Everyone but Victor turned black and white with shadows over their eyes with the addition of a Pikachu's comedically timed Thunderbold striking in the distance.

"EHH?!" Gloria grabbed Victor by the collar of his shirt, pulled him up, and frantically started shaking him back and forth. "What the hell ya mean that ya won't choose any of them!?"

"Urk! Gworia... Lwet gwo p*sputter*ease!" Victor choked with swirling eyes.

Even Leon seemed somewhat shocked at the sudden claim from the boy. He raised his cap and an eyebrow with a rather curious gaze, even no longer smiling.

"Are you just saying that you wanna let Hop and Gloria choose first? Or are you saying that you don't want a pokemon at all?" The champion asked him.

Gloria dropped Victor to let him speak, and the boy took a moment to catch his breath.

"N-No... I'm saying that I'm not gonna choose a pokemon and make it stay with me."

"Hm?" They all blinked.

The three starter pokemon cutely titled their heads to the side as they wondered what he meant.

Victor adjusted his beanie and put on an awkward smile. "I mean... I'd feel bad if I basically chose a pokemon's future without even knowing how they felt about it first."

Invisible punches seemed to strike the three other humans in the gut.

"Victor... Now you're making me feel terrible for having Lee catch Wooloo for me when I was little!" Hop said with a panicked face and comedic tears going down his eyes.

"Baaaaaaa!" Wooloo tried to let Hop know that it had already wanted to be with him even before the boy had asked Lee to catch him.

"Don't worry Hop, Wooloo wanted to be with you." Victor reassured him.

"Baaaaa!" Wooloo nodded happily.

Hop had comedic tears as he picked up the ball of fluff and hugged him tightly. "Wooloo! I love yooooooou!"

Wooloo sweatdropped as it used a small hoove to pat Hop.

Gloria looked down, somewhat ashamed, "Geez Victor... Why'd have to say that? Now I feel like crap... I don't think I can just choose one now."

Leon awkwardly chuckled, "I understand what you're saying Victor, but don't worry. These pokemon have all come willingly just so they could find a trainer that they could travel Galar with." He turned to the starters. "Ain't that right little guys?"

All three pokemon let out cheerful cries of approval.

"Oh? Really?" Victor smiled as he learned this. "I'd still feel weird for choosing a pokemon. So..." Victor sat down on the ground in a cross-legged manner while facing the pokemon.

"Any of you guys wanna choose me?"

The pokemon were somewhat off caught guard from the thought of being able to decide who travels along with this person. All three of them turned to each other awkwardly before huddling up and whispering.

Hop, Gloria, and Leon all had somewhat blank faces.

"Well, I didn't see this coming..." They all thought in unison.

After nearly a minute of the pokemon speaking amongst themselves, they all turned back with a decision.

Then one of them stepped forward to answer Victor's question.

"Scor!"

Victor grinned as Scorbunny pranced over to him and then got into a proud stance with his little paws on his hips and a big smile.

Victor happily reached over and gently rubbed the rabbit pokemon on his head.

"I'll be counting on you."

"Scorbunny!" The pokemon cooed as his head was gently felt upon.

Victor examined the pokemon's appearance. "I think calling you Scorbunny is a bit plain. Do you want a name, little fella?"

Hearing this, Scorbunny backed up and excitedly jumped up and down. "Scor, bun!"

"Alrighty then." Victor chuckled. He put a hand on his chin and put on a thinking face as he thought about what kind of name he could give for his new lifelong companion.

"A name that isn't his final evolution, Cinderace, but relates to it and sounds cool for the future..."

A smile returned on his face. "How about... Ace?"

The Scorbunny cheerfully jumped into Victor's arms, "Scor! Scor!" He said as he nuzzled his cheek against his new partner.

Victor laughed and hugged his pokemon as he felt the softness of his cheek, "Ace it is then!"

Gloria had a blank expression on her face despite the small blush on her cheeks. She pulled out her phone and secretly took a picture of the sight.

Meanwhile, Hop got excited as he saw Grookey head over to him and playfully whack his shoe with his stick.

"Grookey! Grook!" The chimp pokemon called to him.

"You wanna be my partner!?" Hop basically squealed as he reached down and picked up the pokemon from the ground. "I'm aiming to be the next champion, so be ready! You and I will be doing some serious training!"

The chimp happily nodded, and Wooloo cheered next to both of them.

The last starter, Sobble, shyly waddled over to Gloria, who got on her knees to meet him with a smile. She didn't seem fazed that she was left with the last pokemon. If anything, she looked glad to have received Sobble.

"Hey, little fella. You wanna be my pokemon?"

"Sob! Sobble!" The pokemon cried out with a smile.

"He said yes." Victor clarified as his own Scorbunny seemed to have wrapped itself above his head.

"I think I can tell." Gloria chuckled as she reached out a hand to him.

Sobble waddled over and rubbed his face against her hand while cooing.

"So cute..." Gloria mumbled as she gently stroked his face.

Hop then rushed over to Victor while holding Grookey in his arms.

"Oi! Victor! Help me come up with a name for Grookey! You make up cool names!"

Grookey curiously looked up at Hop and then Victor, smiling at the thought of getting a new name.

"I think it'd be more meaningful to him if you named him," Victor suggested.

Hop put on a thinking face of his own as he scratched his head with one eye closed as he thought of a name.

