointed out. "He doesn't want you getting hurt."
"But I've faced Dynamax Pokémon before!" Hop protested.
"Your Pokémon have faced Dynamax Pokémon before," Victor corrected. "But what is it?"
Hop held up his phone, where the news displayed a picture of Leon with a fainted Dynamaxed Perrserker. Sonia was nowhere to be found, but she may have taken the picture or been giving her statement to the authorities.
"They're popping up on different routes," Hop explained. "I don't know how or why. I asked to help take them down, and when that got rejected, I offered to help investigate. But Lee said…"
"That you should focus on the challenge," Victor and Gloria said together.
Hop nodded. "Logically, we should be helping. It would prepare us for the finals."
"And evolve my Fraxure," Victor finished, thinking of how cool it would be to have a Haxorus ready. "And I'm sure Gloria wants Hattie, Harry and Stabitha to evolve, too."
Hop looked over at Gloria, confused. "Stabitha?"
"Pawniard," Gloria explained.
Hop asked no further questions. "Leon refused to let me help, so I can face the last two Gym Leaders. But Raihan is helping, too, so his Gym is out of commission until this mess gets settled. We're stuck."
"Or we can call the professor," Victor suggested. "She can help us out of this mess."
Hop and Gloria both silently hoped so.
Victor offered to make the call, and Rotom, for once in its miserable life, let him do what he wanted with the body it stole. By the time Victor caught up with his friends, Leon and Sonia were already there with them, gathered in front of the Gym.
"Any ideas on what's going on?" Gloria was asking.
Hop was right behind her. "Pokémon Dynamaxing without a Power Spot is unheard of! It's near impossible!"
Sonia held up her hands. "I know," she agreed. "But I don't know what's going on!"
"I'm not completely sure myself," Leon admitted, his smile fading. "I have theories, but the Grapploct was so far from..." he trailed off, chasing a train of thought.
"Does this mean a Power Spot is starting in Spikemuth?" Victor asked, attracting everybody's attention. "The Grapploct, the Perrserker...they were both close to Spikemuth, weren't they?"
"It's a possibility," Leon admitted. "I hope that's what it is, anyway."
"But there's no way to predict it," Sonia finished with a sigh.
"Predicting," said a woman's voice, and they all turned to see Professor Magnolia approaching them, "is a part of a scientist's job."
Sonia's mouth was hanging open. "Gran?"
Magnolia's stern expression softened. "Did I ever tell you about the time I failed to predict something?"
"No," Sonia said bluntly.
"Well, I meant to." And without any further hesitation, Professor Magnolia began her story. "I was a young woman then, ready to begin my career. I had a husband and a child, of course, but I was confident that I could find the balance."
"You did," Sonia interrupted with a smile.
"Yes, I'm aware of that." The professor laughed it off and returned to the story. "I didn't want to jump right in to running a lab. Instead, I took a more complicated path - I impressed a professor with my thesis on strange energy particles found in Galar and wondered if it could be linked to the Mega Evolution phenomenon in Kalos. It quickly proved that, no, it wasn't...but that only encouraged both of us. We went into the study as a team, and it took many years before we understood what we were dealing with. My family didn't need me as much, so the longer it went on, the more work I did for it. I got top credit on the findings and became famous for it. It all came down to me when Chairman Rose came up with a way to use this energy."
"So, you let him," Leon finished. Oddly, he didn't seem to be as accepting of this as everyone else.
Magnolia watched him carefully. "I have occasionally had my doubts," she finally said, "but yes, I did. That's when the previous head of the lab retired and named me the new head scientist."
"I remember that," Sonia said, looking back on it with a smile. "It was right around the time I started seriously considering being a Trainer."
"It was. I sent you and Leon off on that journey, so long ago now -"
"Not that long," Sonia protested.
"It was long enough to have my car replaced," Magnolia pointed out, "because a giant Excadrill stomped on it. A team of scientists in Kalos took the fall, but I've always wondered..."
"Just assume," Sonia said quickly.
"I do," Magnolia said, "but I never know. I failed to predict what my research could have done. Excadrill aren't native to Kalos. It does seem a bit suspicious."
"It just means that somebody went out of their way to get one." Sonia gave her grandmother a reassuring smile. "Come on, Gran. There's something I want to investigate. Would you like to help?"
Leon left soon after, leaving the three teenagers behind. "Raihan's a tough nut to crack," Hop warned as they all stared up at the Gym. "I hear he uses effects."
"Leon beats him every year," Victor pointed out. "How hard could it be?"
"He gives Lee a challenge every year," Hop corrected. "I'm a bit nervous, myself."
"Dragons are a nightmare," Gloria agreed. "Bit sad that my fairy isn't strong enough."
"We'll make him strong enough," Victor insisted, and pulled her away, back to the route they'd just come from. "I think I saw a berry tree on the way. Give me Harry and Hattie, I'll give you Excadrill and Fraxure."
"Beats sitting around doing nothing. But what will you do if Raihan defeats you?"
"Go back." Victor stared at her blankly, wondering for a moment if she really was that stupid. "They do let challengers come back as often as it takes, Gloria. I don't think it'll take me more than once, but who knows."
He was starting to feel a bit nervous about battling Raihan. He'd have to think of a creative way to punish Hop for scaring him.
Gloria, meanwhile, laughed it off, the awkward tone of it making him forgive her. "Sorry. Forgot that rematches were a thing, what with the professor telling her story and the Dynamax incident..."
"You don't have to explain," Victor interrupted, and she shut up at once. "Just keep telling yourself that you're friends with me and Hop. Stupidity is a fact of life around here."
"'Friends with Hop and me,' you mean," Hop said in a voice remarkably like a teacher's. "Grammar, Victor."
"I'll 'grammar Victor' you," Victor shot back, and playfully shoved Hop. Hop pushed back harder, laughing a bit when Victor, laughing himself, stumbled back a bit.
Gloria watched the boys escalate their mock-fight to restrained punches, embarrassment fading as she grinned. She really did have the best friends. No matter which of them dethroned Leon - and it was a who, not an if - she knew the other was destined for greatness, too.
The question was, how was the non-Champion destined for greatness? And the follow-up question was, where would she fit in?
She tried not to think about that too hard.
Victor: Dash (Cinderace) Corviknight, Drednaw, Excadrill, Fraxure, Clobbopus
Gloria: Ace (Inteleon) Dishwasher (Obstagoon) Rogue (Thievul) Hattie (Hattrem) Harry (Morgrem) Stabitha (Pawniard)