The boy then snapped his fingers with stars in his eyes as he came up with one.

"How about Funky Kon-!?"

"Don't name ye pokemon off one of them stupid games of yours!" Gloria shouted as she punched Hop's head out of nowhere.

"Ack!" Hop comedically fell on his back with Grookey landing on him.

"Grook!?" Grookey cried out in shock to see his partner punched.

Sobble had also turned black and white at his trainer's demonstration of power.

But despite being knocked to the ground face-first, Hop immediately got up with an even more inspired expression.

"Ooo! How about Conga!?" He asked as if nothing had happened despite the red bump on his head.

"Better. I guess." Gloria didn't look too impressed.

Grookey cheered at the name.

"Alrighty then! I'll call ya, Conga!" Hop happily declared.

The newly named Conga jumped and did a flip as a celebration. "Grook! Grookey!"

"What about you, Gloria? You gonna give your Sobble a name?" Leon asked curiously after having seen the other two give names.

Gloria stared curiously into her Sobble's eyes as her pokemon stared back patiently.

She then hugged him while giving a sweet, closed-eyed smile.

"I'm gonna name him... Bubbles."

"So cute..." Victor thought as he saw an aroma of flowers appear around Gloria as she rubbed her pokemon's head.

Leon grinned at the sight of all of them.

"You've already gotten closer to your pokemon than any normal trainer would. You're all going to be powerful trainers, I can already tell!"

"All right! Enough with all this trainer nonsense for one night!" A new voice called.

Everyone turned and saw both Hop's and Victor's mothers coming towards them.

"Dinner's ready children. Bring along your pokemon to eat." Victor's mother smiled.

"Mom? You came?" Victor asked in surprise.

"Yup! Hop's mother invited me after all. But look at you with your first pokemon!" The woman smiled.

Ace took a sniff in the air and started drooling as he picked up the scent of kebabs cooking on the grill.

Victor chuckled, "Let's eat little fella. Then I can get to know you better."

The sun was starting to set on the horizon as everyone started eating. Gloria fed Bubbles little chunks of meat, while Hop and Conga started shoving their faces with food, much to his mother's dismay.

He did choke for a moment though, resulting in Gloria slapping him hard on his back while Victor sweatdropped.

Victor didn't eat too much. He sat on his chair quietly as he fed Ace in his lap. He casually talked with his pokemon in a low tone so that the others wouldn't hear and started to learn more about his personality.

Everyone was engrossed by the meal and their pokemon, that they didn't notice a pair of eyes staring at them from afar.

~{That Very Night-9:37PM}~

Ace's head glanced all over the foggy forest with a mixture of fear and curiosity as Victor carried the rabbit in his arms.

"Don't be nervous now. I've been in here hundreds of times. I just want you to meet someone." Victor reassured him.

Ace stared in wonder at the tall trees and thick fog that made up the Slumbering Weald.

"Scor, scor!" He cheerfully purred.

"Yeah, it's always foggy here." Victor answered him.

Surprisingly, telling Scorbunny was rather easy during dinner. He just casually mentioned it to him and his partner seemed to get more excited about traveling with him. They even had a long conversation about what they wanted to do in Galar.

"I still have to talk to my mom about her letting me travel even farther..." Victor thought with a hint of worry as he recalled everything he wanted to do with his pokemon.

But putting aside his worries for the moment, Victor arrived in a familiar open area where a pokemon stood beside a riverbank in a professional stance.

"Sensei!" Victor waved at him.

Hearing him say 'Sensei,' Ace curiously stared up at his partner, then back at the Greninja ahead.

The ninja turned to Victor and his eyes somewhat lit up in curiosity as he saw the Scorbunny in his student's arms.

"Ninja?" The pokemon walked forward and leaned forward to get a better look at the fire-type.

"Um, yeah..." Victor awkwardly laughed. "I got a pokemon. Sensei, meet Ace. Ace, meet Sensei."

Ace hopped out of Victor's arms and started circling Greninja with stars in his eyes by how amazing he thought the pokemon looked.

"Bun!" He raised a little paw up with a bright smile.

Greninja crouched down and shook the small paw between his two fingers.

"Gren, Gerninja." He chuckled.

"Eh, he's a lot like me? But you just met him!?" Victor pointed out.

Greninja stood up straight and turned back to Victor.

"Ninja, Greninja?"

Hearing that question, Victor smiled.

"Yeah, I do have his pokeball but..." He proudly put his hands on his hips. "I think it's better to have him out with me! I don't want him to feel like he's only important for fighting."

Ace happily bounced up and down at his partner's statement. "Scor! Bun! Bun!"

"You're welcome, Ace. I don't want you to feel like just a fighter, I want you to know that you're my friend."

Ace embarrassingly rubbed the back of his head with a smile. He then proceeded to explore the small, open area. But his gaze turned to a curious look as he noticed the terrain show many signs of previous battles taking place, such as small craters in the ground, cut down trees, and broken rocks.

"Scorbun?" Ace pointed curiously at the sight while turning his head back to Victor.

Victor chuckled, "Oh yeah. You could say that 'pokemon' have fought here before..." He walked over to his pokemon. "Which actually brings me to the reason that I brought you here. I wanna tell you a secret, Ace."

Ace curiously tilted his head.

"You see Ace, I-" He was interrupted as they heard the sound of three water shurikens slicing through the air towards him.

Victory turned around and his eyes widened.

"WAH!" He instinctively formed Leaf Blades around his arms and sliced each shuriken coming in half with three consecutive strikes.

Each slice shuriken immediately dispersed in the air and vanished.

"Eh!?" Ace was stunned as he saw what his partner just did.

Victor formed cross-veins of irritation and turned to face his Sensei in the distance, green aura-like blades still around his hands.

"What was that for!?" He shouted.

Greninja just chuckled, knowing that his student would react fast enough.

Ace kept his gaze on Victor with a look of awe.

Victor Leaf Blades faded away as he turned back to Ace and saw the look in his pokemon's wide eyes.

He awkwardly rubbing the back of his head with a smile.

"Um, yeah... So that's the secret. I can use pokemon powers."

"Bun! Bun! Bun!" Ace excitedly bounced around Victor after discovering such a secret.

"Hehe, yeah. I'm stronger than a normal person and can also talk to pokemon." Victor chuckled as he watched his pokemon jump all over the place. At one point, he reached his hands out and caught Ace in them, then staring at him with a more serious look.

"But it's a secret outside of here. I'm sure nearly all the pokemon in this forest know about it because I trained here. But humans don't know. So I need you to keep it a secret too just in case you're somehow able to communicate with a person."

Ace tilted his head to the side, "Scor?"

"What bout pokemon? Well... I'm not really too worried." Victor smiled.

Ace then nodded up and down happily. "Scor! Scor!

Victor's smile returned. "Thanks, little buddy."

Ace then tilted his head once more with another questioning face, "Scor? Scorbunny?"

"Yeah. Sensei taught me how to use my powers when I was little. Well first, he made sure I was actually able to use them."

"Bun? Scor, bun?"

"Why I wanted to get stronger?" Victor asked with a puzzled look.

Ace nodded.

Victor smiled, "So I can leave and help anyone who needs help... You see Ace, until recently, all I could ever go to was this forest, with a few occasional exceptions. My mom worried about me not being able to control my powers, so she made sure I never went too far anywhere... But she said she'd let me leave home to explore Galar if I showed that I was strong enough to control my powers. Neither of us wanted me to accidentally hurt anyone after all."

Ace's nose twitched as he listened on in wonder.

"But the main reason I want to leave and explore Galar... is so I can help people and pokemon alike. I want to meet so many new people and pokemon. I want to talk to them, get to know them, and help them out if they need it. I want to always be around to help..." Victor sweetly smiled.

"Greninja!" His Sensei called out in a rather earnest tone.

"Eh?" Victor turned to him and raise an eyebrow as Greninja stood in front of him and Ace.

"Ninja. Gre, gren. Ninja, ja." Greninja declared as he pointed at Victor.

Victor's eyes widened.

"Become... The champion?"

He was shocked to hear this suggestion from his Sensei out of anyone else.

"Ninja... Greninja. Gren. Greninja."

"You think becoming champion would let me help everyone?" Victor blinked.

Greninja held his hand in front of him and put his fingers together in a fist as he declared, "Greninja! Ninja, greninja! Gren, ninja!"

"..." Victor gazed down in serious thought as he reflected on what his Sensei just said.

"Becoming champion... would prove to myself that I can help anyone? That my pokemon and I can save and beat anyone? Not just that, but the influence and power of being a champion can help inspire more help and care for pokemon..."

Victor smiled and glanced back up at his master, "You're right! Becoming the champion seems to be the best thing for me!"

Greninja nodded proudly.

Victor then looked down at his pokemon. "Would you like to get stronger with me, Ace? So that we can become the champion and protect everyone we wish?"

Ace just reached out his paw and booped Victor on the nose with a cheerful cry.

"Scor!"

Victor laughed and hugged him. "Thanks, little fella. We've got a long road ahead of us. So for now..."

He held him comfortably in his arms.

"Tell us more about yourself."

Ace comfortably rested in his trainer's arms as Victor and Greninja listened earnestly.

~{Hop's Residence-10:01PM}~

Hop's TV was on as he pointed at it with Conga and Wooloo watching. On the screen showed Leon's Gigantamax Charizard fighting against Raihan's Gigantamax Duraludon.

"You see him right there!? That's my brother, the champion of Galar! He brought you to me just so we can beat him in the future!"

Conga just nodded while sticking his stick in his two leaf hair tuffs.

"Leon wants us to get strong enough to fight him, and I want to get strong enough to beat him! So we're gonna have to do whatever we can to get stronger! To be the best there ever was!" Hop proudly declared.

"Baaaaa!" Wooloo cheered with a jump on the bed in agreeance to the claim.

Conga gave a somewhat curious gaze as Hop formed a very determined expression as he stared at the television screen.

"I looked up to Lee my entire life. I want to be just like him... I wanna make him and everyone else proud, I want to show everyone that I can live up to his name. But to be like him, I have to beat him. That means beating Victor, Gloria, and anyone else I come across."

He turned his head directly to Conga, "Are you ready to get stronger with us? To grow until we become the strongest champions of Galar?"

"Grook!" Conga cheered as he felt Hop's resolve and raised his stick.

Hop grinned, "I'll hold ya to that!" He moved his fist gently down to Conga.

"Grookey!" Conga jumped up and fist-bumped Hop.

"Thanks, little buddy." Hop grinned.

"Hop dearie! Go to sleep!" His mother suddenly called to him from below.

Hop flinched and stood up straight, "Y-Yes mom!"

~{Gloria Residence-10:23PM}~

Gloria sat cross-legged manner on her bed while Sobble sat across and curiously gazed up at his partner.

She hummed as she gently brushed her hair while in her Clefairy pajamas, then glancing down at her new pokemon cheerfully. "Hey, Bubbles... Do you wanna get stronger?"

The pokemon immediately nodded its head up and down.

Gloria put her brush down on the side. "I do too... But do you know why I want to get stronger?"

Bubbles tilted his head confusingly to the side with a question mark forming over it.

Gloria reached over at her nightstand and grabbed the knob of the drawer before pulling it open, then reaching inside and taking out a photograph of her and Victor when they about six years old.

She took a moment to examine to contents of the photograph. Both she and Victor were inside the windmill they had gone to before, but the girl was holding a surprised Victor with one arm and had used the other to reach up and take a selfie of both of them on her phone. Gloria had a large smile on her face as Victor had a nervous and slightly blushing expression. Behind the two was the window of the windmill that showed a beautiful sunset outside.

She placed the picture down on the bed and gently pushed it over to Bubbles.

"I wanna get stronger... for him."

Bubbles waddled over and stared at the picture rather curiously. He noticed just how happy Gloria looked in it and could see the current cheerfulness that girl had on her face as she remembered the past.

"Sob? Sob?"

Gloria had a small blush on her face as she stared dreamily down at the picture.

"I wanna become champion so that it'll give me the courage to ask him a... very important question. If I become the champion of the Galar region, then I think that it'll impress him enough... to guarantee that he'll say yes too."

Bubbles didn't seem to understand, "Ble. Sobble?"

Gloria rubbed the fin on the top of Bubble's head, "But don't tell Victor this. He can actually talk to pokemon, so I don't need you suddenly say this stuff."

Hearing that Victor can talk to pokemon surprised Bubbles, but he cheerfully gave Gloria a close-eyed smile.

"Sob!"

Gloria could tell she could trust Bubbles, so she happily smiled and picked him up in her arms, then hugging her pokemon tightly.

"Let's get stronger together, Bubbles. I hope you bear with me, I hope you'll help me meet a lot of other cute pokemon, and I hope you help me win until the very end..."

"Sob!" Bubbles nuzzled his cheek against hers.

~{The Next Morning: Outside Hop's Residence- 9:03AM}~

"Why did we have to meet here at nine in the morning?" Victor yawned as he rested at the outdoor table of Hop's house with Ace sitting on his shoulder.

"Champions always wake up early!" Leon grinned.

"But we're not champions yet..." Hop whined as Conga comedically bonked his partner's head to wake him up.

"Ya won't be with that attitude." Gloria remarked as Bubbles swam cheerfully in the tiny pond nearby.

Leon clapped his hands together to get their attention.

"So, how was your first night with your pokemon? Did you get along with them alright? Do you guys somewhat understand each other better?"

"Yeah, we did! Watch this!" Hop exclaimed immediately.

They all watched as Hop turned to his Grookey. "Ready, Conga?"

"Grookey!" The pokemon jumped in place.

Both stood beside each other before closing their eyes, turning their gaze to the ground, and dramatically shooting their arms in the air to mimic Leon's Charizard pose. Although, Conga stuck his little stick upward.

"You taught him the Charizard pose?" Victor asked, somewhat surprised by this.

Hop and Conga got out of their pose and smiled, "You bet I did!"

Leon applauded him with a laugh, "You're getting close to him already!" He then turned to Gloria and Victor. "What about you two?"

Victor got up from the table with a smile, "We trust each other completely." He answered as Ace nodded in agreement.

"Bubbles trusts me too. And he really loves his name! Don't ya, little Bubbles? Who is a good Bubbles?" Gloria cooed as she and Bubbles nuzzled their cheeks against each other.

"Then listen up new trainers!" Leon shouted, "Believe in yourself and your pokemon! If you trust each other and always battle side by side, then you can overcome anything!"

"I know." Victor said without showing any signs of being arrogant behind his innocent smile.

"Of course you do!" Leon laughed. "But who knows? If you focus more on strengthening your bond, then maybe someday you can even become strong enough to challenge me!"

"Hey, Lee! Why are you telling that to just him!? I'm gonna be the one to challenge you!" Hop pouted.

"Calm down now, Hop, I meant that for all of you." Leon tried to reassure him.

Hop just seemed to ignore him as he turned to Victor with a new fiery gaze, "But if you really think that Victor is going to be able to challenge you, then I guess he's my first rival!"

"Oh, boy..." Victor sweatdropped.

"Then I guess that makes him mine too." Gloria turned to Victor with a somewhat serious stare.

"Why you too!?"

"I'm not planning to lose and miss my chance to beat the unbeatable champion! Just having a pokemon doesn't make you a real trainer, you know?" Hop proudly declared.

"Well yeah, I do know. I studied all this for nearly my entire life." Victor deadpanned as he brought up his mom's teachings.

"Oh yeah." Hop said with a look of realization.

"And do you think you're already worthy of being called a real trainer, Hop?" Leon grinned expectantly. "Then, let's see how you can handle yourself in your first ever pokemon battle!"

"But Lee... There are three of us." Gloria pointed out.

"..." The champion actually looked surprised. "Oh yeah. That's right..." he put a hand on his chin and thought about it for a moment. He then snapped his fingers and grinned. "How about I join in then-?"

"NO!" All three teens snapped at the champion, making him wince and back up with an awkward chuckle.

"A-Alright then... How about a free for all?" He suggested next.

"My first battle as a three-person free for all... That's sounds exciting!" Hop grinned.

Leon regained his composure and adjusted his cap now that there seemed to be a choice.

"Great! We'll do that then! But Hop, you'll use only one pokemon, since I know you have Wooloo too!" Leon declared.

"Alright, I'll let Conga fight!" Hop grinned as his Grookey hopped off his shoulder and onto the small battlefield.

"It's rock, paper, scissors..." Victor thought as he stared at the three different typed starters gathering up.

But then he realized something.

"Ace, hold on. Come here for a second."

Ace listened and walked over in wonder at what he wanted, to which Victor crouched down and whispered:

"Do you know Ember?"

Ace blinked before shaking his head side to side.

Victor put a hand on his own chin with a contemplating expression.

"I see... Then you only know Growl and Tackle. But Ember is the easiest move for you to learn. So..."

He smiled and rubbed Ace's head.

"You should be able to learn it during this fight. Be ready to use it when you do."

"Scor!" Ace saluted to him before turning back cheerfully.

Soon all three pokemon were on the small battle arena with their trainers standing a few feet behind them.

"I've watched every match that Lee's ever had! I've read every book and magazine he left behind at home, too! I know exactly what to do to win!" Hop declared proudly with his hands on his hips.

"Did any of that information specifically cover a three-person free for all battle?" Victor asked with an eyebrow raised.

"..." Hop blinked with a new look of realization.

"Eh... Not really."

They all sweatdropped.

Ace hopped from foot to foot in excitement, Conga gently smacked his stick into his hand, and Bubbles looked left to right rather nervously at both opponents.

"Start!" Leon shouted with a chop of his hand.

"Tackle!" All three shouted.

Ace jumped forward with his foot sticking out.

Bubbles leaped ahead with his head.

And Conga jumped while swinging his stick.

All three pokemon collided in the middle of the arena, and their impacts comedically sent them back rolling to the ground.

Leon covered his mouth to keep himself from laughing.

"I should've seen this coming..." Victor sighed.

Hop was the first to call out to his fallen pokemon. "Conga! Head for Ace with Tackle!"

Conga jumped to his feet and dashed towards Ace with his sticky ready.

"Roll to the right!" Victor instructed.

Still, on his back, Ace listened and rolled his body to the side, avoiding Conga as he passed.

"Bubbles! Use Growl while Conga is stopping!"

Bubbles put on an adorably angry face and opened its mouth. "Sob!" he shouted as the air somewhat visibly distorted and passed through Conga as he turned around.

Conga looked shocked and shook at the Growl, feeling his attack lowered.

"Gloria knows that Hop's Grookey is more dangerous to her Sobble because of the type advantage, so chose to lower his offense first..."

"We're not out yet! Conga! Use Tackle at Ace again!" Hop instructed.

"Grookey!" Conga one again started charging at Ace.

"Hop's doing the opposite strategy of what Gloria is going for... Instead of just weakening the more threatening type, Hop is straight-up trying to get rid of it."

"Ace! Ignore Conga and start heading for Bubbles!" Victor pointed.

Ace listened as he got to his feet and started running towards Bubbles with Conga chasing him from behind.

"Bubbles! Use Tackle!" Gloria shouted as she saw him approaching.

"Sob!" Bubbles closed his eyes rushed forward towards Ace too.

Seeing this, Victor waited as both neared and snapped his fingers. "Ace! Jump now!"

"Scor!" Ace smiled before leaping upward out from between both incoming pokemon.

With him out of the way and the other pokemon originally running at him, both Bubbles and Conga's Tackles ended up colliding with one another, resulting in both pokemon falling back in wincing pain.

Leon grinned, "Victor noticed Hop's aggressive strategy and Gloria's reactive one... He's a smart kid."

When Ace landed, he jumped with a small cheer.

"Bubbles! Retreat back!" Gloria told him.

Still rubbing his hurting head, Bubbles jumped back to Gloria as Conga also got up somewhat dizzy.

Victor then saw Ace's hands spark some small flames, to which the pokemon happily smiled and rubbed them together in his hands. He turned back to his trainer with stars in his eyes as he learned a new move.

"He learned Ember already? Nice!" Victor grinned.

However, then he noticed Gloria's Sobble start spitting water from his mouth, and the Grookey's stick seem to grow bigger.

"Water Gun and Branch Poke... Of course, they would learn them now..." Victor sighed. "Even though Conga has less attack, I really have to worry about that Water Gun."

"Alrighty, Bubbles! Blast Ace with your new Water Gun!" Gloria shouted.

"Sob-ble!" At the second syllable, Bubbles sprayed out a fast stream of water from its mouth at Ace.

"To the side!" Victor reacted.

Ace jumped to the side and the water just grazed his foot, slightly scaring the pokemon as he landed and shook the few drops off his foot.

"Conga! Branch Poke at Bubbles!" Hop shouted with a grin, realizing that Conga had learned the grass-type move.

"Grookey!" The chimp jumped up and stuck his branch forward, managing to jab Sobble on its big head.

"Sob!" The water pokemon cried as it was sent back by the strike.

"Bubbles!" Gloria cried in worry.

"Ace! Use this chance to use Ember on Conga!"

"Scor!" Ace smiled before kicking up a pebble and coating it into a ball of fire, then jumping up and kicking the rock again at Conga.

The tiny ball of fire directly struck the grass-type on the side, even creating a small explosion.

"Grook!" Conga rolled on the ground and then stopped on its back. He laid motionless with swirling eyes and an open mouth.

"Conga!? Arrgh! I should've known you'd both know about type advantages!" Hop uttered as he rushed down to his pokemon's side.

This left only a somewhat injured Sobble and a jumpy Scorbunny.

"Thank god I weakened Conga's attack. Otherwise, that Branch Poke could've caused a lot more damage..." Gloria thought as she stared seriously at Victor and his smiling Ace.

"Ace! Use Tackle!"

Ace dashed toward Bubbles.

Gloria grinned, "Bubbles! Use Water Gun!"

Sobble listened and opened its mouth, then shooting out a stream of water directly at Ace.

Victor was waiting for this.

"Dodge by sliding on the ground!"

Ace leaned back and let his back hit the ground while moving forward. He slid along the ground and avoided the water attack that just flew over him while getting closer to Bubbles.

Gloria was so shocked by this that she didn't react when Ace ended up a foot away from a surprised Bubbles.

"Now, use Tackle!"

Still with the momentum from sliding forward, Ace leaped at the pokemon and rammed his foot right into Bubble's head. "Bun!"

"Ble!" Sobble was kicked back and rolled into a ball before rolling all the way into the pond.

"Bubbles!?" Gloria rushed over and looked into the water to see Bubble's body float up with swirly eyes and his tongue sticking out.

"Ble..." The pokemon moaned.

With both pokemon down, the battle was over, with Victor as the winner.

"Scor! Scor!" Ace cheerfully bounced around while his trainer proudly grinned.

Hop pouted as he returned Conga into his pokeball. "Dang it... To think I would be the first out..."

Gloria returned Bubbles into the pokeball with a sigh, "I really didn't expect your pokemon to slide under Water Gun... Have you been teaching it all night?"

Ace proudly sat on Victor's shoulder as the boy put his hands on his hips.

"I taught him a few things, but not too much." He stated.

Leon clapped energetically with a big grin.

"You and your pokemon all fought hard! It made me almost want to let out Charizard and join in on the fun!"

"Okay, Leon, you just show up to the playground to flex on the kids?" Victor said with a deadpanned stare.

Leon laughed at what he thought was a joke.

"You all fought great and show great promise!" He pointed a finger at the group.

"So I got a favor to ask of all of you! Be real rivals to each other! Push each other to get stronger!"

"I'm already gonna get stronger! And you've seen me battle now, Lee! So let me take on the Pokemon Gyms so that I can keep keeping stronger!"

"You? Join the Gym Challenge?" Leon raised an eyebrow as he put his hands on his hips. "Aren't you putting the cart before the Rapidash there, little brother? This is the single greatest competition of Galar we're talking about Hop, and you just had your first pokemon battle."

He turned to Victor and Gloria too, "If this is what you guys are thinking about too, you still have a whole lot to learn about pokemon."

"Actually Leon, I've been learning about them for nearly my entire life." Victor said with a blank stare as he remembered day after day of getting taught by his mom with the addition of getting trained by a pokemon itself.

"And I'm pretty sure Hop and I studied enough about them too." Gloria added, hoping that she could join the gym challenge.

"Well, either way! Before you think about getting gym badges, focus on getting a Pokedex first." Leon declared.

"Then let's get them!" Hop rushed them. "Off to the Pokemon Research Lab!"

"Pokemon... Research Lab?" Victor muttered, knowing the place sounded familiar.

"Yeah! That's right beside my house in Wedgehurst!" Gloria said excitedly, "It's where your Mum got them books for ya to study!"

Victor smiled. He knew that he had to ask his mom permission to go, but there was no doubt that she would say yes now that he had grown enough.

"I'll let the professor know to expect both of you!" Leon happily grinned.

"I'll have to let my mom know that I'm finally gonna head into town." Victor told them.

"We'll come with you!" Hop said as he and Gloria each took a spot at Victor's sides.

"I'll see ya in a bit then!" Leon said as the trio started running excitingly back to Victor's house.

Victor was just about to go up the steps to his house when he noticed something from the corner of his eyes.

"Wait." He stopped and held an arm out for the other two to stop.

"What is it?" Hop raised an eyebrow.

"The gate's open." Victor declared with a serious expression.

He immediately thought of the Wooloo that had been mindlessly tackling into the gate before.

"What!?" Hop rushed past him and examined the state of the gate. "Then... the Wooloo that was here is now in there!?"

"Watcha both talking about?" Gloria asked, not wanting to be left out of the light.

Hop turned to her, "There was a Wooloo who kept using Tackle on the gate, but now the gate's broken, and he's gone!"

"So ya saying that the Wooloo is in Slumbering Weald now!? That place is dangerous!" Gloria said.

"Not really..." Victor thought as he recalled all the pokemon friends he made in the second place he basically grew up in.

"I heard the professor's granddaughter went in there and came out with bruises and even a few cuts..." Hop shuddered.

"That sounds really terrifying..." Gloria said.

"I'll go in." Victor said casually with a happy smile as he started stepping forward with Ace still on his shoulder.

"Eh?" Both Hop and Gloria blinked.

Victor just barely passed the gate before he felt two pairs of hands grab him and pull him back.

"Wait, wait, wait! Why are you so calm about this?!" Hop asked.

"It's dangerous in there!" Gloria added.

Victor just smiled back, "I'll be fine. Trust me."

"Th-Then I'm coming with ya!" Gloria declared.

"Me too!" Hop added.

"But, your pokemon are knocked out." Victor pointed out to both of them.

"I still got my Wooloo!" Hop smiled.

"And I can still punch!" Gloria declared with a tight fist.

"Don't... punch a pokemon. Please." Victor told her. "But if you really wanna go... then let's go get that Wooloo." He smiled.

All three of them then rushed into the Slumbering Weald.

~{Slumbering Weald- 10:12AM}~

Victor was actually getting nervous.

The fog was nothing like the previous days he had come into the forest. It was thicker than before and made the area even harder to see than usual. Thankfully, Victor knew that he didn't have to worry too much about any wild pokemon jumping out at them. He basically knew them all at this point.

Yet why did he feel so uneasy?

"I-It's really quiet..." Hop stuttered, his eyes glancing around whatever he could see.

"I don't like it... Why did that Wooloo come in here?" Gloria added.

Victor had a deadpanned stare as Hop and Gloria each wrapped around one of his arms. On one hand, he actually enjoyed the close contact of trust by his friends, on the other hand, it was harder for him to move.

Ace led the way of the group as it awkwardly stared back at his partner. "Scorbun..."

Victor glanced around at the parts of the area he could see. Leaves fell from the nearby trees, there were many patches of grass, and the boy could hear the wind move in the silence of the forest.

"Let's just find the Wooloo fast." Victor said to them.

Hop had an idea, "H-Hey Victor! You can talk to pokemon! C-Can't you ask one of them here where the Wooloo is!?"

Victor looked serious, "I would, but..." He glanced around. "There aren't any around..."

The other two humans and Ace then noticed that indeed, there weren't any wild pokemon watching them. There wasn't any sign of movement even coming from the trees or grass.

It was as if they were all alone.

"This is weird... I don't like this." Victor made sure his guard was up in case any danger approached. "I hope Sensei is here... Does he know what's happening?"

"Grrrrriiieeeld!"

They all froze at the sound of the loud howl. Hop and Gloria tightened their grips around his arms, yet Victor looked the most terrified of the group.

"I've NEVER heard that in here before!" The boy screamed in his head.

"Wh-What was that!? A pokemon!?" Hop stammered as his gaze shot all over the place.

"I can't pinpoint where it is!" Gloria added as she looked all around her.

Victor took a deep breath to calm himself.

"It said my name... I heard it... Does it want something with me?"

He put on a brave front and started to pull the others with him. "W-We need to hurry."

"I agree with ya..." Hop muttered.

Ace nodded as he started to jog ahead, the others increasing their pace on the path with him.

"It must know me... It must be calling my name because it knows only I can understand it." Victor concluded, believing that the pokemon may need help.

"Lrrroooaaarrrd!"

They all froze again.

"Th-That one was different!" Hop cried out.

"I know!" Gloria shivered.

"But it called my name too..." Victor thought with widened eyes.

For once, the lack of gazes Victor usually felt while in the forest was frightening for him. He didn't know what was happening, but he couldn't call into the trees for his Sensei. It could attract the source of the dangerous howls to them.

He put on an unwavering face and pulled his arms away from Hop and Gloria, then turning to them.

"Come on! We have to keep going! The Wooloo could be in big trouble!" He then turned around and started running ahead with Ace.

"Hey! Don't leave us!" Hop cried as he and Gloria ran after him into the even deeper fog.

Victor kept while occasionally glancing back at his friends following. Yet it didn't even take long before he came into a clearing without trees, but with fog the thickest it's ever been. He couldn't even see past a foot in front of him, so Victor stopped to make sure Hop and Gloria were still close.

Gloria and Hop caught up to him and turned their backs to Victor to glance around the area.

"What the hell!? I could barely see my own hand in front of my face!" Hop said as he waved his hand around.

"Is this why this place is off-limits!?" Gloria added as she looked around with chills.

"No... It was never this bad. Something is causing this." Victor knew as he glared through the fog.

Ace looked as serious as Victor did as both paid close attention to their surroundings.

His long ear twitched, making him turn back and shout to Victor.

"Scor!"

"I know." Victor said.

"Know what?" Hop asked.

Victor narrowed his eyes.

"We're not alone."

"Grrrrriiieeeld!"

"Lrrroooaaarrrd!"

The group's widened as Victor turned and saw the silhouettes of two pokemon facing both sides of their group.

"What!? I didn't even sense them!? When did they get here!?"

Without hesitation, Victor grabbed Gloria and pulled her behind him away from one of the pokemon, receiving a small blush from the girl as he did. At the same time, Ace jumped in front of Hop with a mad glare of defense towards the other pokemon.

Both pokemon were larger than Victor and resembled the shapes of wolves with thick fur.

Surprisingly, some of the fog cleared around the pokemon to reveal them both to indeed be wolves of red and blue colors. One looked bulkier than the other, but both looked equally as dangerous with their slit eyes.

"Wh-What are they!?" Hop cried out.

"I don't know... I've never seen these guys in any books." Victor stuck his hands out to keep Gloria behind him. "Stay behind Ace and me."

Both large pokemon stared dangerously at the group, the starting to menacingly circle around them with their heads lowered.

"V-Victor, you can talk to them, can't ya?! A-Ask them what they want?" Hop ushered.

"They can understand you guys too, you know!?" Victor pointed out to them as he rotated around his friends to keep himself between them and the bulkier wolf. Ace did the same and followed the smaller wolf who stared him down as he circled around them.

Both pokemon had their gazes curiously fixed on the group, but most notably, they seemed to be focused on Victor.

"I don't know what you both want... But we don't want any trouble. We're just looking for a missing pokemon." Victor tried to talk to them.

That was when both pokemon stopped moving and narrowed their eyes.

And got into pouncing positions.

Victor's eyes widened as he heard them growl and show their teeth.

"MOVE!" Victor turned around and pushed Gloria away while Ace acted too and tackled Hop away just as both wolves leaped at them.

"Grrrrriiieeeld!" "Lrrroooaaarrrd!"

"WHOA!" Hop cried as he was sent away.

"VICTOR!" Gloria shouted as she was pushed deeper into the suddenly thicker fog, losing sight of anyone around her. She tried to rush forward, but the fog suddenly increased at too much of a higher density and messed with her head, resulting in her falling to the dirt and completely unconscious.

The same happened to Hop. He had just tried to get up, but the fog got into his head and made him stumble around before falling over. "Guys..." He mumbled before losing consciousness.

As for Victor, the area around the pokemon wasn't as foggy, but he was far from safe.

There he stood between both pokemon, pushing their foreheads away at each side with his hands. He was basically sandwiched between them as he desperately tried to push them back with his shaking arms.

Victor was sweating in panic as his wide-opened eyes stared from one pokemon to the other in fear as he desperately tried to keep them pushed away.

"They aren't even trying!" He screamed in his mind as he saw both wolves simply gazing curiously at him while keeping their ground. "It's like they're just messing with me! They could easily overwhelm me if they wanted too! They're ridiculously strong!"

"Scor!" Ace came out and was shocked to see his trainer against both wolves.

Hearing him, Victor shouted with a strained voice. "Ace! Ember!"

"Scor!" Ace put on an angry face kicked many fiery rocks at both pokemon.

Yet each one just seemed to get put out upon contact.

"No effect!?" Victor panicked. "Tackle one of them!"

Scorbunny looked nervous but listened. He jumped forward and stuck his foot out with a battle cry before ramming into the skinnier pokemon and then jumping back.

The wolf's pupil just moved to glare at Ace.

"S-Scor!?" Ace backed up in fear.

"Damn it!" Victor knew that he and his pokemon couldn't do anything.

He couldn't hold back the two pokemon pushing forward for long, especially if one of them decided to use all of their strength.

"Do I have to fight with my power!? Would it even do anything to them!?"

Before he could come up with an answer, two Water Shurikens flew through the air and rammed into the sides of both pokemon's heads.

They didn't even seem too fazed by any pain, but the attacks did distract both enough to weaken their pushing.

Victor used the chance to muster more strength to push both snouts back, then leaping backward and landing into a crouching manner.

"That was Sensei!" He glanced around at the thick fog, searching for any sign of his teacher.

"Hop! Gloria! Are you guys alright!?"

He received no response, making him worry. "Please be alright!"

"Scorbun!" Ace jumped beside his partner with a battle-ready face. "Scor! Scor!"

"Stay beside me, Ace." Victor said as he stood back up.

The pokemon listened and kept close as both large pokemon turned to them.

Victor pointed both of his arms forward and opened his palms.

"Take this!"

His palms suddenly blasted out two beams of ice at both pokemon.

It visibly hit both of them and started to freeze the pokemon, but both growled and the ice forming around the suddenly shattered.

Victor stared in fear as his Ice Beams died down. "What are they!? Does ice not affect them?!"

"Scor!? Scor!?" Ace frantically stepped from foot to foot as he saw this.

But pokemon then raised their heads to the sky.

"Grrrrriiieeeld!"

"Lrrroooaaarrrd!"

With the last howls from both, the fog suddenly erupted from them and spread throughout the entire area with powerful force.

Victor's eyes widened just as the sudden wall of fog seemed to slam into him. He and Scorbunny were both sent flying back from the force until Victor hit his back on a tree and then landed on the dirt ground on his stomach.

He didn't feel too much pain, but the fog seemed to be affecting his consciousness. He felt weaker, sleepier, and couldn't keep his eyes open.

He forcefully tried to raise his head forward as he saw both large silhouettes heading towards him at a slow pace.

"Guys..." Victor groaned, only thinking about his other friends at this point.

He closed his eyes as both wolves stopped a foot away from him.

"Please be alright..."

He blacked out.


~Author's Notes~

What did you think of these pokemon nicknames? Wasn't ever really too good with giving pokemon nicknames in general, but trying my best. And as for the version of the game that I'll be basing the gyms off of, I'll be going with Sword. (I need Bea in here... It would be a sin not to have) A lot of things can sure change with our three protagonists on their journey, and I hope I'm doing a good job writing their story in this fic so far.